Texas Republican Governor Greg Abbott designated the Muslim Brotherhood and the Council on American-Islamic Relations as foreign terrorist organizations on Tuesday, citing each group&#8217;s ties to Islamic extremism and accusing them of seeking to &#8220;forcibly impose Sharia law.&#8221;
Abbott&#8217;s <a href="https://gov.texas.gov/uploads/files/press/PROC_declaring_Muslim_Brotherhood_and_CAIR_Transnational_Criminal_Organizations_IMAGE_11-18-2025.pdf">action</a> bans the Muslim groups from purchasing or acquiring land in Texas and subjects anyone affiliated with them to heightened state penalties.
“The Muslim Brotherhood and CAIR have long made their goals clear: to forcibly impose Sharia law and establish Islam’s ‘mastership of the world,’&#8221; Abbott <a href="https://gov.texas.gov/news/post/governor-abbott-designates-muslim-brotherhood-cair-as-foreign-terrorist-organizations">said</a>. &#8220;The actions taken by the Muslim Brotherhood and CAIR to support terrorism across the globe and subvert our laws through violence, intimidation, and harassment are unacceptable. Today, I designated the Muslim Brotherhood and CAIR as foreign terrorist organizations and transnational criminal organizations. These radical extremists are not welcome in our state and are now prohibited from acquiring any real property interest in Texas.”
For years, the Muslim Brotherhood has advocated for extremism and been connected to Islamic terrorists. The Muslim Brotherhood, which started as a militant group in Egypt in 1928, has spread throughout the world and is tied to numerous jihadist groups, according to a 2018 Congressional <a href="https://www.congress.gov/event/115th-congress/house-event/108532/text">report</a>. The Muslim Brotherhood&#8217;s founder, Hassan al-Banna, was outspoken about fighting non-Muslims through jihad and wrote that &#8220;Jihad is an obligation from Allah and every Muslim and cannot be ignored nor evaded.&#8221; In recent years, the Brotherhood condemned the United States for killing terrorism mastermind Osama bin Laden, and one of its most influential leaders, Yusuf al-Qaradawi, <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20070612234906/http://memri.org/bin/articles.cgi?Page=subjects&amp;Area=jihad&amp;ID=SP79404#_edn1">called</a> for terrorist attacks against U.S. troops in Iraq.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations, a self-described civil rights organization, has been criticized over its ties to the Muslim Brotherhood. U.S. authorities have also posited that CAIR was established as a front for Hamas. In a 2008 case, which was the largest terrorism financing trial in U.S. history, the council and its co-founders were named as unindicted co-conspirators in a plot to funnel millions of dollars to Hamas. Multiple people who have worked for CAIR have also been sentenced for planning to aid terrorist groups, such as Al Qaeda and the Taliban.
The council has denied the allegations tying it to Hamas and responded to Abbott&#8217;s move to designate it as a foreign terrorist organization.
&#8220;We have consistently condemned all forms of unjust violence, including hate crimes, ethnic cleansing, genocide and terrorism. In fact, we condemn terrorism so often that ISIS once put a target on our national executive director,&#8221; the council said. &#8220;Although we are flattered by Greg Abbott&#8217;s obsession with our civil rights organization, his publicity stunt masquerading as a proclamation has no basis in fact or law. By defaming a prominent American Muslim institution with debunked conspiracy theories and made-up quotes, Mr. Abbott has once again shown that his top priority is advancing anti-Muslim bigotry, not serving the people of Texas.&#8221;
Abbott&#8217;s move comes as Muslims plan to develop a massive compound in North Texas, which is being <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/texas/news/epic-city-muslim-community-doj-investigation-ends/">investigated</a> by state and federal authorities. The compound aims to create a Muslim-centered community on 400 acres of land and is spearheaded by the East Plano Islamic Center, the largest mosque in Texas.
The Muslim development plans are not connected to the Muslim Brotherhood or the Council on American-Islamic Relations. The Justice Department launched an investigation into the plans after Texas Republican Sen. John Cornyn raised concerns about religious discrimination surrounding the housing development.
&#8220;Religious discrimination and Sharia Law have no place in the Lone Star State,&#8221; Cornyn <a href="https://www.cornyn.senate.gov/news/cornyn-announces-doj-investigation-into-epic-city/">said</a> in May. &#8220;Any violations of federal law must be swiftly prosecuted, and I know under the Trump administration, they will be.&#8221;

Greg Abbott

‘Not Welcome In Our State’: Texas Governor Designates ‘Radical’ Muslim Groups As Foreign Terrorists

