Posse Comitatus Act at center of Trump-Newsom National Guard dispute in LA
President Donald Trump and California Gov. Gavin Newsom are clashing over the deployment of the National Guard amid ongoing Los Angeles riots with different interpretations of the 1878 law that governs the use of the military to enforce the law domestically. The Posse Comitatus Act was signed into law by President Rutherford B. Hayes amid concerns that the military had too much sway over civilian affairs during Reconstruction. It generally bars the use of the U.S. military for civilian law enforcement inside the country, but there are key exceptions. Trump deployed the National Guard early Sunday, but so far, those troops have not participated in any direct law enforcement. JOHNSON SAYS HEGSETH POSSIBLY SENDING MARINES TO ANTI-ICE RIOTS NOT HEAVY-HANDED: ‘DETERRING EFFECT’ Trump sent in the National Guard after Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents were reportedly attacked on the streets of L.A. as they conducted raids to catch and deport illegal immigrants. Seeing that neither Newsom nor L.A. Mayor Karen Bass were moving aggressively enough to stop the attacks, Trump signed a presidential memorandum to deploy 2,000 National Guard troops to “address the lawlessness that has been allowed to fester,” the White House said in a statement. Newsom objected immediately even as the riots spiraled. “I have formally requested the Trump Administration rescind their unlawful deployment of troops in Los Angeles county and return them to my command,” Newsom wrote on X on Sunday alongside his letter to President Trump. “We didn’t have a problem until Trump got involved. This is a serious breach of state sovereignty – inflaming tensions while pulling resources from where they’re actually needed.” In addition to the Guard, the Pentagon said Sunday night it stands ready to send in 500 active-duty Marines. If the military is to take an active role in suppressing the riots, the 147-year-old law will take center stage. Exceptions to the Posse Comitatus Act that allow the military to enforce the law against U.S. citizens include congressional decree, if an insurrection has been declared under the Insurrection Act, or when state governments prove unable or unwilling to impose law and order.
UFC fans share what they think about Trump ahead of O’Malley-Dvalishvili showdown
UFC fans gathered in Newark, N.J., for the highly anticipated matchup between Merab Dvalishvili and Sean O’Malley. But the two fighters weren’t the only special guests in the arena — President Donald Trump was also in attendance. Though there was no official announcement, fans were clearly anticipating Trump’s arrival. Fox News Digital spoke to fans before the event about Trump’s performance during the first six months of his second term. Some were eager to praise the president, while others were skeptical or outright disappointed. TRUMP CONFIRMS UFC 314 ATTENDANCE, REVEALS HIS PICK FOR THE BIGGEST WINNER “He’s doing an amazing job. He’s shocking us all, but he’s doing what everybody knows he’s going to do. Wow,” Erin Kerr said. “I believe that Trump is somebody to respect. He’s always honest about things and at the end of the day, you know, it might be politics, but you know we should kind of respect what’s going on, you know what I’m saying,” Eric Ventura told Fox News Digital. “I’d much rather see the UFC than see two bloated billionaires fight each other,” Paul Gordon said. “Probably Elon would be kind of funny, but I gotta go with what’s happening tonight, it’s gonna be better,” Chris Wright said. DONALD TRUMP ARRIVES AT UFC 309 IN MSG; CROWD ROARS FOR PRESIDENT-ELECT WEEKS AFTER HISTORIC RALLY “Trump — he’s got that big a– chin,” Wright told Fox News Digital. “He took a bullet, right? I think if you just take a bullet, maybe you can take a punch,” Gustavo Granados said. “If Elon, if Trump were to fight, I think Trump would get it done,” Jimmy Malloy said. Several fans also chose Musk, noting the billionaire was several years younger than the president, which they thought would give him an advantage. In the end, Trump received a warm welcome from the roaring crowd as he entered the Prudential Center with UFC CEO Dana White, a longtime ally of the president who spoke at the 2024 Republican National Convention.
