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Trump Iran threat sparks calls for his ouster, but one Dem says effort ‘not realistic’

Removing Trump would require VP JD Vance and a majority of his Cabinet to agree, a bar never met in U.S. history

April 7, 2026 3:27pm EDT / Fox News

By Alex Miller

Democratic strategist Kevin Walling joins Fox Across America With Jimmy Failla to give his take on President Trump doubling down on his 8 p.m. ET deadline for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz or face strikes against its power plants and bridges on Tuesday.

Dozens of congressional Democrats are demanding that Republicans remove President Donald Trump for his latest threat against Iran, but one lawmaker says the idea isn’t “realistic.”

Several congressional Democrats want to invoke the 25th Amendment, a decades-old addition to the Constitution that empowers a president’s Cabinet to remove him from office if he is unable to do the job.

Some Democrats are arguing that Trump’s latest threat against Iran on Truth Social — where he declared that a “whole civilization will die tonight” unless his demands to reopen the Strait of Hormuz are met — is proof that he has lost the ability to carry out his role as commander in chief.

But Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., doesn’t believe now is the moment to pull the trigger on the 25th Amendment.

GRAHAM EYES ‘DOWN PAYMENT’ ON TRUMP-BACKED SAVE ACT WITHOUT DEMOCRATIC SUPPORT

Dozens of congressional Democrats are demanding that Republicans remove President Donald Trump for his latest threat against Iran.(Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

“I’m getting a lot of traffic about the 25th Amendment after Trump’s mad rants,” Whitehouse said on X. “The president is facing serious mental decline; I’m with you on that.”

“But unfortunately, invoking the 25th is not realistic right now, given his oddball Cabinet of sycophants and eccentrics, and Republican ‘spines of foam,’” he continued. “We’re going to have to buckle down and win this the old-fashioned way.”

BIPARTISAN SENATORS PROBE KREMLIN-LINKED DELEGATION’S MEETINGS WITH US OFFICIALS

But Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., doesn’t believe now is the moment to pull the trigger on the 25th Amendment.(Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

Doing so would require Vice President JD Vance and a majority of Trump’s Cabinet to agree to remove him. They would then send a declaration to Congress, which Trump would likely dispute, requiring a two-thirds vote in both chambers to officially remove him from office.

It’s a much higher bar than impeachment and conviction — and a move that has never been used to remove a sitting president.

While the measure has been used a handful of times since its ratification in the 1960s — either for brief transfers of power during medical procedures requiring anesthesia or to fill vacancies in the vice presidency — it has never been used to involuntarily remove a president.

HAWLEY, WARREN TEAM UP TO BACK TRUMP, CRACK DOWN ON DEFENSE CONTRACTOR PAYOUTS

Vice President JD Vance laughs at the sound of President Donald Trump calling in as he was delivering remarks at a Day of Friendship event with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban at MTK Sportpark in Budapest, Hungary, on April 7, 2026.(Jonathan Ernst/Reuters)

Congressional Republicans similarly called for invoking the 25th Amendment against former President Joe Biden toward the end of his presidency, particularly after his debate performance against Trump in the summer of 2024.

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Still, Democrats are seeking recourse over Trump’s Easter comments and his latest post Tuesday.

“If I were in Trump’s Cabinet, I would spend Easter calling constitutional lawyers about the 25th Amendment,” Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., said on X. “This is completely, utterly unhinged. He’s already killed thousands. He’s going to kill thousands more.”

Others are accusing Trump of being on the cusp of committing war crimes by targeting civilian infrastructure.

When asked if she believed that the administration would be carrying out a war crime by targeting power supply and bridges, Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, said, “No.”

“It’s an ongoing operation, and if he needs leverage, he’s using that leverage,” Ernst said.

Many Republicans have remained silent on Trump’s post.

Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment and has not yet received a reply.

