Happy New Year 2025

Tag: military

Zelenskyy open to Trump’s trade proposal of rare earth minerals for military aid

President Donald Trump suggested Ukraine begin offering critical minerals to the U.S. in exchange for military aid, and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy seemingly welcomed the idea.

“We’re putting in hundreds of billions of dollars. They have great rare earths. And I want security of the rare earth, and they’re willing to do (that),” Trump told reporters at the White House on Monday, in a sign that he may be open to continuing aid to the war-ravaged country.

Zelenskyy told reporters Tuesday that Ukraine was open to an “investment” from “partners who help us defend our land and push the enemy back with their weapons, their presence, and sanctions packages.”

“And this is absolutely fair,” he added.

ZELENSKYY WARNS PEACE TALKS WITHOUT UKRAINE ‘DANGEROUS’ AFTER TRUMP CLAIMS MEETINGS WITH RUSSIA ‘GOING WELL’

President Donald Trump suggested Ukraine begin offering critical minerals to the U.S. in exchange for military aid, and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy seemingly welcomed the idea. (Reuters/Carlos Barria)

Zelenskyy had been trying to develop the untapped resources, offering tax breaks and investment rights to outside entities looking to mine the minerals in 2021, before the start of the war. The Ukrainian leader pitched the mining of such minerals as part of the victory plan he drew up last year and pitched to U.S. lawmakers.

Ukraine has strategic reserves of titanium, lithium, graphite and uranium, but much of its critical minerals are in areas currently under occupation by Russia. Donetsk, Luhansk and Dnipropetrovsk are all some of the most mineral-rich regions, meaning Ukraine would need to take back territory to get them out.

Zelenskyy revealed Ukrainian leaders have had contact with U.S. officials, including Keith Kellogg, the U.S. special envoy for Ukraine and Russia, and are nailing down a time for them to visit.

ZELENSKYY PRAISES TRUMP FOR ‘JUST AND FAIR’ RHETORIC TOWARD RUSSIA: ‘EXACTLY WHAT PUTIN IS AFRAID OF’

Zelenskyy seemingly agreed with Trump’s rare earth mineral suggestion. (Reuters/Alina Smutko)

“We have working dates when the American team will come. The dates and composition are being coordinated right now. We are waiting for the team and will work together,” Zelenskyy said.

Congress has approved around $175 billion in aid for Ukraine – consisting of military and economic assistance – since Russia’s invasion in February 2022.

Russia framed the Trump idea as proof the U.S. no longer wanted to give free aid to Ukraine – but suggested they’d rather the U.S. did not offer any aid to Ukraine.

Ukraine has been fighting off Russia’s invasion since February 2022. (Reuters/Ivan Antypenko)

“If we call things as they are, this is a proposal to buy help — in other words, not to give it unconditionally, or for some other reasons, but specifically to provide it on a commercial basis,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters Tuesday.

“It would be better, of course, for the assistance to not be provided at all, as that would contribute to the end of this conflict,” he added.

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German Chancellor Olaf Scholz called Trump’s suggestion “very egotistic, very self-centered,” and said Ukraine would need its resources to finance postwar rebuilding.

China is by far the biggest producer of rare earth minerals, used in smartphones, electric vehicles, household appliances and even cancer drugs. It accounts for around 70% of global production.

February 4, 2025
Counter-drug sea drones utilized by Navy as Trump ramps up military resources at the border

Unmanned sea drones are on the prowl to interdict drug smugglers in America’s waters as part of a new Navy operation.

The operation will test the Navy’s use of maritime drones, in its early stages, and apply lessons learned to missions all across the globe.

Dubbed Operation Southern Spear, the Navy’s 4th Fleet will use “a heterogeneous mix of Robotic and Autonomous Systems (RAS) to support the detection and monitoring of illicit trafficking while learning lessons for other theaters,” a news release said on Monday.

DEMOCRATS PRESS ARMY SECRETARY NOMINEE IF ‘READINESS’ AFFECTED BY SOUTHERN BORDER DEPLOYMENTS

Saildrone Voyagers SD-2040 and SD-2041 equipped with 200W radars in the Caribbean Sea. (MediaValet)

As President Donald Trump shuts down the U.S. southern and northern borders, smugglers are expected to look for alternative routes to carry out their illegal trafficking business. Human and drug trafficking cartels have increasingly turned to the nation’s maritime borders to smuggle weapons, narcotics and people into the country.

According to recent data, more illicit drugs were seized at sea by Customs and Border Patrol’s Air and Marine Operation (AMO) in 2023 – 304,000 pounds – than by land – 241,000 pounds.

Southern Spear will operate as part of Joint Task Force South – a Defense Department task force made up of Navy, Coast Guard and Customs and Border Protection, as well as 20 partner countries focused on counter-narcotics and maritime security in the Carribean, Central and South America.

