A top national figure in the bail industry warned of the dangers behind a Virginia bill heading to Gov. Abigail Spanberger’s desk that would remove bond requirements for previously convicted felons.

Virginia state Del. Katrina Callsen, D-Charlottesville, drafted HB 357, which critics say makes it easier for criminals to get out of jail on an unsecured bond. The bill passed both chambers in Richmond along party lines.

In comments to Fox News Digital on Monday, National Association of Bail Agents President Michelle Esquenazi said she was familiar with the Virginia legislation and that it will only serve to erode public safety.

“We believe any time recidivist offenders are released due to unsecured bail policies, it puts communities in direct danger,” Esquenazi said. “Many are unaware of how secured bonds insulate public safety throughout the United States of America.”

ICE NABS IRANIAN NATIONAL WITH RAPE, SODOMY CONVICTIONS AFTER VIRGINIA DEMOCRATS MOVE TO CURB COOPERATION

“This bill is in direct contrast to the needs of all communities in Virginia, whether they are Republican, Democrat, or Independent.”

Esquenazi said criminals don’t choose victims based on political ideology and that policymakers have failed to understand that bringing criminals to justice should be nonpartisan.

While Callsen did not respond to requests for comment, similar legislation in recent years has often come about as a wish for offenders to receive “second chances” — a dynamic Fox News Digital asked Esquenazi about.

“The secured bail industry is an industry of second chances,” she said.

“However, if you’re going to continue to commit crime, policymakers have to understand and take into account that committing crime is not a mandate. It’s a career choice.”

VIRGINIA GOV SPANBERGER CUTS TIES WITH ICE IN FEDERAL IMMIGRATION ENFORCEMENT COOPERATION

Policies like HB 357 serve to give recidivists more than just second but third and subsequent chances because a second chance is “only a title,” which the policies themselves far exceed, she said.

Justice Forward Virginia, a progressive criminal justice reform group focused on advancing related legislation, listed the bill in its section of 2026 priorities. The group did not respond to a request for comment.

Callsen’s bill removes language from Code of Virginia § 19.2-123 governing “Release of accused on unsecured bail or promise to appear” that currently states any person arrested for a felony or who is on bond for an unrelated arrest or on parole may only be released upon securing a secured bond.

Instead, it retains only language providing preestablished conditions of release for that offender.

Other critics took to X, including Club For Growth’s Andrew Follett, who posted a passage from Soviet dissident Alexander Solzhenitsyn about a civilian being punished more for being caught with a concealed knife than a felon for whom it would be “mere misbehavior; tradition” — and commented that “Democrats have a crush on criminals — it isn’t more complicated than that.”

“Under leftist ideology, society is responsible for crime, not individuals,” Follett said.

“Or, [Virginia House] Speaker Don Scott is preparing for his next arrest,” quipped another X user.

Scott, D-Portsmouth, served more than 7 years of a 10-year 1994 sentence for federal crack cocaine-related charges — and was one of thousands of convicts who had their rights to vote and serve in office restored by GOP Gov. Robert F. McDonnell in 2013.

After former President Biden pardoned him in 2025, Scott said that his “journey from being arrested as a law student to standing here today as the first Black Speaker of the House of Delegates in Virginia’s 405-year history is a testament to the resilience of the human spirit and transformative power of second chances,” according to Hampton Roads’ ABC affiliate.

Senate Republicans are accusing their Democratic counterparts of playing “political games” as the caucus appears ready to escalate the standoff over funding the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

There’s been little movement to reopen DHS during the weekslong partial shutdown, leading to outcry from Republicans over long wait times and missed flights at airports across the country. Some Democrats are threatening to continue their blockade of DHS funding unless serious action is taken to rein in President Donald Trump’s war powers in the Middle East. 

“We shouldn’t let Republicans debate other legislation until they bring a war authorization to the United States Senate,” Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., told NOTUS on Monday.

Murphy, the top Democrat on the appropriations panel overseeing DHS funding, has helped lead his party’s push to withhold funding for the department absent sweeping reforms to immigration enforcement.

SENATE DEMS REFUSING TO BUDGE ON DHS FUNDING MAY CAUSE HEADACHE FOR WORLD CUP TRAVELERS

His new threat to freeze Senate business over Trump’s Iran strikes underscores that some Democrats are prepared to extend the funding fight despite mounting impacts on air travel. 

The Senate rejected a bipartisan resolution last week that would have narrowed Trump’s ability to launch future strikes on Iran. However, Murphy is signaling that Democrats’ attempts to limit the president’s power to wage war against Iran are just getting started. 

Sen. Katie Britt, R-Ala., the chair of the Senate Homeland Security funding panel, scoffed at Murphy’s edict.

“The delay tactics we’re seeing from Democrats don’t change the fact that, because of their political games, lines at airports are growing, and the people tasked with keeping our homeland safe are being forced to do so without a paycheck,” Britt said in a statement to Fox News Digital.

Britt, who Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., tapped to lead DHS negotiations with Senate Democrats, accused her counterparts of refusing to sit down with Republicans as the partial shutdown enters its fourth week. 

“I urge my Democratic colleagues to stop putting politics above people and do what’s right for the security of our nation,” she said. “That starts with having a conversation so that we can find a pathway forward.”