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

USTR Greer says US-Mexico-Canada pact talks may run past July 1 deadline

2026-04-07 16:05:25 UTC / Reuters

By Reuters

April 7, 2026 4:05 PM UTC Updated 4 hours ago

节点运行失败

U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer speaks with reporters at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., October 30, 2025. REUTERS/Kylie Cooper

WASHINGTON, April 7 (Reuters) – The Trump administration will try to resolve as many problems with the ​U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade agreement as it can before July 1, ‌but negotiations to rebalance the trade pact are likely to continue past that deadline, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said on Tuesday.

Greer told an event ​at the Hudson Institute that the U.S. may need to ​take steps to exit the North American trade pact in ⁠order to continue the talks.

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He said that President Donald Trump “has been ​clear that he is dissatisfied with a lot of the outcomes ​of USMCA,” including a significant surge of auto imports from Mexico and steel and aluminum imports from both countries.

Greer said that while there are valuable ​aspects to the USMCA agreement, which Trump approved in 2020 to ​replace the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement, there will need to be ‌separate ⁠U.S. protocols for Mexico and Canada due to their trade differences.

While the USTR has already started negotiations with Mexico, the Canada talks would likely start in May. On July 1, the three ​countries need to ​approve a renewal ⁠of the existing USMCA agreement or signal their intention to exit the pact, a process that ​takes 10 years, but which would buy more time ​for ⁠alterations.

“So I think that we aren’t probably going to resolve all issues by July 1,” Greer said, adding that USTR would work to ⁠resolve ​as much as possible before then. Greer ​also said that he would need to notify Congress of U.S. intentions toward the ​agreement by June 1.

Reporting by David Lawder; Editing by Mark Porter

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Midterm alarm bells: Democrats face steep favorability deficit despite election gains

April 7, 2026 12:23pm EDT / Fox News

Just 28% of Americans view the Democratic Party favorably, but Republicans don’t fare much better in the latest polls

By Paul Steinhauser Fox News

A new national poll is the latest to indicate that Democrats are facing major problems with their party’s image as they try to win back congressional majorities from the Republicans in this year’s midterm elections.

Just 28% of Americans questioned in a CNN poll view the Democratic Party positively, with 56% seeing Democrats in an unfavorable light.

The poll, the most recent over the past year to indicate the Democratic Party brand hitting historic lows, comes with just over six months to go until the midterms, when they hope to escape the political wilderness.

The GOP, which is working to defend its fragile House and slim Senate majorities in the 2026 ballot box showdowns amid President Donald Trump’s underwater approval ratings and a rough political climate that doesn’t favor the party in power, doesn’t fare much better in the poll, which was conducted March 26-30.

WHAT OUR LATEST FOX NEWS NATIONAL POLL SAYS

Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, a Democrat from New York, left, and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, a Democrat from New York, walk to speak to members of the media following a meeting at the White House in Washington, D.C., on Monday, Sept. 29, 2025.(Annabelle Gordon/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Thirty-two percent of Americans said they viewed the Republican Party positively, with 55% seeing the GOP in a negative light.

An average of the most recent national polls that asked how respondents viewed the two major political parties show the Republicans’ favorability 15 points in negative territory but the Democrats 20 points underwater.

Helping to sink the Democratic Party’s underwater ratings are Democrats themselves.

A healthy percentage of Democrats feel that their leaders in Congress aren’t fighting back more vocally against Trump and his unprecedented second-term agenda. That’s fueling a less favorable view of the Democratic Party among Democrats compared to a noticeably more favorable view of the GOP among Republicans.

That’s a departure from 2006 and 2018, the most recent midterms, when the Democrats rode blue waves to win back the House when Republicans controlled the White House. In those years, Democrats led by double digits in net favorability.

Democrats were ecstatic two weeks ago after flipping a Republican-controlled legislative seat in a right-leaning, Palm Beach, Florida-anchored district that includes Mar-a-Lago, Trump’s home turf. The same day, Democrats also flipped a state Senate seat in Florida in a separate special election. The Democrats’ Sunshine State victories were their latest wins or overperformances in a slew of special elections from coast to coast since Trump returned to power in the White House 14 months ago.