TRUMP THREATENS TO TAP ALLIES FOR MILITARY SHIPBUILDING IF US CAN’T PRODUCE

Soldiers assigned to the 192nd Quartermaster Company from Milan, Ohio, monitor the southern border near Santa Teresa, New Mexico, Jan. 28, 2025. (Department of Defense)

Included in the operation are 20 high-endurance Saildrone Voyager unmanned surface vehicles, equipped with a newly upgraded sensor suite, according to the press release. The vehicles are 10 meters long and can surveil thousands of square miles of water per day to look for smugglers.

The drones have already sailed the Persian Gulf under the Navy’s Hybrid Fleet Campaign and Project 33 and as part of Operation Windward Stack, operated by the 4th Fleet throughout 2024. They offer a 95% detection rate and are contractor owned and operated. This means that SailDrone operates the surveillance platform while the Defense Department purchases the data.

ARMY SAW SPIKE IN DEADLY AVIATION ACCIDENTS IN YEAR BEFORE DC PLANE CRASH DISASTER

“As land borders become more secure, traffickers will exploit maritime pathways more than ever. We’re honored to serve, providing autonomous around-the-clock maritime surveillance to help stop smugglers before they reach our shores,” said Tom Alexander, Saildrone VP of government relations.

Already, nearly 90% of cocaine is trafficked at sea, according to the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS). Cartels look to exploit gaps in surveillance coverage that the new mission will look to plug with maritime drones.

Army Maj. Gen. Henry S. Dixon, left, Joint Task Force North commander, discusses southern border operations with Marines assigned to the 1st Combat Engineer Battalion, 1st Marine Division, near San Ysidro, Califorrnia, Jan. 28, 2025. (Department of Defense )

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Utilizing U.S. military might to disrupt the flow of human and drug trafficking at the southern border has been a top priority for Trump.

Upon taking office, the president immediately sent an additional 1,500 troops and additional assets to the border. Over the weekend, the U.S. secured an agreement with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, who will send 10,000 Mexican troops to the U.S.-Mexico border in exchange for a one-month delay in Trump’s threat of 25% tariffs on goods flowing in from Mexico.

February 3, 2025
Army sec nominee questions whether military pilots should do flight training near Washington airport

Army secretary nominee Daniel Driscoll questioned whether Army helicopters should be flying training missions in one of the nation’s most congested flight paths after Wednesday’s tragic Washington, D.C.-area collision.

“It’s an accident that seems to be preventable,” Driscoll, an Army veteran, said during a Thursday confirmation hearing at the Armed Services Committee.

“There are appropriate times to take risk and inappropriate times to take risk,” he said. “I think we need to look at where is an appropriate time to take training risk, and it may not be at an airport like Reagan.”

Sixty-four people were aboard the American Airlines flight inbound from Wichita, Kan., which collided with an Army Sikorsky H-60 Black Hawk helicopter just before it was set to touch down at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. Authorities do not believe anyone survived.

BLACK HAWK CHOPPER UNIT WAS ON ANNUAL PROFICIENCY TRAINING FLIGHT, HEGSETH SAYS

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth revealed the three soldiers who were aboard the chopper were a “fairly experienced crew” doing a “required annual night evaluation.”

Dan. Driscoll questioned whether Army helicopters should be flying training missions in one of the nation’s most congested flight paths after the Jan. 29, 2025, Washington, D.C.-area flight collision. (Screenshot Pool)

“We anticipate that the investigation will quickly be able to determine whether the aircraft was in the quarter at the right altitude at the time of the incident,” he said.

In a blunt Truth Social post, President Donald Trump called the crash “a bad situation that looks like it should have been prevented.”

AMERICAN FIGURE SKATER SAYS HE WAS BARRED FROM FLIGHT THAT COLLIDED WITH ARMY HELICOPTER

“The airplane was on a perfect and routine line of approach to the airport. The helicopter was going straight at the airplane for an extended period of time,” Trump wrote. “It is a CLEAR NIGHT, the lights on the plane were blazing, why didn’t the helicopter go up or down, or turn. Why didn’t the control tower tell the helicopter what to do instead of asking if they saw the plane.”

An Army Black Hawk helicopter collided midair with an American Airlines jet at Ronald Reagan Washington National airport near Washington. (EarthCam)

The following day emergency response units search the crash site of an American Airlines plane after it crashed on approach to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport on Jan. 29, 2025, in Arlington, Virginia. (Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images)

Ronald Reagan Washington National, an airport owned by the federal government, has been the subject of debate for years. It has one of the shortest runways in the industry, yet Congress approved additional flight slots in 2024 as part of its Federal Aviation Administration bill. The flight from Wichita, Kan., had just been added in 2024.

The airport faces complicated aviation logistics near hyperprotected airspace near the Pentagon, White House and Capitol, but lawmakers have pushed to keep it open due to the convenience of its proximity to D.C.

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“We’re gonna have to work together to make sure that never happens again,” Driscoll said in his Thursday confirmation hearing, promising to take a hard look at what training was needed, particularly amid the Army’s increased use of its vertical lift aircraft.

