Trump hits dramatic milestone in massive departure from Biden border plan: ‘What a difference’
The Trump administration marked a full year of “zero releases” at the southern border on Friday, a milestone officials touted as evidence that the president has effectively ended the catch-and-release policies that defined the Biden-era border crisis. “Zero releases” refers to U.S. border patrol not releasing illegal border crossers into the U.S. interior after apprehension. It does not mean zero illegal crossings or zero apprehensions. In a news release announcing the decline in releases at the southern border, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) pointed to broader enforcement statistics showing illegal crossings and apprehensions at levels officials said have not been seen in more than three decades. CBP said Border Patrol recorded 8,943 southwestern border apprehensions in April, 94% lower than the Biden administration’s monthly average, 96% below the December 2023 peak during Biden’s tenure and fewer than the number apprehended in just three days in April 2024. “The days of catch and release are over,” said Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin. “We are enforcing the nation’s laws and sending illegal aliens back to their home countries.” TRUMP ADMIN RELEASES SHOCKINGLY LOW NUMBER OF ILLEGAL ALIENS COMPARED TO BIDEN YEARS: ‘UNPRECEDENTED’ Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, a senior fellow at the American Immigration Council, told Fox News Digital that the administration’s claim of “zero releases” from Border Patrol custody “does appear true,” but noted that the figure does not capture migrants transferred to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody and later released on bond, parole, medical or humanitarian grounds, or after winning their cases. “What a difference,” CBP Commissioner Rodney S. Scott said. “The U.S. Border Patrol released zero illegal aliens into our country again this month, unlike April 2024 when more than 68,000 were released under President Biden. Every minute of every day President Trump’s border security policies are making every American safer.” DHS said the April daily average of 298 apprehensions was lower than a single hour during the height of the Biden-era surge, when officials said Border Patrol was averaging 336 apprehensions per hour in December 2023. CBP also said total encounters so far this fiscal year, 215,876, are 13% lower than the total recorded in April 2024 alone. Beyond illegal crossings, CBP highlighted drug and trade enforcement numbers, noting that nationwide seizures of cocaine, methamphetamine, heroin, fentanyl and marijuana by weight increased 60% from April 2024. The agency said it seized 463 pounds of fentanyl in April and has seized 61% more drugs so far this fiscal year than during the same period in FY 2024. US DRUG OVERDOSE DEATHS PLUMMET 20% AS TRUMP ADMINISTRATION CRACKS DOWN ON SOUTHERN BORDER “The specific claim of catch and release is in reference to the practice involving Border Patrol releasing migrants directly from Border Patrol custody,” Reichlin-Melnick clarified when speaking to Fox News Digital. “Some people are still crossing the border, and then eventually being released. It’s just that they’re not being released directly from the Border Patrol.” Reichlin-Melnick acknowledged that Trump’s hardline immigration approach has produced results at the border, saying apprehensions are “down significantly” and that “the hardened tactics against migrants has produced results.” But he argued the administration’s policies have gone too far by effectively shutting off access to asylum at the southern border. “The Trump administration has sent the message to the world that the United States is no longer a place where people can seek safety,” Reichlin-Melnick said. Reichlin-Melnick agreed the asylum system had long needed major reform, including more asylum officers, more immigration judges and changes to screening standards. But, he said the goal should not be to end access to the system altogether, something he suggested the Trump administration has effectively done. “I think most Americans believe we should be a place where people can find safety,” he said, invoking Ronald Reagan’s image of America as a “shining city on a hill.” “I don’t think the answer was to shut it off completely.” DHS officials, however, have argued the dramatic decline in border crossings shows the administration’s policies are working after years of record-setting illegal immigration under Biden. Fox News Digital reached out to representatives for Joe Biden, but did not receive a response in time for publication.
