Susan Collins shrugs off attacks by Democrats and Trump, says Maine voters ‘Don’t vote party line’
Republican Sen. Susan Collins is well aware of the tough path ahead as she officially kicks off her 2026 re-election campaign in blue-leaning Maine. Collins is the top target for Senate Democrats as they try to win back the chamber’s majority in November’s midterm elections. “Chuck Schumer has made me once again — this is the third time he’s done this — his number one target,” Collins said in an interview with Fox News Digital soon after she announced her re-election bid, as she pointed to the longtime top Democrat in the Senate. Collins took to social media a couple of hours earlier to declare, “GOOD NEWS! I am ALL-IN for 2026.” LONGTIME REPUBLICAN SENATOR MAKES A MAJOR ANNOUNCEMENT Democrats have long targeted the 73-year-old Collins, who was first elected to the Senate three decades ago, but keep coming up short. “I will be outspent as I was in 2020, but fortunately, Maine people are famously independent. They look at the individual candidates, and they don’t just necessarily vote a party line,” the senator said. Collins was one of the Senate Republicans who voted to convict after the House impeached President Donald Trump in 2021, following the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol by supporters of the president aiming to upend congressional certification of the 2020 presidential election results. IS THE REPUBLICAN SENATE MAJORITY AT RISK IN MIDTERM ELECTIONS? And Collins has earned Trump’s ire with Senate votes that go against the administration’s wishes. Trump has so far not made an endorsement in the pivotal contest, and has taken shots at Collins throughout the year for breaking ranks with him and Republicans, particularly when she voted in favor of bipartisan legislation that would have reined in his war authorities in Venezuela. Trump declared that Collins and the handful of other Republicans that voted with Democrats to curb his war powers “should never be elected to office again.” “Republicans should be ashamed of the Senators that just voted with Democrats in attempting to take away our Powers to fight and defend the United States of America,” Trump said in a Truth Social post at the time. When asked if Trump should weigh in, or stay neutral in the contest, Senate Majority Leader John Thune said, “I would defer to Susan Collins on that.” “I think she knows how to run in Maine. She’s been incredibly successful there. She is a veteran campaigner who knows her state well and knows what works,” Thune said. “So I would, I guess, defer to her on any decisions that are made related to her campaign and what she would like to see happen or not see happen in terms of endorsements, but we will be all in trying to make sure that she gets re-elected,” he continued. Her willingness to criticize Trump and to break with his policies may be beneficial to Collins, who needs support from independents and some Democrats to earn re-election. “What I think the President’s criticism demonstrates is that I’m independent in the way I approach issues. I look at what the impact is on the state of Maine and what the impact is on the country and Mainers appreciate that,” she told Fox News Digital. Collins emphasized, “I support President Trump when I think he’s right, I don’t when I think he’s wrong, and that’s the approach I’ve always taken with all of the presidents with whom I’ve worked. I’ve never agreed 100% with any of them. So, this President is more outspoken when you disagree with him than previous presidents, but I think that I can fully justify how I have voted.” TRUMP BLASTS GOP WAR POWERS DEFECTORS, SAYS THEY ‘SHOULD NEVER BE ELECTED TO OFFICE AGAIN’ But the Maine Democratic Party charged in a statement that “Susan Collins has spent the last 30 years betraying Maine, from stripping Mainers’ affordable health care, to casting the decisive vote to confirm Supreme Court justices who overturned Roe v. Wade, to voting with Donald Trump 94% of the time.” “She now faces some of the lowest approval ratings of her career because Mainers see through her political games and fake shows of concern. In November, we will reject her at the ballot box,” added state party executive director Devon Murphy-Anderson. National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) Chair Sen. Tim Scott called Collins “a battle-tested leader whose fierce independence has led to historic wins for Maine.” But in a closed-door NRSC briefing last week to Senate Republicans, Scott pointed to the latest Fox News national poll which showed the GOP facing a ballot box deficit, and said it could impact specific Senate races this year. GOP sources confirmed to Fox News Digital that Scott said the toughest challenge may be in Maine. Collins is likely to face either two-term Democratic Gov. Jane Mills, who has the tacit support of Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and the DSCC, or political newcomer, veteran, and oyster farmer Graham Platner, who is backed by Sen. Bernie Sanders, in November. The Democratic primary, which is expected to be competitive, is scheduled for June. Collins charged that Democrats are working “to distort my record,” with Democratic-aligned outside groups running ads “that are probably false and that’s very disappointing. The people of Maine deserve better.” Asked whom she’d rather face in the general election, Collins said, “I leave that up to the Democrats to decide. I know that a ton of outside money is going to be poured into this race, regardless of who the Democratic candidate is.”
