Category: USA Politics

A Democratic candidate in a key Wisconsin battleground is highlighting support from a major environmental group as her Republican opponent warns the endorsement could drive up energy costs and hurt farmers.

Rep. Derrick Van Orden, R-Wis., blasted Democratic challenger Rebecca Cooke’s endorsement by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) Action Fund, arguing it signals policies that could raise costs for farmers and rural communities.

“Rebecca Cooke is completely out of touch with Wisconsin, touting an endorsement from the radical NRDC,” Van Orden told Fox News Digital. “It’s a clear sign of how quickly she’ll sell out Wisconsin farm families to please Washington Democrats.”

“Farmers and businesses across Wisconsin have time and again rejected the radical Green New Deal because it would increase the price of fertilizer, diesel and cover up more of our black dirt with solar wastelands,” he said. 

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The clash underscores how energy costs and their impact on Wisconsin’s farm economy are emerging as a central fault line in one of the most competitive House races in the country, where control of the chamber could hinge on battleground districts like the 3rd.

Cooke, who is challenging Van Orden in Wisconsin’s 3rd Congressional District, recently touted the NRDC Action Fund endorsement.

“Growing up on a dairy farm I know how important it is to be steward to the land, I want to protect Western Wisconsin’s natural resources and ensure the next generation has clean air and clean water,” Cooke wrote following the endorsement. “Investing in clean energy will create good-paying local jobs and help lower costs for working families. I’ll work with anyone to strengthen our economy and help strengthen our community.”

Jed Ober, managing director of the Natural Resources Defense Council Action Fund, said the group is “proud to support her campaign for Congress,” adding that Cooke “will be a champion for working families who are worried about rising energy costs.”

The Natural Resources Defense Council Action Fund is the political arm of the environmental advocacy group focused on climate and conservation issues.

Van Orden criticized Cooke’s embrace of the endorsement, telling Fox News Digital, “Rebecca Cooke is completely out of touch with Wisconsin, touting an endorsement from the radical NRDC. It’s a clear sign of how quickly she’ll sell out Wisconsin farm families to please Washington Democrats.” 

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“Farmers and businesses across Wisconsin have time and again rejected the radical Green New Deal because it would increase the price of fertilizer, diesel, and cover up more of our black dirt with solar wastelands.”

“Energy prices are out of control in western Wisconsin because of Derrick Van Orden’s failed leadership. He voted to increase electricity costs while handing out tax breaks to the ultra-rich,” Cooke responded in a statement to Fox News Digital. “He’s cheerleading a war of choice in the Middle East that sent the prices of gas and diesel skyrocketing in less than a month. It’s hurting our farmers who have already been hit hard by the tariffs Van Orden has supported every step of the way.”

The Natural Resources Defense Council has backed efforts to curb fossil fuel production, including supporting restrictions on hydraulic fracturing and praising the Biden administration’s pause on new liquefied natural gas (LNG) export approvals.

Republicans and industry groups argue those kinds of policies can raise energy costs in states like Wisconsin, where agriculture and fuel prices are closely linked.

Diesel powers much of the nation’s farm equipment, while fertilizer production is closely tied to natural gas — making energy prices a key concern for farmers.

Democrats argue that investments in clean energy can benefit rural communities through job creation and lower utility costs over time.

While Wisconsin does not have significant hydraulic fracturing operations, it plays a major role in the industry as a leading producer of silica sand used in fracking nationwide, meaning changes in domestic energy production can affect parts of the state’s economy.

The Natural Resources Defense Council also has opposed projects like the Enbridge Line 5 pipeline, which transports oil and natural gas liquids through the Great Lakes region. Supporters, including some industry and labor groups, say the pipeline is critical to maintaining reliable and affordable energy supplies in the Midwest, while environmental groups have raised concerns about environmental risks.

Cooke also received support from prominent Democrats, including Sen. Bernie Sanders and former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.

The race between Cooke and Van Orden is expected to be highly competitive, with both parties viewing Wisconsin’s 3rd District as a key battleground that could help determine control of the House. 

With control of the chamber at stake, energy costs and their impact on Wisconsin’s farm economy are poised to be a central fault line in the race.

A progressive Chicago alderwoman is being widely panned on social media over her response to a local college student being allegedly shot and killed by an alleged illegal immigrant over the weekend. 

Shortly after Sheridan Gorman, 18, of Westchester County, New York, was gunned down while taking a walk with friends shortly after 1:30 a.m. Thursday along Chicago’s lakefront, Chicago Alderwoman Maria Hadden posted a video suggesting Gorman was in the “wrong place at the wrong time” and that she may have “startled” the individual who shot and killed her.

