Category: USA Politics

Steve Descano, the George Soros-backed prosecutor in Fairfax County, Virginia, will make his first Capitol Hill appearance next month as House Republicans press him on the county’s immigration policies following a murder tied to a repeat illegal immigrant offender.

​​Descano and Fairfax County Sheriff Stacey Kincaid are set to appear May 14 before the House Judiciary Committee’s immigration subcommittee, according to letters provided to Fox News Digital confirming their participation. The hearing, titled “Fairfax County, Virginia: The Dangerous Consequences of Sanctuary Policies,” will examine whether the county’s policy limiting cooperation with federal immigration authorities threatens public safety.

The hearing will put new federal scrutiny on Descano and Fairfax County’s limits on cooperation with immigration authorities as Republicans argue the county’s policies and prosecutorial decisions helped allow accused killer Abdul Jalloh — whom DHS says had been arrested 30 times — to remain free before Stephanie Minter’s fatal stabbing.

Minter’s case spurred the federal oversight and calls for legislative reforms, and Minter’s family is now also backing a recall effort against Descano that could threaten his tenure, according to local reporting.

ANGEL MOM, GOP BLAME SPANBERGER AFTER ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT WITH 30 ARRESTS CHARGED IN KILLING 

Descano has previously testified in state-level legislative hearings, including before the Virginia Senate Judiciary Committee, but the May 14 hearing would mark his first known appearance before a congressional committee.

“CA Descano is looking forward to the opportunity to discuss Fairfax’s record as one of the safest large jurisdictions in the country,” Descano’s office told Fox News Digital on Monday when asked about his upcoming testimony. 

Upon first announcing the hearing in April, prior to the committee confirming Descano’s attendance and a finalized date, Republican leaders said Descano’s testimony would help inform possible reforms targeting sanctuary jurisdictions.

The scrutiny was driven largely by the murder of Minter, a Fredericksburg mother who was stabbed to death at a Fairfax County bus stop earlier this year. Her alleged killer, Sierra Leone national Abdul Jalloh, is an illegal immigrant with a lengthy criminal history whose prior encounters with law enforcement had raised concerns. 

Fairfax County police had also previously warned Descano’s office multiple times, including last year, about Jalloh’s potential for violence, including one officer who cautioned in an email that it was “not a question of if, but rather when he will maliciously wound (or worse) again.”

Despite those warnings, prosecutors dropped multiple charges against Jalloh, allowing him to remain free. Department of Homeland Security authorities said Jalloh had been arrested 30 times, including for violent offenses, before targeting Minter.

ILLEGAL ALIEN MURDER SUSPECT AVOIDED SYSTEM AS ICE PUSHES DEM GOVERNOR TO KEEP HIM LOCKED UP

Descano has also faced criticism for his broader posture on immigration after campaigning on what he said was a two-tiered justice system that disadvantaged noncitizens, who could also see deportation as a consequence for their crimes.

Descano, for his part, has received more than $600,000 in campaign support from the Justice and Public Safety PAC, a committee primarily funded by Democratic megadonor George Soros that supports progressive prosecutors, according to public records.

DHS and House Republicans have also pointed to Fairfax County plea deals involving noncitizens, including a high-profile 2024 murder case where two defendants received five-year sentences, which they linked to Descano’s avoidance of immigration-related outcomes.

Kincaid, who will also testify, has drawn separate scrutiny for declining to honor Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainers and instead requiring judicial warrants before transferring inmates to federal custody once they leave local jails, a policy federal officials have said conflicts with how ICE operates.

Obama-era CIA Director John Brennan called for President Donald Trump to be removed from office, joining a growing list of Democrats who say Trump’s Truth Social posts threatening Iran were unlawful.

Brennan, who is currently under investigation by the Justice Department, appeared on MS NOW for an interview with Ali Velshi. He said that the 25th Amendment, which establishes the protocol to remove the president, “was written with Donald Trump in mind.”

