Wisconsin will enshrine the state's voter ID law in the state constitution after voters approved the proposal on Tuesday.
The Associated Press called the vote at 9:48 p.m. EST.
Wisconsin already requires that voters have photo ID in order to participate at the polls, but the measure now elevates that law to a constitutional amendment.
President Donald Trump celebrated the law being added to the state constitution on Truth Social after the vote was called Tuesday night.
"VOTER I.D. JUST APPROVED IN WISCONSIN ELECTION. Democrats fought hard against this, presumably so they can CHEAT. This is a BIG WIN FOR REPUBLICANS, MAYBE THE BIGGEST WIN OF THE NIGHT. IT SHOULD ALLOW US TO WIN WISCONSIN, LIKE I JUST DID IN THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION, FOR MANY YEARS TO COME!" the president wrote.
Nine states, including Wisconsin, require that voters present photo ID, though Wisconsin's requirements are the strictest, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. There are laws in 36 states requiring or requesting that voters show some sort of identification, the NCSL said.
WAUKESHA, Wis. — The liberal-leaning candidate is projected to win a high-profile and historically expensive election in Wisconsin on Tuesday, protecting progressive majority control of the battleground state's Supreme Court, which is likely to rule on crucial issues like congressional redistricting, voting and labor rights, and abortion.
The Associated Press projects that Dane County Circuit Court Judge Susan Crawford will defeat Brad Schimel, a former state attorney general who currently serves as a state circuit court judge in Waukesha County. Schimel, the conservative-aligned candidate in the race, was endorsed by President Donald Trump.
With a massive infusion of money from Democrat-aligned and Republican-aligned groups from outside Wisconsin, which turned the race into the most expensive judicial election in the nation's history, the contest partially transformed into a referendum on Trump's sweeping and controversial moves during the opening months of his second tour of duty in the White House.
Also front and center in the electoral showdown was someone who, along with Trump, was not on the ballot: billionaire Elon Musk, the president's top donor and White House adviser.
Musk, the world's richest person and chief executive of Tesla and SpaceX, who has taken a buzz saw to the federal government workforce as he steers Trump's recently created Department of Government Efficiency, dished out roughly $20 million in the Wisconsin race through aligned groups in support of Schimel.
And Musk, in a controversial move, handed out $1 million checks at a rally in Green Bay on Sunday evening to two Wisconsin voters who had already cast ballots in the contest and had signed a petition to stop "activist judges."
Wisconsin's Democrat state attorney general sued to block the payments, but the state Supreme Court refused to weigh in.
Calling the election a "super big deal," Musk said it was critical to the Trump agenda.
"I think this will be important for the future of civilization," he said. "It’s that significant."
Musk wasn't the only mega-donor on the right playing in the Wisconsin showdown.
Shipping magnates Richard and Elizabeth Uihlein, who are among the biggest conservative contributors in the nation, also provided millions in support of Schimel and the Wisconsin GOP.
"If you told me six months ago this was what was going to happen, I would not have believed it. But yeah … some parts of this are way beyond my control anymore," Schimel said in a Fox News Digital interview during a bus tour stop Monday just outside Green Bay.
Schimel, who launched his bid 16 months ago, added that "other people can treat this how they want. If they think they want to make it a referendum on the president or Elon Musk, so be it."
"This is a referendum on Wisconsin," he said. "Can we restore objectivity to the Wisconsin Supreme Court?"
Schimel also leaned in to the endorsement from Trump. A TV ad running in the closing stretch of the race spotlighted that voting for Schimel would protect Trump's agenda. The candidate also wore a "Make America Great Again" hat at some campaign stops during the final weekend ahead of the election.
Schimel spotlighted his final blitz to reach out to voters.
"We are doing six to eight rallies every single day in cities across the state," he said. "People are turning out in huge numbers, and we’ve got other surrogates going out around the state where we’re not, doing the exact same thing. It’s absolutely about getting those voters out."
And Schimel also got a boost from the conservative powerhouse organization Americans for Prosperity. The group said its grassroots army has connected with nearly 600,000 voters in Wisconsin since last November's election.
Trump, who narrowly carried Wisconsin in both of his White House victories, said the state is important because its Supreme Court can settle disputes over election outcomes.
"Wisconsin’s a big state politically, and the Supreme Court has a lot to do with elections in Wisconsin," the president said Monday at the White House. "Winning Wisconsin’s a big deal, so, therefore, the Supreme Court choice … it’s a big race."
Schimel's camp and other conservatives repeatedly argued that a continuation of the liberal majority on Wisconsin's high court could lead to unfavorable congressional redistricting in the state, which could spell doom for two Republican lawmakers: Reps. Derrick Van Orden and Bryan Steil, chair of the House Administration Committee.
Asked about the conservatives shining a spotlight on potential congressional redistricting, Crawford told reporters on Monday that "it's just not appropriate for me as a judge to express a view on that, especially on an issue that someday could come before the Wisconsin Supreme Court again. That's why I don't speak to the issue."
Tuesday's election was the first statewide contest held since Trump returned to the White House, and it was an opportunity for plenty of voters to vent against the president and his policies.
Crawford enjoyed a surge in fundraising, thanks in part to an energized base eager to resist Trump and Republicans.
"People are really motivated and want to make sure that we protect the Wisconsin Supreme Court," Crawford said in a Fox News Digital interview after a rally in Madison on the eve of the election.
Crawford argued that voters "don’t want to see some outsider, some billionaire, come in and try to buy a seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court, which is what Elon Musk is trying to do."
At her rally, Crawford said "this election is going to determine all of our fundamental rights and freedoms."
But Crawford also benefited from outside money, with roughly $2 million infused into the race by left-leaning financier George Soros, long a boogeyman of the right. Billionaire progressive Gov. JB Pritzker of neighboring Illinois has also spent big bucks in the race to support Crawford.
"I have gotten some generous contributions, and we’ve raised a lot of money in this race," she told Fox News. "But just to put that in perspective, in the last two months, Elon Musk has spent more than we have raised over the 10 months of this entire campaign, so his spending dwarfs that of any individual in any state supreme court ever and certainly one in Wisconsin."