DHS SHUTDOWN TRIGGERS TSA ‘EMERGENCY MEASURES’ AS LAWMAKER WARNS AIRPORTS COULD FEEL ECONOMIC PAIN

Airports nationwide reported a spike in absences among Transportation Security Administration (TSA) employees on Monday. Roughly 50,000 TSA personnel — who are employed by DHS — are reporting to work without pay after receiving just a fraction of their salaries last week. 

The agents will not receive another paycheck until the partial shutdown ends. 

The New Orleans airport on Monday advised passengers to arrive at least three hours before their flight, citing a shortage of TSA employees. Passengers traveling through the Houston airport system have also been urged to arrive four to five hours before their departure.

“The shutdown is having very real consequences, and hardworking federal aviation workers, the airline industry and our passengers are being used as a political football once again,” Chris Sununu, CEO of Airlines for America and former New Hampshire governor, said in a statement. “This is simply unacceptable and un-American.”

TSA employees were also forced to forgo pay during the record-breaking government shutdown in late 2025.

A majority of Democratic lawmakers in both chambers voted to continue the DHS shutdown last week despite new security concerns over Trump’s military operation in Iran. The bipartisan measure that Democrats overwhelmingly opposed would fund DHS through the remainder of the fiscal year.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., has demanded that federal immigration officers stop wearing masks and obtain judicial warrants before entering homes and businesses, among other reforms, in order to unlock funding for the agency.

Senate Democrats and the White House have been negotiating, but a deal has yet to materialize. The last counteroffer from the administration came nearly two weeks ago but has so far not been accepted by congressional Democrats. 

Some Republicans hoped that Trump’s decision to tap Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., to lead DHS could soften Democrats’ opposition, but the party has continued to take a hard line against funding the agency. Democrats had advocated for outgoing DHS Secretary Kristi Noem’s ouster as part of their numerous demands.

A Democratic blockade of Senate business would jeopardize the passage of a bipartisan housing bill aimed at growing the supply of affordable homes, which is currently under consideration in the upper chamber. Trump-endorsed voter ID legislation would also be impacted, but Democrats were already expected to widely oppose the measure, known as the SAVE America Act.

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

A House lawmaker from deep-blue California is leaving the GOP effective immediately, cutting Republicans’ slim margin even thinner, his office confirmed to Fox News Digital on Monday.

Rep. Kevin Kiley, I-Calif., had already announced his intention to run as an Independent candidate in a Democrat-leaning district in the November midterms, but he is now deciding to take on the new political identity early.

“This last week, we registered under no party preference in California,” Kiley told local reporters, according to a recording obtained by Fox News Digital. “I’m also today asking the clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives to have that reflected in the official roster…so I will be the sole Independent member of the House of Representatives.”

House Republicans are already dealing with a razor-thin majority of just one vote, which is expected to grow to a two-vote margin after a special election in a deep-red Georgia district this week.

TOP MARYLAND DEMOCRAT DEFIES JEFFRIES ON MID-CYCLE REDISTRICTING PUSH TO BOOT STATE’S LONE REPUBLICAN

Kiley said he would still caucus with Republicans, however, in order to retain his committee assignments in the House.

“The rules of the House of Representatives essentially force you, as an administrative matter, to caucus with one party or the other, which, by the way, I don’t think is a good thing,” Kiley said.

“For example, your committee assignments run through the parties, and so it really, you know, forces you to be associated in that administrative sense with one caucus or another in order to function and be able to serve your constituents in the House.”

Kiley’s decision to run as an Independent comes after his current seat in California’s 3rd congressional district was redrawn to lean more heavily toward Democrats. 

California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a potential White House candidate for the 2028 cycle, led the charge in redrawing the maps to more heavily favor Democrats despite the objections of Golden State Republicans. 

It was a direct response to Texas Republicans passing a new congressional map that could give the GOP an edge in as many as five new seats.

DOJ URGES SUPREME COURT TO BLOCK CALIFORNIA MAP, CALLS NEWSOM-BACKED PLAN A RACIAL GERRYMANDER

Kiley had introduced legislation to ban mid-decade redistricting when both fights were ongoing and sharply rebuked the effort by both parties. 

He also carved out an independent streak months before formally dropping the GOP, becoming one of the party’s most vocal critics of Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., for both refusing to wade into the redistricting fight and for keeping the House out of session during the entire 43-day government shutdown last year.

Kiley announced in a statement last week that he would now run in California’s newly redrawn 6th congressional district, which the nonpartisan Cook Political Report rates a “D+5.”

“It’s true that I was fully prepared to run in the new 5th, having tested the waters and with polls showing a favorable outlook in a ‘safe’ district. But doing what’s easy and what’s right are often not the same. And at the end of the day, as much as I love the communities in the 5th district that I represent now — and as excited as I was about the new ones — seeking office in a district that doesn’t include my hometown didn’t feel right,” Kiley said.

“The new 6th district is Democratic-leaning but open-minded. While this will be a more challenging race, I believe we can build a winning coalition for common sense. Thanks to all for your encouragement and patience.”