The comments quickly sparked outrage on social media from commenters making the case that Hadden’s video was not only insensitive, but shows the lack of concern from local Democrats when it comes to crime. 

“Unbelievable,” Manhattan Institute’s Rafael Mangual posted on X. “Perhaps these politicians can put out a comprehensive list of the places we should avoid and the times we should avoid them so as not to get shot to death by strangers.”

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“Imagine being an alderman, having a college freshman murdered in your ward, and, before the suspect is even identified, posting a video in which you brainstorm an excuse that maybe the victim ‘startled’ the guy who killed her,” reader-funded public safety news outlet CWB Chicago posted on X. “God Almighty.”

“This is disgusting,” comedian Tim Young posted on X.

“This is how most Democrats think about crime, she’s just saying it out loud,” New York City Republican Councilwoman Vickie Paladino posted on X. “They have no interest in taking any kind of action, because they don’t think any of it is a big deal. Criminals have a right to be criminals, don’t get in their way, and who are we to judge.”

“That’s what we’re up against here,” Paladino added.

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“The only person who was in the ‘wrong place at the wrong time’ was the illegal immigrant who should have never been allowed into our country,” former Trump campaign deputy communications director Caroline Sunshine posted on X.

“‘Wrong place’ = anywhere in Chicago, ‘Wrong time” = 24 hours, 7 days a week,” conservative influencer account End Wokeness posted on X. 

“This is who’s running your city,” conservative influencer account LibsofTikTok posted on X.

Hadden’s comment also drew pushback from Gorman’s family, who released a statement referencing Hadden’s remarks and said the slain college student “deserved the future that was stolen from her.”

“What happened to Sheridan cannot be reduced to the idea of someone being in the wrong place at the wrong time. This is not an abstraction. This is the loss of a daughter. The loss of a sister. The loss of a future filled with milestones that will now never come. Our family is forever changed.”

The family added: “We cannot accept a world where moments like this become something people grow used to. We cannot allow ourselves to become desensitized to violence. When we begin to accept these tragedies as inevitable, we all become vulnerable to them. Apathy is not harmless—it allows these moments to repeat.”

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

The illegal immigrant charged with the murder of the Loyola University Chicago student entered the U.S. during the Biden administration before being apprehended and released into the country, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said Sunday.

DHS also confirmed that Jose Medina-Medina, a 25-year-old Venezuelan national, had been previously arrested for shoplifting in Chicago, marking a prior criminal incident before the alleged murder.

An Oregon man is back in police custody after threatening to “kill the president” in a slew of text messages to his probation officer.

Diedrich Holgate, 47, was convicted and sentenced last July after making threats on social media and placing several direct calls to the U.S. Secret Service Washington Field Office, threatening to kill then-presidential candidate Donald Trump and then-President Joe Biden.

In a June 2024 call to the Secret Service, Holgate said, “I have the right to kill the president.”

“I will kill everyone,” Holgate said, according to the federal indictment. “The president is going to die. I don’t care if it is Trump or Biden. I will hang everyone for treason.”

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Two months later, Holgate called the field office again, threatening to “hang his a** for treason” and saying that no one was safe from him, including the First Lady and Supreme Court justices.

Holgate was released from custody on January 21 and was ordered to live in a halfway house.

Just weeks after being released from prison, Holgate’s probation officer filed a petition to revoke his probation for several violations, including continued death threats toward the president.

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“Holgate has made multiple threatening statements via text message to his probation officer,” the petition alleged. “Probable cause has been established that a violation of supervised release has been committed.”

Holgate sent his probation officer several text messages that included “Trump’s gonna fkn pardon me or I’ll kill him!!!!”

“You’re with me or You’re a traitor & infidel that’s taken the Mark of the beast. & Hell? That won’t last forever. Second death. You’ll be erased,” Holgate wrote in another message to his probation officer.

A magistrate judge ruled in a preliminary hearing that there was probable cause to believe Holgate violated the conditions of his release. In addition to making threats, Holgate failed to report to a meeting with his probation officer and left the halfway house. He also violated house rules by smoking a vape.

Holgate will remain in custody until his next hearing is scheduled on March 26.

He was previously convicted in 2018 for sending threatening voicemails to two Texas judges in Travis County.

FIRST ON FOX: A watchdog is urging the Federal Election Commission (FEC) to investigate Nebraska Senate hopeful Dan Osborn, alleging he is improperly steering campaign funds for personal use to nearly half-a-dozen of his relatives, including around a quarter-million-dollars to his wife alone, through his principal campaign committee and a web of political action committees.

Last month, Fox News Digital reported on Osborn’s spending that has come under scrutiny, showing that north of $370,000 had been disbursed to his wife, daughter, sister-in-law, and to himself through his campaign and a web of political action committees. 