Crawford and Schimel were battling to succeed liberal-leaning justice Ann Walsh Bradley, who has served on Wisconsin's highest court for nearly three decades. Liberal-aligned justices held a 4-3 majority on the state Supreme Court heading into Tuesday's election.
The showdown drew some top surrogates to Wisconsin, including progressive champion Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and MAGA star Donald Trump Jr., the president's eldest son.
Elon Musk visited Central Intelligence Agency headquarters on Tuesday to discuss his government efficiency program.
The visit was the first for Musk since the creation of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which is charged with rooting out wasteful federal spending and shrinking the government.
CIA Director John Ratcliffe who invited Musk, posted a photo of him and the tech billionaire at the spy agency headquarters.
"Had a great visit and meeting with @ElonMusk to discuss his ideas and progress so far in making our government more efficient!" Radcliffe wrote. "I look forward to working with Elon and his team to ensure that CIA remains the premier intelligence Agency in the world."
In the first months of the Trump administration, Musk and DOGE have attempted to slash government spending, including offering buyouts to and laying off workers en masse.
However, on Monday a federal judge in Virginia blocked the Trump administration’s move to fire more than a dozen intelligence agency employees who worked on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs.
Filmmaker Oliver Stone urged legislators in Washington, D.C., Tuesday to reopen the investigation into the assassination of President John F. Kennedy and reassess everything from the crime scene to the courtroom, including the rifle and bullets used, fingerprints and the autopsy.
President Donald Trump issued an executive order since returning to the Oval Office in January to release the long-concealed materials about the assassination of Kennedy and records on the assassinations of Sen. Robert F. Kennedy and Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
The 80,000 pages of JFK files were released March 18, giving experts and conspiracy theorists a trove of material to prove or disprove how Kennedy was killed in Dallas, Texas, Nov. 22, 1963.
In his opening statements Tuesday, Stone, whose 1991 film "JFK" examined the investigation into Kennedy's assassination, raised an issue with the CIA's handling of files he requested to see regarding the assassination.
"Although mandated by law from the Central Intelligence Agency, which operated and still operates as a taxpayer-funded intelligence agency that arrogantly considered itself outside our laws," Stone said, "they say things like, ‘We will get back to you on that,’ and they never do.
"Nothing of importance has been revealed by the CIA in all these years," he continued, adding other records show illegal criminal activities in every facet of U.S. foreign policy in nearly every country on Earth. "Just to begin, Cuba, Vietnam, Indonesia, Egypt, South America, the Middle East. We could write a whole separate history of our country from the viewpoint of the countries, yet we do not know and are not allowed to know anything about the CIA's true history of the United States, which is almost, I believe, the real story."
He then called for the Task Force on the Declassification of Federal Secrets, chaired by Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., to reopen the investigation into Kennedy’s assassination, picking up what the Warren Commission failed to do.
The Warren Commission, after an investigation, found no evidence that Lee Harvey Oswald or Oswald's assassin, Jack Ruby, were part of any conspiracy, domestic or foreign, to kill the president. It said at the time that one bullet that struck Kennedy passed through him and struck Texas Gov. John Connally, hitting his back, thigh, chest and wrist.
Critics of the commission’s findings call it the "magic bullet theory."
"I ask the committee to reopen what the Warren Commission failed miserably to complete," Stone said. "I ask you in good faith, outside all political considerations, to reinvestigate the assassination of this President Kennedy, from the scene of the crime to the courtroom … which never happened, but which means the chain of custody on the rifle, the bullets, the fingerprints, the autopsy that defies belief, and that if it were a murder, we'd have given to the poorest man dying in a gutter.
"Let us reinvestigate the fingerprints of intelligence all over Lee Harvey Oswald, from 1959 to 1960 – his violent death in 1963 — and, most importantly, this CIA, whose muddy footprints are all over this case, a true interrogation."
Stone spoke about Deputy CIA Director James Angleton, who, before he died, talked about Allen Dulles, Richard Helms and others he referred to as the "Grand Masters."
"He did say, ‘If you were in a room with them, you were in a room full of people that you had to believe would deservedly end up in hell. I guess I will see them soon,’" Stone said. "This is our democracy. This is our presidency. It belongs to us. Treat us with respect."
Stone said in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter in January that Trump deserved "praise" for the order to release the JFK assassination files.
Despite pleas to open the investigation, the FBI notes on its website that after conducting some 25,000 interviews and running down tens of thousands of investigative leads, "the FBI found that Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone."
Oswald was killed shortly after the Kennedy assassination.
Fox News Digital’s Alex Nitzberg contributed to this report.
The City of Milwaukee is running out of ballots due to "historic turnout" on Tuesday night, as Badger State residents stand in in line at polling places to decide whether the Wisconsin Supreme Court will lean conservative or liberal.
FOX 6 Milwaukee reporter Jason Calvi reported the developments on Tuesday night. At least seven polling sites have run out of ballots, per the Milwaukee Elections Commission.
The sites are expecting more ballots soon, though the polls closed at 8 p.m. Milwaukee officials also noted that Wisconsin residents in line by 8 p.m. are still eligible to vote.
"We have dozens of field staff working to get resources to polling locations during rush hour," an official said, according to Calvi.
The Wisconsin Supreme Court currently has a 4-3 liberal majority.
The court race has attracted attention across the country, as both Democrat and Republican-aligned groups from outside Wisconsin have dedicated money and resources to swaying the race. It's been interpreted as a referendum on President Donald Trump's second administration so far.
Notably, Tesla CEO Elon Musk hosted an America PAC town hall in Green Bay on Sunday night, where he handed two $1 million dollar checks to two voters who signed a petition against "activist judges."
Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul unsuccessfully asked for an emergency injunction to stop Musk from handing out the checks, but the state's highest court declined to hear Kaul's arguments.
"The reason for the checks is that, it's really just to get attention," Musk said while holding a gigantic check. "It's like, we need to get attention… somewhat inevitably, when I do this… it causes the legacy media to, like, kind of lose their minds."
Musk's attorneys maintained that the payments are "intended to generate a grassroots movement in opposition to activist judges, not to expressly advocate for or against any candidate."
