Author: NOVA Corp

The Senate Banking Committee will vote Wednesday on President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Federal Reserve, Kevin Warsh, in a key test of how much influence the White House can exert over the central bank.

If he clears committee, Warsh’s nomination heads to the Senate floor, where Republicans’ narrow majority leaves little room for defections if they want to place Trump’s pick at the helm of the Fed for the next four years.

The Federal Reserve operates largely out of public view, but its influence touches nearly every corner of the U.S. economy — shaping borrowing costs, job growth and inflation, making the outcome of his nomination a key moment for how that power could be steered.

FROM MORTGAGES TO CAR LOANS: HOW AFFORDABILITY RISES AND FALLS WITH THE FED

Warsh’s potential ascent to lead the world’s most powerful central bank comes at a particularly volatile moment. The Federal Reserve is grappling with persisting inflation, economic ripples of the war in Iran and a looming Supreme Court decision over Fed Governor Lisa Cook — all while political pressure builds ahead of the midterm elections in November.

The path to a Senate Banking Committee vote on Warsh’s nomination was finally able to move forward after the Justice Department closed its probe into Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell after months of scrutiny.

Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., withheld support for moving forward with Warsh’s nomination until the DOJ probe was resolved. Trump pushed back on closing the investigation, further raising questions about governance and oversight at the central bank.

The probe was related to potential mismanagement of funds during renovations at the Federal Reserve’s headquarters in Washington, D.C. and it unfolded despite Powell’s term as chair ending next month.

Powell, breaking from his typically measured approach, called the Justice Department investigation “unprecedented” and framed it as part of Trump’s pressure campaign on the Fed to cut interest rates and his fiery rhetoric against the chairman for his refusal to cave to that pressure.

FEDERAL RESERVE CHAIR POWELL UNDER CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION OVER HQ RENOVATION

In March, Powell told reporters he has “no intention of leaving” the central bank until the DOJ investigation is “fully resolved with transparency and finality.”

His term as Fed chair is set to end May 15, though he is eligible to remain on the Federal Reserve Board of Governors for an additional two-year term. The Federal Reserve Board of Governors, known as the Fed board, consists of seven members nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate, who help set interest rate policy and oversee the central bank’s operations.

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Warsh has already signaled a clear break from the central bank’s current approach regardless of whether Powell remains at the Federal Reserve beyond his chairmanship.

In testimony before lawmakers on April 21, Warsh pledged to keep monetary policy “strictly independent” and said he intended to keep the central bank “in its lane,” warning that the Fed has become too involved in social policy.

He has also taken aim at what he sees as a complacent central bank, warning that large institutions are prone to inertia and that clinging to the “status quo” in a fast-moving economy is not just outdated, but dangerous.

At the same time, he has signaled openness to closer coordination with elected leaders and work with the White House and Congress on nonmonetary matters — an approach that could reshape how the Fed operates in Washington.

How that balance is struck could define not only Warsh’s tenure, but the future direction of the institution that plays a major role in the financial lives of millions of Americans.

The Supreme Court on Wednesday will weigh the legality of President Donald Trump‘s bid to revoke temporary legal status for hundreds of thousands of migrants living and working temporarily in the U.S. — a closely watched court fight with possible far-reaching ramifications.

At issue in Mullin v. Doe is the Trump administration’s effort to revoke Temporary Protected Status (TPS) designations for some 350,000 migrants from Haiti and roughly 7,000 migrants from Syria. TPS grants individuals from certain countries temporary legal status to live and work in the U.S. if their home countries are deemed by the U.S. to be unsafe to return to, due to a disaster, armed conflict or other “extraordinary and temporary conditions.”

The Supreme Court agreed last month to review the two consolidated cases, and took the somewhat unusual step of granting “certiorari before judgment” — or, reviewing the case on its merits before federal appeals courts reviewed the lower district rulings. A ruling could come as early as this summer.

