The Afghan national accused of killing one National Guard soldier and injuring another in a Thanksgiving week attack in Washington, D.C., could now face the death penalty after prosecutors moved the case to federal court.
The Justice Department announced Tuesday that it has filed a <a href="https://www.justice.gov/usao-dc/media/1421951/dl?inline" target="_blank" rel="noopener">criminal complaint</a> against 29-year-old Rahmanullah Lakanwal, charging him with two federal firearms offenses: transporting or shipping a stolen firearm in interstate commerce and transporting or receiving firearms in interstate or foreign commerce with intent to commit a crime. Lakanwal is also charged with first-degree premeditated murder while armed, possession of a firearm during a crime of violence, and assault with intent to kill while armed.
The federal charges bring the case to the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia from the D.C. Superior Court. Lakanwal is accused of gunning down U.S. Army Spc. Sarah Beckstrom, 20, and U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe, 24, both members of the West Virginia National Guard, while they patrolled the streets of the nation&#8217;s capital. Beckstrom died from her wounds just a day after the attack, while Wolfe was critically injured and still in recovery, but expected to survive. 
“The transfer of this case from Superior Court to District Court ensures that we can undertake the serious, deliberate, and weighty analysis required to determine if the death penalty is appropriate here,” said U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro. “Sarah Beckstrom was just 20 years old when she was killed and her parents are now forced to endure the holiday season without their daughter. Andrew Wolfe, by the grace of God, survived but has a long road ahead in his recovery.”
The federal complaint filed Tuesday says that Lakanwal “purposely and with deliberate and premeditated malice, killed Beckstrom by shooting her in the head with a firearm. Your affiant also asserts that, by shooting Wolfe in the head with a firearm, LAKANWAL assaulted Wolfe with intent to kill him.”
Lakanwal, who was shot during the attack, pleaded not guilty to the D.C. charges earlier this month. 
According to the complaint, the weapon used in the shooting was a stolen .357 Smith &amp; Wesson revolver. Prosecutors say on October 15, Lakanwal sent photos of an AR-15 and a pistol to an unnamed individual in Washington, where he lived, along with the message, “find this stuff for me.”
<div class="image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-1019681" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/Screenshot-2025-12-24-at-7.39.07-AM.png" alt="DOJ. " width="1049" height="667" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/Screenshot-2025-12-24-at-7.39.07-AM.png 1049w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/Screenshot-2025-12-24-at-7.39.07-AM-300x191.png 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/Screenshot-2025-12-24-at-7.39.07-AM-906x576.png 906w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/Screenshot-2025-12-24-at-7.39.07-AM-768x488.png 768w" sizes=" (max-width: 1049px) 100vw, 1049px" /></div>
“I’m doing [Lyft] an[d] Uber so I will need one of them[.]” Lakanwal allegedly said. The unidentified person replied by saying, “I wish I could help brother but the laws here are to[o] strict[.]”
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The criminal complaint states that Lakanwal had not provided a Lyft ride since May, and that a family member told investigators his Uber account had been banned.
The unidentified individual later supplied Lakanwal with the revolver, which had been stolen from a Seattle home in May 2023, according to the complaint. The person who furnished the weapon told investigators he believed Lakanwal wanted it “for personal protection while working as a rideshare driver.”
After obtaining the firearm, Lakanwal is alleged to have purchased ammunition the following day. Two hours later, Lakanwal searched “Washington, D.C.” and “The White House” in Google Maps, according to the complaint.

President Trump Orders Hundreds More National Guard Troops to D.C. After Shooting Of Guardsmen

Trump Wants Death Penalty For Afghanistan Man Charged In Deadly National Guard Shooting

Afghanistan

Department of Justice

Jeanine Pirro

National Guard

Washington D.C.

The consequences of the botched Afghanistan withdrawal during the Biden administration have made their way to the American homeland after the deadly National Guard shooting in Washington, D.C., according to many Republicans, including Senator Jim Banks (R-IN), who was deployed to Afghanistan while serving in the Navy.
Shortly following the suspect’s identification as an Afghan national, Banks immediately called for proper vetting of individuals who came into the country as refugees following the withdrawal from Afghanistan. In a Thursday interview with The Daily Wire on Capitol Hill, Banks elaborated on why he “predicted that this would happen.&#8221;
“If you flood the country with unvetted Afghan nationals, we knew that there would be a large population within that group who were aligned with terrorists, and now this is playing out and proving to be true,” Banks said.
“Go back and vet all of them,” the senator said, further adding that the role of Congress should be to support the president and “fund the effort to do that.&#8221; The &#8220;One Big Beautiful Bill Act,&#8221; which passed in July, paved the way for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to hire thousands of agents, along with providing funding for immigration and border security measures.
“And all of them who weren&#8217;t properly vetted — every single one of them — should be vetted. And if they shouldn&#8217;t be in the United States, then they should be sent back to where they came from,&#8221; the Republican said.
“I served in Afghanistan, I served with translators and Afghan troops and others, and I can just tell you, not every single one of them should be allowed to come to the United States,” Banks continued.
“They should be vetted. Just because they did something in Afghanistan during the war that &#8230; aligned with America, doesn&#8217;t mean that they support American values, and no one should &#8230; be allowed to come to America that doesn&#8217;t love America,” he added.
Banks noted that the country&#8217;s immigration woes are arguably what won President Donald Trump a second term in 2024, adding that “he has a mandate to do what he’s doing.”
Millions of people were let into the U.S. through asylum and parole programs, as well as by illegally crossing the southern border, during the Biden administration. Roughly 14 million immigrants &#8220;unauthorized&#8221; to be in the U.S. were in the country as of 2023, according to the <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/race-and-ethnicity/2025/08/21/u-s-unauthorized-immigrant-population-reached-a-record-14-million-in-2023/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Pew Research Center</a>. As for Afghans who entered after the withdrawal, they came in through Operation Allies Welcome and other programs.
The suspect in the deadly National Guard shooting last month in Washington, D.C., Afghan national Rahmanullah Lakanwal, reportedly worked alongside the CIA as a member of &#8220;Zero Unit&#8221; in Afghanistan. Rahmanullah has also dealt with mental health issues since coming to the United States.
The deadly shooting killed Sarah Beckstrom and seriously injured another National Guard member, Andrew Wolfe, who remains in serious condition, CNN <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2025/12/02/us/national-guard-andrew-wolfe">reported</a>.
Following the National Guard tragedy, Trump ordered the immigration processes for individuals from 19 “high-risk” nations halted to allow for “a thorough re-review process,” according to a U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services policy memorandum from Dec. 2.
&#8220;In light of identified concerns and the threat to the American people, USCIS has determined that a comprehensive re-review, potential interview, and re-interview of all aliens from high-risk countries of concern who entered the United States on or after January 20, 2021 is necessary,&#8221; the memo stated. &#8220;Lastly, USCIS may, when appropriate, extend this review and re-interview process to aliens who entered the United States outside of this timeframe.&#8221;
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“We must now reexamine every single alien who has entered our country from Afghanistan under Biden, and we must take all necessary measures to ensure the removal of any alien from any country who does not belong here or add benefit to our country,” Trump said in the immediate aftermath of the Nov. 26 shooting.
As for the suspect in the shooting, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem told NBC News&#8217; &#8220;Meet the Press,&#8221; &#8220;We believe he was radicalized since he has been here in this country. We do believe that it was through connections in his home community and state.&#8221;
The Indiana senator pointed out that even though the withdrawal from Afghanistan was in 2021, “there hasn’t been a successful effort for accountability in its aftermath.”
During the exit of American troops, 13 American soldiers died in an ISIS-K attack, and the Taliban regained control of the country.

