The chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee pressed the Syrian government to hold perpetrators accountable amid accusations of grave human rights violations within Syria’s army during the seizure of two Kurdish neighborhoods in Aleppo. Some reports claim jihadist-aligned members of the army were responsible for the abuses. 

Jim Risch, R-Idaho., wrote on Tuesday on X that ‘I am gravely concerned about the conduct of armed forces in Aleppo, Syria, over the past week and urge the government to hold accountable those who committed these egregious acts. After years of war, the role of Syria’s new government and armed forces is to safeguard the inherent rights of its citizens, not to infringe upon them.’

Risch responded to an X Post from the Syrian Network condemning the desecration of a woman’s body in Aleppo, where it was thrown from a high floor by a member of the Syrian Army.

On Tuesday, Adm. Brad Cooper, the commander of CENTCOM, appealed ‘to all parties to exercise maximum restraint’ in the Aleppo area. 

After days of intense clashes, Syrian army forces controlled by the former U.S. designated terrorist Ahmed al-Sharaa, who was previously a member of the terrorist movements al-Qaeda and the Islamic State, seized two neighborhoods (Sheikh Maqsood and Ashrafiyeh) on Sunday in the city of Aleppo, where members of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, or SDF were based.

The SDF played a critical role in aiding U.S. forces to defeat the Islamic State in Syria.

Mazloum Abdi, the leader of the SDF, wrote on X that an agreement via international mediation had cemented the evacuation of Syrian Kurds from the two districts in Aleppo.

Abdi wrote that, ‘With mediation by international parties to halt the attacks and violations against our people in Aleppo, we have reached an understanding that leads to a ceasefire and ensures the evacuation of the martyrs, wounded, stranded civilians and fighters from the Ashrafiyeh and Sheikh Maqsood neighborhoods [in northern Aleppo] to North and East Syria [Rojava],’ according to the Kurdish news organization Rudaw. 

The U.S. Ambassador to Turkey, Tom Barrack, who also serves as the Special Envoy for Syria, wrote on X on Saturday after the Aleppo ceasefire agreement was apparently reached, that he met with President ‘al-Sharaa, Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani, and members of their team in Damascus to discuss recent developments in Aleppo and the broader path forward for Syria’s historic transition.’

He added, ‘The Syrian government has reaffirmed its commitment to the March 2025 integration agreement with the SDF, which provides a framework for incorporating SDF forces into national institutions in a manner that preserves Kurdish rights and strengthens Syria’s unity and sovereignty.’

Wladimir van Wilgenburg, a Kurdish studies expert, told Fox News Digital prior to the Syrian army ousting SDF from Aleppo districts that, ‘Kurds suspect that Turkey is pushing Damascus to push out Kurdish forces from Aleppo to give a major blow to the SDF, so that they will make more concessions to Damascus and make the Kurdish negotiation position weaker. 

‘Ankara wants the SDF to integrate into the Syrian army on an individual basis, not as separate divisions,’ van Wilgenburg said. He added, ‘Moreover, the SDF wants a decentralized system, while Damascus wants a centralized system. The Kurds have decided to make a stand in Aleppo. The current situation could spark a widespread conflict that could undermine Trump’s policy of creating sustainable peace in the Middle East.’

The Aleppo health directorate said at least 24 civilians were killed and more than 120 people were injured during five days of clashes.

The government of Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan views the Syrian Kurds as a threat to Turkey because many Kurdish organizations across the region seek an independent state that would include a part of Turkey, where there is a large Kurdish population. Erdogan has over the years launched devastating attacks on the Kurds in northern Syrian.

Retired four-star Army general Jack Keane previously told Fox News’ Mark Levin on ‘Life, Liberty & Levin’ that President Trump during his first term was able to stop Erdogan’s attacks on the Syrian Kurds. 

The General Command of the SDF issued a statement last week, stating ‘We warn that the continuation of this aggression against civilians will lead to serious repercussions that will not be limited to Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh or to the city of Aleppo alone, but will risk plunging all of Syria back into an open battlefield. Full responsibility for this will rest with those who persist in choosing the use of force against civilians.’