Trump admin launches ‘summer surge’ of feds to make DC safest city in America ahead of 250th anniversary
The D.C. Safe and Beautiful Task Force is launching a massive “summer surge” of federal law enforcement to ensure Washington, D.C., is the safest city in America ahead of the nation’s 250th Independence Day celebrations. During a news conference Friday, leaders touted the Trump administration’s success in driving down violent crime in the city since the D.C. task force launched last year. The joint law enforcement operation has resulted in nearly 13,000 arrests, the seizure of more than 1,400 illegal guns, the apprehension of 32 murder suspects, and the recovery of 23 missing children. Due to the aggressive enforcement efforts, overall crime in D.C. has plummeted 26%, with homicides dropping nearly 50% and carjackings down 60%. The U.S. Attorney’s Office added it has secured more than 7,000 convictions over the past year. TRUMP’S ‘NO-NONSENSE’ DC CRACKDOWN TOPS 10K ARRESTS AS DOJ DECLARES ERA OF ‘UNCHECKED VIOLENCE IS OVER’ Officials said a focal point of the summer surge will be crushing the “teen takeovers” that have terrorized D.C. neighborhoods and shut down local businesses. Blasting the D.C. Council for “refusing to deal with the problem,” U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro announced a zero-tolerance policy that shifts the legal burden onto the parents of delinquent youth. Starting immediately, federal prosecutors will charge parents under a D.C. statute for contributing to the delinquency of a minor. Parents who drop their kids off, fail to supervise them or allow them to skip school to participate in the chaos will face fines, court-mandated classes and up to six months in jail. DC US ATTORNEY SAYS ‘ENOUGH IS ENOUGH’ AS YOUTH CRIME PUTS SPOTLIGHT ON NATION’S CAPITAL “Law-abiding taxpayers should no longer have to pay for parental neglect,” Pirro said. “Parents, do your jobs or we will do ours. In the end, taxpayers will no longer subsidize the chaos caused by parental neglect.” Noting that the task force is “coming for perfection,” officials said multiple federal agencies will flood the district with personnel and advanced technology to root out remaining criminal networks. A formal request has been made for an additional 1,500 National Guardsmen to deploy to D.C., bringing the total troop presence to 5,000. DC POLICE OFFICIALS FACE TERMINATION AFTER FEDERAL PROBE UNCOVERS ALLEGED MANIPULATED CRIME DATA BY DEPARTMENT The task force will also deploy high-visibility patrols, drones, tactical K-9 units and helicopters to curb crime. The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) said it will ramp up resources to target out-of-state drug trafficking cartels, arguing that drug dealers should be “treated like terrorists.” Meanwhile, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) said it will increase operations to seize illegal firearms being trafficked into the city from Maryland and Virginia. Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) will double its special agents on the streets to target identity theft and those who fraudulently obtain housing without paying rent. In a stark warning to anyone planning political violence in the capital, Pirro said offenders will face “the full wrath of the law,” announcing her office filed notice to seek the death penalty against Elias Rodriguez, 31, the suspect accused of murdering two young Israeli embassy staff members at the Capitol Jewish Museum on May 21, 2025.
FAA unveils new air traffic controller hiring plan after chief warned system was ‘chronically understaffed’
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) unveiled an aggressive new workforce overhaul on Friday aimed at tackling chronic staffing shortages, excessive overtime and aging technology across the nation’s air traffic control system. The newly released 2026-2028 Air Traffic Controller Workforce Plan calls for hiring thousands of new controllers, modernizing scheduling systems and replacing aging infrastructure across the National Airspace System. The plan comes months after FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford warned lawmakers that air traffic control towers would “never” reach full staffing levels if the agency continued operating under its current structure. “We’ll never catch up,” Bedford said during a December congressional hearing. “The system is designed to be chronically understaffed.” PRIVATIZE THE TSA: 3 STEPS TO BETTER SERVICE AND ENHANCED SECURITY The overhaul also comes amid heightened scrutiny of aviation safety following a series of airport disruptions, delays and close-call incidents that have raised fresh questions about whether the nation’s air traffic control infrastructure is keeping pace with growing travel demand. “This forward-thinking plan delivers on President Donald J. Trump’s promise to provide the American flying public with a world-class air traffic control system, and that starts with highly trained, professional air traffic controllers,” Bedford said in a statement. “We can’t continue to operate the same way and expect better results,” he added. “We’re changing