Andrea Bocelli paid President Donald Trump a visit at the White House on Oct. 17.

Trump’s special assistant, Margo Martin, shared a video of the moment on X, formerly known as Twitter.

While the Italian tenor appeared to give an impromptu performance in the Oval Office, Trump stood behind the Resolute Desk as Bocelli stood in front, wearing a black suit and tie with sunglasses on.

‘Listen to this,’ Trump said as ‘Time to Say Goodbye’ started playing in the Oval Office.

Bocelli began singing along with the track before he took a moment to laugh. He then continued to sing until the video concluded.

Another video posted by Martin shows Trump and Bocelli talking at the president’s desk and listening to a recording of a Bocelli song.

Trump told reporters Bocelli would be performing at the White House on Dec. 5, two days before the Kennedy Center Honors, according to Deadline. 

Bocelli’s representatives did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

Bocelli’s visit to the White House came just before the President of the United States welcomed the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, for the high-stakes summit. 

It is unclear if Bocelli’s visit and Zelenskyy’s are connected.

Several Democrat senators seemed ready to expand COVID-era Obamacare tax credits holding up spending legislation needed to reopen the government — but less willing to grapple with what that would mean for the country’s expenses.

‘I’ll disagree with the framing of deficit increase,’ Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., said when asked about the program’s implications for the country’s bottom line.

Others, like Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., declined to respond.

The country plunged into a shutdown at the beginning of the month when lawmakers failed to agree on a short-term spending extension that would have funded the government through Nov. 21. But the disagreement wasn’t about the package itself. In 2021, Congress temporarily expanded eligibility for Obamacare’s enhanced premium tax credits subsidies, meant to help Americans pay for their health insurance plans amid the uncertainty of the pandemic. That increased eligibility sunsets at the end of 2025. Democrats have made the program’s continuation a key condition in support for any spending package.

Republicans need at least seven Democrats to advance spending legislation in the Senate, where Republicans must clear the 60-vote threshold to overcome a filibuster. The GOP holds 53 seats in the chamber.

According to the Committee of a Responsible Federal Budget, a nonpartisan fiscal policy think tank, continuing the expanded credits could cost upwards of $30 billion annually.

Where Republicans see the expiration as an opportunity to return government spending to pre-COVID levels and shrink the national deficit, Democrats have expressed alarm over recipients who could face an abrupt end to their federal assistance.

‘You have literally millions of Americans who will no longer be able to afford their health insurance or will be thrown off health insurance when the tax credits that make the Affordable Care Act affordable expire at the end of this year,’ Coons said, referring to the 2010 health care reforms that put Obamacare into law.

Other Democrats pointed to healthcare as the key consideration at play.

‘Republicans need to restore healthcare to the American people. That’s my position,’ Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, said.

Findings by KFF, a healthcare policy think tank, indicate that over 90% of the 24 million Obamacare enrollees make use of the enhanced credits.

Democrats have voted against reopening the government 10 times since the start of the shutdown.

Lawmakers like Sen. John Curtis, R-Utah, have pushed back on Democrat opposition, noting that the credits were always designed to be temporary — and that Democrats were the ones who included the sunset provision to begin with.

‘This is a pre-determined crisis by the Democrats,’ Curtis said. ‘They’re the ones who put the expiration date on these.’

That’s also the position of Sen. John Boozman, R-Ark.

‘My concern is that [the credit expansion] was done during the pandemic, because of the pandemic. The pandemic is over. As a result, you’ve got people making $300,000 on a subsidy.’

‘So, what we need to do is get the government open, not hold the American people hostage and start talking, because there will be some people that are hurt,’ Boozman added.

Boozman isn’t the only Republican concerned about both: ballooning government costs and the Americans who would have to adjust their payments to afford healthcare without the subsidies.

Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, who has cautioned against sudden shifts to healthcare programs, said talks to advance both priorities haven’t made much progress. 

‘I’m trying to figure out a way that we can ensure that healthcare coverage for Americans remains, and we’re not making much headway this week,’ Murkowski said. 

Other Senators hinted that talks were advancing in some way but declined to describe them.

‘I’m not getting engaged right now, because I may or may not be involved in any negotiations on what the ultimate resolution of this will be. At this point, until the Democrats open the government, I’m not going to discuss details,’ Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, said.

