Colorado Gov. Jared Polis tells CNN's Jake Tapper that Biden needs to show Democrats that he can turn his campaign around and says "he hasn't done that yet."

CNN.com - RSS Channel - Politics

CNN.com - RSS Channel - Politics

Fareed speaks with David Frum, staff writer at The Atlantic, about how Sen. JD Vance went from being a fierce critic of Donald Trump to becoming the former president's running mate.

CNN.com - RSS Channel - Politics

Fareed is joined by Jane Gilbert, chief heat officer for Miami-Dade County, Fla., who discusses how she is working to combat the effects of record high temperatures in a county that is considered ground zero for the climate crisis in the United States.

CNN.com - RSS Channel - Politics

Joe Biden, the 46th president of the United States, announced on Sunday, July 21, that he is not seeking reelection.

CNN.com - RSS Channel - Politics

Years before he became president, many Americans first met Barack Obama during the 2004 Democratic National Convention.

CNN.com - RSS Channel - Politics

On CNN's State of the Union, Republican Sen. Tom Cotton criticizes Harris' comments on the war in Gaza and calls her a "San Francisco liberal who cannot keep this country safe."

CNN.com - RSS Channel - Politics

CNN Senior Political Commentator Scott Jennings and Political Commentators Kristen Soltis Anderson, Jamal Simmons and Kate Bedingfield tell CNN's Jake Tapper who they think should join Vice President Kamala Harris' ticket and with 100 days until election day, the state of the 2024 presidential race.

CNN.com - RSS Channel - Politics

New York Times opinion columnist Ezra Klein speaks with Fareed about the effects of President Joe Biden's decision to not seek reelection — and whether Vice President Kamala Harris can reshape the race.

CNN.com - RSS Channel - Politics

Fareed speaks with New York Times opinion columnist Ezra Klein about the significance of Vice President Kamala Harris' early career as a prosecutor — and how it may affect her campaign.

CNN.com - RSS Channel - Politics

It was a full-on nuclear explosion.

Just like the Pacific Testing Grounds near the Marshall Islands and French Polynesia.

But this political blast tore through the Senate chamber.

In November 2013, late Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., detonated the first Senate "nuclear option." He curbed the filibuster to confirm executive branch nominees – except the Supreme Court. Rather than 60 votes to break a filibuster, such nominees would only need a simple majority.

SENATE GOP LEADER MOVES TO LOWER FILIBUSTER THRESHOLD FOR TRUMP NOMINEES THROUGH NUCLEAR OPTION

Former Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., ignited the second "nuclear option" in 2017. The Kentucky Republican anticipated a Democratic filibuster as the Senate tried to confirm Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch. So McConnell chipped away at the filibuster bar for nominations to the High Court.

McConnell also lowered that bar from 60 yeas to 51.

Both of these instances were so dramatic, they featured parliamentary mushroom clouds erupting over the Capitol. The Senate eventually fell into nuclear winter after both instances, paralyzed from the fallout.

Now, Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., is poised to discharge the parliamentary equivalent of a "suitcase nuke" on Thursday.

Thune’s gambit isn’t something to ignore. It won’t carry the same immediate parliamentary weight of the maneuvers executed by Reid and McConnell. However, it’s another crack in the Senate custom of the filibuster. The legislative filibuster still exists. Senators can still block bills if they can prevent the body from cobbling together 60 yeas to break a filibuster.

Thune will follow the playbook established by Reid and McConnell to alter the Senate precedent (note, this is not a rules change. The Senate requires 67 votes to break a filibuster on a rules change) to expedite the confirmation of lower-level nominees in groups. This plan will not include judges nor cabinet secretaries.

Thune set his gambit into motion Monday by introducing a resolution to accelerate a slate of about 40 nominees. By rule, the Senate will take a procedural vote to break a filibuster on his resolution to confirm the batch of nominees on Thursday. The resolution itself – which is specific to this type of batch of nominees – needs 60 yeas. The Senate won’t get 60 yeas.

THUNE LAYS GROUNDWORK FOR NUCLEAR OPTION IN SENATE FIGHT OVER TRUMP NOMINEES

But this is exactly the scenario that Thune needs in order to go nuclear.

The coin of the realm in the Senate is unlimited debate. But one of the rare occasions senators can't debate something is when an issue fails and a senator requests a re-vote. So a failed vote to break the filibuster backs the Senate into the exact parliamentary cul-de-sac which Thune wants.

At the end of the roll call vote, Thune will likely switch his vote from yes to no on breaking the filibuster. The Senate allows members to demand a mulligan if they are on the prevailing side of the issue. In this case, Thune is suddenly with the "noes," even though he initially voted yes to break the filibuster. But remember, Thune is only temporarily switching his vote in order to advance his cause. He may lose the battle. But may ultimately win the war.

By changing his position, Thune can then order a re-vote on the roll call which failed. And since the Senate is in this unique posture of not allowing any debate, Democrats are paralyzed. They can’t do anything to stop Thune from what he plans next.

This is very similar to what Reid did in 2013, followed up by McConnell in 2017, on the first two nuclear options.

Thune will then make a point of order on the floor.

Thune will assert that on the resolutions like the one he drafted, a bloc of lower-level nominees (e.g. – the ones now before the Senate) does not need 60 votes to break a filibuster. The chair – potentially Senate President Pro Tempore Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, or even Vice President Vance, who is the President of the Senate – will presumably rule that Thune is wrong. Senate rules and precedent do require 60 votes to break a filibuster on this type of resolution.

CONGRESS RETURNS WITH DEMOCRATS REFUSING TO NEGOTIATE AS OCT 1 SHUTDOWN DEADLINE LOOMS

But Thune doesn’t stop there.

