Category: USA Politics

Illinois Republicans on Tuesday selected Don Tracy as their nominee for the open U.S. Senate seat created by Sen. Dick Durbin’s retirement, sending them into a general election race in a state Democrats have long dominated at the federal level.

Former Illinois GOP Chair Don Tracy entered the race as one of the best-known Republicans in the field and quickly emerged as an early fundraising leader. 

His campaign focused on lowering living costs through market competition, greater consumer choice and negotiated prescription drug prices.

Tracy is seeking the seat being vacated by Durbin, the Senate’s longtime No. 2 Democrat, who announced he would not seek reelection in 2026, ending a Senate tenure that began with his election in 1996 and setting off a scramble in both parties for one of Illinois’ highest-profile offices.

HEAD HERE FOR THE LATEST FOX NEWS REPORTING FROM THE 2026 CAMPAIGN TRAIL

The Republican primary field also included attorney Jeannie Evans, businessman Casey Chlebek, R. Cary Capparelli, Pamela Long and Jimmy Lee Tillman.

Polls in Illinois closed at 7 p.m. Central on Tuesday.

On the Democratic side, Rep. Robin Kelly, Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi and Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton are competing to succeed Durbin. 

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker has thrown his sizable war chest behind Stratton in a primary that is viewed as a test of his political clout in his home state as he likely gears up for a 2028 presidential run. The governor has seen his national profile skyrocket over the past year as he’s become a top Democrat leading the resistance to President Donald Trump’s second-term agenda.

Meanwhile, Krishnamoorthi is the clear fundraising frontrunner in the race and has spent big bucks to run ads. And a super PAC funded by crypto titans has shelled out nearly $10 million to back him.

Tracy now advances to the general election, where he will try to compete in a state that has trended decisively Democratic in federal contests. Indeed, whoever wins the Democratic nomination will be considered the clear front-runner in the general election in a state where no GOP contender has won statewide in a dozen years.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt pushed back Tuesday on “false claims” in the resignation letter of the nation’s top counterterrorism official, saying President Donald Trump had “strong and compelling evidence” that Iran was going to attack the United States first. 

Joe Kent wrote on X earlier this morning that, “After much reflection, I have decided to resign from my position as Director of the National Counterterrorism Center, effective today.” Kent said he could not in “good conscience” support the ongoing war with Iran, claiming that “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.” 

“There are many false claims in this letter but let me address one specifically: that ‘Iran posed no imminent threat to our nation,” Leavitt responded. “This is the same false claim that Democrats and some in the liberal media have been repeating over and over.” 

“As President Trump has clearly and explicitly stated, he had strong and compelling evidence that Iran was going to attack the United States first,” she added.

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

Leavitt said, “This evidence was compiled from many sources and factors,” and, “President Trump would never make the decision to deploy military assets against a foreign adversary in a vacuum.” 

The press secretary said Iran is the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism – a sentiment that House lawmakers agreed with earlier this month when they passed a resolution containing the same language. 

“The Iranian regime is evil. It proudly killed Americans, waged war against our country, and openly threatened us all the way up to the launch of Operation Epic Fury,” Leavitt continued. 

EU PUSHES FOR END OF IRAN WAR IN A MANNER WHERE ‘EVERYBODY SAVES FACE’ 

“Iran was aggressively expanding their short-range ballistic missiles to combine with their naval assets to give themselves immunity – meaning they would have a degree of a capabilities that would give them immunity to hold us and the rest of the world hostage,” she added. “The regime aimed to use those ballistic missiles as a shield to continue achieving their ultimate goal – nuclear weapons.” 

Leavitt said the president “ultimately made the determination that a joint attack with Israel would greatly reduce the risk to American lives that would come from a first strike by the terrorist Iranian regime and address this imminent threat to America’s national security interests.” 

She also slammed the “absurd allegation that President Trump made this decision based on the influence of others, even foreign countries,” calling Kent’s claim “insulting and laughable.” 

