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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

US INTEL SOFTENS ON CHINA THREAT, SAYS NO TAIWAN INVASION PLANNED BY 2027 DESPITE MILITARY BUILDUP

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

US DESTROYS 16 IRANIAN MINE BOATS AS STRAIT OF HORMUZ OIL SHOWDOWN ESCALATES

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

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

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

TRUMP ORDERS WAR DEPT TO POSTPONE STRIKES ON IRANIAN ENERGY SITES, CITING ‘PRODUCTIVE’ TALKS TO END WAR

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

But those gains come with costs. 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Chinese embassy could not immediately be reached for comment. 

A federal judge on Monday temporarily blocked the Trump administration’s plans to deport Salvadoran migrant Kilmar Abrego Garcia from the U.S. to a third country — stopping, for now, the government’s stated plans to swiftly remove him to the West African nation of Liberia.

The temporary order from U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis keeps in place two previous orders she issued blocking the Trump administration’s efforts to deport Abrego Garcia from the U.S. for a second time to a third country. It comes just days after ICE Director Todd Lyons asked Xinis to dissolve her injunction, citing what he said were the government’s plans to swiftly remove Abrego Garcia to Liberia. 

Lyons told the court Friday that DHS had decided to “disregard” Abrego’s request to be removed to the third country of Costa Rica, citing his failure to cite the country as his preferred country of removal during a 2019 hearing before an immigration judge. 

ABREGO GARCIA REMAINS IN US FOR NOW AS JUDGE TAKES CASE UNDER ADVISEMENT

“Neither the statute nor the regulations permit an alien to designate a country of removal beyond the initial opportunity granted in removal proceedings,” Lyons said. “If, as here, an alien were permitted to designate a country of removal years after the conclusion of removal proceedings, an alien could avoid ever being removed by endlessly designating new countries of removal,” he added. 

Lyons also cited negotiations the U.S. and Liberia allegedly engaged in regarding Abrego Garcia’s removal, and argued that abandoning those negotiations could “cast doubt on the diplomatic reliability of the United States.”

Abrego Garcia’s status has been at the center of a legal and political maelstrom since March, when he was deported to his home country of El Salvador, in violation of a 2019 court order and in what Trump officials acknowledge was an “administrative error.” 

Xinis ordered last year that Abrego Garcia be “immediately” returned to the U.S., kicking off a 12-month saga that has spanned two continents, multiple U.S. courts, and countless headlines in the U.S. and internationally.

Last month, she issued a preliminary injunction that blocked DHS from immediately re-detaining Abrego Garcia and deporting him to a third country, including Uganda, Ghana, Eswatini and Liberia, which the administration previously identified to the court as possible removal options. 

She ruled then that the Trump administration had failed to provide the court with “good reason to believe” that they plan to remove him to a third country in the “reasonably foreseeable future,” citing a lack of assurances from the countries the government identified for removal that they would accept Abrego Garcia into their country, and assurances that they would not refoul, or return him, to his home country of El Salvador. An immigration judge in 2019 agreed to block his removal back to the country, citing threats of persecution from local gangs. 

The Justice Department and Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment on the new updates in the case. 

The temporary stay comes as Trump officials have been sharply critical of Xinis and other federal judges presiding over deportation cages, whom they have repeatedly accused of overstepping their authorities and acting as “activist” judges.

The Department of Homeland Security has stressed that Abrego Garcia had been living in the U.S. illegally and have blasted news reports describing him as a “Maryland man.” They have also cited what they alleged are his ties to the MS-13 gang, which lawyers for Abrego Garcia have denied.

US JUDGE VOWS TO RULE ‘SOON’ ON ABREGO GARCIA’S FATE AFTER MARATHON HEARING
 

Lawyers for Kilmar Abrego Garcia blasted the Trump administration’s revived effort to deport the Salvadoran migrant to the third country of Liberia, telling Fox News Digital on Monday that they viewed the new removal effort as hypocritical, and at odds with the government’s own arguments in seeking to block his removal to Costa Rica.

Trump officials are “talking out of both sides of their mouth,” Abrego Garcia’s lawyer, Simon Sandoval-Moshenberg, told Fox News Digital in a statement.

