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Tag: threat

Israeli military experts weigh in on Trump’s ‘all hell’ threat to Hamas and what it could look like

TEL AVIV, Israel — As the first phase of the fragile Israel-Hamas ceasefire agreement nears completion, Israel is mulling its next steps against the backdrop of President Donald Trump’s repeated threats to unleash “hell” unless all the hostages are released.

Fox News Digital spoke to Israeli military experts to see how they viewed what would be in store for Hamas if the ceasefire deal collapses.

“The only alternative is the resumption of the war in Gaza with all the forces that can be allocated,” Maj. Gen. Yaakov Amidror (res.), a former Israeli National Security Council chief and currently a fellow at the Washington-based JINSA think tank, told Fox News Digital.

“Because we have a ceasefire in Lebanon, we can use huge forces inside Gaza to end Hamas. This is one of the reasons why Hamas didn’t break the truce until now, they understand the alternative is a full-blown war for which they are not ready,” he added.

RUBIO, NETANYAHU AFFIRM ‘COMMON STRATEGY’ FOR GAZA, SET SIGHTS ON IRAN IN JOINT STATEMENT

IDF forces are seen operating in Rafah, a city in the Gaza Strip. (IDF Spokesman’s Office)

On Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Jerusalem and insisted that the two countries were working in lockstep.

“We have a shared strategy, which cannot always be detailed to the public, including when the gates of hell will open. And they will open if all our hostages are not returned, every last one of them,” Netanyahu said.

Lt. Col. Jonathan Conricus (ret.), a former IDF international spokesperson and now a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, says Hamas’s refusal to return all the hostages, coupled with the prevailing political realities in the Middle East and Trump’s willingness to reshuffle the deck, will necessitate the IDF’s resumption of fighting in Gaza “at a higher intensity and with less restrictions and limitations.”

“The aim will be to defeat Hamas and to take control over the Gaza Strip. I believe that Hamas’s center of gravity is the distribution of humanitarian aid and in the next round of fighting Israel will seek to take ownership of that,” he added.

President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu answer questions during a joint press conference in the East Room at the White House on Feb. 4, 2025. (REUTERS/Leah Millis)

Former IDF military intelligence chief Amos Yadlin similarly told Fox News Digital that “never in history have two entities been at war and one is helping the other survive with food, fuel and everything else.”

He also noted that the Biden administration had “basically embargoed heavy bombs, [but] Trump has already lifted this and will not limit Israel in using them.”

Israel received a U.S. shipment of 2,000-pound MK-84 munitions overnight Saturday, with Defense Minister Israel Katz saying the development “serves as further evidence of the strong alliance between Israel and the United States.”

ISRAEL’S UN AMBASSADOR SLAMS PALESTINIAN PLAN FOR GAZA, DEMANDS PA FIRST ‘CONDEMN HAMAS’

Hamas terrorists take up positions ahead of a hostage release in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip, on Feb. 8, 2025. (AP)

Trump’s words and deeds have given the impression that he will fully back Israel’s goal to defeat the Palestinian terror group militarily, Maj. Gen. (Ret.) Giora Eiland, a former head of the Israeli National Security Council, told Fox News Digital.

“But this misses the point, as we have already been fighting there for 16 months. The only significant leverage left, which was prevented by the Biden administration, is to interrupt all flow of equipment, fuel, food, water and other essential matters into the enclave,” Eiland said.

“This is the only thing that can cause real concern in Gaza and which might persuade the leadership to agree to release the hostages.”

Meanwhile, the Israel Defense Forces has increased troop reinforcements and mobilized reservists in the Southern Command to prepare for “any scenario.” When asked to share with Fox News Digital information regarding Hamas’s remaining weapons stockpile, the IDF declined to comment.

Hamas initially possessed an estimated 17,000 mid- and long-range missiles, with the former able to hit targets between seven and 14 kilometers away and the latter beyond 15 kilometers, according to Maj. Gen. Tamir Hayman (res.), executive director of the Tel Aviv-based Institute for National Security Studies and another former head of the IDF’s Military Intelligence Directorate.

TRUMP’S GAZA RELOCATION PROPOSAL SPARKS HEATED DEBATE AMONG PALESTINIANS: ‘NO LIFE LEFT HERE’

Israeli combat engineers have worked to destroy terrorist targets and locate terrorist tunnels in the “Philadelphia Corridor” along a small strip of land at the border between Egypt and Gaza. (TPS-IL/File)

“In terms of Hamas’s long-range missiles, the current capabilities are minor, if at all. Mid-range was probably reduced to approximately less than 100 total, and for short-range capabilities such as mortars and drones, it’s hard to estimate,” he told Fox News Digital.

Hayman agrees that “all hell” might entail President Donald Trump giving carte blanche to Israel to use 2,000-pound bombs or greater leeway to demolish swaths of territory using bulldozers and other heavy machinery to prevent Hamas from regenerating.

