‘Hell Week’ in Washington: A look at House Republicans’ current bind, and how we got here
There’s no such thing as hazing in Congress. You won’t find “fraternity row,” with each house festooned with a trifecta of deltas, gammas and epsilons. No drinking games here. At least not officially. WHCD SHOOTING SHOWS DEMS ARE ‘PLAYING’ WITH AMERICANS’ SAFETY BY WITHHOLDING DHS FUNDING, GOP LAWMAKER SAYS But get ready for something on Capitol Hill with which many Greek pledges are all too familiar: “I’m going to say next week is hell week,” warned Rep. Troy Nehls, R-Texas, last Thursday. “Next week is going to be hell week.’ And this was all before the harrowing episode Saturday night at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner in Washington. HOUSE GOP PUSHES BACK ON SENATE’S ‘SKINNY’ PLAN TO END RECORD-BREAKING DHS SHUTDOWN To wit about the week facing Capitol Hill: House Republicans face a devil of a week. They must get on the same page as the Senate to pass a budget framework – to prospectively fund ICE and the Border Patrol. FISA, the nation’s controversial spy program expires early Friday morning. That’s to say nothing of trying to pass the farm bill. If they don’t get all of this done, “Dean Wormer” (of Animal House fame) might just place House Republicans on “double secret probation” before the week is through. So let’s examine what got House Republicans in this bind. Let’s start at 3:36 a.m. last Thursday. We begin there, because in the past several weeks, the most important moments in Congress have unfolded at 2:12 on a Friday morning, 2:16 on a Friday morning and now 3:36 on a Thursday morning. 3:36 a.m. is when the Senate approved a budget framework to possibly fund ICE and CBP. Republicans are running a special legislative gambit called “reconciliation” to bypass a filibuster. That’s because Democrats won’t help. They’ve never secured the reforms they need to support ICE. So Republicans are going it alone. “We’re trying to use the reconciliation process to get money to secure the border,” said Senate Budget Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham, R-S.C. Democrats have balked about funding ICE since the killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis over the winter. “They want to give $140 billion for ICE and Border Patrol without any reforms,” said Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. “(They’re) adding $140 billion to an agency that nobody – well, two groups, Border Patrol and ICE – that nobody respects in this country.” That prompted an explosive response from Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin during an appearance on Fox. “It makes my ears red. It takes a lot to get me upset. But Chuck Schumer, no one respects you. The definition of a lying scumbag politician. That is you,” said Mullin of his former Senate colleague. ICE SHUTDOWN FIGHT MIGHT RESTRICT FEMA, COAST GUARD TO ‘LIFE-THREATENING’ EMERGENCIES Perhaps this why the white-hot rhetoric on both sides may have contributed to the mayhem of Saturday night. Mullin says emergency DHS money is about to expire. So pressure is intensifying on the House to align with the Senate with no changes to the outline adopted by the Senate. “It has to be clean, because it’s got to be quick,” said House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La. “The last paychecks go out at the end of this month.” But remember, this is just the House lining up with the Senate on a blueprint to address the funding lapse at ICE and CBP. The assassination attempt at the White House dinner only amplified the need to fund DHS. And fast. However, Johnson refused to pick up a bill to fund everything else at DHS which the Senate passed twice. Then Johnson agreed to pass the bill after dissing it. But the House has never synced up. Johnson says the Senate funding package – not the reconciliation framework – “has some problematic language” because it was “haphazardly drafted.” And now Johnson is suggesting there may be yet another DHS funding bill in the works. That may be inevitable, considering the chaos of the weekend. REPUBLICANS EYE ENDING GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWNS FOREVER OVER FEARS DEMS WILL DO IT AGAIN Budget reconciliation takes a while. “Reconciliation is still a little ways off,” said Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D. “They’re running out of runway to fund a lot of those agencies.” But here’s the other problem with reconciliation: Many conservatives insist on add-ons. “We should be taking a broader approach to reconciliation,” said Rep. Chip Roy R-Texas. Here’s what they’re mulling: Maybe money to cover the cost of the war in Iran. Perhaps a suspension of the federal gasoline tax. Additional tax cuts. You name it. Many on the right demand the inclusion