Category: USA Politics

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick repeatedly shut down questions about his past ties to disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein during a budget hearing Thursday.

He refused to address discrepancies in his statements and insisted the setting was “not” the place to discuss them because he was appearing before the House Appropriations Committee to discuss the budget.

Lutnick deflected as Rep. Grace Meng, D-N.Y., pressed him on why he claimed to have cut off contact with Epstein in 2005 despite evidence they remained in touch for years afterward, amid mounting calls for his removal from the Trump administration.

TRUMP COMMERCE SECRETARY HOWARD LUTNICK TO APPEAR FOR HOUSE EPSTEIN PROBE, COMER SAYS

The clash underscores intensifying scrutiny over Lutnick’s past relationship with Epstein and raises fresh questions about the consistency of his account, as lawmakers weigh oversight of the Commerce Department and demand greater transparency from senior officials tied to the late financier’s network.

During the hearing, Meng pointed to reports that Lutnick visited Epstein’s private island in 2012 and exchanged business emails as recently as 2018.

She asked why Lutnick had previously said he was never “in a room” with Epstein after 2005.

Lutnick did not answer her inquiries, instead saying he had agreed to address “any and all questions” in a separate session with lawmakers in the coming weeks. “Today I am here to testify about the budget,” he said, repeating that he had “nothing to hide.”

HOUSE FREEDOM CAUCUS BID TO CENSURE DEMOCRAT OVER EPSTEIN LINKS GOES DOWN IN FLAMES

The same pattern played out later in the hearing when Rep. Madeleine Dean, D-Pa., confronted Lutnick more forcefully, accusing him of lying about the extent of his relationship with Epstein and pressing him on past business ties.

“Why did you lie about your relationship with Jeffrey Epstein?” she pressed, urging the Commerce secretary to respond publicly rather than in a closed-door setting.

Lutnick again declined to engage, pointing to a future appearance before another committee and refusing to answer directly. Dean cut him off, saying, “Let the record reflect—you’re dodging the question. The cover-up continues,” before raising the possibility that President Donald Trump could remove him from his post.

Lutnick has sought to downplay his past relationship with Epstein amid pressure from the public for the late sex offender’s associates to be revealed.

The two lived next door to each other in New York, but Lutnick told Congress he “barely had anything to do with that person.”

The Trump administration has so far dismissed calls for his resignation, even as questions about his past ties continue to mount, and Lutnick is expected to face more direct questioning from lawmakers in May.

President Donald Trump’s border czar, Tom Homan, is inviting the head of the world’s largest religious group to join U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers on a ride-along in an American city.

While speaking at a Turning Point USA panel on Wednesday, Homan, who has identified himself as a “lifelong Catholic,” confirmed he would like Pope Leo XIV to join federal officers for a ride-along because “They’re talking about something they don’t understand.”

This comes amid an ongoing feud between the pope and the Trump administration over immigration policy and the conflict in Iran. While maintaining that “every country has a right to determine who and how and when people enter,” Leo has criticized the administration’s interior immigration enforcement as “extremely disrespectful, to say the least.” In response, President Donald Trump has criticized the pope as “WEAK on Crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy.” Vice President JD Vance, who is also Catholic, has suggested that “in some cases it would be best for the Vatican to stick to matters of morality.”

However, Homan, who oversees Trump’s border security efforts, has taken a different approach. Asked on the panel Wednesday whether he was inviting the pope to participate in a ride-along with ICE, he responded emphatically, “Yes.”

“I will sit down and talk to him,” he said. “Because they’re talking about something that they don’t understand.”

DC ARCHBISHOP HITS ‘OUT OF CONTROL’ ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION UNDER BIDEN, BUT CRITICIZES ‘ROUNDUP’ UNDER TRUMP

Homan said, “I’ll explain to them what happened under the Biden administration. An open border is the most inhumane thing you can do.”

He went on to rip into former President Joe Biden and former Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas over their handling of the border from 2021 to 2025. He said the previous administration used tax dollars to provide illegal immigrants with transportation, lodging, and work authorization.

“When you make that promise to the whole world, the most vulnerable people will give their life savings to the cartels to make that dangerous journey,” said Homan.

“The most humane thing you can do,” he said, “is secure the border.”

