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Kristi Noem’s firing fails to sway Democrats as DHS shutdown drags on

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries calls fired DHS secretary a ‘corrupt lackey’ as shutdown heads for fourth week

By Elizabeth Elkind, Alex Miller
Fox News

Published March 6, 2026 3:00pm EST

Democrats may be celebrating Kristi Noem’s ouster from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), but they are still digging their heels in against ending the agency’s weekslong shutdown.

“It’s not like Kristi Noem was the one who was involved in negotiating anything. She was a corrupt lackey. So, we were dealing with the White House before, and we’re going to continue to deal with the White House at this point,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., told reporters during a news conference Thursday.

That point has since been echoed by several other Democratic lawmakers despite Noem’s firing apparently being one of their key demands in exchange for allowing DHS to be fully funded through the remainder of this fiscal year.

Congressional Democrats aren’t budging from their shutdown position despite DHS Secretary Kristi Noem getting fired.(Graeme Sloan/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Congressional Democrats have maintained a unified blockade of funding for the agency in pursuit of stringent reforms to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Democrats and the White House have been negotiating, but neither side has agreed to compromise terms.

And the shutdown is now guaranteed to drag on for another month, given that the House will be out for a week and the Senate is unable to advance any DHS funding legislation.

“I’m waiting for them to give us an offer, make us an offering as to what it is that you want us to vote on,” Rep. Lou Correa, D-Calif., said. “I want to see what the guardrails are before I vote on this funding. … I don’t want us to have masked individuals in my community. I want to see body cameras. I want you to identify yourself when you’re making an arrest.”

Many Democrats aren’t sure that Noem’s chosen replacement, Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., would be the answer to the changes they want.

HOUSE DEMOCRATS VOTE TO CONTINUE DHS SHUTDOWN DESPITE IRAN THREAT, NOEM’S OUSTER

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., right, plans to block Mullin’s confirmation in a bid to extract Democrats’ long-sought reforms to ICE.(Win McNamee/Getty Images)

Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., suggested to Fox News Digital that he was skeptical that any replacement for Noem would be more effective in the discussions given they still have to answer to Trump and his policies.

And Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., plans to block Mullin’s confirmation in a bid to extract Democrats’ long-sought reforms to ICE.

“The rot runs deep,” Schumer said. “If the president wants accountability, he must do more than fire one official — he must end the violence and rein in ICE.”

Republican leaders in the House and Senate both tried again to advance a DHS funding bill that was released as part of wider bipartisan government funding discussions earlier this year.

The bill passed the House with all but four Democrats voting “no,” even hours after Noem’s ouster.

In the Senate, news of Noem’s firing erupted as another push by Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., to pass a full-year funding bill began. Like their colleagues in the House, Senate Democrats were unfazed by the change and once more blocked the legislation.

SCHUMER, DEMS HOLD FIRM ON DHS FUNDING DESPITE NOEM’S BOMBSHELL OUSTING

Congressional Democrats aren’t completely swayed by the change in leadership at DHS after Kristi Noem was fired in favor of Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla.(Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images)

When asked if he believed removing Noem from the equation would make a difference, Thune said, “It should.”

“[The Democrats] have been complaining about that forever,” Thune said. “And, so, this, to me, is a huge development, I would think, in the funding conversation, and hopefully they’ll get more earnest about coming to the table and trying to get a deal. I mean, we should find out soon enough.”

For now, Senate Democrats appear firmly entrenched in their position, even with their colleague Mullin taking the helm of the agency.

“No, I don’t think it makes any difference,” Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., told Fox News Digital. “They have got to put in the reforms that we need.”

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Mullin, who has staunchly opposed the stringent reforms Democrats seek for the agency, said he would meet with Schumer in a bid to earn his and every Senate Democrat’s vote during his forthcoming confirmation process.

“I’m not going to get into, you know, a tit-for-tat, but if they have real concerns, I’m going to listen to it. I’m going to see if it’s practical,” Mullin said. “But nothing’s going to prevent me from doing my job. I’m going to enforce the policies and the laws that Congress has passed, and we’re going to protect our homeland.”

But not all Democrats were pessimistic.

Asked by Fox News Digital whether Noem’s firing would help advance DHS funding talks, Rep. Jared Moskowitz, D-Fla., said, “I think it allows us to reopen the negotiations.”

