Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., was sworn in as the U.S.’ ninth secretary of Homeland Security on Tuesday, with President Donald Trump in attendance.

Mullin, 48, is a former mixed martial arts champion and plumbing business owner who will replace outgoing Secretary Kristi Noem, a South Dakota Republican recently picked to lead the Shield of the Americas security initiative announced by Trump earlier this month.

Mullin will take the reins of DHS at a time of increased turmoil and congressional scrutiny at the agency, where Democrats continue to withhold funding for TSA and other subagencies in hopes of forcing changes to immigration enforcement operations at ICE and CBP.

40+ HOUSE REPUBLICANS RALLY BEHIND MARKWAYNE MULLIN FOR DHS, CALL IT A ‘CRITICAL MOMENT’ FOR BORDER SECURITY

He narrowly made it through the nomination process after clashing with Senate Homeland Security Committee Chairman Rand Paul, R-Ky., as the two continue to feud over Mullin’s response to an incident in which Paul’s neighbor blindsided him in his yard, fracturing his ribs.

Mullin needed a Democratic ally to get his nomination out of committee after Paul’s no vote. Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., who formerly exchanged endorsements with socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., as Pennsylvania’s lieutenant governor, has become somewhat of a political maverick and provided the necessary vote to advance the nomination to the full Senate.

There, he garnered support from another Democrat, New Mexico Sen. Martin Heinrich, who said in a statement that he doesn’t believe Mullin will be “bullied” or allow himself to “take orders from Stephen Miller” at the White House.

“This is going to surprise some people, but I consider Markwayne Mullin a friend. We have a very honest and constructive working relationship. We have authored legislation together, such as the Tribal Buffalo Management Act, and we crafted the Legislative Branch Appropriations bill together this year,” Heinrich said.

“We often disagree and when we do, we work to find whatever common ground we share.”

In turn, Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt was tasked with naming Mullin’s replacement, which was subject to a unique Sooner State law that requires the nominee to pledge not to run for a full term in the Senate come November.

WHITE HOUSE SAYS ‘NO ONE’ CHANGING TRUMP ENFORCEMENT AGENDA IN RESPONSE TO ANGEL MOM APPEAL TO MULLIN

Stitt named natgas magnate Alan Armstrong, chief executive of the Williams Companies, whose nomination was criticized by some on the right given the mogul’s past donations to then-Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill., a vocal Trump critic.

“He’s a strong business leader who understands the power of free markets and limited government. He spent his career fighting for Oklahoma’s energy industry and providing affordable, reliable energy to all of America,” Stitt said of Armstrong on Tuesday.

Mullin succeeds Noem, who herself succeeded controversial Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, whom Trump blamed for the open border crisis.

Other top names who have held the role include its inaugural secretary, former Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge, nominated by President George W. Bush in the wake of 9/11. Ridge has since broken with the mainstream “MAGA” GOP in his support for Trump.

Former Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano, former Air Force general counsel Jeh Johnson, Gen. John Kelly (Ret.), and former Deputy Trump White House chief of staff Kirstjen Nielsen also prominently served.

Former Defense Secretary Jim Mattis on Monday said the United States would effectively cede control of the Strait of Hormuz if it ended the war with Iran at this point. 

The waterway is vital to global shipping, particularly the energy market, and has been a focal point of Iran and U.S. forces as Tehran has blocked the strait since the United States and Israel launched coordinated strikes against Iranian targets last month. 

“Iran right now, if we declared victory, they would now say they own the strait,” Mattis said on Monday during CERAWeek in Houston. “You’d see a tax for every ship that goes through.”

“We’re in a tough spot, ladies and gentlemen. I can’t identify a lot of options,” he added.

TRUMP VOWS TO HIT IRAN ‘VERY HARD’ AFTER OBLITERATING NEARLY ’90 PERCENT’ OF REGIME MISSILES

The remarks came as President Donald Trump declared a five-day pause on military strikes against Iran’s energy infrastructure. 

In response to attacks, Iran has effectively closed the strait, a narrow passage where 20% of the world’s oil moves through. 

Fox News Digital has reached out to the White House. 

Despite the pause, it remains doubtful that either side will find a compromise, said Mattis. 

