EXCLUSIVE: Pence pushes to rename bill for Lindsey Graham, recalls final talk: ‘Bring Putin to the table’
FIRST ON FOX: Former Vice President Mike Pence is calling on Congress to rename Sen. Lindsey Graham’s signature Russia sanctions legislation after the late South Carolina Republican, telling Fox News Digital there would be “no more fitting tribute” to one of the Senate’s most influential national security hawks. In an exclusive interview, Pence said Graham’s years-long push for tougher sanctions against Russia should become both his legislative legacy and a permanent reminder of his unwavering support for Ukraine and America’s allies. Pence argued Congress has a rare opportunity to honor Graham by passing the bipartisan sanctions package he spent years championing and sending it to President Donald Trump with the senator’s name attached. GRAHAM REPORTEDLY REFUSED MEDICAL HELP BEFORE SCHEDULED TV APPEARANCE “I also believe it’d be altogether fitting to put Sen. Lindsey Graham’s name on that bill,” Pence told Fox News Digital. “Send it to the president, have him sign it into law.” Pence said Graham viewed Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as one of the defining geopolitical challenges of the era and believed economic pressure was essential to forcing Russian President Vladimir Putin to negotiate. “He never had any illusions about who we were dealing with — with Vladimir Putin,” Pence said. The former vice president, who has traveled to Ukraine twice since Russia’s invasion, said Graham understood that Ukraine represented “a frontier of freedom” and consistently pushed both Republican and Democratic administrations to stand firmly with America’s allies. When asked whether the sanctions legislation could ultimately become Graham’s greatest achievement, Pence said it may well define how history remembers the longtime senator. “I think it could be,” Pence said. EUROPE BANKROLLS PUTIN’S WAR MACHINE EVEN AS NATO RACES TO BOLSTER DEFENSES He pointed to Graham’s decades-long advocacy for Israel, Ukraine and a stronger NATO alliance, saying the senator remained remarkably consistent throughout his public career. Pence said Graham also played an important role in encouraging NATO allies to increase defense spending during the first Trump administration, while remaining one of Israel’s fiercest advocates on Capitol Hill. For Pence, however, Graham’s final legislative push is inseparable from one of their last conversations together. He still remembers the meeting vividly. Pence and his wife, Karen, had just landed at Reagan National Airport and were making their way through the terminal when they spotted Graham heading toward another gate. As he almost always did, Graham began by asking about Pence’s family. The senator wanted updates on Pence’s son, a Marine Corps fighter pilot, and his son-in-law, a Navy fighter pilot. Pence said Graham never forgot to ask about them. But after briefly catching up, the conversation shifted to the issue occupying Graham’s attention in his final months. “We went straight into a conversation about Ukraine sanctions,” Pence recalled. Pence thanked Graham for leading the effort and mentioned a Wall Street Journal opinion piece supporting tougher sanctions against Russia. Graham immediately leaned in. “He did one of those — puts his finger in my chest — and said, ‘You just stay on this. This is the way we’re gonna get this done. This is the way you bring Putin to the table.’” The two men embraced before heading toward separate gates. “We parted with a handshake and a hug,” Pence said. LINDSEY GRAHAM, SOUTH CAROLINA SENATOR WHO ROSE FROM SMALL-TOWN ROOTS TO GOP POWER BROKER, DIES AT 71 Looking back, Pence said that brief airport encounter perfectly captured the man he had known for decades. Graham enjoyed talking about family and could always be counted on for a joke, Pence said, but the personal conversation rarely lasted long before he returned to public policy. “He was a very serious legislator,” Pence said. “He was a man who was deeply committed to policy.” Pence said Graham’s convictions never changed, whether the issue was supporting the military, standing with Israel, protecting unborn life or confronting authoritarian regimes like Russia, Iran and China. “He never wavered,” Pence said. The former vice president said he learned of Graham’s death Sunday morning and remains deeply saddened by the loss of someone he first came to know during the Republican Revolution of the 1990s before serving alongside him in Congress and later in the Trump administration. “I was taken aback by the news,” Pence said. “I really, really have a heavy heart to this hour.” Pence said he hopes lawmakers finish the work Graham dedicated years to advancing. “I really do believe there would be no more fitting tribute to the life and vision of Senator Lindsey Graham than for Congress to pass and the president to sign the tough Russia sanctions bill,” Pence said. “I’m going to continue to champion that in the days ahead.” The White House did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
Former Marine running for Congress says Trump is the Antichrist and ‘must be killed’ in shocking video