Related Article

Kristi Noem ousted from Homeland Security post amid recent turmoil

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 elizabeth.elkind@fox.com

Hegseth on reports Russia aided Iran: “Anything that shouldn’t be happening” will be “confronted strongly”

Updated on: March 6, 2026 / 6:00 PM EST / CBS News

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said that President Trump is “well aware of who’s talking to who” amid reports that Russia is providing intelligence to Iran on U.S. movements in the region.

Hegseth told Major Garrett in an interview airing Sunday on “60 Minutes” that the U.S. is “tracking everything” and factoring it into battle plans. “The American people can rest assured their commander-in-chief is well aware of who’s talking to who,” he said. “And anything that shouldn’t be happening, whether it’s in public or back-channeled, is being confronted and confronted strongly.”

Earlier Friday, multiple sources, including a senior U.S. official, told CBS News that Russia is providing intelligence to Iran regarding U.S. positions in the Middle East during the ongoing joint U.S. and Israeli military operations in Iran. It was the first known indication that Russia is aiding Iran.

Asked if the American people can expect conversations with the Russians to stop their involvement in the conflict, Hegseth said Mr. Trump “has a unique relationship with a lot of world leaders where he can get things done that other presidents, certainly Joe Biden, never could have.” He added that “through direct conversations or indirect, through him one-to-one or through his Cabinet, messages definitely can be delivered.”

When asked whether Russia’s involvement puts U.S. personnel in danger, Hegseth said: “We’re putting the other guys in danger, and that’s our job. So we’re not concerned about that. … But the only ones that need to be worried right now are Iranians that think they’re gonna live.”

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, when asked during an appearance on Fox News about Russia providing intelligence to Iran on U.S. assets, said she could not comment on “intelligence reports that are leaked to the press.” The intelligence aid from Russia was first reported by The Washington Post.

“Whether or not this happened, frankly, it doesn’t really matter, because President Trump and the United States military are absolutely decimating the rogue Iranian terrorist regime,” she said.

Later, Leavitt clarified to reporters that she meant Russia sharing intelligence on U.S. assets with Iran “doesn’t matter” because “it clearly is not making a difference with respect to the military operations in Iran, because we are completely decimating them.”

Watch more of Major Garrett’s interview with Hegseth Sunday on “60 Minutes.”

Trump’s dilemma in Texas

Published Time: 2026-03-06T20:19:34.321Z / Source: https://www.cnn.com/2026/03/06/politics/texas-senate-runoff-trump-endorsement

Analysis by

Aaron Blake

3 hr ago

PUBLISHED Mar 6, 2026, 3:19 PM ET

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Sen. John Cornyn, President Donald Trump and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.

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It’s been two days since President Donald Trump said he would not only endorse a candidate in the Texas primary runoff between Sen. John Cornyn and state Attorney General Ken Paxton, but that he would also try to get the other candidate to bow out.

That endorsement still hasn’t come.

Trump said on Friday that he’ll make a “decision fairly shortly,” but suggested he first wants to get some clarity on voter ID legislation he favors – and where the candidates stand on it.

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“I feel very strongly that we have to have the full and complete SAVE America Act, OK? I want the SAVE America Act. It is more important than everything else we’re working on other than the war,” Trump told CNN’s Dana Bash in a brief phone interview.

So it appears we’re in a bit of a holding pattern. Which might not be too surprising. Because even as Trump’s endorsement is often the be-all, end-all in GOP primaries, this situation is not an easy one for him.

The conventional wisdom – and the most logical outcome – would seem to be that Trump will endorse Cornyn ahead of the May 26 runoff.

It would be shocking for an incumbent president to endorse against an incumbent senator from his own party, especially given Cornyn is backed by the national party.

Cornyn also did better than many expected in Tuesday’s primaries, narrowly outpacing Paxton 42%-41%.

And finally – and perhaps most urgently – Texas Democrats on Tuesday nominated the candidate that Republicans seem to be more concerned about in the general election, in state Rep. James Talarico. Given Paxton’s baggage – which includes a since settled securities fraud investigation, an impeachment by the state House (and acquittal by the Senate), and allegations of infidelity from his wife – there is real fear that nominating him could not only jeopardize the seat if there’s a blue wave in November, but possibly help Democrats flip the Senate.