Trump’s efforts to end TPS are not new. The administration has moved to revoke TPS designations for 13 countries since last January, and the arguments themselves are expected to focus closely not on the merits of individual designations under TPS, but the power of the courts to review the designations.

A ruling from the high court could therefore have much more widespread ramifications, not only for the TPS holders from Haiti and Syria, but for the more than 1.3 million migrants currently living in the U.S. under the temporary legal program.

BIDEN-APPOINTED FEDERAL JUDGE RULES TRUMP’S ‘THIRD COUNTRY’ DEPORTATION POLICY IS UNCONSTITUTIONAL

Trump has sought to unwind TPS designations, arguing they have been extended for far too long under former administrations, including under former President Joe Biden.

Lawyers for the Trump administration urged the Supreme Court in March to consolidate two lower court cases seeking to overturn orders that blocked the administration from immediately revoking the temporary protected status designations for Syrian and Haitian migrants. 

Solicitor General D. John Sauer urged the court to review more broadly the question of whether the Trump administration can revoke TPS without interagency review, citing a portion of the provision that states there “is no judicial review of any determination” of the DHS secretary “with respect to the designation, or termination or extension of a designation, of a foreign state.” 

In the administration’s view, he said, that means that these cases, “directed at a specific TPS designation, termination, or extension,” are “unreviewable.”

SUPREME COURT SIGNALS IT MAY LIMIT KEY VOTING RIGHTS ACT RULE

“Unless the court resolves the merits of these challenges — issues that have now been ventilated in courts nationwide — this unsustainable cycle will repeat again and again, spawning more competing rulings and competing views of what to make of this court’s interim orders,” Sauer said. “This court should break that cycle.”

The case sets up a broader legal fight over how much authority district courts have to block immigration decisions made by the executive branch.

Haitians were first granted TPS status in 2010 after the devastating earthquake that killed more than 200,000 people and left some 1.5 million in the country homeless.

Both U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes and U.S. District Judge Katherine Polk Failla blocked Trump’s bid to end TPS for Haitian and Syrian nationals, respectively, earlier this year.

Reyes ruled that it was “substantially likely” that then-DHS Secretary Kristi Noem had ended the Haitian TPS designation “because of hostility to nonwhite immigrants,” and said she failed to consult with other agencies as required under the APA.

SCOTUS TO REVIEW TRUMP EXECUTIVE ORDER ON BIRTHRIGHT CITIZENSHIP

Failla’s ruling said much of the same, noting that the administration’s efforts to end TPS applied not only to Syrian migrants but for individuals from “virtually every country that has come up for consideration.”

Trump officials have taken aim at district courts that have sought to block or pause their efforts to wind down TPS protections, accusing the judges of exceeding their authority and unlawfully intruding on the executive branch’s authority, especially when it comes to immigration policy.

A Supreme Court ruling on the consolidated cases, expected by early summer, could determine how far the current and future administrations can go in scaling back humanitarian immigration programs.

The North Carolina State Board of Elections identified approximately 34,000 dead people on the state’s voter rolls following a comprehensive data comparison with a federal database.

Earlier this month, the NCSBE submitted over 7.3 million voter records to the federal Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) database as part of an initiative to strengthen the accuracy and integrity of the state’s voter registration list. The NCSBE clarified that the identification of deceased individuals on the state’s voter rolls does not necessarily indicate illegal votes were cast.

“While we expected to find some cases, this is higher than we anticipated,” Sam Hayes, the executive director of the State Board of Elections, said in a press release. 

“The benefit of entering into cross-state and federal database checks is that it allows us to uncover issues like this. Our goal is to use every available and legal tool at our disposal to achieve the most accurate voter rolls possible,” he continued. “Now, we must roll up our sleeves and begin the hard work to act of verifying that every person registered to vote in North Carolina is eligible. Our team, along with our state and federal will do what’s necessary to meet this responsibility.”

