Fox News Politics Newsletter: House Dems drop Epstein images before release deadline
Welcome to the Fox News Politics newsletter, with the latest updates on the Trump administration, Capitol Hill and more Fox News politics content. Here’s what’s happening… -Magnitude ‘cannot be overstated’: feds say Minnesota fraud may be half of $18B total –Democratic National Committee flip flops, pulls plug on its 2024 election ‘autopsy’ -HHS unleashes sweeping crackdown on child ‘sex-rejecting procedures,’ threatens hospital, Medicaid funding Democrats on the House Oversight Committee released 68 more photos related to late pedophile Jeffrey Epstein as the committee continues to work through tens of thousands of files the Department of Justice (DOJ) has made available to lawmakers in collaboration with their investigation into Epstein’s crimes. “Oversight Democrats will continue to release photographs and documents from the Epstein estate to provide transparency for the American people,” ranking member Robert Garcia, D-Calif., said in a press release. Like a previous set of images released last week, the new photos have a mix of locations, images of Epstein in meetings and images of women with faces redacted by the committee…READ MORE. DOWN WITH DEI: Federal watchdog urges White men to report possible workplace discrimination; Vance boosts message REBRAND: Board votes Kennedy Center to be renamed Trump-Kennedy Center, Leavitt says BIRTHDAY BASH: Trump launches massive ‘Freedom 250’ push to ignite America’s 250th birthday celebration ‘THANK YOU’: Dan Bongino replies to Kash Patel’s praise following departure announcement: ‘honor of a lifetime’ NEW WEED RULES: Trump signs order to reclassify marijuana a less dangerous drug amid GOP backlash $11B FIREPOWER: Trump admin announces $11B Taiwan arms sales deal SAY HER NAME: Mom praises House for passing key immigration bill, bashes Crockett for dismissing daughter’s murder DUELING PRIORITIES: GOP, Democrats clash on Capitol Hill as Republicans target cartels and Dems push to curb ICE partnerships TRUTH OR CONSEQUENCE: DOJ faces Friday deadline to release Epstein files as lawmakers push for transparency POT POLICY: House Republicans demand Trump reverse course after ‘strongly considering’ marijuana executive order TAFOYA TILT: Once a Super Bowl sideline star, Tafoya now at the center of GOP’s bold play for Minnesota Senate seat MISSION CONTINUES: Turning Point USA holds AmericaFest conference following Charlie Kirk assassination Get the latest updates on the Trump administration and Congress, exclusive interviews and more on FoxNews.com.
Home for the holidays on the Hill: ‘Fighting’ in the House Republican ‘family’
Many families fight around Christmastime. House Republicans are no exception. You’ve been at the dinner table about to enjoy a slab of pumpkin pie when Uncle Somebody or Cousin Someone enters the dining room on a bender, thanks to Santa dropping a little too much bourbon in their Christmas stockings. You know what happens next. THE HITCHHIKER’S GUIDE TO WHERE WE STAND WITH A HEALTHCARE PACKAGE: CHRISTMAS OR GROUNDHOG DAY? “Fighting” inside the House Republican “family” didn’t go like that this year. But some Republicans are frustrated with how things have gone lately. There is particular frustration with the party’s efforts to address healthcare but also about whether House Republicans “wasted” their majority when House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., recessed the body for nearly two months during the government shutdown. Here’s the latest intrafamily fight: The decision by four House Republicans to bolt from their party and align with Democrats in their effort to renew expiring Obamacare subsidies for three years. Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa.; Rob Bresnahan, R-Pa.; Ryan Mackenzie, R-Pa.; and Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., are all centrist GOPers representing battleground districts. The quartet hoped the House Rules Committee would make in order one of four plans they supported to temporarily renew expiring Obamacare credits. But the panel blocked them from offering their legislation on the House floor. “I tried very hard over the last several weeks and even through the weekend and as late as yesterday trying to engineer a way for them to have a vote on the floor so they could show that priority,” said Johnson. “But it was not to be.” The term you’ll hear a lot over the coming weeks is “discharge petition.” Discharge petitions are a parliamentary artifice for lawmakers to go around the speaker and deposit their bill on the floor — if the leadership won’t do it for them. The gambit was rarely successful for two decades. But there have been multiple successful discharge petitions since Johnson became speaker in the fall of 2023. A discharge petition requires 218 signatures before it forces House action. It’s about the math — 218 is the majority of all 435 House members. And 218 is the magic number, regardless of the