Israel might also change its fighting strategy to ensure Hamas is no longer able to regroup by retaking territory evacuated by troops in Gaza, according to Brig. Gen. Yossi Kuperwasser (res.), a former head of research in the IDF’s Military Intelligence Directorate.

“Israel could mount an attack in a different way than we saw till now. Instead of taking control of areas and then leaving them, we would keep control, minimizing Hamas’s ability to rule over the population in Gaza and thus its ability to survive,” he told Fox News Digital.

Palestinians return to their homes in Gaza City, Feb. 2, 2025, after a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas. (Ali Jadallah/Anadolu via Getty Images)

The long-term presence of Israeli boots on the ground would likely be a precondition for actualizing Trump’s vow to “take over” and transform Gaza into the “Riviera of the Middle East,” an assertion Trump made alongside Netanyahu at the White House on Feb. 4.

Meir Ben Shabbat, head of the Misgav Institute for National Security & Zionist Strategy and former head of the Israeli National Security Council, told Fox News Digital that Israel must push for “the collapse of Hamas rule, the demilitarization of Gaza and the creation of conditions to prevent this area from posing a threat to the security of Israeli citizens.”

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He said these conditions are “essential to ensure that this round of fighting will be the last,” he added. “To achieve this, Israel will have to resume fighting at a time that suits it.”

On Sunday, Netanyahu informed special envoy Steve Witkoff during a meeting that he would convene the Security Cabinet on Monday to discuss phase 2 of the agreement.

Amelie Botbol is a freelance journalist based in Tel Aviv. Her articles have appeared in the New York Post, Canada’s National Post, and the Washington Times. Amelie can be followed on X @DatReporter

February 17, 2025
Trump funding freeze judge hit with impeachment threat by House lawmaker

Rep. Andrew Clyde, R-Ga., is threatening to file articles of impeachment against a federal judge who blocked President Donald Trump’s federal funding freeze.

“I’m drafting articles of impeachment for U.S. District Judge John McConnell Jr.,” Clyde wrote on X.

“He’s a partisan activist weaponizing our judicial system to stop President Trump’s funding freeze on woke and wasteful government spending. We must end this abusive overreach. Stay tuned.”

SCOOP: KEY CONSERVATIVE CAUCUS DRAWS RED LINE ON HOUSE BUDGET PLAN

U.S. District Judge John McConnell, inset, is under fire by President Donald Trump’s allies after he blocked a federal funding freeze, (Getty)

U.S. District Judge John McConnell filed a new motion Monday ordering the Trump administration to comply with a restraining order issued Jan. 31, temporarily blocking the administration’s efforts to pause federal grants and loans.

McConnell’s original restraining order came after 22 states and the District of Columbia challenged the Trump administration’s actions to hold up funds for grants, such as the Climate Pollution Reduction Grant and other Environmental Protection Agency programs. However, the states said Friday that the administration is not following through and funds are still tied up.

A three-judge panel on the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected the Trump administration’s appeal of the order on Tuesday.

Rep. Andrew Clyde, pictured here, pledged to work up articles of impeachment against U.S. District Judge John McConnell. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

McConnell has come under fire by Trump supporters and conservatives who have accused him of being a liberal activist.

Clyde and others have cited a video of McConnell in 2021 saying courts must “stand and enforce the rule of law, that is, against arbitrary and capricious actions by what could be a tyrant or could be whatnot.”

“You have to take a moment and realize that this, you know, middle-class, white, male, privileged person needs to understand the human being that comes before us that may be a woman, may be Black, may be transgender, may be poor, may be rich, may be — whatever,” McConnell said in the video, according to WPRI.

Elon Musk wrote on X in response, “Impeach this activist posing as a judge! Such a person does great discredit to the American justice system.”

BLACK CAUCUS CHAIR ACCUSES TRUMP OF ‘PURGE’ OF ‘MINORITY’ FEDERAL WORKERS

Clyde confirmed he was preparing articles of impeachment when asked by Fox News Digital on Thursday.

“For a federal judge to deny the executive their legitimate right to exercise their authority is wrong,” Clyde told Fox News Digital. “This type of judge, this political activist – this radical political activist – should be removed from the bench.”

Elon Musk has called for that judge and others to be impeached. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

When reached for a response to Clyde’s threat, the U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island said McConnell “often sits down with members of the media upon request” but did not comment on pending cases.

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Trump’s allies have been hammering the judges who have issued a series of decisions curbing the president’s executive orders.

Rep. Eli Crane, R-Ariz., threatened to prepare impeachment articles against another judge earlier this week, U.S. District Judge Paul Engelmayer of the U.S. Southern District of New York, for blocking Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency from accessing Treasury records.

Elizabeth Elkind is a politics reporter for Fox News Digital leading coverage of the House of Representatives. Previous digital bylines seen at Daily Mail and CBS News.