Screen Shot 2022-05-18 at 7.32.58 PM

Veteran Serving In Congress Demands Vetting Of Afghan Nationals After Deadly National Guard Shooting

Afghan War Vet In Senate Stresses Importance Of Vetting After National Guard Shooting

Immigration

Jim Banks

Senate

Washington DC

A day before 29-year-old Afghan national Rahmanullah Lakanwal opened fire on two National Guardsmen patrolling near the White House, the NGO that reportedly settled the shooter in the United States condemned President Donald Trump for ordering further vetting of refugees.
On November 25, World Relief, one of nine voluntary organizations contracted by the State Department to facilitate housing and employment assistance for refugees, issued a <a href="https://worldrelief.org/pr-world-relief-condemns-a-uscis-memo-halting-green-card-processing-for-200000-refugees-calling-it-destabilizing-and-morally-unjust/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">press release</a> in response to an internal memo from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) requiring additional scrutiny of all refugees who entered the country during the Biden administration.
In the statement, World Relief president and CEO Myal Greene called the additional vetting a “moral and ethical betrayal of due process,” and VP Matt Soerens said that it would “retraumatiz[e]” refugees brought to the United States.
The following day, according to witnesses, Lakanwal fired on the guards while shouting, “Allahu akbar.” Twenty-year-old Specialist Sarah Beckstrom died from her wounds, and 24-year-old Staff Sergeant Andrew Wolfe is still in serious condition.
Greene insisted in World Relief’s statement that the Afghans had been sufficiently vetted.
“Refugees admitted under the U.S. refugee resettlement program have undergone some of the most rigorous vetting of any immigrant lawfully admitted into the United States, yet this sweeping re-interview initiative is nothing less than a calculated effort to strip lawful status from thoroughly-vetted, law-abiding people,” he said.
But according to a 2022 Department of Homeland Security inspector general report released under Biden appointee Alejandro Mayorkas, the chaos of the Afghanistan withdrawal left significant gaps in information, and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) often lacked significant data for the entries, such as “name, date of birth, identification number, and travel document data.” In one sample of 88,977 evacuee records, 417 lacked first names, 242 lacked last names, 11,110 had January 1 birthdates, and 7,800 had missing or invalid travel documents.
“We also determined CBP admitted or paroled evacuees who were not fully vetted into the United States,” DHS investigators concluded.
A <a href="about:blank" target="_blank" rel="noopener">2024 DHS report</a> involving three Department of Homeland Security divisions — CBP, USCIS, and ICE — similarly found that CBP did not always have critical data to properly screen, vet, or inspect the evacuees and that DHS’s “fragmented” process resulted in chaotic conditions that led to lost information and background checks that were deferred until after departure from Afghanistan. During his April 2025 confirmation hearing, Director of the National Counterterrorism Center Joe Kent <a href="https://www.mei.edu/publications/thousands-once-protected-afghan-refugees-united-states-face-deportation" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> that after reviewing data from the National Counterterrorism Center, he found that more than 1,400 Afghans with suspected links to ISIS had been admitted into the country.
The New York Times <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/27/us/guard-shooting-suspect-profile.html#:~:text=Mr.%20Lakanwal's%20unit%20was%20based,who%20had%20helped%20U.S.%20troops" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> on November 27 that World Relief was involved with resettling Lakanwal in Washington State, but since then, the organization has declined to elaborate, telling NPR they “cannot confirm whether or not [they] have served any specific client without permission from [their] federal government partners who administered the process for bringing Afghans to the United States beginning in 2021.”
What is known is that the State Department designated Whatcom County, Washington, which includes Bellingham, where Lakanwal resided, as a resettlement site for Afghan evacuees under Biden’s Operation Allies Welcome (OAW). World Relief’s local office there was tasked with aiding refugees’ initial integration.
While the NGO, founded in 1944 by the National Association of Evangelicals, once relied almost entirely on private contributions, today the bulk of its funding comes from the federal government.
In 2021, it received <a href="about:blank" target="_blank" rel="noopener">$56 million in federal grants and contracts</a> and only $13 million in private contributions. Through its work with the Soros-funded <a href="https://evangelicalimmigrationtable.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Evangelical Immigration Table</a>, World Relief is heavily involved in lobbying churches and evangelical organizations to back bills that would grant legal status to illegal immigrants.
In 2018, they launched the “<a href="https://evangelicalimmigrationtable.com/iwasastranger/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">I Was a Stranger” challenge</a>, a “40-day Scripture-reading guide composed of short Bible passages that relate in one way or another to the theme of immigration.” This curriculum, which many critics argue cherry-picks and manipulates Scripture for progressive policy aims, was sent to churches across the country, and Soerens’ work promoting it was published and promoted in influential evangelical publications like <a href="https://www.christianitytoday.com/2024/11/trump-deportation-immigration-temporary-protected-status/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Christianity Today</a> and <a href="https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/profile/matthew-soerens/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Gospel Coalition</a>.
The Daily Wire reached out to World Relief, and they responded with a statement from Soerens saying, “Based on news reports, the alleged perpetrator in the attack in Washington, D.C., did not enter the United States as a refugee and thus would not have been subject to the re-interview process to which our press release was responding.”
However, Trump’s order for further vetting of Afghan nationals admitted under the Biden administration also applies to those who entered the U.S. via humanitarian parole under OAW. It targets all Afghan arrivals from January 20, 2021, to February 20, 2025—including the ~76,000 OAW evacuees processed post-2021 U.S. withdrawal.
Soerens said World Relief stands by their statement of condemnation, and they have not changed their position opposing additional vetting of refugees.

