Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., is sounding alarms about the threat of Sharia law in the U.S., warning that it is in direct conflict with the tenets the U.S. was founded on.

“There’s a lot of energy in the country and a lot of popular sentiment that the demand to impose Sharia law in America is a serious problem,” Johnson told reporters at a news conference at House Republicans’ annual policy retreat in Miami.

“I think that that’s a serious issue. Sharia law and the imposition of Sharia law is contrary to the U.S. Constitution.”

MAGA HARDLINER PUSHES BAN ON IMMIGRATION FROM ISLAMIC COUNTRIES, US ADVERSARIES IN WAKE OF TEXAS SHOOTING

He was answering a question regarding the budding backlash against Rep. Andy Ogles, R-Tenn., who posted on X, “Muslims don’t belong in American society.”

The post was immediately attacked by Democrats as racist and bigoted, with some, including Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., demanding that Johnson “speak out against this hate.”

Ogles, for his part, was unrepentant. He followed his post with another that said, “My comments wouldn’t even be a news story if I had said this about Christians. Please spare me your moral outrage. Cry harder.”

Johnson said Ogles’ comments were “different language than I would use” but suggested he believed the Tennessee Republican was referring to immigrants who refuse to adapt to U.S. culture and values.

SHARIA LAW VICTIM WHO FLED SOMALIA ISSUES ENDORSEMENT IN CRITICAL SENATE RACE

“When you seek to come to a country and not assimilate, but to impose Sharia law — Sharia law is in conflict with the U.S. Constitution. That is the conflict that people are talking about,” Johnson said.

“It is not about people as Muslims. It’s about those who seek to impose a different belief system that is in direct conflict with the Constitution. That’s where I think that comes from.”

Conservatives in Congress have grown more vocal about the threat of Sharia law in recent months, with representatives Keith Self, R-Texas, and Chip Roy, R-Texas, even moving to form a “Sharia-free America Caucus.”

Sharia broadly refers to a code of ethics and conduct used by devout Muslims. Sharia law more specifically often refers to the criminal code used in non-secular Islamic countries, like Iran.

In its most extreme cases, such as when ISIS controlled parts of the Middle East, charges like blasphemy could carry the death penalty. But guarantees of religious freedom in the Constitution mean that Sharia law cannot be carried out on any governmental level in the U.S.

New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani condemned an alleged ISIS-inspired bomb plot outside Gracie Mansion but did not use the phrase “radical Islamic terror,” reviving long-running criticism from the Obama era that some Democratic leaders avoid the term.

Two suspects were arrested after allegedly throwing improvised explosive devices near the mansion during a protest Saturday, with one reportedly telling authorities he was inspired by ISIS. Mamdani later described the attempted attack as “terrorism” but did not reference radical Islam in his initial public remarks.

Several Republican lawmakers and political rivals criticized Mamdani’s choice of words.

“There is absolutely no excuse for any public official to equivocate or be confused here,” New York State Sen. Steve Chan, R-Brooklyn, told Fox News Digital on Tuesday.

DRAMATIC VIDEO SHOWS NYPD TACKLING MAN WHO THREW ‘IGNITED DEVICE’ NEAR NYC MAYOR’S HOME DURING PROTEST CLASH

“Anyone who throws a bomb is not a protester: they are a terrorist, plain and simple and elected officials need to call it like it is,” Chan said, adding that he commends the NYPD for their brave and swift action at the scene.

Authorities said the two suspects, Emir Balat and Ibrahim Kayumi, both from the Philadelphia suburbs, allegedly threw improvised explosive devices containing a compound known as the “Mother of Satan” during the protest, with one reportedly admitting he was inspired by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS).

Greg Kelly, the son of former NYPD commissioner Ray Kelly — who led New York through the aftermath of both 9/11 and the 1993 World Trade Center bombing — critiqued Mamdani for calling out the protest as led by an alleged “white supremacist” but whiffing on the ideology behind suspected ISIS-supporters’ actions.

“Imagine that: a bomb goes off in New York City, laid by ISIS-inspired terrorists. The mayor points at White supremacy as the problem; White supremacy if only we could get rid of those White supremacists,” Kelly said on his 77WABC radio program.