The Majority Leader will then request a vote to overturn how the chair ruled. He will assert that a simple majority is necessary to break a filibuster for this type of resolution – even though that’s never been the case before.

The Senate will vote. And if 51 senators vote in favor of ruling against the chair, the Senate will have established a new precedent. It will lower the threshold from 60 to 51 on this type of resolution to speedily advance a batch of nominees all at once.

Once the Senate does that, Thune will need to set up another procedural vote under the new precedents to break a filibuster. If Thune "files cloture" again on Thursday, the Senate can vote on Monday to break a filibuster – needing only 51 yeas – on Monday, Sept. 15. If the Senate votes to break the filibuster on the resolution under the revamped precedents, the Senate could vote to confirm the 48 nominees in question on Wednesday, Sept. 17.

Here's an example of some of the nominees in the queue for confirmation:

Former Rep. Brandon Williams, R-N.Y., is up for Under Secretary for Nuclear Security. President Trump tapped Leslie Beyer to serve as Assistant Secretary of the Interior. Richard Anderson to become an Assistant Secretary of the Air Force. Jovan Jovanovic to lead the Export-Import Bank. Callista Gingrich, wife of former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, R-Ga., is the President’s pick as Ambassador to Switzerland and Liechtenstein.

Thune says that Democrats are obstinate, not allowing the Senate to confirm a batch of nominees in one fell swoop. He accuses Democrats of obstruction, saying the minority is trying to undermine the President.

"This is simply the world's longest, most drawn out temper tantrum over losing an election," said Thune.

TRUMP NOMINEES PILE UP AS GOP WEIGHS RULE SHIFT ONCE FLOATED BY DEMOCRATS

But Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., had a message for Republicans: caveat emptor. Especially when Democrats eventually return to the majority and have a Democratic president.

"I say to my Republican colleagues, think carefully before taking this step," warned Schumer. "If you go nuclear, it's going to be a decision you will come to regret."

One could argue that Democrats helped crack open this door when Reid initiated Nuclear Option #1 in 2013. Democrats were frustrated over Republicans hamstringing President Obama’s nominees.

The same when McConnell returned the favor over the Supreme Court with Nuclear Option #2 in 2017.

And if you’re a real student of history, consider that late Senate Majority Leader Robert Byrd, D-W.V., really set the table for Thune’s maneuvers via three precedent gambits in 1980.

So the tit-for-tat continues.

During the Cold War standoff between the U.S. and the Soviet Union, geopolitical observers said the world teetered on mutually assured destruction. Launching a nuclear attack on one nation would result in annihilation of both countries. One country may strike first. But the prime aggressor would not survive because of guaranteed retaliation, in kind.

There is no such mutually assured destruction doctrine in this parliamentary wargame. Neither Democrats nor Republicans have fired a full nuclear volley at the other side. Each strike has been "strategic," directed at a limited political target. Thus, there’s no mutually assured destruction.

But that also means there’s no incentive for Senate détente.

And that’s why these parliamentary strikes and counterstrikes probably don’t end any time soon.

Latest Political News on Fox News

Democratic Mayor Michelle Wu of Boston on Tuesday easily came out on top in a preliminary municipal contest to advance to November's mayoral election, amid a new crackdown in Massachusetts by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). 

Voters in New England's most populous city cast ballots to narrow the mayoral field to two in Democrat-dominated Boston.

Wu, the first woman and person of color elected Boston mayor, faced off against three challengers. Philanthropist Josh Kraft, a fellow Democrat and the son of billionaire New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, was expected to also advance to November's mayoral election.

TRUMP NOT ON BALLOT BUT FRONT-AND-CENTER IN 2025 ELECTIONS

The voting came as Wu, who's seeking re-election to a second four-year term, is pushing back against federal immigration enforcement in the city.

The Department of Homeland Security announced on Sunday that "ICE launched 'Patriot 2.0' to target the worst of the worst criminal illegal aliens living in the state of Massachusetts, following the success of Operation Patriot in May."

And taking aim at Wu, the statement argued, "Sanctuary policies like those pushed by Mayor Wu not only attract and harbor criminals but also place these public safety threats above the interests of law-abiding American citizens. ICE is arresting sex offenders, pedophiles, murderers, drug dealers, and gang members released by local authorities."

Wu, on Monday, pushed back

"They are wrong on the law, and they are wrong on safety," Wu charged. "This is why Boston has been the target. Boston is going to continue to uphold the Boston Trust Act, our state law, and the clear separation where our local officials and our city government does not cooperate in the mass deportation efforts that this federal administration is trying to push."

And the mayor claimed, "For months, ICE has refused to provide any information about their activities in Boston and refuses to issue warrants, while we hear reports of ICE agents taking parents as they are dropping their kids off at school. That does not make our community safer."

Boston's Trust Act prevents police in the city from handing people over to ICE without a criminal warrant.

The latest confrontation comes as the Justice Department sues Boston city officials, including the mayor, for allegedly interfering with the immigration crackdown.

Latest Political News on Fox News

The Trump administration's Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) Commission indicated that, after more than a decade of restrictions on whole milk in schools, the federal government is planning to drop them. 

The decision to drop the restrictions on whole milk sales in schools was announced as part of the MAHA commission's Make Our Children Healthy Again Strategy, a sweeping plan with over 120 initiatives released Tuesday. The initiatives cover a wide range of topics, from toxic food dyes, to nutrient requirements, to misleading health advertisements. Updated recommendations regarding fluoride and PFAS chemicals in water and a new definition for "ultra-processed food" were among the planned initiatives as well.