Fox News Digital's Sophia Compton and Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report.
Republican Jimmy Patronis, the former Florida chief financial officer under Gov. Ron DeSantis, fended off his Democrat opponent and successfully won the race to succeed former Rep. Matt Gaetz in Florida's special election on Tuesday.
President Donald Trump notably carried the district - which is located in the far northwestern corner of Florida, in the Panhandle region - by 37 points in the 2024 election.
The 1st Congressional District special election, in addition to the one in the 6th District to replace U.S. National Security Advisor Mike Waltz, were viewed by some as early referendums for Trump's second term.
Trump, who held a tele-town hall for Patronis late last week, voiced his support for the candidate on Tuesday morning, urging people to vote.
"Jimmy Patronis, Chief Financial Officer and Fire Marshall for the Great State of Florida, is running an incredible Campaign for Congress in Florida’s 1st Congressional District!" Trump wrote on Truth Social.
And minutes after the AP projected that the GOP would retain the seat, the president took to social media again to tout "Jimmy Patronis WINS BIG! Congratulations Jimmy. DONALD J. TRUMP, PRESIDENT!"
Her fundraising topped the Republican's by a nearly five-to-one margin.
Gaetz resigned from the House of Representatives last year after Trump revealed his plan to nominate him to be attorney general. However, it became clear that the controversial House Republican had an uphill battle to get support from GOP senators.
Just days after Trump's announcement, and after a number of meetings in the Senate, Gaetz officially withdrew from consideration.
Pam Bondi was then nominated by Trump for the role and ultimately confirmed as attorney general.
With votes still being counted on Tuesday evening, Patronis defeated Valimont by a roughly 15-point margin.
And Democrats highlighted that their candidate overperformed.
"Democrat Gay Valimont Massively Overperforms in Florida’s 1st Congressional District As Warning Signs Flash Blinking Red for Republicans," the Democratic National Committee (DNC) argued in an email to supporters.
And DNC chair Ken Martin praised Valimont, emphasizing that "her massive overperformance in a Trump +37 district is the best performance for Democrats in the district this century."
Trump-endorsed Republican state Sen. Randy Fine emerged victorious in one-of-two special elections in the Sunshine State on Tuesday night.
Finel will be taking over former Congressman Mike Waltz's seat in Florida's 6th Congressional District, after Waltz vacated the seat to become President Donald Trump's National Security Advisor. Fine outlasted Democrat Josh Weil, a public school employee and political newcomer who raised nearly 10 times more than Fine.
Florida's sixth district, located on the Sunshine State's Atlantic coast from Daytona Beach to just south of Saint Augustine and inland to the outskirts of Ocala, was carried overwhelmingly by former GOP congressman Waltz in 2024. President Trump also won the 6th Congressional District in 2024 by a significant margin – 30 points.
The Republican's victory came in the closest election for Florida's sixth district since 2018, when former Congressman Waltz beat out his Democrat opponent by13 points. Each subsequent election, Waltz won at least 60% of the vote.
Tuesday's unusually close race, widely seen as a referendum on President Trump's first few months in office, carries implications for the broader battle for power in Congress.
There were fears that a loss in both, or either, of Florida's Tuesday special elections would deal a significant blow to the Republican majority in the House of Representatives, which has dwindled since Trump plucked numerous Republican House members, such as Waltz, to join his cabinet.
Amid these concerns, GOP New York Rep. Elise Stefanik's nomination to be Trump's Ambassador to the United Nations was pulled.
Weil's ability to drum up a campaign war chest worth nearly $10 million, dwarfed Fine's which held a little under $1 million. However, in the final week before Tuesday's election, outside Republican-aligned groups doled out around $1 million for advertising in an attempt to help boost Fine.
Tuesday's victory notches one more seat in the House for Republicans, expanding their slim five-vote majority by one more.
The National Security Council (NSC) has clarified reporting about National Security Advisor Michael Waltz and his staffers using personal Gmail accounts for government communications.
A report published by the Washington Post on Tuesday claimed that one of Waltz's senior aides used Gmail "for highly technical conversations with colleagues at other government agencies involving sensitive military positions and powerful weapons systems relating to an ongoing conflict," according to the piece.
"While the NSC official used his Gmail account, his interagency colleagues used government-issued accounts, headers from the email correspondence show," the Post reported.
The piece comes a week after Waltz took responsibility for one of his staffers accidentally adding The Atlantic editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg to a sensitive Signal chat with other officials, including Vice President JD Vance.
NSC spokesperson Brian Hughes told Fox News on Tuesday that the Post report was an attempt "to distract the American people from President Trump’s successful national security agenda that’s protecting our nation."
"Let me reiterate, NSA Waltz received emails and calendar invites from legacy contacts on his personal email and cc’d government accounts for anything since January 20th to ensure compliance with records retention, and he has never sent classified material over his personal email account or any unsecured platform," Hughes said.
Hughes said that he could not verify the Post's report about the senior NSC official because the journalist "refused to share any part of the document reported."
"Any correspondence containing classified material must only be sent through secure channels and all NSC staff are informed of this," the official said. "It is also made clear to NSC personnel that any non-government correspondence must be captured and retained for record compliance."
Speaking to a room full of reporters last week, President Donald Trump said he believes Waltz is "doing his best," and did not fault him for the Signal leak.
"I don't think he should apologize," the president said. "I think he's doing his best. It's equipment and technology that's not perfect."
"And, probably, he won't be using it again, at least not in the very near future," Trump continued.
The House Foreign Affairs Committee (HFAC) is demanding that the United Nations not reappoint Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese. Rep. Brian Mast, R-Fla., who chairs the committee, is leading the charge to oppose Albanese.
In a letter to U.N. Human Rights Council (UNHRC) President Jürg Lauber, the committee accuses Albanese of failing to uphold the council’s code of conduct. They also condemn Albanese for comments she made about Israel in the wake of Hamas’ Oct. 7 attacks.
"Albanese unapologetically uses her position as a UN Special Rapporteur to purvey and attempt to legitimize antisemitic tropes, while serving as a Hamas apologist," the committee wrote in its letter. "In her malicious fixation, she has even called for Israel to be removed from the United Nations while likening Israel to apartheid South Africa."