“Allowing someone like this to continue to be the commander in chief and to control the tremendous capabilities of the U.S. military, including our nuclear weapons capability, which he seemed to allude to when he said he’s going to just eliminate a entire civilization,” Brennan said. “Again, we really are in very, very troubling times.”

More than 70 lawmakers are calling for the 25th Amendment to be invoked against Trump following a slew of threats he made on Truth Social toward Iran regarding reopening the Strait of Hormuz.

TRUMP IRAN THREAT SPARKS CALLS FOR HIS OUSTER, BUT ONE DEM SAYS EFFORT ‘NOT REALISTIC’

The president made his first threat on Easter Sunday, giving Iran a deadline of Tuesday, April 7, at 8 p.m. Hours before the deadline, Trump posted on Truth Social that “a whole civilization will die tonight.”

“I don’t want that to happen, but it probably will,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

Right before the deadline, Trump announced that the United States and Iran had reached a two-week ceasefire agreement. But after negotiations in Pakistan this weekend, Trump announced on Truth Social Sunday that the U.S. Navy will begin to block all ships entering and exiting the Strait of Hormuz beginning Monday.

Since the start of the Iran war, Brennan has been publicly outspoken in his criticism of Trump’s handling of the conflict. He’s been a regular on MS NOW, suggesting a month ago that Trump is “flailing” and “clueless” about handling the war.

Notably, the Justice Department launched an investigation into Brennan in July 2025, stemming from allegations that Brennan improperly handled a 2017 Intelligence Community Assessment, which found that Russia was seeking to influence the 2016 presidential election in Trump’s favor. 

The 2017 Intelligence Community Assessment included the Steele dossier, a debunked collection of memos alleging Trump colluded with Russia, but Brennan testified before Congress that the document “was not in any way used as a basis for the Intelligence Community assessment that was done.” House Republicans alleged that Brennan had lied in his 2023 Judiciary Committee testimony by denying that the CIA used the Steele dossier in preparing the assessment. The DOJ investigation is ongoing. 

Lawyers for Brennan said they have been informed he is a target of the investigation but have not been told of any “legally justifiable basis for undertaking this investigation,” according to The Associated Press.

Brennan also previously pushed back on the allegations of wrongdoing, including claims from Trump and his allies that Brennan helped promote a “contrived narrative” that Russia interfered in the 2016 election to benefit Trump, which became central to the FBI’s Russia collusion investigation of Trump’s 2016 campaign. 

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, told Fox News that the DOJ probe is “heating up” last month in an appearance on “Hannity” and predicted that Brennan would soon face “accountability.” 

Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment.

Senate Republicans are moving to fast-track funding for immigration enforcement without any Democratic support as a partial Department of Homeland Security (DHS) shutdown stretches into its second month.

The upper chamber returns to Washington, D.C., on Monday, and the GOP already has its plan in motion to bypass Democrats’ blockade of funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP).

With President Donald Trump’s blessing, they are using the budget reconciliation process to front-load funding for immigration enforcement for the remainder of his presidency. Taking that route doesn’t require any Democratic votes, but Republicans will have to put aside any differences they have if they want the legislation to work.

SENATE GOP VOWS TO ‘GO IT ALONE’ ON ICE FUNDING AS DEMS DOUBLE DOWN ON SHUTDOWN

Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso, R-Wyo., and Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., who chairs the committee that will launch the reconciliation process in the Senate, met with Trump on Friday to lay the groundwork for the package.

Trump said on Truth Social shortly afterward, “Reconciliation is ON TRACK, and we are moving FAST and FOCUSED.”

“Radical Left Democrats like Cryin’ Chuck Schumer, and Hakeem ‘High-Tax’ Jeffries, will do their best to stop us, but we don’t need their votes on this Bill, as long as Republicans UNIFY, and stick together,” the president said.

“I am calling for the Bill to be done no later than June 1st, and on my desk,” he continued. “The Department cannot wait any longer for full funding. We must beat the Radical Left Democrats at their own game.”

Trump’s push for a focused package is what Senate Republicans had been hoping for, given that several other items, like the Safeguarding American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) America Act, making their way into the bill could slow down work or get nixed by the rules that reinforce the process.

