Contributing Writers

It’s not going to get any better.The government closed down for a record 43 days this fall. And if you thought you’d seen the worst of Congress, it truly won’t get any better when the majority of the federal government could shut down in the wee hours of January 31st.That’s right. Lawmakers have yet to address the very issues which sparked this year’s astonishing shutdown. Some of those are legislative. Some are policy related.

President Donald Trump Friday evening said he was ending deportation protections for Somalis in Minnesota “effective immediately.” “Minnesota, under Governor [Tim] Walz, is a hub of fraudulent money laundering activity,” Trump posted on Truth Social.He continued, “I am, as President of the United States, hereby terminating, effective immediately, the Temporary Protected Status (TPS Program) for Somalis in Minnesota.

Texas on Friday filed an emergency petition with the U.S. Supreme Court after a ruling by a panel of federal judges blocked the state from using its redrawn congressional map, calling it “racially gerrymandered.”Shortly after filing the petition, Justice Samuel Alito issued an administrative stay, temporarily putting the lower panel’s decision blocking Texas’ new maps on hold.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., announced late Friday she will resign her seat in Congress, one week after President Donald Trump publicly pulled his endorsement of the outspoken Georgia lawmaker.In a lengthy statement posted to X, Greene cited her growing disillusionment with Washington politics, blasting what she called a corrupt “Political Industrial Complex” that she said uses Americans as “pawns in an endless game of division.

During an Oval Office media spray Friday, Fox News’ Jacqui Heinrich pressed New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani on whether he still believes President Donald Trump is a “fascist.”Mamdani began to answer, but before he could finish, Trump cut in from behind the Resolute Desk.”That’s OK,” Trump said, before patting Mamdani’s arm. “You can just say yes. It’s easier than explaining it. I don’t mind.

A lawsuit was filed Thursday against the federal government on behalf of immigrants facing fines reaching up to $1.8 million each for staying in the U.S. illegally.Daily penalties of $998 have been levied against more than 21,500 immigrants, whose lawyers say they were attempting to comply with federal immigration laws. The fines were implemented to encourage immigrants to leave the country.

Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., announced on Thursday he is launching a campaign for California governor in 2026.The congressman and longtime foe of President Donald Trump made the announcement during an appearance on the late-night show, “Jimmy Kimmel Live!””He’s going to hate tonight’s episode,” Swalwell wrote on X in response to a social media post from the president criticizing Kimmel for being “biased” and having “no talent.

Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway announced Thursday she is expanding the state’s fight against mail-order abortion pills, targeting a recently approved generic version of mifepristone that she argues sends women to hospitals with “life-threatening complications” and is being pushed into the marketplace without “basic medical safeguards.”The filing challenges the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Sept.

A nonprofit news organization that is funded entirely by the U.S. government began selling off a large amount of its equipment on a public auction site – with many items being sold for pennies on the dollar.Radio Free Asia (RFA) receives about $60 million a year from American taxpayers to produce news in Asia. The organization said it was suspending operations due to a lapse in funding during the government shutdown.

FIRST ON FOX: The Department of Justice subpoenaed the personal phone records of House Judiciary Committee chairman Jim Jordan in 2022, seeking the Ohio Republican’s phone data covering a more than two-year period.The subpoena, obtained by Fox News Digital, shows a federal prosecutor who later worked on special counsel Jack Smith’s Jan. 6 investigation ordered Verizon to hand over the phone data, also known as toll records, reaching back to Jan. 1, 2020.

A federal appeals court has blocked a lower-court ruling that sought to limit how immigration agents can use force during Chicago-area enforcement operations, calling the judge’s order “overbroad” and “too prescriptive.”The Seventh Circuit panel cautioned against “overreading” its stay, noting that a fast-track appeal could result in a “more tailored and appropriate” order.Earlier this month, U.S.

A Miami grand jury indicted Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, D-Fla., on charges of allegedly stealing millions of dollars in disaster relief funds to make illegal campaign contributions, the Department of Justice said Wednesday.According to the indictment, the Florida Democrat allegedly conspired to steal $5 million in Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) funds alongside her brother Edwin Cherfilus and numerous co-defendants.