CAIR

Islam

Muslim Brotherhood

Muslims

Politics

Terrorism

Texas

President Donald Trump told McDonald&#8217;s franchise owners on Monday night that his 2024 election victory was vital to the U.S. economy, touting his push to lower prices.
Trump opened his <a href="https://www.c-span.org/program/white-house-event/president-trump-speaks-at-the-mcdonalds-impact-summit/669162">remarks</a> at the 2025 McDonald&#8217;s &#8220;<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-to-address-mcdonalds-franchise-owners-as-he-focuses-on-driving-down-food-costs?author=Zach+Jewell&amp;category=undefined&amp;elementPosition=7&amp;row=3&amp;rowHeadline=Latest+News&amp;rowType=Vertical+Carousel&amp;title=Trump+To+Address+McDonald%E2%80%99s+Franchise+Owners+As+He+Focuses+On+Driving+Down+Food+Costs">Impact Summit</a>&#8221; in Washington, D.C., by referring to a 2024 campaign stop that helped fuel his election victory, when he handed out orders to customers at a McDonald&#8217;s in Pennsylvania.
&#8220;I&#8217;m honored to stand before you as the very first former McDonald&#8217;s fry cook ever to become president of the United States,&#8221; Trump said. &#8220;And I actually was there for about 30 minutes, and that was 30 minutes longer than Kamala [Harris] was there, despite her job at McDonald&#8217;s. That didn&#8217;t work out too well.&#8221;
The summit also featured speeches from Democratic politicians, such as New York Governor Kathy Hochul, Maryland Governor Wes Moore, Rep. Pete Aguilar of California, and former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel. The event provided Trump with an opportunity to push forward the administration&#8217;s refocused efforts to address economic issues.
During his speech, Trump argued that under former President Joe Biden, &#8220;Welfare was going up &#8230; government jobs were going up, real jobs were going down.&#8221;
&#8220;You would&#8217;ve had a catastrophe,&#8221; he added. &#8220;You probably would&#8217;ve had a bankrupt country. You are so damn lucky that I won that election, I&#8217;m telling you.&#8221;
Trump acknowledged that &#8220;there&#8217;s still a lot of work to do&#8221; in his effort to boost the economy and help businesses, but argued that America is already in a &#8220;golden age.&#8221;
&#8220;Because we are doing better than we&#8217;ve ever done as a country,&#8221; the president added. &#8220;Prices are coming down and all of that stuff. &#8230; Nobody has done what we&#8217;ve done in terms of pricing. We took over a mess.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
.<a href="https://twitter.com/POTUS?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@POTUS</a>: &#8220;There&#8217;s still a lot of work to do—and we&#8217;re making tremendous progress. 1.9 million more American-born workers are employed today than when I took office&#8230; Wages for hourly workers are rising at the fastest pace in 60 years.&#8221; <a href="https://t.co/2Hvu33hnO6">pic.twitter.com/2Hvu33hnO6</a>
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) <a href="https://twitter.com/RapidResponse47/status/1990564881293324452?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 17, 2025</a></blockquote>
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The president said that inflation remains one of the issues that his administration would continue to address. Trump said he would like to see inflation drop &#8220;a little bit lower,&#8221; as the White House seeks to address Americans&#8217; lingering economic concerns.
&#8220;We have it down to a low level, but we&#8217;re going to get it a little bit lower. We want perfection,&#8221; Trump said.
Year-over-year <a href="https://www.bls.gov/charts/consumer-price-index/consumer-price-index-by-category-line-chart.htm">inflation</a> sits at 3% as of the latest update. It has hovered at fairly low levels — between 2.5% and 3.5% — throughout Trump&#8217;s second term, but Americans continue to see the prices of some food items increase. Ground beef, for example, shot up 13.5% from last year. The prices of imported foods, such as bananas, avocados, and coffee, have also increased due to Trump&#8217;s so-called reciprocal tariffs, which he imposed on nearly every country worldwide.
The Trump administration <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-rolls-back-tariffs-on-dozens-of-food-imports-heres-what-will-be-affected">acknowledged</a> last week that some tariffs on food are negatively affecting Americans and moved to roll back tariffs on numerous food items, including beef, coffee, tea, bananas, oranges, tomatoes, and tropical fruits and fruit juices. During his speech on Monday night, however, Trump argued that his tariffs are an overall benefit to the United States.
&#8220;We have over $17 trillion being invested in our country in nine months. It&#8217;s now just about ready to crack $18 [trillion], and by the end of one year, we will have about $20 to $21 trillion invested in our country,&#8221; Trump said. &#8220;That&#8217;s more [than] 10 times the highest amount ever invested in any country ever before, and it&#8217;s largely because of tariffs.&#8221;
Trump thanked McDonald&#8217;s for working to lower its prices, but many Americans have complained that the fast-food giant&#8217;s prices have continued to rise. According to The Economist’s “<a href="https://www.economist.com/interactive/big-mac-index" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Big Mac Index</a>,&#8221; McDonald’s prices have increased in recent months, with the average cost of the chain’s signature Big Mac jumping to $6.01 as of July, which was up from $5.69 at the same time last year. Trump suggested that he would speak at the summit next year if the company gets prices &#8220;down enough.&#8221;
&#8220;And I want to give a very special thanks to McDonald&#8217;s for slashing prices for your most popular items, bringing back extra value meals. And I hear you&#8217;re recommitting to the affordable options of Americans that we really know and love, all of the items that we love,&#8221; Trump said, adding, &#8220;We&#8217;re getting prices down for this country and there&#8217;s no better leader or advocate than McDonald&#8217;s and I believe the next time I&#8217;ll have to be back here again next year if you get them down enough.&#8221;

Donald Trump

Trump Touts Economic Record In McDonald’s Speech: ‘You’re So Damn Lucky I Won The Election’

Business

Economics

Economy

Executive

McDonald’s

President Donald Trump said on Monday that he&#8217;s open to green-lighting strikes inside of Mexico &#8220;to stop drugs&#8221; from crossing into the United States.
Trump spoke with reporters in the Oval Office about targeting &#8220;narco-terrorists&#8221; in the Caribbean Sea, and said he would be &#8220;okay&#8221; with using that same strategy to take out out drug runners on land — even if they&#8217;re inside of Mexico.
&#8220;Would I launch strikes in Mexico to stop drugs? That&#8217;s okay with me,&#8221; Trump said. &#8220;Whatever we have to do to stop drugs. I looked at Mexico City over the weekend. There&#8217;s some big problems over there.&#8221;
Asked if he would seek Mexico&#8217;s permission before launching a strike on drug traffickers inside of the country, Trump said, &#8220;I wouldn&#8217;t answer that question.&#8221;
&#8220;I&#8217;ve been speaking to Mexico. They know how I stand,&#8221; Trump added. &#8220;We have lost hundreds of thousands of people to drugs, so now we&#8217;ve stopped the waterways. We know every route. We know the addresses of every drug lord. We know their address. We know their front door. We know everything about every one of them. They&#8217;re killing our people. That&#8217;s like a war.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
.<a href="https://twitter.com/POTUS?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@POTUS</a>: &#8220;We have lost hundreds of thousands of people a year&#8230; and much of it comes through Mexico. So, let me just put it this way — I am NOT happy with Mexico.&#8221; <a href="https://t.co/MzvJreOuEM">pic.twitter.com/MzvJreOuEM</a>
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) <a href="https://twitter.com/RapidResponse47/status/1990517686544273579?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 17, 2025</a></blockquote>
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The president said he would be &#8220;proud&#8221; to conduct land strikes on drug cartels, adding that he would &#8220;probably&#8221; go to Congress before striking inside of a foreign country. Trump also discussed potentially hitting &#8220;cocaine factories&#8221; inside of Colombia.
The Trump administration has been criticized by Democrats and some Republicans for taking out suspected drug runners in international waters without congressional authorization. Trump has ordered 11 strikes in the Caribbean Sea in the past two months, killing over 80 suspected drug traffickers.
The Trump administration says that at least 85% of drug trafficking through waterways has been stopped following the &#8220;narco-terrorist&#8221; strikes, but most illegal drugs are <a href="https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/fact-sheet/fentanyl-smuggling/">snuck</a> into the United States on land, coming in through ports of entry. Most fentanyl trafficked into the United States comes from Mexico or China and is driven across the U.S. southern border in passenger vehicles, <a href="https://www.gao.gov/blog/fentanyl-continues-be-leading-cause-overdose-deaths.-whats-being-done-combat-trafficking-united-states">according</a> to the Government Accountability Office.
Mexico has said that it would not approve of U.S. military operations on its soil.
“We reject any form of intervention or interference. That’s been very clear, Mexico coordinates and collaborates, but does not subordinate itself,” Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum <a href="https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2025-04-08/mexico-warns-against-potential-u-s-drone-strikes-on-cartels">said</a> in April.
NBC News <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/national-security/trump-administration-planning-new-mission-mexico-cartels-current-forme-rcna241167">reported</a> earlier this month that the Trump administration is considering <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-admin-may-send-u-s-troops-to-mexico-to-target-cartels">deploying troops</a> to Mexico to target drug cartels with drones. Six Mexican cartels were designated as Foreign Terrorist Organizations by the State Department just weeks after Trump was sworn in for his second term.