Leavitt brushes off Lutnick–Epstein heat with list of administration wins media ignored before ending briefing
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt brushed off a question about Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick’s relationship with Jeffrey Epstein during a press briefing Tuesday before redirecting her response and mentioning the administration’s recent wins before ending a news conference. “Secretary Lutnick remains a very important member of President Trump’s team, and the president fully supports the secretary,” Leavitt said Tuesday when asked if President Donald Trump and the White House still support the Commerce chief after his testimony before the Senate Appropriations subcommittee Tuesday. Leavitt was repeatedly questioned about Epstein during the news conference, including regarding Lutnick telling lawmakers Tuesday he visited Epstein’s notorious island while on a family vacation in 2012 but that he otherwise had no relationship with the convicted sex offender. “My wife was with me, as were my four children and nannies,” he said Tuesday. “I had another couple with. They were there as well with their children, and we had lunch on the island — that is true — for an hour. TRUMP THANKED FLORIDA POLICE FOR EPSTEIN PROBE IN 2000S, FLAGGED ‘EVIL’ GHISLAINE MAXWELL: FBI DOC “I did not have any relationship with him. I barely had anything to do with that person, OK?” Lutnick previously said he cut off contact with Epstein in 2005, but recent document releases from the Department of Justice’s investigations into Epstein show the pair communicated years later. Democrats and other critics have increasingly called for Lutnick’s ouster amid the document release, sparking questions whether the administration continues to support the Commerce chief. EPSTEIN VICTIMS USE SUPER BOWL COMMERCIAL TO PRESSURE PAM BONDI OVER WITHHELD FILES Leavitt said the administration continues to back Lutnick before launching into a series of wins notched under Trump’s watch that the media did not ask about during the press conference, including the Dow Jones Industrial Average crossing 50,000 points for the first time ever earlier in February. “I will just point out that there are a lot of wins in the news this week that people in this room have not asked about because you continue to ask questions about the same subject,” Leavitt said. “So, let me point them out for you again. On Friday, the Dow shattered 50,000 for the first time ever. This week, the American Society of Plastic Surgeons came out in opposition to gender mutilation surgeries for children. They are the first major medical group to do so. GHISLAINE MAXWELL PLEADS FIFTH AMENDMENT, DODGES QUESTIONS IN HOUSE OVERSIGHT EPSTEIN PROBE “A federal appeals court today — nobody asked about that — just upheld the Trump administration’s policy of detaining illegal aliens, validating the strong measures that have driven illegal crossings to historic lows and sent a crystal clear message that, under President Trump, if you enter the country illegally, you will be detained and removed” she continued. “Again, not a single question about this as the murder rate has plunged to a 125-year low as crime falls across the board thanks to President Trump’s crime crackdown.” Leavitt added that national median rent prices fell to four-year lows and that mortgage affordability surged to a four-year high as the administration hammers home affordability to ease housing and cost woes. “There’s a reason why Americans’ trust in mainstream media outlets is at an all-time low. They’re Fake News,” White House spokesman Kush Desai told Fox News Digital later Tuesday when asked about the exchange. “The Trump Administration will never hesitate to share the truth with the American people.” Leavitt wrapped up the news conference after mentioning the administration’s wins, noting Trump’s busy schedule. The briefing started roughly 40 minutes late, and Leavitt attributed the delay to a meeting with Trump to review updates on the Nancy Guthrie missing person case. The briefing lasted a total of just over 20 minutes. “We’re going to get back to business. The president is very busy today, and you will see him all tomorrow at the event in the East Room touting his administration’s energy policy,” she said.
