Former NFL player Scott Turner confirmed to lead Housing and Urban Development
Scott Turner was confirmed on Wednesday to be the next secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). The former NFL player was nominated by President Donald Trump to lead HUD in his second term. His nomination cleared a key procedural hurdle on Tuesday night, by a margin of 55-45. Two Democrats joined Republicans on the vote, making it bipartisan. GOP-LED SENATE CONFIRMING PRESIDENT’S NOMINEES AT FASTER PACE THAN BIDEN ADMIN, FIRST TRUMP TERM Turner notably played in the NFL for nine seasons, spending time on the Washington Redskins, the San Diego Chargers and the Denver Broncos. After his professional football career, he ran for state office in his home state of Texas, where he served as a legislator for several years. BERNIE SANDERS, JOSH HAWLEY TEAM UP ON TRUMP PLEDGE TO SLASH CREDIT CARD RATES TO 10% In Trump’s first administration, Turner served as First Executive Director of the White House Opportunity and Revitalization Council (WHORC). The president said in his November announcement of Turner’s nomination that he led “an Unprecedented Effort that Transformed our Country’s most distressed communities” in that capacity. TULSI GABBARD ADVANCES OUT OF INTEL COMMITTEE IN BOOST TO CONFIRMATION ODDS “Those efforts, working together with former HUD Secretary, Ben Carson, were maximized by Scott’s guidance in overseeing 16 Federal Agencies which implemented more than 200 policy actions furthering Economic Development. Under Scott’s leadership, Opportunity Zones received over $50 Billion Dollars in Private Investment!” Trump wrote at the time. With his Wednesday confirmation, Turner became the 12th confirmation to Trump’s second-term Cabinet. The Republican-led Senate has made it a priority to push Trump’s picks through the upper chamber. The Republicans have managed to confirm more nominations at this point in Trump’s term than former President Joe Biden or Trump’s first term. Both Biden and Trump’s first term had only 6 at the same time.
‘BIG CHANGE’: Nassau County police to begin assisting with immigration enforcement
Nassau County police officers will now be assisting federal authorities with immigration enforcement in what county executive Bruce Blakeman is calling a “big change” that “was sorely needed.” In an interview with Fox News Digital, Blakeman, who is a Republican, explained that the Nassau County Police Department will embed 10 detectives within the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE) to target illegal immigrant criminals in the county. Additionally, the Nassau County Correctional Center will be setting aside dedicated space for illegal immigrant criminals, allowing ICE space to hold them pending their removal from the U.S. As part of the arrangement, Nassau County will receive federal funding to help reimburse them for the extra personnel power and jail space made available to ICE. SANCTUARY CITIES THAT REFUSE ICE REMOVAL REQUESTS COULD BE PUNISHED UNDER STATE, FEDERAL LEGISLATION “Now we can call ICE up [and] ICE will come in and detain them or deport them,” he said. “So, it’s a big change, and it’s one that was sorely needed.” Blakeman said that the partnership was proposed by ICE as soon as President Donald Trump returned to the White House. He said that he believes the partnership will “absolutely” have a dramatic effect on improving the safety and well-being of citizens and residents in Nassau, which is one of the largest counties in the country. “ICE approached us, asked us if we would cooperate, and I said absolutely yes. I believe in their mission. I believe in cooperation with our federal law enforcement professionals, and I thought it would make us safer in Nassau County,” he said. “I thought it was the right thing to do, and the fact of the matter is, I’m just very grateful that President Trump is now allowing ICE to do their job, and I think that’s very, very important because it’s going to keep us all a lot safer.” He explained that until now the state’s migrant sanctuary policies have made it difficult for police and ICE to enforce federal immigration law and get dangerous criminal migrants off the streets. Meanwhile, other leaders in the state, such as New York Attorney General Letitita James, a Democrat, have threatened law enforcement with legal