A complaint filed with the FEC Monday by conservative watchdog Americans for Public Trust, is now calling on the FEC to investigate Osborn’s spending, and lays out even more relatives receiving money from Osborn’s campaign plus another consulting firm his wife works at that has been receiving funds. In total, the complaint says Osborn, his wife Megan, daughter Georgia, sister-in-law Jodi, second sister-in-law Bridget and brother-in-law James have received $434,734.42.

Fox News Digital reached out to the Osborn campaign with questions about the payments, but many of them went unanswered. However, a campaign spokesperson did tell Fox News Digital that the campaign “is fully compliant with all FEC rules.”

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“We haven’t received any formal complaints, but what you describe are baseless, nuisance allegations designed to slow Dan’s momentum as he’s tied with Pete Ricketts in four straight polls,” the spokesperson said. 

While paying family members with campaign money is not necessarily a violation of campaign finance law, concerns have been raised about whether Osborn’s payments to his family members have followed the campaign finance laws that must still be adhered to, such as that the pay must be at fair-market value, it must be strictly for campaign services, must be transparently reported and must not be used for personal expenses, meaning expenses incurred irregardless of the ongoing campaign, like housing costs. 

Entities not controlled and operated by candidates can deal in what is called “soft money,” or money that does not need to comply with federal limits. However, that money cannot then be controlled by the candidate to help him directly with his campaign. Money from entities controlled by candidates, often referred to as “hard money,” must follow the FEC’s limits and other rules.

Americans for Public Trust is accusing Osborn of using an end-around to funnel money to his relatives, including from a now-defunct campaign. They cite the fact that Osborn’s Working Class Heroes Fund (WCHF), which he launched in 2024, has a “join the movement” button that routes users to a form so they can be contacted by a different PAC called the League of Labor Voters. They also cite the involvement of Osborn’s custodian of records for his failed 2024 Senate campaign, Brandon Philipczyk, who was also listed as such in Statement of Organization for Osborn’s WCHF and LLV until just a few days ago.

Americans for Public Trust is alleging that these are not truly outside groups — they are effectively part of Osborn’s operation — and therefore shouldn’t be raising or spending money in ways that function like an end-around to bypass federal limitations.

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“Despite being established, financed, maintained, or controlled by federal candidate Dan Osborn and his agents, WCHF and LLV have solicited, received, directed, transferred, or spent funds that do not comply with FECA’s contribution limitations, source prohibitions, and reporting requirements, including receiving contributions from individuals in excess of $5,000 and receiving funds from prohibited sources,” the complaint letter to the FEC states.

Osborn’s wife, Megan, who reportedly was a former bar manager, has raked in around a quarter-million dollars from Osborn’s campaign and a web of political action committees tied to him. In some cases, Megan has gotten money directly from her husband’s campaign and in other cases she has received it from two firms, one called Independent Campaigns LLC, which Megan has a one-third ownership stake in, and Dark Forest LLC, which official candidate disclosures show Megan gets compensation from. 

Just two days after Independent Campaigns was set up, Osborn’s WCHF made its first $50,000 payment to the firm, according to local Nebraska news outlet the Lincoln-Journal Star. Thus far, per the FEC complaint, Independent Campaigns has received nearly $200,000 from Osborn and WCHF and another PAC called the League of Labor Voters (LLV), which Americans for Public Trust also alleges is controlled by Osborn.

In total, per the Americans for Public Trust complaint letter, Osborn’s wife has been able to rake in close to $300,00 for herself for things like “strategy consulting” and work reimbursements. 

Osborn’s daughter Georgia, a part-time dancer who Osborn says still needs help paying her bills, was given $4,200 between when Osborn’s first 2024 campaign lost, and before launching his 2026 bid. The money was for “assistant services” from the then-dormant campaign. 

Osborn’s sister-in-law, Jodi, received $1,400 for “treasurer services” from WCHF at the end of 2025, according to campaign disclosures which also show that she is listed as WCHF’s Treasurer.

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Meanwhile, the group also points to a $2,500 payment to Osborn’s brother-in-law, who served as treasurer of Osborn’s 2024 committee, as part of what it calls a broader pattern of family-linked payments that should be scrutinized for bona fide services and fair-market rates.

“Perhaps the Osborn family is teeming with previously undiscovered, dynastic political talent, akin to the Kennedys or Roosevelts,” the Americans for Public Trust letter to the FEC says. “Or perhaps Mr. Osborn has realized his ability to funnel large amounts of unchecked campaign cash to his own family.”

Caitlin Sutherland, Executive Director of Americans for Public Trust, added that Osborn “has become too comfortable blurring the lines between family, fortune, and campaign finance law.”