"The Trump administration is mobilizing every part of government to confront the childhood chronic disease epidemic," Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said Tuesday. "This strategy represents the most sweeping reform agenda in modern history — realigning our food and health systems, driving education, and unleashing science to protect America’s children and families. We are ending the corporate capture of public health, restoring transparency, and putting gold-standard science — not special interests — at the center of every decision."

JILLIAN MICHAELS HAMMERS NY TIMES FOR ‘BLATANT HIT PIECE’ PORTRAYING HER AS DANGEROUS CONSPIRACY THEORIST

The move to bring back whole milk to schools is something Kennedy has been considering since day one, according to Nina Teicholz, a nutrition expert who was privy to discussions among Kennedy's staff before he was confirmed by the Senate to lead the nation's public health response. While removing the restrictions is a significant move, there are still additional steps that will need to be taken before whole milk becomes widely accepted again, according to the Congressional Research Service (CRS).

One of those additional steps is rewriting the national dietary guidelines, which directly influence school meal nutrition standards. The new MAHA children's health strategy indicates that the Trump administration will update the 2025–2030 guidelines, while also reforming the manner in which future dietary guidelines can be updated. Additionally, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) would also initiate changes to school nutrition standards through its rulemaking process to permit whole milk in schools. 

Meanwhile, legislation is another avenue that could be used to streamline the process for bringing back whole milk in schools, the CRS notes, which would then compel the USDA to revise its regulations governing the National School Lunch Program. In the current Congress, a bill to bring back both whole milk and 2% milk has been approved in the House and is awaiting full approval in the Senate before it can be sent to the president's desk.

‘CHERNOBYL-LEVEL FAILURE’: MAHA ADVISOR GIVES CDC FAILING GRADE ON COVID, CHRONIC DISEASES

Another notable part of the new MAHA children's health strategy entails an initiative to ramp up enforcement of prescription drug advertising laws. The strategy said this includes the dissemination of "risk information and quality of life through misleading and deceptive advertising on social media and digital platforms." The report notes that the new enforcement will target direct-to-consumer telehealth companies and social media influencers, among others.

In April, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced plans to phase out all petroleum-based synthetic dyes from the nation’s food supply. The MAHA strategy indicated this effort will remain ongoing as the FDA continues to pass policies that will either limit, or altogether prohibit, the use of petroleum-based food dyes in all food products approved in the United States.

Other initiatives include providing a government-wide definition for "ultra-processed foods" to support future policy activity, efforts to require better transparency in food labeling, new recommendations regarding fluoride and PFAS chemicals in water, updates to the Generally Recognized As Safe (GRAS) standards, changes to nutrition requirements for infant formula, and efforts to increase breastfeeding rates to ensure a safe supply of donor milk.

"For too long, health care has used a reactive approach to chronic diseases," FDA Commissioner Dr. Marty Makary said. "I am pleased to support the findings of the MAHA commission and to promote a more proactive approach, tackling root causes undermining the health and happiness of American children."

Tuesday's children's health strategy from the MAHA Commission follows an earlier assessment on children's health released in May. After that report was released, farmers expressed concern over what the reforms could mean for their livelihoods. However, following Tuesday's latest strategy report, at least one of those groups is applauding the Trump administration for taking steps to protect farmers. 

"It’s clear that farmers' voices were finally heard, but our work to defend their access to safe and proven crop protection tools is far from over," said Elizabeth Burns-Thompson, Executive Director of the Modern Ag Alliance. "The Commission avoided some of the most damaging potential outcomes for American agriculture, but it still advanced some misconceptions about these essential farming inputs and the gold-standard science and regulatory processes that stand behind them."

Latest Political News on Fox News

Democrats will hold onto a vacant congressional seat in the northern Virginia suburbs of Washington, D.C., in a special election seen as a referendum on President Donald Trump and his sweeping and controversial agenda.

Democratic Party nominee James Walkinshaw defeated Republican nominee Stewart Whitson in Virginia's left-leaning 11th Congressional District, according to The Associated Press.

Walkinshaw will succeed late longtime Democratic Rep. Gerry Connolly, who died in June after a battle with cancer.

Heading into Tuesday's special election, Republicans controlled the House 219-212, with three seats controlled by Democrats vacant, as well as one held by the GOP. Walkinshaw's victory in the left-leaning district that Republicans haven't won in nearly two decades further narrows the GOP's fragile House majority.

TRUMP NOT ON BALLOT BUT FRONT-AND-CENTER IN 2025 ELECTIONS

The district is home to tens of thousands of government workers and contractors, and the federal jobs cuts by Trump's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and crime and immigration, transgender policies and even the push to release the Justice Department's files on the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein were all in the spotlight on the campaign trail.

FOUR KEY SENATE SEATS THE GOP AIMS TO FLIP IN NEXT YEAR'S MIDTERM ELECTIONS

"Folks in Northern Virginia and Fairfax are feeling the impact of the Trump policies. And I like to say we're kind of on the leading edge of the Trump economy here. Everybody in Fairfax knows someone, probably someone on their street, maybe the parent of their kid's soccer team, who has lost their job because of DOGE or the Trump policies," Walkinshaw told Fox News Digital on Election Day eve.

Walkinshaw, a Fairfax County Board of Supervisors member who previously served as Connolly’s chief of staff, argued that "if the Trump policies continue, tariffs, the so-called big, beautiful bill, that's going to be the case all around the country. So, I think we're on the leading edge of that. And I think voters tomorrow are going to send a statement about that."

Whitson also said Trump was in the campaign spotlight because of a "lot of the great policies that he's been championing."

Whitson, an Army veteran and former FBI special agent who oversees federal affairs for a conservative think tank, told Fox News Digital "the people in our district who have lost their job or who are worried about losing their job, they don't need empathy. They need solutions."