DNC CHAIR KEN MARTIN BOASTS ‘WIN AFTER WIN,’ SHRUGS OFF MASSIVE TRUMP, REPUBLICAN MONEY LEAD

In this screenshot taken from video, Florida state Rep.-elect Emily Gregory speaks with The Associated Press from Palm Beach, Florida, about her special election win where she flipped a district that is home to President Donald Trump’s estate, Mar-a-Lago, March 25, 2026.(Associated Press)

Democrats also scored larger than expected victories in last November’s gubernatorial elections in blue-leaning Virginia and New Jersey.

Partially fueling the Democrats’ ballot box performances is their laser focus on affordability amid persistent inflation. And the victories are further energizing Democrats as they work to win back control of Congress in the midterms.

“From now until November, Democrats are all gas and no brakes as we compete across every corner of Florida and the nation,” Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin said after the Florida special elections.

But along with their brand issues, also troubling for Democrats ahead of the midterms is their standing in the generic ballot, the closely watched polling indicator that asks respondents whether they’d back the Democrat or Republican in their congressional district without offering specific candidate names.

Democrats are up over the Republicans by five points in the CNN poll, and an average of all the most recent national surveys to ask the generic ballot question gives the Democrats an edge over the GOP of just under six points. That margin for the Democrats is smaller than at the same point in the 2018 and 2006 cycles, when they won back the House.

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National polls also indicate that when it comes to how both parties are handling the key issues that matter to voters, Democrats don’t enjoy any overwhelming advantage.

The most recent Fox News national poll, which was conducted March 20–23, indicated Democrats with a slight three-point margin over Republicans on which party has a clear plan to bring down prices and make things more affordable. The vast majority of voters questioned in the Fox News poll gave a big thumbs down to both parties.

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Veteran political scientist Wayne Lesperance, the president of New England College, told Fox News Digital that Democrats “have no room to coast.”

“Voters remain unimpressed with their brand and for far too many voters the party continues to be defined by Biden and Harris. Democrats are expected to win big in November. But, there is a great deal of work to rehabilitate their brand with voters for 2026 and 2028,” Lesperance said.

Paul Steinhauser is a politics reporter based in the swing state of New Hampshire. He covers the campaign trail from coast to coast.

DHS says US could stop processing international travelers at some airports in ‘sanctuary cities’

2026-04-07T18:42:24.259Z / Reuters

By David Shepardson and Ted Hesson

April 7, 2026 6:42 PM UTC Updated 54 mins ago

节点运行失败

Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin talks with Attorney General Pam Bondi before President Donald Trump speaks about the Iran war from the Cross Hall of the White House on Wednesday, April 1, 2026, in Washington. Alex Brandon/Pool via REUTERS

WASHINGTON, April 7 (Reuters) – Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said on Tuesday that customs officials could stop processing international travelers at ​major U.S. airports in “sanctuary cities” that have declined to cooperate with the ‌Trump administration’s hardline immigration crackdown, a move that could severely impact U.S. trade and tourism.

The move could effectively halt international air travel and commerce at major airports in Democratic states, and have major ramifications ​for the FIFA World Cup that is set to start in early ​June. More than 50 million international travelers arrived at the three ⁠major New York airports alone last year.

The Reuters Iran Briefing newsletter keeps you informed with the latest developments and analysis of the Iran war. Sign up here.

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The U.S. Department of Justice published a ​list of so-called sanctuary cities and states in October 2025 that included many cities with major ​international airports, such as Denver, Philadelphia, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York City, Newark, Seattle and San Francisco.

U.S. airports and immigration enforcement have been at the center of a partisan funding fight since ​mid-February, when Democrats refused to support additional money for President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown ​without reforms to scale back aggressive tactics.

Mullin cited the ongoing refusal of Democrats to reach a ‌deal ⁠to fund the Department of Homeland Security, including Customs and Border Protection, and said he anticipated speaking with Trump about the idea of pulling customs offices.

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“It’s an option,” Mullin told reporters in North Carolina, adding no decision had been made. “If cities are ​going to sit there ​and say that ⁠they’re not going to enforce immigration policies, then I’ll repeat myself and say it doesn’t make any sense for us ​to process international travelers through that city.”

Mullin said pulling the ​customs officers ⁠was one of several options under consideration as Congress remains deadlocked over funding for DHS.