Flashback: Biden repeatedly equated Islamophobia and antisemitism amid surge in attacks on Jews
As violent instances of antisemitism break out around the country this year, Fox News Digital took a look back at former President Joe Biden‘s penchant for equating antisemitism and Islamophobia. While the former president rightly condemned hate directed at Jews in the wake of the Oct. 7, 2023, massacre of Israelis and the subsequent war in Gaza, Biden was almost always sure to draw an equivalency with anti-Muslim sentiment. “In recent years, too much hate has given too much oxygen, fueling racism, the rise of antisemitism, Islamophobia right here in America,” Biden said, days after the war broke out, in a prime-time address from the White House. He added: “We can’t stand by and stand silent when this happens. We must, without equivocation, denounce antisemitism. We must also, without equivocation, denounce Islamophobia.” Biden added during a Human Rights Campaign event in October 2023: “We have to reject hate in everything, because history has taught us again and again, antisemitism, Islamophobia, homophobia, transphobia, they’re all connected. Hate toward one group left unanswered opens the door for more hate toward more groups, more often, regularly.” Instances of antisemitism spiked to new highs last year, with the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) finding in a new report that there were 9,354 antisemitic incidents in 2024, a 5% increase from 2023 and a staggering 926% increase since it began tracking such data in 1979. TRUMP ADMIN CRACKS DOWN ANTISEMITISM AS DOJ OFFICIAL EXPOSES ‘VIOLENT RHETORIC’ OF RADICAL PROTESTERS The war in Israel initially fanned the flames of antisemitism on campuses in the form of protests, menacing graffiti and students reporting that they felt as if it was “open season for Jews on our campuses.” The protests heightened to the point that Jewish students at some schools, including Columbia University, were warned to leave campus for their own safety. Agitators and student protesters flooded college campuses nationwide last school year to protest the war, which also included spiking instances of antisemitism and Jewish students publicly speaking out that they did not feel safe on some campuses. Protesters on Columbia University’s campus in New York City, for example, took over the school’s Hamilton Hall building, while schools such as UCLA, Harvard and Yale worked to clear spiraling student encampments where protesters demanded their elite schools completely divest from Israel. ANTISEMITIC VIOLENCE ERUPTS IN AMERICA AS SOME INVOKE INTIFADA AND TARGET JEWS As the protests hit a fever pitch last year, Biden again equated antisemitism with Islamophobia, even though it was clear that Jews were the group being targeted with harassment and violence. “There should be no place on any campus, no place in America for antisemitism or threats of violence against Jewish students. There is no place for hate speech or violence of any kind, whether it’s antisemitism, Islamophobia, or discrimination against Arab Americans or Palestinian Americans,” Biden said from the White House in May 2024 as the protests on college campuses continued. “It’s simply wrong. There is no place for racism in America.” Biden faced condemnation from conservatives and other critics for not simply denouncing antisemitism as Jews in the U.S. faced protests and instances of antisemitism. JEWISH STUDENTS WELCOME TRUMP ADMIN’S CRACKDOWN ON ANTISEMITISM, HAMAS SYMPATHIZERS ON CAMPUSES “At a time when no college campus is on lockdown over Islamophobia, Joe Biden felt the need to spend as much time in his speech denouncing Islamophobia and ‘discrimination against Arab Americans’ as he did antisemitism. He is never able to just call out antisemitism,” radio host Erick Erickson commented on X in May 2024 as campus protests against Israel raged. “Biden repeats his both-sideisms,” veteran James Hutton wrote last year of Biden’s previous comments. “Only the Jewish students are being violated. Biden knows that, but he really wants those votes in Michigan.” “Biden is incapable of simply condemning antisemitism. Yet another equivocation. This administration is an embarrassment,” Kerry Rom, deputy communications director for Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., wrote on X last year. ISRAELI COLUMBIA PROFESSOR WANTS TRUMP TO BLOCK CERTAIN INSTITUTIONS FROM RECEIVING FEDERAL FUNDING This year, the Trump administration is cracking down on antisemitism and attacks on American Jews, which were underscored by a shooting that left a Jewish couple dead on the streets of Washington, D.C., last month outside of a Jewish museum, as well as a terror attack in Boulder, Colorado, last Sunday when an Egyptian national identified as Mohamed Sabry Soliman allegedly hurled Molotov cocktails at people participating in a solidarity event for Israeli hostages still in Hamas captivity. Soliman’s charging documents stated that he “traveled to Boulder, Colorado, in his vehicle with the Molotov cocktails and threw two of the cocktails at individuals participating in a pro-Israel gathering. He also stated that he picked up gas at a gas station on the way to Boulder. He stated that he wanted to kill all Zionist people and wished they were all dead.” BIDEN ADMINISTRATION LAUNCHES NATIONAL STRATEGY TO COMBAT ISLAMOPHOBIA, ANTI-ARAB HATE Democratic Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro – the Keystone State’s third Jewish governor – faced his own instance of antisemitism when a suspect set fire to the governor’s residence while he and his family were asleep on the first night of Passover. President Donald Trump meanwhile, signed an executive order on “Additional Measures to Combat Anti-Semitism” in January as his administration launched its crackdown on antisemitism. While federal law enforcement officials have arrested individuals allegedly tied to the widespread anti-Israel protests last year, the White House has threatened to end federal funding to universities that allow violent anti-Israel protests and is investigating immigration status of those accused of leading campus protests or carrying out antisemitic attacks.