“On the one hand, Mr. Abrego Garcia forfeited his right to designate Costa Rica as a country of removal seven years ago, but on the other hand, they claim the right to designate Liberia as a country of removal seven years later,” Sandoval-Moshenberg said. 

“It’s one or the other, they can’t have it both ways,” he added.

This is a breaking news story. Check back for updates.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents deployed to U.S. airports to help with TSA security lines beginning Monday.

President Donald Trump advised Monday that the agents should not wear masks while on that assignment, adding he could bring in the National Guard to assist with airport chaos if needed.

“ICE was my idea,” Trump told reporters on the tarmac before boarding Air Force One from West Palm Beach on Monday morning. “First person I called, Tom Homan, I said, what do you think? He said, I think it’s great.”

Trump wanted to make sure with Homan that the ICE agents at the airports to help alleviate TSA security stress were not masked.

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

“I put out a statement and I asked him, would it be possible to take off masks?” Trump added.

In a post on Truth Social, Trump said he supports ICE officers wearing masks when dealing with “hardened criminals,” but said he wants “no masks” when they are “helping our country out of the Democrat caused mess.”

“I am a BIG proponent of ICE wearing masks as they search for, and are forced to deal with, hardened criminals, many of whom were let into our Country by Sleepy Joe Biden and his wonderful ‘Border Czar,’ Kamala (she never even went to the Border!), through their absolutely INSANE Open Border Policy,” Trump wrote Monday morning.

“I would greatly appreciate, however, NO MASKS, when helping our Country out of the Democrat caused MESS at the airports, etc. Thank you!”

Asked about the airport deployment during a pre-Air Force One press gaggle, Trump praised ICE for stepping in and said the agents “will do great.” He then escalated the warning, saying, “And if that’s not enough, I’ll bring in the National Guard.”

“We’re not going to have the Democrats destroy our country,” Trump told reporters in an under-wing gaggle. “These people are the most destructive sick people, the Democrats.”

The Supreme Court on Monday ruled that a Vermont state police sergeant is entitled to qualified immunity in a lawsuit brought by a protester who said she was injured when an officer used a wristlock to remove her from a sit-in at the state capitol.

In a per curiam opinion unsigned, the court reversed the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Zorn v. Linton, holding that existing precedent did not clearly establish that Sgt. Jacob Zorn’s specific conduct violated the Constitution. 

“The Second Circuit held that Zorn was not entitled to qualified immunity,” the ruling read. “We reverse.”

The justices said officers are generally shielded from civil liability unless prior case law put the unlawfulness of their actions “beyond debate.” 

The case arose from a 2015 sit-in by healthcare protesters at the Vermont capitol on Gov. Peter Shumlin’s inauguration day. After the building closed, police moved to arrest demonstrators who refused to leave. According to the opinion, protester Shela Linton remained seated and linked arms with others. Zorn warned her he would have to use force, then took her arm, placed it behind her back, applied pressure to her wrist and lifted her to her feet. Linton later sued, alleging physical and psychological injuries. 

The Supreme Court said the 2nd Circuit relied too heavily on its earlier decision in Amnesty America v. West Hartford, finding that case did not clearly establish that “using a routine wristlock to move a resistant protester after warning her, without more, violates the Constitution.” 

On that basis, the justices concluded Zorn was entitled to qualified immunity and reversed the lower court.

Justice Sonia Sotomayor dissented, joined by Justices Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson. She argued the court had improperly stepped in with the “extraordinary remedy of a summary reversal” and said a jury could find the officer used excessive force against a nonviolent protester engaged in passive resistance.

READ THE ORDER – APP USERS, CLICK HERE:

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

President Donald Trump, in an all-caps post early Monday morning, declared progress toward “resolution” of the war on Iran.