current House membership. For instance, the House is presently at 434 members with one vacancy — 218 is still the number. Once it has the signatures, the discharge petition only ripens after seven legislative days. Moderate Republicans defected from their party on Wednesday. “We were really left with no choice,” Lawler said after signing on to the Democrats’ discharge petition to greenlight the subsidies for three years. The GOP brass rationalized. “I have not lost control of the House,” said Johnson. “These are not normal times.” THE SPEAKER’S LOBBY: WHAT CONGRESS’ DECEMBER SCRIPT MEANS FOR HEALTHCARE NEXT YEAR Democrats seized on the Republican infighting. “It shows that the demand by the American people for Congress, the House and the Senate to extend the ACA and premium tax credits is undeniable,” said Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. The “Fed-up Foursome” believed they had no alternative. Even if that meant signing the Democratic discharge petition. “We exhausted every effort to find an agreement within our conference,” said Lawler. “If they don’t want that to pass, then they should be working to find an alternative vehicle now.” And that’s where the family feuding began. Rep. Eric Burlison, R-Mo., accused the four of “betraying the party” by sidling up to the Democrats’ plan and bypassing Johnson. Burlison questioned why moderate Republicans got to “drive the agenda.” He added that those centrist policies don’t resonate in his conservative Missouri district. However, Republicans wouldn’t wield the House majority at all were it not for moderate GOPers holding swing districts. In particular, districts in New York and Pennsylvania. Rep. Nick LaLota, R-N.Y., crafted a plan to block the premium hikes. Rather than a subsidy, people would receive a tax deduction. The Rules Committee blocked LaLota’s effort. He didn’t sign onto the Democrats’ discharge petition. But the New York Republican appreciated the effort of his four GOP colleagues. “Three years is probably better than nothing. But, again, it always solves the short-term issue of short-term affordability,” said LaLota. FOUR REPUBLICANS BUCK MIKE JOHNSON TO JOIN HAKEEM JEFFRIES’ OBAMACARE PUSH But many conservatives balk at any extension. “We’re not interested in perpetuating a failed Obamacare that’s just made costs skyrocket,” said House Budget Committee Chairman Jodey Arrington, R-Texas. However, what most House Republicans were interested in was passing a bill allowing groups of people to pool resources and purchase health insurance as a group. Republicans argued that so-called “association” plans could defray premium costs. The Congressional Budget Office declared that the bill saved $36 billion but noted that 100,000 people would lose insurance via this method over the next decade. The bill didn’t address premium spikes. So, Democrats skewered the Republican bill as a fig leaf before it passed on Wednesday. “Instead of a fix, we get a stupid, pathetic, last-minute bill designed to let Republicans cover their ass before they flee town for the holidays,” said Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass., the top Democrat on the Rules Committee. Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, voted for the Republican association healthcare bill. But Roy believed it was weak tea from a party that promised big things. Roy suggested Republicans only passed the bill to stave off political attacks ahead of the midterms that they weren’t addressing healthcare costs. “Republicans will complain about it, and then they’ll offer milquetoast garbage like we’re offering this week and then go home at Christmas and say, ‘Look at what we’re doing! We’re campaigning on reducing healthcare!’ Well, congratulatufrigginlations,” Roy fumed. Rep. Kevin Kiley, R-Calif., has expressed displeasure with how Republican leaders handled the government shutdown. Like Roy, Kiley voted for the GOP healthcare legislation Wednesday night. But Kiley has reservations. “The bill does not address the immediate urgent problem in front of us, which is that 22 million people are about to pay a lot more for health
California Democratic candidate uses wrong photo for Rep Jasmine Crockett’s congressional endorsement
A campaign website for a California Democratic congressional candidate mistakenly promoted an endorsement from U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett using a photo of a different Black woman instead of the Texas Democrat. The website for Esther Kim Varet removed the image Thursday afternoon after Fox News Digital inquired about the error. “Racist. Arrogant. Totally out of touch. Good thing @estherkimvaret’s hate-filled, bigoted self isn’t getting anywhere near Congress,” Christian Martinez, national Hispanic press secretary for the National Republican Congressional Committee, wrote on X. JASMINE CROCKETT SAYS THE SENATE NEEDS TO IMPOSE ‘ETHICAL GUIDELINES’ ON SUPREME COURT Varet, owner of Various Small Fires, a chain of art galleries in Los