of the SAVE America Act. The bill requires proof of citizenship in order to vote. “I think you’d see a lot more folks on our side jump on board with it if they had that,” said Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., about the SAVE America Act. However, even advocates of the SAVE America Act doubt the GOP can stuff that into a Senate bill which must be fiscal in nature. Many demand an additional, expansive reconciliation bill which is not limited to DHS. “This is probably the only reconciliation we’re going to have before the break. That’s a poor excuse for the work we’re doing up here,” complained Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C. “One bill with that limited amount.” “People probably intend to do a third reconciliation bill. But you’re not looking at Bambi’s baby brother here,” said Sen. John Kennedy, R-La. “This is the last train leaving the station.” All aboard? SENATE TAKES FIRST STEP TO FUND ICE, BORDER PATROL IN BID TO CUT DEMS OUT OF THE FUNDING PROCESS For the moment, President Trump is still focused on the reconciliation outline. “We need all Republicans to join together and support this Budget Blueprint, which will allow us to bypass Democrat obstruction in the Senate, and fund Immigration Enforcement with only Republican Votes. The Senate passed this Blueprint last week on Thursday morning, and now, House Republicans must UNIFY, and pass
Newsom taunts Trump with multiple jabs as Florida redistricting fight ramps up: ‘Beat at his own game’
California Gov. Gavin Newsom hopes that Florida’s redistricting plan brings with it the end of the “saga” that has led states across the country to try to find untapped partisan advantages in redrawn congressional boundries. “It’s a predictable outcome, but hopefully it’ll be the end of this era and this saga,” Newsom told Fox News Digital. “Trump got beat at his own game. It was a terrible mistake he made for the Republican Party. A lot of good Republicans are going to be districted out,” Newsom continued. “They’re going to serve as collateral damage.” His comments underscore confidence from Democrats that the redistricting push will play into their hands come the November midterms — despite a numbers game that would tip the scales towards Republicans if Florida carries out proposed changes of its own. TRUMP HAILS TEXAS REDISTRICTING APPROVAL THAT COULD ADD FIVE GOP CONGRESSIONAL SEATS NATIONWIDE A Republican National Committee spokesperson fired back at Newsom’s comments, telling Fox News Digital that “Gavin Newsom is attempting to spin fantasies about a ‘blue wave’ after Democrats dumped tens of millions into a gerrymandering scheme to barely crawl across the finish line with a three-point margin in a state Abigail Spanberger won by 15.” “Meanwhile, California voters are fed up and fleeing in droves due to Gavin Newsom’s deranged quest to drive his state into the ground by sending taxpayer dollars to give sex change surgeries to illegal aliens,” RNC National Press Secretary, Kiersten Pels, continued. Newsom’s confidence was echoed by Democratic National Committee Chairman Ken Martin. “Republicans decided to start this and we’re going to finish this for them, right?” Martin said, referring to the first redistricting effort in 2025, spearheaded by Republicans in Texas. “We’re going to meet them every step of the way. We’re not bringing a pencil to a knife fight anymore,” Martin said. So far, California, Missouri, North Carolina, Texas, Utah, Ohio and Virginia have adopted new congressional maps, electing to re-shuffle districts ahead of the 2030 census — the time at which state lawmakers would normally reevaluate areas of representation. REPUBLICAN GOVERNOR SIGNS INTO LAW TRUMP-BACKED CONGRESSIONAL REDISTRICTING MAP Republicans expect to gain up to nine seats across redistricting efforts in Ohio, North Carolina, Missouri and Texas. Democrats hope to net nine of their own from changes in California, Virginia and Utah. Florida is looking to change the calculus by creating as many as four additional Republican-leaning districts by stretching historically Democratic areas over Republican strongholds. The change would require the support of Florida’s state legislature, which currently holds a Republican majority in the state House and Senate. Newsom believes Republicans are creating a liability for themselves by stretching their support too thin in some areas. VIRGINIA DEM ADMITS REDISTRICTING PUSH AIMS TO ‘STOP TRUMP’, NOT ABOUT ‘FAIRNESS’ “They’re going to put a lot at risk, and I think it’s going to be a big blue wave election,” Newsom said. “So, you know, this thing could be — I’m not here to give DeSantis advice on this — it could be a bad mistake.” Lawmakers are expected to consider the maps in a special session that begins on Tuesday.