Follow on Twitter at @liz_elkind and send tips to [email protected]

February 13, 2025
Dems flirt with government shutdown threat despite past warnings of consequences

Democratic lawmakers are fueling concerns of a partial government shutdown, warning they may withhold support for any plan in protest of President Donald Trump’s shakeup of the federal government.

Left-wing leaders who have warned of the catastrophic consequences of government shutdowns in the past are now publicly signaling it could be a possibility – and they are already positioning to blame Republicans.

“What leverage do we have? Republicans have repeatedly lectured America, they control the House, the Senate and the presidency. It’s their government,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., told reporters when asked about what concessions he would seek in exchange for Democratic help to avert a partial shutdown. “We are in the governing season, and so we’re ready to work together on any issue. But I’m also confused about the leverage that we allegedly have in the face of such an overwhelming mandate that was given to Republicans by the American people, according to them.”

BLACK CAUCUS CHAIR ACCUSES TRUMP OF ‘PURGE’ OF ‘MINORITY’ FEDERAL WORKERS

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries is among the Democrats flirting with a government shutdown standoff amid GOP infighting. (Getty/Fox News Illustration )

Meanwhile, Sen. Andy Kim, D-N.J., suggested a partial shutdown could even aid in stopping the work of Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, which Democrats have repeatedly raised alarms over. “This is on them. This is about whether or not they can get the votes. They are the majority. And if they cannot govern, then that’s for the American people to see,” Kim told NBC News’ “Meet The Press,” referring to Republicans.

“I’ve worked through multiple government shutdowns. I will be the last person to want to get to that stage. But we are at a point where we are basically on the cusp of a constitutional crisis, seeing this administration taking steps that are so clearly illegal. And until we see a change in that behavior, we should not allow and condone that, nor should we assist in that.”

KEY CONSERVATIVE CAUCUS DRAWS RED LINE ON HOUSE BUDGET PLAN

House Democratic Caucus Chairman Pete Aguilar, D-Calif., signaled one point of opposition was Trump and his allies’ support of allowing Trump to direct less federal spending than what was authorized by Congress, which Democrats argue runs afoul of the Constitution’s separation of powers.

“We will meet with folks, and we will try to find common ground where it is possible. But what we will not do is engage in an effort that gives Donald Trump money to direct our federal government that he has no plan to utilize or implement,” Aguilar said at a press conference last week. “If we’re going to pass law, we need to know that the law is followed. And it doesn’t appear that House Republicans are in a position to push back against Donald Trump to protect vital funding that supports our communities.”

Progressive Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., told CNN that Democrats should seek a “very high” price in exchange for their votes.

Democrats could use the government funding standoff to protest President Donald Trump’s policies. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

In past fiscal standoffs, Democrats had used the specter of a government shutdown to force Republicans back to the negotiating table.

Jeffries said during the previous round of government funding talks in late December, “If the government shuts down, holiday travel will be impacted…Border security and border patrol agents will not be paid. TSA agents will not be paid. Small businesses will be hurt in every single community in this country.”

“This reckless Republican-driven shutdown can be avoided if House Republicans will simply do what is right for the American people and stick with the bipartisan agreement that they themselves negotiated,” Jeffries said at the time.

Government funding has long been a thorny issue within the House Republican conference.

GOP leaders have relied on Democratic support to pass every federal funding bill that has been signed into law since taking the House majority in January 2023.

House Democratic Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar previously said a shutdown would be a “disaster.” (Samuel Corum/Getty Images)

Despite now having the Senate majority as well, Republican leaders’ razor-thin margins mean House GOP lawmakers would need to vote nearly in lock-step to pass any one bill without Democrats.

The House has about 15 days left in session before the government funding deadline on March 14.

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Democratic lawmakers have also previously painted shutdowns as “catastrophic” for the economy and federal workforce.

Aguilar said during a January 2024 press conference, “House Democrats are in lock step that we need to avoid a government shutdown, which would be a disaster for our economy and a disaster for hardworking American families.”

Elizabeth Elkind is a politics reporter for Fox News Digital leading coverage of the House of Representatives. Previous digital bylines seen at Daily Mail and CBS News.

Follow on Twitter at @liz_elkind and send tips to [email protected]

February 10, 2025
Democrats who called Trump a “threat to democracy” now delay democracy

American voters overwhelmingly elected President Donald Trump to carry out his “Make America Great Again” agenda despite Democrats calling him a “threat to democracy.” Now that Trump is back in the White House, Dems are delaying key cabinet appointments and vowing to “blow this place up” in the name of democracy.

Several Democrats, including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., are calling for a halt to all of Trump’s cabinet nominations. Protests hosted by lawmakers have erupted in Washington, D.C., this week as Democrats rally against Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

“God d—it shut down the Senate!” Rep. LaMonica McIver, D-N.J., said during an anti-DOGE protest in Washington, D.C., Tuesday. “We are at war!”