Angeles, Dallas and Seoul, is running to unseat Rep. Young Kim, a Republican representing California’s 40th Congressional District, which includes portions of Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino counties. Varet, the child of Korean immigrants, called Kim, who was born in South Korea, an “ESL puppet” in a social media post criticizing the Trump administration’s immigration policies. “My story is not unique. It’s the story of so many Korean Americans and immigrants across the country who are proud Americans and are making our communities better every day. I’m proud of my accent and will keep using my voice to protect the American dream for future generations,” Kim previously told Fox News Digital. Fox News Digital has reached out to Varet’s campaign and to Crockett’s office. JASMINE CROCKETT WALKS BACK CLAIM HISPANIC TRUMP VOTERS HAVE ‘SLAVE MENTALITY’ In August, the NRCC called Varet “unhinged” after she criticized Kim’s English-speaking skills. She also allegedly targeted Martinez personally, telling him to “prove that you’re a REAL Latino,” the group said. Kim is also facing a Republican primary challenge from Rep. Ken Calvert, and the two will compete for the reconfigured district. The district lines were changed after voters approved a statewide redistricting measure in November aimed at creating additional Democratic-leaning congressional seats. The move came in response to a new map in Texas designed to establish several more Republican-leaning districts.
Once a Super Bowl sideline star, Tafoya now at the center of GOP’s bold play for Minnesota Senate seat
The chair of the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) is eyeing blue-leaning Minnesota as he aims to not only defend but expand the GOP’s current 53-47 Senate majority in next year’s midterms — and the party is gearing up for a bold play with help from a former sports broadcaster. “We’re excited about expanding our map and Minnesota is one of the target states that we’re looking at,” NRSC chair Sen. Tim Scott highlighted in a Fox News Digital interview this week. Scott’s comments come as former professional football sideline reporter turned political activist and commentator Michele Tafoya inches closer to launching a 2026 Republican Senate campaign. DEMOCRATIC SEN. TINA SMITH ANNOUNCES SHE WON’T SEEK RE-ELECTION IN 2026 It’s been nearly a quarter-century since Republicans last won a Senate election in Minnesota. You’ve got to go back to then-GOP Sen. Norm Coleman’s 2002 re-election. But President Donald Trump narrowed the margins in the state last year, losing Minnesota by less than four-and-a-half points in his White House re-election. THE GOP’S TAKE ON HIGH-PROFILE SENATE DEMOCRATIC PRIMARIES: ‘THEY’RE IN SHAMBLES’ “We see real reasons to be optimistic. President Trump was very close in Minnesota. It’s a four-point race. We know with the right candidate, we will be successful,” Scott emphasized. Tafoya might be that candidate. She met last week with the NRSC, which has been recruiting her to jump into the race, sources confirmed to Fox News Digital. And as first reported by OutKick, Tafoya is expected to make a final decision early next year on whether to launch a Senate campaign. Apparently pointing to Tafoya, Scott suggested Republicans are likely to land “a strong candidate in the race,” and teased “wait and see” for “better news.” Tafoya, a longtime NFL sideline reporter and announcer, gave up her career at NBC Sports in 2022 as she became more politically active, saying at the time that she wanted to pursue other opportunities. She served as co-chair of 2022 Republican gubernatorial nominee Kendall Qualls’ unsuccessful campaign against Democratic Gov. Tim Walz. Since then, Tafoya has become a vocal critic of Walz and far-left Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar and has slammed both of them over Minnesota’s ongoing fraud scandal. “Dear @Tim_Walz — please deal with the horrendous fraud you allowed in Minnesota before anything else. Please. Our money was stolen,” Tafoya wrote last week in a social media post. If she announces her candidacy, Tafoya would join a crowded GOP Senate primary field that already includes 2024 Senate nominee Royce White, a former NBA basketball player; retired U.S. Navy officer Tom Weiler, a 2022 GOP congressional nominee; and former Navy SEAL Adam Schwarze. Minnesota Lt. Gov. Peggy Flannagan, a progressive, is facing off against more moderate Democratic Rep. Angie Craig, who appears to have the backing of Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and the party’s establishment, in the race for the Democrats’ nomination. Three top nonpartisan political handicappers, the Cook Political Report, Inside Elections, and Sabato’s Crystal Ball, currently each rate the race in Minnesota as “Likely” Democrat. Fox News Digital reached out to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee for a response to Scott’s comments, but didn’t receive a reply at the time this story was posted.