Both chambers of Congress left Washington, D.C., for the weekend. The Senate will return Monday.

Republican lawmakers have spent the week sharpening their attacks on Saturday’s nationwide day of protests against President Donald Trump, which many GOP leaders dismissed as ‘Hate America’ rallies.

Cities across the country are expected to see hundreds of thousands of people come out for the ‘No Kings’ movement, and several congressional Democrats have even said they will attend.

Republicans have seized on the protests as a product of far-left activism, while at the same time arguing Democrats have held firm against the GOP’s plan to end the government shutdown in a bid to please that far-left base.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., told Fox Business Network he hoped that Democratic leaders who attended would be more willing to accept the GOP’s plan after the demonstrations were over — but he did not sound overly optimistic.

‘It’ll be a collection of wild leftist policy priorities, and that’ll be on display for the whole country. After that’s over, I hope there’s a few Democrats over here who will come to their senses and return to governing the country,’ Johnson said.

‘Right now, I don’t think— it’s my assumption and all of ours that they would not make that concession before that rally’s over because they don’t want to face the angry mob. I mean it’s sad, but that’s where we are.’

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., dodged a question on whether he would attend one of the rallies on Friday, telling reporters, ‘I haven’t finalized my schedule for the weekend given, you know, the sensitivities around the government shutdown. I’m still very hopeful that Republicans will decide to show up for work so we can get the government back open.’

‘But I support the right of every single American to participate in the rallies that are going to take place this week and showing up to express dissent against an out-of-control administration,’ he said.

However, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said he would attend one of the protests, as did House Democratic Caucus Chairman Pete Aguilar, D-Calif.

Rep. Zach Nunn, R-Iowa, predicted more top Democratic figures would go but, like Johnson, signaled hope that they would acquiesce to Republicans’ demands when it was over.

‘My guess is if they don’t want a primary from the left, they’ll probably find a way to sneak it into their schedule. The real question that’s going to be is, do they have the fortitude after Saturday to come back and open up the government?’ Nunn told Fox News Digital earlier this week.

‘They should be doing it today. But if they feel like they’ve got to appease their base, then they better come to Jesus on Sunday and figure out a way to help them get back to the business of taking care of the American people.’

House GOP leaders also criticized the rallies at nearly every one of their daily shutdown press conferences this week.

Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., said Friday that Schumer was ‘more concerned’ with ‘impressing the ‘Hate America’ rally crowd that’s coming up here tomorrow than he is about not solving all of our problems tomorrow.’

And House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., told Fox News’ Maria Bartiromo on Tuesday of the rallies’ place in the shutdown fight, ‘The rumor is that they can’t end the shutdown beforehand, because a small but very violent and vocal group is the only one that’s happy about this.’

‘If they shut it down beforehand, then they’ve got to deal with that group beforehand. If they make it through that, then at least they’ve made it through their Hate America rally, and then they can get this thing done,’ Emmer said.

The House passed a bill to keep the federal government funded at current levels through Nov. 21, called a continuing resolution (CR), mostly along party lines last month.

It’s since failed 10 times in the Senate, with a majority of Democrats rejecting any spending deal that does not also include an extension of COVID-19 pandemic-era Obamacare subsidies that will expire at the end of this year without congressional action.

Israel announced Saturday that the latest remains handed over by Hamas via the Red Cross were that of a deceased hostage.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) identified the deceased hostage as Eliyahu Margalit, known by many as ‘Churchill,’ who was murdered during the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks. It also underscored that ‘Hamas is required to fulfill its part of the agreement and make the necessary efforts to return all the hostages to their families and to a dignified burial.’

Israel said Margalit was killed at the horse stables in Kibbutz Nir Oz and that his body was then taken into Gaza, where it was held for more than two years. The IDF initially confirmed Margalit’s death in December 2023.

Margalit’s daughter, Nili Margalit, was also taken hostage but was released during the brief November 2023 ceasefire. He leaves behind a wife, three children and grandchildren.

‘The government of Israel shares in the deep sorrow of the Margalit family and all the families of the fallen abductees,’ Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said in a statement. ‘The government and the entire Israeli Public Security Bureau are determined, committed and working tirelessly to return all of our fallen abductees for a proper burial in their country.’