So, in theory, it would make a lot of sense for Trump to swoop in, spur Cornyn to victory, and allow the GOP to hopefully not have to worry about this seat in the fall.

But reality is a little more complicated. For one, trying to nudge aside Paxton could be demoralizing for a MAGA movement that holds him in very high regard but has little respect for Cornyn. After Trump made his announcement Wednesday, a number of prominent MAGA social media accounts sought to warn the president off a potential Cornyn endorsement.

“Cornyn hates Trump and MAGA,” MAGA influencer Mike Cernovich said. “Endorsing him will be a nail in the Trump administration’s coffin.”

Trump himself in 2023 wrote a post suggesting Cornyn was about as bad as then-Sen. Mitt Romney, a frequent critic. Trump called Cornyn “weak, ineffective, and very bad for the Republican Party” and suggested he was “always quick to surrender to the Dems.” Trump still has the loyalty of his base, but he’s done a number of things in recent months that risk jeopardizing it. A Cornyn endorsement would add to the list.

But perhaps more significantly, Paxton is – at least for now – insisting he wouldn’t abide by Trump’s wishes to bow out.

“I owe it to the people of Texas,” Paxton said Wednesday.

(Paxton did offer Thursday to drop out of the race if Senate leadership agreed to pass the Save America Act without the usual 60-vote threshold. But that’s likely a stunt; it’s very unlikely Senate Republicans would actually do that, given they don’t seem to have the votes and it would further erode the filibuster.)

If anything, Paxton’s position feels like a bluff to try and prevent Trump from endorsing Cornyn. But if Paxton were to actually stay in the race, there’s no absolute guarantee that the president’s endorsement would be dispositive.

Trump’s endorsees almost always win primaries, but there have been exceptions in the past. According to a compilation by Ballotpedia, Trump’s preferred candidates have lost nominations for:

• Senator from Utah in 2024
• Congressional seats in Colorado and South Carolina in 2024
• Five congressional seats in 2022
• Three governor’s races in 2022

Even in this week’s elections, Trump-endorsed North Carolina state Senate President Phil Berger is locked in an exceedingly close race.

These are very much the exception rather than the rule. And Trump’s endorsement likely carries even more weight now that he’s an incumbent president. But even the polling suggests it might not necessarily lock up the race for Cornyn.

A University of Houston poll from late January, for instance, showed supporters of Rep. Wesley Hunt, who finished third in the primary, were more inclined toward Paxton (48% of them) than Cornyn (35%).

The same poll also suggested voting for Cornyn could be a hurdle for some primary voters, given his favorable rating among likely voters was a relatively low 61%, with 30% disliking him. While Cornyn’s net favorable rating was plus-31, Paxton’s was plus-50 (72% favorable to 22% unfavorable).

A University of Texas poll last month, meanwhile, showed both men with similar overall approval ratings. But again, Paxton was in slightly better shape among Republicans.

And if voters don’t necessarily share the national GOP’s concerns about Paxton’s electability, who’s to say they won’t just go for the guy they like more? At that point, it would truly just be about obeying Trump’s wishes.

Trump loves the idea of playing kingmaker, and he’s proven quite good at it. But this could be a really big test of it.

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美媒：FBI监控电脑网络疑遭中国入侵

2026年3月7日 07:40 / 联合早报

知情者说，联邦调查局遭入侵电脑网络存储与美国国内监控指令相关信息。图为位于华盛顿特区胡佛大楼的联邦调查局总部。 （法新社）

《华尔街日报》星期五（3月6日）报道，美国调查人员认为，与中国政府有关联的黑客应对联邦调查局（FBI）内部电脑网络的一次入侵事件负责。

遭入侵网络存储着与美国国内监控指令相关的信息。

报道引述知情人士称，这次入侵范围和严重程度尚不清楚，调查仍处于早期阶段。

联邦调查局和中国驻华盛顿大使馆均未立即回应路透社的置评请求。

Democrats join legal challenge to Trump’s planned 250-foot arch

March 6, 2026 at 3:21 p.m. EST / The Washington Post

“This is a straightforward issue of who’s in charge,” Sen. Angus King (I-Maine) said, citing a law that certain monuments must receive Congress’s approval.

