Trump unveils maritime action plan as China dominates global shipbuilding
The Trump administration unveiled a sweeping maritime action plan Friday, aimed at reclaiming U.S. maritime dominance and reducing America’s reliance on foreign-built and foreign-flagged ships that carry the vast majority of its international trade. Senior administration officials warned in a call with reporters that nearly 99% of U.S. international maritime trade “moves on foreign-built, foreign-owned and foreign-flagged” vessels, a dependence they described as a national and economic security vulnerability as global competition intensifies. “Roughly 50% of our trade moves through the maritime domain, and 99% of that moves on foreign-built, foreign-owned and foreign-flagged ships,” one senior administration official said during a call with reporters. “That’s the market we’re trying to tap.” The initiative, ordered by President Donald Trump in an April executive order, lays out what officials describe as the first comprehensive federal effort in decades to rebuild the nation’s commercial shipbuilding industry, expand the U.S.-flagged fleet and strengthen maritime supply chains. TRUMP’S $12B RARE EARTH PLAN TARGETS CHINA AS EXPERTS WARN US IS ‘ONE CRISIS AWAY’ The push comes as China now produces more than half of the world’s commercial ship tonnage, while U.S. shipyards account for only a sliver of global output — a disparity that has widened over decades as American commercial shipbuilding declined. Administration officials also linked that erosion to rising Navy shipbuilding costs. “The cost of building U.S. Navy warships has gone up, far outpacing inflation,” one senior administration official said, arguing that rebuilding commercial shipyards, suppliers and skilled labor pools could help stabilize long-term defense procurement costs. Officials argued that rebuilding commercial shipbuilding capacity would have ripple effects beyond global trade, strengthening the broader industrial base that underpins U.S. naval power. Throughout the past several decades, as American commercial shipyards shuttered or downsized, the domestic supplier network, skilled workforce and naval design expertise that support both commercial and military vessels also contracted, officials said. That contraction, they argued, has left Navy shipbuilders more dependent on smaller supplier pools and single-source components, contributing to rising costs and production delays. “The cost of building U.S. Navy warships has gone up, far outpacing inflation,” one senior administration official said, attributing part of the increase to the loss of adjacent commercial shipbuilding activity. By expanding commercial orders and modernizing shipyard infrastructure, officials said, the government hopes to create economies of scale that would benefit both commercial operators and the Navy. GULF SHIPPING OPERATIONS GRIND TO HALT NEAR IRAN, US QUIETLY PREPARES FOR POSSIBLE STRIKE: ‘HEIGHTENED RISK’ Historically, some U.S. shipyards operated as dual-use facilities, building commercial vessels alongside Navy ships — a model that officials said helped sustain a larger workforce and more resilient supply chain. While the maritime action plan focuses primarily on commercial shipping, administration officials said they expect downstream benefits for military shipbuilding as the industrial base expands. The decline in U.S. shipbuilding capacity has been decades in the making. Following World War II, the United States maintained dozens of major commercial shipyards. Today, only a small number remain capable of building large oceangoing vessels. In the defense sector, production has consolidated into a handful of primary shipyards. Just two shipbuilders — Huntington Ingalls Industries’ Newport News Shipbuilding in Virginia and General Dynamics’ Electric Boat in Connecticut and Rhode Island — construct the Navy’s nuclear-powered aircraft carriers and submarines. Surface combatants such as destroyers are built at only a few additional yards. The strain on U.S. shipbuilding has drawn increasingly blunt warnings from Navy leadership. Secretary of the Navy John Phelan has cautioned that American shipyards must “act like we’re at war” as China rapidly expands its fleet and modernizes its production lines. According to the Office of Naval Intelligence, China’s shipbuilding capacity now exceeds that of the United States by more than 200 times — a gap analysts say reflects Beijing’s heavy state investment in automated, AI-enabled shipyards capable of producing vessels at a pace the U.S. industrial base has struggled to match. Meanwhile, the Navy continues to face submarine production delays and supply-chain bottlenecks that have slowed delivery of key programs, underscoring the challenges officials say must be addressed if the United States is to regain maritime competitiveness.