TRUMP DOJ DEMANDS MINNESOTA VOTING RECORDS OVER SAME-DAY REGISTRATION ‘VOUCHING’ CONCERNS

The discovery came amid the agency’s ongoing effort to verify the citizenship status of voters, which the NCSBE voted along party lines earlier this month to do after facing lawsuits from the Trump administration for allegedly failing to maintain an accurate voter list.

The NCSBE said it will work with county boards of elections to remove the names from the voter rolls.

Federal law requires states to remove from their voter rolls people who are ineligible for reasons such as being deceased and North Carolina already has a process of biennial list maintenance to remove ineligible voters from its roles, according to Dr. Andy Jackson, Director of the Civitas Center for Public Integrity at the John Locke Foundation, who indicated that the state removed 500,000 ineligible voters through this program in 2025. 

However, as Jackson points out for deceased voters, it can take 8 to 10 years for their names to be removed.

“Working with the SAVE database has already helped improve” North Carolina’s list maintenance system, Jackson added, calling the system “crucial.”

ELECTION PROBE TARGETS ‘UNUSUAL’ REPORTS IN WAKE OF VIRGINIA REDISTRICTING REFERENDUM: AFPI

The second Trump administration has increased oversight and investigations into election integrity matters, including through updates to the SAVE program last year.

The Trump administration has also launched a nationwide push to obtain full statewide voter-registration lists and list-maintenance records, suing those states failing to comply. The Justice Department has sued at least 30 states and the District of Columbia to try to force the release of the data, according to the Associated Press.

The Republican National Committee’s official election integrity account on X said that the findings in North Carolina “is EXACTLY” why the Trump administration is forcing states to clean up their voter rolls.

“Turns out checking state voter rolls against federal records actually helps keep them more accurate. Who knew?” quipped Ohio Secretary of State and candidate for Ohio Auditor of State Frank LaRose.

The Pentagon has formally asked for congressional approval to codify its “Department of War” moniker, estimating it will cost taxpayers around $52 million.

The estimate from the Pentagon is significantly lower than what the Congressional Budget Office projected in January, when it estimated the rebranding could cost as much as $125 million if it were adopted “broadly and rapidly” throughout the department.

The Pentagon claimed the change, which includes renaming the Secretary of Defense to the Secretary of War, would have no “significant impact” on President Donald Trump’s fiscal 2027 defense budget request because most implementation costs will be absorbed during the current 2026 fiscal year.

The “actual costs are being collected during implementation and will be available” once the current fiscal year’s execution of the name change is completed, according to the department.

HAWLEY, WARREN TEAM UP TO BACK UP TRUMP, CRACK DOWN ON DEFENSE CONTRACTOR PAYOUTS

In its legislative proposal, the Pentagon said roughly $52 million is expected to be used, including $44.6 million for the Defense Agencies and the department’s field activities, $3.5 million for the military departments, $3 million for Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth’s office and Washington Headquarters Services, $400,000 for the Joint Staff, Combatant Commands and National Guard Bureau.

“The revision to the designation of the Department serves as a fundamental reminder of the importance and reverence of our core mission, to fight and win wars,” the proposal reads. “It serves as a strategic objective in which to measure and prioritize all activities.”

The request to rebrand the department would make around 7,600 changes to federal law. The Pentagon has already changed its website and social media accounts to reflect the rebranding, and Hegseth’s nameplate on his office door already reads, “Secretary of War.”

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This comes after Trump signed an executive order in the fall to rename the Department of Defense to the Department of War, a move that sparked criticism but that some anti-war advocates argued was more fitting for an administration they say is eager to wage war.

“The name change really does help highlight how rogue, unconstitutional, and unlawful the president’s actions are,” former Rep. Justin Amash, a Republican turned Libertarian, wrote on X in September.

But some of Trump’s Republican allies in Congress have signaled support for the name change, with Rep. Greg Steube, R-Fla., and Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, introducing legislation in their respective chambers seeking to codify the rebranding.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the aisle, Democrats have criticized the Pentagon’s request to codify the moniker, as lawmakers begin hashing out the fiscal 2027 defense policy bill.