GRAHAM EYES ‘DOWN PAYMENT’ ON TRUMP-BACKED SAVE ACT WITHOUT DEMOCRATIC SUPPORT

“The reconciliation train is on the tracks,” Graham said on “Special Report.” “We’re gonna have a very specific bill coming out before June 1 that will fund the Border Patrol and ICE for the entire presidency, the three years left of President Trump.”

Keeping both chambers in alignment will be key, too, given that reconciliation will officially start in the House.

The whole reason Republicans are coalescing behind a reconciliation strategy is because of the ongoing DHS shutdown. The Senate, before leaving Washington for a two-week break, again passed a funding bill that carves out spending for ICE and parts of CBP.

It remains unclear when the House, which returns on Tuesday, will vote on the Senate-passed DHS funding bill.

House Republicans are frustrated that, after passing their own 60-day extension to reopen the agency, they again have to consider the Senate bill.

GOP INFIGHTING REPLACES CLASH WITH DEMS, DERAILS PATH TO END HISTORIC DHS SHUTDOWN

Many in the conference want to see the Senate make actual progress on a reconciliation bill before voting to fund DHS, while others on House Speaker Mike Johnson’s, R-La., right flank would rather fund the entirety of Homeland Security through reconciliation.

And a source familiar told Fox News Digital that House GOP leadership is waiting to see the upper chamber take concrete steps on a reconciliation package funding ICE and the Border Patrol before holding a lower chamber vote on the Senate bill.

Resistance in the House would guarantee that the partial shutdown, which hit 58 days on Monday, will continue.

Barrasso urged Johnson to pass the bill quickly to fund the rest of DHS, including the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and others.

“I would recommend that the speaker of the House take it up and pass it as soon as possible,” Barrasso said on “The Faulkner Focus.”

Meanwhile, he noted that Senate Republicans have already been working on their budget resolution, which will kick off the reconciliation process in the upper chamber, for the last two weeks, and blasted Democrats for spending weeks blocking DHS funding.

“It’s critical to get FEMA up again,” Barrasso said. “The Coast Guard, cybersecurity, all those things are necessary. The Democrats are against the security of this homeland, and it is just wrong, and we’re gonna put an end to it using reconciliation.”

Fox News Digital’s Adam Pack contributed to this report.

A leading nonpartisan political handicapper predicts that the Democrats’ path to winning back the Senate majority in this year’s midterm elections is getting wider thanks to a rough political climate for the GOP, but that capturing control of the chamber remains a “tall order.”

The Cook Political Report on Monday shifted the ratings in four key Senate races in favor of the Democrats, but added that Republicans “remain the narrowing favorites to retain the upper chamber.”

Republicans currently control the Senate 53-47 but are battling stiff political headwinds, as the party in power in the nation’s capital traditionally loses seats in the midterms. The GOP faces a rough political climate fueled by economic concerns amid persistent inflation, as well as rising gas prices tied to what polls show is an unpopular war with Iran and President Donald Trump‘s underwater approval ratings.

“Right now, we see the likeliest outcome is a one to three seat Democratic pickup — still just out of reach of the four seats the party needs to reclaim the majority,” Cook Report Senate and Governors Editor Jessica Taylor said in a release.

SNUBBED BY TRUMP, THESE GOP CANDIDATES ACT LIKE THEY HAVE HIS ENDORSEMENT ANYWAY

The Cook Report shifted the race to succeed retiring GOP Sen. Thom Tillis in battleground North Carolina from toss-up to lean Democrat. Former two-term Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper is facing off against former Republican National Committee Chair Michael Whatley in what will likely be one of the most expensive and competitive Senate showdowns in the nation this autumn.

In battleground Georgia, where Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff is running for a second six-year term, the Cook Report also moved the race from toss-up to lean Democrat. Republicans view Ossoff as the most vulnerable Senate Democrat seeking re-election this year, but he has built a massive war chest while the GOP faces a three-way primary battle for its nomination.

