Author: Daniel

EXCLUSIVE: Hours after Virginia gubernatorial candidates Republican Winsome Earle-Sears and Democrat Abigail Spanberger sparred over illegal immigration concerns in Virginia, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) told Fox News Digital it filed detainers to deport two teen “thugs,” allegedly unscreened by the Biden administration, accused of firing guns on a busy suburban interstate.

Earle-Sears — a legal immigrant from Jamaica — claimed Spanberger will make Virginia a “sanctuary state,” while the Democrat rebutted that assertion, saying she would “absolutely” cooperate with the feds during official criminal investigations involving illegal immigrants.

Two “criminal illegal alien thugs whipped around” Interstate 295 near the Chickahominy River bridges east of Richmond, Virginia, “with complete neglect for the safety of Virginians” while allegedly firing weapons on the typically busy bypass of the Old Dominion’s capital, DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin told Fox News Digital Friday. 

McLaughlin said the two males were released allegedly “unvetted” under the Biden administration’s lax immigration policies, and that ICE lodged a detainer request after state authorities captured them and sent them to a juvenile prison in Williamsburg, Virginia. 

EARLE-SEARS COMES OUT SWINGING IN HEATED DEBATE AS SPANBERGER DODGES JAY JONES QUESTIONS

“We are not going to allow criminal illegal aliens to terrorize American citizens,” McLaughlin said.

The two 17-year-old illegal immigrants from Honduras had allegedly acquired a BMW and sped northbound on I-295 and caught the attention of a Hanover County, Virginia, sheriff deputy who had pulled over another motorist several miles southwest of Old Church, Virginia.

DHS said the deputy noticed the BMW matching the description of one announced over the radio, and the teens immediately led the officer on a pursuit.

WINSOME EARLE-SEARS REBUKES SPANBERGER PLAN TO UNDO VIRGINIA’S ICE PACT: ‘THIS IS NOT HARD’

The teens eventually exited the highway and crashed on a side street off Mechanicsville Turnpike, according to DHS, which otherwise could have taken them into downtown Richmond, Virginia.

The illegal immigrants were arrested and charged with shooting from a vehicle, possession of a firearm under age 18, possession of a firearm by an illegal alien and reckless handling of a firearm, according to a DHS statement. 

A Virginia State Police official told Richmond’s CBS affiliate that the swift apprehension of the suspects was a testament to interdepartmental cooperation between Virginia State Police, and local Henrico and Hanover authorities.

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Interstate 295 is a heavily trafficked alternative to Interstate 95, which proceeds through Richmond, Colonial Heights and Petersburg, Virginia, while traffic bound for North Carolina or Washington, D.C., tends to use the higher-speed alternative.

EXCLUSIVE: During a time of surging political polarization across the country, Bill McBride, who is retiring from his role as executive director of the National Governors Association, gave an insider’s perspective on how the bulwark of bipartisan cooperation operates to solve national crises.

In an interview with Fox News Digital, McBride discussed his role working with both Republican and Democratic governors to lead the 117-year-old organization through some of the most tumultuous periods in recent U.S. history, including the COVID-19 pandemic.

Under his leadership, the NGA achieved record participation from all 50 states and the five inhabited U.S. territories. He has led the NGA alongside four different governors who served as chairmen: New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, a Democrat; Utah Gov. Spencer Cox, a Republican; Colorado Gov. Jared Polis, a Democrat; and Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt, a Republican. He has advanced several bipartisan policy initiatives that have had a national impact.

DEMOCRATIC PARTY TENSIONS SEEP INTO BIPARTISAN GROUP AS GOVERNORS RESISTING TRUMP’S AGENDA RECONSIDER DUES

He explained that while politicians in Congress can get mired in political games – as evidenced by the government shutdown – governors are under tremendous pressure to get things done. The pressure to perform often helps them to focus on solutions rather than politics.

“Executives have to produce, and you have to make rapid decisions, because if you don’t, things just don’t get done.”

According to McBride, the NGA has thrived in some of the most difficult circumstances. He said that the pandemic was a real turning point for bringing governors of both parties to the table to discuss difficult problems. During that time, the NGA convened governors weekly to coordinate strategy, share data, and engage directly with federal agencies.

“I think we did something like 67 weeks of those calls. And we get 40 to 45 governors on those calls. And looking back on it, we covered everything. You know, it started with what is the pandemic? You know what caused this virus? Then we talked about vaccines and getting vaccines and testing equipment and supplies and just all the challenges that the governors were facing,” he said. “It really brought the group very close together. And it wasn’t just the weekly calls we were having, because then they started calling each other individually and trading information. So, it was a huge resource for the governors.”

INCOMING NGA CHAIR ‘DISAPPOINTED’ IN DEM GOVERNORS ‘PLAYING POLITICS’ IN BIPARTISAN GROUP

McBride lamented that this type of bipartisanship has become increasingly rare outside of groups like the NGA.

“I think we’ve gotten to a point where people are locked in different camps and they’re not willing to reach across the aisle and to talk to somebody else, because maybe out of fear, maybe out stubbornness, but I think you can actually learn a lot from reaching across the aisle and getting different opinions from different people before you form your own opinions,” he explained.