“President Trump has been remarkably consistent and has said for DECADES that Iran can NEVER possess a nuclear weapon,” Leavitt said. “As someone who actually witnesses President Trump’s decision-making process on a daily basis, I can attest to the fact that he is always looking to do what’s in the best interest of the United States of America — period. America First.” 

The White House is digging in against congressional Democrats, revealing several compromises the administration has been willing to make on immigration enforcement to end the government shutdown.

In a letter from a White House official obtained by Fox News Digital, the administration laid out five key concessions to congressional Democrats who have continued to block funding for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in a bid to get stringent reforms to immigration operations.

It’s the first peek behind the closely guarded veil of the funding stalemate and comes after congressional Democrats broke the ice with yet another counteroffer to the White House late Monday night, which the administration balked at as the shutdown entered its 32nd day.

FIRED DHS CHIEF KRISTI NOEM FACES CRIMINAL REFERRAL FROM CONGRESSIONAL DEMOCRATS

“The Democrats have once again responded with a counteroffer that does not indicate the seriousness that this moment needs,” a senior White House official said.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., countered that the White House wasn’t negotiating seriously, either.

“The issue is, they’re not getting serious,” Schumer said. “The key issues of warrants when you bust into someone’s house, the key issue of identity of police and no masks, they haven’t budged on those.”

The letter, sent to Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Katie Britt, R-Ala., included compromises on several demands that have been a top priority for Schumer and Democrats but notably lacked requirements for agents to obtain judicial warrants and demands that agents go maskless.

“The use of administrative warrants is a long-standing practice for administrations, and ultimately that will be a subject of future conversations, but the administration is unwilling to return to the Biden status quo of open borders,” the official said.

DEM SENATORS CALL TO FUND DHS AFTER VOTING TO BLOCK IT 4 TIMES AMID SHUTDOWN FIGHT

Still, the letter did check off several asks for Democrats, including expanding the use of body-worn cameras for DHS agents, save for agents in undercover operations, coupled with plans to hold onto the footage to allow for more congressional oversight.

The Trump administration also offered to limit immigration enforcement at sensitive locations, including hospitals and schools, with exceptions to national security, flight risks and public safety. The administration also plans to adhere to congressional oversight of DHS detention facilities and vowed to enforce the use of visible identification for DHS agents.

Another compromise was to ensure that any U.S. citizens are not deported and plans to codify not “knowingly detaining a U.S. citizen, except when the person violates a state or federal law that makes the citizen subject to arrest.”

Democrats’ counter did little to move the needle for Republicans.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., characterized the White House’s compromises as going “above and beyond” and noted the administration had made offers to raise spending on body-worn cameras to $100 million and “include audits by the Inspector General, you know, and reviews for non-compliance.”

KATIE BRITT BLASTS DEMOCRAT FOR PLAYING ‘POLITICAL GAMES’ WITH SHUTDOWN AMID AIRPORT CHAOS

“I mean, there’s a whole bunch of stuff in there that they’re just things that, in my view, have been significant gives on the part of the White House, but the Democrats seem intent on dragging out this political issue,” Thune said.

And Britt, who Thune tapped to lead negotiations on behalf of the GOP, said she was still trying to get Democrats in a room to negotiate.

Britt told Fox News Digital she believed “there are many of my Democratic colleagues” that wanted to find a way out of the shutdown, too, and noted that during the 43-day shutdown there had been talks happening the whole time.

“I mean, it’s past time for us to do that, and so I’m going to keep pushing it,” she said. “But do you realize that, how many days into this — and we have yet to sit down and talk about it — I mean it’s actual insanity.”

President Donald Trump on Tuesday blasted mail-in voting as “corrupt as hell” as the SAVE America Act heads to the Senate floor for debate.

Trump made the remarks during the Shamrock Bowl presentation with Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin, telling the crowd “the biggest thing coming up is the SAVE America Act in the Senate.”

