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Trump demands Senate parliamentarian’s ouster for axing ballroom security funding

2026-05-20 1:22pm EDT / Fox News

Elizabeth MacDonough ruled against $1B in funding that included security enhancements for Trump’s colossal ballroom

By Alex Miller Fox News

Published May 20, 2026 1:22pm EDT

https://www.foxnews.com/video/6391891979112

Trump urges Senate Republicans to stop filibuster

Fox News senior White House correspondent Jacqui Heinrich has the latest on the DHS funding debate on ‘Special Report.’

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President Donald Trump wants Senate Republicans to boot the upper chamber’s rules referee after security funding for his ballroom was nixed.

Trump pointed his fury on Wednesday at Senate Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough, who holds a nonpartisan role that dictates what can and cannot make it through the budget reconciliation process.

Republicans are currently trying to ram through a $72 billion immigration enforcement funding package, but MacDonough over the weekend stripped out one of Trump’s major requests for $1 billion to, in part, pay for security enhancements to his colossal White House ballroom project.

DEMS SCORE WIN AS GOP SENATOR HELPS ADVANCE IRAN WAR POWERS RESOLUTION

President Donald Trump walks to speak with reporters before boarding Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington on May 8, 2026.(Jose Luis Magana/AP Photo)

“Shockingly, Republicans have kept the very important position of ‘Parliamentarian’ in the hands of a woman, Elizabeth MacDonough, who was appointed, long ago, by Barack Hussein Obama and a vicious Lunatic known as Senator Harry Reid, who ran the Senate for the Dumocrats with an ‘iron fist,’” Trump said on Truth Social.

“Over the years, she has been brutal to Republicans, but not so to the Dumocrats — So why has she not been replaced? There are many fair people who would be qualified for that vital job,” he continued.

But it’s not a move Republicans are keen to make, especially in retaliation for the ballroom security funding getting stripped out. Trump earlier this week privately pushed Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., to axe MacDonough.

Thune said he wasn’t having any discussions on firing MacDonough, but noted that tempers flare against the parliamentarian “every time there’s a reconciliation.”

SENATE REPUBLICAN THREATENS TO DERAIL ICE, BORDER PATROL PACKAGE OVER TRUMP’S BILLION-DOLLAR REQUEST

https://www.foxnews.com/video/6392626968112
“There are always people that are unhappy with some decisions that come down, and it’s kind of the nature of the beast. So, you know, we will work through the process and do our best to get the things that we want, you know, on the floor, later this week,” Thune said.

Still, Republicans are continuing to haggle over whether to include the security funding at all. Much of the money, about $600 million, would go to the Secret Service, while $220 million was intended to bolster security on the East Wing Modernization project.

Senate Judiciary Chair Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, whose portion of the package contained the controversial funding, noted that the parliamentarian hasn’t just ruled against Republicans during reconciliation.

“I think the best answer to that is that the parliamentarian has demonstrated in the Biden administration with their recommendations, reconciliations that they didn’t get everything they wanted,” Grassley said.

Like Thune, other Republicans recognized that reconciliation is difficult, but not worth firing MacDonough over.

GOP SENATOR CALLS FOR PARLIAMENTARIAN’S FIRING AFTER SERVING MEDICAID BLOW TO TRUMP’S ‘BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL’

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., spoke with reporters as he headed to the Senate chamber at the U.S. Capitol on March 12, 2026, in Washington, D.C.(Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

“For what,” Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., said when asked if MacDonough should go. “Does she have a DWI or something?”

It’s also not the first time that Republicans have called for MacDonough to be fired. Last year, after MacDonough stripped out provisions that would have caused steep cuts to Medicaid spending, a handful in the GOP demanded that she be replaced.

Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., told Fox News Digital at the time that there was already a precedent in place to do it.

“In 2001, Majority Leader Trent Lott fired the Senate parliamentarian during reconciliation,” Marshall said.

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Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., told Fox News Digital that the true root cause of the issue was the 60-vote filibuster threshold.