Al-Sharaa‘s rule over the past year has seen radical Islamist forces aligned with his army engage in massacres of a range of Syrian minority groups, from Alawites to the Druze. Radical Islamists have also murdered Syrian Christians.

Sinam Mohamad, the representative of the Syrian Democratic Council to the U.S., told Fox News Digital that a ‘decentralized system will save Syria from any or conflict in the future.’ She said ‘We regret foreign influence’ in Syria, noting that ‘Turkey still has influence on Damascus.’ She said that Turkey seeks to ‘provoke’ in Syria, citing the recent attacks in Aleppo.

Mohammad said the Syrian Kurds have a ‘negotiating committee to discuss the autonomous government in northeastern Syria. We also have women units in the SDF who have been fighting against ISIS.’ She asked what is the ‘future of women in the army’ in Syria?  ‘Damascus does not want women units in the army. In Israel, they have women in the army.’

She said this part of the negotiations with al-Sharaa’s government with respect to the March 2025 agreement reached between the SDF and the Syrian regime.

Van Wilgenburg said, ‘The clashes began after the latest negotiations between the Kurds and Damascus over the implementation of the March 10 agreement did not produce any results. Damascus earlier verbally agreed on three SDF divisions, but there were remaining discussions and different view points over command and control. The last meeting took place on Jan. 4 in Damascus.’

According to the SDF, ‘the neighborhoods of Sheikh Maqsoud and Ashrafieh have been under complete siege by factions of the Damascus government for more than six months. These neighborhoods do not, under any circumstances, constitute a military threat, nor can they serve as a launching point for any attack on the city of Aleppo.’

The statement added that, ‘The allegations promoted by bloodthirsty circles within Damascus-affiliated factions, claiming the existence of intent or military movement by our forces from these neighborhoods, are false and fabricated. They are used as a pretext to justify the siege, shelling and massacres committed against civilians.’

Fox News Digital reached out numerous times to the spokesperson for Turkey’s embassy in Washington D.C. as well as the U.S. State Department.

A 23-year-old student was shot in the head at close range during protests in Iran, according to Iran Human Rights, a Norway-based group, as the regime continues its violent crackdown on nationwide demonstrations.

Rubina Aminian, a student of textile and fashion design at Shariati Technical and Vocational College for Girls in Tehran, was killed Jan. 8 after leaving college and joining the protests in the capital, according to Iran Human Rights.

She is among the few victims of the recent unrest whose identity has been publicly confirmed.

‘Sources close to Rubina’s family, citing eyewitnesses, told Iran Human Rights that the young Kurdish woman from Marivan was shot from close range from behind, with the bullet striking her head,’ the group said in a statement.

Following her death, Aminian’s family traveled from their home in Kermanshah, western Iran, to Tehran to identify her body.

According to sources cited by Iran Human Rights, the family was taken to a location near the college where they saw the bodies of hundreds of young people allegedly killed during the protests.

‘Most of the victims were young people between 18 and 22 years old, who had been shot at close range in the head and neck by government forces,’ a source close to the family said.

The family was reportedly initially barred from identifying Aminian’s body and later prevented from taking her remains, the group said.

After extensive efforts, relatives were eventually allowed to retrieve her body and return to Kermanshah.

When they got there, intelligence forces reportedly surrounded the family home and would not allow a burial to take place.

According to Iran Human Rights, the family was forced to bury Aminian’s body along the roadside between Kermanshah and the nearby city of Kamyaran.

The family has also not been permitted to hold mourning ceremonies, and several mosques in Marivan were reportedly disallowed from hosting memorial services.

Iran’s spiraling anti-government protests have been driven by widespread anger over political repression and economic hardship, including rising inflation.

The U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency estimated Tuesday that over 16,700 people have been detained.

Other rights groups have reported extremely high death tolls, with some estimates exceeding 3,000, according to Fox News chief foreign correspondent Trey Yingst.