Less than 30 seconds before the crash, an air traffic controller asked a helicopter if it had the arriving plane in sight, according to air traffic control audio. The controller made another radio call to the helicopter moments later, saying “PAT 25 pass behind the CRJ” — apparently telling the chopper to wait for the Bombardier CRJ-701 twin-engine jet to pass. There was no reply. Seconds after that, the aircraft collided.

Military helicopters regularly cross over the D.C.-area airport’s flight paths to ferry senior government officials over the Potomac River into D.C. No senior officials were on board the downed Black Hawk, according to the Army.

Fox News’ Chad Pergram and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

January 30, 2025
Denmark increasing military spendingamid row with Trump over Greenland

The government of Denmark says it will increase military spending in the North Atlantic amid U.S. President Donald Trump’s bid to have Greenland sold or ceded to the United States.

Late Monday, the Danish government announced an agreement of 14.6 billion-kroner – or nearly $2 billion – with parties including the governments of Greenland and the Faroe Islands to “improve capabilities for surveillance and maintaining sovereignty in the region.”

The Defense Ministry in Copenhagen said those will include three new Arctic naval vessels, two additional long-range surveillance drones and satellite capacity.

On Tuesday, Denmark’s prime minister, Mette Frederiksen, traveled to several major European capitals, including Berlin, Paris and Brussels, where she met NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte.

DANISH LAWMAKER ADDRESSING EU TELLS TRUMP TO ‘F— OFF’ OVER GREENLAND BID

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen speaks to the media following talks with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz (not seen) at the Chancellery on January 28, 2025 in Berlin, Germany. (Maja Hitij/Getty Images)

Frederiksen warned that Europe faces what she called “a more uncertain reality” and said her country would be strengthening its military presence around Greenland.

The trip comes after Trump has repeatedly made various statements calling Greenland vital to U.S. national and economic security interests and expressed interest in purchasing it from Denmark. Trump has even said he wouldn’t rule out using military force to gain control of the island’s territory.

Greenland Prime Minister Múte Egede (left) and President-elect Donald Trump (right). (Getty Images / Fox News Digital)

Frederiksen didn’t directly mention Trump’s threat in comments at a meeting with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, but she said that “we are facing a more uncertain reality, a reality that calls for an even more united Europe and for more cooperation.”

EU MILITARY CHIEF SAYS IT WOULD MAKE SENSE TO PUT EUROPEAN TROOPS IN GREENLAND, WELT REPORTS

She pointed to Russian activities in Ukraine and beyond and said that “it is up to Europe to define the future of our continent, and I think we have to take more responsibility for our own security.”

In its announcement on the Arctic and North Atlantic region, the Danish Defense Ministry said that the parties agreed to negotiate a second agreement in the first half of this year focused on strengthening deterrence and defense.

Qaqortoq, Greenland. (Fox News)

“We must face the fact that there are serious challenges regarding security and defense in the Arctic and North Atlantic,” Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen said. “For this reason, we must strengthen our presence in the region.”

His ministry said ensuring that investments provide support for local jobs and businesses in Greenland and the Faroe Islands will be “a focal point.”

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Greenland’s government has insisted that the territory isn’t for sale but that it is open to cooperation. The Defense Ministry statement didn’t mention Trump’s ambitions.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Bradford Betz is a Fox News Digital breaking reporter covering crime, political issues, and much more.

January 29, 2025
Six military members sue Trump admin over transgender military order

Six transgender members of the military are suing the Trump administration over an executive order pertaining to trans troops.

The lawsuit was filed by six current military servicemembers and two people who want to enlist. On Monday, President Trump signed an order stating the “adoption of a gender identity inconsistent with an individual’s sex conflicts with a soldier’s commitment to an honorable, truthful, and disciplined lifestyle, even in one’s personal life.”

“A man’s assertion that he is a woman, and his requirement that others honor this falsehood, is not consistent with the humility and selflessness required of a service member,” it states.

Trump states in the order that the mission cannot be met if the military is accommodating “political agendas or other ideologies harmful to unit cohesion.” He also said longstanding Defense Department policy says service members must be free of medical conditions and physical defects that would require excessive treatment or hospitalization.

The “hormonal and surgical medical interventions” involved when an individual claims to be a gender differing from their sex do not meet the “rigorous standards” required of service members, including the commitment to being honorable, truthful and disciplined, the order states.

CRACKING DOWN ON TRANS TROOPS: TRUMP ORDER NIXES PREFERRED PRONOUNS, RESTRICTS FACILITY USE

The American flag on a U.S. Army uniform. (iStock)

Progress related to this order must be submitted by Defense Department Secretary Pete Hegseth and the homeland security secretary to the deputy chief of staff for policy to track implementation and to find recommendations, if any, to fulfill the order’s objective.

The lawsuit argues the order is unconstitutional and violates the Equal Protection component of the Fifth Amendment. The plaintiffs are asking a federal judge in Washington, D.C., to block it from being enforced. Fox News Digital has reached out to the White House.