Dem lawmaker compares ICE agents to Nazis and Gestapo during fiery House hearing on enforcement
Democratic lawmakers compared Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents to Nazis and the Gestapo during a heated House Homeland Security Committee hearing Tuesday, as the agency’s acting director faced sharp questioning over enforcement tactics and accountability. The exchange turned explosive when Rep. Dan Goldman, D-N.Y., pressed ICE acting director Todd Lyons on whether agents have been asking people on the streets to show proof of U.S. citizenship, citing reports claiming that American citizens have allegedly been questioned during immigration enforcement actions. Goldman escalated the line of questioning by invoking historical comparisons, asking pointedly, “Is Nazi Germany one?” after Lyons acknowledged that “very nefarious regimes” had required proof of citizenship. Goldman also pressed Lyons on whether the Soviet Union employed similar tactics. Lyons pushed back, calling the comparison inappropriate and “the wrong type of questioning,” before snapping, saying, “The Holocaust Museum is on 14th Street and Independence. If you want to go see Nazis, that’s where it is.” MARYLAND DEMOCRAT’S BILL SEEKS TO ‘DIGITALLY UNMASK’ ICE AGENTS AFTER FATAL MINNEAPOLIS SHOOTING Goldman reclaimed his time and accused ICE leadership of having it “backwards,” arguing that public criticism of the agency stemmed from its own conduct. “People are simply making valid observations about your tactics, which are un-American and outright fascist,” Goldman said. “So I have a simple suggestion. If you don’t want to be called a fascist regime or secret police, then stop acting like one.” Goldman’s questioning followed Lyons’ own testimony earlier in the hearing, in which the ICE acting director said agents have been labeled “Gestapo or secret police” by elected officials and activists. Lyons tied that rhetoric to what he described as a sharp rise in threats and assaults against ICE personnel, saying it has endangered agents and their families. BORDER CZAR TOM HOMAN CALLS ANTI-ICE ROADBLOCKS IN MINNEAPOLIS A ‘JOKE’ AFTER POLICE CHIEF DISBANDS THEM Nazi references surfaced elsewhere during the hearing as well. Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., cited “Greg Bovino, who styled himself in Nazi attire,” while criticizing federal immigration operations in Minnesota and the use of masked agents during recent enforcement actions. The hearing focused on oversight of the Department of Homeland Security and its immigration enforcement agencies amid questions about the limited use of body cameras, particularly following the fatal shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis last month. Lawmakers raised concerns about agents operating in masks or unmarked gear, whether encounters involving U.S. citizens are being adequately documented and whether the lack of body-camera footage has hindered transparency and accountability in recent use-of-force incidents. Under questioning, Lyons acknowledged that only a fraction of ICE agents are currently equipped with body cameras, as lawmakers pressed the agency to expand their use and release footage to the public.
House Dem explodes on top Trump immigration official, says he ‘better hope’ for pardon from president
Progressive Rep. Shri Thanedar, D-Mich., exploded on U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Rodney Scott, calling federal immigration officers “thugs” and telling the commissioner he “better hope” for a presidential pardon during a particularly heated House hearing on Tuesday. Thanedar, who is originally from India and immigrated to the U.S. in the 1980’s, drilled into Scott, saying, “You better hope you get pardoned because you will be held accountable for the absolute disregard of the law your agencies have shown over the past year.” The exchange occurred during a House Homeland Security hearing on “Oversight of the Department of Homeland Security: ICE, CBP, and USCIS.” During the hearing, Thanedar grilled Scott and Acting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Director Todd Lyons on the recent shooting of Renee Good and Alex Pretti by federal officers in Minnesota. After Lyons and Scott repeatedly backed their officers through Thanedar’s questioning, the congressman said, “I have heard and seen enough. I’m just sick and tired of your agents running around in our cities, in our streets, causing illegal activities, ICE thugs attacking our communities, using our children as bait, referring to people as bodies and numbers, targeting people for their accents and the color of their skin, and killing American citizens, all while showing zero remorse for their actions.” DEMOCRATS DEMAND KRISTI NOEM BE FIRED OR WARN IMPEACHMENT WILL FOLLOW Going further, Thanedar asked, “Director Lyons and Commissioner Scott, do you think President Trump will pardon you and your boss, Kristi Noem, before he leaves office, just like he has for insurrectionists and his political allies? Do you believe President Trump will pardon you?” Scott answered, “I’m not going to speak on behalf of President Trump, but I’ll tell you, I signed up for this job to protect America, and I’m very proud of the service that I provide, and I don’t need a pardon from anybody.” “Well, you’d better hope so. You better hope you get pardoned,” Thanedar shot back. “Because you will be held accountable for the absolute disregard of the law your agencies have shown over the past year.” ICE ARRESTS MURDERERS, PEDOPHILES DURING SUPER BOWL WEEKEND AS AGENTS SAY HALFTIME SHOW ‘DEMONIZED’ THEM Thanedar continued, “Your agencies have lost the trust of the American people, with millions taking to the streets to protect the illegal actions of your agencies. And that’s why I introduced a bill in the United States Congress to abolish ICE. ICE must be abolished.” The congressman added that he “also co-sponsored a bill to impeach” Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, saying, “I believe Kristi Noem must be impeached, and this Congress must do everything in its power to carry out oversight actions against these rogue departments.” ICE ACTING DIRECTOR SAYS MINNESOTA BODYCAM FOOTAGE WILL BE RELEASED AMID TRANSPARENCY PUSH Before Thanedar finished, Homeland Security Committee Chair Andrew Garbarino, R-N.Y., cut in, saying, “The gentleman’s time is expired” and calling the hearing into recess.