House Republicans demand Trump reverse course after ‘strongly considering’ marijuana executive order
FIRST ON FOX: A group of House Republicans is urging President Donald Trump against an expected move to reclassify marijuana as a less dangerous drug. Rep. Pete Sessions, R-Texas, and House Freedom Caucus Chairman Andy Harris, R-Md., are leading 24 other GOP lawmakers in a letter to Trump, urging him to keep marijuana a Schedule I drug under Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) regulations. “We write to urge you to oppose rescheduling marijuana, a harmful drug that is worsening our nation’s addiction crisis,” the letter said. “Reclassifying marijuana as a Schedule III drug will send the wrong message to America’s children, enable drug cartels, and make our roads more dangerous.” The letter has support from a wide cross-section of the House GOP that includes moderates, House Freedom Caucus members and mainstream Republican lawmakers. TRUMP ADMIN DEBUTS ‘FENTANYL FREE AMERICA’ PLAN AS DEA TOUTS IMPACT OF CARIBBEAN BOAT STRIKES Marijuana is currently considered a Schedule I drug, the same classification level as heroin, ecstasy and LSD. Schedule I drugs are considered to have “no currently accepted medical use and a high potential for abuse,” according to the DEA website. The president said as recently as Monday that he is weighing downgrading marijuana to Schedule III, alongside Tylenol and anabolic steroids, which are considered “drugs with a moderate to low potential for physical and psychological dependence.” “We are considering that. A lot of people want to see it, the reclassification, because it leads to tremendous amounts of research that can’t be done unless you reclassify,” Trump said in the Oval Office this week. “So we are looking at that very strongly.” Similar plans under the Biden administration, based on a recommendation from former President Joe Biden’s Health and Human Services Department (HHS), were paused in January. MARIJUANA IS NOT HARMLESS. THE OPPOSITE IS TRUE AND THE EVIDENCE KEEPS GROWING “The Biden administration rescheduling decision was wrong. Rather than following the science, the Biden White House tried to expand the use of an addictive drug for partisan gain,” the House Republicans said. “Contrary to the marijuana industry’s assertion that rescheduling will result in more research, the U.S. has already conducted research for decades on this drug. Congress even passed a bipartisan law to expand marijuana research while keeping the drug in Schedule I.” The lawmakers argued marijuana is “addictive” and has “no medical value.” MIKE TYSON, KEVIN DURANT, OTHER SPORTS STARS URGE TRUMP TO ENACT CANNABIS REFORM IN WHITE HOUSE LETTER “According to a recently published fifteen-year review of medical research, marijuana has no real medical value, and 30% of medical marijuana users have an addiction to the drug,” they wrote. “Rescheduling tells our youth that marijuana use is acceptable and safe, a dangerous falsehood that will sink us deeper into our country’s drug crisis.” The most common use for medical marijuana in the U.S. is pain control, according to a 2020 report by Harvard Health, while being less addictive than opioid drugs used for the same reasons. It’s also used to manage nausea, while some veterans groups like the American Legion have pushed for more research into its effects on PTSD. Rescheduling marijuana does not automatically legalize it, but it would open more lanes for research and certain business operations involving the drug. But the House Republicans argued that it would also provide a boon to Chinese government-linked cartels “that operate thousands of marijuana farms nationwide” and will “make our roads more dangerous.” “Under Schedule III, pilots, truck drivers, and other safety-sensitive professions will not be tested for marijuana. Marijuana is already imperiling safety: over 40% of fatal car crashes today involve THC. Rescheduling will exponentially worsen this crisis,” they wrote. “Rescheduling marijuana will not make America great. You have always been a role model for America’s youth, telling young people for years that they should never do drugs. We hope that you consider the harms of marijuana rescheduling and continue sending that strong message of hope to the next generation.”