Republicans took the reconciliation route because they couldn’t muster enough votes from Senate Democrats to smash through the threshold and fund the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) without making steep concessions on immigration enforcement funding.

“We’re as likely to end the filibuster as we are to get rid of the parliamentarian, so you might as well put pressure on Republicans to address the root cause, which is the 60-vote threshold,” Johnson said.

Alex Miller is a writer for Fox News Digital covering the U.S. Senate.

Trump jolts immigration hawks with surprising defense of Chinese students in USA

May 20, 2026 2:41pm EDT / Fox News

Greene questioned why American students receive rejection letters while 500,000 Chinese students get accepted

By Charles Creitz, Fox News

President Donald Trump joins ‘Hannity’ to unpack his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

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President Donald Trump split with immigration hawks by defending Chinese students in the U.S. while also softening on Chinese-owned farmland — creating friction inside MAGA and unexpected overlap with moderate Democrats.

Fox News’ Sean Hannity asked Trump in a recent interview from Beijing about concerns surrounding Chinese nationals attending school in the U.S. and China-linked entities purchasing farmland, including in sensitive areas like near a North Dakota military base that raised eyebrows earlier this decade.

Republicans have long warned that Chinese student visa programs could expose U.S. research and state secrets to the Chinese Communist Party, while GOP officials like Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Nebraska Sen. Deb Fischer have pushed for tougher restrictions on Chinese ownership of American farmland.

“It’s not that I love it. You want to see farm prices drop; you want to see farmers lose a lot of money just take that out of the market. But they’ve had a lot of land for a long time. Obama did nothing about it,” Trump said.

SENATORS RICKETTS, FETTERMAN UNITE AGAINST CHINA’S QUIET INVASION OF US FARMLAND

President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping listened to each other on Taiwan, but Trump stressed he did not give in to Xi’s claims of control over Taiwan, declining to assure Xi the U.S. would not defend Taiwan against a Chinese invasion.(Brendan Smialowski – Pool/Getty Images)

Trump also defended allowing Chinese students to study in the U.S., calling them “good students” and arguing that banning them would unnecessarily inflame tensions with Beijing.

“I frankly think that it’s good that people come from other countries and they learn our culture and many of them want to stay here,” Trump said, while admitting that it “doesn’t sound like a very conservative position – and I’m a conservative… commonsense guy. I think MAGA is ‘common sense,’” he said.

The comments triggered backlash from the right wing of the MAGA movement, with former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene disputing, “No — that’s not commonsense.”

“Trump says it’s insulting to tell China their students can’t go to our universities, imagine being an American student and receiving a rejection letter while 500,000 Chinese students get in,” Greene said, according to the left-wing New Republic. “And no – it’s not OK for China to buy our farmland.”

Some Democrats, however, appeared heartened by Trump’s more moderate stance on a major sticking point in the immigration field.

Fox News Digital reached out to top Democrats on the moderate New Democrat Coalition’s Border Security Working Group.

Chairman Gabe Vasquez of New Mexico told Fox News Digital that while he disagrees with Trump “on a lot” regarding immigration enforcement, he will continue to support efforts to bring new blood into the American economy.

“I have long supported building America’s workforce by encouraging the best and brightest across the world to come study in the U.S. and build their careers and families here,” said Vasquez.

“Congress should expand more legal pathways for students to stay here and start businesses, grow the American economy, and help our country fill critical needs in key industries like healthcare, manufacturing, quantum AI and engineering.”

A Vasquez spokesperson added that the lawmaker, however, agrees with conservatives on one point where Trump differed — that Chinese nationals should not be permitted to purchase U.S. farmland.

“Food security is national security,” the spokesperson said.

Speaking to Hannity, Trump added: “I could tell [Xi], I don’t want any students, it’s a very insulting thing to say to a country. They would then immediately go out and start building universities all over China.”

Trump argued that without the influx of Chinese students, middling and lower-tier universities would begin dying on the vine financially.