DNC Chair Ken Martin boasts ‘win after win,’ shrugs off massive Trump, Republican money lead
PORTSMOUTH, N.H. — Democrats are spotlighting their “positive momentum” at the ballot box since President Donald Trump returned to the White House, as they work to win back House and Senate majorities in this year’s midterm elections. “We had a record of victories across the country over the last year,” Democratic National Committee (DNC) Chair Ken Martin touted this weekend in an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital. “We’re winning up and down the ballot, big statewide elections, of course, and county races, local races, state legislative races, one after another.” Democrats are hoping for a blue wave similar to the one they rode in 2018, the last time they won back the House from the GOP, and they’re energized. But Republicans are not sold on whether special elections are a good barometer of things to come in the midterms. “Special elections are very strange because turnout is often stifled,” House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., told Fox News Digital late last year. ‘FICTION’ – HOUSE REPUBLICAN CAMPAIGN CHAIR SCOFFS AT DEMOCRATS MOVE TO EXPAND GOP TARGET LIST A stunning setback for Republicans two and a half weeks ago in a special state Senate election for a ruby-red district in Texas grabbed tons of national attention, and was seen by some in the GOP as a “wakeup call.” The Democrats’ victory in Texas, and two more ballot box wins since then, were fueled in part by continued concerns by Americans over high prices, and came amid backlash over the Trump administration’s unprecedented crackdown on illegal immigration and, as the latest polling indicates, the president remains mired in negative numbers. Thanks in part to their laser focus on the issue of affordability amid persistent inflation, Democrats scored decisive victories in the 2025 elections, and have overperformed at the ballot box in other off-year and special elections since the start of Trump’s second administration. “There’s certainly positive momentum for the Democratic Party. There’s wind at our back. We’re seeing win after win, and that’s continued unabated into this new year,” Martin emphasized. REPUBLICAN ‘WAKE-UP CALL’ – SPECIAL ELECTION SHOCKER HIGHLIGHTS GOP TURNOUT AND MIDTERM RISKS The DNC chair was interviewed in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, as he made his way up to Maine this weekend to help organize local Democrats ahead of an upcoming special legislative election later this month. Martin said he’s anything but complacent, and is ignoring the latest national polling that indicates that Democrats hold a mid-single digit advantage over the Republicans in the battle for Congress. “We’re not going to rest on our laurels; we’re not going to believe those polls. We’re just going to keep organizing and talking to voters.” Republicans are facing traditional political headwinds in the midterms, when the party in power usually loses House and Senate seats. But Democrats also face obstacles, including polling that indicates their party’s brand remains deeply unpopular. Martin acknowledged in a Fox News Digital interview last summer that the party had hit “rock bottom,” but added that “there’s only one direction to go, and that’s up, and that’s what we’re doing.” PLAYING CATCHUP TO REPUBLICANS, DEMOCRATS LAUNCH ‘LARGEST-EVER’ PARTISAN NATIONAL VOTER REGISTRATION CAMPAIGN The rival Republican National Committee (RNC) and Trump’s fundraising organizations hold a massive cash advantage over the Democrats. But Martin says the party’s success at the ballot box is boosting fundraising. “Our fundraising so far this year has really been gangbusters. People are starting to realize that the Democratic Party has a plan to win. They’re winning around the country, and they’re investing again,” he highlighted. And he added, “What I’ve always said is we don’t need to outraise the Republicans, right? We just need to be able to raise enough money to actually compete, to be in the ring so we can fight, and that’s what we’re doing.” The RNC isn’t buying Martin’s narrative. “While Republicans are focused on preparing for the midterms, Ken Martin is bragging about spending money the DNC doesn’t even have on deep-blue races and touting those easy wins as if they’re a serious national strategy,” RNC National Press Secretary Kiersten Pels charged in a statement to Fox News Digital. “As Democrats openly question his leadership and the party fractures, they’re broke, divided, and without a coherent plan — and voters will send that message loud and clear at the midterms.” While economic concerns have played into the Democrats’ political narrative, better-than-expected unemployment and inflation reports last week are giving Republicans something to brag about. “We just had a fantastic report on inflation. Way down. Cost of products way down. We inherited a mess, a total mess. And now it’s really coming along. We have the greatest numbers that we’ve ever had,” Trump emphasized Friday in a speech in North Carolina. But Martin says Trump has “a long ways to go to repair this economy.” “A couple good reports, and they’re not even that great right now,” Martin argued. “They’re going to have to string together a lot of reports to actually repair this economy and make it work for working people.”
