Musk chose to restrict Ukraine’s access to SpaceX satellite network, sources say

2026-10-20T20:35:00-0400 / CBS News

A decision by Elon Musk led to restrictions on Ukraine’s use of SpaceX’s satellite communications network, people familiar with the matter told CBS News.

The satellite service, which is used for drone operations, hitting certain targets and protecting sites in Ukraine, was slowed significantly last week.

Musk held multiple conversations with administration officials leading up to the order, the sources said. He wanted clarity on the president’s thinking on the matter. Musk has expressed distaste with his company being seen as profiting from the continued war between Russia and Ukraine.

It’s not clear how Musk’s order to curtail service was executed.

Musk licenses SpaceX’s Starshield technology to the U.S. government. He said last week the U.S. controls who can access the technology and what level of service those users receive.

“Any limits on speed or usage are decided by the US military and ultimately POTUS,” Musk, the world’s richest person, wrote on X.

Musk did not reply to a request for comment. CBS News has reached out to the White House and the Pentagon for comment.

The Wall Street Journal was first to report on Musk’s order.

The temporary restrictions came as a surprise to some officials inside the administration, who said neither Mr. Trump nor the Pentagon specifically ordered any limits meant to deliberately disrupt drone operations and battlefield communications.

Mr. Trump said Monday he was seeking details on who ordered the slowdown.

“I don’t know who it was, but I’d like to find out,” he said.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Tuesday the Pentagon has not manipulated the service.

“We haven’t pulled anything back. There are terms of service that ultimately need to be complied to. And that’s where Starlink has the option to make those decisions, but nothing’s changed from our view. We haven’t made any directives or anything like that,” Hegseth told reporters, adding that “we wish the Ukrainians, obviously, success.”

Zelensky told NBC News on Sunday there were still limits on Ukraine’s Starshield service.

What is Starshield?

Starshield is a military-grade satellite network made by SpaceX for the U.S. government and its partners. It runs on similar technology to its civilian sister, Starlink.

The U.S. government pays to use Starshield and controls who can access the technology. Its use has been limited to Ukraine and occupied territories. It is not available in Russia

Starshield is essential to Ukraine’s armed forces as it allows personnel to communicate and carry out strikes, including by maintaining contact with drones across long distances.

There is no working alternative to Starlink, which has put a massive constellation of low-earth satellites into orbit, and no direct competitor comes close.

What happened in Ukraine?

Ukrainian officials and soldiers told CBS News the country’s military began experiencing sudden difficulties with Starshield equipment late Tuesday, including a throttling effect that made it more difficult to carry out missions with fast-moving drones. Sources in Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense said SpaceX had unilaterally imposed the Starshield restrictions.

Regular Starlink terminals have a 70 km/hr speed cap, that is, the speed at which internet can be used in a vehicle in motion. At rates faster than the cap, the internet degrades and is no longer usable.

Starshield has no artificial speed cap and is known to work at speeds of at least 160 km/hr. Strike drones equipped with Starshield cruise at 160 km/h or higher, they’re the backbone of Ukrainian mid-range strikes.

Ukrainian units reported link drops at speeds as low as 90 km/hr, making those drones inoperable. The degradation of Starshield is estimated to have cost Ukraine tens of millions of dollars in losses, according to an analysis by Dimko Zhluktenko, a drone pilot and analyst in the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

Zelensky said Saturday the speed limits had prevented Ukraine from using Starshield to shoot down Shahed attack drones.

The Ukrainian leader wrote on X last week that “the Russians are trying to take advantage of the problems with Starlink in Ukraine, as our interceptor drones depend on this connection among other things.”

Zelensky has suggested there are still some restrictions. He told NBC News over the weekend the maximum speed was 161 km/hr, and he said Tuesday that he’d spoken with Secretary of State Marco Rubio about “the situation with Starlink/Starshield, which needs to be restored.”

The apparent restrictions drew swift pushback from U.S. lawmakers, with a bipartisan group of senators asking the Defense Department’s internal watchdog to investigate last week.

“There needs to be an investigation, we need to find out who these people are because lives are at risk and lives are lost over these things,” Republican Rep. Mike Turner of Ohio said on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan” over the weekend.

Why have Trump and Zelensky clashed?

Beyond the Starshield disruptions, Zelensky has said in recent days that Russia struck Ukraine without warning from the U.S., and deliveries of key interceptor missiles to Ukraine have slowed down.

A senior Pentagon official told CBS News on Monday there had been “no change to Department of War policy regarding intelligence sharing or any capabilities we are enabling Europeans to provide to Ukraine.”

Mr. Trump has grown increasingly frustrated with Zelenskyy in recent weeks, accusing him of not doing enough to seek an end to the Russia-Ukraine war.

The U.S. president argues the war is responsible for high energy prices. His administration waived restrictions on buying Russian diesel earlier this month in an effort to ease pressure on the price of the commodity, a move Zelenskyy argued could embolden Russian President Vladimir Putin. Mr. Trump also waived sanctions on Russia last week.

Mr. Trump said earlier this month that Ukraine and Russia had agreed to stop striking each other’s energy infrastructure — announcing an “energy ceasefire.” Zelenskyy initially said Ukraine was willing to abide by such an agreement, but that Russia’s strikes never ceased, and several days later he told the Financial Times his country would no longer hold off on striking Russian refineries because Russia was still attacking Ukrainian energy infrastructure.