DOJ signals crackdown on synagogue protesters using abortion clinic statute
The Justice Department is signaling a broader use of federal civil rights law against protesters accused of disrupting religious worship, with officials pointing to synagogue cases as a model for future enforcement. Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon, who leads the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, said the department has applied the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act, a law historically associated with abortion clinic protests, to cases involving disruptions at Jewish houses of worship. “It was our pioneering application of the FACE Act to defend Jewish synagogues that paved the way for its use to defend churches,” Dhillon said during remarks at an antisemitism and extremism conference at George Washington University Tuesday. She described the enforcement approach as a way to draw clear legal lines between protected speech and unlawful conduct. The FACE Act makes it a federal offense to use force, threats of force or physical obstruction to intentionally interfere with individuals because they are exercising their right to religious worship or to an abortion. Dhillon said the statute allows federal authorities to intervene when protests cross into obstruction, intimidation or trespass at places of worship. FEDERAL AGENTS ARREST 2 MORE IN CONNECTION TO MINNESOTA CHURCH STORMING Dhillon cited a civil lawsuit filed by the Justice Department against protesters accused of disrupting services at a synagogue in West Orange, New Jersey, calling the case a first-of-its-kind application of the law in that context. She said the department is also reviewing similar incidents elsewhere and warned that additional enforcement actions could follow. According to Dhillon, the Civil Rights Division has shifted toward more aggressive enforcement in response to a rise in antisemitic incidents since the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks on Israel, including harassment, vandalism and disruptions of religious services. “Antisemitism is an American problem, not a Jewish problem,” Dhillon said. “It strikes at the heart of who we are as a nation.” JUSTICE DEPARTMENT COULD ‘GO HARD’ AFTER ANTI-ICE PROTESTERS WHO DISRUPTED MINNESOTA CHURCH, EXPERT SAYS She argued that allowing unlawful conduct targeting one religious group risks eroding civil rights protections more broadly, adding that the department’s approach is meant to protect all faith communities. Beyond the synagogue protest cases, Dhillon pointed to a series of recent Justice Department actions addressing antisemitism, including major settlement agreements with Columbia University and Northwestern University to resolve federal investigations into alleged discriminatory environments and civil litigation against an Oakland, California, coffeehouse accused of refusing service to visibly Jewish customers. Dhillon also cited federal hate crime prosecutions tied to violent antisemitic attacks, saying the department is moving quickly in cases where evidence supports criminal charges. While emphasizing that lawful protests remain protected under the First Amendment, Dhillon said physically blocking access to religious services, trespassing on synagogue property or defying lawful police orders fall outside constitutional protections. “We are not just reacting,” she said. “We are proactively defending the freedoms that make this nation exceptional.”
Mamdani’s antisemitism czar once slammed post condemning Hamas terror attacks
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s new antisemitism czar once said she was “floored” by a social media post condemning Hamas for firing rockets toward civilian population centers in Israel. In 2021, Phylisa Wisdom, the executive director of the Mayor’s Office to Combat Antisemitism, criticized a post by then-mayoral candidate Andrew Yang, who scolded Hamas terrorists, the New York Post reported. In his post, Yang said that New Yorkers “always stand with our brothers and sisters in Israel who face down terrorism and persevere.” NYC ANTISEMITIC INCIDENTS NEARLY TRIPLE DESPITE OTHER CRIMES REACHING RECORD LOWS “As an American Jew and a New Yorker, I am floored by this tweet (although never surprised),” Wisdom responded. “NYC deserves a mayor who will stand up for Palestinians in the face of state-sanctioned violence.” In another post, Wisdom bragged about blowing off the holiest day on the Jewish calendar, Yom Kippur. “I totally missed Yom Kippur this year,”she wrote in September 2009. “Oh well, I’ll repent next year??? (What kind of Jew flakes on YOM KIPPUR).” Fox News Digital has reached out to Mamdani’s office. Wisdom describes herself as a “liberal Zionist” who supports a two-state solution for Israel and Palestine. She formerly served as the executive director of the New York Jewish Agenda, which has criticized Israel’s military actions in Gaza. Upon being appointed by Mamdani, Wisdom said her office will “ensure that Jewish safety and belonging remains at the core of this administration’s vision for a more livable city. In a time of rising hatred and fear, I look forward to embracing this solemn responsibility—both