Tensions erupted on Capitol Hill Wednesday as two members of the House of Representatives got into a screaming match on the eighth day of the 2025 government shutdown.

Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., confronted House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., outside the latter’s news conference over a bipartisan compromise on enhanced ObamaCare subsidies, a key flashpoint in the fight over federal funding.

He also taunted Jeffries about whether he would endorse democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani for mayor of New York City — which Jeffries did not answer.

‘First of all, I don’t answer to you. You don’t even answer to yourself,’ Jeffries responded.

The heated exchange began with Lawler challenging Jeffries to sign onto bipartisan legislation extending COVID-19 pandemic-era enhancements to ObamaCare subsidies for one year.

Those subsidies are set to expire at the end of 2025 without congressional action, and Democrats have been demanding that the issue be addressed before they would agree on a federal funding bill to end the shutdown.

‘We’ve got a one-year extension, why don’t you sign on right now?’ Lawler asked.

Jeffries responded angrily, ‘Did you get permission from your boss? Did your boss Donald Trump give you permission?’

‘He’s not my boss,’ Lawler replied.

The two men spoke over each other for nearly five minutes, both accusing the other’s party of derailing the government.

‘You’re an embarrassment,’ Jeffries said, before confronting him for voting for President Donald Trump’s massive policy bill, the One, Big Beautiful Bill Act.

‘I voted for a tax cut bill that gave the largest tax cut to Americans in history — including, by the way, the average New Yorker getting a $4,000 tax cut. Are you against that?’ Lawler asked.

Jeffries responded, ‘You’re embarrassing yourself. The largest cut to Medicaid in American history — you voted for that.’

The House Democratic leader pointed his finger into Lawler’s chest, telling him, ‘You’re not going to talk to me, and talk over me, because you don’t want to hear what I have to say. So why don’t you just keep your mouth shut?’

‘Oh, is that the way to talk?’ Lawler retorted.

They continued debating the merits of the Republicans’ policy bill, though Lawler repeatedly tried to ask Jeffries if he would sign onto the temporary ObamaCare extension.

Jeffries then shifted the conversation to accusing House Republicans of remaining in their districts during the government shutdown — something Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., urged them to do in order to keep the focus on D.C. on Senate Democrats refusing the GOP’s funding bill.

‘You wanted Republicans to be here, I’m here,’ Lawler said. ‘And by the way, you can pass an [Affordable Care Act] extension right now. Sign onto this bill.’

Jeffries asked, ‘Mike, is your boss Donald Trump behind it?’

He argued it would take more Republicans than those signed onto the legislation to get it passed in the House as the fight further devolved into insults.

‘Are you mathematically challenged, bro?’ Jeffries asked.

Lawler said, ‘No, I think you are. You have 215 Democrats.’

The fight came hours after Johnson confronted a pair of Senate Democrats outside his office who were demanding the Republican leader swear in Rep.-elect Adelita Grijalva, D-Ariz.

Senate Democrats rejected the GOP-led funding bill for the sixth time on Wednesday, all but guaranteeing the shutdown will extend into a ninth day.

The House passed a bill to extend fiscal year (FY) 2025 federal funding levels through Nov. 21 to give lawmakers more time to create a longer-term deal for FY 2026 spending.

But Democrats, furious at being sidelined in federal funding talks, have largely said they’ll reject any deal that does not include an extension of the expiring ObamaCare subsidies.

President Donald Trump said Wednesday he might make a trip to the Middle East as Gaza peace negotiations continue. 

‘I may go there, sometime toward the end of the week. Maybe on Sunday, actually, and we’ll see,’ Trump said Wednesday from the White House as he kicked off a roundtable discussion event focused on the left-wing radical group Antifa. 

‘We have a great team over there, great negotiators, and there are, unfortunately, great negotiators on the other side also,’ Trump added. ‘But it’s something I think that will happen. Got a good chance of happening.’ 

U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner are currently in Egypt hashing out details of a potential peace agreement between Israel and Hamas in a war that has raged since Oct. 7, 2023. 

