The House of Representatives passed a massive election integrity overhaul bill on Wednesday despite opposition from the vast majority of Democrats.

The House passed Rep. Chip Roy’s SAVE America Act, legislation that’s aimed at keeping non-citizens from voting in U.S. federal elections. 

It is an updated version of the Safeguarding American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act, also led by Roy, R-Texas, which passed the House in April 2025 but was never taken up in the Senate.

Whereas the SAVE Act would create a new federal proof of citizenship mandate in the voter registration process and impose requirements for states to keep their rolls clear of ineligible voters, the updated bill would also require photo ID to vote in any federal elections.

It would also require information-sharing between state election officials and federal authorities in verifying citizenship on current voter rolls and enable the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to pursue immigration cases if non-citizens were found to be listed as eligible to vote.

Democrats have attacked the bill as tantamount to voter suppression, while Republicans argue that it’s necessary after the influx of millions of illegal immigrants who came to the U.S. during the four years of the Biden administration.

‘If we want to rebuild confidence again in American elections, we need to pass the SAVE Act,’ Rep. Mike Haridopolos, R-Fla., told Fox News Digital. ‘What better way to eliminate that distrust than to make sure that whoever votes in an American citizen who is truly eligible to vote?’

House Minority Whip Katherine Clark, D-Mass., accused Republicans of trying to make it harder for women to vote. She argued that the legislation would make it more difficult for married women to cast ballots if their surname is different from their maiden name on their birth certificate.

‘Republicans aren’t worried about non-citizens voting. They’re afraid of actual American citizens voting. Why? Because they’re losing among women,’ Clark said during debate on the House floor. ‘This is a minefield of red tape that you have put in front of women and American citizens and their right to vote.’

But House GOP Policy Committee Chairman Kevin Hern, R-Okla., emphasized that it was about keeping illegal immigrants from voting in U.S. elections.

‘This really is about feeding the narrative that Democrats want illegally from all over the world to come here to support them,’ Hern said of Democrats’ opposition.

If implemented, the bill could see new requirements imposed on voters in this year’s November midterm elections.

But it would have to pass the Senate, where current rules dictate that at least several Democrats are needed to meet the 60-vote threshold to overcome a filibuster.

The House of Representatives passed legislation on Wednesday aimed at reversing President Donald Trump’s tariffs on Canada after several Republicans joined Democrats for a rare rebuke of the GOP commander-in-chief.

Democrats successfully got a vote on a measure to reverse Trump’s national emergency at the northern border using a mechanism for forcing votes over the objections of House majority leadership, called a privileged resolution.

Trump signed an executive order in February 2025 implementing an additional 25% tariff on most goods from Canada and Mexico. Energy from Canada was subject to an additional 15% tariff.

At the time, the White House said it was punishment for those countries’ unwillingness to do more to stop the flow of illegal immigrants and illicit drugs into the U.S.

Opponents of Trump’s tariff strategy have criticized his moves against Canada in particular, arguing it was unjustly harming one of the U.S.’s closest allies and trading partners to the detriment of Americans themselves.

‘In the last year, tariffs have cost American families nearly $1,700. And that cost is expected to increase in 2026,’ Rep. Gregory Meeks, D-N.Y., who is leading the legislation, said during debate on Wednesday.

‘And since these tariffs were imposed, U.S. exports to Canada have fallen by more than 21%. When I go home, my constituents aren’t telling me that they have an extra $1,700 to spare. They’re asking me to lower grocery prices, lower the price of healthcare, and make life more affordable.’

Meeks also said, ‘Canada is our friend. Canada is our ally. Canadians have fought alongside Americans, whether it was in World War II or the war in Afghanistan, where 165 Canadians gave their lives after our country was attacked. There is no national emergency, there is no national security threat underpinning these threats.’

House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Brian Mast, R-Fla., argued the text of the resolution itself would end a national emergency related to fentanyl.

‘The gentleman over here, 5,000 people per year die in his state alone from fentanyl,’ Mast said of Meeks. ‘So if he wants to beg the question of who’s going to pay the price of him trying to end an emergency, that actually, for the first time, has Canada dealing with fentanyl because of the pressure being put on them — who’s going to pay the price? It’s going to be 5,000 more of his state’s residents. That’s who’s going to pay the price.’

He said the resolution was ‘not a debate about tariffs’ but rather Democrats trying to ‘ignore that there is a fentanyl crisis.’

The resolution was filed by Democrats months ago but was put on hold by an active measure by House GOP leaders that blocked the House from reversing Trump’s emergency declarations.

The president has used emergency declarations to bypass Congress on the subject of tariffs, a move that has drawn mixed reviews from Capitol Hill.