After the attack, Mamdani held a press conference with NYPD Commissioner Jessica S. Tisch and called out the “vile protest” against Islam led by January 6 defendant Jake Lang that allegedly spurred the two boys to attack the scene.

“New York City will never tolerate violence, whether from protests or counter protests,” Mamdani said, going on to condemn the arrested suspects for “coming here to commit an act of terrorism” in return.

However, New York Democratic scion Andrew Cuomo — the former three-term governor and mayoral candidate — lambasted Mamdani’s response as well.

HERO NYPD OFFICERS HONORED FOR FOILING ALLEGED ISIS-INSPIRED TERROR PLOT NEAR GRACIE MANSION

“Had the bomb gone off… [it] literally would have done horrific damage. And the police, ironically, were closest to the bomb. Not Jake Lang,” he said.

“The mayor puts out a statement condemning Jake Lang. I agree. And in the second part of the statement, condemns the terrorists. There is no moral equivalency: Jake Lang; bigot, hateful, of course. Yes, I agree — terrorists who bring a bomb to kill people? They are not equivalent, and this city has no tolerance for terrorism or attempted terrorists and that statement has to be made loud and clear,” Cuomo said.

Hours later, Mamdani returned with a statement posted to social media that cited ISIS.

“Emir Balat and Ibrahim Kayumi have been charged with committing a heinous act of terrorism and proclaiming their allegiance to ISIS. They should be held fully accountable for their actions,” the statement read in part.

A few minutes later, former Mayor Eric Adams posted his own more thorough response to the situation, saying that “no one should be surprised.”

“After years of hateful rhetoric and incitement, attempts to justify attacks on Jews in Israel, praise for violence like the killing of a CEO, and chants about ‘globalizing the intifada’ and ‘Death to America,’ words have now escalated into violence on the streets of New York City, with explosives being thrown,” Adams said.

He identified a “serious radicalization problem” on both political fringes and said it is troubling to see an emphasis on young people being radicalized.

“If we don’t confront it, this will only get worse,” Adams said.

SUSPECT IN NYC TERROR PROBE PLANNED ATTACK ‘BIGGER THAN THE BOSTON MARATHON BOMBING,’ PROSECUTORS SAY

One of the two alleged terrorists arrested was still a student at Neshaminy High School in Neshaminy, Pennsylvania.

Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa., the longtime Bucks County moderate, said in a statement that authorities in Middletown Township were investigating the situation near the boys’ homes.

“Authorities have indicated that there is no known threat to the surrounding community, and the situation remains under the control of law enforcement. The activity was not related to immigration enforcement,” Fitzpatrick said.

In a letter to parents, Neshaminy superintendent Jason Bowman said the school is in contact with law enforcement and that there is no threat to other students at this time.

President Donald Trump made what he described as the left’s refusal to call out “Radical Islamic Terrorism” a centerpiece of his 2016 platform, when he regularly criticized former President Barack Obama for failing to fully identify such attacks.

“Radical islamic terrorism, and people dont like saying that and our president refuses to use the term. Every time another event happens I say I wonder if he’ll say it this time,” Trump said during a campaign rally in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and went on to criticize his 2016 opponent, former first lady Hillary Clinton, along similar lines.

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

Senate Democrats are preparing a series of war powers votes aimed at curbing President Donald Trump’s authority to continue military operations against Iran — and forcing the administration to publicly defend its actions.

Several Senate Democrats filed war powers resolutions last week meant to handcuff Trump and his continued conflict in the Middle East. It’s a power play by the group, who say the administration has not shown enough evidence that the U.S. should have struck Iran in the first place, much less continue fighting in the region.

Sens. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., Cory Booker, D-N.J., Adam Schiff, D-Calif., and Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., collectively filed five war powers resolutions last week, and they’re joined by Sens. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., and Tim Kaine, D-Va. Kaine has filed resolution after resolution to curb Trump’s war authority since he took office for his second term.

SCHUMER ONCE BLOCKED TRUMP’S MOVE TO FILL THE NATION’S OIL RESERVES, NOW HE WANTS THEM OPENED

Those resolutions, barring an official slate of hearings with Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, could hit the Senate next week and grind down floor time.