“I AM PLEASED TO REPORT THAT THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, AND THE COUNTRY OF IRAN, HAVE HAD, OVER THE LAST TWO DAYS, VERY GOOD AND PRODUCTIVE CONVERSATIONS REGARDING A COMPLETE AND TOTAL RESOLUTION OF OUR HOSTILITIES IN THE MIDDLE EAST,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

“BASED ON THE TENOR AND TONE OF THESE IN DEPTH, DETAILED, AND CONSTRUCTIVE CONVERSATIONS, WHICH WILL CONTINUE THROUGHOUT THE WEEK, I HAVE INSTRUCTED THE DEPARTMENT OF WAR TO POSTPONE ANY AND ALL MILITARY STRIKES AGAINST IRANIAN POWER PLANTS AND ENERGY INFRASTRUCTURE FOR A FIVE DAY PERIOD, SUBJECT TO THE SUCCESS OF THE ONGOING MEETINGS AND DISCUSSIONS.”

Trump’s move followed a threat by Iran to attack Israel’s power plants and those supplying U.S. bases across the Gulf region if the U.S. targets Iran’s power network.

The United Arab Emirates reported its air defenses were attempting to intercept new incoming Iranian fire Monday afternoon.

Prior to Trump’s announcement, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi acknowledged talking by phone with his Turkish counterpart, Hakan Fidan. Turkey has been an intermediary before in negotiations between Tehran and Washington.

Speaking in Parliament, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday compared the challenges caused by the war to those faced during the COVID-19 pandemic and said India needs to be equally prepared this time.

Modi said the country’s power plants have adequate coal reserves and that all power supply systems are being closely monitored as summer approaches and demand rises. He said India’s fertilizer stocks remain sufficient.

“This war is not in the interest of humanity,” Modi said. “India is encouraging all sides to end war peacefully.”

Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report. Check back for more updates.

Senate candidate James Talarico, D-Texas, has been facing an intense online firestorm after a resurfaced video showed him calling on Texans to ditch meat to fight climate change.

Republicans and conservative influencers have widely panned the remark as a potentially fatal blow to his Senate bid and suggested his anti-meat stance could dog him on the campaign trail. 

“Democrats are trying to fool Texans into believing James Talarico isn’t some whacked out lib, but the clips keep coming,” Andrew Kolvet, Turning Point USA spokesman, wrote on X. “In 2022, Talarico, wearing a mask, scolded Texans about going meat-free (!!) to stop climate change. This is TEXAS. This will haunt him in the general.”

“That just isn’t poor taste, it’s political poison,” Lawrence Jones said on “The Will Cain Show” on Thursday.

Talarico, a three-term state legislator and self-described Presbyterian seminarian, is seeking to unseat Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, who is facing an insurgent primary challenge from Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. Talarico defeated Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, in a primary battle earlier this month.

TALARICO REPORTEDLY KNEW COLBERT INTERVIEW WOULDN’T AIR ON TV BEFORE HE LEFT TO FILM IT

Talarico’s anti-meat remarks stem from a speech he delivered in April 2022 to the Texas Humane Legislation Network, during which he said his re-election bid was a “non-meat” campaign.

“We have, I think, heard more and more issues of animal welfare,” Talarico said while wearing a mask. “I think, not just because it’s the right thing to do and the moral thing to do, but also, it’s, as all of you know, necessary to fight climate change. It is now existential that we try to reduce our meat consumption and that we try to respect animals in all aspects of society.”

“So, I am proud to say that our campaign has officially become a non-meat campaign,” Talarico continued. “So, we are only buying vegan products from our local vegan businesses.”

Amid the backlash, the Talarico campaign blasted out a photo of the candidate wearing a Texas flag shirt and taking a large bite out of a turkey leg.

“Official Statement from James Talarico on Vegan Accusations,” the campaign wrote.

‘OPEN BORDERS TRUMP-HATING RADICAL’: GOP UNLEASHES EARLY BLITZ ON TEXAS DEMOCRAT TALARICO

Still, the hits against Talarico from Republicans over his anti-meat stance keep coming. 

“Who wants to tell him that cattle is the #1 commodity in Texas?” the National Republican Senatorial Committee, Senate Republicans’ campaign arm, wrote on X.

“Vote Republican this November. The steaks couldn’t be higher,” Cornyn wrote in response to the viral clip. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, also labeled Talarico a “freak” who wants to “ban BBQ.”

Fox News Digital reached out to Talarico’s campaign for comment.

Republicans have also spotlighted Talarico’s past remarks when discussing religion and transgender issues.

