Donald Trump Poll News

The commander of U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM), whose area of operations includes the Caribbean waters where the strikes against the alleged drug boats have been conducted, retired Friday as scrutiny surrounding the attacks mounts. 

Navy Adm. Alvin Holsey, who became the head of Southern Command in November 2024, announced suddenly in October that he would retire from the military as operations heated up in the region that the administration claims is part of President Donald Trump’s crusade against the influx of drugs into the U.S.  

The Trump administration designated drug cartel groups like Tren de Aragua, Sinaloa and others as foreign terrorist organizations in February, and bolstered its naval assets in the region in recent months under Holsey’s leadership — including signing off on the unprecedented step of sending the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford to the region.

WAR DEPARTMENT LAUNCHES NEW COUNTER-NARCOTICS TASK FORCE UNDER TRUMP DIRECTIVE TO CRUSH CARTELS

“We have worked hard and tirelessly to build relationships and understand requirements across the region,” Holsey said during the retirement ceremony, according to a news release. “To be a trusted partner, we must be credible, present and engaged.”

Holsey commissioned in 1988, and flew both SH-2F Seasprite and SH-60B Seahawk helicopters. Holsey’s previous assignments include serving as the deputy commander of Southern Command, as well as deputy chief of Naval personnel and the commander of the aircraft carrier Carl Vinson’s carrier strike group.

Air Force Lt. Gen. Evan Pettus also took over the reins from Holsey Friday, after previously serving as the command’s military deputy commander. His experience includes more than 2,700 hours as a pilot in the Air Force’s F-15E Strike Fighter jet and the A-10 “Warthog” aircraft, has participated in combat missions for Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Inherent Resolve, among others. 

TRUMP UNLEASHES US MILITARY POWER ON CARTELS. IS A WIDER WAR LOOMING?

Holsey’s retirement less than a year into his tenure leading the combatant command is highly unusual. In comparison, former SOUTHCOM commander, Army Gen. Laura Richardson, served in the role from 2021 to 2024.

Holsey did not give a reason for his departure in October, and didn’t share any additional details Friday. 

However, Holsey had raised “concerns” about the strikes, attracting the ire of Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, The New York Times reported. Hegseth already believed that Holsey wasn’t cracking down on the alleged drug traffickers more aggressively, and Holsey’s concerns prompted the relationship between the two leaders to unravel even further, the Times said. 

As a result, Hegseth pressured Holsey to step down, according to the Times. 

The Pentagon referred Fox News Digital to Hegseth’s original post on social media in October after news of Holsey’s retirement broke, where the secretary of war thanked Holsey for his service. 

“The Department thanks Admiral Holsey for his decades of service to our country, and we wish him and his family continued success and fulfillment in the years ahead,” Hegseth said in the post. 

CAPITOL HILL REVOLT THREATENS TRUMP’S VENEZUELA PLAYBOOK AMID CARIBBEAN STRIKE OVERSIGHT 

Meanwhile, the strikes have attracted increased scrutiny from Democrats and some Republicans on Capitol Hill. While some lawmakers have always challenged the legality of the strikes — particularly after revelations in recent weeks that a second strike was conducted against a vessel after the first one left survivors in September — the Trump administration has routinely stated it has the authority to conduct those attacks. 

For example, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Sens. Tim Kaine, D-Va.; Adam Schiff, D-Calif.; and Rand Paul, R-Ky., introduced a war powers resolution on Dec. 3 to bar Trump from using U.S. armed forces to engage in hostilities within or against Venezuela.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

In total, the Trump administration has conducted more than 20 strikes in Latin American waters since September targeting alleged drug smugglers in an effort to combat the flow of drugs into the U.S. Additionally, Trump has signaled for months that strikes on land could be next, and the U.S. seized an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela on Wednesday. 

“We’re knocking out drug boats right now at a level that we haven’t seen,” Trump said Dec. 3. “Very soon we’re going to start doing it on land too.”

Tensions are boiling within the House GOP as lawmakers are set to begin their final legislative week of 2025.

More than a dozen House Republicans who spoke with Fox News Digital over the last week gave different answers on where tensions lie, with frustrations directed toward Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., the White House, their Senate counterparts and even each other.

Most of the issues they discussed were varied as well, but several people acknowledged concerns over whether there could be any defining legislative issues Republicans could coalesce around in 2026 to follow up on their signature achievement with the “one big, beautiful bill” last summer.

“Right now, we don’t have a focused agenda that we’re moving towards like we did with the one big, beautiful bill,” one House GOP lawmaker told Fox News Digital. “That brought all of our energy together in a focused manner.”

HOUSE GOP SPLITS OVER OBAMACARE FIX AS COSTS POISED TO SPIKE FOR MILLIONS

Rep. Rich McCormick, R-Ga., said he was not frustrated with any one leader in Congress specifically, but lamented that the institution did not better allow House Republicans to tackle the issues in front of them.

“The problem is, because of the nature of the beast, we’re always fighting against the next big emergency, right? So, instead of being proactive and doing good solutions — I mean, healthcare. Healthcare has been the number one expense for families for a decade,” McCormick said.

He said Republicans “did nothing” on healthcare when they first came to power earlier this year and were now left “in this position” where they were scrambling for a solution to the looming health insurance premium hikes early next year.

House Republicans unveiled a bill aimed at lowering healthcare costs on Friday evening, but it’s unclear as of now if it has enough support to pass.

Rep. Michael Cloud, R-Texas, told Fox News Digital broadly, “I’m always gonna want to see more action. My job isn’t to come here and be satisfied.”

But he said of House GOP leadership, “When you’re in charge you get more blame and more praise than you probably deserve, but it’s gonna take the whole conference to come together, remembering what brought us here.”

CONGRESS MELTS DOWN: MEMBERS UNLEASH PERSONAL ATTACKS AFTER WEEKS OF SHUTDOWN DRAMA

Still, a fair share of GOP lawmakers have directed their anger at Johnson in recent weeks.

“I think there’s a lot of concerns about the way things have been handled the last several months, starting with leadership, let this redistricting war break out, which is gonna upend the districts of dozens of our members. And then the fact we just weren’t here for two months,” Rep. Kevin Kiley, R-Calif., told Fox News Digital. “And then the way that the House is really not in the driver’s seat on a lot of the key issues around here — I think all of that is pretty frustrating to a swath of the conference.”

Others are frustrated at Johnson over more personal issues. Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, R-N.Y., told Fox News Digital she believed Johnson was blocking her efforts to build a National Women’s Museum, an effort she said had President Donald Trump’s support.

REPORTER’S NOTEBOOK: HOUSE EXODUS THREATENS JOHNSON’S GRIP ON POWER AS OVER 40 MEMBERS HEAD FOR EXIT

“It’s been stalled by the speaker, in committee, despite having 165 sponsors from both parties,” Malliotakis said.

Rep. Greg Steube, R-Fla., meanwhile, was angered last week by the way Johnson handled the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).