The NGA was founded as the Conference of Governors in 1908 at the call of President Theodore Roosevelt. McBride explained that by staying out of politics, the NGA has been able to keep its focus on helping governors find practical policy solutions to problems that every state experiences.

“Governors are executives and have to get things done,” he explained. “We deal with everything from energy, education, infrastructure, homeland security, cyber security. I could go on and on. And we have teams that work on those policy issues and work with governors’ offices to help them create policy solutions.”

“We’re really a policy-driven organization, but another thing that’s very important is we’re bipartisan, we’re not a political organization. We don’t get involved in political campaigns,” he went on.

“I have found it fascinating in the time that I’ve been here, when you see the governors together from both political parties, how they get along with each other,” he noted. “Granted, they have philosophical differences on things, but they’re all executives running states facing similar problems, and they learn from each other, and they spend time with each other and share ideas.”

NEW NGA CHAIR SAYS AMERICA IS ‘EXCEPTIONAL’ IN PUSH TO REVIVE A FADING DREAM

He likened the NGA’s mission to an initiative launched by Cox when he was chair called “Disagree Better.” He shared that he believes this initiative helped prepare Cox to respond so well to the shocking assassination of Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University.

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“Disagree Better was modeled on the idea that we can disagree with each other, but we don’t have to hate each other,” he said. “Governor Cox did a tremendous job on that, and I have to say, I think it really helped prepare him for the situation he encountered in Utah with the recent assassination of Charlie Kirk.”

“We have seen Governor Cox step up to the moment and talk about this issue of how we can disagree with each other, but we don’t have to resort to violence,” he said. “Governors can take a lead on that, and I think they have.”

Socialist New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani defended Democrat New York Attorney General Letitia James following her grand jury indictment on charges of bank fraud and making false statements to a financial institution, calling it a “shameless act of political retribution” from the Trump administration. 

“This is not simply an attack on Attorney General Tish James,” Mamdani said Friday during a press conference with local New York leaders speaking out in defense of James. “This is an attack on our city. And each one of us represents different parts of that same city, and we speak with one voice today.” 

A grand jury in Virginia indicted James Thursday months after Federal Housing Finance Director Bill Pulte said in a criminal referral to the Department of Justice in April that James allegedly falsified mortgage records to obtain more favorable loans. 

Mamdani — a left-wing candidate who has advocated for and backed communist principles, including calling for the seizure of the “means of production” — said he spoke with James after she was indicted Thursday and relayed she was confident she would win the case against her. 

LETITIA JAMES’ OWN WORDS COME BACK TO HAUNT HER AFTER FEDERAL BANK FRAUD CHARGES FILED

“Last night, she told me, ‘Don’t worry about me,’” he said. “And that’s indicative of an attorney general who has spent all of her time worrying about the people of this city. And so I know that the crosshairs the Trump administration is putting the attorney general through is because of the fact that she has had the audacity to stand up to him at a time when so many have bowed.” 

“She has also made it clear to myself and many others that she has a full confidence in the legal team around her that will ensure that not only will she have the record of having won the case in the courtroom behind us, but winning this case as well,” Mamdani later added, referring to the New York City courthouse where President Donald Trump stood trial in the interim of his first and second presidency in New York v. Trump. 

James is a longtime political foe of Trump’s, including campaigning for the attorney general job in 2018 by vowing to aggressively pursue legal charges against Trump if elected. 

Her office filed 100 legal challenges against the first Trump administration and said after his second presidential win in 2024 that she would continue challenging him in the courts to “defend the rights of New Yorkers and the rule of law.” 

James’ office also launched the New York civil fraud case against Trump and the Trump Organization over allegations of faulty business practices, winning a nearly $500 million judgment in 2024. 

Mamdani continued that the indictment is a “shameless act of political retribution” at the hands of Trump against James. 

ANDERSON COOPER SAYS IT WAS ‘NOT A GREAT LOOK’ FOR LETITIA JAMES TO THREATEN TO SUE TRUMP AFTER HER ELECTION

“What Donald Trump has sought to do with taking over the federal government is to advance his own greed and his own agenda,” he said. “And we are now watching, as in the pursuit of that advancement, he lays waste to our democracy. This is a blatant miscarriage of justice. This is a shameless act of political retribution.” 

“Instead of prosecuting Tish James for doing her job, Donald Trump should be doing his. Because Donald Trump ran for president on three promises: to carry out mass deportation, to punish his political enemies and to ease the cost of living crisis,” he said, claiming Trump is “fundamentally incapable of delivering on” the third promise. 

He vowed to defend James amid the legal troubles while slamming Trump’s “authoritarian administration.”

“This indictment is instructive in two clear ways,” he said. “The first, in its example of an authoritarian administration that is looking to punish those for whom their only crime is holding Donald Trump to the same laws that every American should be held to. And the second is what it asks of each of us. Will we sit idly by as an authoritarian president like Donald Trump attacks the very fabric of this democracy?” 

NEW YORK AG LETITIA JAMES’ INDICTMENT SPARKS SHARP PARTISAN DIVIDE

Pulte’s criminal referral letter in April pointed to a Norfolk, Virginia, home James purchased in 2023, which she identified on mortgage documents and a Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac form as a property that would serve as her primary residence. 