“President Trump has illegal immigration down 96.7 percent … When 97 percent less people are coming, how many women aren’t being raped? How many children aren’t dying? How many pounds of fentanyl is not getting in to kill Americans? How many known suspected terrorists aren’t making it into the United States?” he asked.

CBP OFFICERS SEIZE OVER $2.8M IN COCAINE AND METH IN BACK-TO-BACK BUSTS AT CALIFORNIA PORT OF ENTRY

Homan has previously gone on the record on the administration’s spat with the Vatican, saying, “I welcome discussion with any of them, because they don’t understand illegal immigration is not a victimless crime.”

Speaking outside the White House earlier this month, he told reporters, “If they wore my shoes for 40 years, and talked to a 9-year-old girl that got raped multiple times, or stood in the back of a tractor trailer with 19 dead aliens at my feet, including a 5-year-old boy that baked to death, if they understood the atrocities that happened on the open border, I think their opinion would change.”

“Human traffickers are out of business, right? The cartels are going bankrupt because of that secure border. I wish they’d understand that,” he lamented. “Because if they did, I think they’d have a different opinion.”

Fox News Digital reached out to the Holy See for comment.

HOMAN WARNS SPANBERGER BLOCKING ACCESS TO VIRGINIA JAILS COULD FORCE MORE ICE STREET OPERATIONS: ‘DO THE JOB’

While maintaining “I have no fear of the Trump administration,” the Roman pontiff has emphasized that the feud with the president has been overblown.

“Much of what has been written since then has been more commentary on commentary, trying to interpret what has been said,” he has said. “It was looked at as if I was trying to debate, again, the president, which is not my interest at all.”

Virginia’s redistricting fight is headed to the state’s high court Thursday after a red-county judge who previously tried to spurn the “yes” camp threw a wrench into the certification process late Wednesday.

The situation sets up a clash between the judge who halted certification and the state Supreme Court, which allowed the referendum to proceed while challenges remained under review. Virginia Republicans are urging the courts to take up their challenge to the ballot measure, which voters approved 51%-49% and is expected to redraw the state’s congressional districts to give Democrats a 10-1 majority in the House delegation. 

GOP officials argue the ballot measure process was illegitimate, and pressure is on to save every Republican-held House seat they can with the U.S. midterm elections fast approaching and the Republican majority in Congress hanging by a thread. 

JEFFRIES DEFENDS VIRGINIA REDISTRICTING AS ‘TEMPORARY MEASURE’ TO STOP TRUMP FROM TRYING TO ‘RIG’ MIDTERMS

“[On Tuesday] Virginians saw exactly what happens when a misleading, rigged question is shoved onto the ballot,” state Senate Minority Leader Ryan McDougle, R-Hanover, told Fox News Digital. “If this were really about fairness, the advocates wouldn’t have needed to blow $90 million-plus to trick voters. Litigation is still pending with the courts, but the bottom line is clear: Virginians deserve far better.”

The Supreme Court of Virginia (SCOVA) in March stayed an earlier injunction from Tazewell County Circuit Court Judge Jack Hurley Jr., clearing the way for the referendum to advance while making clear it had not ruled on the merits. Hurley ruled again late Wednesday, declaring the ballot language unconstitutional and blocking certification of the results.

A legislative source familiar told Fox News Digital that SCOVA is not likely to play ball on that matter and instead will continue its own litigation of the cases and potentially rebuke Hurley. Still, certification of the election is now paused despite Thursday’s SCOVA filing date.

Shortly after the ruling came down, Virginia Attorney General Jay Jones, a Democrat who beat GOP incumbent Jason Miyares in November, indicated his office will “immediately file an appeal.”

“As I said last night, Virginia voters have spoken, and an activist judge should not have veto power over the People’s vote.” Jones said in a statement.

Republican Party of Virginia (RPV) chairman Jeff Ryer told Fox News Digital in a Wednesday interview that the party is directly involved in a case before Richmond City Circuit Court that is also challenging the new maps.

According to an RPV statement, that case is titled RNC v. VA State Board of Elections, and a decision on any injunction blocking the new maps is expected next week.

Koski v. RNC and another case, Scott v. McDougle, were filed challenging the allegedly misleading ballot language and procedures that led up to the map redraw and the election itself.

Reps. Morgan Griffith and Ben Cline, R-Va., joined the RNC in its Koski case, which focuses in part on state law requiring an “intervening election” to be held before a referendum can go to voters and argued that early voting having begun before the referendum-drafting process started made the vote “void ab initio.”