how we hire, train and schedule our controller workforce — and providing them with the state-of-the-art tools they need to succeed.” AI AIR TRAFFIC SYSTEM PROMISES FEWER FLIGHT DELAYS The FAA said the plan identifies a full staffing target of 12,563 certified professional controllers based on forecast demand. As of April 2026, the agency said roughly 11,000 certified professional controllers were deployed across more than 300 air traffic facilities. The agency also has an additional 4,000 controllers in the training pipeline, including about 1,000 who were previously fully certified but are now training at new facilities, according to the plan. Rebuilding the workforce will take time. The FAA said it can take more than two years to fully certify a new-hire controller depending on the complexity of the facility where they are assigned. FAA SCRAMBLES TO HIRE 8,900 AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLERS BY 2028 AS SHORTAGE REACHES CRISIS LEVELS The agency plans to hire 2,200 new air traffic controllers in fiscal year 2026, 2,300 in fiscal year 2027 and 2,400 in fiscal year 2028 while expanding partnerships with colleges, universities and technical schools. The workforce plan also acknowledges the strain excessive overtime has placed on controllers. “Use of a limited amount of overtime is a reasonable means of addressing unexpected variances of work demands,” the plan states. “However, the levels reached in FY 2023 – FY 2025 far exceed any reasonable use of mandatory overtime.” “Chronic use of overtime leads to fatigue, controller burnout and ultimately loss of retention,” the report says. The plan also notes that workforce scheduling and controller timekeeping are still handled manually by local facility managers. “It is difficult to understand why no automation tools have been deployed to schedule our workforce or track time, attendance and functional work accomplished,” the report states. TRANSPORTATION DEPARTMENT DEPLOYING ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE TO SPOT AIR TRAFFIC DANGERS, DUFFY SAYS The FAA said improving average controller time on position from about four hours to more than five hours per eight-hour shift could increase effective workforce availability enough to meet current staffing targets. The workforce plan also calls for replacing decades-old infrastructure with a fully digital system, expanding simulator-based training and using artificial intelligence and machine learning tools to better manage air traffic demand. Lawmakers also raised concerns during Bedford’s December testimony about the age of some FAA systems, including reports that certain facilities still rely on floppy disks. “When you’re still using floppy disks, that makes everybody less safe, that makes the agency less effective,” Rep. Brad Knott, R-N.C., said during the hearing. Rep. Laura Gillen, D-N.Y., also said she saw floppy disks still in use during a visit to the FAA’s terminal radar approach control facility on Long Island, which manages traffic into major New York-area airports. Bedford told lawmakers the FAA had committed more than $6 billion of the $12.5 billion it received under Trump-backed legislation, including investments in telecommunications infrastructure and new radar surveillance systems. SEAN DUFFY PROPOSES BIG PLANS TO UPGRADE AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL SYSTEMS, USE AI TO FIND ‘HOT SPOTS’ The new workforce plan says the FAA will replace “decades-old, unreliable, analog infrastructure” with a “fully digital network system,” arguing that modern tools will improve reliability, reduce outages and give controllers a more stable working environment. The FAA said the plan builds on its fiscal year 2025 hiring surge, when the agency hired 2,028 air traffic controller trainees, its highest total since 2008. The agency also raised starting salaries for academy students by nearly 30% and implemented financial incentives for academy completion. Still, the FAA said total workforce losses in fiscal year 2025 — including retirements, resignations, promotions, removals, training failures and academy attrition — totaled 1,460. Nearly 400 retirement-eligible controllers were retained through a new bonus structure, according to the agency. The Transportation Research Board of the National Academies previously found that about 30% of FAA facilities were staffed more than 10% below staffing targets, while another 30% were staffed 10% or more above targets. The FAA said prior hiring disruptions, including sequestration, government shutdowns and the COVID-19 pandemic, had long-term effects on staffing levels, particularly at major facilities serving some of the nation’s largest airports. Even with thousands of hires planned, FAA officials acknowledged the air traffic controller shortage will not be solved quickly. Between years-long training, retirements, staffing imbalances and modernization challenges, the agency’s own projections make clear the pressure on America’s air traffic control system is expected to continue even as air travel demand continues rising. Fox News Digital’s Ashley Carnahan contributed to this reporting.