Margalit’s loved ones said he went to feed his beloved horses early in the morning on Oct. 7 and that the horses were taken along with him, according to The Times of Israel. The outlet added that Margalit was responsible for the kibbutz’s cattle for many years.

‘Our beloved Eli has returned home, 742 days after he was murdered and kidnapped from Kibbutz Nir Oz. We thank the people of Israel and the Hostage Families Forum for their support in the long struggle for his return, and promise that we will not stop or rest until the last of the hostages is returned for burial in Israel,’ the family said in a statement, according to The Times of Israel.

The Hostages and Missing Families Forum, which was established in the wake of the Oct. 7 massacre, expressed condolences to Margalit’s family.

‘The families of the hostages and the released embrace the family of Eliyahu ‘Churchill’ Margalit at this difficult time, following the return of their beloved Eliyahu z’l to Israel last night for a proper burial,’ the forum wrote. ‘Alongside the grief and the understanding that their hearts will never be whole again, Eliyahu’s return brings some measure of solace to a family that has lived in unbearable uncertainty and doubt for over two years. We will not rest until all 18 hostages are brought home.’

The forum noted that Margalit was ‘a cowboy at heart’ and was linked to an organization known as ‘Riders of the South,’ which has been bringing horseback riding enthusiasts together for more than 50 years.

Margalit is the 10th deceased hostage to be returned to Israel, while the remains of 18 others are still in Gaza. Two of the deceased hostages whose bodies have not been returned are Itay Chen, 19, and Omer Neutra, 21, both of whom are U.S. citizens.

Tomahawks, Tomahawks, Tomahawks. That’s the word buzzing in the ears of Russian President Vladimir Putin, as President Donald Trump weighs providing America’s precision strike missile of choice to Ukraine.   

Since May, Trump has bombed the Houthis in Yemen, obliterated Iran’s nuclear facilities and hit narco-terrorist drug boats in the Caribbean.  Putin has to realize that Tomahawks could soon be in the skies over Russia.

What can Ukraine hit with the 1000-mile range Tomahawks? Start with the Shahed drone factory in Tatarstan, and at least 67 Russian airbases. Tomahawks in Ukraine’s hands rip open Russian energy infrastructure to precision attack with no warning.

If Ukraine launches Tomahawks, they’ll be flying as low as 100 feet, hugging the terrain, evading radar. TLAMs can each take separate routes at 500 mph then meet up over the Russian target for a coordinated strike.

Trump is baiting Putin. ‘Hopefully, they won’t need it,’ Trump said of the Tomahawks at Friday’s lunch with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the White House. Trump said he’d like to ‘get the war over without Tomahawks’ but then went on to describe the missiles as ‘very dangerous’ and ‘incredible.’

Here’s the backstory on the Tomahawks, and why Trump is keeping them on the table to pressure Putin.  

Built for the Russian target set

First tested in 1972, the Tomahawk Land Attack Cruise Missile or TLAM was actually developed by the U.S. Navy during the Cold War to attack targets on land in the Soviet Union. In case you haven’t seen one up close, the Tomahawk is 20 feet long but just 21 inches wide.  It looks like a white pole with wiglets, but inside is a powerful turbo-fan engine and sophisticated guidance. Today’s Block IV Tomahawks can be retargeted in flight, and loiter over a target for hours, taking electro-optical scans and waiting for other missiles to arrive before detonating. They carry a unitary warhead for harder targets, or dispense cluster munitions over a wide pattern to hit airfields, for example. (Yes, there was once a nuclear TLAM variant with a 200 Kiloton warhead, but they were placed in storage in 1991 and eliminated in 2010.) 

Air Defense Nightmare 

The presence of Tomahawks in Ukraine will set up an almost insoluble air defense problem for Putin. No way can Russia place air defenses at every remote gas pipeline point or cover all the airbases where planes park out in the open.  

Fast delivery

TLAMs could be in Ukraine in 24 hours. The Army Mid-Range Capability missile system is a tractor-trailer missile launcher that can be driven onto a U.S. Air Force C-17 cargo plane. The Army deployed TLAM launcher 8,000 miles away to North Luzon in the Philippines in under 15 hours last year for a wargame. Trump has plenty of time.  