In 2021, he claimed “God is non-binary” when debating a bill to ban men from women’s sports on the Texas House floor. Talarico doubled down on that statement during an interview with The Bulwark on Thursday, arguing it was “provocative” but theologically correct.

In an interview with an Austin-based Fox affiliate in 2021, Talarico called concern over biological males in women’s sports a part of “far-right conspiracy theories.” 

In 2023, when Talarico was asked on the “A Superbloom Podcast” about “something that you love, other than family and friends,” the candidate discussed “trans children.”

Though Democrats have not won a Senate seat in Texas since the 1980s, Talarico is arguing that he is well-positioned to end that trend. His campaign published an internal poll on Friday showing him leading Cornyn and Paxton in head-to-head match-ups. 

A startup putting high-tech collars on cows could soon be worth more than $2 billion, as investors bet the technology could help farmers cut costs and cope with labor shortages.

Halter, a New Zealand-based company, is in talks to raise new funding in a deal expected to be led by billionaire Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund, according to a Bloomberg report. The round is attracting heavy investor interest and is close to being filled, though final details are still being negotiated.

THE SINGLE CRUSHING PROBLEM AMERICAN CATTLE RANCHERS WISH TRUMP WOULD FIX INSTEAD

Farmers are increasingly looking for ways to lower expenses and boost efficiency — changes that could eventually affect food prices for consumers.

Beef prices are already soaring, and economists warn Americans shouldn’t expect relief anytime soon as the U.S. cattle herd has shrunk to its smallest size in 75 years.

The decline has been driven by years of drought, rising costs and an aging ranching workforce. Experts say rebuilding herds will take years, meaning beef prices are likely to remain elevated. 

According to U.S. Department of Agriculture data, the average price of beef in grocery stores climbed from about $8.60 per pound in February 2025 to $10.12 per pound a year later — a roughly 18% increase.

THE COST OF THIS GROCERY STAPLE IS NEARING RECORD HIGHS — AND AMERICANS CAN’T GET ENOUGH

Against that backdrop, Halter is pitching technology aimed at helping farmers do more with less.

The company’s solar-powered, artificial intelligence-driven collars let ranchers herd cattle without fences, using GPS, sound and vibration signals controlled through a smartphone app. The system also tracks livestock health and movement in real time, giving farmers a way to manage herds remotely.

The goal is straightforward — fewer workers, lower costs and more efficient land use.

THE SURPRISING REASON WHY AMERICANS COULD FACE HIGH BEEF PRICES FOR YEARS

Halter is part of a broader push toward “precision agriculture,” where technology is used to modernize farming. But that sector has struggled in recent years, with a wave of startups collapsing and investors pulling back amid high costs and slow adoption.

The company has also expanded into the U.S., opening an office in Colorado and targeting American ranchers as a key growth market.

If the latest round closes as expected, it would signal renewed confidence that AI can succeed in farming — an industry where many tech bets have fallen short.

Halter did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., condemned President Donald Trump’s plan to deploy U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents to U.S. airports on Sunday.

Schumer made the comments while speaking on the Senate floor Sunday, saying Trump’s decision is “impulsive” and could make the situation at airports worse.

“Today, Donald Trump and [Tom] Homan are saying they will deploy ICE agents to airports starting on Monday. This is really disturbing. ICE agents who are untrained and have caused problems everywhere they’ve gone lurking at our airports. That’s asking for trouble, and it will certainly make the chaos at the airports even worse,” Schumer said.

“No one has any faith in ICE agents. They haven’t received training. They don’t know what it is to be a TSA person and do what you need to do,” he continued. “And the real problem here is they have no plan for using these ICE agents. Trump says, send them there. They send them there. And Homan says they’re still drawing up plans with less than a day’s notice. What is this? We know what it is. It’s another impulsive action by Donald Trump.”

SCHUMER GAMBIT FAILS AS DHS SHUTDOWN HITS 36 DAYS AND AIRPORT LINES GROW

“Some idea pops into his head and he announces it. And then the people working for him, a few of whom do have some degree of talent and ability. Not many underlings. They have to rush to try and implement what they know is an idiotic plan,” he said.