“We’re getting shoved, and we just have to eat it, or, you know, vote against increasing pay to our military service members. It’s a very unfortunate situation to be in, that the speaker keeps putting us in,” Steube said. “I think getting Trump’s signature piece of legislation through is excellent, and everybody should be commended for that, because that was just a huge accomplishment, and it’ll do great things for the country next year. Now that we’ve gotten over that … now you’re kind of, like, what can we do next?”

MIKE JOHNSON SAYS HOUSE GOP WORKING FULL STEAM AHEAD ON TRUMP’S ‘AFFORDABILITY AGENDA’

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., has notably been one of Johnson’s loudest critics and recently become a political enemy of Trump’s as well.

Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., who Johnson promoted to House GOP leadership chairwoman after the White House took her out of the running for ambassador to the United Nations, publicly accused Johnson of kowtowing to Democrats over a provision in the NDAA before walking the anger back when she won that battle.

And Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., recently wrote a scathing op-ed in The New York Times, where she wrote, “Here’s a hard truth Republicans don’t want to hear: Nancy Pelosi was a more effective House speaker than any Republican this century.”

“Speaker Mike Johnson is better than his predecessor. But the frustrations of being a rank-and-file House member are compounded as certain individuals or groups remain marginalized within the party, getting little say,” Mace wrote.

Mace told Fox News Digital she had spoken with Johnson the same week the op-ed was published. While she declined to go into detail about their private conversation, Mace said she did not feel heard by the speaker.

A second House Republican who spoke with Fox News Digital anonymously said, when asked if there was wider frustration with Johnson, “Yeah, I would say so. Especially rank-and-file people.”

DEMOCRATS SEE MANDATE AFTER 2025 WINS — REPUBLICANS SAY IT’S A MIRAGE

But three others accused those criticizing Johnson publicly of doing so for their own personal gain.

A senior House Republican said those complaining were “people whose modus operandi is about showing their opposition for their own purposes.”

A fourth House Republican said, “Some people have been frustrated, but we have some people who are in Congress now that care more about their own personal headlines when they’re running for other offices or whatever, so they’re trying to push things out.”

Meanwhile, Rep. Mary Miller, R-Ill., released a public statement supporting Johnson when frustrations first emerged from GOP women earlier this month. 

“Speaker Mike Johnson has led our House majority with God-given courage, clarity and remarkable patience. Under his leadership, House Republicans are delivering real results and advancing President Trump’s America First agenda every single day,” she said.

The fourth unnamed House Republican conceded, however, that there were frustrations at fellow Republicans in the White House.

“I believe we’re aligned as far as intentions, but you know, sometimes we’ve got to do our job, and we want participation, but we don’t want to be told what to do,” they said. “It’s always great to have an interplay between [Congress and the White House].”

FORMER HOUSE SPEAKER MCCARTHY WARNS MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE IS ‘THE CANARY IN THE COAL MINE’

The first House Republican noted in this story also said there was “definitely” angst over how the White House has treated Congress’ role as a co-equal branch.

On the intra-GOP tensions targeting Johnson, however, they said, “I think these are natural ebbs and flows … I don’t think there’s anything to worry about.”

Another Republican, Rep. Mark Amodei, R-Nev., said his frustrations lie with the Senate as a member of the House Appropriations Committee.

“We move very fast in the House, and we’ve been ready to keep moving. We just can’t move without the Senate,” Amodei said.

He said he was satisfied with the House’s work this year, but “you can’t do anything without bicameral action. And that right now is a challenge.”

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

A fifth House Republican agreed that a number of House GOP achievements have stopped “at the foot of the Senate, where they need 60 votes.”

The House alone has moved significant amounts of Trump’s agenda this year, however. House Republicans voted to codify roughly 100 of his executive orders so far, more than 60% of the total executive orders former President Joe Biden introduced during his entire term.

Real America’s Voice chief White House correspondent Brian Glenn and outgoing Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia revealed that they are engaged.

“She said ‘yes’” Glenn wrote in a post on X, adding the ring emoji while sharing a photo of himself with the congresswoman.

Greene shared Glenn’s post and wrote, “Happily ever after!!!” along with a red heart emoji. “I love you @brianglenntv!!!” she added.

MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE RETURNING TO ‘THE VIEW’ JUST DAYS AFTER SHE’LL LEAVE CONGRESS

“Congratulations!” Republican Rep. Warren Davidson of Ohio replied to both of the posts.

GOP Rep. Tim Burchett of Tennessee shared Glenn’s post and wrote, “Congratulations! I can perform the ceremony in Tennessee for free.”

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

After President Donald Trump trashed Greene on Truth Social last month and suggested he would back a primary challenger, the lawmaker announced that she would resign from office, noting that her last day will be January 5.

TRUMP CONTINUES HAMMERING MTG AFTER SHE LABELS HIS ATTACKS ‘A DOG WHISTLE TO DANGEROUS RADICALS’

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Greene, who has served in the House of Representatives since 2021, will be leaving office in the middle of her third term.

After the U.S. seized a tanker carrying Venezuelan crude oil, the shadowy fleet of “ghost ships” used to evade sanctions drifted squarely into President Donald Trump’s crosshairs.

On Dec. 10, Trump announced the seizure of the “Skipper,” a vessel that secretly ferries oil in defiance of sanctions. 

The broader fleet, a clandestine armada of roughly 1,000 tankers, quietly navigates global sea routes to move oil from sanctioned countries like Russia, Iran and Venezuela.

US SET TO SEIZE TENS OF MILLIONS IN VENEZUELAN OIL AFTER TANKER INTERCEPTION, WHITE HOUSE SAYS

The so-called “ghost ships” sail under foreign flags to obscure their origins, repeatedly change names, shift ownership through shell companies, disable transponders to evade tracking and conduct mid-sea transfers to mask their cargo.

The result is a labyrinthine system of handoffs and disguised voyages.

US–VENEZUELA SHOWDOWN MIGHT JOLT GAS PRICES IN THE LONG TERM

Benjamin Jensen, who heads the Futures Lab at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said the challenge extends well beyond Venezuela.

“I do think it’s time that the United States and other countries start to address what really is a global problem,” explained Benjamin Jensen, director of the Futures Lab at the Washington, D.C.-based Center for Strategic and International Studies.

Jensen said the seizure sends a shock not just to Caracas but to other actors as well. 

“What we don’t know is how they’re following that up behind the scenes,” he said, adding that further seizures under Trump are possible.

With Venezuela’s economy tethered almost entirely to oil revenue, he noted that even a single interdiction can have an outsized impact. 

“Anything you do that puts pressure on their ability to bypass sanctions and trade in oil is a direct threat to the economy and, by extension, the regime,” he said. 

Meanwhile, the Trump administration has signaled that the seizure of the “Skipper” is only the opening salvo in a new effort to cut off the oil revenues that keep Moscow, Tehran and Caracas afloat.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Thursday that the vessel is “undergoing a forfeiture process.”

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

“Right now, the United States currently has a full investigative team on the ground, on the vessel and individuals on board the vessel are being interviewed, and any relevant evidence is being seized,” Leavitt said, adding that the U.S. will take hold of the oil after the legal process is completed.