Bernie Sanders’ plans to schmooze with top Beijing AI experts ignite backlash: ‘Holy s—‘
Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., is drawing scrutiny for cozying up to Chinese AI governance officials while championing policies that critics say would hamper America’s ability to compete with Beijing in the global artificial intelligence arms race. Sanders, who caucuses with Senate Democrats and is a self-proclaimed democratic socialist, is expected to be speaking at a panel discussion on Capitol Hill Wednesday alongside Xue Lan, a professor at the CCP-funded Tsinghua University and chairman of the Ministry of Science and Technology-backed New Generation Artificial Intelligence Governance Professional Committee. In attendance will also be Zeng Yi, who is the Dean of the Beijing Institute of AI Safety and Governance and is also tied to the New Generation Artificial Intelligence Governance Professional Committee chaired by Lan. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Max Tegmark, who will also be speaking at the event, indicated the event will focus on “AI existential risk and international cooperation.” Critics from the White House, the data center industry, and major tech-policy think tanks have argued Sanders is proposing policies that would slow the construction of the very infrastructure needed to keep the United States ahead in the race for AI dominance. Now, Sanders is facing more heat for holding an event on Capitol Hill with two Chinese Ministry of Science-linked officials who support China’s preferred AI governance model. CHINA RACES AHEAD ON AI —TRUMP WARNS AMERICA CAN’T REGULATE ITSELF INTO DEFEAT “I think Senator Sanders’ concerns about AI are overstated, but I respect them. We should be asking questions about child safety, community impact, and economic displacement,” China policy expert at the Hudson Institute, Michael Sobolik, said. “What we shouldn’t do is partner with foreign adversaries like the Chinese Communist Party in those discussions.” Rep. Pat Harrigan, R-N.C., pointed out that Tsinghua University is “one of China’s top universities with direct ties to the Chinese Communist Party.” “This is the same China that just blocked Meta’s $2 billion deal to acquire Manus AI, a startup whose founders had already moved to Singapore and whose deal was already done and closed. Beijing decided it did not matter. They stepped in, killed the deal, and restricted the founders from leaving the country while it was under review,” Harrigan wrote in a Monday post on X ahead of the slated panel discussion on Capitol Hill. “China is aggressively locking down their most powerful AI assets and shutting American companies out,” he continued. “Bernie Sanders wants to hand them a seat at the table to help decide how America handles the same technology.” “Holy sh–,” Ruthless Podcast co-host Comfortably Smug posted on X. “It’s a bit on the nose that communist Bernie Sanders is looking to the Chinese Communist Party for their ‘leadership’ on AI,” conservative commentator Steve Guest posted on X. Fox News Digital reached out to Sanders’ office but did not receive a response in time for publication. AI TECHNOLOGY RACE IS NEW ‘COLD WAR’ BETWEEN US AND CHINA THAT COULD HAVE DEVASTATING CONSEQUENCES: REPORT In March, Sanders and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez unveiled the Artificial Intelligence Data Center Moratorium Act, which would impose an immediate federal ban on the construction or upgrading of new AI data centers until Congress passes a broader regulatory framework. Sanders’ own office said the bill is designed to “slow down the development of AI,” and Sanders has separately argued that AI threatens jobs, privacy, democracy, the environment and “maybe the human race.” Even Democrats have balked at the policy proposal, with Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., calling the moratorium “idiocy” at an artificial intelligence summit in D.C. last month, warning it would give China an edge in the AI race. Cy McNeill, the senior director of federal affairs at the Data Center Coalition, a pro-industry group, said a freeze would risk “rationing access to digital services,” impair U.S. competitiveness and hit Americans’ daily lives. The Center for Data Innovation, a tech-policy think tank, similarly argued the bill relies on “well-worn anxieties” and does not justify halting data-center construction. US TARGETS CHINESE ROBOTS OVER SECURITY FEARS Lan, as chair of China’s national expert committee for AI governance, and Li, who told TIME last year that he is “highly involved in policymaking through national governance committees” in China, both have championed governance models that would expand China’s role in writing global AI rules that clash with a freer, more competition-driven U.S. strategy. Yi has argued that China and the world need mandatory safety and ethics frameworks and more international cooperation, according to comments he made to TIME. He also helped develop UNESCO’s Recommendation on the Ethics of AI, the first-ever global standard on AI ethics. Lan, meanwhile, helped establish a CCP-backed national AI safety body to help “bridge” the gap between technical experts and policymakers, according to TIME. “China has chosen the path of top-down government control to drive its AI industry. While this strategy affords the CCP some advantages, the American model of bottom-up, free-market capitalism has long been the engine of innovation for the world, and it is more efficient in the long run,” House Energy and Commerce Chairman Brett Guthrie wrote in a February policy review for the Hatch Center. “The stakes couldn’t be higher,” Guthrie continues. “China already deploys next-generation technologies to advance many of the regime’s most sinister goals focused on enhancing the power of its Orwellian surveillance state utilizing advanced computing. Even more concerning to the American public is the threat of an adversary’s technology stack serving as the building blocks for future advancements or as a strategic chokehold.” “The way to beat China in the AI race is to outrace them in innovation, not saddle AI developers with European-style regulations,” Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, has also said. Growth and development of new AI technologies will bolster our national security, create new jobs, and stimulate economic growth”
