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Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., pulled no punches in his opening statement Wednesday morning at the Department of Homeland Security Committee hearing on fellow GOP Sen. Markwayne Mullin’s nomination to be Kristi Noem‘s successor as secretary.

Paul, chairman of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, accused Mullin of excusing political violence and challenging him to repeat past remarks of having called him a “snake” and saying he understood why Paul was attacked violently by a neighbor in 2017.

“You have never had the courage to look me in the eye and tell me that the assault was justified,” Paul told the committee in his opening remarks. “So today you’ll have your chance. Today I’ll give you that chance to clear the record.

“Tell it to my face if that’s what you believe. Tell it to me today. Tell the world why you believe I deserve to be assaulted from behind, have six ribs broken and a damaged lung.

40+ HOUSE REPUBLICANS RALLY BEHIND MARKWAYNE MULLIN FOR DHS, CALL IT A ‘CRITICAL MOMENT’ FOR BORDER SECURITY

“Tell me to my face why you think I deserved it.”

Mullin opened his own remarks off the cuff before his prepared statement to address Paul’s verbal attack.

“I have to address the remarks the chairman made, calling me a liar,” Mullin opened. “Everybody in this room knows that I’m very blunt and direct to the point. And if I have something to say, I’ll say it directly to your face.”

WATCH MULLIN’S RESPONSE:

Mullin pointed Paul back to a private conversation back in their days as House GOP members.

MULLIN FACES DEMOCRAT GRILLING IN FIRST HURDLE TO LEAD DHS AMID SHUTDOWN FIGHT

“I said I could understand because of the behavior you were having, that I could understand why your neighbor…did what he did,” Mullin said. “As far as my terms, the snake in the grass, sir, I work around this room to try to fix problems. I’ve worked with many people in this room.

“It seems like you fight Republicans more than you work with us. I did address those remarks.”

Mullin vowed to Paul to be blunt and direct.

“If I do have something to say, everybody in this room knows how I’ll come straight to you,” he said. “I’ll say it publicly and I’ll say it privately, but I’ll never say it behind your back.”

TEAMSTERS BOSS PRAISES MULLIN DHS NOMINATION DESPITE PAST HEATED HEARINGS

Mullin acknowledged about Paul, “We just don’t get along,” and saying Paul has “spent millions of dollars in my campaigns against me.”

“That doesn’t keep me at all from doing my job,” Mullin continued. “I can have different opinions with everybody in this room, but as secretary of homeland, I’ll be protecting everybody, including Kentucky, as much as I will my own backyard in Oklahoma.

“It’s bigger than the partisan bickering that we have. It’s bigger than the political differences we have.”

“The truth is, I have a job to do, and I don’t like to fail at anything at all. So I can set it aside, if you’re willing to set it aside. Let me earn your respect. I’m going to earn the job. I won’t fail you. I won’t back down from a challenge. And I’ll also admit when I’m wrong. I’m not perfect. I don’t claim to be perfect. I make mistakes just like anybody else. But mistakes, if you own them, you can learn from them and you can move ahead. And I’ll make that commitment to you.”

Paul showed no interest in setting the feud aside.

MULLIN FACES DHS CONFIRMATION HEARING AMID SHUTDOWN

“The record should show, and I think we’ll show a lack of contrition: No apology and no regrets for your support,” Paul picked up in his first line of questioning. “You completely understand the violence that was perpetrated on me. You’re unrepentant. The only thing you quibble about is whether I met you somehow when you’re in the House.”

“I don’t think we ever met when you were in the House, and this idea that the only thing you’re upset about is not that you are for violence. What you’re upset about is that I called you a liar because you said it to my face. So it’s really more about this machismo that you have.”

Paul was under some scrutiny for blocking fellow Sen. Katie Britt, R-Ala., from introducing Mullin at the start of the hearing, forcing Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., to do the introduction instead, three sources told Fox News’ Bill Melugin.

“Rand Paul has become completely blinded by his hatred of President Trump and petty personal squabbles,” a senior Senate Republican source told Melugin. “His actions today were those of a seething snake — and a hopeless hypocrite.”

