Democratic lawmakers are lining up with new vigor to demand the release of all files on Jeffrey Epstein as the topic continues to fracture the right.

Some prominent figures within the GOP’s rightmost flank are up in arms after a leaked Department of Justice (DOJ) memo reportedly showed there was little more to Epstein’s case than already known.

Rep. Marc Veasey, D-Texas, announced he would be filing a resolution on Monday to demand the Trump administration release all files related to the late pedophile’s case.

‘Either [President Donald Trump] and his acolytes fueled the rumors of the significance of these Epstein files to help his campaign, or something is there!’ Veasey wrote on X. ‘Put up or Shut up!’

Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., similarly posted on Saturday, ‘Why are the Epstein files still hidden? Who are the rich & powerful being protected? On Tuesday, I’m introducing an amendment to force a vote demanding the FULL Epstein files be released to the public. The Speaker must call a vote & put every Congress member on record.’

Meanwhile, progressive Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., caused a firestorm of controversy online when she referenced past allegations of sexual assault against the president, all of which Trump previously denied.

‘Wow who would have thought that electing a rapist would have complicated the release of the Epstein Files?’ she wrote.

Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga., who is running for re-election in a swing state that voted for Trump in 2024, took a similar swing during a recent campaign stop.

‘He promised to release the Epstein files. Did anyone really think the sexual predator president who used to party with Jeffrey Epstein was going to release the Epstein files?’ Ossoff said. 

A civil war has broken out within the GOP over the Trump administration’s handling of Epstein’s case, with figures like Steve Bannon and Laura Loomer accusing Attorney General Pam Bondi of mishandling something that’s long been seen as a priority for Trump’s base.

Others, however, like attorney Mike Davis and even Trump himself, are defending the attorney general and calling for an end to the Republican infighting.

‘If predators or victims won’t talk, then what? The Trump Justice Department has to deal with evidence that exists. Not evidence they wish they had. Nor conspiracy theories. Do you think Pam, Kash, and Bongino are covering for… Bill Clinton?’ Davis wrote on X.

Trump released a statement on Truth Social over the weekend, ‘LET PAM BONDI DO HER JOB – SHE’S GREAT! The 2020 Election was Rigged and Stolen, and they tried to do the same thing in 2024 – That’s what she is looking into as AG, and much more.’

And Democrats appear to have seized on the public back-and-forth as a political cudgel.

Rep. Jimmy Gomez, D-Calif., shared a heated exchange with the White House on X over the weekend over an Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raid on what authorities say was a marijuana farm – but Gomez contended the migrants there were picking strawberries.

‘If you’re now concerned about child exploitation, release the Epstein Files. Your base wants to know,’ Gomez replied at one point.

It was reported Friday that Deputy FBI Director Dan Bongino was considering resigning amid the fallout.

Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel, however, have signaled they are confident in their work and will remain in place.

‘The conspiracy theories just aren’t true, never have been. It’s an honor to serve the President of the United States [Donald Trump] – and I’ll continue to do so for as long as he calls on me,’ Patel wrote on X.

When reached for comment on Democrats’ latest push, White House spokesman Harrison Fields told Fox News Digital, ‘President Trump has assembled an incredible team of Law and Order patriots who are committed to Making America Safe Again and restoring the integrity of our criminal justice system.’

‘Attorney General Bondi, Director Patel, Deputy Director Bongino, and the countless other heroes of our law enforcement community are dedicated to executing President Trump’s agenda of protecting civil rights, safeguarding communities, holding criminals accountable, and defending victims. This work will continue in lockstep and with unprecedented success,’ Fields said.

The Pentagon is reportedly pressuring Indo-Pacific allies Japan and Australia to clarify what roles they would play in the event of a war with China over Taiwan.

Elbridge Colby, the Pentagon’s policy chief, raised the question during recent meetings with Japanese and Australian defense officials, the Financial Times first reported.

While the United States has long urged Indo-Pacific allies to increase defense spending as China escalates its military activity around Taiwan, this push for specific wartime commitments is a new development — and reportedly caught foreign officials off guard.

Australia responded by stressing it would not commit troops in advance of any conflict.

‘The decision to commit Australian troops to a conflict will be made by the government of the day, not in advance,’ Defense Minister Pat Conroy told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. ‘We won’t discuss hypotheticals.’

Australia and the U.S. are currently leading a major joint exercise in Sydney involving 30,000 troops from 19 countries.

Pentagon officials have cited NATO’s efforts to boost European defense spending as a model for what Asian allies should consider. At the same time, Colby has advised European allies to prioritize threats closer to home rather than focus on the Indo-Pacific, sources told Fox News Digital.

‘Some among our allies might not welcome frank conversations,’ Colby posted on X in response to the report.

‘But as the department has made abundantly and consistently clear, we at DOD are focused on implementing the president’s America First, common-sense agenda of restoring deterrence and achieving peace through strength. That includes urging allies to step up their defense spending and other efforts related to our collective defense.’