‘Whatever We Have To Do’: Trump Says He’s ‘OK’ With Striking Inside Mexico ‘To Stop Drugs’

Drug Cartels

Drugs

Global Politics

Mexico

Military

World

As President Donald Trump focuses his energy on bringing food costs back down, he&#8217;s taking his messaging to the people who serve food to millions of Americans for a living each day: McDonald&#8217;s franchise owners, operators, and suppliers.
Trump is set to address an audience of McDonald&#8217;s franchisees in Washington, D.C., on Monday evening as the White House does a full-court press on economic issues, Axios <a href="https://www.axios.com/2025/11/17/trump-affordability-mcdonalds-summit">reported</a>.
&#8220;The Biden administration started the affordability crisis, but President Trump will end it so all Americans can achieve economic prosperity,&#8221; a White House official told Axios.
Trump is scheduled to speak at 6:00 p.m. ET. The &#8220;Impact Summit&#8221; will also <a href="https://foxbaltimore.com/news/nation-world/trump-to-speak-on-affordability-at-mcdonalds-impact-summit-french-fries-wes-moore-kathy-hochul-rahm-emanuel-rep-pete-aguilar-washington-dc-one-big-beautiful-bill-economy">feature</a> a slate of Democratic speakers, including New York Governor Kathy Hochul, Maryland Governor Wes Moore, Rep. Pete Aguilar (D-CA), and former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel. It&#8217;s a venue where Republicans and the Trump administration want to make their presence known as the economy comes back to the forefront of the political conversation.
The summit will give Trump a chance to double down on his administration&#8217;s efforts to address the economy and food prices. McDonald&#8217;s CEO Chris Kempczinski warned earlier this month that inflation was continuing to place &#8220;pressure on the industry.&#8221;
&#8220;It&#8217;s still a difficult environment, and inflation is proving to be sticky,&#8221; Kempczinski said, according to <a href="https://www.foxbusiness.com/retail/mcdonalds-ceo-warns-rising-beef-prices-remain-challenge-inflation-stays-sticky">Fox Business</a>. &#8220;I mean, we&#8217;re expecting to see there&#8217;s going to be above-average inflation next year. … We&#8217;re seeing very, very high inflation around beef prices versus what we&#8217;re used to historically, and so I think all of that just keeps putting pressure on the industry.&#8221;
McDonald&#8217;s executives have said that higher overhead costs have forced the company to raise prices, which has driven away many low-income customers.
Year-over-year <a href="https://www.bls.gov/charts/consumer-price-index/consumer-price-index-by-category-line-chart.htm">inflation</a> has gone down from where it stood during most of former President Joe Biden&#8217;s term, but has hovered around 3% during the first eight months of Trump&#8217;s second term. McDonald&#8217;s prices have also risen in recent months, with the average price of the chain&#8217;s signature Big Mac <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-talk-up-economy-meeting-with-mcdonalds-owners-operators-2025-11-17/">jumping</a> to $6.01 as of July, which was up from $5.69 at the same time last year, according to The Economist&#8217;s &#8220;<a href="https://www.economist.com/interactive/big-mac-index">Big Mac Index</a>.&#8221;
Ground beef, overall, has risen 13.5% from last year, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Trump has argued that high food prices are leftover effects from the Biden administration, which saw inflation rise to 9.1% in June 2022.
The Trump administration has taken more steps recently to address high prices and point out where prices have fallen.
&#8220;Since Day One, the Trump Administration has been on a mission to tame Biden’s inflation crisis, stop the sky-high Biden price increases, and lower costs for everyday families — and while it can’t happen overnight, evidence shows the trend is in the right direction,&#8221; the White House <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/articles/2025/11/were-making-big-progress-on-prices-and-well-keep-working-to-make-sure-everyone-benefits/">said</a> on Friday.
Trump also removed tariffs on hundreds of food imports on Friday, marking a major pivot in the president’s trade strategy. Trump&#8217;s tariff rollback is aimed at lowering prices for Americans and will apply to food items that are not grown or produced in the United States in “sufficient quantities,” including beef, coffee, tea, bananas, oranges, tomatoes, and tropical fruits and fruit juices.
McDonald&#8217;s is a personal favorite of Trump&#8217;s. The president made a pit stop at a McDonald&#8217;s location in Pennsylvania during the 2024 campaign, where he ran the fry cooker and served food to customers. He has also served McDonald&#8217;s food to special guests in the White House.

Trump To Address McDonald’s Franchise Owners As He Focuses On Driving Down Food Costs