“This Congress should be focused on the biggest military action since the Afghanistan war, and we’re not even holding hearings on that,” Booker told Fox News Digital. 

Murphy said that the resolutions could hit the Senate floor as soon as next week, and warned that if hearings are set in motion, Democrats would be able to “call up a vote every day on war powers and force at least a short debate and vote every day.”

“There’s no excuse to hide what the administration is doing from the public,” Murphy said. 

STATE DEPARTMENT DEFENDS ‘PROACTIVE’ EVACUATION EFFORTS AGAINST DEMS’ CLAIMS OF DIPLOMATIC CHAOS

While the group wouldn’t reveal exactly what their gridlock-inducing floor strategy would look like, they contended that the chairs of the Senate Armed Services and Senate Foreign Relations committees had already requested that Rubio and Hegseth testify.

Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chair Jim Risch, R-Idaho, wouldn’t say whether he had requested Rubio to appear before his panel but blamed Senate Democrats for helping the Iranian Revolutionary Guard.

“You’ll notice the Democrats are the only entity on this planet who are helping the IRGC,” Risch told Fox News Digital, referring to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

OPERATION EPIC FURY SURVIVES SENATE CHALLENGE AS REPUBLICANS CLOSE RANKS BEHIND TRUMP

The group argued that Rubio and Hegseth should make the case for the war in Iran to the public and that closed-door, classified briefings on the matter weren’t enough to convince them that the war was necessary.

“I was absolutely not convinced. In fact, nothing was offered to show me that we were under imminent attack,” Baldwin said. “That we were under imminent attack, or that it was reasonable to believe that we were at risk — and that’s what would trigger the president’s authority to use military force without coming to Congress first.”

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., acknowledged that Democrats’ strategy would eat away at floor time but cautioned that “we’ll see how the next few days in the conflict go.”

“I’m sure there’ll be some decisions made around that, but maybe that’ll affect whether or not they try to trigger all those,” Thune said.

Thune said that “there always are” hearings and noted that the Senate Armed Services Committee would be holding hearings soon on the annual National Defense Authorization Act.

“So they’re going to have all those folks coming through on a fairly routine basis anyway, and I’m sure this will be a subject of discussion,” Thune said.

Border Patrol Chief Greg Bovino declared the Trump administration’s Chicago immigration crackdown “vindicated” Monday after a federal appeals court threw out a sweeping injunction that had curtailed enforcement operations in the city.

On Monday, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit tossed out a preliminary injunction against federal officers enforcing immigration law in the Chicago area issued by Obama-appointed Judge Sara Ellis. The circuit court issued a blistering rebuke of Ellis’ injunction, calling it “overbroad” and “constitutionally suspect.” The ruling effectively erases the lower court’s restrictions on federal immigration operations in Chicago, delivering a legal victory to federal immigration authorities and giving the controversial official fresh political ammunition after months of backlash.

After the ruling, Bovino posted on X, “Chicago efforts vindicated!!! Well done.”

“What’s not suspect is legal, ethical, and moral Border Patrol Agents conducting operations in Chicago. Well done, Border Patrol! TRUTH came through!” he wrote in another post.

JEWISH LEADERS WANT CHICAGO MAYOR TO CREATE ANTISEMITISM TASK FORCE

Bovino was recently pulled out of his leading role in Minneapolis amid intense controversy over the killing of two anti-ICE activists, Renee Good and Alex Pretti, by federal officers. He has faced intense criticism from Democrats across the country.

In his previous role as Border Patrol commander at large, Bovino became the face of many of the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement operations, including Chicago, Minneapolis and Los Angeles.

Bovino was replaced by border czar Tom Homan as head of the Minneapolis operation in January. He was returned to his previous role as chief of the Border Patrol’s El Centro Sector in Southern California.

Despite the criticisms leveled against him, after the circuit court ruling, Bovino touted Border Patrol agents as the “most highly trained, experienced agency ready to take on expeditionary type missions in the toughest of environments.”

“Our operations are conducted with much foresight with the most experienced, proven, and battle hardened agents the Border Patrol has to offer to ensure we WIN every time,” he added in another tweet celebrating the ruling.