The committee not only criticized Albanese but also slammed the UNHRC, saying its leaders "allowed antisemitism and anti-Americanism to thrive within, with a seeming unwillingness to hold the most egregious violators of human rights to account."
"Francesca Albanese is an unabashed anti-Israel activist who has consistently done the bidding of Hamas terrorists responsible for the heinous October 7th attacks. Her appointment is a disgrace to the U.N. It’s time for the U.N. to claw back the integrity and accountability it has surrendered," Mast told Fox News Digital.
U.N. Watch Executive Director Hillel Neuer lauded the "much needed" action from Congress. In a statement to Fox News Digital, Neuer said that Albanese’s reappointment would be "unlawful" and called for "consequences" from the U.S. if she visits the country.
"Francesca Albanese openly supports Hamas, spreads antisemitic tropes, and tramples the U.N.’s own Code of Conduct. Under the U.N.’s own rules, the president of the Human Rights Council is now duty-bound to convey to the plenary this and other substantial objections that have been submitted, and for the delegates to formally consider Albanese’s many violations. And yet every indication is that the 47-member body — with the EU’s complicity — is instead barreling ahead with Albanese’s reappointment," Neuer said in a statement to Fox News Digital.
Albanese, who was appointed special rapporteur in 2022, has been condemned by the governments of multiple countries and faced accusations of antisemitism. Her response to French President Emmanuel Macron calling the Oct. 7 attacks "the largest antisemitic massacre of our century" sparked backlash from France, the U.S. and Germany.
The U.S. slammed Albanese for her "history of using antisemitic tropes," and said her comments were "justifying, dismissing [and] denying the antisemitic undertones of Hamas' October 7 attack are unacceptable [and] antisemitic."
The French Mission to the U.N. condemned Albanese’s response in a post on X. According to the Anti-Defamation League’s (ADL) translation, the post read: "The October 7 massacre is the largest antisemitic massacre of the 21st century. To deny it is wrong. To seem to justify it, by bringing in the name of the United Nations, is a shame." This was just a few months after the mission condemned her "hate speech and antisemitism."
Germany retweeted France's statement and said, "To justify the horrific terror attacks of 7/10 & deny their antisemitic nature is appalling. Making such statements in a UN capacity is a disgrace and goes against everything the United Nations stands for."
The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
Lee Zeldin, who heads the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), on Tuesday said she plans to visit the California-Mexico border to address issues pertaining to the "disgusting Mexican sewage" flowing into the United States.
Zeldin will assess the toxic waste and sewage runoff from the Tijuana River, which has resulted in beach closures in San Diego County.
'I’ll be visiting the California-Mexico border in the coming weeks where disgusting Mexican sewage is harming our precious environment in the United States," Zeldin wrote on X. "Permanent solutions must be urgently implemented by Mexico to end decades of their filthy sewage flowing into the U.S.
The issue of untreated sewage flowing from Tijuana, Mexico, into San Diego's beaches was exacerbated earlier this year, when, in January, the Hollister Wastewater Pump Station, which transfers sewage from Tijuana to the South Bay International Wastewater Treatment Plant, malfunctioned and spilled approximately 30,000 gallons of sewage into the river.
San Diego County Supervisor Jim Desmond, who has raised the issue in the past, said he looks forward to Zeldin's visit.
In an X post last month, Desmond called it "one of the biggest environmental and public health crises."
"This isn’t just a nuisance — it’s a danger. Our Navy SEALs train just north of this toxic mess," Desmond wrote. "Local families are exposed to contaminated water. Tourism suffers. And, yet, the State of California continues to look the other way. Many politicians have made promises — but delivered nothing. That ends now."
He said Mexico has failed to fix the problem and the U.S. has failed to hold the Mexican government accountable.
In 2018, a broken sewage pipe in Mexico resulted in millions of gallons of sewage spilling into the Tijuana River, and eventually, the Pacific Ocean. Around 12 miles of beach from the border northward had to be closed at the time.
Fox News Digital's Jamie Joseph contributed to this report.
Democrats and Republicans repeatedly clashed on Tuesday during a lengthy hearing on what the GOP calls "activist judges" blocking President Donald Trump's agenda.
The House Judiciary Committee's subcommittees on the Constitution and on courts held the joint hearing in preparation for a House-wide vote on legislation that would limit district judges' ability to issue nationwide injunctions. That bill is currently stalled, however, after an unrelated fight on proxy voting paralyzed the House floor.
During the hearing, Democrats repeatedly tried to press Republicans on the issue of judicial impeachments — something pushed by conservatives but that House GOP leaders have shown little appetite for pursuing.
"Some guy I've never heard of, he, might be in Congress, introduced an impeachment resolution, and he's not here," Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., said of an impeachment resolution targeting U.S. district Judge James Boasberg by Rep. Brandon Gill, R-Texas.
"He hasn't been here for at least the last hour, and every witness here is in agreement that we really shouldn't be impeaching judges. I haven't heard a single colleague on the other side say we should be impeaching judges."
Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., who was co-chairing the hearing alongside Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, asked Swalwell to yield his time — but the California Democrat refused.
"I don't think they have anything to talk about with the bills, since they offered a similar bill, and even the solicitor general, as late as October of last year in the Biden administration, wanted exactly what we're moving out of committee today," Issa told Fox News Digital about Democrats' ploy.
Rep. Jared Moskowitz, D-Fla., compared conservatives' push to impeach judges to House Republicans' impeachment inquiry efforts into former President Joe Biden — which ultimately did not end in any such proceedings.
"I guess we're taking a page out of [House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer's] playbook, we're just doing fake impeachments," Moskowitz told Fox News Digital.
But Roy, who co-led the hearing with Issa, told Fox News Digital it was about "trying to make clear that you've got a handful of judges acting, clearly politically, to stop the administration from acting."
"It's pretty clear that my Democratic colleagues prefer to defend the right of an MS-13 gang member, clearly here illegally, from being deported," Roy said.
But Rep. Scott Fitzgerald, R-Wis., another member of the committee, said at least one goal was to "raise the profile of the issue."