The move comes as China continues to be the leading importer of Iranian oil and the second-largest buyer of Russian crude, much of it routed through a growing fleet of nondescript tankers evading U.S. sanctions.

Earlier this year, the 19-year-old crude oil tanker named “Eventin” was seized by German authorities after the ship suffered engine failure in the Baltic Sea. The vessel was previously identified as a ship that exports Russian crude oil and other petroleum products.

German authorities discovered that the Panama-flagged vessel, which was previously named Charvi and Storviken, was carrying 99,000 tons, or approximately $45 million worth, of Russian oil.

Rep. Katherine Clark of Massachusetts, the No. 2 House Democrat in party leadership, is being primary challenged from the left as she seeks re-election next year.

Jonathan Paz, an organizer and former city councilor in Waltham, Massachusetts, announced in a video that he would challenge Clark, the House minority whip, who has represented a suburban Boston district for a dozen years.

Clark will likely be the highest-ranking Democrat in the House to face a primary challenge in next year’s midterms, when Democrats hope to win back the chamber’s majority from the Republicans.

CONGRESSIONAL DEMOCRATS WIDEN 2026 BATTLEFIELD

Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York, the top Democrat in the House, a few weeks ago briefly faced a primary challenge from the left from New York City council member Chi Ossé, before Ossé ended his bid.

WHAT MAMDANI SAID ABOUT HAKEEM JEFFRIES’ PRIMARY CHALLENGER

Paz, who will face a steep uphill climb as he takes on Clark, in his video highlighted, “I’m challenging one of the most powerful Democrats in the House because we need new leadership.”

Paz, who recently founded a volunteer group that responds to ICE arrests and whose family emigrated from Bolivia, argued that “our Democratic leaders are failing us. They’re not stopping Trump. They’re not making life more affordable. They’re not building a party for the working class.”

The National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC), the House GOP’s campaign arm, worked to link Paz’s primary challenge against Clark to New York City’s far left Mayor-elect, Zohran Mamdani.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

“In today’s Democrat Party, even their own radical leaders aren’t extreme enough for the Mamdani Mob. And they won’t stop until total control is complete,” NRCC spokesman Mike Marinella argued in a statement.

The top congressional Republicans weighed in on the slayings of longtime Hollywood director Rob Reiner, 78, and his wife, Michele Singer Reiner, 68, dubbing the incident a “tragedy.”

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., and House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., joined the wave of condolences flooding from the political world in the wake of the Reiners’ deaths, which police are currently investigating as a homicide. 

“Well, that whole incident, episode, is a tragedy, and my sympathies and prayers go out to their family and their friends,” Thune said. 

ROB REINER’S SON HELD WITHOUT BAIL IN DIRECTOR’S DEATH, RECORDS SHOW

The Reiners were found in their Brentwood-area home in California on Sunday, where they reportedly had suffered multiple stab wounds. The couple were found by their daughter, according to People magazine. 

In the hours since, police arrested the Reiners’ son, Nick Reiner, 32, under suspicion of murder, according to the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department. He is being held without bail after it was previously set at $4 million. 

ROB REINER REMEMBERED: ‘ALL IN THE FAMILY’ STAR DEAD AT 78

Johnson said, “The shocking news that apparently their son committed the murders is not only an unspeakable family tragedy, it’s another reminder of just the senseless violence and evil that is so rampant in our society.”

“So our prayers go out to the Reiner family, the survivors, and everybody who’s affected by this,” he told reporters.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP 

Reiner was best known for his long, legendary list of films, including “The Princess Bride,” “This Is Spinal Tap,” “When Harry Met Sally…,” and several others. He appeared in front of the camera for several projects, including as Michael “Meathead” Stivic on the long-running sitcom, “All in the Family.” 

Singer Reiner was a prolific photographer whose list of works included taking President Donald Trump’s photo for the cover of his book, “The Art of the Deal.”

The Trump administration launched a new initiative Monday aimed at recruiting top-tier technical talent to accelerate the adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) at the federal level.  

The hiring program, known as “Tech Force,” plans to recruit roughly 1,000 early-career technologists for a two-year service term across various federal agencies.

“The main objective of this program is there’s a ton of technology modernization work that needs to get done across pretty much every agency in the government,” Scott Kupor, director of the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM), told Fox News Digital on Monday.

The initiative was announced four days after President Donald Trump signed an executive order outlining a national policy framework designed to strengthen U.S. leadership in AI.

WAR DEPARTMENT REFOCUSES ON AI, HYPERSONICS AND DIRECTED ENERGY IN MAJOR STRATEGY OVERHAUL

“President Trump has made clear that securing America’s leadership in AI is the paramount national challenge of this generation,” the OPM said in a press release. “The president’s AI Action Plan focuses on unleashing private sector innovation while also recognizing the federal government must have the technical talent to lead in technology modernization.

Recruits can be placed at agencies such as Departments of War, State, Homeland Security or Health and Human Services, where they would work on AI implementation, software development, data modernization and generally move federal operations off aging systems.

The new program has partnered with more than 25 leading technology companies to help guide government modernization efforts. Those private-sector partners include Apple, Microsoft, Meta, Amazon Web Services, Google Public Sector, Uber, Zoom, Adobe, NVIDIA, Dell Technologies and Palantir. 

TRUMP SAYS HE WILL SIGN ‘ONE RULE’ EXECUTIVE ORDER TO FEDERALIZE AI REGULATION

Recruits can expect annual salaries ranging from $150,000 to $200,000, Communications Head McLaurine Pinover told Fox News Digital. Participants will also gain substantial career development opportunities spanning both the public and private sectors, Kupor added.

“At the end of the program, we’re also going to run a very, very comprehensive job fair with all those private companies coming to meet all these thousand engineers and give them the opportunity if they decide they want to go into the private sector,” Kupor said. “We’re trying to demonstrate that people can come to government, even for a short period of time, even for two years, do great work, and ultimately, that work will present tremendous career opportunities for them.”

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

The initiative is primarily designed to increase the number of early-career professionals, those with five to seven years of work experience or less, in the federal government, Kupor said. He noted that while roughly 22 percent of the private-sector workforce is made up of early-career employees, that figure is closer to 7 percent in government. Once participants complete their two-year term, they can choose to remain in government or pursue career opportunities elsewhere, he said. 

Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., said that her U.S.-born son was pulled over by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in Minnesota on Saturday, raising concerns about “racial profiling” as federal authorities ramp up immigration enforcement across the state.

Omar said her son was stopped outside a Target store and released after showing his passport, an encounter that came just days after President Donald Trump defended ICE operations in Minnesota.

“Yesterday after he made a stop at Target, he did get pulled over by ICE agents and once he was able to produce his passport ID they did let him go,” Omar said Sunday during an interview on WCCO-TV, CBS’s Minnesota station.

Omar told the station that her son routinely carries his passport because he fears being mistaken for an illegal immigrant.