DAVID MARCUS: RICH MEN NORTH OF RICHMOND SET TO STEAL THE VOTES OF RURAL VIRGI

McDougle’s case argues lawmakers improperly used an old special session called by then-Gov. Glenn Youngkin to push through the referendum, among other procedural violations — a claim that goes to the heart of whether the process itself was constitutional.

Hurley ruled in McDougle’s favor on January 27 before SCOVA intervened after a Democrat appeal on February 13 to let the election move forward, but said it would still review the merits of that case.

Former U.S. Attorney John Fishwick Jr., of the Roanoke-based Western District of Virginia, told Fox News Digital that the Virginia Supreme Court had issued its postponement hoping that voters would vote “no” and moot any necessary legal action.

“Now there is white heat on this Court but there are strong arguments that the legislature did not follow its own rules when it passed this proposed amendment,” Fishwick said, predicting a “prompt” decision.

FEDERAL COURT CLEARS CALIFORNIA’S NEW HOUSE MAP BOOSTING DEMOCRATS AHEAD OF 2026 MIDTERMS

Del. Wren Williams, R-Stuart, an attorney who had favored allowing counties to decline election preparations until SCOVA stayed Hurley’s ruling, argued the referendum was illegitimate and the results should be tossed.

“There are huge constitutional issues with this process to begin with,” said Williams in an exclusive interview. “There’s a 1952 case where Arlington threw out their own referendum. And in this case, people can say the voters decided all they want, but they didn’t decide based on the process that we have in the Constitution.”

Williams said a short time before Hurley’s ruling that everything is essentially “parked” at SCOVA in Richmond, waiting to be consolidated and ruled upon.

VIRGINIA DEMS ACCUSED OF ILLEGALLY ‘STEAMROLLING’ STATE LAW THAT COULD UPEND REDISTRICTING CRUSADE

Williams said it was clear the election was made to be more about President Donald Trump than Virginia voters.

That assertion would help the case of Reps. Rob Wittman and John McGuire, R-Va., whose filing challenging Democrats’ “to restore fairness” language describing the referendum at the ballot box is being heard.

Ryer said Wittman and McGuire’s case has been consolidated into the Koski-RNC case.

He remained optimistic about all cases, and pledged that either way, the RPV will have nominees for all 11 seats, redistricted or not; calling Tuesday’s vote an encouraging sign.

“This is the best performance for anything that’s been Republican-aligned in the state since the 2021 election and i think it does demonstrate that Virginia is still a purple state,” Ryer said, as the results depicted about a 12-point swing to the right from former Lt. Gov. Winsome Sears’ loss in November.

House Minority Leader Terry Kilgore, R-Gate City, added that rural Virginia came out strong to try to offset the Washington suburbs.

“We’re still fighting. We’re still fighting in the courts. We think we’re going to win in the courts. The language was so misleading. They didn’t follow the statutes they were supposed to follow. There’s a lot of missteps that happened during the process. So we feel comfortable going on to the next phase,” he said.

Democrats remained bullish that the election results will stand in the wake of Hurley’s ruling and court activity commencing at SCOVA Thursday, with “Ready for Hillary” founder Adam Parkhomenko saying on X that “Virginia voters spoke. MAGA lost. And now a rogue Republican judge is trying to override the will of the people because they didn’t like the outcome.”

If the cases fail, many redistricting opponents still have faith.

Del. Delores Oates, R-Front Royal, said in a statement that the “YES” crew did not get a “mandate” and that the new 10-1 map may also be a sign.

“Isaiah 10:1 [says] woe to those who make unjust laws; to those who issue oppressive decrees.”

“Stop looking at Zillow and start planning for November,” Oates said. “We stay and we fight for Virginia.”

Fox News Digital’s Ashley Oliver and Alec Schemmel contributed to this report.

The Justice Department unveiled charges Thursday against two Chinese nationals allegedly behind an overseas cryptocurrency scam center, as U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro vowed that the Trump administration is “just getting started” in combating these schemes. 

Pirro told reporters in Washington, D.C., that cyber-enabled and cryptocurrency investment fraud is “among the fastest growing and the most financially devastating form of cybercrime that is targeting Americans today.” The DOJ’s actions come after Pirro launched the Scam Center Strike Force in November last year, following an executive order from President Donald Trump. 