A Florida congressional candidate and former U.S. Marine is facing backlash after posting a video calling President Donald Trump “the Antichrist” and saying the president “must be killed.” William Upham, a Republican write-in candidate for Florida’s 5th Congressional District who describes himself on X as a prosecutor “running to fix a broken political system,” opens the nearly seven-minute video by saying he entered the race to restore bipartisanship, return power to the working class and “fix our broken political system.” The tone quickly shifts, however, as Upham says he has come to believe the country is “broken” and that America is engaged in a spiritual battle. TWO YEARS AFTER BUTLER, THREATS AGAINST TRUMP KEEP ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT IN SHARP FOCUS “We are led by a president who is the enemy of God,” Upham says before citing Bible passages and discussing the oath he took as a Marine officer to defend the Constitution “against all enemies, foreign and domestic.” 🚨 Know something we should investigate? 📩 [email protected] 📸 IG: @fndstephprice 🎥 X: @StephenyPrice Your tip could lead to our next story. He then claims there is “no doubt” Trump is “the Antichrist.” “He is a false messiah. And he is your enemy. And he must be killed,” Upham said. BUTLER MAN’S ONLINE RANTS TO KILL TRUMP END IN GUILTY PLEA AFTER FBI PROBE Later in the video, Upham urges viewers to question whether they are “worshiping a false idol” before concluding, “President Trump is the Antichrist. And he will be killed and sent to hell. God will prevail against evil.” The U.S. Marine Corps quickly condemned Upham, saying he was medically discharged May 30, 2025. “The Marine Corps is aware of the disturbing statements made by William Upham,” the service wrote on X. “The comments made by Upham are a direct violation of the oath he swore to uphold and are not in keeping with the service’s values.” TRUMP FACES UNPRECEDENTED THIRD ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT The U.S. Secret Service also acknowledged the comments in a statement to Fox News Digital. “The U.S. Secret Service is aware of the comments made by a congressional candidate in Florida, and we investigate anything that can be perceived as a threat toward one of our protectees,” a spokesperson said. “Out of concern for operational security, we do not discuss matters of protective intelligence.” Acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao also condemned the remarks, writing on X, “Unacceptable. William Upham is no longer a Marine and does not represent our values or ethos.” Fox News Digital reached out to the FBI, the White House and Upham’s campaign for comment.
‘She saw dollar signs’: Former Obama counsel pressed over years-long Epstein ties
Former Obama White House counsel Kathryn Ruemmler faced a bipartisan grilling in the House Oversight Committee on Wednesday with members of the panel questioning her account of her years-long relationship with the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Ruemmler, who recently resigned as Goldman Sachs’ top lawyer amid scrutiny over her ties to Epstein, voluntarily appeared for a closed-door interview as part of the committee’s probe into Epstein and his longtime associate, convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell. Lawmakers in both parties dismissed her claim that her relationship with Epstein was limited, while Democrats argued she should have been interviewed under oath. “She was desperately trying to distance herself from Epstein, but the reality is, we have the emails,” Rep. Suhas Subramanyam, D-Va., a member of the oversight panel, told Fox News Digital. “It’s very clear that she had a pretty friendly relationship with him.” CLINTON JUDGE ORDERS DOJ TO UNSEAL THE EPSTEIN FILES IT HAS BEEN KEEPING HIDDEN “Even when we presented her with the emails, all she could say was that she either showed poor judgment or that her jokes about his massages were in poor taste,” he said. “She also admitted that she knew about the massages. She just didn’t know that they were underage girls.” “She knew that this wasn’t a man of good character, certainly, and someone who is a sex offender and registered as such,” he went on. “But she saw dollar signs, and she decided that she would overlook all that because he was rich and powerful.” Wednesday’s interview came after emails released by the Justice Department showed that she met with Epstein numerous times and exchanged emails and gifts years after he was convicted of soliciting a minor in 2008. The two first connected in 2014 while Ruemmler was a partner at the law firm Latham & Watkins and continued their relationship into 2019. Epstein died by suicide in August 2019 while awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges. CLINTON CONFIDANT WHO CALLED MAXWELL HIS ‘LOVER’ GRILLED BY CONGRESS OVER EPSTEIN TIES Ruemmler has consistently denied any wrongdoing and has said she was unaware of any criminal conduct by Epstein during the years they were in contact. House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., also called Ruemmler’s relationship with Epstein “very concerning.” “Looking at the communication between Ruemmler and Epstein is how she tried and worked as hard as anyone — well I would say more than anyone — and tried to rehabilitate his image after he was convicted of solicitation of a minor,” he said. “So this is someone that was very close with Epstein.” In conversations with reporters, House Oversight Committee ranking member Robert Garcia, D-Calif., also questioned Ruemmler’s testimony to the panel. “I think it is difficult to see how she’s being completely truthful in there with the answer that she’s giving the committee,” Garcia said. “She made the decision to have an ongoing personal friendship and relationship with someone that had been accused and convicted of sexual assault with a minor, and she has no explanation as to why she chose to continue that relationship,” he continued.