Unlikely bipartisan Senate duo seeks to permanently ban ex-lawmakers from lobbying
A bipartisan Senate duo are pushing a proposal to permanently prohibit former lawmakers and elected officers of Congress from lobbying. Republican Sen. Rick Scott of Florida and Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts have teamed up on a measure called the “Banning Lobbying And Safeguarding Trust Act,” or “BLAST Act.” UNIVERSITIES FACE FUNDING THREAT AS LAWMAKERS TARGET SCHOOLS WITH TIES TO ADVERSARIAL NATIONS “When politicians use their time in public office to cash in after they leave government, the American people lose. Trust in our institutions is at an all-time low, and the revolving door between Capitol Hill and K Street is a big part of that. We need to restore the American people’s trust in their government, and that’s why I’m proud to introduce this bipartisan bill to put government clearly back on the side of the people,” Scott said in a statement. “Our founders never intended public service to become a training ground for a lifetime of lobbying. Senator Warren and I are working to end this practice once and for all,” he added. ELIZABETH WARREN’S BEZOS MET GALA JAB BACKFIRES AS CRITICS MERCILESSLY DRAG ‘UN-AMERICAN’ LAWMAKER The proposal for a permanent lobbying ban on lawmakers would go further than current law, according to Warren’s office. “Under current law, former members of Congress are allowed to lobby their former colleagues in Congress after a ‘cooling off’ period — one year for former members of the House of Representatives and two years for former senators,” her office said. WARREN PUSHED ‘FREE AND EASY’ IRS FILING SYSTEM, BUT DOCS REVEAL WHAT SHE USED INSTEAD “It’s simple: Members of Congress should spend their time in Washington serving the American people, not preparing to cash in big time with a cushy lobbying career after they leave office,” Warren said in a statement. “It’s long past time to close the revolving door that’s corrupted our government and destroyed public trust in elected officials. This bipartisan bill is an important push to get that done.”
Georgia GOP gubernatorial hopeful vows to ‘ban DEI’ in state but his own nonprofit urged CEOs to invest in it
Rick Jackson, a Republican billionaire running for Georgia governor on a pledge to ban DEI in state government and public education, founded a nonprofit that promoted a 2021 workplace initiative urging Georgia CEOs to invest in DEI, measure progress, examine racial pay gaps, use race-conscious hiring practices and lead workplaces “with race in mind.” Jackson, the billionaire healthcare founder of Jackson Healthcare and its network of smaller companies, including Jackson Physician Search and Jackson Therapy Partners, has said he would be President Donald Trump’s “favorite governor,” modeled his campaign launch after the president’s and said he has never met a Trump policy he doesn’t like. Trump, meanwhile, has made ending DEI in the United States a key part of his second term, issuing an executive order shortly after he was inaugurated to remove it from public services, universities and beyond. His administration has also taken an aggressive stance against DEI in the courts. In addition to his for-profit companies, Jackson is the founder and CEO of goBeyondProfit, a Georgia nonprofit. The philanthropic venture describes itself as a “no-cost resource for Georgia business leaders interested in evolving their corporate generosity efforts into a business strategy,” and adds that Jackson has “long shared the belief that businesses can and should be a force for good in the world.” In 2021, goBeyondProfit launched a DEI initiative focused on keeping “race in mind” in the workplace, which included a video series for CEOs to learn the “do’s and don’ts” of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI). The “Telly Award-Winning video series” aimed at helping companies implement DEI initiatives remains active on the nonprofit’s website. One of the videos promoted critical race theorist Ibram X. Kendi’s book “How To Be An Anti-Racist,” which has been characterized by critics as a leading text of modern race-conscious ideology that rejects colorblindness and defends discrimination when used to achieve equity. The initiative also featured experts who argued “doing nothing” on DEI was “cringe worthy” and framed workplace race issues through slavery and Jim Crow. GOP GUBERNATORIAL HOPEFUL’S PRO-TRUMP PITCH TO VOTERS CLASHES WITH PAPER TRAIL INSIDE HIS OWN COMPANY Among those experts was then-Jackson Healthcare DEI executive Matthew Harrison, who, in the DEI initiative’s videos, touted how the share of “people of color” hired into new roles at Jackson Healthcare rose from 9% to 25% after the company implemented the diversity measures discussed in the initiative’s instructional videos. Jackson’s business orbit has a history of DEI-friendly messaging and efforts that could complicate one of his central campaign pitches: that he is the candidate best positioned to root out DEI and restore merit-based policies in Georgia. Jackson’s campaign platform says he would prohibit DEI programs in state government, public universities and classrooms, while his campaign messaging has vowed to “ban DEI insanity” and “criminalize reverse discrimination.” “We need to ban every bit of idiotic DEI insanity and criminalize reverse discrimination,” he recently posted on social media. Fox News Digital reached out to Jackson’s campaign, Jackson Healthcare and goBeyondProfit for comment, including questions about whether Jackson was aware of the “Race in Mind” initiative, whether he approved of the DEI materials at the time and how he squared the nonprofit’s past race-focused workplace efforts with his current anti-DEI campaign platform. “Rick hires like the Georgia Bulldogs: only the best players hit the field, and he will prohibit reverse discrimination as governor,” a Jackson campaign spokesperson said in response to Fox News Digital’s questions. The campaign added that “many of Georgia’s