“What kind of free speech advocate would bar Sen. Mullin’s choice to deliver his introduction from speaking?” the source asked. “What kind of Republican would bar a fellow Republican Senator from voicing their support of a colleague? Why is this guy allowed to hold a Republican gavel anymore?”

Illinois Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton is on a glide path to the U.S. Senate.

But Stratton, who captured the Democratic Senate nomination in blue-leaning Illinois by winning Tuesday’s primary, has made it clear that if she makes it to Capitol Hill, she won’t be supporting Sen. Chuck Schumer, the Democrats’ longtime leader in the chamber.

And Stratton — who if victorious in November would become only the fifth Black woman in the nation’s history to win election to the Senate — is part of a sizable list of Democratic Senate candidates who are highlighting their opposition to Schumer continuing as the leader of their party in the chamber.

PRITZKER SCORES BIG: STRATTON VICTORY IN DEMOCRATIC SENATE PRIMARY TEST OF GOVERNOR’S CLOUT 

Stratton topped Reps. Raja Krishnamoorthi and Robin Kelly, her two leading rivals among a crowded field of contenders, in a contentious and extremely expensive Democratic Senate primary. Stratton was boosted by the support and deep pockets of her boss, billionaire Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker, who was unopposed as he landed re-nomination for a third term as governor.

HEAD HERE FOR THE LATEST FOX NEWS COVERAGE ON THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL

Schumer, along with the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee chair, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, congratulated Stratton immediately after her victory was called.

“Juliana’s commitment to standing up for working families runs deep — and now, she’s taking that fight to the U.S. Senate. We are proud to congratulate Juliana on her history-making campaign, and we are excited to welcome her as the next U.S. Senator from Illinois in November,” Schumer and Gillibrand wrote in a statement.

But Stratton, during her primary campaign, made her stance on Schumer crystal clear.

“I’m the only person on this stage that has said so,” Stratton said during a recent debate, as she highlighted that she would not back Schumer as Democratic leader.

“I’m the only candidate in this race that has made it clear I’m not going to support Chuck Schumer to lead the Democratic caucus, Senate caucus, because that’s not what people are looking for right now,” Stratton said in a recent NBC News interview. “They want someone who’s going to fight, and we need fighters and not folders.”

And further explaining why she wouldn’t back Schumer, Stratton told progressive Gen Z political commentator Jack Cocchiarella, “What I’m hearing from voters all across the state of Illinois is that they’re fed up. They’re fed up with what’s happening in Washington. They”re fed up with business as usual and the status quo.”

Stratton is far from the only Democratic Senate candidate to argue that the party needs younger and more aggressive leadership in the chamber to fight back against President Donald Trump‘s unprecedented second-term agenda.

Among them are Graham Platner, the U.S. Marine and Army veteran and oyster farmer from Maine who has the backing of progressive champion Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont as he battles for the Democratic Senate nomination against two-term Gov. Janet Mills, who has Schumer’s tacit support.

Also on the list is Michigan state Sen. Mallory McMorrow, one of three frontrunners battling for their party’s U.S. Senate nomination in the Great Lakes battleground.

In the wake of Joe Kent’s resignation from the position of National Counterterrorism Center director over his opposition to the Iran war, President Donald Trump highlighted a years-old tweet in which Kent had urged the president to “wipe Iran’s ballistic capability out.”

In the January 2020 post on X, Kent tagged the president and wrote, “We should not sit and wait for the next attack, wipe Iran’s ballistic capability out and get our troops out of Iraq – they are only targets now. No US WIA/KIA is a tribute to the professionalism of our military and intel professionals not Iranian restraint.”

Kent made the post in January 2020 after a U.S. strike earlier that month killed Qasem Soleimani, the head of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Quds Force.

TOP COUNTERTERRORISM OFFICIAL RESIGNS IN PROTEST OF US WAR AGAINST IRAN

In the resignation letter that he posted to X on Tuesday, Kent asserted that Iran did not pose an imminent threat to the U.S.

“I cannot in good conscience support the ongoing war in Iran. Iran posed no imminent threat to our nation, and it is clear that we started this war due to pressure from Israel and its powerful American lobby,” Kent wrote.