Trump signaled Wednesday that negotiations are going well.

‘I was just dealing with people from the Middle East, our people and other people, on the potential peace deal for the Middle East,’ he said. ‘Peace for the Middle East. That’s a beautiful phrase, and we hope it’s going to come true, but it’s very close and they’re doing very well.’ 

Trump unveiled a 20-point plan to end the Gaza war on Sept. 29, when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was visiting the White House. The plan includes granting Hamas terrorists who give up their arms in favor of peace ‘amnesty,’ establishing Gaza as a ‘deradicalized terror-free zone’ and redeveloping the area so that it no longer poses a threat to its neighbors or residents alike. 

Trump warned Hamas that if it did not agree to the peace deal, the terrorists would face ‘massive bloodshed.’ Hamas announced Friday that it agreed to release all Israeli hostages, dead or alive, as part of Trump’s peace proposal. 

Israeli and Hamas officials convened Monday in the Egyptian coastal resort city of Sharm El Sheikh, located at the southern tip of the Sinai Peninsula. Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law who is credited with helping facilitate the Abraham Accords during the first Trump administration, and Witkoff are in Egypt as of Wednesday to help negotiate an agreement. 

An Israeli diplomatic source told Fox News’ Jennifer Griffin that the negotiations are coming down to a shortlist of names for prisoners and how the withdrawal corridors will be managed. The source added that the Israeli cabinet is convening to vote on next steps, which signals the negotiations are moving along. 

A U.S. official source added that negotiations on Gaza are ‘down to a couple of points,’ and that progress is being made in Sharm El Sheikh. Mediators ended talks with the Palestinian delegation and are moving to speak with the Israeli negotiators as of Wednesday afternoon.

Trump added Wednesday that ‘negotiations are going along very well.’

‘We’re dealing with Hamas and many of the countries… all of the Muslim countries are included,’ he said. ‘All of the Arab countries are included, very rich countries and some that are not so rich, but just about everybody is included. It’s never happened before. Nothing like that’s happened before in our final negotiation, as you know, is with Hamas. And, it seems to be going well.’ 

Trump said he would leave Saturday or Sunday if he does make a trip to the Middle East over the weekend. 

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., got into a tense confrontation with two Democratic senators outside his office on Wednesday as anxiety runs high on Capitol Hill on Day 8 of the government shutdown.

Sens. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., and Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., gathered reporters outside Johnson’s office in a bid to publicly pressure the House speaker to swear in Rep.-elect Adelita Grijalva, D-Ariz., who won a special election last month to fill her late father’s seat.

Johnson appeared to catch the Democrats by surprise when he crashed their media gaggle.

‘Reopen the government so we can get back to work,’ he said in response to Gallego asking about Grijalva’s swearing-in.

Gallego retorted, ‘This excuse just keeps on moving.’

‘We’re happy that she got elected. She’s filling her father’s seat. That’s fantastic. We have a long tradition here and a process of how we administer the oath to a member,’ Johnson said despite the Democrats’ attempts at interruption.

‘We’re going to do that as soon as we get back to work, but we need the lights turned back on, so we encourage both of you to go open the government.’

Gallego shot back that Johnson was keeping the House out of session in a bid to delay a vote on forcing the Department of Justice (DOJ) to release files on the late pedophile Jeffrey Epstein.

‘You just don’t want to vote on the Epstein discharge petition,’ Gallego said.

Johnson called the comment ‘totally absurd,’ adding, ‘You guys are experts at red herrings and distraction. It has nothing to do with Epstein. The House Oversight Committee is working on the Epstein files right now.’

Gallego called that an ‘excuse,’ prompting more back-and-forth between the men.

‘OK, you see, this is a publicity stunt. Let me tell you what’s happening. The House Oversight Committee is working on the release of the Epstein files. They are some of the biggest bulldogs in Congress, and the Republican and Democrat sides are working on that aggressively,’ Johnson said.

Gallego asked, ‘So why are you blocking her then?’