“Osborn has engaged in various tactics — including utilizing a defunct campaign account — to enrich members of both his immediate and extended family,” Sutherland continued. “In addition to lining the pockets of his close relatives, who appear to lack any notable professional campaign experience—Osborn is racking up federal campaign finance violations by orchestrating a scheme that seemingly finds him illegally running and controlling multiple federal PACs.”  

Besides questions about how Osborn is paying himself and his loved ones, critics of the candidate have also balked at his decision to run as an Independent. Osborn has indicated he has no plans to caucus with either major party if elected and says on his website that, as an Independent, he is “uniquely positioned” to get things done in Congress. Meanwhile, speaking at a town hall, Osborn reportedly told Nebraskans that if his bid as an Independent didn’t work out, “there’s only one party I would caucus with.”

When pressed on which political party he was speaking of, Osborn replied: “Not (Republican) Pete Ricketts’s party,” according to the audio reviewed by Nebraska news organization The Plains Sentinel. However, Osborn’s decision to cash in on national Democratic Party support, including utilizing the party’s main fundraising platform, ActBlue, have led to questions about how independent he really will be.

In December, Osborn was slammed for hiring an anti-cop staffer seen at an anti-police event featuring severed pig heads, and the agency creating Osborn’s ads, Fight Agency, was also behind ads for the Zohran Mamdani, Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., Rep. Greg Casar, D-Texas, and other Democrats. 

One of the firm’s leaders said they were struck by Osborn’s “over performance” in 2024, leading him to surmise “that Democrats need to run a lot of different kinds of campaigns.”

The consulting firm co-owned by Osborn’s wife, Independent Campaigns, has also worked with Democrat candidates. FEC filings show Nathan Sage, a Democrat running for Senate in Iowa, has paid thousands to Osborn’s wife’s consulting firm.

The White House has installed a 13-foot statue of Christopher Columbus after the monument was torn down by rioters and tossed in Baltimore’s Inner Harbor nearly six years ago amid the 2020 riots. 

“As we celebrate our Nation’s 250th anniversary of independence, the White House is proud to honor Christopher Columbus’s legendary life and legacy with a well-deserved statue on the White House grounds,” White House spokesperson Davis Ingle told Fox News Digital on Monday of the new addition to the White House’s grounds. 

The one-ton statue, spearheaded by the Conference of Presidents of Major Italian American Organizations, is part of the Trump administration’s America250 celebrations and sits on the north side of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building. 

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Rebuilt in part from salvaged pieces, the statue was installed at the White House on Sunday after Baltimore officials declined to restore it to the city’s Little Italy neighborhood, according to COPOMIAO, which is a national coalition of Italian American groups that advocate for their communities.

President Donald Trump sent a letter thanking COPOMIAO President Basil M. Russo for the statue. He said the tall figure was placed next to another piece of art called Freedom’s Charge, which he said is “a life-size sculpture representing the revolutionary struggle to win America’s independence.”

“These statues represent the inspiring historical progression of the American story and will stand as an eternal memorial to courage, adventure, and the noblest aspirations of the human spirit as well as the extraordinary pride of our wonderful Italian American community,” he said.

In the letter, President Trump also praised Columbus’ role in shaping the nation’s history.

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“Christopher Columbus was the original American hero and one of the most gallant and visionary men to ever walk the face of the Earth,” he said. “Guided by steadfast prayer and unwavering fortitude and resolve, Columbus’ voyage in 1492 carried thousands of years of wisdom, philosophy, reason, and culture across the Atlantic into the Americas—paving the way for the ultimate triumph of Western civilization less than three centuries later on July 4, 1776.”

“I am truly honored that this magnificent statue will now sit on the grounds of the White House,” he added.

In the wake of George Floyd’s death in May 2020, statues and monuments identified by rioters as “racist” were vandalized, toppled, and destroyed across the country. A George Washington statue in Portland, Oregon, was toppled and set on fire, while Confederate monuments in Richmond, Virginia, including those of Jefferson Davis and Williams Carter Wickham, were also targeted during the protests.

Russo, in coordination with the Italian American Organizations United, led the months-long project to honor “Italian American history and culture.” The original statue, unveiled in 1984 by Former President Ronald Reagan, was torn down decades later on Independence Day amid criticism over Columbus’ 1492 arrival and the deaths of millions of Indigenous people.

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“Columbus statues have long stood as symbols of pride and cultural identity for more than 18 million Americans of Italian descent,” Russo said. “For over a century, Columbus’s legacy helped Italian immigrants navigate prejudice and hardship, serving as a source of unity and belonging as they built new lives in this country. Columbus Day itself emerged in the aftermath of the 1891 New Orleans lynching, when 11 Italian immigrants were killed by a mob of thousands, an event that prompted a national effort to promote the acceptance and assimilation of Italian Americans. This history remains central to why these monuments matter.”