“Today, we announce significant milestones in that fight. We have charged Chinese bosses who ran a scam compound in Burma where thousands were trafficked, enslaved, beaten and then forced to steal from Americans for years. We have seized also a Telegram channel, and that channel was luring workers into a forced compound in Cambodia,” Pirro said. “There they were ordered to pose as U.S. banks, as the New York City Police Department, to steal Americans’ life savings.” 

“We have taken down more than 500 websites. They were used to steal Americans life savings. My office is going to continue to work to identify the funds stolen,” Pirro added. “We have also restrained more than $700 million in cryptocurrency from U.S. victims of fraud. The administration of President Trump is lockstep in combating these scams, and we are just getting started.”

PIRRO WARNS CAR THEFT RING USED NEW TECH TO QUICKLY ACCESS VEHICLES: ‘GONE IN 60 SECONDS’

The Justice Department said the two Chinese nationals, identified as Huang Xingshan and Jiang Wen Jie, were arrested in Thailand earlier this year after allegedly being linked to “cryptocurrency investment fraud operations” out of the Shunda compound in Burma. The pair were charged with wire fraud conspiracy and the U.S. is working to extradite them to face justice on American soil, according to Pirro. 

“The Shunda compound operated from at least January 2025 until approximately November 2025, when it was seized by the Karen National Liberation Army of Burma. The compound used scam websites and mobile applications disguised as legitimate investment platforms to defraud victims, including Americans,” the DOJ said. “Workers within the compound were trafficked individuals who were held against their will and forced to defraud victims under the threat of violence and torture.” 

“According to the investigation, Huang served at Shunda as a high-level manager and enforcer and personally participated in the physical punishment of trafficked compound workers. Jiang served as a team leader directly supervising workers who specifically targeted American victims,” the DOJ added. “Under Jiang’s supervision, one of the people under his command successfully defrauded a single American victim of over $3 million utilizing a fraudulent investment platform. The theft was celebrated within the organization as a paradigm of success.”

HOW FLORIDA RETIREE LOST $200,000 IN FAKE PAYPAL REFUND SCAM

Officials said after the Shunda compound was seized, “Huang and Jiang relocated to another scam compound located in Cambodia where they attempted to continue their cryptocurrency investment fraud operation” before their arrests. 

“The Strike Force conducted a first-of-its-kind seizure of a Telegram channel with more than 6,000 followers that was used to recruit individuals to travel to Cambodia under false promises of high-paying employment. Once there, recruited workers were held against their will and forced to defraud victims, including Americans, as part of a sophisticated law enforcement impersonation scheme,” the DOJ also said. 

On Thursday, Pirro called on Telegram co-founder Pavel Durov to shut the channel down.

“Now, the workers, though, who responded to these jobs, they end up posing as banks, as police officers, as prosecutors. They sound like Americans, directing Americans to fork over their money or be prosecuted. They have backgrounds and backdrops where they actually look like they are from an official agency,” Pirro said. 

“Folks, this isn’t abstract. It is hitting your neighbors, your friends, and your parents’ retirement accounts. Some of these victims are so distraught that they end up taking their own lives. This is economic homicide,” she added. “We have seized the sites and we are coming for the rest. These criminals thought they were untouchable because they were overseas. Today we are proving them wrong and we are just getting started.” 

FIRST ON FOX: House Republicans say they’re ready to advance legislation that would crack down on widespread fraud in states like Minnesota and California.

House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., introduced legislation on Thursday that would tackle fraud in federal programs by curbing premature disbursement to “high-risk” recipients, Fox News Digital has learned. 

His panel will mark up the two bills — the Stopping Fraudulent Payments Act and the Pre-Payment Fraud Prevention and Treasury Data Access Act — as soon as next Wednesday, a House Oversight Committee spokesperson told Fox News Digital.

“Americans are fed up with this abuse and expect action from the government entrusted with their money,” Comer said in a statement. “These long-overdue integrity measures will strengthen the federal payment system, and I look forward to advancing these bills next week at the Oversight Committee’s markup.”

COMER TARGETS WALZ IN NEW HOUSE INVESTIGATION, CITING NEARLY $1B IN ALLEGED MINNESOTA FRAUD

Comer’s fraud prevention push comes after the oversight panel launched sweeping investigations into state-administered social services programs in Minnesota and California. 