‘I’m not blocking her. I just told you,’ Johnson said.

At one point, Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., joined the fray, telling the senators, ‘With all due respect, you voted multiple times to keep the government shut down, OK? The Republican members from Arizona voted to keep government open. So don’t sit here and try to lecture us about whether or not we did our job. We did our jobs. You did not.’

‘Get your people in and stop covering up for the pedophiles,’ Gallego said after more back-and-forth.

Lawler responded, ‘There’s nobody covering up for pedophiles, so knock it the hell off.’

Kelly, meanwhile, interjected multiple times that Democrats were fighting to extend enhanced ObamaCare subsidies that are set to expire at the end of this year without congressional action.

The standoff occurred just as Senate Democrats blocked the GOP’s federal funding bill for a sixth time, extending the ongoing government shutdown.

The House passed a bill to extend fiscal year (FY) 2025 federal funding levels through Nov. 21 to give lawmakers more time to create a longer-term deal for FY 2026 spending.

But Democrats, furious at being sidelined in federal funding talks, have largely said they’ll reject any deal that does not include an extension of the expiring ObamaCare subsidies.

Grijalva won her race on Sept. 23.

The House has not been in session since Sept. 19, and Johnson has signaled the chamber would not return until Senate Democrats agree with the GOP’s funding plan.

President Donald Trump said Secretary of State Marco Rubio handed him a note indicating the United States is ‘very close to a deal in the Middle East,’ a revelation he made Wednesday at the White House during a roundtable on Antifa.

‘Yeah, I was just given a note by the Secretary of State saying that we’re very close to a deal in the Middle East, and they’ll get to need me, pretty quickly,’ Trump said.

Nearly two hours later, Trump posted on Truth Social that a deal had been struck.

‘I am very proud to announce that Israel and Hamas have both signed off on the first Phase of our Peace Plan,’ he said. ‘This means that ALL of the Hostages will be released very soon, and Israel will withdraw their Troops to an agreed upon line as the first steps toward a Strong, Durable, and Everlasting Peace.’

‘All Parties will be treated fairly!’ Trump added. ‘This is a GREAT Day for the Arab and Muslim World, Israel, all surrounding Nations, and the United States of America, and we thank the mediators from Qatar, Egypt, and Turkey, who worked with us to make this Historic and Unprecedented Event happen. BLESSED ARE THE PEACEMAKERS!’

Israeli TV Channel 12 reported the agreement will be signed at noon local time on Thursday, and the release of hostages and prisoners will take place Saturday.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also weighed in, saying, ‘With God’s help we will bring them all home.’

Trump said earlier Wednesday he might travel to the Middle East as Gaza peace negotiations continued. He said he might make the trip on Sunday, adding there is a ‘great team’ of negotiators already there.

‘It’s something I think that will happen,’ Trump said. ‘Got a good chance of happening.’

U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner are in Egypt negotiating details of a potential peace agreement between Israel and Hamas in the war that began Oct. 7, 2023.

Later Wednesday, Trump signaled that negotiations are going well.

‘I was just dealing with people from the Middle East, our people and other people, on the potential peace deal for the Middle East,’ he said. ‘Peace for the Middle East. That’s a beautiful phrase, and we hope it’s going to come true, but it’s very close and they’re doing very well.’

Trump unveiled a 20-point plan to end the Gaza war on Sept. 29, when Benjamin Netanyahu visited the White House. The plan includes granting Hamas terrorists who give up their arms in favor of peace ‘amnesty,’ establishing Gaza as a ‘deradicalized, terror-free zone,’ and redeveloping the area so it no longer poses a threat to its neighbors and residents.

Trump warned Hamas that if it did not agree to the peace deal, the terrorists would face ‘massive bloodshed.’

Hamas announced Friday that it agreed to release all Israeli hostages, dead or alive, as part of Trump’s peace proposal.

Israeli and Hamas officials met Monday in the Egyptian resort city of Sharm El Sheikh at the southern tip of the Sinai Peninsula. Kushner — Trump’s son-in-law, credited with helping facilitate the Abraham Accords during his first administration — and Witkoff remain in Egypt to help negotiate an agreement.