“We’re going to start having those conversations. As I said, this is just something ⁠I’m thinking. ​This isn’t something that I’m necessarily going to ​do,” he said.

Mullin argued that state and city policies and laws limiting immigration enforcement were illegal because they ​contradicted federal immigration laws.

Reporting by David Shepardson and Ted Hesson; Editing by Nia Williams

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Ex-Trump ally Marjorie Taylor Greene joins left-wing calls for the 25th amendment as Iran deadline nears

April 7, 2026 12:35pm EDT / Fox News

President Donald Trump has threatened that ‘a whole civilization will die tonight’

By Alex Nitzberg Fox News

NEW You can now listen to Fox News articles!

Former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene called for President Donald Trump to be removed from office via the 25th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.

“25TH AMENDMENT!!! Not a single bomb has dropped on America. We cannot kill an entire civilization. This is evil and madness,” Greene wrote on X.

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

Greene’s post featured a screenshot of Trump’s Tuesday Truth Social post in which he ominously warned that Iran’s “civilization will die tonight.”

FORMER REP MTG VENTS THAT SHE’S ‘SO BEYOND DONE,’ CHARACTERIZING TRUMP’S ADDRESS AS ‘WAR WAR WAR’

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., arrives for a meeting of House Republicans in the Capitol Visitor Center on the budget reconciliation bill on Thursday, May 15, 2025.(Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc)

“A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again. I don’t want that to happen, but it probably will,” Trump declared in the Truth Social post.

“However, now that we have Complete and Total Regime Change, where different, smarter, and less radicalized minds prevail, maybe something revolutionarily wonderful can happen, WHO KNOWS? We will find out tonight, one of the most important moments in the long and complex history of the World. 47 years of extortion, corruption, and death, will finally end. God Bless the Great People of Iran!” he added.

Greene, a once-fierce Trump ally, had a bitter falling out with the president last year and has become a vociferous critic of the commander in chief.

Some sitting Democratic lawmakers have also called for the president to be booted from office.

Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., a member of the progressive cadre of lawmakers known as “The Squad,” is one of those calling for Trump’s ouster.

“Sickeningly evil. Donald Trump must be impeached.When will it be enough for my Republican colleagues to grow spines and remove him from office?” she wrote in a Tuesday post on X.

ILHAN OMAR CALLS TRUMP AN ‘UNHINGED LUNATIC,’ URGES BOOTING HIM OUT OF OFFICE

Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., poses for a portrait in her office on Capitol Hill on Wednesday, December 10, 2025.(Demetrius Freeman/The Washington Post)

Rep. Mark Pocan, D-Wisc., declared in a Tuesday post on X, “25th Amendment RIGHT NOW! Trump is too unhinged, dangerous, and deranged to have the nuclear codes!”

Rep. Shri Thanedar, D-Mich., who last year introduced impeachment articles against Trump, declared in a Tuesday post on X, “Trump just threatened to slaughter 100 million people. It’s clear he’s unfit to be president, the 25th amendment must be invoked. If Vance, Rubio & the others continue to be spineless cowards, Congress must do everything possible to stop Trump & this war.”

In a Truth Social post issued on Easter Sunday, the president warned, “Tuesday will be Power Plant Day, and Bridge Day, all wrapped up in one, in Iran. There will be nothing like it!!! Open the F[—]kin’ Strait, you crazy b——, or you’ll be living in Hell – JUST WATCH! Praise be to Allah.”

Omar responded to the president’s comments, declaring in a Monday post on X, “This is not ok. Invoke the 25th amendment. Impeach. Remove. This unhinged lunatic must be removed from office.”

TRUMP WARNS ‘WHOLE CIVILIZATION WILL DIE TONIGHT,’ AS IRANIAN OFFICIAL URGES HUMAN CHAINS AROUND POWER PLANTS

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a news conference in James S. Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House on April 6, 2026, in Washington, D.C.(Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

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Greene declared in a Sunday post on X that the president had “gone insane.”