HHS unleashes sweeping crackdown on child ‘sex-rejecting procedures,’ threatens hospital, Medicaid funding
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced a sweeping package of proposed regulatory actions Thursday to end “sex-rejecting procedures” on minors as part of President Donald Trump‘s January executive order calling on the department to protect children from “chemical and surgical mutilation.” “Today, we are taking six decisive actions guided by gold standard science and the week one executive order from President Trump to protect children from chemical and surgical mutilation,” HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said during a press conference Thursday afternoon announcing the proposed actions. HHS is rolling out a series of policy updates and regulatory actions that effectively would defund hospitals that provide gender transition procedures, according to an HHS official. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services rolled out policy proposals that would bar hospitals from carrying out performing puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones and certain surgeries on patients under 18 as a “condition of participation in Medicare and Medicaid programs.” The majority of U.S. hospitals participate in Medicare and Medicaid, according to HHS. MAJOR CALIFORNIA HEALTH SYSTEM ENDING TRANSGENDER PROCEDURES FOR MINORS ACROSS ITS NETWORK Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services released another proposed rule that would block federal Medicaid funding for procedures aimed at altering the sex of a child under the age of 18, which HHS said also will apply to federal funding to the Children’s Health Insurance Program for the same procedures on individuals under the age of 19. Collectively, according to the HHS official, the actions would ensure no federal funds directly support gender transition procedures on children. “On my watch, HHS will stand for radical transparency and informed consent. We follow the evidence. We employ gold standard science. We honor the moral obligation to do no harm. There is divine worth in every person. It shines most brightly in our children that was commanded us to protect them,” said Kennedy. The announcement comes after HHS released peer-reviewed report in November that found medical procedures to alter a child’s biological sex pose serious long-term dangers to children. The report was released through the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health and found that operations working to reject a child’s biological sex — including the use of puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones and surgical operations — “are significant, long term, and too often ignored or inadequately tracked.” The November report was an update to HHS’ May report that reviewed the evidence and best practices for children with gender dysphoria, which was criticized by a handful of medical groups for not identifying the study’s authors and allegedly misrepresenting a medical consensus on the matter. TRUMP HHS CHANGES TRANSGENDER BIDEN OFFICIAL’S NAMEPLATE BACK TO BIRTH NAME DURING SHUTDOWN In another Thursday crackdown, Kennedy signed a declaration that such procedures on children do not meet professional medical standards, based on the study, which warns “practitioners who perform sex-rejecting procedures on minors would be deemed out of compliance with those standards.” “They betrayed their Hippocratic Oath to do no harm, Kennedy said Thursday. “So-called gender-affirming care has inflicted lasting physical and psychological damage on vulnerable young people. This is not medicine. It is malpractice. We’re done with junk science driven by ideological pursuits, not the well-being of children.” The Food and Drug Administration additionally announced Thursday, as part of the crackdown on trans medical issues for minors, that it sent warning letters to 12 manufacturers and retailers behind the “illegal marketing of breast binders to children.” At the civil rights level, HHS is moving to undo a Biden-era effort to treat gender dysphoria as a disability under federal law. A newly proposed revision to Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 would clarify that the definitions of “disability” and “individual with a disability” exclude “gender dysphoria” that is not the result of a physical impairment. “The Biden-era amendment is designated gender dysphoria as a disability, serve the commercial interests of a predatory, multibillion dollar industry that betrayed the original intention of those laws engendered widespread public resentment against those laws among the American people, and discredit the statutes in the public mind,” Kennedy said during the press conference Thursday. HHS GOLD STANDARD STUDY FLIPS ‘GENDER AFFIRMING CARE’ ON ITS HEAD AS DEMS KEEP PUSHING TRANS ISSUES AT SCOTUS The announcement is expected to be met with pushback from left-wing Democrats, who have continued championing “gender-affirming care” for kids. Transgender issues became a political football toward the end of Trump’s first administration and into the Biden administration, which repeatedly declared support for the trans community and trans youth. In November, 130 Members of Congress, for example, filed an amicus brief at the Supreme Court in November for a pair of cases focused on transgender students playing on a school sports team opposite their biological sex. Supporters of medical procedures aimed at altering a child’s sex argue preventing such medical care can lead to depression and anxiety, and even suicide and must be protected. President Donald Trump repeatedly has railed against trans procedures for children as an “act of abuse” since before his reelection in 2024. The president and the Make America Healthy Commission he established earlier in 2025 have doubled down that there are only two biological sexes, including Trump signing an executive order declaring the U.S. only recognizes male and female sexes while also ending “radical and wasteful” diversity, equity and inclusion program within the government.