Fox News Digital’s Emma Colton contributed to this report.

Democratic Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, a staunch supporter of Israel, congratulated President Donald Trump on Wednesday shortly after the commander in chief announced in a Truth Social post that Hamas and Israel agreed to phase one of a peace plan.

Fetterman said that he and the president are both unflinchingly committed to the U.S. ally.

‘I congratulate @POTUS on this historic peace plan that releases all the hostages. Now, enduring peace in the region is possible. Our parties are different but we have a shared ironclad commitment to Israel and its people,’ the senator noted on X while including a screenshot of Trump’s Truth Social post.

Israel launched a war effort in the wake of the heinous Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack in which terrorists committed atrocities including murder, rape and kidnapping. 

Trump, who has been brokering a peace deal, declared in a Truth Social post on Wednesday, ‘I am very proud to announce that Israel and Hamas have both signed off on the first Phase of our Peace Plan. This means that ALL of the Hostages will be released very soon, and Israel will withdraw their Troops to an agreed upon line as the first steps toward a Strong, Durable, and Everlasting Peace. 

‘All Parties will be treated fairly! This is a GREAT Day for the Arab and Muslim World, Israel, all surrounding Nations, and the United States of America, and we thank the mediators from Qatar, Egypt, and Turkey, who worked with us to make this Historic and Unprecedented Event happen. BLESSED ARE THE PEACEMAKERS!’ the president added.

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and others have said Trump should receive the Nobel Peace Prize for the deal, but GOP Rep. Randy Fine argued that the award would be insufficient if lasting peace is obtained, instead suggesting that presidential term limits should be abolished.

‘The Nobel Peace Prize isn’t enough. If every living hostage is returned and lasting peace in the Middle East is secured, we should repeal the 22nd Amendment and thank the Lord for every day @realdonaldtrump can be our President. There will never be another one like him,’ he said in a post on X.

Sen. Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo., is demanding information from the FBI on whether she has been subjected to additional surveillance, following revelations that former Special Counsel Jack Smith tracked her phone calls, calling the action ‘one of the most serious infringements on the separation of powers in American history.’ 

Fox News Digital first reported Monday that Smith and his’Arctic Frost’ team investigating Jan. 6 allegedly monitored the phone calls of Lummis and fellow GOP Sens. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee, Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, Josh Hawley of Missouri, Bill Hagerty of Tennessee, Dan Sullivan of Alaska, Tommy Tuberville of Alabama and GOP Rep. Mike Kelly of Pennsylvania.

Fox News Digital exclusively obtained an FBI document stating the names of the lawmakers and that an FBI special agent on Smith’s team ‘conducted preliminary toll analysis’ on the toll records associated with them.

An FBI official told Fox News Digital that Smith and his team were able to view which phone numbers the senators called, along with the location each call originated and where it was received.

Lummis is now seeking more information on the matter, writing a letter to FBI Director Kash Patel thanking him, President Donald Trump and Attorney General Pam Bondi for their ‘transparency regarding the blatantly unconstitutional surveillance activities conducted on the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives by the Biden Administration during Operation Arctic Frost.’

‘Your willingness to expose these abuses is crucial to getting the FBI and Department of Justice focused back on its core mission of delivering justice for all,’ she wrote in the letter to Patel, obtained by Fox News Digital.

Lummis is now demanding all FBI and DOJ records that identify which members of the Biden administration ‘authorized or approved the surveillance of my phone records and communications.’

Lummis is asking for the names of all DOJ officials, FBI officials, and any White House officials involved; the entire data file collected on her, including all phone records and any recordings or transcripts of her private communications; any legal statutes cited to justify the data collection; and any individuals with whom the information was shared.

She is also requesting documentation of ‘any other surveillance conducted by the FBI or DOJ from January 20, 2021, through January 20, 2025, on me related to my official duties as a United States senator.’