‘Lunatic’ Democrat ripped for ‘demonic’ video message demanding ICE agents ‘get the f— out’ amid CA chaos
A California Democratic lawmaker was widely criticized by conservatives on social media after posting a message online telling federal agents arresting illegal immigrants in Los Angeles to “get the f— out.” “ICE get the f— out of LA so that order can be restored,” Rep. Norma Torres posted on TikTok Friday as protests and riots were breaking out over the raids. Conservatives on social media quickly reacted to the video, accusing Torres, who was born in Guatemala and became a U.S. citizen in the 1990s, of fomenting the violence and vitriol against ICE officers that unfolded over the next few days. “This is a sitting member of Congress,” conservative influencer account Libs of TikTok posted on X. CALIFORNIA REPUBLICANS SLAM NEWSOM, BASS FOR LETTING LA BURN WITH RIOTS AMID TRUMP IMMIGRATION BLITZ ‘Torres is a sitting member of Congress and a complete lunatic,” conservative influencer Paul Szypula posted on X. “Demonic possession,” White House director of communications Steven Cheung posted on X. Conservative influencer Benny Johnson called Torres “deranged” in a post on X and several users, including Arizona state Sen. Wendy Rogers, called for Torres to be expelled from Congress. “Arrest her now,” the conservative influencer account Catturd posted on X. “Found a Communist in Congress,” author James Lindsay posted on X. FEDERAL OFFICIALS SLAM DEMOCRATS FOR ‘DANGEROUS’ RHETORIC AS ICE AGENTS FACE VIOLENT MOBS IN LA, NYC “Make it an ad,” conservative commentator Stephen L. Miller posted on X. Fox News Digital reached out to Torres’ office for comment. President Trump sent 2,000 National Guard soldiers to Los Angeles to help “keep peace” as immigration protests descended into riots, and to prevent a repeat of the 2020 unrest that saw the Democratic governor of Minnesota “let his city burn,” Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem said on Sunday. During the riots, ICE officers were targeted with violence that included throwing rocks and other projectiles along with vandalism in the form of graffiti calling for violence against ICE officers. U.S. Border Patrol Chief Michael Banks shared a photo of one Border Patrol agent’s bloody hand, which was injured by a rock flying through the windshield. Federal sources said agents could have been killed by the flying debris. Several arrests have already been made for assault on a federal agent, Banks confirmed. Fox News Digital’s Alexandra Koch contributed to this report
Johnson says Hegseth possibly sending Marines to anti-ICE riots not heavy-handed: ‘Deterring effect’
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said Sunday that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s suggestion that he could send U.S. Marines to quell anti-Immigration and Customs Enforcement riots in Los Angeles would not be a heavy-handed approach. In an appearance on ABC’s “This Week,” Johnson was asked to respond to President Donald Trump sending in National Guard troops to Los Angeles. Trump said he would pursue the federal government taking control of the California National Guard if Gov. Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass “can’t do their jobs” to protect Los Angeles against rioting and looting. “I have no concern about that at all,” Johnson told ABC host Jonathan Karl. “I think the president did exactly what he needed to do. These are federal laws and we have to maintain the rule of law, and that is not what is happening. Gavin Newsom has shown an inability or an unwillingness to do what is necessary there, so the president stepped in. That’s real leadership, and he has the authority and the responsibility to do it.” PRESIDENT TRUMP SENDS NATIONAL GUARD AS VIOLENT ANTI-ICE RIOTS ERUPT IN LOS ANGELES Karl also asked about a message posted by Hegseth, who wrote on X Saturday that the Department of Defense was mobilizing the National Guard “IMMEDIATELY to support federal law enforcement in Los Angles,” and “if the violence continues, active duty Marines at Camp Pendleton will also be mobilized – they are on high alert.” “One of our core principles is maintaining peace through strength,” Johnson said in response Sunday. “We do that on foreign affairs and domestic affairs as well. I don’t think that’s heavy-handed. I think that’s an important signal….” “You don’t think sending the Marines into the streets of an American city is heavy-handed?” Karl interjected. “We have to be prepared to do what is necessary, and I think the notice that that might happen might have the deterring effect,” Johnson said. Newsom responded to Hegseth’s threat on X, writing: “The Secretary of Defense is now threatening to deploy active-duty Marines on American soil against its own citizens. This is deranged behavior.” “Deranged = allowing your city to burn & law enforcement to be attacked,” Hegseth hit back Sunday morning. “There is plenty of room for peaceful protest, but ZERO tolerance for attacking federal agents who are doing their job.” “The National Guard, and Marines if need be, stand with ICE,” the defense secretary added. In his initial message Saturday, Hegseth said, “The violent mob assaults on ICE and Federal Law Enforcement are designed to prevent the removal of Criminal Illegal Aliens from our soil; a dangerous invasion facilitated by criminal cartels (aka Foreign Terrorist Organizations) and a huge NATIONAL SECURITY RISK. Under President Trump, violence & destruction against federal agents & federal facilities will NOT be tolerated. It’s COMMON SENSE.” Generally, the U.S. military is not allowed to carry out civilian law enforcement duties against U.S. citizens