PALM BEACH, Fla. — National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) chair Sen. Tim Scott says he remains “incredibly optimistic” the GOP can not only hold but expand its current 53–47 majority in the fall 2026 midterm elections.

But as Republicans battle stiff political headwinds as the party in power in the nation’s capital traditionally loses seats in the midterms, and as the GOP faces a rough political climate fueled by economic concerns amid persistent inflation and President Donald Trump‘s underwater approval ratings, Scott isn’t sugar-coating things.

“There’s no doubt the climate has gotten more and more difficult by the day, it seems like at times,” Scott said in an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital at an annual economic conference in Florida hosted by the Club for Growth, an influential and politically potent conservative political group that pushes for fiscal responsibility.

Scott in early February gave fellow GOP senators some straight talk about the party’s chances in the midterm elections, when he briefed his colleagues at a closed-door meeting, according to sources in the room.

STRATEGY SESSION: TRUMP TEAM HUDDLES ON MIDTERM MESSAGING 

The NRSC chair told Fox News Digital in December 2025 that in the battle for the majority, “54 is clearly within our grasp right now, but with a little bit of luck, 55 is on our side.”

Asked again in his Fox News Digital interview Saturday, Scott said, “I think we have a possibility of more than 53 seats.”

MAJORITY AT RISK? — THESE SIX GOP HELD SENATE SEATS MOST AT JEAPARDY

“The good news is we have a president who made promises, he’s been keeping those promises, and we have been able to recruit the highest quality candidates anyone could want in every single battleground state,” Scott said. 

Highlighting seats the GOP’s aiming to flip, Scott pointed to Georgia, where Republicans view first-term Sen. Jon Ossoff as the most vulnerable Democrat seeking re-election in 2026. He also spotlighted open Democratic-held seats in battleground Michigan, swing state New Hampshire and blue-leaning Minnesota.

GOP CALLS TRUMP ITS ‘SECRET WEAPON’ — BUT POLLS SHOW WARNING SIGNS HEADING INTO MIDTERMS

Scott said he’s “incredibly optimistic, not only about holding the majority, but still expanding the majority through Georgia, Michigan, New Hampshire and even Minnesota, we have a strong candidate.”

The candidate he was referring to in Minnesota is former NBC Sports reporter turned conservative activist and commentator Michele Tafoya.

But Democrats are targeting Maine, where longtime GOP Sen. Susan Collins is running for re-election in the blue-leaning northern New England state, and battleground North Carolina, where Republicans are defending an open seat in the race to succeed retiring GOP Sen. Thom Tillis.

Democrats are also trying to flip GOP-held Senate seats in Texas, Ohio, Alaska and Iowa, which are all red states.

“Voters are sick and tired of Trump and Senate Republicans’ toxic agenda raising prices and threatening their health care,” the rival Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) emphasized in a social media post. “Voters across the country are ready to send Senate Republicans packing this November.”

PAXTON SAYS HE’S STAYING IN THE RACE EVEN IF TRUMP BACKS CORNYN

In Texas, the NRSC is backing longtime GOP Sen. John Cornyn, who is now facing off with Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, a MAGA firebrand, in a costly and combustible primary runoff.

Trump said in early March, following the primary election where no candidate in the crowded Republican field cracked 50% to win the nomination, that he would soon make an endorsement.

The NRSC and Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., who is also backing Cornyn, are concerned that a Paxton victory could give the Democrats a path to flipping the red seat, thanks to the state attorney general’s political baggage, including a plethora of past scandals and a current messy divorce.

“The one thing we know about John Cornyn is he will win Texas. If you want to have the clearest path of victory, John Cornyn is your guy,” Scott said. “President Trump is the only person that can make that a reality immediately through this runoff process.”

Scott said “we hope and pray” that Trump will endorse Cornyn. But he added: “The president is going to do what the president is going to do. I won’t pretend to influence his final decision, but I will say, I’m certainly praying for John Cornyn to be our our nominee.”

TRUMP ARGUES GAS PRICES SPIKE IS TEMPORARY

Oil prices have shot up in the week and a half since the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran, instantly resulting in higher costs for gasoline across America. That’s a major concern for Republicans in a midterm election cycle where the economy, and specifically affordability, is the top concern of voters.

“I think the economy will continue to get better month over month,” an optimistic Scott predicted. “I think the rest of this year we’ll see unfolding good information, good facts about why the American people should focus on the Republican Party and keep us in the majority.”

And with the annual tax filing deadline just more than a month away, Scott touted the numerous tax cuts kicking in this year in the GOP’s sweeping “big, beautiful bill,” which Trump signed into law in summer 2025. 

Scott touted “a bigger tax return for millions of Americans, that’s great news. The more they see more money in their pockets, and the more they attribute it to the Republican Party, the better we’re going to do this election season.”

An Obama-appointed federal judge’s attempt to rein in immigration enforcement in Chicago backfired after a federal appeals court ruled she overstepped her authority and “effectively established the district court as the supervisor of all Executive Branch activity in the city of Chicago.”

A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit tossed out Judge Sara Ellis’ preliminary injunction and dismissed the appeal in a sharply worded 2-1 decision.

The panel, comprising two Trump appointees and a Reagan appointee, said the lower court’s injunction was “overbroad” and “constitutionally suspect.” It faulted the judge for applying the order not just to specific officers but “the entire Departments of Homeland Security and Justice, as well as anyone acting in concert with them.”

