NationalWatch

President Donald Trump is being sued by a historic preservation group seeking to stop construction of his new White House ballroom.

The National Trust for Historic Preservation filed a lawsuit Friday against the Trump administration, arguing that it skipped mandatory reviews and failed to seek congressional approval before demolishing the East Wing of the White House.

“No president is legally allowed to tear down portions of the White House without any review whatsoever — not President Trump, not President Biden, and not anyone else,” the lawsuit stated. “And no president is legally allowed to construct a ballroom on public property without giving the public the opportunity to weigh in.”

Attorneys for the nonprofit argued Trump’s project “should be immediately halted” and work on the 90,000-square-foot ballroom project should be paused until the reviews are completed.

WHITE HOUSE TROLLS DEMOCRATS OVER BALLROOM MELTDOWN — ADDS COCAINE, CLINTON, OBAMA SCANDALS TO TIMELINE

When reached for comment, White House spokesperson Davis Ingle told Fox News Digital, “President Trump has full legal authority to modernize, renovate and beautify the White House – just like all of his predecessors did.” 

Construction on the ballroom started in October, leading to the demolition of the White House’s historic East Wing. The project is being privately funded at an estimated cost of $300 million, up from a $200 million estimate in July when the project was unveiled.

The lawsuit claims the Trump administration failed to submit its demolition plans to the National Capital Planning Commission, the Commission of Fine Arts and Congress before construction began, arguing it is “depriving the public of its right to be informed.”

BILL MAHER SAYS HE DOESN’T ‘GIVE A S—‘ ABOUT TRUMP’S WHITE HOUSE REMODEL, SLAMS PRESS COVERAGE

Additionally, the National Trust said the project violates numerous federal statutes, including the Administrative Procedure Act and the National Environmental Policy Act, and claimed Trump circumvented the Constitution. 

“The President, acting unilaterally, is wholly without constitutional authority to build or demolish anything on federal Grounds,” the lawsuit stated.

The National Trust is requesting that a federal judge prevent the Trump administration from continuing work on the Ballroom project until the necessary federal commissions have reviewed and approved the project’s plans, an adequate environmental review has been conducted and Congress has authorized the ballroom’s construction.

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The White House is expected to submit plans for Trump’s new ballroom to a federal planning commission before the end of the year.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

New York State Assemblyman Alex Bores, D-73, who is leading an effort to enact tighter safety regulations in the state for the country’s largest artificial intelligence developers, has attributed pressure from Big Tech to Gov. Kathy Hochul’s decision to rewrite his bill.

Just before President Donald Trump signed an executive order aimed at undercutting state-level AI regulations, news broke that Hochul had severely watered down a state-level bill targeting some of the industry’s biggest players, attempting to force them to implement stricter safety measures. 

Her amendments reportedly mirrored a California measure more favorable to major AI firms.

In response to Bores’ work on the bill, the RAISE Act, the progressive state lawmaker who is running for Congress to replace Rep. Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., says he has been the target of a $100 million ad campaign bankrolled by some of the biggest leaders in the AI industry, such as OpenAI President Greg Brockman and the major AI venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz.

TRUMP SAYS EVERY AI PLANT BEING BUILT IN US WILL BE SELF-SUSTAINING WITH THEIR OWN ELECTRICITY

“My reaction was, ‘Oh, this is a message to the governor’ — this is not just about defeating me,” Bores told Rolling Stone after Hochul amended his bill. “They want the governor to be intimidated by the idea they might target her next.”

“NY can be a leader on critical AI safety, or we can cave to the pressure of the same Big Tech and VC bullies pushing Trump’s AI safety ban,” New York State Sen. Andrew Gounardes, D-26, the Senate sponsor of the RAISE Act, said on X. “I know which side I’m fighting on.”

The RAISE Act, in its original form, sought to compel a select few of the most advanced AI developers to implement specific safety protocols, including requirements to write detailed safety and security protocols that must then be followed, report incidents of serious harm within 72 hours to the New York attorney general and a prohibition on the release of new models that could pose “unreasonable risk.”

But Hochul’s rewrite removed the prohibition on new AI models that could pose “unreasonable” risk, extended the reporting threshold to 15 days and weakened penalties against AI companies, among other revisions that scaled back the bill’s restrictions.

KYRSTEN SINEMA WARNS US ADVERSARY WILL PROGRAM AI WITH ‘CHINESE VALUES’ IF AMERICA FALLS BEHIND IN TECH RACE

“AI oligarchs want to take over our safety, our workforce and our minds for their own personal profit and power,” Bores told Fox News Digital when reached for comment. “They’ve already bought the White House and are trying very aggressively to try to buy statehouses, too. That can’t happen, and I won’t let it.” 

Some tech experts, including TechNYC’s Julie Samuels, argue that aligning the RAISE Act with California’s standards is actually a wise move because it will “help create a de facto national standard” that does not exist. 

When reached for comment, Hochul’s office pointed to an “absence of federal leadership on responsible AI” and asserted that New York has been “leading with commonsense laws to protect children, families and consumers.”

“Our approach should be a model for the nation,” a Hochul spokesperson said. “Gov. Hochul has been at the forefront of the innovation economy and remains committed to advancing AI responsibly as she reviews the legislation.”

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On Thursday, not long after news broke of Hochul’s rewrite, Trump signed an executive order aimed at creating a federal regulatory framework that would undercut state regulatory efforts on AI. During the signing ceremony from the White House Thursday evening, Trump said he thinks there will only be “one winner” in the global AI arms race, likely the U.S. or China.

Trump said China holds an advantage because of its centralized regulatory structure, while the U.S. “has to get 50 different approvals from 50 different states,” slowing development of new AI centers.

“We want to have one central source of approval,” Trump said.

According to senior Trump advisor Will Scharf, more than 1,000 bills aimed at regulating artificial intelligence are moving through state legislatures.

EXCLUSIVE: Fox News Digital obtained a copy of President Donald Trump’s personal schedule since Dec. 1, showing back-to-back calls and meetings that frequently drag into the evening.  

The president has come under heightened scrutiny in recent months from the media over his health and age, including the New York Times reporting last month that Trump, 79, is “facing the realities of aging” while in office. The concern surrounding Trump’s stamina follows the media’s silence on the topic when the then-oldest sitting president, Joe Biden, led from the Oval Office  – a health saga that has continued long after Biden dropped out of the 2024 federal election and exited 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. on Jan. 20.  

Over the 12 days covered in the internal schedule obtained by Fox Digital, Trump is on the books for roughly 10 hours a day, averaging around 21 separate meetings, calls or events per day – while some days pack in more than 30 such events. 

A copy of the president’s schedule shows Trump begins most scheduled calls and meetings around 8:30 or 9 a.m., with his days typically not wrapping up until after 8 p.m. 

TRUMP TORCHES BIDEN’S SHUTOUT PRESS RECORD — OPENS FLOODGATES OF MEDIA ACCESS IN FIRST YEAR BACK

On Monday, Dec. 1, for example, Trump kicked off his day at 8:30 am with a phone call to his chief of staff Susie Wiles, which was followed by a 9:30 call to Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, and a 9:35 a.m. call into a rally. Across 10 minutes, Trump then held a series of rapid-fire meetings with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, press secretary Karoline Leavitt and Wiles, before holding calls with a member of Congress and a political advisor. 

The day continued with 18 other meetings, phone calls and events, including a bill signing, remarks at a Christmas reception, additional meetings with the secretary of state, Leavitt and his trade team. 

According to Trump’s schedule, his busiest day so far this month was on Wednesday, Dec. 3, when he held 32 events, meetings and phone calls. He began the day at 9 a.m. with a call to senior staff members, and wrapped the day up at 7:30 p.m., when he met with a “television personality.”

TRUMP’S LONG-RUNNING FEUD WITH NEW YORK TIMES ESCALATES WITH NEW INSULTS, LAWSUITS

Every hour between 9 a.m. and 7:30 p.m. that day included a scheduled event or meeting or call. 

Trump’s longest work day this month fell on Tuesday, Dec. 9, according to the schedule, at 13 hours and 9 minutes. Trump began his day at 9:46 a.m. with a call to a Cabinet secretary, before holding five other meetings, and one other call. He wrapped up the day at 10:55 p.m. after traveling to Pennsylvania on Tuesday, where he delivered a speech focused on his economic policies. 

The schedule overall showed a heightened focus on foreign policy and business, including 11 separate meetings or calls with his secretary of state, eight head-of-state sessions, three meetings with a special envoy and two with an ambassador. Trump had at least one CEO or business-focused engagement on 10 of the 12 days, including 17 direct CEO calls or meetings, a call with “business leaders,” and other events on the economy or technology. 

One of Trump’s lightest days was on the weekend, when Saturday, Dec. 6, recorded 5 hours and 51 minutes of scheduled events, including meetings with Kennedy Center leadership and Secret Service leadership, meeting with the Kennedy Center Honorees, and taking part in the Kennedy Center’s Honors Dinner.

Trump entered his second term as the oldest person ever inaugurated at 78, with the media becoming increasingly focused on his health, including when he was spotted with swollen legs in July while attending the FIFA Club World Cup final in New Jersey, as well as other photos stretching back to February showing bruising on his hand. 