to represent the diverse array of Jewish voices to City Hall in this critical moment, and to demonstrate the power of pluralistic democracy in the greatest city in the world.” MAMDANI CONFRONTED ON ‘THE VIEW’ OVER APPOINTEE WHO CALLED HOMEOWNERSHIP ‘WEAPON OF WHITE SUPREMACY’ Middle East Forum Fellow Yuval David told Fox News Digital that he has serious concerns about Wisdom’s appointment. “:Zionism is not politics but identity, history, and survival of the Jewish people,” he said. “Efforts that ignore this reality risk failing the community they are meant to protect. She also has challenged orthodox Jewish education in favor of secular Jewish education. Alienating New York’s orthodox Jewish community is not something a person in her position should be doing.” “The leader of the Office to Combat Antisemitism must understand a basic truth,” Rabbi Marc Schneier, founder of the Foundation For Ethical Understanding, told Fox News Digital. “Israel cannot be bifurcated from Judaism. Ms. Wisdom’s opposition to the IHRA definition of antisemitism, adopted by 50 nations worldwide and 37 of 50 states in America, calls that understanding into question.” Meanwhile, Mamdani has been a frequent critic of Israel, particularly because of its war against Hamas in Gaza. “Who in their right mind takes a job to supposedly fight antisemitism for a mayor who markets in antisemitism?” State Assemblyman Kalman Yeger, a Brooklyn Democrat, told the Post. The mayor defended Wisdom in a statement, calling her a “principled and effective leader in the work to confront antisemitism in New York City and beyond.” “I look forward to working alongside her to both build a city where Jewish New Yorkers are safe, seen, and able to thrive and to build a team that reflects the diversity and strength of our Jewish communities across New York,” he said.
Trump administration pressed to close Cuba embargo loophole with oil set to run out within days
EXCLUSIVE: Three members of Congress representing heavily Cuban-American districts are demanding the Trump administration shut off the remaining commercial “valves” of support for the communist Castro and Díaz-Canel regime in Havana after effectively blockading key oil imports in recent days. The demand from Reps. Carlos Giménez, Mario Díaz-Balart and María Elvira Salazar, all Republicans from Florida, comes as Cuban despot Miguel Díaz-Canel warned his country is “close to failing,” according to German outlet Deutsche Welle. Díaz-Canel also warned oil supplies may run out within 15 days amid the threat of U.S. tariffs on exporters to Cuba. While Díaz-Canel called the U.S.-imposed oil blockade “genocidal” and “fascist,” Giménez, Díaz-Balart and Salazar saw it as a positive development and said they will demand Tuesday that the Commerce Department shut off the other remaining lifelines to the dictatorship that Washington can control. Those valves come in the form of export licenses for more than $100 million in supplies they say largely go not to the Cuban people but directly to enrich the regime. CUBAN-BORN REP RECOUNTS EMOTIONAL RETURN 64 YEARS LATER AS PART OF GITMO CODEL Luxury cars, Jacuzzi tubs and other luxury items remain open to export through licenses given to several Miami-area firms, according to Giménez’s office, which provided Fox News Digital with a 50-page document detailing manifests of goods cleared by the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security to be shipped to addresses listed on the Plaza de la Revolución in Havana, Marianao and elsewhere. Giménez, Díaz-Balart and Salazar wrote to Commerce Under Secretary Jeffrey Kessler and Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control Director Bradley Smith, demanding they take action on these licenses. “[We are] beyond concerned by U.S. businesses currently engaged in disturbing commercial activity with entities controlled by the regime in Cuba, a listed State Sponsor of Terrorism,” the lawmakers wrote. POST-MADURO, PRESSURE BUILDS ON MEXICO OVER CUBA’S NEW OIL LIFELINE “Such activity risks undermining the central objectives of U.S. sanctions policy and contradicts the intent of Congress as reflected in U.S. law, including the Cuban Liberty and Democratic Solidarity (LIBERTAD) Act of 1996.” The act represents one of the most stringent sanctions laws imposed on the Castro regime. The lawmakers told Commerce that the first section of the LIBERTAD Act clearly states that U.S. sanctions are meant to deny economic support to Havana until “concrete progress is made toward democratic governance, the rule of law, and respect for fundamental freedoms.” CUBA’S PRESIDENT DEFIANT, SAYS NO NEGOTIATIONS SCHEDULED AS TRUMP MOVES TO CHOKE OFF OIL LIFELINE “Despite these mandates, a number of licenses issued by both OFAC and BIS continue to authorize transactions that ultimately benefit the Cuban regime and its military-controlled conglomerates,” they wrote. Such licenses also disregard Congress’ explicit will that sanctions are to be “maintain[ed] until a transition government in Cuba is in place.” Asked about the publicly available manifest document, Latin America policy analyst Andrés Martínez-Fernández said that while cutting off licensed food and medicine