The question of allied commitments is further complicated by the U.S. policy of strategic ambiguity, under which Washington does not explicitly state whether it would defend Taiwan if China invades.

‘As Secretary Hegseth said, the Department of Defense is focused on preventing war, with a strong shield of deterrence,’ Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell wrote on X in defense of Colby’s approach. ‘That requires strength — but it is a simple fact that our allies must also do their part. We do not seek war. What we are doing is ensuring the United States and its allies have the military strength to underwrite diplomacy and guarantee peace.’

Former President Joe Biden had repeatedly said the U.S. would defend Taiwan, only for White House staff to later walk back those comments and insist that U.S. policy has not changed.

President Donald Trump has maintained the tradition of ambiguity, refusing to publicly declare how he would respond. However, new audio obtained by CNN revealed that Trump told donors last year he threatened both Russia and China with military force.

‘With Putin I said, ‘If you go into Ukraine, I’m going to bomb the [expletive] out of Moscow,’’ Trump said. ‘‘I’m telling you. I have no choice.’ And then [Putin] goes, like, ‘I don’t believe you.’ But he believed me 10%.’

‘I said the same thing to [Xi],’ Trump added. ‘I said, ‘If you go into Taiwan, I’m going to bomb the [expletive] out of Beijing.’ I said, ‘I have no choice. I’ve got to bomb you.’’

At other times, Trump has criticized the cost of defending Taiwan and argued the island should dedicate 10% of its budget to defense.

Wargaming simulations suggest Japan would be the most crucial ally to the U.S. and Taiwan, as South Korea has not authorized American forces to launch combat operations from its territory. Australia does not permit permanent foreign military bases, but the U.S. is expanding its rotational presence at Australian facilities.

‘Japan is always critical, and when I say critical, like we can’t win the war without them,’ Mark Cancian, defense expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies who regularly briefs lawmakers on China wargames, told Fox News Digital. 

‘Their forces are important, but our ability to use our bases in Japan is critical,’ he said, adding that other U.S. bases in the Indo-Pacific like Guam were too far away to serve as a hub. 

Whether Japan allows the U.S. to center its wartime operations on its territory would be a critical question certain to come up in preparations for a wartime contingency. 

The U.S. and Japan have practiced moving forces down the Japanese Ryukyu island chain, the closest of which is only 80 miles off the coast of Taiwan. 

Colby’s push for defined allied roles comes on the heels of his initiation of a review of the AUKUS security pact, which aims to supply Australia with U.S.-built nuclear-powered submarines.

The Pentagon recently defended Colby after reports emerged that he had temporarily halted military aid to Ukraine — an order quickly reversed by Trump.

Under the AUKUS agreement, Australia would purchase several Virginia-class submarines in the early 2030s, while a new class of submarines would be jointly developed by the U.S., U.K., and Australia. Production in Australia is expected to begin in the 2040s. However, the U.S. is already struggling to produce enough submarines for its own Navy.

Iran on Monday warned that it would retaliate if the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) took steps to impose ‘snapback’ sanctions as nations mull further action to halt Tehran’s nuclear development. 

‘The threat to use the snapback mechanism lacks legal and political basis and will be met with an appropriate and proportionate response from the Islamic Republic of Iran,’ Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei claimed during a press conference, according to a Reuters report.

Baghaei did not expand on how Iran would retaliate, but his threats come amid repeated warnings from security experts that time is running out to enforce the sanction mechanism by Oct. 18 under terms dictated by the 2015 nuclear deal. 

The comments coincided with the 10-year anniversary of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), which was originally intended to halt Iran’s nuclear ambitions, but which some have argued was insufficient to adequately deter Tehran. 

Under the terms of the JCPOA, any signatory can unilaterally call up snapback sanctions if Iran is found to have violated the terms of the agreement. 

Though the U.S., which, alongside the U.K., France, Germany, China and Russia, signed the 2015 deal, was deemed by the U.N. and other JCPOA members unable to utilize the mechanism after Washington withdrew from the agreement in 2018 during President Donald Trump’s first term.

Despite repeated calls by the U.S. to enforce snapback – which would legally enforce all 15 U.N. members on the council, including Russia, to reimpose sanctions on Iran – no one on the UNSC or JCPOA has yet taken steps to enforce the sanctions. 

‘I would say one of the few good things about the JCPOA is that it reverse engineers the veto in the sense that you really only need one of the permanent members to be able to do this,’ Behnam Ben Taleblu, senior director of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies’ Iran orogram told Fox News Digital. ‘But why is no one doing it? It’s because it’s a risky move. 

‘I think it’s a worthwhile move, but we have to be honest – it’s a risky move,’ he added. 

Ben Taleblu explained that Iran’s most likely response to the severe sanctions under the snapback mechanism would be its abandonment of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) – an international agreement that over 190 nations have signed, pledging either not to transfer weapons to another recipient by nuclear-capable nations, or not to develop atomic arms by non-nuclear nations, among other commitments. 