FORMER ILLINOIS GOVERNOR SLAMS PRITZKER FOR ‘MALPRACTICE’ AS BEARS LOOK TO FLEE TO RED STATE

In its ruling, the appeals court panel faulted Ellis for applying her injunction not just to specific officers but “the entire Departments of Homeland Security and Justice, as well as anyone acting in concert with them.” The panel criticized this, saying it “effectively established the district court as the supervisor of all Executive Branch activity in the city of Chicago.”

Ellis had issued a lengthy 233-page opinion explaining why she granted the class-wide preliminary injunction against Homeland Security and Justice Department authorities carrying out immigration enforcement in Chicago. Her order followed a string of clashes between protesters and agents during Operation Midway Blitz, the effort launched last year by the Trump administration to crack down on illegal immigration and street crime in Chicago.

Ellis justified the injunction by saying it was not novel and that it only ordered federal agents to follow current DHS policies regarding use of force and body-worn cameras.

BLUE-STATE GOVERNORS MOVE TO KEEP HEAT ON NOEM AS DHS FIRES BACK

“In other words, the Court’s order should break no new ground, and indeed it tracks similar orders entered in other crowd control cases across the country,” Ellis said.

PALM BEACH, Fla. — As Republicans aim to hold their fragile House and Senate majorities in the 2026 midterm elections, they’ve got an ally in the politically potent and deep-pocketed fiscally conservative group Club for Growth.

Framing the midterms, Club for Growth President David McIntosh emphasized in an exclusive Fox News Digital interview on the sidelines of the group’s annual economic conference “what’s at stake” in the midterms.

“It’s the difference between all the great progress, the jobs, the good economy, turning America around,” that McIntosh said President Donald Trump and Republicans on Capitol Hill have accomplished over the past year, “versus letting the socialists back in, they’ll shut it all down.” 

For a quarter-century, the club has been one of the biggest backers of Republican candidates and causes, as it pushes its pro-growth and limited-government conservative agenda.

SENATE REPUBLICAN CAMPAIGN CHIEF REMAINS OPTIMISTIC DESPITE ROUGHER MIDTERM CLIMATE

McIntosh, in a presentation to major donors to the group, highlighted that the club spent more than $160 million in the GOP primaries and general election during the 2024 election cycle, “and won nearly 80%” of its races.

In 2026, the group aims to raise and spend $175 million in the midterms, and says it’s already brought in $65 million from donors.

The club plans to spend $75 million on Senate races, $55 million on House showdowns, $20 million in ballot box battles for governors, and $20 million — mostly already spent — on issue advocacy in support of Trump’s tax cuts, school choice efforts and the push for congressional redistricting.

CASH SURGE: HOUSE GOP SMASHES FUNDRAISING RECORDS AS REPUBLICANS GEAR UP TO DEFEND SLIM MAJORITY

“I think the House is the most vulnerable,” McIntosh said as he pointed to the GOP’s fragile 218–214 majority. 

“So we’ve already started raising money for the general. I’ve got a House fund, an ambitious goal of $40 million to help our guys win,” he added as he spotlighted a fund for vulnerable House Republican incumbents.

As the party in power, Republicans are facing traditional political headwinds which usually result in the loss of congressional seats in the midterms. And Democrats are energized, thanks to a slew of ballot box victories and overperformances in off-year and special elections in the 14 months since Trump returned to the White House, as they stay laser focused on affordability amid persistent inflation.

But the GOP also is dealing with a low propensity midterms issue that it didn’t have to worry about before Trump upended the political order: MAGA voters who don’t always go to the polls when Trump’s name isn’t on the ballot.

“We’ve got to get the folks who voted for President Trump,” McIntosh said. “They don’t necessarily come out in the midterms. We have to share with them what’s at stake.” 

“We’re going to work with President Trump on that so they know he wants them to vote,” he said. “He wants them to come out. He needs them so he can keep going.”

McIntosh said the Club will highlight that “Republicans have a plan that will help make things more affordable. It will keep cutting taxes. They will see the benefits.”