While Democrats spent 2024 promising Americans they were the party who would protect democracy and uphold the rule of law in a post-Jan. 6 world, they are dancing to the beat of a new drum in 2025 by practicing civil disobedience.

‘LOSING THEIR MINDS’: DEM LAWMAKERS FACE BACKLASH FOR INVOKING ‘UNHINGED’ VIOLENT RHETORIC AGAINST MUSK

Democrats rallied against DOGE and Elon Musk Tuesday. (Getty/AP)

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., told the crowd Tuesday, “We are here to fight back.”

“We are gonna be in your face, we are gonna be on your a–es and we are going to make sure you understand what democracy looks like, and this ain’t it,” Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, added.

Democrats have doubled down on their call to action this week after House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries told Americans to “fight” Trump’s agenda “in the streets” last week.

“We have to stand up and protest,” Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass, said at another rally in Washington, D.C., Wednesday. “When we come back here the next time, there should be hundreds of thousands and millions of people descending on Washington, D.C.”

SOCIAL MEDIA, TEAM TRUMP REACT TO CORY BOOKER’S ‘MELTDOWN’ OVER ELON MUSK’S USAID CRACKDOWN

U.S. Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., speaks at a rally in support of USAID on the grounds of the U.S. Capitol Feb. 5, 2025, in Washington, D.C. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

“We will fight their violation of civil service laws. We will fight their violation of civil rights laws. We will fight their violations of separation of powers. We will fight their violations of our Constitution of the United States of America. We will not shut up. We will stick up. We will rise up,” Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., added.

Democrats held an all-night session Wednesday protesting Trump’s nominee to lead the Office of Management and Budget (OMB).

Russell Vought, who served as OMB director during Trump’s first term, was a key architect of Project 2025. Democratic candidates and surrogates during the 2024 campaign cycle pointed to Project 2025 as proof of Trump’s “threat to democracy.” Trump maintained he had nothing to do with it.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said Vought is a “horrible, dangerous man” at the rally Tuesday.

An employee of the U.S. Agency for International Development who wished to remain anonymous protests outside of the USAID headquarters Feb. 3, 2025, in Washington, D.C. (Getty Images)

Democratic leaders and their constituents have spent all week protesting in major cities across the country. From Texas to California, protesters are speaking out against Trump’s ICE raids and federal government layoffs and the administration’s stance that there are two genders.

Despite the Democrats’ protests, the Trump administration said it is following through on the agenda the American people voted for, and those who “incite violence” should be held accountable.

“President Trump was elected with a mandate from the American people to make this government more efficient,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said. “For Democratic officials to incite violence and encourage Americans to take to the streets is incredibly alarming, and they should be held accountable for that rhetoric.

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“If you heard that type of violent, enticing rhetoric from our side of the aisle, from Republican leaders on Capitol Hill, I think there would be a lot more outrage in this room today. It’s unacceptable.”

Deirdre Heavey is a politics writer for Fox News Digital.

February 6, 2025
First 10 ‘high threat’ illegals to arrive to Guantanamo Bay are all Tren de Aragua members

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The Department of Defense (DOD) confirmed the arrival of the first 10 “high threat” illegal migrant criminals to the U.S.’s most secure prison – the Guantánamo Bay Detention Camp – in Cuba, all of whom are members of the violent Venezuelan criminal group Tren de Aragua (TdA).

TdA is an international criminal group that has been terrorizing U.S. communities from New York City to Colorado. As one of his first actions, President Donald Trump issued an executive order on Jan. 20 instructing the State Department and other government agencies to move to designate TdA as a “foreign terrorist organization.”

On Thursday, ICE and other federal law enforcement agencies conducted a series of raids in Aurora, Colorado, resulting in the arrest of over 100 TdA members.

MEXICAN TROOPS BEGIN ARRIVING AT US-MEXICO BORDER FOLLOWING DEAL MADE TO PAUSE TRUMP-APPROVED TARIFFS

This image shows migrants boarding a military flight to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. (Department of Homeland Security)

The 10 high-threat migrants arrived at Guantánamo Bay on Thursday, the DOD confirmed in a statement. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) also confirmed the migrants’ arrival and stated that all 10 are members of Tren de Aragua.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE IMMIGRATION COVERAGE

The DOD stated that these migrant criminals are being housed in vacant detention facilities. The DOD said that is only a temporary arrangement being made to “ensure the safe and secure detention of these individuals until they can be transported to their country of origin or other appropriate destination.”

DHS clarified that the Guantánamo Bay prison will be used to house only “the worst of the worst” criminals.

TRUMP HAS BECOME ‘GAME-CHANGER’ IN CONFRONTING ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION CRISIS: TOM HOMAN

This image shows migrants boarding a flight to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. (Department of Homeland Security)

Commenting on the arrests of the over 100 TdA members on Wednesday, Joseph Humire, executive director of the Center for a Secure Free Society and an expert on TdA, told Fox News Digital that Trump’s latest moves are “tremendously significant” that shows that there is a “new attitude” against TdA in the U.S.