‘I believe that the surveillance of sitting United States Senators by the executive branch represents one of the most serious infringements on the separation of powers in American history,’ she wrote. ‘It seriously impinges on both my civil rights and my constitutional duties as a legislator, especially since this surveillance was directly connected to core legislative activities protected by the Speech or Debate Clause of the United States Constitution.’

Lummis added that ‘the American people deserve to know the truth about how the Biden administration weaponized federal law enforcement against their elected representatives.’

‘Those responsible will be held accountable,’ she wrote. ‘Thank you for your prompt attention to these requests, and for restoring integrity to the FBI.’

‘Arctic Frost’ was opened inside the bureau on April 13, 2022. Smith was appointed as special counsel to take over the probe in November 2022. 

An FBI official told Fox News Digital that ‘Arctic Frost’ is a ‘prohibited case,’ and that the review required officials to go ‘above and beyond in order to deliver on this promise of transparency.’ The discovery is part of a broader, ongoing review.

‘The American people deserve the truth, and under my leadership, they will have it,’ Patel told Fox News Digital. ‘We promised accountability for those who weaponized law enforcement, and we will deliver it.’

Patel added: ‘Under our watch, the FBI will never again be turned against the American people.’

‘It is a disgrace that I have to stand on Capitol Hill and reveal this — that the FBI was once weaponized to track the private communications of U.S. lawmakers for political purposes,’ FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino, who briefed senators on the matter, told Fox News Digital. ‘That era is over.’

Bongino added: ‘Under our leadership, the FBI will never again be used as a political weapon against the American people.’

Meanwhile, the FBI has terminated employees and disbanded the CR-15 squad. Patel announced the actions were taken in response to the revelation of the ‘baseless monitoring’ of U.S. lawmakers.

‘We are cleaning up a diseased temple three decades in the making — identifying the rot, removing those who weaponized law enforcement for political purposes and those who do not meet the standards of this mission while restoring integrity to the FBI. I promised reform, and I intend to deliver it,’ Patel said in a statement to Fox News Digital.

Patel also posted about it on X, saying, ‘Transparency is important, and accountability is critical. We promised both, and this is what promises kept looks like… We terminated employees, we abolished the weaponized CR-15 squad, and we initiated an ongoing investigation with more accountability measures ahead.’

Senate Republicans aren’t ready to go ‘nuclear’ again to change the rules around the Senate filibuster as Senate Democrats dig deeper against the GOP’s push to reopen the government.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., and Republicans need at least eight Democrats to cross the aisle and vote for their continuing resolution (CR) to pass through the Senate’s 60-vote filibuster threshold.

But only three Democratic caucus members have joined Republicans after six failed attempts to pass the short-term funding extension as the shutdown enters its second week.

Republicans have already turned to the ‘nuclear option’ to unilaterally change the rules this year to blast through Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Democrats’ blockade of President Donald Trump’s nominees. But for many, the notion of changing the rules and nuking the filibuster is a third rail.

‘Never, never, ever, never, none,’ Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., told Fox News Digital when asked if he would consider changing the rules.

‘I’ve never heard that since the Democrats tried to do it, and I think we would all fight it pretty hard,’ he continued.

The last time the filibuster was put under the microscope was when Democrats controlled the Senate in 2022. Schumer, who was majority leader at the time, tried to change the rules for a ‘talking filibuster’ in order to pass voting rights legislation.

However, the effort was thwarted when then-Sens. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., and Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., joined Republicans to block the change. Both have since retired from the Senate and become Independents.

Republicans are not actively discussing changes to the filibuster.

‘I don’t think that’s a conversation we’ve had,’ Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., told Fox News Digital. ‘Right now, we think that the Democrats’ position has been untenable, and the more they hear from their constituents of their unreasonable activities, that will break this because we got a clean CR, so we got the better argument.’

Because of the filibuster, spending bills like a CR are generally bipartisan in nature. However, Senate Democrats have panned Republicans’ bill to reopen the government as partisan and argue that they had no input on it before it passed through the House late last month.