most successful and conservative business leaders” have been “program ambassadors or members” at goBeyondProfit, citing Chick-fil-A’s involvement and the involvement of Home Depot founder Bernie Marcus until his death. In 2021, at the height of the social justice movement following the deaths of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, George Floyd and others, Jackson’s goBeyondProfit launched “Leading a Thriving Workplace with Race in Mind,” a DEI initiative that included a “Telly Award-Winning video series” aimed at helping CEOs navigate the “do’s and don’ts” of DEI and make “impactful changes” in their workplaces. NEARLY ALL FORTUNE 500 COMPANIES STILL MAINTAIN CORPORATE DEI COMMITMENTS: REPORT The goBeyondProfit video series featured DEI experts, including Harrison, a former Jackson Healthcare executive, urging CEOs and their companies to invest in DEI, measure progress, examine racial pay gaps and use race-conscious hiring practices to increase workplace diversity. In one video, Harrison described implementing a “Rooney Rule” hiring policy at Jackson Healthcare after he took over talent acquisition in 2019, saying the company increased the share of “people of color” hired into new roles from 9% to 25% within a year. “Personally here at Jackson Healthcare, I took over leading talent acquisition here in June of 2019 and put that in place, and within a year, we saw our increase in the number of people of color that we hired into new roles. It went from 9% to 25% and that’s the only thing we changed,” Harrison says. HOW TRUMP IS UPROOTING RADICAL ’60S FOUNDATIONS OF POISONOUS DEI AND CRT PROGRAMS A separate speaker from the DEI video series discusses the importance of tying DEI metrics to employee evaluations, encourages “taking those proactive steps and being anti-racist” as discussed in Kendi’s book that CEOs were encouraged to read, implored “employers do periodic pay equity reviews for their employees,” and urged executives to financially invest in DEI work, saying companies needed to “put your money where your mouth is” on DEI efforts. That same speaker framed workplace race issues through slavery and Jim Crow, saying slavery was “America’s first race-based economic system” and arguing that the “vestiges of slavery” still live on “even in the American workplace.” “Oddly, the American workplace is the one place where we should be having more of these conversations, but ironically, it’s the one place where we’re least likely to do,” Harrison adds in one of the videos. Meanwhile, at another point in one of the videos, Harrison described how Jackson Healthcare started a “race series” using an outside vendor in order to prevent it
Progressive challenger complicates Democrat path in House fight to unseat GOP incumbent Rep Mike Flood
Progressive journalist Austin Ahlman announced he is running for Congress in Nebraska’s first congressional district as a nonpartisan independent on Thursday, challenging incumbent Rep. Mike Flood, R-Neb., and Democratic nominee Chris Backemeyer. Ahlman, a journalist for the progressive left-wing outlet The Intercept, entered the fray Thursday, two days after his opponents advanced in their respective primaries. Flood has held his seat since winning a special election in 2022. Democratic challenger Backemeyer is a former State Department employee who worked in President Barack Obama’s administration and also served as a Special Advisor to Vice President Kamala Harris on national security and policy issues. Ahlman criticized Backemeyer as a “creature of the establishment in D.C.” and said he didn’t see much of a difference between the Democrat and Flood. FROM NEBRASKA TO WEST VIRGINIA TO NEW JERSEY: PRIMARY CLASHES SET STAGE FOR FIERCE MIDTERM FIGHT “I have taken on the corporations that are actually hollowing out our state. I have uncovered the corruption among the politicians that are crushing us and selling us out. And I don’t think that either one of the two can say that,” Ahlman told the Lincoln Journal Star. “I think that they have just been a part of the system. They are the establishment, and I am not that. I’m actually from the working class,” he said. After winning his 2022 special election by a five-point margin, Flood won both of his general elections by a comfortable margin. He won by 15 points in the 2022 general election and by more than 20 point in 2024. Nebraska’s first district is also a solid Republican stronghold, according to the Cook Political Report. Cook posits it would take both an “anemic” Republican turnout and a strong Democrat one to turn the tables for Democrats in Nebraska’s first district. The prospect is now made more complicated with Ahlman, as some of Nebraska’s political leader point out to local press that the progressive candidate could split the vote. KEY HOUSE PROJECTION SPELLS TROUBLE FOR TWO REPUBLICAN LAWMAKERS “Mike Flood has failed this district, and splitting the vote with a fringe third candidate won’t fix that,” Nebraska Democratic Party Chair Jane Kleeb said in a Thursday statement provided to the Nebraska Examiner. “Nebraska doesn’t need noise from either extreme. We need a steady, experienced leader who will fight for fairness and protect our democracy. That’s Chris Backemeyer.” Backemeyer’s campaign told the Examiner, “After winning almost every county by a large margin in the primary, Chris is focused on defeating congressman Flood in order to stop Trump’s tariffs, devastating healthcare cuts and illegal war that are hurting Nebraskans.” Meanwhile, Flood’s team pointed to the independent challenge as a weakness in the Democratic Party, claiming Ahlman is “trying to sabotage the campaign of a Kamala Harris adviser because the Democratic Party is in shambles.” “While Backemeyer and Ahlman fight over which D.C. transplant finishes second, Congressman Flood will keep getting things done for Nebraskans,” Flood spokesperson Daniel Bass told the Examiner. Fox News Digital contacted the Ahlman, Backemeyer and Flood campaigns for additional comment.