James is legally required to live in New York as a statewide elected official in that state. 

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The criminal referral also cited past reported issues with James’ properties, including a 2001 purchase of a Brooklyn, New York, property. The certificate of occupancy lists the property as a five-unit residence, while James’ mortgages list the property as four units, which could affect mortgage agreements.

Fox News Digital reached out to the White House and James’ office for comment Friday afternoon and has not yet received any responses. 

Fox News Digital’s Andrew Mark Miller contributed to this report. 

FIRST ON FOX: An illegal immigrant carrying a New York state commercial driver’s license with “NO NAME GIVEN” listed as his name was arrested by ICE in Oklahoma, according to DHS.

The agency said that it has been working in conjunction with the U.S. Department of Transportation as well as state and local law enforcement to get illegal truck drivers off American highways following the high-profile accident involving Indian illegal Harjinder Singh.

Working with the Oklahoma Highway Patrol, ICE arrested another Indian illegal alien named Anmol Anmol. DHS said that Anmol was carrying a New York commercial driver’s license on which his first name was listed as “NO NAME GIVEN.”

A redacted photo of the license obtained by Fox News Digital shows it is a Class A CDL that was issued in April and is valid until May 2028. There is a star at the top right corner of the license, indicating that it is a REAL ID.

OKLAHOMA TROOPERS, ICE DETAIN 120 ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS IN THREE-DAY INTERSTATE ENFORCEMENT SWEEP

Anmol was arrested by ICE on Sept. 23, 2025, during a routine inspection at a truck scale on I-40. Record checks conducted by ICE revealed that Anmol is an illegal alien from India who entered the country in 2023. DHS said he was released by the Biden administration into the country.

Anmol has now been placed in removal proceedings.

Commenting on Anmol’s arrest, DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said that “New York is not only failing to check if applicants applying to drive 18-wheelers are U.S. citizens but even failing to obtain the full legal names of individuals they are issuing commercial drivers’ licenses to.”

“Allowing illegal aliens to obtain commercial driver’s licenses to operate 18-wheelers and transport hazardous materials on America’s roads is reckless and incredibly dangerous to public safety. Thanks to the successful 287g partnership of ICE and Oklahoma Highway Patrol, Anmol Anmol is no longer posing a threat to drivers,” added McLaughlin.

“DHS is working with our state and local partners to get illegal alien truck drivers who often don’t know basic traffic laws off our highways.”

EXPERT REVEALS HOW ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT TRUCKER MAY HAVE GOTTEN COMMERCIAL LICENSE BEFORE FATAL FLORIDA CRASH

An official with the New York Department of Motor Vehicles, however, contested the license holder’s illegal status, telling Fox News Digital that the individual holding the license has lawful status in the U.S. through a federal employment authorization issued in March and “was issued a license consistent with federal guidelines.”

“This commercial driver’s license was issued in accordance with all proper procedures, including verification of the individual’s identity through federally issued documentation,” the official said, adding that “it is not uncommon for individuals from other countries to have only one name.”

The official said that “procedures for that are clearly spelled out in the US Citizenship and Immigration Services policy manual,” and added that “it is important to note that federal documents also include a ‘no name given’ notation.”

In response, McLaughlin told Fox News Digital that “the Biden Administration gave this illegal alien work authorization in 2023” and that “work authorization does not give anyone lawful immigration status.”

McLaughlin called it “insane that New York is issuing commercial drivers licenses to illegal aliens.” 

“The state of New York needs to stop trying to pass the buck and admit they need to have stricter standards for issuing commercial drivers licenses. They are putting the safety of all American drivers at risk,” said McLaughlin. 

Pressed further by Fox News Digital on Anmol’s immigration status, a New York DMV official said, “Any questions about immigration documentation should be directed to the federal government.”

In a statement to Fox News Digital, Oklahoma Republican Gov. Stitt said that “if New York wants to hand out CDLs to illegal immigrants with ‘No Name Given,’ that’s on them. The moment they cross into Oklahoma, they answer to our laws.”

The arrest was part of a three-day operation, Sept. 23-25, that targeted threats to public safety along Interstate 40 in Oklahoma. ICE was able to work in conjunction with the Oklahoma Highway Patrol because of the state’s 287(g) program, which enables state and local law enforcement agencies to directly cooperate with ICE.

FLORIDA AG ANNOUNCES PROBE OF SANCTUARY JURISDICTIONS THAT GIVE TRUCKING LICENSES TO ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS

During that period, ICE and the Oklahoma Highway Patrol arrested 120 illegal aliens, 91 of whom were operating a commercial motor vehicle with commercial driver licenses granted by sanctuary states. The office of Oklahoma Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt said that the operation arrested illegals from India, Uzbekistan, China, Russia, Georgia, Turkey, Tajikistan, Ukraine and Mauritania.

Stitt’s office said that the illegals arrested posed a public safety risk “by operating 80,000-pound commercial vehicles without proper verification.”

According to DHS, other illegals arrested during the operation included aliens with prior convictions for driving under the influence, money laundering, human smuggling, assault, conspiracy to distribute cocaine, possession of a controlled substance and illegal re-entry into the U.S.