‘I’m generally aware of how important it is to try to keep things bipartisan, using the filibuster as the tool to do that, but I also get the fact that after a while, the frustration just boils over,’ Sen. Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo., told Fox News Digital.

Frustrations reached a new level in Congress on Wednesday, with Sens. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., and Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., publicly arguing with House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., over the shutdown. Then there was another public back-and-forth between House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., and Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y.

Still, neither side in the upper chamber is ready to budge from their positions.

Most Senate Democratic caucus members are rooted in their position that unless they get a deal on expiring Obamacare tax credits, they will not join Republicans to reopen the government.

Republicans have been adamant that negotiations on extending the subsidies — with reforms — can happen, but only after the government is reopened.

Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., is the lone Senate Democrat who has voted with Republicans each time to reopen the government. He pointed out that Republicans had just changed Senate rules last month to advance Trump’s nominees.

‘I think we probably should. If you’re able to get out of the filibuster to prevent either party to make it a lot harder to shut the government down, I’d absolutely support that,’ Fetterman said. 

More than 2.8 million Brits have signed a petition as of Wednesday, calling on the U.K. government to reverse its mandatory Digital ID system over concerns it will lead to ‘mass surveillance and digital control.’

The ID program, dubbed ‘Brit Card’ and announced last week by U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer, is set to be rolled out by August 2029 in an attempt by the Labour government to crack down on illegal immigration as it would bar anyone who doesn’t have a digital ID from working in the U.K.

But critics of the plan argue its effects on illegal immigration will not be significant enough to make up for the privacy concerns it poses. 

The White House confirmed to Fox News Digital that this controversial step to curb immigration is not currently being considered by President Donald Trump, despite his commitment to curbing illegal immigration and his security crackdowns in cities across the U.S.

But according to one security expert, digital ID is actually not nearly as concerning as most opponents of the system believe it to be.

‘When the government issues a digital ID, they’re issuing it to the individual. That means, just like your paper ID sits in your physical wallet, your digital ID sits in your digital wallet, it’s not stored at a central location,’ Eric Starr, founder and CEO of Ultrapass Identity Corp, told Fox News Digital.

‘When you pass your digital ID to a relying party, they don’t ping a central database,’ he continued. ‘They look at the digital ID you’ve presented, and through cryptography, can determine the authenticity of the digital document.’

Starr, whose company works with governments around the world to provide decentralized digital ID options, said the controversy around digital ID comes down to poor conception and a lack of understanding.  

The tech guru said he believes the U.K. went about its rollout of a digital ID the wrong way by making it mandatory and releasing few details on the system itself. 

Starr argued that governments have the right to know who its citizens are and nations, including the U.S., already have systems in place that keep track of its people, including by issuing social security numbers – a system that the U.S. has relied on since 1936.

When pressed about concerns relating to a government’s ability to enforce mass surveillance through the ease that the technology could offer, even if that is not the original intent, Starr said it comes down to establishing those protections for personal privacy from the get-go. 

‘We care deeply about personal freedom in ways that other countries don’t think about it, and generally speaking, individuals don’t want the federal government in their business every day,’ Starr explained in reference to the American public. ‘The fear that people have about digital identity is that it’s a surveillance opportunity.’

Starr explained that some are concerned that any time a digital ID is used, it will then alert or ‘phone home’ a government tracking system – a concern that privacy advocates like the Electronic Frontier Foundation and the ACLU have flagged.

‘It’s not about the technology, but managing fear and managing what actually gets deployed,’ he added, noting that safeguards can be put in place to counter these concerns.

Even though there is no federal version of a digital ID, more than a dozen states have already begun issuing mobile driver’s licenses.

A federal version of a digital ID would, in theory, just include an individual’s information that the government already has access to, including details like passport information.

But there’s another major concern people flag when it comes to digital IDs – how to ensure personal information is protected from identity theft, which has become a major concern in recent years amid mass cyber breaches.

According to Starr, the ‘architecture of digital identity’ is different from centralized databases used by institutions like hospitals, which have found themselves vulnerable to cyber-attacks and data breaches.