Transit funding hits record highs as ridership languishes, new report questions return on billions
FIRST ON FOX: A new report is raising fresh questions about whether billions in federal transit spending are delivering results, as funding climbs to record highs while bus and rail commuting remains below pre-pandemic levels. Released by the Committee to Unleash Prosperity, the analysis argues the disconnect reflects structural flaws in how federal transit dollars are allocated — particularly as remote work reshapes commuting patterns and budget pressures intensify. Wendell Cox, a senior fellow with the group and the report’s author, traces the federal transit program to its 1960s origins, when it was intended to expand mobility for low-income residents and reduce traffic congestion and air pollution. AMTRAK ADDING OVER 80 NEW TRAINS IN MASSIVE OVERHAUL OF FLEET; TRAVELERS REACT Since then, federal support has grown steadily — but transit’s commuter share has moved in the opposite direction, according to the report. “Transit’s commute market share in the U.S. has dropped from 12% in 1960 to under 4% in 2024,” Cox told Fox News Digital. Today, roughly 3.8% of American workers — about one in 25 — commute by mass transit, according to Cox’s analysis of federal data. By comparison, three times as many Americans now work from home. While transit use has edged down, 88 million more Americans drive to work than in 1960, the report notes, alongside a 17 million increase in remote workers. SEAN DUFFY: THIS TRANSPORTATION CRISIS WAS FORESEEABLE Cox argues transit struggles to compete with the automobile on speed and access. “Generally, transit travel times are slower than commuting by car,” he said. The average one-way commute is about 26 minutes by car, compared with 48 minutes by transit. The report also highlights disparities in job access. Researchers examined how many workplaces a person could physically reach in a 30-minute commute. Because cars offer direct, door-to-door travel, drivers can typically access far more job locations than transit riders, whose trips may involve walking to stops, waiting, and making transfers. Across the nation’s 50 largest metropolitan areas, workers can reach 58 times as many jobs by car as by transit, the report finds — a gap that persists even in New York, which has the country’s most extensive public transport network. Those findings, Cox writes, underscore what he sees as a need for a broader reassessment of federal transit policy. With federal debt at historic highs and remote work reshaping how Americans commute, Cox argues it may be time to rethink how Washington funds public transit. The question, he suggests, is not whether public transport has a role — but whether federal spending is aligned with how Americans actually travel today.