He said the legislation focuses on voter identification and proof of citizenship, while also taking aim at “corrupt” mail-in ballots.

“We’re the only country in the world that does it that way. Corrupt as hell,” Trump said. “Then we added two more…One is no men in women’s sports. That seems like an easy one. I believe that’s the 99%. And no transgender mutilation of our children. None. That’s only polling at 98%.”

REPS. FINE, SELF, HARRIS, ENOUGH IS ENOUGH: WE’LL BLOCK THE SENATE UNTIL THE SAVE ACT PASSES

“Hopefully the Senate is going to be able to get that. You can’t ask for five better things,” he continued. “It’s so good for our nation. I mean, who would not have voter ID, who would not have, proof of citizenship? And, the only people who would want not to have that or people that want to cheat. It’s very, very simple. We can’t let that happen.”

The SAVE America Act would require proof of U.S. citizenship to register to vote in federal elections and mandate voter identification at the polls, measures Republicans argue are necessary to secure elections.

The president’s remarks followed Senate Republicans moving to bring the SAVE America Act to the Senate floor, aiming to force Democrats to take a public position on the Trump-backed measure.

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

Lawmakers voted 51-48 to begin debate on the bill, an initial step forward with Democrats remaining unified in opposition.

Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, was the only Republican to vote against advancing the measure, while all Democrats voted no. Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., did not vote.

The procedural move opens the door for debate on the legislation, with GOP leaders expected to allow amendments and extended discussion in the days ahead.

REPUBLICANS SHRED ‘NONSENSE’ DEM CLAIMS AGAINST TRUMP-BACKED VOTER ID BILL

Senate Majority Leader John Thune is expected to eventually file to end the debate, which would set up a final vote requiring 60 votes to move forward.

Republicans would need support from Democrats to reach that threshold, making the bill’s path forward uncertain.

Democrats have opposed the legislation, arguing existing laws already prohibit noncitizens from voting and warning the requirements could create barriers for eligible voters.

Mail-in voting expanded significantly during the 2020 election and remains widely used in several states, including some led by Republicans.

White House officials balked at reporting that Vice President JD Vance had been distant from Operation Epic Fury as strikes continued from both Iran and U.S.-Israeli forces in the Middle East Tuesday. 

Critics have claimed that Vance has intentionally distanced himself from public appearances and potentially negotiations related to U.S. active military engagement in Iran and the Middle East. 

“This fake narrative is absolutely laughable to every single person who is in the know in Washington,” a White House official told Fox News Digital. “It’s a classic mainstream media creation.”

ABC News had reported that a senior White House official punched back at the idea that Vance wasn’t present during the early days of the strikes, saying the national security team had been huddled “all day” and “was deliberate on letting the president’s statements and addresses to the nation stand as the operation unfolded.”

EX-NAVY SEAL WARNS WITHDRAWING FROM IRAN NOW WOULD HAND ‘VICTORY’ TO REGIME

“The vice president and other administration officials conducted multiple media interviews and will continue to do so,” the senior White House official told ABC. “The national security team also held multiple briefing calls with members of the press and key stakeholders after the operation began.”

Vance appeared on Fox News’ “Jesse Watters Primetime” March 2, making him the first Trump administration official outside of President Donald Trump’s pre-recorded announcement to speak on live TV about the strikes. The interview was one of nine reported public appearances Vance has made since the beginning of Operation Epic Fury.

During the interview, Vance emphasized the White House’s reasoning behind striking Iran and addressed the idea of an unnecessary, elongated war.

KT MCFARLAND: OPERATION EPIC FURY PROVES IT IS BOTH AMERICA FIRST AND PROUDLY MAGA

“President Trump will not get the United States into a years-long conflict with no clear objective,” Vance told Watters. 

“The vice president hasn’t been keeping a low profile,” a spokesperson for Vice President Vance’s office told Fox News Digital. “He’s attended two dignified transfers at Dover Air Force Base, went on primetime TV after the start of Operation Epic Fury, held a press gaggle and delivered two speeches in which he discussed the heroic sacrifice of America’s service members.”

