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Vance campaigns in red Iowa but barely mentions competitive Senate race

2026-09-18T21:28:32.909Z / https://www.cnn.com/2026/09/18/politics/jd-vance-iowa-campaign

Vice President JD Vance hit the trail in Iowa Friday — a state his boss won by double digits that’s now home to competitive Senate and gubernatorial contests — and made a populist pitch for “Iowa values.”

Except the Republican nominee for Senate, Rep. Ashley Hinson, wasn’t there, and the vice president barely mentioned her race.

“A shout out to an amazing public servant — I know she couldn’t be here today, but are we going to elect Ashley Hinson the next United States senator for the great state of Iowa?” Vance asked a crowd in Council Bluffs.

It was his only reference to the three-term congresswoman or her race in a 30-minute stump speech that heavily touted the GOP nominee for governor and the solidly red 4th Congressional District.

Hinson, a former journalist who first made headlines when she ousted an incumbent Democrat in 2020, is running against Josh Turek, a state legislator and former Paralympian. A Democrat hasn’t won a Senate race in the Hawkeye State since 2008, but the party is looking to capitalize on voter discontent and economic anxieties. President Donald Trump’s decision to curb tariffs on imported beef has been resonant in Iowa, which is among the nation’s largest beef producers.

And Hinson appears to be among the Republicans in tightening races who’s trying to put some distance between herself and the unpopular president.

She has spoken out against Trump’s beef policy. Her campaign released a new ad this week highlighting her efforts to reach across the aisle, which comes as a new CNN analysis shows that Trump has seldom been mentioned in Republican ads more broadly in recent weeks.

Then on Friday, she didn’t attend the Council Bluffs event, with a spokesperson pointing to previously scheduled events, according to the New York Times. CNN has reached out to Hinson’s campaign.

Hours after Vance’s remarks, Trump posted a video statement with his “Complete and Total Endorsement” of Hinson’s candidacy, taking the rare step of posting the message on both Truth Social and X platforms.

Speaking in the Oval Office on Friday, Trump gave a somewhat candid assessment of the midterms, telling reporters he believes the November elections will be “pretty close.”

“I hope the Republicans are gonna do well,” he said. “It’s gonna be pretty close.”

Vance’s trip to Iowa was the latest in a series of swings across the country — from Kansas earlier this week to Michigan, Maine and Ohio last month. As he has in recent appearances, the vice president put some stylistic and tonal distance between himself and the president, acknowledging to voters that there is still “a lot of work to do,” while touting administration accomplishments and potentially laying the groundwork for a return to Iowa as a future presidential candidate.

Tailoring his message to the agricultural state, Vance placed special emphasis on “American food” — including cutting regulations for farmers and boosting exports of beef, dairy and corn.

But he also nationalized the stakes of the November midterms, warning the crowd that Democratic leaders believe “this country needs to be utterly transformed — and it’s ordinary men and women in states like Iowa who are standing in the way.” He alluded to Democratic nominees in the Kansas and Michigan Senate races, but not in Iowa. He never named Turek.

Iowa, which Trump carried by 13 points in 2024, has been reliably red in recent years. But Hinson’s race is rated “Tilt Republican” by Inside Elections with Nathan L. Gonzales. The governor’s race — between Democrat Rob Sand, the state auditor, and Republican businessman and farmer Zach Lahn — has also proven competitive. It’s rated “Tilt Democratic” by Inside Elections.

Vance spent a significant portion of his speech rallying for Lahn and attacking Sand as “far left” and a “career politician.” Sand, the only Democrat to hold statewide office, has a long track record of winning elections in Iowa.

“Ladies and gentlemen, you have an opportunity to send not just Rob Sand but the entire Democrat Party a message: Check the crazy at the door, and learn to fight for Americans for a change. Vote Zach Lahn in November,” he said in his closing pitch.

CNN’s Jeff Zeleny contributed to this report.