Iran Human Rights described Aminian in a statement as ‘a young woman full of joy for life and passionate about fashion and clothing design, whose dreams were buried by the violent repression of the Islamic Republic.’

Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., is facing backlash from the MAGA base after voting with Democrats and a small group of Republican senators to advance a war powers resolution related to Venezuela — marking a break with President Donald Trump.

On Wednesday, the Senate is expected to hold a full vote on the resolution that would limit Trump’s ability to conduct future military operations against Venezuela without Congressional approval, teeing up a test for Hawley with MAGA and its base. 

The vote comes after Trump announced Jan. 3 that the U.S. military carried out a successful operation in Venezuela, capturing dictatorial president Nicolás Maduro and his wife. The couple is now being held in a New York City jail on sweeping narco-terrorism conspiracy and drug trafficking charges. 

The operation set off condemnation among Democrats who took issue with Trump ordering the mission and strike on Venezuela without prior congressional approval. 

Days later, on Jan. 8, the Senate advanced a bipartisan war powers resolution by a 52–47 vote that would require the president to seek congressional authorization before engaging U.S. armed forces in ‘hostilities within or against Venezuela.’ The procedural vote set up a full Senate vote slated for Wednesday. 

Hawley joined Sens. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska; Rand Paul, R-Ky.; Susan Collins, R-Maine; and Todd Young, R-Ind., in voting with Democrats to require Trump obtain congressional approval prior to military action in Venezuela, sparking condemnation and surprise from the MAGA base on social media earlier in January. 

‘The Republicans who sided with Democrats today on the War Powers resolution are STUPID & WEAK,’ former campaign aide Alex Bruesewitz posted to X following the procedural vote. ‘It came as no surprise to see Rand Paul, Lisa Murkowski, Susan Collins, or Todd Young vote against President Trump, they’ve all shown clear signs of Trump Derangement Syndrome in the past.’

Bruesewitz added that he was ‘surprised and disappointed’ by Hawley for aligning ‘himself with the anti-Trump faction and Democrats, particularly since he represents Missouri, one of the most staunchly pro-Trump states in the nation.’

‘Shameful,’ he added. 

Hawley previously defended his procedural vote by framing it as a constitutional issue rather than a rebuke of the administration. 

‘My read of the Constitution is that if the President feels the need to put boots on the ground there in the future, Congress would need to vote on it,’ Hawley posted to X explaining the vote. 

Fox News Digital spoke to a longtime Republican campaign operative working on midterm races, who said Hawley has broken with the administration over a handful of issues, and compared him to former Republican Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene and Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie, who frequently take shots at the president and his policies and draw media attention.  

‘It seems like every other month he does something that’s opposed to the president and the party more broadly,’ the source said. 

Trump needs two of the five Republicans to switch their positions ahead of Wednesday’s vote. The president put the five senators on notice following the procedural vote, warning on social media that they ‘should never be elected to office again.’

‘This Vote greatly hampers American Self Defense and National Security, impeding the President’s Authority as Commander in Chief,’ he wrote earlier in January. ‘In any event, and despite their ‘stupidity,’ the War Powers Act is Unconstitutional, totally violating Article II of the Constitution, as all Presidents, and their Departments of Justice, have determined before me.’

MAGA allies echoed Trump’s Truth Social message in their own posts, describing Hawley as a ‘RINO’ whose political career is allegedly teetering over the vote. 

‘President Trump ERUPTS on the Republican senators who just voted to approve the War Powers resolution that would rein in his Venezuela operations, says NEVER ELECT THEM AGAIN,’ Eric Daughtery posted to X Jan. 8. 

‘Remember this in November. Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski, Rand Paul, Josh Hawley, and Todd Young should never be elected to office again! We are sick of compromised GOP dirtbags going against our President,’ another MAGA-aligned social media account, Farm Girl Carrie, posted. 

Hawley told Fox News Tuesday, when asked how he plans to vote, that he’s spoken with Trump, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and DOJ officials about his top concern of having American troops on the ground. 

He said they ‘assured me there are no ground troops in Venezuela’ and that there ‘are not going to be ground troops in Venezuela.’ 