The terms of the agreement are monitored by the U.N.’s International Atomic Energy Agency – which Iran has already suspended cooperation with following U.S. and Israeli strikes against its nuclear program last month. 

‘In a world in which Iran’s most likely response is to leave the NPT, one has to be confident in at least the ability of military threats to deter Iran further, or at least the credibility of America’s and Israel’s, or the international community’s, military options against Iran moving forward,’ Ben Taleblu said. 

‘The problem is the lack of a game plan. Has America provided Europe with a game plan, a road map for post-snapback?’ he added, noting there needs to be a much larger strategy for next steps should sanctions be reinforced.

Though the U.S. assesses that Iran’s nuclear program has been stunted by up to two years, experts remain convinced that Tehran’s atomic ambitions have not been deterred, and its ties to terrorist networks and adversarial nations mean it remains a top security concern.

Trump has said he is still committed to negotiating with Iran on its nuclear program, though questions remain over how long he will continue to allow negotiations to drag out before a European nation like the U.K., France or Germany must step in to enact snapback sanctions not only before the October deadline, but before Russia takes over control of the UNSC presidency that month.

Pushing through the snapback mechanism is expected to be a roughly six-week process. 

Reports on Sunday suggested that German Chancellor Friedrich Merz could call up the snapback measures as soon as Tuesday, and U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee championed the move in a post on X. 

But Fox News Digital could not independently verify these claims and the German Foreign Ministry told Israeli news outlet JNS that the claims were incorrect. 

The chancellor’s office did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s questions. 

Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., on Monday announced that he would revive his criminal referral against Dr. Anthony Fauci, adding yet another wrinkle to the ongoing Biden White House autopen saga.

‘Today I will reissue my criminal referral of Anthony Fauci to Trump DOJ,’ Paul said on X.

It’s not the first time that Paul has issued a criminal referral against Fauci, who is the former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) and medical adviser to former President Joe Biden.

The first came in 2021, when Paul accused Fauci of lying to Congress about funding gain-of-function research for the COVID-19 virus at the Wuhan Institute of Virology. The next came in 2023, again as part of Paul’s efforts to investigate the origins of the virus.

‘Perjury is a crime,’ Paul said. ‘And Fauci must be held accountable.’

Fox News Digital reached out to Paul’s office for comment.

This time, Paul’s reupping of his criminal referral comes after a new report added another chapter to the ongoing autopen saga, in which President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans have accused Biden of shrugging off his authority to aides and top officials in the White House to authorize his signature on a slew of pardons and documents.

The New York Times reported that emails showed that Biden’s Chief of Staff Jeff Zients gave final approval for the use of the autopen for preemptive pardons for Fauci and former Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley, two of Trump’s top critics.  

Biden signed the bulk of his over 4,000 clemency documents in the waning months of his presidency, a point that Trump and congressional Republicans have pounced to hammer in the claims that the former president’s cognitive ability was declining and his staff were running the White House.

Trump has gone so far as to request Attorney General Pam Bondi open an investigation into Biden’s usage of the autopen, while Republicans in the Senate and House have all held their own committee hearings on the matter.

And earlier Monday, Trump told reporters that Biden’s alleged use of the autopen amounted to possibly ‘one of the biggest scandals that we’ve had in 50 to 100 years.’

‘I guarantee you he knew nothing about what he was signing, I guarantee you,’ Trump said. 

Diana Stancy contributed to this report. 

Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., is urging Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem to declassify all documents related to the assassination attempt on then-presidential candidate Donald Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13, 2024.

Hawley’s request comes a year after 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks fired off several shots at Trump from a rooftop near the presidential rally grounds. The gunman had a clear shot and grazed the president’s ear.

Even after a year, though, questions still remain about how Crooks was able to get a clear shot.

In his letter to Noem, Hawley mentions the one-year anniversary of the first assassination attempt on Trump.

‘This occasion marks a deeply troubling chapter in our nation’s history and serves as a reminder of the importance of transparency in preserving public trust during moments of national crisis,’ he wrote. ‘To that end, I urge you to take the necessary steps to declassify all documents within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) related to the events of July 13, 2024.

‘As you know, assassination attempts against current and former presidents are rare but profoundly consequential events in American life,’ Hawley continued. ‘And the American people rightly expect full transparency from their government.’

The senator pointed to investigation stonewalling tactics from the Biden administration’s Secret Service and DHS, which he said ultimately denied basic facts to the American people.

‘The public learned far more from whistleblowers than they did from public officials, and I released a report documenting these disclosures, many of which have been corroborated to date,’ Hawley wrote. ‘In October of last year, in a unanimous vote, the Homeland Security Committee passed my legislation requiring the Secret Service release to the public all pertinent documents.