He said Walkinshaw claimed "he's going to fight President Trump and fight the administration. And my pitch to voters in our district is: is that going to help? Is that going to help improve the situation? The answer is no.

"We need someone to represent the people in our district who can work with any administration, whether it's Republican or Democrat," Whitson emphasized.

While Trump isn't very popular in the district — the president won just 31% of the vote in his White House re-election last year — Whitson said Trump's polices "center on … common sense."

Fox News' Kiera McDonald contributed to this report.

Latest Political News on Fox News

The Missouri House of Representatives passed a new congressional map on Tuesday that is expected to hand Republicans an additional seat in the U.S. House of Representatives ahead of the 2026 midterm elections. 

The Missouri Senate is now tasked with passing the new map before it can land on Republican Gov. Mike Kehoe's desk. 

A special session of Missouri's legislature to redraw the solidly red state's congressional districts began last week. The Midwest state is the latest battleground in the high-stakes partisan fight over congressional redistricting ahead of the midterms. 

"Missouri’s conservative, commonsense values should be truly represented at all levels of government, and the Missouri First Map delivers just that," Kehoe said as he announced the special session and unveiled the proposed map. 

TRUMP-BACKED REDISTRICTING PUSH TURNS MIDWESTERN STATE INTO NEXT POLITICAL BATTLEGROUND

Missouri Democrats staged a sit-in over the weekend, refusing to leave the chamber in protest of the Republican-backed map. Missouri state House Minority Leader Ashley Aune has accused Republicans of pushing to "rig our maps and eliminate our representation in Congress."

ABBOTT CLEARS FINAL REDISTRICTING HURDLE AS TEXAS SENATE PASSES NEW TRUMP-APPROVED MAP

Democratic National Committee (DNC) Chair Ken Martin celebrated the Missouri Democrats' protest in a statement released Monday. 

"The DNC applauds their efforts leading and using every tool at their disposal to raise awareness for the craven scheme by Missouri Republicans. In every corner of this country, Democrats are fighting back. Missouri Democrats can count on the DNC’s support as we protect Missouri voters and save our country from Trump’s billionaire-first agenda," Martin said. 

President Donald Trump argued in a social media post that Missouri voters would have "the tremendous opportunity to elect an additional MAGA Republican in the 2026 Midterm Elections."

Kehoe's move came hours after Republican Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas signed into law a redistricting bill passed by the Republican supermajority in the state legislature that aims to create up to five right-leaning congressional districts at the expense of currently Democrat-controlled seats in the reliably red state.

The efforts in Missouri and Texas are part of a broad effort by the GOP to pad their razor-thin House majority to keep control of the chamber in the 2026 midterms, when the party in power traditionally faces political headwinds and loses seats.

Democrats are fighting back against the rare, but not unheard-of mid-decade redistricting.

State lawmakers in heavily blue California have approved a special ballot proposition this November to obtain voter approval to temporarily sidetrack the state's nonpartisan redistricting commission and return the power to draw the congressional maps to the Democrat-dominated legislature.

The effort in California, which aims to create five more Democratic-leaning congressional districts and counter the shift in Texas, is being spearheaded by two-term Gov. Gavin Newsom, who is seen as a likely 2028 Democratic presidential contender.

In Missouri, the new map proposed by Kehoe targets longtime Democratic Rep. Emanuel Cleaver's Kansas City area district by shifting it eastward to include rural right-leaning voters. 

If passed by the GOP-controlled legislature, the new map would likely flip Cleaver's seat and give Republicans a seven-to-one advantage in the state's U.S. House delegation.

Cleaver, whose seat is threatened, has vowed to take legal action if the new map is signed into law by the governor.

With Democrats currently needing just a three-seat pickup in next year's midterms to win back the House majority, Indiana, South Carolina and Florida are mulling their own GOP-friendly redistricting plans ahead of the 2026 elections. And right-leaning Ohio is under a court order to draw new maps ahead of the midterms.

Democrats, as they push back, are looking to New York, Illinois and Maryland in the hopes of creating more left-leaning congressional seats.

In Illinois and Maryland, where Govs. J.B. Pritzker and Wes Moore are discussing redistricting, Democrats hope to pick up to three more left-leaning seats.

And Democrats could pick up a seat in right-leaning Utah, where a judge recently ordered the GOP-controlled legislature to draw new maps after ruling that lawmakers four years ago ignored an independent commission approved by voters to prevent partisan gerrymandering. 

Latest Political News on Fox News

The Trump administration is targeting "misleading drug advertisements" by initiating rule making to close a 1997 loophole that enables drug advertisers to conceal safety risks in broadcast and digital ads.

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) sent thousands of warning letters across the pharmaceutical industry on Tuesday. Sources familiar with the letter told Fox that companies who practice widespread advertising like Hims/Hers are among those receiving the notice. 

Fox News Digital also obtained a copy of a letter sent to a pharmaceutical company, which outlines concerns that "patients are not seeing a fair balance of the information regarding a drug product" and directing the company to "remove any noncompliant advertising and bring all promotional communications into compliance."

TRUMP SENDS LETTERS TO 17 PHARMACEUTICAL COMPANIES ON REDUCING DRUG PRICES

"For far too long, the FDA has permitted misleading drug advertisements, distorting the doctor-patient relationship and creating increased demand for medications regardless of clinical appropriateness," FDA Commissioner Marty Makary, M.D., M.P.H told Fox News Digital in a statement.  "Drug companies spend up to 25% of their budget on advertising."

"Those billions of dollars would be better spent on lowering drug prices for everyday Americans," Makary added.