“The American people can’t afford groceries, gas, or rent — and the Pentagon has ALREADY wasted $50 million on renaming the Department of Defense to the Department of War. Now they want more money,” Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., wrote on X.

The Department of War was established in 1789 by President George Washington. It was later replaced by the National Military Establishment in 1947, which was redesignated as the Department of Defense in 1949.

FIRST ON FOX: The Department of Homeland Security called out the legacy media for characterizing the perpetrator of a recent Wisconsin machete attack as a “Green Bay man” when he is actually an illegal alien from Nicaragua.

Fox News Digital has learned that David Joel Herrera-Garcia, 24, who is charged with two counts of attempted murder, aggravated assault and armed burglary, is an illegal immigrant who was marked as a “non-enforcement priority” by the Biden administration, according to DHS.

Herrera-Garcia’s charges stem from an alleged break-in and machete attack at the home of his ex-girlfriend. Citing local reports, DHS said the Green Bay police responding to an emergency call discovered bloodied female and male victims in the early morning of April 20. The agency said that police on the scene found blood “all over the concrete” leading up to the house. The woman, Herrera-Garcia’s 23-year-old ex-girlfriend, identified him as the attacker, and he was arrested later that morning.

DHS has lodged an immigration detainer for Herrera-Garcia for the Brown County Jail to turn him over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for possible deportation. The agency commented that “despite the legacy media calling Herrera-Garcia a ‘Green Bay man,’ he is in fact an illegal alien from Nicaragua.”

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“Yet again, legacy media has gone to bat for a vicious criminal illegal alien allowed by the Biden administration to roam our streets and prey upon innocent people,” remarked Acting Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis in a statement shared with Fox News Digital.

The agency said that Herrera-Garcia allegedly used a key to enter his ex-girlfriend’s home before proceeding to beat her and repeatedly stab her and a man with a machete.

Officers responding to the emergency call applied tourniquets to the victims, who were transported to a hospital. The female victim suffered a head injury and lacerations on her hand and neck. The male victim, whose age was not given, sustained wounds on his shoulder, forearm and shin.

According to DHS, Herrera-Garcia entered the country illegally in Texas as a minor with his father in 2019. He was given a final order of removal in 2022 after he failed to appear at his immigration hearings. However, the agency said that in the final days of the Biden administration, ICE used its prosecutorial discretion to label Herrera-Garcia as a “non-enforcement priority.” The agency said that ICE under former President Joe Biden chose not to take him into custody following an arrest by local law enforcement on charges of driving without a license.

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“The Biden administration marked this criminal illegal alien as a non-enforcement priority,” said Bis.

“This is not a ‘Green Bay man.’ This is a criminal illegal alien from Nicaragua who barbarically attacked two people with a machete,” she added. “Under President Trump’s leadership, ICE lodged an arrest detainer with our local authorities to ensure this monster is never released back into our communities.”

This comes amid heightened scrutiny on jurisdictions across the country with sanctuary policies limiting cooperation with ICE.

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Bis has previously slammed sanctuary politicians, saying that “at every step on the way to make America safe again,” they “have tried to slow ICE down and chosen to release criminals from their jails into our communities to perpetrate more crimes and create more victims.”

Fox News Digital reached out to the Brown County Sheriff’s Office and to spokespeople for Biden for comment.

Legal questions are emerging over whether charges against former FBI Director James Comey would withstand a First Amendment challenge as he is indicted for a social media post allegedly tied to threats against President Donald Trump.

Comey faced charges Tuesday under 18 U.S.C. § 871, which criminalizes threats against the president, and 18 U.S.C. § 875(c), which covers interstate communications containing threats to harm others. 

George Washington University law professor Jonathan Turley told Fox News Digital just before the indictment was released that, if the case is based solely on the widely circulated image posted by Comey, it could face steep constitutional hurdles.  

“If Comey is charged for the shell picture, it would face a monumental challenge under the First Amendment,” Turley said. “In my view, the image itself is clearly protected speech. Absent some other unknown facts or elements, it would be unlikely to survive a threshold constitutional challenge.”