Among those arrested was Guatemalan national Kevin Ivan Escobar-Dionicio, who has a criminal history including charges for human smuggling and money laundering. Another Guatemalan illegal arrested during the operation, named Alfredo Sanic Chipix, had past charges for assault.

BLUE STATE INVESTIGATES HOW ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT TRUCKER GOT LICENSE BEFORE DEADLY FLORIDA CRASH

Adrian Betancourt Rodriguez, from Cuba, was also arrested and has been convicted of selling cocaine.

Another, Firuz Khamidov, from Russia, was arrested and has charges for forgery.

This comes amid national concerns about illegal aliens operating commercial trucks on U.S. highways, following the high-profile case of Harjinder Singh, who is charged with three counts of vehicular homicide in St. Lucie County, Florida, for his involvement in a fatal crash on Aug. 12.

According to the Florida Highway Patrol, Singh was carrying a commercial driver’s license issued in the state of California.

The U.S. Department of Transportation said that Singh had been issued a CDL despite having failed an English language proficiency assessment and having only correctly identified one out of four roadway signs in the same test.

CALIFORNIA USING BACK DOOR TO GET FEDERAL FUNDS FOR ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT HEALTHCARE, GOP SAYS; DEMS SAY NONSENSE

Singh’s case sparked national concerns about how widespread a public safety issue illegal aliens driving on American roadways could be.

Commenting on Operation Guardian Sweep, Deputy ICE Director Madison Sheahan said that illegal aliens “have no business operating 18-wheelers on America’s highways.”

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Sheahan said that the operation “clearly demonstrates how federal and local law enforcement agencies can work together to make America safe again” and that “our roads are now safer with these illegal aliens no longer behind the wheel.”

She encouraged more state and local law enforcement agencies to join the 287(g) program “to help remove public safety threats and receive reimbursement funds available to our law enforcement partners.”

FIRST ON FOX: More than 100 House Republican lawmakers, led by Majority Leader Steve Scalise, are calling on the Supreme Court to block climate lawsuits that they say are waging “war on American energy” and could bankrupt the industry, Fox News Digital learned. 

“Every day, hardworking Americans depend on access to affordable and reliable energy,” Scalise said in comment provided to Fox News Digital Friday. “Despite this, radical environmentalists and local leftist politicians continue to wage war on American energy by going after domestic energy companies in our courtrooms, demanding they meet impossible standards or pay billions in damages. Any regulation of global greenhouse emissions falls squarely within the federal government’s jurisdiction.” 

Scalise and 102 Republican lawmakers filed an amicus brief with the Supreme Court — otherwise known as a “friend of the court” brief — calling for the Supreme Court to end lawsuits originating in Colorado that seek compensation from Exxon and Suncor Energy, arguing it’s a federal issue, not state. 

Local jurisdictions in Boulder, Colorado, sued Exxon and Suncor Energy in 2018, claiming the companies had for years downplayed risks surrounding burning oil and gas, requesting damages from the companies under Colorado law. 

EPA URGED TO AXE FUNDS FOR ‘RADICAL’ CLIMATE PROJECT ACCUSED OF TRAINING JUDGES, STATE AGS RALLY

The massive energy companies argue that the case focuses on cross-border emissions, making the matter a federal issue and not a state issue. Exxon and Suncor requested the U.S. Supreme Court take the case up after the Colorado Supreme Court ruled in May that it could move forward within state courts. 

Colorado’s highest court determined in its May ruling that federal law did not block Boulder from claiming the energy companies allegedly misled the citizens. 

“This ruling affirms what we’ve known all along: corporations cannot mislead the public and avoid accountability for the damages they have caused,” Boulder, Colorado, Mayor Aaron Brockett said in a statement at the time celebrating the state Supreme Court’s decision. “Our community has suffered significantly from the consequences of climate change, and today’s decision brings us one step closer to justice and the resources we need to protect our future.” 

The lawmakers wrote that the case is one mired in national security and stability concerns, arguing it could throttle the American energy industry, “if not bankrupt it altogether.”  

“Respondents, the City and County of Boulder, Colorado, would substitute their own preferred policies for those of the federal government,” the amicus brief reads. “They dress their complaint in the language of state law, but they cannot escape that every claim in some way turns on global greenhouse gas emissions. And the sheer magnitude of the damages at issue—likely tens of billions of dollars—would restructure the American energy industry if not bankrupt it altogether, especially when multiplied by the dozens of similar cases around the country.” 

TOP ENERGY GROUP CALLS FOR PROBE INTO SECRETIVE ‘NATIONAL LAWFARE CAMPAIGN’ TO INFLUENCE JUDGES ON CLIMATE

“This has continued long enough. States have no authority to regulate interstate and international emissions that originate beyond their respective,” it added.

Scalise stressed in his comment provided to Fox News Digital that local “extreme political” agendas are risking U.S. national security if local governments are able to bypass federal authority and continue with the suits. 