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“That’s what’s needed to be able to dismantle them and eventually deport them from the United States,” he said. “This is a foreign terrorist organization that has been spreading throughout the United States for the last couple of years and doing it so very rapidly, so I think the impetus is on the United States to use all the elements of our national security to be able to dismantle them from within.”

February 6, 2025
SEAL congressman introduces legislation to pull back veil on threat cartels pose

A Navy SEAL veteran-turned-congressman is fighting to pull back the curtain on the growing threat of Mexican drug cartels and other organized crime groups, introducing legislation Thursday aimed at providing Americans with transparency about the dangers they pose.

“Thanks to the Biden administration’s open-border policies, dangerous cartels have been running our borders and profiting from human and drug trafficking,” Rep. Morgan Luttrell, R-Texas, told Fox News Digital.

Luttrell introduced the CARTEL Act, which mandates that U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) report whether individuals listed in the Terrorist Screening Database were released into the United States.

MEXICAN CARTELS TARGETING BORDER PATROL AGENTS WITH KAMIKAZE DRONES, EXPLOSIVES AMID TRUMP CRACKDOWN: REPORT

Rep. Morgan Luttrell, R-Texas, is introducing the CARTEL Act to provide the public with information about whether individuals listed in the Terrorist Screening Database were released into the U.S. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

The legislation also mandates the transparent tracking of individuals associated with cartels who have attempted illegal crossings.

The bill comes just a few weeks after President Donald Trump signed an executive order that moved the U.S. toward designating drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations. The order says the organizations “threaten the safety of the American people, the security of the United States, and the stability of the international order in the Western Hemisphere.”

“The Cartels have engaged in a campaign of violence and terror throughout the Western Hemisphere that has not only destabilized countries with significant importance for our national interests but also flooded the United States with deadly drugs, violent criminals, and vicious gangs,” the order adds.

President Donald Trump has signed a number of executive orders related to border security in the early days of his second administration. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

MEXICO AGREES TO DEPLOY 10,000 TROOPS TO US BORDER IN EXCHANGE FOR TARIFF PAUSE

The order highlighted both Mexican cartels and other gangs throughout Latin America, such as Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua and El Salvador’s MS-13, which have raised alarms in recent years after reports of gang activity spreading to the United States.

Luttrell, who served seven years as a Navy SEAL, believes the legislation will offer Americans transparency on just who is trying to enter the country, while also mandating that CBP provide a comprehensive report to Congress showing which terrorist organizations and cartels are working to enter the country.

The CARTEL Act is co-sponsored by representatives Bryan Steil, R-Wis., Daniel Webster, R-Fla., Carlos Gimenez, R-Fla., Andrew Garbarino, R-N.Y., Jen Kiggans, R-Va., and Randy Weber, R-Texas.

Members of violent Latin American gangs such as Tren de Aragua and MS-13 are a key concern in Luttrell’s legislation. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

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“Americans deserve to know exactly who is trying to enter our country,” Luttrell said. “The CARTEL Act will provide critical transparency and accountability in the fight to secure our borders and protect our communities.”

Michael Lee is a writer for Fox News. Prior to joining Fox News, Michael worked for the Washington Examiner, Bongino.com, and Unbiased America. He has covered politics for more than eight years.

February 6, 2025
Federal prosecutor puts potential DOGE sabotage on notice with threat of ‘any and all legal action’

Newly-appointed interim U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Ed Martin published a letter vowing to hold to account those who try to sabotage efforts of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to clean the federal government of overspending and corruption.

“I recognize that some of the staff at DOGE have been targeted publicly,” Martin wrote to Elon Musk in a letter, which Martin posted to his X account Monday. “At this time, I ask that you utilize me and my staff to assist in protecting the DOGE work and the DOGE workers. Any threats, confrontations or other actions in any way that impact their work may break numerous laws.”

“Let me assure you of this: We will pursue any and all legal action against anyone who impedes your work or threatens your people,” he continued. “We will not act like the previous administration who looked the other way as the Antifa and BLM rioters as well as thugs with guns trashed our capital city. We will protect DOGE and other workers no matter what.”

Martin previously worked as a defense attorney, including representing three men charged in the Jan. 6 protests, when President Donald Trump supporters breached the U.S. Capitol in 2021.

Trump granted clemency to more than 1,500 Jan. 6, 2021 criminal defendants upon taking office in January.

ELON MUSK DUNKS ON SEN CHUCK SCHUMER, DECLARING ‘HYSTERICAL REACTIONS’ DEMONSTRATE DOGE’S IMPORTANCE

Newly-appointed interim U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Ed Martin, inset, published a letter vowing to hold to account those who try to sabotage efforts of the Department of Government Efficiency, led by Elon Musk. (Chesnot/Getty Images )

Trump appointed Martin the interim United States attorney for Washington, D.C., shortly following his Jan. 20 inauguration.