Hakeem Jeffries doubles down on ‘maximum warfare’ rhetoric, tells critics ‘I don’t give a damn’
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., doubled down on his inflammatory rhetoric toward Republicans during a fiery news conference Monday, telling critics, “I don’t give a damn.” “I stand by it,” Jeffries told reporters, when asked about his vow last week to unleash “maximum warfare” on the GOP to counter the party’s redistricting efforts ahead of November’s midterm elections. “You can continue to criticize me for it. I don’t give a damn about your criticism.” Jeffries’ messaging sparked backlash from Republicans following the third apparent assassination attempt on President Donald Trump’s life at the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner Saturday. The top Democrat defended his choice of words by pointing to a report from The New York Times last year in which an anonymous White House staffer used the same phrase to threaten Democrats. HAKEEM JEFFRIES’ CALL TO FIGHT TRUMP AGENDA ‘IN THE STREETS’ SPARKS BACKLASH AS A ‘MAXINE WATERS MOMENT’ “That phrase ‘maximum warfare everywhere, all the time’ came from the White House in the summer of 2025, when they started this redistricting battle, and now they’re big mad,” Jeffries continued. “Why? Because Democrats have decided to finish it. Get lost.” The top Democrat insisted that he denounced political violence in all of its forms. Jeffries also had harsh words for White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, who he labeled a “disgrace” and a “stone-cold liar” after she criticized Democrats’ rhetoric that frequently labels Trump as an existential threat. “This so-called White House press secretary wants to lecture America and lecture us about civility. Get lost,” Jeffries said. “Clean up your own house before you have anything to say to us about the language that we use.” DEM LEADER CONDEMNS THANKSGIVING BOMB THREATS AGAINST LIBERAL LAWMAKERS AFTER TEAM TRUMP TARGETED Leavitt hammered top Democrats’ embrace of hostile messaging toward Trump during a news conference Monday. “This hateful, constant and violent rhetoric directed at President Trump, day after day after day for 11 years, has helped to legitimize this violence and bring us to this dark moment,” Leavitt said. “When you have mentally disturbed individuals across the country who are listening to this crazed rhetoric about the president day after day after day, it inspires them to do crazy things,” she added. The National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) sharply criticized Jeffries’ defense of his comments. “Democrats are playing with fire and pretending they don’t smell the smoke,” NRCC spokesman Mike Marinella said in a statement. “If they can’t bring themselves to put an end to this kind of rhetoric, it proves they’ll do anything to appease their far-left base.” Jeffries on Monday also blasted a proposed new congressional map that Florida’s Republican legislature is expected to pass in the coming days that is aimed at erasing Democrats’ gains in Virginia, where voters approved a gerrymander targeting four Republican-held seats last week. “The so-called map, which is a DeSantis dummymander actually, is blatantly unconstitutional,” Jeffries said. “Florida is not going to make a meaningful difference as it relates to their efforts to rig the midterm elections. That effort has failed.”
Dem Senate hopefuls under scrutiny for ‘choke them out’ rhetoric after Trump attack scare
A handful of Democratic hopefuls are under scrutiny for comments made before the apparent third assassination attempt against President Donald Trump that appeared to support violence against Republicans. Political rhetoric, particularly the kind that skews toward violent or aggressive imagery from Democrats, and its role in political violence have time and again come under the microscope during Trump’s second term in office. After the apparent third assassination attempt against Trump over the weekend, in which alleged shooter Cole Allen was subdued by federal law enforcement during the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner in Washington, D.C., the Senate’s campaign arm is putting a spotlight on aggressive comments three hopefuls, Graham Platner, Abdul El-Sayed and former Gov. Roy Cooper, made in the past. REPUBLICANS RUSH TO GREEN LIGHT WHITE HOUSE BALLROOM FOLLOWING THIRD TRUMP ASSASSINATION SCARE National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) spokesperson Bernadette Breslin slammed Democratic candidates running for the Senate for not lowering the temperature, something they once called for, and for not condemning the shooting over the weekend. “Today’s Democrats are beholden to a Trump-hating base that is dragging their party down a dangerous path,” Breslin told Fox News Digital. “Republicans have consistently made clear that political violence has no place in America, while Democrats’ silence is deafening.” Calls to tone down the rhetoric reached a zenith after the assassination of political activist Charlie Kirk last year. But that moment has done little to quiet the back-and-forth, particularly on the campaign trail. HOUSE GOP PUSHES BACK ON SENATE’S ‘SKINNY’ PLAN