DEMS, MEDIA CREDIBILITY IN SHAMBLES AS PRESS FIXATES ON TRUMP MRI AFTER YEARS DOWNPLAYING BIDEN HEALTH ISSUES

The White House attributed the bruising to frequent handshakes and said the swelling stemmed from chronic venous insufficiency — “a benign and common condition, particularly in individuals over the age of 70,” according to previous comments from Leavitt.

The media most recently focused on an MRI scan Trump received during a checkup at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Maryland in October, which was described as routine by the administration. The checkup was Trump’s second in 2025, following an April visit that Navy Capt. Sean P. Barbabella, the physician to the president, said found Trump “remains in excellent health.”

Trump pledged to release the results of the scan when pressed about it by the media, with the White House releasing the report a day after Trump’s pledge. The report found Trump was in normal and good health. 

SCOTT BESSENT CALLS OUT NY TIMES’ TRUMP REPORTING DURING PAPER’S SUMMIT, SAYS IT’S NOT PAPER OF RECORD

“The purpose of this imaging is preventative to identify any issues early, confirm overall health, and ensure the president maintains long-term vitality and function,” Leavitt said during a press conference while reading Trump’s MRI report. “… Overall, his cardiovascular system shows excellent health.” 

The White House has been quick to challenge reporters’ focus on Trump’s health, pointing to his health reports and the lack of media coverage Biden received over his mental acuity concerns. 

Biden’s mental acuity had been under conservatives’ microscope since before the 2020 election. Concerns among the mainstream media, however, did not heighten until February 2024, when special counsel Robert Hur, who was investigating Biden’s alleged mishandling of classified documents as vice president, announced he would not recommend criminal charges against Biden for possessing classified materials after his vice presidency, calling Biden “a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory.” 

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“I can tell you there was certainly a lack of transparency from the former president, from the entire former administration,” Leavitt told reporters in April. “And frankly, a lot of people in this room, when it came to the health and the competence of the former President of the United States, Joe Biden.”

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker on Friday signed legislation that will allow eligible terminally ill adult patients to obtain life-ending medication in consultation with their doctors, making Illinois the latest state to authorize physician-assisted suicide for people with a prognosis of six months or less.

The law, known as the Medical Aid in Dying bill or “Deb’s Law,” will take effect in September 2026 to allow participating healthcare providers and the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) time to implement stringent processes and protections.

Deb Robertson, a lifelong Illinois resident with a rare terminal illness who the bill was named after, said in a statement she “know[s] the end for me could be near. But I’m pleased to have been able to play some role in ensuring that terminally ill Illinoisans have access to medical aid in dying.”

‘LOVE YOU FOREVER’ AUTHOR MAY SOON DIE BY ASSISTED SUICIDE, PRO-LIFE GROUPS CALL DECISION ‘HEARTBREAKING’

Pritzker, a Democrat, wrote in a news release the legislation will help terminal patients “avoid unnecessary pain and suffering at the end of their lives,” and will be “thoughtfully implemented so that physicians can consult patients on making deeply personal decisions with authority, autonomy and empathy.”

The ACLU of Illinois applauded the new measure, saying terminally ill patients living in Illinois will “no longer have to agonize about spending their remaining days fearful of a painful death.”

While Pritzker’s office included a quote from Chicago Episcopalian minister Rev. Judith Doran supporting the law, other groups, including the Catholic Conference of Illinois, released statements opposing any legislation that would legalize assisted suicide.

“Proponents argue that this legislation will end suffering at the end-of-life,” the Catholic Bishops of Illinois wrote in a September statement. “Assisted suicide is not the compassionate solution for those who are suffering. Through palliative care, expanded access to mental health care, and stronger family and community support, providers and families are finding better ways to accompany these people compassionately that truly confer the love for, and dignity of, each human life.”

‘UNTOLD DAMAGE’: GLOBAL ASSISTED SUICIDE MOVEMENT TARGETS CHILDREN

They added “unintended consequences” of legalized assisted suicide include documented cases of people being denied life-saving medical treatment by insurance companies in lieu of the much cheaper option of life-ending drugs.

“The poor and those with disabilities are particularly in jeopardy as they are the most vulnerable to such abuses,” the Catholic Conference of Illinois wrote. “In response, every major national organization that represents people with disabilities is opposed to assisted suicide.”

Patients must self-administer the medication, with the legislation making it a felony to coerce anyone to request the medication or forge a request.

Patients who qualify and receive medication have the right to withdraw their request at any time or choose not to ingest it, according to the release.

The death certificates of those who commit physician-assisted suicide under the bill will list their cause of death as an underlying terminal disease. 

The Thomas More Society, a national public interest law firm, claimed in a statement Friday that Illinois has “crossed a moral and legal red line.”

“This is a dark and sorrowful day for Illinois. When the state signals that some lives are no longer worth living, the most vulnerable pay the price,” Thomas More Society executive vice president Thomas Olp wrote in a statement. “Instead of offering true compassion, support, and care, this law offers a fatal prescription. That is not mercy. It is abandonment.”

In addition to its “grave social and moral implications,” the law firm noted the law threatens the conscience rights of physicians opposed to facilitating assisted suicide, as well as the freedom of association of religious medical institutions. 

While physicians, health care providers and pharmacists are not required to participate, the bill requires physicians who object to assisted suicide on moral or religious grounds to refer patients to providers who will participate in ending their lives.

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“The State is forcing doctors to become active participants and cooperators in a patient’s suicide—no matter if their faith, ethics, or Hippocratic Oath forbid it,” Olp wote. “This is unconscionable coercion, plain and simple. No doctor should be ordered by the government to participate, directly or indirectly, in a process that deliberately ends a human life.”

Beyond the law’s compelled-referral mandate, the law also forces religious hospitals and clinics to retain staff who promote assisted deaths on-site, as long as those staff provide lethal drugs off-site. 

“This is a Trojan horse designed to violate and undermine the missions of religious healthcare institutions,” Olp wrote. “Gov. Pritzker’s assisted suicide law threatens the integrity of Catholic and Christian medical institutions statewide. . . . State law should never endorse the idea that suffering or sickness makes a life disposable.”

If you or someone you know is having thoughts of suicide, contact the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988 or 1-800-273-TALK (8255).

GOP House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer said he plans to commence contempt of Congress proceedings against Bill and Hillary Clinton for ignoring the committee’s subpoenas related to its ongoing probe into the Jeffrey Epstein scandal. 

In July, a bipartisan House Oversight Subcommittee approved motions to subpoena Bill and Hillary Clinton and a slew of other high-profile political figures to aid its investigation looking into how the federal government handled Epstein’s sex trafficking case. 

The subpoenas were then sent out in early August, and the Clinton’s were scheduled to testify Dec. 17-18. 

“It has been more than four months since Bill and Hillary Clinton were subpoenaed to sit for depositions related to our investigation into Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell’s horrific crimes. Throughout that time, the former president and former secretary of state have delayed, obstructed, and largely ignored the committee staff’s efforts to schedule their testimony,” Comer said in a press release issued Friday evening.

DOJ CLEARED TO RELEASE SECRET JEFFREY EPSTEIN CASE GRAND JURY MATERIALS

“If the Clintons fail to appear for their depositions next week or schedule a date for early January, the Oversight Committee will begin contempt of Congress proceedings to hold them accountable.”

Comer’s threats come as Democrats from the House Oversight Committee released a new batch of photos obtained from Epstein’s estate, which included further images of the disgraced financier with powerful figures like President Donald Trump and former President Bill Clinton. Thousands of images were reportedly released, with potentially more to come.

Other high-profile figures subpoenaed by the Oversight Committee include James Comey, Loretta Lynch, Eric Holder, Merrick Garland, Robert Mueller, William Barr, Jeff Sessions and Alberto Gonzales.

FEDERAL JUDGE APPROVES RELEASING GHISLAINE MAXWELL CASE GRAND JURY MATERIAL

In addition to testimony from these individuals, Comer and the Oversight Committee issued subpoenas to the Department of Justice (DOJ) for all documents and communications pertaining to the case against Epstein.

In September, the committee released tens of thousands of pages of Epstein-related records in compliance with the subpoena, and the Oversight Committee indicated the DOJ would continue producing even more records as it works through needed redactions and other measures that must occur before they are released.

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A top Senate Republican argued that if allegations against “Squad” member Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., that she married her brother to enter the U.S. were true, she’d be breaking several laws.

Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, joined the long-standing scrutiny against Omar Friday after President Donald Trump revived the allegations during a rally pushing his affordability agenda in Pennsylvania earlier this week.

In a post on X responding to a White House social media account that charged, “Yes, [Omar] married her brother,” Cruz listed a trio of federal and state laws the progressive lawmaker may have violated.

ILHAN OMAR’S EX APPEARS ON ‘DIRTY DANDY’ SOCIAL ACCOUNT AS TRUMP REVIVES MARRIED SIBLINGS CLAIM

“If this is true, then Omar faces criminal liability under three different statutes,” Cruz said.

Cruz argued that Omar could have committed federal marriage fraud, which stipulates that it is a felony to knowingly enter into a marriage to evade immigration laws, and could lead to up to five years in prison, a $250,000 fine and deportation.

Omar was born in Somalia and came to the U.S. in 1995 after her family was granted asylum. She became a citizen in 2000. Omar, who is Muslim, has been married legally three times, first in a religious marriage to Ahmed Abdisalan Hirsi in 2002, then to Ahmed Nur Said Elmi in 2009 before later divorcing and legally marrying Hirsi. In 2020, she married political aide Tim Mynett. 