‘My big concern has been ground troops in Venezuela and, making sure that if there’s going to be ground troops in Venezuela, (which) I would hope we would not do, that Congress authorizes that. But I will tell you, I’ve talked to the president. I talked to the secretary of state. I talked to the Department of Justice here in the last few days and have had tremendous conversations in the Secretary of State, who I just talked to recently, assured me there are no ground troops in Venezuela. There are not going to be ground troops in Venezuela,’ he said. ‘The administration will notify Congress, will seek congressional approval where necessary.’ 

Hawley has drawn Trump’s ire before, including during a fight over Hawley’s stock-trading ban proposal in July. Trump, who previously said he liked the idea ‘conceptually,’ accused Hawley of siding with Democrats to block a GOP-backed effort tied to reviewing Nancy Pelosi’s stock trading.

‘Why would one ‘Republican,’ Senator Josh Hawley from the Great State of Missouri, join with all of the Democrats to block a Review, sponsored by Senator Rick Scott, and with the support of almost all other Republicans, of Nancy Pelosi’s Stock Trading over the last 25 years. The information was inappropriately released just minutes before the Vote — Very much like SABOTAGE!’ Trump wrote on Truth Social.

Hawley has also broken with the administration on domestic policy, repeatedly criticizing Medicaid reforms included in Trump’s ‘big, beautiful bill’ back in 2025, even as he ultimately voted in favor of the sweeping package when it came to the Senate floor.

The Republican campaign operative said it is unclear why Hawley has broken with the administration on certain policies, speculating he might have 2028 aspirations.

‘The polling I’ve seen shows that Republicans are in favor of the president’s actions in Venezuela,’ the sourced added. ‘He would be out of step with our voters. I don’t think it’d bode well for him. I think this was one of the most unifying moments on the right, when the president successfully arrested Maduro and took him out the country. Him siding with the Democrats is bizarre.’ 

‘How has that worked out for Rand Paul or Massie,’ the operative said, referring to Kentucky lawmakers’ ongoing policy spats with the president and administration. 

Iranian security forces escalated from pellet guns to live ammunition during protests, sharply increasing casualties, a doctor who treated wounded demonstrators told the Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI).

Speaking after fleeing the country, the doctor told CHRI the use of live fire increased the death toll days after protests erupted Dec. 28.

‘Law enforcement forces were firing pellet shotguns that scatter pellets. During those days, I received five or six calls per day about people who had been hit by two pellets in the back or pellets to the head or scalp,’ the doctor claimed.

The doctor said he noticed the situation shifted on Jan. 8, when authorities imposed internet blackouts and cut off communication nationwide.

‘From about 8:10 to 8:20 pm, the sound of bullets, gunfire, screams, and sporadic explosions could be heard. I was called to the hospital. When I arrived, I saw that the nature of the injuries and the number of gunshot wounds had changed completely,’ the doctor said of the days around the blackout.

‘The situation was totally different. Shots from close range, injuries leading to death.’

Human rights groups say thousands have been killed as security forces moved to suppress the demonstrations, with some estimates placing the death toll above 3,000, Fox News’ chief foreign correspondent Trey Yingst reported Tuesday.

The protests were fueled by anger over economic hardship, rising prices and inflation before expanding into broader anti-government demonstrations.

‘The calls I received on my home phone for medical advice were no longer about pellet wounds,’ the doctor said. ‘People were saying they had been shot, with bullets entering one side of the body and exiting the other. Live ammunition.’

Describing scenes in Isfahan, which is a major protest hub, the doctor said streets were stained with blood as security forces deployed heavier weapons.

‘A large amount of blood, about a liter, had pooled in the gutter and blood trails extended for several meters,’ the doctor claimed.

‘The level and intensity of violence increased step by step,’ he said before describing a change in aggression on Jan. 9.

‘On Friday night, I heard automatic gunfire. I am familiar with weapons and can distinguish their sounds. I heard DShK heavy machine guns. I heard PK machine guns.