National Guard Continue Patrolling Washington, DC After Shooting

Religious NGO That Settled Afghan Shooter Condemned Trump For Additional Vetting Order

Alejandro Mayorkas

Donald Trump

Joe Biden

NATO ups its support for Ukraine as the United States pursues peace talks, the Trump administration freezes asylum and visa reviews from 19 countries, and a watchdog exposes billions of taxpayer dollars in fraud under Biden-era diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives.
It’s Thursday, December 4, 2025, and this is the news you need to know to start your day. Today’s edition of the Morning Wire podcast can be heard below, and the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/mrn-251204-member-exclusive">video version</a> can be seen on The Daily Wire:
<iframe style="width: 100%; max-width: 660px; overflow: hidden; border-radius: 10px;" src="https://embed.podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/nato-pressures-putin-trumps-immigration-freeze-12-4-25/id1576594336?i=1000739652455" height="175" frameborder="0" sandbox="allow-forms allow-popups allow-same-origin allow-scripts allow-storage-access-by-user-activation allow-top-navigation-by-user-activation"></iframe>
<h2 style="text-align: center;">NATO Wants A Say On Ukraine</h2>
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone wp-image-1009649 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/NATO-Backs-Ukraine-1024x576.jpg" alt="" width="1024" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/NATO-Backs-Ukraine-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/NATO-Backs-Ukraine-300x169.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/NATO-Backs-Ukraine-768x432.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/NATO-Backs-Ukraine-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/NATO-Backs-Ukraine.jpg 1920w" sizes=" (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" />
Topline: The United States continues to facilitate talks between Russia and Ukraine while other NATO countries rally support for Kiev.
NATO wants to be more involved in the discussions on Ukraine than it has been recently. Almost every foreign minister for NATO met in Brussels on Wednesday to discuss that and the broader approach to Ukraine.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio was notably absent from the meeting — the first time in over two decades that the U.S. secretary of State had missed a gathering like this. Though that didn’t deeply concern many officials because Rubio has built up a lot of trust among NATO allies. 
Rutte digs in: The United States has been trying to find an end to the war that both sides can live with. But NATO’s secretary-general, Mark Rutte, has made plans to keep funding Ukraine through 2026 and maybe longer if necessary.
“We have to make sure that whilst [peace talks] take place and we are not sure when they will end, that Ukraine is in the strongest possible position to keep the fight going, to fight back against the Russians, but also in the strongest possible position when peace talks really get to a point where they sit at the table,” Rutte <a href="https://x.com/TRTWorldNow/status/1996176461934534920">said</a> on Wednesday.
Some members of the NATO alliance have poured money into a program to buy U.S. weapons for Ukraine to the tune of about $1 billion a month.
Moscow talks: The Kremlin said Tuesday that it couldn’t find a compromise it could agree with after U.S. officials met with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Moscow said that some of the American proposals have been good — likely in reference to the early framework that received so much pushback from Ukraine and the rest of Europe.
Moscow seems to be dead set on territorial gains over what it has control of already, however. Putin has repeatedly signaled that he wants all of the Donbas region, which he does not have full control over.
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<h2 style="text-align: center;">Trump’s Immigration Moves After National Guard Shooting</h2>
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone wp-image-1009647 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/22Countries-Of-Concern22-1024x576.jpg" alt="" width="1024" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/22Countries-Of-Concern22-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/22Countries-Of-Concern22-300x169.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/22Countries-Of-Concern22-768x432.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/22Countries-Of-Concern22-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/22Countries-Of-Concern22.jpg 1920w" sizes=" (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" />
Topline: The Trump administration halts more immigration following the D.C. shooting of two National Guard troops by an Afghan migrant.
Trump has already halted the processing of asylum applications and put a pause on visas, but there is a lot more being done. The Trump administration has directed U.S. citizenship and immigration services to look at 19 countries that it says are of concern as potential hotbeds of terrorism. Those countries include Afghanistan and several others in the Middle East, in Africa, and in South Asia.
The Trump administration wants USCIS, the agency that vets immigration applications, to scrutinize individuals who are applying or have been accepted to some programs. What this looks like in practice is the administration halting all processing of any legal immigration applications from individuals from these 19 countries.
For those who have been accepted to become green card recipients or citizens already, swearing in ceremonies have been put on pause as the Trump administration more thoroughly vets them.
National Guard shooting: The Department of Homeland Security now says this individual was barely vetted. Interestingly, when the United States left Afghanistan during the botched withdrawal from the country, the alleged shooter had no criminal background check. Nor did he have a biometrics check, cyber background check, or financial background check.
Nor was he the only one who came through this way. There were about 77,000 others admitted into the country through what&#8217;s called Operation Allies Welcome.
This lax vetting has already been pointed out before. A government watchdog came out months after the withdrawal and said the vetting was poor and minimal at the time. In some known cases, individuals were “vetted,” let into the country through this program, and then only after were their links to terrorism discovered.
<h2 style="text-align: center;">The SBA Program Spending Taxpayer Money On DEI</h2>
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-1009645" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/DEI-Funding-Funnel-300x169.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="169" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/DEI-Funding-Funnel-300x169.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/DEI-Funding-Funnel-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/DEI-Funding-Funnel-768x432.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/DEI-Funding-Funnel-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/DEI-Funding-Funnel.jpg 1920w" sizes=" (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />
Topline: New investigations from Peter Schweizer’s Government Accountability Institute have revealed just how much taxpayer money has been funneled through federal DEI initiatives – sparking more allegations of widespread fraud and corruption under the Biden administration that still needs to be rooted out.
Morning Wire spoke with Seamus Bruner, director of research at the Government Accountability Institute, about what&#8217;s being called the “DEI Industrial Complex.” (This interview has been edited for clarity.)
Morning Wire: Your team has done extensive research on what&#8217;s being called the “DEI Industrial Complex.” We&#8217;ve had our own investigative reporter, Luke Rosiak, digging into this and revealing some pretty alarming findings. First, what kinds of potential abuses are we seeing related to DEI in the federal government?
Bruner: This our latest exposé, and we give Luke a great shout out in it. He&#8217;s done amazing work on this Small Business Administration program. It&#8217;s called 8(a). Kind of an unwieldy title, but the devil is in the details with this. It&#8217;s a multi-billion dollar pass through scheme that rewards minority contractors or people who are “disadvantaged,” which has a very loose definition. I mean, perhaps even just not having access to internet when you&#8217;re way up in your mountain cabin in Yosemite or wherever could qualify you. But you have these firms that set up, Native American firms or any other sort of minority group — Native Americans have been pretty blessed by this program to the tune of billions of dollars. And it turns out that they&#8217;re not disadvantaged at all. The shareholders wear Rolex watches and are very wealthy. Well, in turn, this allows them to partner with real big firms like the Boston Consulting Group or McKinsey &amp; Company or firms that are not at all disadvantaged, and they receive no bid contracts under this program. And for anybody who knows anything about a no bid contract, it&#8217;s about as corrupt as it can be.
Morning Wire: Right. Why are we just now learning about this corruption?
Bruner: The program has been around for decades, but only under the Biden administration did the quotas triple. It really exploded just in the last several years. There was a USAID program, the contracting officials at USAID were taking bribes, over $1 million in bribes. We&#8217;ve also seen a $100 million contract. The minority contractor got 65% of that $100 million. So, well over $50 million. They only did a small fraction of the work.
Morning Wire: Do you think the DEI movement in particular really ratcheted this up – is that the culprit here in terms of the scale that we&#8217;re seeing now?
Bruner: Yeah, absolutely. President Trump, SBA Administrator Kelly Loeffler, and Treasury Secretary Bessent deserve credit. They really kicked off the investigations into this. The problem is that even though the Trump administration has declared war on DEI in the federal government, this isn&#8217;t necessarily called a “DEI program.” We&#8217;re seeing this across all kinds of sectors, especially in education. They&#8217;re getting rid of the word “DEI” and they&#8217;re using new words – “disadvantaged” or what have you. And the problem is, that there are “disadvantaged” people in America and we do want to support them and help them. But when you are giving multi-billion dollar conglomerates contracts under the banner of being “disadvantaged,” it hurts everybody.