“Neither side has the ability right now to move the other side off of where they’re at,” Mattis said. “Never in history has air power alone changed a regime.”

BEFORE-AND-AFTER SATELLITE IMAGERY OFFERS A RARE LOOK AT DAMAGE INSIDE IRAN

The Iranian regime is charging some tankers $2 million to pass through the strait.

“Collecting $2 million as transit fees from some vessels crossing the strait reflects Iran’s strength,” Iranian lawmaker Alaeddin Boroujerdi told state broadcaster Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) on Sunday. 

On Saturday, Trump warned that the U.S. could target Iran’s power infrastructure if the strait is not reopened within 48 hours.

“If Iran doesn’t FULLY OPEN, WITHOUT THREAT, the Strait of Hormuz, within 48 hours from this exact point in time, the United States of America will hit and obliterate their various POWER PLANTS, STARTING WITH THE BIGGEST ONE FIRST!” Trump said in a post shared on Truth Social.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian made his position clear on X, saying the waterway was open to everyone, except Iran’s adversaries. 

“The Strait of Hormuz is open to all except those who violate our soil,” he wrote. “We firmly confront delirious threats on the battlefield.”

Fox News Digital’s Emma Bussey contributed to this report. 

Senate Republicans have landed on a funding framework for Homeland Security that they hope will end the shutdown.

Now, they just need Senate Democrats to agree.

The framework, which was developed over the weekend and finalized early this week, would reopen and fund most of the agency, except for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

It follows the first face-to-face meetings between Republicans and Democrats during the shutdown, as well as a last-minute meeting at the White House on Monday after President Donald Trump demanded that the GOP combine DHS funding with his prized Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) America Act.

CORNYN TARGETS LAWMAKERS’ AIRPORT FAST PASS AS TSA LINES GROW DURING DHS SHUTDOWN

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said the framework would fund most of DHS, except for roughly $5.5 billion designated for ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO). Senate Democrats previously tried to fund everything except for ICE, but were blocked by Republicans who desired to reopen the entirety of DHS. 

It also includes initial compromises from the original bill, such as millions for body-worn cameras, but not the stricter reforms Senate Democrats had demanded.

“If you’re not going to have funding, I don’t know how all of a sudden you can demand reforms,” Thune said.

“A lot of the reforms are contingent on funding for ICE. And now, since the ERO office is not going to be funded through ICE, Democrats have basically given up on reforms,” he continued. “I never thought that was serious.”

DHS SHUTDOWN TIED FOR SECOND-LONGEST EVER AS DEMS AGAIN BLOCK FUNDING AMID AIRPORT CHAOS, TERRORISM CONCERNS

Still, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Senate Democrats must agree to the framework before Republicans can move forward.

Schumer said on the Senate floor that Republicans would “hopefully now come back to the table and get serious about reaching a solution to pay” Transportation Security Administration (TSA) workers quickly, after Trump’s demands nearly derailed progress made over the past several days.

“We await a written proposal that we will review, because right now the situation in our airports is untenable,” Schumer said.

Key Senate Republicans who were at the White House on Monday or have been involved in negotiations huddled in Thune’s office to discuss the framework. They said Republicans had sent the legislative text to Democrats for review.

“We’re ready to go,” Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D., said. “The Democrats need to join us now. We bent over backwards negotiating with them. We talked to the White House and folks on our side, and they need to stop moving the goalposts.”

It also appears the White House is on board with the framework. A White House official told Fox News Digital, “Conversations are ongoing, but this deal seems to be acceptable.”

MULLIN CONFIRMED AS DHS CHIEF AS LAWMAKERS NEAR SOLUTION ON SHUTDOWN STANDOFF

Another part of the framework would fund immigration enforcement — and include portions of the SAVE America Act — through budget reconciliation. That party-line process nearly divided Republicans last year when they passed Trump’s “big, beautiful bill.”

Not all Republicans support the plan as it stands, meaning Thune will need as many Senate Democrats as possible to reopen the agency.

Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., told CNBC’s “Squawk Box” that he was a “no” on the deal, arguing the framework “doesn’t make any sense to me.”

“And this idea that it will get funded through a reconciliation package is a pipe dream. We’re not going to get a reconciliation package done,” Scott said.