But that measure expired last month, and House GOP leaders’ bid to extend it through July 31 crashed and burned on Tuesday night when three Republicans joined Democrats to oppose it.

‘It is time for Congress to make its voice heard on tariffs,’ Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., one of the Republicans who voted in opposition to the Trump policy both on Tuesday and Wednesday, told Fox News Digital.

The legislation now heads to the Senate, which has voted in the past to restrict Trump’s tariff authority.

Even if it succeeds there, however, it’s likely to be hit with a veto from the president.

President Donald Trump is threatening to back election challengers against the six House Republicans who joined Democrats in voting to reverse his tariffs on Canada.

The president sent out an ominous warning to GOP lawmakers in the House and Senate just before his agenda suffered a blow on Capitol Hill Wednesday evening.

‘Any Republican, in the House or the Senate, that votes against TARIFFS will seriously suffer the consequences come Election time, and that includes Primaries!’ Trump posted on Truth Social.

He argued that the trade deficit was reduced significantly while U.S. financial markets hit significant high points because of his tariff policies.

‘In addition, TARIFFS have given us Great National Security because the mere mention of the word has Countries agreeing to our strongest wishes,’ Trump continued. 

‘TARIFFS have given us Economic and National Security, and no Republican should be responsible for destroying this privilege.’

Democrats successfully got a vote on a measure to reverse Trump’s national emergency at the northern border using a mechanism for forcing votes over the objections of House majority leadership called a privileged resolution.

The six Republicans who voted in favor of the measure are Reps. Dan Newhouse, R-Wash., Kevin Kiley, R-Calif., Don Bacon, R-Neb., Jeff Hurd, R-Colo., and Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa. 

One Democrat, Rep. Jared Golden, D-Maine, voted with the majority of Republicans on the matter. It passed 219-211.

It’s not clear how much impact Trump’s threat will have, however.

Both Newhouse and Bacon are not running for re-election in the 2026 midterms, and Trump is already endorsing a primary challenger against Massie.

Kiley, whose district was severely impacted by California Democrats’ new congressional map, has not yet said whether he will run for re-election or where he will do it.

Fitzpatrick and Hurd are both well-liked incumbents in their districts, which are top targets for Democrats come November.

Trump signed an executive order in February 2025, enacting an additional 25% tariff on most goods from Canada and Mexico. Energy from Canada was subject to an additional 15% tariff.

At the time, the White House said it was punishment for those countries’ unwillingness to do more to stop the flow of illegal immigrants and illicit drugs into the U.S.

Opponents of Trump’s tariff strategy have criticized his moves against Canada in particular, arguing it was unjustly harming one of the closest allies of the U.S. and trading partners to the detriment of Americans themselves.

But Republicans who voted against the legislation pointed out that Trump said the fentanyl crisis was the reason for issuing the emergency in the first place, and said the drug was still killing Americans.

The legislation now heads to the Senate, where Republicans have voted to rebuke Trump’s tariff strategy in the past despite similar warnings from the president.

Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard announced she was ending the work of a task force that sought to reform the U.S. intelligence community, including rooting out what she described as the politicization of intelligence gathering, after less than a year since its creation.

Gabbard established the group in April, when it was also tasked with probing ways to reduce spending on intelligence and whether reports on high-profile topics such as COVID-19 should be declassified.

In a statement on Wednesday, Gabbard said the task force’s work was always intended to be temporary after she was tapped to oversee coordination of the 18 U.S. intelligence agencies.

‘In less than one year, we’ve brought a historic level of transparency to the intelligence community,’ Gabbard said in her statement. ‘My commitment to transparency, truth, and eliminating politicization and weaponization within the intelligence community remains central to all that we do.’

The number of officers assigned to the task force, as well as their identities, are classified, according to Gabbard’s office.

The officers will now return to other intelligence agencies to continue the work the group started, her office added.

The group sparked criticism against Gabbard after its creation, with Democrats and some intelligence insiders raising questions about whether it would be used to undermine intelligence agencies and bring them under tighter control of President Donald Trump.

Sen. Mark Warner, D-VA, vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said last year that the group appeared to be a ‘pass for a witch hunt’ designed to target intelligence officers deemed disloyal to Trump.

‘This seems to be just a pass for a witch hunt and that’s going to further undermine our national security,’ Warner told Reuters at the time.

Gabbard has implemented significant changes to the country’s intelligence gathering in the last year, including by using agencies to back up Trump’s claims about alleged interference in the 2016 and 2020 elections.