except in times of emergency. SOCIAL MEDIA, TRUMP ADMIN ERUPTS OVER LA MAYOR’S REACTION TO ICE RAIDS: ‘YOU’RE A CRIMINAL TOO’ An 18th-century wartime law called the Insurrection Act is the main legal mechanism that a president can use to activate the military or National Guard during times of rebellion or unrest. But Trump didn’t invoke the Insurrection Act on Saturday. Instead, the president’s memorandum called “into Federal service members and units of the National Guard under 10 U.S.C. 12406 to temporarily protect ICE and other United States Government personnel who are performing Federal functions, including the enforcement of Federal law, and to protect Federal property, at locations where protests against these functions are occurring or are likely to occur based on current threat assessments and planned operations.” The federal law cited in the memo allows the president to federalize National Guard troops under three circumstances: When the U.S. is invaded or in danger of invasion; when there is a rebellion or danger of rebellion against the authority of the U.S. government, or when the president is unable to “execute the laws of the United States,” with regular forces. But the law also says that orders for those purposes “shall be issued through the governors of the States.” The National Guard is a hybrid entity that serves both state and federal interests. It’s not immediately clear if the president can activate National Guard troops without the order of that state’s governor. It’s also not clear if military personnel can be deployed. Under the Posse Comitatus Act, troops under federal orders cannot be used for domestic law enforcement, but units under state control can. Enacted in the late 1800s during the Reconstruction period following the Civil War, the federal law limits the powers of the federal government to deploy the U.S. military for domestic law enforcement reasons “except in cases and under circumstances expressly authorized by the Constitution or Act of Congress.” CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Trump threatened to use the Insurrection Act during the height of 2020 rioting in the wake of George Floyd’s death, but ultimately did not do so. He did deploy federal agents to several U.S. cities, including Portland, where rioters attempted to breach a federal courthouse, clashing with law enforcement officers and targeting the building with Molotov cocktails and other projectiles for over 100 consecutive nights. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Noem says Trump admin won’t let ‘a repeat of 2020 happen’ as National Guard responds to LA immigration riots
President Donald Trump sent 2,000 National Guard soldiers to Los Angeles to help “keep peace” as immigration protests descended into riots, and to prevent a repeat of the 2020 unrest that saw the Democratic governor of Minnesota “let his city burn,” Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem said on Sunday. Noem addressed the deployment of the National Guard during an appearance on CBS’ “Face the Nation,” saying that Trump has the safety of the community and law enforcement officers at the top of his mind. “President Trump is putting the safety of the communities being impacted by these riots and by these protests that have turned violent, and he’s putting the safety of our law enforcement officers first,” Noem said. The violence comes in response to sweeping immigration raids in the Los Angeles area. Federal immigration authorities have said some of the migrants arrested last week had criminal histories that included assault and drug offenses. CALIFORNIA REPUBLICANS SLAM NEWSOM, BASS FOR LETTING LA BURN WITH RIOTS AMID TRUMP IMMIGRATION BLITZ Noem said that Trump made the move to send in the troops because Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom “makes bad decisions” and Trump didn’t want to wait for Newsom to “get some sanity.” Newsom has claimed that Trump is deploying the National Guard “not because there is a shortage of law enforcement, but because they want a spectacle.” The California governor said Saturday that the state has deployed the California Highway Patrol to keep Los Angeles highways safe, though he added, “It’s not their job to assist in federal immigration enforcement.” But Noem vowed that Trump was “not going to let a repeat of 2020 happen,” referencing riots that happened in Minneapolis at the time. She further criticized Democrats by noting how Democratic Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota responded during riots that happened in 2020. “Gov. Tim Walz made very bad decisions,” she said, adding that Walz tried to request the help of the National Guard after “letting his city burn for days on end.” PATEL PROMISES FBI COMING FOR ANYONE ASSAULTING COPS AS LOS ANGELES ERUPTS OVER ICE RAIDS Walz called for the National Guard two days after the riots began in 2020, a point that was highlighted last year after former Vice President Kamala Harris tapped him as her running mate during her failed presidential run against Trump. Noem described the 2,000 National Guard soldiers as being specifically trained for “this type of crowd situation,” where they will provide safety around buildings, to those engaged in peaceful protests and law enforcement. Noem said the National Guard will help with security in some areas, though she would not speak to the exact locations that the troops will be deployed to or to specific security operations. “They’re there at the direction of the president in order to keep peace and allow people to be able to protest but also to keep law and order,” she said of the National Guard. “That is incredibly important to the president.”