BORDER CZAR TOM HOMAN FIRES BACK AT CNN HOST IN DEFENSE OF ICE TACTICS: ‘THEY’VE BEEN SHOT AT’

“I had to remind him just how worried I am because all of these areas they’re talking about are areas where he can possibly find himself in and they are racially profiling,” she said, adding that ICE is “looking for young men who look Somali.”

Minnesota Gov. Walz reacted to the incident on X, writing that Omar’s son was pulled over even though he was following the law.

“This isn’t a targeted operation to find violent criminals, it’s racial profiling,” he wrote.

CONVICTED ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT CHILD KILLER WHO MURDERED INFANT SON ARRESTED IN TWIN CITIES ICE SWEEP

The Minnesota representative’s comments came after ICE announced on Friday it has arrested more than 400 illegal immigrants as part of Operation Metro Surge in Minnesota, including “pedophiles, rapists and violent thugs.”

President Donald Trump also told reporters Friday that Omar is “very bad for our country.”

The president called Omar and a bloc of Somali migrants in Minnesota “garbage” during a cabinet meeting earlier this month, adding that Somalia “is barely a country, where they run around killing each other.”

OMAR COMPARES STEPHEN MILLER’S MIGRANT RHETORIC TO NAZI DESCRIPTIONS OF JEWISH PEOPLE

“When they come from hell, and they complain and do nothing but b—- — we don’t want them in our country. Let ’em go back to where they came from and fix it,” Trump said.

Last week, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz wrote a letter to Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem asking her to “reassess” her enforcement strategy, stating that multiple U.S. citizens have been arrested by ICE agents across the state.

DEMOCRATIC CONGRESSMAN CLAIMS TRUMP’S ICE IS ‘PRIMARILY GOING AFTER INNOCENT PEOPLE, INCLUDING US CITIZENS’ 

“Reports indicate that some citizens were documenting federal activity, while others were going about their daily lives,” he wrote.

“This troubling pattern raised serious questions, not only about due process and the rights of U.S. citizens, but also about trust between Minnesota communities and federal authorities,” he added.

In response to the letter, Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin told Fox News Digital that Americans “who assault and obstruct law enforcement have been arrested.” she said.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

Fox News Digital has reached out to ICE for comment.

Fox News Digital’s Charles Creitz and Louis Casiano contributed to this report.

After dropping nearly $50,000 in Puerto Rico on luxury hotels, upscale dining and a venue rental where musical artist Bad Bunny was performing earlier this year, critics of Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., are questioning whether her socialist persona is more branding than belief considering she is living like the elitists she claims to fight.

“This is not new for her, she’s a hypocrite,” former White House press secretary, Sean Spicer, said of the revelations about AOC’s campaign spending. “Remember the dress that she wore to that famous MET Gala, where it said ‘Tax The Rich’ – it wasn’t exactly ‘off the rack,’ if you will, it was a designer dress made for her.”

Spicer slammed AOC and her other “squad” lawmakers who he argued love to rally against capitalism, but certainly don’t mind benefiting from it. 

“These people know no bounds. They love to tell everyone what they should do about their carbon footprint, and then they fly private. They love to talk about the excesses of the rich and then they benefit from it, they trade stocks, they get rich in Congress. I’ve pretty much had it with these guys, but at the end of the day it’s great they are being called out on it because the hypocrisy knows no bounds.”

DEM HOUSE CANDIDATE’S LUXURIOUS LIFESTYLE CLASHES WITH ‘WORKING-CLASS’ CAMPAIGN MESSAGE

Last week, Fox News Digital revealed that in AOC’s latest campaign filings she spent nearly $50,000 in Puerto Rico, around the same time she was known to have traveled there and attended a Bad Bunny concert. 

Videos that emerged on social media from the August trip show AOC visiting a housing development to rail against gentrification, while other footage from social media showed her dancing in what appears to be box seats at a Bad Bunny concert on Aug. 10 alongside Rep. Nydia Velázquez, D-N.Y. Between August and September, Bad Bunny held a 31-show “Residency” tour at the popular “El Choli” Coliseo de Puerto Rico in San Juan, which was attended by a slew of celebrities like LeBron James, Iggy Azalea, Penelope Cruz and Austin Butler, among others. 

Meanwhile, a campaign finance report from the third quarter, which records campaign expenses for members of Congress between July 1 and Sept. 30, shows that AOC’s campaign spent over $15,000 at two luxury hotels in San Juan, where Bad Bunny was holding his “Residency” tour. The campaign also spent over $10,500 on meals and catering services, the filings show.

FAR-LEFT FIREBRAND ‘REFUSED’ TO PAY HIGH-END CONDO PAYMENTS DESPITE SPENDING SPREE ON LUXURY HOTELS

“AOC wouldn’t be a proper socialist if she wasn’t irresponsibly spending someone else’s money,” GOP political strategist Matt Gorman said. “Whether Mamdani, or her, these people claim to advocate for the working people, yet don’t mind treating themselves to the spoils of other people’s money.”

“AOC rails nonstop against ‘the rich,’ yet drops tens of thousands in campaign cash on luxury hotels, upscale catering, and elite venues on a Puerto Rico trip,” GOP Florida congressional hopeful Michael Carbonara said in response to AOC’s campaign spending uncovered by Fox News Digital. “Socialism for you, first-class living for her. The hypocrisy writes itself.”

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

Meanwhile, the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) called the move “peak hypocrisy from a walking scam.”

FIRST ON FOX: The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) revealed a list of 17 illegal migrants who were previously convicted of an array of charges, including murder and sexual exploitation of a minor, who were arrested over the weekend and are currently being detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

DHS released the names as part of their “worst of the worst” campaign which exposes illegal migrants who have been convicted of serious felonies and crimes. 

“While Americans were at Christmas parties and celebrating the first night of Hanukkah, the patriotic heroes of ICE law enforcement were selflessly risking their lives to arrest the worst of the worst,” DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin told Fox News Digital in a statement. “This weekend, ICE arrested murderers, pedophiles, and drug traffickers. This holiday season, Americans can rejoice these monsters are out of their neighborhoods.”

Some convictions included second-degree murder by Thai Lor, an illegal migrant from Thailand, sexual exploitation of a minor by Benevenuto Walter Lopez-Alonzo, an illegal migrant from Guatemala, lewd act with a child under 14 years old by Yovanny Dominguez-Herrera, an illegal migrant from Mexico, money laundering by Chi Ying, an illegal migrant from China, and pimping a minor over 16-year-old by Patricia Judith Diaz-Angel, an illegal migrant from Guatemala, DHS said.

DEMOCRATIC CONGRESSMAN CLAIMS TRUMP’S ICE IS ‘PRIMARILY GOING AFTER INNOCENT PEOPLE, INCLUDING US CITIZENS’

All 17 illegal migrants were convicted of their respective crimes while residing in the United States. 

The arrests come just days after the agency announced it had arrested over 10,000 illegal migrants in Los Angeles 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,” as reported by Fox News Digital. 

