Congress

Noem defiant as Democrats decry Trump administration treatment of migrants

Published

11 months ago

December 11, 2025

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem offered an uncompromising defense of the administration’s aggressive approach to immigration enforcement before lawmakers on Thursday, as questions swirl about her future in the Trump administration.

In her opening remarks at the House Homeland Security Committee’s annual threats hearing, Noem argued that the number of people who have left the United States voluntarily since President Donald Trump took office shows that the administration’s approach to immigration enforcement is working.

“Under President Trump’s leadership, DHS is securing our borders, we’re restoring the rule of law, and we’re protecting the homeland,” Noem said. “We have sent a strong message to criminal illegal aliens that we will find you, we will arrest you, and we will deport you.”

In the face of criticism from Democrats about alleged misconduct on the part of U.S. immigration officers, Noem also defended the conduct of Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers, arguing that Democrats were unfairly villainizing immigration officials and contributing to violence against them and their families.

The hearing, an annual occasion which sees Homeland Security secretaries and FBI and NCTC directors testify before congressional committees about the threats the country faces, came at a particularly precarious moment for Noem. While Trump reiterated confidence in Noem on Wednesday, Trump allies have floated the names of several potential replacements as frustrations have boiled over in recent months with how DHS has spent money intended to boost the government’s deportation efforts and how DHS has managed federal disaster relief money.

Democrats took advantage of the rare appearance by Noem on Capitol Hill to re-up allegations that Noem gave a $220 million contract to a firm tied to the spouse of DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin and argue that immigration enforcement officers have violated the civil rights and due process of unauthorized immigrants and U.S. citizens alike.

Ranking member Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) and other Democrats called on Noem to resign, arguing that her tenure has been marked by incompetence, corruption and other malfeasance.

Democrats also noted it was only Noem’s second appearance before the House committee and one of the few times a DHS official had testified before the committee, as they slammed DHS for a lack of transparency with Congress. Thompson claimed that it had been very difficult to secure DHS officials as witnesses for hearings.

“Never in the history of the committee has a secretary of Homeland Security hidden from congressional oversight like you and your department have, Secretary Noem,” Thompson said at the start of the hearing.

House Homeland Security Chair Andrew Garbarino (R-N.Y.). also asked Noem to commit to providing more DHS officials to testify before the committee, which the secretary agreed to do.

Noem received most of the questions from Democrats and Republicans at the hearing, which also included fellow witnesses Michael Glasheen, the operations director of the FBI’s national security branch, and National Counterterrorism Center Director Joe Kent. The two faced more questions once Noem left the hearing early to helm a FEMA-related meeting.

In a potential sign that Republicans see Noem’s position as relatively secure, GOP lawmakers went soft on Noem, voicing general satisfaction with the administration’s approach to immigration enforcement and homeland security broadly.

“The border is secure, the flow of drugs is slowing, and violent criminals are being taken off the streets. America is once again a symbol of global strength,” Garbarino said.

“Please go back to your agencies and thank the men and women that are serving every day and helping to keep this country safe,” said Rep. Tony Gonzalez (R-Texas), who represents a district along the U.S.-Mexico border.

But Republicans did push Noem to help them conduct oversight of the department’s work. New York lawmakers from both parties asked Noem to explain why DHS decided to cut counterterrorism grants to the Empire State. Trump reversed that decision following advocacy from New York lawmakers.

Democrats also confronted Noem with videos and specific cases that they claim demonstrate the excesses of the Trump administration’s zero-tolerance policy toward unauthorized immigration.

Rep. Seth Magaziner (D-R.I.) pointed to a case where a Korean-born U.S. Marine who served in the U.S. invasion of Panama was deported to Korea earlier this year over drug possession charges from the 1990s. His staffer had the Marine join the hearing via Zoom and held up the livestream with the Marine over Magaziner’s shoulder while the Rhode Island Democrat questioned Noem.

“These people are not the worst of the worst,” Magaziner said. “You don’t seem to know how to tell the difference between the good guys and the bad guys. Go after the bad guys. Go after the terrorists. Do not go after veterans, Marines, children, United States citizens.”

Noem pledged to review the individual cases brought up by Magaziner and Rep. Lou Correa (D-Calif.), but reiterated the Trump administration’s view that it cannot, and should not, make distinctions between the levels of criminal wrongdoing foreign nationals have committed.

“It is not my prerogative, my latitude, or my job to pick and choose which laws in this country and in which broad discretion of the secretary used to follow you can issue,” Noem said.

Democrats scoffed at that idea.

“You have broad discretion as the secretary,” Magaziner responded. “You can do all kinds of things. You’re choosing not to.”