exports is sensitive, much of what is typically cleared for export from Miami often ends up in the hands of the regime rather than the people. SANCTIONED RUSSIAN JET TOUCHES DOWN IN CUBA, ECHOING SECRET FLIGHTS BEFORE MADURO’S OUSTER That includes, he said, goods that seem like they would be destined for civilians. “A lot of these categories of, you know, like you say expensive cars and even talking about, like, cement — we’re exporting building products — and everything’s crumbling in Cuba except for the houses of the government officials and their regime collaborators,” he noted. Martinez-Fernandez added that he does not view the current export situation as any “purposeful oversight” or that the administration is ignoring any potential lever of pressure. AS TRUMP URGES DEAL, CUBAN PRESIDENT WARNS THAT THE COUNTRY WILL DEFEND ITSELF ‘TO THE LAST DROP OF BLOOD’ “The reality is that we’re doing a lot at the moment … when it comes to sanctions and some of these tools in particular,” he said. “It’s not a press-a-button-and-cut-everything-off. You have to go through everything.” In their demand, the lawmakers say Commerce must conduct a comprehensive review of all active licenses authorizing commercial or financial dealings with Cuban state entities. “Revoke any licenses that directly or indirectly provide economic benefit to regime-controlled entities, consistent with the restrictions mandated by the LIBERTAD Act [and] enhance scrutiny of future requests for licensing related to Cuba to ensure full alignment with both the letter and the intent of U.S. law,” they wrote. While critical of that particular dynamic, the lawmakers noted that they are fully supportive of President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s “decisive action” thus far against the Cuban regime. “[We] look forward to your agencies strongly enforcing U.S. sanctions against the Cuban dictatorship and upholding the Administration’s common-sense policy against the brutal regime on the island,” they wrote. Fox News Digital reached out to the Commerce Department for comment on the manifest of exportable goods.
Fox News Poll: Beyond red vs. blue, finding me + you across the political divide
Encouraging news this Valentine’s Day — love and humor transcend politics, plus an increased number of people say they believe in love at first sight. What’s love (or politics) got to do with it? The latest Fox News poll shows 6 in 10 voters think it’s possible to find love with someone whose political views are opposite their own, and another 1 in 10 say it’s already happened. Loving those with opposing views is a no-go for the remaining 3 in 10. FOX NEWS POLL: TOO FAST, TOO UNCHECKED? VOTERS SOUND OFF ON RAPID AI USE & GOVERNMENT REGULATION Those most likely to think you can find love across the political battlefield include dads, moderates, men without a college degree, Republicans, White evangelical Christians, independents, Catholics, and voters under age 30. Humor still beats politics in the quest for love. By a 55-point margin, voters say they’d rather share a partner’s sense of humor (77%) than their political views (22%) — even as the desire for shared politics has grown 15 percentage points since 2015. FOX NEWS POLL: AN EARLY LOOK AT THE 2026 MIDTERMS Women, voters younger than 30, and Democrats are more likely to prioritize shared political opinions compared to men, voters ages 45+, and Republicans. While the question has only been asked sporadically since 1997, belief in love at first sight sits at 59%, up from 51% the last time the question was asked in 2015. Married men with no kids, Republican men, and Catholics are the biggest romantics of the bunch: at least two-thirds of each group say they believe in love at first sight. But not everyone is head over heels, as the share currently in love dropped 11 points since 2015, from 69% to 58%. The largest declines were among independents, men, college graduates, and Republicans. But it’s reassuring that almost all married voters, 89%, are currently in love, making it one of the largest groups saying they are smitten. Overall, 4 in 10 are still looking for that special someone, up from 3 in 10 a decade ago. But love isn’t totally dead: half of those not currently in love still believe in love at first sight. CLICK HERE FOR CROSSTABS AND TOPLINE Conducted January 23-26, 2026 under the direction of Beacon Research (D) and Shaw & Company Research (R), this Fox News survey includes interviews with a sample of 1,005 registered voters randomly selected from a national voter file. Respondents spoke with live interviewers on landlines (106) and cellphones (645) or completed the survey online after receiving a text (254). Results based on the full sample have a margin of sampling error of ±3 percentage points. Sampling error for results among subgroups is higher. In addition to sampling error, question wording and order can influence results. Weights are generally applied to age, race, education, and area variables to ensure the demographics are representative of the registered voter population. Sources for developing weight targets include the most recent American Community Survey, Fox News Voter Analysis and voter file data.