Immigration officers and agents were met by rioters across Los Angeles over the summer, and many Democrats have been staunchly critical of DHS Secretary Kristi Noem and the Trump administration’s approach to deporting illegal migrants.

DHS SWEEPS TWIN CITIES, ARRESTS 400 AS FEDS BLAST WALZ FOR ‘FAILING TO PROTECT MINNESOTA’

Noem and the Trump administration have stood firm in their campaign commitment to return the millions of migrants who crossed the border under President Joe Biden back to their home countries. 

“Follow the law and you’ll find opportunity. If you break it, you’ll find consequences,” Noem said in a recent DHS advertisement.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

DHS has not held back from boasting about the capture of dangerous illegal migrants, and even recently created an arrest database available to the public. 

The agency announced a “worst of the worst” website, which was launched last week, to provide details about convicted violent criminals and pedophiles that are living in the United States illegally.

Preston Mizell is a writer with Fox News. Story tips can be sent to Preston.Mizell@fox.com and on X @MizellPreston

The Office of the Secretary of War on Monday escalated its preliminary review of Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., to a full command investigation, according to a report.

The investigation into Kelly for “serious allegations of misconduct” has intensified, according to a Pentagon official, first reported by Punchbowl News, with a new probe in conjunction with the Department of War’s Office of the General Counsel.

The department previously announced it had launched a formal review into allegations of misconduct against Kelly over a video calling on service members to “refuse illegal orders.” 

KELLY SHRUGS OFF TRUMP COURT-MARTIAL THREAT, SAYS GROWING UP IN TONY SOPRANO’S HOMETOWN MADE HIM ‘RESILIENT’

A War Department official confirmed to Fox News Digital that the Office of the Secretary of War is “escalating the preliminary review of Captain Mark Kelly, USN (Ret.), to an official Command Investigation.”

“Retired Captain Kelly is currently under investigation for serious allegations of misconduct,” the official said. “Further official comments will be limited to preserve the integrity of the proceedings.”

HEGSETH RIPS MARK KELLY’S POST ABOUT HIS SERVICE: ‘YOU CAN’T EVEN DISPLAY YOUR UNIFORM CORRECTLY’

Kelly said in a statement that “it should send a shiver down the spine of every patriotic American that the president and secretary of defense would abuse their power to come after me or anyone this way.”

“It wasn’t enough for Donald Trump to say I should be hanged,” he continued. “It wasn’t enough for Pete Hegseth to threaten me with a court martial. Now they are threatening everything I fought and served for across twenty-five years in the U.S. Navy—all because I repeated something every service member is taught.”

Kelly added that he will “keep doing my job representing Arizona.”

“If Trump and Hegseth think this will stop me from doing what I’ve done every day of my adult life—fighting for this country—then they’ve got the wrong guy. Tomorrow, and the next day, I will keep doing my job representing Arizona.”

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

Fox News Digital has reached out Kelly’s office for comment.

Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., called those concerned about whether she married her brother “sick” after the far-left lawmaker was approached by Fox News Digital about border czar Tom Homan, signaling that federal officials have started digging into records pertaining to the matter.

Homan said last week that records and files related to Omar’s potential immigration fraud were being pulled and looked at after President Donald Trump revived the years-old scandal amid an ongoing debate over the Somali Medicaid fraud scandal taking place in Omar’s state of Minnesota. 

While Homan suggested that fraud likely took place, he also signaled that the crime’s statute of limitations could present a problem when it comes to prosecuting Omar for any potential violations.

“Any response to what [Homan] is saying? And the public?” Fox News Digital asked Omar as she was walking through the halls of Congress. 

“I have no response because I don’t know what they’ll be investigating,” Omar shot back.

ILHAN OMAR CLAIMS ICE PULED OVER HER SON DURING ‘RACIAL PROFILING’ SWEEP AMID TRUMP’S CRACKDOWN IN MINNESOTA 

“So you don’t think they would find anything?” she was asked.

“Absolutely not,” Omar responded.

“Why do you think they keep bringing this up?” Omar was then asked before she walked onto an elevator and out of sight.

“Because they’re sick!” she exclaimed.

But, according to a top Senate Republican, if the allegations against Omar – that she married her brother to enter the U.S. – were true, she’d be breaking several laws.

“If this is true, then Omar faces criminal liability under three different statutes,” said Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas.

REP OMAR’S GOP CHALLENGER UNLOADS ON HER ROLE IN MINNESOTA FRAUD SCANDAL

Cruz has argued that Omar could have committed federal marriage fraud, which makes knowingly entering into a marriage to evade immigration laws illegal, and could result in 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 naturalized citizen in 2000. 

In 2002, Omar entered a religious marriage with Ahmed Abdisalan Hirsi, while, in 2009, she legally married Elmi, a British citizen, despite maintaining her religious union with Hirsi and continuing to have children with him.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

Omar and Elmi separated in 2011 and did not legally divorce until 2017, according to reports. In 2020, Omar married political consultant Tim Mynett. 

In addition to marriage fraud, Cruz said Omar could also be breaking Minnesota’s state incest law, a felony in the state punishable by jail time up to 10 years. Cruz also indicated Omar could be liable for tax fraud, specifically if joint tax returns were filed while she was not legally married, a violation that could lead to a $100,000 fine and up to three years in prison.

Fox News Digital’s Alex Miller and Emma Bussey contributed to this report.

U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro said Monday that a months-long federal investigation uncovered widespread misclassification of crime reports by the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD), making crime statistics across Washington, D.C. “artificially lower.”

Pirro said the findings were based on a review of nearly 6,000 reports and interviews with more than 50 witnesses, showing that D.C.’s crime numbers were significantly understated.

“It is evident that a significant number of reports had been misclassified, making crime appear artificially lower than it was,” Pirro said in a statement.

Pirro said MPD’s conduct “does not rise to the level of a criminal charge,” but added that it is up the department to “take steps to internally address these underlying issues.”

PIRRO TEARS INTO PRITZKER AFTER DEADLY WEEKEND IN CHICAGO: ‘HE SHOULD BE ASHAMED OF HIMSELF’

Pirro’s office began investigating reports of deflated crime statistics last August, as President Donald Trump initiated a federal crime crackdown in the district.

Trump issued an executive order addressing the “epidemic of crime” in the nation’s capital and deployed federal law enforcement personnel, including the National Guard.

“The uncovering of these manipulated crime statistics makes clear that President Trump has reduced crime even more than originally thought, since crimes were actually higher than reported,” Pirro stated. “His crime fighting efforts have delivered even more safety to the people of the District.”

TRUMP SAYS CHICAGO CRIME HAS FALLEN DRAMATICALLY DESPITE ‘EXTRAORDINARY RESISTANCE’ FROM LOCAL DEMOCRATS

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment and further information on its investigation into the MPD.

Pirro’s statement came after the House Oversight Committee released an interim report on Sunday claiming that outgoing MPD Chief Pamela Smith, who announced her resignation on Dec. 8, oversaw an unprecedented system of intervention in crime reporting.