The letters to various companies are being sent out over the course of Tuesday afternoon, and it is unclear whether any companies have had the opportunity to respond.

Fox News Digital reached out to Hims/Hers but did not receive a response. 

I WISH RFK JR.’S HEARING WAS ‘MORE PRODUCTIVE,’ FDA CHIEF SAYS

The notice sent by the two health-related agencies also cites a 2024 review in the Journal of Pharmaceutical Health Services Research which showed that while every pharmaceutical social media post highlights drug benefits, only 33% of these companies mention potential harms.

The Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FDCA), a law dating back to 1938 and signed into law by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, empowers the FDA to enact appropriate regulations for pharmaceutical advertising. 

Social media advertisements also apply to the FDCA and regulations set forth by the FDCA.

PSYCHEDELIC DRUG POPULAR IN 1960S COULD EASE ANXIETY AS DOCTORS SHARE WARNINGS

"Patients deserve the truth about the medicines they’re prescribed," said HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. said in a statement to Fox News Digital. "For nearly three decades, drug companies have gamed the system to mislead families while pocketing billions. 

"Those days are over," Kennedy continued. "We are restoring honesty and accountability in drug advertising to protect patients and rebuild public trust."

Per FDA regulations, a written warning letter, like the ones sent by the agency on Tuesday, is the first step in reprimanding drug companies and is one of the FDA’s most commonly used methods of enforcement.  

Latest Political News on Fox News

A massive immigration enforcement operation in southeast Texas netted over 800 illegal immigrants, including gang members, convicted murderers, child predators and foreign fugitives, according to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

The agency said the arrests were a result of a week-long operation that ran from Aug. 17 to Aug. 23, focused on enhancing public safety in southeast Texas after the region was heavily impacted by former President Joe Biden’s open-border policies.

In total, 822 illegal aliens were arrested, including five transnational gang members, seven child predators and three criminal aliens convicted of homicide-related offenses, according to an ICE statement. The agency said that 330 of those arrested have previously been ordered removed from the U.S. and approximately 112 were previously deported and illegally reentered the U.S. at least once.

"During the past four years, transnational gang members, foreign fugitives and other violent criminal aliens took advantage of the crisis at our southern border to illegally enter the country," said ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations acting Field Office Director Gabriel Martinez.

ICE HAS DEPORTED NEARLY 200,000 SO FAR DURING TRUMP'S SECOND TERM, SETTING PACE FOR HIGHEST LEVEL IN DECADE

Martinez said that many of these criminal illegal aliens "remained in the Houston area and have gone on to wreak havoc in our local communities."

One illegal arrested in the operation, 54-year-old Mexican national Alejandro Perez Miramontes, has previously been deported 12 times. Perez Miramontes has been convicted eight times for illegal reentry, four times for illegal entry and twice each for robbery, larceny and burglary, and once each for trespassing and evading arrest, according to ICE.

The agency said that among those arrested was also Salvadoran national William Alexander Telles Amaya, a 35-year-old criminal alien and habitual child predator. ICE said Telles Amaya has been convicted three times for child sex offenses, including aggravated sexual assault of a child in 2006, failure to register as a sex offender in 2015 and sexual indecency with a minor in July.

Several others also had recent child sex offenses on their records, including Francisco Eduardo Bonilla, a 37-year-old Salvadoran national, who was convicted of sexual indecency with a minor in Harris County, Texas, in February.

57 ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS DETAINED IN MAJOR NEW YORK WORKSITE RAID; 5 ACCUSED OF REENTRY AFTER DEPORTATION

Guatemalan national Jorge Eliseo Torres-Soto, 30, was also arrested in the operation after being convicted of sexual assault of a child in October 2024.

Manuel Ivan Castillo Estrada, a 36-year-old Mexican national, was also arrested after previously being deported three times and being convicted of alien smuggling and sexually assaulting a minor in February 2024.

Another, Zimbabwe national Lloyd Tinashe Hwehwe, 36, had habitual DWI charges, including a conviction of driving while intoxicated and intoxication manslaughter in 2015. After being removed from the U.S., he illegally reentered the country and was convicted of a second DWI in 2024.

Another child sex offender, Carlos Vega-Ramirez, 38, had been deported and convicted of sexual indecency with a minor, enticement of a minor for indecent purposes, DWI, fleeing police, forgery and illegal reentry.

UNAUTHORIZED IMMIGRANT POPULATION SOARED TO AN ALL-TIME HIGH UNDER BIDEN, NEW REPORT SHOWS

Salvadoran national Hemerlindo Antonio Ascencio-Merino, 53, was also arrested in the roundup. He is wanted in El Salvador for aggravated homicide and illegally entered the U.S. in 2022 in an attempt to evade prosecution, according to the agency.

ICE also arrested Cruz Leandro Martinez Leiva, a 25-year-old MS-13 gang member from El Salvador, who was convicted of robbery and armed carjacking in October 2018.

The agency said the operation was a part of the Trump administration’s efforts to restore public safety by targeting the "worst of the worst" criminal aliens and immigration law violators. Several other federal agencies participated in the operation as well as the Texas Department of Public Safety. 

Fox News Digital reached out to a spokesperson for Biden but did not immediately receive a response. 

Latest Political News on Fox News

Welcome to the Fox News Politics newsletter, with the latest updates on the Trump administration, Capitol Hill and more Fox News politics content. Here's what's happening…

-Inside Epstein’s infamous "birthday book": Clinton’s note, poolside candids, children's drawings and bizarre animal pics

-Conservative groups reject Trump's reported patent tax plan as 'counterproductive in the extreme'

-White House slams 911K jobs revision, the largest on record, demands Fed rate cut

EXCLUSIVE: A top aide and confidante to former Obama official Lois Lerner who targeted conservatives and conservative groups was fired by the Internal Revenue Service, Fox News Digital has learned.