CLIMATE LAWFARE CAMPAIGN DEALT BLOW IN SOUTH CAROLINA

“Energy security is national security — we cannot allow state and local governments to supersede federal authority and put our country at risk for their own extreme political agenda,” he said. “I’m proud to lead this amicus brief to defend domestic energy production from radical state ‘Green New Scam’ policies, uphold our balance of powers, and safeguard our energy security, and am grateful to be joined by so many of my colleagues. I urge the Supreme Court to carefully consider our arguments as they deliberate this impactful case.” 

The amicus brief argued the Colorado Supreme Court’s ruling allowing the suits to continue “supplants the legislative prerogative of Congress, permitting a balkanized patchwork of state and local regulation over matters of uniquely federal concern.”

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“This case, and others like it, threaten the abundant, reliable energy that underpins every aspect of American life, including the standard of living for ordinary Americans,” the more than 100 lawmakers wrote. “Although national energy policy is the subject of vigorous debate, it is a national issue that must be decided at the national level—by officials elected by the people of all States—not in a local jury room.” 

When asked whether Virginia attorney general candidate Jay Jones should drop out of the race following violent text messages coming to light, many Democrats have either been mum or obliquely defended Jones’ candidacy while often criticizing the messages.

The situation begs whether Democrats may be concerned about the idea of replacing Jones on the Democratic ticket against Republican incumbent Jason Miyares, and whether it is even legally possible.

Fox News Digital inquired with the Commonwealth of Virginia as to exactly what could happen and whether Jones is stuck on the ballot as his scandal unravels.

‘CONSUMED WITH HATE’: WINSOME SEARS, JASON MIYARES UNLOAD ON DEMOCRAT JAY JONES OVER VIOLENT TEXTS

Unlike other commonwealths like Pennsylvania, where the secretary of the commonwealth is the chief election official, Virginia has its own Department of Elections that oversees such operations.

An official with the Department of Elections told Fox News Digital Wednesday there are three sections under the Code of Virginia that govern such situations.

Under Code 24.2-612.2, candidates are always permitted to drop out of their respective races, but they have until within 60 days of the election to have their name scrubbed from the ballot.

WATCH: KAINE DEFENDS JONES AMID AG CANDIDATE’S TEXTS ENVISIONING MURDER OF GOP LEADER: ‘STILL A SUPPORTER’

That means, in Jones’ case, he has the option to bow out amid the firestorm, but Democrats cannot name a new candidate to officially be on the ballot.

Additionally, Virginia’s voting season starts much earlier than some other states, with voters already casting ballots as of late September. Any votes for Jones on those ballots still go to him even if he drops out, creating an unintended boon for Miyares. 

As of Wednesday, early voting tallies in Virginia have already dwarfed 2021’s returns, according to the Virginia Public Access Project.

‘STAGGERING’ SILENCE: DEMOCRATS KNOCKED FOR KEEPING MUM ABOUT CANDIDATE WHO FANTASIZED ABOUT MURDER

While a partisan breakdown is not given, Democrats historically favor mail-in and early voting versus Republicans.

As of Wednesday, more than 420,000 ballots have been cast either in-person or by-mail this cycle, compared to only 225,000 in the 2021 sweeps.

But, if Jones were to drop out, the law provides an assistance to political parties under Code of Virginia 24.2-612.1.

If a candidate withdraws after ballots are printed, every county and independent city election office is mandated to post notices at polling sites informing voters that the candidate on the ballot has withdrawn.

Pieces of paper will then be distributed at polls and enclosed within mail-in ballots to alert voters to the withdrawn candidate.

If Jones officially withdrew, his votes would still be tallied but not counted by election officials because he would be a withdrawn candidate.

DEMOCRATS STAND BY VIRGINIA AG HOPEFUL WHO FANTASIZED ABOUT KILLING GOP LAWMAKER

Therefore, the Democratic Party could ostensibly also post signage at polls highlighting any consensus candidate they would want to replace Jones with.

Write-ins are allowed in the attorney general’s race, so if Jones were to withdraw, Democrats could coalesce behind a new candidate and put forward a unified front in hopes they garner enough late-season and day-of votes to surpass Miyares’ and Jones’ tallies.

There have been a handful of write-in candidates winning in Virginia in the 20th and 21st centuries. However, most occurred in noncompetitive or low-tier races.

Only two candidates whose names did not appear on the original ballot in competitive races have won elections in the contemporary era.

The more prominent of the two is Virginia Del. Nick Freitas, R-Culpeper, a libertarian-leaning conservative who won his 2019 effort after failing to file his paperwork on time to make the official ballot. He won his race with about 58% of the vote.

Freitas previously unsuccessfully challenged now-Democratic gubernatorial nominee Abigail Spanberger for her congressional seat — now held by Rep. Yevgeny “Eugene” Vindman, D-Va.

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He also narrowly lost to former Prince William County, Virginia, Supervisors Chairman Corey Stewart in the 2018 GOP senatorial primary 45–43. Stewart ultimately lost to Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va. by 57–41 in the general.

The other write-in case involved Brunswick County school board member Timothy Puryear in 2023.

Publicly, the White House says the latest strikes in the Caribbean are aimed at cartel infrastructure. Privately, some analysts suspect the campaign is calibrated to do something else: weaken longtime U.S. foe Nicolás Maduro’s grip on power.