IRANIAN INTELLIGENCE MINISTER KILLED IN PRECISION AIRSTRIKE, WHILE US MILITARY TARGETS MISSILE SITES

Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard issued a post on X in which she noted that the president targeted Iran due to his view that the regime represented “an imminent threat.”

“The Office of the Director of National Intelligence is responsible for helping coordinate and integrate all intelligence to provide the President and Commander in Chief with the best information available to inform his decisions,” Gabbard said in the post. 

TRUMP BIDS GOODBYE TO INTEL OFFICIAL WHO RESIGNED OVER IRAN: ‘GOOD THING THAT HE’S OUT’

“After carefully reviewing all the information before him, President Trump concluded that the terrorist Islamist regime in Iran posed an imminent threat and he took action based on that conclusion,” she noted.

Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard on Tuesday issued a post on X in which she noted that President Donald Trump targeted Iran based on his conclusion that the regime “posed an imminent threat.”

She issued the post in the wake of Joe Kent’s resignation from his role as National Counterterrorism Center director over his opposition to the Iran war that Trump launched more than two weeks ago in conjunction with Israel.

“Donald Trump was overwhelmingly elected by the American people to be our President and Commander in Chief. As our Commander in Chief, he is responsible for determining what is and is not an imminent threat, and whether or not to take action he deems necessary to protect the safety and security of our troops, the American people and our country,” Gabbard noted in her post.

WHITE HOUSE, AFTER TOP COUNTERTERRORISM OFFICIAL QUITS, SAYS TRUMP HAD ‘STRONG’ EVIDENCE IRAN WOULD ATTACK US

“The Office of the Director of National Intelligence is responsible for helping coordinate and integrate all intelligence to provide the President and Commander in Chief with the best information available to inform his decisions,” she added.

“After carefully reviewing all the information before him, President Trump concluded that the terrorist Islamist regime in Iran posed an imminent threat and he took action based on that conclusion,” Gabbard wrote.

TRUMP BIDS GOODBYE TO INTEL OFFICIAL WHO RESIGNED OVER IRAN: ‘GOOD THING THAT HE’S OUT’

Kent publicly shared his resignation letter on Tuesday, asserting that Iran did not pose an imminent threat to the U.S.

“I cannot in good conscience support the ongoing war in Iran,” Kent wrote.

“Iran posed no imminent threat to our nation, and it is clear that we started this war due to pressure from Israel and its powerful American lobby,” he asserted in the resignation letter.

TOP COUNTERTERRORISM OFFICIAL RESIGNS IN PROTEST OF US WAR AGAINST IRAN

Trump pushed back on Tuesday, saying that “it’s a good thing that he’s out because he said that Iran was not a threat. Iran was a threat. Every country realized what a threat Iran was. The question is whether or not they wanted to do something about it.”

FIRST ON FOX: A group of House conservatives are putting Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., on notice: quickly pass a Trump-backed election bill or expect the House of Representatives to block every Senate measure.

Two dozen House Republicans, led by Rep. Randy Fine, R-Fla., are vowing to oppose any Senate bill until the House-passed Safeguarding American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) America Act clears the upper chamber.

“We made a promise to the American people. It’s time to deliver,” the Republicans wrote in an open letter to Thune, first obtained by Fox News Digital. “Consider this our filibuster.”

It’s a notable division between Republicans controlling the majorities in both houses of Congress.

REPORTER’S NOTEBOOK: TRUMP’S SAVE ACT ULTIMATUM RUNS INTO SENATE REALITY

House Republicans have threatened for weeks to derail Senate legislation until President Donald Trump signs the measure into law. The SAVE America Act would require proof of citizenship to register to vote and photo identification for voters at the ballot box.

It comes as the Senate kicked off a marathon process Tuesday to debate the SAVE America Act, though the measure is ultimately expected to fail given unanimous opposition from Senate Democrats and Sens. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, and Thom Tillis, R-N.C.

The group of House conservatives is calling on Senate leadership to pursue a talking filibuster to steer around the 60-vote requirement and pass the bill with a simple majority. However, internal divisions among Republicans have kept the conference from pursuing that approach. Thune has also warned a talking filibuster could backfire on Republicans if Democrats were to saddle the bill with Democrat-authored amendments.