Lora Ries, former counsel for the House Judiciary Committee’s immigration subcommittee and a 30-year policy expert now with the Heritage Foundation, told Fox News Digital that universities have grown too dependent on foreign students because they often pay “full freight” — and made the case for scrutinizing the education system rather than keeping it propped up with foreign tuition.

TRUMP CLAIMS GOP ‘VERY OPEN’ TO KEEPING ‘DREAMERS’ IN US, TAKES SHOT AT ‘VERY DIFFICULT’ DEMS

https://www.foxnews.com/video/6395871758112

“It is no longer a level playing field for American students to get into these universities. We also know many of these universities are producing degrees that don’t have a great return on investment: gender studies, et cetera. So why on earth do we want to keep universities that depend on those sorts of degrees afloat?” Ries said.

“We shouldn’t justify continuing to bring in high levels of foreign students to keep so many universities in business when the Big-Ed model is absolutely upside-down.”

According to Ries, Chinese and other foreign student blocs exacerbate the difficulty American students face getting into colleges — while native students are also not finding meaningful jobs after graduation.

Ries said the issue is “right up Trump’s alley,” but not in the way the president posited on “Hannity.” She said Trump could shake up “Big-Ed” by incentivizing quality degrees and disincentivizing ones that leave American graduates occupationally stranded.

FOREIGN STUDENTS WHO HATE AMERICA DON’T DESERVE VISAS — AND WE HAVE TOOLS TO STOP THEM

https://www.foxnews.com/video/6395746156112

When it comes to the adage about jobs Americans supposedly won’t do, she pointed to the medical field, which has seen an influx of foreign students.

“You can’t say medicine is a job that Americans won’t do, so what’s going on?” she said.

She also noted that Chinese nationals cannot come to live in America without the knowledge of — and often information-sharing with — the CCP, which itself poses a risk.

“Also, Chairman Xi can say, ‘Well, America is in decline,’ as he just did in this summit.”

When asked for comment, a White House spokesperson directed Fox News Digital to the president’s remarks to Hannity.

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Trump’s comments set up a new potential divergence between presidential policy and conservative politics among some of his current and former most ardent supporters, including Greene.

It also, however, potentially opens up a rare immigration dialogue with Democrats like Vasquez and his coalition of moderates, who have been trying to advance their own fixes to the broken system.

Charles Creitz is a reporter for Fox News Digital.

He joined Fox News in 2013 as a writer and production assistant.

Charles covers media, politics and culture for Fox News Digital.

Charles is a Pennsylvania native and graduated from Temple University with a B.A. in Broadcast Journalism. Story tips can be sent to charles.creitz@fox.com.

US Health Secretary Kennedy fires heads of key preventive health panel

2026-05-20 16:53:38 GMT / Reuters

By Deena Beasley

May 20, 2026 4:53 PM UTC Updated 38 mins ago

U.S. Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. during a press conference at the Department of Health and Human Services in Washington, D.C., U.S., April 16, 2025. REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab

Summary

• Panel firings confirmed by HHS, replacements sought through May 23
• Dr. Wong says he and Dr. Davis have reapplied to join the panel
• Medical experts warn delays in screening guideline updates due to panel’s sidelining

May 20 (Reuters) – U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. fired the chair and vice chair of the influential task force that decides what preventive medical care should be provided at no cost to patients, according to letters sent earlier this month and seen by Reuters on Wednesday.

The Preventive Services Task Force, which typically has 16 members, last met over a year ago after Kennedy canceled its regularly scheduled meetings. New members have not been named to replace the five volunteers whose terms expired in December.

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Panel chair Dr. John Wong, professor of medicine at Tufts University School of Medicine, and vice chair Dr. Esa Davis, professor at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, were removed from the panel, according to the letters dated May 11.

An official for the Department of Health and Human Services, run by Kennedy, confirmed the firings. Wong’s term was due to end in March 2027, while Davis’ was set to conclude in March 2028.

Kennedy’s letters say the terminations were “administrative in nature” and applications for a seat on the volunteer panel are open through May 23.