“But the bigger message is going to be, you can’t let the Democrats back in, because they’ll shut everything down,” he claimed. “It’ll be back to the Biden days, high inflation, higher taxes, fewer jobs. That’s what’s at stake, and our job is to tell the voters, we need you to vote because it makes all the difference.”

The economy, and specifically inflation, was a key issue that boosted Trump and Republicans to sweeping victories in 2024. But affordability boosted Democrats at the ballot box in 2025 and so far in 2026. 

STRATEGY SESSION: TRUMP TEAM HUDDLES ON MIDTERM MESSAGING 

And with oil and gas prices surging since the start of the U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran a week and a half ago, Republicans face more potential political headaches.

But McIntosh predicted that “by the end of the year, we’re going to be back to a robust economy because the Trump tax cuts are going to kick in. People will keep more of their money. There’s a huge incentive for companies to build factories back here in America again, and that will kick in. People will say, ‘Yeah, I like the direction we’re going. Things are turned around. We can’t let the Democrats ruin that.’”

Most Democrats obviously disagree with the political narrative coming from the club.

And the Democratic National Committee has long criticized the group for its “extreme positions on banning abortion and cutting Social Security and Medicare.”

While the club is ramping up for the general election showdowns, it’s already playing in this year’s GOP primaries.

In the battle for the Senate, the club recently made a major endorsement, backing Rep. Mike Collins of Georgia, who’s involved in an ugly three-way fist fight for the Republican nomination in the race to take on Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff in the southeastern swing state.

“We’re definitely going to be there in Georgia to help Mike Collins win,” McIntosh pledged.

FORMER NAVY SEAL TOPPLED IN REPUBLICAN HOUSE PRIMARY IN TEXAS

The club enjoyed a major victory March 3, as the candidate it was backing, Texas state Rep. Steve Toth, toppled high-profile incumbent U.S. Rep. Dan Crenshaw, a former Navy SEAL officer, in the GOP primary for a Houston-area congressional seat.

But in this case, the club kept quiet its efforts to support Toth, as it put its funding in an aligned startup PAC.

McIntosh said he “knew if Club for Growth came in guns blazing, then the Washington money would come in to help Crenshaw.”

“We don’t need the glory. We don’t need to take credit for it,” McIntosh said. And pointing to Tosh, he added, “He did the job, but we were able to bring the funds in that let the voters know what their choice was.”

Rep. Erin Houchin, R-Ind., was in college when her father was “raking up thousands of dollars of debt” while battling a crippling gambling addiction she says was brought on by medication to treat his Parkinson’s disease diagnosis.

Now, the Indiana Republican is working to make sure other American families can seek help for their loved ones before facing the same monetary problems.

“The POINTS Act is about helping people who are struggling with gambling addiction, by utilizing existing excise tax revenue to issue grants to states and jurisdictions, including Indian tribes across the country, for the use of education and training on preventing and treating gambling addiction,” Houchin told Fox News Digital.

Her bipartisan bill, the Providing Opportunities for Individuals in Need of Treatment and Support (POINTS) Act, is a rare bipartisan initiative in Congress being co-led with Rep. Andrea Salinas, D-Ore.

BILL MAHER LAMENTS RISE OF GAMBLING CULTURE AMONG YOUNG AMERICANS DURING ‘REAL TIME’

It’s an issue Houchin said she is passionate about, given her own family history — which she said is “not unique.”

“Unfortunately, many families across the country have had similar experiences, if not from Parkinson’s, but from other illnesses and just suffering from addiction in general,” she said. “And it can cripple families and ruin their future if it’s not treated.”

Her own father was 55 when he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s, Houchin said, and the gambling addiction set in soon after.

JOHN RICH SAYS GAMBLING ADDICTION BECAME ‘GROSS’ MISUSE OF GOD-GIVEN SUCCESS

“My mom would tell stories that, you know, they often would go out west if they’d take a vacation, and it would be difficult for her to get him through the airport at Las Vegas because of the casino that’s right there as you pass through,” Houchin said.

She told Fox News Digital that her father’s doctors knew little about why the medication caused his gambling addiction, but suggested it took her family years to financially recover.