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.

JUDGE THAT ORDERED RELEASE OF 600 CHICAGO ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS SLAMMED BY DHS AS ACTIVIST PUTTING LIVES AT RISK

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.

“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.

The appeals court had previously paused her injunction, warning that its “practical effect” was “to enjoin all law enforcement officers within the Executive Branch.”

The order, the panel said, required federal officers to submit “all current and future internal guidance, policies, and directives” for judicial review, which the appellate court said improperly intruded on the separation of powers.

The panel reiterated that point when vacating Ellis’ injunction, saying that “federal courts do not exercise general oversight of the Executive Branch” and that the district court “likely abused its discretion by issuing such a sweeping injunction.”

FEDERAL JUDGE RESTRICTS ICE AGENTS AMID ONGOING MINNEAPOLIS AREA PROTESTS

The panel’s order came after the plaintiffs, who included groups of protesters and journalists, had also already moved to dismiss their own lawsuit, saying that Operation Midway Blitz had largely ended. The panel said it felt it was still necessary to address Ellis’ order to prevent it from “spawning any legal consequences.”

Judge Frank Easterbrook, the Reagan appointee on the panel, dissented, arguing that only the appeal should have been dismissed since both sides had asked for that.

The majority, however, said that also throwing out the injunction was “the best way to wipe the slate clean” in what it called an “extraordinary case.”

Jonathan Turley, a George Washington University law professor, said the appellate court “delivered a haymaker” to Ellis.

In a statement, Attorney General Pam Bondi called the 7th Circuit’s decision a “huge legal win.”

“President Trump is trying to protect American citizens while local elected officials REFUSE to do so. [DOJ] attorneys were proud to argue this case,” Bondi said. “We will continue fighting and WINNING for the President’s law-and-order agenda.”

Former longtime federal prosecutor Bill Shipley said on X the panel effectively told Ellis, “You don’t get to run DHS and DOJ.”

Still, some critics found the 7th Circuit’s ruling excessive and commended Ellis for being thorough.

“Ellis was one of the only judges who did anything about the series of escalating abuses from CBP,” CATO Institute’s David Bier wrote on X. “She investigated and found numerous instances of perjury, constitutional violations, and other crimes. This unnecessary lecture from the 7th circuit amounts to: stop it.”

In a little over a year, the United States has carried out dozens of airstrikes on vessels in the Caribbean tied to alleged narco-trafficking networks, launched sustained operations against Houthi forces in the Red Sea, captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, struck Iranian nuclear facilities and now embarked on an extended military campaign aimed at degrading Tehran’s missile, drone and command infrastructure.

The tempo marks one of the most assertive stretches of American force projection in recent years, spanning Latin America, the Middle East and critical maritime corridors.

For War Secretary Pete Hegseth, it also represents a striking turn. 

HEGSETH BLASTS BRITS, SAYS IRAN’S CHAOTIC RETALIATION HAS DRIVEN ITS OWN ALLIES ‘INTO THE AMERICAN ORBIT’

Just before the 2024 presidential election, he described himself as a “recovering neocon,” expressing regret over his support for Iraq-era interventionism and warning against open-ended wars. 

Several analysts say the defining feature of the administration’s approach may be less about ideological evolution and more about alignment and execution.

“Unlike in Trump one, everyone in Trump’s cabinet now — Hegseth, Rubio, etc. — understands that the president is the boss,” said Matthew Kroenig, a defense strategist at the Atlantic Council. “In Trump 1.0 you had some Cabinet officials who thought their job was to save the Republic from Trump, the so-called adults in the room. And so I think it’s pretty clear the president wanted to go in this direction, and I think Hegseth sees himself as supporting the president’s vision.”

That cohesion has coincided with a pattern of risk-taking. 

Several of the administration’s most consequential military moves, from Venezuela to the Houthis to the current Iran campaign, carried the potential for escalation.

Some strategists say the relative absence of early blowback from those interventions may have reinforced the administration’s willingness to escalate into the Iranian theater. 

PENTAGON POLICY CHIEF GRILLED AS DEM CLAIMS TRUMP BROKE PROMISE ABOUT GOING TO WAR WITH IRAN

“I’m not sure I would have advised this,” Kroenig said of the Iran operation. “It is pretty risky, but it’s going well so far.” 

Iranian missile launches have declined in volume. Regional allies have not broken ranks. 

Whether that constitutes strategic success, however, depends on the metric.

Justin Fulcher, a former Pentagon adviser to Hegseth, argued the early phases of the campaign reflect what he described as a “return to strategic clarity.”

“Deterrence is only credible when our allies actually believe that if President Trump says something, we will back it up,” Fulcher said. “This is a validation of Secretary Hegseth and President Trump’s leadership.”

TRUMP SAYS IRAN’S SUCCESSION BENCH WIPED OUT AS ISRAELI STRIKE HITS LEADERSHIP DELIBERATIONS

Hegseth, a former Army officer who served in both Iraq and Afghanistan, has argued that the current campaign bears little resemblance to those conflicts.