Zelenskyy dismisses Trump’s claim that Russia wants peace, says he knows Putin ‘much better’
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy rejected President Donald Trump’s claims that Russia is serious about pursuing peace on Sunday. Zelenskyy made the statement during an interview on ABC News’ “This Week” with host Martha Raddatz. He argued that Putin wants the war to continue, though Ukraine is still engaged in ceasefire negotiations. “With all due respect to President Trump, I think it’s just his personal opinion,” Zelenskyy said when asked about Trump’s view of Putin. “Trust me, we understand the Russians much better, the mentality of the Russians, than the Americans understand the Russians. I know for sure Putin doesn’t want to stop the war.” He went on to push back on Trump’s analogy, likening the Russia-Ukraine war to two children fighting in a park. RUSSIA DRONE STRIKE KILLS 5 IN UKRAINE AFTER PUTIN PROMISED RETALIATION IN TRUMP CALL “We are not playing in the park with the Russians like two boys, two kids. Putin is not a kid. So we can’t compare and we cannot say okay, let them fight for a while,” Zelenskyy said, recounting the story of a Ukrainian man who lost his wife and three children to missile strikes. “That’s why we are not kids at the playground. Putin is a murderer who came to the park to kill kids,” he added. Trump gave the analogy during a state visit by German Chancellor Friederich Merz to the Oval Office last week. GERMANY’S MERZ TO ‘ADAPT’ TO TRUMP DURING HIGH-STAKES MEETING ON TARIFFS, DEFENSE “Sometimes you see two young children fighting like crazy – they hate each other, and they’re fighting in a park, and you try and pull them apart, they don’t want to be pulled,” Trump said. “Sometimes you’re better off letting them fight for a while and then pulling them apart.” Trump said he gave that analogy to Putin in his call with him last week and said he told the Kremlin chief “maybe you’re going to have to keep fighting and suffering a lot.” Ukraine and Russia have so far held two rounds of peace talks with few tangible results. Fox News’ Brie Stimson contributed to this report.
Newsom’s office compares LA riots against federal agents to sports celebrations
Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom‘s office downplayed the riots gripping Los Angeles, likening them to sports celebrations that notoriously break out in Philadelphia after an Eagles’ victory. “LA riots? Have these geniuses ever seen what happens when the Eagles win a playoff game?” Izzy Gardon, Newsom’s communications director, told Fox News Digital on Sunday morning. Philadelphia notoriously sees sports revelers flood the city after beloved teams such as the Eagles or Phillies win championships, sometimes setting cars ablaze and causing property damage. The city even greases city light poles to dissuade partiers from scaling them and deploys additional police to the streets while often wearing riot gear. Fox News Digital reached out to the governor’s office to ask about claims by California Republicans and natives that Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass bore some of the blame for the riots. They and other local Democrats issued messages defending illegal immigrants and condemning federal agents for carrying out deportation raids in the left-wing city. CALIFORNIA REPUBLICANS SLAM NEWSOM, BASS FOR LETTING LA BURN WITH RIOTS AMID TRUMP IMMIGRATION BLITZ “Gavin Newsom and Karen Bass have a real habit of letting Los Angeles burn,” Republican California Rep. Darell Issa posted to X on Saturday evening. “If only Karen Bass fought against the Los Angeles fires like she fights for illegal aliens,” Issa added in another post, referring to the Palisades fire that tore through Southern California in January. FEDERAL OFFICIALS SLAM DEMOCRATS FOR ‘DANGEROUS’ RHETORIC AS ICE AGENTS FACE VIOLENT MOBS IN LA, NYC “Gavin Newsom is unqualified for a plethora of reasons, the least of which is his support of illegal alien insurrectionists. He is an all purpose, all around loser,” Hollywood actor and California resident James Woods posted to X. Federal officials have also pinned blame for the violence on Democratic elected officials who have “villainized and demonized” ICE law enforcement, Fox Digital previously reported. “This is on you, Governor. It is a shame that California openly defies federal law and sides with illegal aliens, including hardened criminals, against its own citizens,” Harmeet Dhillon, former vice chair of the California Republican Party and current assistant attorney general for civil rights at the U.S. Department of Justice, posted to X. “The violent targeting of law enforcement in Los Angeles by lawless rioters is despicable and Mayor Bass and Governor Newsom must call for it to end,” DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin wrote in a statement. “The men and women of ICE put their lives on the line to protect and defend the lives of American citizens.… From comparisons to the modern-day Nazi gestapo to glorifying rioters, the violent rhetoric of these sanctuary politicians is beyond the pale. This violence against ICE must end.” SOCIAL MEDIA, TRUMP ADMIN ERUPTS OVER LA MAYOR’S REACTION TO ICE RAIDS: ‘YOU’RE A CRIMINAL TOO’ Newsom on Friday described the Trump administration’s immigration raids in Los Angeles as “chaotic and reckless.” “Continued chaotic federal sweeps, across California, to meet an arbitrary arrest quota are as reckless as they are cruel. Donald Trump’s chaos is eroding trust, tearing families apart, and undermining the workers and industries that power America’s economy,” Newsom’s statement read. The press office doubled down in support of shielding illegal immigrants from deportation in a response X post to White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt on Saturday. “In recent days, violent mobs have attacked ICE Officers and Federal Law Enforcement Agents carrying out basic deportation operations in Los Angeles, California. These operations are essential to halting and reversing the invasion of illegal criminals into the United States. In the wake of this violence, California’s feckless Democrat leaders have completely abdicated their responsibility to protect their citizens,” Leavitt posted to X. Newsom’s office responded: “These are anything but basic. Your indiscriminate sweeps are terrifying entire communities and detaining hardworking, tax-paying Californians. It’s cruel escalation and must end.” When asked about the riots, and California Republicans condemning the violence and Newsom’s stance on immigration on Sunday morning, the governor’s office compared the lawlessness to street parties after an Eagles win. PATEL PROMISES FBI COMING FOR ANYONE ASSAULTING COPS AS LOS ANGELES ERUPTS OVER ICE RAIDS The riots in Los Angeles, however, have included targeted attacks on federal law enforcement officials, including violent protesters lobbing rocks and other items at immigration officials. U.S. Border Patrol Chief Michael W. Banks, for example, shared a photo of a Border Patrol agent’s bloody hand that was injured by a rock flying through the windshield. Trump signed a presidential memorandum on Saturday to deploy 2,000 National Guardsmen to Paramount, California, to help quell the violence, and has also slammed the local leaders for the chaos. “If Governor Gavin Newscum, of California, and Mayor Karen Bass, of Los Angeles, can’t do their jobs, which everyone knows they can’t, then the Federal Government will step in and solve the problem, RIOTS & LOOTERS, the way it should be solved!!!” Trump posted to Truth Social on Saturday evening.