In August, she revealed plans to cut her office’s workforce and slash more than $700 million from its annual budget. She also fired two top intelligence officials in May after concluding that they opposed Trump.

Since Gabbard took over as director, the federal government has revoked the security clearances of dozens of former and current officials, including high-profile political opponents of the president, which critics have panned as being a punishment for siding against Trump rather than posing security risks.

Gabbard’s presence for a recent FBI search of a Georgia election office in connection to the 2020 election has led to criticism from Democrats who argue she is blurring the traditional lines between foreign intelligence collection and domestic law enforcement.

The CIA has also released additional information about its investigations into the origins of COVID-19, such as an assessment released last year that affirmed the position that it most likely originated in a lab in China.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Russia will temporarily suspend flights to Cuba after airlines reported difficulties refueling aircraft on the island, aviation authorities said Wednesday.

Russia’s Federal Air Transport Agency Rosaviatsia said in a statement posted on Telegram that the airlines Rossiya, part of the Aeroflot Group, and Nordwind were forced to adjust their flight programs due to problems securing fuel in Cuba.

In the coming days, Rossiya will operate several outbound-only flights from Havana and Varadero to Moscow to return Russian tourists home before halting service.

After those repatriation flights are completed, the airline’s Cuba program will be suspended until the situation improves, the agency said, calling the decision one made ‘in the interests of passengers.’

The Transport Ministry and Rosaviatsia said they are maintaining close contact with Cuban aviation authorities and are exploring alternative options to restore two-way service.

The announcement comes two weeks after President Donald Trump declared a national emergency over Cuba and authorized new measures aimed at choking off the island’s oil supplies.

In a Jan. 29 executive order, Trump said Cuba poses an ‘unusual and extraordinary threat’ to U.S. national security and empowered his administration to impose tariffs on goods from any country that ‘directly or indirectly sells or otherwise provides any oil to Cuba.’

The order, which took effect Jan. 30, allows additional duties on imports from countries found to be supplying oil to Havana, part of what Trump described as a ‘zero tolerance’ policy toward the Cuban government.

The Federal Aviation Administration’s website shows a Notice to Airmen, or NOTAM, an official alert issued to pilots about hazards or operational disruptions, was posted Feb. 10 for nine Cuban airports warning that Jet A-1 fuel is not available.

The advisory covers Havana (MUHA), Varadero (MUVR), Cienfuegos (MUCF), Santa Clara (MUSC), Camagüey (MUCM), Cayo Coco (MUCC), Holguín (MUHG), Santiago de Cuba (MUCU) and Manzanillo (MUMZ), and remains in effect through March 11.

Since President Trump resumed office, leftists have run to the courts in a desperate attempt to stop — or, at the very least, stall — his agenda. To defeat this lawfare, President Trump needs the Senate’s help to put constitutionalists on the bench. Democrat senators’ obstruction is unsurprising; not even one has voted for one of President Trump’s appellate court nominees. Many Republican senators, however, are lagging in streamlining nominations. The most serious breakdown is in filling district court vacancies in deep-red states, especially Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas. With the midterms rapidly approaching, this glacial pace must accelerate in short order.

District courts are the engines of the federal judiciary, and vacancies there create immediate and tangible harm. These courts handle the bulk of federal litigation, from immigration to criminal prosecutions to constitutional challenges. Yet confirming district judges often proves harder than confirming Supreme Court justices. The problem lies in the blue-slip process. Home-state senators have a de facto veto on district court nominees, U.S. attorney nominees and U.S. marshal nominees.

For over a century, U.S. senators have had the power to hand-select the U.S. attorneys who could prosecute them, U.S. district judges who could oversee their trials, and U.S. marshals who could escort them to prison. Senators will never give up this veto power. Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina, a lame-duck Republican who sits on the powerful Senate Judiciary Committee, made it crystal clear that he will oppose any nominee who lacks support from both home-state senators. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley can do nothing about blue-slip obstruction when even one committee Republican can team up with Democrats to block any nominee.

There are roughly 15 district court vacancies in states with at least one Democrat senator. Because the blue slip is not going anywhere, it is unlikely that President Trump can fill many of these vacancies. Democrats are more obstructionist than ever. They caused the longest government shutdown in our history just a few months ago.

The far more troubling problem is the sheer number of vacancies in states represented by two Republican senators. Staggeringly, there are nearly two dozen district court vacancies in red states (i.e., states with two Republican senators). The most dire vacancy crises lie in Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas. There are seven vacancies throughout Texas’ several judicial districts, for example. Texas deals with a massive amount of immigration litigation because it is a border state. There is no excuse for a deep-red state like Texas, which President Trump won by 14%, to have seven vacancies.