‘These weapons are in the possession of IRGC units — DShKs, PK machine guns, and Kalashnikovs,’ the doctor said. ‘The trauma cases I saw were brutal, shoot-to-kill.’

Victims ranged from teenagers to elderly men, the doctor said. Some injuries were so severe that bodies were unrecognizable.

‘One colleague said that during a night shift, eight bodies were brought in with gunshot wounds to the face; their faces were unrecognizable. Many bodies are not identifiable at all,’ he added.

The account comes as President Donald Trump publicly voiced support for Iranian protesters. 

On Tuesday, Trump urged Iranians to ‘take over’ their institutions, saying he had canceled all meetings with Iranian officials until the crackdown ends.

Recently unredacted construction plans for China’s new super embassy in London have ignited a storm of national security concerns across the United Kingdom, as blueprints reveal a hidden underground room positioned alarmingly close to some of Britain’s most sensitive communication cables.

Major critics of the proposed site, which will run as close as three feet to the internet infrastructure, warned that the secret room could serve as a hub for Chinese espionage. While the British government reportedly assured its allies that the lines do not carry sensitive government data, the cables transmit financial transactions as well as communication traffic for millions of internet users.  

The blueprints were publicly unredacted Monday by The Telegraph, just one week before Prime Minister Keir Starmer is widely expected to approve the plans before his visit to see President Xi Jinping in China.  

A government spokesman told the outlet that despite the security concerns, ‘national security is our first duty and government security experts have been involved throughout the process so far.’

According to the blueprint, the facility will be located at the former Royal Mint and will become Europe’s largest Chinese embassy. 

Construction plans indicate that China intends to demolish and rebuild a basement wall, placing officials and equipment just over three feet from critical fiber-optic cables. Security experts have warned that such proximity could create opportunities for ‘cable-tapping,’ which involves inserting wiretaps or reading light signals leaking from the lines.

Professor Alan Woodward, a security expert at the University of Surrey, highlighted the technical feasibility of espionage given the physical layout, The Telegraph reported. He described the demolition as a ‘red flag’ and noted, ‘If I were in their shoes, having those cables on my doorstep would be an enormous temptation.’

Additionally, the concealed chamber appears to be equipped with at least two hot-air extraction systems designed to ventilate heat-generating equipment. Experts reportedly inferred that this infrastructure suggests that the room is designed to accommodate high-powered technology such as advanced computers typically used for espionage and data processing. 

Beyond the single chamber near the cables, the unredacted plans also revealed a network of 208 secret rooms beneath the diplomatic site. The basement appears to allow for emergency backup generators, sprinkler systems, communications cabling and showers, suggesting that officials could remain underground for extended periods, potentially to operate or monitor equipment.

The construction plans have generally raised fears that the London complex could serve as a Beijing intelligence hub. According to U.K. outlet The Times, Britain has been pressured to reassure the United States and other intelligence partners that the cables do not transmit any sensitive government data.

Alicia Kearns, the shadow national security minister and prominent critic of the project, described the approval of the embassy as handing Beijing a strategic advantage against British interests.  

‘Giving China the go-ahead for its embassy site would be to gift them a launchpad for economic warfare at the very heart of the central nervous system of our critical financial national infrastructure,’ she said in a post on X.  

The Senate quietly passed legislation on Tuesday that would create stiffer penalties for explicit AI-manipulated images, known as deepfakes. 

The bill from Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., is designed to beef up federal penalties against the creation, distribution or solicitation of ‘non-consensual digital forgeries,’ or deepfakes. It’s geared to act as a companion to a previously passed bill targeting revenge porn.

Durbin’s Disrupt Explicit Forged Images and Non-Consensual Edits, or DEFIANCE Act, passed unanimously through the Senate on a fast-track vote. But it will still require the House to weigh in before it heads to President Donald Trump’s desk. 

His bill, which was co-sponsored by Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and introduced in the House by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., would allow victims of deepfake images to sue people who create, possess with intent to share, solicit, or share non-consensual items, and levy a fine of up to $250,000 per violation. 