“Look at the last one — the only reason it got done is because of the tax cuts. There are no tax cuts in this, there’s no pressure,” he continued.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio is testifying Tuesday in the trial of former Miami congressman and roommate David Rivera, who is accused of trying to lobby members of Congress and the White House on behalf of former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. 

Rubio, testifying in a packed federal courtroom in Miami with heightened security, said he and Rivera became “very close” when both overlapped for six years as members of the Florida Legislature in the early 2000s. Rivera, a Republican, was arrested in December 2022 on charges of money laundering and representing a foreign government without registering. 

In July 2017, Rubio said he got a call from Rivera saying he needed to see him urgently to discuss Venezuela. The next morning, Rivera traveled to Washington and, at a meeting at his home, said he was working with Raul Gorrin, a media magnate in Venezuela who was Rivera’s main conduit to the Maduro government, on a plan to persuade Maduro to step aside. 

“I was skeptical,” said Rubio during his testimony, according to The Associated Press, adding that the Maduro government was full of “double dealers” who were constantly pitching plans to betray Maduro. 

VENEZUELA’S DELCY RODRIGUEZ REPLACES SANCTIONED LOYALIST DEFENSE MINISTER WITH MILITARY INTEL HEAD 

“But if there was a 1% chance it was real, and I had a role to play alerting the White House, I was open to doing that,” he added. 

Within days, borrowing talking points provided by Rivera, Rubio wrote and delivered a speech on the Senate floor signaling the U.S. would not retaliate against Venezuelan government insiders who worked to push Maduro from power, the AP reported. 

“He provided me with insight into some of the key phrases that regime insiders would’ve wanted to hear to know this was serious,” Rubio testified. “No vengeance, no retribution.” 

In the indictment against Rivera, there’s no indication that Rubio acted improperly as a senator at the time. 

The allegations come in connection to a $50 million consulting contract Rivera signed with Venezuela’s socialist government. 

The indictment alleges Rivera, at the start of the Trump administration, was part of a conspiracy to lobby on behalf of Venezuela to lower tensions with the U.S., resolve a legal dispute with a U.S. oil company and end U.S. sanctions against the South American nation — all without registering as a foreign agent. 

RUBIO SAYS CUBA NEEDS ‘NEW PEOPLE IN CHARGE’ AS BLACKOUTS, UNREST GRIP ISLAND 

As part of his work, Rivera and his co-defendant are accused of trying to arrange meetings for then-Foreign Minister Delcy Rodríguez — now Venezuela’s acting president — in Dallas, New York, Washington and Caracas, Venezuela, with White House officials, members of Congress and the chief executive officer of Exxon Mobil. 

To cloak their activities, prosecutors said, the co-defendants and others set up a chat group called MIA — for Miami — in which they used Spanish-language code words like “Little Cuban” for Rubio, “The Lady in Red” for Rodríguez and “melons” for millions of dollars. 

“This case is about two things: greed and betrayal,” prosecutor Roger Cruz said in his opening statement Monday. “The evidence will show that for $50 million these two defendants made a pact to secretly lobby for Nicolás Maduro,” as well as for Rodríguez. 

Rivera, 60, counters that his one-man firm, Interamerican Consulting, was hired by an American subsidiary of Venezuela’s state-owned oil company — not the company itself — and therefore did not need to register as a foreign agent. 

His three-month contract, his attorney says, was focused exclusively on luring Exxon back to Venezuela — commercial work that is generally exempt from the Foreign Agents Registration Act. 

Separate and wholly distinct from that consulting work were his efforts with the Venezuelan opposition to pave the way for Maduro’s exit, Rivera’s defense said. 

Fox News’ Gillian Turner, Fox News Digital’s Danielle Wallace and The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

Republican Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt on Tuesday announced Alan Armstrong as his choice to fill Markwayne Mullin’s U.S. Senate seat. 

The Senate on Monday voted 54-45 to confirm President Donald Trump’s nomination of Mullin to serve as secretary of the Department of Homeland Security. Mullin is being sworn in Tuesday.