“My mom just let me know that she just paid off a second mortgage, took her about 10 to 15 years to pay it off, around $91,000 of gambling debt that my dad had raked up over the course of his illness after being prescribed this medication,” Houchin said. “So we want other families to have the support system necessary to have the resources to treat gambling addiction.”

Her legislation, which is also backed by Reps. Mariannette Miller-Meeks, R-Iowa, and Troy Carter, D-La., would create a first-of-its-kind federal fund dedicated to specifically addressing gambling addiction.

She also pointed out that it would not be funded by any new taxes on Americans.

“This is existing excise taxes that are going to be distributed in the form of grants for states that adhere to the principles in the POINTS Act, which is providing resources, not just to healthcare professionals, but also for families on how to access gambling addiction treatment,” Houchin said.

Both she and Salinas also argued the legislation was critical now, given the meteoric rise of sports betting via apps and other easily accessible means.

“As sports betting and online gambling continue to expand across the country, we have a responsibility to ensure people struggling with addiction are not left behind. Gambling addiction can devastate individuals and families, yet too many communities still lack the resources needed to provide prevention, treatment, and recovery support,” Salinas told Fox News Digital.

“The POINTS Act helps close that gap by investing existing gambling excise tax revenue into programs that expand care, raise awareness, and connect people to the help they need.”

Rep. Eric Burlison, R-Mo., is endorsing Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton for U.S. Senate.

Paxton is facing off against incumbent Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, in the Lone Star State’s GOP U.S. Senate primary runoff.

“Ken Paxton is a proven conservative fighter who will be a champion for the people of Texas in Washington,” Burlison, a member of the House Freedom Caucus, said in a statement obtained by Fox News Digital.

CORNYN, PAXTON READY TO GO FOR THE THROAT IN 2ND ACT OF BRUTAL PRIMARY CAMPAIGN

“During the Biden Administration, Ken led the national legal charge to stop the Biden Border Crisis and stop the far-left agenda. He’s fought for Texans’ rights against woke corporations and the Austin political establishment. In the Senate, he will continue to be a fearless conservative who will never back down. That’s why I’m proud to wholeheartedly endorse his campaign,” Burlison added.

While Cornyn and Paxton were the top finishers in the primary, no candidate won a majority, so the two men will go head-to-head in a runoff primary election later this year.

President Donald Trump indicated that he plans to endorse one of the two men but has held off on choosing. Trump notably endorsed Burlison during his 2024 re-election campaign, describing him as a “warrior” for the MAGA movement.

PAXTON VOWS HE’S ‘STAYING IN THIS RACE’ EVEN IF TRUMP BACKS CORNYN IN TEXAS GOP CLASH

“The Republican Primary Race for the United States Senate in the Great State of Texas, a State I LOVE and won 3 times in Record Numbers (the HIGHEST vote ever recorded, by far!!!), cannot, for the good of the Party, and our Country, itself, be allowed to go on any longer. IT MUST STOP NOW! We have an easy to beat, Radical Left Opponent, and we have to TOTALLY FOCUS on putting him away, quickly and decisively!” Trump declared in the Truth Social post.

“Both John and Ken ran great races, but not good enough. Now, this one, must be PERFECT! My Endorsements within the Republican Party have been virtually insurmountable! It is such an honor to realize and say that almost everyone I Endorse WINS, and wins by a lot, especially in Texas! I will be making my Endorsement soon, and will be asking the candidate that I don’t Endorse to immediately DROP OUT OF THE RACE! Is that fair? We must win in November!!! Thank you for your attention to this matter,” the president added in the post.

‘THE RIGHT THING’: PAXTON, CORNYN TRADE BLOWS IN TEXAS PRIMARY BUT UNITE FOR TRUMP’S IRAN STRIKES

Texas state Rep. James Talarico defeated U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett in the Texas Democratic U.S. Senate primary.

FIRST ON FOX – The Justice Department says it is speeding up settlement offers for people exposed to contaminated drinking water at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, under a compensation program created by Congress in 2022.

The law, formally titled the Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson Honoring our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics Act of 2022, includes the Camp Lejeune Justice Act.