Texas sadly is not alone when it comes to an unacceptably slow pace in filling vacancies. Other deep-red states combined have over a dozen: one each in South Carolina, Louisiana, Alaska and Alabama; two each in Ohio, Oklahoma and Florida; and three in Kansas. President Trump won each of these states by double digits and most by over 20%. These states deserve judges who are strong constitutionalists in line with President Trump’s vision of the law.

If Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer reassumes the position of majority leader next year, he will grind the Trump judicial-confirmations train to a screeching halt. Grassley is a workhorse, so it is certain that he will expeditiously streamline President Trump’s nominees through the process this year. Senate Majority Leader John Thune has demonstrated remarkable efficiency in getting nominees swiftly confirmed. No judicial nominees remain on the Senate Executive Calendar. Only four remain in the Judiciary Committee, and they just had their confirmation hearing last week, meaning they will be on the floor and ready for a vote by the end of the month. Leader Thune and Grassley cannot process nominations if there are no nominees.

Republican home-state senators need to focus on this crucial task and understand the urgency of the moment. Since the Senate sits only 3.5 days a week in most weeks, floor time is limited. Should a Supreme Court vacancy arise, Judiciary Committee time and resources must be invested overwhelmingly in confirming President Trump’s nominee. Delay is a recipe for disastrous defeat, and it must end instantly.

Republican senators must get moving in filling judicial vacancies.

A top Iranian security official was spotted in Oman just days after Tehran and the U.S. held indirect nuclear talks in the Mideast sultanate.

Ali Larijani, a former Iranian parliament speaker who now serves as the secretary to the country’s Supreme National Security Council, was likely in the country to discuss what comes next after the initial round of talks, The Associated Press reported. The outlet noted that Larijani’s team shared photos of him with Omani Foreign Minister Badr al-Busaidi, the chief intermediary in the U.S.-Iran talks.

Iranian media reportedly said Larijani would deliver an important message, but later state television said al-Busaidi ‘handed over a letter’ to the Iranian official without elaborating on the letter’s origins, according to the AP.

While in Oman, Larijani also met with Omani Sultan Haitham bin Tariq for nearly three hours, according to the AP, which cited the Iranian state-run IRNA news agency. Additionally, the outlet said that Larijani was set to travel to Qatar, which houses the U.S. military installation that bombed Iran’s nuclear sites in 2025.

Larijani accused Israel of playing a ‘destructive role’ in the talks just before Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s expected visit to Washington, D.C.

‘Netanyahu is now on his way to the United States. Americans must think wisely and not allow him, through posturing, to imply before his flight that ‘I want to go and teach Americans the framework of the nuclear negotiations.’ They must remain alert to the destructive role of the Zionists,’ Larijani wrote on X.

Israel and Iran engaged in a 12-day war in the summer of 2025 which culminated in the U.S. bombing Tehran’s nuclear facilities. Iran, which has been grappling with mass anti-government protests, has blamed Israel and the U.S. for various grievances.

Officials from both the U.S. and Iran have said that the first round of talks went well and suggested that they would continue.

‘The Muscat meeting, which was not a long one, it was a half-day meeting. For us, it was a way to measure the seriousness of the other side, and to find out how we could continue the process. Therefore, we mostly addressed the generalities,’ Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said at a news conference Tuesday in Tehran, according to the AP.

‘Our principles are clear. Our demand is to secure the interests of the Iranian nation based on international norms and the Non-Proliferation Treaty and peaceful use of nuclear energy,’ Baghaei said, according to the AP. ‘So as for the details, we should wait for the next steps and see how this diplomatic process will continue.’

Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi said that indirect nuclear talks with the U.S. in Oman were ‘a good start’ and that there was a ‘consensus’ that the negotiations would continue.

‘After a long period without dialogue, our viewpoints were conveyed, and our concerns were expressed. Our interests, the rights of the Iranian people, and all matters that needed to be stated were presented in a very positive atmosphere, and the other side’s views were also heard,’ Araghchi said.

‘It was a good start, but its continuation depends on consultations in our respective capitals and deciding on how to proceed,’ he added.

President Donald Trump also expressed optimism about the indirect talks, telling reporters aboard Air Force One on Friday that ‘Iran looks like it wants to make a deal very badly. We’ll have to see what that deal is.’

When he was pressed on how long the U.S. would be willing to wait to make a deal with Iran, the president indicated some flexibility, saying he believes the two nations can reach an agreement.

‘It can be reached. Well, we have to get in position. We have plenty of time. If you remember Venezuela, we waited around for a while, and we’re in no rush. We have very good [talks] with Iran,’ Trump said.