“This is not Iraq. This is not endless. I was there for both,” Hegseth said at a press conference in early March. “Our generation knows better and so does this president.”

In a separate interview, he added, “This is not a remaking of Iranian society from an American perspective. We tried that. The American people have rejected that.”

Danielle Pletka, a senior fellow at the right-leaning American Enterprise Institute think tank, said the campaign has unfolded largely as expected.

“I think things have gone reasonably well,” Pletka said, pointing to degraded air defenses and what she described as repeated miscalculations by Iran. “All they’ve really done is made everybody quite mad, and that was a really bad calculation on their part.”

At the same time, she cautioned against interpreting the administration’s actions as part of a fixed doctrine.

“I don’t think that it is doctrinal,” Pletka said. “I think this is ad hoc.”

Some longtime Trump supporters have said the current conflict is not what they expected from Trump, who campaigned on ending wars and “America First.”

“It feels like the worst betrayal this time because it comes from the very man and the admin who we all believed was different and said no more,” Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., wrote on X. “Instead, we get a war with Iran on behalf of Israel that will succeed in regime in Iran. Another foreign war for foreign people for foreign regime change. For what?” 

In Pletka’s view, the president has shown a pattern of attempting diplomacy first and shifting to force only when he concludes negotiations are unserious. She argues that posture distinguishes the current moment from past interventions.

She also emphasized that much of the operational credit belongs to the professional military.

“The planning behind this is credit to the U.S. military and to the CENTCOM commander and to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs,” she said.

That distinction complicates efforts to attribute the current posture solely to Hegseth’s personal worldview. While the defense secretary has become a public face of the administration’s deterrence messaging, the execution of high-tempo campaigns rests heavily with career military leadership. 

Some critics argue the administration has yet to clearly articulate an end state for the Iran campaign.

“Pete Hegseth needs to check with his boss on what the objective is,” former national security advisor John Bolton recently said on CNN. “How does Hegseth explain that we’ve already changed the regime, which wasn’t our objective? I think the Pentagon top leadership, civilian top leadership, needs some attitude adjustment. I think the military’s doing fine, but I wonder about the civilian leadership.”

The White House pushed back forcefully on criticism of the campaign. 

Anna Kelly, a White House spokesperson, said Monday that Hegseth “is doing an incredible job leading the Department of War,” pointing to what she described as the “ongoing success of Operation Epic Fury” and other missions. 

Kelly said Iranian retaliatory attacks “have declined by 90 percent because the Department of War is destroying Iran’s ballistic missile capabilities,” and added that Hegseth works “in lockstep with President Trump every day” to ensure the U.S. military “continues to be the greatest, most powerful fighting force in the world.”

The Pentagon echoed that assessment. 

“Operation Epic Fury continues to advance with overwhelming success and precision,” Chief Pentagon Spokesman Sean Parnell said, describing a “resolute, full-spectrum campaign” aimed at the “total dismantlement of Iran’s terrorist network or its unconditional surrender.”

Others see the moment in broader historical terms.

Peter Doran, a foreign policy analyst, described the campaign as a potential attempt to “end a 47-year war” waged by the Islamic Republic against the United States, but on Washington’s terms.

“This is a clear effort to end a 47-year war that Iran has been waging against the United States,” Doran said.

He argued that visible American military performance could reverberate beyond the Middle East, particularly in Beijing.

“They look good,” Doran said of U.S. forces. “That will serve, I hope, as a disincentive for adventurism.”

If the operation ultimately succeeds in significantly degrading Iran’s military infrastructure, Doran argued, it could reshape the Middle East and expand diplomatic opportunities such as broader Arab-Israeli normalization.

“It changes everything in the Middle East,” he said.

Yet even supporters acknowledge that long-term effects remain uncertain. In Venezuela, Maduro’s removal marked a dramatic shift in U.S. policy, but the governing apparatus he built remains largely intact. 

Degrading missile stockpiles and drone infrastructure in Iran may buy time, but whether it produces durable deterrence or simply postpones reconstitution remains to be seen.

For now, the administration’s willingness to take calculated risks and its ability to avoid immediate escalation have reinforced the perception of restored American assertiveness. Whether that assertiveness translates into lasting strategic gains will likely define Hegseth’s tenure far more than the rhetoric that preceded it.

Hegseth and the Pentagon did not respond to requests for comment. 

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott is warning state health agencies about potential Chinese spying through medical technology.

Abbott directed Texas state health agencies and public university systems to address potential cybersecurity risks linked to Chinese-manufactured medical devices, citing concerns that sensitive patient data could be accessed by foreign actors.

“Governor @GregAbbott_TX released a letter directing state health agencies to mitigate data privacy concerns related to Chinese-sourced medical technologies,” Abbott’s office wrote Monday on X, releasing the letter.

“The Chinese Communist Party will not be allowed to spy on Texans.”

CONDUENT DATA BREACH HITS MILLIONS ACROSS MULTIPLE STATES

In Monday’s letter to the Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC), the Department of State Health Services (DSHS), the Texas Cyber Command (TXCC), and public university system chancellors, Abbott said recent federal warnings about vulnerabilities in certain patient monitoring devices underscore the need for heightened safeguards.