“Rather than being based on any legitimate governmental purpose, the ban reflects animosity toward transgender people because of their transgender status,” the suit claims.

The plaintiffs include a Sailor of the Year honoree, a Bronze Star recipient and several who were awarded meritorious service medals. They were identified as U.S. Army Reserves Lt. Nicolas Talbott, Army Maj. Erica Vandal, Army Sgt. First Class Kate Cole, Army Capt. Gordon Herrero, Navy Ensign Dany Danridge, Air Force Master Sgt. Jamie Hash, Koda Nature and Cael Neary.

The lawsuit charges that Trump’s order will unfairly halt their military aspirations and careers, including for Cole who’s been in the Army for 17 years.

DEFENSE SECRETARY PETE HEGSETH SAYS ‘NO MORE DEI AT DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE’: ‘NO EXCEPTIONS’

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, left, and President Donald Trump have both vowed to eradicate “woke” policies within the armed forces. (Getty)

“Removing qualified transgender soldiers like me means an exodus of experienced personnel who fill key positions and can’t be easily replaced, putting the burden on our fellow soldiers left behind,” Cole said in a statement released by the National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR) and GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders (GLAD Law). “That’s just wrong — and it destabilizes our armed forces.”

Cole noted that she had served in combat in Afghanistan.

Herrero said his family has a long history of military service and that “it’s the only career I’ve pursued.”

“There’s nothing about being transgender that makes me better or worse than any other soldier I serve alongside,” Herrero said in a statement accompanying the lawsuit. “We are all here because we are committed to our country, and we are passionate, willing, and able to serve effectively.”

The suit was brought by attorneys from the National Center for Lesbian Rights and GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders (GLAD Law).

“The law is very clear that the government can’t base policies on disapproval of particular groups of people,” Shannon Minter, of the NCLR, said. “That’s animus. And animus-based laws are presumed to be invalid and unconstitutional.”

Trump and Hegseth have vowed to crackdown on “woke” initiatives in the military and focus on developing a lethal, effective fighting force without political agendas or various ideologies harmful to unit cohesion.

“Recently, however, the Armed Forces have been afflicted with radical gender ideology to appease activists unconcerned with the requirements of military service like physical and mental health, selflessness, and unit cohesion,” the order states.

American soldiers and the U.S. flag are pictured. Six transgender military service members are suing the Trump administration over an executive order banning them from serving openly. (iStock)

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The Pentagon told The Associated Press that it doesn’t comment on pending or ongoing litigation but “will fully execute and implement all directives outlined in the Executive Orders issued by the President, ensuring that they are carried out with utmost professionalism, efficiency, and in alignment with national security objectives.”

The Pentagon referred questions by Fox News Digital about the lawsuit to the Justice Department.

Fox News’ Elizabeth Pritchett contributed to this report.

January 29, 2025
‘Just like Trump’: ISIS murder victim Kayla Mueller’s parents endorse Patel for FBI following military op role

FIRST ON FOX: Carl and Marsha Mueller, the parents of ISIS murder victim Kayla Mueller, offered their full endorsement of Kash Patel for FBI director, after years of building a personal relationship with the Trump administration nominee.

“He loves his country. He loves the people of this country,” Marsha Mueller told Fox News Digital in an exclusive interview via Zoom on Monday morning. “To us, you know, he is a person that we would go to for help. And he is so action oriented.”

“Just like Trump,” Carl Mueller added to his wife’s comments on Patel’s action-motivated personality.

The Muellers wrote a letter this week to Sens. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and Dick Durbin, D-Ill., of the Senate Judiciary Committee, offering their full endorsement of Patel to serve as director of the FBI under the second Trump administration.

Their daughter Kayla was abducted by terrorists while leaving a Doctors Without Borders hospital in Aleppo, Syria, in 2013, when she was assisting with humanitarian efforts amid the country’s bloody civil war. She was held hostage for 18 months, when she was believed to be repeatedly tortured and raped by ISIS militants, including then-ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

‘WHEN THEY FAIL, AMERICANS DIE’: TRUMP SOURCE BLASTS FBI, URGES SWIFT CONFIRMATION OF KASH PATEL AS DIRECTOR

Carl Mueller, right, and Marsha Mueller show a picture of their daughter Kayla, who was killed by ISIS when she was an aid worker in Syria, as they attend the State of the Union address in 2020 in Washington, D.C. (Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images)

She was killed in 2015 — with her parents speaking to Fox Digital just days ahead of the 10-year anniversary of her death, on Feb. 6.

Patel served as deputy assistant to the president and senior director for counterterrorism at the National Security Council during the first Trump administration, which put him in the Mueller’s orbit when he assisted in overseeing the military operation to eliminate ISIS chief al-Baghdadi in 2019.

“We would like to add our voices to those in support of Kash Patel’s nomination to be the director of the FBI,” the Mueller’s letter to Senate lawmakers and obtained by Fox News Digital reads. “Any family who has lived through such an experience will know the value of dedicated, compassionate law enforcement officials.”