“Everyone in his administration that claims to be a Christian needs to fall on their knees and beg forgiveness from God and stop worshipping the President and intervene in Trump’s madness. I know all of you and him and he has gone insane, and all of you are complicit,” she asserted in part of the lengthy post. “This is not making America great again, this is evil.”

Alex Nitzberg is a writer for Fox News Digital.

https://www.foxnews.com/video/6392685032112

Gas prices could soon breach $5 a gallon if Strait of Hormuz remains shut, J.P. Morgan analysts say

April 7, 2026 / 12:33 PM EDT / CBS News

By Mary Cunningham

Gasoline prices in the U.S., which have risen $1.16 a gallon since the start of the Iran war in February, could top $5 a gallon as soon as later this month if the Strait of Hormuz remains closed through mid-April, according to J.P. Morgan energy analysts.

Higher prices at the pump could also consume “much or all” of the larger tax refunds many Americans were expected to receive this year because of the Republican-backed tax and spending bill passed in 2025, they note.

“Every 10¢ rise in the average price of regular gasoline this year would add just over another $12 [billiion] to the annual outlays for gasoline,” J.P. Morgan said in a note to clients. “Our U.S. economics team estimates that the recent increase in the gasoline price, if it persists for the rest of this year, should amount to around a $100 [billion] hit to consumers’ purchasing power.”

Gas prices have surged in the U.S. as the conflict in the Middle East blocks shipments of oil passing through the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz. As of Tuesday, the average national gas price was $4.14 a gallon, up from $2.98 just before the outbreak of hostilities, according to data from AAA.

Patrick De Haan, a petroleum expert at GasBuddy, agrees that gas prices could surpass $5 a gallon by late April if the situation in the Middle East doesn’t improve soon.

“New records for both gasoline and diesel are possible, and more likely if the president follows through on his threats to attack Iran/escalate the situation later today,” he said in an email to CBS News.

The average national gas price last reached $5 a gallon in 2022, hitting an all-time high of $5.02 after adjusting for inflation in June of that year amid the fiercest inflation in four decades.

Traffic in the strait has edged up, with 21 ships transiting the waterway over the weekend, according to Bloomberg. However, traffic remains far below where it stood before the war. Ship transits through the channel dropped from roughly 130 per day in February to six in March, a United Nations panel said in a report on Monday.

On Tuesday, President Trump ramped up his threats against Iran, writing on Truth Social that “a whole civilization will die tonight” if the country doesn’t reopen the strait by 8 p.m. Eastern time on Tuesday.

Mr. Trump told CBS News White House correspondent Weijia Jiang on Monday that “we have to have a deal that’s acceptable to me, and part of that deal is going to be, we want free traffic of oil and everything else.”

Mr. Trump has repeatedly called on other countries to reopen the waterway, noting that the U.S. imports relatively little oil from the Middle East. In a speech last week, he said that countries that rely on crude shipments passing through the strait should “take the lead in protecting the oil that they so desperately depend on,” according to the Assoicated Press.

Tennessee Senate passes bill criminalizing migrants who defy deportation orders

April 7, 2026 2:02pm EDT / Fox News

Violators would face up to 11 months in jail, a $2,500 fine, or both under the proposed legislation

By Michael Dorgan Fox News

Tennessee Republicans are moving to criminalize immigration violations at the state level with a bill that would make it a crime for migrants to remain in the Volunteer State after a final deportation order.

The measure, which passed the Republican-controlled Senate on a 26-6 vote, would require illegal immigrants with a removal order to leave Tennessee within 90 days or face a Class A misdemeanor. The House previously passed the measure 73-22.

Violators would face up to 11 months and 29 days in jail, a fine of up to $2,500, or both. The bill also creates a separate Class A misdemeanor offense for migrants who re-enter or attempt to enter the state after being deported.

THREE STATES SIGN NEW AGREEMENTS WITH ICE FOR EXPANDED IMMIGRATION ENFORCEMENT OPERATIONS

The state Capitol in Nashville, Tennessee.(Andrew Woodley/Universal Images Group)

Tennessee House Majority Leader William Lamberth, the bill’s sponsor, framed the proposal as a direct challenge to long-standing limits on state immigration enforcement.