Stitt, who made the announcement during a press conference on Tuesday, described Armstrong in a post on X as “a proud third-generation Oklahoman, staunch conservative, respected business leader, and a devoted family man with an inspiring American Dream story.”

REPORTER’S NOTEBOOK: GOP EYES DHS DEAL FUNDING ICE PROBES, BUT NOT REMOVALS, AS SHUTDOWN DRAGS

The governor noted during the press conference that Armstrong is stepping down from the board of Williams. 

The company’s website describes Williams as an “energy infrastructure company.”

MULLIN CONFIRMED AS DHS CHIEF AS LAWMAKERS NEAR SOLUTION ON SHUTDOWN STANDOFF

Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., was the only Republican to vote against Mullin’s confirmation, while Sens. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania and Martin Heinrich of New Mexico were the only Democrats to vote for confirmation. 

Mullin cast a vote to green-light his own nomination.

Armstrong will not be able to run in the next election for the Senate seat he’s now filling because Oklahoma state law stipulates that “a person who is a prospective appointee shall submit to the Secretary of State an oath affirming that the person will not file as a candidate for the office when it next appears on the ballot.”

TRUMP-BACKED SENATE HOPEFUL GAINS MOMENTUM WITH TOP GOP ENDORSEMNTS BEFORE MULLIN DHS SHIFT

Mullin is replacing Kristi Noem, who will instead serve as a special envoy for a security initiative pertaining to the Western Hemisphere.

Left-wing Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner is spotlighting a local church in an ad seeking to win over voters – but the congregation says it wants nothing to do with his campaign.

Sullivan Harbor Baptist Church, located in Platner’s hometown, appears in a 30-second spot the Platner campaign rolled out earlier in March. The video, titled “The Veteran Who Came Home,” features military veterans endorsing Platner’s campaign and is interspersed with shots of the American flag and the white clapboard church.

“We as Sullivan Harbor Baptist Church do not endorse this or any candidate,” the church wrote on Facebook last week. “We wish that he would remove our photo on his post.”

The ad comes as Platner, a staunch progressive backed by Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., has faced fierce backlash over his since-removed chest tattoo resembling a Nazi symbol and controversial online comments that resurfaced in 2025.

He is running to unseat longtime Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, in November’s midterm elections, but first he faces Gov. Janet Mills in the Democratic primary, in a battle pitting the Democratic Party’s establishment against its far-left flank.

MAINE GOV MILLS TAKES BRUTAL SHOT AT JOE BIDEN WHEN PRESSED ON AGE CONCERNS IN SENATE RACE

The Platner campaign did not respond to multiple requests for comment from Fox News Digital about whether it would take down the ad or remove the church from campaign materials.

Despite the church’s plea, versions of the ad continued to run on Facebook and Instagram, according to a Fox Digital review of the Platner campaign’s digital ad spending.

The campaign’s appeals to patriotism and faith come as he attempts to overcome a host of controversies tied to old Reddit posts that reemerged in fall 2025.

The Mills campaign, which has the tacit support of Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., unveiled its first negative ad last week ripping Platner for making crude remarks in 2013 suggesting women deserved sexual assault.

REPUBLICAN SEN SUSAN COLLINS SAYS SHE’S RUNNING FOR RE-ELECTION

Platner’s campaign immediately fired back with an ad seeking to move past the controversy.

“These are words and statements I abhor,” Platner says in the spot. “So, Maine, I’m asking you not to judge me for the worst thing I said on the internet on my worst day 14 years ago, but who I am today.”

The Republican National Committee slammed Platner for featuring the church in his campaign ad.

“Invoking religion in this ad was a transparent attempt to distract people from the fact that Graham Platner is a morally bankrupt, Nazi-sympathizing, rapist-apologizing, chauvinist,” RNC spokeswoman Kristen Cianci said in a statement. “It’s no wonder Platner’s hometown church can’t stomach being associated with him.”

Platner also referred to himself as a communist, denigrated law enforcement as “bastards” and suggested white Americans are “racist” and “stupid” in other since-deleted posts on Reddit.

He has largely blamed his comments on a period of “disillusionment” he experienced after his military service concluded. The Maine Democrat is a combat veteran who served multiple overseas deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Platner, an oyster farmer and political newcomer, has consistently led Mills in polling ahead of the state’s June primary despite the two-term governor’s high name recognition from decades in public life. 