President Donald Trump holds a model of an arch during a ballroom fundraising dinner on Oct. 15 at the White House. (Demetrius Freeman/The Washington Post)

By Dan Diamond

Congressional Democrats have joined a legal challenge to President Donald Trump’s planned 250-foot triumphal arch, arguing in U.S. District Court that the project must receive congressional approval before moving forward.

U.S. attorney in Miami targeting Cuban Communist leaders with new initiative, sources say

March 6, 2026 / 5:59 PM EST / CBS News

The top federal prosecutor in Miami is spearheading a new initiative targeting Cuban leaders for prosecution, sources familiar with the plan tell CBS News.

Jason Reding Quiñones, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Florida, is working with officials from federal and local law enforcement agencies and the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, or OFAC, to establish a new Cuban prosecution working group, the sources said. OFAC is the office responsible for imposing sanctions.

The group plans to focus on prosecutions involving economic crimes, drugs, violent crimes and immigration-related violations, with a focus on targeting those in the Communist Party leadership, the sources added.

A spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office could not be immediately reached for comment. The plans for the new working group were reported earlier by the Washington Post.

President Trump has indicated he’s been eyeing Cuba’s leaders, after the U.S. ousted Venezuelan President Nicolàs Maduro and brought him to the United States to face drug charges in January, and recently launched a joint war with Israel against Iran last week that killed Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

The president told CNN in an interview on Friday that Cuba’s communist government was likely to be toppled next.

“Cuba is gonna fall pretty soon,” Mr. Trump said, according to CNN.

Quiñones and First Assistant U.S. Attorney Yara Klukas are the same prosecutors who are separately leading an investigation into former Obama-era intelligence officials, including former CIA Director John Brennan, over an intelligence assessment that determined that Russia had tried to interfere in the 2016 presidential election to help benefit Mr. Trump.

Late last year, Quiñones’ office sent subpoenas to former government officials requesting a broad swath of records, including paper or digital documents, text messages and emails associated with the preparation of the intelligence community’s January 2017 assessment.

In recent weeks, updated subpoenas that expanded the date range for the documents were issued in the matter.

Sara Cook contributed to this report.

https://www.cbsnews.com/video/trump-slams-iran-negotiations-and-weighs-in-on-a-cuba-takeover/

美媒：卫星图像显示中东五处雷达系统遭袭 | 联合早报

发布/2026年3月7日 07:49

美媒：卫星图像显示中东五处雷达系统遭袭

3月2日拍摄的卫星图像显示，阿联酋首府迪拜遭受炮击。 （法新社）

自美国和以色列上周对伊朗发动大规模袭击以来，美国有线电视新闻网（CNN）根据卫星图像确认，中东多国已有五处部署雷达系统的地点受到伊朗方面袭击。

CNN星期五（3月6日）公布了多张卫星照片。照片显示，遭袭的雷达系统分别部署在沙特、约旦、卡塔尔以及阿拉伯联合酋长国的两处地点。

报道说，有四个遭袭地点部署了“萨德”导弹防御系统的雷达系统。这些雷达系统是美军防空系统的核心，能够探测来袭导弹和无人机并启动拦截系统将其击落。

据伊朗多家媒体6日报道，伊朗伊斯兰革命卫队发射多枚导弹和无人机，摧毁了位于阿联酋和约旦的美军“萨德”反导系统雷达，以及位于卡塔尔的美军FPS-132雷达。

Tylenol use among women dropped after Trump tied it to autism

By Sriparna Roy
March 6, 2026 5:43 PM UTC Updated 1 hour ago

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Tylenol for sale at a Walmart store in Valley Stream, New York, U.S., November 6, 2025. REUTERS/Kylie Cooper Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab

March 6 (Reuters) – Tylenol use among pregnant women fell after U.S. President Donald Trump linked autism to the over-the-counter pain relief medicine, according to an analysis of U.S. emergency room prescribing patterns published in the UK medical journal Lancet.

In September, Trump ​said pregnant women should avoid using Tylenol, the brand name for the product known as acetaminophen or ‌paracetamol owned by Kenvue (KVUE.N), opens new tab. Health officials cited research claiming prenatal Tylenol use is linked with neurodevelopmental disorders to back up his statement.

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The decrease in Tylenol prescribing appeared to wane after several weeks, possibly in response to messaging from trusted organizations refuting the President’s claims, the researchers said.