The Russian government never confirmed that it had agreed to a ceasefire.

In a Newsmax interview late Thursday, Mr. Trump called Zelenskyy “not a good guy for us to deal with,” and argued Ukrainian strikes on Russian refineries would be a “disgrace,” as he urged both sides to make a deal while adding that the Ukrainian leader is harder to deal with than Putin.

“I’m not a big fan of Zelenskyy,” Mr. Trump said.

James LaPorta, Aidan Stretch and Eleanor Watson contributed to this report.

特朗普第二任期以来 美国已吊销逾30万份签证

2026年10月21日 10:22 / 联合早报

美国国务院8月10日发布的最新数据曾显示，自特朗普于2025年1月开启第二任期以来，政府已吊销超过17.5万份签证。 （路透社）

美国国务院说，特朗普政府第二任期以来已吊销超过30万份美国签证。

路透社报道，美国国务院8月10日发布的最新数据曾显示，自特朗普于2025年1月开启第二任期以来，政府已吊销超过17.5万份签证。

美国国务院发言人皮戈特星期二（10月20日）在X上公布最新数据时说，特朗普政府“以历史上任何一届政府都无法比拟的速度，吊销了更多签证”。

皮戈特说，政府对持签证在美国逗留期间违法、实施欺诈或危害美国国家安全的外国人“采取零容忍态度”。

人权倡导者尤其谴责政府吊销参与亲巴勒斯坦示威活动的外国人的签证。此外，一些外国人因在社交媒体上评论保守派评论员查理·柯克遭枪杀一事，也被吊销签证。

除了遣返外国示威者，特朗普政府还加强了对移民和签证申请者的社交媒体审查。

人权倡导者说，政府以国家安全为由打压批评者，并利用个别欺诈案件作为证据，扩大对特定移民群体的打击，例如明尼苏达州的索马里裔美国人社区。

特朗普在2024年竞选总统时承诺遏制非法移民，同时也提高了合法移民的门槛，例如对某些工作签证征收高额费用。

特朗普第二任期以来 美国已吊销逾30万份签证

2026-10-21 10:22 / 联合早报

美国国务院8月10日发布的最新数据曾显示，自特朗普于2025年1月开启第二任期以来，政府已吊销超过17.5万份签证。 （路透社）

美国国务院说，特朗普政府第二任期以来已吊销超过30万份美国签证。

路透社报道，美国国务院8月10日发布的最新数据曾显示，自特朗普于2025年1月开启第二任期以来，政府已吊销超过17.5万份签证。

美国国务院发言人皮戈特星期二（10月20日）在X上公布最新数据时说，特朗普政府“以历史上任何一届政府都无法比拟的速度，吊销了更多签证”。

皮戈特说，政府对持签证在美国逗留期间违法、实施欺诈或危害美国国家安全的外国人“采取零容忍态度”。

人权倡导者尤其谴责政府吊销参与亲巴勒斯坦示威活动的外国人的签证。此外，一些外国人因在社交媒体上评论保守派评论员查理·柯克遭枪杀一事，也被吊销签证。

除了遣返外国示威者，特朗普政府还加强了对移民和签证申请者的社交媒体审查。

人权倡导者说，政府以国家安全为由打压批评者，并利用个别欺诈案件作为证据，扩大对特定移民群体的打击，例如明尼苏达州的索马里裔美国人社区。

特朗普在2024年竞选总统时承诺遏制非法移民，同时也提高了合法移民的门槛，例如对某些工作签证征收高额费用。

Election officials face increasing threats ahead of midterms

2026-10-20 7:10 PM EDT / CNN

By Jake Tapper, CNN

Published 7:10 PM EDT, Tue October 20, 2026

https://www.cnn.com/2026/10/20/politics/video/election-officials-face-increasing-threats-ahead-midterms-the-lead-jake-tapper

Election officials face increasing threats ahead of midterms

The Lead

CNN’s Gabe Cohen reports for The Lead.

Top forecaster shifts two Senate races in the deep South towards Democrats

Published 7:57 PM EDT, Tue October 20, 2026 / CNN Politics

Top forecaster shifts two Senate races in the deep South towards Democrats

Erin Burnett Out Front

The Cook Political Report just shifted two Senate races in the Deep South – Mississippi and South Carolina – toward the Democrats. Dave Wasserman, Senior Editor and Elections Analyst at the Cook Political Report, tells Erin Burnett the shift means “even in reliably Republican places we’re seeing problems pop up where national Republicans have to start spending money.”

Politics of the Day

https://www.cnn.com/2026/10/20/politics/video/ebof-dave-wasserman-cook-political-report-senate-races

Trump says Ilhan Omar could go to jail or be deported, calls her ‘a disgrace to our country’

Border czar Tom Homan has said Omar could face denaturalization if investigators prove immigration fraud

October 20, 2026 5:11pm EDT / Fox News

By Stepheny Price

President Donald Trump said Rep. Ilhan Omar could be deported or face jail when asked about questions surrounding her age, calling the Minnesota Democrat “a disgrace to our country.”

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President Donald Trump said Tuesday that Rep. Ilhan Omar could face jail in addition to deportation, calling the Minnesota Democrat “a disgrace to our country” as she faces a federal investigation into allegations involving her citizenship.