Wong said in an email that both he and Davis had reapplied to be members of the task force “with trepidation around the validity of the process.” Davis did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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HHS said last month it was seeking clinicians and researchers to be nominated to the task force “including but not limited to” specialties such as cardiology, oncology, obstetrics/gynecology, pediatrics, family medicine and health economics.

HHS did not respond to a request for comment on Wednesday on whether the eight remaining panel members would be dismissed.

Medical experts say Kennedy’s sidelining of the panel has delayed updates to screening guidelines for cancer, heart disease and other conditions.

In the correspondence, Kennedy says HHS aims to implement “standard operating procedures” at the task force and protect its long-term credibility.

Though traditionally made up of an independent group of volunteer experts, members are selected by the health secretary without Senate confirmation, and it relies on support from the department’s Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

Kennedy’s authority over the panel was affirmed by a Supreme Court decision last June that maintained preventive care coverage requirements and made clear that the Secretary can review the task force’s recommendations.

A group of 104 health organizations, including the influential American Medical Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics, last July sent a letter to Congressional health committees, urging them “to protect the integrity” of the task force.

The preventive care panel has been criticized by some conservatives as too left-leaning.

Reporting by Deena Beasley; Editing by Caroline Humer and Bill Berkrot

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

‘The president has the strongest endorsement in the history of politics.’ Speaker Johnson on Trump incumbent primary takedown

2026-05-20T19:02:40.568Z / CNN

‘The president has the strongest endorsement in the history of politics.’ Speaker Johnson on Trump incumbent primary takedown

By Dana Bash, CNN

Published 3:02 PM EDT, Wed May 20, 2026

https://www.cnn.com/2026/05/20/politics/video/inside-politics-panel-trump-primary-speaker-johnson

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‘The president has the strongest endorsement in the history of politics.’ Speaker Johnson on Trump incumbent primary takedown

Inside Politics

The Inside Politics panel breaks down the latest in President Trump’s revenge tour. After President Trump knocked off Kentucky Republican Thomas Massie in Tuesday’s primary, Speaker Mike Johnson acknowledged that Trump’s endorsement was powerful, but defended his party against allegations of a rigid loyalty test. “We don’t demand loyalty to the president. What I demand as Speaker of the House is loyalty to our core principles–the principles of our party which are the principles of America.”

4:51 • Source: CNN

Jeff Bezos says bottom half of U.S. earners should pay no federal income tax

May 20, 2026 1:23 PM EDT / CBS News

By Megan Cerullo Reporter, MoneyWatch
Megan Cerullo is a New York-based reporter for CBS MoneyWatch covering small business, workplace, health care, consumer spending and personal finance topics. She regularly appears on CBS News 24/7 to discuss her reporting.

Read Full Bio

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos told CNBC on Wednesday that the bottom half of U.S. earners should pay no federal income tax, arguing that eliminating those taxes could ease financial strain and encourage entrepreneurship.

The bottom half of U.S. taxpayers currently pays about 3% of federal income taxes, a share Bezos said should fall to “zero.” Bezos, who stepped back as Amazon’s CEO in 2021, is the world’s fourth-richest person, with a fortune valued at $279 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

The top 1% of households pay about 40% of federal income taxes, according to the Tax Foundation, a nonpartisan tax policy institute.

Bezos’ comments come amid renewed pushes from some Democratic state and federal lawmakers to institute new wealth taxes aimed at millionaires and billionaires. At the same time, the Republicans’ “big, beautiful” tax and spending bill included tax breaks that critics say predominantly help the wealthiest households.

The government can give “people who are struggling today” a better chance at entrepreneurial success “by eliminating their tax bill,” Bezos said.

“Maybe they’re going to be the next Steve Jobs,” Bezos said, referring to the late co-founder of Apple.

Zero taxes, not lower taxes

Bezos made it clear that he’s not calling for a reduction in income tax for lower-income families.

“I don’t want to reduce it, I want to eliminate it,” he told CNBC’s Andrew Ross Sorkin. “I think there’s something very powerful about zero. Zero is a better number than $1.”