TO END RECORD-BREAKING DHS SHUTDOWN Platner, who is running to unseat Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, in a race that could determine control of the Senate, did little to tone down his speech on the heels of Kirk’s assassination. “I don’t wanna beat Susan Collins, I want to trounce Susan Collins,” Platner said at the time during an interview with Meidas Touch. “I want to give the Republican Party a battering.” Platner’s campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment on his past rhetoric or on whether he condemned the shooting. Just a few weeks later, fellow progressive candidate Abdul El-Sayed, who is locked in a contentious three-way Democratic primary vying for the seat held by outgoing Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., went after Republicans with heated rhetoric. EXPERT WARNS DEMOCRATS RISK BACKLASH OVER FAILURE TO CONDEMN VIOLENT RHETORIC IN THEIR RANKS He put a new spin on a phrase coined years ago by former first lady Michelle Obama during a Fight Oligarchy tour stop run by Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., in Michigan. “When they go low, we don’t go high,” El-Sayed said. “We take them to the mud and choke them out.” El-Sayed did condemn the shooting in Washington, D.C., and said in a post on X that he was “relieved that no members of the administration, media, staff, or bystanders were hurt,” but his campaign did not comment on his past rhetoric against Republicans. Former North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, who is running to flip retiring Sen. Thom Tillis’, R-N.C., seat in the upper chamber, blasted Trump as a “threat to democracy” and argued that “defeating him is imperative” during the 2024 presidential cycle. A spokesperson for his Senate bid told Fox News Digital that Cooper believed “that political violence of any kind is unacceptable, and he’s grateful to the brave law enforcement members who worked to keep the president and attendees safe on Saturday evening.” Meanwhile, the White House is pinning the blame for the weekend shooting on Democrats’ far-left base. “The left-wing cult of hatred against the president and all of those who support him and work for him has gotten multiple people hurt and killed, and it almost did so again this weekend,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Monday.
Gucci heiress launches special edition Mother’s Day handbag benefiting Melania Trump’s Fostering the Future
EXCLUSIVE: Heiress of the Gucci family and founder of the purpose-driven luxury brand AGCF Alexandra Gucci Zarini has launched a new handbag for Mother’s Day, designed in support of first lady Melania Trump’s Fostering the Future initiative, Fox News Digital has learned. The handbag is a limited edition of Zarini’s “UNITY Bag,” which she launched in December 2025. That bag was the first dedicated to supporting the first lady’s Fostering the Future initiative, which provides scholarships and educational opportunities for children in the foster-care community. That purse sold out within one week of launch. GUCCI HEIRESS LAUNCHES NEW ‘UNITY’ HANDBAG WITH PROCEEDS BENEFITING MELANIA TRUMP’S ‘FOSTERING THE FUTURE’ The Mother’s Day edition Bag will directly support Fostering the Future initiatives, funding scholarships and opportunities for foster children. Zarini’s AGCF, a U.S.-based luxury accessories brand with a mission to protect and empower children, will donate 20% of all proceeds from the special edition “UNITY Bag” to benefit Fostering the Future. AGCF says protecting the most vulnerable children is “in its truest sense, an act of collective motherhood.” “Motherhood is one of the most powerful forces for good in the world,” Zarini told Fox News Digital. “This special edition is dedicated to every woman who carries a child in her heart — whether by birth, by choice, or by the extraordinary grace of fostering.” FIRST LADY MELANIA TRUMP SCORES WIN FOR AMERICA’S FOSTER YOUTH WITH $25M INVESTMENT “Some of us find our mothers. Some of us become them for others,” Zarini continued. “And some of us learn that family is something you have to build yourself, from love that had nowhere else to go.” She added: “It is an honor to celebrate the mothers and mother figures who give their unconditional love and devotion to their children with this special edition.” Like every Unity Bag, the Mother’s Day edition bears AGCF’s signature gold oval plaque, hand-stitched into the interior and engraved with its unique edition number, which the company says is a “hallmark of authenticity and lasting collectability.” Zarini’s first Unity Bag, which Fox News Digital exclusively reported on in December 2025, was a tribute to Fostering the Future, with Zarini saying the initiative is “the purest expression of everything AGCF stands for.” “Giving back to protect and empower vulnerable children is the highest form of luxury — it is the heart of our brand and AGCF’s reason for being,” Zarini told Fox News Digital in December 2025. Zarini, during that interview, praised the first lady. “I have always admired her quiet yet unwavering devotion to children—especially the foster youth who are so often overlooked,” Zarini told Fox News Digital. “Her vision for Fostering the Future is truly inspiring, and it is an extraordinary honor to support her initiative.” President Donald Trump, alongside the first lady, in March signed the Fostering the Future executive order, which secures commitments for new educational and employment pathways for youth transitioning out of foster care. MELANIA TRUMP CHALLENGES CONGRESS TO MAKE HER FOSTER CARE EXECUTIVE ORDER PERMANENT LAW: ‘THEIR BIRTHRIGHT’ The first lady in September 2025 also launched Fostering the Future Together — a global coalition of nations committed to enhancing the well-being of