Trump made the remarks inside the Oval Office during his fraud incentive program announcement, responding to FOX Business correspondent Edward Lawrence’s question about whether a problem with Omar’s age could lead to her deportation.

“Well, she could be. She could also go to jail,” Trump said. “You know, they keep talking about deportation. No, she could go to jail.”

ILHAN OMAR SHOULD BE JAILED, DEPORTED IF CITIZENSHIP FRAUD PROVEN, TOP HOUSE REPUBLICAN SAYS

President Donald Trump said Rep. Ilhan Omar could face jail or deportation amid a federal investigation into allegations involving her citizenship. Omar has denied wrongdoing and called the investigation political persecution.(Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

The president did not identify a specific criminal charge or present new evidence against Omar during the exchange.

“This is just my opinion,” Trump added, before calling the congresswoman “a very dishonest person” who “hates our country.”

OBAMA BACKS ILHAN OMAR AMID PROBE, ACCUSES TRUMP ADMIN OF ‘APPALLING’ TARGETING IN LENGTHY STATEMENT

Tom Homan, White House border czar, speaks during a news conference in the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House in Washington, D.C., on Monday, April 28, 2025.(Francis Chung/Politico/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

His comments come after border czar Tom Homan said Omar could lose her citizenship and be deported if investigators prove immigration fraud. Federal agents searched her Washington, D.C., home Oct. 12, seizing her cellphone and other possessions.

The investigation centers on allegations that Omar or her father misrepresented her birth year on immigration paperwork. The disputed timeline concerns whether she was a minor when her father became a U.S. citizen in 2000 and qualified for citizenship through him, or was already 18 and needed to apply separately.

HOMAN SAYS ILHAN OMAR COULD BE STRIPPED OF NATURALIZATION, DEPORTED IF IMMIGRATION FRAUD IS PROVEN

Representative Ilhan Omar, a Democrat from Minnesota, speaks to members of the media following a field hearing at the Minnesota Senate Building in St. Paul, Minnesota, on Friday, Jan. 16, 2026.(Victor J. Blue/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Omar has denied wrongdoing. She and other Democrats, including House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., have denounced the investigation as political persecution targeting a prominent Trump critic ahead of the midterm elections.

Speaking Saturday on “The Big Weekend Show,” Homan said the outcome would depend on the evidence.

DEMOCRATS’ FURY OVER ILHAN OMAR RAID DRAWS STINGING GOP REMINDER ABOUT RAID FROM THE PAST: ‘SET THE PRECEDENT’

“Of course, if you lie during the naturalization process, there is a process to denaturalize somebody. We’ve done it before,” Homan said. “And certainly, if the evidence points that way, that could happen.”

Homan said Omar would be held to the same standards as anyone else, while declining to discuss the specifics of investigators’ findings.

HOMAN CONFIRMS ‘CRIMINAL’ INVESTIGATION INVOLVING ILHAN OMAR, SAYS HE KNOWS ‘THINGS ARE GOING ON’

Video

“I’m not going to get ahead of the bureau or HSI, but I’ve been told they have a strong case, and we’ll let the evidence lead where it leads,” he said.

During Tuesday’s exchange, Trump also attacked Omar’s criticism of the United States, questioning why she sought to tell Americans how to run the country after coming from Somalia.

ILHAN OMAR’S TURBULENT WEEK EXPLAINED: THE DUELING PROBES THAT THREW THE SOMALI-BORN PROGRESSIVE INTO CHAOS

President Donald Trump also told reporters on Dec. 12 that Rep. Omar is “very bad for our country.”(Francis Chung/Politico/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

“Then she comes over here, and she says that she wants to tell us how to run America,” Trump said. “She wants to tell us how to run the United States of America.”

He also criticized her assertions of constitutional rights and called her election to Congress “amazing.”

TRUMP RALLY CROWD CHANTS ‘DEPORT’ AS PRESIDENT RIPS ILHAN OMAR AFTER FEDERAL RAID

Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., speaks during a press conference on Wednesday, in which she blamed President Donald Trump for death threats and attacks against her.(Adam Gray/AP Photo)

“She’s a disgrace to our country,” Trump said.

The president ended the exchange by saying he hoped Omar would receive fair treatment.

“I hope they treat her fairly,” he said.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

Fox News Digital reached out to Omar’s office for comment.

Fox News Digital’s Max Bacall contributed to this report.

Stepheny Price is a Writer at Fox News with a focus on West Coast and Midwest news, missing persons, national and international crime stories, homicide cases, and border security.

Fears of a post-midterms Trump rampage spur ‘brutal’ internal jockeying

2026-10-20T22:21:08.454Z / CNN

President Donald Trump still has two weeks to salvage his Republican congressional majorities and defy expectations of a midterm wipeout. But all around him, aides and allies are bracing for what happens if he fails.

Administration officials have grown increasingly convinced that steep GOP losses will trigger major personnel shakeups across the government, as Trump hunts for aides to blame and dozens of others weigh abandoning a lame duck presidency at its lowest point.

The angst has turned a White House that once prided itself on single-minded cohesion into the nerve center for a resurgence of Trump world infighting and leaking, said several administration officials, advisers and close allies, who described a toxic mix of jockeying for power and preemptive finger-pointing in the critical final days leading up to November.