California Republicans slam Newsom, Bass for letting LA burn with riots amid Trump immigration blitz
Riots against the Trump administration’s immigration raids in Southern California are rocking Los Angeles this weekend and California Republicans are pinning blame for the violence on Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom and LA Mayor Karen Bass. “Gavin Newsom and Karen Bass have a real habit of letting Los Angeles burn,” Republican California Rep. Darell Issa posted to X on Saturday evening. “If only Karen Bass fought against the Los Angeles fires like she fights for illegal aliens,” Issa added in another post, referring to the Palisades fire that tore through Southern California in January. Riots broke out in Los Angeles on Friday and Saturday as immigration officials carried out raids to remove individuals illegally residing in the left-wing city, which dubbed itself a “sanctuary” for illegal immigrants in November before President Donald Trump was sworn back into the Oval Office. FEDERAL OFFICIALS SLAM DEMOCRATS FOR ‘DANGEROUS’ RHETORIC AS ICE AGENTS FACE VIOLENT MOBS IN LA, NYC The raids began on Friday, with Bass issuing a statement supporting illegal immigrants in the city and bucking the Trump administration’s deportation efforts. “This morning, we received reports of federal immigration enforcement actions in multiple locations in Los Angeles,” Bass said in a statement on Friday. SOCIAL MEDIA, TRUMP ADMIN ERUPTS OVER LA MAYOR’S REACTION TO ICE RAIDS: ‘YOU’RE A CRIMINAL TOO’ “As Mayor of a proud city of immigrants, who contribute to our city in so many ways, I am deeply angered by what has taken place. These tactics sow terror in our communities and disrupt basic principles of safety in our city. My Office is in close coordination with immigrant rights community organizations. We will not stand for this.” Newsom issued a similar statement on Friday, calling the immigration raids “chaotic and reckless.” “Continued chaotic federal sweeps, across California, to meet an arbitrary arrest quota are as reckless as they are cruel. Donald Trump’s chaos is eroding trust, tearing families apart, and undermining the workers and industries that power America’s economy,” Newsom’s statement read. Newsom’s press office doubled down in support of shielding illegal immigrants from deportation in a response X post to White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt on Saturday. “In recent days, violent mobs have attacked ICE Officers and Federal Law Enforcement Agents carrying out basic deportation operations in Los Angeles, California. These operations are essential to halting and reversing the invasion of illegal criminals into the United States. In the wake of this violence, California’s feckless Democrat leaders have completely abdicated their responsibility to protect their citizens,” Leavitt posted to X. Newsom’s office responded: “These are anything but basic. Your indiscriminate sweeps are terrifying entire communities and detaining hardworking, tax-paying Californians. It’s cruel escalation and must end.” Other Democrats in the state have gone even further in their defense of illegal immigrants amid the raids, with Democratic Rep. Norma Torres posting to TikTok on Saturday telling ICE officials to “get the f— out of L.A. so that order can be restored.” ICE SWEEPS THROUGH LA BUSINESSES AS LOCAL DEMOCRATS CRY FOUL OVER TRUMP ADMINISTRATION’S ENFORCEMENT ACTIONS The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) declared unlawful assembly and issued a city-wide tactical alert on Friday evening as rioters attacked law enforcement officers, the Department of Homeland Security said in a statement on Saturday. “Last night, over 1,000 rioters surrounded a federal law enforcement building and assaulted ICE law enforcement officers, slashed tires, defaced buildings, and taxpayer-funded property,” read a statement from DHS. “Our ICE enforcement officers are facing a 413% increase in assaults against them. Disturbingly, in recent days, ICE officers’ family members have been dox[x]ed and targeted as well.” As chaos broke out on the streets of LA, federal officials have pinned blame for the violence on Democratic elected officials who have “villainized and demonized” ICE law enforcement, Fox Digital previously reported. PATEL PROMISES FBI COMING FOR ANYONE ASSAULTING COPS AS LOS ANGELES ERUPTS OVER ICE RAIDS “The violent targeting of law enforcement in Los Angeles by lawless rioters is despicable and Mayor Bass and Governor Newsom must call for it to end,” DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin, for example, wrote in a statement. “The men and women of ICE put their lives on the line to protect and defend the lives of American citizens.… From comparisons to the modern-day Nazi gestapo to glorifying rioters, the violent rhetoric of these sanctuary politicians is beyond the pale. This violence against ICE must end.” California Republicans and conservatives have also directed their ire at Democratic leaders for the violence, Fox Digital found. “Gavin Newsom is unqualified for a plethora of reasons, the least of which is his support of illegal alien insurrectionists. He is an all purpose, all around loser,” Hollywood actor and California resident James Woods posted to X. Woods additionally described Bass as a “Communist” and Newsom as “Grease” in other posts asking to describe the California Democrats in one word. “After four years of the Biden administration refusing to enforce our immigration laws, Americans voted for President Trump, who promised to enforce the law and secure the border. Our federal agencies, including ICE, have every right to enforce federal laws, even in sanctuary states,” California