children through the promotion of education, innovation and technology. AGCF told Fox News Digital that the “UNITY Bag” carries a “quiet yet powerful message of hope and shared vision: that we must come together — in unity for our children — to protect and uplift them toward a brighter future.” The purse is available exclusively at AGCF.com and at the AGCF Boutique on Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills, California. The purse retails for $2,800. Zarini created AGCF in 2020, and her nonprofit Alexandra Gucci Children’s Foundation, to raise awareness about child abuse. Zarini, in 2025, won a civil lawsuit against her former stepfather who sexually abused her beginning when she was 6 years old and through early adulthood. “Alexandra’s own childhood story drives her personal commitment to protecting children has shaped her vision of building a brand that transcends exquisite luxury fashion, championing meaningful social change,” AGCF said. AGCF donates 20% of all of its profits to causes related to empowering and protecting children. The company aims to create “sophisticated and enduring pieces that combine ethical artisanal craftsmanship with contemporary vision.”
Talarico torched after pastor’s ‘disgusting’ Trump shooting remark as Cornyn says ‘Texans should be outraged’
Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, called on Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico to “condemn” his pastor’s Sunday sermon, claiming that Talarico’s pastor “made light” of the assassination attempt on President Donald Trump at the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner this past Saturday. Talarico, a Presbyterian seminarian, has centered his campaign and progressive policies — which include anti-ICE and open borders messaging — on his faith background. At the same time, he has railed against Christian nationalism and called for the separation of church and state. “James Talarico claims to be campaigning on love and kindness, but his Pastor made light of an assassination attempt on the President of the United States in Washington, DC this weekend where a Secret Service officer was seriously injured,” Cornyn posted on X. “All Texans should be outraged and Talarico must condemn it.” On Sunday, Talarico’s minister, Dr. Jim Rigby, mentioned the assassination attempt during his sermon, saying that he knows “a lot of people have mixed feelings” about the third attempt on Trump’s life. His comment garnered light laughter from the audience. WATCH: DEMS AND REPUBLICANS CLASH ON HOUSE FLOOR FOLLOWING MOMENT OF SILENCE FOR CHARLIE KIRK “But it’s really important that if we’re going to be the healing agents of the world to realize that violence is not going to get rid of the problem we have,” Rigby said. He went on to say that the Confederacy is the “heart of the MAGA movement” and that it’s a “fascistic movement.” The White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner on Saturday was cut short after an armed gunman rushed the doors leading to the ballroom at the Washington Hilton Hotel. He fired several shots before being apprehended by law enforcement. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said that the alleged attempted assassin Cole Thomas Allen, 31, was “set out to target folks that work in the administration, likely including the president,” according to a preliminary review of evidence. CROCKETT DISMISSES CRITICS WHO THINK ‘HITLER’ AND ‘FASCIST’ COMPARISONS CONTRIBUTE TO POLITICAL VIOLENCE In a statement to Fox News Digital, Rigby accused Cornyn of taking his words out of context. “In my sermon yesterday I made it perfectly clear that violence is not the answer. Senator Cornyn is editing my words to deceive voters in Texas,” Rigby said. “In no way do I speak for James Talarico nor his campaign.” A spokesperson for Talarico’s campaign referred Fox News Digital to a post made by Talarico on Sunday following the assassination attempt, in which he condemned political violence. “I am thankful the President, Vice President, and the rest of the White House Correspondents’ Dinner attendees are safe after last night’s shooting,” Talarico said in the statement. “Political violence is unacceptable in every form, and we must continue to call it out wherever it rears its ugly head.” A spokesperson for Talarico’s campaign did not immediately comment on Rigby’s “mixed feelings” remark about the alleged assassination attempt. National Republican Senate Committee Regional Press Secretary Samantha Cantrell slammed Talarico’s silence on Rigby’s remark. “It’s hard to believe James Talarico is serious about condemning political violence while he stands by and helps his pastor radicalize an entire congregation,” Cantrell said. Republican National Committee spokesman Zach Kraft called Talarico’s “self-proclaimed mentor’s” remark “disgusting.” DEMOCRAT RISING STAR CALLED OUT FOR ‘CREEPY’ COMMENT ABOUT TRANSGENDER CHILDREN “But it is nothing new,” Kraft said. “Democrats have fanned the flames of radical left-wing violence for years and gleefully put targets on the back of President Trump, Charlie Kirk and conservatives, and conservatives across America. To Talarico and Democrats, murder is simply the cost of doing business in their conquest for power.” Rigby is a vocal supporter of leftist causes. The Washington Examiner reported in March that Rigby spoke at a pro-Palestinian protest in 2009. “If there is to be hope for humankind, then we must all realize that the true jihad is the struggle for peace and justice,” Rigby said during his speech. In the Islamic faith, jihad is understood by some to be an inner struggle meant to bring an individual closer to God, but the term has been invoked by terrorists and Islamic extremists to commit acts of violence in broader political contexts.