Trump declares victory in historic deal with Greenland as he secures ‘permanent’ US military rights

2026-09-18T17:19:56-04:00 / Fox News

The deal bars Russia, China and non-NATO countries from establishing military bases on the island, Fox News Digital learned

By Morgan Phillips Fox News

Published September 18, 2026 5:19pm EDT

Trump lashes out at NATO over Greenland, Iran during high-stakes meeting

President Donald Trump lashed out at NATO allies over their stance on Greenland and defense spending during a high-stakes summit in Ankara. American Military Project director Will Thibeau weighs in during ‘Fox & Friends First.’

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FIRST ON FOX: President Donald Trump struck a sweeping agreement with Denmark and Greenland this week granting the United States permanent military rights on the strategically placed Arctic island.

The U.S. will now have permanent access, basing and overflight rights in Greenland and the ability to establish additional military installations as needed, according to a senior U.S. official who outlined the deal exclusively to Fox News Digital.

The deal bars China, Russia and other non-NATO countries from establishing military bases or maintaining troops in Greenland. It also restricts adversaries from investing in sensitive sectors that could pose a threat to U.S. national security.

“This historic deal is a huge win for the United States and the American people,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio told Fox News Digital. “Thanks to President Trump’s vision and leadership, this historic agreement permanently guarantees U.S. security interests in the Arctic at zero cost to the U.S. taxpayer.

DENMARK VOWS TO DEFEND GREENLAND AFTER TRUMP REITERATES US SHOULD CONTROL TERRITORY

President Donald Trump has struck a sweeping agreement with Denmark and Greenland granting the United States permanent military rights on the strategically vital Arctic island, Fox News Digital has learned.(AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

“Greenland will forever be part of the strategic defense area of North America and exclude any adversary from it and the surrounding area,” Rubio said. “This deal permanently and completely addresses our national security concerns in Greenland.

The new agreement, which has no expiration date, stops short of transferring sovereignty over Greenland to the U.S. But administration officials still view its permanence as key to addressing the security concerns that drove Trump’s push to acquire the territory in the first place.

“The difference here is we’re not spending any money for the right” to expand the U.S. military presence, the senior official explained.

The deal is designed to remain in effect even if Greenland eventually becomes an independent country, they added.

“For over 100 years, Presidents have known the strategic importance of Greenland, but NONE of them were able to do anything about it. I am proud to be the President that permanently and conclusively addressed this very important situation. This is an “Infinite Life” Agreement, there is no end!” Trump wrote on Truth Social Friday.

Fox News Digital reached out to the governments of Greenland and Denmark for comment.

Trump had repeatedly argued that control of Greenland was necessary for U.S. national security, pointing to the island’s strategic location in the Arctic as Russia and China expand their presence and capabilities in the region.

The deal significantly expands on the longstanding U.S. defense relationship with Greenland. The U.S. already operates Pituffik Space Base and has maintained military access to the island under a defense agreement dating back to 1951.

The Pituffik Space Base is pictured in northern Greenland Oct. 4, 2023.(Thomas Traasdahl/Ritzau Scanpix/AFP via Getty Images)

Under the new agreement, however, Denmark and Greenland would not have approval authority over additional U.S. military installations. The U.S. would consult with them but would have the right to build new installations when it determines they are necessary without needing their buy-in, the official said.

The administration believes an expanded U.S. military footprint in Greenland could eventually play a role in Trump’s planned Golden Dome missile defense system.

“We will immediately begin the process of developing a large Military presence in the appropriate part of Greenland, of which there are many. We will work with the people of Greenland in its development and construction,” Trump added.

RUSSIA’S QUIETER NUCLEAR SUBMARINES THREATEN NATO, FORMER COMMANDER WARNS

The deal only allows the U.S. and its allies to make “sensitive investments” on the island, such as telecommunications infrastructure, undersea cables, ports and critical minerals.

The administration is seeking to prevent Greenland from becoming another version of what it sees as the strategic vulnerability that developed around the Panama Canal, where Chinese commercial interests have fueled U.S. concerns that ostensibly civilian infrastructure could have national security implications.

“We’re never going to face that in Greenland as a result of this,” the official told Fox News Digital.

Officials from both Greenland and Denmark, which holds sovereignty over the self-governing island territory, initially scoffed at Trump’s insistence that the U.S. must “own” Greenland.