REPORTER’S NOTEBOOK: GOP WEIGHS ‘NUKING’ FILIBUSTER TO PASS TRUMP’S SAVE ACT

Despite clear math problems in the Senate, the group of House conservatives said they will continue to ratchet up the pressure. They also slammed Thune for beginning debate on the bill without having the votes to advance the measure to a vote on final passage.

“Continuing the same old kabuki shows is unacceptable, and the American people deserve better,” Fine told Fox News Digital in a statement. “Majority Leader John Thune can say whatever he wants about my colleagues and me holding the line, but we won’t tolerate Washington’s games any longer.”

“In the last election, the American people overwhelmingly elected President Trump and gave him and the Republican Party a mandate to Make America Great Again. Core to that mandate was a promise to restore confidence in the security of our elections — to guarantee that only Americans vote in them,” the House lawmakers wrote in the letter.

It’s not clear the defecting group has the numbers to immediately derail Senate legislation with significant bipartisan support. 

Forty-one conservatives revolted Tuesday on the House floor against Senate legislation that would reauthorize a program supporting small businesses. The measure still sailed through the House after nearly all Democratic lawmakers backed it.

However, House conservatives’ threats could still hamper efforts by Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., to steer party-line legislation through the chamber.

TRUMP URGES CONGRESS TO PASS SAVE AMERICA ACT, FULLY FUND DHS AS TSA WORKERS GO WITHOUT PAY

With just a razor-thin majority, Johnson can currently only afford to lose one House Republican on any legislation that does not have Democrats’ support.

“On Sunday, President Trump announced that he will not sign any additional legislation until the SAVE America Act is passed out of the Senate. The President has also called on the Senate to use the talking filibuster to secure passage of the SAVE America Act immediately, superseding everything else. We agree,” the letter said. “Until that occurs, we, the undersigned, are prepared to vote NO on any Senate bill on the House Floor.”

A Senate GOP aide shot back at the House Republicans over their effort, saying, “Republicans fighting Republicans over congressional procedure is definitely a recipe for midterm success.” 

It comes weeks after a group of House Republicans pushed Johnson on a lawmaker-only call to reject any Senate-led legislation until the SAVE America Act was passed.

“If we’re going to go to war against our own party in the Senate, there may be implications to that,” Johnson said at one point, according to people on the call. “So we want to be thoughtful and careful.”

The letter notably did not make a carve-out for a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) funding bill, despite the White House assuring that Trump would make an exception for a spending bill to end the partial government shutdown.

Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, D-Ill., is facing online mockery after his Senate campaign’s election night watch party charged customers exorbitant prices for water, despite claiming to champion affordability issues.

Krishnamoorthi, a five-term House lawmaker, narrowly lost to Lt. Gov. Julianna Stratton, D-Ill., in a bruising Democratic primary Tuesday night. Krishnamoorthi supporters had to pay nearly $13 for water and $22 for a glass of wine at an event at a Chicago hotel while watching the returns come in.

Online observers noted the irony of the steep prices as Krishnamoorthi’s Senate campaign was one of the most prolific fundraisers in the country.

The congressman reported a haul of more than $30 million during the campaign, far outpacing nearly all Senate candidates across the country. Krishnamoorthi also benefited from the cryptocurrency industry’s main super PAC, Fairshake, spending aggressively in an attempt to take down Stratton.

PRITZKER FLEXES POLITICAL MUSCLE IN ILLINOIS SENATE PRIMARY AS 2028 BUZZ BUILDS

“Dude hired three pollsters (that we know of) and is still charging $13 for a water,” Democratic pollster Adam Carlson wrote on X.

“Thanks, volunteers, for working for me. Now pay $13 for water,” Republican strategist Collin Corbett wrote on social media. “I guess, based on how Raja treats his staff, this shouldn’t be surprising.”

“That’s worse than some stadium prices,” Politico Playbook wrote in response to the $13 water.

Even a popular Chicago bar account mocked the congressman’s cash bar prices.

“I’m professionally and personally horrified,” the account wrote. 