“Maintaining Texans’ physical security and protecting their personal privacy, especially as it relates to something as important and intimate as personal medical data, is of paramount importance,” Abbott wrote. “I will not let Communist China spy on Texans. State-owned medical facilities must ensure there are safeguards in place to protect Texans’ private medical data.”

The directive follows notices issued by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) warning that certain Chinese-manufactured patient monitors — including the Contec CMS8000 and Epsimed MN-120 — contain cybersecurity vulnerabilities that could allow unauthorized remote access and the exfiltration of protected health information.

HOUSE REPUBLICANS SOUND ALARM OVER CCP-LINKED FAKE RESEARCH THREATENING US TAXPAYER-FUNDED SCIENCE

“These notices confirm the warnings of experts who have elevated the proliferation of Chinese-manufactured smart medical devices across our healthcare system as a serious data privacy concern,” Abbott wrote.

Under Abbott’s order, HHSC, DSHS, and public higher education systems must review procurement policies to ensure compliance with Executive Order GA-48, catalog network-connected medical devices, and assess cybersecurity protections at state-owned medical facilities.

The Texas Cyber Command is tasked with reviewing whether certain devices should be added to the state’s prohibited technology list and recommending further safeguards.

Agencies must submit reports and recommendations to the governor’s office by April 17.

Those responses will help Abbott propose legislation next session aimed at protecting Texans’ medical data from foreign adversaries.

The top Senate Democrat wants President Donald Trump to tap the nation’s oil stockpile as fuel prices skyrocket, years after blocking his attempt to replenish the supply when prices were low.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., called on Trump to unleash reserve barrels of oil from America’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) as oil prices spike amid the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.

Schumer argued in a statement that the reserve “exists for moments exactly like this.”

TRUMP’S ENERGY DOMINANCE REWRITES THE STRATEGIC PETROLEUM RESERVE AFTER BIDEN DRAWDOWNS

“When wars and global crises disrupt energy markets, the United States has the ability to act, but President Trump and his administration are refusing to do so,” Schumer said. “Trump should release oil from the SPR now to stabilize markets, bring prices down, and stop the price shock that American families are already feeling thanks to his reckless war.”

During his first term, Trump wanted to use about $3 billion from a colossal COVID-19 stimulus package making its way through Congress to fill the reserve, but the move was promptly rejected by Schumer and congressional Democrats, who panned it as a “bailout” for the oil industry.

The price per barrel at the time was roughly $29, according to WTI Crude Oil. Now, oil has eclipsed $110 per barrel over the weekend for the first time since 2022.

Though the SPR has capacity for over 700 million barrels of crude oil, the reserve currently has far less.

TANKERS TO RESUME NORMAL MOVEMENT IN MIDDLE EAST IN ‘A FEW WEEKS’ AT WORST, ENERGY SEC SAYS, ENDING OIL SURGE

That’s because under former President Joe Biden, it was tapped twice — once to relieve soaring fuel prices as the nation still grappled with the economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic, and another time to combat increased energy costs at the onset of the war between Russia and Ukraine.

At the end of Biden’s term, the reserve had about 415 million barrels of crude on hand, according to data from the Department of Energy. Schumer supported both instances when Biden opened the nation’s oil reserves but, years prior, blocked Trump from building up the stockpile toward the end of his first term.

“Senator Schumer championed Joe Biden’s Green New Scam, which raised energy costs, threatened our national security, and stifled American energy independence,” White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers told Fox News Digital in a statement. “President Trump has been unleashing American energy dominance since day one, and now, American oil and gas production is at record highs.” 

GAS PRICES COULD JUMP AS MIDDLE EAST TENSIONS THREATEN GLOBAL OIL SUPPLY

Schumer lauded Biden’s first move to tap into the SPR in 2021, arguing that it provided “much-needed temporary relief at the pump.”

“Of course, the only long-term solution to rising gas prices is to continue our march to eliminate our dependence on fossil fuels and create a robust green energy economy,” he said at the time.

And toward the end of Biden’s presidency, his administration did buy back barrels of oil to refill the reserves, which Schumer did not object to. 

Fast-forward, and the price per barrel of oil has launched into the stratosphere since Trump’s Operation Epic Fury and Iran’s response to put the Strait of Hormuz — a key route ferrying barrels around the globe — into a chokehold.

For now, the administration has no public plans to tap into the reserve as Americans undergo sticker shock at the pump.

Energy Secretary Chris Wright argued that the best way to lower prices was to reopen the Strait of Hormuz by neutralizing Iran’s ability to target oil tankers.

Wright told Fox News over the weekend that the disruption would last for “weeks, certainly not months.”

“We believe this is a small price to pay to get to a world where energy prices will return back to where they were,” Wright said. “Iran will finally be defanged, and now you can see more investment, more free flow of trade, and less ability to threaten energy supplies.”

FIRST ON FOX: House Republicans are pressing the Trump administration for answers over whether China is exploiting U.S. birthright citizenship and visa programs in a U.S. territory to secure long-term influence inside the United States.

In a letter sent Monday to outgoing Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, Reps. Chip Roy, R-Texas, and Tom Tiffany, R-Wis., and 32 other GOP members raise concerns that so-called “birth tourism” and visa-waiver policies in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands could be leveraged by Chinese nationals in ways that present national security risks.