Ex-Dem fundraiser torches Biden as book launch implodes: ‘No one wants to read’
Lindy Li, a former top Democratic fundraiser, believes President Joe Biden is only doing himself a disservice by promising the public another explanation of why he decided to run for re-election in 2024 despite mounting concerns about his age and cognitive performance. In her view, Biden’s upcoming memoir, “Promise Me, America,” will only serve to reopen painful wounds that Democrats have struggled to move past since the 2024 election loss. In a way, she believes the book is a bit of a microcosm of Biden’s presidency. “They’re thinking, ‘Why can’t you just shut the f— up?’ Prior to me leaving the party, they wanted nothing to do with this guy. It was so bad that when, finally, Biden exited on July 21, there was no goodbye party other than a staffer one in the Rose Garden. There was nothing,” Li said. “Jill has him writing books that no one wants to read instead of fully enjoying his retirement,” Li said, referring to Jill Biden, the former first lady. EX-DEM INSIDER REVEALS SHE WILL EXPOSE DEMOCRATS WHO COVERED UP BIDEN’S COGNITIVE DECLINE IN NEW BOOK “Just like she had him out running for president — a presidency that no one wanted, not even Democrats — instead of enjoying his retirement. He should have been in retirement 10, 20 years ago, but they need the money.” Biden described his upcoming book in a post to X Wednesday morning. “It’s about the challenges we face as a nation. About the decisions I made and why I made them,” Biden said, igniting mockery on social media. “It’s about why I chose to run for reelection and why I chose to step aside.” “The first lie of Joe Biden’s book launch: ‘I’ve written a book,’” conservative communicator Steve Guest wrote. “Joe Biden couldn’t sign his own pardons. Now he’s ‘written’ a book, which Democrats forced him to release after the midterms so he wouldn’t be in the news to remind people how bad he was,” wrote Outkick founder Clay Travis. “Who in the world is buying this book?” “Who do we think wrote this book,” Daily Wire editor-in-chief Brent Scher wondered. “Did the autopen write this too,” Missouri Republican Rep. Jason Smith questioned. Li, who is publishing a new book of her own, “Unburdened,” later this year, was privy to many of the party’s internal discussions, research and panic behind the scenes, which indicated Biden enjoyed only shaky support even among his own camp long before he ultimately dropped out of the 2024 election. BIDEN BOOK LAUNCH BACKFIRES AS CRITICS MOCK ‘AUTOPEN’ PRESIDENT INTO OBLIVION In light of what she knows, Li doubts there is a way for Biden to spin his exit that won’t do further harm to his own image, an image his campaign went to great lengths to protect. Li recalled how the Biden campaign confiscated her phone at a 2023 event. “The [Democratic National Committee] was routinely confiscating the phones of top donors with social media followings,” Li said, referring to a party fundraising and campaign group. “They took away my phone because they knew I was a prolific tweeter. And I posted something on Instagram that night, and a finance director from the DNC called me at around 10 or 11 that same night to instruct me to delete everything from Instagram about Biden that I posted that day. “The reason is because [Biden] seemed infirm. He seemed weak.” DEMOCRATS’ MIDTERM PUSH CLOUDED BY INFIGHTING OVER PARTY KEEPING 2024 AUTOPSY UNDER WRAPS Now on this side of his presidency, Li believes he will further aggravate Democrats who have wanted to move past the 2024 election and reignite questions of why Biden wasn’t asked to step aside sooner. “It’s very clear they were trying to hide the fact that instead of having a candidate they could be proud of, they were busy hiding a candidate that they were deeply ashamed of,” she added. Fox News’ Ashley DiMella contributed to this report
Dems unite to boycott hearing on emerging threat facing America: ‘Don’t want to know the truth’
The Democratic side of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee dais was empty Wednesday as Republicans questioned witnesses at a hearing on “Exposing Fraud in America,” prompting GOP lawmakers to accuse the minority of ducking a politically uncomfortable issue. Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., the ranking member on the committee, was the only Democrat present for the hearing’s opening statements. He asked a handful of questions before appearing to leave sometime before Chairman Rand Paul, R-Ky., addressed witnesses Nick Shirley, James O’Keefe and Dylan Hedtler-Gaudette. Otherwise, the Democratic side of the dais was vacant. FTC CHIEF ACCUSES DEMOCRATS OF ‘TRYING TO PROTECT THE FRAUDSTERS’ BY WITHHOLDING DATA FROM TRUMP ADMIN Fox News Digital reached out to every Democrat on the Senate Homeland Security Committee, but none responded by press time. Fox News Digital also reached out to Paul for his reaction. Republicans and conservative commentators quickly criticized the Democrats’ absence amid ongoing scrutiny of fraud cases in Minnesota, California and other states. Besides Peters, who did not stay for the main portion of the hearing, Democrats on the panel include senators John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire, Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, Ruben Gallego of Arizona, Andy Kim of New Jersey and Elissa Slotkin of Michigan. OWNER OF DAYCARE IN VIRAL NICK SHIRLEY VIDEO CHARGED IN $4.6M DAYCARE FRAUD SCHEME, PROSECUTORS SAY At one point, Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, pointed out the elephant — or donkey — missing from the room. When Paul turned to call on Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., to offer his questions, Moreno said a Democrat is supposed to be given time to question witnesses after a Republican finishes. “If there were a Democrat here, yes,” Paul replied. “So, there’s no Democrats present at a hearing about fraud,” Moreno said, leading Paul to state for the record, “There doesn’t appear to be a great deal of interest across the aisle.” The lack of attendance from the Democrats drew criticisms online. Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., labeled the no-show Democrats “cowards” in an X message. Fox News anchor Harris Faulkner asked Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., about the optics of Democrats’ half-circle of empty seats on Wednesday. “They don’t want to know the truth about this. … You look at these areas that have just basically turned a blind eye and have let people move forward with fraud,” Blackburn said. TOP FEDERAL PROSECUTOR CALLS CALIFORNIA A ‘FRAUDSTER’S PARADISE,’ WARNS STATE OFFICIALS COULD FACE CHARGES Blackburn previously introduced legislation that would make defrauding the federal government a denaturalizing and deportable offense, she said. Florida political reporter Eric Daugherty commented that the Senate held an important “anti-taxpayer fraud meeting … with Nick Shirley and James O’Keefe, and … every single Democrat seat is empty.” “One hundred percent of Democrats on the committee were invited – 0% showed up. The party of fraud,” Daugherty declared. During the hearing, Shirley sounded off about what he and his reporting partner David Hoch discovered as they visited various, largely Somali-owned daycare center addresses in Minneapolis. “When we talk about fraud, we are talking about money stolen from hardworking, law-abiding, taxpaying citizens,” Shirley said. “This issue has nothing to do with political parties, because no dollar says Republican or Democrat on it. When a fraudster commits fraud, he or she steals from all of us. The worst part is that fraud affects the most vulnerable and needy, as they rely the most on government services,” he said, describing a 43-minute video he composed from touring such sites with Hoch in Minneapolis. Shirley and Hoch’s work later earned them a State of the Union invitation from Rep. Pete Stauber, R-Minn. With the Democratic dais vacant, Shirley noted that Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz announced in January 2026 that he would not seek a third term, and the daycare organization with the highest level of government funding purportedly pleaded guilty to fraud and the largest “autism fraud” bust in history has occurred in Minnesota. “Elon [Musk] was right when he said, ‘The fraudsters always complain the loudest,’” he said. James O’Keefe testified about his work in Los Angeles, where he and his journalists recorded 28 exchanges with election petition circulators offering money or drugs in exchange for ballot signatures. SIGN UP TO GET THE POLITICS NEWSLETTER “They campaign in this building (the Capitol) about freedom and protecting democracy, preventing disenfranchisement and how nobody is above the law,” O’Keefe testified. “But if those principles are not enforced when they are violated in broad daylight, they are not principles at all. They are slogans.”
House Democrats fracture badly over Massie amendment to cut $3.3B in U.S. aid to Israel
Democrats split sharply over legislation to terminate aid to Israel, highlighting hardening attitudes toward the Jewish state as support for the Palestinian cause grows within party ranks. House lawmakers voted 104-313 to reject an amendment that would have cut $3.3 billion in foreign aid to Israel for the next fiscal year in a vote that even split House Democratic leadership, which declined to whip members either way. The hotly contested vote gave lawmakers their first chance this Congress to weigh in directly on taxpayer-funded aid to Israel. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., joined 97 other Democrats in opposing its elimination, while the chamber’s second-ranking Democrat, Rep. Katherine Clark, D-Mass., joined 102 other Democrats in supporting the measure. Ten Democrats voted present. DOZENS OF DEMS FLIP ON ISRAEL, VOTE TO BAN ARMS SALES IN PROTEST OF IRAN WAR Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., a leading Israel critic, offered the measure as an amendment to a State Department appropriations bill, calling the country the “biggest welfare recipient of the United States.” He was the lone Republican to support the amendment. Opponents argued the measure would damage one of the United States’ most critical relationships in the Middle East amid the Iran war and hamper Israel’s ability to combat terrorist organizations, including Hamas and Hezbollah. “The same terrorists and terrorist entities that threaten Israel also threaten the United States and our people directly,” Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart, R-Fla., said Wednesday. “When we give Israel the tools and capabilities to eliminate these terrorist threats … we are making America and the American people safer.” The Florida Republican also noted that the vast majority of the funding is used by Israel to purchase American-made weaponry, supporting the U.S. industrial base. Several prominent Democrats agreed, offering sharp criticism of the Massie amendment. “This amendment would embolden the enemies of peace, those pursuing the complete elimination of Israel and those who seek the death of Jews,” former House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., said during debate on the measure. Despite the Massie amendment failing overwhelmingly, supporters