“It’s more brutal than any other situation in modern times in the White House,” said one Trump ally. “You can’t trust anybody here.”

The extraordinary jousting within the administration and throughout Trump’s wider circle has broken into public view on several occasions in just the past two weeks, deepening the atmosphere of mistrust and stoking Trump’s own frustrations with the advisers around him.

Trump ousted Kimberly Guilfoyle, his ambassador to Greece and his son’s former fiancée, after a series of damaging reports prompted by a GOP donor’s disclosure that she’d asked him for $100,000 to pay off her credit card. The president also ordered his White House counsel to investigate a running dispute between two close allies, Alina Habba Mildon and Ric Grenell, over allegations that millions of dollars meant for the Kennedy Center were misallocated, according to a source familiar with the matter (Axios first reported on the investigation).

And Trump fired his new press secretary, Katie Zacharia, after just five days amid several missteps and near-universal backlash to her performance — even among close allies.

Amid those crises, some of Trump’s closest aides — chief of staff Susie Wiles and outside political advisers James Blair and Chris LaCivita — have faced unflattering coverage that sparked questions about their standing within the president’s inner circle.

Their defenders, in turn, contended the stories were being driven by rivals seeking to improve their own relationships with Trump. Blair has since traveled twice with Trump on Air Force One in the past week, in a sign the president still has faith in his core team.

“A knife to James or Chris is meant for Susie,” one source familiar with the dynamics said.

The striking run of incidents has prompted competing efforts across Trump world to smoke out who is leaking against whom and to what end, two people familiar with the matter said. There’s now speculation across the administration over who around Trump will take the fall if the midterms go poorly, which senior officials will be fired and how many aides might opt to leave in the aftermath, those people said.

“If we lose both the House and the Senate, there’s really no telling what happens,” one Trump adviser told CNN. “Everyone is fair game.”

In a statement, White House spokesman Davis Ingle dismissed any focus on the administration’s internal dynamics as “baseless speculation.”

“President Trump is laser-focused on maintaining Republican majorities in Congress this November, which is why he is traveling across the country highlighting the historic victories his Administration has delivered for the American people,” he said.

Still, in a sign of the intense maneuvering, Wiles faced a rush of scrutiny after it became clear she wasn’t present when Trump offered Zacharia the press secretary job. Some interpreted the incident as a sign of weakening authority and an opening to push her out of a job that’s allowed her to wield sweeping power, two Trump advisers said.

There was chatter that Wiles might soon step down, especially after a monthslong bout with cancer and as she approaches a two-year mark where many top White House aides traditionally choose to depart. Trump had four chiefs of staff during his first term and none stayed in the job for two years.

But she has not signaled any plans to leave, and Trump recently issued a full-throated vote of confidence, insisting there’s “zero chance” he’d replace her.

“She’s not going anywhere,” a senior administration official said of Wiles.

The election outcome is also expected to determine whether several Cabinet secretaries leave their posts rather than face the prospect of months of investigations from newly empowered Democrats. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who is expected to be an early target for congressional Democrats, has long battled speculation that he may end up on the hot seat. But Trump has repeatedly defended his zealous, made-for-TV secretary.

Some officials have also speculated that Energy Secretary Chris Wright, who has been charged with managing some of the most damaging economic fallout of the war with Iran, might opt to leave the administration to pursue a more lucrative job in the energy sector.

Sean Parnell, the chief Pentagon spokesman, said in a statement that Hegseth wasn’t focused on “fake news or DC noise.” An Energy Department spokesperson denied that Wright was contemplating leaving and said he would remain in the job “as long as the president wants him to serve.”

Others, meanwhile, are preparing for the prospect of extensive post-election score settling from Trump or his close allies. Allies of Jay Bhattacharya, the head of the National Institutes of Health, have expressed fear that he could be among those most at risk of being fired following a high-profile clash with White House budget chief Russ Vought over control of his agency’s grant spending, two people familiar with the matter said.

The NIH declined to comment, though one person familiar with the dynamics said officials have improved the working relationship between NIH and Vought’s agency in recent weeks.

A White House official said Trump and his team are focused solely on the midterms.

Administrations traditionally face some level of turnover following the midterms, which simultaneously serve as a natural exit point for many senior officials and an opportunity for the president to reset priorities ahead of the final two years of his term.

But within this administration, where power is measured chiefly by one’s proximity to Trump and allegiances are ever-changing, any fresh vacancies could dramatically shift the balance of power within the White House and alter the trajectory of its agenda.

Trump has not yet given any overt indications that he plans to make personnel changes after the elections, according to people who have spoken with him. And he has expressed optimism that his recent travel blitz on behalf of GOP candidates is having a positive impact on the party’s odds of holding control of Congress.

But many of Trump’s aides and advisers remain grim about their chances. The GOP’s House majority, they believe, is likely lost, and at this point the mission is more focused on limiting the scale of those losses.

While Trump advisers still believe they can hold the Senate, there is broad consternation that the combination of voter backlash against the administration and a handful of poor Senate campaigns has made the effort far more difficult than normal.

It’s a challenge that even Trump has privately acknowledged at times, according to the people who have spoken with him. He’s questioned why the political landscape for the GOP is so poor and vented about the party’s political strategy.

Should Republicans suffer extensive losses on November 3, those people added, Trump is certain to find someone to blame — and it won’t be him.