He is running on an anti-establishment, far-left platform that has drawn large crowds on the campaign trail. Platner, 41, also frequently talks about the need for generational change — a direct hit on Mills, 78, who would be the oldest freshman senator in U.S. history if elected in November.

House conservatives are firing a warning shot at their Republican counterparts in the Senate as a deal begins to take shape on ending the six-week Department of Homeland Security (DHS) shutdown. 

Senate Republicans are eyeing a second “big, beautiful bill” via the budget reconciliation process aimed at funding portions of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) that would likely get little to no Democratic support.

That bill would also include parts of the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act (SAVE America) Act, legislation to require proof of citizenship to register to vote and photo ID to cast ballots in federal elections.

But a growing contingent of House Republicans who are refusing to vote for any Senate-led legislation are crying foul on that portion of the plan.

THE HITCHHIKER’S GUIDE TO THE ‘TALKING FILIBUSTER’ AND THE SAVE ACT

“Senate Republicans refused to force a talking filibuster to pass the SAVE America Act because it would have allowed Democrats to offer unlimited amendments. Now, Senate R’s claim they will pass SAVE America Act via reconciliation (which may not even be possible under the Senate’s arcane rules), which would… checks notes …allow Democrats to offer unlimited amendments,” the conservative House Freedom Caucus said in a statement posted to X on Tuesday.

“This is gaslighting. The American people are not stupid and will not accept more failure theater from Republicans in Congress.”

Rep. Randy Fine, R-Fla., who led a letter to Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., vowing to oppose Senate bills until the SAVE America Act was passed, signaled he would reserve final judgment until a legislative proposal was released. But he did signal some skepticism in comments to Fox News Digital on Tuesday.

HOUSE REPUBLICANS PUSH JOHNSON TO GO TO WAR WITH SENATE OVER SAVE ACT

“It will not resolve my issue. I mean, look, they can say they’ll put it in reconciliation if they want. But I will continue to vote no on all Senate bills until the SAVE America Act is passed,” Fine said.

He made an exception for funding DHS, however, particularly if the final Senate bill was a modified version of that which the House already passed in January.

Republican senators huddled with President Donald Trump and others at the White House late on Monday, and emerged hopeful that an end to the shutdown could be in sight.

MULLIN CONFIRMED AS DHS CHIEF AS LAWMAKERS NEAR SOLUTION ON SHUTDOWN STANDOFF

The working framework would see ICE funding carved from the broader DHS spending bill, something Senate Democrats have tried to do in recent weeks but were blocked by Senate Republicans. That means most of the agency would be reopened, and ICE would be dealt with in the future through budget reconciliation, the process that nearly ripped the GOP apart last year when they passed the “big, beautiful bill.” And part of the deal would also see Republicans pair portions of the SAVE America Act tossed in with ICE funding, which some Senate Republicans are already skeptical of.

Only parts of ICE would be left to reconciliation, however, with the majority of the agency, save for its enforcement and removal operations, being funded in the initial compromise deal, according to PBS.

The remainder of DHS would be funded via a bipartisan deal that could be released as soon as Tuesday.

But the budget reconciliation process is a long and politically arduous path that could take months — a particularly difficult feat in an election year.

There’s also been skepticism in both the House and Senate that Republicans’ razor-thin majorities could unite enough to pass another massive bill, like the one signed into law by Trump in July that mainly dealt with his tax plans.

Conservatives have also noted that there’s little chance many of the SAVE America Act’s provisions could survive the strict guardrails around what can be included in reconciliation.

A source familiar with the House Freedom Caucus’s thinking also panned the prospective deal to Fox News Digital.

“Radical progressive Democrats shut down Homeland Security to protect criminal aliens. Why on earth would we hand them exactly what they want by keeping the deportation wing unfunded?” the source said on Tuesday. “We hold the leverage. Don’t surrender it. No more kicking immigration enforcement down the road, so Democrats can take a victory lap.”

It would put the group at odds with not only Republican leaders in the Senate, but potentially the White House as well.

A White House official told Fox News Digital before the deal became official that, “Conversations are ongoing, but this deal seems to be acceptable.”