The Republican-led committee alleges that Smith pressured commanders to lower classifications of crime and retaliated against those who reported spikes, according to the congressional report.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

MPD did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

Fox News Digital’s Ashley Carnahan contributed to this report.

President Donald Trump’s former Secretary of Homeland Security, Chad Wolf, is sounding the alarm about China infiltrating America’s healthcare systems. 

Concern about China’s ability to infiltrate United States technology was underscored by a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed last week between four state attorneys general and Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr, aimed at ramping up protections against Chinese infiltration of communications equipment and services utilized by the United States. 

On Monday, the Protecting America Initiative (PAI), a conservative nonprofit aimed at fighting the Chinese Communist Party’s efforts “to sabotage America,” launched a campaign to highlight the nation’s vulnerability to China as it relates to medical technology. 

Earlier this year, both the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) both warned of a “backdoor” in a popular brand of patient monitoring devices. CISA found the so-called backdoor allowed the device to download remote files and send them to an IP address associated with a Chinese university. All schools in China operate under a law requiring them to support national intelligence work when called upon.

CHINESE DOCTOR ACCUSED OF ATTEMPTING TO SMUGGLE CANCER RESEARCH FROM US TO CHINA

“Americans rely on their doctors who take an oath to keep us safe, and first, do no harm. But when critical medical devices are made by Chinese companies, that puts our safety at risk. Chinese medical devices open the door for the CCP to access sensitive health data. President Trump and his administration always put America First and will safeguard our patients and our privacy from Beijing’s infiltration,” PAI Senior Advisor Chad Wolf told Fox News Digital. “It’s time to remove Chinese medical devices from U.S. hospitals and close the data backdoor, because patient privacy and national security are non‑negotiable.”

In June, Florida’s Republican Attorney General James Uthmeier took legal action against the Chinese medical device manufacturers probed by the FDA and CISA, accusing the company of selling “compromised” medical devices that allegedly include a “backdoor” that bad actors can manipulate. 

In addition to patient data and privacy concerns, Uthmeier was also concerned about the medical device manufacturer, and those distributing its products, selling patient health monitors as approved by the FDA and other international standards, even though they were not.

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

China’s expanding presence in American medical supply chains has also been a concern among experts.

“China’s growing role within the U.S. medical device supply chains is largely due to the combination of Beijing’s industrial policy and the shifting landscape of American healthcare,” the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD), a conservative think tank in Washington, D.C. focusing on foreign affairs and national security, wrote in an October report.

“The National Institute of Health (NIH) estimated that in 2019, 9.2 percent of U.S.-imported pharmaceuticals and medical equipment came from China — a percentage that ‘likely understates’ American reliance on China for medical products, NIH warned,” the report continues. “This understatement is in part due to the complex nature of medical supply chains — China is both a supplier of raw materials used in medical products and the final point of assembly for goods bound for the United States, obscuring its reach into the American medical system. This percentage also does not account for the value-add or criticality of these goods, particularly those related to biodefense and managing long-term acute health issues.”

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

FDD claims that China has “exploited” the United State’s “reliance” on it by selling and exporting deliberately compromised technology, leading to doctors “unwittingly and unwillingly” playing “Russian roulette with patient treatment plans.”

The Senate advanced the annual defense policy bill on an overwhelmingly bipartisan vote on Monday, teeing up final passage later in the week.

The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) of 2026 is one of the must-pass legislative packages that Congress deals with on an annual basis, and it unlocked billions of dollars in funding for the Pentagon and several other defense-related items.

Lawmakers pushed the colossal authorization package through a key procedural hurdle on a 76-20 vote. Senators will get their chance to tweak the package with several amendment votes in the coming days.

SENATE ADVANCES 2026 DEFENSE BILL AFTER WEEKS OF DELAY AS SHUTDOWN DRAGS ON

The roughly $901 billion package, which is about $8 billion over what President Donald Trump requested earlier this year, typically acts as a bookend for Congress, capping off the year as one of the few must-pass items on the docket. And, given that there is no government funding deadline to contend with, the NDAA is getting primetime treatment in the Senate.

Still, there are myriad items that lawmakers hope to tackle before leaving until the new year, including a fix to expiring Obamacare subsidies, confirming nearly 100 of Trump’s nominees, and a potential five-bill funding package that, if passed, would go a long way toward warding off the specter of another government shutdown come Jan. 30.

Scattered throughout the colossal package’s roughly 3,000 pages are several provisions dealing with decades-old war authorities, strikes on alleged drug boats in the Caribbean, Ukraine, lifting sanctions, and Washington, D.C.’s, airspace.

This year’s NDAA would scrap the 1991 and 2002 authorizations of use of military force (AUMFs) for the Gulf War and Iraq War, respectively. Lawmakers have found rare bipartisan middle ground in their desire to nix the AUMFs, which have been used by previous administrations to engage in conflicts in the Middle East for decades.

CONGRESS MOVES TO BLOCK PENTAGON FROM CUTTING US TROOPS IN EUROPE AND SOUTH KOREA

Then there is a policy that includes several requirements to fulfill the Pentagon’s travel budget, one of which would force the agency to hand over all unedited footage from the Trump administration’s strikes against alleged drug boats.

It’s a pointed provision that underscores the bipartisan concern from Congress over the administration’s handling of the strikes, particularly in the wake of a double-tap strike on Sept. 2 that has seen several lawmakers demand more transparency and access to the footage.

There is also a provision that has stirred up controversy among Senate Republicans and Democrats alike that would roll back some safety standards in the Washington, D.C., airspace. It comes on the heels of the collision between a Black Hawk helicopter and passenger jet near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport earlier this year.

CONGRESS RACES AGAINST 3-WEEK DEADLINE TO TACKLE MASSIVE YEAR-END LEGISLATIVE AGENDA

Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee Chair Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., the top ranking Democrat on the panel, are pushing to have the provision stripped with their own amendment, which would codify the safety tweaks made after the midair collision.

Cruz said alongside family members of the victims of the crash, which killed 67, that the provision didn’t go through the ordinary clearances.” 

“Normally, when you’re adding a provision to the NDAA that impacts aviation, you would request clearance from the chairman and ranking member of the Senate Commerce Committee,” Cruz said. “No clearance was requested. We discovered this provision when the final version of the bill dropped out of the House and it was passed.”

There are also several provisions that deal with Ukraine, including an extension of the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, which would authorize $400 million each year to buy weapons from U.S. defense companies.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

There’s a provision that would prevent the U.S. from quietly cutting off intelligence support to the country by requiring at least 48-hours notice detailing why, how long it would last and the impact on Ukraine.

There’s also a provision that would beef up reporting requirements for all foreign aid flowing to Ukraine from the U.S. and other allies supporting the country in its conflict with Russia.

President Donald Trump said no motive has been identified for the suspected gunman who remains at large after opening fire inside a classroom at Brown University in Rhode Island Saturday. 

Although police originally detained a man in a Rhode Island hotel in connection with the fatal shooting that took the lives of two students, authorities announced Sunday that they had released the man and the hunt for the suspect resumed Monday. 