Sources told Fox News Digital that Holly Paz, who served as the IRS Commissioner of Large Business and International Division, was terminated Monday…Read more

CRIMINALLY SOFT: Dem crime policies crippling cities even in Red states as crackdown intensifies, White House warns

'RED' ALERT: Trump's Caribbean strike, focus on Latin America brings new focus to potential regime 'agents' living in US

PORTFOLI-NO: Schumer-linked PAC accuses senator of stock 'greed,' but financial disclosure contradicts claim

'EXPOSE THE LIES': Jasmine Crockett appointed to Republican-led committee investigating January 6

BORDER BACKUP: National Guard deploys to aid ICE operations in Arkansas, as Sanders backs key Trump initiative

CURBED DREAMS: The price of building a home keeps climbing — and uncertainty isn’t helping

MARGINS MATTER: VA special election in deep-blue DC suburbs can still give insight into key governor’s race

'BETTER CANDIDATE': Cuomo rallies business leaders against socialist candidate as NYC mayoral race reaches boiling point

Get the latest updates on the Trump administration and Congress, exclusive interviews and more on FoxNews.com.

Latest Political News on Fox News

Chief Justice John Roberts temporarily halted a court order that required the Trump administration to spend $5 billion in foreign aid, siding — at least for now — with President Donald Trump’s effort to pull back the funds.

The administrative stay gives the Supreme Court justices more time to weigh the administration’s request to keep the funds frozen. Congress authorized the money, which must be spent by Sept. 30, 2025.

The stay is temporary and could be replaced later this week. Roberts ordered the aid groups to respond by noon Friday.

TRUMP ADMIN SCORES LEGAL WIN IN $16B CLIMATE FIGHT AS FEDERAL APPEALS COURT LIFTS BLOCK ON GRANT TERMINATIONS

The money at risk was set aside by Congress for foreign aid, U.N. peacekeeping and democracy promotion efforts abroad.

Congress allocated billions for foreign aid last year, including about $11 billion that must be spent or obligated by Sept. 30, the final day of fiscal year 2025. Otherwise, the funding will expire.

TRUMP CANCELS $4.9B FOREIGN AID, PUSHES DC DEATH PENALTY, TOUTS KIM TIES

The Trump administration argued in court filings that $4 billion in disputed funds is "contrary to U.S. foreign policy," part of the president’s broader "America First" agenda to claw back U.S. assistance abroad.

Earlier this year, the president also moved to dismantle much of the U.S. Agency for International Development, the government’s primary foreign aid agency.

WHITE HOUSE MOVE TO CANCEL $4.9B FOREIGN AID WITH 'POCKET RESCISSION' BLASTED AS ILLEGAL

Aid groups sued the Trump administration over the freeze. In August, the administration responded that it planned to spend $6.5 billion of the disputed funds.

Trump is also trying to block $4 billion through a "pocket rescission," a budget maneuver that bypasses Congress.

On Sept. 3, a judge ruled the administration could not withhold the funding. The court said it must follow appropriations laws unless Congress changes them.

Reuters contributed to this report.

Latest Political News on Fox News

A bipartisan group of lawmakers fresh off an Arizona border tour said Tuesday Washington is deporting longtime illegal immigrants "who go to church on Sundays," instead of targeting cartels, pushing a moderate plan just weeks after President Donald Trump’s "One Big Beautiful Bill Act" became law.

The push comes just weeks after Congress passed H.R. 1, also known as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which funneled more than $140 billion into border walls and tougher security, detention beds, and thousands of new ICE and Border Patrol agents. But the Bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus said during a news conference the law did little to fix the asylum backlog or protect longtime illegal immigrants working in the U.S., a point Hill Democrats also flagged in the law. 

"The problem solvers want to work together to do three things: to continue to secure the border, to fix the broken asylum system, and, No. 3, to address some of the concerns we have about our long-term residents that have been here for 10, 20, 30 years, who go to work six days a week, who go to church on Sundays," Rep. Tom Suozzi, D-N.Y., said Tuesday. "So, we've gotta keep our eye on the product."

TRUMP SUGGESTS BORDER CRACKDOWN IS 'SAVING A LOT OF MONEY' AFTER STARK DROP FROM BIDEN ERA CROSSINGS

The caucus argued migrants are often pawns in cartel operations that charge $10,000 a head and use mass crossings to slip in drugs and trafficked children. While Trump and the majority of the House Republican Caucus applauded H.R 1's passage, the problem solvers argued a bipartisan, piecemeal approach stands a better chance than sweeping bills that may face the threat of collapsing under partisan pressure later on.

That Trump-backed package, signed on July 4, also steered billions toward detention capacity and new application fees while cutting access to taxpayer-funded healthcare and social benefits for illegal immigrants.

WATCH: LAWMAKERS BREAK DOWN HOW BILLIONS IN THE 'BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL' BOOST TRUMP'S IMMIGRATION CRACKDOWN

"This is not even about the president," Suozzi added. "The President is right that we need to deport violent criminals. But now there's too much focus being done on these interior deportations, which are breaking up families, which are raiding workplaces with guys in masks, and taking away from the success that we've had."

Rep. Juan Ciscomani, R-Ariz., who immigrated to the U.S. as a child, agreed with Suozzi.

"When I talk about the American dream … we also have to protect those that have been here for a long time, and we want to make sure that we protect them as well," he said. "When our time here concludes, we want to point to several things on this issue, as opposed to saying we fought for this Big Beautiful Bill for 10 years, and it didn't really go anywhere."

Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa., co-chair of the caucus and a proponent of the DREAM Act, said immigration reform should use "brains when it comes to border security and using our hearts when it comes to immigration enforcement." 

TOP DEMOCRATS ADMIT 'FAILURE,' FECKLESSNESS ON BORDER IN SCATHING NY TIMES REPORT

Trump's mass-deportation push is well underway: more than 139,000 people have already been deported, some to foreign prisons like El Salvador’s CECOT, and who were labeled gang-affiliated under the use of the Alien Enemies Act. In Chicago this month, the Trump administration launched "Operation Midway Blitz," which is targeting illegal immigrants with criminal records.

Latest Political News on Fox News

Boston Mayor Michelle Wu and challenger Josh Kraft will move on to November’s mayoral election in the city after securing the most votes in Tuesday’s preliminary top-two election, NBC News projects.

NBC News Politics

Sen. Bill Cassidy, chairman of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, has vowed to conduct “oversight” of the CDC after RFK Jr. fired Monarez.

NBC News Politics

New Meta whistleblowers allege that the company interfered with research that indicated the presence of and solicitation of minors in the Metaverse.

NBC News Politics

NBC News’ Hallie Jackson interviewed Jeffrey Epstein survivor Liz Stein after the so-called birthday book filled with a collection of messages for the late convicted sex offender’s 50th birthday was released. The book included a lewd note allegedly from President Donald Trump, which he claims he did not write. 

NBC News Politics

Democrat James Walkinshaw has won Virginia’s deep-blue 11th Congressional District, NBC News projects, an expected win for his party that adds another Democrat to the narrowly divided House of Representatives

NBC News Politics

WASHINGTON — When House Democrats gathered behind closed doors Tuesday to discuss strategy to avert a government shutdown, they agreed on one thing: They must use the leverage of the Sept. 30 deadline to advance their priorities

NBC News Politics

The Supreme Court agreed to decide a high-stakes showdown over President Donald Trump’s tariffs on imports from foreign nations. NBC News’ Christine Romans details when oral arguments and a ruling could happen. 

NBC News Politics

Following the public release of a raunchy drawing given to Jeffrey Epstein for his birthday allegedly containing President Trump’s signature, the president called the image a “dead issue”. NBC News’ Hallie Jackson reports.

NBC News Politics

Zohran Mamdani is beatable — but only under very specific conditions that are unlikely to manifest before November’s New York City mayoral election.

NBC News Politics

NBC News National Political Correspondent Steve Kornacki examines the latest polling in New York City’s mayoral race.

NBC News Politics

A Michigan judge has dismissed the criminal cases against 15 people accused of acting falsely as electors for President Donald Trump in the 2020 election

ABC News: Politics

Europe has been part of the Ryder Cup as long as Rory McIlroy and Jon Rahm have been alive

ABC News: Politics

The top-elected official in Milwaukee County, who rose out of poverty in one of the state’s poorest neighborhoods, has launched a bid for Wisconsin governor

ABC News: Politics

A Democratic lawmaker from Austin whose profile has risen with viral videos confronting right-wing policies is launching a long shot bid for a U.S. Senate seat in Texas

ABC News: Politics

A new AP-NORC poll finds that most U.S. adults think personal choices are a major driver of poverty and homelessness, while fewer blame a lack of government support

ABC News: Politics

Boston Mayor Michelle Wu is expected to take a crucial step to securing a second term when voters go to the polls

ABC News: Politics

Virginia voters are set to choose their congressional candidate to succeed the late U.S. Rep. Gerry Connolly

ABC News: Politics

The Department of Homeland Security is trumpeting the start of a new immigration operation in Chicago that's stirring up fresh confusion and anxiety

ABC News: Politics

North Carolina trial judges have ruled that two voter-approved constitutional amendments are enforceable

ABC News: Politics

The Seahawks got off to a slow start with their new quarterback and offensive coordinator

ABC News: Politics

Democrat James Walkinshaw will defeat Republican Stewart Whitson in a Northern Virginia special House election to pick Rep. Gerry Connolly's successor, the Associated Press projects.

Politics - CBSNews.com

As neighborhoods targeted by ICE have become noticeably quiet, community organizers say they have postponed Mexican Independence Day events to protect people.

Politics - CBSNews.com

The Justice Department charged the suspect, Decarlos Brown Jr., with one count of committing an act causing death on a mass transportation system.

Politics - CBSNews.com

Missouri's GOP-led legislature returned for a special session earlier this week with a mid-decade redistricting push started by President Trump.

Politics - CBSNews.com

Elizabeth Tsurkov​, an Israeli and Russian citizen, is now safe at the U.S. Embassy in Iraq, President Trump announced Tuesday.

Politics - CBSNews.com

President Trump ordered the FDA to enforce rules on direct-to-consumer drug ads, after HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. released a report on the administration's approach to healthy outcomes for children and families.

Politics - CBSNews.com

In August, the Pentagon offered full military funeral honors to Jan. 6 rioter Ashli Babbitt, after denying her family's request for the honor in 2021.

Politics - CBSNews.com

A Michigan judge has dismissed the criminal cases against 15 people accused of acting falsely as electors for President Donald Trump in the 2020 election.

Politics - CBSNews.com

The Supreme Court on Tuesday said it will decide whether President Trump can impose his most sweeping tariffs.

Politics - CBSNews.com

President Trump's administration asked the Supreme Court on Monday to allow it to freeze billions of dollars in foreign aid funding.

Politics - CBSNews.com

The release of more documents about Jeffrey Epstein, including a bawdy drawing that Trump denied making, has prolonged the political problem for the president.