‘They know the consequences if they don’t make a deal. The consequences are very steep. So, we’ll see what happens. But they had a very good meeting with a very high representative of Iran,’ the president added.

American and Iranian representatives held separate meetings with Omani officials on Friday amid flaring tensions between Washington and Tehran. Oman’s Foreign Ministry said the meetings were ‘focused on preparing the appropriate conditions for resuming diplomatic and technical negotiations.’

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Kenya will press Russia for answers after reports emerged that its citizens are being recruited to fight in Ukraine, the country’s foreign minister said.

Musalia Mudavadi told the BBC in an interview on Tuesday that the recruitment was ‘unacceptable and clandestine.’

He said the government has shut down illegal recruiters and would urge Moscow to sign an agreement barring the conscription of Kenyan citizens. 

Nairobi estimates that about 200 nationals have been recruited to fight for Russia, and Mudavadi explained that families have struggled to recover the bodies of loved ones killed in the conflict.

‘It is difficult because, remember, it depends on where the body has been found,’ the foreign minister told the BBC. ‘There some have been found in Ukraine – we are also working with the government of Ukraine to try and get the remains of those people repatriated.’

In a November post on X, Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said Kyiv estimates that at least 1,436 foreign nationals from 36 African countries have been recruited to fight for Russia in its war against Ukraine, warning the true number may be higher.

Sybiha said Russia uses a range of tactics to recruit foreigners, including financial incentives, deception and coercion.

‘Signing a contract is equivalent to signing a death sentence,’ he wrote. ‘Foreign citizens in the Russian army have a sad fate. Most of them are immediately sent to the so-called ‘meat assaults,’ where they are quickly killed.’

Mudavadi said in December that the government had received multiple emails and urgent communications from Kenyans in distress at military camps in Russia.

‘Several of them have reported injuries among our nationals and others stranded, following attempted recruitment into the violent conflicts,’ he told the Kenya News Agency, the country’s state-run news service.

Mudavadi said the government has since tightened recruitment regulations, deregistering more than 600 non-compliant agencies and strengthening job verification through the Diaspora Placement Agency to curb exploitation.

Vice President JD Vance said Tuesday that the United States should get ‘some benefit’ from Greenland if it’s going to ‘be on the hook for protecting this massive landmass.’ 

Vance told reporters in Armenia that, ‘it’s very early in the Greenland talks,’ amid the Trump administration’s push to acquire the Danish territory.  

‘We’ve been working quite a bit on this over the last few weeks, but it’s just very simple. Greenland is very important to the national security of the United States of America,’ Vance added. 

‘I do think that some of our allies have under-invested in Arctic security, and if we’re going to invest in Arctic security, if we’re basically going to pay a lot of money and be on the hook for protecting this massive landmass, I think it’s only reasonable for the United States to get some benefit out of that, and that’s going to be the focus of the negotiations here over the next few months,’ Vance said.

President Donald Trump said in mid-January that the U.S. needs Greenland ‘for the purpose of national security.’ 

‘It is vital for the Golden Dome that we are building. NATO should be leading the way for us to get it. IF WE DON’T, RUSSIA OR CHINA WILL, AND THAT IS NOT GOING TO HAPPEN!’ Trump said at the time. 

A week later, Trump said, ‘Based upon a very productive meeting that I have had with the Secretary General of NATO, Mark Rutte, we have formed the framework of a future deal with respect to Greenland and, in fact, the entire Arctic Region.’

‘This solution, if consummated, will be a great one for the United States of America, and all NATO Nations,’ the president said on Truth Social. 

However, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen then insisted that Denmark would not negotiate on its sovereignty despite Trump announcing the ‘framework’ of a deal. 

‘Security in the Arctic is a matter for the entire NATO alliance. Therefore, it is good and natural that it is also discussed between NATO’s Secretary General and the President of the United States. The Kingdom of Denmark has long worked for NATO to increase its engagement in the Arctic,’ Frederiksen noted in a statement, which was written in Danish. 

‘We have been in close dialogue with NATO and I have spoken to NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte on an ongoing basis, including both before and after his meeting with President Trump in Davos. NATO is fully aware of the position of the Kingdom of Denmark. We can negotiate on everything political; security, investments, economy. But we cannot negotiate on our sovereignty,’ she asserted. 

Greenlandic Foreign Minister Vivian Motzfeldt said earlier this month that, ‘We are pursuing a diplomatic solution through negotiations’ with the U.S. and that she is ‘hopeful and optimistic that we will find common ground that respect our red lines,’ according to Reuters. 

Fox News Digital’s Alex Nitzberg contributed to this report.