MRN_251204_V!

Morning Brief: NATO Steps Up For Ukraine, Trump Expands Immigration Crackdown, & More Biden DEI Fraud

Morning Brief: NATO Steps Up For Ukraine, Trump Expands Immigration Crackdown, And SBA Funds DEI

Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DEI)

Kelly Loeffler

Marco Rubio

Morning Wire

NATO

Russia

Small Business Administration

Ukraine

The Biden administration “barely vetted” the Afghan migrant accused of shooting two National Guardsmen in Washington, D.C. last week, a Homeland Security official revealed Tuesday.
The alleged shooter, Rahmanullah Lakanwal, 29, didn’t undergo multiple standard background checks after he arrived in the United States in 2021 as part of the Biden administration’s “Operation Allies Welcome” program that brought over 77,000 individuals from the war-torn nation following the botched withdrawal of American troops, Assistant Homeland Security Secretary Tricia McLaughlin told Fox News host John Roberts.
The Biden administration allowed Lakanwal into the U.S. because of his past work with federal agencies operating in Afghanistan, including the CIA, Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/national-guardsmen-shooting-suspect-worked-with-the-cia-agency-head-says" target="_blank" rel="noopener">revealed</a> last week. He received asylum in April, <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/rahmanullah-lakanwal-mental-health-case-worker-emails/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according</a> to CBS News.
“We saw with this terrorist here, he was barely vetted, there was no biometric vetting, there was no criminal background check, cyber background check, financial background check. Really, they took some people and they just took them at their word, that&#8217;s a huge problem,” McLaughlin said.
“And it really can&#8217;t be overstated what the Biden administration did to this country in putting it in danger. So, I would say absolutely the vetting process is an issue, but these countries of origin too,” McLaughlin added.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
The damage that the Biden administration did to this country cannot be overstated.
President Trump and Secretary Noem are putting an end to the reckless policies that allowed millions of illegal aliens and foreigners into our country unvetted. The vetting process will now… <a href="https://t.co/wRC6hi377D">pic.twitter.com/wRC6hi377D</a>
— Homeland Security (@DHSgov) <a href="https://twitter.com/DHSgov/status/1995956782712455534?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 2, 2025</a></blockquote>
<div class="p-rich_text_section">
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President Donald Trump was quick to turn off immigration pipelines following the recent attack.
</div>
The federal government halted asylum decisions and stopped issuing <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/state-department-orders-posts-to-refuse-visas-to-afghan-nationals?author=Mary+Margaret+Olohan&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=0&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=State+Department+Takes+Action+On+Afghan+Nationals+Following+Trump+Pledge" target="_blank" rel="noopener">visas</a> to Afghans. On Tuesday, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services issued new guidance to pause the processing of all immigration applications for individuals from 19 “high risk countries.”
The targets of the halt include Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, the Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Yemen, Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan, and Venezuela, countries that were subject to travel <a href="https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2025-06-10/pdf/2025-10669.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">restrictions</a> enacted in June.

Job Biden Speaks At Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) In San Diego

Biden Admin ‘Barely Vetted’ Afghan Terror Suspect Accused Of Shooting National Guard Troops In D.C.

Biden Admin 'Barely Vetted' Afghan Terror Suspect Accused Of Shooting National Guard Troops In D.C.

The Trump administration has paused the processing of all immigration applications for individuals from 19 &#8220;high risk countries&#8221; following the shooting of two National Guard troops by an Afghan national while they were patrolling Washington, D.C., last week.
United States Citizenship and Immigration Services directed personnel to stop the decision-making process for immigration applications for anyone from the countries &#8220;of concern,&#8221; according to a Tuesday agency memo. The new guidance extends to immigrants slated to receive a Green Card or citizenship.
Some immigrants from the targeted countries have already received the dates of their naturalization ceremonies, which are being cancelled, <a href="https://x.com/BillMelugin_/status/1996034668559225279?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according</a> to Fox News. Meanwhile, the Trump administration will launch a &#8220;re-review&#8221; of asylum-seekers who entered the U.S. after former President Joe Biden&#8217;s inauguration in 2021.
&#8220;This order aims to safeguard U.S. citizens from aliens who may seek to commit terrorist acts, pose threats to national security, promote hateful ideologies, or exploit immigration laws for malicious purposes,&#8221; the memo stated.
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The new rules apply to immigrants from Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, the Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Yemen, Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan, and Venezuela, countries that were targets of travel <a href="https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2025-06-10/pdf/2025-10669.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">restrictions</a> enacted in June.
President Donald Trump has recently taken steps to shut down immigration pipelines following the D.C. shooting by Afghan migrant Rahmanullah Lakanwal, 29, who was brought to the U.S. through the Biden administration&#8217;s &#8220;Operation Allies Welcome,&#8221; which brought over 77,000 Afghans following the botched withdrawal of American troops.
The Afghan man received asylum in April, <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/rahmanullah-lakanwal-mental-health-case-worker-emails/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according</a> to CBS News.
West Virginia National Guard soldier Sarah Beckstrom, 20, tragically died from the wounds she sustained in the attack. Her colleague, Andrew Wolfe, 20, continues clinging to life.
The Biden administration justified Lakanwal&#8217;s entry to the U.S. over his past work for American government agencies operating in Afghanistan, including the CIA, agency Director John Ratcliffe <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/national-guardsmen-shooting-suspect-worked-with-the-cia-agency-head-says" target="_blank" rel="noopener">revealed</a> last week.
The Trump administration immediately responded to the attack by “halting” asylum decisions and stopping the issuance of <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/state-department-orders-posts-to-refuse-visas-to-afghan-nationals?author=Mary+Margaret+Olohan&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=0&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=State+Department+Takes+Action+On+Afghan+Nationals+Following+Trump+Pledge" target="_blank" rel="noopener">visas</a> to Afghans.
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US-IMMIGRATION-NAPOLITANO

Trump Halts Immigration From 19 ‘High Risk Countries’ Following National Guard Shooting

Trump Admin Halts Immigration From 19 'High Risk Countries' Following National Guard Shooting