The study led ​by Dr. Jeremy Faust, a Harvard professor, also found a persistent increase in the use of leucovorin, a form ​of folinic acid that Trump also touted as a treatment for children with autism during the ⁠same press conference.

Drug regulators said they would approve the drug based on a U.S. Food and Drug Administration review of patient ​data.

THOUSANDS OF WOMEN WENT WITHOUT TYLENOL

The study compared the number of Tylenol prescriptions given to pregnant patients in emergency departments in ​the three months before and after Trump’s announcement on September 22.

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Overall, Tylenol prescriptions fell 10%. Orders of Tylenol for pregnant women aged 15–44 years dipped 16% at the start of the three-month study, and the biggest weekly decline of 20% happened in the third week.

“This means that thousands ​of women did not have their pain or fever treated in ERs, likely because they were needlessly afraid,” said study ​author Jeremy Faust, an emergency physician at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston.

“We think that’s unfortunate because, among the options for pain control and ‌fever ⁠reduction, Tylenol is the safest option,” said Faust.

There was no statistically significant change in orders among women who were not pregnant, his analysis found.

For the three months after the President’s warning, the researchers had electronic health record data on nearly 90,000 emergency department visits by pregnant females, about 853,000 emergency visits by non-pregnant females, and 8.6 million outpatient clinical encounters among children.

The study ​found that outpatient leucovorin prescriptions for ​children aged 5–17 years ⁠also rose by 71% during this time period. There was a 93% increase at the start of the study, and the biggest jump happened in the second week, when the prescription ​rate more than doubled.

While prescriptions fell from the peak, they were still sharply higher at the ​end of the ⁠study period.

“In a time in which public trust in health, medicine, and science is under attack, it’s regrettable that so many families will have been misled into thinking that this medication could somehow miraculously change the lives of children with autism,” Faust added.

When ⁠asked about ​the study on Friday, Andrew Nixon, spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Health ​and Human Services, responded by sending his post on X in which he defended the government’s message on Tylenol, saying it was part of its “commitment to ​telling the truth about public health.”

Reporting by Sriparna Roy in Bengaluru and Nancy Lapid; editing by Caroline Humer and Alan Barona

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Iran proxies wage war on Israel, threaten US interests as Iraq slammed for not disarming them

Multiple unmanned aerial vehicles launched since Saturday conflict as Iran-backed Popular Mobilization Forces expand targets

By Benjamin Weinthal
Fox News

Published March 6, 2026 12:25pm EST

FIRST ON FOX: The Israeli military spokesman confirmed to Fox News Digital this week that multiple unmanned aerial vehicles, UAVs, have been launched into Israel from Iraqi territory since the start of the conflict with Iran to eradicate the Islamic Republic of Iran’s illicit nuclear weapons facilities, missile systems and terrorism infrastructure.

Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani, the Israeli military spokesman, said that the army has had a “near complete success” rate in stopping Iranian drones from hitting Israeli targets.

The drones fired from Iraq are presumed to come from the Iranian regime-controlled Popular Mobilization Forces, or PMF. An umbrella organization of Shiite terrorists, that attacked Israel with drones in 2024 during Israel’s war against the Tehran-backed Hamas movement.

A mourner holds a portrait of Iran’s slain supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei (top-L) on March 5, 2026, during a funeral procession for members of Iraq’s pro-Iran paramilitary group Hezbollah Brigades (Kataeb Hezbollah) who were killed in a strike in Baghdad the previous day. The Tehran-backed Iraqi group Kataeb Hezbollah said on March 5 that one of its commanders was killed in a strike in southern Iraq the previous day.(Ahmed Al-Rubaye/AFP via Getty Images)

An Iraqi Kurdish official told Fox News Digital, “Iraq has become a vessel for the Iranians. Is it so hard to see? I don’t see a distinction between the PMF and the state. They’re paid by the state, hold sovereign portfolios in this cabinet, go on foreign travel and now they’ve entered the federal legislature.”

The official continued: “In the last two decades, Iran has systemically taken over the state, weaponizing what were supposed to be institutions into tools to protect the Shia regime in Baghdad and punish any threat to it, including the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG). Through Baghdad and state institutions, it has economically strangled the Kurdistan Region, torn strips from our autonomy and exposed us to more attacks.”