‘Now, I am requesting that you immediately declassify and release all documents relating to the first assassination attempt on President Trump within the full extent of your authority, subject only to the narrowest possible redactions necessary to protect ongoing operations or individual safety,’ he said. ‘The public deserves a full and accurate account of this event, the circumstances that allowed it to happen, and the steps the government has taken since to strengthen protective measures.’

Hawley requested a complete inventory of all classified or non-public materials related to the first assassination attempt on Trump, including reports, internal communications, threat assessments, after-action reviews and coordinated records with other agencies.

He also requested a formal explanation for the continued classification of materials Noem believes must remain restricted, as well as a proposed plan and timeline for the immediate declassification and public release of all remaining documents, all by July 30, 2025.

Fox News Digital has reached out to DHS for comment on the matter.

Hawley released a report in September, detailing the failures of the Secret Service in connection with the attempted assassination of Trump in July, which included whistleblower allegations that are ‘highly damaging to the credibility’ of the agency.

The report uncovered a ‘compounding pattern of negligence, sloppiness, and gross incompetence that goes back years, all of which culminated in an assassination attempt that came inches from succeeding.’

Hawley accused the Secret Service, FBI and DHS of all trying ‘to evade real accountability.’

‘These agencies and their leaders have slow-walked congressional investigations, misled the American people, and shirked responsibility,’ the report states. 

After the first of two assassination attempts against Trump in just over two months, Hawley visited the Butler rally site to interview whistleblowers and opened up a whistleblower tip line, encouraging those with relevant information to share with officials. 

Documents subpoenaed by the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs also show major failures among the six U.S. Secret Service (USSS) agents who were suspended without pay in response to the assassination attempt.

The documents were based on interviews with the agents and their colleagues and revealed that several agents admitted the existence of major security concerns at the Butler rally, but none of them elevated the concerns or helped produce a plan to properly cover the roof that provided Crooks a clear shot of Trump.

The documents show that some agents in charge never even conducted walk-throughs of the site. For example, the lead advance agent, documents show, never did a final security walk-through of the rally site because she was in the hospital for heat exhaustion, the special agent in charge said when questioned.

Some of the agents were suspended without pay for various terms, though none of the agents were fired.

America has triumphed in each industrial revolution – whether steel, energy or manufacturing – and has the power to lead the AI revolution, too. This week in Pittsburgh, President Donald Trump is bringing together leaders to address a defining challenge of our time: how to fuel the AI revolution with American energy. 

Progress on this front will be consequential for our economy, our national security, and America’s global leadership. 

President Trump’s announced $500 billion private sector AI investment is a critical enabler for our country. But artificial intelligence won’t power itself. It needs vast amounts of electricity, delivered affordably and reliably. 

And as demand for AI computing surges, the real question isn’t just about who writes the best code – it’s also about who can build out data center infrastructure behind it. The U.S. has the unique capability to do that – including the energy dominance to fuel it – and we now have the political will to lead. 

U.S. policy has often prioritized climate idealism over energy pragmatism. Wind, solar and battery technologies will play a key role in our energy future, but they are not available at the scale or reliability needed to fuel expected AI data center demand. And these combined sources are more expensive than U.S. natural gas. 

Without a balanced and clear-eyed approach, we risk pushing AI innovation – and the economic and national security advantages that come with it – overseas.

Other countries are already trying to lure investment away from the United States by subsidizing AI computing power. In China, dozens of data centers are being built – 39 approved in the last quarter of 2024 alone. In Malaysia, authorities are fast-tracking electricity infrastructure for data centers, cutting lead times to just 12 months, compared to five years in the U.S. Some American companies are already helping to finance data center growth in the Middle East.

The path to powering America’s AI dominance is rooted in abundant American natural gas. The United States is already by far the world leader, accounting for a quarter of global natural gas production. And we are also one of the lowest-cost producers. 

Equally important is to ensure AI power demand doesn’t drive up electricity costs for consumers. We can develop natural gas-based power generation independent of the current electric grid and co-locate it with data centers across the country. Providing this dedicated electricity prevents a competition for grid-connected power, which would drive up costs and burden our already strained electricity grid. 

New solutions like this require creative partnerships and continued innovation – which is why Chevron is working with Engine No. 1 and GE Vernova to establish facilities designed to provide reliable, affordable, long-term power-generating solutions to underpin American AI leadership.

President Donald Trump, Secretary of Energy Chris Wright and Sen. David McCormick, R-Pa., recognize the opportunity for the United States to achieve AI dominance. By leveraging abundant American natural gas as a foundation to meet surging AI power demand, we can strengthen our national security, grow our economy and protect our technology leadership.

We have the power to lead the race to develop and deploy AI. It’s time to use it. 

Members of the ‘Squad’ are undermining coexistence between Arabs and Jews in the Middle East, Israeli-Arab activist Yoseph Haddad told Fox News Digital.