And a source familiar with negotiations on DHS retorted to Fox News Digital that the Freedom Caucus’ argument comparing the talking filibuster with reconciliation was “not even close to being the same.”

The key difference is that during reconciliation there is limited debate and only amendments that deal directly with what’s in the package can be offered, while in a talking filibuster there is unlimited debate and unlimited amendments.

The Senate GOP wanted to avoid the latter scenario, given that they aren’t unified to block every Democratic amendment that could have drastically altered the SAVE America Act.

Former counterterrorism official Joe Kent sparred with conservative radio host and Fox News personality Mark Levin on his syndicated radio show Monday, denying leak allegations, breaking with the Trump administration over Iran, and claiming Israel “forced President Trump into this war.”  

“I never leaked any classified information,” Kent said, as Levin pressed him on reports that he was under investigation by the FBI for leaking. 

Three sources familiar with the matter have told Fox News the FBI probe into Kent predated his resignation. 

INSIDE JOE KENT’S ABRUPT FALL AS GOP BACKLASH GROWS OVER ANTISEMITISM ACCUSATIONS, FBI PROBE

Kent also disputed the administration’s case for the conflict with Iran, saying “there was no imminent threat coming from Iran against Americans.”

Kent resigned March 17 as director of the National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC), issuing a public letter claiming the U.S. entered the conflict due to “pressure from Israel” — a position he has since defended in multiple media appearances.

Kent maintained that U.S. intelligence did not support the administration’s justification for military action in Iran, asserting “we had no intelligence that said that Iran was working to develop a nuclear weapon,” a claim that runs counter to assessments publicly cited by top administration officials.

Kent’s resignation makes him the highest-ranking figure in the Trump administration to step down over the Iran war, a rare instance of open dissent from a senior national security official. His assertions put him at odds with top intelligence and defense officials who have said Iran posed an immediate threat to the United States. 

“Joe Kent’s self-aggrandizing resignation letter and recent comments are riddled with lies. Most egregious are Kent’s false claims that the largest state sponsor of terrorism somehow did not pose a threat to the United States and that Israel forced the President into launching Operation Epic Fury,” White House spokesperson Davis Ingle told Fox News Digital. “As Commander-in-Chief, President Trump took decisive action based on strong evidence which showed that the terrorist Iranian regime posed an imminent threat and was preparing to strike Americans first.”

Levin, a staunch advocate of the U.S. alliance with Israel and host of weekend program “Life, Liberty & Levin” on Fox, repeatedly challenged Kent’s claims throughout the roughly 22-minute interview, turning what began as a policy discussion into a pointed back-and-forth over intelligence, Israel and Trump’s decision-making. 

Levin rejected Kent’s assertion that Israel drove the U.S. into war, calling it “conspiratorial” and pushing back on the idea that a foreign government could dictate American military action.

“Why do you create a conspiratorial notion that Israel dragged the powerful Donald Trump into war?” Levin asked on his radio show, “The Mark Levin Show.” “Do you have no respect for Donald Trump’s agency that he has the capacity to make these decisions himself?”

Kent responded, “I believe that he was influenced by a media echo chamber and by the Israelis.”

Kent also argued that “the Israelis forced President Trump into this war,” a claim Levin repeatedly pushed back on during the exchange. 

Kent elsewhere described the decision as influenced by Israeli pressure.

Kent maintained that “there was no intelligence that said that Iran was working to develop a nuclear weapon.”

As director of the National Counterterrorism Center, Kent would have had access to high-level intelligence assessments, including threat reporting and interagency analysis used to brief senior policymakers. 

Administration officials have told Fox News he was not included in discussions surrounding the Iran conflict known as Operation Epic Fury. 

Levin countered, saying, “The president agrees with his own conclusions. The CIA director says you’re wrong.”

Asked Wednesday during a Senate hearing if he disagreed with Kent’s resignation assessment that Iran did not pose an imminent threat, CIA Director John Ratcliffe said he did. 

“I think Iran has been a constant threat to the United States for an extended period of time and posed an immediate threat at this time,” Ratcliffe said. 