Martin’s letter comes as Musk takes a hatchet to government agencies such as the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to rid the departments of what the administration has described as corruption and overspending.

RUBIO SAYS ‘NO CHOICE’ BUT TO BRING USAID ‘UNDER CONTROL’ AFTER AGENCY TAKEOVER: ‘RANK INSUBORDINATION’

News reports spread this week that Musk’s DOGE team includes a group of college-age engineers to help dismantle government overspending and reported corruption, which has sparked some on social media to attack the team, including threatening to dox them, according to a review of some reactions online.

News reports spread this week that the DOGE team, led by Elon Musk, includes a group of college-age engineers to help dismantle government overspending and reported corruption. ( Samuel Corum/Getty Images)

Martin noted in his Monday public letter that he worked with the DOGE team “this weekend,” while warning that “we must keep all our American government employees safe and we must protect the American people’s property.”

“One last warning to you,” Martin wrote in the conclusion of his letter to Musk. “Late last week, we indicted an economist who worked for the Fed for economic espionage for the Communist Chinese. Please be very aware that there are those who are acting against our American people in every way. Refer to us any questionable conduct or details that you find or notice.”

USAID CLOSES HQ TO STAFFERS MONDAY AS MUSK SAYS TRUMP SUPPORTS SHUTTING AGENCY DOWN

USAID’s fate is hanging in the balance as Musk went on a warpath against the independent government agency as a “viper’s nest of radical-left marxists who hate America.” On Monday morning, hundreds of USAID employees reported they were locked out of the agency’s computer system and that its headquarters in Washington, D.C., was closed.

Elon Musk, left, announced in an audio-only message on X overnight on Sunday that “we’re in the process” of “shutting down USAID” and that President Donald Trump reportedly agreed to shutter the agency. (Brandon Bell/Getty Images)

MUSK RIPS ‘FRAUDULENT’ TREASURY HANDOUTS AS REPORTS MOUNT DOGE HAS ACCESS TO FEDERAL PAYMENT SYSTEM

Musk announced in an audio-only message on X overnight on Sunday that “we’re in the process” of “shutting down USAID” and that Trump reportedly agreed to shutter the agency.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced on Monday that he is now serving as acting director of the agency and outlined that its policies need to shift to fall in line with Trump’s “America First” mission.

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“USAID is not functioning. It has to be aligned with U.S. policy,” he told reporters while in El Salvador. “It needs to be aligned with the national interest of the U.S. They’re not a global charity. These are taxpayer dollars. People are asking simple questions. What are they doing with the money? We are spending taxpayers’ money. We owe the taxpayers assurances that it furthers our national interest.”

February 4, 2025
Trump reasserts towering 100% tariff threat against BRICS countries

Breitbart economics and finance editor John Carney breaks down President Donald Trump’s reason for threatening tariffs and dissects NPR’s failed fact-check on ‘The Bottom Line.’

In an apparent bid to preserve the U.S. dollar’s global economic dominance, President Donald Trump reiterated his 100% tariff threat against BRICS nations.

The president is demanding that the countries commit not to forming a BRICS currency or endorse a currency to supplant U.S. dollar hegemony.

“The idea that the BRICS Countries are trying to move away from the Dollar, while we stand by and watch, is OVER,” Trump warned in a Truth Social post on Thursday.

TRUMP WARNS BRICS COUNTRIES IF THEY TRY TO REPLACE DOLLAR: ‘100% TARIFFS’

President Donald Trump speaks to reporters about the collision of an American Airlines flight with a military Black Hawk helicopter near Ronald Reagan National Airport, in the Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House on Jan. 30, 2025 in Washingto (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

BRICS is an acronym that refers to the nations of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, though the bloc also includes several other countries as well.

“We are going to require a commitment from these seemingly hostile Countries that they will neither create a new BRICS Currency, nor back any other Currency to replace the mighty U.S. Dollar or, they will face 100% Tariffs, and should expect to say goodbye to selling into the wonderful U.S. Economy,” Trump continued

“They can go find another sucker Nation. There is no chance that BRICS will replace the U.S. Dollar in International Trade, or anywhere else, and any Country that tries should say hello to Tariffs, and goodbye to America!” he concluded.

PUTIN, XI VOW TO ‘DEEPEN’ ALLIANCE HOURS AFTER TRUMP RE-ENTERS THE WHITE HOUSE

Russian President Vladimir Putin (R) and President of China Xi Jinping (L) shake hands as they attend the 16th BRICS Summit in Kazan, Russia on Oct. 22, 2024. (Kristina Kormilitsyna/PHOTOHOST AGENCY/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Trump, who just took office again last week, had issued a nearly identical threat on social media in November.