still took a victory lap. “More Democrats than ever before voted to stop sending money to Benjamin Netanyahu’s government, despite the fact that this amendment was an imperfect vehicle for our movement,” Congressional Progressive Caucus Chair Greg Casar, D-Texas, said following the vote. “Tomorrow we get back to work to build a Democratic Party that spends taxpayer dollars on working people, not an out of control military abroad. We will win.” MIKE HUCKABEE REJECTS RO KHANNA’S ISRAEL VISIT CLAIMS: ‘NOT HELD AT GUNPOINT’ Jeffries, who announced his opposition to the Massie amendment during a closed-door meeting on Tuesday, argued the measure was poorly drafted. House Democratic Caucus Chairman Pete Aguilar, D-Calif., the third-ranking House Democrat, agreed. “As written, it is overly broad in that it prohibits or would limit the use of funds for longstanding initiatives related to humanitarian aid, refugee resettlement, peace-building and U.S. Embassy operations,” Jeffries wrote in a “Dear Colleague” letter, adding that U.S. policy toward Israel must change. Clark, his deputy, and a bevy of Democrats rejected his position, arguing the country’s war in Gaza — an event some lawmakers have labeled a genocide — necessitated a need to end financial support to the Jewish state. “If we hope to change Israel’s behavior, we must use our leverage,” Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-Texas, said on the House floor. “The American people have seen this tragedy with their own eyes. … They do not support giving Israel more weapons.” Massie’s amendment did not include language preventing non-military aid from also being cut off. “It’s really bad for our ally, for our national security. They shouldn’t be messing around like this,” Rep. Greg Landsman, D-Ohio, told Fox News in June. The Ohio Democrat also accused Republicans of putting the measure on the floor to expose divisions among his party. Wednesday’s vote comes as a growing number of Democrats take an increasingly hard line against Israel, according to recent polling. An NBC News survey released in March found that 67% of Democratic voters have more sympathy for Gaza than Israel, while just 17% said the opposite. Three socialists trounced establishment-aligned candidates in New York’s June primaries while largely running on opposition to Israel. Meanwhile, Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., who supports terminating U.S. aid to Israel, was pressed to support Hamas’ Oct. 7 invasion of Israel during an interview with a leftist news outlet Tuesday. Though Khanna declined to say the brutal attack was justified, the questioning was viewed by several Democratic commentators as reflective of growing hostility toward Israel within the party. Given changing attitudes, some Democrats predicted Massie’s amendment would draw significant support. “I wouldn’t be surprised if it was quite large because I don’t think this is just an ideological issue. I don’t think this is just a lefty thing,” Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., told Fox News. “I think this is affecting people all across the board.”
Harris calls for ICE probe after Maine shooting amid renewed ‘border czar’ criticism
Former Vice President Kamala Harris blasted Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Tuesday after agents fatally shot a Colombian national during a Maine operation, sparking criticism from opponents who contrasted her response with her silence on high-profile murders committed by illegal immigrants. Harris called for “an immediate, independent, and transparent investigation” into the death of 26-year-old Joan Sebastian Guerrero. Guerrero was shot Monday after attempting to flee ICE officers in a vehicle during an operation targeting an illegal immigrant with a final order of removal, according to the Department of Homeland Security. “Joan Sebastian Guerrero should still be alive,” Harris wrote Tuesday on X. “This is the second time in a week that ICE agents have killed someone who — by their own admission — was not the subject of their operation. Now Sebastian is dead, his killing witnessed by his three-year-old daughter wearing her Bluey pajamas. MAINE ICE SHOOTING VICTIM WAS NOT TARGET OF ARREST WARRANT, SEN. KING’S OFFICE SAYS AFTER EARLIER DHS ACCOUNT “This cannot be acceptable in America,” Harris continued. “Anyone responsible for wrongdoing must be held accountable.” Harris’ comments quickly sparked criticism online, with many users pointing to her role overseeing the Biden administration’s efforts to address the root causes of migration from Central America, a position Republicans frequently referred to as the administration’s “border czar.” During the Biden administration, federal officials estimated that roughly 2 million known “gotaways” entered the U.S. after crossing the border illegally and avoiding capture. ICE officers were conducting surveillance Monday morning at the last known address of an illegal immigrant with a final order of removal in Biddeford, Maine, when Guerrero allegedly fled in a vehicle after officers attempted to make contact, according to Homeland Security. “The vehicle attempted to flee the scene and, fearing for public safety, an officer discharged his weapon,” the department said in a statement. “The driver of the vehicle was struck, and emergency services were immediately contacted. He passed away from his injuries.” An eyewitness told Maine’s Portland Press Herald that Guerrero appeared to drive toward federal agents before shots were fired. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said Guerrero was not the intended target of the operation. However, the department said in a statement to Fox News Digital that Guerrero had illegally crossed the border during the Biden administration in September 2023. It is unknown if he was awaiting asylum, but he was granted a work permit in May 2025. “To be clear, work authorization does not confer legal status in the United States,” the spokesperson said in a statement. ICE AGENTS INSTRUCTED TO END MOST VEHICLE STOPS IN MAJOR POLICY SHIFT Many commentators also argued Harris and other leading Democrats have been far less vocal in publicly mourning Americans killed by illegal immigrants than in condemning ICE enforcement actions. Some critics cited the 2024 death of Georgia nursing student Laken Riley, who was killed by Venezuelan illegal immigrant Jose Ibarra after he illegally entered the U.S. Others referenced Maryland mother Rachel Morin, who was raped and murdered by Salvadoran illegal immigrant Victor Antonio Martinez-Hernandez. “I will start giving a f— about the illegals killed by ICE when Democrats start giving a f— about Americans killed by illegals,” one X user wrote. Unlike in the killing of Guerrero, Harris did not make a social media post paying tribute to Riley or Morin’s death. Harris did not publicly acknowledge the death of those young women at the hands of illegal immigrants until pressed by Fox News host Bret Baier in an Oct. 24, 2024, interview. WATCH: ANGEL MOM TURNS TABLES ON SANCTUARY POLITICIANS WITH BASIC QUESTION ABOUT THEIR PRIORITIES “First of all, those are tragic cases,” Harris said after Baier asked whether the Biden administration bore any responsibility for the deaths. “There’s no question about that. I can’t imagine the pain that the families of those victims have experienced for a loss that should not have occurred.” The deaths of Riley and Morin became a flashpoint issue for Republicans during the 2024 presidential campaign and throughout the Trump administration’s push to tighten immigration enforcement. Social media users also pointed to angel families, who are relatives of Americans killed by illegal immigrants who have become prominent advocates for stronger border security and immigration enforcement. The families frequently have appeared alongside President Donald Trump and Republican lawmakers at campaign events, the White House and on Capitol Hill to highlight crimes committed by people in the country illegally. Harris’ statement follows another July post she made after a separate fatal ICE shooting in Houston involving Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, whom the Department of Homeland Security also said attempted to ram federal officers with his vehicle during a traffic stop. “Lorenzo Salgado Araujo’s family called him ‘El mundo entero’ — the whole world,” Harris wrote Thursday. “Doug and my prayers are with Lorenzo’s wife, his three sons, and all those who loved and knew him. I join his son Ronaldo in calling for an immediate, independent, and transparent investigation.” Fox News Digital reached out to the White House and Harris for comment.
Trump’s ‘third world’ travel ban could become permanent if firebrand Republican lawmaker gets her way
FIRST ON FOX: One House Republican is moving forward with efforts to codify President Donald Trump’s sweeping travel ban on “third-world” countries. Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., will introduce legislation Wednesday that would bar people from 39 countries across the Caribbean, Middle East and Africa from entering the United States, Fox News Digital has learned. Mace’s bill, titled the Third World Immigration Moratorium Act, would also block entry for individuals traveling on Palestinian Authority-issued documents. The South Carolina lawmaker argued her legislation, which mirrors the list of countries facing full or partial bans under the Trump administration, is necessary because many immigrants from the affected countries have failed to assimilate into American life. TRUMP ADMIN ANNOUNCES EXPANSION OF VISA RESTRICTION POLICY IN WESTERN HEMISPHERE “For too long, Washington has looked the other way while bad actors exploited every gap in our system and American families paid the price. Those days are over,” Mace said in a statement obtained by Fox News Digital on her upcoming legislation. “If you import the third world, you will become the third world.” “This bill makes crystal clear: entry into the United States is a privilege, not a right,” she continued. “We make absolutely no apologies for defending it.” Countries that would face travel restrictions are Afghanistan, Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Benin, Burkina Faso, Burma, Burundi, Chad, Cote d’Ivoire, Cuba, Dominica, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Gabon, Gambia, Haiti, Iran, Laos, Libya, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Republic of the Congo, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Tanzania, Togo, Tonga, Turkmenistan, Venezuela, Yemen, Zambia and Zimbabwe. The proposal comes after the Trump administration resurrected a travel ban on 12 countries in June 2025 after an Egyptian national was charged with carrying out a deadly firebombing attack in Boulder, Colo., on demonstrators calling for the release of hostages in Gaza. Trump later moved to expand the list by more than double after an Afghan national fatally shot 20-year-old Sarah Beckstrom, a member of the West Virginia National Guard, and severely injured U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe, 25, in Washington, D.C., in November. The president argued the move was necessary to protect national security and guard against visa overstays after both perpetrators were in the country illegally after overstaying