The committee rolled out an interim report in March that found Gov. Tim Walz, D-Minn., and Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison knew for years that their state’s federally-funded welfare programs were rife with fraud, but alleges they ignored whistleblowers’ concerns when they attempted to bring up the problem.

Fraudsters could have stolen at least $9 billion from Minnesota’s welfare programs, according to Comer’s probe. Federal prosecutors have charged at least 92 individuals in connection to the fraud schemes, most of whom are of Somali descent, and secured more than 60 convictions so far.

The oversight panel also opened an investigation into “rampant taxpayer fraud” in California’s hospice programs in March. 

Comer’s legislation would seek to better protect taxpayer dollars upfront by stopping “pay and chase” practices, which some fraudsters use as a way to go under the radar since fraud is only discovered after the benefits have been paid out.

MASSIVE MEDICAID FRAUD SCHEME PUTS MINNESOTA’S FEDERAL FUNDING AT RISK — AND FALLOUT COULD WIDEN

If the Kentucky Republican’s bills are enacted, federal agencies would be barred from sending out disbursements if they determine that the recipient is at “an elevated risk of fraud,” or the transfer is suspected to be an improper payment.

The legislation would also direct the Treasury Department to verify payments and recipient information to catch fraudulent disbursements prior to being issued. Treasury would also be equipped with new authority to block payment requests from federal agencies if it suspects fraud.

Sheila Clark, the CEO of a hospice advocacy group, told House lawmakers Wednesday that fraud is pervasive among some providers in the state. 

“You’d be amazed at how many hospices… the door you can walk up to in California and there is nobody there,” Clark said at a House Ways and Means Committee hearing, adding there are “months’ worth of mail that you can see stacked.”

“And that passed a survey. How did that happen?” she questioned.

“How do you put a hospice in a burrito stand in California?” Clark went on, likely referencing a specific incident she encountered. “How do you put a hospice in an entire store in California? That all had to be vetted through licensure and through certification and accreditation.”

House Budget Committee Chairman Jodey Arrington, R-Texas, voiced support for Comer’s plans for fraud prevention legislation.

“Instead of hunting down stolen money after the fact, these bills prevent improper payments and fraud from happening in the first place,” Arrington, who is a cosponsor of the two bills, told Fox News Digital.

“If we’re serious about restoring fiscal sanity to Washington, we must get serious about eliminating waste, fraud, and abuse wherever they exist,” she added.

Christina Bohannan, a Democratic candidate in a battleground Iowa district, is facing scrutiny from Republicans over past remarks in which she said the state would be viewed as “backwards” without diversity training in schools and argued the nation’s founders were motivated by preserving slavery during the Revolutionary War.

Bohannan, a law professor and former Iowa state representative, is making her third attempt to unseat incumbent Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks, R-Iowa, in the state’s 1st Congressional District after losing by less than a percentage point in 2024. The razor-thin margin has set up a high-stakes rematch this cycle, as Republicans work to defend one of their most competitive seats while highlighting Bohannan’s past positions on diversity, equity and inclusion.

“DEI Queen Christina Bohannan thinks George Floyd is a role model, and George Washington should be cancelled,” Republican National Committee spokesperson Zach Kraft said in a statement to Fox News Digital. “Iowans will channel the spirit of 1776 to reject this two-time loser once again so she can return to her day job calling everyone and everything racist.” 

Bohannan made the remarks now under GOP fire on the podcast “Under the Dome” in 2021.

CROCKETT’S POTENTIAL SUCCESSOR HAS REPEATEDLY RAILED AGAINST US IN REPARATIONS PUSH: ‘IT’S BEEN EVIL’

Bohannan, then a state representative, said she was “really concerned” about a bill in the Iowa legislature banning diversity training, including implicit bias training, from being taught at public schools and universities. She said that implicit bias, an unconscious attitude a person may have toward someone based on race, is “very real,” and is “serious.”

“I think that it is going to be very divisive if passed,” Bohannan said at the time. “I think that it’s going to send a very bad message about Iowa and that it is going to seem like are kind of this backwards state that doesn’t understand there are things like systemic racism.”

Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds signed that bill into law in June 2021.

Bohannan also said on the podcast that she was “glad” that a Republican-backed bill banning the 1619 Project, a New York Times initiative that suggests slavery is central to the nation’s founding, failed during the legislative session.