Longtime Democratic Rep Steve Cohen announces end to re-election bid
Democratic Rep. Steve Cohen of Tennessee announced on Friday that he signed a document requesting not to be included on the ballot in Tennessee’s 9th Congressional District. The congressman described the district determined by “new lines” as “nothing like the 9th district that I’ve represented.” The Democratic primary in the district is scheduled to take place in August. Cohen’s ending his re-election bid after 19 years in Congress. This is a breaking news story and will be updated
Iowa Dem admits being ‘uncomfortable’ with whiteness as she seeks to flip competitive House seat
FIRST ON FOX — A Democrat running for Congress in Iowa admitted to feeling “uncomfortable” by the whiteness of her hometown in Minnesota after returning from a stay in New Mexico years ago. Sarah Trone Garriott, 47, who is running unopposed in the Democratic primary for one of the most competitive congressional districts in the country, is coming under fire for her comments as she seeks to unseat incumbent Rep. Zach Nunn, R-Iowa. “Yeah, I remember the first time I came back to northern Minnesota to visit, and I was kind of shocked at how many white people there were,” Trone Garriott recalled of the area of the U.S. where she grew up in a resurfaced podcast episode released nearly a decade ago. “The feeling was very different. I was like ‘whoa,’ and again I was uncomfortable in a different way,” she added. IOWA DEMOCRAT RUNNING FOR CONGRESS WROTE THAT 9/11 MADE HER MORE ‘AWARE’ OF ‘ANTI-MUSLIM BIGOTRY’ About 78% of Iowa’s third congressional district that Trone Garriott wants to represent in Congress is white, according to a breakdown by DataUSA. Republicans argue the candidate’s past and recent comments are out of step with the district’s demographics. “Every time Sarah Trone Garriott’s handlers let her loose, the wicked witch of woke finds a new way to insult Iowans,” Zach Kraft, a spokesperson for the Republican National Committee, said. “We haven’t even reached the general election yet, and she has already managed to call nearly every person in the state racist, sexist, and bigoted,” he added. Trone Garriott’s campaign did not respond to a request for comment on previous remarks. Nunn’s campaign also did not respond when reached about his competitor’s comments. According to the Cook Political Report, Iowa’s 3rd congressional district is among the 16 “toss-up” races in the 2026 midterms, with a slight R+2 lean. IMMIGRANTS NEEDED FOR ‘REDISTRICTING PURPOSES,’ HOUSE DEM ADMITS IN VIRAL CLIP: ‘QUIET PART OUT LOUD’ Nine years after Trone Garriott recorded the podcast interview, her comments highlight a wariness of homogeneity and underscore the candidate’s belief that representation should be tied to demographics. In a separate interview with the University of Iowa in 2022, Trone Garriott hinted at support for demographic mandates and quotas for positions within the government, like those she learned about after meeting with legislators from Kosovo. “They actually have quotas, and I know that’s a dirty word for some people, but they have requirements of how many people from different ethnic backgrounds, religious minorities — and gender balance is part of their structure,” Trone Garriott said of the Balkan nation. “And so, there’s kind of a preference for those folks that are underrepresented to be in government. Which I think is really important to bring those voices out,” she added. IOWA POLL SHOWS DEMOCRATS IN POSITION TO FLIP 2 GOP HOUSE SEATS Trone Garriott was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota. After earning her undergraduate degree in Duluth, Minnesota, she went on to obtain a Master of Theological Studies from the Harvard Divinity School, and a Master of Divinity from the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago. She worked as a volunteer with the anti-poverty program under AmeriCorps VISTA in New Mexico — where she was apparently awoken to the ‘whiteness’ of her Minnesotan hometown. Trone Garriott began her career as an ordained minister for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), spending time in ministry in Pennsylvania, Chicago, Virginia and finally Iowa. From there, Trone Garriott embarked on a political career in the Iowa State Senate, where she has served since 2021. She announced a bid last year to unseat Rep. Nunn in the state’s third congressional district.