Levin also questioned Kent’s credibility Monday, telling him, “I hope when you tell me you haven’t leaked that you are telling me the truth.”

Kent also indicated that efforts to investigate potential foreign links to the killing of Charlie Kirk and the attempted assassination of President Donald Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania, were not fully carried out.

GABBARD SIDESTEPS IRAN ‘IMMINENT THREAT’ CLAIM UNDER SENATE GRILLING

“What I know is that there were foreign leads that we didn’t get a chance to look into. From my vantage point at the National Counterterrorism Center, that was not thoroughly looked into,” Kent said, referring to the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.

In other interviews, Kent has pointed to social media posts made before the attack against Kirk and suggested authorities should examine whether any individuals had prior knowledge or made threats. 

Levin pressed Kent on whether he was suggesting a specific country, including Israel, may have been involved in Kirk’s death, but Kent stopped short of naming any nation, saying only that potential foreign links should be investigated.

On Thomas Matthew Crooks and the attempted assassination of Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania, Kent said: “We should investigate to see if there’s any linkage, particularly between Iran and the Iranian agent who was convicted for plotting an assassination attempt against President Trump.”

Kent pointed to the case of Asif Merchant, a Pakistani national convicted in U.S. federal court in March for attempting to orchestrate a political assassination plot tied to Iran’s Revolutionary Guard.

Endorsed by Trump in two unsuccessful congressional campaigns, Kent rose to MAGA stardom in large part in his opposition to “endless wars” after the death of his wife, Shannon, in a suicide bombing in Syria in 2019.

Kent could not be reached for comment. 

Tulsi Gabbard, the director of National Intelligence, has not publicly weighed in on Kent’s claims and largely has deferred to the president’s assessment of the Iran threat in recent public appearances. It’s not clear who has taken on Kent’s duties as director of the National Counterterrorism Center. 

The Office of the Director of National Intelligence and the Israeli embassy could not immediately be reached for comment. 

A resurfaced post by Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy discussing the people Democrats “care about most” is sparking social media outrage from conservatives, making the case it points to their priorities in the current fight on Department of Homeland Security funding. 

In the clip, posted on Monday night by the conservative influencer account End Wokeness, MSNBC host Chris Hayes asked Murphy in 2024 about negotiations between Democrats and Republicans happening at the time about a border security bill. Hayes pressed Murphy on why Democrats were pushing to get funding for Ukraine instead of pushing for a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants, as the party had done in the past.

“Well, I mean, Chris, that’s been a failed play for 20 years,” Murphy replied. “So you are right that that has been the Democratic strategy for 30 years, maybe, and it has failed to deliver for the people we care about most, the undocumented Americans that are in this country.”

TRUMP DEMANDS SAVE AMERICA ACT BE TIED TO DHS FUNDING AMID AIRPORT CHAOS

Conservatives quickly picked up on the clip and argued it’s emblematic of why Democrats haven’t been motivated to end the DHS shutdown that they voted for in February in opposition to ICE, even as concerns about national security during the war with Iran linger. 

“This has absolutely proven to be true and never more than this week,” Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, posted on X. “Senate Democrats have allowed 260,000 American workers to be used as political pawns so that they could protect criminal aliens that invaded our nation. Sick stuff.”

“Treachery,” Tesla and Space X CEO Elon Musk posted on X.

LIZ PEEK: VOTERS TELL CONGRESS ‘DO YOUR JOB’ AND END THE DHS SHOWDOWN

“He really said it,” Fox News contributor Guy Benson posted on X.

“And this guy is going to run for President…,” former White House press secretary and Fox News contributor Ari Fleischer posted on X.

“Bookmarked for later this year!” White House deputy chief of staff James Blair posted on X.

“He accidentally said the truth out loud,” Congressman Derrick Van Orden, R-Wis., posted on X.

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

Fox News Digital’s Hannah Panreck contributed to this report

Nearly a dozen Illinois Democrats are declining to defend their votes against the Laken Riley Act after the killing of a Loyola student allegedly by an illegal immigrant who, under the law, could have been detained following a prior arrest.

Sheridan Gorman, 18, was shot and killed by Jose Medina-Medina, authorities allege, who had previously been picked up for shoplifting in Cook County. That charge would have qualified him to be held for federal detention and processing instead of being released back onto the streets, where he could reoffend, under the act named for a Georgia college student slain by another illegal immigrant repeat offender.