“Because we have watched him at his work over time, and because we have personal experience of his dedication, we know that Kash Patel is such a person,” the letter continues. “We continue to see in him a genuinely kind, thoughtful, action-oriented man who focuses on what is true and right and just. He loves our country and our citizens and wants the best for us all. He wants our country to be the best it can be.”

Patel personally has been at the Muellers side over the past five years, they told Fox News Digital. He has stood out from the crowd as a federal government employee who sincerely cares for Americans who are suffering and will pick up the phone “night or day” to speak with them following the tragic loss of their daughter.

“I’m confident if I texted him right now, he would get back to me before this interview is over,” Carl Mueller said.

‘BEACON OF SELFLESSNESS’: ISIS VICTIM KAYLA MUELLER HONORED AT CONGRESSMAN’S SWEARING-IN 10 YEARS AFTER DEATH

Kash Patel, left, meets with Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) in his Washington, D.C., office in 2024. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

NATIONAL SHERIFFS’ ASSOCIATION SLAMS STATE OF POLICING UNDER BIDEN, THROWS FULL SUPPORT BEHIND PATEL FOR FBI

Patel previously served as a public defender in Florida’s Miami-Dade area, as well as a Department of Justice official during the Obama administration, when he won awards for his prosecution and conviction of 12 terrorists responsible for the World Cup bombings in 2010.

Patel hit the national radar during Trump’s first administration, including when he worked as a national security advisor and senior counsel for the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence under the leadership of then-Committee Chair Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Calif.

Kayla Mueller, pictured here, was abducted by terrorists while leaving a Doctors Without Borders hospital in Aleppo, Syria, in 2013. (The Associated Press)

The Muellers reflected on the first time they met with Patel at the White House nearly five years ago when he served on the National Security Council, and how he told them to contact him at any time with questions about their daughter or to just talk.

President Donald Trump, center, in October 2019, monitors developments as U.S. Special Operations forces close in on ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi’s compound in Syria with a mission to kill or capture the terrorist. (Shealah Craighead/The White House via Getty Images)

“We actually met Kash — we were back in D.C. at the White House, and he actually came to us and found us. That’s the first time we met him and wanted us to go meet with him and National Security Advisor, [Robert O’Brien]. So that’s how we first came to meet him. So it’s been almost five years ago. And they wanted to sit down and talk with us about Kayla. And we told them that we were working, and we’re still working with, [former FBI agent] Ali Soufan. And they told us to continue to work with him and they would help in any way they could. And so that was our first meeting,” Marsha Mueller said.

In their letter endorsing Patel, the Muellers reflected on the nominee’s note to them encouraging them to reach out, which came as a departure from their treatment under the Obama administration, they said.

Carl and Marsha Mueller, pictured here in 2020, wrote a letter offering their full endorsement of Kash Patel to serve as director of the FBI under the second Trump administration. (Committee on Arrangements for the 2020 Republican National Committee via Getty Images)

“It was actually after that first meeting when we met him, and he wrote us the note, and he said, ‘Please contact me at any time, day or night, with whatever questions you may have, or simply if you just need someone to speak with. I’ll always answer your call.’ And, you know, he’s kept every promise he’s ever made to us, as we knew we would from meeting him that first time,” Marsha Mueller told Fox News Digital.

PARENTS OF ISIS VICTIM KAYLA MUELLER REFLECT ON THEIR LOSS

The Muellers previously spoke out against the Obama administration’s handling of their daughter’s captivity in Syria, repeatedly saying she would not have been murdered if Trump was in office when she was taken hostage. Carl Mueller underscored the conviction in his interview on Monday, adding that the second Trump administration not only reopens lines of communication for his family, but extends hope to families around the country who have loved ones in the hands of terrorists.

“We didn’t want to forget to mention to the families of current American hostages that their chances of getting their loved ones home have exponentially increased with the Trump administration in there,” Carl Mueller said. “As I said before, if Trump would have been in office, Marsha and I are convinced that Kayla would be home. And we feel that he will do everything to get current American hostages. So just a word of encouragement and hope for them, because we know that sometimes hope is all they have.”

Then-President Barack Obama offered his condolences to the family following Kayla’s death in 2015, vowing that the U.S. would bring the terrorists to justice.

“She has been taken from us, but her legacy endures, inspiring all those who fight, each in their own way, for what is just and what is decent. No matter how long it takes, the United States will find and bring to justice the terrorists who are responsible for Kayla’s captivity and death,” Obama said at the time, just roughly four years before the Trump administration wiped out ISIS’s leader.

Kayla Mueller’s remains have not been recovered, but the couple believes the second Trump administration reinvigorates efforts to bring her and other hostages who have been murdered back to the U.S.