SCOOP: ILHAN OMAR HIT WITH HOUSE ETHICS COMPLAINT OVER RESPONSE TO CHARLIE KIRK ASSASSINATION

Cruz noted that Omar could also be breaking Minnesota’s state incest law, a felony in the state punishable by jail time up to 10 years. He also contended that she could be liable for tax fraud, specifically if joint tax returns were filed while she was not legally married.

That violation would levy up to a $100,000 fine and up to three years in prison.

MINNESOTA HOUSE HOPEFUL CALLS MARRIAGE, FRAUD CLAIMS ‘LIES’

The Senate Republican’s legal analysis of the situation comes after Trump resurrected the unsubstantiated claims that Omar had married her brother for immigration purposes that have dogged the lawmaker since she entered politics nearly a decade ago. She has denied the allegations.

Still, Trump charged, “She married her brother to get in, right?”

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“If I married my sister to get my citizenship, do you think I’d last for about two hours or something less than that? She married her brother to get in,” he said. “Therefore, she’s here illegally. She should get the hell out.”

Fox News Digital did not immediately hear back for comment from Omar’s office.

Welcome to the Fox News Politics newsletter, with the latest updates on the Trump administration, Capitol Hill and more Fox News politics content. Here’s what’s happening…

-Waltz hails ‘night-and-day’ Middle East shift as Trump’s Gaza plan reshapes region

-Duffy threatens to yank New York federal funds over illegally issued commercial driver’s licenses

-Democrats ramp up calls to release Jack Smith’s special counsel report on Trump classified documents case

Omar accused by GOP opponent of opening up the door to massive Minneapolis fraud: ‘Deep, deep ties’

MINNEAPOLIS, MN – Republican John Nagel, who is running against Dem. Rep. Ilhan Omar in her Minneapolis district, spoke to Fox News Digital about the responsibility she holds in the unfolding massive fraud scandal that has garnered national headlines.

“Where did this actually start?” Nagel told Fox News Digital. “She passed legislation. Her legislation actually started and it allowed people to get into Feeding Our Future. If you look at where the fraud is, it’s primarily her [5th Congressional District], the district that I’m running in against her. And it’s really odd to think that you know all the fraud just happened in a particular area, and it was a bill that she, you know, particularly put together.”

Nagel is referring to allegations that the free meals at the center of the massive fraud scandal were made possible by the 2020 MEALS Act, introduced by Omar and passed with bipartisan support. He told Fox News Digital the public deserves to know who helped her craft that legislation…READ MORE.

White House

‘CHERRY-PICKED’: White House slams House Dems releasing Epstein photos showing Trump, Clinton, Woody Allen

STOCKPILE SQUEEZE: Gas prices are falling — so why isn’t Trump refilling the oil reserve faster? WH blames Biden ‘damage’

DEFIANT MESSAGE: Kilmar Abrego Garcia seen for first time since release, pledges to ‘continue to fight’ Trump admin

LINES DRAWN: High-stakes map fight: Here are the next battlegrounds in the Trump vs. Democrats redistricting showdown

World Stage

SEIZED AT SEA: Why the US could snatch a Venezuelan tanker — and not under ‘wartime’ authority used in cartel strikes

Capitol Hill

SHOW THE TAPES: Bipartisan push grows in Senate to force release of unedited Caribbean strike footage

TECH WAR GAMBLE: Trump’s green light for NVIDIA sales to China sparks alarm on Capitol Hill

CARE CLIFF: Senate mulls next steps after dueling Obamacare fixes go up in flames

Across America 

‘LOOPHOLE’: Whistleblower says massive fraud happening in Ohio Somali community, Minnesota ‘just tip of the spear’

‘MUST-SEE TV’: ‘Must-see TV’: Texas Senate candidate challenges Jasmine Crockett to public debate

DIGITAL DIRT: Latin Grammy winner and Texas Dem star recruit hits House campaign with years of porn-linked posts

GAME ON: Husted files for 2026 Senate race, launching aggressive statewide re-election push

‘TOUGH ROAD’: Extreme sports star lashes out at Newsom for killing the California dream: ‘What happened?’

Get the latest updates on the Trump administration and Congress, exclusive interviews and more on FoxNews.com.

House Republicans have released a 111-page plan for reforming healthcare that they hope to vote on next week.

House GOP leadership aides also told reporters on Friday afternoon that they expected a vote on extending enhanced Obamacare subsidies to also happen next week as part of the amendment process to the final bill, called the “Lower Health Care Premiums for All Americans Act.” The subsidies have been the subject of fierce inter-party debate for Republicans.

“We expect that there will be an amendment that I believe is being worked on, so the process will allow for that amendment,” aides said.

The plan as-is includes provisions to codify association health plans, which allow small businesses and people who are self-employed to band together to purchase healthcare coverage plans, giving them access to greater bargaining power.

SENATE DEMS’ OBAMACARE FIX FAILS AS SENATE LOOKS FOR OFF-RAMP FROM HEALTHCARE CLIFF

Republicans also plan to appropriate funding for cost-sharing reductions beginning in 2027, which are designed to lower out-of-pocket medical costs in the individual healthcare market. House GOP leadership aides said it would bring down the cost of premiums by 12%.

New transparency requirements for pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) are also in the legislation, aimed at forcing PBMs to be more upfront about costs to employers.

GOP UNVEILS PLAN FOR ‘TRUMP HEALTH FREEDOM ACCOUNTS’ TO REPLACE OBAMACARE SUBSIDIES WITH STATE WAIVERS

PBMs are third parties that act as intermediaries between pharmaceutical companies and those responsible for insurance coverage, often responsible for administrative tasks and negotiating drug prices.

PBMs have also been the subject of bipartisan ire in Congress, with both Republicans and Democrats accusing them of being part of a broken system to inflate health costs.

But the most divisive measure for Republicans is likely not yet fleshed out. 

A majority of House Republicans are against extending the enhanced Obamacare subsidies, which were designed to get affordable health insurance for more Americans during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Democrats voted to pass the enhanced subsidies in 2021 and extended them through 2022 when they controlled Congress.

A group of moderate House Republicans has joined Democrats now in vehemently pushing for those subsidies to be extended again, as millions of Americans face near-certain healthcare price hikes beginning in January.

Two separate bipartisan efforts have been launched to force a vote on extending the subsidies in some form. But any such push would require support from virtually all House Democrats to succeed, and their leaders have not given their blessing to either plan.

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“We’re going to evaluate every single good faith proposal. But it has to meaningfully provide certainty to the American people who are at risk of having their health care ripped away from them,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., told reporters on Friday.

But conservatives have warned they would not support any such extension unless paired with significant reforms to what they view as a long-broken system that fuels healthcare price inflation.

“I think that would be a disastrous plan. I mean, we’ve clearly seen that Obamacare is the Titanic. It’s going down. I think throwing money after it is just going to be wasteful,” House Freedom Caucus member Rep. Eric Burlison, R-Mo., told Fox News’ Chad Pergram on Friday.

 

The final legislation governing Pentagon spending dropped a bipartisan provision that would have guaranteed the military the right to repair its own equipment, prompting immediate criticism from its authors, Sens. Elizabeth Warren, D-MA, and Tim Sheehy, R-MT, who accused Congress of siding with defense contractors over service members.

Both chambers had passed versions of the reform, and the White House publicly supported the measure, which would have required contractors to provide the Pentagon with the technical data needed to perform repairs in-house — rather than flying out manufacturer technicians at added cost. The final National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) omits that mandate, a move Warren and Sheehy say will leave troops facing the same barriers to fixing equipment whenever contractors assert proprietary rights.

“For decades, the Pentagon has relied on a broken acquisition system that is routinely defended by career bureaucrats and corporate interests. Military right to repair reforms are supported by the Trump White House, the Secretary of War, the Secretary of the Army, the Secretary of the Navy, entrepreneurs, small businesses, and our brave servicemembers,” Warren and Sheehy said after the text of the legislation was released. “The only ones against this common-sense reform are those taking advantage of a broken status quo at the expense of our warfighters and taxpayers.”

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) repeatedly has warned that the Pentagon’s lack of access to technical data is one of the biggest drivers of soaring sustainment costs, estimating that broader repair rights could save the department “billions” of dollars over the life cycles of major weapons systems.

SEN ROGER WICKER: THE PENTAGON NEEDS MAJOR REFORM. NOW IS OUR CHANCE 

GAO reviews of aircraft, ships and ground vehicles have found that when contractors retain exclusive control over repair information, the military is forced into long-term vendor support arrangements that are far more expensive than in-house maintenance. In several cases, GAO concluded that obtaining necessary data earlier in the acquisition process would have given the Pentagon more flexibility, reduced downtime, and lowered costs for everything from software fixes to depot-level repairs.

Sources familiar with the NDAA negotiations claimed that, behind closed doors, lobbyists had persuaded leaders on the House and Senate Armed Services Committee to drop the more aggressive right to repair language. 

“This is a textbook case of the swamp prevailing at the expense of our warfighters and government efficiency,” one source said. “Does (War Secretary Pete) Hegseth realize that Boeing just knocked the legs out from our warriors?”

A spokesperson for the House Armed Services Committee said: “The Committee is committed to addressing the right to repair issue in a manner that ensures our warfighters have the data they need to effectuate repairs while preserving the intellectual property of private industry.”