‘Give to the victims their day in court to hold those responsible who continue to publish these images at their expense,’ Durbin said on the Senate floor. ‘Today, we are one step closer to making this a reality.’

It also allows courts to order takedowns, deletions and injunctions to stop further spread of the images, provide privacy protections for victims during litigation, and sets up a statute of limitations of up to 10 years. 

Durbin said the backlash of deepfake images can be long-lasting, and people may go through depression, anxiety and fear, ‘and in the worst cases, victims have been driven to suicide.’ 

‘Imagine losing control over your own likeness and identity. Imagine how powerless victims feel when they cannot remove illicit content, cannot prevent it from being reproduced repeatedly, and cannot prevent new images from being created,’ Durbin said. 

The DEFIANCE Act comes as lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have pushed for stiffer regulations and penalties for AI, particularly chatbots and potentially harmful interactions they have with children online. Notably, Durbin and Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., teamed up last year for legislation that defines AI as a product, allowing people to sue for liabilities that stem from using AI systems. 

Durbin’s successful effort in the upper chamber comes after lawmakers passed a separate bill, the Take It Down Act, last year geared to creating penalties for revenge porn. First Lady Melania Trump heavily lobbied for that bill, which was ultimately signed into law by Trump and is set to take effect in May. 

President Donald Trump unloaded on a cohort of Senate Republicans who voted to rein in his policing powers in Venezuela, arguing that they couldn’t give a good reason to vote against him.

During remarks at the Detroit Economic Club following a tour of a Ford plant in Dearborn, Mich., Trump harangued Republicans for not staying unified, while declaring that, though congressional Democrats have bad policy, they ‘stick together like glue.’

‘We got some real losers, mostly great,’ Trump said of Republicans before tearing into Sens. Rand Paul, R-Ky., Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Todd Young, R-Ind.

That foursome joined all Senate Democrats to vote in favor of Sen. Tim Kaine’s, D-Va., war powers resolution, which, if passed, would require Trump to receive congressional approval before further military force is used in Venezuela.

Lawmakers are expected to take a final vote on the resolution on Wednesday.

When Kaine’s effort initially advanced, Trump blasted the defectors and declared that they should ‘never be elected to office again.’ With the vote fast approaching, Trump didn’t hesitate to make clear that their votes were still fresh on his mind.

He panned Paul for routinely voting against GOP policies, and then turned his sights to Murkowski, Collins and Young.

‘Then you have Lisa Murkowski and you have Susan Collins, disasters,’ Trump said. ‘And you had a gentleman from Indiana that, I don’t believe it, Todd Young, he voted against.’

‘And you say, ‘Why are you voting against?’ They can’t give you an answer. They’re unable to give you an answer. It’s like, why are they against the attack on Venezuela? They’re against the attack,’ he continued. ‘After they found out who was the most successful attack. Probably the most talented, most brilliant tactical attack that we’ve had maybe in 100 years. And they’re against it. Why?’

Paul has routinely voiced opposition to military action with congressional oversight; he’s a co-sponsor of Kaine’s resolution. Murkowski, Collins and Young had no issue with the capture of former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, but they argued that their vote for the resolution last week was to ensure Congress’ authority to weigh in before future action.

The White House and Senate Republican leadership have been working to flip the lawmakers in order to prevent the resolution from passing, but it may not be the successful pressure campaign that they had hoped for.

Collins, when asked if she would still vote in favor of the resolution after leaving the Senate GOP’s weekly closed-door policy lunch, said, ‘Wes.’

There was also a fifth Republican, Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri, who voted to advance the resolution. Trump notably did not mention him during his speech.

That comes after Hawley spoke with several administration officials on what the next steps in Venezuela would be. Hawley said that he was told by officials that the administration would ‘abide by the statutory notification requirements, and also, if they took action that resulted in major ground operations would come back to Congress.’

Hawley didn’t say if that would flip his vote and noted that he was in ‘listening and receive mode at this time.’ Still, it did go a long way to address his biggest issue of boots on the ground in Venezuela.