Dignified transfers at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware took place after American soldiers were killed during the beginning days of the U.S. military operation against Iran.

TOP COUNTERTERRORISM OFFICIAL RESIGNS IN PROTEST OF US WAR AGAINST IRAN

Reports have also indicated that Vance has been averse to the idea of a war with Iran and alluded to comments the former Ohio senator made about some of the basis for his support for Trump stemming from Trump not having started a war during his first presidential term.

Vance joined Bill Hemmer on Fox News’ “America’s Newsroom” for a State of the Union reaction on Feb. 25, days before the strike on Iran, and Vance echoed the president’s condemnation of the Middle Eastern country obtaining nuclear weapons. 

“You can’t let the craziest and worst regime in the world have nuclear weapons,” Vance told Hemmer. “That’s what the president is accomplishing. That’s what the president has set as our goal. He’s going to try to accomplish it diplomatically.

MIKE PENCE PRAISES TRUMP FOR ‘DECISIVE LEADERSHIP’ ON IRAN AFTER BIDEN ‘SQUANDERED’ US DETERRENCE

“The president has a number of other tools at his disposal to ensure this doesn’t happen,” Vance continued. “He’s shown a willingness to use them, and I hope the Iranians take it seriously in their negotiations tomorrow, because that’s certainly what the president prefers.”

With regard to the status of the ongoing conflict and his involvement with strategy itself, Vance addressed reporters at an event in Rocky Mount, North Carolina, Friday, saying negotiations among White House officials are classified but noting he has been involved with discussions.

“I sit there with [Secretary of War] Pete Hegseth and [Joint Chiefs Air Force] Gen. [Dan] Caine and [Secretary of State] Marco Rubio and the entire White House team, and the president and I and the entire senior team are talking about the options and about what we need to do and about how we must best protect the American people,” Vance told reporters. 

“I’m not going to show up here and in front of God and everybody else, tell you exactly what I said in that classified room, partially because I don’t want to go to prison and partially because I think it’s important for the president of the United States to be able to talk to his advisors without those advisors running their mouth to the American media.”

A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) investigation in Florida busted a “deeply disturbing” illegal animal cruelty operation involving baby monkeys by U.S. citizen Francisco Javier Ravelo.

According to the Justice Department, Ravelo, 36, pleaded guilty in federal court to distributing videos depicting the torture of both adult and baby monkeys that involved mutilation and burning. The DOJ said Ravelo personally distributed more than 40 torture videos and that his actions violated the Preventing Animal Cruelty and Torture (PACT) Act, which was signed into law by President Donald Trump during his first term.  

Ravelo now faces up to seven years in prison.

The DOJ said the animal cruelty scheme was exposed in an investigation by ICE Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), which is the primary criminal investigations arm of the Department of Homeland Security.

ORGANIZED AND TECHNOLOGICAL: ICE RESISTANCE GROUPS POSING GROWING DANGER, WARNS FORMER TOP NSA, DHS OFFICIAL

Jason Reding Quiñones, U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Florida, called the case “deeply disturbing” and evidenced a willingness on the part of Ravelo to “inflict suffering without remorse.”

“As a former state court trial judge who presided over domestic violence cases, I was trained to recognize lethality factors, warning signs that violence is escalating. Deliberate cruelty to animals is one of the clearest red flags,” he said. “It reflects a willingness to dominate, torture and inflict suffering without remorse.”

Quiñones condemned Ravelo’s actions in no uncertain terms, calling it a “serious federal crime” that he said “fuels a market built on brutality.”

Adam Gustafson, principal deputy assistant attorney general of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division, commented that “if you are involved in this sadistic activity, we will prosecute you.”

Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons said that while Ravelo “didn’t count on HSI being able to track him down, pull together evidence and present it to the judge… now he knows better.”

ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT FROM VENEZUELA LEARNS SENTENCE FOR BITING ICE AGENT, WITH INJURY SEEN IN PHOTO

“Homeland Security Investigations pieced together the case that led to Ravelo’s guilty plea,” said Lyons, adding, “I hope this serves as a warning to others who acquire or distribute this kind of content: HSI will find you, and you’ll end up in federal court just like Ravelo did.”

Upon signing the PACT Act in 2019, Trump said, “It is important that we combat these heinous and sadistic acts of cruelty, which are totally unacceptable in a civilized society.”

Trump said the passage of the PACT Act was “something that should have happened a long time ago.”

This year, Trump also launched a new multi-agency initiative to strengthen enforcement of the Animal Welfare Act, specifically targeting chronic puppy mill violators and dogfighting rings. The move was commended by Humane World for Animals.

DHS NABS AFGHAN MAN ADMITTED UNDER BIDEN AFTER CONVICTION FOR EXPOSING HIMSELF TO MINOR

In a statement announcing the initiative, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said Trump administration agencies are “taking historic actions” to hold chronic pet welfare violators accountable.

The agency said the initiative “will boost compliance with existing laws, protect our companion animals,” and reiterates that the Trump administration “stands with the majority of Americans” who are pet owners.

Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga., is seeking to pin the blame on Republicans as the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) shutdown begins to snarl air travel in his state despite repeatedly voting against funding bills.

Ossoff, who is widely viewed as the most vulnerable Democratic incumbent running for re-election, has appeared to embrace Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer’s, D-N.Y., hardball tactics during the 32-day partial shutdown. The Georgia lawmaker has joined nearly all Democrats in repeatedly voting against full-year DHS funding bills as the party demands reforms to immigration enforcement in exchange for their support for funding the agency.

With the shutdown beginning to wreak havoc on Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport — the world’s largest — Ossoff is showing few signs of breaking ranks with his party to end the funding lapse. Rather, he has chosen to blame Republicans for the current impasse.

“Senate Republicans have blocked multiple attempts to pass legislation to fund TSA, FEMA, the Coast Guard, and key agencies,” an Ossoff spokesperson told Fox News Digital. “Republicans should stop objecting to this common-sense proposal.”

SHUTDOWN SPARKS FLIGHT CHAOS AS TSA LINES SPILL INTO PARKING LOTS WITH 3-HOUR WAITS OR LONGER

Republicans have consistently shot down Democrats’ attempts to withhold appropriations for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) while funding the non-immigration functions of DHS. However, Senate Republicans insist that all DHS employees must be paid and report to work as the nation faces a rise in terror threats.

Georgia Republicans have sought to tie Ossoff to the travel disruptions at the Hartsfield-Jackson airport.

“It’s because of this temper tantrum being thrown by Jon Ossoff, who is refusing to pay TSA workers to do their jobs,” Georgia Republican Party chairman Josh McKoon told Fox News Digital. “This guy pretends to be for the average working person while he deprives them of the ability to take care of their families.”

The Hartsfield-Jackson airport reported security checkpoint wait times averaging two hours Tuesday morning as a shortage of Transportation Security Administration (TSA) employees has slowed operations. TSA employees, many of whom cannot afford to miss a paycheck, did not receive their salary on Friday and will not be paid for the remainder of the shutdown.

SEAN DUFFY URGES DEMOCRATS TO ‘COME TO THEIR SENSES’ AS TSA SQUEEZE CRIPPLES AIRPORT OPERATIONS

The Hartsfield-Jackson airport also experienced more than 500 cancellations Monday as severe weather exacerbated staffing constraints. At least 300 TSA employees have quit their posts since the shutdown began in mid-February, the White House announced last week.

McKoon told Fox News Digital that Ossoff’s posture during the DHS shutdown could be a drag on his campaign heading into November.

“I just don’t think that’s something that’s going to wash for people at election time,” McKoon said. “For him to say, ‘Well, I wanted you to have to wait in lines and miss your flight and potentially … lose your employment, because I wanted to make a political point standing firmly with my good friend: the illegal alien criminal.”