Trump admin tightens vise on student aid fraud in ‘ghost student’ crackdown
FIRST ON FOX: The Trump administration is stepping up its crackdown on fraud and “ghost students,” launching a real-time fraud detection tool for the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), Fox News Digital learned. “Instead of student aid and education grants going to students who deserve it, corrupt Democrats and the inept bureaucrat class of the Biden Administration allowed it to flow straight into the pockets of fraudsters for years,” a spokesperson for Vice President JD Vance, who President Donald Trump recently tapped as the administration’s fraud czar, told Fox News Digital. The Department of Education launched a screening tool Monday morning directly into the FAFSA process that flags potentially high-risk applicants, requiring them to provide government-issued identification before accessing federal student aid, including Pell Grants and loans. The Education Department estimates its efforts to identify and deny aid to fraudulent students will save taxpayers over $1 billion during this year’s FAFSA cycle, with the tool already screening 50,000 applications as of Monday afternoon. READ: DR. OZ PUTS ALL 50 GOVERNORS ON NOTICE OVER BILLIONS LOST TO MEDICAID FRAUD The new fraud detection efforts follow a surge in “ghost student” scams tied to loosened verification requirements during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the Department of Education. Ghost students are a growing trend involving fabricated or stolen identities, often powered by AI bots or criminal networks using real Americans’ personal information, used to enroll in programs, trigger financial aid disbursements, and then disappear. SBA FREEZES OVER 100,000 CALIFORNIA BORROWERS IN SWEEPING $9B PANDEMIC FRAUD CRACKDOWN “Americans deserve education. Fraudsters deserve nothing,” a senior White House official told Fox News Digital. Key verification safeguards were removed during the COVID-19 pandemic under the Biden administration, the Education Department reported, when less than 1% of students were required to verify their identity following their FAFSA submission. “This new fraud detection tool will stop fraud at the start of the process, before money goes out the door, strengthening the integrity of our programs and expanding opportunity for students who depend on these resources to finance their postsecondary education,” Secretary of Education Linda McMahon told Fox News Digital. The announcement comes as Trump established the White House Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, led by Vance, to combat fraud across federal programs. UNDERPERFORMING DC SCHOOLS’ STAFF HAS GROWN 7 TIMES FASTER THAN ENROLLMENT: AUDIT “Under the Vice President’s task force, student aid will go to students and students only,” the vice president’s spokesperson added. The increased verification process follows the Trump administration uncovering more than $1 billion in student aid fraud last year, including stopping suspected bots and ghost students from obtaining taxpayer-funded loans. The administration also previously uncovered $90 million that was disbursed to suspected scammers in 2024, including $30 million in loans to dead people and more than $40 million disbursed to companies using bots disguised as fake students. Fox News Digital’s Emma Colton contributed to this report.