‘Representatives of the Squad are trying to harm the coexistence and partnership that exist in the region between Arabs and Jews,’ Haddad said. ‘I think it was [Alexandria] Ocasio-Cortez herself who said she had no idea about the geopolitics of this region—she’s right. Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib know exactly what’s going on here, but they decide to lie and twist the facts.’

Haddad, the CEO of Together Vouch for Each Other — an organization founded in 2018 by young Israeli Arabs to bridge cultural and religious divides — has emerged as a prominent voice in Israel’s public diplomacy efforts following Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023 massacre. 

Since the attack, Jewish communities across the United States and Europe have faced a sharp rise in antisemitic incidents, with pro-Hamas demonstrations appearing on college campuses as early as October 8.

‘The first group is what I call the useful idiots — people who have no idea what’s going on but joined because it felt like the cool thing to do,’ Haddad said. ‘Then there are the paid protesters. You see the same faces at different rallies holding different signs — sometimes it’s about LGBTQ issues, sometimes it’s pro-Palestinian, sometimes it’s about internal American problems.’

‘It’s always the same person, just a different outfit and a different sign,’ he continued. ‘And the third group — the most dangerous—are the extremists who’ve come from the Middle East. Those are the ones we should be most concerned about.’

Haddad traced the rise of extremist voices in the West to waves of immigration and population displacement from conflict zones in the Middle East. While the majority of Muslim immigrants fled persecution in search of a better life, he said, a vocal minority brought with them the ideology of the Muslim Brotherhood, effectively holding their communities hostage.

‘When you have so many immigrants all around the world, it’s enough for 10 or 20 percent of them to be extremists — and suddenly, you’re dealing with millions of extremists,’ he said.

‘Ostriches, when there is a danger and there is a problem, what they do is they stick their head in the sand thinking the problem will just pass because nobody will notice them,’ he added. ‘And this is what the weak governments are doing right now, becoming like an ostrich. The only problem is that no one will skip them over, it will make it easier to chop their heads off.’

Addressing accusations that Israel enforces an apartheid system between Jews and Arabs, Haddad rejected the comparison outright.

‘In real apartheid, like in South Africa, everything was segregated — transportation, hospitals, courts, sports, even walking on the sidewalks,’ Haddad said. ‘But if you actually come to Israel and see life here, it’s the complete opposite — 180 degrees different.’

‘Stop speaking from a place of emotion — that’s exactly what The Squad is doing,’ he continued. ‘Start talking about facts. Then you’ll realize that anyone who concludes Israel is an apartheid state is an imbecile.’

He also mentioned a run-in he had with a protester, who he refers to as ‘the useful idiots.’

They have no clue … One time, I read the charter of Hamas to some pro-Palestinian useful idiot, I read it to them, and I said you agree to this, and they said no, no, no I didn’t know that. And I said yes, but this is what you are supporting, and he had the headband of Hamas on his head. You understand that this is what you are supporting.

‘He literally took the band off after that. Such useful idiots like this you have a lot, not just in the United States, you can see it in Europe as well.’

When asked what he believes the Palestinians ultimately want, Haddad pointed to slogans often heard at anti-Israel and antisemitic protests, such as ‘From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free’ and ‘There is only one solution: Intifada revolution.’

‘The majority of Palestinians do not want to live side by side with Israel,’ Haddad said. ‘So when people talk about a two-state solution and question Israel’s commitment, I say: Don’t ask the Israelis — ask the Palestinians. You’ll be shocked to find that many of them aren’t willing to accept it.’

Haddad pointed out that history can be approached in multiple ways — through religious texts like the Torah for Jews, the Bible for Christians and the Quran for Muslims. Even those who are atheists can look to history books for evidence of the deep-rooted connection of the Jewish people to the land of Israel.

Haddad argued that the Torah explicitly mentions the presence of Jews in Israel, tracing their presence back thousands of years. He also highlighted the Biblical reference to the birthplace of Jesus in Jewish Bethlehem, challenging the notion that Palestinian Muslims have a historical claim to the land before the Jews.

Haddad noted that while Jerusalem is never mentioned in the Quran, the term ‘sons of Israel’ appears more than 43 times. He also emphasized that the name ‘Palestine’ was imposed by the Romans as a punishment for the Bar Kokhba revolt.

Haddad highlighted that in 1947, Arabs had the opportunity to establish a Palestinian state through the U.N. Partition Plan, which the Jews accepted despite receiving less land and fewer resources. However, the Arabs rejected the plan and opted to wage war. When the Jews emerged victorious, 156,000 Arabs remained within what became Israel. Sharing his personal connection to this history, Haddad explained that his grandfather was one of those Arabs who stayed and eventually became part of the Arab Israeli identity.

‘It’s either you accept the fact that Israel exists and is here to stay, or you continue with this cycle of bloodshed and death that we are trying to escape,’ said Haddad. ‘But the ones who will suffer the most are you, the Palestinians, whether in the West Bank or Gaza.’

Several requests for comment sent to Reps. Ocasio-Cortez, Tlaib and Omar were not returned.

