Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., railed against President Donald Trump’s weekend strikes in Venezuela, but his criticism comes after a history of taking a softer approach to socialist dictators like former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.

Sanders, like several of his colleagues in the Senate Democratic caucus, argued that Trump’s decision to strike Venezuela’s capital Caracas without congressional approval broke the law and was another instance of the administration leapfrogging Congress’ war powers.

‘Donald Trump has, once again, shown his contempt for the Constitution and the rule of law,’ Sanders said in a statement. ‘The President of the United States does NOT have the right to unilaterally take this country to war, even against a corrupt and brutal dictator like Maduro.’

But the lawmaker’s decision to call Maduro a dictator is a shift. In previous years, Sanders has declined to place that label on him.

When Sanders was on the presidential campaign trail in 2019, he opted not to call Maduro a dictator, instead saying he would support an effort to ensure free and fair elections in the country.

‘I think it’s fair to say that the last election was undemocratic, but there are still Democratic operations taking place in that country,’ Sanders said during a town hall at the time. ‘The point is, what I’m calling for right now is an internationally supervised fair election.’

Maduro, who was first elected in 2013, is accused of human rights abuses and working with cartels and narco gangs in South America and Mexico to distribute illicit drugs into the U.S.

However, Sanders has often accused Trump of engaging in authoritarianism.

‘Under this administration, authoritarianism has taken root in our country,’ Sanders said on X in 2020. ‘As long as I am here, I will work with progressives, with moderates, and, yes, with conservatives to preserve this nation from a threat that so many of our heroes fought and died to defeat.’

The lawmaker has also been supportive of policies under former Cuban dictator Fidel Castro. During his last presidential run, Sanders came under fire after a speech he made in the 1980s when he lauded the socialist policies installed by Castro and his regime.

Sanders was pressed on the speech during another town hall event on the campaign trail, where he noted that he had been consistently critical of authoritarian regimes across the globe.

Still, he contended that ‘there were a lot of folks in Cuba at that point who were illiterate. He formed the literacy brigade.’

‘You know what, I think teaching people to read and write is a good thing,’ Sanders said.

Fox News Digital did not immediately hear back from Sanders’ office for comment.

President Donald Trump floated that all presidents and vice presidents should take cognitive tests, days after bragging that he successfully completed a third cognitive exam. 

Trump, 79, has frequently taken aim at former President Joe Biden amid multiple books and reports detailing the decline of Biden’s mental faculties while in office, and similarly cast doubt on whether other Democrats could pass a cognitive test. 

‘Do you think Walz could pass a cognitive test … Do you think Kamala could?’ Trump said Tuesday at the Kennedy Center for the House GOP Member Retreat. ‘I don’t think Gavin could. He’s got a good line of crap, but other than that, he couldn’t pass.’ 

Trump was referring to former Vice President Kamala Harris, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and California Gov. Gavin Newsom.

Spokespeople for Harris and Walz did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital. 

In response to a request for comment, Newsom spokesperson Izzy Gardon replied to Fox News Digital: ‘HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.’ 

Trump’s statements come after he claimed he ‘ACED’ another cognitive examination, and backs mandatory cognitive exams to prevent ”STUPID’ or INCOMPETENT PEOPLE!’ from leading the country. 

‘The White House Doctors have just reported that I am in ‘PERFECT HEALTH,’ and that I ‘ACED’ (Meaning, was correct on 100% of the questions asked!), for the third straight time, my Cognitive Examination, something which no other President, or previous Vice President, was willing to take,’ Trump posted to Truth Social Friday.

Trump also said Tuesday that he faces a catch-22 when it comes to completing a medical exam — or not — amid recent questions surrounding his health. For example, concern has stemmed from bruising on his hands and reports regarding swollen ankles. 

‘If I don’t do a medical exam, they say, ‘Trump’s not doing an exam. There must be something wrong with him.’ If I do the exam, they say, ‘Why did he do this? Why did he do this part of an exam? He did too much. There’s something wrong with him,’’ Trump said. 

Trump’s comments come as he clarified to The Wall Street Journal in a piece published Thursday that he received a CT scan, and not a more thorough, time-consuming MRI scan, for a medical examination he underwent in October. Trump said in the interview that he regrets taking the CT scan because it provided ‘ammunition’ to those who have questioned his overall health. 

The October visit came after Trump’s annual physical at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Maryland. Afterward, White House physician, Navy Capt. Sean Barbabella, claimed that the president ‘remains in excellent health.’

Meanwhile, the White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt has dismissed questions about Trump’s bruised hands and attributed the markings in July to ‘frequent handshaking and the use of aspirin.’ Likewise, she said that Trump’s swollen legs are a ‘benign and common condition’ that sometimes plagues those over the age of 70. 

Fox News’ Emma Colton contributed to this report. 

House Republicans’ investigation into fraud within Minnesota’s social programs is likely to expand, House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., told Fox News Digital.

‘We need to know how deep this fraud in taxpayer-funded programs runs, not just in Minnesota, but across the country. The House Oversight Committee will expand its investigation to other states, because waste, fraud, and abuse cannot be tolerated anywhere,’ Comer said Tuesday.

The House Oversight Committee is probing allegations that federal and state funds were misused in Minnesota, an investigation that’s thrust top officials in the state government under scrutiny.

It’s also proved to be a potent political cudgel for Republicans against progressive leaders like Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and state Attorney General Keith Ellison.