Euro Pacific Asset Managment chief economist and global strategist Peter Schiff, who discusses economic and political topics on his eponymous podast “The Peter Schiff Show,” pushed back against Trump’s comment last year.

“You have the relationship backwards. The BRICS nations are the suckers for accepting our fiat currency for their real consumer goods. We get actual products that make our lives better, that we lack the capacity to produce ourselves. All they get in return is our inflation,” Schiff tweeted in December in response to Trump’s November post threatening BRICS countries.

PUTIN WELCOMES IRAN, INDIA, CHINA TO BRICS SUMMIT TO DISCUSS ‘NEW WORLD ORDER’ TO CHALLENGE THE WEST

President of Russia Vladimir Putin, President of China Xi Jinping and Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi are seen during limited attendance meeting of BRICS leaders during the 16th BRICS Summit in Kazan, Russia on Oct. 23, 2024. (Alexei Danichev/Photohost Agency/Anadolu via Getty Images)

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Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, the United Arab Emirates, and Indonesia, are also members of the bloc, according to Reuters.

Brazil, which holds the BRICS presidency this year, has suggested that Saudi Arabia is a BRICS member, but Saudi Minister of Economy and Planning Faisal Alibrahim recently told Bloomberg Television that while the nation has been invited into BRICS, it is assessing before making a decision.

January 31, 2025
‘Catastrophic threat’: Conservative group’s roadmap shows how Trump can use military to thwart cartels

FIRST ON FOX: A top conservative group is offering a roadmap as to how President Donald Trump can effectively deploy the military to secure the southern border, arguing that there is a “substantial historic precedent” for such a use.

“A broad and diverse set of options and legal authorities are available to the second Trump Administration for using the resources and capacities of the U.S. military to ensure the integrity of the border with Mexico,” the Heritage Foundation report, obtained first by Fox News Digital, says. “Additionally, there is substantial historical precedent for an active U.S. military role in border security and managing migration crises.”

The report, “How the President Can Use the U.S. Military to Confront the Catastrophic Threat at the Border with Mexico,” argues that an “unchecked growth” of Mexican cartels, as well as illegal immigration and narcotics have “deepended and accelerated,” posing a destabilizing threat to the U.S.

TRUMP DHS MAKES KEY MOVE AGAINST MIGRANTS ALLOWED IN VIA CONTROVERSIAL BIDEN PAROLE PROGRAMS

This split shows the southern border wall and troops at the border. (Getty Images)

Simultaneously, it argues that there has been a “rapid deterioration” in U.S.-Mexico security cooperation and Mexico’s own anti-cartel operations.

It is a view shared by the new Trump administration. Trump issued an executive order on day one to deploy the military to the border as part of a slew of broader efforts to secure the southern border and crack down on illegal immigration.

TRUMP DHS REPEALS KEY MAYORKAS MEMO LIMITING ICE AGENTS, ORDERS PAROLE REVIEW

Authors Robert Greenway, Andres Martinez-Fernandez and Wilson Beaver argue for a number of follow-up measures to confront the threat of the cartels and what they see as a “reluctant” Mexican government.

“The first steps on this front should consist of measures, such as substantial bolstering of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) border security capacities, increasing restrictions on formal and informal border crossings, ramping up U.S. law enforcement efforts, targeting illicit financial flows tied to the cartels, and sanctioning corrupt Mexican officials,” they wrote.

President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump wave as they board Air Force One on Friday, Jan. 24, 2025 at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, for a trip to North Carolina and California. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

The report stressed the need for appropriate funding from Congress and planning from agencies in order to prevent impacting other missions. It highlighted the potential for military equipment for immigration purposes, including deportation.

“When it comes to large-scale illegal-alien detention and deportation, some of the underused but most impactful resources include U.S. military transport vehicles and facilities around the world which could support detention and repatriation of illegal aliens, including to higher-risk and extra-hemispheric countries of origin,” it says.

As for direct military action against cartels, the authors say that it should be a “last resort,” with joint military action with Mexican coordination being the ideal condition.

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“However, in the appropriate context, unilateral U.S. military action may be employed to disrupt cartel activity and prompt cooperation from a resistant Mexican government,” it says.

It argues that Mexico is unlikely to change its stance with the election of President Claudia Sheinbaum, even in response to what the authors argue is a dramatically escalating threat from the cartels.

“Today, drug cartels are the fifth-largest employer in Mexico, with between 160,000 and 185,000 members,” they wrote. “Cartels are also equipped with military-level weaponry, including anti-aircraft weapons and armored vehicles, while increasingly employing advanced technologies, such as drones and signal jamming systems.”

The report also touts other uses for the military, including aiding border wall construction, helping supplement an overstretched Border Patrol, and the use of intelligence and surveillance methods to detect cross-border activity, as well as migrant detention at U.S. military facilities.

People are seen boarding a U.S. military aircraft. The White House announced on Friday that “deportation flights have begun” in the U.S. (White House)

The report comes after a flurry of activity from the administration, including the deployment of the military to the border, to tackle the border threat and limit illegal immigration.