action if they assist with ICE removal operations. SANCTUARY CITIES THAT REFUSE ICE REMOVAL REQUESTS COULD BE PUNISHED UNDER STATE, FEDERAL LEGISLATION “We’ve had a 5-year-old girl who was raped by an illegal migrant. I mean, how disgusting is that? We’ve had fentanyl come in from illegal migrants south of the border with amounts that could kill our whole population,” he said. “Well, now, those individuals who are involved in that type of activity will either be permanently detained or they will be deported …. So, it’ll be a safer community.” CLICK HERE FOR MORE IMMIGRATION COVERAGE “I can’t speak for any of the state officials up in Albany. They’ve promulgated bizarre laws that give criminals more rights than victims. You just have to scratch your head and say to yourself, why are they always sticking up for criminals? When are they going to start sticking up for victims?” he asked. “All I can say is here in Nassau County, we’re going to follow the federal law.” Blakeman clarified that Nassau County officers will not be conducting immigration enforcement raids with ICE, but rather working in tandem with the agency to facilitate the smooth transfer of illegals for deportation. CHILEAN MIGRANT GANGS TERRORIZE AMERICANS WITH HOME INVASIONS: WHAT TO KNOW “This is for targeted criminals who are here illegally in America. So basically, what would happen is, let’s say a police officer arrests somebody for committing a crime in Nassau County. They would then do a background check. They would check the records of ICE. It would be determined that they were here illegally and then we would notify ICE and ICE would come and pick them up.” Blakeman said that as far as he is concerned, the partnership with ICE and federal authorities will remain in place for “as long as it’s necessary.” “After Joe Biden was elected president, Joe Biden’s directive was that ICE should not be enforcing the law, that basically individuals that were illegal migrants who committed crimes should be treated like citizens. And ICE was paralyzed,” he said. “Now, under President Trump, they are enforcing the laws that are already on the books, and we are going to assist them in enforcing the law because it will mean that we’ll have a safer county.”
Johnson says Trump’s Gaza takeover proposal could be ‘bold step’ in restoring peace
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., called President Donald Trump‘s proposal to “take over” Gaza a “bold step” toward restoring peace in the region. “Of course, the initial announcement yesterday, I think, was greeted with surprise by many, but cheered by, I think, people all around the world,” Johnson said during his weekly press conference on Wednesday. “Why? Because that area is so dangerous, and he’s taking bold, decisive action to try to ensure the peace of that region.” SCOOP: KEY CONSERVATIVE CAUCUS DRAWS RED LINE ON HOUSE BUDGET PLAN Johnson also noted that conditions in Gaza needed to change in order to avoid another attack similar to Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas militants invaded southern Israel and killed more than 1,000 people. He stopped short of fully endorsing the action, however, and was later pressed again on whether he believed the U.S. should take control of Gaza. “This is a bold, a decisive move. And I think you have to do something to eradicate the threat to Israel. Here’s the problem – if you leave Gaza in its current form, there’s always a risk of another Oct. 7. There’s always a risk of proxies of Iran, all these terrorist organizations whose stated, openly stated goal is to eliminate Israel as a state,” Johnson said. “So it just makes sense to make the neighborhood there safer. I think that’s logical. I think it follows common sense.” Trump told reporters, “The U.S. will take over the Gaza Strip,” during a press conference alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday. “We’ll own it and be responsible for dismantling all the dangerous unexplored bombs and other weapons on the site,” he said. GOP LAWMAKER CALLS FOR CONGRESSIONAL HEARING OVER DC PLANE CRASH Trump said it would “create economic development that would supply unlimited numbers of jobs” and the U.S. would turn the war-torn region into the “Riviera of the Middle East.” Johnson said he would discuss the matter during his own meeting with Netanyahu on Thursday.