The Afghan migrant accused of shooting two National Guard troops patrolling the streets of Washington, D.C., last week has pleaded not guilty.
Afghan national Rahmanullah Lakanwal, 29, is accused of shooting West Virginia National Guardsmen, 20-year-old Sarah Beckstrom and 24-year-old Andrew Wolfe. Beckstrom tragically died from her wounds just a day after the attack.
During a virtual hearing Tuesday, Lakanwal, who joined from a hospital bed where he&#8217;s being treated for gunshot wounds, pleaded not guilty to all charges against him, which include assault with intent to kill while armed; possession of a firearm; possession of a firearm during a crime of violence; and murder, <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/suspect-dc-shooting-national-guard-members-charged-murder-pleads-not-g-rcna247014" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according</a> to NBC News.
It was also revealed in court documents that Lakanwal yelled &#8220;Allahu akbar!&#8221; as he carried out the brutal attack. Additionally, he was apparently restrained just as he tried to reload his gun.
A judge denied the suspect bond, according to NBC.
Both Beckstrom and Wolfe “were sworn in less than 24 hours before they were shot on the street in Washington,” United States Attorney for D.C. Jeanine Pirro said during a press conference Thursday morning.
Beckstrom had volunteered to work during the Thanksgiving holiday to give her fellow soldiers time with their families before the shooting occurred.
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President Trump says he spoke with the parents of Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe, who is still hospitalized and in serious condition:
&#8220;They said he didn’t have a chance. I will tell you, the one who said he is going to live is his mother. I spoke to his mother, &#8216;Sir, he is going to… <a href="https://t.co/sWqnw24nlp">pic.twitter.com/sWqnw24nlp</a>
— Mary Margaret Olohan (@MaryMargOlohan) <a href="https://twitter.com/MaryMargOlohan/status/1995906785346265239?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 2, 2025</a></blockquote>
Wolfe “remains in serious condition,” but is showing signs of movement and awareness, Republican West Virginia Governor Patrick Morrisey said during a press conference Monday.
During a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday, President Donald Trump said he spoke with Wolfe&#8217;s parents.
&#8220;They said he didn’t have a chance,&#8221; Trump said. &#8220;I will tell you, the one who said he is going to live is his mother &#8230; &#8216;Sir, he is going to live.&#8217; I spoke to her very soon after this horrible event took place with this scum that is able to come into our country.&#8221;
&#8220;I spoke to his mother, &#8216;Sir, he’s going to be okay. I’m telling you.&#8217; No doctor thought that. Nobody thought that. He was hit bad places. She was so positive, it was incredible. And possibly right. &#8230; That would be amazing. If he lives, it would be amazing, a miracle, actually,&#8221; he recalled of the conversation.
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Lakanwal came to the United States in 2021 as part of President Joe Biden’s “Operation Allies Welcome,” when roughly 77,000 Afghan nationals were ushered into the country during the botched withdrawal of American troops, according to the Department of Homeland Security.
The Afghan man received asylum in April, <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/rahmanullah-lakanwal-mental-health-case-worker-emails/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according</a> to CBS News.
The Biden administration justified bringing Lakanwal to the U.S. over his work with U.S. government entities in Afghanistan, including the CIA, agency Director John Ratcliffe <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/national-guardsmen-shooting-suspect-worked-with-the-cia-agency-head-says">said</a> last week.
The Trump administration has responded to the attack by “halting” asylum decisions and stopping the issuance of <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/state-department-orders-posts-to-refuse-visas-to-afghan-nationals?author=Mary+Margaret+Olohan&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=0&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=State+Department+Takes+Action+On+Afghan+Nationals+Following+Trump+Pledge" target="_blank" rel="noopener">visas</a> to Afghans.

Afghan Migrant Pleads Not Guilty In DC Shooting Of National Guard Soldiers

Terrorism

U.S.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem recommended a “full travel ban” on potentially dozens of countries on Monday.
Noem said on Monday she had met with President Donald Trump and pushed for a travel ban on all countries that have “been flooding our nation with killers, leeches, and entitlement junkies.” Noem’s move to crack down on foreign entry into the United States comes as the president has paused asylum claims from 19 countries after an Afghan national allegedly killed a National Guardsman in Washington, D.C.
“Our forefathers built this nation on blood, sweat, and the unyielding love of freedom—not for foreign invaders to slaughter our heroes, suck dry our hard-earned tax dollars, or snatch the benefits owed to AMERICANS,” Noem wrote in a <a href="https://x.com/Sec_Noem/status/1995642101779124476">post</a> on X. “WE DON&#8217;T WANT THEM. NOT ONE.”
Noem did not specify which countries would be included in the travel ban under her criteria.
Law enforcement says that Afghan national Rahmanullah Lakanwal shot two National Guardsmen in D.C. last week. Lakanwal worked with U.S. forces in Afghanistan before coming to the United States during the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan under former president Joe Biden.
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Lakanwal applied for asylum in the United States last year, and his request was granted earlier this year under the Trump administration.
Noem deflected on Sunday when asked if the Trump administration vetted Lakanwal before granting him asylum. The Homeland Security secretary said during an interview on NBC’s “Meet The Press” that “vetting is happening when they come into the country, and that was completely abandoned under Joe Biden’s administration.”
Trump paused asylum claims from 19 countries last week, announcing the move in a pair of Truth Social posts on Thanksgiving. The countries included under the pause are Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Yemen, Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan, and Venezuela. Those countries “of Identified Concern” were originally listed in a June 4 <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/06/restricting-the-entry-of-foreign-nationals-to-protect-the-united-states-from-foreign-terrorists-and-other-national-security-and-public-safety-threats/">executive order</a>.
The president <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/we-dont-want-those-people-trump-defends-refugee-pause-declines-to-lay-out-timeline?author=Tim+Pearce&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=2&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=%E2%80%98We+Don%E2%80%99t+Want+Those+People%E2%80%99%3A+Trump+Defends+Refugee+Pause%2C+Declines+To+Lay+Out+Timeline">said</a> Sunday that he would not put a time limit on the pause because “we have enough problems. We don’t want those people.”