“The FY26 NDAA requires the Department to audit its contracts to determine where they are missing data rights they need and determine whether any missing data rights is the result of a defective law or a defective contract.  If the law is defective, the department needs to make recommendations to Congress on how to fix it.”

Watchdogs also questioned the weaker compromise. 

“The provisions are nowhere near strong enough,” said Greg Williams of the Project on Government Oversight. “They help catalog the problem, but they don’t really do anything to solve it.” Williams added that the original proposals “acknowledged the cost and committed to paying fair, reasonable prices to vendors for that intellectual property,” countering industry arguments that the bill would have seized or devalued contractors’ data.

CONGRESS UNVEILS $900B DEFENSE BILL TARGETING CHINA WITH TECH BANS, INVESTMENT CRACKDOWN, US TROOP PAY RAISE

Industry groups defended their opposition. 

“This debate is not about ensuring equipment and technology can be repaired in contested environments; commanders already have broad authority to keep mission-critical systems operational,” said Marta Hernandez, spokesperson for the Aerospace Industries Association. “Our concern with the Senate proposal is its sweeping mandate for government takeover of IP — without regard to necessity or cost. ‘One size fits all’ doesn’t work for our troops or for the industry that equips them.”

But military officials and watchdogs say that while commanders can authorize emergency fixes, that authority does not give units the technical data, software access, or parts needed to actually perform repairs. They argue that crews remain dependent on contractors even when they have the skills to fix the equipment themselves.

Instead of requiring contractors to provide repair data, the final NDAA directs the Pentagon to create a database cataloging what technical information it currently has and to “request options” from contractors when data is missing. Critics say the language has no enforcement mechanism and leaves manufacturers free to refuse, preserving the contractor-controlled repair model the reform sought to change.

The Trump administration had backed the reform, with Statements of Administration Policy supporting both the House and Senate versions earlier in the fall. Service secretaries also endorsed the effort, and War Secretary Pete Hegseth issued new acquisition guidance in November instructing the military to plan for “organic depot-level maintenance and repair” in major systems.

US COULD LOSE NEXT MAJOR WAR DUE TO PENTAGON’S ‘BROKEN’ ACQUISITION SYSTEM

In May 2025, Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll publicly pledged that the Army would ensure right-to-repair provisions were included in future Army contracts — aligning the service with the broader congressional push for greater access to technical data. But advocates said a service-by-service approach wasn’t enough and pushed to codify and expand right to repair across all branches to prevent contractors from controlling critical maintenance information.

The F-35 program offers one of the clearest examples of how restricted repair rights drive up costs. 

GAO has found that the Pentagon still lacks key technical data needed to perform many F-35 repairs organically, forcing the services to rely on Lockheed Martin and its subcontractors for everything from software maintenance to component overhauls. That dependence has helped push sustainment costs so high that the Pentagon warns it cannot afford to operate the planned fleet without major changes. 

GAO reported that greater access to repair data could save the department billions over the jet’s projected life cycle, reduce turnaround times for broken parts, and allow military depots to take on work that is currently outsourced back to the contractor.

The consequences of contractor restrictions are already visible across the force. A mechanic deployed for an exercise in Korea “was prohibited from conducting maintenance on a generator because the warranty would be voided,” leaving the unit with the choice of voiding the warranty or losing equipment needed for training, according to a comment filed on Regulations.gov.

Marines stationed in Japan were forced to “pack() up and ship() back (engines) to contractors in the (U.S.) for repairs,” leaving the engines offline for months, former Marine Corps logistics officer Elle Ekman wrote in The New York Times.

Even basic shipboard systems have been affected. Navy Secretary John Phelan told lawmakers that during a visit to the USS Gerald R. Ford, six of the ship’s eight ovens — responsible for preparing more than 15,000 meals a day — were broken. Sailors said they knew how to fix the ovens but were not allowed to and had to wait for contractors instead, according to a War Department readout. When shipboard elevators stopped working, the crew similarly had to call in the manufacturer. 

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Advocates say these examples illustrate why Congress sought to codify military right to repair in the first place — and why they argue the issue is far from resolved. Warren and Sheehy have already vowed to push another legislative fix next year, while watchdog groups say they will press the Pentagon to use its existing authority to demand greater data access in new contracts.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced financial reporting crackdowns in Minnesota Friday as part of the ongoing investigation into sprawling fraud schemes rocking the state, including deploying Treasury personnel to the ground. 

The Treasury Department is rolling out a geographic targeting order focused on money services businesses — which are understood as financial operations that grant money transfers, currency exchange and check cashing — to ensure potential illegal activity is reported to the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network. Bessent said the heightened security will monitor if funds are being transferred to places such as Somalia. 

“This important tool will be used to make sure information regarding any such illicit activity is quickly reported to @FinCENnews and made available to our law enforcement partners,” Bessent posted to X Friday morning. “This will empower investigators to develop additional leads through increased scrutiny on funds going to areas of concern, such as Somalia.” 

Bessent added that employees of the Treasury are on the ground in Minnesota, including to investigate money services businesses suspected of participating in the fraud schemes.

OMAR ACCUSED BY GOP OPPONENT OF OPENING UP THE DOOR TO MASSIVE MINNEAPOLIS FRAUD: ‘DEEP, DEEP TIES’

“Additionally, Treasury personnel are on the ground working hard to uncover the facts. FinCEN will soon be issuing Notices of Investigations to MSBs of concern, and I can report that @IRSnews will be examining these businesses,” Bessent posted. 

Bessent announced at the start of December that he opened an investigation into “feckless mismanagement” by Minnesota Democratic Gov. Tim Walz that allegedly allowed what U.S. Attorney for the District of Minnesota Daniel Rosen called “the largest Covid-19 fraud scheme in the country.”

The scandal initially centered on a nonprofit called Feeding Our Future. The group and its partners are accused of siphoning off as much as $250 million from a federal children’s nutrition program by allegedly creating hundreds of sham meal sites. At least 77 people have been charged in the scam, many of whom are from the Somali community in Minnesota. 

WHISTLEBLOWER WARNS MASSIVE FRAUD IS HAPPENING IN OHIO SOMALI COMMUNITY, MINNESOTA ‘JUST TIP OF THE SPEAR’

The scandal, according to local Republican lawmakers, goes far deeper and could total over $2 billion in fraud, pointing to various nonprofits that have allegedly ripped off the government. 

The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform announced it was launching its own investigation into “widespread fraud in Minnesota’s social services programs under Governor Tim Walz’s watch,” pointing to how the fraud allegedly affects multiple government programs. 

MINNESOTA’S SOMALI FRAUD SCANDAL EXPOSES THE HIDDEN COST OF IMMIGRATION

President Donald Trump has railed against the schemes while arguing “Somali gangs” should be deported. 

“Somali gangs are terrorizing the people of that great State, and BILLIONS of Dollars are missing. Send them back to where they came from,” Trump said on Truth Social of the fraud. 

Minnesota Democrats, including Walz and Rep. Ilhan Omar, have pushed back, accusing Trump of smearing the Somali community for political points. 

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“You commit crimes, you go to jail. Doesn’t matter what your race is, what your ethnicity, religion,” Walz said earlier in December. “But demonizing an entire group of people by their race and their ethnicity? A very group of people who contribute to the vitality — economic, cultural — of this state, is something I hoped we’d never have to see.”

Fox News Digital’s Andrew Mark Miller, Peter Pinedo and Michael Dorgan contributed to this report. 

The Trump administration is in the midst of “gradually” refilling the nation’s emergency reserve of oil after it was partially drained under the Biden administration. 

President Donald Trump and the White House have been touting falling energy and oil prices in recent months as Democrats realign their political messaging following their 2024 election losses, finding a winning strategy in knocking the Trump administration over “affordability” and cost-of-living concerns. 

Considering the administration is touting falling gas prices as they champion Trump’s economic plans in the face of Democrat “affordability” pushback, Fox News Digital asked the White House Wednesday if the administration was taking steps to refill the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR), which Trump pledged to do from the campaign trail and during inauguration. 

The Strategic Petroleum Reserve serves as the U.S.’ emergency stash of oil that was established after the 1970s oil crisis and stored along the Gulf Coast in Texas and Louisiana. The Department of Energy oversees the reserve. 

BURGUM CALLS CALIFORNIA A ‘NATIONAL SECURITY RISK’ AS ENERGY CHIEF WARNS BLUE STATES ARE SKEWING COST AVERAGES

A Trump official explained that the administration is working to “gradually” refill the stash of oil, while citing significant “damage” left to the reserve following the Biden administration releasing millions of barrels of oil in 2021 and 2022. 

“Joe Biden’s disastrous green energy policies sent gas prices soaring across the country, making the past four years painfully unaffordable for Americans filling their gas tanks to commute to work, take their children to school, and travel during the summer and holiday seasons,” White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers told Fox News Digital. 

“In a desperate attempt to provide an illusion of relief during his 2024 campaign, Joe Biden irresponsibly depleted our Strategic Petroleum Reserve — shamelessly jeopardizing our economic and national security. President Trump’s energy dominance agenda has already brought gas prices down across the country, while gradually replenishing the SPR, and they will continue to drop as we unleash American energy.”

Biden released 50 million barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve in 2021 to lower gas prices and address the nation’s supply chain issues, citing the move was needed after the COVID-19 pandemic brought the world to a “near economic standstill.”