Deterring Putin. The brutal escalation of mass attacks by Russia led Ukraine to ramp up its drone strikes on Russian energy starting in August. According to a Reuters study, Ukraine’s drones have hit 18 pumping stations, plus 32 strikes on refineries. Ukraine’s Liutyi drones have a range of about 600 miles and carry warheads of about 50 pounds. Mixing in TLAMs would intensify pressure on Russian energy, Putin’s single biggest source of government revenue. Zelenskyy has called Ukraine’s drone attacks on Russian energy ‘the sanctions that work the fastest.’

Don’t worry about depleting TLAM inventory

The U.S. still has about 4,000 Tomahawks in its inventory, and new missiles like the U.S. Navy’s SM-6 are already in action. The U.S. Army deployed its new Dark Eagle long-range hypersonic weapons to Australia in August and will have its first full battery by December. By the way, last year Japan bought 400 Tomahawks for targeting China and North Korea.  

Combat Record

Tomahawks have piled up an incredible combat record since Jan. 17, 1991, when 122 TLAMs hit Iraqi oil and command and control targets at the start of Operation Desert Storm. Eight-hundred TLAMs were fired in Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003. Over the years, Tomahawks have hit targets in Iraq, Serbia, Afghanistan, Libya, Syria, Yemen and, of course, Iran. On June 22, TLAMs hit above-ground ‘key surface infrastructure targets’ in the nuclear complex at Isfhahan, according to Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine. The TLAM strikes left the sprawling site visibly damaged and blackened. ‘We gave it a capper with 30 TLAMS,’ as Trump said Friday. 

Putin may yell and scream about Tomahawks for Ukraine. Pay no attention. He’s grumbled about each weapon system, from F-16s to Patriots. And no, Putin does not dare escalate with nuclear weapons in Ukraine, because the wind patterns blow radiation clouds back into Russia.  

As Trump said Friday: ‘Yeah, its escalation. But we’re going to talk about it anyway.’  

The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has opened a new investigation into 2.88 million Tesla vehicles running ‘Full Self-Driving’ (FSD). Officials say the system may be breaking traffic laws, and worse, causing accidents. According to Reuters, 58 reports describe Teslas blowing through red lights, drifting into the wrong lanes and even crashing at intersections. Fourteen of those cases involved actual crashes, and 23 caused injuries.

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Red lights, train tracks and trouble ahead

In one striking pattern, six Tesla vehicles reportedly ran red lights before colliding with other cars. One driver in Houston complained that FSD ‘is not recognizing traffic signals,’ saying the car stopped at green lights but ran through reds. The driver even said Tesla saw the issue firsthand during a test drive, but refused to fix it. The agency is also reviewing new reports that some Teslas using FSD failed to handle railroad crossings safely, with one case involving a near-collision with an oncoming train.

Mounting legal and safety scrutiny

This is far from Tesla’s first brush with regulators. The company is already facing several investigations tied to both its Autopilot and FSD systems. In one high-profile case, a California jury ordered Tesla to pay $329 million after an Autopilot-related crash killed a woman. Another investigation is looking into Tesla’s limited Robotaxi service in Austin, Texas, where passengers reported erratic driving and speeding — even with human safety drivers onboard. Meanwhile, Tesla is still fighting a false advertising lawsuit from California’s DMV. Regulators say calling the software ‘Full Self-Driving’ is misleading since it requires constant driver supervision. Tesla recently changed the name to ‘Full Self-Driving (Supervised)’ to reflect that reality.

Regulators say more crashes may come

Tesla’s latest FSD software update arrived just days before the investigation began. But the NHTSA says the system has already ‘induced vehicle behavior that violated traffic safety laws.’ This investigation, now in its early stages, could lead to a recall if the agency finds Tesla’s self-driving software poses a safety risk.

What this means for you

If you drive a Tesla with FSD enabled, stay alert. The system isn’t fully autonomous, no matter what the name suggests. You should:

• Keep your hands on the wheel and eyes on the road at all times.
• Manually override the system when approaching intersections, crosswalks or railroad tracks.
• Check for Tesla software updates regularly — they may include critical safety fixes.
• Report any unsafe FSD behavior to NHTSA.