I WORKED WITH KASH PATEL TO EXPOSE THE RUSSIA HOAX AND KNOW HE’S THE BEST PICK TO REFORM THE FBI

“We believe [the Trump administration] will work closely with Ali Soufan to help us find Kayla and hopefully other hostages that were killed and bring them home as well,” Marsha Mueller said, referring to a former FBI agent who has worked with the Muellers across the years following Kayla Mueller’s captivity and murder.

President Donald Trump announces from the White House in October 2019 that ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi has been killed in a military operation in northwest Syria. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)

Patel, if confirmed, will replace former FBI Director Christopher Wray, whom the Muellers also lauded as a compassionate man who has also helped their efforts across the years. Looking ahead to the next four years, they said they are “very fortunate and looking forward to more progress and finding Kayla through the Trump administration.”

Patel is set to join the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday as the final leg of his nomination process kicks off in earnest. Patel has been on Capitol Hill meeting with Senate lawmakers to rally support for his nomination, earning praise from conservative lawmakers such as Tennessee Sens. Marsha Blackburn and Bill Hagerty, as well as endorsements from key law enforcement groups, such as the National Sheriffs’ Association. Patel is expected to face an uphill battle overall to secure the nomination, as Democrats balk that he lacks the qualifications to lead the law enforcement agency and would politicize the agency.

GOP ATTORNEYS GENERAL OFFER SUPPORT FOR TRUMP FBI PICK KASH PATEL, URGE SENATORS TO DO THE SAME

Kash Patel, a former chief of staff to then-acting Secretary of Defense Christopher Miller, is followed by reporters as he departs from a deposition meeting on Capitol Hill on Dec. 9, 2021 in Washington, D.C. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

The Muellers explained that even when Patel was no longer serving in the first Trump administration, he met with the couple and other families suffering from losing a loved one to terrorist captivity. The Muellers were among family members who attended the trial of ISIS terrorist El Shafee Elsheikh, a member of the so-called “ISIS Beatles,” who admitted to his involvement in and knowledge of Kayla Mueller’s captivity.

Elsheikh’s trial was held in 2022, when he was convicted by a jury in the Eastern District of Virginia and sentenced to eight concurrent terms of life imprisonment for holding four American citizens, as well as British and Japanese nationals, hostage before their deaths.

Patel joined the Muellers and other affected families during the trial, the couple explained, meeting them and “anyone that wanted to talk with him” at their hotel and speaking to them for maybe an hour.

KAYLA MUELLER’S PARENTS PRAISE TRUMP, SOLDIERS FOR RAID THAT KILLED AL-BAGHDADI

“It was not just the Americans that came down when we were sitting there with him,” Marsha Mueller said. “Actually, people from other countries did, too, because … he was willing to sit and talk with us. I was really deeply touched by that.”

“But, you know, there was no reason, he was not in government anymore. But yet it was still in his heart and soul for justice,” she said.

The couple reflected on the past decade, when they first learned their daughter was murdered, remarking that Obama administration officials “will have to live with” their failure of not bringing the American citizen home before her death.

Marsha Mueller also read her daughter’s letter to her family while she was held captive, including a portion of the note that was not widely reported.

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“We always like Kayla to speak for herself. And there’s a quote out there that most people know, but they don’t know what she said after that quote, and if I can get through it, she said, ‘I’ve known for some time what my life’s work is, using my hands as tools to relieve suffering.’ But she went on to say, ‘that is my life’s work, but my family is my life.’”

“That’s Kayla,” Marsha Mueller said through tears. “She loved us. We love her. And we encourage her to go out and help all the people she could in this world.”

January 28, 2025
Trump claims military entered California to release water flow, but state says that did not happen

President Donald Trump claimed Monday night that the military entered California and “turned on the water,” but state water officials contend that the president’s claim is false.

“The United States Military just entered the Great State of California and, under Emergency Powers, TURNED ON THE WATER flowing abundantly from the Pacific Northwest, and beyond,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

“The days of putting a Fake Environmental argument, over the PEOPLE, are OVER. Enjoy the water, California!!!” he added.

But the California Department of Water Resources responded that the military never entered the Golden State and that the state continues to have plenty of water resources.

CALI REP. CHU SAYS ‘WILDFIRES HAVE NO POLITICAL AFFILIATIONS’ AFTER TRUMP FLOATED CONDITIONS FOR FEDERAL AID

President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump tour a fire-affected area in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, on January 24, 2025. (MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images)

“The military did not enter California,” the department said on X. “The federal government restarted federal water pumps after they were offline for maintenance for three days. State water supplies in Southern California remain plentiful.”

State Senate Pro Tem Mike McGuire, a Democrat, also pushed back against Trump’s post.

“First off, shocker, water from the Pacific Northwest doesn’t flow to the Central Valley,” McGuire said on X. “Second, federal water pumps were down for repair and are now back on. Third, rest assured, the military has not invaded the delta. Facts are hard.”