“When someone has exhausted all their options and they’ve been told to leave the country, it is illegal for them to stay, both under federal law, and if this bill passes, it would be a misdemeanor for them to enter in, or remain in, the state of Tennessee,” Lamberth said during a state House Judiciary Committee hearing, according to Newsweek.

The measure is part of a broader push by Tennessee Republicans to take a stricter approach to illegal immigration, including restricting public benefits and expanding state involvement in enforcement.

FATHER OF SLAIN 20-YEAR-OLD KILLED BY ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT ISSUES STARK WARNING AFTER SHERIDAN GORMAN KILLING

The Trump administration made securing the border and deporting criminal illegal aliens a priority in the first months of 2025.(Gregory Bull/Associated Press)

Supporters, including Republican lawmakers backing the bill, argued it would strengthen enforcement and deter violations.

Critics, including immigration advocates and some legal experts, warned it could conflict with federal law, which generally governs immigration enforcement, and could burden state courts, according to the Tennessee Lookout.

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Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee.(Mark Zaleski/AP)

The proposal raises questions about whether states can impose additional penalties tied to federal deportation orders.

It is unclear whether Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee, a Republican, will sign the measure if it reaches his desk.

The bill could set up a Supreme Court challenge over federal authority and position Tennessee as a test case for a broader GOP effort to expand state-level immigration enforcement nationwide.

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

You can send tips to michael.dorgan@fox.com and follow him on Twitter @M_Dorgan.

Lobbyist for man pardoned by Trump in plea talks on extortion charges

2026-04-07T16:29:19.124Z / Reuters

By Luc Cohen and Marisa Taylor

April 7, 2026 4:29 PM UTC Updated 3 hours ago

节点运行失败

A walker is seen on the floor of a nursing home facility in New York City, U.S. January 6, 2021. REUTERS/Yuki Iwamura/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab

• Summary

• Nass allegedly hired ex-racketeering convict for intimidation
• Client Schwartz pleaded guilty to $38 million tax fraud in 2024
• Trump pardoned Schwartz three months into three-year sentence

NEW YORK, April 7 (Reuters) – A lobbyist who ​helped a nursing home owner convicted of tax fraud secure a pardon from President ‌Donald Trump is in talks with prosecutors over a potential plea agreement to resolve extortion charges, court records showed.

Attorney Joshua Nass, founder of lobbying firm Merkava Strategies, was arrested on March 13 on charges of hiring someone to intimidate ​a former client and his son into paying him $500,000. Court papers do not identify the former ​client, but two people familiar with the matter said it was Joseph Schwartz, the ⁠nursing home owner who received the pardon last year.

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In a court filing on Monday night, Nass’ lawyers asked ​Brooklyn-based U.S. Magistrate Judge James Cho to push the deadline for prosecutors to secure an indictment to ​April 27 from April 13 as talks continue.

“This additional time is necessary to afford the parties time to confer regarding a potential resolution of the case,” Nass’ defense lawyers wrote, adding that prosecutors consented to the request.

Nass has not entered a plea. ​His lawyers did not immediately respond to requests for comment. A spokesperson for the Brooklyn U.S. ​Attorney’s office declined to comment.

In December 2025, the son of Nass’ former client agreed to pay Nass $100,000 toward a $600,000 contract for ‌lobbying ⁠services, according to prosecutors. In January, Nass hired someone previously convicted of racketeering to threaten and assault the client and his son, according to an FBI complaint filed in court.

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The complaint did not describe the nature of the lobbying services.

Congressional lobbying records show that Nass agreed to represent Schwartz in connection with “petitioning for a ​pardon/clemency” starting on November ​13, 2025. Nass earned $100,000 in ⁠connection with his work for Schwartz in the fourth quarter of 2025, records show.

Schwartz, 66, pleaded guilty in New Jersey federal court in November 2024 ​to a $38 million tax fraud scheme. Trump pardoned him on November 14, less than ​three months ⁠after he began serving a three-year sentence in an Otisville, New York federal prison.

Schwartz’s lawyer Kevin Marino declined to comment.