“The president always loses, for whatever reason, the midterms,” Trump lamented on Tuesday. “If I can get my voters, MAGA Republicans, whatever you want to call (them), if they get out to vote, we’ll win in a landslide. But they have to want to get out to vote, and if you’re not on the ballot, it’s a little harder.”

Rioting in France gives Trump a new talking point as he tries to stave off GOP midterm losses

2026-10-20 5:25 PM ET / CNN

By Kevin Liptak

2 hr ago

PUBLISHED Oct 20, 2026, 5:25 PM ET

Donald Trump JD Vance Immigration politics Immigration

Masked protesters force open a metal gate to the Galeries Lafayette to loot items in Paris on Saturday.

Gauthier Bedrignans/Hans Lucas/AFP/Getty Images

As Kansans were waiting for President Donald Trump to arrive at his rally in Wichita this week, they were treated to a new addition to the pre-show program: footage of this weekend’s violent protests in France, most of it clipped from Fox News, aired on large screens.

That the unrest was unfolding 4,700 miles away from the Heartland Credit Union Arena seemed immaterial to the point Trump and his team were trying to make. This could happen here, Trump would later warn his crowd, if Democrats win in November’s midterms.

“When you see burning steeples and raging fires in France, just remember that is what the radical ‘Dumocrats’ want to do to America,” he said Monday.

France, he claimed, was being “conquered, looted and burned to the ground by migrants, jihadists and communists who hate Christianity” and “the Western civilization itself.”

President Donald Trump points to a member of the crowd during a campaign rally in Park City, Kansas, on Monday.

Kent Nishimura/AFP via Getty Images

It’s a theme the president has already said he’ll return to Tuesday night in North Carolina. With a narrowing window for harsh political winds to shift, Trump and Republicans have seized on the violence as they make their final arguments to American voters. To some of Trump’s advisers, the unrest has looked a little like an “October surprise” that some believe could help improve what had been dire prospects for victory in just two weeks.

The torched cars, graffiti and looted shops are all a cautionary tale, they have warned, and the inevitable result of liberal policies — particularly on immigration — that they have been warning against for years.

There is little evidence the violence in France over the weekend was carried out by illegal immigrants, or immigrants of any kind. The demonstrations began as a student movement demanding better funding and improvements at schools. Labor unions and other groups joined to protest high living costs and record fuel prices.

What led to the scenes of violence is a matter of dispute among France’s political leaders, and has led to a round of finger-pointing.

Trump, along with right-wing leaders in France, used the scenes to accuse French President Emmanuel Macron and other European centrists of failing to get a handle on uncontrolled migration from the Middle East and Africa.

“Our country is caught in a vice…between violence and powerlessness,” Marine Le Pen, the far-right leader, said, suggesting only her firm hand could restore order amid Macron’s “chaos.”

Le Pen, who is standing in the presidential election for the far-right National Rally party, has sought to inject the issue of migration into the debate, blaming the violence on delinquents from France’s banlieues, poor urban areas where much of the country’s migrant population lives.

An elderly man uses a gas mask to protect from the smoke from tear gas during demonstration against the “high cost of living”, at the Place des Terreaux in Lyon, on Saturday.

Jeff Pachoud/AFP/Getty Images

France protests turn violent

20 photos

A protester kicks back a tear gas canister during a demonstration in Marseille on Saturday.

Thibaud Moritz/AFP/Getty Images

A protester wrapped in a French national flag stands in front of Lyon’s tourism office on Saturday.

Jeff Pachoud/AFP/Getty Images

An elderly man uses a gas mask to protect from the smoke from tear gas during demonstration against the “high cost of living”, at the Place des Terreaux in Lyon, on Saturday.

Jeff Pachoud/AFP/Getty Images

A fire burns as police officers in riot gear stand guard in Paris on Sunday.

Abdul Saboor/Reuters

Paint thrown by protesters marks a police officer’s shield during demonstrations in Paris on Saturday.

Carl Court/Getty Images

Protesters hold signs during a demonstration in Nantes on Saturday.

Stephane Mahe/Reuters

A man watches through his window as protesters clash with police during a demonstration in Paris on Saturday.

Thibault Camus/AP

Protesters break windows of a French food store during a demonstration in Paris on Saturday.

Geoffroy Van Der Hasselt/AFP/Getty Images

Protesters march through central Paris amid fires and smoke in Paris on Saturday.

Firas Abdullah/Anadolu/Getty Images

French firefighters work to extinguish a fire in a building amid clashes during a demonstration in Marseille on Saturday.

Manon Cruz/Reuters

A protester faces off with French riot police amid clashes during a demonstration at the Place de la Republique in Paris on Saturday.

Jack Taylor/Reuters

Pedestrians walk along a street covered in debris in Marseille on Sunday.

Thibaud Moritz/AFP/Getty Images

A protester wearing a period costume stands during a demonstration in Paris on Saturday.

Kiran Ridley/AFP/Getty Images

A vandalized storefront a day after clashes during a national day of demonstrations in Paris on Sunday.

Benoit Tessier/Reuters

Smoke rises as the ‘Statue de la Republique’ is covered with a bannner reading “2026, the police are mutilating high school students” in Paris on Saturday.