Ingle added that the administration will continue its efforts to preserve Columbus’ legacy.

“President Trump has rightly hailed Christopher Columbus as ‘the original American hero, a giant of Western civilization, and one of the most gallant and visionary men to ever walk the face of the Earth,’” he said. “In this White House, Christopher Columbus is a hero, and President Trump will ensure he’s honored as such for generations to come.”

President Donald Trump on Monday said he wants to tie the SAVE America Act to Department of Homeland Security (DHS) funding as the stalemate between lawmakers on both sides of the political aisle continues.

Speaking at a roundtable in Memphis, Tennessee, to tout the Memphis Safe Task Force (MSTF), a multi-agency, federal-led law enforcement initiative launched in late 2025 to combat violent crime in the city, Trump spoke of the chaos unfolding at airports across the country amid a lapse in DHS funding. 

He also called for the passage of the SAVE America Act, which would require proof of citizenship to vote.

“We want voter ID, we want proof of citizenship as part of our funding,” he said. “We want to merge them so that we can get the great, big, beautiful bill in action.”

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“I’m suggesting very strongly that the Republicans, in going for the SAVE America Act, that you welded into exactly this because voter ID is part of Homeland Security,” he added. “Think of it. We’re talking about two separate items, but they’re really the same. Voter ID is part of Homeland Security and citizenship. Proof of citizenship is part of homeland security. So I think it should be welded in. I think it should be together.”

Trump urged Republicans to put the pressure on Democrats to include voter ID requirements with legislation to reopen the DHS. 

“I’m suggesting strongly to the Republican Party, don’t make any deal on anything,” he said. “The most important thing we can have is what’s called the SAVE America Act. Don’t make any deal on anything unless you include voter ID, and you have to be a citizen to vote.”

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Republicans have pushed for voter ID in an effort to shore up the federal election system. Democrats remain opposed, saying the requirement would disenfranchise millions of voters. 

Meanwhile, many airports across the country have seen long security lines after Congress failed to reach an agreement on DHS funding.

While most other federal agencies are fully funded and open, DHS has been operating without a budget for more than one month. Transportation Security Administration (TSA) workers have not been paid, leading to increased callouts and longer security lines, sometimes up to three hours in major hubs.

On Monday, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents were deployed to airports to assist the TSA with managing crowds and other duties. 

“We’re trying to release TSA resources to get into positions where they really have expertise,” he said on “Fox News Sunday.” “We’re going to relieve TSA and augment TSA… and hopefully it will move the lines quicker.”

EXCLUSIVE: A key lawmaker charged with oversight of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) believes President Donald Trump’s new plan addressing the partial Department of Homeland Security shutdown will reduce hours-long airport delays nationwide.

“I think it will help and it’ll speed up the process greatly,” Rep. Carlos Gimenez, R-Fla., chair of the House Homeland Security Committee’s subcommittee on transportation, told Fox News Digital.

“Right now, we’re losing TSA agents not only due to sickness, but some of them are actually getting up, you know, basically saying, ‘That’s it, I’ve had enough. Every six months I’ve got to put up with this stuff.’ And they say, ‘This is not for me.’ We need to stop this.”

Trump announced Sunday that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents would be deployed to airports across the country to help ease travel chaos brought on by the ongoing Department of Homeland Security (DHS) shutdown, which is now in its 37th day.

TRUMP SAYS ICE WILL DEPLOY TO AIRPORTS MONDAY TO ASSIST TSA AMID FUNDING STANDOFF

“On Monday, ICE will be going to airports to help our wonderful TSA Agents who have stayed on the job despite the fact that the Radical Left Democrats, who are only focused on protecting hard line criminals who have entered our Country illegally, are endangering the USA by holding back the money that was long ago agreed to with signed and sealed contracts, and all,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. 

He followed it with another post Monday calling on ICE agents working at airports to do so without wearing face coverings. Masks have been a point of fierce contention in DHS funding talks, with Democrats demanding that they conduct immigration enforcement operations without them while Republicans insist they are critical to agents’ safety.

“I started out in the private sector. And in the private sector, the customer is always right. …The U.S. citizen is our customer, and so we can’t allow them to go through these long waits because we have less and less TSA agents,” Gimenez said.

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“In light of the fact that the Democrats will not do the right thing and fund DHS, then I think you have to do what you have to do. And if their plan is to use ICE agents in order to supplant and speed up the lines at the airports, I’m fine with that.”