Republicans rush to green light White House ballroom following third Trump assassination scare
Republicans are rushing to give President Donald Trump’s controversial ballroom addition to the White House the congressional go-ahead after a shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner. Lawmakers argue that Trump’s desire to build a ballroom at the White House — which ground to a halt after being snarled in litigation — would provide an ideal secure venue for future events following the shooting at the Washington Hilton on Saturday. Sen. Tim Sheehy, R-Mont., announced he would try to fast-track a bill to give congressional approval for construction of the ballroom in the Senate when the upper chamber returns this week. HOUSE GOP PUSHES BACK ON SENATE’S ‘SKINNY’ PLAN TO END RECORD-BREAKING DHS SHUTDOWN He argued that “a president of any party should be able to host events in a secure area without attendees worrying about their safety.” “It is an embarrassment to the strongest nation on Earth that we cannot host gatherings in our nation’s capital, including ones attended by our president, without the threat of violence and attempted assassinations,” Sheehy said in a statement. It’s an about-face on Capitol Hill for Republicans, who, since Trump first announced his plans to build a ballroom last year, have largely kept their distance from the issue. And it’s one spurred by the shooting on Saturday night, when Cole Allen was subdued by federal law enforcement after exchanging gunfire near the ballroom of the Washington Hilton, where Trump and his Cabinet, along with hundreds of guests, were seated for the annual White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner. But a lawsuit and an ensuing court-ordered injunction against the 90,000-square-foot, $400 million gilded behemoth — which was being built where the White House’s East Wing once stood — have thrown the future of the project into question. SENATE GOP RAMS THROUGH BLUEPRINT TO BANKROLL ICE, BORDER PATROL THROUGH END OF TRUMP ERA A federal court ordered in March that the construction end without congressional approval. That ruling was later appealed to allow construction to continue below ground for what Trump previously described as a “shed” for a military complex. After the shooting, Trump pushed for construction to continue. “We need the ballroom,” Trump said at a news conference Saturday night. “That’s why Secret Service, that’s why the military are demanding it.” TRUMP ADMIN URGES RESTORING BALLROOM CONSTRUCTION IN EMERGENCY MOTION: ‘TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE’ Now Republicans are getting involved. Reps. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., and Randy Fine, R-Fla., like Sheehy, are planning to introduce legislation that would give congressional approval to the project. “I don’t believe congressional approval is required for the project, but if it’ll keep activist judges on the sideline, so be it,” Boebert said on X. The latest legislative push in the lower chamber comes during a week full of deadlines and must-do items for House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La. Among them is consideration of the Senate’s budget blueprint to fund immigration operations for the remainder of Trump’s presidency. At least one lawmaker, Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, wants any consideration of the blueprint to “provide for construction of a secure ballroom on White House grounds.” For now, it’s not entirely a partisan issue. Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., one of the few Democrats at the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner, argued that rancor between the aisles should be put aside to support ballroom construction. “That venue wasn’t built to accommodate an event with the line of succession for the U.S. government,” Fetterman said on X. “After witnessing last night, drop the TDS and build the White House ballroom for events exactly like these.”
Supreme Court hands GOP a redistricting win by striking down lower court block on Texas map
The Supreme Court handed down a victory for the Republican Party on Monday, striking down a lower court’s ruling that had blocked Texas’ plans for redrawing its congressional districts. The court hung its order on reasoning from a previous ruling in Abbott v. League of United Latin American Citizens but did not elaborate. The three liberal justices, Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson, dissented. The decision comes after the Supreme Court temporarily greenlit the state’s map in December and California’s map in February. Both states spearheaded the mid-cycle redistricting fights that have now been cropping up across the country. The high court’s approval of both states’ maps, giving Republicans and Democrats five-seat advantages, respectively, served to cancel each other’s efforts out ahead of the 2026 midterms. DOJ BACKS TEXAS IN SUPREME COURT FIGHT OVER REPUBLICAN-DRAWN MAP Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, had asked the Supreme Court last year to pause a three-judge panel’s ruling in the Western District of Texas that found 2-1 that race was too much of a factor in its redraw and that the state had improperly attempted to pack Latino and Black voters into new districts. The Department of Justice also chimed in, telling the high court to intervene and reverse the lower court decision, saying Texas’ choice to change its map was driven by purely “partisan objectives,” not racial objectives, which could violate the Voting Rights Act. The voting and immigrant rights groups who challenged Texas and Abbott claimed that the map was an illegal racial gerrymander. The high court granted a 6-3 temporary stay in December, finding in an unsigned order that the groups had committed “at least two serious errors,” including that they did not extend the Texas legislature the “presumption of legislative good faith.” REAGAN-APPOINTED JUDGE TORCHES COLLEAGUES IN TEXAS MAP FIGHT Second, the groups did not offer an alternative map that served Texas’ stated political needs, the justices said. The high court said in the order that the lower court should also not have “interfered with an active primary campaign, causing much confusion and upsetting the delicate federal-state balance in elections.” In the dissent, Justice Elena Kagan, an Obama appointee, criticized the conservative majority for its “eagerness to playact a district court.” “This Court’s stay guarantees that Texas’s new map, with all its enhanced partisan advantage, will govern next year’s elections for the House of Representatives,” Kagan wrote. “And this Court’s stay ensures that many Texas citizens, for no good reason, will be placed in electoral districts because of their race. And that result, as this Court has pronounced year in and year out, is a violation of the Constitution.”