He upped the ante on draining the SPR in March 2022, announcing that his administration would release one million barrels of oil per day from the SPR for six months to combat rising gas prices. The announcement followed Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, with the U.S. and other allies imposing steep sanctions on oil-rich Russia in response. Biden released roughly 300 million barrels of oil across his four years. 

The U.S. uses about 20.2 million barrels of crude oil per day, according to the Energy Information Administration, so the roughly 400 million-barrel Strategic Petroleum Reserve would cover only about 20 days of demand if it were the country’s sole source of crude.

TRUMP COMPARES REAL WAGES UNDER HIS ADMIN VERSUS BIDEN’S DURING SPEECH CALLING OUT DEM AFFORDABILITY ‘HOAX’

Biden holds the top spot among presidents for releasing the most oil from the SPR, with his administration acknowledging at the time that it was “unprecedented” but needed to lower energy prices. SPR levels dropped to a 40-year low of 347 million barrels in July 2023 after the drawdowns in 2021 and 2022, compared to its record high at 727 million barrels under the Obama administration in 2009. 

“The scale of this release is unprecedented: the world has never had a release of oil reserves at this 1 million per day rate for this length of time,” the Biden administration said in a statement at the time, pinning blame for the prices on Russia. “This record release will provide a historic amount of supply to serve as bridge until the end of the year when domestic production ramps up.” 

Other presidents have released oil from the reserve, including the President George H.W. Bush administration releasing 17.3 million barrels in 1991 during Operation Desert Storm, and the President George W. Bush administration ordering an 11 million barrel drawdown in 2005 when Hurricane Katrina rocked the Gulf Coast. 

‘Damage’ left by Biden White House 

A Trump administration official told Fox Digital that the “repercussions of this damaging decision” to release roughly 300 million barrels of oil “persist.” 

The official said that releasing the oil under the Biden administration sparked $280 million in costs, delayed critical infrastructure maintenance, and put “unprecedented” wear and tear on storage and injection facilities. 

The SPR currently holds just more than 400 million barrels, with a capacity of roughly 700 million barrels, Fox Digital learned. Refiling the reserve could cost up to $20 billion, according to the administration official, who underscored that the “damage the Biden administration did to America’s SPR and national security cannot be overstated.” 

The SPR notched its lowest levels in modern history under the Biden administration, though the reserve only held just a few million barrels of oil in the late 1970s and early 1980s as officials worked to fill the reserve. 

Fox News Digital reached out to Biden’s office for comment on the SPR and Trump administration’s comments but did not immediately receive a reply. 

After Biden’s record 2022 emergency drawdown, the Biden–Harris administration directed the Energy Department to start repurchasing crude for the SPR at prices well below the roughly $95 per barrel it sold for in 2022. 

Congress needs to appropriate funds in order to refill the reserves. Currently, the Department of Energy has refill authority and funds granted under the “big, beautiful bill,” which appropriated $218 million for maintenance and repairs to the storage facilities and $171 million to refill the SPR. 

Appetite among Republicans to refill the SPR was apparent earlier in 2025, when House GOP lawmakers unveiled a budget proposal in May that included more than $1.5 billion to replenish and maintain the SPR. The funding was whittled down amid negotiations on the funding bill. 

The Trump administration told Fox Digital that the Energy Department and Trump are working to gradually refill the reserve and remain committed to their previous pledges to do so, while awaiting additional funding from Congress. 

The Department of Energy began refilling the SPR in October, Fox Digital learned, in October with a notice of intent to purchase a million barrels of oil, which was followed by the department awarding contracts to begin refilling the reserve. The Department of Energy expects that oil to be delivered to the reserves by the end of 2025.

‘PRICES ARE COMING DOWN’: TRUMP HAILS HIS ECONOMY, BLAMES BIDEN AS VOTERS SAY COSTS STILL STING

The administration said it is examining other avenues to refill the reserves as it awaits further funding action from Congress, including exchanging 1 million barrels to ExxonMobil in July to address a temporary supply disruption at its Baton Rouge, Louisiana, refinery. Exxon will return the oil, plus an additional amount that will be returned under a negotiated schedule by the third quarter of fiscal year 2026.

Pledge to refill the reserve after Biden

Trump railed against Biden’s plan and subsequent release of the oil in his interim between his first and second administration, including in 2021 when he told the New York Post that the reserve should only be tapped during “serious emergencies, like war, and nothing else.”

“Now I understand that Joe Biden will be announcing an ‘attack’ on the newly brimming Strategic Oil Reserves so that he could get the close to record-setting high oil prices artificially lowered,” Trump told the outlet at the time. “We were energy independent one year ago, now we are at the mercy of OPEC, gasoline is selling for $7 in parts of California, going up all over the Country, and they are taking oil from our Strategic Reserves. Is this any way to run a Country?”

The U.S. Department of Energy under Trump’s first term worked to purchase $3 billion in crude oil under the $2 trillion stimulus package in 2020, but Senate Democrats dropped the funding from the final version of the bill that Trump signed into law. 

As the federal election cycle heated up, Trump vowed to refill the reserves if re-elected.

WHITE HOUSE TURNS UP HEAT ON BIDEN’S ECONOMIC RECORD AS VOTERS SOUR ON ‘AFFORDABILITY’

Biden is “using the strategic reserves, which is meant for military, which is meant for war, and very important things, he’s using it to try and keep gasoline prices down,” Trump said in August 2024, saying he would “immediately refill” the reserve if re-elected. “We can’t allow that to happen.”

Trump also vowed in his inauguration speech on Jan. 20: “We will bring prices down, fill our strategic reserves up again right to the top, and export American energy all over the world.” 

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White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt Thursday, during a press briefing, celebrated the nation’s current falling gas prices as evidence that the Trump economy is easing the financial anxiety Americans are feeling.

Democrats in the off-season 2025 election cycle campaigned on the platform of “affordability,” claiming the Trump administration was worsening cost-of-living woes. The president and his administration have hit back against the Democrats’ new winning campaign strategy, pinning blame for high costs on Biden administration policies that have had a lasting effect on the economy.

“American families faced constant pain at the pump, and those costs caused the price of everything else to go up as well,” Leavitt said Thursday. “In fact, the average cost for a gallon of regular gas in the country was the most expensive price during a presidential term in U.S. history under Biden’s disastrous leadership, even with them recklessly draining our strategic reserves to try and artificially decrease prices. But thanks to President Trump, those days are long behind us. In the months ahead, Americans can expect prices to fall even further.”

FIRST ON FOX: Ohio Republican Sen. Jon Husted officially filed his paperwork to run for re-election on Friday, capping off a rollout week that highlighted his campaign objectives in a race that is expected to be one of the most expensive and closely watched Senate races in the country. 

Husted says he filed “because too many people in Washington have forgotten what it’s like to live, work, and raise a family in Ohio,” adding that his campaign will center on lowering costs, creating jobs, securing the border and “making America affordable again.”

Husted’s filing capped off a fast-moving week in which he released a new campaign video, his first ad, and a full leadership slate of 112 County Campaign Chairs representing all 88 Ohio counties — an unusually large infrastructure rollout this early in the cycle.

Husted’s team includes 23 county commissioners, 20 GOP county chairs, nine mayors, seven sheriffs, and five state legislators.

DEMOCRATS TARGET ‘VULNERABLE’ REPUBLICAN SENATORS AHEAD OF HIGH-STAKES HEALTHCARE SHOWDOWN

Husted enters the 2026 cycle with the support of former President Donald Trump, who recently called him a “trusted conservative” who “has always delivered for Ohio.”

The Ohio senator’s campaign says the senator’s early filing, combined with his statewide staffing rollout, is intended to send a clear message: he is running aggressively, early, and everywhere.

“My focus is on delivering for Ohio’s working families,” Husted said. “That won’t change in this campaign, and it won’t change in my next term.”

TOP GOP CANDIDATES IN DEEP RED STATE UNIFY BEHIND EACH OTHER AT JOINT EVENT: ‘BOLD IDEAS’

Husted was appointed to the Senate by Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine to fill in for JD Vance after the young senator left office to become Trump’s vice president. 

Husted, a former Ohio lieutenant governor, will square off against former Ohio Dem. Sen. Sherrod Brown next year.

Brown, a veteran Democrat who held statewide office for decades, is expected to frame his campaign around protecting union jobs, defending Social Security and Medicare, and pushing back on what he calls “corporate greed.”

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Husted’s team, meanwhile, is preparing to cast Brown as a Washington insider out of step with Ohio’s economic and cultural concerns, similar to the narrative that Ohio Sen. Bernie Moreno used to successfully unseat Brown last year.

“Ohio needs conservative champion Jon Husted in the U.S. Senate,” the narrator says in Husted’s first campaign ad released earlier this week. 

Lawyers for the Trump administration are seeking to shut down a revived contempt inquiry led by U.S. District Judge James Boasberg, arguing in new filings that the court should cancel two scheduled witness examinations next week or allow the administration to block testimony on grounds of “executive privilege.”

In filings earlier this week, Justice Department lawyers argued the court is exceeding its authority. “At the outset, the Court’s inquiry exceeds its authority and is now intruding on the prerogatives of a co-equal branch,” they wrote, adding that criminal contempt falls within the executive branch’s power.

“Criminal contempt is a criminal offense, and the investigation and prosecution of crimes is [a] core executive power reserved to the Executive Branch,” they added. 