Rubio seals civil nuclear cooperation agreement with Hungary
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio signed a civil nuclear cooperation agreement involving the U.S. and Hungary on Monday. During remarks at the signing ceremony, Rubio indicated that the U.S.-Hungary relationship, and the relationship between President Donald Trump and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, is very close. The American diplomat described the relationship between the two nations as being “as close as I can possibly imagine it being.” RUBIO BLASTS ‘WORLD WITHOUT BORDERS’ FANTASY, WARNS MASS MIGRATION THREATENS WESTERN CIVILIZATION Rubio, during remarks delivered alongside Orbán, asserted, “Your success is our success.” He noted that if Hungary ever faces financial problems, impediments to growth or threats to national stability, he knows “President Trump will be very interested” in “finding ways” to help. HUNGARY’S ORBAN SAYS BUDAPEST IS EUROPE’S SAFEST CITY FOR JEWS AS ANTISEMITISM SURGES Trump has praised Orbán and backed him for re-election. “Highly Respected Prime Minister of Hungary, Viktor Orbán, is a truly strong and powerful Leader, with a proven track record of delivering phenomenal results. He fights tirelessly for, and loves, his Great Country and People, just like I do for the United States of America. Viktor works hard to Protect Hungary, Grow the Economy, Create Jobs, Promote Trade, Stop Illegal Immigration, and Ensure LAW AND ORDER!” Trump declared on Truth Social this month. THE ONE SENTENCE IN RUBIO’S MUNICH SPEECH THAT REVEALED TRUMP’S RED LINE FOR EUROPE CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP “Relations between Hungary and the United States have reached new heights of cooperation and spectacular achievement under my Administration, thanks largely to Prime Minister Orbán. I look forward to continuing working closely with him so that both of our Countries can further advance this tremendous path to SUCCESS and cooperation. I was proud to ENDORSE Viktor for Re-Election in 2022, and am honored to do so again. Viktor Orbán is a true friend, fighter, and WINNER, and has my Complete and Total Endorsement for Re-Election as Prime Minister of Hungary — HE WILL NEVER LET THE GREAT PEOPLE OF HUNGARY DOWN!” Trump added.
Nancy Mace proposes bill to make aliens deportable, inadmissible for animal cruelty
Republican Rep. Nancy Mace of South Carolina has introduced legislation that would make illegal immigrants who engage in animal cruelty inadmissible to the United States and subject to deportation. The measure is called the “Illegal Alien Animal Abuser Removal Act of 2026.” “If you come here illegally, you’re already a criminal. Add animal cruelty to the list and you’re on the next flight back to where you came from,” Mace said, according to a press release. NANCY MACE RIPS TRANS ATHLETE’S ATTORNEY FOR REFUSING TO DEFINE SEX AT SCOTUS WOMEN’S SPORTS HEARING “We have a duty to protect the voiceless from torture and abuse. Animal cruelty is a proven red flag for violence against people. These criminals escalate. Our bill makes it crystal clear: commit these sick acts and you’re deported. Immediately. No second chances,” she added. Mace, who has served in the House since 2021, is currently running for South Carolina governor. REP NANCY MACE SLAPS DOWN EARLY RETIREMENT RUMOR: ‘BIG FAT NO FROM ME’ “The message is clear: abuse animals, get deported. America will not be a sanctuary for animal abusers, especially ones who broke into our country illegally in the first place. Pack your bags,” she noted, according to the release. Under the legislation, an alien convicted under state, tribal or local laws related to animal cruelty, abuse or animal fighting would be deemed inadmissible and deportable. The bill also specifies that convictions under certain federal animal welfare statutes would carry the same immigration consequences. ‘TR*NSGENDER ANTIFA’ EXTREMIST CHARGED WITH ATTEMPTED MURDER AFTER SKATING ON DEATH THREAT, REP MACE SAYS CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP The proposal further states that an alien who admits to committing acts that constitute such offenses could also be deemed inadmissible.