Inflation

U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents descended upon Charlotte, North Carolina, over the weekend, arresting more than 130 illegal immigrants with criminal records ranging from aggravated assault to felony larceny, according to the Department of Homeland Security.
The arrests were part of the Trump administration&#8217;s &#8220;<a href="https://www.dhs.gov/news/2025/11/15/dhs-launches-operation-charlottes-web-target-criminal-illegal-aliens-terrorizing">Charlotte&#8217;s Web</a>&#8221; operation, which began on Saturday and aims to find and detain illegal immigrants who have found sanctuary in the Democrat-run city. The Department of Homeland Security told The Daily Wire, &#8220;Border Patrol arrested over 130 illegal aliens who have all broken the immigration laws of our country.&#8221;
&#8220;Criminal records of those arrested include known gang membership, aggravated assault, possession of a dangerous weapon, felony larceny, simple assault, hit and run, possession of stolen goods, shoplifting, DUI, DWI, and illegal re-entry after prior deportation, a felony,&#8221; a DHS spokesman said. &#8220;We will not stop enforcing the laws of our nation until every criminal illegal alien is arrested and removed from our country.&#8221;
Across North Carolina, authorities have ignored nearly 1,400 immigration detainers and released violent illegal immigrants back onto the streets, according to the DHS.
Border Patrol Commander Gregory K. Bovino posted photos of suspected illegal immigrants who have been taken &#8220;off the streets&#8221; of Charlotte over the weekend.
&#8220;Who&#8217;s at the same grocery store as you? This illegal alien from Honduras with a criminal history,&#8221; Bovino wrote in one post. &#8220;He has arrests for aggravated assault, assault with a dangerous weapon &amp; DUI. He has also been removed from the U.S. twice, so now that he&#8217;s here AGAIN, he committed a felony by re-entering the U.S.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Who&#8217;s at the same grocery store as you? This illegal alien from Honduras with a criminal history. He has arrests for aggravated assault, assault with a dangerous weapon &amp; DUI. He has also been removed from the U.S. twice, so now that he&#8217;s here AGAIN, he committed a felony by… <a href="https://t.co/Kx8BI4NJFi">pic.twitter.com/Kx8BI4NJFi</a>
— Commander Op At Large CA Gregory K. Bovino (@CMDROpAtLargeCA) <a href="https://twitter.com/CMDROpAtLargeCA/status/1990073456403046786?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 16, 2025</a></blockquote>
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&#8220;This illegal alien from Mexico has 3 DUI/DWI convictions. We arrested him, taking him off the streets of Charlotte so he can&#8217;t continue to ignore our laws and drive intoxicated on the same roads you and your loved ones are on,&#8221; Bovino added in another post.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
This illegal alien from Mexico has 3 DUI/DWI convictions. We arrested him, taking him off the streets of Charlotte so he can&#8217;t continue to ignore our laws and drive intoxicated on the same roads you and your loved ones are on.<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/DHS?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#DHS</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/CBP?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#CBP</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/USBP?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#USBP</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/CHARLOTTESWEB?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#CHARLOTTESWEB</a> <a href="https://t.co/4dv9HbbTVm">pic.twitter.com/4dv9HbbTVm</a>
— Commander Op At Large CA Gregory K. Bovino (@CMDROpAtLargeCA) <a href="https://twitter.com/CMDROpAtLargeCA/status/1990091580632424581?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 16, 2025</a></blockquote>
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DHS said that one law enforcement officer was injured during an operation over the weekend, when a U.S. citizen &#8220;weaponized his vehicle, driving a large van at law enforcement while they were conducting an operation.&#8221; The driver allegedly fled the scene, prompting a high-speed chase. The suspect, who has previous arrests for resisting law enforcement, public disturbance, and intoxication, was eventually taken into custody.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER INJURED DURING ENFORCEMENT OPERATION.
This afternoon in Charlotte near University City, a United States citizen weaponized his vehicle, driving a large van at law enforcement while they were conducting an operation. He immediately fled the scene, starting… <a href="https://t.co/Iu2fm1p6Lh">pic.twitter.com/Iu2fm1p6Lh</a>
— Homeland Security (@DHSgov) <a href="https://twitter.com/DHSgov/status/1990249095911350330?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 17, 2025</a></blockquote>
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As Border Patrol began arresting suspected illegal immigrants in Charlotte, residents took to the streets to protest, demanding that the federal agents leave the city. Hundreds of protesters gathered on Saturday, carrying signs that read &#8220;Immigrants Make Charlotte Great,&#8221; &#8220;Kidnapping Immigrants Won&#8217;t Make America Great,&#8221; and &#8220;Charlotte Demands ICE and Border Patrol Out Of Our City!&#8221;
North Carolina Democratic Governor Josh Stein blasted the federal operation in a video statement.
&#8220;We&#8217;ve seen masked, heavily armed agents in paramilitary garb driving unmarked cars, targeting American citizens based on their skin color, racially profiling, and picking up random people in parking lots and off of our sidewalks,&#8221; Stein said.
<div id="attachment_1001499" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1001499" class="wp-image-1001499 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/GettyImages-2246351107-864x576.jpg" alt="" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/GettyImages-2246351107-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/GettyImages-2246351107-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/GettyImages-2246351107-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/GettyImages-2246351107.jpg 1024w" sizes=" (max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" />Grant Baldwin/Getty Images</div>
Charlotte is the latest big city targeted by President Donald Trump, who is surging federal law enforcement and immigration agents to cities across the country to address illegal immigration and violent crime. Charlotte gained national attention earlier this year when Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska was brutally stabbed to death while riding the city&#8217;s light rail train. Decarlos Brown Jr., an American citizen, was charged with Zarutska&#8217;s murder after he had previously been arrested 14 times.
Federal agents have also arrested hundreds of suspected illegal immigrants and violent criminals in Washington, D.C., Chicago, Memphis, and Portland.

Border Patrol

‘Operation Charlotte’s Web’ Nets 130+ ‘Criminal Illegal Alien’ Arrests In First Weekend