Tens of thousands of TSA agents have been forced to work without pay for weeks as the shutdown draws on with no end in sight. It’s led to hours-long delays at airports in Houston, New Jersey, New York, and Louisiana, among other major hubs.

While they’re guaranteed to get back pay when the shutdown is over, the current lack of regular paychecks has forced scores of agents to call out sick and find other means of making ends meet.

Democrats have balked at Trump’s plan given ICE’s controversial tactics on immigration in the past. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., for example, called it “unacceptable morally, legally, politically” in a statement on X.

But Gimenez pointed out that DHS, and therefore ICE, will be under new leadership soon, with Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., poised to replace Kristi Noem as Cabinet secretary. 

He also said he was “heartened” about ICE’s direction after a recent conversation with border czar Tom Homan.

“I think you’re going to see a different emphasis by ICE when they are helping TSA agents,” Gimenez said. “If [Democrats] are worried about ICE agents now at TSA facilities, why don’t you just fund DHS and then you don’t have to worry about having ICE agents at TSA facilities?”

The government was plunged into a partial shutdown earlier this year after Democrats walked away en masse from a bipartisan deal to fund DHS in protest of Trump’s immigration crackdown in Minneapolis and other parts of the country. They’ve insisted on stricter guardrails on federal agents conducting immigration enforcement, several of which the GOP has dismissed as non-starters.

The president himself later threw a wrench into negotiations for a new deal, urging Republicans to reject any plan until Democrats pass an unrelated election integrity bill called the SAVE America Act.

Republicans have also rejected Democrats’ demand to fund all of DHS excluding agencies responsible for immigration enforcement.

Unlike last year’s full government shutdown, the longest in U.S. history, the current shutdown solely affects DHS — a wide-ranging department that includes a variety of agencies including ICE, Customs and Border Protection (CBP), the TSA, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

Jet fuel prices in the U.S. have more than doubled in a matter of weeks as Middle East tensions squeeze supply, fueling concerns airlines could run short of fuel.

Prices jumped from about $2.17 to $4.56 per gallon by March 20, according to the Argus U.S. Jet Fuel Index. Airlines warn inventories could run dry within weeks, raising the risk of higher airfares and flight cancellations.

Airlines are already adjusting. United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby said the carrier will cut about 5% of planned flights in the near term as fuel costs surge, warning that if prices persist, jet fuel alone could add $11 billion in annual expenses.

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United is also scaling back service during off-peak periods and suspending select international routes, including Israel and Dubai due to the conflict.

Meanwhile, Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian said on Tuesday the jet fuel spike added as much as $400 million in costs in March alone. Speaking at a J.P. Morgan industrial conference, Bastian said airlines are moving quickly to pass those higher costs on through fare increases.

American Airlines expects fuel to add about $400 million to its first-quarter expenses. 

The impact is also spreading beyond U.S. carriers.

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European airline chiefs, including executives from Lufthansa and Air France-KLM, warned Thursday that a prolonged conflict in the Middle East will push fares higher and strain already tight fuel supplies, with some cautioning that jet fuel could run out if disruptions persist.

Airlines are already acting on those pressures. Air France-KLM plans to raise long-haul ticket prices, while Cathay Pacific and several Asian carriers are increasing fuel surcharges. SAS said it will cancel about 1,000 flights in April due to rising costs, while Qantas and Thai Airways are also adjusting fares and schedules.

Jet fuel, one of airlines’ largest expenses, is especially volatile due to thin inventories, specialized storage and limited spot trading, which can amplify price swings when supply tightens.

That sensitivity is now in focus as traders watch the Strait of Hormuz, where tanker traffic has slowed to a crawl as regional tensions intensify.

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Just 21 miles wide at its narrowest, the waterway between Iran, the United Arab Emirates and Oman is a critical energy choke point.

The waterway carries roughly 20 million barrels of oil per day and about one-fifth of global liquefied natural gas, along with significant volumes of jet fuel.

The Middle East exports about 1.1 million barrels per day of jet fuel—roughly 17% of global consumption—according to Jaime Brito, executive director of refining and oil products at OPIS.

With supplies already stretched, even minor disruptions could quickly tighten the market and keep fuel prices elevated.

President Donald Trump’s decision to delay a planned meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping as the U.S.’ conflict with Iran unfolds is raising a new question in Washington: whether pressure on global oil flows is factoring into U.S. leverage with Beijing. 

The summit originally had been planned for March 31 to April 2, but Trump said on March 16 that he had asked China to delay it by “a month or so,” explaining, “We got a war going on. I think it’s important that I be here.” 

The following day, Trump said the meeting would instead take place in “about five or six weeks,” adding, “We’re working with China — they were fine with it.”