The statute allows service members, their families and others who lived or worked at the base between 1953 and 1987 to seek compensation if they developed cancer or other illnesses tied to the water supply on the base. 

Between 1953 and 1987, three of the base’s eight water systems contained contaminated water.

POISONED PROMISES: CAMP LEJEUNE FAMILIES STILL WAIT FOR JUSTICE DECADES AFTER TOXIC WATER SCANDAL

The Justice Department and the Department of the Navy launched the “Elective Option” settlement program in 2023. The program is designed as an alternative to litigation, offering faster payouts to people with qualifying illnesses.

Payments under the program range from $100,000 to $550,000 depending on the illness. Officials say victims can possibly qualify even if they were not assigned to a specific part of the base known to have received contaminated water.

According to the DOJ, Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward has recently taken responsibility for approving settlement offers under the Camp Lejeune Justice Act. In the last three weeks, Woodward approved 649 settlement offers totaling about $175 million.

That represents more than a 25% increase in approved offers since the Elective Option program began in September 2023.

Overall, the Justice Department says it has approved 2,531 settlement offers through the program, totaling roughly $691 million.

DOJ officials also tell Fox News that more than $414 million in settlements has been paid out since Jan. 27, 2025, and offers continue to be approved on a weekly basis as the department works through a massive backlog of claims. 

The estimated face value of claims submitted to the Department of the Navy now exceeds $335 trillion.

TRUMP AND FIRST LADY ATTEND DIGNIFIED TRANSFER OF 6 US TROOPS KILLED IN KUWAIT

Behind the scenes, top leadership at the DOJ also recently changed who has authority to approve these settlements.

When the Elective Option program was announced in September 2023, then-Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta delegated settlement authority to senior officials in the Civil Division. That authority was later passed down to a career manager.

Earlier this year, on Feb. 10, Woodward revoked that delegation and took control of the approval process. 

Justice Department officials say the move is part of a broader effort to accelerate settlement offers and move claims through the system more quickly.

During the first year of President Donald Trump’s second term, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations Houston arrested 414 illegal aliens charged or convicted for child sex offenses. 

The figure amounts to nearly twice as much as the 211 arrested during the final year of President Joe Biden’s tenure, according to a press release.

“As a group, the arrested criminal illegal aliens accounted for 761 child sex offenses and 525 other criminal offenses ranging from homicide to robbery,” ICE noted in the release.

The Trump administration has been working to crack down on illegal immigration since he returned to office last year.

MAN ACCUSED OF SPRAYING ANTI-ICE GRAFFITI AT OKLAHOMA CAPITOL IS REGISTERED CHILD SEX OFFENDER; CHARGES FILED

One of the individuals arrested was a man who unlawfully reentered the country a whopping 12 times, according to ICE.

“Juan Leonardo Garcia Ibarra, a 48-year-old criminal illegal alien from Mexico, arrested by ICE April 4, 2025… has illegally reentered the U.S. 12 times and been convicted of sexual indecency with a child, aggravated assault, cruelty toward a child, DWI and felony illegal reentry, and three times for illegal entry. ICE officers deported Garcia to Mexico on April 7, 2025,” the press release noted.

PITTSBURGH BOOKSTORE HANDS OUT FREE ‘ANTI-ICE WHISTLES,’ OWNER SAYS SHE’S NOT WORRIED ABOUT LOSING FOLLOWERS

Another one of the individuals arrested, Andrew Mark Watson, is from the United Kingdom.

He was “arrested by ICE Dec. 5, 2025,” according to the release, which noted that he “has been convicted of two counts of possession of child sexual abuse material and sexually exploiting a minor. Watson remains in ICE custody at the IAH Secure Adult Detention Facility in Livingston pending disposition of his immigration proceedings.”

BIDEN-APPOINTED JUDGE IN THE HOT SEAT AFTER DHS FIRES BACK AT ‘FALSE’ CLAIMS ABOUT ICE FACILITY

Another one of the individuals arrested was Alex Samuel Lara Diaz, a 35-year-old previously deported criminal illegal alien from Honduras. He was arrested by ICE on Oct. 29, 2025, and was convicted of aggravated sexual assault of a minor. 