STRATEGY SESSION: TRUMP TEAM HUDDLES ON MIDTERM MESSAGING 

In red-leaning Ohio, where appointed Republican Sen. Jon Husted will face off in November against former longtime Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown, the Cook Report shifted their ranking from lean Republican to toss up, noting that “even recent GOP polling” has indicated the race is all knotted up.

The Cook Report also shifted Nebraska, a red state where GOP Sen. Pete Ricketts will face a general election challenge from independent candidate Dan Osborn, from solid Republican to likely Republican.

“We concede that these ratings changes are coming as Trump is at a new polling low and still navigating a yet-to-be-resolved war in Iran. So it’s possible things could rebound for his party or that they could find a rallying cry to get his base out in November — a summer Supreme Court retirement certainly wouldn’t hurt,” Taylor noted.

And she pointed out that “Democrats are still contending with messy primary fights in Maine, Michigan, Minnesota and Iowa, where Republicans are rooting for flawed or bruised nominees to emerge. And Republicans will have a significant institutional financial advantage.”

FOX NEWS POLL: AN EARLY LOOK AT THE 2026 MIDTERMS

National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) Chair Sen. Tim Scott acknowledged in a Fox News Digital interview last month that “there’s no doubt the climate has gotten more and more difficult by the day, it seems like at times.”

But Scott added that he remains “incredibly optimistic” the GOP can not only hold but expand its current majority.

The rival Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC), in an email to supporters titled “Democratic Odds of Taking the Senate Increase as Four Ratings Shift in Their Favor,” spotlighted the Cook Report’s ratings shift.

Earlier this year, DSCC Chair Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand told Fox News Digital she was “very optimistic that with the quality of candidates that we have, with the recruiting failures and the poor candidates the Republicans have, and this very harmful climate that President Trump is creating, we have all the makings of a blue wave.”

President Donald Trump warned China it would face “big problems” if it supplies air defense systems to Tehran as Iran remains locked in a conflict with the United States and Israel. 

“If China does that, China is gonna have big problems, OK?” Trump told reporters Saturday.

The warning comes as U.S. intelligence assessments indicate China may be preparing to supply, or already could have moved to supply, shoulder-fired air defense systems to Iran, according to multiple news outlets reporting on intelligence assessments, though officials caution the information is not definitive and there is no evidence the weapons have been used against U.S. or Israeli forces. 

Trump’s warning also comes ahead of a high-stakes meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, with the two leaders expected to hold a summit in Beijing in May after it was postponed due to the ongoing conflict. The talks are likely to cover a range of issues, including trade tensions, Taiwan and the war involving Iran, placing additional pressure on U.S.-China relations as concerns mount over Beijing’s potential role in the conflict.

TRUMP VOICES FRUSTRATION WITH NATO, SAYS IRANIAN NAVY ‘DESTROYED’ AS US PREPS FOR BLOCKADE

The potential transfer of Chinese-supplied air defenses could increase risks to U.S. aircraft operating in the region, particularly low-flying missions already vulnerable to shoulder-fired missiles.

China also has played a role in recent ceasefire efforts, pressing Iran to engage in talks with the United States and Israel through diplomatic outreach and coordination with regional partners, even as it denies providing military support to Tehran.

Officials familiar with the intelligence say the systems in question include man-portable air defense systems, or MANPADS, which are capable of targeting low-flying aircraft and have already posed a threat to U.S. assets in the region during the conflict.

MANPADS are shoulder-fired, heat-seeking missiles designed to target low-flying aircraft. U.S. officials believe a similar type of weapon was likely used to bring down an American F-15E fighter jet over Iran earlier in April, marking the first loss of a manned U.S. aircraft in Iran in the conflict. 

Trump said at the time the jet was hit by a “shoulder-fired missile.”

It remains unclear whether any such systems have been transferred or are currently inside Iran, but the possibility has raised concerns among U.S. officials that additional air defenses could complicate future operations and increase risks to American pilots.

CHINA SAYS IT WILL RESUME SOME TIES WITH TAIWAN AFTER VISIT BY OPPOSITION LEADER

China has denied the reports, with its embassy in Washington saying it “never provides weapons to any party to the conflict” and calling the allegations untrue.