“The president has some things here at home in May that he has to attend to,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters March 16, adding that the two sides would set a date “as soon as we can.”

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At the same time, U.S. strikes on Iran — and earlier pressure on Venezuela — have been affecting countries central to China’s energy supply, disrupting shipping and raising costs without fully cutting off flows. 

China remains the largest buyer of Iranian oil, and shipments are still moving despite the conflict. But increased risk, higher prices and logistical disruptions are squeezing one of Beijing’s most important energy lifelines — raising the prospect of Washington gaining leverage by driving up the cost and risk of the oil China depends on.

In recent months, U.S. actions have hit two countries where China has built deep economic ties — Venezuela and Iran, both tied to Beijing through oil and investment.

In 2023, China helped broker a deal restoring relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran, a move widely seen as a sign of Beijing’s growing influence in the Middle East. That détente is now under strain as the conflict escalates, exposing the limits of China’s ability to sustain stability once fighting begins.

Those developments point to China’s position more clearly: a global power with significant economic reach, but limited willingness — and potentially limited ability — to shield its partners when conflict escalates.

“It is very much connected,” said Brent Sadler of the conservative Heritage Foundation Washington think tank. “It’s all connected to China at the end of it.”

For Beijing, the stakes are primarily economic. China is the world’s largest oil importer, and disruptions to Iranian supply can raise costs, complicate logistics and reduce access to discounted crude that has helped fuel its economy.

At the same time, the conflict itself is rooted in long-running tensions with Iran, including its nuclear program, missile capabilities and support for regional proxy groups.

“It’s not all about China,” said Piero Tozzi of the America First Policy Institute. “It’s primarily about Iran.”

That distinction — between what is driving the conflict and what it affects — has shaped the debate in Washington over how much the fallout could influence broader U.S.-China dynamics.

The delay adds another layer to that dynamic, coming as energy markets tighten and U.S.-China discussions continue.

China’s dependence on Iranian oil remains a central vulnerability, even as the conflict disrupts shipping lanes and raises risks in the Strait of Hormuz, through which roughly half of China’s seaborne oil imports pass.

Shipping through the Strait of Hormuz has dropped sharply and become far more volatile, with only limited oil shipments still getting through under heightened risk.

Iran accounts for roughly 13% of China’s crude imports, while China remains Tehran’s largest customer, purchasing an estimated 80–90% of its exports.

Much of that oil is sold at a discount — often $8 per barrel to $10 per barrel — giving Chinese refiners access to cheaper crude that is difficult to replace elsewhere.

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Much of the trade is handled by smaller independent “teapot” refineries, allowing Beijing to maintain imports while limiting exposure of its state-owned energy companies to U.S. sanctions.

In many cases, those transactions are conducted in yuan rather than dollars, with proceeds often recycled into Chinese goods and infrastructure projects.

“One of China’s long-term objectives is challenging the supremacy of the dollar,” Tozzi said.

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“It’s going to be hard to turn off the supplier side of this,” Sadler said, pointing to the entrenched networks that keep crude moving despite sanctions and conflict.

Those networks — built over years of sanctions — allow Iranian oil to be rerouted through indirect channels, often using tankers that operate outside traditional tracking systems.

For China, that means continued access to supply, but at higher cost and greater risk, as shipments become more difficult to move and insure.

The result is sustained pressure rather than a cutoff: fewer shipments, higher prices and increased uncertainty around a supply line Beijing has come to rely on.

The Trump administration also has taken an unusual step to stabilize energy markets, temporarily easing sanctions on Iranian oil already loaded on tankers to allow those barrels to be sold. The short-term waiver, covering an estimated 140 million barrels, is aimed at easing supply disruptions caused by the conflict.

But it also widens access to oil that had largely been flowing to China, increasing competition for those barrels rather than allowing Beijing to remain the dominant buyer.

The U.S. also has eased some restrictions on Russian oil in recent weeks, allowing additional supply to flow to Asia. Taken together, the moves are reshaping global oil flows — forcing China to compete more directly for supply rather than relying as heavily on discounted crude.

U.S. intelligence assessments reflect similar limits, describing the China-Iran relationship as economically significant but largely transactional rather than a coordinated strategic bloc.

The Iran conflict is giving U.S. forces real-world experience that cannot be replicated in training environments, allowing different branches of the military to operate together under live conditions and test how their systems perform.

“There’s a lot of real-world experience getting gained,” Sadler said. “We are refining our capabilities in a massive way.” 

But those gains come with costs. 

“We’re also wearing down our sailors, as well as the material, the aircraft and the ships.”

The same stockpiles being used in the Middle East would be needed to deter any conflict in the Indo-Pacific.