Noem will leave her position at Homeland Security at the end of the month.

“American citizenship is a sacred trust — not a loophole to be exploited,” Roy said. “When foreign adversaries like the Chinese Communist Party can leverage birth tourism and visa-less programs to gain influence within our borders, we must restore integrity to our immigration system and defend the sovereignty of our Republic.” 

Tiffany argued that “Communist China has exploited ‘birth tourism’ by sending women to the Northern Mariana Islands solely to give birth and secure U.S. citizenship for their children,” adding that “it is time to close this loophole, end the abuse, and protect our national security.”

TRUMP SAYS SUPREME COURT RULING AGAINST BIRTHRIGHT CITIZENSHIP ORDER WOULD BENEFIT CHINA

The Northern Mariana Islands is a U.S. territory in the Pacific, and like births in any U.S. state, children born there are granted American citizenship under the 14th Amendment, even though the territory operates under certain distinct immigration rules.

The lawmakers cite reports estimating that between 750,000 and 1.5 million Chinese nationals have obtained U.S. citizenship through birthright policies and birth tourism, though federal agencies have not publicly confirmed those figures. 

In their letter, Roy and Tiffany ask the Departments of Homeland Security, State and Interior to provide data on how many children have been born since 2009 to at least one Chinese national parent, how many have reached voting age and how many are registered to vote in the United States. 

They also ask whether any such individuals have documented ties to the Chinese Communist Party and request entry figures for Chinese nationals under Northern Mariana-specific immigration programs. 

Under the 14th Amendment, individuals born on U.S. soil are generally granted citizenship at birth. The debate has centered on whether foreign nationals travel to the United States specifically to give birth so their children will obtain citizenship — a practice commonly referred to as birth tourism.

Federal prosecutors in recent years have brought criminal cases against operators of birth tourism businesses, particularly in California, where organizers were convicted of visa fraud and conspiracy for helping foreign nationals misrepresent their travel intentions in order to give birth in the United States.

The Northern Mariana Islands long have operated under distinct immigration frameworks. In 2009, the Obama administration implemented a categorical parole program allowing certain Chinese nationals to enter without obtaining a traditional U.S. tourist visa. The Biden administration in 2024 finalized a rule creating the Economic Vitality & Security Travel Authorization Program (EVS-TAP) for the Northern Mariana Islands, which allows certain Chinese nationals to enter the territory visa-free for short stays.

The lawmakers argue those policies created incentives for birth tourism in Saipan, the capital of the islands, pointing to reports that births to foreign visitors increased sharply after the 2009 changes.

NOEM BACKS SAVE AMERICA ACT, SLAMS ‘RADICAL LEFT’ OPPOSITION TO VOTER IDS AND PROOF OF CITIZENSHIP

They warn that once U.S.-born children turn 21, they can petition for lawful permanent resident status for their parents, potentially opening additional immigration pathways.

While the letter raises concerns that such individuals could eventually participate in U.S. elections, it does not cite evidence that large numbers are currently registered to vote or that the Chinese government has directed birth tourism as a coordinated strategy.

The Departments of Homeland Security and Interior did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s requests for comment. The State Department referred back to Homeland Security. 

The letter comes amid heightened tensions between Washington and Beijing, with U.S. officials repeatedly warning about Chinese influence operations, intellectual property theft and espionage efforts targeting American institutions.

Roy and Tiffany urged the administration to end any parole or visa-waiver programs extended to Chinese nationals in the Northern Mariana Islands and to provide a full accounting of the scope of birth tourism involving Chinese nationals.

The Chinese embassy could not immediately be reached for comment. 

Virginia counties and several independent cities are pushing back against an April special election that could reshape nearly every Republican-held congressional district in the state before voters next head to the polls.

If approved, the referendum would trigger a mid-cycle redrawing of the state’s congressional map, potentially altering the balance of power in Virginia’s U.S. House delegation. If rejected, the existing map would remain in place and ongoing legal challenges surrounding the measure could be rendered moot.

In Patrick County — named for “Give me liberty or give me death,” Gov. Patrick Henry — local officials have mounted an early formal challenge to the vote, backed by lawmakers and attorneys from across the state. The county passed a resolution delaying early voting until just days before the April 21 election, as the redistricting amendment continues to be tested in court in Tazewell County.

Patrick County and others argue that the Virginia Constitution requires at least 90 days to pass before early voting can begin on a ballot measure. They claim Democrats improperly used a 2024 special legislative session — which was never formally closed — to fast-track the redistricting amendment onto the November ballot.

NEW DEM STAR’S QUICK HARD-LEFT TURN AFTER ‘MODERATE’ CAMPAIGN WON HER COVETED RESPONSE TO TRUMP: LAWMAKER

Following Patrick’s lead, officials in Campbell, Charlotte, Spotsylvania, Prince George, Scott, Washington, Floyd and Roanoke counties, along with the independent city of Lynchburg, are considering, pursuing or voting on similar measures, according to Del. Wren Williams, who is also an attorney and who told Fox News Digital he is both politically and legally laser-focused on the situation.