ESTABLISHMENT DEMOCRATS FEND OFF FAR-LEFT INFLUENCER IN PRIMARY TO SUCCEED REP JAN SCHAKOWSKY

Krishnamoorthi sought to aggressively brand himself as an affordability champion during the campaign. When asked by Chicago’s PBS station about the most pressing issue facing Illinois voters, Krishnamoorthi said rising costs.

“Life has become simply too expensive,” Krishnamoorthi said. “The cost of living has skyrocketed, opportunity has stalled, and it’s affecting every Illinoisan — whether they’re 8 years old or 80.

Democratic candidates nationwide are seeking to capitalize on voter unease about cost-of-living issues as the party seeks to flip control of Congress during November’s midterm elections.

Stratton’s watch party — held at a different Chicago venue — notably offered attendees an open bar. The event also offered attendees free sandwiches and sliders.

Fox News Digital reached out to Krishnamoorthi’s campaign for comment.

A new state audit investigating the massive fraud scandal in Gov. Tim Walz’s Minnesota revealed that the state’s Department of Human Services (DHS) failed for years to properly investigate Medicaid kickback allegations while incorrectly claiming that they did not have the authority to do so. 

The Office of the Legislative Auditor report released on Tuesday, titled “Department of Human Services Investigations of Alleged Kickbacks in the Early Intensive Developmental and Behavioral Intervention Program,” found that DHS’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) has long possessed the legal authority to pursue kickback cases independently, contradicting the agency’s own claims.

Instead, DHS officials operated under the belief that they could only investigate kickbacks if they were tied to other forms of fraud, such as billing abuse or theft, prompting a rebuke in the report.

“We disagree with DHS’s assertion that it did not have the authority to investigate allegations of kickbacks alone,” the report states. “Based on our analysis, DHS has had the authority to investigate allegations of kickbacks in MA since the late 1990s.”

TOP 5 WILDEST MOMENTS AS GOP LAWMAKERS CLASHED WITH WALZ, ELLISON IN HEATED FRAUD HEARING: ‘UNBELIEVABLE’

The audit found DHS declined to investigate three specific kickback allegations from 2021 to 2023 after concluding it lacked authority.

“In the three cases that we identified in this review, they did not refer any of the three cases to law enforcement or any other investigation agency,” Deputy Legislative Auditor Katherine Theisen said, according to KARE 11 News. She added that DHS also declined to flag the cases for further review.

The report also identified a decades-old error in DHS administrative rules that may have limited the agency’s ability to suspend payments during kickback investigations.

The Early Intensive Developmental and Behavioral Intervention (EIDBI) program, which provides autism services, has faced scrutiny over fraud risks as the program’s budget jumped from $3 million in 2018 to nearly $400 million in 2023.

Kickbacks were a key component of fraud schemes uncovered in the state’s autism services program, with prosecutors describing how providers used financial incentives to attract and retain families in order to maximize Medicaid billing, CBS News reported in December.

In one case, investigators said an autism center operator fraudulently billed millions while using tactics that included offering payments or benefits tied to enrollment, illustrating how kickbacks helped drive inflated claims and contributed to large-scale misuse of public funds intended for children with autism.

The audit recommended that DHS “should amend its administrative rule defining ‘fraud’ to clearly include kickbacks” and said the legislature should intervene if that doesn’t take place. 

MINNESOTA HUMAN SERVICES OFFICIALS SKIP FRAUD HEARING AS WALZ PROMISES REFORM

The department responded in a letter included in the report, saying, “We agree with the recommendation that fraud should be defined to more clearly include kickbacks.”

In a press release, Minnesota House Fraud Prevention Committee Chair Kristin Robbins, a Republican state representative running for governor, wrote, “The continued lack of accountability for the rampant fraud in this state is astounding.”

“DHS has been complicit in fraud because they have repeatedly failed to investigate credible allegations of fraud in multiple programs over many years. This OLA report provides the latest proof of their failure to provide proper oversight in the EIDBI (autism) program.”

Robbins added that “if DHS had corrected an error in its administrative rules, two other decades-old state law provisions would also have permitted DHS to suspend payments during an investigation for kickbacks.”

Fox News Digital reached out to Walz’s office for comment. 