Congress

Elon Musk pours another $76 million into boosting Republicans

Published

6 hours ago

October 22, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk gave another $76 million to boost Republicans in the first two weeks of October, bringing his total giving this cycle to more than $442 million.

The additional funds, which Musk gave to his super PAC, America PAC, make the group one of the biggest super PACs this cycle. America PAC has already spent tens of millions of dollars on digital advertising, mailers and text messages as it targets competitive House and Senate races across the country.

Musk — the world’s wealthiest man — is by far the biggest single donor this cycle, with his political giving this year far exceeding even the roughly $290 million he spent in 2024. There is no precedent in modern American history for any donor spending as much as he has.

While the Tesla CEO and former DOGE lead has spent significantly to help Republicans, he has not been joining GOP candidates on the campaign trail this fall like he had in the past. Republicans privately acknowledged Musk could be politically toxic after the party lost a major Wisconsin judicial race in the spring of 2025 where Musk had become both the biggest funder and a campaign issue.

Still, Musk’s money has been instrumental for Republicans this fall. His earlier giving this cycle includes $158 million for Senate Republicans’ campaign arm, which was transferred to a super PAC boosting Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who is locked in a tight Senate race against Democrat James Talarico. Democrats have looked to make his money a campaign issue: Talarico recently responded to an attack from Musk on the Musk-owned X social media site by saying that there was “deeply wrong with a political system that allows one trillionaire to buy his own personal U.S. Senator.”

Musk has also given to House Republicans’ super PAC arm, President Donald Trump’s MAGA Inc. super PAC, and a group seeking to repeal Alaska’s ranked-choice voting system, along with a smattering of GOP candidates.

Congress

Senate Democrats’ campaign arm takes out $15M loan

Published

6 hours ago

October 22, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

Senate Democrats have taken out a $15 million loan as they hope to expand their map in the final days before the midterms.

The party’s campaign arm took out the loan earlier this month, according to a report submitted Thursday to the Federal Election Commission.

The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee spent $32 million in the first two weeks of October, with half of those funds going toward coordinated expenditures in 10 states. That includes: $4.7 million Ohio; more than $1 million in each of Iowa, Michigan, Kansas, Alaska and Maine; and additional funds in Texas, Georgia, North Carolina and New Hampshire.

The committee reported just over $20 million cash on hand as of Oct. 14, according to its FEC report.

Its GOP counterpart, the National Republican Senatorial Committee, previously took out $20 million in loans in September, according to an FEC report filed earlier this week. The DSCC has slightly trailed the NRSC in fundraising for most of the cycle, but Democratic candidates have largely outraised GOP ones across the map — in some cases, several times over.

Democrats’ candidate fundraising advantage has helped offset the GOP’s massive super PAC cash advantage since candidates, and parties working with them, get better rates for broadcast ads.

It’s not unusual for party committees to take out loans late in an election cycle to power last-minute spending. In 2024, the DSCC took out $20 million in loans.

“In the face of being outspent by GOP megadonors, Senate Democrats remain in the best position yet to win the majority, after we strategically and effectively expanded the map and sent Republicans scrambling to play defense in red states everywhere,” DSCC spokesperson Maeve Coyle said in a statement. “We will continue to use every tool at our disposal and we will win in November.”

Congress

Kevin McCarthy predicts GOP will lose House majority

Published

12 hours ago

October 22, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

Former Speaker Kevin McCarthy predicted Republicans will lose the House in two weeks, citing historical midterm trends while also criticizing the sitting GOP leadership for how they’ve managed the chamber.

“In the last 100 years, all off-year elections, whoever is the party in power has the White House, has lost seats, and it’s only a few seats for the majority,” McCarthy said in an interview with Bloomberg TV Thursday.

Democrats, he added, will “get a majority” in the House: “I’m not quite sure how big it is, but they will probably win the majority.”

The former speaker, who ushered in the current GOP House majority in 2022 but only led the conference for less than a year before being booted from the speakership, went on to fault his own party for giving the election away.

“It’s not that the Democrats are going to win this election,” he said. “Republicans are going to lose it.”

He pointed to the skimpy House legislative calendar as a factor. Speaker Mike Johnson and his deputies have routinely canceled scheduled session days amid member revolts that have undermined his grip on the razor-thin majority.

“You’re only given 24 months in a majority to manage it. They were in the fewest amount of days. They let the Democrats dictate,” McCarthy said. “You have to give a reason why to win. What are the three things Republicans will do if they win the majority? I can’t tell you what that is.”

Still, McCarthy cautioned that if Democrats win the House, it won’t be because they have laid out their own agenda and warned that he believes that Democrats will face their own hurdles.

“Democrats are not popular. They haven’t laid out an agenda on what they’ll do,” McCarthy said. “So they’ll have a really hard time governing in the next Congress.”