Decentralized systems, as in the case of a digital ID, make hacking ‘nearly impossible’ because ‘the only way to hack a million IDs is to hack a million phones,’ he explained. 

 ‘There are solutions. It’s not a technology issue, it’s an education issue, it’s a fear issue,’ Starr said. ‘It’s also poorly conceived solutions that open the door for bad behavior.’

Democratic Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, a staunch supporter of Israel, congratulated President Donald Trump on Wednesday shortly after the commander in chief announced in a Truth Social post that Hamas and Israel agreed to phase one of a peace plan.

Fetterman said that he and the president are both unflinchingly committed to the U.S. ally.

‘I congratulate @POTUS on this historic peace plan that releases all the hostages. Now, enduring peace in the region is possible. Our parties are different but we have a shared ironclad commitment to Israel and its people,’ the senator noted on X while including a screenshot of Trump’s Truth Social post.

Israel launched a war effort in the wake of the heinous Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack in which terrorists committed atrocities including murder, rape and kidnapping. 

Trump, who has been brokering a peace deal, declared in a Truth Social post on Wednesday, ‘I am very proud to announce that Israel and Hamas have both signed off on the first Phase of our Peace Plan. This means that ALL of the Hostages will be released very soon, and Israel will withdraw their Troops to an agreed upon line as the first steps toward a Strong, Durable, and Everlasting Peace. 

‘All Parties will be treated fairly! This is a GREAT Day for the Arab and Muslim World, Israel, all surrounding Nations, and the United States of America, and we thank the mediators from Qatar, Egypt, and Turkey, who worked with us to make this Historic and Unprecedented Event happen. BLESSED ARE THE PEACEMAKERS!’ the president added.

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and others have said Trump should receive the Nobel Peace Prize for the deal, but GOP Rep. Randy Fine argued that the award would be insufficient if lasting peace is obtained, instead suggesting that presidential term limits should be abolished.

‘The Nobel Peace Prize isn’t enough. If every living hostage is returned and lasting peace in the Middle East is secured, we should repeal the 22nd Amendment and thank the Lord for every day @realdonaldtrump can be our President. There will never be another one like him,’ he said in a post on X.

A diplomatic battle is being waged between leading Republican Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Nigerian government officials. Cruz has warned he will hold those officials accountable for the reported ‘mass slaughter’ of tens of thousands of Christians in Nigeria. Officials have claimed Cruz is lying, with one claiming that despite even the pope publicly calling out the killings, there is religious harmony in the country.

Nigeria is one of the most dangerous places in the world to be a Christian, according to international Christian advocacy group Open Doors International’s 2025 World Watch List (WWL). An estimated 48% of the population is Christian. But of the 4,476 Christians reported killed worldwide in WWL’s latest reporting period, 3,100 of those who died — 69% — were in Nigeria.

On Saturday, the spokesperson for Nigerian President, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, told a Lagos, Nigeria newspaper, that Cruz should ‘stop these malicious, contrived lies’ over the murders.

In response, Cruz, the Chairman of the Senate Subcommittee on Africa and Global Health Policy, told Fox News Digital, ‘Nigeria’s federal government and a dozen state governments enforce blasphemy laws in their criminal and sharia codes, and they ignore or facilitate mob violence targeting Christians.’

On Friday, the Nigerian Minister of Information, Mohammed Idris, spoke exclusively to Fox News Digital, rejecting Cruz’s claims of Christians being massacred in his country. ‘The Nigerian government rejects that. This is certainly not true,’ he said.

In reaction, Sen. Cruz told Fox News Digital that the killings ‘are the result of decisions made by specific people, in specific places, at specific times. The United States knows who those people are, and I intend to hold them accountable’.

Cruz said, ‘Since 2009, over 50,000 Christians in Nigeria have been massacred, and over 20,000 churches and Christian schools have been destroyed. These atrocities are directly linked to the policies of Nigerian federal and state officials. They are the result of decisions made by specific people, in specific places, at specific times — and it says a great deal about who is lashing out now that a light is being shone on these issues.’