TRUMP MEETS WITH CALIFORNIA RESIDENTS, FIRE AND LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICIALS TO SEE LA WILDFIRE DAMAGE FIRST HAND

President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump walk with California Gov. Gavin Newsom after arriving on Air Force One at Los Angeles International Airport in Los Angeles, Friday, Jan. 24, 2025. (Mark Schiefelbein/AP)

This comes after Trump issued an executive order directing several federal agencies, including the Department of Defense and Department of Homeland Security, to determine how to deliver more water to Southern California and the Central Valley, as the state responds to wildfires that swept through the Los Angeles area this month.

Trump had said on Friday that two conditions must be met in California before the federal government offers disaster relief. He said he wants lawmakers to approve voter identification legislation and that water deliveries need to be increased from Northern California to drier areas further south.

“I want to see two things in Los Angeles. Voter ID, so that the people have a chance to vote, and I want to see the water be released and come down into Los Angeles and throughout the state,” Trump told reporters in North Carolina as he was touring hurricane recovery efforts in that state. “Those are the two things. After that, I will be the greatest president that California has ever seen.”

President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump meet residents as they tour a fire-affected area in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, on January 24, 2025. (MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images)

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Trump visited Los Angeles later on Friday to view damage from the wildfires and meet with local officials and residents.

Republicans in Congress have suggested tying wildfire aid to a debt ceiling increase or changes to California’s fire-mitigation policies.

January 28, 2025
Trumps claims military entered California to release water flow, but state says that did not happen

President Donald Trump claimed Monday night that the military entered California and “turned on the water,” but state water officials contend that the president’s claim is false.

“The United States Military just entered the Great State of California and, under Emergency Powers, TURNED ON THE WATER flowing abundantly from the Pacific Northwest, and beyond,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

“The days of putting a Fake Environmental argument, over the PEOPLE, are OVER. Enjoy the water, California!!!” he added.

But the California Department of Water Resources responded that the military never entered the Golden State and that the state continues to have plenty of water resources.

CALI REP. CHU SAYS ‘WILDFIRES HAVE NO POLITICAL AFFILIATIONS’ AFTER TRUMP FLOATED CONDITIONS FOR FEDERAL AID

President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump tour a fire-affected area in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, on January 24, 2025. (MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images)

“The military did not enter California,” the department said on X. “The federal government restarted federal water pumps after they were offline for maintenance for three days. State water supplies in Southern California remain plentiful.”

State Senate Pro Tem Mike McGuire, a Democrat, also pushed back against Trump’s post.

“First off, shocker, water from the Pacific Northwest doesn’t flow to the Central Valley,” McGuire said on X. “Second, federal water pumps were down for repair and are now back on. Third, rest assured, the military has not invaded the delta. Facts are hard.”

TRUMP MEETS WITH CALIFORNIA RESIDENTS, FIRE AND LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICIALS TO SEE LA WILDFIRE DAMAGE FIRST HAND

President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump walk with California Gov. Gavin Newsom after arriving on Air Force One at Los Angeles International Airport in Los Angeles, Friday, Jan. 24, 2025. (Mark Schiefelbein/AP)

This comes after Trump issued an executive order directing several federal agencies, including the Department of Defense and Department of Homeland Security, to determine how to deliver more water to Southern California and the Central Valley, as the state responds to wildfires that swept through the Los Angeles area this month.

Trump had said on Friday that two conditions must be met in California before the federal government offers disaster relief. He said he wants lawmakers to approve voter identification legislation and that water deliveries need to be increased from Northern California to drier areas further south.

“I want to see two things in Los Angeles. Voter ID, so that the people have a chance to vote, and I want to see the water be released and come down into Los Angeles and throughout the state,” Trump told reporters in North Carolina as he was touring hurricane recovery efforts in that state. “Those are the two things. After that, I will be the greatest president that California has ever seen.”

President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump meet residents as they tour a fire-affected area in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, on January 24, 2025. (MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images)

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Trump visited Los Angeles later on Friday to view damage from the wildfires and meet with local officials and residents.

Republicans in Congress have suggested tying wildfire aid to a debt ceiling increase or changes to California’s fire-mitigation policies.

January 28, 2025
Trump signs orders banning ‘radical gender ideology,’ DEI in the military

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President Donald Trump signed a handful of executive orders on Monday, including two banning “radical gender ideology” and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives from all branches of the U.S. military.

Trump stated that both orders, titled “Prioritizing Military Excellence and Readiness” and “Restoring America’s Fighting Force,” should be in the process of being implemented by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and the secretary of homeland security within 30 days.

Under “Restoring America’s Fighting Force,” Trump states that DEI programs have undermined “leadership, merit and unit cohesion, thereby eroding lethality and force readiness” and have “violated Americans’ consciences by engaging in invidious race and sex discrimination.”

“No individual or group within our Armed Forces should be preferred or disadvantaged on the basis of sex, race, ethnicity, color or creed,” the order states, adding that no branch should operate on race or sex preference.