"Maybe the more headlines a hearing like this gets, it clearly sets it on the plate of Chief Justice Roberts, right, to take action and try to get control of the courts again," he said.
It's not immediately clear when Issa's bill will get a vote, after House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., announced House floor activity was canceled for the rest of this week.
The Trump administration will surge FBI resources across the country to address unsolved violent crimes in lands inhabited by Native American tribes, including crimes related to missing persons and the murders of indigenous persons.
Under "Operation Not Forgotten," the FBI will send 60 personnel to various parts of "Indian Country" over a six-month period where they will rotate in 90-day temporary assignments, the Justice Department announced Tuesday.
The additional personnel will support FBI field offices in Albuquerque; Denver; Detroit; Jackson, Miss.; Minneapolis; Oklahoma City; Phoenix; Portland, Oreg.; Seattle; and Salt Lake City.
The announcement came a day after the FBI field office in Albuquerque said a man admitted to killing an Indigenous artist following a November 2021 argument. DeAnna Autumn Leaf Suazo, a talented artist and the daughter of Native American artists Geraldine Tso, a Navajo artist, and David Gary Suazo, a Taos Pueblo painter, was killed by her boyfriend, Santiago Martinez, the FBI said.
"Crime rates in American Indian and Alaska Native communities are unacceptably high," said Attorney General Pamela Bondi. "By surging FBI resources and collaborating closely with U.S. Attorneys and Tribal law enforcement to prosecute cases, the Department of Justice will help deliver the accountability that these communities deserve."
The FBI will work with the Bureau of Indian Affairs and Tribal law enforcement agencies, authorities said. Fox News Digital has reached out to the BIA.
Crime continues to persist in Native American communities, the Justice Department said.
Beginning in fiscal year 2025, the FBI's Indian Country program had around 4,300 open investigations, including more than 900 death investigations, 1,000 for child abuse and more than 500 for domestic violence and sexual abuse.
In a statement, FBI Director Kash Patel said his agency will "manhunt violent criminals on all lands."
In 2019, Trump signed an executive order during his first term establishing the Task Force on Missing and Murdered American Indians and Alaska Natives. The order was aimed at addressing the crisis of missing and murdered indigenous people, particularly women and girls.
Tuesday's announcement will be the third iteration of Operation Not Forgotten, which has provided investigative support to over 500 cases in the past two years. The operations resulted in the recovery of 10 child victims, 52 arrests, and 25 indictments or judicial complaints.
President Donald Trump will make his "Liberation Day" announcement focused on tariffs from the Rose Garden Wednesday afternoon.
Trump will head to the White House's Rose Garden at 4 p.m. Wednesday, where he will be joined by members of his Cabinet to unveil his highly anticipated tariff plan that aims to unshackle the U.S. from its decades-long reliance on goods made overseas.
"On Wednesday, it will be Liberation Day in America, as President Trump has so proudly dubbed it," White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told members of the media Monday.
"The Cabinet will be here for the event. It'll be our first Rose Garden event of this administration. … The president will be announcing a tariff plan that will roll back the unfair trade practices that have been ripping off our country for decades."
Trump has for weeks promoted April 2 as America's "Liberation Day," and he will announce reciprocal tariffs on foreign nations that export goods to the U.S. Trump and his administration have remained relatively tight-lipped on details of the tariff plan, instead noting that upcoming tariffs will reportedly even the playing field for the U.S. on trade policy.
"Ithink it's going to be something that's going to bring a lot of wealth back to our country, tremendous wealth back to our country, actually," Trump told the media Monday. "And other countries are understanding because they've been ripping us for 50 years, longer."
The Trump administration has argued that placing tariffs on nations that produce goods overseas will encourage industries to establish manufacturing and production operations on U.S. soil to avoid the additional tax. The administration has said the tariffs will lead to an increase in jobs available to U.S. workers as overseas companies set up shop in the U.S.
White House trade advisor Peter Navarro said during a "Fox News Sunday" interview over the weekend the new tariffs will generate $600 billion annually for the U.S., or $6 trillion during the next decade.
The president said Sunday the tariff plan would affect "all countries" and has reiterated that his administration will be "nice" to foreign nations compared to how they have charged the U.S.
"We're being nicer than they were," he said while speaking to the media after signing an unrelated executive order Monday. "We have a lot of countries, friend and foe. I always say friend and foe, but the friend in many cases is worse than the foe. They took advantage of us, and we are going to be very nice by comparison to what they were.
"The numbers will be lower than what they've been charging us, and, in some cases, maybe substantially lower. But we sort of have a world obligation, perhaps," he added. "But we're going to be very nice, relatively speaking. We're going to be very kind."
The highly anticipated trade announcement has sparked uncertainty about the cost of goods to Americans, which Leavitt brushed aside Tuesday during a press briefing, arguing the tariff plan "is going to work."
Trump's tariff advisors are "not going to be wrong," Leavitt told Fox News' Peter Doocy Tuesday when asked about concerns over the plan. "It is going to work. And the president has a brilliant team of advisors who have been studying these issues for decades. And we are focused on restoring the Golden Age of America and making America a manufacturing superpower."
The Trump administration is remaining firm in its stance to arrest Kilmer Armado Abrego Garcia following a report from The Atlantic that the federal attorneys said that there was an "administrative error" in bringing him to CECOT men’s prison in El Salvador.
However, there was strong disagreement between the administration and The Atlantic’s angle, saying that Abrego Garcia needs to be behind bars regardless of where that is because of the criminal allegations against him, including allegedly being a member of the MS-13 gang.
"If you just saw the headline from the insane, failing [The Atlantic] magazine this morning, you would think this individual was father of the year living in Maryland, living a peaceful life, and that couldn’t be further from the truth," White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said at a briefing on Tuesday afternoon.
"This individual is an illegal criminal who broke our nation’s immigration laws. He is a leader in the brutal MS-13 gang, and he is involved in human trafficking," she added.
"And now MS-13 is a designated foreign terrorist organization. Foreign terrorists have no legal protections in the United States of America. And this administration is going to continue to deport foreign terrorists and illegal criminals from our nation’s interior," she continued.
Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin posted to X on Tuesday to further detail the allegations against him.