An attack was reported on the country’s shrinking Christian community. The Chaldean Archbishop Bashar Warda of Erbil, Iraq, from the capital city of Iraqi Kurdistan, wrote on X on Thursday: “A miracle no one was injured when 2 drones struck our community, 150 meters from our Catechist Center that serves 1,000 Catholic children. Our university & schools are also closed so the young can be with their parents. Please pray for us & for all who suffer in this war.”

Kurdistan Regional Government authorities confirmed the attack and ​said it was carried out by two ​drones.

ISRAEL POUNDS HEZBOLLAH TARGETS, DARING LEBANON TO RECLAIM SOVEREIGNTY FROM IRAN-BACKED TERROR PROXY

Phillip Smyth, an expert on Shiite militias in Iraq, told Fox News Digital about the strikes on the Chaldean Catholic school that “Kata’ib Hezbollah was first to talk about it and it was likely Kata’ib Hezbollah, but it is possible it was another two pro-Iran militias because they all work together on drone launches.”

A drone attack struck an oil field operated by U.S. firm HKN Energy in Iraq’s ​Kurdistan region on Thursday, causing a fire ‌and halting production, according to a Reuters report citing security sources and an oilfield engineer.

No group claimed responsibility, but Kurdish officials accused Iran-allied Iraqi militias of carrying out the attack.

If so, the attack would mean Iran‑aligned ​Iraqi militias, who have vowed to retaliate for the killing ‌of ⁠Iran’s supreme leader, have expanded targets from U.S. military bases in Iraqi Kurdistan to U.S. energy interests.

A mourner holds a portrait of Iran’s slain supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei (top-L) on March 5, 2026, during a funeral procession for members of Iraq’s pro-Iran paramilitary group Hezbollah Brigades (Kataeb Hezbollah) who were killed in a strike in Baghdad the previous day. The Tehran-backed Iraqi group Kataeb Hezbollah said on March 5 that one of its commanders was killed in a strike in southern Iraq the previous day.(Ahmed Al-Rubaye/AFP via Getty Images)

Production at the field was halted as a precaution ​after an ​explosion at ⁠its power unit, the engineer told Reuters.

Some ⁠energy companies operating in Iraqi Kurdistan shut oil and gas production at their fields as a precaution ⁠after ​the U.S. and Israel ​launched strikes on neighboring Iran.

Entifadh Qanbar, a former spokesman for the deputy prime minister of Iraq, echoed the comments of the Iraqi Kurdish official in his statement to Fox News Digital: “The Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) are fully funded by the Iraqi government. In fact, they are formally included as a line item in Iraq’s federal budget. Officially, more than $3 billion is allocated annually just for salaries, but when logistics, weapons, food, and other operational costs are included, the PMF’s budget likely exceeds $10 billion. That is the size of the budget of a small country in the Middle East,” he claimed.

IRAQI STATE BANK ACCUSED OF PROCESSING PAYMENTS FOR HOUTHI TERRORISTS WHO DISRUPT RED SEA COMMERCE

Qanbar said there is a way to change Iraq’s behavior: “If the United States wants to stop this situation, there are clear tools available. Sanctions must be imposed on the Iraqi government for funding these militias. Another powerful mechanism involves Iraq’s oil revenues, which are deposited at the U.S. Federal Reserve. The United States could suspend transfers of those funds unless Baghdad halts the financing of the PMF. Make no mistake: every terrorist who launches drones or rockets against Kurdistan, U.S. interests, Gulf states or military bases is effectively being paid by the Iraqi government,” he claimed.

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al Sudani chairs negotiations between Iraq and the United States to end the International Coalition mission in Baghdad, Iraq, Jan. 27, 2024. President Joe Biden is set to host al Sudani Monday, April 15, for talks that come as tensions across the Middle East have soared over the war in Gaza and Iran’s threats to retaliate for an Israeli military strike against an Iranian facility in Syria.(AP Photo/Hadi Mizban, Pool)

When asked if the Islamic Republic of Iran urged Shiite militias from the PMF to fire drones at Israel, a spokesman for Iran’s U.N. mission said, “The Mission declined to comment.”

On Tuesday, Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani said his government is “not tolerating any attempt aimed at dragging Iraq into war or threatening the country’s stability,” according to Kurdistan24.