their visas. Many of the countries on the travel ban list are among the poorest in the world and have struggled with instability and terrorism. Iran and Cuba — both longtime U.S. adversaries — are also among the countries targeted by the proposal. Mace’s legislation would exempt several categories of travelers, including lawful permanent residents, dual nationals using passports from countries not subject to the restrictions, diplomats, NATO personnel, athletes participating in major international competitions, special immigrant visa recipients who assisted U.S. forces, and some people fleeing ethnic or religious persecution in Iran. ALITO RIPS RACE-BASED CLAIM IN HIGH-STAKES MIGRANT PROTECTIONS CASE AT SUPREME COURT Under Mace’s bill, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) secretary would possess the authority to grant case-by-case waivers if admitting an individual is determined to be in the nation’s “critical interest.” But the legislation is likely to face an uphill battle in the House amid expected opposition from Democrats and some Republicans who support legal immigration from several of the countries on her list. Earlier this year, a handful of Republicans joined Democrats in voting to extend Temporary Protected Status for Haitians despite the Trump administration’s opposition. Some Republicans have also defended legal immigration for people from Cuba, Venezuela and other countries subject to the travel ban and often used as proxies of other foreign powers. Mace previously introduced legislation that would bar naturalized citizens from serving in most of the federal government, including in Congress and as federal judges. Wednesday’s legislation comes as Mace weighs her political future. The Republican firebrand is serving the final months of her House term after losing her bid for South Carolina governor earlier this year. She has floated running in a fast-approaching primary election to succeed the late Sen. Lindsey Graham, who died unexpectedly late Saturday evening.
How the ‘long march’ through the institutions led to socialist takeover of Dem Party: ‘Need to wake up’
The rise of socialist candidates across the United States has reignited a long-running debate over how far left the Democratic Party has shifted, with political veterans from both parties telling Fox News Digital the movement’s success is the product of decades of ideological change that started with cultural institutions and that failing to confront it could have profound consequences for the country’s future. “Yuri Bezmenov, a KGB defector, warned of ‘great brainwashing’ schemes to undermine America and the West some 40 years ago,” New York City Republican Councilwoman Inna Vernikov, who grew up in Soviet Ukraine, told Fox News Digital. “What we’re seeing now is anything but ‘grassroots’; it’s the effect of decades-long campaigns to subvert American thought and way of life.” That campaign, some experts argue, is the underlying reason behind the rise of socialist candidates like New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and the candidates he backed for Congress last month, as well as Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson, Sen. Bernie Sanders, Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan, and the various other candidates who embrace socialist ideology. THE DEMOCRATIC SOCIALISTS ARE NO LONGER ON THE FRINGE “Marxist schemes slowly mainstreamed once-fringe ideas like ‘America is systematically racist,’ or ‘all cops are bastards,’ and ‘capitalism is evil,’” Vernikov explained. “The biggest culprits are the education system, which is increasingly beholden to radicalized teachers’ unions, and moderate Democrat politicians who have refused to challenge – and in most cases embraced – their radical, anti-West peers. The next thing you know, we have a socialist mayor committed to the destruction of our value system and three of his cronies on their way to Congress.” Mike Gonzalez, a senior fellow at the Heritage Foundation who fled communist Cuba in the 1970s, told Fox News Digital the path to this point over the last several decades was blazed by the “long march through the institutions” where the “cultural left took over the K-12 school system, higher education, art houses, media, entertainment, and museums.” NEWT GINGRICH: THE DECLARATION STILL TERRIFIES SOCIALISTS AND TYRANTS, HERE AND ABROAD Gonzalez, co-author of the book “NextGen Marxism: What It Is and How to Combat It,” pointed to a sweeping new White House report that concluded the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of American History (NMAH) has become a taxpayer-backed institution of “ideological capture” and “extreme political activism.” “People think America is exceptional because it is rich and powerful, which completely misunderstands American exceptionalism and the concept of exceptionalism. American exceptionalism is not at all about America being free, rich and powerful,” Gonzalez said. “On the contrary, America is rich and powerful because of America’s exceptional nature. And that has nothing to do with being rich and powerful. It has to do with the fact that America derived its sovereignty from the concept of natural rights. They stopped demanding their rights as Englishmen and turned around and started demanding their rights as men under the concept of natural rights — that they have these rights that are endowed by the Creator with natural rights, and that these rights are eternal. Nobody has taught Mamdani this. Instead, they have taught Mamdani to hate America — that America is structurally oppressive and systemically racist — and that has been the message of these