"The individual in question is a member of the brutal MS-13 gang— we have intelligence reports that he is involved in human trafficking. Whether he is in El Salvador or a detention facility in the U.S., he should be locked up," she tweeted.
"On March 15, although ICE was aware of his protection from removal to El Salvador, Abrego Garcia was removed to El Salvador because of an administrative error," the document, which is from DHS’s attorneys, stated.
The attorneys for Abrego Garcia argue that he was deported without due process and there is no solid proof that he is a member of the gang, according to NBC News.
Attorneys for several removed Venezuelan migrants have emphasized that the administration has falsely labeled several of the removed migrants as gang members based on their tattoos, though administration officials have repeatedly stated those sent to the prison are the "worst of the worst."
Certain tattoos flagged as gang-affiliated, which could lead to a migrant's removal, include art of things like a crown or NBA legend Michael Jordan's famous "Jumpman" logo rather than only symbols of a notable gang in El Salvador or Venezuela.
The administration maintains that those tattoos have gang affiliations.
Vice President JD Vance got into a discussion with journalists on X about the allegations, including referencing a court filing that states that Abrego Garcia was denied bond in 2019 over an informant’s allegation that he was a member of MS-13, but he has not been convicted.
El Salvador President Nayib Bukele has remained supportive of the United States' efforts to bring alleged gang members to the country, as the prison was used to tackle crime issues in the Central American country, saying the "operation is another step in the fight against terrorism and organized crime" in an X post on Monday.
"Thank you President Bukele, of El Salvador, for taking the criminals that were so stupidly allowed, by the Crooked Joe Biden Administration, to enter our Country, and giving them such a wonderful place to live!" Trump posted in response to Bukele's comments.
EXCLUSIVE: Republican lawmakers are introducing legislation to undo a method used by the Biden administration to limit the ability to produce oil.
The "LIZARDS Act of 2025" would remove the dunes sagebrush lizard from the endangered species list, as proponents of the bill argue that it was used by the Biden administration to limit energy production in places like Texas’ Permian Basin — a hub for the American oil and gas industry. The legislative effort is being led by Rep. August Pfluger, R-Texas, and Rep. Tracey Mann, R-Kansas.
"Former President Biden spent four years fulfilling his promise to kill the fossil fuel industry one horrible policy at a time – including listing the dunes sagebrush lizard under the Endangered Species Act, a direct attack on our hard-working men and women in the energy sector," Pfluger said in a statement.
"This listing, along with many others, was completely misguided and repudiates significant private conservation efforts in West Texas," he added.
In addition, the duo is also sending a letter to Interior Secretary Doug Burgum asking the United States Fish and Wildlife Service to remove both the lizard and the lesser prairie chicken from the list.
"Reversing these listing would recognize the success of local conservation efforts and restore regulatory certainty for the communities and industries that depend on access to these lands," the letter states.
The service added the dunes sagebrush lizard to the list in May 2024, and the lesser prairie chicken was listed in 2022.
"From day one, President Biden used every tool in his toolbox to trample on the livelihoods of America’s energy and agricultural producers," the Republican lawmaker said in a statement.
"His administration continuously ignored the facts on the ground and decided federal bureaucrats were better equipped to manage these populations than local citizens. Our bill restores power back to the local communities most impacted by these decisions and removes the regulatory handcuffs put on them by the Biden Administration. We look forward to working with President Trump and Secretary Burgum to reverse these ill-informed listings and unleash the American energy dominance 77 million Americans voted for this past November."
The Trump administration has made major energy policy changes, including scrapping certain regulations on Alaska, declaring a national energy emergency, and signing a Congressional Review Act to end a tax on natural gas production.
Voters in two states are casting general election ballots for the first time since November, when they sent President Donald Trump back to the White House.
Wisconsin will choose a new justice on the state Supreme Court, which has a 4-3 liberal-leaning majority. Florida is holding special elections in two deep-red districts last held by Reps. Matt Gaetz and Michael Waltz.
At stake: court decisions over abortion, unions and voting rights in Wisconsin, and the size of the Republican majority in the U.S. House…Read more
TRUMP CARD: Trump-backed bills targeting activist judges, non-citizens voting head for House-wide votes
'JUDICIAL COUP D'ETAT': Wave of court orders blocking Trump's agenda are a 'judicial coup d'etat,' Gingrich says
BAN DRAGS ON: Trump's transgender military ban dealt legal blow after appeals court ruling
'ELEMENT OF SURPRISE': Trump pick for Joint Chiefs chair tells Senate 'element of surprise' should be guarded amid Signal chat leak
'CLAWED BACK': Trump Labor Department secures eye-popping sum to return to taxpayers amid DOGE push
BOASBERG AND ME: Trump allies scrutinize Judge Boasberg's DC connections as high-stakes legal battles escalate
'FALL GUY': Trump commutes prison sentence of Hunter Biden's 'fall guy' Jason Galanis
RED MUTINY: Anna Paulina Luna forces House leadership's hand on proxy voting as GOP war escalates
BOOKER STAFFER BOOKED: Cory Booker staffer arrested for allegedly carrying pistol without license at Capitol
CONTEMPT: Judge Boasberg impeachment push gains support despite House GOP leaders' resistance
APRIL FOOLS: Colorado Gov. Jared Polis pokes fun at Trump with official 'South Park' portrait in April Fools post
BY THE NUMBERS: Election Day in Wisconsin, Florida: What to watch as conservatives face a statewide electoral test
'PAID PUPPET': Conservative economist funded by left wing orgs quietly leading anti-DOGE charge
FIRST ON FOX: The White House is warning President Trump may veto a Democrat-led resolution that would undo his tariffs against Canada if it passes the Senate on Tuesday.
In a statement of administrative policy obtained exclusively by Fox News Digital, the Trump White House said that if the resolution came to his desk, "his advisors would recommend that he veto it."
Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., led several other Democrats in introducing the privileged resolution, which would specifically roll back the tariffs that the Trump administration levied on Canada.
The resolution would reverse the national emergency that Trump declared on Feb. 1 at the northern border.