Charlotte

Department of Homeland Security

Illegal Immigration

Immigration

North Carolina

Trump Administration

The current median price for a single-family home in America has surged to <a href="https://www.jchs.harvard.edu/blog/home-prices-surge-five-times-median-income-nearing-historic-highs">five times</a> the median household income, causing panic among young people that the dream of homeownership may no longer be attainable.
There’s no single explanation for the spike, but there is one that’s been singled out by both President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance: the massive influx of illegal immigrants into the United States during the Biden administration, when the southern border was effectively left open. Estimates suggest that more than 10 million illegal immigrants were encountered under Biden.
“We … cannot ignore the impact that the flood of 21 million illegal aliens has had on driving up housing costs,” Trump <a href="https://singjupost.com/full-transcript-trump-speaks-at-the-economic-club-of-new-york/?singlepage=1">said</a> during a speech at the Economic Club of New York in September 2024. Vance brought the subject up again just this Thursday, <a href="https://x.com/RapidResponse47/status/1989058155779932651">saying</a> that there could be as many as 30 million illegal immigrants in the United States “taking houses” from Americans.
“A lot of young people are saying, ‘Housing is way too expensive.’ Why is that? Because we flooded the country with 30 million illegal immigrants who are taking houses that ought to, by right, go to American citizens,” Vance said. “And at the same time, we weren’t building enough new houses to begin with, even for the population that we had.”
There are certainly multiple reasons that the Trump administration is forging ahead with its effort to carry out mass deportations, and the White House argues that one of the best ways to fix the housing market would be to address the illegal immigration crisis.
Many of the illegal immigrants in the United States move to city centers across the country when they enter, receiving government handouts and housing. The majority of illegal immigrants are pushed to find government shelters or cheap places to rent, given the difficulty of attaining a home without legal status in the country. Some of them, however, have been able to purchase American homes thanks to multiple mortgage companies agreeing to lend money to illegal immigrants without a social security number or green card, The Daily Wire <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/inside-the-company-financing-the-illegal-alien-takeover-of-american-homes">uncovered</a> earlier this year.
There is disagreement from economists and immigration experts on whether deporting the massive illegal population would have any measurable impact on the housing market at all. Norbert Michel, the vice president and director for the Cato Institute’s Center for Monetary and Financial Alternatives, said he believes “the idea that illegal immigration has something to do with it is absolutely insane.”
The libertarian organization’s expert said that it’s possible illegal immigrants could have minimal effects on housing markets in certain pockets of the country, but on the national level, he said it’s a non-factor.
“Do I think that’s a national-level problem? Absolutely not,” Michel said.
E.J. Antoni, the chief economist at the Heritage Foundation, agrees with Trump and Vance’s argument, saying it’s undeniable that such a large population would impact the market. He argues the mass deportation of illegal immigrants would have “the single biggest impact” on helping fix America’s housing problems.
“You can’t import over 10 million illegal aliens in a very short period of time and expect it not to have an impact on the real economy. Those people are all on the demand side of the housing equation. In other words, it’s 10 million additional people who now are looking for a place to live,” Antoni told The Daily Wire.
“This is econ 101: if you increase demand, you will increase price,” Antoni said.
Even though the vast majority of illegal immigrants are not technically in the market for owning a home, they still add pressure to the housing market. Increased demand for rental properties would increase lease prices and force more Americans to look at buying homes, Antoni argued.
“No matter which way you slice it, all of these people here increasing the demand for dwelling units is ultimately still going to have the effect of increasing the price of home ownership,” he said.
Studies have shown that illegal immigration can negatively affect the housing market.
Jason Richwine, a resident scholar at the Center for Immigration Studies, told The Daily Wire that researchers consistently find that high immigration, both legal and illegal, drives up housing costs “almost every time it’s studied.” One of the <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1051137717300025">studies</a> Richwine highlighted, from the Journal of Housing Economics, found that influxes in immigration “are associated with rising rents and prices,” especially in suburban areas.
“What they looked at was not only the impact on the given housing market where immigrants were coming to, but also the spillover effect. In other words, what happens to the price of housing in the areas just outside of the places where immigrants are coming to,” Richwine said. “What they found was that immigration raises the cost directly within the market immigrants arrive in, but even more so raises the cost around the area, with the idea being that people would prefer to live away from where the immigrants are coming to.”
Antoni acknowledges that there are other factors contributing to the housing market that are in the government’s control. He highlighted regulatory burdens placed on the housing industry by the government, which “makes it more difficult and more expensive to bring houses to market.”
A National Bureau of Economic Research <a href="https://www.nber.org/system/files/working_papers/w33876/w33876.pdf">study</a> showed that construction of new homes is falling far behind the pace of previous generations. According to the study, “If the U.S. housing stock had expanded at the same rate from 2000-2020 as it did from 1980-2000, there would be 15 million more housing units.” From 2000 to 2020, while new home building was falling behind the pace of previous decades, illegal border crossings skyrocketed.
The libertarian Cato Institute, which generally opposes mass deportations, has argued that losing the illegal immigrant population may, in fact, increase housing costs because of how many of them work in construction.
The <a href="https://www.cato.org/blog/jd-vance-correct-immigration-increases-housing-prices-thats-ok">article</a>, published by Cato last year in response to Vance’s comments about housing, agreed that illegal immigrants increase housing costs, but said the uptick in prices shouldn’t spark alarm or result in federal government action.
“Estimates show that about 30 percent of all construction workers are immigrants, with higher rates in California, Texas, Florida, New York, New Jersey, and Nevada. Deporting those workers or halting more immigrants will reduce the growth in the housing supply,” the author stated.
Antoni, the Heritage Foundation’s chief economist, disagreed with that argument.
“At the same time you have this massive influx of illegal aliens, you did not see a corresponding increase in home construction,” he said. “It was not as if all of these illegal aliens coming across the border suddenly caused a surge in the construction of new dwellings. That simply did not happen.”
Michel doesn’t just believe that illegal immigration has little to no effect on the housing market; he also rejects the premise that there’s a “housing crisis” to be fixed.
“I reject the crisis narrative from the beginning,” Michel said. “If you look at median annual housing costs as a percentage of income, it’s been pretty flat for quite a while. It’s almost exactly what it was in 2011. If you want to say there was a big bump during COVID, that’s true, but it’s come back down to the pre-pandemic level if you look at prices as a percentage of income.”
Michel pointed to some <a href="https://www.cato.org/blog/us-housing-market-not-facing-crisis">data</a> to back up his argument. As of 2023, renters and first-time homebuyers were paying roughly the same percentage of their annual income on housing that they were in 2011. “It’s pretty hard to call that a crisis,” Michel said.
The cost of housing will almost certainly remain a topic of political debate for months as Republicans and Democrats prepare for the 2026 midterm elections. Nearly every young American — 97% of Gen-Z and 93% of Millennials — says they want to buy a home one day, and a staggering 84% of the younger generation say they’re delaying major life milestones like getting married or having kids until they can do so, according to a <a href="https://fortune.com/2025/11/10/gen-z-delaying-milestones-housing-affordability-crisis-no-single-fix/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Coldwell Banker report</a>.
Convincing Americans that Trump’s immigration crackdown will benefit them could be a key factor in how Americans view the president’s economic record when voters go to the polls again.

Housing Market/ICE

Will Mass Deportations Fix The Housing Market?

Deportations

Housing

Illegal Immigation

President Donald Trump issued an executive order on Friday modifying his so-called reciprocal tariffs to specify that certain foods and agricultural products from countries around the world &#8220;will no longer be subject to those tariffs.&#8221;
The White House <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/fact-sheets/2025/11/fact-sheet-following-trade-deal-announcements-president-donald-j-trump-modifies-the-scope-of-the-reciprocal-tariffs-with-respect-to-certain-agricultural-products/">announced</a> the move in a fact sheet, which stated that the president is focused on &#8220;strengthening the U.S. economy.&#8221; The tariff rollback will apply to food items that are not grown or produced in the United States in &#8220;sufficient quantities,&#8221; including beef, coffee, tea, bananas, oranges, tomatoes, and tropical fruits and fruit juices, the White House said.
&#8220;Today’s Order follows the significant progress the President has made in securing more reciprocal terms for our bilateral trade relationships,&#8221; the White House fact sheet stated. &#8220;President Trump’s deals have had and will continue to have broad impacts on domestic production and the economy as a whole, including enhanced market access for our agriculture exporters.&#8221;
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/bessent-promises-major-food-import-moves-to-cut-grocery-prices-very-quickly?author=Zach+Jewell&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Bessent+Promises+Major+Food+Import+Moves+To+Cut+Grocery+Prices+%E2%80%98Very+Quickly%E2%80%99">hinted</a> at the move earlier this week, promising that the Trump administration would make some big announcements &#8220;that will bring the prices down very quickly.&#8221; The administration has recently focused its attention on addressing Americans&#8217; economic woes.
President Trump <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/columnists/3887760/oval-office-interview-trump-make-things-less-expensive/">told</a> The Washington Examiner in an interview on Friday that working to lower consumer and housing costs remains a central part of his agenda. Trump dismissed Democrats who have recently complained about an &#8220;affordability crisis,&#8221; arguing that the economy has improved since he took office.
“We’re working to make things less expensive,&#8221; Trump said. &#8220;We’re cutting some prices very substantially, but what is terrible is the Democrats have catchphrases.&#8221;
“They came up with a soundbite. Affordability. Affordability. Well, what we are doing is making things cost less,” he added.
Earlier on Friday, the White House announced &#8220;breakthrough trade deals&#8221; with Argentina, Ecuador, El Salvador, and Guatemala that would help lower the prices of some food items. Under those deals, the Trump administration is expected to lower tariffs on some food products, which could lower the cost of items such as coffee and bananas, according to a senior Trump administration official, Reuters <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-remove-tariffs-some-products-ecuador-argentina-guatemala-el-salvador-2025-11-13/">reported</a>.
Trump&#8217;s executive order marks a major turn in the president&#8217;s trade strategy, but the White House maintains that Trump&#8217;s tariff policies are working for the American people.
&#8220;President Trump’s tariff policies have delivered significant and lasting wins for the American people through fair, tough, and strategic trade negotiations, strengthening the U.S. economy and national security while breaking down unfair trade barriers that have harmed American workers for decades,&#8221; the White House said, adding, &#8220;The Administration will continue to use all available tools to protect our national security, advance our economic interests, and uphold a system of trade based in fairness and reciprocity.&#8221;

Trump Rolls Back Tariffs On Dozens Of Food Imports. Here’s What Will Be Affected.