JAMES COMEY INDICTED AGAIN IN NEW JUSTICE DEPARTMENT PROBE

Both statutes require prosecutors to prove not only that a statement constituted a “true threat,” but that it was made knowingly and with intent, standards that legal analysts say could prove difficult to meet based on publicly available information. 

The indictment was filed Tuesday in the Eastern District of North Carolina, where Comey allegedly posted the image of seashells forming the numbers “86 47” during a beach walk. 

Others pushed back on the idea that the case raises significant First Amendment concerns, arguing that threats against a sitting president fall squarely outside protected speech.

“The third assassination attempt against President Trump on Saturday made this crystal clear: The Justice Department must prosecute those who threaten to assassinate the president,” said Mike Davis, founder of the Article III Project. 

“No one has a First Amendment right to do this. No one is above the law, especially not a former director of the FBI who should know better. A jury of James Comey’s peers will decide his fate.”

That argument comes amid heightened concerns about threats against Trump after a shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner. A suspect has been charged with attempting to assassinate the president.

Prosecutors allege that the post would be interpreted by a “reasonable recipient familiar with the circumstances” as a serious expression of intent to harm the president, signaling they intend to rely heavily on context surrounding the message rather than explicit language alone.

The U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina, W. Ellis Boyle, will oversee the case. Boyle was appointed in 2025 and sworn in by his father, a longtime federal judge in the district, after being selected for the role by then-Attorney General Pam Bondi.

The indictment marks the second time Comey has been charged during the second Trump administration. 

In 2025, he was indicted on charges of making false statements to Congress and obstructing a congressional proceeding tied to his testimony in the FBI’s Russia probe. That case was later dismissed after a federal judge ruled the prosecutor in the case had been unlawfully appointed.

Comey, who served as FBI director from 2013 to 2017, has long been a polarizing figure in U.S. politics, drawing criticism from both parties over his handling of the Clinton email investigation and the FBI’s probe into Russian interference in the 2016 election and potential links between Trump’s campaign and Moscow. 

He was fired by Trump in 2017 amid escalating tensions tied in part to the Russia investigation.

SOCIAL MEDIA ERUPTS AS RESURFACED AG JAMES POSTS COME BACK TO HAUNT HER: ‘NO ONE IS ABOVE THE LAW’

The expected charges stem from a social media post in which Comey shared an image of seashells arranged to form the numbers “86 47,” which some critics interpreted as a coded threat against Trump. The post drew swift backlash and prompted an investigation.

Comey later said he did not intend the image to be interpreted as a call for violence.

“I posted earlier a picture of some shells I saw today on a beach walk, which I assumed were a political message. I didn’t realize some folks associate those numbers with violence. It never occurred to me but I oppose violence of any kind so I took the post down.”

His explanation could complicate prosecutors’ efforts to establish intent, a key element required under both statutes.

Comey’s attorney could not immediately be reached for comment.

A California Democrat is facing backlash after hosting a Hamas-associated group at his office on Capitol Hill last week.

Rep. Derek Tran welcomed a group of leaders from the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) as part of the “National Muslim Advocacy Day,” an annual lobbying event organized by Muslim advocacy groups.

CAIR, the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights organization, was recently designated as a terrorist organization by the state of Texas and Florida following accusations that the group supported funding for Hamas. The group has since filed defamatory lawsuits against Governors Greg Abbott and Ron DeSantis.

Among those in attendance Wednesday was Hussam Ayloush, executive director of CAIR’s Los Angeles chapter, who has previously drawn criticism over comments about Israel, including a past statement in which he said “Israel should be attacked.”

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“Proud to welcome folks from the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) for an important conversation about fighting Islamophobia and defending civil rights for every member of our community,” Tran said in a post on X Wednesday. 

“In a short time, Rep. Derek Tran has earned the respect of many in his district,” Ayloush said in a separate post.

Social media users quickly flooded Tran’s post, condemning his support for CAIR. 