DEMOCRATIC LAWMAKER SUGGESTS ‘SLAVE MENTALITY’ BEHIND HISPANIC TRUMP VOTERS

The 1619 Project focuses “on the fact that there were some Revolutionary leaders who became supportive of that Revolution because they wanted to preserve the institution of slavery,” Bohannan said, noting there were other reasons for the revolution, such as taxation.

Fox News Digital reached out to Bohannan for comment.

Bohannan has supported diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives, as well as police reform and migrant rights groups, for years.

DEMOCRAT IN KEY SENATE PRIMARY SAYS SHE ‘REGRETS’ VOTE ON LAKEN RILEY ACT, DRAWS GOP BACKLASH

While in the Iowa legislature, she co-sponsored a bill requiring implicit bias training for health professionals, but the bill never made it out of committee.

As chairwoman of the University of Iowa law school’s DEI Committee, she pushed students to support the Black Lives Matter movement in the wake of the killing of George Floyd. In a letter to students, she listed five different funds students can donate to, including the Minnesota Freedom Fund and the National Bail Out Fund, which both support defunding the police.

During a candidate forum in 2020, at the time of Bohannan’s first congressional campaign, she said she was “very active” in Worker Justice of Eastern Iowa, a group focused on abolishing ICE, the Washington Free Beacon reported. A year prior, Bohannan donated money to the Prairieland Freedom Fund to help bail illegal immigrants out of jail. The Prairieland Freedom Fund seeks to establish a “world without police.”

Fox News Digital reached out to Miller-Meeks’ campaign for comment.

A Colorado district attorney charged a federal immigration officer with third-degree assault and criminal mischief on Tuesday in a move the Department of Homeland Security called “unlawful” and a “political stunt.”

Eric P. Murray, the district attorney for Colorado’s 6th District, announced Tuesday he’s charging U.S. Customs and Border Protection Officer Nicholas Rice with the two counts for an incident that occurred during an immigration enforcement activity in Durango, Colo., between Oct. 27–28.

Anne Francesca Stagi told investigators that Rice knocked her phone out of her hand while she was protesting outside a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Durango, according to The Associated Press.

Video of the incident shows Stagi holding her phone in front of a masked immigration agent’s face before the agent grabs it.

DOJ SILENT ON WHETHER NYC POLITICIAN WHO ALLEGEDLY ASSAULTED ICE OFFICER WILL FACE CHARGES

Stagi then appears to grab the officer’s shoulder as he walks away at which point he grabs her and, along with other federal agents, brings her to the ground, the video shows.

Stagi claimed that the officer put her in a chokehold and that she still feels pain when she puts on a jacket.

The prosecution comes after the Colorado Bureau of Investigations (CBI) opened a probe into the incident at the behest of Durango Police Department Chief Brice Current, according to the AP.

DHS claimed that the prosecution was a political stunt and that states have no authority to investigate cases of this nature. “Federal officers acting in the course of their duties can only be investigated by other Federal agencies,” DHS told the AP in a statement.

ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT SUSPECTED OF GANG TIES ARRESTED AFTER ALLEGEDLY RAMMING ICE OFFICER

The agency is still investigating the case, per the AP.

Fox News Digital contacted DHS, CBP, Colorado’s 6th district, CBI and the Durango Police Department for comment but did not immediately receive a response.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

FIRST ON FOX: Rep. Pat Fallon, R-Texas, is throwing his hat in the ring for the role of House Oversight and Government Reform Committee chairman.

House Republicans impose a six-year term limit for committee chairs, meaning current Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., can’t serve in the role for an additional term. 

Fallon is now the only declared Republican candidate for the role. 

“I think one of the missions should be to expose the hypocrisy and lack of direction of the left. They’re focusing on divisiveness and opposing President Trump,” Fallon told Fox News Digital during an exclusive interview. “How about focusing on the country and the growth and prosperity of the greatest country history has ever known?”

FLORIDA REPUBLICAN REP NEAL DUNN ANNOUNCES RETIREMENT FROM CONGRESS AFTER FIVE TERMS

The Texas congressman specifically pointed out he intends to tackle and expose the rampant fraud that has rocked the country, COVID-19 misuse of taxpayer dollars, and the foreign funding behind agitator groups that have plagued college campuses and cities across the country. 