For everyone else, this investigation is a reminder that ‘self-driving’ still means supervised driving.

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Kurt’s key takeaways

Tesla’s dream of a fully autonomous future keeps hitting speed bumps. With safety regulators circling and lawsuits piling up, the company’s next moves will shape public trust in AI-driven transportation. Still, the push toward automation isn’t slowing down; it’s just under heavier watch.

How much control would you give an AI behind the wheel? Let us know by writing to us at Cyberguy.com.

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President Donald Trump‘s flair for personal imprints is expanding beyond the White House grounds. 

A reportedly privately funded monument, dubbed the ‘Arc de Trump,’ is planned to commemorate the nation’s 250th anniversary next year, the latest in a series of renovation and design projects the former real estate developer has pursued since returning to the White House. Trump offered a glimpse of the project last week in the Oval Office, showing a model positioned on a rendering of the National Mall.

At a White House ballroom fundraising dinner on Wednesday, Trump shared additional details about the newest monument planned for the nation’s capital. He said he was presented with three arch models in varying sizes — small, medium and large — and said his preference was for the largest one.

The monument, a near twin of Paris’s iconic Arc de Triomphe, is meant to welcome visitors crossing the Memorial Bridge from Arlington National Cemetery into the heart of the nation’s capital.

It’s unclear when construction on the arch will begin or how much it will cost. Trump said Wednesday evening that remaining funds from the new White House ballroom project will go toward financing the arch. 

The White House did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for further comment.

Meanwhile, the Trump administration has begun construction on a 90,000-square-foot White House ballroom. The sprawling addition, announced in July, will accommodate approximately 650 seated guests and will stay true to the classical design of the White House.

The White House currently lacks a formal ballroom, and the new structure is expected to replace the existing East Wing. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the new ballroom is estimated to cost $200 million and will be financed by Trump as well as private donors.

The ballroom isn’t the only update. Trump has introduced gold accents in the Oval Office and Cabinet Room, lined the ‘walk of fame’ with portraits of former presidents, including a photo of the autopen representing former President Joe Biden’s time in office, added stone pavers to the Rose Garden lawn and installed two 88-foot flagpoles.

Rep. Katherine Clark, D-Mass., the No. 2 Democrat in the House of Representatives and the whip of the caucus, placed healthcare messaging at the center of the party’s attention in an interview with Fox News — even amid other questions about the party’s direction. 

‘Fighting for healthcare is our defining issue,’ Clark told senior congressional correspondent Chad Pergram on Thursday when asked whether the age of the party’s candidates would play into the party’s considerations in the 2026 midterms.

‘Shutdowns are terrible and, of course, there will be, you know, families that are going to suffer. We take that responsibility very seriously. But it is one of the few leverage items we have. It is an inflection point in this budget process where we have tried to get the Republicans to meet with us and prioritize the American people.’

The government ran out of funding on Oct. 1 after lawmakers failed to reach an agreement on spending legislation for 2026, plunging the country into a shutdown that has gone on for 16 days. Democrats in Congress have made it clear they won’t support any funding package to reopen the government that doesn’t also include an extension of COVID-era Obamacare subsidies.

Those subsidies, which dramatically extended the pool of eligible applicants for enhanced premium tax credits as a part of the 2021 American Rescue Plan, are set to expire at the end of 2025. Several lawmakers from both parties have expressed alarm that letting them expire would leave millions of Obamacare policyholders — who took advantage of that extended eligibility — suddenly stuck with dramatically higher premiums overnight.

Open enrollment for the enhanced premium tax credits is set to start at the beginning of next month.

‘We are watching a crisis come at us,’ Clark said. ‘And this is the crisis of that.’

‘The marketplace, the ACA marketplace, open enrollment takes place on Nov. 1,’ she said, referring to Obamacare, also known as the Affordable Care Act (ACA). ‘People are receiving their premium notices that they’re going to go to that marketplace and say, ‘I can’t afford this.’ That is a real crisis for American families. And it drives up the cost of healthcare for every single person, no matter where you get your health insurance from.’

Clark’s messaging echoes the position of other leaders in the Democratic Party, such as House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., who have similarly made healthcare a focus of their messaging on the shutdown.