Kristi Noem

Kristi Noem Wants A ‘Full Travel Ban’ On Countries ‘Flooding Our Nation With Killers’

Department of Homeland Security

Executive

World

Another Violent Attack From An Immigrant Proves We Need Denaturalization

Deportations

Fraud

illegal immigrants

Immigrants

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)

Matt Walsh

Minnesota

Opinion

Somalis

Tim Walz

Virginia

Over the Thanksgiving weekend, President Trump went into high gear talking about the necessity of deporting all third-world migrants and of stopping further third-world migration into the United States.
This has been a long time coming — Trump has been saying this for roughly a decade. One of the very first things he did during his first administration was attempt a migration moratorium on a series of countries where vetting was very, very difficult.
All of this is now coming to a head. On Thursday, President Trump said he would permanently pause all immigration from what he called third-world countries.
President Trump <a href="https://x.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1994272683387687053">stated</a>:
<blockquote>Even as we have progressed technologically, Immigration Policy has eroded those gains and living conditions for many. I will permanently pause migration from all Third World Countries to allow the U.S. system to fully recover, terminate all of the millions of Biden illegal admissions, including those signed by Sleepy Joe Biden’s Autopen, and remove anyone who is not a net asset to the United States, or is incapable of loving our Country, end all Federal benefits and subsidies to noncitizens of our Country, denaturalize migrants who undermine domestic tranquility, and deport any Foreign National who is a public charge, security risk, or non-compatible with Western Civilization.
These goals will be pursued with the aim of achieving a major reduction in illegal and disruptive populations, including those admitted through an unauthorized and illegal Autopen approval process. Only REVERSE MIGRATION can fully cure this situation. Other than that, HAPPY THANKSGIVING TO ALL, except those that hate, steal, murder, and destroy everything that America stands for — You won’t be here for long!</blockquote>
This happened in the aftermath of a dual set of stories, one of them being an Afghan national shooting two members of the National Guard, killing one, and the other the unbelievable story of Somali welfare fraud in the state of Minnesota.
DHS Secretary Kristi Noem <a href="https://grabien.com/story?id=558818">stated</a>, “The President is absolutely determined to stop all processes at this point in time from third-world countries until we can have a thorough opportunity to go through these individuals, know that they&#8217;re here for the right intentions, and that they even should be in our country to begin with. He&#8217;s putting Americans first, their safety first.”
The State Department then immediately announced it would pause visa issuance for individuals traveling on Afghan passports, stating, “The department is taking all necessary steps to protect U.S. national security and public safety again.”
Noem said the shooting suspect, who was let in the country by the Biden administration, was later radicalized through connections already in the country, which is significantly more dangerous than just bringing people in from cultures that are non-communicative and non-coalescing with Western civilization.
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/ep-2324-the-trump-administration-cracks-down-on-third-world-migration?elementPosition=0&amp;row=2&amp;rowHeadline=Latest+Episodes&amp;rowType=Horizontal+Show+Episodes+Carousel"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-974957 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/511983dad25841c8b1ec058d75769bbe-1024x171.webp" alt="DailyWire+" width="1024" height="171" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/511983dad25841c8b1ec058d75769bbe-1024x171.webp 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/511983dad25841c8b1ec058d75769bbe-300x50.webp 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/511983dad25841c8b1ec058d75769bbe-768x128.webp 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/511983dad25841c8b1ec058d75769bbe-1536x256.webp 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/511983dad25841c8b1ec058d75769bbe-2048x341.webp 2048w" sizes=" (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></a>
If there are people being brought in who are initially somewhat friendly to the United States and then become radicalized in the United States, you have to start asking some pretty serious questions about which organizations in the United States are actually radicalizing people.
The real concern then becomes an Islamization problem inside the United States, which would fit with lone wolf attacks, ISIS-inspired attacks, or ISIS-connected attacks. Those range from the Fort Hood shooting in 2009 all the way through to the 2025 New Orleans truck attack, in which an ISIS-inspired person killed 14 people.
It&#8217;s amazing how terrorist attacks like the latter can completely be memory-holed. It happened at the beginning of this year. 14 people were killed, and we&#8217;ve already forgotten about it because the way the media works is this: If someone is inspired by ISIS or a radical Islamic group and they commit a terror attack in the United States, we simply memory-hole it.
The same thing happened in 2016 with the Orlando nightclub shooting, the deadliest mass shooting in American history at that time, in which a shooter killed 49 people. The shooter in that case pledged allegiance to ISIS.
What did we get? A national debate about whether Christians were too intolerant toward gay people, even though it was an Islamic terror attack.
There was also the 2015 San Bernardino terror attack, in which a couple of people who communicated with ISIS via encrypted messages killed 14 people and injured 22 others.
So radicalization in the United States is a massive problem that requires the FBI and the DOJ to actually follow through on what they are supposed to do: Track down the groups doing the radicalizing, follow them around, and monitor the places where the radicalization is occurring.
That is a significantly harder problem to solve than shutting the borders, which is what President Trump is attempting to do. They are not mutually exclusive. You can shut the borders to immigration and mass migration from third-world countries. We should also track down the groups doing the radicalizing.
In the National Guard case, it seems that the shooter became radicalized after he came to the United States.
The New York Post reports that a leading national refugee agency was warned multiple times about him. Apparently, the shooter&#8217;s behavior was so disturbing that a local community advocate reached out to a refugee organization for help.
This connects with another gigantic story that broke over the course of last week, the amount of Somali welfare fraud in Minnesota. Between 1990 and 2025, the United States has seen significant Somali immigration, with estimates suggesting between 140,000 and 167,000 Somali immigrants settling here.
The fraud scandal in Minnesota is staggering. Over $1 billion in taxpayers’ money was reputedly stolen, more than Minnesota spends annually to run its entire Department of Corrections. The reality is that importing gigantic waves of Somali immigrants into Minnesota, of all places, might create some culture clash.
Reports say that when the allegations were first made about welfare fraud in Minnesota, the first response was, “We can&#8217;t look into this. It&#8217;s racist.”
So President Trump has responded to all of this by doubling down on his suggestion that third-world migration be reversed.
Douglas Murray has a great <a href="https://nypost.com/2025/11/27/opinion/afghan-terror-and-somalia-fraud-shows-why-trump-is-right-on-migrants/">column</a> over in the New York Post in which he states:
<blockquote>You have to be careful with a country. Even a nation as vast in size and huge in population as the United States cannot be endlessly experimented upon. You cannot just leave borders open, or allow in large numbers of people with totally different value systems from your own. That is the mistake many European countries have committed in recent years. They have opened their homes up to people from almost every part of the world where there is civil strife, war or just a lower standard of living.
The results can be seen everywhere. It is the reason why a country like Sweden — that used to be such a placid, decent place — has become one of the most violent countries in the world not actually at war. Grenade attacks, gang-warfare: these things were recently alien to Sweden. Not anymore. It is the same here in the United States — though here the effects are more dispersed, so the problem can be covered up for longer.</blockquote>
He writes that all of this begs the question: Why should a group of people be given sanctuary in the United States, who presumably say they were fleeing from terror, only to use their time in the United States committing fraud to send money to terrorists?
The president of the United States is right about this particular issue.
Democrats, of course, are freaking out about it.
It&#8217;s all coming to a head now, and not just because of the recent shooting of National Guard members in Washington, D.C., or what&#8217;s happening in Minnesota.
It’s happening all over the West because the West has finally decided to wake up to the reality that — through our niceness, kindness, and civility — we should never have allowed our nations to be eaten from within by people who enter and then take advantage of all the benefits, only to fight and destroy that same civilization.