Salwan Sinjari, chief of staff to the Iraqi foreign minister, referred Fox News Digital to the Iraqi foreign ministry page for official statements by his minister and the government. He did not respond to follow-up messages and calls on whether Iraq’s government was failing to crack down on the PMF.

Iran-backed shi’ite groups fighters celebrate on a street, after the IRGC attack on Israel, in Basra, Iraq, Oct. 1, 2024.(Essam Al-sudani/Reuters)

Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein claimed the government was seeking to convince Iran-backed militias to disarm in January 2025, according to the Long War Journal.

However, Iraq’s government has issued mixed messages about the PMF over the years. In May 2025 al-Sudani was quoted as saying, “Today, the Popular Mobilization Forces constitute a basic force in defending Iraq.”

Iraq’s ambassador to the U.S. did not immediately respond to email, WhatsApp and telephone queries. A second Iraqi diplomat said he was unable to provide Fox News Digital a comment.

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The Times of Israel reported on Thursday, after military strikes eliminated a senior officer from Kataeb Hezbollah— Iraq’s largest pro-Iran militia— south of Baghdad that PMF militias pledged to strike the Middle East interests of European nations that joined in the “Zionist-American” strikes on the Islamic Republic and its proxies.

Fox News Digital reached out to the U.S. State Department.

Related Article

Trump threatens to end Iraq support over al-Maliki comeback bid tied to Iran influence

Benjamin Weinthal reports on Israel, Iran, Syria, Turkey and Europe. You can follow Benjamin on Twitter @BenWeinthal, and email him at benjamin.weinthal@fox.com

Marine veteran vows to stay in North Carolina’s US Senate race after violent Capitol arrest

Brian McGinnis faces assault charges after protesting US military strikes against Iran at a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing

By Louis Casiano
Fox News

Published March 6, 2026 2:20pm EST

A Marine veteran and Green Party Senate candidate has vowed to continue his congressional campaign after he was forcibly thrown out of a Senate hearing this week by police.

Sen. Tim Sheehy, R-Mont., assisted law enforcement in throwing Brian McGinnis out of the hearing after an outburst.

McGinnis, who is running for a U.S. Senate in North Carolina, was protesting U.S. military strikes against Iran when he was escorted out of Wednesday’s hearing. He is running to replace outgoing Republican Sen. Tom Tillis.

“And for the record, I’ve been running long before this, and yes, even after breaking my arm standing up for what I believe in,” McGinnis wrote on X. “It’s only made me more determined. Anger is real, and so is resolve. Take care.”

McGinnis is among five candidates in the race, which includes former Democratic North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper and Michael Whatley, former chairman of the Republican National Committee, both of whom won their respective primaries Tuesday.

A video of McGinnis being forcibly thrown out of the hearing in the Hart Senate Office Building went viral. The footage shows U.S. Capitol Police grabbing the military veteran as he shouted “No one wants to fight for Israel” while being pushed out of the Senate Armed Services Committee hearing room.

McGinnis, 44, who was dressed in a Marine Corps dress blue uniform, got his arm stuck in a door in an effort to resist being kicked out of the room, authorities said.

At one point, Sheehy, a former Navy SEAL, joined police by grabbing McGinnis’ legs to help carry him out.

“This afternoon, an unruly man who started to illegally protest during a hearing, put everyone in a dangerous position by violently resisting and fighting our officer’s attempts to remove him from the room,” U.S. Capitol Police said in a statement.

“Protests are not allowed inside the congressional buildings. There are plenty of other spots on Capitol grounds, outside, where demonstrations are allowed.”

[COMER RIPS ‘PAID DISRUPTER’ AS BRIEFING ON CLINTON CONTEMPT PUSH DEVOLVES INTO CHAOS]

Three officers were treated for injuries, U.S. Capitol Police said.

McGinnis is facing three counts each of assaulting a police officer and resisting arrest and crowding, obstructing and incommoding for the unlawful demonstration, a Capitol police spokesperson said.

In his own statement, Sheehy said officers were attempting to remove an unhinged protester from the room.

“He was fighting back. I decided to help out and de-escalate the situation,” he said. “This gentleman came to the Capitol looking for a confrontation, and he got one. I hope he gets the help he needs without causing further violence.”

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In a post on X, Tillis thanked Sheehy for helping the police officers.

Louis Casiano is a reporter for Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent to louis.casiano@fox.com.