McKoon also argued that Ossoff’s position on the DHS shutdown is in line with the incumbent senator’s decision to toe the party line on major pieces of legislation over the past year. Ossoff aligned himself with Democrats’ shutdown strategy over expiring Obamacare premium subsidies in late 2025 — in addition to voting against Republicans’ One Big Beautiful Bill Act and legislation prohibiting biological males from participating in women’s sports.

Reps. Mike Collins and Buddy Carter, R-Ga., and former University of Tennessee football coach Derek Dooley are vying in a three-way primary contest in May to advance to the general election and face Ossoff. President Donald Trump has yet to make an endorsement. 

Several vulnerable House Democrats facing competitive re-election challenges are also holding Republicans responsible for the current DHS funding lapse, despite voting against bipartisan legislation to fund the agency. Just four House Democrats crossed party lines in an attempt to end the standoff earlier in March.

“Why are Trump and congressional Republicans so determined to protect the dangerous and chaotic status quo of ICE that they’re willing to screw over TSA, the Secret Service, FEMA, and the Coast Guard?” Rep. Greg Landsman, D-Ohio, told Fox News Digital.

“We could end this shutdown today, and we should,” Rep. Vicente Gonzalez, D-Texas, said. “All it takes is for congressional Republicans to stop blocking Democrats’ efforts to individually fund DHS functions and work with us to rein in reckless immigration policies.”

Both Landsman and Gonzalez are expected to support a Democratic effort to force a vote on a DHS appropriations measure minus funding for immigration enforcement in the coming weeks.

A former top advisor to War Secretary Pete Hegseth, who was ousted amid a high-profile leak investigation, has been hired to work under Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, according to a source familiar with the move.

Dan Caldwell’s return to a sensitive intelligence role comes less than a year after he was publicly accused of leaking classified information — allegations that have never been publicly substantiated — and as the Trump administration navigates an escalating war with Iran. 

The hiring also places a prominent advocate of a more restrained U.S. foreign policy inside the intelligence apparatus at a moment of growing internal tension. 

Earlier Tuesday, National Counterterrorism Center Director Joe Kent resigned, citing opposition to the Iran war and arguing Tehran, Iran, did not pose an imminent threat to the United States, a rare public break from within the administration.

PENTAGON PROBE INTO SECRET SIGNAL CHATS ON HOUTHI STRIKES SET TO DROP THURSDAY AS HEGSETH FACES SCRUTINY

A source familiar with the move described Caldwell’s new position as an “administrative role” focused on internal management and coordination rather than directly shaping intelligence assessments or national security policy. However, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) plays a central role in coordinating intelligence across 18 agencies and shaping the president’s daily intelligence briefing.

The source said Caldwell has completed a polygraph test and passed a series of background and security checks and is in the onboarding process.

Gabbard’s office could not immediately be reached for comment. 

A recent Quinnipiac poll found the war is dividing Americans just as it is those within the administration: 53% of those surveyed opposed the military intervention, while 40% supported it. 

Caldwell’s hiring signals the apparent end of a leak investigation that began in April 2025, when Caldwell and two other senior Pentagon officials, Darin Selnick and Colin Carroll, were abruptly fired and escorted out of the Pentagon. All three aides have denied any involvement in leaks, and no public evidence has been produced to support the allegations. 

Hegseth said at the time the three aides would be investigated for leaking and suggested there was evidence of wrongdoing, but none of the men were ever charged, and Caldwell retains his security clearance.

The Pentagon has not disclosed whether the investigation remains active or has concluded. 

IG: HEGSETH BROKE PENTAGON RULES USING SIGNAL TO SHARE STRIKE DETAILS, THOUGH NO CLASSIFIED INFO WAS RELEASED

Fox News Digital previously reported that the three aides had clashed with chief of staff Joe Kasper, who was also later removed from his role. 