President Donald Trump is ramping up pressure on the Venezuelan regime, striking four boats in the Caribbean Sea linked to drug trafficking networks tied to Caracas over the past month. Alongside those strikes, the U.S. has repositioned three destroyers, an amphibious assault ship, a nuclear-powered attack submarine and a squadron of F-35s to Puerto Rico — a deployment that has prompted one question in Washington and across the region: is the United States preparing for all-out war on Caracas?

So far, defense analysts say that seems unlikely. A ground invasion would require far more troops than are currently in the theater — between 50,000 and 150,000 by some estimates.

Somewhere around 10,000 troops have been repositioned in Latin America, a senior defense official told the New York Times.

WAR ON CARTELS? WHITE HOUSE SAYS IT HAS AN IRON-CLAD CASE TO STRIKE NARCO-TERRORIST GROUPS

“The U.S. just doesn’t have enough forces there,” said Mark Cancian, a senior defense adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. “What I think they’ve put in place is the capability to launch strikes at either the cartels or the Maduro regime. If I had to bet, it’s probably against the cartels — but I wouldn’t rule out something against the regime.”

That limited but flexible posture reflects what some experts call a modern form of coercive diplomacy.

“It sort of looks like we’re in the throes of a 21st-century version of gunboat diplomacy,” said Brandan Buck, a foreign policy analyst at the Cato Institute. “The Trump administration is doing what it can to force some sort of transition [of] power — out of Maduro’s hands and into someone else’s — without a classic invasion.”

The pressure campaign has accelerated this year. The administration raised the bounty on Maduro — Venezuela’s kleptocratic leader for more than a decade — to $50 million, and officials familiar with internal discussions say Trump has grown frustrated with the dictator’s refusal to step aside. Diplomatic outreach to Caracas was reportedly suspended this week.

While the Pentagon continues to frame the campaign as counter-narcotics, the U.S. military’s posture now allows for much more. Ryan Berg, director of the Americas Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said Washington’s evolving approach reflects a growing willingness to confront the regime directly.

“There appears to be growing appetite to confront Maduro’s regime directly — including potentially land-based strikes within Venezuela,” Berg said. “The force posture currently in the southern Caribbean is consonant with the potential for precision strikes using Tomahawk missiles or other weapons, but without risking the lives of U.S. service personnel.”

Behind the scenes, Berg noted, the administration has taken steps to prepare the legal ground for such action.

“The clearest signal yet is the legal justification for a non-international armed conflict,” he said. “That tells us several departments’ Office of Legal Counsel were tasked with building the case for potential strikes.”

The White House continues to describe the operation as homeland defense — stopping drug and fentanyl shipments before they reach U.S. shores — but analysts say Venezuela’s unique role in the drug trade blurs that line.

“Under Maduro, Venezuela is a criminal regime,” Berg said. “What makes the threat unique is that the regime controls the institutions of the state — and its military — to move drug shipments and participate in other illicit economies.”

CARTEL CONNECTION: HEZBOLLAH AND IRAN EXPLOIT MADURO’S VENEZUELA FOR COCAINE CASH

That dynamic means targeting cartels could also destabilize the regime that depends on them. Brent Sadler, a senior research fellow at the Heritage Foundation and retired Navy officer, said striking cartel networks could ultimately make Maduro’s rule unsustainable.

“The Maduro regime is reliant on the cartels to maintain its bottom line and stay in power,” Sadler said. “If you weaken the cartel backing of the regime, then the regime itself becomes unsustainable. You don’t have to go in guns blazing — you let it crumble under its own weight.”

Cancian said the expanding U.S. presence at sea and in the air “indicates this thing may end up being larger or go on longer than expected.” Any strikes against cartel production facilities inland, he added, risk bleeding into regime targets such as intelligence or defense ministries.

“They could easily strike the intelligence service or the Ministry of Defense,” Cancian said. “That’s where things could start to blur.”

But Democrats have accused Trump officials of trying to get the U.S. roped into another war. Republican senators on Thursday blocked an effort led by Senate Democrats to curb Trump’s war powers with a resolution stating Trump does not have the power to authorize strikes without approval from Congress.

The potential for retaliation remains a wild card. Venezuela’s conventional forces are weak, but analysts warn that the regime could rely on its cartel allies or proxy networks to strike back indirectly.

“Maduro could facilitate their retaliation,” Cancian said. “That could mean attacks on DEA agents or American citizens in the Caribbean. The cartels have the ability to do that.”

So far, few regional actors appear willing to come to Maduro’s defense. Berg said even many of the regime’s neighbors would quietly welcome his fall.

“Many would be secretly happy to see him go,” he said. “But you’d expect a few voices —  [President Gustavo] Petro in Colombia, [President Inacio] Lula in Brazil — to object to the use of force.”

MADURO CLAIMS US SEEKS ‘REGIME CHANGE THROUGH MILITARY THREAT’ AMID CARIBBEAN BUILDUP

Erik Suarez, a Venezuelan-born political activist, said the hemisphere is already dividing over the issue.

“We can divide South America [into] two sides,” he said. “Lula in Brazil and Petro in Colombia are aligned with Maduro, but many others — Ecuador, Peru, Guyana, and Caribbean states — see Venezuela as a major threat because of mass migration and the spread of drug traffickers and terrorists.”