Geoffroy Van Der Hasselt/AFP/Getty Images

A photograph shows burnt vehicles in the street of Paris on Sunday.

Matthieu Rondel/AFP/Getty Images

French security officials detain a protester during clashes prior to the start of a demonstration in Marseille on Saturday.

Thibaud Moritz/AFP/Getty Images

Damage at the Hotel de Nesmond, the state’s official residence in Gironde, in Bordeaux, on Saturday.

Philippe Lopez/AFP/Getty Images

This photograph shows a fire burning and destroying the city hall after a group of individuals forced entry into the building in Limoges on Saturday.

Pascal Lachenaud/AFP/Getty Images

Masked protesters face off with French riot police during a demonstration in a street near the Gare du Nord train station in Paris on Saturday.

Abdul Saboor/Reuters

A protester kicks back a tear gas canister during a demonstration in Marseille on Saturday.

Thibaud Moritz/AFP/Getty Images

A protester wrapped in a French national flag stands in front of Lyon’s tourism office on Saturday.

Jeff Pachoud/AFP/Getty Images

An elderly man uses a gas mask to protect from the smoke from tear gas during demonstration against the “high cost of living”, at the Place des Terreaux in Lyon, on Saturday.

Jeff Pachoud/AFP/Getty Images

A fire burns as police officers in riot gear stand guard in Paris on Sunday.

Abdul Saboor/Reuters

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France protests turn violent

Trump stopped short Tuesday of saying whether he would endorse Le Pen in next year’s election, where she is a front-runner. But he nonetheless appeared to be echoing her arguments, and insisted Macron had ignored his advice to crack down on migration.

“Some people think it’s a little controversial. I don’t care,” Trump said in the Oval Office on Tuesday. “It’s an immigration problem. We have people that poured into France, and they were also unchecked, unvetted, like with (President Joe) Biden when he was doing. We don’t do that.”

Earlier in the day, he specifically invoked “what is taking place in France” in pledging that the spending in outside money he oversees will top $400 million by Election Day.

It may be too early to tell whether Trump’s decision to seize on the images from France will have a determinative effect among American midterm voters. Most say their primary concerns are the high cost of living, and Trump’s immigration agenda has become unpopular, with majorities of Americans saying in polls his administration has gone too far in deporting undocumented immigrants from the United States.

Trump, however, has chafed at recommendations from political advisers that he not mention immigration as much as he stumps for Republican candidates. As he shines a spotlight on the situation in Europe, he has once again made a hardline approach to immigration a centerpiece of his pitch.

“If you want to see what is at stake in this election,” Trump said ominously in Kansas on Monday, “just look at what’s happening in France.”

Other Republicans have followed suit. Vice President JD Vance wrote on X that immigration was to blame for the violence.

“Western liberals imported the third world into France and other countries in the name of diversity and compassion,” he wrote in a post that featured video of the fire that destroyed the historic town hall in Limoges, the town in central France famous for its porcelain. “They ignored fundamental questions of assimilation and compatibility.”

Trump referred approvingly to Vance’s post in the Oval Office on Tuesday, and insisted that concerns about education or costs were not driving the scenes of unrest.

“It’s not about education. It’s about immigration,” he said. “It’s about illegal people coming in who basically hate France. They hate the people. They hate everything.”

Judge Trump called a ‘lunatic’ abruptly backs off demand after showdown with DOJ No. 3

The Biden-appointed judge backed down after a seven-hour hearing in which Trump called her a ‘crazed lunatic’ on Truth Social

October 20, 2026 6:08pm EDT / Fox News

By Elaine Mallon

President Donald Trump unveils a plan to revitalize Joint Base Andrews’ golf courses. Describing the current courses as ‘really bad’ with ‘400-year-old grass,’ Trump announced legendary golfer Jack Nicklaus will design new ‘world championship’ courses. This initiative will benefit young people and disabled individuals, enhancing military facilities.

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A Biden-appointed judge embroiled in a fierce dispute with the Trump administration over the removal of hundreds of trees at a federally owned D. C. golf course reversed course during Monday’s nearly seven-hour hearing.

Judge Ana Reyes ended the nearly seven-hour hearing by backing away from her initial demand that Justice Department attorneys arguing the case put their names alongside Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward Jr.’s Sunday filing. Reyes had invoked Rule 11, which requires attorneys to stand behind the factual basis of court filings and can subject them to sanctions for violations.

“Late breaking news,” Reyes said. “I’m going to withdraw request that DOJ refile yesterday’s brief with identification of who signed it. we’ve all got better things to spend our time on.”

The about-face from Reyes, who hours before the hearing was dubbed a “crazed lunatic” by President Donald Trump on Truth Social, is the latest development in a court battle over Trump’s plans to completely renovate East Potomac Golf Links into a “world-class, U.S. Open-caliber course.” The lawsuit, which was first filed in February, reached a boiling point earlier this month when the National Park Service removed roughly 430 trees at the golf course over a weekend. The Interior Department said the tree removals were part of a years-old plan to restore the course’s historic design and were unrelated to Trump’s proposed overhaul.

BIDEN JUDGE REJECTS OBAMA CIA CHIEF’S LEGAL BID AGAINST TRUMP OVER ONE KEY PROBLEM

President Donald Trump and Judge Ana Reyes.(Getty/Reuters)

Though the action did not violate a court order, it prompted Reyes to impose a temporary restraining order barring further tree removals. She also was described as “screaming” at the administration attorneys during an Oct. 12 hearing.