On Friday, Cruz posted on X: ‘Officials in Nigeria are ignoring and even facilitating the mass murder of Christians by Islamist jihadists. It’s time to hold those responsible accountable.’ He went on to refer to a new bill he has introduced in the Senate: ‘My Nigeria Religious Freedom Accountability Act would target these officials with powerful sanctions and other tools.’

This drew an immediate response from Nigerian presidential spokesperson, Bayo Onanuga. Interviewed by the Nigerian Daily Post the next day, Onanuga demanded, ‘Senator, stop these malicious, contrived lies against my country. Christians are not targeted. We have religious harmony in our country.’

Idris told Fox News Digital that Cruz’s comments are ‘very misleading. This is not true. This is not the reflection of what is on the ground. I mean it’s false where you say over 20,000 churches have been burned. It’s also false if you say 52,000 (Christians killed), where did he get those numbers from? I think this is absolutely absurd. It’s not supported by any facts whatsoever. The Nigerian government rejects that. No Nigerian officials will willingly, deliberately indulge in the act of siding with violent extremists to target any particular religion in this country. This is absolutely false.’

Idris also stated, ‘Nigeria is a multi-faith country, meaning that it’s a country that has multiple religions. We have Christians, we have Muslims, we even have those who don’t believe in any of these two religions. Nigeria is a very tolerant country. The government of Nigeria is committed to ensuring that there is religious freedom in this country, but we do have extremist organizations in this country.’ 

Idris continued, ‘It’s unfortunate sadly, that some of these extremists have killed a number of Christians and a number of Muslims almost everywhere where this violent extremism has support. So it’s (the accusation by Sen. Cruz) not true. We find that to be very unfortunate. It’s despicable, it’s not right. This is absolutely false to say that there is a calculated or a deliberate attempt to kill a particular religious group, is not correct and we find that really very, very unfortunate.

Open Doors’ Natalie Blair says independent data from Nigeria shows ‘Christians can be targeted by radical extremists, and radical extremists can also kill Muslims who do not conform to their radical ideology.’ But Blair, a senior member of Open Doors Advocacy team, told Fox News Digital, ‘Boko Haram and ISWAP (Islamic State West Africa Province) have explicitly and repeatedly declared Christians as targets.  And many victims have told us that when Fulani militants attack they don’t just shout ‘Allahu Akbar’, (God is Great), they yell, ‘we will destroy all Christians.’

Blair added: ‘According to the Observatory for Religious Freedom in Africa, data of civilians killed — exempting out the military and terrorist deaths — in northern Nigeria is unequivocal: more Christians are killed by the extremists than Muslims — if you are a Christian you are 6.5 times more likely to be killed than a Muslim. This does not make the suffering of a Muslim less significant, it just makes it less likely.’

Bishop Wilfred Anagbe’s Makurdi Diocese is almost exclusively Christian. But the constant and escalating attacks by Muslim Fulani militants led him to testify at a congressional hearing in March in Washington, saying there is ‘a long-term Islamic agenda (in Nigeria) to homogenize. The population has been implemented over several presidencies through a strategy to reduce and eventually eliminate the Christian identity of half of the population all over Nigeria. These terrorists are going about on a jihad and conquering territories and renaming them accordingly.’ 

Idris was dismissive of the Bishop’s Congressional testimony: ‘let me say that the Bishop’s position is an extreme one. It’s not true. The Nigerian government has debunked that in the past.’

Open Doors’ Blair, with access to Nigerian villagers, responded, ‘We must listen to the voices of those who have experienced the violence firsthand.  People on the ground do not trust that anyone will pay for these violent crimes. This is because they have seen hundreds of suspects arrested over the years and then most of them released, having never been charged or brought to trial.’

Blair concluded, ‘the right to life, guaranteed under Section 33 of the 1999 Nigerian Constitution, is meaningless unless the state acts decisively to punish those who violate it. The ongoing culture of impunity will only result in more bloodshed and continue to erode public trust in the rule of law.’