The filings are part of a revived contempt inquiry that will bring to the fore longtime tensions between the Trump administration and the chief judge for the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., who sparked Trump’s ire earlier this year after he attempted to temporarily block the administration’s use of the Alien Enemies Act to deport hundreds of Venezuelan migrants to El Salvador in March.

NOEM GREENLIT DEPORTATION FLIGHTS AFTER JUDGE’S EMERGENCY ORDER, DOJ REVEALS — FUELING CONTEMPT FIGHT

Boasberg this week requested testimony from two current and former Justice Department officials who played a key role in the Trump administration’s use of the 18th century wartime law to quickly deport the migrants to El Salvador in March, despite his temporary restraining order and subsequent oral order that attempted to block — for 14 days — the administration’s use of the Alien Enemies Act to immediately deport the migrants. 

He is now weighing whether senior Trump officials willfully defied that order. To wit, he ordered Drew Ensign, the Justice Department’s deputy assistant attorney general, to appear in court Monday for questioning and for cross-examination from lawyers representing the class of deported Venezuelan migrants. 

TRUMP ADMINISTRATION ASKS SUPREME COURT TO REVIEW EL SALVADOR DEPORTATION FLIGHT CASE

He also ordered testimony and cross-examination the following day from former Justice Department lawyer Erez Reuveni, who since parting ways with the Justice Department has publicly accused the administration of ignoring court orders — including in this case.

“The Court thus believes that it is necessary to hear witness testimony to better understand the basis of the decision to transfer the deportees out of United States custody in the context of the hearing on March 15, 2025,” Boasberg wrote in scheduling the appearances.

“The events surrounding this decision should shed light on this question,” he said.

The inquiry was revived after the D.C. Circuit, sitting en banc, vacated an earlier ruling and returned the matter to Boasberg. New details about the government’s handling of the March flights have already emerged, with additional disclosures expected in the coming days.

Still, court filings revealed that the Trump administration plans to fight those efforts at every turn. 

“If the Court does proceed with testimony, it should grant a protective order with respect to privileged information or provide Defendants with an opportunity to seek appellate relief in advance of any testimony; and the Court should also limit the scope of the testimony and preclude Plaintiffs from participating,” they told Boasberg.

TRUMP FOE BOASBERG ORDERS DOJ TO DETAIL STATUS OF CECOT MIGRANTS SENT TO VENEZUELA

Last month, DOJ officials identified DHS Secretary Kristi Noem as the official who authorized the transfer of the Venezuelan migrants after being briefed on Boasberg’s emergency order by lawyers for the Justice Department and acting general counsel for DHS.

Boasberg said earlier this week that it would be “premature” to refer anyone for prosecution under the revived contempt probe, and declined to immediately compel testimony from Noem at this stage in the process.

Noem said in a declaration of her own that she made that call based on legal advice from lawyers for the Justice Department, as well as the acting general counsel for DHS.

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The fresh action on the contempt issue is almost certain to spark the ire of some Republicans in Congress and from Trump himself, who has repeatedly excoriated Boasberg as an “activist judge” for his role in the Alien Enemies Act case and resulting inquiry.

Boasberg, for his part, has appeared unfazed. 

“This has been sitting for a long time,” Boasberg said late last month of the contempt inquiry, “and I believe justice requires me to move promptly on this.”

The government, he added, “can assist me to whatever degree it wishes.”

There is still a desire to solve the looming healthcare cliff after dueling votes in the Senate on partisan Obamacare fixes crashed and burned Thursday, but both sides of the aisle are still miles apart from finding a middle ground.

The enhanced Obamacare subsidies are set to expire by the end of the year, and Congress is gearing up to leave Washington, D.C., at the end of next week until the new year. There are several options on the table, including numerous Senate Republican proposals or just moving ahead with a short-term extension of the subsidies.

But lawmakers have to land on what exactly they want to do, and what could pass the 60-vote filibuster threshold, first.

SENATE DEMS’ OBAMACARE FIX FAILS AS SENATE LOOKS FOR OFF-RAMP FROM HEALTHCARE CLIFF

“I think the question is, do the Democrats, after they got their messaging vote done, actually want to engage in a real conversation about this,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said. “Because it didn’t seem like they had a real high level of interest in reforms, but there are some who do. I don’t know if there are enough, but I think we’re going to get a sense of that here very soon.”

Thune echoed what many Republicans in the upper chamber believed: Senate Democrats’ three-year extension of the subsidies was never meant to succeed, but only served as a political messaging exercise.

Still, four Senate Republicans crossed the aisle to vote for Democrats’ plan. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, argued that she voted for both proposals not because both were exactly what she wanted, but because she wanted to get the ball rolling toward a solution.

“Sometimes around the Senate, we have to demonstrate what we can’t do first before we can get to what we need to do,” she said. “Today was the first step in that process of demonstrating what we can’t do now. Let’s get on with it and fix it.”

SENATE DEMS BLOCK REPUBLICANS’ HSA PLAN AS OBAMACARE DEADLINE NEARS

Conversely, the GOP’s first attempt wasn’t going to pass muster with Senate Democrats, either. Some in the upper chamber are mulling a short-term extension to the subsidies, be it six months to a year, but that idea doesn’t tackle the several reforms Senate Republicans have demanded for their support.

“Discussions will continue,” Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso, R-Wyo., told Fox News Digital. “Both parties are going to find a solution to actually lower the cost of care and put patients in charge and get rid of the waste and the fraud and the abuse and the corruption that has run rampant in Obamacare.”

Whatever happens next will likely be the product of rank-and-file negotiations, not top-level decisions between Thune and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.

But there is a growing sense that President Donald Trump should get more involved and dictate exactly what he wants to be done. Trump previously signaled that he wants to move ahead with health savings accounts (HSAs) but in recent weeks has largely stayed an arms’ length away from the Obamacare turmoil in the Senate.

When asked how lawmakers get out of the healthcare jam, Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., told Fox News Digital, “We don’t.”

“Not until Donald Trump decides we get out of it,” Murphy said. “He’s the President of the United States, his party controls the House and the Senate, so the only way we save people from healthcare disasters for Donald Trump, the leader of the Republican Party, is to decide to fix this.”

GOP ACCUSES DEMOCRATS OF MANUFACTURING AFFORDABILITY CRISIS AS OBAMACARE SUBSIDY FIGHT NEARS DEADLINE

Republicans still have several options on the table, including a plan from Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., that marries an extension of the subsidies with HSAs and reforms, and a plan from Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, that would extend the credits for two years, among others.

There’s also the possibility that the healthcare fight continues on into the next year and goes through the partisan budget reconciliation process, which Republicans used earlier this year to ram through Trump’s agenda.

While that’s an option, many in the upper chamber acknowledge that the best way forward is working with the other side of the aisle.

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“I would rather do it on a bipartisan basis, because that’s the way that Congress is supposed to work,” Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., told Fox News Digital. “But if Democrats are intent upon sticking people with either higher premiums and/or $6,000 deductible, we got to do something. So it’s not good for the American people.”

While there are lawmakers that hope the failed votes were the springboard forward, and not a dead end, toward tackling the Obamacare issue, Schumer signaled that it was Republicans’ fault that the subsidies would likely expire.

“This is their crisis now, and they’re going to have to answer for it,” he said.

Bobby Pulido, an award-winning musician-turned-congressional candidate, has a digital footprint of references to explicit material that lingers on his social media as he pursues a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives.

From 2013 to as recently as 2024, Pulido has posted a range of links, images and references to pornographic material.

In 2013, Pulido told viewers to visit pornographic website YouPorn if bored and reposted links to porn sites featuring the music of fellow musicians, asking them if they’re receiving royalties for being featured. 

Later that same year, he posted a link to XVideos with the caption “homemade porn while sleep-deprived?” 

LATINO TEXAS DEM CONGRESSIONAL CANDIDATE CALLS OUT AOC FOR HER USE OF TERM ‘LATINX’

In 2015, he posted a link to YouPorn but later deleted it, claiming his account had been hacked. 

“It’s impossible to have Twitter and not watch porn,” Pulido said in a 2014 post on X, formerly known as Twitter.

“To everyone crying over the shutdown of XVideos, I’m telling you there are other free sites. I mean, that’s what they’ve told me. #you’rewelcome,” Pulido wrote in a 2016 post on X.

TEXAS DEMOCRAT — A LATIN GRAMMY WINNER AND PARTY RECRUIT — CAUGHT DEFACING TRUMP’S HOLLYWOOD STAR

Pulido’s online history follows him in his bid to unseat Rep. Monica De La Cruz, R-Texas. His race, which is expected to be one of the more competitive opportunities for Democrats in Texas after a redistricting effort in the state looks to squeeze five Democrats out of office, will turn on whether he can attract support from across the aisle. A two-term incumbent, De La Cruz last won election to the district in 2024 in a 57.1%–42.9% victory over Democratic nominee Michelle Vallejo. Redistricting changes will still favor Republicans but are expected to put the seat more in reach for Democrats.

Democrats had heavily recruited Pulido to run, according to reporting from Politico.

Reacting to the slew of posts, the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) blasted Pulido’s record, calling them disqualifying.

“Radical Bobby Pulido is unhinged and unfit to serve in Congress,” NRCC spokesperson Reilley Richardson told Fox News Digital.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) did not respond to a request for comment.