Second federal judge blocks Trump birthright citizenship order
A second federal judge moved to block President Donald Trump’s executive order ending birthright citizenship on Wednesday, with the judge saying no court has yet sided with the administration on the issue. U.S. District Judge Deborah Boardman, an appointee of President Joe Biden, noted a prior ruling that had paused the implementation of Trump’s order. Boardman argued that citizenship is a “national concern that demands a uniform policy.” The prior ruling only paused implementation of Trump’s order for 14 days, however, while Boardman’s ruling will last through appeal. “Citizenship is a most precious right, expressly granted by the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution,” she wrote in her ruling. The decision comes more than a week after U.S. District Judge John Coughenour, a Ronald Reagan appointee, also blocked the executive order following a lawsuit by four U.S. states — Arizona, Illinois, Oregon and Washington. Coughenour called Trump’s order “blatantly unconstitutional.” TRUMP DHS REPEALS KEY MAYORKAS MEMO LIMITING ICE AGENTS, ORDERS PAROLE REVIEW Coughenour said during his Jan. 23 ruling that the executive order banning birthright citizenship “boggles the mind,” and told the court he could not remember in his more than 40 years on the bench seeing a case so “blatantly unconstitutional.” Trump’s order seeks to clarify the 14th Amendment, which states: “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.” TRUMP ADMIN HITS BACK AS ACLU LAUNCHES LAWSUIT ON BIRTHRIGHT CITIZENSHIP: ‘READY TO FACE THEM’ It clarifies that those born to illegal immigrant parents, or those who were here legally but on temporary nonimmigrant visas, are not citizens by birthright. States who have challenged the law have argued that the 14th Amendment does in fact guarantee citizenship to persons born on U.S. soil and naturalized in the U.S. Republican attorneys general from 18 states pushed back this week against lawsuits filed by Democrat AGs and legal groups nationwide challenging the citizenship order. TRUMP’S HOUSE GOP ALLIES PUSH BIRTHRIGHT CITIZENSHIP BILL AFTER PROGRESSIVE FURY AT PRESIDENTIAL ORDER “If someone comes on a tourist visa to have an anchor baby, they are not under that original meaning of the United States Constitution,” Iowa AG Brenna Bird told Fox News Digital in an interview Monday. Bird is the lead AG leading an amicus brief filing in support of the executive order on Monday. “Oftentimes, when this has happened, it’s the taxpayers that are paying for the healthcare through Medicaid or through hospitals, paying for care for someone to have a child, or the state child health insurance system as well,” Bird said. “Each state has a system that helps kids without insurance, and so the taxpayers are on the hook here for all the costs.” Fox News’ Breanne Deppisch contributed to this report.
Bondi sworn in as attorney general with mission to end ‘weaponization’ of Justice Department
U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi was sworn in to lead the Justice Department on Wednesday, where the nation’s newly minted top prosecutor is expected to spend her first days dealing with a firestorm of reassignments, lawsuits and resignations from senior law enforcement officials, despite early efforts to urge calm and head off any fears of politicization. Bondi was sworn in at the Oval Office Wednesday by Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, in front of an audience packed with her friends and family. President Donald Trump, for his part, praised Bondi after the ceremony as “unbelievably fair and unbelievably good,” and someone who he said will “restore fair and impartial justice” at the department. “I know I’m supposed to say, ‘She’s going to be totally impartial with respect to Democrats,’” Trump told reporters, “and I think she will be as impartial as a person can be.” FBI AGENTS GROUP TELLS CONGRESS TO TAKE URGENT ACTION TO PROTECT AGAINST POLITICIZATION Bondi’s nomination had earned praise both from Republicans and some Democrats for her composure and her ability to deftly navigate thorny and politically tricky topics and lines of questioning from some would-be detractors – putting her on a glide path to confirmation in the Republican-majority chamber. Her nomination had also earned the praise of more than 110 former senior Justice Department officials, including former attorneys general and dozens of Democratic and Republican state attorneys general, who praised her experience and work across party and state lines. Still, her swearing-in comes at a politically charged time for law enforcement agency. Just hours earlier, two groups of FBI agents filed separate lawsuits Tuesday seeking to block any public identification of employees who worked on Jan. 6 investigations, after the bureau complied with a request from Acting U.S. Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove to obtain information from thousands of agents, or their supervisors, detailing their role in the sprawling investigation. FBI AGENTS DETAIL J6 ROLE IN EXHAUSTIVE QUESTIONNAIRE EMPLOYEES ‘WERE INSTRUCTED TO FILL OUT’ Questions ranged from agents’ participation in any grand jury subpoenas, whether the agents worked or responded to leads from another FBI field office, or if they worked as a case agent for investigations. The plaintiffs said any effort to review or discriminate against FBI employees involved in the Jan. 6 investigations would be “unlawful and retaliatory,” and a violation of civil service protections under federal law. Bondi, a former Florida prosecutor and state attorney general, vowed repeatedly in her confirmation hearing last month to head up a Justice Department free from political influence or weaponization. If confirmed, she told lawmakers last month, the “partisanship, the weaponization” at the Justice Department “will be gone.” “America will have one tier of justice for all,” she said. Still, her work will be cut out for her. TRUMP’S ULTIMATUM TO FEDERAL WORKERS: RETURN TO OFFICE ‘OR BE TERMINATED’ Earlier Wednesday, a senior FBI official also emailed employees at the bureau seeking to head off concerns that they could be terminated or discriminated against in response to their role in the investigation. “Let me be clear: No FBI employee who simply followed orders and carried out their duties in an ethical manner with respect to January 6 investigations is at risk of termination or other penalties,” this person said in an email shared across the FBI, and confirmed to Fox News. Trump declined to answer questions earlier this week over whether his administration would remove FBI employees involved in the investigation into the Jan. 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol riot, telling reporters only that he believes the bureau is “corrupt” and that his nominee for FBI director, Kash Patel, will “straighten it out.” And former Justice Department officials have cited concerns that the actions could have an incredibly chilling effect on the work of the FBI, including its more than 52 separate field offices, whose agents have decades of experience in detecting and responding to counterterrorism threats, organized and violent crime, drug trafficking, and more. But one retired FBI agent urged calm, noting to Fox News that the acting director and deputy director of the FBI still remain in place. This person also stressed that the Jan. 6 investigation and the FBI personnel involved in investigating each case “fully followed Bureau and DOJ guidelines,” and that violations of federal statutes were “proven beyond a reasonable doubt in federal courts of law.”
Abbott meeting with Trump at White House to discuss border issues
The governor has requested the federal government reimburse Texas for his border hardening measures under Operation Lone Star.
Texas Senate to debate school voucher program
Senate Bill 2 would create state-managed education savings accounts that let families use public funds to subsidize private school tuition. Opponents question whether the bill would help low-income families.
Dems’ ‘delay tactic’ to ‘malign’ Patel and stall FBI confirmation dismissed as ‘baseless’ by top Senate leader
The head of the Senate Judiciary Committee slammed Democrats on the panel this week for their attempts to schedule a second confirmation hearing for President Donald Trump‘s FBI director nominee, Kash Patel, describing the effort Tuesday night as a “delay tactic” designed to stall Patel from taking the reins of the sprawling law enforcement agency. In a letter Tuesday night, Grassley criticized what he described as the “baseless” attempt by Sen. Dick Durbin and other Democrats on the panel to push for a second hearing, noting that Patel testified for more than five hours before the committee and disclosed to the panel “thousands of pages” of records, as well as nearly 150 pages of responses to lawmakers’ written questions. “No one was convinced by the minority’s baseless efforts to mischaracterize and malign Kash Patel,” Grassley said. “It’s additionally outrageous to assert that a nominee should come before the Senate to answer for government actions that occurred prior to their time at an agency.” FBI AGENTS GROUP TELLS CONGRESS TO TAKE URGENT ACTION TO PROTECT AGAINST POLITICIZATION “Further hearings on his nomination are unnecessary,” Grassley concluded. He said the committee still intends to vote on Patel’s confirmation as FBI director as early as next week. Grassley’s remarks – and his unrelenting support for Trump’s FBI director nominee – come after the Senate Judiciary Committee’s ranking Democrat, Dick Durbin of Illinois, urged Grassley to delay Patel’s confirmation vote Tuesday, citing what he described as “apparent falsehoods” in Patel’s testimony last week, as well as the “recent removals and reassignments of FBI career civil servants.” The letter, signed by all 10 Democrats on the panel, urged Grassley