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen issued a defiant message against President Donald Trump’s designs on Greenland at the 2026 NATO Leaders Summit Wednesday in Ankara, Turkey.(Serdar Ozsoy/Getty Images)

But months of negotiations between Rubio, White House advisor Stephen Miller and officials at the State Department and National Security Council led to a deal that satisfied all sides, a second official told Fox News Digital.

Representatives from all three countries went through “various rounds of quiet negotiations that never leaked and never got out there” starting in February, as Denmark and Greenland came to see the agreement as serving their own security interests.

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“They recognize, at the end of the day, that they have a national security concern here as well,” Rubio said. “Denmark and Greenland understand that they don’t have the financial means necessary to defend Greenland if it were to come under attack or be threatened. The United States has the power to do that.”

Will AI harm humans? CBS News poll finds Americans want to slow development but not stop it

2026-09-18T17:59:00-0400 / CBS News

By Jennifer De Pinto, Fred Backus

Updated on: September 18, 2026 / 6:13 PM EDT / CBS News

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Like any powerful new technology, Americans understand that AI could be used for good or bad. There is optimism on some fronts — but pessimism outweighs it today.

Most Americans do worry AI models will act on their own to harm people, and even more that models will be used by people to harm others.

Yet Americans do not want to stop AI altogether, because most do think the U.S. needs to develop AI to be competitive, and must do so faster than China. They also think that it can lead to medical and scientific breakthroughs.

So it’s a matter of containing and managing it.

But who should do this? Both companies and government together.

People tend not to think AI companies will manage it responsibly by themselves, which leads to a wider call for government restrictions.

One difference between the more optimistic and pessimistic people has to do with perceived economic impact: Those who think AI is poised to take jobs are more pessimistic on other aspects about it. Views don’t closely follow age or partisanship.

But the U.S. needs it to compete.

Companies and the government share responsibility.

And more see a government role to restrict, not promote, AI development.

However, there’s at least some optimism about AI making helpful discoveries in medical treatments and making tasks easier.

That, combined with the perceived need to compete, means very few think AI should be stopped completely. Rather, they say, slow down.

There continues to be wide concern AI will take jobs. This has been a long-standing concern in previous polling.

This concern is especially pronounced among people who think the government should restrict AI use, rather than promote it.

At the same time, more workers think it will make their jobs easier to do than harder, even if they tend to think it will reduce, rather than increase the number of jobs overall.

And so on balance, it’s seen as creating more problems than it solves.

David Van Riper contributed to this report.

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This CBS News/YouGov survey was conducted with a nationally representative sample of 2,051 U.S. adults interviewed between September 16-18, 2026. The sample was weighted to be representative of adults nationwide according to gender, age, race, and education, based on the U.S. Census American Community Survey and Current Population Survey, as well as 2024 presidential vote. The margin of error is ±2.5 points.

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CBS News AI poll

Trump admin to host UN event on AI next week

2026-09-18T22:16:57.308Z / CNN

By Jennifer Hansler

1 hr 45 min ago
PUBLISHED Sep 18, 2026, 6:16 PM ET

AI The UN Donald Trump

The United Nations flag waves in front of its office building on December 16, 2025.

Juan Baretto/AFP/Getty Images

The Trump administration will convene a high-level event on artificial intelligence on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly Wednesday, multiple sources familiar with the matter tell CNN, as the issue is expected to loom large over the global gathering.

The US event, to which multiple countries have been invited, comes as questions of AI and security have taken on new urgency amid dire warnings about the potential existential threat posed by artificial intelligence.

Meanwhile, President Donald Trump has raged against the idea of government regulations, alleging concerns about the technology are a “hoox.

The US event is slated to take place the same day as a UN Security Council meeting on AI and security, to discuss the risks being seen by AI companies and executives. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman is expected to brief that meeting, an OpenAI spokesperson told CNN.

US Ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz, Undersecretary of State for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment Jacob Helberg, and Undersecretary of State for Public Diplomacy Sarah Rogers will host the US event.