Hegseth continued to accuse the aides of leaking even after their departure, saying at the time, “Those folks who are leaking, who have been pushed out of the building, are now attempting to leak and sabotage the president’s agenda and what we’re doing. And that’s unfortunate.”

Caldwell, a Marine Corps veteran and prominent voice in the restraint-minded foreign policy sphere, advised Hegseth primarily on European issues and has been outspoken against prolonged U.S. military involvement overseas. His views align with a faction inside the administration that has long warned against entering another major Middle East conflict.

That debate has taken on new urgency as the U.S. enters its third week of war with Iran, and as Gabbard — who built much of her political identity opposing regime-change wars — has remained largely quiet publicly about the conflict despite overseeing the nation’s intelligence apparatus.

After his firing, Caldwell suggested the trio’s removal may have been tied to internal power struggles. 

“We threatened a lot of established interests inside the building and outside the building,” he said.

The Pentagon declined to comment on Caldwell’s hiring and the status of the investigation. The Air Force’s Office of Special Investigations did not respond to a request for comment. 

Chief Justice John Roberts warned against personal criticism of federal judges Tuesday, lamenting what he described as an uptick in “dangerous” and hostile rhetoric just days after President Donald Trump zeroed in on the courts in a lengthy social media tirade.

Speaking publicly at an event hosted by Rice University in Houston, Roberts stressed the difference between criticizing a court order or legal analysis and personally attacking the judge behind it. 

“It’s important that our decisions are subjected to scrutiny, and they are,” Roberts said. 

“The problem is that sometimes the criticism can move from a focus on legal analysis to personalities. And you see from all over, I mean, not just any one political perspective on it, that it’s more directed in a personal way. And that, frankly, can actually be quite dangerous.”

EX-JUDGES BLAST TOP TRUMP DOJ OFFICIAL FOR DECLARING ‘WAR’ ON COURTS

Roberts stopped short of mentioning Trump by name. Still, the timing of his remarks is significant and comes two days after Trump assailed federal courts and Supreme Court justices in a string of fiery Truth Social posts Sunday, including the justices who ruled, 6-3, to invalidate his sweeping tariff regime last month.

“Our Country was unnecessarily RANSACKED by the United States Supreme Court, which has become little more than a weaponized and unjust Political Organization,” Trump blared.

TRUMP ADMIN DEFIES COURT OVER MARYLAND DEPORTATION, IGNITES LEGAL SHOWDOWN

“They are hurting our Country, and will continue to do so. All I can do, as President, is call them out for their bad behavior!” 

Roberts used his remarks Tuesday to pour cold water on the notion that the justices do the political bidding of the presidents who appointed them, noting President George W. Bush nominated him to the high court 20 years earlier.

“The idea that I’m carrying out his agenda somehow is absurd,” Roberts said Tuesday.

“Certainly, I’ll always be grateful [to] President Bush for appointing me, and I’m sure all my colleagues are grateful there,” he added. 

“But the idea that I’m carrying out, and they are carrying out, some different agendas is, I think, really fallacious.”

Tuesday’s event was not the first time Roberts has used his post to urge Trump or other political figures to dial back the rhetoric against the justices or lower court judges on the district or appellate level. 

SCOTUS TO REVIEW TRUMP EXECUTIVE ORDER ON BIRTHRIGHT CITIZENSHIP

Roberts last March issued a rare public statement rebuking Trump’s calls to impeach a federal juge in D.C. who issued a temporary order seeking to halt, for 14 days, the president’s use of an 18th century wartime immigration law to quickly deport hundreds of Venezuelan migrants to a Salvadoran prison.

Trump and his allies have repeatedly castigated federal court judges who have blocked or paused the president’s biggest executive orders from taking force, branding them as “activist” judges. Though that description has prompted concern from outside court watchers and former federal judges, who have pointed to a broader uptick in threats against federal judges. 

Roberts alluded to this view in his remarks Tuesday. 