Partial government shutdown drags on as DHS funding talks stall
The partial government shutdown stretched into another week after negotiators failed to reach a deal to fund the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) over the weekend. Congress is on a weeklong recess and is not scheduled to return to Washington, D.C., until next week, leaving the shutdown’s end in limbo as both parties remain far apart on key provisions. Senate Democrats are demanding a series of reforms to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), a position they have maintained since the fatal shootings of Alex Pretti and Renee Nicole Good during ICE operations in Minnesota. FETTERMAN BUCKS DEMOCRATS, SAYS PARTY PUT POLITICS OVER COUNTRY IN DHS SHUTDOWN STANDOFF Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and his caucus are standing by a list of 10 proposed reforms, including requiring ICE agents to obtain judicial warrants and limiting the use of face coverings — proposals Republicans have described as red lines. “Americans are tired of masked agents conducting warrantless operations in their communities — secret police,” Schumer said. “They’re tired of chaos, secrecy and zero accountability. That is not what law and order looks like, and Republicans simply cannot pretend that this outrage does not exist.” However, ICE received additional funding under previously passed legislation, and core enforcement operations are expected to continue. Other DHS agencies, including the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Coast Guard, remain affected by the shutdown. GOVERNMENT TO SHUT DOWN AT MIDNIGHT AFTER DEMS, WHITE HOUSE FAIL TO STRIKE DHS DEAL The White House has led negotiations for Senate Republicans and offered Senate Democrats a proposal that they have rejected. Details of that proposal have not been made public. “This is a Democrat-driven shutdown caused by their intransigence and desire to use government funding for services all Americans rely on as a hostage in order to achieve an unrelated political goal,” a senior White House official said. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said lawmakers would receive 24 hours’ notice to return if a deal is reached. DHS SHUTDOWN EXPLAINED: WHO WORKS WITHOUT PAY, WHAT HAPPENS TO AIRPORTS AND DISASTER RESPONSE “I think all those reasonable efforts and requests have been overshadowed by the fact that the Democrats don’t seem to want to play ball,” Thune said. On the House side, Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., told lawmakers they would receive 48 hours’ notice to return if the Senate passes a bill. The House is also in recess until Feb. 23. Johnson and other Republicans have expressed support for the original DHS funding bill crafted by House and Senate appropriators, but the speaker said he does not want further delays in DHS funding to be attributed to the House. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., has said Democrats will not accept a funding bill that does not include significant reforms to ICE.
Department of War transports next-generation reactor in nuclear energy milestone
The Department of War on Sunday transported a next-generation nuclear reactor aboard a C-17 from California to Utah, advancing President Donald Trump’s executive order to modernize America’s nuclear energy infrastructure and strengthen U.S. national security. The reactor was flown from March Air Reserve Base in California to Hill Air Force Base in Utah and is expected to be transported to the Utah San Rafael Energy Lab in Orangeville for testing and evaluation – a key step in assessing how advanced nuclear systems could support military installations and remote defense operations. The Department of War shared images on X showing the reactor loaded onto the C-17 aircraft. “We’re advancing President Trump’s executive order on nuclear energy,” the post read. “Moments from now, we will airlift a next-generation nuclear reactor.” TRUMP ADMIN POURS $1B INTO MASSIVE EFFORT TO RESTART NUCLEAR REACTOR AT HISTORIC MELTDOWN SITE The Department of War said the successful delivery and installation of the reactor will open new possibilities for energy resilience and strategic independence for the nation’s defense, highlighting what officials described as an agile, innovative and commercial-first approach to addressing critical infrastructure challenges. “By harnessing the power of advanced nuclear technology, we are not only enhancing our national security but championing a future of American energy dominance,” the agency said in a press release. “This event is a testament to the ingenuity of the American spirit and a critical advancement in securing our nation’s freedom and strength for generations to come.” Fox News Digital has reached out to the Department of War for additional comment. THREE MILE ISLAND NUCLEAR PLANT MAKES COMEBACK WITH $1B IN FEDERAL BACKING TO MEET INCREASING ENERGY DEMANDS In May, President Donald Trump signed several executive orders aimed at expanding domestic nuclear energy development. At the time, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said America led the postwar world on “all things nuclear” until it “stagnated” and was “choked with overregulation.” War Secretary Pete Hegseth added that the U.S. was “going to have the lights on and AI operating when others are not because of our nuclear capabilities.” One of Trump’s nuclear directives called for reforming Energy Department research and development, accelerating reactor testing at national laboratories and establishing a pilot program for new construction. ENERGY SECRETARY REVEALS HOW US NUCLEAR TESTS WILL WORK Nuclear energy, the White House said in the order, “is necessary to power the next generation technologies that secure our global industrial, digital, and economic dominance, achieve energy independence, and protect our national security.” The nuclear expansion effort is part of a broader administration push to reinforce domestic energy production and grid reliability across multiple sectors. Days later, Trump signed another executive order directing the Department of War to work directly with coal-fired power plants on new long-term power purchasing agreements, arguing the move would ensure “more reliable power and stronger and more resilient grid power.” The order, “Strengthening United States National Defense with America’s Beautiful Clean Coal Power Generation Fleet,” states, “The United States must ensure that our electric grid … remains resilient and reliable, and not reliant on intermittent energy sources,” calling the grid “the foundation of our national defense as well as our economic stability.” “It is the policy of the United States that coal is essential to our national and economic security,” the order adds. Fox News Digital’s Jasmine Baehr and Charles Creitz contributed to this report.