Bezos stated his views as some Democratic states are proposing taxes on ultra-wealthy residents. Last month, proponents of a proposal to tax California billionaires obtained enough signatures for the measure to appear on the November ballot. The measure would impose a one-time 5% tax on Californians with net worths of $1 billion or more.

In March, U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, a Massachusetts Democrat, introduced the Ultra-Millionaire Tax Act of 2026. The bill calls for an annual 2% tax on households and trusts worth more than $50 million, plus an extra 1% tax on billionaires’ wealth. It also proposes a 40% “exit tax” on individuals worth more than $50 million who renounce their American citizenship.

Additionally, Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey has proposed the Keep Your Pay Act, which would eliminate taxes on the first $75,000 for households filing joint tax returns.

Under the federal income-tax system, the bottom half of taxpayers — those making less than $53,801 annually — faced an average income-tax rate of 3.7% in 2023, Tax Foundation data shows. The top 1% paid an average rate of 26.3%.

Edited by Aimee Picchi

Senate plots permanent end to government shutdowns with bipartisan push

May 20, 2026 1:00pm EDT / Fox News

Sens. Lankford and Hassan plan to fast-track the Prevent Government Shutdowns Act after Kennedy’s pay rule change

By Alex Miller, Fox News

https://www.foxnews.com/video/6383758955112

Sen. Lankford proposes bill to avoid government shutdowns

Fox News senior congressional correspondent Chad Pergram and Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., join ‘The Faulkner Focus’ to discuss the failed vote to pay federal workers amid the government shutdown as they enter their first week without pay.

NEW You can now listen to Fox News articles!

FIRST ON FOX:The Senate is taking another step to prevent government shutdowns, this time to stop them from happening altogether.

It’s a move that comes after Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., successfully changed the Senate rules to prevent lawmakers in the upper chamber from being paid during shutdowns — a play designed to ensure that senators feel the same pain as federal workers during future closures.

But Sens. James Lankford, R-Okla., and Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., are taking things a step further to outright prevent government shutdowns from ever happening again.

SENATE TAKES MAJOR FIRST STEP TO PREVENT FUTURE SHUTDOWNS WITH PAINFUL ACCOUNTABILITY PLAY

Sen. James Lankford walks through the Capitol in Washington, D.C., on March 23, 2026.(Heather Diehl/Getty Images)

Lankford has long been pushing his Prevent Government Shutdowns Act, and was nearly successful in passing it years ago. Now, with momentum still fresh from Kennedy’s rule change, he plans to reintroduce the legislation and fast-track it to a floor vote.

Lankford contended in a statement to Fox News Digital that Americans had grown wary of “worthless government shutdown drama and Congress using federal workers and government services as pawns in political standoffs.”

“The Prevent Government Shutdowns Act ends government shutdowns forever with a simple idea: if Congress doesn’t do its job, Congress doesn’t get to go home,” he said. “We shift the pressure off the American people and onto the people they elected. We came within three votes of passing this before, and it is time to finish the job.”

SENATORS AGREE TO GO WITHOUT PAY DURING SHUTDOWNS AFTER HISTORIC CLOSURES LEFT WORKERS UNPAID

https://www.foxnews.com/video/6391469122112

Sen. Kennedy stunned as Democrat blocks bill to withhold congressional pay during DHS shutdown

In the event of another shutdown, the legislation would automatically trigger a short-term funding extension to keep the government open for 14 days at a time. It would also install strict limits on lawmakers and their staff by preventing them from embarking on taxpayer-funded travel outside of Washington, D.C.

It would also nix congressional delegations overseas and prevent lawmakers from taking a recess, a key point of criticism against both chambers during the 43-day and 76-day government shutdowns that happened during this Congress.

Given the unanimous support for Kennedy’s rule change, there’s optimism that Lankford and Hassan’s bill will have the same result.