The report’s findings quickly sparked outrage from conservatives on social media.

“The feds need to step in immediately,” Townhall columnist Dustin Grage posted on X.

“Despite claiming they had no authority, a new OLA report confirms DHS could investigate fraud in autism services,” Minnesota House Republicans posted on X. “The Walz administration didn’t act for years. How much did it cost Minnesotans?”

“Contrary to Walz administration claims, they have always had the legal authority to address kickback schemes,” Minnesota Republican State Rep. Walter Hudson posted on X. “They simply choose not to.”

A federal judge in Minnesota declined to step aside from an immigration-related case despite a conflict-of-interest challenge tied to his spouse’s legal work.

The U.S. Department of Justice plans to appeal the judge’s order, which called the government’s motion “improper, untimely, and lacking merit.”

Last week, the DOJ formally moved to disqualify U.S. District Judge Jeffrey Bryan, arguing his impartiality could reasonably be questioned because his wife serves as Minnesota’s solicitor general under Democrat Attorney General Keith Ellison and is leading a separate lawsuit against federal immigration enforcement actions at issue in Bryan’s courtroom.

In its filing, DOJ emphasized that federal law requires recusal when “a judge’s impartiality might reasonably be questioned,” noting the standard is meant to avoid even “the appearance of partiality” — noting that “public perceptions of partiality can undermine confidence in the courts.”

APPEALS COURT DISMISSES DOJ MISCONDUCT COMPLAINT AGAINST FEDERAL JUDGE

The motion pointed to significant overlap between the habeas case before Bryan and the state’s lawsuit led by his spouse, both of which challenge the legality of “Operation Metro Surge,” a large-scale federal immigration enforcement effort. 

According to the filing, both cases allege that federal agents conducted “warrantless arrests,” engaged in “racial profiling,” and “terrorized, assaulted, and harassed” individuals.

DOJ stressed that the issue is not whether Bryan is personally biased, but whether a reasonable observer could question his neutrality given the circumstances.

“The Court must consider whether the public might reasonably question Judge Bryan’s impartiality,” U.S. Attorney Daniel Rosen’s filing concluded.

The department also noted that Bryan “did not disclose his marriage relationship” to the parties, arguing that disclosure is a prerequisite for any waiver of potential conflicts under federal law.

READ THE ORDER ON MOTION FOR DISQUALIFICATION – APP USERS, CLICK HERE:

Judge Bryan denied the recusal request, allowing himself to remain on the case. The DOJ has indicated it will appeal that decision, setting up a potential higher court review of the recusal standards and their application in politically charged immigration litigation.

The dispute comes amid broader legal battles over Operation Metro Surge, which plaintiffs claim involved unconstitutional enforcement tactics, while federal officials have defended it as a lawful exercise of immigration authority.

Fox News’ David Spunt contributed to this report.

FIRST ON FOX: A top senator involved in slashing red tape will tout a plan requiring line-item proof of every federal tax dollar from entities that receive federal funding.

Sen. Joni Ernst said her move would guard against rampant fraud such as the slew of allegedly fake Minneapolis daycares, adding the measure could have helped prevent wasted taxpayer funds.

Ernst’s bill coincides with the White House announcing a state-federal anti-fraud task force led by Vice President JD Vance, which White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told Fox News is a “whole of government effort to fight fraud at the state and federal level” and fulfills another campaign promise.

CRUZ TARGETS MINNESOTA-STYLE FRAUD WITH BILL FORCING PROOF BEFORE FEDERAL CHILDCARE PAYOUTS

The COST (Cost Openness and Spending Transparency) Act will ensure every government agency lists every project it uses taxpayer money for, as Ernst prepares to lead a Senate Small Business Committee hearing featuring watchdogs like White Coat Waste and Open The Books.

“As I always say, if you can’t find waste in Washington, there can only be one reason – you didn’t look,” Ernst told Fox News Digital.

“But after years of fighting to hold Washington accountable, I’ve also learned that you can’t stop what you can’t see. That’s why this Sunshine Week, I’m leading the COST ACT to post the price on every single project the American public is footing the bill for,” she said.