The US is billing it as chance to talk about partnering with the US on AI, according to a source familiar with the event, and there is expected to be a discussion about the “policy, legal, and regulatory conditions that enable adoption at scale, including free expression considerations.”

CNN has reached out to the State Department for comment.

Claire Melamed, the Vice President for AI and Digital Cooperation at the United Nations Foundation said there are “many side events at the global gathering focused on AI, but it’s “less clear how much it’s going to be an agenda in the main formal business.”

The UN is “still very much sort of setting the stage, setting out positions, trying to work out, as many other organizations are too, really what the UN’s role should be,” she said.

Melamed said “there’s increasing interest in the UN having a potential role in crisis management.”

“If there’s a huge AI-generated cyberattack and you’re working in a hospital in Zambia or you know a bank in Botswana, and this cyberattack is starting to spill beyond your borders, you don’t know what to do, who you’re going to call? Well, often it’s the UN,” she explained. “There’s a lot of interest in that, and sort of the role of the UN in equalizing access to some of the AI governance instruments and safeguards.”

Melamed said she does not expect “a firm deliverable” coming out of the UN Security Council meeting on AI because of the “very different positions that there are among the permanent members of the Security Council, never mind everyone else in the UN.” The US, China, Russia, France, and the United Kingdom are the permanent members of the UNSC.

She said she believes most people will be waiting to see what comes out of the meeting between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping next Thursday, where AI is expected to be a key topic of discussion.

Trump signs Russia sanctions bill championed by Lindsey Graham

September 18, 2026 6:01 PM EDT / CBS News

Washington— President Trump signed a sweeping bill Friday to sanction Russia and threaten tariffs on its largest energy customers, legislation championed by the late Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham.

The House passed the bill with bipartisan support earlier this week. The Senate passed it in August, although a number of Democrats expressed concern that it would expand the president’s tariff authority.

The new law, the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026, lets the president impose tariffs of up to 100% on the five largest purchasers of Russian oil and natural gas. It also sanctions Russian President Vladimir Putin, who started Russia’s war with Ukraine, as well as his government officials, oligarchs and Russian banks and financial institutions.

When it comes to foreign countries, the bill would have the most impact on China and India, the largest purchasers of Russian crude oil. Mr. Trump is set to meet with Xi Jinping at the White House on Sept. 24.

The bill also extends sanctions on Iran’s energy and weapons sectors.

The global oil crunch due to the U.S. war with Iran initially benefited Russia. Toward the beginning of the war, the Trump administration temporarily allowed the purchase of Russian oil that was already at sea.

Graham was pushing for the sanctions bill’s passage shortly before his sudden death in July. He had just returned from a trip to Ukraine when he died in Washington from a torn aorta. He was 71. Mr. Trump delivered the eulogy at his funeral.

Russia’s war in Ukraine continues without a clear end in sight. Earlier this month, Mr. Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner and special envoy Steve Witkoff visited Putin in Moscow and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv. Mr. Trump voiced frustration with the war, which he has been unable to end despite campaign pledges that he would end it by his first day in office.

“The holdup is two people that hate each other,” Mr. Trump said after speaking with Putin. “I think more than anything else, it’s two people that hate each other.”

Vance calls midterms a referendum on ‘common sense versus pure unadulterated crazy’

September 18, 2026 7:26pm EDT / Fox News

The vice president took aim at Democrats while stumping in Iowa, calling some candidates ‘out and out lunatics’

By Brie Stimson Fox News

Vice President JD Vance criticized the modern Democratic Party at a campaign speech in Iowa Friday, calling it a radical departure from the legacies of FDR and JFK.

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Vice President JD Vance called out Democrats on Friday, saying that the midterms will be a referendum on “common sense versus pure unadulterated crazy.”

While stumping in Iowa, Vance said Democrats are no longer “the party my grandparents grew up talking about.”

Raised by a union steelworker, Vance said his father told him that “FDR’s Democrat party, that JFK’s Democrat party was the party of the workingman.”