Food

Tariffs

The Regents of the Texas A&amp;M University System voted unanimously on Thursday to adopt a policy requiring college presidents to sign off on any course that could be interpreted as pushing “race and gender ideology or topics related to sexual orientation or gender identity.”
The new policy seeks to prevent another controversy like the one that erupted at Texas A&amp;M earlier this year when an English professor was filmed pushing pro-LGBT talking points during a children’s literature course. The policy approved by regents defines race ideology as “attempts to shame a particular race or ethnicity” or anything that “promotes activism on issues related to race or ethnicity rather than academic instruction,” The Texas Tribune <a href="https://www.texastribune.org/2025/11/13/texas-am-regents-race-gender-ideology-course-audit/">reported</a>. Gender ideology is defined under the policy as “a concept of self-assessed gender identity replacing, and disconnected from, the biological category of sex.”
The policy also prohibits professors from teaching any material that is not consistent with the approved syllabus. Enforcement of the policy is set to begin at all 12 colleges in the Texas A&amp;M University System in the spring 2026 semester.
“What we’re doing is pretty simple,” regent Sam Torn told The Texas Tribune. “It’s not as complex. We’re simply making sure that we do educate, and we’re simply making sure that we teach what the course syllabus specifies that we teach.”
Videos obtained and shared by Republican Texas state Rep. Brian Harrison and <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/watch-texas-am-student-booted-from-lecture-after-objecting-to-professor-pushing-radical-gender-theory?author=Zach+Jewell&amp;category=undefined&amp;elementPosition=6&amp;row=3&amp;rowHeadline=Latest+News&amp;rowType=Vertical+Carousel&amp;title=WATCH%3A+Texas+A%26M+Student+Booted+From+Lecture+After+Objecting+To+Professor+Pushing+Radical+Gender+Theory">first reported</a> by The Daily Wire in September showed children’s literature professor Dr. Melissa McCoul advocating for leftist views on race and gender and asking one student who pushed back on her arguments to leave a lecture. The children’s literature course included material that advocated for introducing leftist gender ideas to children. One of the slides in the class was titled “Let’s talk gender in children’s lit!” and argued that “Childhood is the time for figuring out how to be a boy, girl, man, woman, or another gender.”
In a phone call with the student who publicly opposed the leftism espoused in the literature course, then-Texas A&amp;M President Mark Welsh said, “There’s not a problem” with teaching LGBT literature as long as the university makes it clear it will be part of a class. When the student asked Welsh if any more changes would be made, such as firing McCoul, Welsh accused the student of attempting to “pick a fight,” adding that the university would not punish the professor.
Welsh <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/texas-am-president-to-resign-after-leftist-politics-infiltrated-university-childrens-lit-course">stepped down</a> as Texas A&amp;M president less than two weeks after the videos and details of the children’s literature class were made public. A rule implemented in September requires that all course content at each of the Texas A&amp;M System’s 12 schools be audited.
“It’s a serious system-wide review of every course, every syllabus,” Torn said on Thursday. “We are examining the body of knowledge behind each degree, low-producing programs, workforce relevance and financial stewardship.”
Rep. Harrison <a href="https://x.com/brianeharrison/status/1989310142291100113">celebrated</a> after the regents approved the new policy on race and gender ideology, saying that his use of social media to highlight the issue at Texas A&amp;M “has done more this year to combat woke indoctrination than the entire Texas House and Texas Senate… combined.”
Some professors are concerned that the policy will only add confusion.
Geography professor Andrew Klein told the board of regents, “The vagueness of the language is problematic. Faculty are now assuming that all instructions in the topic of concern will be prohibited. Will subjects like medicine, public health and law, where such content is required to prepare professionals for the Texas workforce, be disallowed?”
Philosophy professor Martin Peterson added that academics must “seek the truth,” arguing, “When we seek the truth, we sometimes have to explore ideas that touch on controversial issues.”
“It is not always clear what counts as advocating for an ideology in those contexts,” Peterson said.
European history professor Miranda Sachs argued that the new rule would prevent her from addressing certain historical topics, such as the Holocaust. Regent John Bellinger responded to Sachs’s comment, saying, “There’s got to be some common sense in this.”
“I think we’re taking it a little bit too far when [we say] that we’re not going to teach about what happened in world wars,” Bellinger said.

Texas A&M

Texas A&M Restricts ‘Race And Gender Ideology’ After Leftist Literature Course Exposed