Schumer says Dems will fight voter ID push ‘tooth and nail,’ balks at DHS role in elections
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., vowed Sunday that Senate Democrats will block the latest GOP-backed effort to require proof of citizenship to vote. “We will not let it pass in the Senate,” Schumer told CNN’s Jake Tapper. “We are fighting it tooth and nail. It’s an outrageous proposal that is, you know, that shows the sort of political bias of the MAGA right. They don’t want poor people to vote. They don’t want people of color to vote because they often don’t vote for them.” Schumer’s comments came after Tapper pressed him on his opposition, noting that polling shows roughly 83% of Americans support some form of voter identification. That figure comes from a Pew Research poll published last year that found 71% of Democratic voters surveyed supported presenting an ID to vote. COLLINS BOOSTS REPUBLICAN VOTER ID EFFORT, BUT WON’T SCRAP FILIBUSTER Still, Schumer and most Senate Democrats have criticized the Safeguarding American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) America Act, which passed the House last week and is expected to face a vote in the Senate. The bill would require proof of citizenship to register to vote and would establish a system for state election officials to share information with federal authorities to verify voter rolls. It would also allow the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to pursue immigration cases if noncitizens are found listed as eligible voters. Schumer and his caucus have panned the bill as voter suppression targeting poorer Americans and minority groups. FETTERMAN SLAMS DEMOCRATS’ ‘JIM CROW 2.0’ VOTER ID RHETORIC AS PARTY UNITY FRACTURES “What they are proposing in this so-called SAVE Act is like Jim Crow 2.0,” Schumer said. “They make it so hard to get any kind of voter ID that more than 20 million legitimate people, mainly poorer people and people of color, will not be able to vote under this law.” Without support from Senate Democrats — save for a possible defection from Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa. — the bill is likely to fail. The only way around that would be eliminating the Senate’s 60-vote filibuster threshold — a move Republicans oppose — or forcing a so-called talking filibuster that could require hours of debate and stall other Senate business. HARDLINE CONSERVATIVES DOUBLE DOWN TO SAVE THE SAVE ACT Schumer also pushed back on comments from DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, who earlier this week said elections “may be one of the most important things that we need to make sure we trust, is reliable, and that when it gets to Election Day that we’ve been proactive to make sure that we have the right people voting, electing the right leaders to lead this country.” The comments come as Senate Democrats and the White House negotiate funding for DHS, which has been shut down since midnight Friday. Part of those negotiations includes Democrats’ demand that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents be kept away from several areas, including schools and polling places. “That’s a load of bull,” Schumer said. “They show no evidence of voter fraud. They show there’s so little in the country. And to have ICE agents, these thugs, be by the polling places, that just flies in the face of how democracy works, of how we’ve had elections for hundreds of years, very successfully.”