DHS Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis told Fox News Digital that Gorman’s death could have been prevented if not for sanctuary state and city policies and if a law like the Laken Riley Act had been in effect sooner.

“Sheridan Gorman — just like Laken Riley and countless other American victims — would still be with us today and with their families if it were not for sanctuary politicians’ refusal to cooperate with ICE,” Bis said.

CHICAGO LAWMAKER RIPPED OVER ‘DISGUSTING’ RESPONSE TO COLLEGE STUDENT KILLED BY ALLEGED ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT

The Illinois delegation voted 11-5 against the Laken Riley Act, with Democratic Rep. Brad Schneider not voting due to a medical emergency but later saying he would have voted “no.”

All three Republicans, along with Democratic Reps. Nikki Budzinski and Eric Sorenson, voted for the act, but 11 other Democrats opposed it, along with Schneider.

“While I firmly believe that the government has a responsibility to keep our communities safe and do everything in its power to keep dangerous criminals off our streets, this bill, as written, opens the door to the targeting and detention of innocent people, something clearly prohibited by our Constitution,” Schneider said in a January 2025 statement, going on to say he would support something more along the lines of the Lankford-Sinema immigration bill opposed by President Donald Trump.

Schneider said at the time the Laken Riley Act used the student’s death to “score cheap political points.” He did not respond to a request for comment Monday.

Nine of the 11 Democrats who voted “no” did not respond or did not provide comment, except Reps. Jonathan Jackson of Chicago and Jan Schakowsky of Evanston.

Jackson, the son of the late Rev. Jesse Jackson, told Fox News Digital that Gorman’s murder is a “senseless tragedy.”

“My deepest condolences go out to her family, friends, and the entire community who are mourning this unspeakable loss. The person responsible for Sheridan’s murder must be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law.”

“But let’s be clear: this is about more than a single piece of legislation,” Jackson said in reference to the Laken Riley Act.

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“I encourage my colleagues to prioritize bills that strengthen, not divide, our communities and policies which would build safer, thriving communities, and save lives, by investing in effective community-based violence interventions.”

A Schakowsky spokesperson directed Fox News Digital to a public statement by the retiring Democrat:

“There are no words for a loss like this. Sheridan Gorman was just 18 years old, with her whole life ahead of her. My heart is with her family, her friends, and every member of the Loyola community mourning this senseless tragedy,” Schakowsky said, while however offering no comment on the Laken Riley Act itself.

DHS was adamant that Gorman’s death was preventable had the Laken Riley Act been made law.

“These politicians would rather release criminal illegal aliens from jails into our communities to perpetuate more crimes and create more victims. Sheridan Gorman was failed by open border policies and sanctuary politicians who released this illegal alien twice before he went on to commit this heinous murder,” Bis told Fox News Digital.

She called on Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker and Chicago leaders to stop releasing criminal illegal immigrants back on the streets and said Trump signed the Laken Riley Act to prevent cases just like Gorman’s.

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She said 21,400 illegal immigrants have been arrested or detained thanks to the Laken Riley Act in one year since its passage.

Meanwhile, nine other Illinois Democrats remained officially mum on their no votes.

A representative for Rep. Danny Davis of Chicago said the congressman was on another call when a reporter followed up earlier, but Fox News Digital never received a call back.

Requests for comment were sent to Reps. Delia Ramirez, Robin Kelly, Mike Quigley and Jesus Garcia of Chicago; Bill Foster of Aurora; Lauren Underwood of Naperville; Sean Casten of Downers Grove; and Raja Krishnamoorthi of Schaumburg.

Sens. Richard Durbin and Tammy Duckworth also voted “no” and did not respond to requests for comment.

Rep. Mike Collins, R-Ga., who authored the House version of the Laken Riley Act, said in a statement that he did so to get criminals like Medina-Medina off the streets.

“This young woman (Gorman) had her whole life ahead of her, and it was taken away by an illegal alien who had already been arrested in a sanctuary city,” Collins said. “If [the act] had been law in 2023, she would still be alive today.”