A White House official told Fox News Digital in an exclusive statement, "President Trump promised to secure our borders and stop the scourge of fentanyl that’s poisoning our communities, and he’s delivering. Democrat Senator Tim Kaine is trying to undermine the President’s Emergency Declaration at our Northern Borders—a measure that prioritizes our national security—for reasons that defy logic."
"Under Joe Biden’s failed leadership, criminal networks, fentanyl, and terrorists ran rampant along the northern border. Today’s stunt by Tim Kaine proves once again how woefully out of touch the Democrat Party is with the American people as they use a matter of national security for political gamesmanship. The stakes are too high to reverse course; the declaration must stay in place."
Kaine responded with his own statement, telling Fox News Digital, "The Trump Administration’s own threat assessment report on fentanyl did not mention Canada—not even once. Trump’s order is a blatant abuse of his authority, and it is critical that Congress push back before he inflicts even more damage to our economy and to the relationship with one of our top trading partners and closest allies."
In a recent op-ed in the Washington Post, Kaine wrote, "The emergency powers Trump is invoking — based on provisions of the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act — are intended for use in legitimate emergencies related to foreign threats and adversaries."
The senator claimed that "Trump’s rationale for an ‘emergency’ that justifies billions in taxes on American consumers doesn’t make sense in Canada’s case."
He also accused the president of making "spurious claims of a fentanyl crisis at the northern border on par with the drug situation at the southern border, but his numbers don’t add up."
According to the White House, since the emergency was declared, border crossings from the north have fallen by 65%.
The White House also pointed to the significant increase in encounters along the northern border under former President Joe Biden, who saw a more than 420% increase in encounters at their peak.
In 2024, the White House further claimed U.S. Customs and Border Protection seized enough fentanyl to kill nearly 10 people.
Trump took to Truth Social himself on Monday to rail against Kaine's resolution: "Senator Tim Kaine, who ran against me with Crooked Hillary in 2016, is trying to halt our critical Tariffs on deadly Fentanyl coming in from Canada. We are making progress to end this terrible Fentanyl Crisis, but Republicans in the Senate MUST vote to keep the National Emergency in place, so we can finish the job, and end the scourge."
"By their weakness, the Democrats have allowed Fentanyl to get out of hand. The Republicans and I have reversed that course, strongly and quickly. Major additional progress is being made. Don’t let the Democrats have a Victory. It would be devastating for the Republican Party and, far more importantly, for the United States. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!" he continued.
Republican leadership is echoing Trump's message in the Senate, with Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso, R-Wyo., set to make similar arguments in a floor speech on Tuesday.
In prepared remarks obtained by Fox News Digital exclusively, Barrasso will say, "For four years, America’s attention has been on the southern border. Meanwhile, the criminal cartels noticed how Joe Biden and the Democrats threw open the northern border."
He will note that Trump recognized its unique threats and "is taking bold, swift action to secure it."
"Why would we let up?" Barrasso will ask, also pointing to the facts that "Canada is making changes. Canada agreed to deploy to the border more technology and more law enforcement officers. Canada also created its first ever National Fentanyl Czar."
The resolution is expected to get a vote on Tuesday. However, it could be moved depending on the length of Sen. Cory Booker's record-breaking floor speech, which is still ongoing.
It will only require a simple 51-vote majority to be agreed to. This means there's a significant chance that it advances, with some Republicans, such as Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., having expressed concerns about the tariffs.
While private companies are taking advantage of April Fools' Day to market their products, politicians are using it to take jabs at their enemies across the aisle.
Colorado Democratic Gov. Jared Polis used the day to poke fun at President Donald Trump over his recent self-portrait snafu, while Republican House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer used it to take a jab at Hunter Biden's painting skills. House GOP conference Chairwoman Lisa McClain, R-Mich., chose to target all Democrats with her dig from the podium during a press conference Tuesday.
Polis put out a press release early Tuesday morning announcing he had unveiled a new official gubernatorial portrait to be displayed in the State Capitol. The press release included an image of the new "portrait," which was not actually a painting of the governor, but a caricature of himself.
"No one likes an unflattering photo or painting of themselves, which is why I went against the grain for my official portrait," Polis said in his announcement. His timing was right on cue, since, earlier in the week, Trump demanded a portrait of himself be taken down because he did not like the way it made him look, calling it "purposefully distorted."
"I’m pleased with the final product and want to thank the artists for their vision, and feel that I have never looked better," Polis said.
The press release included a photo of the caricature, which looked like a character from "South Park," along with various requirements he ostensibly gave to the artist who drew it.
"The Governor must be depicted directly facing the viewer. The Governor’s well-known signature look, specifically his signature blue polo, must not be altered. The portrait must utilize the bright blue hue of the Governor’s iconic tennis shoes. The Governor must be smiling or smizing," the list said.
Republicans got into the action too, with Comer sharing a sarcastic post on X, commissioning Hunter Biden to do some artwork for him.
"I heard Hunter Biden is facing financial hardship, so I decided to commission him to paint my official chairman portrait," Comer wrote in an X post, which included what appeared to be an AI-generated image of Hunter Biden painting a portrait of Comer.
"No favors from the Big Guy, I promise," he added.
Hunter Biden faced criticism during his father’s presidency — and amid an ongoing corruption scandal linked to his family — for allegedly leveraging his status to fetch high prices for his amateur artwork, with reported sales ranging from $75,000 to $500,000.
At a GOP press conference on Capitol Hill Tuesday, McClain got in on the action, too. However, her jab sought to target all Democrats, chiding them for lacking unity or a cohesive strategy for taking power back from Republicans.
"The Democrats, however, have found their vision," McClain said as she blasted the party for disrupting GOP town halls across the country. "The Democrats have found their leader. And the Democrats – oh wait, no April Fools'. I forgot it was April Fools' today. That was my attempt at an April Fools' joke. We know the Democrats have no vision, no message and no leader."
At the local level and on social media, a state senator from Michigan threw shade at Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer for "playing politics" with a special election in the state, and, in North Carolina, the state's Republican Party created a graphic that referred to Democratic leaders in the state, including newly elected Gov. Josh Stein, as "April Fools."