“If a foreign national that is beyond our jurisdiction is funding a protest, anti-American protest, we need to expose the Americans that are taking the funds,” Fallon told Fox News Digital. “The left would have you believe that every political protest is organic. It’s just people that are fed up and they get on social media and they talk to other like-minded folks. 

“And they say, the powers that be, we will hold you [accountable]. That’s not what’s going on here,” Fallon added. “If you were in Beijing, if you were a Chinese communist, what better way to chip away at an open society than fund their malcontents?”

MUTINY THREAT SPARKS HOUSE GOP INFIGHTING AHEAD OF TRUMP VISIT: ‘JUST MORE STUPID’

Fallon was sworn into the U.S. Congress in January 2021. A former Air Force captain and graduate of Notre Dame, he represents parts of northeastern Texas.

In regard to widescale Medicare and Medicaid fraud being exposed in various states across the U.S., Fallon said no states are off limits for investigation, but that mismanagement of state policy can make a difference in fraud prevention. 

“Medicare, Medicaid fraud, particularly Medicaid fraud is systemic across the country, red and blue states,” Fallon explained. “The difference is in the red states, where this fraud is occurring, the leadership is far more apt to expose it once they get a hint that something’s going on, [whereas] the blue states largely look the other way. That’s the biggest difference.”

COMER VOWS MINNESOTA FRAUD PROBE WILL EXPAND TO OTHER STATES AMID MOUNTING SCRUTINY

“If you get caught most of the time, and this is what most Americans have no idea, it’s not even, you’re not even criminally prosecuted,” Fallon continued. “It’s a civil action that’s taken. You’re compelled to pay some of that money back and then you just go along your way. And you can’t work with the federal government anymore.”

“That’s a pretty light sentence for stealing a significant amount of funds,” Fallon added. 

The GOP faces an uphill battle in the 2026 midterm elections, which will determine whether the Republican Party maintains the majority in both the House and Senate.

A NARROW MARGIN: TRUMP TAPS HOUSE REPUBLICANS FOR HIS SECOND ADMINISTRATION

President Donald Trump traveled to Nevada and Arizona last week to tout his Working Families Tax Cuts, also known as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which includes policies surrounding no tax on tips and overtime. 

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., as well as other Republican senators have been hitting the road for several weeks as the GOP looks to promote economic opportunity ahead of the midterms. 

“Republicans made big changes to the tax code that benefit millions of Americans, and we need to make sure they know about it. It’s important that Republicans use every opportunity to educate the public on how the Working Families Tax Cuts deliver safe streets, more money in your pocket, and new opportunities to get ahead,” Thune said in a statement.

Should the Republicans lose the majority in the House, Fallon would be the ranking member of the Oversight Committee.

“God forbid we would go into the minority and I would become a ranking member,” Fallon said. “We have to defend President Trump because these folks are infected with wokeness and all they’re going to do is talk about impeachment, 25th Amendment and take their eye off the ball again for American prosperity.”

A former CIA officer told senators Wednesday that a Google engineer who stole cutting-edge AI secrets for China went on to use the technology to build a company.

The testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee comes as lawmakers warn of growing national security threats tied to Chinese intellectual property theft in critical technologies like artificial intelligence.

President Donald Trump has made AI a cornerstone of his policy agenda, calling for a single federal regulatory framework instead of a patchwork of state laws. His administration has also pushed to accelerate data center development and strengthen U.S. competitiveness against China.

Tom Lyons, with more than 20 years of experience in the U.S. government and private sector on Chinese economic espionage, told lawmakers the deck is stacked against American companies.

EX-GOOGLE ENGINEER FOUND GUILTY OF STEALING AI SECRETS FOR CHINESE COMPANIES

“American firms are not competing against Chinese rivals in any normal sense,” Lyons said. “They are competing against the largest intelligence apparatus in the world, one whose mission includes putting American companies out of business.”

“This is not GM versus Ford,” he told lawmakers in his opening remarks. “This is a U.S. startup versus the resources of China’s military, the People’s Liberation Army.”

Lyons cautioned that the current approach leaves companies largely on their own to counter state-backed threats, treating what he described as a national security issue as a corporate compliance problem.

His warning reflects concerns raised by a recent high-profile case involving a former Google employee stealing secrets for China.