FEDERAL FRAUD FACES SENATE SHOWDOWN AS THUNE TAPS ERNST TO LEAD REFORMS AFTER MINNESOTA SCANDAL

Under the COST Act, allegedly fraudulent businesses like Minneapolis daycares would be required to list all of their federal funding.

Such transparency would have exposed Minnesota fraudsters earlier, helping authorities catch scofflaws and alleged tax-dollar thieves.

The COST Act’s official purpose is “to put a public price tag on all projects supported with taxpayer dollars,” according to a copy obtained by Fox News Digital.

Any agency, individual or entity — including those within state and local governments and federal research grant recipients — must clearly report through a press release or other approved documentation any program or project carried out using federal funds, whether fully or in part.

The recipient of taxpayer funds must report the percentage of total costs covered by federal funds, the dollar amount, and the portion financed privately.

It then instructs the Office of Management and Budget — currently led by Director Russell Vought — to review a random sample of such recipients to enforce compliance and publicly report its findings.

A source familiar with the legislation added that the work of citizen journalists in Minneapolis who helped expose the “Quality Learning Center” and other allegedly fraudulent daycares and medical services companies inspired a new requirement to give civilians an outlet for their concerns.

Vought’s office would have one year to set up such a mechanism for anonymous reports of noncompliance, according to the bill.

“Calling taxpayers’ attention to how and where their hard-earned money is being spent exposes fraudulent spending, like what we saw at the Quality ‘Learing’ Center in Minnesota, so it can no longer fester in the shadows,” Ernst said on that account.

U.S. forces hammered Iran’s anti-ship missile sites near the Strait of Hormuz with 5,000-pound bunker buster bombs on Tuesday, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said.

The strikes near the Strait of Hormuz, the world’s most important oil choke point, come as Iran’s stranglehold over the vital waterway has grown concerns over the regime’s threats to oil tankers.

“Hours ago, U.S. forces successfully employed multiple 5,000-pound deep penetrator munitions on hardened Iranian missile sites along Iran’s coastline near the Strait of Hormuz,” CENTCOM posted Tuesday evening on X.

Deep GBU- 72 penetrator weapons, often referred to as bunker busters, are designed to cut through hardened or underground targets before detonating. The munition was first tested by the Air Force in 2021.

TRUMP SAYS MOST NATO ALLIES ‘DON’T WANT TO GET INVOLVED’ IN IRAN OPERATION, BUT US ‘NEVER’ NEEDED THEIR HELP

“The Iranian anti-ship cruise missiles in these sites posed a risk to international shipping in the strait,” the command said.

Most shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, a waterway for global oil and gas transport that supplies roughly one-fifth of the world’s crude oil, has been halted since early March, after the war started. About 20 vessels have been attacked in the area.

Oil prices have jumped more than 40% to above $100 per barrel since the Iran war began, and Iran has threatened it won’t allow “even a single liter of oil” destined for the U.S., Israel and their allies to pass through.

TRUMP WARNS NATO OF ‘VERY BAD’ FUTURE IF ALLIES DON’T HELP SECURE STRAIT OF HORMUZ

At least 89 ships crossed the Strait of Hormuz between March 1 and 15 — including 16 oil tankers, The Associated Press reported, citing Lloyd’s List Intelligence. The number of vessel passages per day was down from roughly 100 to 135 before the war, it said, with more than one-fifth of the 89 vessels believed to be Iran-affiliated and others being Chinese- and Greece-affiliated ships.

As crude prices spiked above $100 a barrel, President Donald Trump pressured allies and trade partners to send warships and reopen the strait, hoping to bring oil prices lower. No allies, however, have yet to commit.

“I think NATO’s making a very foolish mistake,” Trump said in the Oval Office on Tuesday when a reporter asked about getting America’s allies to assist the U.S. in escorting oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz. “And I’ve long said that, you know, I wonder whether or not NATO would ever be there for us.”

Trump added: “So this was a great test because we don’t need them, but they should have been there.”

The U.S. on Friday bombed military sites on Kharg Island off the Iranian coast, which is key for Iran’s oil network and exports, but Trump said he had left its oil infrastructure alone for now.

Fox News Digital’s Jasmine Baehr and The Associated Press contributed to this report.