“Literally hosting terrorists,” one user said. 

The event comes after CAIR said it helped amplify Tran’s bid for the seat representing parts of Orange County and Los Angeles County in his narrow 2024 victory over Republican Michelle Steel.

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CAIR has long been accused of taking anti-Israel positions.

After the Oct. 7 Hamas attack against Israel, CAIR’s Los Angeles leader Ayloush said it was a myth that Israel has the right to defend itself.

“An occupier never has the right to defend itself,” Ayloush said at a 2023 event at the Islamic Society of Orange County. “The only ones who have the right to defend themselves are the occupied, in this case, the Palestinian people.”

“Israel should be attacked,” he added. “If you continue to occupy people’s land every means according to international law to defend and resist the occupation is within your hand.”

Other leaders at CAIR have echoed similar messages.

CAIR’s executive director, Nihad Awad, reportedly applauded the Oct. 7 attack, according to nonprofit Middle East Media and Research Institute (MEMRI).

“I was happy to see the people of Gaza break the siege on October 7,” he said. “They were victorious. The people of Gaza have the right to self-defense. Israel does not.”  

In 2007, CAIR was named an unindicted co-conspirator in the Holy Land Foundation (HLF) trial, where five members of the HLF were convicted of conspiracy to funnel $12.4 million to Hamas in the early 2000s.

FBI Director Kash Patel says a trip to Italy that raised questions earlier in 2026 helped set the stage for the arrest of a Chinese national accused of hacking U.S. COVID-19 research. 

Xu Zewei is now in U.S. custody after what Patel described as a coordinated operation with Italian authorities, marking a rare case in which an alleged state-linked hacker has been extradited to face charges in the United States.

Xu was extradited from Italy in recent days and faces federal charges tied to a 2020–2021 cyber campaign that prosecutors say targeted sensitive research, including work related to COVID-19 treatments and vaccines.

Patel told Fox News Digital in an interview the bureau was able to “directly tie” Xu to China’s Ministry of State Security and its Shanghai bureau, though additional details remain classified pending declassification.

FBI DIRECTOR KASH PATEL SAYS BUREAU RAMPING UP AI TO COUNTER DOMESTIC, GLOBAL THREATS

Patel said the arrest was the result of a carefully coordinated effort with Italian authorities led by Prefect Vittorio Pisani of the Italian National Police, carried out within a narrow window before additional legal challenges could delay the suspect’s extradition.

Officials from both countries worked to ensure Xu would be in Italy, and “we created an opportunity with our partners in Italy to have him apprehended there,” Patel said.

Patel told Fox News Digital the trip, which the FBI said included meetings with Italian law enforcement and Olympic security coordination, also helped lay the groundwork for the arrest. He faced criticism at the time after being seen attending Olympic events, with questions raised about whether the travel was primarily official.

Patel described the suspect as “one of the top two cyber criminals in the world for China,” alleging he played a key role in hacking efforts aimed at American universities, immunologists and virologists during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We were able to bring him to Houston for prosecution, which is most of what I was doing when people said I was on vacation in Italy,” Patel said.  

Xu allegedly reported to Chinese intelligence officials after compromising a U.S.-based research university in early 2020, according to the indictment, and allegedly was directed to access email accounts belonging to virologists and immunologists studying COVID-19. 

Patel said Chinese officials sought to intervene in recent days to prevent Xu’s extradition from Italy.

Timing was critical, according to Patel, who pointed to past cases where suspected Chinese operatives were able to avoid extradition. 

In one instance in 2025, he said, a Chinese national detained in Serbia was ultimately returned to China despite U.S. efforts to secure custody.

Authorities allege Xu and his co-conspirators targeted U.S.-based universities, immunologists and virologists working on COVID-19 during the height of the pandemic, gaining access to email accounts and sensitive research.

But the Justice Department has not publicly detailed the specific data allegedly exfiltrated, including whether it included proprietary vaccine formulas, clinical trial data or internal communications between researchers.