‘The administration’s view is that the resolution is way broader than ground troops, and I said, ‘Well, you know, and I didn’t draft the resolution, but my concern is about ground troops in Venezuela without congressional authorization,’’ Hawley said.

President Donald Trump said his administration will cease federal payments to sanctuary cities and states with sanctuary policies starting Feb. 1, while citing jurisdictions that protect criminals and fuel fraud and crime.

Speaking at the Detroit Economic Club, Trump said the move was aimed at cities and states that refuse to cooperate with federal immigration enforcement and in the administration’s bid to stamp out fraud.

‘Starting Feb. 1, we’re not making any payments to sanctuary cities or states having sanctuary cities because they do everything possible to protect criminals at the expense of American citizens,’ Trump said.

‘And it breeds fraud and crime and all the other problems that come. So we’re not making any payment to anybody that supports sanctuary,’ he added.

Trump also criticized Minnesota officials while discussing what he described as widespread fraud in the state.

‘We have also suspended payments tied to suspected scammers in Minnesota, of which there are many,’ Trump said. ‘It’s a great state. It was a great state. Now it’s getting destroyed by that stupid governor.’

Trump went on to accuse Gov. Tim Walz of corruption and said the level of fraud could not have gone unnoticed by state leadership.

The administration’s actions come as a federal judge on Jan. 9 temporarily blocked the Trump administration from stopping subsidies tied to childcare programs in five states, including Minnesota, amid allegations of widespread fraud.

U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian did not rule on the legality of the funding freeze but said the states met the legal threshold to preserve the ‘status quo’ on funding for at least two weeks while legal arguments continue.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) also announced it would withhold funds for programs in five Democratic-led states, citing concerns over fraud and misuse of federal dollars.

As previously reported by Fox News Digital, those programs include the Child Care and Development Fund, the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program and the Social Services Block Grant.

‘Families who rely on childcare and family assistance programs deserve confidence that these resources are used lawfully and for their intended purpose,’ HHS Deputy Secretary Jim O’Neill had said in a statement.

The states that challenged the action include California, Colorado, Illinois, Minnesota and New York, which argued in court filings that the federal government does not have the legal authority to end the funding.

Former Trump lawyer Lindsey Halligan argued in a new court filing Tuesday that a judge’s November ruling dismissing two criminal cases does not undermine her authority to serve as U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia or to represent the federal government in ongoing cases.

The new filing, previewed exclusively to Fox News Digital, comes amid a swirl of leadership questions within the U.S. prosecutor’s office for the Eastern District of Virginia, dubbed the ‘rocket docket’ due to the court’s swift handling of federal cases, including many high-profile national security cases.

It also comes just hours after the news that Robert McBride, a longtime federal prosecutor and second-highest-ranking U.S. attorney in the Eastern District of Virginia, was dismissed from his role amid broader disagreements with DOJ.

U.S. District Judge James Currie in November ruled Halligan was unlawfully appointed to her role as interim U.S. attorney for the district, and ordered dismissed without prejudice the criminal cases she brought against former FBI director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James. (The Justice Department has appealed both dismissals to the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals.)

The back-and-forth over Halligan’s status came under fresh scrutiny last week, after U.S. District Judge David Novak issued an unprompted court order for Halligan to explain to the court, in writing, her continued representation as the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and why that ‘does not constitute a false or misleading statement,’ which Novak suggested could be grounds for disciplinary proceedings.

Novak further asserted that Currie’s determination on the unlawful nature of Halligan’s appointment represents ‘binding precedent in this district’ and should not be ignored. 

The response filed Tuesday by U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, and Halligan, vehemently disputes those claims. 

‘The Court’s thinly veiled threat to use attorney discipline to cudgel the Executive Branch into conforming its legal position in all criminal prosecutions to the views of a single district judge is a gross abuse of power and an affront to the separation of powers,’ they said Tuesday.

‘Compounding those legal errors, the Court fails even to correctly identify the date of the indictment in this case – a factual mistake that forecloses the premise of misconduct on which the Court’s inquiry is based,’ they said.