American Universities

Education

Gender

Leftism

Texas A&amp;M

President Donald Trump believes Democrats are reviving attention on Jeffrey Epstein to distract from the party’s recent government shutdown failure. Now, the president is directing his own focus toward Epstein, calling out prominent Democrats who had ties to the convicted sex offender.
Trump directed the Department of Justice on Friday to investigate Epstein&#8217;s connections to a list of powerful Democrats, including former President Bill Clinton, former U.S. Treasury Secretary and Harvard President Larry Summers, and venture capitalist Reid Hoffman. Trump compared the Democratic Party&#8217;s focus on Epstein to the Russian collusion investigation during his first administration, arguing that all the &#8220;arrows&#8221; are &#8220;pointing to the Democrats.&#8221;
&#8220;Now that the Democrats are using the Epstein Hoax, involving Democrats, not Republicans, to try and deflect from their disastrous SHUTDOWN, and all of their other failures, I will be asking A.G. Pam Bondi, and the Department of Justice, together with our great patriots at the FBI, to investigate Jeffrey Epstein’s involvement and relationship with Bill Clinton, Larry Summers, Reid Hoffman, J.P. Morgan, Chase, and many other people and institutions, to determine what was going on with them, and him,&#8221; Trump <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/115548785919046772">wrote</a> on Truth Social.
&#8220;Records show that these men, and many others, spent large portions of their life with Epstein, and on his &#8216;Island.&#8217; Stay tuned!!!&#8221; Trump added.
Trump&#8217;s directive comes two days after Democrats <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/dems-drop-new-epstein-emails-in-which-he-claims-trump-knew-about-the-girls">released</a> multiple Epstein emails, including correspondence in which the pedophile claimed that Trump &#8220;knew about the girls&#8221; and “spent hours” at Epstein’s home with one of the sexual abuser&#8217;s victims. The House GOP Oversight Committee released an additional 20,000 pages of documents on Wednesday, and the White House <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-responds-to-epstein-emails-dropped-by-dems-says-its-an-attempt-to-deflect-from-shutdown">said</a> that the contents further confirm that Trump did not take part in Epstein&#8217;s sex crimes.
“The Democrats selectively leaked emails to the liberal media to create a fake narrative to smear President Trump. The ‘unnamed victim’ referenced in these emails is the late Virginia Giuffre, who repeatedly said President Trump was not involved in any wrongdoing whatsoever and ‘couldn’t have been friendlier’ to her in their limited interactions,” said White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt.
Trump also <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-responds-to-epstein-emails-dropped-by-dems-says-its-an-attempt-to-deflect-from-shutdown">responded</a> to the Epstein email dump, saying on Wednesday that &#8220;Democrats are trying to bring up the Jeffrey Epstein Hoax again because they’ll do anything at all to deflect on how badly they’ve done on the Shutdown.&#8221; He added, &#8220;Only a very bad, or stupid, Republican would fall into that trap.&#8221;
Clinton&#8217;s association with Epstein is well documented, but — like Trump — the former president has not been accused of any wrongdoing related to Epstein&#8217;s crimes. Clinton traveled across the world with Epstein numerous times, with flight records indicating that the former president was on Epstein&#8217;s infamous “Lolita Express,” the airplane on which Epstein is accused of using to sex traffic underage girls. In 2002, Clinton was also <a href="https://www.yahoo.com/news/fact-check-2002-pic-epstein-195200112.html">pictured</a> getting a massage from one of Epstein&#8217;s accusers, then-22-year-old Chauntae Davies. Davies accused Epstein of raping her multiple times over the course of four years. She did not accuse Clinton of any wrongdoing.
Summers also had a good relationship with Epstein, as did financial power player Hoffman. None of those men has been publicly accused by any of the women who were victimized by Epstein. Summers and Epstein communicated regularly throughout the years, and the latest Epstein email dump revealed that Summers <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/12/us/politics/epstein-larry-summers.html">asked</a> Epstein for advice about a relationship with a woman after Epstein had pleaded guilty to state-level prostitution charges.
Hoffman <a href="https://www.axios.com/2019/09/12/reid-hoffman-jeffrey-epstein-mit-donations">admitted</a> in 2019 that his relationship with Epstein and his agreement to participate in a fundraising event alongside him &#8220;helped to repair [Epstein&#8217;s] reputation and perpetuate injustice.&#8221;
&#8220;For this, I am deeply regretful,&#8221; Hoffman added.
J.P. Morgan Chase, one of the world&#8217;s largest banks, has faced scrutiny after <a href="https://docs.house.gov/meetings/JU/JU00/20250917/118612/HHRG-119-JU00-20250917-SD055-U55.pdf">processing and handling</a> more than $1 billion for Epstein over the course of 15 years. JPMorgan agreed to a $290 million settlement with Epstein&#8217;s victims in 2023 after it was accused of ignoring red flags about Epstein&#8217;s sex trafficking.

Trump/Clinton/Epstein

Trump Unleashes DOJ To Investigate Epstein’s Democrat Friends

Bill Clinton

Crime

Jeffrey Epstein

JP Morgan

Larry Summers

Reid Hoffman

President Donald Trump secured &#8220;breakthrough trade deals&#8221; with Argentina, Ecuador, El Salvador, and Guatemala, setting up &#8220;more streamlined market access&#8221; for the United States and its four Western Hemisphere partners, the White House announced on Thursday.
The deals include both economic and national security commitments, which the White House promises will give American companies greater access to the Central and South American markets. Under the deals, the Trump administration is expected to lower tariffs on some food products, which could lower the cost of items such as coffee and bananas, according to a senior Trump administration official, Reuters <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-remove-tariffs-some-products-ecuador-argentina-guatemala-el-salvador-2025-11-13/">reported</a>. The finalized frameworks for the deals are expected to be completed within the next two weeks.
The White House announced the new trade agreements shortly after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/bessent-promises-major-food-import-moves-to-cut-grocery-prices-very-quickly">promised</a> that the administration was seeking to give Americans some relief at the grocery store. Bessent&#8217;s comments were a rare moment of the Trump administration acknowledging that Americans are feeling the sting of Trump&#8217;s tariffs, at least in some circumstances.
&#8220;These deals secure commitments on economic and national security issues to strengthen supply chains and trade partnerships in the region, deepening bilateral trade and investment cooperation to provide American exporters with unprecedented access to markets in Central and South America,&#8221; the White House <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/fact-sheets/2025/11/fact-sheet-president-donald-j-trump-announces-historic-trade-deals-with-western-hemisphere-trading-partners/">said</a>. &#8220;The deals will help U.S. farmers, ranchers, fishermen, small businesses, and manufacturers to increase U.S. exports to and expand business opportunities with these trading partners.&#8221;
The deal with Argentina gives U.S. exporters &#8220;preferential market access&#8221; for &#8220;medicines, chemicals, machinery, information technology products, medical devices, motor vehicles, and a wide range of agricultural products.&#8221; Under the agreement, Argentina is expected to exempt beef from its 10% tariff on imports, allowing the U.S. cattle industry to ship beef to the South American country at a more affordable rate, a U.S. official told <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2025/11/13/white-house-agrees-to-lower-some-tariffs-on-south-american-countries-00651456?cid=apn">POLITICO</a>. President Donald Trump had also considered allowing Argentina to export more beef to the United States, but the agreement does not appear to allow that, after Trump&#8217;s idea faced backlash from Congress and the U.S. cattle industry.
&#8220;Argentina has opened its market to U.S. live cattle, committed to allow market access for U.S. poultry within one year, and agreed not to restrict market access for products that use certain cheese and meat terms,&#8221; the White House <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/2025/11/joint-statement-on-framework-for-a-united-states-argentina-agreement-on-reciprocal-trade-and-investment/">said</a>.
The Trump administration stated that Ecuador would reduce or eliminate tariffs on tree nuts, fresh fruit, pulses, wheat, wine, and distilled spirits. El Salvador agreed to &#8220;break down non-tariff barriers for U.S. agricultural products in its market, including ensuring that U.S. agricultural exporters will not be restricted due to the mere use of certain cheese and meat terms.&#8221; Guatemala, meanwhile, made commitments on digital trade, including ending discrimination against U.S. products distributed digitally.