to delay Patel’s confirmation vote until Patel agreed to testify for a second time under oath about the recent removals and reassignments of FBI civil servants; and until DOJ agrees to provide the panel with volume two of former special counsel Jack Smith’s final report that refers or pertains to Patel’s testimony or actions, among other things. SENATE CONFIRMS PAM BONDI AS US ATTORNEY GENERAL “Given the gravity of these matters, which bear directly on Mr. Patel’s integrity, his suitability to lead the nation’s premier law enforcement agency, and his regard for safeguarding classified information, we ask that the Chairman schedule an additional hearing for Mr. Patel to explain these matters in person,” the Democrats said. FBI AGENTS SUE TRUMP DOJ TO BLOCK ANY PUBLIC IDENTIFICATION OF EMPLOYEES WHO WORKED ON JAN. 6 INVESTIGATIONS The letter – and Grassley’s swift dismissal of the effort – comes amid two new lawsuits from anonymous FBI agents that were filed separately this week. Both lawsuits sought to block any public identification of FBI employees who were involved in the Jan. 6 investigations into the U.S. Capitol riots after a list of agents involved and their roles was shared with DOJ leadership Tuesday afternoon in keeping with an earlier request from acting U.S. deputy attorney general, Emil Bove. Both groups of FBI agents asked the court for emergency injunctive relief to block the names or identities of FBI agents involved in the Jan. 6 investigations from being shared, citing concerns that the probe or any retaliatory measures carried out as a result could have a chilling effect on the work of the FBI or spark retaliatory efforts inside the bureau. Lawyers for the Federal Bureau of Investigation Agent’s Association, a voluntary professional association representing more than 14,000 active and retired FBI special agents, told reporters Tuesday night that they see the Jan. 6 request as a “prelude” to potential adverse action or mass layoffs in the bureau, citing fears that agents name could be subject to threats, harassment or targeting either by the public or inside the bureau. To date, there are no known plans to conduct sweeping removals or take punitive action against the agents involved. One retired FBI agent also urged calm, noting to Fox News in an interview that the acting director and deputy director of the FBI still remain in place. This person also stressed that the Jan. 6 investigation and the FBI personnel involved in investigating each case “fully followed Bureau and DOJ guidelines,” and that violations of federal statutes were “proven beyond a reasonable doubt in federal courts of law.”
JD Vance’s half-brother announces Cincinnati mayoral campaign
Vice President JD Vance’s half-brother, Cory Bowman, announced that he is running for mayor of Cincinnati. Bowman, a pastor, coffee shop owner and registered Republican, revealed his candidacy in an interview published Tuesday by The Cincinnati Enquirer. The last Republican to run for mayor of Cincinnati was Brad Wenstrup in 2009. Wenstrup later successfully ran for a U.S. House seat. Cincinnati has been run by an all-Democrat, nine-member council since Republican Liz Keating was voted out in 2023. VP VANCE DOUBLES DOWN ON WH’S ‘AMBITIOUS’ GOAL TO GET CRIMINAL MIGRANTS OFF THE STREETS: ‘POLICY MATTERS’ Eight people have filed petitions to run for mayor of Cincinnati, the newspaper reported. The deadline to submit the required 500 signatures to be on the ballot is Feb. 20. None of the petitioners have met that requirement yet, including the current, first-term Mayor Aftab Pureval, a Democrat. Pureval told the newspaper he is running for re-election and has started hosting fundraisers. As the Trump administration continues its crackdown on criminal illegal immigrants, Pureval notably said Cincinnati would not cooperate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, WXIX reported. The mayoral contest is a non-partisan field race. The two top voter recipients advance to a general election. There is no primary if fewer than three candidates qualify to run. Bowman said he spoke to Vance in the “initial stages” of considering running for mayor, describing Vance as his inspiration and adding that the two have a friendly sibling rivalry. “I don’t necessarily speak for my brother because he speaks pretty well for himself. And he’s doing well,” Bowman told The Enquirer. “I will say that he’s an incredible role model of mine.” Bowman grew up in Butler and Preble counties, and he and his wife moved back to Cincinnati in 2020, when they founded The River Church in the West End neighborhood. JD VANCE CONDEMNS FEMA’S RESPONSE TO HELENE DEVASTATION IN 1ST TRIP AS VICE PRESIDENT Having been pastor of a nondenominational Christian church for four years, Bowman told the Enquirer he considered running for local office as a way of giving back, an interest that was further ignited by attending President Donald Trump and Vance’s inauguration in Washington, D.C., last