REPUBLICANS EYE ENDING GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWNS FOREVER OVER FEARS DEMS WILL DO IT AGAIN

Sen. Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Nov. 10, 2025.(Aaron Schwartz/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Hassan said in a statement to Fox News Digital that the bill “incentivizes Congress to fund the government on time and ensures that there is a plan in place to protect families and our economy if Congress cannot come to an agreement.”

“Government shutdowns are costly, avoidable, and make people in New Hampshire and across the country pay the price for the failures of Congress,” Hassan said.

Lankford’s last attempt to advance the legislation in 2023 narrowly failed, with nearly every Senate Democrat voting against it while nearly every Senate Republican — save for Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky. — supported it.

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Lawmakers are still dealing with the ripple effects of the latest shutdown, which saw the Department of Homeland Security and its tens of thousands of federal workers go without pay for months.

Republicans are deep into the budget reconciliation process to finish funding immigration operations at the agency and are expected to advance the package from the Senate by week’s end.

Alex Miller is a writer for Fox News Digital covering the U.S. Senate.

U.K. spy plane “dangerously intercepted” by Russian military jets over Black Sea, defense ministry says

2026-05-20T13:19:00-0400 / CBS News

Two Russian jets “repeatedly and dangerously” intercepted a British surveillance aircraft over the Black Sea last month, the defense ministry said in a statement on Wednesday.

“This incident is another example of dangerous and unacceptable behaviour by Russian pilots, towards an unarmed aircraft operating in international airspace. These actions create a serious risk of accidents and potential escalation,” Defense Minister John Healey said in the communique.

The incident comes as relations between the two countries remain at a historic low over the Ukraine war and longstanding spying allegations.

The Russian Su-35 and Su-27 jets intercepted the Royal Air Force (RAF) Rivet Joint aircraft last month with the Su-27 at one point flying as close as six meters (19 feet) to the British plane’s nose, the statement added, along with a 12-second video of the alleged incident.

The surveillance aircraft was taking part in a routine flight in international airspace as part of the U.K.’s work alongside allies to secure NATO’s Eastern Flank.

Two Russian jets “repeatedly and dangerously” intercepted a British surveillance aircraft over the Black Sea last month, the defense ministry said in a statement on May 20, 2026. U.K. Defense Ministry

Officials said the encounter was the most serious involving a U.K. Rivet Joint since 2022. In that case, a Russian aircraft fired a missile near a British plane over the same region.

In the new incident, “one Russian Su-35 aircraft flew close enough to trigger emergency systems on the Rivet Joint, including disabling the autopilot system,” the ministry said.

“In another dangerous intercept, a Russian Su-27 aircraft conducted six passes in front of the British aircraft,” it added.

“Serious consequences”

Healey said the incident would not “deter the UK’s commitment to defend NATO, our allies and our interests from Russian aggression.”

The intercepts came days after Healey announced that the Royal Navy had tracked and “seen off” three Russian submarines on an alleged month-long “covert operation” in Atlantic waters “north of the U.K.” near vital undersea cables and pipelines.

Healey made details of the monitoring operation public on April 9.

He warned Russian President Vladimir Putin that any attempt to damage U.K. cables and pipelines would have “serious consequences.”

The U.K. monitoring mission involved around 500 personnel and saw U.K. aircraft fly more than 450 hours while a navy frigate covered several thousand nautical miles.

A defense review last year concluded that Russia poses an “immediate and pressing” threat to the nation.

The British government under successive prime ministers has been a staunch supporter of Ukraine following Moscow’s February 2022 invasion.

Defense and foreign ministry officials this week formally complained to the Russian embassy about the air incident, the statement added.

The interception marks the latest military incident between the two countries.

In December 2025, the British navy said it tracked a Russian submarine navigating through the English Channel for three days. That same month, the U.K. and Norway signed a cooperation agreement to jointly operate a fleet of frigates to”hunt down” submarinesin the North Atlantic.

The British navy said it tracked a Russian submarine navigating through the English Channel for three days. Royal Navy

In November 2025, Healey said aRussian spy ship pointed lasers at Royal Air Force pilotstracking its activity near U.K. waters. Britain said the ship was being used for gathering intelligence and mapping undersea cables.