“We’re going to see what happens,” Trump told reporters Monday. “Hopefully they’re going to capture this animal.” 

When asked why the FBI, who is supporting local law enforcement in Rhode Island with their investigation into the matter, had struggled to identify the shooting suspect, Trump said that doing so is always difficult and that the issue lies with the school.

BROWN UNIVERSITY WAS ‘SOFT TARGET’ FOR SHOOTER WHO REMAINS AT LARGE, CRIMINAL PROFILER SAYS 

“This was a school problem. They had their own guards,” Trump said. “They had their own police, had their own everything. But you’d have to ask that question really to the school, not to the FBI. We came in after the fact, and the FBI will do a good job, but they came in after the fact.” 

Two students died in the shooting, and another nine were injured. One of the victims of the shooting was identified as Ella Cook, a sophomore from Alabama who served as vice president of the Brown University College Republicans, according to authorities.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP 

The other victim was identified as Mukhammad Aziz Umurzokov, authorities said. Umurzokov and his family are naturalized citizens from Uzbekistan now living in Virginia, according to The New York Times. 

Fox News’ Stephen Sorace and Andrea Margolis contributed to this report. 

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…

-Biden officials go silent when asked about Afghan refugee program after guardsmen shooting

-DOJ accuses Democratic campaign arm of obstruction in lawsuit over California redistricting

-Democratic heavyweights Harris, Newsom turn heads, fuel 2028 speculation

War Sec Hegseth issues statement after two US soldiers killed in Syria are identified

Two U.S. Army soldiers killed during a weekend attack by Islamic terrorists in Syria have been identified, prompting an outpouring of prayers and a vow from Secretary of War Pete Hegseth that the United States will respond with force.

Hegseth urged Americans to pray for the fallen soldiers, Sgt. Edgar Brian Torres Tovar and Sgt. William Nathaniel Howard, after their names were released Monday by the Department of War.

“Please join me in prayer today for the souls of our brave Army Soldiers Sgt. Edgar Brian Torres Tovar and Sgt. William Nathaniel Howard, who were killed by Islamic terrorists in Syria this past weekend,” Hegseth said in a statement. “Our hearts go out to their families, and we lift them up in prayer for strength and comfort during this time of grief.”…READ MORE.
 

White House

‘DROVE UP COSTS’: Key Trump agency unleashes strike force to slash Biden-era regulations crushing working families

OPTIONS OPEN: Deputy FBI Director Dan Bongino to decide about future at bureau in coming weeks, sources say

YULETIDE WARS: Trump admin launches ‘MerryChristmas.gov’ to roll out 12 days of federal gifts as Christmas comeback ramps up

‘PSA’: EPA administrator Lee Zeldin reveals he underwent surgery to remove skin cancer from his face

World Stage

SUDDEN STEP DOWN: SOUTHCOM commander abruptly retires amid escalating scrutiny of Caribbean strikes

NEW MOMENTUM: US officials tout progress in talks to reach ‘lasting and durable peace’ between Ukraine, Russia

Capitol Hill

POLITICALLY CONVENIENT: Democrats press hard on Epstein files after years of sporadic interest under Biden

TONE-DEAF POLS: Schumer draws fire for casual tone after Sydney attack as Fetterman, others push tougher stance on antisemitism

NUMBERS GAME: House Republicans allege DC police downgraded crime classifications to manipulate statistics

TAX TAKEDOWN: CAIR’s tax-exempt status targeted as Cornyn moves to strip group after terror designations

TONE-DEAF CHUCK: Schumer panned for saying ‘Go Bills’ after saying he would address Sydney shooting

Across America 

WORDS VS DEEDS: Mamdani silent on changing stance on ‘globalize the intifada’ phrase in wake of Hanukkah massacre

DATA CLUES: One chart lays bare the sprawling fraud network Minnesota officials missed

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

The Department of Justice accused the Democratic campaign arm of Congress of withholding key redistricting documents, an allegation that surfaced just before a three-day hearing kicked off Monday in federal court over California’s Proposition 50.

The DOJ argued in court papers that the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and consultant Paul Mitchell attempted to hinder the discovery process, including by dumping several gigabytes of files on the government less than two days before the hearing was set to begin. 

The documents, according to DOJ lawyers, included evidence that Mitchell “prioritized racial considerations” when he drew the Proposition 50 map, such as a slide deck he made promoting how the map would increase voting opportunities for Latino residents.

DOJ attorneys said the DCCC misled the court by claiming it lacked control over Mitchell’s records despite having a contractual right to inspect and copy his materials.

DOJ BACKS TEXAS IN SUPREME COURT FIGHT OVER REPUBLICAN-DRAWN MAP

The DCCC therefore had an obligation to produce responsive records as part of the discovery process, the lawyers said. Meanwhile, Mitchell also withheld documents, raised baseless privilege objections dozens of times in his deposition and produced a small fraction of his tens of thousands of files to the court, the DOJ lawyers said.

The clash is part of a lawsuit the DOJ joined with a California Republican assemblyman against Gov. Gavin Newsom and the DCCC. The lawsuit alleges that Proposition 50, which would allow the state to draw a more Democrat-friendly map in time for the 2026 midterms, involved unconstitutional racial gerrymandering.

The litigation is one of many redistricting disputes that have cropped up across the country ahead of next year’s election. Proposition 50, which passed as a ballot measure in November, was a direct response to a mid-decade redistricting effort in Texas and designed to cancel out the five Republican gains there. The Supreme Court recently upheld Texas’ map in an emergency order after left-leaning groups alleged it was a race-based effort.

A source familiar with the DOJ’s thinking said the department viewed Texas’ redrawing as a political exercise, whereas California’s was racial. The source said the Newsom administration appeared to be “covering up the racially driven design” of its map, calling the redistricting effort a “brazen power grab” that undermines the election process and divides voters based on race.

The DCCC argued in a court document on Monday that the DOJ was attempting to “slam square pegs into round holes to build up their paper-thin case” and that the department was overstating DCCC’s access to Mitchell’s files.

DOJ JOINS LAWSUIT AGAINST NEWSOM OVER ‘RACIAL GERRYMANDER’ OF CALIFORNIA MAP

In addition to Texas and California, Louisiana has a case pending before the Supreme Court that could affect its map by the next election, depending on when the high court rules on it. In Utah, Republicans were recently dealt a blow by a state judge who approved a new map that will tip one of the state’s four districts in favor of Democrats.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Illinois and Maryland, two blue states, and Virginia, where Democrats control the legislature, are also taking steps toward redistricting.

The DOJ has asked a three-judge panel hearing the California case to determine that race was a major factor in the drawing of the map based on Mitchell’s and the DCCC’s actions. That finding would bolster the lawsuit’s broader claim, which the court is vetting during this week’s three-day hearing, that Proposition 50 amounted to unconstitutional racial gerrymandering and must be blocked.