Trump allegedly thanked police for probing Epstein in 2000s, warned Ghislaine Maxwell is ‘evil’: FBI doc
President Donald Trump allegedly called the Palm Beach, Florida, Police Department in the mid-2000s to thank them for investigating Jeffrey Epstein while simultaneously warning them to stay focused on “evil” Ghislaine Maxwell, according to an FBI document recapping an interview with the local department’s former chief. “TRUMP called the PBPD (Palm Beach Police Department) to tell him ‘thank goodness you’re stopping him, everyone has known he’s been doing this,’” reads an FBI document reviewed by Fox News Digital recounting a 2019 interview with former Palm Beach, Florida, Police Chief Michael Reiter. When approached for comment, however, an official with the Department of Justice pushed back Tuesday that the office was “not aware of any corroborating evidence that the President contacted law enforcement 20 years ago.” Reiter served as the police chief in Palm Beach from 2001 to 2009. Reiter’s name was redacted from the FBI document released by the Department of Justice (DOJ), but confirmed to the Miami Herald that he was interviewed by the FBI in 2019 and that Trump called the police department regarding Epstein in July 2006, according to the outlet. EPSTEIN VICTIMS USE SUPER BOWL COMMERCIAL TO PRESSURE PAM BONDI OVER WITHHELD FILES Fox News Digital reached out to Reiter and a security and crisis management firm he operates, called Michael Reiter and Associates, Tuesday morning. Reiter declined to comment on the matter. The FBI document was among the millions of files, photos and emails released by the DOJ following Trump signing the Epstein Files Transparency Act in late 2025. The DOJ released its latest batch of files on Jan. 30. The Florida police department began investigating Epstein in 2005 after receiving a call that a 14-year-old girl was allegedly molested by the financier, the Miami Herald reported. The call led to police uncovering other similar sexual abuse allegations and pulled Reiter into the investigation, the outlet wrote Monday. The FBI document recapping Reiter’s reported interview with federal officials contends that Trump allegedly called Maxwell, Epstein’s longtime associate, “evil” and warned that police should “focus on her.” “TRUMP told him people in New York knew EPSTEIN was disgusting,” the FBI document continued of the interview with the former police chief. “TRUMP said MAXWELL was EPSTEIN’s operative, ‘she is evil and to focus on her,’” “TRUMP told (redacted) that he was around EPSTEIN once when teenagers were present and TRUMP ‘got the hell out of there.’ TRUMP was one of the very first people to call when people found out that they were investigating EPSTEIN.” Fox News Digital also reached out to the White House Tuesday morning for comment on the alleged phone call and FBI document. TRUMP CONSIDERS LEGAL ACTION AGAINST MICHAEL WOLFF AND EPSTEIN ESTATE AFTER LATEST DOCUMENT RELEASE Trump long has maintained that while he did at a time brush elbows with Epstein, he “threw him out” of his Mar-a-Lago resort back in the 2000s as details of his web of sex trafficking and pedophilia circulated. Reiter’s interview with the FBI also backed up Trump’s long-standing comments that he ended any ties to Epstein in the early 2000s. “Mar-A-Lago is a mixture of everyone,” the FBI document reads. “DONALD TRUMP told (redacted) that he threw EPSTEIN out of his club.” NEW GHISLAINE MAXWELL MUGSHOT INCLUDED IN DOJ’S LATEST EPSTEIN FILES RELEASE Epstein was a well-connected financier with a lengthy Rolodex of billionaires and celebrities who floated in and out of his orbit across the years. He was convicted of sex trafficking minors in 2008 and served just more than one year of incarceration, which also included a controversial work-release arrangement under a plea agreement. He was arrested again in 2019 on charges of sex trafficking before he was found dead by suicide in his Manhattan jail cell. Reiter’s interview with the FBI was held just two months after Epstein’s death, according to the Herald. Trump signed legislation in November 2025 that required the Justice Department to release files related to the late convicted sex offender, with the DOJ releasing tranches of the documents since December 2025.