They stated further that Halligan’s identification ‘is correct and consistent with the Department of Justice’s internal guidance, and at minimum reflects a contested legal position that the United States is entitled to maintain notwithstanding a single district judge’s contrary view.’

In addition, they said, Currie’s determination on the validity of Halligan’s appointment as it relates to Comey’s and James’s criminal cases is not binding – nor does it preclude the Justice Department from challenging that determination, or Halligan from legitimately heading up the U.S. attorney’s office on other cases and matters.

‘A contested legal position does not become a factual misrepresentation simply because one district judge has rejected it,’ the Justice Department said Tuesday. ‘In any event, this Court has no authority to strike Ms. Halligan’s title from the Government’s signature block.’ 

‘The bottom line is that Ms. Halligan has not ‘misrepresented’ anything and the Court is flat wrong to suggest that any change to the Government’s signature block is warranted in this or any other case – particularly where that suggestion rests on an objectively incorrect chronology,’ they said in the filing.

The new filing comes after months of back-and-forth over the decision to install Halligan, Trump’s former personal lawyer with no prosecutorial experience, as the interim U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia last fall. 

The Justice Department, for its part, has doubled down on its defense of Halligan, and senior Trump officials have blasted the judges in question for engaging in what they described as a ‘campaign of bias and hostility’ against Halligan.   

‘As Attorney General Bondi and President Trump know well, Lindsey Halligan is an effective U.S. Attorney who is prosecuting violent crime at the hands of illegal aliens, prosecuting the alleged distribution by a Democrat operative of child sexual abuse material, and even prosecuting alleged money laundering by a Venezuelan national, which is exactly why her opponents want to stop her,’ a spokesperson for the Justice Department told Fox News Digital. 

McBride’s dismissal from EDVA was confirmed to Fox News Digital by individuals familiar with the matter, citing what they described as a refusal to take on significant cases, such a immigration-related cases — involving sanctuary city policies and drug enforcement issues, which have long been priorities of the Trump administration — and other matters. 

Currie ruled in November that Halligan was unlawfully appointed to the role. Because Halligan was the sole prosecutor who secured the criminal indictments against Comey and James, Currie ruled that the indictments were invalid, dismissed Comey’s case and James’ case ‘without prejudice.’ 

That detail leaves the door open for the government to secure new indictments, should it choose to do so.

This is a developing news story. Check back soon for updates.

New York Attorney General Letitia James and a coalition of state attorneys general sued the federal government Tuesday, claiming a new Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) policy illegally pressures states to discriminate against transgender people or risk losing critical funding.

The lawsuit challenges a new federal policy that conditions billions of dollars in health, education and research funding on compliance with a presidential executive order regarding sex and gender-related treatments.

‘The federal government is trying to force states to choose between their values and the vital funding their residents depend on,’ James said in a statement. ‘This policy threatens healthcare for families, life-saving research, and education programs that help young people thrive in favor of denying the dignity and existence of transgender people.’

Last month, HHS announced a sweeping package of proposed regulatory actions to end ‘sex-rejecting procedures’ on minors as part of President Donald Trump’s January 2025 executive order calling on the department to protect children from ‘chemical and surgical mutilation.’

The HHS declaration warned doctors that they could be excluded from federal health programs, including Medicare and Medicaid, if they provide treatments such as puberty blockers, hormone therapy and gender surgeries to minors.

Failure to comply with the policy could lead to termination of grants, repayment of funds already spent, or potential civil or criminal penalties, according to the lawsuit.

The attorneys general argue that HHS lacks the authority to impose the conditions and is attempting to rewrite federal law through executive action.

The lawsuit claims that HHS has failed to clearly define what compliance requires, leaving recipients uncertain about which policies or actions could jeopardize funding.

James and the coalition further argue that the executive order conflicts with laws in several states that protect transgender individuals from discrimination.

The lawsuit asks a federal court to declare the policy unlawful and block HHS from enforcing it, allowing states and institutions to continue receiving federal funding without changing existing policies.

Fox News Digital’s Emma Colton and Landon Mion contributed to this report.