Patel said the operation was “specifically engineered at a time when our adversaries were looking to hurt us during COVID,” adding that the suspect targeted research tied to treatments and vaccines.

Prosecutors also allege Xu was involved in exploiting vulnerabilities in Microsoft Exchange Server, a widely used email system, as part of the broader “HAFNIUM” hacking campaign that compromised thousands of computers worldwide, including more than 12,000 organizations in the United States.

The indictment also describes how Chinese intelligence services allegedly rely on private contractors to carry out cyber operations, allowing the government to obscure its direct involvement.

Among the alleged victims was a law firm with offices in Washington, D.C., where prosecutors say attackers searched email accounts for information related to U.S. policymakers and government agencies.

Xu’s alleged co-conspirator, who was also charged in the case, remains at large.

Patel declined to discuss specifics about the broader network but said China’s Ministry of State Security continues to actively target the United States through cyber operations.

“The MSS is always a target of this FBI’s. They’re always operating whether it’s to steal our classified information, our nation’s research and scientific information, or anything they can use to embarrass us or leverage against us,” Patel said. “They’re going to keep doing it.”

CHINESE SCHOLARS CHARGED WITH SMUGGLING BIOLOGICAL MATERIALS INTO US UNDER RESEARCH COVER

Patel said the FBI has made countering Chinese espionage a top priority, pointing to a sharp increase in arrests tied to Beijing-linked activity.

“We’ve arrested more Chinese spies than any FBI before me,” he said. 

Patel signaled that efforts to identify and prosecute individuals tied to similar operations are ongoing.

“It’s a priority threat and it’s going to continue to be that way,” he said.

The Chinese embassy did not immediately respond to a request for comment. 

Republicans stifled Senate Democrats’ attempt to prevent President Donald Trump from bringing military action close to home before any action has actually been taken by the administration.

Democrats failed to advance a forward-looking war powers resolution that would handcuff Trump’s ability to use military force against Cuba, which lies roughly 90 miles from the coast of Florida.

The move was spurred by his recent comments that once the U.S. was finished in Iran, it would make moves on the island nation.

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“All my life I’ve been hearing about the United States and Cuba — when will the United States do it? I do believe I’ll be the honor, having the honor of taking Cuba,” Trump said in March.

The resolution, introduced by Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., would require the removal of forces from within or around Cuba and considers the “use of the United States Coast Guard and other components of the Armed Forces to conduct a blockade or quarantine of Cuba” a hostile act that would require Congress’ approval.

Still, Trump has not taken action on Cuba while the U.S. is engaged in the war in Iran.

SENATE GOP BLOCKS FIFTH DEM BID TO END TRUMP’S IRAN WAR AS DIVISIONS GROW

Kaine’s war powers resolution marked a momentary departure from Democrats’ quest to rein in Trump’s authority in the Middle East. Republicans have so far batted down five attempts to cease hostilities in the region.

When asked by Fox News Digital if he was surprised that most Republicans had stayed in line, save for Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., Kaine said, “You gotta ask Republicans about their position.”

“There are many saying that the 60-day time frame is relevant to them,” Kaine said. “We’ll see that because we’ll have an Iran war vote close to the 60-day [deadline] by the end of this week.”

‘ILLEGALS FIRST’: SENATE REPUBLICANS BLAST SCHUMER’S GAMBIT TO FORCE VOTE ON PROTECTING HAITIAN MIGRANTS

Support for that conflict, while still holding out among most Senate Republicans, is growing strained by the day as the 60-day deadline for Congress to weigh in under the War Powers Resolution Act is set to hit this week.

At least three Senate Republicans — Susan Collins of Maine, Thom Tillis of North Carolina, and John Curtis of Utah — said they wouldn’t extend Trump’s war in the region after 60 days. And Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, is working on an Authorization for the Use of Military Force (AUMF) for lawmakers to weigh in on the conflict.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., argued that Republicans should “do Trump a favor” by joining Democrats to block future engagements with Cuba without congressional approval.