Texas Republicans launch ‘Sharia Free America Caucus’ aimed at defending ‘Western civilization’
FIRST ON FOX: A pair of conservative lawmakers is launching a new group in the House of Representatives to “protect Western civilization in the United States,” according to one of its founders. Reps. Keith Self, R-Texas, and Chip Roy, R-Texas, are starting the “Sharia Free America Caucus,” Fox News Digital learned first. “Anytime you go to a fight, you bring as many friends with you as you can. I’m a military guy,” Self told Fox News Digital. “So what we need to do is build this caucus now so that we can start educating the American people to the dangers of Sharia in the United States.” TRUMP MOVES AGAINST MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD AS ISLAMIST GROUP SPREADS IN WEST Self said it was “fundamentally incompatible with the U.S. Constitution.” The caucus also has support in the Senate from Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., who Self said he hoped could help push some of its legislative goals forward through both chambers. Among the bills they’re hoping to push is a ban on foreign nationals who “adhere to Sharia” from entering the U.S., and a measure that would designate the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist organization. FORMER UK PM DEFENDS TRUMP FOR HIGHLIGHTING ‘SHARIA LAW’ IN BRITAIN DURING UN SPEECH “America is facing a threat that directly attacks our Constitution and our Western values: the spread of Sharia law,” Roy said in a statement. “From Texas to every state in this constitutional republic, instances of Sharia adherents masquerading as ‘refugees’ — and in many cases, sleeper cells connected to terrorist organizations — are threatening the American way of life.” Sharia broadly refers to a code of ethics and conduct used by devout Muslims. Sharia law more specifically often refers to the criminal code used in non-secular Islamic countries, like Iran. In its most extreme cases, such as when ISIS-controlled parts of the Middle East, charges like blasphemy could carry the death penalty. But guarantees of religious freedom in the Constitution mean that Sharia law can not be carried out on any governmental level in the U.S. The Republicans’ caucus appears largely symbolic in nature, but it’s evidence of the continued culture war raging in the country. Self also pointed to countries like the U.K. and France, where growing unrest between Muslim refugees and the current populace has dominated headlines in recent years.
Turning Point USA holds AmericaFest conference following Charlie Kirk assassination
Conservatives throughout the country are set to gather in Arizona on Thursday to celebrate the life and legacy of activist Charlie Kirk at Turning Point USA’s annual AmericaFest conference. The four-day event held at the Phoenix Convention Center features big names from both the Make America Great Again and conservative movements, including Vice President JD Vance, who is expected to be the event’s keynote speaker on Sunday, and Erika Kirk, who is headlining the event. The conference comes as the organization grapples with the September assassination of Kirk, who was gunned down at a Turning Point USA event at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah. TURNING POINT USA SHARES ’31 WAYS TO LIVE LIKE CHARLIE KIRK’ TRIBUTE ON HIS BIRTHDAY “At AmericaFest 2025, we gather to honor Charlie’s legacy — to continue the mission he began and to celebrate the country he loved,” Turning Point USA wrote. ERIKA KIRK TO LAUNCH TOUR FOR LATE HUSBAND’S BOOK WITH FOX NEWS MEDIA INTERVIEWS, INCLUDING ‘HANNITY’ The event — billed as a “powerful celebration of faith, freedom, and the legacy of founder, Charlie Kirk” — provides college students throughout the country with the opportunity to hear from some of the nation’s top conservative leaders, while also meeting with over 100 organizations and receiving activism training for the next generation of leaders. AmericaFest is expected to attract over 30,000 attendees, with organizers revealing this year is set to see the biggest turnout yet. It also comes ahead of the 2026 midterm elections, with organizers looking to energize a new demographic of young voters with the hopes of strengthening the conservative base before a new flock of students heads to the polling place next year. GAVIN NEWSOM REFLECTS ON HIS INTERVIEW WITH CHARLIE KIRK, THE ‘SINCERITY’ AND ‘GRACE’ OF SLAIN CONSERVATIVE “Charlie changed the world not just by speaking, but by listening and by pointing a lost generation to faith and to eternal hope, which is in Christ,” Riley Gaines said on “Fox & Friends” Thursday morning. Attendees can also expect to hear from several other conservative heavyweights at the conference, including Donald Trump Jr., House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy, as TurningPoint USA looks to rebuild after the tragic death of its founder while staying true to its roots of facilitating conversations across the political aisle. “You have to counter bad ideas with good ideas,” Erika Kirk told “Fox & Friends,” adding, “You have to have that debate and dialogue.” Fox News Digital’s Tessa Hoyos contributed to this report.