With less than a week before the Department of Justice must release a tranche of case files related to Jeffrey Epstein, Democrats have continued to seize on the politically expedient topic, which has roiled the Trump administration and caused fractures in the Republican Party.

On Friday, House Democrats released 19 photos from Epstein’s estate that included several images featuring President Donald Trump and other public figures. The White House blasted the move and reiterated its position that the Epstein matter is a “Democrat hoax.”

Friday’s disclosure came as Democrats have claimed all year that Epstein’s case has newfound salience because Trump, once among Epstein’s many wealthy friends before Epstein was accused of trafficking underage girls, tried to suppress the files when he took office. Republicans counter that Democrats had full access to the documents for four years under the Biden administration and neither released them nor uncovered information damaging to Trump.

FEDERAL JUDGE ORDERS UNSEALING OF EPSTEIN CASE GRAND JURY RECORDS

Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee, told Fox News Digital claims of Democratic inconsistency “are seriously detached from reality” and pointed to his own investigations dating back to 2019 into former Trump Labor Secretary Alex Acosta’s handling of a 2008 plea deal with Epstein.

Raskin argued the Democratic Party has not shifted, but rather that the Trump administration has.

“Trump abruptly killed the ongoing federal investigation into Epstein’s co-conspirators when he took office,” Raskin said, alleging the administration undertook a “massive redaction project” to hide evidence of Trump’s ties to Epstein. The forthcoming file release is expected to contain significant redactions and include reasons for each one.

“Democrats have always fought to support an investigation of Epstein’s co-conspirators,” Raskin said. “We have always been on the side of full transparency and justice for the victims.”

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., repeated that point Friday after the photos were published, saying, “All we want is full transparency, so that the American people can get the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.”

COMER ACCUSES OVERSIGHT DEMS OF ‘CHERRY-PICKING’ EPSTEIN ISLAND FILES: ‘CHASING HEADLINES’

The heightened Democratic push for transparency comes after years during which the party showed more intermittent interest in Epstein’s case, which some Democrats have attributed to the sensitivity of seeking information while Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell’s sex trafficking case was pending and while some of Epstein’s victims were pursuing litigation.

But the Democrats’ new, unified fixation on Epstein this year came as Republicans struggled to manage the issue.

The files became a political thorn for the administration after Attorney General Pam Bondi‘s chaotic rollout in February of already-public files by the DOJ, which enraged a faction of Trump’s base who had been expecting new information.

The DOJ said at the time that it would not disclose further files because of court orders and victim privacy and said the department found no information that would warrant bringing charges against anyone else. In a turnabout, however, Bondi ordered a review, at Trump’s direction, of Epstein’s alleged connections to Democrats, including former President Bill Clinton.

The president, who was closely associated with Epstein but was never accused of any crimes related to him, also relented to monthslong pressure to sign a transparency bill last month that ordered the DOJ to release all of its hundreds of thousands of Epstein-related records within 30 days. Among the most vocal supporters of the bill was Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., which resulted in her highly public falling out with the president, whom she once fervently supported.

The Epstein saga has also plagued the administration because some of Trump’s allies, now in top roles in the DOJ, once promoted the existence of incriminating, nonpublic Epstein files, including a supposed list of sexual predators who were his clients. FBI Director Kash Patel, for instance, said in 2023 the government was hiding “Epstein’s list” of “pedophiles.” But the DOJ leaders failed to deliver on those claims upon taking office.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., meanwhile, faced accusations from Democrats that he kept the House in recess for about two months to avoid votes on Epstein transparency legislation. Johnson shot back that Democrats had, in his view, been lax on the Epstein case until this year.

“We’re not going to allow the Democrats to use this for political cover. They had four years,” Johnson told reporters at the time. “Remember, the Biden administration held the Epstein files for four years and not a single one of these Democrats, or anyone in Congress, made any thought about that at all.”

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

The House Oversight Committee has also spurred infighting over how Epstein material has been handled, as it has been actively engaged in subpoenaing, reviewing, and releasing large batches of Epstein-related records from both the DOJ and Epstein’s estate, including Friday’s photos.

In response to the photos, which were released by committee Democrats, committee Republicans said the Democrats “cherry-picked” them and that they “keep trying to create a fake hoax by being dishonest, deceptive, and shamelessly deranged.”

FIRST ON FOX: The Trump administration launched a new website boasting the URL “MerryChristmas.gov” to celebrate the federal government’s contributions that have helped weave the fabric of the nation. 

“Over twelve days, we’re highlighting moments of design, innovation, and public work initiated by the federal government that helped shape the nation. Consider it a small holiday reminder of what America can build together,” the new Merry Christmas website states. 

The site launched Sunday, with its first post celebrating the Works Progress Administration’s poster program, which was launched during the Great Depression to cultivate positive and encouraging messages for the nation amid the strife. 

“Created during the Great Depression under the Works Progress Administration, the Federal Art Project’s poster program employed artists to design uplifting messages promoting parks, public health, education, and cultural events. Its bold shapes and clear typography helped define American public communication, and the surviving posters remain some of the most iconic federal designs of the 20th century,” the website states, showing a copy of the poster with deep blues outlining a cave to promote U.S. parks and travel.

MELANIA TRUMP’S WHITE HOUSE CHRISTMAS IS A SHINING BEACON OF AMERICA

The website will reveal additional government highlights each day through Dec. 25, Fox Digital learned. The website includes a live weather tracker at the North Pole and at the White House. 

The website follows President Donald Trump vowing from the 2024 campaign trail to bring back Christmas, which he said liberals have historically sidelined in favor of more politically correct and all-encompassing messages to celebrate the holiday season. 

“We’re going to have Merry Christmas just like we got for everybody seven years ago, we brought it back, it was in deep trouble but we brought it back,” Trump said at the height of the election cycle in August 2024. 

DAVID SPADE SLAMS MALL TREE-LIGHTING CEREMONY FOR AVOIDING WORD CHRISTMAS 

Fast-forward to the second Trump administration. The White House stated on its official X account earlier in December that Trump declared, “We’re saying MERRY CHRISTMAS again!,” accompanied by a photo of him in the Oval Office standing next to a Christmas tree. 

The Trump administration’s social media accounts have increasingly leaned into posting Christmas-focused memes as they relate to the administration’s policies, including playing off the movie “Polar Express” to encourage illegal immigrants to return to their native nations. 

DHS OFFICIAL SAYS CHURCH’S NATIVITY SCENE DEPICTS WHAT ‘NEVER HAPPENS’ IN IMMIGRATION ENFORCEMENT

“BELIEVE YOU CAN GO HOME!” the White House X post states. “It doesn’t matter where they’re going. What matters is deciding to get on.” CBP Home App to self-deport today!“

Another White House meme shows the Grinch with the caption, “How the Illegals Stole Healthcare.”

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

The Department of Homeland Security also has joined in the Christmas-focused memes, including photoshopped images of federal law enforcement donned in festive lights and Santa hats with the caption, “YOU’RE GOING HO HO HOME.” The images were followed by another edited video showing Trump driving Santa’s sleigh.