“We don’t produce munitions at the speed and capacity that we should be. It’s not a new problem,” Sadler said. “We’re going to go through a lot of our interceptor missiles very quickly.”

He warned that at current production rates, inventories could last only “maybe a week or two,” assuming they are used judiciously.

As of late 2025, the U.S. had roughly 414 SM-3 interceptors and 534 Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THADD) interceptors, according to the Center for Strategic and International Studies. THAAD is one of the U.S. military’s primary systems for intercepting ballistic missiles in their final phase of flight.

Those systems have been used heavily in recent Middle East operations, and they also would be central in any potential conflict with China, particularly in defending U.S. forces and allies in the Indo-Pacific from missile attacks.

Drawing down those stockpiles now raises a practical concern: the more the U.S. uses these interceptors in the Middle East, the fewer are immediately available for a high-end conflict with Beijing.

Beijing has avoided direct involvement in the U.S.–Israel conflict in Iran, focusing on diplomacy, with its deep oil reserves as a fallback. 

“They’re all very opportunistic,” Sadler said. “They don’t want to take any undue risk.” 

“The more diplomatic noise they make, the more it draws attention from their incapacity to stand up for their partners,” he said.

The conflict’s effects extend beyond the region, testing China’s role as a global power while forcing the United States to weigh immediate military demands against its longer-term competition with Beijing.

Chinese officials said they were “highly concerned” by the escalation and urged an immediate halt to military operations, while Foreign Minister Wang Yi described the strikes as “unacceptable.”

The Chinese embassy could not immediately be reached for comment. 

House Republicans are targeting vulnerable districts in the 2026 midterms over the Department of Homeland Security shutdown and burgeoning Transportation Security Administration security chaos.

“House Democrats shut down Homeland Security while TSA agents work for free and Americans sit in hours-long security lines,” National Republican Congressional Committee spokesperson Mike Marinella wrote Monday in a statement, announcing the targeting of Democrats in 28 districts most impacted by TSA security checkpoint delays.

The NRCC launched a paid ad campaign, focusing on Democrats it accuses of shutting down DHS and forcing TSA agents to work without pay as travelers face long security lines.

“Democrats are being blamed by the American people for the catastrophe going on right now at our airports and at other points of transportation and beyond,” President Donald Trump told a Monday gathering on addressing crime in Memphis, Tennessee.

MINNEAPOLIS MAYOR CLAIMS TRUMP CAN JUST ‘HIRE OUT MORE TSA AGENTS’ DESPITE DHS SHUTDOWN

“And we want the public to know we’re not going to let them out of this trap that they created for themselves.”

The NRCC airport-focused campaign ad targets a list of battleground and open-seat districts across California, Florida, Indiana, Maine, Michigan, North Carolina, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, Nevada, New York, Ohio, Texas, Virginia and Washington.

The targeting comes as Trump has sent Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to airports with long TSA security lines that have forced Americans to show up to check in up to five hours in advance or potentially missing their flights over the first weekend of spring travel – one of the busier times of the year.

TSA OFFICIAL WARNS SMALLER AIRPORTS COULD SHUT DOWN AMID DHS FUNDING CRISIS

“We’re not going to have the Democrats destroy our country,” Trump told reporters in an under-wing gaggle before boarding Air Force One on Monday morning in West Palm Beach, Florida. “These people are the most destructive sick people, the Democrats.”

Airports in the Northeast were also hit by a shutdown at LaGuardia Airport in New York City, where an Air Canada jet crashed trying to avoid a Port Authority Police Department fire truck that was cleared to cross the runway as the jet was landing.

The LaGuardia ground stop forced travelers to other New York City and New Jersey airports and led to cancellations and delays around the country that was relying on the availability of those jets grounded.

SCHUMER KNOCKS TRUMP ON IRAN, PLAN TO SEND ICE TO AIRPORTS: ‘ASKING FOR TROUBLE’

“In addition, after the appalling lines and massive disruptions at major airports nationwide last weekend, I am again demanding that Democrats in Congress immediately end their disgraceful shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security and restore the full funding for airport security and the TSA,” Trump told the Memphis event.

“They are holding it up because they want to take care of illegal immigrants coming into our country. They want to take care of criminals that are in sanctuary cities.”

On the proverbial political tarmac, House Republicans are clinging to a narrow 217-214 majority. That tally includes one newly designated independent – Rep. Kevin Kiley, I-Calif., who vowed to continue to caucus with Republicans.

There are three outstanding vacancies yet to be filled after the resignations of former Reps. Mikie Sherrill, D-N.J., and Marjorie Taylor Greene-R-Ga., and the Jan. 6 death of late Rep. Doug LaMalfa, R-Calif.