“He is also wanted in Honduras for homicide. ICE officers deported Lara Diaz to Honduras on Dec. 13, 2025, and he was turned over to Honduran authorities to be prosecuted for homicide,” the ICE press release noted.

Gabriel Martinez, ICE ERO Houston acting field office director, noted, “While elected officials and media pundits across the country were zealously trying to manipulate the American public with fake news stories about ICE’s public safety mission, the brave men and women of ICE were quietly going about their business to arrest and remove more than 400 dangerous child predators from our local communities.”

“Thanks to their tireless efforts, parents across Southeast Texas can sleep a little better tonight knowing that these pedophiles and child rapists are no longer a threat to their children,” Martinez said.

President Donald Trump’s Federal Reserve chair nominee, Kevin Warsh, will meet Tuesday with Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., the Republican who has been holding up his nomination amid GOP concerns tied to a criminal probe involving Fed Chair Jerome Powell.

Tillis told Fox News Digital he supports Warsh, whom Trump tapped in January, but said he wants the Powell investigation resolved before he can vote to move the nomination forward.

On Jan. 11, Powell confirmed that the Justice Department had opened a criminal investigation into his congressional testimony related to the renovation of the Federal Reserve’s two historic main buildings on Washington, D.C.’s National Mall. 

TRUMP NOMINATES KEVIN WARSH TO SUCCEED JEROME POWELL AS FEDERAL RESERVE CHAIR

“I have very few questions. I’m a real fan of [Warsh] and I’m hoping we can get disposed of the Powell investigation, so I’d be in a position to vote for him,” Tillis told Fox News Digital.

“I have no problems at all with him. I’m looking forward to meeting him, because, like I said, I’ve been a fan,” he added.

Tillis has vowed to block any Federal Reserve nominee until the Trump administration concludes its criminal probe involving Powell. As a member of the Senate Banking Committee, his hold is especially consequential. Overriding it would require a discharge vote on the Senate floor, an extraordinary step that needs 60 votes and is widely seen as a long shot.

Trump tapped Warsh to succeed Powell, whose term as chair ends in May, but he must first win Senate confirmation by a simple majority — a process that typically starts with a hearing and vote in the Senate Banking Committee.

TRUMP’S FED PICK KEVIN WARSH FACES UNEXPECTED ROADBLOCK OVER ONGOING POWELL PROBE

Warsh’s potential ascent to the top of the world’s most powerful central bank comes at a turbulent moment for the Federal Reserve. 

With the Justice Department conducting a criminal probe involving Powell, the Supreme Court weighing limits on the Fed’s independence and rising cost-of-living pressures testing Trump’s economic agenda, the stakes for the next chair are intensifying.

What began as tension over interest-rate policy has spiraled into a broader confrontation, marking one of the most challenging stretches of Powell’s eight-year tenure leading the Fed.

Powell called the DOJ investigation “unprecedented” in a video statement and another example of what he described as Trump’s ongoing threats lobbed at the central bank. His unusually public response, after days of private consultation with advisors, marked a sharp departure from his typically measured approach.

TRUMP VS THE FEDERAL RESERVE: HOW THE CLASH REACHED UNCHARTED TERRITORY

Powell, widely viewed as one of the most crisis-tested Federal Reserve chairs in modern U.S. history, built his career as a lawyer and investment banker in New York before entering public service in the administration of President George H.W. Bush. 

He joined the Federal Reserve’s Board of Governors in 2012 and was nominated by Trump to lead the central bank in 2017.

Like Powell, Warsh is not an economist by training. Instead, he brings a background in law and finance that has shaped his views on the Federal Reserve.

He earned a bachelor’s degree in public policy from Stanford University in 1992 and a law degree from Harvard in 1995. He built his career at Morgan Stanley and, at 35, became the youngest person to serve on the Fed’s board in 2006.

Though he stepped down in 2011, he was widely recognized as the Fed’s key liaison to Wall Street during the 2008 financial crisis. He previously worked in the Bush administration as a special assistant to the president for economic policy and executive secretary at the National Economic Council.

Warsh was among Trump’s leading candidates to replace Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen in 2017. However, Trump ultimately appointed Powell to the role.