Progressive backed by Sanders, AOC pulls off upset ballot box shocker in Democratic congressional primary
A progressive candidate backed by champions of the left, Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., pulled off a major upset victory over the more mainstream frontrunner in a Democratic congressional primary for a blue-leaning seat in New Jersey. Analilia Mejia, a progressive organizer, edged out former Democratic Rep. Tom Malinowski in the battle for their party’s nomination in New Jersey’s 11th Congressional District. On Tuesday, Malinowski announced on X that he had conceded the race. HOUSE GOP MAJORITY SHRINKS TO JUST ONE VOTE AS JOHNSON SWEARS IN NEW HOUSE DEMOCRAT Mejia and Malinowski were the leaders among a field of 11 Democratic candidates in last Thursday’s primary to fill the seat left vacant when now-Gov. Mikie Sherrill stepped down after winning November’s gubernatorial election in the Garden State. The results in the primary showdown were closely watched by the political world as an early testing ground in the debate between progressives versus the more mainstream elements of the Democratic Party. The victory by Mejia, who worked as national political director on Sanders’ 2020 presidential campaign, is the latest boost for the left against the establishment since now-New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, a democratic socialist, sent shock waves across the nation with his Democratic primary victory in June 2025. “She stands for a progressive populist economic agenda,” progressive leader Rep. Ro Khanna of California, emphasized last week in a social media post. “She is the future!” Mejia, speaking to supporters on primary night, highlighted that “we have to rebuild our party, we have to rebuild what is happening in our nation. We have to reclaim our democracy. We know that our economy is rigged to suit the billionaires.” ‘ABOLISH ICE’—WHERE SANDERS AND AOC-BACKED MEJIA STANDS ON THE ISSUES Malinowski, an assistant secretary of state in former President Barack Obama’s administration who later represented a neighboring congressional district in northern New Jersey from 2018 to 2022 before losing re-election, was considered the favorite in the race heading into primary day. But Malinowski was the target of a slew of attack ads put out by a group affiliated with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, which opposed Malinowski because he said he supports conditions on aid to Israel. The AIPAC-aligned super PAC United Democracy Project dished out more than $2.3 million to take aim at Malinowski, even though AIPAC had supported him in his past congressional elections. But the strategy backfired, because Mejia is much tougher on Israel than Malinowski. The Democratic National Committee (DNC) jumped the gun on primary night, congratulating Malinowski in an email release. “Tonight, Democrat Tom Malinowski clinched victory in the New Jersey District 11 special election Democratic primary,” the DNC’s release read. Later in the evening, after taking a slight lead in the vote count over Malinowski, Meija put out a social media post showing the famous photo of President Harry Truman, during his 1948 election victory, holding up a newspaper with the erroneous banner headline: “Dewey Defeats Truman.” Mejia was boosted by the support on the left. Sanders headlined a virtual rally for her on the eve of the primary. And besides Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez, Mejia also was endorsed by a large list of other progressive leaders, including Khanna, Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Rep. Pramilla Jayapal of Washington state, the former chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus. TOP 5 GAME-CHANGERS FROM THE 2025 CAMPAIGN TRAIL The Progressive Change Campaign Committee (PCCC), a leading group on the left, said in a statement, “Analilia Mejia’s momentous showing proves that voters, when given a choice, want Democrats with an inspiring vision who will boldly challenge powerful interests on behalf of working families.” PCCC co-founder Adam Green, a New Jersey native who knocked doors for Mejia and spoke at a rally with her and Sanders on primary eve, added that voters “made clear they want Democrats who will shake up a broken political and economic system – not just be anti-Trump.” While Mejia was the clear choice of the left flank of the party’s base, the rest of the field appeared to divide the more moderate and center-left vote. Mejia will face off with Randolph Mayor Joe Hathaway, the only Republican to file for the special election, which will be held on April 16. Hathaway will be considered the underdog in the race, in the suburban northern New Jersey district. Sherrill won re-election for the seat in 2024 by 15 points, the same margin by which she carried the district in November’s gubernatorial showdown. But then-Vice President Kamala Harris won the district by just eight points in the 2024 presidential election, giving the GOP some hopes of possibly flipping the seat. The primary in New Jersey was held as Republicans cling to a razor-thin 218-214 majority in the House of Representatives. But the GOP may land a reinforcement in the House before the open seat in New Jersey is filled. JOHNSON WARNS HOUSE REPUBLICANS TO ‘STAY HEALTHY’ AS GOP MAJORITY SHRINKS TO THE EDGE That’s because a special election is scheduled on March 10 in Georgia’s solidly red 14th Congressional District, in the race to succeed former GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene. The MAGA firebrand and one-time top Trump House ally in early January stepped away from Congress a year before her term ended. A whopping 22 candidates, including 17 Republicans, are running in the Georgia showdown. According to Georgia state law, all the candidates will run on the same ballot. If no contender tops 50% of the vote, a runoff election between the top two finishers will take place on April 7. WHO TRUJMP IS BACKING IN RACE TO REPLACE MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE Trump last week endorsed Lookout Mountain Judicial Circuit District Attorney Clay Fuller, a Republican, in the race. Greene won re-election in 2024 to the seat by nearly 30 points, and Trump carried the district, which is located in northwest Georgia, by 37 points. There’s one more vacant seat in Congress, in California’s 1st Congressional District, following the recent unexpected death of