Former National Security Advisor Mike Waltz is poised to face members of the Senate on Tuesday to get the ball rolling on his nomination to represent the U.S. at the United Nations.

Waltz’s appearance before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee comes months after he exited his job at the White House amid controversy surrounding his role in a Signal group chat with other top administration officials. 

Democrats vowed to grill Waltz during his confirmation process in the aftermath of The Atlantic magazine’s reporting about a Signal group chat that his team had set up to discuss strikes against the Houthis in March.

Even so, the tough questioning from Democrats on the so-called ‘Signalgate’ issue isn’t expected to derail Waltz’s confirmation to the post, given that Republicans hold a 53–47 majority in the Senate. 

‘It’s all theater — you know he’s going to get confirmed,’ a GOP foreign relations source told Fox News Digital. ‘If Signalgate’s a big thing against him, it wasn’t enough to get anyone else fired or impeached or anything like that.’ 

Waltz, a former congressman who represented Florida’s 6th congressional district, is a retired Army National Guard colonel and former Green Beret. During his time in uniform, he served four deployments to Afghanistan and earned four Bronze Stars — the fourth-highest military combat award, issued for heroic service against an armed enemy.

Waltz and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth were both entangled in the Signal chat that Waltz’s team created where members of the Trump administration discussed strike plans against the Houthis. 

Waltz in March said he took ‘full responsibility’ for the Signal group chat, and the Trump administration has maintained that no war plans were shared in the chat. The Atlantic published the full exchange of messages, which included certain attack details such as specific aircraft and times of the strikes from Hegseth. 

On May 1, President Donald Trump announced Waltz’s departure from his role as national security advisor and hours later unveiled the former Florida congressman’s nomination to represent the U.S. at the U.N. 

Democrats called for Hegseth’s resignation as a result of the chat and warned that Waltz would face the heat during the confirmation process for U.N. ambassador. 

Democratic Sen. Tammy Duckworth of Illinois said in a May interview with CBS News that Waltz could count on a ‘brutal, brutal hearing’ from senators, and described his nomination as ‘failing up.’ 

‘He’s not qualified for the job, just by nature of the fact that he participated in this Signal chain,’ Duckworth, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, told CBS News. 

Duckworth, who served in the Illinois Army National Guard as a Blackhawk helicopter pilot and lost both of her legs during a 2004 deployment to Iraq, told Fox News Digital Monday that Waltz’s involvement in the group chat should disqualify him from serving as U.N. ambassador. She also said that every official included in the chat should be fired. 

‘As a retired Soldier, Waltz should have shut the unclassified chain down as soon as he saw Hegseth share such classified information that could’ve gotten our pilots killed,’ Duckworth said in a statement. ‘It’s clear Waltz cannot be trusted to make critical and sensitive national security decisions, and I look forward to pressing him on his conduct and holding him accountable.’

Duckworth has pinned most of the blame on Hegseth for Signalgate. Prior to Trump’s announcement on Waltz’s U.N. ambassador nomination, Duckworth said in a May post on X that of ‘all the idiots in that chat, Hegseth is the biggest security risk of all — he leaked the info that put our troops in greater danger.’ 

In addition to Waltz and Hegseth, administration officials including Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and CIA Director John Ratcliffe were part of the group chat. 

Additionally, ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Sen. Chris Coons, D-Conn., said that Waltz could brace for a meticulous confirmation hearing before the committee’s members. 

‘I look forward to a thorough confirmation hearing,’ Coons said in a post on X in May. 

A spokesperson for Coons did not respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital. 

The GOP foreign relations source described the fallout from Signalgate a ‘huge nothing burger,’ and pointed out that Democrats’ previous efforts to use Signalgate against Waltz and Hegseth have proven unsuccessful. 

‘If this was their deathly bullet, it would have killed Hegseth, and it would have killed Waltz, but they’re both left standing,’ the source told Fox News Digital. 

A Senate aide told Fox News Digital that while Waltz took the brunt of the blame for Signalgate because his team created the chat, Democrats’ expected questioning of the group chat during the hearing is actually about finding a new avenue to go after Trump. 

‘I don’t think he’s the target. He’s just the mechanism to go after the target,’ the Senate aide said. ‘At the end of the day, Democrats want to criticize and go after the president, so these guys are just a mechanism to get there.’ 

Meanwhile, Republican lawmakers have voiced support for Waltz, with Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Sen. Jim Risch, R-Idaho, calling him a ‘great choice’ for the position in a post on X in May. Additionally, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said at the time that the Senate would ‘for sure’ confirm Waltz. 

‘Some things I know for sure: the sun rises in the East, sets in the West and Mike Waltz will be confirmed as the next UN Ambassador,’ Graham said in an X post in May. ‘He is highly qualified, well-positioned, and will be a strong voice for our nation at the UN.’

Since Waltz’s departure as serving as national security advisor, Rubio has stepped in to fill that role. 