Politics

Trump denies it is his, and experts say they can’t be sure. The White House welcomed a forensic analysis of the loopy D and long tail.

Politics

The president boasted in recent days about the results of the federal takeover of D.C. police. During his first term, he ventured only to the restaurant at the hotel he owned.

Politics

Trump condemned the attack. Analysts say his mixed messaging on the war emboldened Israel to take unilateral military action.

Politics

Israeli-Russian dual citizen Elizabeth Tsurkov was kidnapped in 2023 by an Iran-backed militia in Iraq, and Trump said she has been moved to the U.S. embassy there.

Politics

The plan would probably give Republicans one more U.S. House seat. It heads to the state Senate, where it is expected to pass and win the governor’s signature.

Politics

The hearing would give Susan Monarez a high-profile opportunity to respond to Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s claims about her ethics and their conversations about vaccines.

Politics

Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr.’s ruling allows the Trump administration to freeze the aid while the high court decides whether to take up an emergency appeal.

Politics

Trump is mentioned in it several times.

Politics

The president has said tariffs will help end the fentanyl crisis, rebuild manufacturing and save jobs, but the moves have unsettled investors and stoked economic concerns.

Politics

The administration is proposing a return to a 1990s-era policy that kept most drug ads off TV. That could dent the revenues of drugmakers and major networks.

NYT > U.S. > Politics

James Walkinshaw will fill a seat left open by the death of his former boss, Gerald Connolly, and shrink the Republicans’ majority in the chamber.

NYT > U.S. > Politics

The Republican response to the release of a suggestive note to Jeffrey Epstein apparently signed by President Trump followed a familiar pattern of deflection.

NYT > U.S. > Politics

President Trump often succeeds in pivoting the national conversation, but he is finding that more difficult when it comes to Jeffrey Epstein.

NYT > U.S. > Politics

The justices moved quickly to schedule oral argument to consider the legality of the president’s signature economic initiative.

NYT > U.S. > Politics

Some Republicans cheered the move as a justified step by Israel, while others said they were worried the attack could strain relations with a close U.S. ally.

NYT > U.S. > Politics

Acting on his own, the chief justice issued an “administrative stay” pausing a trial judge’s ruling while the full court considers the matter.

NYT > U.S. > Politics

Israel and Iraq confirmed the release of Elizabeth Tsurkov, a Russian-Israeli graduate student at Princeton who was kidnapped in Iraq in 2023 by the militant group Kataib Hezbollah.

NYT > U.S. > Politics

The oil giant said Tuesday that it was acquiring assets from a Chicago company as it looks to start producing graphite, a key battery ingredient, by the end of the decade.

NYT > U.S. > Politics

The report, which remains classified, described work by Richard Grenell, a former top intelligence official in the Trump administration.

NYT > U.S. > Politics

“The defendants have had ample notice that these deadlines would be scheduled and have already had months to complete the work,” Smith wrote.

Politics

Customer service, enforcement both seeing revamps with money from 2022’s Inflation Reduction Act.

Politics

"Does Fox have an entrance exam to make sure you're stupid enough to host 8pm?" asked MSNBC's Lawrence O'Donnell in response.

Politics

The sharp rise in security fears has raised further questions about the viability of the two-decade American military presence in Iraq.

Politics

Stephanie Grisham also recalled a telling telephone call the former president made about his wife.

Politics

The former president was called out on social media for a brazen new boast.

Politics

It's "kind of going to be the whole ball game," said Elie Mystal.

Politics

The Good Liars offered some blunt readings from a bible that could only come from the former president.

Politics

The Maryland Democrat knocked the former president's "people" for attempting to "trivialize and diminish" the meaning of the upcoming trial.

Politics

George Stephanopoulos pressed the New Hampshire governor, once a staunch Trump critic, about his past comments on the former president.

Politics

An article published on Monday in the People's Daily, the official newspaper of the Communist Party of China, featured the byline of NBA superstar LeBron James – although it featured edited comments offered to the publication and was not an essay written by the athlete.

The post appeared first on .

Breitbart News

Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich traveled to New Delhi on Monday to sign a bilateral investment agreement (BIA) with Indian Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.

The post appeared first on .

Breitbart News

President Donald Trump responded to Israel's airstrike on Hamas leaders in Doha, Qatar, and emphasized that the decision to carry out the strike "was not a decision" made by him.

The post appeared first on .

Breitbart News

Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) criticized Democrats who have been warming up to and embracing socialism while dismissing capitalism, describing them as "morons."

The post appeared first on .

Breitbart News

The NFL has recognized Philadelphia Eagles defensive tackle Jalen Carter's ejection six seconds into Thursday's season opener as a suspension, and will not suspend him further, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter.

The post appeared first on .

Breitbart News

Fifteen Republicans accused of trying to falsely certify President Donald Trump as the winner of the 2020 election in Michigan will not face trial.

The post appeared first on .

Breitbart News

For two years in a row, the cheerleaders of Bidenomics assured us that any discontent was in our heads—a trick of bad vibes and social media. It turns out the voters were right, and the official statistics were wrong.

The post appeared first on .

Breitbart News

Vice President JD Vance admonished Democrats for scapegoating the "system" as a reason to avoid addressing violent crime flourishing in Democrat-run cities.

The post appeared first on .

Breitbart News

North Carolina’s Republican House delegation is demanding the firing of the judge who freed the accused murderer of Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska.

The post appeared first on .

Breitbart News

WASHINGTON–White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt rebuked the establishment media over the lack of coverage regarding the horrific murder of Iryna Zarutska in Charlotte, North Carolina.

The post appeared first on .

Breitbart News