Trump Makes ‘Breakthrough Trade Deals’ With 4 Countries To Lower Food Costs

Argentina

Ecuador

El Salvador

Guatemala

California Democratic Congressman Eric Swalwell faces a potential federal investigation after President Donald Trump&#8217;s top housing official referred him to the Department of Justice over alleged mortgage and tax fraud on Thursday.
Swalwell is accused of making false statements on loan documents related to a house in Washington, D.C., according to a letter Director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency Bill Pulte sent to Attorney General Pam Bondi, NBC News <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/trump-administration/trump-administration-eric-swalwell-federal-criminal-probe-mortgage-rcna243518">reported</a>. The allegations stem from Swalwell&#8217;s purchase of a $1.2 million home in the nation&#8217;s capital that he reportedly claimed as his primary residence.
By claiming the D.C. home as his primary residence, Swalwell qualified for millions of dollars&#8217; worth of loans and refinancing, the New York Post <a href="https://nypost.com/2025/11/13/us-news/eric-swalwells-1-2-million-dc-home-target-of-doj-mortgage-fraud-criminal-referral/">reported</a>. His campaign has also faced scrutiny over payments made to a Haitian American staffer that totaled over $360,000 and for expenditures on luxury hotels and car services, according to <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-doj-opens-mortgage-fraud-probe-eric-swalwell-congressman-vows-keep-fighting-back">Fox News</a>.
Swalwell becomes the fourth Democrat in recent months to face mortgage fraud allegations after Pulte also sent the DOJ criminal referrals for Sen. Adam Schiff (D-CA), New York Attorney General Letitia James, and Biden-appointed Federal Reserve Board Governor Lisa Cook. Swalwell told NBC News that the criminal referral didn’t surprise him, arguing that it is politically motivated.
&#8220;As the most vocal critic of Donald Trump over the last decade and as the only person who still has a surviving lawsuit against him, the only thing I am surprised about is that it took him this long to come after me,&#8221; Swalwell said.
Other Democratic lawmakers argued that the Trump administration is targeting one of the president&#8217;s most vocal critics.
&#8220;It’s no longer shocking that Trump uses his power to target an outspoken opponent—that’s the hallmark of authoritarianism. What’s remarkable is that he did it less than 24 hours after signing a bill letting 8 GOP senators embezzle $500k–$1M from taxpayers,&#8221; <a href="https://x.com/RepLiccardo/status/1989070897932824686">wrote</a> Rep. Sam Liccardo (D-CA).
&#8220;Donald Trump is once again weaponizing government to punish those who speak out against his dangerous and disastrous policies. He should know my colleague @RepSwalwell is someone who never backs down or bends the knee to a tyrant,&#8221; <a href="https://x.com/RepZoeLofgren/status/1989070929226576012">added</a> Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA).
For years after being elected to Congress, Swalwell struggled with finances. According to a Washington Free Beacon <a href="https://freebeacon.com/politics/eric-swalwell-is-a-financial-mess/">report</a> from 2019, he had still failed to pay off his student loans after graduating in 2006 and had accumulated credit card debt.
Swalwell, who has been in Congress since 2013, gained notoriety for his role in pushing the Trump-Russia collusion hoax during Trump&#8217;s first term. The Democratic congressman has also been criticized over his relationship with a suspected Chinese spy, a relationship he had while he sat on the House Intelligence Committee.

Eric Swalwell

Eric Swalwell Faces DOJ Criminal Probe Over Mortgage Fraud Accusations

Eric Swalwell Referred To DOJ For Criminal Investigation After He's Accused Of Mortgage Fraud

Department of Justice

Fraud

Mortgages

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced on Thursday that thousands of TSA agents would receive a $10,000 bonus check for showing “exemplary service” and “stepping up” during the government shutdown.
Noem made the announcement at a press conference, standing alongside a group of TSA agents who were among the more than one million government workers who went weeks without pay during the longest government shutdown in American history. Government workers who went without paychecks during the 44-day government shutdown are also getting back pay.
“We are not only going to continue their paychecks like they should’ve received all along, but also they’re going to receive a bonus check for stepping up, taking on extra shifts, for showing up each and every day, for serving the American people,” Noem said.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
.<a href="https://twitter.com/Sec_Noem?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Sec_Noem</a> announces $10,000 bonus checks for <a href="https://twitter.com/TSA?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@TSA</a> agents who showed up for work and took on extra shifts — despite not receiving paychecks — during the Democrat Shutdown. <a href="https://t.co/TqncMEPPnl">pic.twitter.com/TqncMEPPnl</a>
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) <a href="https://twitter.com/RapidResponse47/status/1989037520420762096?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 13, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Noem added that the administration “will be looking at every single TSA official that helped serve during this government shutdown and do what we can to recognize that and help them financially with a bonus check to get them and their family back on their feet.” The Homeland Security Secretary then passed out checks to the agents standing behind her.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
.<a href="https://twitter.com/Sec_Noem?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Sec_Noem</a> hands out $10,000 bonus checks to Houston TSA workers who stepped up and showed up to work during the Democrat government shutdown <a href="https://t.co/N5yLMiPeEb">pic.twitter.com/N5yLMiPeEb</a>
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) <a href="https://twitter.com/RapidResponse47/status/1989037944787566668?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 13, 2025</a></blockquote>
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Airports and the airline industry were hit hard by the record-breaking government shutdown, as the federal government had to address a shortage of air traffic controllers. The Federal Aviation Administration said last week it would slash air traffic by up to 10% at 40 of the busiest airports across the country as the shutdown continued. While the shutdown officially ended on Wednesday night when President Donald Trump signed the short-term government spending bill, officials warned that air travel disruptions could continue for days.
Trump also <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-floats-plan-to-reward-air-traffic-controllers-who-didnt-take-time-off-due-to-shutdown">promised</a> to hand out $10,000 bonus checks to air traffic controllers who stayed on the job during the shutdown.
“For those Air Traffic Controllers who were GREAT PATRIOTS, and didn’t take ANY TIME OFF for the ‘Democrat Shutdown Hoax,’ I will be recommending a BONUS of $10,000 per person for distinguished service to our Country,” Trump said on Monday.
Many controllers called in sick during the shutdown, with some picking up temporary jobs to cover lost income, and the president sharply criticized those absences.
“For those that did nothing but complain, and took time off, even though everyone knew they would be paid, IN FULL, shortly into the future, I am NOT HAPPY WITH YOU,” Trump said. “You didn’t step up to help the U.S.A. against the FAKE DEMOCRAT ATTACK that was only meant to hurt our Country. You will have a negative mark, at least in my mind, against your record.”

Kristi Noem

Noem Hands Out $10,000 Checks To TSA Agents Who Worked Through Shutdown

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Zach Jewell