The reports come amid heightened tensions over China’s growing alignment with Iran, with U.S. officials increasingly warning that Beijing could play a more direct role in supporting Tehran as the conflict continues.

China has long played a role in supporting Iran’s military capabilities, supplying components used in ballistic missiles and drones as well as surveillance and targeting technologies, according to defense analysts. In recent years, Iran also has explored acquiring more advanced Chinese systems, including anti-ship missiles and air defense platforms, as it seeks to rebuild capabilities damaged in previous strikes.

Separate from the reports on potential air defense transfers, investigations using satellite imagery and maritime tracking data have identified Iranian vessels departing Chinese ports carrying cargo believed to include sodium perchlorate, a key ingredient in ballistic missile fuel, according to a Washington Post report. Other reporting citing Western intelligence and shipping data indicates multiple such shipments have reached Iran during the conflict, raising concerns Beijing may be helping Tehran replenish missile capabilities even as it publicly calls for de-escalation.

The Iranian mission to the United Nations could not immediately be reached for comment. 

The push to forcibly remove multiple scandal-ridden members of Congress is picking up steam with several potential expulsion votes on deck this week.

Reps. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., and Tony Gonzales, R-Texas, are expected to face an immediate expulsion threat when the House returns from a two-week recess on Tuesday. 

Swalwell, who dropped out of California’s 2026 gubernatorial race Sunday, is facing multiple sexual assault and misconduct allegations, including at least one involving a former staffer. The Manhattan district attorney’s office has also opened a criminal investigation into an incident that allegedly occurred in New York City.

Swalwell has repeatedly characterized the allegations as “false,” though he acknowledged a lack of judgment on Sunday. He has pledged to vigorously defend himself.

TWO DEMOCRATIC REPS CALL FOR SWALWELL TO EXIT CONGRESS AS CONTROVERSY SWIRLS AROUND HIS BID FOR CA GOVERNOR

Gonzales, who has admitted to having an affair with a staff member who later died by setting herself on fire, dropped his re-election bid in March after House GOP leadership called on him to suspend his campaign. He is under investigation by the House Ethics Committee.

Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., said over the weekend that she would introduce a resolution to expel Swalwell from the chamber if he does not resign. Meanwhile, Rep. Teresa Leger Fernandez, D-N.M., is vowing to draft a measure that would expel Gonzales.

The female lawmakers have said they support expelling both men from the House of Representatives. A growing share of lawmakers in both parties appear to share that view.

“That vote comes to the floor, I will be voting yes on both measures,” Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., said on NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday. “These allegations are despicable, and they demean the integrity of Congress. These things are just completely unacceptable. And as far as I’m concerned, both gentlemen need to go home.”

“I think that this is very important that we believe women and that we show people across the Capitol and across the country that we will not accept this kind of behavior,” Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., also said.

PELOSI, CALIFORNIA DEMS SLAM SWALWELL OVER BOMBSHELL SEXUAL ASSAULT ALLEGATIONS: ‘INDEFENSIBLE’

Expelling a member of Congress is an incredibly high bar, and it is currently unclear whether both expulsion resolutions can obtain the two-thirds majority required to pass. To be successful, a significant portion of lawmakers will have to vote in favor of removing a member of their own party.

Former Rep. George Santos, R-N.Y., who was removed from the House in 2023, is the most recent member to be expelled. President Donald Trump pardoned Santos in 2025 after he was convicted of wire fraud and identity theft and sentenced to more than seven years in prison.

Both House Republican and Democratic leadership have yet to comment on rank-and-file efforts to expel Swalwell and Gonzales.

Reps. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, D-Fla., and Cory Mills, R-Fla., could also become potential targets of expulsion resolutions, though just a handful of members have thus far signaled they would support the removal of the lawmaker from their own party.

“They should resign IMMEDIATELY. If they don’t, we should expel all of them,” Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., wrote on social media Sunday, referring to Swalwell and Gonzales, too. 