In November 2024, British jets were scrambled to monitor a Russian reconnaissance aircraft flying close to U.K. airspace, just days afterNATO jets were mobilizedwhen Russian aircraft were spotted over the Baltic Sea and off the coast of Norway.

‘A slap in the face:’ Fmr Capitol Police officer suing to stop Trump’s ‘anti-weaponization’ fund

2026-05-20 2:54 PM EDT / CNN

By Margaret Given, CNN

Published 2:54 PM EDT, Wed May 20, 2026

https://www.cnn.com/2026/05/20/politics/video/cncpm-harry-dunn-suing-anti-weaponization-fund

‘A slap in the face:’ Fmr Capitol Police officer suing to stop Trump’s ‘anti-weaponization’ fund

CNN’s Brianna Keilar speaks with Harry Dunn, a former member of the US Capitol Police who protected the Capitol on January 6, 2021. He is part of a lawsuit suing the Trump administration to block the implementation of a newly created $1.8 billion fund for allies of President Donald Trump who say they were unfairly investigated by previous administration.

5:44 • Source: CNN

Omar breaks silence on alleged fraud connections in statement pointing to Trump admin: ‘Flat-out false’

2026-05-20 13:04:55-04:00 / Fox News

Minnesota congresswoman says ‘any claim that I had knowledge of this scheme is flat-out false,’ in new statement

By Andrew Mark Miller , Kiera McDonald Fox News

Published May 20, 2026 1:04pm EDT | Updated May 20, 2026 1:12pm EDT

https://www.foxnews.com/video/6396054512112

Ilhan Omar under new investigation over finances

Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., faces a new investigation by the House Ethics Committee into her finances, stemming from a controversial change in her financial disclosures. The revision drastically cut her family’s reported wealth from up to $30 million to less than $100,000. Minnesota State Representative Kristin Robbins demands answers from Omar, whose sponsored MEALS Act was also implicated in a $250 million fraud.

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FIRST ON FOX:Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., is speaking out over mounting questions from critics about her possible connection to the massive Feeding Our Future fraud scandal in Minnesota and suggested the Trump administration bears responsibility.

“Any claim that I had knowledge of this scheme is flat-out false,” the Minnesota congresswoman said in a written statement to Fox News Digital on Wednesday.

“The MEALS Act was signed into law by President Trump and passed with bipartisan support as part of a broader legislative package. Trump’s USDA Secretary set the regulatory framework during the rollout of the program. I have always championed feeding kids and will continue to ensure our children do not go hungry.”

Omar went on to say that the “moment this fraud came to light” she “immediately sent a letter to the USDA Secretary demanding answers and accountability.”

ILHAN OMAR PRESSED TO EXPLAIN HOW FRAUD IN MINNESOTA GOT ‘SO OUT OF CONTROL’

Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., responded Wednesday to allegations tied to the Feeding Our Future scandal, calling the claims “flat-out false” and blaming President Donald Trump for signing the MEALS Act into law.(Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images; Win McNamee/Getty Images)

“As I stated from the beginning, stealing millions of dollars under the guise of feeding hungry children to bankroll lavish lifestyles and extravagant expenses is reprehensible,” Omar said. “I’m grateful that Aimee Bock and every individual involved in this abhorrent scheme are being held accountable for defrauding taxpayers and betraying vulnerable children.”

Omar’s comment comes after she faced mounting pressure to explain her knowledge of and connections to the scandal that cost taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars.

The Minnesota House Fraud Prevention and State Agency Oversight Committee invited Omar to testify about what she knew but says she never responded, which prompted an effort to subpoena information from her. That effort was blocked by Democrats on the committee.

JD VANCE SAYS DOJ LOOKING INTO IF ILHAN OMAR COMMITTED IMMIGRATION FRAUD AMID BROTHER-MARRIAGE ALLEGATIONS

Rep. Ilhan Omar speaks at Karmel Mall in Minneapolis, Minn., on Jan. 28, 2026.(Eric Thayer / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

Just last week, the committee released its final report that accused Gov. Tim Walz’s administration of fostering a “culture of tolerance” that allowed fraudsters to steal billions in taxpayer dollars overall.