Trump previously nominated Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., to represent the U.S. at the U.N. However, her nomination was pulled in March, and Trump claimed at the time that the House could not give up another Republican seat with its slim 220–212 Republican majority. 

If confirmed as U.N. ambassador, Waltz would be responsible for representing U.S. interests at the U.N.’s New York headquarters, weighing in on resolutions, treaties and other global matters.  

Waltz could not be reached for comment by Fox News Digital. 

The 80th session of the U.N. General Assembly is scheduled for Sept. 9, providing a window of time for Waltz’s nomination to make it through the entire confirmation process beforehand. 

‘The hope is to have him in place before the U.N. General Assembly is in session,’ the GOP foreign relations source told Fox News Digital. 

MAGA supporters are nor pleased with President Donald Trump following his full-throated defense of Attorney General Pam Bondi, whose Department of Justice denied the existence of a Jeffrey Epstein client list after years of Trump surrogates vowing to reveal the disgraced financier’s secrets. 

Longtime conservatives and supporters of Trump sounded off on social media this weekend, as well as in person during a convention in Florida, with various messages pledging that the Epstein scandal will not ‘go away.’ The DOJ determined that Epstein committed suicide in 2019 and that there is no list detailing the names of the world’s elite who allegedly took part in Epstein’s history of sexual deviancy. 

‘.@realDonaldTrump please understand the EPSTEIN AFFAIR is not going away,’ retired Lt. Gen. Mike Flynn, Trump’s national security advisor from his first administration, posted to X on Saturday. ‘If the administration doesn’t address the massive number of unanswered questions about Epstein, especially the ABUSE OF CHILDREN BY ELITES (it is very clear that abuse occurred), then moving forward on so many other monumental challenges our nation is facing becomes much harder.’

The DOJ and FBI said in a joint memo obtained by Fox News last week that the two agencies had no further information to share with the public about Epstein’s case and death. That led to FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino clashing with Bondi over ‘lack of transparency’ and threatening to resign over the matter, Fox News reported. 

Epstein was a notorious predator who pleaded guilty to procuring underage girls for prostitution in 2008, before he was arrested in 2019 on new federal charges of sex trafficking minors and conspiracy to engage in sex trafficking of minors. Epstein, who had rubbed elbows with the world’s elites stretching from Bill Gates to being photographed with Trump long before his presidency, was found dead in his New York City jail cell in August 2019 by apparent suicide. 

Many MAGA supporters, however, have claimed Epstein did not hang himself, and the death was allegedly part of a bigger cover-up protecting elites allegedly involved in his sexual abuse of minors.  

Trump took to Truth Social on Saturday evening and offered a strong endorsement of Bondi as conservatives demanded answers over the long-running scandal. 

‘What’s going on with my ‘boys’ and, in some cases, ‘gals?’ They’re all going after Attorney General Pam Bondi, who is doing a FANTASTIC JOB,’ Trump wrote in a lengthy post on Truth Social on Saturday. ‘We’re on one Team, MAGA, and I don’t like what’s happening.’ 

He referred to Epstein as the ‘guy who never dies,’ adding, ‘For years, it’s Epstein, over and over again.’

Trump questioned why people were ‘giving publicity to Files written by Obama, Crooked Hillary, Comey, Brennan, and the Losers and Criminals of the Biden administration.’  

‘They created the Epstein Files, just like they created the FAKE Hillary Clinton/Christopher Steele Dossier that they used on me, and now my so-called ‘friends’ are playing right into their hands,’ Trump wrote. ‘Why didn’t these Radical Left Lunatics release the Epstein Files? If there was ANYTHING in there that could have hurt the MAGA Movement, why didn’t they use it?’

‘LET PAM BONDI DO HER JOB – SHE’S GREAT! The 2020 Election was Rigged and Stolen, and they tried to do the same thing in 2024 – That’s what she is looking into as AG, and much more,’ he wrote. ‘One year ago our Country was DEAD, now it’s the ‘HOTTEST’ Country anywhere in the World. Let’s keep it that way, and not waste Time and Energy on Jeffrey Epstein, somebody that nobody cares about.’

Trump supporters repeatedly posted on X that the Epstein scandal will not simply dissipate after years of high-profile Trump allies, including Bondi, Bongino and FBI Director Kash Patel, previously vowing to expose the corruption surrounding Epstein, his alleged client list and the alleged crimes that played out on his notorious island, Little Saint James. 

‘We cannot allow pedophiles to get away. I don’t personally care who they are or what elite or powerful position they hold. They must be exposed and held accountable!!!’ Flynn continued in his X post. 

Activist and Trump ally Laura Loomer also slammed Bondi over her leadership, while taking a swipe at the president as well. 

‘President Trump says he thinks Blondi is ‘doing a Fantastic job’ as AG in a post he posted on Truth Social today….’ Loomer posted to X on Saturday, accompanied by screenshots of his Truth Social post praising Bondi. 