“Judges around the country work very hard to get it right, and if they don’t, their opinions are subject to criticism,” Roberts added. “But personally directed hostility is dangerous, and it’s got to stop.”

Senate Republicans on Tuesday successfully launched their floor takeover to put Senate Democrats on record against Trump-backed voter ID legislation.

It’s a move to shift the spotlight from internal GOP divisions over the Safeguarding American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) America Act onto Senate Democrats, who are ultimately withholding the needed votes to pass the bill.

“Not a single Democrat will support the SAVE Act. It is a radical bill,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said on the Senate floor. “And if Republicans try to burn time on this legislation here on the floor, we will oppose them for as long as it takes.”

TRUMP VOTER ID PUSH FACES SENATE TEST AS GOP REBELS THREATEN TO SINK BILL

It’s also the culmination of a pressure campaign on Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., from President Donald Trump, conservatives in his conference, and a fervent online campaign to put the bill on the floor.

Trump said that he spoke with Thune Monday morning about the forthcoming process and said that “he’s trying.”

“I hope John Thune can get it across the line,” Trump said.

When asked if Trump understood the path forward, Thune said, “Well, I think he wants us to fight for our position, which we will, and then we’ll see what the Democrats want to do.”

Still, opening up what will be a multi-day marathon debate on the bill wasn’t without its hiccups. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, joined all Senate Democrats to block the legislation. Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., who threatened to do everything he could to block the bill, did not vote. 

While the lobbying campaign from Sens. Mike Lee, R-Utah, Rick Scott, R-Fla., and Ron Johnson, R-Wis., was successful, in part, in getting the bill on the floor, it is still destined to fail.

Lee said during a video call on X on Monday that he and Trump were confident they could win the floor fight if Republicans “get this thing teed up, and we do not leave it until it’s passed.”

SENATE GOP EYES BLAME GAME AS TRUMP-BACKED SAVE ACT HEADS FOR DEFEAT

Lee and a cohort of Republicans pushed Thune to enact a talking filibuster to effectively wear down Senate Democrats and lower the threshold to pass the SAVE America Act to just a simple majority vote.

But there wasn’t unanimous support among Republicans for the move, making a novel idea into a math problem that could easily backfire on the GOP, given that Republicans don’t have the votes to block several Democratic amendments that would drastically change the bill.

“If your senators don’t support using the talking filibuster to pass the SAVE America Act, you might need to replace them,” Lee said on X.

With the initial hurdle passed, the Senate will now begin the marathon debate and amendment process. Amendment votes will only come at the tail end of the floor battle and will require Republicans to take another procedural test that Democrats could block. 

And each amendment, which Republicans will control, has to hit a 60-vote threshold, meaning that none of the provisions that Trump wants to be attached to the bill will survive.

TRUMP-BACKED VOTER ID BILL FACES GOP RESISTANCE AS TILLIS VOWS TO STOP IT

Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., will head off the flurry of amendments with a package of add-ons that include Trump’s desired modifications to the bill.

Those include ending mail-in ballots, with exceptions for military service members, disabilities, and illness; banning men from women’s sports; and halting transgender surgeries on minors.

Halting mail-in balloting isn’t a home run among Republicans, with many pushing back on a sweeping end to the practice.

Johnson acknowledged that hurdle before the vote and agreed that absentee ballots couldn’t be halted altogether, but lawmakers should find “reasonable restrictions” on the practice.

“I’ve argued myself, you can’t ban absentee ballots, or I’m not gonna be able to vote,” Johnson told Fox News Digital. “I’m here on Tuesdays in Washington, you know. So you have to have absentee ballots, but there’s got to be restrictions on it.”

Senate Democrats could inflict maximum pain as the floor battle rages, too, turning to procedural moves to bog down the process that could derail the timing of Sen. Markwayne Mullin’s, R-Okla., confirmation hearing as the GOP sprints to install him as Trump’s next Department of Homeland Security chief.