THE ONE LINE FROM JD VANCE’S GOP KEYNOTE THAT REVEALS HIS VISION FOR AMERICA

Vice President JD Vance called out Democrats on Friday, saying that the midterms will be a referendum on “common sense versus pure unadulterated crazy.”(Getty Images)

He added, “This is not FDR’s party, as much as we might wish it was. It’s not JFK’s party. Ladies and gentlemen, it’s not even Bill Clinton’s party.”

Vance said that today’s Democrats don’t believe the country needs to be “built upon” but “utterly transformed.”

“In New York,” he said, some of the midterm candidates are calling for the “total eradication of Western civilization. Somebody running for Congress in New York — and I promise I’m not joking about this — said that July Fourth is actually about the liberation of Palestine and Puerto Rico.”

To loud boos, Vance said, “you could almost laugh about” the idea of Thomas Jefferson writing the Declaration of Independence and thinking about the liberation of Palestine and Puerto Rico.

MORNING GLORY: FIVE SENATE RACES SHOW WHY DEMOCRATS MAY REGRET THEIR PRIMARY CHOICES

Vice President JD Vance speaks during a Republican National Committee Midterm Rally at the Mid-America Center in Council Bluffs, Iowa, on Friday.(Getty Images)

“But unfortunately, it’s not funny because those people are dead serious, and this election is a referendum on common sense versus pure unadulterated crazy. Let’s send the crazy packing and get them out of Washington, D.C.” he said to cheers.

Vance also claimed some Democratic candidates are “out-and-out lunatics” who have “lost their ever-loving minds.”

“These are the ones who will tell you that our history is evil and this country needs to be bulldozed and started over from the beginning,” he continued.

‘JESUS WAS A RADICAL’: PROGRESSIVES INVOKE CHRIST TO SELL LEFT-WING AGENDA ON CAMPAIGN TRAIL

Senior pastor Adam Hamilton is a Kansas Democrat Senate candidate.(Tribune News Service via Getty Images, File)

But he said that other Democrat candidates are “smart enough to realize that the country hasn’t lost its mind, and so they try to be just a little bit more subtle.”

Calling out Democrat Senate candidate Adam Hamilton of Kansas, Vance claimed he gave off a “kind of ‘gee whiz, I’m a nice pastor’ vibe,” but he’s a man that tells his congregation not about the gospel of Jesus Christ, but that they need to repent for their White privilege.”

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Recent polls have shown a tightening race between Hamilton and GOP incumbent Kansas Sen. Roger Marshall.

During the rally, Vance threw his support behind Iowa Republicans, including gubernatorial nominee Zach Lane, Rep. Ashley Hinson and congressional candidate Chris McGowan.

Brie Stimson is a Los Angeles-based entertainment and breaking news writer for Fox News Digital.

Trump extends restrictions on H-1B non-immigrant visa program by another year

2026-09-18 21:58:30 UTC / Reuters

A U.S. flag and a U.S. H-1B Visa application form are seen in this illustration taken, September 22, 2025. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/ File Photo

WASHINGTON, Sept 18 (Reuters) – US President Donald Trump has extended restrictions imposed in September 2025 on the H-1B non-immigrant visa program by another year, the White House said in a proclamation released on Friday.

The Misinformation Monitor newsletter rounds up international misinformation narratives, with a “Real or Fake?” quiz in every edition. Sign up here.

Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington; Editing by Daphne Psaledakis

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Trump says his son paid back Russian billionaire who funded parts of wedding celebration

2026-09-18 7:39 PM ET / CNN

By Logan Schiciano

21 min ago

PUBLISHED Sep 18, 2026, 7:39 PM ET

Donald Trump Jr., speaks on Thursday, Septemberr 10, in Dallas.

Alex Brandon/AP

President Donald Trump on Friday claimed his son, Donald Trump Jr., paid back the Russian billionaire who spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to fund parts of Trump Jr.’s wedding celebration in the Bahamas.

“As I understand it, he paid him back,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office, referring to Umar Kremlev, the Kremlin-connected businessman who ProPublica reported paid for aspects of the party.

The assertion by Trump is the most serious sign from the administration of possible discomfort with the payment, although the president also said it was common for someone’s friend to pay for a celebration connected to their wedding.