The hearing prompted Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward to seek Reyes’ removal from the case, accusing her of bias and “open hostility” toward the Trump administration.

Both Woodward and Trump have called for the release of the court’s audio recordings of the hearings.

“The judge on the case is a crazed lunatic whose courthouse tapes will reveal, may be insane? The tapes have been blocked from usage by the judge,” Trump posted Monday hours before the hearing, saying the Trump administration has a “right” to turn the course into a “great, safe, and prestigious” golf course. “Work is scheduled to begin IMMEDIATELY! The finished product will be World Class, and bring income and great prestige back to D.C.”

Trump made two other tweets Sunday saying that Interior Department Secretary Doug Burgum and architect Tom Fazio had “developed a plan” to revamp the East Potomac Golf Links into a “World Class Championship Golf Course” and that work would begin November 15.

The tweets prompted Reyes to give the Justice Department an 8 p.m. filing deadline, saying Trump’s characterization conflicted with a previous filing that stated there was “no agency action” in Trump’s golf course plan.

The filing was signed only by Woodward, which immediately became a point of contention at the start of Monday’s hearing.

LIBERAL LAW PROFESSOR BREAKS WITH OBAMA JUDGE OVER TRUMP LAWYER CRACKDOWN: ‘I REFUSE TO TEACH’ IT

People play golf at East Potomac Golf Links in Washington, D.C., on May 3, 2026, with the Washington Monument visible in the background.(Pete Kiehart/The Washington Post)

Reyes demanded that the attorneys “raise your hand” if they would sign the briefing, which Woodward said was “not an appropriate request.”

She then invoked Rule 11 and ordered them to the podium to sign the filing.

But Woodward and the attorneys refused. Reyes initially set a 3 p.m. deadline but later extended it until noon Tuesday and offered to allow the attorneys’ names to appear on the brief rather than requiring their signatures. In the end, she abandoned the demand completely.

“For those wondering, a common reason high level DOJ appointees sometimes signs briefs boils down to good leadership,” Abhishek Kambli, a former federal prosecutor, wrote on X. “If there is something that is likely to be contentious with a judge, a DOJ leader signs their name on the brief so that any issues someone has with the brief is directed at them rather than lower level attorneys. Regardless, it goes without saying that a decision such as this should not be something a judge is inquiring into.”

EXCLUSIVE: TRUMP’S DC JUDICIAL NEMESIS TARGETED IN MISCONDUCT COMPLAINT OVER ALLEGED BIDEN DOJ TIES

The DOJ says 649 settlement offers totaling about $175 million were approved in the past three weeks for Camp Lejeune claimants.(U.S. Department of Justice)

“DOJ line attorneys increasingly do not sign briefs because of Dem law fare. Dems have and continue to go after the bar licenses of young DOJ line attorneys who are simply executing on behalf of the department,” Rachel Boulvard, vice president of programs at the Conservative Partnership Institute, wrote on X.

Reyes, appointed by President Joe Biden in 2023, previously faced a Justice Department judicial-misconduct complaint over her handling of litigation challenging Trump’s restrictions on transgender individuals serving in the military.

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During a February 2025 hearing, Reyes questioned a Trump administration attorney about what Jesus Christ would say about policies excluding transgender people from homeless shelters.

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Then-DOJ Chief of Staff Chad Mizelle accused Reyes of “hostile and egregious misconduct” and potential bias in a formal complaint filed with the D.C. Circuit. The complaint was later dismissed, with the circuit’s chief judge concluding that a recusal motion was the proper avenue for challenging Reyes’ conduct.

Elaine Mallon is a writer for Fox News Digital and Fox Business covering national politics.

Reporter’s Notebook: A Democratic majority could expose the limits of the progressive agenda

Even if Democrats win the House or Senate, moderate majority makers from swing districts are unlikely to back the agenda

October 20, 2026 4:25pm EDT / Fox News

By Chad Pergram

Chief congressional correspondent Chad Pergram reports the latest from Capitol Hill as early voting kicks off in several states with both parties making their final push for control of Congress.

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_”You made me promises. Promises.
_Knowing I’d believe.
_Promises. Promises.
_I knew you’d never keep.”

—Promises, Promises by Naked Eyes

“I am a supporter of Medicare-for-all,” declared Minnesota’s Democratic nominee for Senate, Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, D. “I’m going to get there with my friend Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt. And we are going to power map the s–t out of the U.S. Senate and figure out how to build power for the things that we know that we deserve and the things that we need.”

Hard-left progressive House and Senate candidates like Flanagan are pitching Medicare-for-all. The abolition of ICE. The Green New Deal. An arms embargo for Israel. And a $25 an hour minimum wage.

Flanagan is in a race with Republican Senate nominee Michelle Tafoya to succeed retiring Sen. Tina Smith, D-Minn. The race favors Flanagan. However, it’s not a done deal that she wins. But Democratic Socialist candidates for the House like Donavan McKinney in Michigan, Chris Rabb in Pennsylvania, Melanie Arriola in Colorado, along with Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in New York probably will. Come January, they will prospectively represent Democratic strongholds where progressive ideas are popular.

Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate, Minnesota Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, speaks during a primary election night party at First Avenue on August 11, 2026 in Minneapolis, Minn.(Stephen Maturen/Getty Images)

But if Democrats win either the House or Senate, it won’t be because voters pulled the lever for Arriola in Denver or Ocasio-Cortez in Harlem. They’ll win because Democrat Pat Ryan defeated Rep. John Faso, R-N.Y., in Dutchess County, north of New York City. Maybe because voters cast their ballots for Democrat Conor Lamb in Pennsylvania, rather than Rep. Keith Rothfus, R-Pa. Democrats could flip the House if Democratic nominee Abigail Spanberger appeals more to voters in central Virginia than Rep. Dave Brat, R-Va.

This brings us back to the progressive agenda.

Democrats might win the House and or the Senate. But Ocasio-Cortez and Arriola aren’t the “majority makers.” Candidates like Lamb and Ryan are. And if they’re elected to the House, it’s doubtful that moderates from swing districts can support progressive ideas like the Green New Deal or Medicare-for-all. It’s about the math. And it’s more than likely that Democrats will need the voters of those moderate “majority makers” from battleground districts to enact those policies.

That’s to say nothing about needing 60 yeas in the Senate to crack a filibuster – even if Democrats do marshal a slim majority there. And, if something extreme did get through both bodies of a potentially Democratically-controlled Congress, President Trump would likely veto it.

https://www.foxnews.com/video/6403518811112

It is said that you campaign in poetry but you govern in prose.

The left has pushed a lot of progressive poetry with their agenda items of late. They’ll tout the opportunity to enact some of those policies if Democrats win the majority.

However, the reality of advancing any of that into a legislative reality is slim. The progressive ideas may energize the base. But the Democratic base is sure to feel let down if Democrats can’t make good on some of their campaign promises.

We’ve seen this before. A party promises voters the moon in the midterm elections. Then struggles to make good on those promises.

Republicans won the House in 1994 for the first time in four decades with the 10-point “Contract With America.” The document promised to cut spending and reduce influence in Washington. But in the end, the House and Senate only approved a few of the items. President Clinton vetoed others.

In 2006, House Democrats campaigned on drawing down the war in Iraq. They captured the House. Congress began defunding the war effort. But it took several years, much to the dismay of party activists who demanded an immediate pullout.

In 2010, Republicans won back control of the House, gaining a record 63 seats. The goal was to reduce spending and repeal and replace ObamaCare. It never happened. In fact, some Republicans are still trying to unwind ObamaCare today.

U.S. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries speaks during a press conference on Capitol Hill on November 3, 2025 in Washington, D.C.(Roberto Schmidt/Getty Images)

This is all about exciting the base. And then figuring out how to govern. What candidates promise on the campaign trail rarely morphs into a legislative reality.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., is reportedly in discussions with DSA-backed candidates to secure legislative commitments before some of their candidates will back him in a potential race for Speaker. That said, political observers would find it hard to believe that Democrats would balk at promoting Jeffries, making him the first Black House Speaker in American history.

There’s a chance Democrats could face infighting if the party fractures between moderates and progressives.

Imagine for a moment that Democrats do have the House and intend to bring a Medicare-for-all bill to the floor. The House must first adopt a rule which governs how the House debates that measure on the floor. Would a moderate Democrat like Rep. Abigail Spanberger, D-Va., oppose the rule (provided she wins reelection)? After all, Spanberger voted for GOP procedural measures earlier this year, igniting an internal Democratic firestorm. However, those votes may have been good matches for her battleground district. But voting aye on a procedural plan for a controversial, progressive political initiative won’t work in Spanberger’s district. That’s why the progressive agenda may already be dead in the water.

If Democrats do win the House and Jeffries clasps the Speaker’s gavel, his role will be different. He needs to manage his entire caucus. So appealing to the hard left doesn’t work. He must also hear out the moderates. And certainly the majority makers.

For instance, Jeffries isn’t pushing the Medicare for all scheme.

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House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries faces growing pressure as democratic socialist-backed candidates gain influence in New York, raising new questions about the party’s ideological direction.(Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

“I haven’t co-sponsored the Medicare for all legislation that has been introduced over the last several years. I do think we need to figure out how to fix our broken healthcare system and then build something better once we repair the damage that has been done,” said Jeffries.

That’s a natural stance for a national political leader. Jumping feet first into such a nettlesome issue might not be sound politics. Especially since you must also address the concerns of the moderate majority makers.

But Jeffries may have an out that all Democrats can unify around: investigations of the Trump administration. Since President Trump began his term, Jeffries has promised to hold its officials to account. Jeffries has called out Pentagon chief Mark Esper. Ridiculed Attorney General William Barr. Blasted Vice President Mike Pence. Spoken about alleged corruption by the Trump family.

Democrats are also campaigning as a foil to the Trump Administration. Their base will demand action via investigations, too. That certainly resonates with the progressive base. And, even moderates who may be the majority makers.

But it isn’t a $25 an hour minimum wage. It’s not the abolition of ICE. It’s not the Green New Deal. Democrats probably won’t get what they want legislatively if they attain the majority. Those are just the political realities. But they may be able to rack some points with investigations. Those would reflect the political realities as well.

Chad Pergram currently serves as Chief Congressional Correspondent for FOX News Channel (FNC). He joined the network in September 2007 and is based out of Washington, D.C.