Hillary Clinton clashes with Czech leader over Trump policies at Munich security conference
Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton clashed with a Czech political leader at the Munich Security Conference in Germany on Saturday. Clinton was speaking during a panel on the state of the West where she heavily criticized President Donald Trump for his dealings with Europe. Petr Macinka, a Czech deputy prime minister, defended the Trump administration as Clinton repeatedly mocked his statements and tried to speak over him. “First, I think you really don’t like him,” Macinka said as he began to respond to Clinton’s Trump-bashing. “You know, that is absolutely true,” Clinton said. “But not only do I not like him, but I don’t like what he’s actually doing to the United States and the world, and I think you should take a hard look at it if you think there is something good that will come of it.” TRUMP RIPS EUROPE AT DAVOS FOR WRONG ‘DIRECTION,’ POINTS TO MIGRATION AND SPENDING “Well, what Trump is doing in America, I think that it is a reaction. Reaction for some policies that really went too far, too far from the regular people,” Macinka said as Clinton interjected to ask for examples. Macinka referenced “woke” ideologies, gender theories and cancel culture that ran rampant throughout the U.S. in recent years. Clinton then mocked him, suggesting he was opposed to “women getting their rights.” THE ONE SENTENCE IN RUBIO’S MUNICH SPEECH THAT REVEALED TRUMP’S RED LINE FOR EUROPE Macinka then rebuffed her hostility, saying he can tell he was making her “nervous.” The exchange came during the same panel where Clinton discussed immigration in the U.S., admitting that it had gone “too far.” “It went too far, it’s been disruptive and destabilizing, and it needs to be fixed in a humane way with secure borders that don’t torture and kill people and how we’re going to have a strong family structure because it is at the base of civilization,” she added. Clinton acknowledged that there are places where a physical barrier is appropriate but opposed large-scale expansion of a border wall during her 2016 presidential campaign. At the time, she supported then-President Barack Obama’s executive actions that deferred immigration enforcement against millions of children and parents in the country illegally and wanted to end the practice of family detention. Clinton also planned on continuing Obama’s policy of deporting violent criminals, but wanted to scale back immigration raids, which she said at the time produced “unnecessary fear and disruption in communities,” Fox News Digital previously reported. Fox News’ Ashley DiMella contributed to this report.
The one sentence in Rubio’s Munich speech that revealed Trump’s red line for Europe
Standing in Germany, whose Cold War fault line once symbolized the division of a continent, Secretary of State Marco Rubio delivered President Donald Trump’s red line for Europe. “We in America have no interest in being polite and orderly caretakers of the West’s managed decline,” Rubio said during his Friday remarks before the Munich Security Conference. America’s top diplomat called for tighter borders, revived industry and a reassertion of national sovereignty, arguing that the West’s drift was not inevitable but the result of policy choices the Trump administration now intends to reverse. RUBIO STEPS INTO MUNICH SPOTLIGHT AS TRUMP LEANS ON HIM TO CARRY VANCE’S POPULIST MESSAGE ABROAD “We do not seek to separate, but to revitalize an old friendship and renew the greatest civilization in human history,” he added, urging an alliance that “boldly races into the future.” Rubio’s 3,000-word address marked one of the clearest articulations yet of Trump’s break with the global status quo. It underscored a broader shift in transatlantic ties, with Washington pressing European allies to shoulder more of their own defense and elevate national sovereignty. He described the erosion of manufacturing, porous borders and dependence on global institutions as symptoms of Western complacency. RUBIO BLASTS ‘WORLD WITHOUT BORDERS’ FANTASY, WARNS MASS MIGRATION THREATENS WESTERN CIVILIZATION Reclaiming supply chain independence, enforcing immigration limits and rebuilding defense capabilities, he said, would be key to reversing course. His remarks landed before an audience of European leaders who have long relied on U.S. security guarantees and remain wary of a more transactional Washington. The shift was striking in a forum that has traditionally served as a showcase for transatlantic unity, where U.S. officials in previous years stressed multilateral cooperation and institutional continuity. Whether European capitals embrace that vision remains to be seen. But Rubio made clear that, under Trump, the U.S. no longer sees itself as the quiet steward of a fading order.