Republican Rep. Ken Calvert posted to X. “This is on you, Governor. It is a shame that California openly defies federal law and sides with illegal aliens, including hardened criminals, against its own citizens,” Harmeet Dhillon, former vice chair of the California Republican Party and current assistant attorney general for civil rights at the U.S. Department of Justice, posted to X. PRESIDENT TRUMP SENDS NATIONAL GUARD AS VIOLENT ANTI-ICE RIOTS ERUPT IN LOS ANGELES “Gavin Newsom seems to think that California can not only defy federal immigration law, but now federal tax law. The doctrine of nullification died with the Confederacy. What’s next: firing on Fort Ord?” Republican California Rep. Tom McClintock posted to X, referring to Newsom floating withholding federal taxes in response to reports of the Trump administration cutting funding to the state. Libs of TikTok, a popular conservative X account founded by an LA native, posted a series
Trump ally stands firm against ‘big, beautiful bill’ despite pressure: ‘It’ll completely backfire’
EXCLUSIVE — One of the leading opponents of President Donald Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” declared not even the commander in chief will be able to deter him from speaking out against what he sees as a bill that falls short of Republicans’ goal of cutting government waste. “It’ll completely backfire on him,” Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., told Fox News Digital of any attempts by Trump to sway him on the current legislation. Johnson has become a prominent voice of opposition against the House GOP’s offering to the budget reconciliation process. Senate Republicans finally began the tedious process of parsing through the bill this week. ‘HE’S NOT A BIG FACTOR’: TRUMP’S SENATE ALLIES DISMISS ELON MUSK’S CALLS TO ‘KILL THE BILL’ Lawmakers in the upper chamber, Johnson included, are determined to make changes to the bill, with most wanting to make reductions to Medicaid and food stamps more palatable. Trump has made it clear his bill must pass but has acknowledged the Senate will need to make a few changes. Trump’s directive has been to deliver a bill that can survive the razor-thin majorities in both chambers. Johnson, however, wants to see spending returned to pre-pandemic levels, cuts that are trillions of dollars deeper than what House Republicans could stomach. And he is ready to vote against the bill unless he sees the changes he wants. And he believes that a pressure campaign from the president against him and other like-minded fiscal hawks will fail. He said a better approach would be to work with lawmakers and fiscal hawks like him to gain a better understanding of the reality of the country’s fiscal situation, a reality that “is grim,” he said. SEN. RON JOHNSON PROPOSES ‘LINE-BY-LINE’ CUTS TO PASS TRUMP’S ‘BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL’ NATIONAL DEBT TRACKER: AMERICAN TAXPAYERS (YOU) ARE NOW ON THE HOOK FOR $36,214,501,400,213 Johnson has been up front about his disdain for the bill but has so far avoided public retribution from Trump. In fact, the two have spoken twice this week, once on Monday and later during a Senate Finance Committee meeting at the White House Tuesday. The lawmaker has told Trump he’s in Trump’s corner and that he wants “to see you succeed,” but he has been steadfast in his position that the bill does not go far enough to tackle the national debt. And the debt continues to climb, nearing $37 trillion and counting, according to Fox News’ National Debt Tracker. The House’s offering set a goal of $1.5 trillion in spending cuts over the next decade, which lawmakers in the lower chamber have pitched as a positive step forward to righting the country’s fiscal ship, an offering Johnson panned as falling drastically short of the GOP’s promises to cut deep into government spending. “What’s so disappointing about what happened in the House is it was all rhetoric. It’s all slogans,” Johnson said. “They picked a number. Literally, they picked a number out of the air.” GOP SENATORS EXPRESS ‘CONCERNS,’ ‘SKEPTICISM’ OVER TRUMP’S SPENDING BILL AFTER MUSK RANT Johnson views this attempt at the budget reconciliation process as a rare opportunity to “do the hard things” when it comes to spending cuts, but others in the GOP have been more hesitant to cut as deep. Johnson said a main reason Republicans have so far fallen short of meeting the moment for the most part is that lawmakers don’t understand just how much the federal government shovels out the door year in and year out. The lawmaker recalled a moment roughly three years ago during a debate over another year-end omnibus spending bill, when each of the dozen appropriations bills is crammed into one, bloated package that is universally reviled and almost always passes. He asked his colleagues if they really knew just how much the government spends, and no one “volunteered to answer.” “Nobody knew. I mean, think of that. The largest financier in the world. We’re supposedly, in theory, the 535 members of the board of directors, and nobody knew,” he said. “Why would they? We never talked about it.” Johnson has been busy trying to better educate his colleagues, putting together his own charts and graphs that cut out the “noise,” like the latest nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office report that found the legislation would add $2.4 trillion to the national debt over a decade. The GOP has universally panned that projection. “We can’t accept this as a new normal,” Johnson said. “We can’t accept — you can take pot shots of CBO, but you can’t deny that reality. [It] might be off a little bit, but that is the trajectory, and that’s undeniable.”