Clark noted that Democrats perceive a heightened political leverage to push for an extension to the Obamacare credits in light of GOP-led changes to Medicaid that became law under Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) earlier this year.

‘This is a fight that we are waging on behalf of the American people who are telling us, ‘We’re not making it.’ And they deserve to have healthcare when they need it that they can afford and where they need it,’ Clark said.

Among other changes, the OBBBA pushed some of the costs of Medicaid back onto the individual states, implemented new reporting requirements and introduced slightly higher work requirements for certain demographics.

Republicans in the House have rebuffed Democratic demands to open negotiations on the Obamacare tax credits as a condition for re-opening the government. Some of the chamber’s most conservative lawmakers called the idea a ‘non-starter’ on Wednesday as the shutdown entered a third week.

The Senate voted for a 10th time on Thursday to reopen the government, but the vote failed amid the continued gridlock.

The commander of U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM), whose area of operations includes the Caribbean waters where the strikes against the alleged drug boats have been conducted, announced he is retiring suddenly by the end of the year. 

Navy Adm. Alvin Holsey, who became the commander of SOUTHCOM in November 2024, announced Thursday that he would retire from the Navy in December. No reason for his abrupt exit was provided, and the Pentagon did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital. 

‘The SOUTHCOM team has made lasting contributions to the defense of our nation, and will continue to do so,’ Holsey said in a statement SOUTHCOM shared on social media. ‘I am confident that you will forge ahead, focused on your mission that strengthens our nation and ensures its longevity as a beacon of freedom around the globe.’ 

Holsey commissioned in 1988, and flew both SH-2F Seasprite and SH-60B Seahawk helicopters. Holsey’s previous assignments include serving as the deputy commander of SOUTHCOM, as well as deputy Chief of Naval Personnel and the commander of the aircraft carrier Carl Vinson’s carrier strike group.

The New York Times first reported that Holsey was departing his post. 

Holsey’s retirement less than a year into his tenure leading the combatant command is unusual. Former SOUTHCOM commander, Army Gen. Laura Richardson, served in the role from 2021 to 2024. 

Holsey’s retirement comes as tensions heat up in his area of operations, and just a few days after the U.S. military conducted a strike against alleged narco-traffickers in the Caribbean and after the Department of War unveiled a new counter-narcotics Joint Task Force in SOUTHCOM’s area of responsibility.

The Trump administration has adopted an aggressive approach to address the flow of drugs into the U.S., and designated drug cartel groups like Tren de Aragua, Sinaloa and others as foreign terrorist organizations in February.

Likewise, the White House sent lawmakers a memo Sept. 30 notifying them that the U.S. is now participating in a ‘non-international armed conflict’ with drug smugglers, and has conducted at least five fatal strikes on alleged drug boats off the coast of Venezuela. 

Even so, lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have expressed doubts about the legality of the strikes, and Sens. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., and Tim Kaine, D-Va., filed a war powers resolution in September to prohibit U.S. forces from engaging in ‘hostilities’ against certain non-state organizations.

Although the resolution failed in the Senate by a 51–48 margin Oct. 8, Republicans Rand Paul of Kentucky and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska voted with their Democratic counterparts for the resolution.

Meanwhile, Trump has signaled he is eyeing land operations now ‘because we’ve got the sea very well under control,’ and confirmed that he authorized the CIA to conduct covert operations in Venezuela, after the New York Times reported Wednesday he had approved the order. 

Trump said he did so because Venezuela has released prisoners into the U.S., and that drugs were pouring into the U.S. from Venezuela through the sea routes. 

However, Trump declined to answer though when asked if the CIA had the authority to ‘take out’ Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. The Trump administration has said it does not recognize Maduro as a legitimate head of state, but a leader of a drug cartel.

Department of War Secretary Pete Hegseth commended Holsey for his service, and wished Holsey and his family continued success. 

‘Throughout his career—from commanding helicopter squadrons to leading Carrier Strike Group One and standing up the International Maritime Security Construct—Admiral Holsey has demonstrated unwavering commitment to mission, people, and nation,’ Hegseth said in a post on social media on Thursday. ‘His tenure as Military Deputy Commander and now Commander of United States Southern Command reflects a legacy of operational excellence and strategic vision.’