institutions.” SOCIALISTS LAUNCH RADICAL PLATFORM TO ABOLISH THE US SENATE IN BID TO FUNDAMENTALLY TRANSFORM AMERICA As concerns about the growth of socialism and communism grow, the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) is adopting and rolling out an updated platform that cuts at the heart of what many conservatives view as America’s constitutional framework and public-safety system, including calls to abolish the U.S. Senate, replace the Electoral College, defund police departments and abolish prisons. Gonzalez told Fox News Digital that if he had to put a date on when the left’s cultural takeover began to explode, it would be the 1980s. “It started in earnest in the ’80s because the members of the New Left that had been terrorists, like the Weather Underground and the Black Panthers and so forth, they come out of hiding and they start taking over the teaching profession,” Gonzalez explained. “They go into cultural areas and by the late ’80s, you have the doctrine of critical race theory, before that, you have critical legal theory and that takes over the law schools and then it gravitates to all faculties, and then it comes to the Ivy walls in the second decade of the 21st century with Obama, Obama creates the environment for it.” Much has been made in recent months about the disappearance of “moderates” within the Democratic Party and some attribute that to what Gonzalez referred to as the “decimation” of moderate Democrats in red and purple districts during the Obama years. Obama, who moved in many of the same Chicago political and civic circles as former Weather Underground co-founder Bill Ayers during his early political career, is often accused by conservatives of opening the door to the far-left of the party with his rhetoric and big government policies like Obamacare. During Obama’s eight years in office, Democrats lost more than 1,000 elected offices nationwide, including 63 House seats, 12 Senate seats, 12 governorships, and roughly 940 state legislative seats, in one of the party’s most severe down-ballot declines in modern history. During Obama’s presidency, as moderate Democrats were losing elected offices across the country, several high-profile left-wing movements emerged, including Occupy Wall Street and Black Lives Matter. The country also witnessed widespread protests, and, in some cities, riots, following high-profile police shootings, including the unrest in Ferguson, Missouri, after the 2014 shooting of Michael Brown. How did the Democratic Party go from pragmatic bipartisan leaders in the 1980s and 1990s to the schism between socialists and moderates that exists today? Gonzalez suggested patriotism is the underlying issue. “I would go back to pre-Bill Clinton,” Gonzalez said when asked about the last time the Democratic Party had leaders who could stand up to the socialist wing. “I would say Tip O’Neill, and Dick Gephardt, these
Trump reverses DHS policy, orders ICE to resume vehicle stops after one-day pause
The day after the Department of Homeland Security announced a pause on ICE vehicle stops, President Donald Trump instructed the agency to reverse course on what he called “one of ICE’s most important and effective Crime Fighting tools.” In a social media post, Trump wrote, “We CANNOT give up one of ICE’s most important and effective Crime fighting tools, THE TRAFFIC STOP!” The president reasoned that the announced DHS policy shift would be “playing right into the criminal’s [sic] hands.” “The Radical Left Dumocrats would like to see this done, but it won’t happen on my watch,” he wrote. Addressing federal agents directly, he then said, “ICE, be judicious, fair and smart, and go back and do your very important job.” ICE AGENTS INSTRUCTED TO END MOST VEHICLE STOPS IN MAJOR POLICY SHIFT The White House confirmed with Fox News that the president had overturned the pause on vehicle stops. This comes after multiple ICE sources confirmed with Fox News on Tuesday that agents were being instructed nationwide to cease most vehicle stops, a major shift in the agency’s immigration enforcement operations. According to the sources, agents were instructed to end all vehicle stops except for targets considered to be the most egregious with serious or violent criminal histories. The pause was said to be indefinite and was to remain in effect until DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin had approved new vehicle stop training, and it had been implemented to agents in the field. The pause followed two individuals being fatally shot by ICE agents during vehicle stops in Maine and Texas within the span of one week. One senior ICE source remarked to Fox News that the change is “horrible but needs to happen.” ICE SAYS OFFICER SHOT AND KILLED ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT WHO TRIED TO RAM HIM WITH CAR IN HOUSTON Trump, however, appears to feel differently. “The men and women of ICE are doing a GREAT job, one that has to be done. CRIME IS WAY DOWN IN AMERICA, in many cases with numbers that haven’t been seen in decades,” he wrote. He said that former President Joe Biden, who he referred to as “Sleepy Joe Biden,” allowed 25 million people into the country, many of whom he said were “unchecked and unvetted.” “Many were Criminals, and we have to get them out. In order to do this, we must be strong, tough, and smart,” he wrote. ICE OFFICER HAILED AS HERO AFTER SAVING DRIVER INJURED IN MISSOURI CRASH To the ICE agents operating across the country, Trump wrote, “Keep those Crime Stat Records coming!” and “Remember, you are loved and respected in America.” The statement was reposted by DHS. Fox News’ Alexis McAdams contributed to this report.