The report offered a strong critique of Omar, asserting that her MEALS Act, implemented into the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, “took the guardrails off” federal nutrition programs by allowing for-profit restaurants to participate and permitting “grab-and-go” flexibilities that made it nearly impossible to verify if children were actually being fed by the Feeding Our Future program.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

https://www.foxnews.com/video/6396070529112

The committee’s Republican chair, state Rep. Kristin Robbins, has suggested that Congress should take action to enforce the subpoena and get more answers about questions related to Omar’s alleged association with convicted fraudsters, her public promotion of a Minneapolis restaurant that later became linked to the program, along with communication and meeting records with the Minnesota Department of Education and constituents.

“She only sent a letter once the fraud was exposed,” Robbins told Fox News Digital in response to Omar’s statement.

“Prior to that, she sent letters urging the administration to keep the waivers in place — allowing the fraud to continue. Sounds like revisionist history. I don’t buy it at all.”

Earlier this month, Fox News Digital reported that a former Omar staffer sent an email to the committee also pointing to Trump’s USDA during his first term and downplaying the potential negative impact of Omar’s MEALS Act legislation.

Fox News Digital reached out to the White House and USDA for comment.

Andrew Mark Miller is a reporter at Fox News. Find him on Twitter @andymarkmiller and email tips to AndrewMark.Miller@Fox.com.

US Democrats push to rein in Trump on Cuba as White House steps up pressure

2026-05-20T17:35:12.711Z / Reuters

U.S. Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA) speaks during a U.S. Senate Democratic leaders’ press conference following their weekly policy lunch, on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., U.S., February 10, 2026. REUTERS/Annabelle Gordon/File Photo

Summary

Backers cite Trump’s threats, reports of military planning

• Senators argue that Cuba poses no significant threat to US
• More Republicans concerned about Trump’s many military campaigns

WASHINGTON, May 20 (Reuters) – A group of Democratic U.S. senators introduced a resolution to stop President Donald Trump from using the military against Cuba on Wednesday, as his administration escalated pressure on the island’s government by indicting former President Raul Castro.

Democrats Tim Kaine of Virginia, Adam Schiff of California and Ruben Gallego of Arizona introduced a War Powers Resolution to block the use of the U.S. armed forces against the Communist-ruled island.

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They cited the Republican president’s repeated threats to send in the troops to change the government in Havana and reports that the U.S. Southern Command has been ordered to draw up attack plans, even though Cuba does not pose a significant national security threat to the U.S.

“The U.S. military is the best in the world, but our servicemembers shouldn’t be sent into harm’s way when there’s no clear benefit to the United States,” said Kaine, a leader of efforts in Congress to enforce the Constitution’s provision that the legislature, not the president, has the power to declare war.

In a rare rebuke to Trump, the Republican-majority Senate voted on Tuesday to advance a resolution to end the Iran war unless the administration obtains Congress’ authorization. It was the eighth time this year such a resolution was introduced in the Senate.

Although members of Congress, including some Republicans, are concerned about Trump’s multiple deployments of U.S. forces, it was not immediately clear how a Cuba war powers resolution would fare in a chamber where Trump’s fellow Republicans hold a 53-47 majority.

Last month, the Senate voted by 51 to 47, almost entirely along party lines, to block a similar Cuba war powers resolution. At the time, Republicans argued that there were no active U.S. hostilities against Cuba, so the resolution was unnecessary.

Trump has increased pressure on Cuba by imposing a fuel blockade that has triggered sustained power outages and dealt fresh blows to the island’s already struggling economy.

“The last thing that our country needs right now is a regime change war in Cuba based on imaginary threats to the homeland that would devastate the Cuban people and generate a man-made migration crisis,” Kaine said in a statement.

Reporting by Patricia Zengerle;Editing by Sanjeev Miglani