Obama remains Dem headliner while president with most votes ever fades into background: ‘It was all a dream’
President Barack Obama has been at the center of Democrats’ biggest political fights, from redistricting fights to last year’s gubernatorial races, while former President Joe Biden — despite winning more votes than any presidential candidate in history — has remained largely absent from many of the party’s biggest political battles since leaving office. “We went through an election in Virginia that the Democrats invested a lot of money in, and we did not see Joe Biden once to the best of my recollection,” Virginia GOP Chair Jeff Ryer told Fox News Digital, referring to Obama’s heavy campaigning for the Democrat-backed redistricting referendum later struck down by the Virginia Supreme Court. “We did, on the other hand, see Barack Obama on television ad after television ad, during the Democrats’ $80 million campaign, he was clearly the leader of it.” Biden’s absence from several major Democratic campaigns has fueled Republican claims that Democrats are quietly moving on from the former president. “Joe Biden is becoming like the ninth season of ‘Dallas.’ It was all a dream,” Ryer said, referring to the infamous retcon of CBS’ hit show “Dallas,” in which the events of Season 9 were revealed to have never happened. FORMER CLINTON CAMPAIGN MANAGER LAMENTS ‘LEADERLESS’ STATE OF DEMS AS BIDEN REMAINS ‘OFF THE RADAR’ For many Democratic strategists, Obama’s prominent role reflects a broader belief that he remains far more popular and politically valuable than Biden, even ten years after exiting public office. “I think there’s a lot of nostalgia for the Obama presidency,” Democratic strategist Andrea Riccio told Fox News Digital. “I do think there’s a once in a generation excitement around him that just hasn’t been replicated by other presidents, so I can understand why he’s sought after right now.” Riccio said Democrats are likely still reeling from their 2024 presidential election loss, and with the Democratic Party still lacking a clear leader, “Obama is one of the best surrogates” the party has at the moment. Earlier this week, Obama traveled to Texas and met with Democratic gubernatorial candidate Gina Hinojosa and Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico, who is gaining momentum in polls against Republican candidates Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. Winning over Black voters in Texas will be crucial for Talarico, and strategists have said Obama could play a key role in boosting turnout this fall. Fox News contributor and Democratic strategist Jessica Tarlov argued that Talarico likely would not campaign with Biden because “a lot of what he is” politically involves distancing himself from the Biden administration. “He’s been very open about mistakes that were made in the Biden administration, especially vis-à-vis immigration,” Tarlov said. “He wants to represent Texas. So, obviously, the border is a really big deal there.” She added that Obama is just more popular than Biden. “I think Biden will go where people want him to, and is taking much more of, like, the Nancy Pelosi approach, which is, ‘if you want me, I’m there for you. If you don’t, I totally get it,’” Tarlov said. “And Obama’s, obviously, fielding requests for those that want him, and there are going to be lots of candidates that don’t want Obama on the trail with him.” “But he makes a lot of sense for someone like James Talarico, especially because he’s a millennial and kind of grew up on Obama,” Tarlov continued. HEATING UP: NEWSOM, PRITZKER, BUTTIGIEG MAKE EARLY MOVES IN 2028 PRESIDENTIAL RACE However, Tarlov did say she would have thought California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom would have asked Biden to join the campaign for his redistricting effort in California. “Gavin Newsom is one of the most public defenders of the Biden record,” Tarlov said. “So I think that he would have had Biden if that was possible.” Instead, Obama was the leading voice in Democrats’ redistricting push in California and Virginia, appearing in several advertisements aimed at rallying voter support, while Biden has remained mum. Amid the high-profile governors’ races last November in Virginia and New Jersey, Obama spoke at rallies promoting now Democratic New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill and Democratic Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger. But Biden, who previously endorsed both women amid their prior congressional races, was nowhere