“A person that he knows — I guess, a friend of his — gave him a wedding party. That’s very common. I’ve heard of many people giving wedding parties,” Trump said.

When asked if it was appropriate for Kremlev to fund the celebration, Trump said, “it’s totally allowed” and dismissed concerns about Kremlev’s ties to the Kremlin, saying “maybe (Trump Jr.) didn’t do a background check.”

Trump Jr. and his wife Bettina Anderson had previously confirmed in a statement that Kremlev funded aspects of their wedding party, and defended their acceptance of the gift. The statement — posted to Anderson’s Instagram account, but signed “Don & Bettina” — cast the celebration Kremlev hosted as being after the actual wedding ceremony.

“Our dear friend Umar very generously hosted two incredible nights of celebrations for us AFTER our wedding. It was an extraordinarily generous wedding gift from a friend, and something for which we were and remain incredibly grateful,” the statement said.

“It’s unfortunate that something so personal and happy can be recast as something political or sinister simply because of who someone is or where they come from,” it continued. “Friendship doesn’t require a political motive. Generosity doesn’t automatically come with an agenda. And sometimes a wedding gift is simply a wedding gift.”

Addressing a question about the Russian billionaire earlier this week, Attorney General Todd Blanche said Trump “doesn’t know who this person is,” and shrugged off the idea his department would investigate.

“When you say, ‘Am I investigating?’ Am I investigating what?” Blanche said.

Trump says he’s struck deal to give U.S. “permanent control over security” in Greenland

2026-09-18 19:15:00-0400 / CBS News

By

Updated on: September 18, 2026 / 7:16 PM EDT / CBS News

President Trump said Friday he has struck a deal to give the United States “permanent control over security, and all other needs, in Greenland,” following a push by the president to boost the U.S.’ influence over the Danish-controlled island — or, if possible, take it over.

The governments of Denmark and Greenland confirmed that they reached a deal. Details are sparse, but the deal does not appear to constitute an outright U.S. takeover of the territory — an idea that Mr. Trump had previously backed, rattling Denmark and other NATO members.

A State Department official told CBS News the U.S. was guaranteed permanent access to the island and overflight rights, allowing the military to potentially increase the number of bases. The deal also blocks non-NATO members from establishing military bases, and restricts American adversaries from making sensitive investments in Greenland, the official said.

The deal is set to remain in place permanently, “even if Greenland becomes a fully independent country,” the State Department official said.

Mr. Trump said in a Truth Social post he plans to boost the U.S.’s presence in Greenland. The Arctic island has hosted a U.S. base on its western coast since the 1950s.

“We will immediately begin the process of developing a large Military presence in the appropriate part of Greenland, of which there are many,” Mr. Trump said. “We will work with the people of Greenland in its development and construction.”

Secretary of State Marco Rubio called the deal a “huge win.”

“Greenland will forever be part of the strategic defense area of North America and exclude any adversary from it and the surrounding area,” he said in a statement. “This deal permanently and completely addresses our national security concerns in Greenland.”

Mr. Trump said in January he and NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte had formed “the framework of a future deal with respect to Greenland.” It’s not clear whether the agreement announced Friday stemmed from those discussions with NATO.

In a statement, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen’s office said the U.S., Danish and Greenlandic governments are planning to sign the deal next week, when scores of world leaders will be in New York City for the United Nations General Assembly. It will also need to go through “necessary parliamentary procedures” in Denmark.

“I am pleased that there is a prospect of a good agreement for Greenland, the Kingdom of Denmark and the United States,” Frederiksen said. She added that the deal “strengthens our common security in the Arctic and the North Atlantic area and is thus also good for NATO and Europe,” and “recognizes the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Kingdom and the right of the Greenlandic people to self-determination.”

Greenland’s prime minister, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, called the deal “gratifying.”

“The agreement recognizes Greenland’s interests and our place in international cooperation. It is for the benefit of us all,” he said in a statement shared by Frederiksen’s office.

Olivia Gazis contributed to this report.