US-POLITICS-TRUMP-MILITARY-HOLIDAY

The Trump Administration Cracks Down On Third-World Migration

ISIS

Radical Islamic Terror

The heroic National Guard soldier who survived the brutal shooting on Wednesday by a crazed Afghan man in Washington, D.C., is now responsive to the nurses treating him, West Virginia Governor Patrick Morrisey announced Monday.
While West Virginia National Guardsman <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/meet-the-hero-national-guardsmen-fighting-for-their-lives-after-dc-attack?author=Jennie+Taer&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=1&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Meet+The+Hero+National+Guardsmen+Fighting+For+Their+Lives+After+DC+Attack">Andrew Wolfe</a>, 24, &#8220;remains in serious condition,&#8221; he&#8217;s showing signs of movement and awareness, Morrisey said during a press conference.
&#8220;We were told that Andrew was asked if he could hear, the nurse who asked the question to give a thumbs up, and he did respond. We were told that he also wiggled his toes. So, we take that as a positive sign,&#8221; Morrisey said.
&#8220;Melody, the mom has been so positive a force, and she&#8217;s been asking people across the country to pray for her son, and those prayers are working,&#8221; he added.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
BREAKING: West Virginia National Guardsman Andrew Wolfe has responded to nurses after being injured by the Afghan shooter in D.C.
WV Governor: “Andrew was asked if he could hear the nurse and to give a thumbs up. He did respond.”
KEEP PRAYING!!! 🙏 <a href="https://t.co/rZr1sHZmT9">pic.twitter.com/rZr1sHZmT9</a>
— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) <a href="https://twitter.com/Breaking911/status/1995553549472739621?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 1, 2025</a></blockquote>
Specialist <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/just-horrible-president-trump-announces-death-of-national-guard-soldier">Sarah Beckstrom</a>, 20, of the West Virginia National Guard, passed away a day after she was shot alongside Wolfe while deployed to D.C. as part of President Donald Trump&#8217;s crackdown on crime.
Both soldiers “were sworn in less than 24 hours before they were shot on the street in Washington,” United States Attorney for D.C. Jeanine Pirro revealed during a press conference Thursday morning.
“They were uniformed members of the West Virginia National Guard, and they were in D.C. to keep D.C. safe pursuant to President Trump’s executive order to make DC safe and beautiful,” Pirro said.
“They answered the call, they took the charge, they volunteered, they put their lives on the line for people they don’t even know, and that unfortunately is becoming a reality more and more for the members of law enforcement,” she said.
The suspect, Afghan national Rahmanullah Lakanwal, 29, entered the U.S. in 2021 as part of President Joe Biden’s “Operation Allies Welcome,” the Department of Homeland Security told The Daily Wire late Wednesday.
The program brought 77,000 Afghan nationals into the country during the botched U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan.
He was granted asylum in April, <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/rahmanullah-lakanwal-mental-health-case-worker-emails/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according</a> to CBS News.
After Beckstrom succumbed to her injuries, federal prosecutors <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/charges-upgraded-against-afghan-shooting-suspect-after-national-guard-soldier-dies">upgraded</a> charges against Lakanwal to first-degree murder, which could result in the death penalty.
President Donald Trump on Wednesday blamed the Biden administration for allowing the alleged shooter into the country.
“This attack underscores the single greatest national security threat facing our nation. The last administration let in 20 million unknown and unvetted foreigners from all over the world,” Trump said.
Trump has also responded by &#8220;halting&#8221; asylum decisions and stopping the issuance of <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/state-department-orders-posts-to-refuse-visas-to-afghan-nationals?author=Mary+Margaret+Olohan&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=0&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=State+Department+Takes+Action+On+Afghan+Nationals+Following+Trump+Pledge">visas</a> to Afghans.