Williams, who represents Patrick, Floyd and Carroll counties and the independent city of Galax in Virginia’s deep-red, mountainous southwest, said that from an apolitical perspective, the resolutions boil down to fiscal responsibility.

“Who would vote against ‘restoring fairness’? That is where I think [Democrats] have overstepped and overplayed their hand. When I was a young attorney, an older attorney told me one time, pigs get fat and hogs get slaughtered,” he said in an exclusive interview.

Patrick County will spend about $15,000 to hold a special election, and the ongoing legal uncertainty and political gamesmanship over the issue in Richmond do not create a stable environment for municipalities to expend such resources, he said.

Tazewell County Judge Jack Hurley Jr. ruled in favor of Senate Minority Leader Ryan McDougle, R-Hanover, in the GOP’s procedural challenge, declaring the redistricting amendment “void ab initio,” or invalid from the start.

The commonwealth appealed, and the Virginia Supreme Court ruled the referendum could stand while it reviews the case. Separately, the RNC has sued the Virginia Department of Elections again via Tazewell, and Hurley again blocked the election on grounds that Virginia Democrats’ ballot question language of “[vote yes to] restore fairness” is misleading.

RNC SUES TO STOP DEMOCRATS’ VIRGINIA REDISTRICTING PUSH

Senate President L. Louise Lucas, D-Portsmouth, has repeatedly claimed the referendum’s mantle, responding in often profane ways to critics, including Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, who took issue with the 10-1 Democratic bent of the new map.

“You all started it and we f[—]ing finished it,” Lucas said in response to Cruz calling it an abuse of power and affront to democracy.

Williams said that from both a fiscal and legal perspective, with all of the above going on, counties like his own are in the right.

The effort was publicly backed by Virginia Beach attorney Tim Anderson, a former state legislator, until the state Supreme Court threw a legal wrench in the works late last week.

Anderson has posted numerous video comments and documents on his social media, including a draft resolution for counties to use.

Rockingham County, which surrounds Harrisonburg, put forward a similarly crafted resolution last week wherein officials stated, “congressional redistricting has significant consequences for the ability of communities to elect representatives who understand and are familiar with their values, priorities and regional needs.”

However, after a Lynchburg judge reportedly ruled he could not intervene in the election process because the gears were already in motion, Anderson, who represented Lynchburg officials, told the Virginia Cardinal News he is not appealing and has pivoted to suggesting all critical counties move forward with the election.

In a video message on Thursday, Anderson warned that given the new ruling, all counties must now follow the Supreme Court.

THIS CRUCIAL STATE IS THE LATEST BATTLEGROUND IN REDISTRICTING WAR BETWEEN TRUMP AND DEMOCRATS

“If you are a local official… in a jurisdiction that entered a resolution that said you’re not going to do the elections, you need to reverse immediately. The Virginia Supreme Court has made its decision, you are bound by it,” he said.

“Go early vote. There’s nothing else to do other than to vote. If we lose, there are a ton of legal arguments that can be made [then],” Anderson added, further suggesting he will again be a part of any postmortem arguments.

Over just a few days, yards signs pleading with fellow Virginians to vote “NO” have cropped up all around, in places like Amherst, Stephenson, Buena Vista and beyond.

Rep. Ben Cline, R-Va., whose district runs from the West Virginia line at Roanoke to Botetourt County north of Roanoke, echoed those proponents’ concerns in comments to Fox News Digital.

Cline said his current district would be split into five pieces, many of which would originate in culturally disparate Arlington, saying it strips the singular voice in Washington from Virginia’s top agricultural region.

Another wrinkle was thrown in Wednesday when the Virginia Supreme Court stayed Hurley’s ruling regarding the election moving forward and said it will allow it to proceed while making clear it is not issuing a ruling on the merits of the case, which it maintains will come a few days after the election, according to the Virginia Scope.

“It is the process, not the outcome, of this effort that we may ultimately have to address. Issuing an injunction to keep Virginians from the polls is not the proper way to make this decision,” the court ruled, according to the Scope.

As early voting began Friday, Virginia Attorney General Jay Jones issued a legal opinion opposing the counties’ efforts.

REDISTRICTING FIGHT ERUPTS AS MARYLAND DEMOCRATS MOVE TO REDRAW LONE GOP HOUSE SEAT

“Local governing bodies cannot use their own independent constitutional interpretations to justify interfering with state-mandated elections,” Jones said, according to the Staunton News-Leader.

Jones claimed the counties don’t have any authority to prevent “election officials from performing their statutory duties,” alleging state supremacy and arguing that any disruptive resolutions would have “no legal effect.”

Prior to Jones’ opinion, Williams told Fox News Digital he understands the “lawfare” at play, saying he’s worked with election-law suits in the past and spoke of a “catch-me-if-you-can” dynamic of courts denying or delaying decisions until the situation is mooted so that they don’t actually have to issue a final ruling.

“If [the redistricting amendment] passes, they’re going to say, ‘the majority has spoken.’ And so that is my concern…” he said.

Looking ahead, Williams noted many of the critical counties are holding their next board meetings in the coming days, and suggested the fight may not be over just yet.

A Republican source told Fox News Digital that Democrats “bet the farm” on the redistricting amendment and that “if it fails on the notice requirement, so do their other three amendments,” including the map redraw.