Suarez said the Maduro regime’s alliances with armed groups and terror networks make it not just a domestic problem but a direct threat to U.S. security.

“Venezuela represents a huge national security threat — not only ideologically, but to homeland security,” he said. “They’ve issued passports to Hezbollah members and targeted dissidents abroad. Keeping Maduro in power is a long-term danger to the U.S.”

That view is shared by Venezuelan opposition leaders in the U.S. and many Latin Americans who fled communist dictatorships and their descendants, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

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Even if Washington succeeds in toppling Maduro, rebuilding Venezuela would be a monumental challenge. The country’s opposition — led by María Corina Machado and 2024 president-elect Edmundo González Urrutia — has legitimacy but faces the task of stabilizing a shattered state.

“The opposition has had months to prepare for governing,” Berg said. “They’re full of plans to get Venezuela back on a path of development and greater security.”

Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears pulled no punches in her attack on her Democratic opponent in Virginia’s gubernatorial race, former Rep. Abigail Spanberger, when a Thursday night debate turned to the topic of transgender issues and locker rooms.

“We know that girls want to have privacy,” Earle-Sears said. “[Spanberger] voted for men nude in girls locker rooms, in bathrooms, and in girls’ sports.” 

Turning to Spanberger, she asked, “Are you going to change in a gym where men are nude in the locker rooms? Are you going to do that?”

ELON MUSK WADES INTO VIRGINIA TRANSGENDER BATHROOM CLASH, SAYS DEM GOV CANDIDATE WRONGLY ‘BLAMING’ TRUMP

Earlier this month, Gov. Glenn Youngkin issued an executive directive ensuring bathrooms, locker rooms and other intimate spaces remain separated by sex assigned at birth. The directive also instructs the state Board of Health to bar biological males from competing on female athletic teams.

When asked, point-blank, whether she would rescind that directive, Spanberger sidestepped the question and refused to give a definitive answer.

“My answer is that in each local community decisions should be made between parents and educators, and teachers in each community. It shouldn’t be dictated by politicians,” Spanberger responded. “I’m a mother of three daughters in Virginia public schools, and nothing is more important to me than their safety and their experience in schools,” Spanberger added in response to questions about her stance on transgender issues. 

VIRGINIA LT. GOVERNOR ON WHY HER STATE IS AT RISK OF LOSING FEDERAL FUNDING OVER TRANSGENDER BATHROOMS 

“Nude men in locker rooms – that’s what this is about,” Earle-Sears maintained.

“There should never be nude men in locker rooms,” Spanberger eventually said. 

“We finally have her saying that! But you voted for that!” Earle-Sears shot back. “Are we in agreement now?”

“I’m going to answer the question my opponent refused to answer,” Earle-Sears said. “I will not rescind the governor’s executive order.”

Throughout the debate, Earle-Sears sought to address Spanberger directly, but Spanberger would not bite.

In addition to Spanberger’s evasiveness on Thursday night, the Democratic Party candidate similarly side-stepped questions about transgender issues while on the campaign trail leading up to the debate. 

When Fox News Digital previously reached out to Spanberger in August, about her views on transgender students’ access to bathrooms, the former Virginia congresswoman did not address the issue directly.

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“As a mom of three daughters in Virginia public schools, a former federal law enforcement officer, and a candidate for governor, Abigail’s priority is ensuring that all of Virginia’s kids are safe and supported,” a representative for Spanberger said at the time. “While Abigail’s opponent, Winsome Earle-Sears, stokes division and backs the Trump administration’s threats to strip funding from Virginia schools, as Virginia’s next governor, Abigail will work to protect public school funding, address the Commonwealth’s chronic teacher shortage, and contend with our last-in-the-nation math recovery ranking.”

Outside of Youngkin’s executive directive, issues related to transgender bathroom and sports looms large across the commonwealth. In August, five Northern Virginia school districts were found by the Department of Education to be in violation of Title IX for failing to roll back policies allowing transgender students. Last month, a federal judge dismissed lawsuits brought by two of the districts, seeking to challenge the Trump administration’s finding that places restrictions on the districts’ federal funding unless they make a change.

Meanwhile, a case involving two Virginia boys who were suspended and found liable by their school for sexual harassment, after being caught on camera complaining to each other about a transgender classmate using their locker room, is also currently playing out in federal court right now.  

The U.S. Coast Guard is turning to Finland to bolster America’s icebreaking fleet — a move driven by growing concern that the United States is falling behind global rivals in the race for Arctic influence and security.

For years, military and intelligence officials have warned that the U.S. has only a handful of aging icebreakers — compared with Russia’s fleet of more than 40, including nuclear-powered models. As melting sea ice opens new shipping lanes and access to critical minerals, the Pentagon and Coast Guard say a stronger Arctic presence is no longer optional.

On Thursday, President Donald Trump and Finnish President Alexander Stubb signed a $6.1 billion deal for Finland to sell up to four new icebreakers to the U.S.

Defense officials say the Arctic is now the front line of homeland defense — where U.S. early-warning systems, missile detection networks, and undersea cables intersect with expanding Russian and Chinese military activity.