Pulido is best known for Tejano, or Mexican-Spanish folk-style songs like “Desvelado” and “Se Murió de Amor,” and he received five nominations for a Latin Grammy Award, winning Best Tejano Album in 2022 and 2025.

Since announcing his bid, Pulido has attempted to reframe himself as a bipartisan candidate with a strong emphasis on family. He has scrubbed his social media of more references to his political stances — like a photo of himself urinating on Trump’s Hollywood Walk of Fame star.

“You may know me as Bobby Pulido the singer,” Pulido said in his campaign launch video. “I am José Roberto Pulido Jr., the son of a migrant farmworker and 100% South Texas Tejano. Let me tell you. I won’t stand by and watch the South Texas that raised me be torn down and divided.” 

Despite his profile’s scrubbing, many of his posts referencing porn remain in place. A few explicit images have also escaped removal. 

Although Pulido himself has denied participating in any adult material, he has reposted fans noting his music’s use in explicit productions. As recently as 2024, he posted a picture of a fan in a compromising position at one of his concerts.

TOP GOP SENATOR SAYS CROCKETT ANNOUNCEMENT EXPOSES HOW ‘RADICAL’ DEMS ARE NATIONWIDE

At the time, he received backlash for the post but initially kept the image up. 

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Pulido’s campaign did not respond to Fox News Digital’s multiple requests for comment.

FIRST ON FOX: An extreme sports star and entrepreneur is endorsing Republican, pro-law enforcement candidate Chad Bianco for California governor after he says Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom killed the California “dream.”

“People used to come to California to try to build their business and chase that dream. And now, people are moving out of California to chase the same dream,” said Motocross star and “Metal Mulisha” founder Brian Deegan.

In an interview with Fox News Digital, Deegan, who is a Motocross pioneer, champion off-road racer, and icon of the action sports X Games, said he felt compelled to throw his support behind Bianco because of the damage he said has been done to California by politicians such as Newsom.

He explained that he came to California “to chase my dreams, to be a supercross action sports star [and] built a great empire within the action sport community.” But under Newsom, Deegan said he has seen that dream “decline.”

NEWSOM CALLS HOMELESSNESS AND POVERTY ‘POSTER CHILD’ OF CALIFORNIA’S FAILURES AS A STATE  

Deegan said that besides what he described as rampant overregulation, one of the things he has found most alarming is the decline in safety in California neighborhoods because of laws not being enforced.

“A lot of places that I’ve lived in California have really gone the wrong way. And I’m like, man, I’m scared to even have my kids really roam the streets nowadays because how loose they are on the laws and letting criminals get away with almost everything,” said Deegan.

And then there is Newsom’s handling of the COVID pandemic, in which Deegan said California “led the charge on the most extreme lockdowns.”

“Now we look back on it, kind of going, ‘Man, what happened?” he said. “Newsom was way overbearing while he’s out partying, still living the high life, while everyone’s on lockdowns.”

HOLLYWOOD STAR REVEALS WHAT HE THINKS OF POTENTIAL NEWSOM PRESIDENCY WITH TWO-WORD RESPONSE

With Newsom term limited and rumors growing of a possible presidential run in 2028, Deegan said, “Bring it on.”

“I think that’s going to make it that much easier for the Republicans to keep that spot,” he remarked, adding, “That’d be a tough road, Newsom running for president.”

Whichever direction Newsom goes, Deegan said, “It’s time for a man like Chad Bianco to take control of California.”

“I always kind of wonder how guys that are in power, such as Newsom, like how do they even get in power? Because they don’t really represent the common people that really are the majority of California,” he said. “There’s been so much damage done. But it’s going to take someone that understands the law, that is not going to bend, has good family values, that could get the state back on track.”

NEWSOM’S SANCTUARY POLICIES UNDER FIRE AFTER DRUNK ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT KILLS ELDERLY MAN

“I’d like to see it get back to how it was. I thought it was a land of opportunity. You came to California to make dreams happen, and I feel like that has gotten very narrow,” Deegan added.

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“I mean, you have everything here, and I feel like we’ve just let it go as far as how it’s been run. And I think the majority of the people in California want it back.”

A spokesperson for Newsom dismissed Deegan’s critiques, sending a one-word response to Fox News Digital asking, “Who?”

Salvadorean migrant Kilmar Abrego Garcia vowed Friday to “continue to fight and stand firm against all of the injustices this government has done upon me,” in his first appearance since being released from federal immigration custody.

Garcia spoke as he appeared for a check-in at a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility in Baltimore, Maryland, as part of the terms of his release.

“I want to tell everybody who is also suffering family separation. God is with you. This is a process. Keep fighting,” Garcia said through a translator.

“I stand before you as a free man. And I want you to remember me this way. With my head held up high,” he also said, noting that, “Yesterday I spent time and celebrated and enjoyed my family, who is everything for me, especially so close to Christmas and being in this holiday season.”

FEDERAL JUDGE ORDERS KILMAR ABREGO GARCIA RELEASED FROM ICE CUSTODY

U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis ordered Abrego Garcia released from the ICE Moshannon Valley Processing Center in Philipsburg, Pa., on Thursday on the grounds that the Trump administration had not obtained the final notice of removal order that is needed to deport him to a third country, including a list of African nations they had previously identified for his removal.

“Since Abrego Garcia’s return from wrongful detention in El Salvador, he has been re-detained, again without lawful authority,” Xinis said in her order on Thursday.

The Justice Department is expected to challenge the order.

“This is naked judicial activism by an Obama appointed judge,” Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said in a social media post. “This order lacks any valid legal basis and we will continue to fight this tooth and nail in the courts.”

KILMAR ABREGO GARCIA RELEASED AFTER JUDGE RULES TRUMP ADMINISTRATION LACKED VALID REMOVAL ORDER

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters Thursday afternoon that the Trump administration would “absolutely” be appealing Xinis’ order, which she described as another instance of “activism” from a federal judge.

Abrego Garcia had been living in Maryland with his wife and children when he was initially arrested.

Abrego Garcia’s case epitomized the political firestorm that has ensued since March, when he was deported to El Salvador and housed in the country’s CECOT mega-prison, in violation of a 2019 court order and in what Trump officials acknowledge was an “administrative error.” Xinis ordered then that Abrego Garcia be “immediately” returned to the U.S.

Upon his return to the United Sates, Abrego Garcia was immediately taken into federal custody and detained on human smuggling charges that stemmed from a 2022 traffic stop.

The Trump administration has claimed he is a member of MS-13, which Abrego Garcia denies.

“The facts are he is an illegal alien from El Salvador, a MS-13 gang member, and has a history of violence,” the Department of Homeland Security said in April.

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Meanwhile, the Trump administration previously tried and failed to deport him to the African nations of Liberia, Eswatini, Uganda and Ghana.

Over 10,000 illegal immigrants, including murderers, kidnappers and sexual predators, have been arrested in Los Angeles since June, despite anti-ICE riots and pushback from sanctuary politicians, the Department of Homeland Security said.

The agency told Fox News that its enforcement operations, which began in June, were a “success” despite “violent rioters who assaulted our law enforcement, threw rocks and Molotov cocktails at them, and attempted to obstruct lawful arrests of criminal illegal aliens.”

The operations were carried out despite Los Angeles and California being sanctuary jurisdictions with laws inhibiting local and state authorities from cooperating with ICE.

The agency also received significant pushback from Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass. The California legislature passed measures attempting to restrict federal agents from carrying out immigration enforcement arrests at schools, hospitals and courthouses and another banning agents from wearing masks, both of which were signed by Newsom.

DHS BLASTS NEWSOM OVER TAXPAYER-FUNDED HEALTHCARE FOR ILLEGALS AS CALIFORNIA AMBULANCE COSTS MAY SOAR 382%

Federal officials were also faced with large anti-ICE demonstrations in Los Angeles, which at times broke into violent confrontations and riots. The worst of these erupted in June, with mobs blocking streets, vandalizing businesses and clashing with police. The chaos prompted a massive federal deployment and sharp pushback from California leaders, underscoring the escalating national showdown over immigration enforcement.

Despite this, DHS said that arrests continued in full force in Los Angeles.

Among those arrested was Mohamed Chekchekani, a criminal illegal alien from Kenya, who has been convicted of facilitating interstate commerce in aid of a racketeering enterprise, larceny and stolen property.

Also arrested was Cuban illegal Rene Reyes-Miranda, who has a long criminal history including convictions for a sex offense against a child, sex offender registration violation, harassment, cocaine possession and robbery.

Another illegal arrested in Los Angeles was Iranian national Alireza Hashemi, who has convictions of rape, aggravated assault, domestic violence, burglary, and driving under the influence. 

ICE ACCUSES DEM LAWMAKER OF JOINING ‘RIOTING CROWD’ IN ARIZONA, INTERFERING IN MASS ARREST

DHS also arrested another illegal, Mexican national Juan Carlos Tamayo, who has convictions of homicide, conspiracy to commit homicide, and multiple counts of attempted murder, was also arrested. Another illegal alien from Mexico, Yonic Telles-Sosa, was arrested in Los Angeles. He had been previously removed from the United States five times and has convictions for robbery and aggravated sexual assault of a child. 

Two illegal aliens from Armenia, Ambartsoum Pogosium and Akop Jack Kantrozyan, were also arrested in Los Angeles. Pogosium has convictions of kidnapping, homicide and fraud, while Kantrozyan has convictions of identity theft, multiple counts of conspiracy to commit a crime and shooting at an inhabited dwelling/vehicle.