AMERICA MUST POWER AI WITH SPEED AND DISCIPLINE — OR CHINA WILL DOMINATE

In January, federal prosecutors said Linwei Ding, a former Google software engineer also known as Leon Ding, was convicted on multiple counts of economic espionage and theft of trade secrets after stealing thousands of pages of confidential AI-related information for the benefit of China. The case, tried in federal court in California, marks one of the first major U.S. convictions tied to artificial intelligence espionage.

According to evidence presented at trial, Ding downloaded sensitive data on Google’s AI infrastructure — including chip designs and software used to train advanced models — and uploaded it to a personal account while secretly working with China-based tech firms and launching his own startup.

Prosecutors said he sought to use the stolen technology to build AI systems in China and attract investors, highlighting the case as part of a broader effort by Beijing to acquire advanced U.S. technology.

Lyons argued that cases like this illustrate a wider gap in how the U.S. responds to such threats.

“If a foreign military were conducting operations on American soil, we would not ask our companies to fund their own defense,” he said.

U.S. officials have long argued that Chinese intellectual property theft has cost the American economy billions of dollars in revenue and thousands of jobs, posing a significant national security risk. China has repeatedly denied engaging in such activity.

An accused killer and member of the notorious Salvadoran Mara Salvatrucha 13 gang was arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) while hiding out in a major suburb in Northern Virginia.

Isabel Idalia Morales-Mejia, a Salvadoran illegal alien, is charged with aggravated homicide and illicit associations in her home country. She was taken into custody by ICE in Woodbridge, just south of Washington, D.C., after Salvadoran authorities tipped off the agency she “may be hiding in Northern Virginia,” ICE said.

ICE Washington, D.C. Field Office Director Robert Guadian commented that “the media would consider her to be a ‘non-criminal’ because she has no known criminal history in the United States — despite the fact that she is facing charges for aggravated homicide in El Salvador.”

“Idalia Isabel Morales-Mejia is not only a known associate of the notorious MS-13 transnational criminal organization, but she apparently attempted to flee justice in her native country by illegally residing in Virginia,” said Guadian, adding, “ICE Washington, D.C. will continue to prioritize public safety by arresting and removing criminal alien offenders from our Washington, D.C. and Virginia communities.”

ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT, ACCOMPLICE GET 5 YEARS FOR MURDER IN SWEETHEART DEAL WITH PROGRESSIVE VIRGINIA DA

The arrest comes as Northern Virginia, particularly nearby Fairfax County, faces an ongoing increase in migrant-related crime, including several murders and assaults. Three of the four murders committed this year and currently under investigation in Fairfax County were allegedly committed by individuals in the country illegally, according to the Department of Homeland Security. In nearby Arlington, Virginia, another person in the country illegally has been charged with attempted rape and assault of a woman waiting for a rideshare.

Several of these individuals have long criminal histories, including dozens of arrests for violent crimes.

DHS has condemned Northern Virginia Democrats over their “sanctuary” policies, saying they “play Russian Roulette with American lives” by releasing charged individuals from jail back into local neighborhoods.

On Thursday, ICE announced on X that Morales-Mejia had been taken into custody on March 12 following a tip from Salvadoran authorities. The agency said the Salvadoran Security Alliance for Fugitive Enforcement Task Force provided DHS with updated information regarding Morales-Mejia’s possible presence in Northern Virginia, prompting ICE Washington, D.C., to investigate. DHS said she is a foreign fugitive wanted for aggravated homicide and illicit associations stemming from 2013 charges.

The agency said she entered the U.S. on an unknown date and unknown location. She entered the country without being inspected, admitted or paroled by any U.S. immigration officials.

ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT ISRAEL FLORES ORTIZ GETS 360 DAYS FOR GROPING GIRLS AT FAIRFAX COUNTY VA. HIGH SCHOOL

The agency said she will remain in ICE custody pending a deportation decision before ultimately facing justice in her home country.

El Salvador is home to one of the most notorious prisons in the world, known as the Terrorist Confinement Center, or CECOT. The maximum-security prison was launched under Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele. It is known to hold a large number of MS-13 gang members as well as members of other gangs.

ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT ISRAEL FLORES ORTIZ GETS 360 DAYS FOR GROPING GIRLS AT FAIRFAX COUNTY VA. HIGH SCHOOL

Last year, the U.S. sent several hundred alleged gang member deportees to CECOT, a move that caused significant controversy.