‘People make their own choices and decisions, but mark my word, the lack of actual results at the DOJ and lack of transparency that translates into incompetence will cost the GOP House and Senate seats. Don’t say I didn’t warn you,’ she added in a follow-up post on Saturday. 

Robby Starbuck, another longtime Trump supporter and conservative social media personality, railed online that the ‘age of secrets’ must come to an end – beginning with Epstein. 

‘People want truth, they want the rapists exposed and brought to justice, they want to break the deep state, they want the 100 year storm of lies from government to end and they want to end the two tiered system of justice. People want peace, safety, justice and sanity,’ Starbuck posted in a lengthy message on Saturday. 

‘They want their country back. This case became a symbol for all of that. Fair or unfair, that’s the truth. President Trump rarely loses touch with what’s happening among the base but he’s missing the pulse on this one. Saying so doesn’t mean disloyalty or hatred, it means that this matters so much that we must remind him why it matters so much. We want President Trump to succeed on EVERYTHING he ran on. To do so requires disclosure and transparency on every issue. We need to end the age of secrets,’ he continued. 

Amid the fallout surrounding the DOJ’s Epstein findings, Turning Point USA is holding its Student Action Summit in Tampa Bay, Florida, where some conservative allies spoke out against the DOJ and Trump over the lack of answers regarding Epstein. 

‘I think that these people – and I don’t know, for whatever reason, there could be reasons – but I don’t think they’re telling us the truth about Epstein,’ podcaster Brandon Tatum said during the convention. ‘I think that that guy was involved in something nefarious that implicates a whole lot of people. And my guess is that the whole lot of people may have, may happen to be some of our allies and some people that we don’t want to have a bad relationship with.’

‘Trump is losing his touch,’ former Republican Florida state Rep. Anthony Sabatini said, according to NBC. ‘Bad personnel are undermining him left and right. We need a full reset.’

The lack of additional details on Epstein has also spurred liberals to call on the Trump administration to release the files surrounding Epstein. 

‘Dear Donald Trump and Pam Bondi: Release the Epstein files. What ever happened to ‘Promises Made, Promises Kept?’’ Democratic New York Rep. Ritchie Torres posted to X. 

Officials in Trump’s orbit, including those who ultimately rose to high-level positions within the administration, had vowed to uncover alleged details and corruption that had not yet been made public or confirmed both before and after the high-stakes 2024 election. 

Patel told conservative social media personality Benny Johnson in 2023, before he became FBI director under Trump’s second administration, that Republicans at the time could easily obtain Epstein’s alleged client list with subpoena, while adding in another interview that year that Trump should ‘roll out the black book’ containing Epstein’s alleged client list on ‘day one.’ 

Patel also doubled down during his Senate confirmation hearing that he would assist lawmakers in investigating Epstein’s alleged web of the world’s elite involved in his sex crimes. 

‘Child sex trafficking has no place in the United States of America,’ Patel told Tennessee Sen. Marsha Blackburn when asked about investigating Epstein during his Senate confirmation hearing this year. ‘And I will do everything, if confirmed as FBI director, to make sure the American public knows the full weight of what happened in the past and how we are going to counterman missing children and exploited children going forward.’

Patel on Saturday posted to X that the ‘conspiracy theories’ weren’t and have never been true, but it was unclear if he was referring to Epstein or reports that he intended to step down if Bongino did. 

‘The conspiracy theories just aren’t true, never have been. It’s an honor to serve the President of the United States @realDonaldTrump – and I’ll continue to do so for as long as he calls on me,’ he posted. 

Bondi has landed in hot water over her comments during a February Fox News interview when she was asked about the Epstein files, and said it was ‘sitting on her desk.’ The Epstein investigation came as the DOJ also readied to release files on former President John F. Kennedy’s assassination and Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination. 

‘It’s sitting on my desk right now to review,’ Bondi told ‘America Reports’ in February when asked about Epstein’s alleged client list. ‘That’s been a directive by President Trump.’

Bondi argued during a Cabinet meeting this month that she was referring to files on Epstein, ‘along with the JFK, MLK files’ when she told Fox News that ‘it’s sitting on my desk.’

Trump slammed a reporter for asking about Epstein during the Cabinet meeting, calling Epstein a ‘creep’ who should not take media attention away from other tragic news stories, such as the devastating flooding that rocked Texas’ low country this month. 

‘Are you still talking about Jeffrey Epstein?’ Trump said to a reporter on July 8. 

‘This guy’s been talked about for years. You’re asking.… We have Texas, we have this, we have all of the things. And are people are still talking about this guy, this creep?’ Trump asked. ‘That is unbelievable.’

Fox News Digital reached out to the White House, DOJ and FBI on Sunday morning regarding some MAGA allies criticizing the administration over the handling of the Epstein case but did not immediately receive responses. 

Fox News Digital’s Brie Stimson and Amanda Macias contributed to this report.