RUSSIA, CHINA ARE TRYING TO SEIZE CONTROL OF THE ARTIC. WE CAN’T LET THEM SUCCEED

“We need these ships very badly because we have a lot of territory, more than anybody. And so, I’m very honored to have this deal. And thank you very much. It’s going to be great,” Trump said at the White House. 

The purchase from Finnish shipbuilders, who are world leaders in polar vessel design, is part of a broader plan to close the “icebreaker gap” that has left the U.S. dependent on outdated ships for Arctic patrols and Antarctic resupply. Finland, a new NATO member, has joined the U.S. and Canada in the ICE Pact — an agreement aimed at fast-tracking icebreaker construction, sharing technology, and strengthening allied operations in polar waters.

The Coast Guard’s newest polar icebreaker, the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Storis, returned to port in Seattle earlier this week after 112 days at sea, where it monitored Chinese-flagged research vessels Jidi and Xue Long 2.

Russia and China held joint naval drills in the Bering Sea off Alaska in recent months.

FRANCE WARNS OF GLOBAL ‘BRUTALIZATION’ AMID TRUMP ARCTIC DISPUTE OVER GREENLAND

The Storis was the first polar ice cutter the Coast Guard had acquired in 25 years when it was purchased in 2024. The service currently only has two others in commission: the 48-year-old Polar Star heavy icebreaker and the medium icebreaker Healy. Coast Guard officials insist they need at least eight polar icebreakers to meet operational needs.

The Coast Guard also has 21 domestic icebreakers, designed to clear channels for commercial shipping in waterways like the Great Lakes, 16 ice-capable buoy tenders, capable of breaking up thin layers of ice.

One of Russia’s central goals in the Arctic is solidifying control of the Northern Sea Route, the ‘ice highway’ along its northern flank connecting Europe to Asia via Arctic waters.

Russia has been actively militarizing its Arctic, redeploying air, naval, missile, radar, and anti-submarine assets to forward bases. Because Russia’s naval nuclear deterrent (especially ballistic missile submarines) relies on Arctic sea lanes for stealthy deployment, Moscow views Western surveillance or military presence in the region as a direct threat.

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The Arctic is also rich in hydrocarbons, minerals, and rare elements — materials that the U.S. and all of its near-peer competitors are trying to secure dominance over. China currently controls most of the world’s supply of rare earth elements and minerals.

Though China is not an Arctic state, it labels itself a “near-Arctic” power and is pushing to be a recognized stakeholder in Arctic affairs. China has inserted the Arctic into its Belt and Road vision via the “Polar Silk Road” — a conceptual maritime route over the Arctic connecting China and Europe.

The Nobel Committee awarded this year’s peace prize to Maria Corina Machado amid calls for President Donald Trump to receive the award in the wake of his brokering a historic deal between Israel and Hamas. 

Trump has received several high-profile nominations since returning to office. However, the committee’s deadline for nominations was Jan. 31, meaning he could be eligible for next year’s prize.

NEW YORK TIMES ANALYSIS SAYS TRUMP HAS LEGITIMATE NOBEL PEACE PRIZE CLAIM IF MIDEAST PEACE DEAL HOLDS

During a Cabinet meeting on Thursday, Trump was asked about the Nobel Peace Prize, but did not comment on the award in his response. Instead, he focused on the possibility of addressing Israel’s Knesset.

Earlier this week, the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, a group representing the families of hostages and terror victims formed after Oct. 7, appealed to the committee on Trump’s behalf.

“In this past year, no leader or organization has contributed more to peace around the world than President Trump. While many have spoken eloquently about peace, he has achieved it. While others have offered empty promises, he has delivered tangible results that have saved countless lives,” the forum wrote in a letter to the committee dated Oct. 6.

“He has not merely spoken of peace — he has delivered it,” the forum added.

TRUMP HAILED AS PEACEMAKER WORTHY OF NOBEL PRIZE FOR ‘HISTORIC’ ISRAEL-HAMAS PEACE DEAL

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Trump in July during a visit to Washington, D.C., that he had nominated the president for the Nobel Peace Prize. Netanyahu handed the letter he sent the committee to Trump when he told him the news.

“The president has already realized great opportunities. He forged the Abraham Accords. He’s forging peace, as we speak, in one country and one region after the other,” Netanyahu said. “So, I want to present to you, Mr. President, the letter I sent to the Nobel Prize committee. It’s nominating you for the peace prize, which is well-deserved.”

Weeks prior to that meeting, the U.S. and Israel carried out major operations that destroyed Iran’s nuclear infrastructure, as both countries warned a nuclear Tehran would be a threat to the world.

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Trump was nominated for the award in the past but was not selected. Notably, U.S. Rep. Claudia Tenney, R-N.Y., nominated Trump for the prize in 2020 when he brokered the Abraham Accords, normalizing relations between Israel and Arab nations.

Had he won, Trump would have become the fifth U.S. president to win the Nobel Peace Prize. Previous laureates include former President Barack Obama, former President Jimmy Carter, former President Woodrow Wilson and former President Theodore Roosevelt.

Fox News Digital’s Greg Wehner and Caitlin McFall contributed to this report.