to be seen on the campaign trail. But Democratic strategist James Carville told Fox News Digital that Biden isn’t as young as Obama and likely doesn’t have the same level of energy. Last May, Biden was diagnosed with stage four prostate cancer. BIDEN CLAIMS HE’S ‘GETTING CALLS’ FROM EUROPEAN LEADERS WANTING HIM TO ‘GET ENGAGED’ While Biden may no longer be leading the Democratic Party’s biggest initiatives, he remains engaged. On May 1, he endorsed Keisha Lance Bottoms in Georgia’s gubernatorial primary, and a few days later he endorsed his former aide Dan Koh in Massachusetts’ 6th Congressional District. In April, Biden spoke at Delaware Democratic Party’s annual First State Dinner, and in February he spoke at a South Carolina Democratic Party dinner to commemorate his six-year anniversary of winning the state’s primary election, deemed pivotal in him winning the general election. A Biden insider shared with Fox News Digital that more is to come from the former president this election season. And the Republican National Committee is looking forward to Biden’s growing involvement, according to an RNC spokesperson. “It would be a gift to Republicans for Joe Biden to get involved in the midterms,” Republican National Committee spokesperson Zach Kraft told Fox News Digital. “We will happily buy him a plane ticket to every swing state in the country.”
Key China-Iran infrastructure exposes critical hole in Trump’s war strategy
The U.S. is trying to choke off Iran’s economy at sea, but a growing China-linked rail corridor is giving Tehran a workaround that Washington cannot easily shut down without risking a wider conflict. As freight traffic between China and Iran increases along an overland route beyond the reach of American warships, the dynamic is exposing a core limitation in the U.S. strategy: maritime pressure is powerful, but it doesn’t fully extend across Eurasia. According to Bloomberg, cargo trains running from central China to Iran have jumped from roughly one per week before the blockade to one every three or four days, highlighting a growing alternative channel as Tehran looks to blunt maritime pressure. The corridor runs through multiple sovereign countries, including Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan, making it far more complex to disrupt than shipping lanes in the Persian Gulf. CHINA-LINKED ROUTE EXPOSED AFTER US SEIZES IRAN-BOUND SHIP WITH SUSPECTED DUAL-USE CARGO Directly targeting that overland network would risk widening the conflict and escalating tensions with Beijing, which has spent years investing in trade routes designed to bypass maritime choke points dominated by the U.S. Navy. That combination of geography, diplomacy and escalation risk helps explain why Washington has focused overwhelmingly on maritime interdiction rather than attempting to shut down overland trade routes. Experts say the rail corridor remains limited in its ability to offset Iran’s main oil exports. “There’s no substitute for a very large crude carrier,” Isaac Kardon, a senior fellow focused on Chinese strategy and maritime security, told Fox News Digital. Kardon estimated that “maybe like 1% of the exports that Iran would typically be pushing out through Hormuz could go over land.” Max Meizlish, a former Treasury official focused on sanctions policy, similarly described the rail corridor as “a drop in the bucket compared to Iran’s traditional oil exports over maritime transit routes.” TRUMP WARNS CHINA OF ‘STAGGERING’ 50% TARIFF IF CAUGHT SUPPLYING MILITARY AID TO IRAN Still, analysts warn the route carries strategic risks beyond its limited scale. Meizlish said the rail network “provides a pathway for China to supply Iran with critical dual use goods or just military logistical infrastructure” beyond the reach of U.S. naval enforcement. Kardon pointed to similar concerns, including the potential movement of “parts for drones” and “missile precursor chemicals.” Even so, Kardon emphasized the corridor cannot sustain large-scale economic or military flows. “It’s a flow question,” he said. “Can you sustain the Iranian war-fighting effort solely with cargoes from China or from its other Eurasian neighbors? And I think the answer is really no.” Taken together, the rail corridor is not an economic lifeline for Iran, but it underscores a broader shift as China builds trade networks designed to blunt U.S. pressure at sea and test the limits of how far Washington is willing to go to enforce its strategy. The White House and the Pentagon did not respond to requests for comment.