U.S. presidents have unchecked power to grant clemency for federal crimes. Historically, presidents have granted pardons or ⁠sentence commutations ​toward the end of their terms after extensive review processes. ​Trump, during his second term in the White House, has made far earlier and more frequent use of the clemency power ​than his predecessors.

Reporting by Luc Cohen in New York and Marisa Taylor in Washington; editing by David Gaffen

Lawmakers call for CFTC crackdown on prediction markets after bet on downed U.S. airmen

April 7, 2026 / 3:42 PM EDT / CBS News

By Megan Cerullo

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

Lawmakers are pressing securities regulators to crack down on prediction markets amid several recent incidents of people using the increasingly popular platforms to bet on events tied to the Iran war and other government actions.

In an April 6 letter to Commodity Futures Trading Commission Chair Michael Selig, seven House Democrats demanded that the agency tighten its oversight of prediction markets after Polymarket allowed customers to wager on the fate of two U.S. airmen shot down over Iran last week.

Betting on life and death?

“It is morally corrupt and completely unacceptable for these platforms to allow people to bet on whether American service members live or die,” Rep. Seth Moulton of Massachusetts, a leader of the effort, said in a statement. “This is not a game. The CFTC has the authority to stop this, and we want to know why it hasn’t.”

The CFTC did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the lawmakers’ letter.

Companies like Polymarket and rival Kalshi let users wager money on the outcome of elections, sports contests and many other events. Yet while their popularity has exploded, the companies are attracting attention from lawmakers and other critics who say they violate anti-gambling regulations and who raise concerns about the integrity of trading activity on the platforms.

Polymarket allowed speculators last week to bet on whether the U.S. airmen shot down in Iran would be rescued by April 3 or April 4. Both crew members from the downed F-15E fighter jet were rescued. The company said it took the contract down immediately, but acknowledged in a statement posted on social media last week that the wager had “slipped through” the company’s internal safeguards.

Both Polymarket and Kalshi have recently said they are strengthening their controls to prevent insider trading.

“Wild West” markets

In their letter, the lawmakers said prediction markets “resemble an unregulated ‘Wild West’,” pointing to recent instances of alleged insider trading.

Those included a Polymarket client who made $436,000 in January by appearing to anticipate the capture of former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro by U.S. forces. Another user of the platform also appeared to make hundreds of thousands of dollars betting on the timing of U.S. strikes on Iran.

“[R]ecent high-profile instances of alleged insider trading on prediction market platforms relating to U.S. government actions — including the military’s intervention in Venezuela and our recent attack on Iran — have fueled concern that the CFTC does not have adequate control over these fast-growing markets,” the lawmakers wrote.

An existing CFTC rule bans contracts that “involve, relate, or reference terrorism, assassination, war, gaming, or an activity that is unlawful under any State or Federal law,” the lawmakers noted in their letter.

The agency “should apply its existing rule prohibiting bets relating to terrorism, assassinations and war. This should especially be clear for contracts that are as morally obscene as betting on military action in Venezuela and Iran,” they wrote.

The House group asked that the CFTC respond by April 15 to a series of questions about its oversight of prediction markets, including why it has failed to take action against war-related bets. They also asked if the agency is aware of any conflicts of interest between financial market players and high-ranking government officials.

From ‘Trump curious’ to ‘Trump furious’: How one expert explains Black swing voters

2026-04-07 1:38 PM EDT / CNN

By Dana Bash, CNN

Published 1:38 PM EDT, Tue April 7, 2026

From ‘Trump curious’ to ‘Trump furious’: How one expert explains Black swing voters

Pollster Terrance Woodbury says there are new swing voters: young voters of color and men of color. They were Trump curious in 2024, but Woodbury now says they are “Trump furious”. He tells CNN’s Dana Bash his warning to Democrats is “while many of those Trump curious voters returned to the Democratic coalition in 2025, they remain swing voters, and we have to give them something to vote for and not just to vote against him.”

6:26 • Source: CNN

https://www.cnn.com/2026/04/07/politics/video/inside-politics-black-swing-voters