“In the face of violence from rioters and demonization by sanctuary politicians, DHS law enforcement has made over 10,000 arrests in Los Angeles since operations began in June. Some of the most heinous criminal illegal aliens arrested include murderers, kidnappers, sexual predators, and armed carjackers,” said DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin. 

WALZ URGES NOEM TO ‘REASSESS’ IMMIGRATION ENFORCEMENT STRATEGY IN MINNESOTA AFTER ALLEGED CITIZEN ARRESTS

McLaughlin called out Newsom and Bass, saying they “failed the people of California.”

“They let these criminals roam free. Thanks to our brave law enforcement, California is safer with these thugs off their streets,” she said, adding, “Instead of thanking our law enforcement for removing criminals from their communities, Gavin Newsom and Karen Bass repeatedly demonized our brave law enforcement during these operations.” 

Diana Crofts-Pelayo, a spokesperson for Newsom, shot back, telling Fox News Digital that “this is all part of this sick game of cruelty and chaos that President and [Homeland Security Advisor] Stephen Miller are playing.”

“The reality is that their obsession with mass arrests, detention and deportations is spurring indiscriminate and racially-motivated immigration raids with serious societal and economic consequences,” said Crofts-Pelayo, adding, “They are arresting American citizens, hardworking parents and contributors to our economy, while also wasting taxpayer money to go after those who are legitimately going through the legal immigration process, like the spouses of U.S. citizens.” 

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Crofts-Pelayo said that “California is on record to help ensure bad criminals have no place in our society, including coordinating with ICE when these people get out of our prisons,” saying, “We support public safety, while the Trump agenda is all for inflating headlines.”

A spokesperson for Bass also challenged DHS, saying in a statement to Fox News Digital, “Is this the same DHS Secretary that deports Veterans?” 

The spokesperson’s comment referenced a Dec. 11 House Homeland Security Committee hearing in which Rep. Seth Magaziner, D-R.I., claimed DHS deported Sae Joon Park, a veteran and Purple Heart recipient, to Korea. According to NPR, though a decorated veteran, Park was not a citizen. The outlet reported he was arrested on drug-related charges and self-deported facing a removal order. 

President Donald Trump touted the U.S. economy on Thursday, asking when he will be awarded credit for creating “perhaps the Greatest Economy” ever in the nation’s history.

“I inherited a MESS from the Biden Administration — The Worst Inflation in History, and the Highest Prices our Country has ever seen. In other words, Affordability, just 13 months ago, was a DISASTER for the American People, but now, it’s totally different! Prices are coming down FAST, Energy, Oil and Gasoline, are hitting five year lows, and the Stock Market today just hit an All Time High. Tariffs are bringing in Hundreds of Billions of Dollars, and we are respected as a Nation again,” Trump asserted in a Truth Social post.

President Trump took office for his second term less than a year ago on January 20, 2025.

TRUMP COMPARES REAL WAGES UNDER HIS ADMIN VERSUS BIDEN’S DURING SPEECH CALLING OUT DEM AFFORDABILITY ‘HOAX’

“When will I get credit for having created, with No Inflation, perhaps the Greatest Economy in the History of our Country? When will people understand what is happening? When will Polls reflect the Greatness of America at this point in time, and how bad it was just one year ago?” he asked in the post.

In a prior Truth Social post on Thursday, the president conveyed similar thoughts. 

TRUMP INSISTS PRICES ARE ‘COMING DOWN,’ BLAMES BIDEN — BUT VOTERS SAY THEY’RE STILL GETTING SQUEEZED

“STOCK MARKET JUST HIT AN ALL-TIME HIGH!!! When will the Fake Polls show that I am doing a great job on the Economy, and much more??? Thank you!” he declared in the post.

During a recent interview with Politico’s Dasha Burns, the president indicated that he would rate the economy as “A+++++.”

MTG DEFENDS HERSELF AS ‘AMERICA FIRST’ AFTER TRUMP SLAMS HER ON TRUTH SOCIAL

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But GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia said during an interview with CBS News that she thinks “the president needs to be aware that he’s a billionaire, president of the United States. And you can’t gaslight people and tell them that their bills are affordable. And you can’t tell them that the economy is an A+++. You just can’t do that. And I think it’s insulting to people’s intelligence.”

In an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital, Liz Truss pulls back the curtain on what really happened during her 49-day reign as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom in 2022.

The free speech advocate served just 49 days as British prime minister in 2022 before resigning amid market turmoil over her administration’s dramatic attempt to implement a pro-growth economic agenda. Now that the dust has settled, Truss has launched a private club for “pro-growth leaders,” the Leconfield, and a YouTube show, “The Liz Truss Show.”

“My new show will tell the truth about what happened in 2022,” Truss told Fox News Digital. “The fact that I was sabotaged by the Bank of England, who announced the sale of gilts the day before my mini-budget and then failed to properly regulate the pension market. That was actually the cause of the crisis in 2022.”

While Truss is now recasting the narrative on the Bank of England, the financial institution has blamed Truss for the British market crash of 2022, concluding that her mini-budget triggered a sudden plunge in gilt prices, driving up the government’s borrowing costs. The spike rippled across financial markets, pushing pension funds to offload gilts and forcing the Bank of England to intervene to stabilize the market.

TRUMP CALLS OUT POLITICO AS ‘EXTREMELY UNFRIENDLY’ WHEN PRESSED ON AGGRESSIVE ACTION AGAINST VENEZUELA

The Bank of England declined to comment when reached by Fox News Digital. 

“I will be talking about that. I’ll also be talking about the conservatives in name only who undermined me while I was in power,” Truss said of her show, eliciting President Donald Trump‘s “RINO” nickname for Republicans in name only who thwart his agenda. 

BBC CHAIR TELLS STAFFERS IT’S DETERMINED TO FIGHT TRUMP LAWSUIT OFF, NO BASIS FOR DEFAMATION CLAIM

It’s not Truss’ only commonality with Trump.

“I’m very frustrated by the mainstream media,” Truss said. “I share President Trump’s annoyance with the BBC. He is currently suing them for propagating fake news about him, but they do fake news the whole time.”

Trump has announced plans to file a $5 billion lawsuit against the British Broadcasting Corporation over an edit of his Jan. 6, 2021, remarks that appeared in a BBC investigative series. The BBC did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

Truss said she wants her YouTube show to “help change the economic and political debate in Britain.”

“I know the truth wasn’t told about my time as prime minister,” Truss said. “That’s very frustrating, but I know about other issues, whether it’s free speech or migration, people are not hearing about what’s actually happening in Britain, so I want my show to tell the truth and to hear from the people that are the victims of these problems.”

Truss’ early guests included Trump-ally Steve Bannon and British political commentator Matt Goodwin. The former prime minister spoke to Fox News Digital in Washington, D.C., ahead of its inaugural episode.

“I want America, first of all, to understand what happens when you lose things like free speech, and you lose the battle on mass migration, and you lose the battle on the economy,” Truss said. “It’s a warning for America, but I also want to get inspiration from what’s happened here at fighting back against these forces, and that’s what the show is about. I want to encourage people. It’s not just doom and gloom. It is about what do we actually do? How do we get a Trump-style revolution in Britain and Europe to make our countries great again?”

At the core of the cultural battles dominating popular culture, Truss said, “All of these people hate Western civilization.”

“They hate the nation state,” Truss continued. “They want to undermine the family, and that is why I’m so passionate about fighting back against them, because I believe in our country. I believe in the Christian values that formed Britain and America. I believe in free speech, and I think we’re just in real danger of losing them to these forces.”

Truss has applauded Trump’s leadership on the world stage, calling him “very forward-leaning” in negotiating peace in the Middle East.

Truss said she wants a solution in Ukraine, but not one that makes President Vladimir Putin appear to walk away from the conflict on his own terms. She urged Europe to “step up” and “spend more of our own money on defense” — reflecting many congressional Republicans’ message as the war in Ukraine has waged on. 

Congress has voted to send more than $175 billion to Ukraine since the war began, according to The Council on Foreign Relations. And while the U.S. has committed more aid to Ukraine than any other country, European countries have collectively committed more than the U.S.

“We need to grow our economies to be in a position to be able to stand up to Putin ourselves,” Truss said.

While Trump continues to pursue peace negotiations in the Middle East and between Russia and Ukraine, Truss applauded the president for taking action against suspected drug traffickers from Venezuela.

“There’s definitely very, very serious issues with Venezuela, and it’s sadly a country that used to be successful and rich and has now been ruined essentially by a communist regime,” Truss said. “I understand the United States needs to take action because the cartels that come out of countries like Venezuela are a direct security threat to the United States.”

The Trump administration deployed two fighter jets over the Gulf of Venezuela on Tuesday and has faced scrutiny in recent days for allegedly authorizing a second strike on suspected drug trafficking boats in Venezuela.

The White House told Fox News Digital last week that as commander in chief, Trump has “full authority to use every element of American power to stop drugs from flooding into our country.”

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“As President Trump has said, all options are on the table as he works to combat the scourge of narcoterrorism that has resulted in the needless deaths of thousands of innocent Americans,” White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly said in a statement to Fox News Digital. “All of these decisive strikes have been in international waters against designated narcoterrorists bringing deadly poison to our shores.”

Fox News Digital’s Diana Stacy contributed to this report.