The ICE deployment is Trump’s latest move in the battle with Democrats over funding for the Department of Homeland Security. 

Schumer also used his time on the Senate floor Sunday to criticize Trump’s actions in Iran. 

“Donald Trump said, ‘you know, I may have a plan or I may not for a war,’” Schumer said. “There’s people’s lives are at stake. Billions are being spent on an almost daily basis. And he says, you know, ‘I may have a plan or I may not.’ These are the words of the commander in chief in the middle of a war involving one of the most dangerous regimes on Earth. ‘I have a plan, or I may not.’”

“That’s unhinged and dangerous. Lives are on the line. The president says he may not even have a plan. Tens of billions are being wasted. No plan. Troops being killed and injured, no plan. Civilians being killed and injured. No plan. Gasoline costs $3.94 a gallon on average. And Trump, ‘I have no plan’,” Schumer said.

Meanwhile, Schumer and his allies have refused to approve DHS funding without reforms to immigration enforcement.

TSA agents across the country have gone more than a month without a paycheck, with no clear end in sight.

Trump first threatened to deploy ICE to airports on Saturday, demanding that Democrats “immediately sign an agreement” to fund DHS.

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

Airports across the country have reported huge numbers of employees calling out sick or not showing up for work. More than 400 TSA employees have quit their jobs.

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

Trump also predicted blowback from Democrats, saying they would complain “no matter how great a job ICE does.”

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is under fire for backing a plan that would slash New York’s estate tax exemption by nearly 90%, a move opponents say could drag middle-class families into a tax burden long aimed at the rich.

New York is one of the states that imposes its own estate tax in addition to the federal levy, and the proposed changes would dramatically expand its reach—potentially sweeping in not just the wealthy, but families whose primary asset is a home they hoped to pass on to their children.

MAMDANI’S RENT FREEZE, TAX HIKES A ‘ONE-TWO WEALTH DESTRUCTION PUNCH,’ ECONOMISTS WARN

The plan would sharply reduce how much of an estate can be passed on tax-free, cutting the threshold from $7.35 million to just $750,000, among the lowest in the country, meaning far more estates would be subject to taxation.

In addition, Mamdani is proposing to more than triple the state’s top estate tax rate, raising it from 16% to 50%, a combination that could generate billions in new revenue for New York.

Edward Pinto, a senior fellow and co-director of the AEI Housing Center at the American Enterprise Institute, told Fox News Digital the proposal could push residents and their wealth out of New York.

“This proposal would destroy NYC’s wealth in a different manner,” Pinto said.

“This estate tax proposal will mistreat capital and result in the voluntary exodus of NYC residents and their wealth to places like Florida and Tennessee,” he added.

FROM FREE BUSES TO CITY-OWNED GROCERY STORES, HERE ARE MAMDANI’S KEY ECONOMIC PROMISES

Others echoed similar concerns, pointing to the potential impact on families and long-term financial planning.

Joshua Rowley, a research fellow at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University, said estate taxes can force families to liquidate assets and increasingly reach beyond the wealthy.

“Estate taxes force citizens to liquidate assets to pay taxes on previously taxed assets—putting homes, retirement accounts, and businesses in the crosshairs,” Rowley said. “It would also discourage responsible retirement planning and punish parents for the sole crime of wanting to leave their children better off.”

He added that proposals aimed at taxing the wealthy often expand over time.

“But the Mamdani proposal also pulls back the curtain on all tax-the-rich solutions. What starts off as an exclusive tax on the rich invariably gets expanded to lower income groups to satisfy the government’s spending addiction,” Rowley said.

The estate tax proposal is just one piece of Mamdani’s wider policy push.

His housing plan, a campaign promise aimed at addressing affordability, includes an immediate freeze on roughly 2 million rent-stabilized apartments. 

Separately, his broader $127 billion budget agenda calls for higher taxes on wealthy residents and corporations, as well as a potential 9.5% property tax increase if state lawmakers decline to act.

In the nation’s largest city and a global financial center, the outcome of Mamdani’s proposals could shape not only the future of New York’s housing market, but also broader debates over regulation, taxation and urban policy.

Mamdani’s office did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.