Cherfilus-McCormick is facing more than five decades in prison after allegedly funneling more than $5 million in disaster relief money to fund her congressional campaign and personal lifestyle.

A House Ethics adjudicatory subcommittee in March found her guilty of more than two dozen violations as part of an investigation separate from the federal criminal indictment. The panel is expected to formally recommend its suggested punishment later this month, which could be as severe as expulsion. 

House Democratic leadership has indicated they will withhold judgment on Cherfilus-McCormick until the ethics panel announces its decision.

Mills, a former Army combat veteran, has faced myriad controversies, including allegedly misrepresenting his military service, domestic violence and threatening to release sexually explicit photos of a former girlfriend, and abusing his committee assignments to benefit defense contracting firms he owns. He is also the target of a House Ethics Committee investigation.

Both lawmakers have denied any wrongdoing and are running for re-election.

It’s April 13, and if you haven’t filed your taxes yet, you’re not alone — but waiting until the last minute could be one of the most expensive financial habits you have.

The difference comes down to timing. Early filers tend to receive refunds weeks sooner and are less likely to rush into errors or miss out on credits. That extra time — and cash — can be used to pay off bills, build savings or earn returns, creating small financial gains that add up significantly over the course of a lifetime.

“I would simply say your tax return is your single largest financial transaction each year, and you’ll be developing it for the next 30, 40, 50 and in some cases 60 or more years,” Mark Steber, chief tax officer at Jackson Hewitt Tax Services, told Fox News Digital.

TAX DAY IS THIS WEEK: AVOID THESE 5 COMMON MISTAKES THAT CAN COST YOU MONEY

“It’s probably a good idea to start to develop some best practices, one of which is not to wait to the last minute to start trying to do your tax return,” he added.

Filing early won’t change how much you owe, but it can shape what you do with your money next. Getting a refund sooner gives taxpayers more time to pay down high-interest debt, build emergency savings or invest — moves that can compound over time.

AVERAGE TAX REFUND TOPS $3,700, TREASURY SAYS, TOUTING NEW TRUMP TAX BREAKS

The IRS issues more than 100 million refunds each year, totaling over $400 billion, underscoring how significant that money can be — and how much timing matters for those who receive it.

It can be even more important for those who owe money to the IRS.

“If you’re gonna owe, you should have found that out several months ago, so you can start allocating money aside, and you won’t run the risk of refund shock or disappointment or balance due trauma,” Steber said.

Filing early can also help protect taxpayers from fraud. Once a return is submitted, it becomes much harder for identity thieves to file a fraudulent return in someone else’s name.

“You file early you get your money early, but more important than getting your refund early. You lock up your data, you lock up your personal information with the IRS and your state. That protects you from ID thieves, from refund thieves and a whole lot of other bad things that creep into the system,” Steber added.

Last-minute filers are also more likely to rush, increasing the chances of errors or missed deductions and credits — mistakes that can directly reduce a refund or increase what’s owed.

“Give some attention to your tax return each and every year. Can’t really do it this year at the last hour, but some best practices will save you money, lower your stress and put more tax refund dollars in your pocket over time,” Steber said.

First lady Melania Trump’s call for public hearings for Jeffrey Epstein’s victims is piling fresh pressure on Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, who only days earlier signaled the administration wanted to move past the saga even as bipartisan lawmakers and survivors continue demanding more files, testimony and prosecutions.

While the first lady called on Congress to take additional steps to let Epstein “survivors” tell their stories, Epstein victims and members of Congress themselves argued that the onus is with the Trump administration, not Congress. 

“First Lady asks Congress to bring Epstein survivors in for testimony. With all due respect, that’s Acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche’s job!” Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., who has been at odds with the president and his administration over how it has handled the Epstein case, said after the first lady’s remarks. “Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., and I already gave brave survivors a chance to tell their horrific stories on Capitol Hill. Pam Bondi wouldn’t even acknowledge them. PROSECUTE!”

“Actually, Congress did act,” added Rep. Ted Lieu, D-Calif., in response to the First Lady’s Thursday night remarks calling on Congress to do more. “But Acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche is violating the law and refusing to release the Epstein files as required by law.”