President Donald Trump said Wednesday that he will meet with New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani at the White House later this week.”Communist Mayor of New York City, Zohran ‘Kwame’ Mamdani, has asked for a meeting. We have agreed that this meeting will take place at the Oval Office on Friday, November 21,” Trump wrote on Truth Social Wednesday evening. “Further details to follow,” he added.

The House of Representatives unanimously voted against a provision that allows Republican senators whose phone records were seized by former Special Counsel Jack Smith to sue the federal government.The provision was included in the recently passed bill to end the 43-day government shutdown, which President Donald Trump signed into law last week.

President Donald Trump said on Wednesday evening that he signed legislation greenlighting the Justice Department to release files related to the late financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. “I HAVE JUST SIGNED THE BILL TO RELEASE THE EPSTEIN FILES!” Trump wrote in a lengthy message on the Truth Social platform.

A federal judge ruled that a Texas law requiring the Ten Commandments to be displayed in every public school classroom in the state is unconstitutional.U.S. District Judge Orlando L. Garcia found that Senate Bill 10 violates the Establishment Clause of the U.S. Constitution that prevents the government from establishing or favoring a religion.

Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., was ridiculed as “dishonest” and “sick” after arguing from the House floor that his former law school student and colleague was only “taking a phone call from her constituent” when she was texting disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein during a 2019 House hearing.Republicans on Tuesday, led by Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C.

The Department of Homeland Security is preparing to deploy roughly 250 federal border agents to Louisiana and Mississippi in a sweeping operation aimed at arresting nearly 5,000 people in the two states, The Associated Press reported Tuesday, citing internal documents and people familiar with the operation.The two-month immigration initiative, dubbed “Swamp Sweep,” is expected to begin Dec. 1 and will center heavily on southeastern Louisiana, according to the report.

President Donald Trump on Tuesday announced that the U.S. will designate Saudi Arabia a major non-NATO ally, unveiling a defense and economic partnership with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman during a White House dinner marking 80 years of U.S.–Saudi relations.Trump welcomed guests at the official dinner and thanked bin Salman for his visit and investment in the U.S.

New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani reiterated this week that he would honor the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu should the leader visit the city, a stance he first announced before winning office.Mamdani’s made his remarks as outgoing Mayor Eric Adams met with Netanyahu and encouraged him to attend Mamdani’s upcoming inauguration, according to local reports.

The Trump administration filed a lawsuit on Monday challenging California’s law banning federal immigration agents from wearing face masks to hide their identities, arguing that the measure is unconstitutional.The lawsuit claims that the state does not have the authority to restrict federal agents.California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the No Secret Police Act and the No Vigilantes Act into law in September.

Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., said the Democratic Party would welcome fellow Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., after the conservative congresswoman has become increasingly critical of her party in recent weeks, a comment that elicited boos from the crowd.

President Donald Trump said Monday that he was the first former McDonald’s fry cook to become president — a 30-minute shift, he joked, that lasted “longer than Kamala’s.”Speaking at the McDonald’s Impact Summit 2025 in Washington, D.C.

A staffer for Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., has been fired after the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said he misrepresented himself as the attorney of a detained illegal immigrant to facilitate the man’s release.Last week, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Acting Director Todd Lyons told the Illinois Democrat that her staffer, Edward York, claimed he was legally representing Jose Ismeal Ayuzo Sandoval.

Ahead of a visit to the nation’s capital by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) on Tuesday, a cohort of 9/11 survivors, first responders, and family members of those lost, are urging President Donald Trump to demand that Saudi Arabia take accountability for its alleged role in the tragic Sept. 11, 2021 attacks.Several weeks ago, United States federal district court judge George B.

President Trump is calling on House Republicans to vote to release files related to disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein, insisting he has “nothing to hide” and accusing Democrats of using the case as a distraction from GOP accomplishments.In a Truth Social post on Sunday, Trump urged House Republicans to vote in favor of releasing the documents, describing the controversy as a “Democrat hoax perpetrated by radical left lunatics.

President Donald Trump said Sunday that Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro wants talks with the U.S. as tensions mount between the nations, but stressed that he has not planned or authorized any land-based military strikes against the South American nation.Speaking with reporters before boarding Air Force One in West Palm Beach, Trump said a recent U.S. designation of a Venezuelan-linked cartel gives the government the authority to target Maduro’s assets or infrastructure.