Untitled design – 2025-12-01T125544.339

‘Prayers Are Working’: Hero National Guardsmen Responsive After DC Attack

'Prayers Are Working': Hero National Guardsmen Who Survived DC Attack Responsive

The Trump administration tightens immigration restrictions following a fatal attack on National Guardsmen, illegal alien access to federal benefits comes under scrutiny, and is the United States about to strike narco-terrorists on Venezuelan soil?
It’s Monday, December 1, 2025, and this is the news you need to know to start your day. Today’s edition of the Morning Wire podcast can be heard below, and the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/mrn-251201">video version can be seen on The Daily Wire</a>:
<iframe style="width: 100%; max-width: 660px; overflow: hidden; border-radius: 10px;" src="https://embed.podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/capital-attack-fallout-venezuelan-skies-closed-12-1-25/id1576594336?i=1000739099845" height="175" frameborder="0" sandbox="allow-forms allow-popups allow-same-origin allow-scripts allow-storage-access-by-user-activation allow-top-navigation-by-user-activation"></iframe>
<h2 style="text-align: center;">Trump Launches Immigration Crackdown After D.C. Shootings</h2>
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-1007687" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/Guardsmen-Shooting-Fallout-300x169.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="169" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/Guardsmen-Shooting-Fallout-300x169.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/Guardsmen-Shooting-Fallout-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/Guardsmen-Shooting-Fallout-768x432.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/Guardsmen-Shooting-Fallout-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/Guardsmen-Shooting-Fallout.jpg 1920w" sizes=" (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />
Topline: The tragic shooting of two National Guard members from West Virginia by an Afghan national has triggered a massive immigration response from the Trump administration. And the president does not appear to be done with his sweeping actions.
Over the course of last week and then into the weekend, President Donald Trump has taken a series of aggressive actions in response to this attack, about which some very harrowing details continue to emerge.
The attack: Police say the 29-year-old suspect approached with a revolver and was shooting at a point-blank distance. He was also reportedly shouting “Allah Akbar!”
One heroic guardsman, armed with only a pocketknife, was able to stop the shooter. The guardsman heard the gunfire, charged the shooter, and then stabbed him with the knife.
Sarah Beckstrom, a 20-year-old woman who was one of the guardsmen shot in the attack, died as a result of her injuries. The other guardsman who was shot, Andrew Wolf, is still fighting for his life. There continues to be an outpouring of support and prayers for his recovery and his family.
The suspect was also severely wounded, but he is <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/national-guard-shooting-suspect-expected-to-survive?author=Virginia+Kruta&amp;category=undefined&amp;elementPosition=1&amp;row=3&amp;rowHeadline=Latest+News&amp;rowType=Vertical+Carousel&amp;title=National+Guard+Shooting+Suspect+Expected+To+Survive">expected</a> to survive.
Where the prosecution stands: U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/charges-upgraded-against-afghan-shooting-suspect-after-national-guard-soldier-dies">said</a> that the charges have been upgraded to first-degree murder since Beckstrom’s death. Pirro said that this appears to be a case of an ambush-style attack. The FBI is even looking at this as a possible act of terrorism.
In response, President Trump said he is considering dispatching 500 more troops to the nation’s capital to keep the peace, doubling down on his earlier executive order to protect the city and quell crime.
The suspect: He came into the United States as part of Operation Allies Welcome, launched by the Biden administration after the botched 2021 Afghanistan withdrawal. Many soldiers, including Afghan and American soldiers, were killed during that process, and the Taliban was able to retake the country.
The suspect fought with a group of elite Afghan fighters known as &#8220;Zero Units.&#8221; They were all so-called “death squads” working with the CIA to help fight the Taliban. A friend of the suspect’s told the New York Post that he suffered from serious mental health issues as a result of his years in combat.
Immigration crackdown: Trump has said the United States is not admitting any more Afghan nationals. The president has ordered a review of how Afghans were vetted during and after the withdrawal from Afghanistan. Notably, tens of thousands of Afghan nationals came to the United States as refugees following the withdrawal.
The State Department has said it is refusing visas to Afghan nationals until it conducts further vetting of the country. The president has said that he will “deport any Foreign National who is a public charge, security risk, or non-compatible with Western Civilization.”
<h2 style="text-align: center;">Trump Steps Up Enforcement Against Illegals Receiving Benefits</h2>
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-1007689" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/Illegal-Benefits-Axed-300x169.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="169" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/Illegal-Benefits-Axed-300x169.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/Illegal-Benefits-Axed-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/Illegal-Benefits-Axed-768x432.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/Illegal-Benefits-Axed-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/Illegal-Benefits-Axed.jpg 1920w" sizes=" (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />
Topline: The Trump administration is working to remove federal benefits for people who are in the country illegally.
Trump said in a post on Truth Social that he will “end all Federal benefits and subsidies to noncitizens.” He added that many recent arrivals depend on taxpayer-supported welfare programs while coming from “failed nations, or from prisons, mental institutions, gangs, or drug cartels.”
Bessent’s turn: Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has moved to implement the president’s order. Bessent said that his department is working to cut off federal benefits to illegals and stressed that these must be preserved for American citizens.
Specifically, Bessent said the Treasury “will issue proposed regulations clarifying that the refunded portions of certain individual income tax benefits are no longer available to illegal and other non-qualified aliens.”
The Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network also issued an alert to better crack down on the exploitation of the U.S. financial system by illegals who are seeking to move illegally obtained funds. 
The department <a href="https://www.fincen.gov/news/news-releases/fincen-issues-alert-cross-border-funds-transfers-involving-illegal-aliens#:~:text=WASHINGTON%20%E2%80%94Today%2C%20the%20U.S.%20Department,to%20move%20illicitly%20obtained%20funds">said</a> that over the past several years, the United States has witnessed a “significant volume of cross-border funds transfers, including remittances” from illegals.
MN Somalis: City Journal has reported in detail on a massive fraud scheme in Minnesota under the tenure of Democrat Gov. Tim Walz, where billions of taxpayer dollars intended for social services were funneled through fake nonprofits and shell companies, and — alarmingly — some of that money <a href="https://www.city-journal.org/article/minnesota-welfare-fraud-somalia-al-shabaab">ended up in the hands</a> of the al-Qaeda-linked terrorist group Al-Shabaab.
Much of the fraud has been traced back to Minnesota’s Somali community, where fraudsters have allegedly exploited numerous loopholes in the state’s welfare system. But the story has been overlooked for a long time.
“I think it’s fair to say there was an unwillingness or inability from Democratic state officials in Minnesota to recognize some pretty obvious alarm bells here. Claims were skyrocketing, spiraling out of control,” <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JpQQ9nJPBhg&amp;t=216s">said</a> investigative reporter Ryan Thorpe, who helped break the story. “The reality is, the Somali community … is a voting bloc you have to win if you&#8217;re going to win political office in Minneapolis.”
<h2 style="text-align: center;">Trump Clears The Skies Over Venezuela</h2>
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-1007691" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/Venezuela-Tensions-Strike-300x169.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="169" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/Venezuela-Tensions-Strike-300x169.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/Venezuela-Tensions-Strike-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/Venezuela-Tensions-Strike-768x432.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/Venezuela-Tensions-Strike-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/11/Venezuela-Tensions-Strike.jpg 1920w" sizes=" (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />
Topline: Tensions are escalating after President Trump announced that the airspace over Venezuela should be considered closed. The announcement has raised new questions over potential U.S. strikes inside Venezuela amid the president’s war on drug cartels.
The situation around Venezuela appears precarious. Trump on Saturday posted on <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/115633041089714842">Truth Social</a>: “To all Airlines, Pilots, Drug Dealers, and Human Traffickers, please consider THE AIRSPACE ABOVE AND SURROUNDING VENEZUELA TO BE CLOSED IN ITS ENTIRETY.”
That post has again sparked predictions about when airstrikes could occur.
“We should read into it that strikes are very probably going to occur over the course of this week,” retired Admiral James Stavridis <a href="https://x.com/stavridisj/status/1994895666242257322">told</a> CNN. “When you hear the president of the United States throw that warning out there, to me it sounds like strikes are coming probably sooner rather than later.”
The fallout: Venezuela’s foreign minister called Trump’s post an “extravagant, illegal, and unjustified aggression against the people of Venezuela.” A country can’t actually close another country&#8217;s airspace, but that seems to be a technicality in this situation.
Ten days ago, the FAA had already warned about a “potentially hazardous situation” for flights over Venezuela. Commercial air traffic has avoided the area since. Venezuela has <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/venezuela-trump-airspace-migrant-repatriation-flights/">said</a> that U.S. migrant repatriation flights have stopped.
Diplomacy? The New York Times and <a href="https://www.wsj.com/politics/national-security/trump-declares-that-airspace-around-venezuela-should-be-considered-closed-07b748ee?gaa_at=eafs&amp;gaa_n=AWEtsqdYROyIVy7gClY9Bq41wnncsq-Qat1oRTlqYoKx0V6tbAonb7EZrT7QkEcL4N8%3D&amp;gaa_ts=692c8335&amp;gaa_sig=FZG9XNJCxmFvKFgy6onM_3SgPB5tUMSPwJXqN2n4szJLOt3sdRVw2O24SgzgHNBcNUGqk8fn_gJ-kgAiYrOD0w%3D%3D">The Wall Street Journal</a> reported that Trump and Nicolás Maduro, the Venezuelan leader, spoke by phone recently. Trump confirmed the call on Sunday while speaking to reporters on board Air Force One. Trump did not provide details, but the call represents a shift after the U.S. cut off diplomatic talks in October.
Reportedly, Secretary of State Marco Rubio was on the call, as well, and Trump and Maduro spoke of the possibility of a meeting, which would be a significant shift after Trump called on Maduro to step down and authorized CIA operations in Venezuela.
Allies of the president have maintained that this is a drug operation–a very intense one, but one that will not lead to war.

MRN_251201_V2 (2)

Morning Brief: Capital Attack Fallout, No Aid For Illegals, & Venezuelan Airspace Closed?

Morning Brief: Trump Cracks Down On Afghans, No Aid For Illegals, And Clear Skies Over Caracas

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