WHY MELANIA TRUMP IS DENYING ALLEGED SMEARS RELATED TO JEFFREY EPSTEIN–AND WANTS VICTIMS TO TESTIFY

Meanwhile, in a letter released by over a dozen alleged Epstein victims, survivors also put pressure on the Justice Department to do more.

“First Lady Melania Trump is now shifting the burden onto survivors under politicized conditions that protect those with power: the Department of Justice, law enforcement, prosecutors, and the Trump administration, which has still not fully complied with the Epstein Files Transparency Act,” a letter allegedly signed by 15 Epstein victims, posted to social media by Rep. Melanie Stansbury, D-N.M., stated. “It also diverts attention from Pam Bondi, who must answer for withheld files and the exposure of survivors’ identities. Those failures continue to put lives at risk while shielding enablers.”

“Survivors have done their part. Now it’s time for those in power to do theirs,” the letter concluded.

MELANIA TRUMP’S FORCEFUL EPSTEIN DENIAL DRAWS BIPARTISAN SUPPORT FROM LAWMAKERS

Fox News Digital reached out to the Department of Justice and White House for comment on the first lady’s remarks and remarks from victims and members of Congress calling on the Trump administration to do more, but did not hear back. 

However, in a statement to NPR following the first lady’s remarks, the Department of Justice said: “As we have always stated, we encourage any victims of Jeffrey Epstein — who wish to speak — to contact the FBI. Any survivor who has information on an abuser is encouraged to contact federal law enforcement.”

Not long after taking the reins from former U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, Blanche insisted it was time for the Justice Department to move on from the Epstein case. 

“I think that to the extent that the Epstein files was a part of the past year of this Justice Department, it … should not be a part of anything going forward,” Blanche said Thursday in an interview with Fox News host Jesse Watters. He added that the DOJ “has now released all the files with respect to the Epstein saga.”

Still, several members of Congress think there is more to be done on the matter. 

Following the first lady’s remarks, Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., indicated that House Oversight chairman, Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., agreed to call four named co-conspirators to testify. 

“And they won’t be the only ones,” the congresswoman added in a post on X. 

“There are a number of doctors we also have questions for, and the list continues to grow,” the Florida congresswoman continued. “I am calling on the DOJ to prosecute individuals who took plea deals under civil rights violations, and to consider additional charges where appropriate. If you traffic a young girl(s), you don’t get to pretend to be a victim. There is a massive difference.”

Meanwhile, Khanna also demanded the first lady come testify in front of Congress, arguing her remarks show she is privy to “relevant” information, while Rep. Robert Garcia, D-Calif., said following the first lady’s Thursday night remarks that he and his colleagues still want to see Bondi testify to Congress. 

“Pam Bondi knows more about this cover-up and why the botched release of the files happened the way they did in doxxing survivors and putting their information out there, not protecting their identities. Pam Bondi must testify, that is her legal obligation.”

“I think there’s enough Republicans that also agree — she has been subpoenaed — they had a legal subpoena,” Garcia told CNN. “The DOJ and Todd Blanche continue to cover up for Donald Trump, continue to want this to go away, but we are going to continue to push every single day.”

Pope Leo XIV fired back after President Donald Trump attacked him on social media, saying his calls for peace are rooted in the Gospel and should not be treated as a political argument with the White House.

“I have no fear of the Trump administration,” the pope told reporters aboard the papal plane Monday en route to Algeria.

“The message of the church, my message, the message of the Gospel: Blessed are the Peacemakers. I do not look at my role as being political, a politician,” he added.

Trump had criticized the pope’s positions on Sunday in a scathing rebuke on Truth Social.

POPE LEO URGES WAR LEADERS TO HALT FIGHTING AFTER DEADLY STRIKE ON SCHOOL SPARKS OUTRAGE

“Pope Leo is WEAK on Crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy,” Trump began in a lengthy post.

“Leo should get his act together as Pope, use Common Sense, stop catering to the Radical Left, and focus on being a Great Pope, not a Politician. It’s hurting him very badly and, more importantly, it’s hurting the Catholic Church,” he concluded.