Troops began arriving in El Paso, Texas, and San Diego on Thursday evening, providing 1,000 U.S. Army personnel and 500 Marines from Camp Pendleton in California.

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“This represents a 60% increase in active-duty ground forces since President Trump was sworn-in Monday,” then-acting Defense Secretary Robert Salesses said in a statement late Wednesday.

There are already 2,500 U.S. service members stationed at the southern border.

Fox News’ Christina Shaw contributed to this report.

Adam Shaw is a politics reporter for Fox News Digital, primarily covering immigration and border security.

He can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter.

January 27, 2025
Russia sounds off on Trump’s threat to retake the Panama Canal

Russia’s foreign ministry has called on President Donald Trump to reaffirm the current international agreement surrounding the Panama Canal and to leave it in control of the nation of Panama.

Alexander Shchetinin, the director of Russia’s foreign ministry’s Latin American department, told Russian news outlet TASS that he expects Trump “will respect the current international legal regime” of the canal as laid out in two 1977 treaties between the U.S. and Panama.

The agreement relinquished American control over the canal by the year 2000 and guaranteed its neutrality.

President Donald Trump, left, and the Danish cargo ship Lars Maersk sails through the Agua Clara Locks of the Panama Canal in Colon City, Panama, on Dec. 28, 2024, right. (Jim WATSON / AFP, left, ARNULFO FRANCO / AFP, right.)

TRUMP: CARTER WAS A ‘VERY FINE’ PERSON BUT PANAMA CANAL MOVES WERE ‘A BIG MISTAKE’

Trump has railed against Panama since his sweeping election win in November, accusing the Central American country of letting China dominate the critical maritime trade route and leaving U.S. ships getting “ripped off” in the process.

During his inaugural speech on Monday, President Trump doubled down on his grievances and declared that the U.S. would be “taking it back.”

“We expect that during the expected discussions between the leadership of Panama and President Trump on issues of control over the Panama Canal, which certainly falls within the sphere of their bilateral relations, the parties will respect the current international legal regime of this key waterway,” Shchetinin said.

He said that 40 countries also joined a protocol agreement, of which Russia is one, to recognize the canal’s neutrality and to keep it “safe and open.”

“[The U.S. and Panama] must protect the canal from any threat to the neutrality regime,” Shchetinin said. “At the same time, a reservation was made that the said right of the United States to defend the Panama Canal does not mean and should not be interpreted as the right to interfere in the internal affairs of Panama, and any actions by the American side will never be directed against the territorial integrity or political independence of Panama.”

Trump gives his second presidential inaugural address on Jan. 20, 2024.

TRUMP OUTLINES PLANS ON BORDER, PANAMA CANAL, NATIONAL DEFENSE

Trump has been critical of the agreement and said previously it was a “big mistake” on Carter’s part.

“The United States… spent more money than was ever spent on a project before and lost 38,000 lives in the building of the Panama Canal,” Trump said at his inaugural address on Monday.

“We have been treated very badly from this foolish gift that should never have been made. And Panama’s promise to us has been broken. The purpose of our deal and the spirit of our treaty has been totally violated.”

“American ships are being severely overcharged and not treated fairly in any way, shape or form, and that includes the United States Navy. And above all, China is operating the Panama Canal. And we didn’t give it to China, we gave it to Panama, and we’re taking it back.”

The canal’s administrator, Ricaurte Vásquez, said this month that China is not in control of the canal and that all nations are treated equally under a neutrality treaty.

The 51-mile maritime trade route uses a series of locks and reservoirs to cut through the middle of Panama and connect the Atlantic and Pacific. The United States built the canal in the early 1900s as it looked for ways to facilitate the transit of commercial and military vessels between its coasts.

The canal spares ships having to sail around Cape Horn at South America’s southern tip, saving it a roughly 7,000-mile journey.

The Marshall Islands cargo ship Cape Hellas, left, and the Portuguese cargo ship MSC Elma sail on Gatun Lake near the Agua Clara Locks of the Panama Canal in Colon City, Panama, on Dec. 28, 2024. (ARNULFO FRANCO/AFP via Getty Images)

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Panama President José Raúl Mulino issued a statement rejecting Trump’s comments and said, “The Canal is and will continue to be Panama’s and its administration will continue to be under Panamanian control with respect to its permanent neutrality.”

“There is no presence of any nation in the world that interferes with our administration,” he added, taking issue with Trump’s suggestion that the U.S. “gave” the canal to Panama.

“Dialogue is always the way to clarify the points mentioned without undermining our right, total sovereignty and ownership of our Canal,” Mulino said.

Fox News’ Caitlin McFall and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Michael Dorgan is a writer for Fox News Digital and Fox Business.

You can send tips to [email protected] and follow him on Twitter @M_Dorgan.

January 23, 2025