month. “There’s nobody that cheered louder when he was getting sworn in than me, because he’s my brother,” Bowman said of Vance. Vance and Bowman share the same father, Donald Bowman, who died in 2023. He was the second husband of Vance’s mother, Beverly Aikins. Donald Bowman put Vance up for adoption when the now vice president was in kindergarten. In his memoir, “Hillbilly Elegy,” Vance describes reconnecting with his father and his half siblings, including Cory, as a teenager. Vance also describes living with his father at their family farm house in Preble County, contrasting that experience to growing up with his mother, who had battled addiction. “It was a great childhood,” Cory Bowman told The Enquirer of his life on the farm. “We learned those foundations as kids. But there was always something about the city that enticed me.” Vance’s mother changed his name from James Donald Bowman to James David Hamel when she remarried. He later took his grandfather’s last name, Vance. Bowman also owns the Kings Arms Coffee in the West End of Cincinnati. “My heart fell in love with it,” he said of the neighborhood. He resides in the College Hill neighborhood of Cincinnati. Vance has not yet weighed in on his half-brother’s campaign announcement. Bowman attended the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee in July, when Vance was announced as Trump’s running mate. He said he observed many new Republicans, though he was not one of them. “Half of those people [who were in attendance] wouldn’t have been caught dead in that room eight years ago,” Bowman said. “It wasn’t just established Republicans, it was more so people wanting a change.”
Top DOJ official says FBI employees who ‘simply followed orders’ on Jan 6 investigations won’t be fired
FBI employees who “simply followed orders” with respect to their investigations into Jan. 6 defendants will not be fired or face any other penalties, Acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove confirmed in an internal memo. Bove’s memo this week accused Acting FBI Director Brian Driscoll of refusing to reply to requests from President Donald Trump’s administration to identify “the core team in Washington, D.C. responsible for the investigation relating to events on January 6, 2021.” “That insubordination necessitated, among other things, the directive in my January 31, 2025 memo to identify all agents assigned to investigations relating to January 6, 2021. In light of acting leadership’s refusal to comply with the narrower request, the written directive was intended to obtain a complete data set that the Justice Department can reliably pare down to the core team that will be the focus of the weaponization review pursuant to the Executive Order,” Bove wrote. “Let me be clear: No FBI employee who simply followed orders and carried out their duties in an ethical manner with respect to January 6 investigations is at risk of termination or other penalties,” Bove continued. “The only individuals who should be concerned about the process initiated by my January 31, 2025 memo are those who acted with corrupt or partisan intent, who blatantly defied orders from Department leadership, or who exercised discretion in weaponizing the FBI.” FBI AGENTS GROUP TELLS CONGRESS TO TAKE URGENT ACTION TO PROTECT AGAINST POLITICIZATION “There is no honor in the ongoing efforts to distort that simple truth or protect culpable actors from scrutiny on these issues, which have politicized the Bureau, harmed its credibility, and distracted the public from the excellent work being done every day. If you have witnessed such behavior, I encourage you to report it through appropriate channels,” he added. Bove’s latest memo comes after a group of nine FBI agents filed a lawsuit Tuesday seeking to block the public identification of any FBI employees who worked on the Jan. 6 investigations. FBI AGENTS GROUP TELLS CONGRESS TO TAKE URGENT ACTION TO PROTECT AGAINST POLITICIZATION The plaintiffs, who filed the lawsuit anonymously in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, said that any effort to review or discriminate against FBI employees involved in the Jan. 6 investigations would be “unlawful and retaliatory,” and a violation of civil service protections under federal law. The lawsuit cited the questionnaire employees were required to fill out detailing their specific role in the Jan. 6 investigation and Mar-a-Lago investigation led by former Special Counsel Jack Smith. AFTER STINGING ELECTION DEFEATS, DNC EYES RURAL VOTERS AS KEY TO 2026 MIDTERM SUCCESS President Donald Trump declined to answer questions on Monday over whether his administration would remove FBI employees involved in the investigation into the Jan. 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol riot, telling reporters only that he believes the bureau is “corrupt” and that his nominee for FBI director, Kash Patel, will “straighten it out.” Fox News’ Breanne Deppisch contributed to this report