The pope responded Monday, taking a shot at Trump’s Truth Social  – “it’s ironic, the name of the site itself; say no more” – despite claiming “I will not enter into debate.”

POPE LEO XIV TO VISIT FASTEST-GROWING CATHOLIC CONTINENT DURING 4-NATION AFRICA TRIP

“The things that I say are certainly not meant as attacks on anyone,” he also said, speaking in English, adding, “I don’t think that the message of the Gospel is meant to be abused in the way that some people are doing. I will continue to speak out loudly against war, looking to promote peace, promoting dialogue and multilateral relationships among the states to look for just solutions to problems.”

“Too many people are suffering in the world today,” Leo added. “Too many innocent people are being killed. And I think someone has to stand up and say there’s a better way.”

VATICAN DECLINES TO JOIN TRUMP’S GAZA ‘BOARD OF PEACE,’ CALLS FOR UN LEADERSHIP

The pope’s stance against Trump’s peace efforts in the Middle East came after the president’s Sunday night Air Force One tarmac comments.

“We don’t like a pope that’s going to say that it’s okay to have a nuclear weapon,” Trump told reporters, echoing remarks from the Truth Social post. “We don’t want a pope that says crime is okay in our cities. I don’t like it.”

“I’m not a big fan of Pope Leo. He’s a very liberal person, and he’s a man that doesn’t believe in stopping crime,” Trump added. “He’s a man that doesn’t think that we should be toying with a country that wants a nuclear weapon so they can blow up the world.”

POPE WARNS ESCALATING IRAN CONFLICT COULD TIP MIDDLE EAST INTO ‘IRREPARABLE ABYSS’

Leo claimed he was speaking for the church and not himself or Iran.

“To put my message on the same plane as what the president has attempted to do here, I think is not understanding what the message of the Gospel is,” Leo said. “And I’m sorry to hear that but I will continue on what I believe is the mission of the church in the world today.”

Trump claimed Leo has him to thank for being elevated to pope, the first American pope.

“I like his brother Louis much better than I like him, because Louis is all MAGA,” Trump wrote in his Truth Social post. “He gets it, and Leo doesn’t.”

“If I wasn’t in the White House, Leo wouldn’t be in the Vatican,” Trump said.

The U.S. conducted two deadly strikes on Saturday against “vessels operated by Designated Terrorist Organizations,” according to U.S. Southern Command.

“Applying total systemic friction on the cartels,” a Sunday night post on SOUTHCOM’s X account declares.

“On April 11, at the direction of #SOUTHCOM commander Gen. Francis L. Donovan, Joint Task Force Southern Spear conducted two lethal kinetic strikes on two vessels operated by Designated Terrorist Organizations,” the post continued.

COAST GUARD SEIZES OVER 4,500 POUNDS OF COCAINE WORTH $34M FROM SUSPECTED NARCO-TERRORIST VESSEL ON EASTER

“Intelligence confirmed the vessels were transiting along known narco-trafficking routes in the Eastern Pacific and were engaged in narco-trafficking operations,” SOUTHCOM asserted.

The post noted that one individual survived one of the strikes.

ALLEGED NARCO-TERRORISTS KILLED AS US FORCES STRIKE SUSPECTED DRUG-TRAFFICKING VESSEL IN CARIBBEAN

“Two male narco-terrorists were killed, and one narco-terrorist survived the first strike. Three male narco-terrorists were killed during the second strike. Following the engagements, USSOUTHCOM immediately notified U.S. Coast Guard to activate the Search and Rescue system for the survivor. No U.S. military forces were harmed,” the post stated.

War Secretary Pete Hegseth shared SOUTHCOM’S post about the strikes on his personal X account.

CARTELS FEAR US RETALIATION AS TRUMP-ERA PRESSURE RESHAPES STRATEGY: ‘THEY FEAR THE UNITED STATES’

President Donald Trump’s administration has controversially carried out scads of such deadly attacks against alleged narcoterrorists.