EXCLUSIVE – Freshman Congressman Brandon Gill, R-Texas, is teaming with pro-MAGA law firm America First Legal to file an amicus brief to the Supreme Court backing President Donald Trump’s use of the Alien Enemies Act to deport illegal immigrant gang members.
Gill, an outspoken conservative, was behind the effort to impeach the activist judge who halted the Trump administration's deportation of members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua – a violent criminal group known by its acronym TdA.
The brief was filed to the Supreme Court on Tuesday, just days after acting U.S. Solicitor General Sarah Harris petitioned the court to lift a temporary restraining order inhibiting the administration from carrying out its deportation agenda.
In their brief, America First and Gill argue the president has "absolute authority" under the Alien Enemies Act to determine when an invasion has occurred, and that this decision is "not judicially reviewable."
The brief argues that "the evidence is that TdA has invaded the United States at the direction of the Venezuelan government and continues to invade, attempt to invade, and threaten to invade the country; perpetrated irregular warfare within the country; and used drug trafficking as a weapon against American citizens."
In a statement to Fox News Digital, America First senior counsel James Rogers said, "The notion that a single unelected judge may take it upon himself to micromanage the defense of our nation is an unprecedented and complete corruption of the separation of powers, which is a bedrock feature of our Republic."
"AFL is proud to join with Rep. Brandon Gill to stand up for the rule of law and to protect our American citizens," said Rogers.
"The evidence is that TdA is tied to the Government of Venezuela; members of this violent gang clearly qualify as invading aliens under the Alien Enemies Act," he added. "This law was passed more than 226 years ago, and courts have always held that they lack the power to interfere with the President’s authority as Commander in Chief to decide when to invoke the Act and expel aliens under its terms."
"No plaintiff is entitled to use the courts to frustrate the president's exercise of clear constitutional authority," added America First Vice President Dan Epstein.
"The Biden administration’s failures depict clear reasons why the United States must fight this visceral threat to American self-government and the rule of law," he went on, adding, "The president declared that the United States is under invasion. The president has the power to make such a determination."
This comes after a 2-1 decision by a D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals panel upheld a ruling by D.C. federal Judge James Boasberg, a Biden appointee, further blocking the Trump administration's immigration enforcement plans.
At issue is the Trump administration's authority to invoke the Alien Enemies Act, a 1798 wartime law, to immediately deport Venezuelan nationals, including alleged members of Tren de Aragua, which was designated a foreign terrorist organization by the Trump State Department.
Trump issued an executive order on March 15 titled "Invocation of the Alien Enemies Act Regarding the Invasion of the United States by Tren De Aragua." In the order, Trump stated that TdA is sponsored by Venezuelan socialist dictator Nicolás Maduro with the goal of "destabilizing democratic nations in the Americas, including the United States."
In response, Boasberg issued a temporary restraining order immediately blocking the Trump administration from using the Alien Enemies Act to deport Venezuelan nationals. In his ruling, Boasberg cited the need to better consider the merits of the case, prompting the administration to file an emergency request for the U.S. appeals court to intervene.
The Trump administration’s appeal described the restraining order as a "massive, unauthorized imposition on the Executive’s authority to remove dangerous aliens who pose threats to the American people."
In the administration’s petition to the Supreme Court, Harris said this case "presents fundamental questions about who decides how to conduct sensitive national-security-related operations in this country – the president, through Article II, or the judiciary, through TROs [temporary restraining orders]."
She said the Constitution "supplies a clear answer: the president," adding, "The republic cannot afford a different choice."
EXCLUSIVE – Republican Rep. Byron Donalds has enjoyed a fundraising frenzy since announcing his run for Florida governor in late February, in the 2026 race to succeed term-limited GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis.
Donalds, who has represented Florida's 19th Congressional District in the southwest part of the state for four years, raised roughly $12 million in the 35 days since he announced his candidacy, according to his political team.
The fundraising included $540,000 in hard dollars for his gubernatorial campaign, and around $11.5 million for Friends of Byron Donalds, an aligned super PAC. The contributions for the campaign and the super PAC came from around 4,300 donors.
The figures were shared first with Fox News on Tuesday.
Donalds, a staunch supporter and ally of President Donald Trump, announced his candidacy during an appearance on Fox News' "Hannity" late last month, days after landing the president's endorsement.
"Byron Donalds has hit the ground running with President Trump’s endorsement and has amassed a $12 million war chest since announcing his bid for Governor just 35 days ago. We are grateful to the thousands of donors supporting Byron’s vision for Conservative leadership," veteran Republican strategist Danielle Alvarez, who is helping Donalds, said in a statement.
In a Fox News Digital interview on Friday, as he held his campaign kickoff in Bonita Springs, Donalds pledged that "we’re going to campaign hard and we’re going to take this to every part of Florida."
And pointing to the support from Trump, whose immense grip over the GOP is stronger than ever, he emphasized "having his endorsement, it’s a great thing to have, I’m glad I have it."
"And when he makes these choices, they tend to turn out well for his candidates," Donalds noted.
Donalds is currently the only major Republican to date to jump into the race.
But Florida first lady Casey DeSantis has acknowledged she is considering a 2026 Republican gubernatorial run of her own, to succeed her husband in Tallahassee.
She stoked speculation in February when asked by reporters if she would run.
"To quote the late Yogi Berra," DeSantis said as she reiterated a famous line from the late baseball legend. "If you see a fork in the road, take it."
The governor then quipped to reporters that "you guys can read into that what you will."
When asked last month at the National Review Institute’s Ideas Summit in National Harbor, Maryland, if she might launch a campaign, Casey DeSantis said, "We'll see."
The governor has repeatedly touted his wife's accomplishments as Florida first lady and framed her as a worthy successor. And sources confirmed in February to Fox News that the governor has been reaching out to donors on behalf of his wife.
Asked about a possible face-off with Casey DeSantis, Donalds told Fox News Digital last week that "races take on a shape of their own, so we’ll see what actually happens."
"My mission is going to be focused on our future and the things that are necessary for Florida to go and to thrive and be prosperous for everybody. So that’s going to be my mission. We’ll see how the race shapes up," he added.
And Donalds said he aims to convey to voters that "I have a vision for their future and I think that when they hear it, they’re going to choose me."