DEFENSE SECRETARY PETE HEGSETH SAYS ‘NO MORE DEI AT DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE’: ‘NO EXCEPTIONS’

President Donald Trump signed two executive orders on Monday related to the military that will ban “radical gender ideology” and DEI initiatives from all branches and their academies. (REUTERS/Carlos Barria)

The order includes an internal review conducted by Hegseth within 90 days to document all instances of discrimination or promotion based on race or sex.

It also includes banning all “un-American, divisive, discriminatory, radical, extremist and irrational theories” from being taught in the Armed Forces and educational institutions operated or controlled by the military. Those theories include “gender ideology,” divisive concepts surrounding race or sex stereotyping or scapegoating and the idea that “America’s founding documents are racist or sexist.”

Instructors hired to teach at military academies will also be carefully reviewed to ensure “alignment with this order.”

“In addition, these institutions shall be required to teach that America and its founding documents remain the most powerful force for good in human history,” the order states.

Progress related to this order must be submitted by Hegseth and the homeland security secretary to the Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy within 180 days to track implementation and to find recommendations, if any, to fulfill the order’s objective.

3 IN 10 VOTERS THINK ENDING DEI PROGRAMS IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT, POLL SHOWS, AS FEDERAL DEADLINE LOOMS

The order “Prioritizing Military Excellence and Readiness” states that the U.S. military has one mission – “to protect the American people and our homeland as the world’s most lethal and effective fighting force.”

Trump stated in his executive order that all service members are required to be at peak mental and physical fitness, which eliminates those struggling with gender identity. (iStock)

Trump states in the order that the mission cannot be met if the military is accommodating “political agendas or other ideologies harmful to unit cohesion.” He also said longstanding DoD policy says service members must be free of medical conditions and physical defects that would require excessive treatment or hospitalization.

The “hormonal and surgical medical interventions” involved when an individual claims to be a gender differing from their sex do not meet the “rigorous standards” required of service members, including the commitment to being honorable, truthful and disciplined, the order states.

Fox News Digital previously reported that while exact figures are not publicly available, there are an estimated 9,000 to 14,000 transgender people serving in the military.

CRACKING DOWN ON TRANS TROOPS: TRUMP ORDER NIXES PREFERRED PRONOUNS, RESTRICTS FACILITY USE

“For the sake of our Nation and the patriotic Americans who volunteer to serve it, military service must be reserved for those mentally and physically fit for duty,” the order states. “The Armed Forces must adhere to high mental and physical health standards to ensure our military can deploy, fight, and win, including in austere conditions and without the benefit of routine medical treatment or special provisions.”

The DoD reportedly spent approximately $15 million on surgical and nonsurgical gender-affirming care for 1,892 active duty service members between Jan. 1, 2016, and May 14, 2021, per the Congressional Research Service.

The order also states that males and females are not allowed to use or share sleeping, changing or bathing facilities unless it is absolutely necessary during an operation.

The two executive orders are aimed at returning the focus of all military branches and corresponding academies to “lethality and force readiness.” (iStock)

Hegseth was already ordered to immediately end preferred pronoun usage within the DoD, and within 30 days, he must identify what is needed to implement the above order and submit a report summarizing the steps to the president.

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The orders are two of many things Trump promised to change during his 2024 campaign and fall in line with the hundreds of executive actions issued during his first week in office.

January 28, 2025
EU military chief says it would make sense to put troops in Greenland: report

The top European Union military official, Robert Brieger, said it would make sense to station troops from EU countries in Greenland, according to an interview with Germany’s Welt am Sonntag published on Saturday, as U.S. President Donald Trump has expressed interest in acquiring the Danish territory.

“In my view, it would make perfect sense not only to station U.S. forces in Greenland, as has been the case to date, but also to consider stationing EU soldiers there in the future,” the chairman of the European Union Military Committee said.

Ultimately, such a step would require a political decision, the Austrian-born general said. The military committee is the highest military office of the European Council, but it serves as a consultative body since the bloc has no dedicated army.

U.S.-led NATO is the main military alliance for the EU.

DANISH LAWMAKER ADDRESSING EU TELLS TRUMP TO ‘F— OFF’ OVER GREENLAND BID

Although Greenland is not part of the EU as an overseas territory of Denmark, Europeans, as well as the U.S. have interests in Greenland, the general added, citing its raw materials and strategic location.

Robert Brieger, chairman of the European Union Military Committee (EUMC), poses for a family photo with other attendees during the informal EU ministerial meeting on defence in Toledo, Spain on August 30, 2023. (REUTERS/Isabel Infantes/File Photo)

“However, with increasing ice melt as a result of climate change, this also creates a certain potential for tension with Russia and possibly China,” he said.

Trump has expressed an interest in making Greenland, an autonomous territory of Denmark, part of the United States. He has not ruled out using military or economic power to persuade Denmark to hand it over.

Greenland’s strategic location along the shortest route from Europe to North America, vital for the U.S. ballistic missile warning system, has made it a priority for Trump.

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Brieger said he hoped that the U.S. as a member of the United Nations would respect the inviolability of borders as stipulated in the U.N. Charter.

January 27, 2025