Trump admin announces $11B Taiwan arms sales deal
President Donald Trump‘s administration announced an arms deal with Taiwan amounting to more than $11 billion on Wednesday. The deal includes medium range missiles, artillery and drones as part of eight combined arms sale agreements. If approved by Congress, the deal would the the single largest military sale the U.S. has ever made to Taiwan, eclipsing a previous $8.4 billion deal under former President Joe Biden. The eight arms agreements cover 82 high-mobility artillery rocket systems, or HIMARS, and 420 Army Tactical Missile Systems, or ATACMS — similar to what the U.S. had been providing Ukraine during the Biden administration to defend itself from Russia — worth more than $4 billion. They also include 60 self-propelled howitzer systems and related equipment worth more than $4 billion and drones valued at more than $1 billion. Other sales in the package include military software valued at more than $1 billion, Javelin and TOW missiles worth more than $700 million, helicopter spare parts worth $96 million and refurbishment kits for Harpoon missiles worth $91 million. US COULD BURN THROUGH KEY MISSILES IN ‘A WEEK’ IF WAR WITH CHINA ERUPTS, TOP SECURITY EXPERT WARNS The State Department hailed the deal as one that will protect America’s “national, economic, and security interests by supporting the recipient’s continuing efforts to modernize its armed forces and to maintain a credible defensive capability.” China’s foreign ministry was quick to condemn the move on Wednesday, however, with top officials saying the cause of Taiwanese independence was “doomed” regardless of support. HIGH STAKES ON THE HIGH SEAS AS US, CHINA TEST LIMITS OF MILITARY POWER “The ‘Taiwan independence’ forces on the island seek independence through force and resist reunification through force, squandering the hard-earned money of the people to purchase weapons at the cost of turning Taiwan into a powder keg,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said. “This cannot save the doomed fate of ‘Taiwan independence’ but will only accelerate the push of the Taiwan Strait toward a dangerous situation of military confrontation and war. The U.S. support for ‘Taiwan Independence’ through arms will only end up backfiring. Using Taiwan to contain China will not succeed,” he added. Taiwan’s Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung thanked the U.S. on Wednesday for its “long-term support for regional security and Taiwan’s self-defense capabilities,” which he said are key to deterring a conflict in the Taiwan Strait, the body of water separating Taiwan from China’s mainland. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Dan Bongino replies to Kash Patel’s praise following departure announcement: ‘Honor of a lifetime’
Deputy FBI Director Dan Bongino, who announced on Wednesday that he will be departing from his role in January, later replied to FBI Director Kash Patel, who gave him a glowing review. “Dan is the best partner I could’ve asked for in helping restore this FBI. He brought critical reforms to make the organization more efficient, led the successful Summer Heat op, served as the people’s voice for transparency, and delivered major breakthroughs in long unsolved cases like the pipe bomb investigation. And that’s only a small part of the work he went about every single day delivering for America,” Patel said in a post on X. “He not only completed his mission – he far exceeded it. We will miss him but I’m thankful he accepted the call to serve. Our country is better and safer for it,” Patel added. DAN BONGINO TO RESIGN FROM FBI DEPUTY DIRECTOR ROLE IN JANUARY Bongino replied, thanking Patel. “Thank you my friend, it’s been the honor of a lifetime to serve beside you,” he wrote. Bongino, a former Secret Service agent who stepped aside from his work hosting a popular show as a conservative commentator to join the FBI, will depart the federal law enforcement agency less than a year after his swearing-in ceremony, which occurred in March 2025. PATEL, BONGINO DEFEND TENURES, SAYING FBI ‘OPERATING EXACTLY AS THE COUNTRY EXPECTS’ Prior to Bongino’s announcement on Wednesday, President Donald Trump said, “Dan did a great job,” noting that he thinks Bongino wants to return to his show. FBI DIRECTOR SUGGESTS ‘SHEER INCOMPETENCE’ OR ‘NEGLIGENCE’ IN BIDEN ADMIN HANDLING OF PIPE BOMB CASE Attorney General Pam Bondi shared Bongino’s announcement post, commenting, “Americans are safer because of @FBIDDBongino’s service. Thank you, Dan.”