“The last thing working Americans need right now is another war, let alone one that’s 90 miles south of the United States,” Schumer said on the Senate floor. “Republicans must get out in front of a looming catastrophe in Cuba before it gets even worse, as they should have done with Trump’s war in Iran.”

As Democrats and Republicans clash over escalating political rhetoric in the wake of Saturday night’s White House Correspondents’ Dinner shooting, Rep. Jared Moskowitz, D-Fla., is urging leaders on both sides to “bring the temperature down.”

The call for cooler rhetoric comes after Cole Allen, 31, of Torrance, Calif., allegedly stormed the lobby of the Washington Hilton hotel during the White House Correspondents’ Dinner and opened fire.

“It’s an opportunity, in my opinion, for everyone to bring the temperature down,” Moskowitz told Fox News Digital. “If we do the finger pointing, then the temperature’s never going to come down…We’re like high schoolers.”

Allen, who was armed with a shotgun, handgun and knives, was apprehended by the Secret Service as hundreds of journalists and Cabinet officials were escorted out of the hotel.

DEMOCRATS SILENT ON PAST RHETORIC TOWARD TRUMP CABINET MEMBER AFTER FOILED ASSASSINATION PLOT

“The rhetoric on both sides, for a while now, has been elevated, and listen, the president has had a part of that,” Moskowitz said. “He’s had responsibility in the rhetoric, and he should own that. His tweets exist. There’s a reality of that.”

Allen, who appeared in federal court Monday, is facing charges of attempting to assassinate the president of the United States, transporting a firearm across state lines and discharging a firearm during a crime of violence.

Authorities said the suspect sent a written manifesto to members of his family outlining his intent to target Trump and other Cabinet officials before the alleged shooting.

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“The manifesto doesn’t sound much different than all of the talking heads on every liberal news station,” Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., said.

This would mark another assassination attempt targeting President Trump after two in 2024, when he was shot in the ear at a campaign rally in Butler, Pa., and later targeted at his Florida golf course.

“You got psycho-frickin’ leftists trying to assassinate President Trump once again… the violence is always on their side,” Boebert said. “It is disgusting, and it needs to end, period.”

She said that President Trump’s plan for a ballroom addition to the White House is a necessary security measure.

“I want the ballroom built,” she said. “This is a national security issue at this time, and it needs to be built.”

She added these incidents are part of a larger pattern. In September, Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk was assassinated while speaking at Utah Valley University as part of his “American Comeback Tour.”

“Look what they did to Charlie Kirk, a man that wanted to sit down and have a conversation,” Boebert said. “They hated him so much, their rhetoric caused him to be assassinated. One of their liberal freaks assassinated him. This only happens with liberals,” Boebert said.

In a news conference on Monday, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters a “left-wing cult of hatred” was to blame for the violence.

PATTERN OF LEFTIST VIOLENCE GROWS AS TRUMP NEARS 10 MONTHS IN OFFICE

Leavitt slammed ABC late-night host Jimmy Kimmel for his recent comment that the first lady had the “glow of an expectant widow.”

“Who in their right mind says a wife would be glowing over the potential murder of her beloved husband?” she said. “And having experienced what I did with the first lady on Saturday night, I can tell you she was anything but that.”

Multiple Democrats have also rejected far-left streamer Hasan Piker amid scrutiny of his political rhetoric. Piker pushed back, calling those condemning him “propagandists for the state of Israel.”

“I do reject people on my side, or trying to be on my side, like Hasan Piker, who’s advocating for senators to be killed and saying things like, ‘we deserve 9/11.’ He’s not a Democrat. He doesn’t belong in the Democratic Party,” Moskowitz said.

However, he said Americans “don’t believe” either side is blameless.

“The American people don’t believe that and it’s why our poll numbers for both sides are in the tubes,” Moskowitz said.

Fox News Digital attempted to ask Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., about the shooting and rising political violence, but she ignored the questions.

The motive for the shooting remains under investigation.