Former U.S. ambassador to Denmark on anger over Greenland, Trump’s comments about NATO soldiers https://www.cbsnews.com/video/former-us-ambassador-to-denmark-on-anger-over-greenland-trumps-comments-about-nato-soldiers/

(03:48)

Judge says issues in Trump administration anti-weaponization case ‘alive and kicking’ despite DOJ push

September 18, 2026 2:33pm EDT / Fox News

The judge raised concerns about taxpayer money funding payouts to FACE Act and January 6 defendants after pardons

By Jake Gibson

Pro-life activist Paul Vaughn discusses his seven-figure settlement with the Department of Justice after his home was raided by the FBI after a protest at a Tennessee abortion center on ‘Saturday In America.’

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ALEXANDRIA, Va. — Department of Justice lawyers have asked U.S. District Court Judge Leonie Brinkema to dismiss a case connected to the Trump administration’s $1.776 billion “Anti-Weaponization Fund,” arguing that Attorney General Todd Blanche issued a formal recission order in August and has affirmed many times, including under oath before Congress, that the fund is dead.

However, Brinkema seemed skeptical Friday.

“The issues that underlie this case are still alive and kicking in my view,” Brinkema said.

“The real concern that lurks … is the concept of taxpayer money being used to promote particular political views,” Brinkema said, pointing to pro-life activists convicted of violating the FACE Act and others who attempted an “insurrection” on Jan. 6 “to overthrow the legitimate election.”

CLINTON JUDGE INDEFINITELY BLOCKS TRUMP’S $1.776B ANTI-WEAPONIZATION FUND

U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema questioned whether the issues surrounding the Trump administration’s now-rescinded $1.776 billion Anti-Weaponization Fund remain unresolved.(Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

“That entity is gone,” said Brinkema, referring to the Anti-Weaponization Fund and agreeing that Blanche has said under oath at his confirmation hearings that the fund is dead.

“But is there a functional equivalent?” Brinkema said, referring to the DOJ’s ordinary Judgment Fund authority.

The Judgment Fund is a permanent U.S. Treasury account managed by the Bureau of the Fiscal Service that pays court judgments and DOJ legal settlements against the federal government. Brinkema called that fund “a less transparent structure” and suggested that some defendants convicted of FACE Act crimes have already received large payouts from the DOJ’s Judgment Fund.

JUDGE TEMPORARILY BLOCKS TRUMP DOJ’S NEARLY $2B ‘ANTI-WEAPONIZATION’ FUND

Justice Department lawyers asked a federal judge Friday to dismiss a lawsuit challenging the Anti-Weaponization Fund, arguing Attorney General Todd Blanche formally terminated it Aug. 2.(Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

Here, Brinkema affirmed she was talking about the case of Paul Vaughn.

Vaugh, of Centerville, Tennessee, was convicted in January 2024 for his role in blockading an abortion clinic in Mount Juliet, Tennessee, in March 2021. Vaughn ultimately received a pardon and a taxpayer-funded payout from the DOJ’s Judgment Fund that confirmed to Fox News is “seven figures.”

BIDEN ADMIN USED ABORTION GROUP DOSSIERS, INCLUDING PHOTOS OF MINORS, TO TARGET CHRISTIANS, DOJ REPORT REVEALS

Judge Leonie Brinkema said the issues underlying a lawsuit over the Anti-Weaponization Fund remain “alive and kicking” despite the Justice Department’s insistence that the fund is dead.(Kevin Carter/Getty Images)

DOJ lawyer Andrew Block asked what remedy the plaintiff wants, given “the fund is dead.”

Brinkema countered that although the case is nowhere near the remedy stage, “I think there are remedies.” She brought up the possibility of requiring a “neutral” person to oversee a fund, “not someone from the DOJ, which I see unfortunately as coerced” in this matter.

“A proper, unbiased look. … There’s been too much talk from members of the administration, which undercut [DOJ’s] position,” Brinkema said. “They contradict themselves all the time.”

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Brinkema closed the hearing by telling both sides she intends to craft a new discovery order in the coming days, suggesting this case is far from over.

Jake Gibson is the Fox News Department of Justice and Federal Law Enforcement Producer.