Both were summoned to Capitol Hill by Comer, who is holding a pair of high-profile hearings in the coming weeks while the federal government investigates allegations of fraud.

The first such event, taking place on Wednesday, will feature testimony from three Republicans in the state legislature. Walz and Ellison were summoned for a follow-up hearing on Feb. 10.

Comer said he would use the probe ‘as a blueprint to expand oversight and pursue accountability in other states’ as well.

It comes after Walz announced he would drop his bid for a third term as governor on Monday, citing the fervor around the fraud investigations.

‘Every minute that I spend defending my own political interests would be a minute I can’t spend defending the people of Minnesota against the criminals who prey on our generosity, and the cynics who want to prey on our differences,’ Walz said.

Walz previously said his administration has taken steps to crack down on the fraud, but argued federal officials are overinflating and politicizing the scope of the damage.

But Comer said Walz still ‘needs to testify under oath about what he knew, and when he knew it, about this massive fraud and money-laundering operation.’

Federal prosecutors in Minnesota have charged multiple people with stealing more than $240 million from the Federal Child Nutrition Program through the Minnesota-based nonprofit Feeding Our Future.

However, the probe has since widened to multiple state-run programs being investigated for potential fraud.

Childcare providers receiving state funding, mainly within the Somali community, are also under scrutiny.

The State Department has intensified its criticism of Iran’s regime on its Persian-language account since the outbreak of nationwide protests against the ayatollahs, mirroring President Donald Trump’s forceful warning to Tehran.

Trump recently posted, ‘If Iran shots (sic) and violently kills peaceful protesters, which is their custom, the United States of America will come to their rescue. We are locked and loaded and ready to go. Thank you for your attention to this matter! President DONALD J.TRUMP.’

‘President Trump’s latest truth social post regarding Iran speaks for itself,’ a U.S. State Department spokesperson told Fox News Digital on Tuesday.

The State Department’s reinforcement of Trump’s pledge to aid Iranian demonstrators comes amid reports that protesters had taken control of many streets in Abdanan, in Ilam province in western Iran, on Tuesday. They chanted ‘Death to Khamenei’ and ‘This year is a year of blood, Seyed Ali (Khamenei) will be overthrown,’ according to videos sent to Iran International news organization.

The State Department’s Persian-language account, @USABehFarsi, appeared to issue a stark warning to Iran’s totalitarian rulers. ‘President Trump is a man of action. If you didn’t know before, now you do. Don’t mess with President Trump.’ The black-and-white picture showed Trump with his leadership team watching elite U.S. army forces seize the former Iran-backed Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro.

Trump’s social media posts and the statements coming from the State Department’s account have emboldened Iranians both inside and outside of the country.

Potkin Azarmehr, a British-Iranian journalist, noted the contrast with previous administrations. ‘Well, what a contrast to Obama’s time when protesters in Iran in 2009 were angrily chanting, ‘Obama, are you with us or with them?’ Any international support, whether at grassroots level or government level is encouraging. Knowing that the world knows about you,’ he added that ‘The question is where are the Western activist elite protesters? Why are they not protesting? Are they on the side of the ayatollahs? An archaic religious apartheid?’

Iran analyst Alirzeza Nader said, ‘I think State is right to say that the alternative to the current regime will come from inside Iran. And that Iranians will choose their own leaders. Yes, it’s definitely better now. Unfortunately, the Obama and Biden administrations pushed the reformist line (the Reformist line espoused by Rouhani and Khatami). My advice to the Trump administration: stay neutral when it comes to the opposition’s leadership. Let Iranians figure it out.’

The former Iranian presidents, Hassan Rouhani and Mohammad Khatami, promised mild reforms but remain wedded to the Islamic Republic of Iran — a regime that has been repeatedly classified by the State Department as a leading state sponsor of terrorism.

Nadav Mohebb, who worked as a Persian media analyst for the State Department’s Public Affairs Bureau, said about the State Department’s Persian-language X account that ‘During the Biden administration, this account was effectively turned into a ghost town and largely lost its relevance and impact.’

He said, ‘Following President Trump’s recent tweet, we have seen a renewed level of activity reminiscent of his first term — an approach that has again drawn the attention of Iranians. Trump’s message effectively removed the account’s excessive caution, and over the past four days its anti-regime tone has noticeably intensified.’

Mohebb said, ‘The account should avoid involvement in opposition infighting, remain sensitive to Iranian public sentiment, and operate in alignment with the prevailing mood of Persian Twitter. I hope Trump’s warning message to the regime will serve as a catalyst for upgrading the messaging strategy of this account and restoring its former effectiveness.’

Reza Parchizadeh, an Iranian-American expert on the regime, said, ‘The State Department’s Persian-language account is performing effectively. Its messaging is deliberately structured to project a sense of American support and hope toward Iranian protesters, while also attempting to reflect the breadth and diversity of protest activity rather than treating it episodically or selectively. In itself, this represents a notable shift in approach.’

He noted, ‘The Obama era was fundamentally different in orientation and intent. That administration prioritized reaching a diplomatic accommodation with the Islamic Republic and reintegrating the regime into the international system. Within that framework, popular protests and organized opposition inside Iran were largely downplayed by the State Department in order to avoid complicating negotiations or signaling regime vulnerability.’

President Donald Trump said Tuesday in an address before Republican lawmakers that first lady Melania Trump is no fan of when he dances in public, calling it ‘not presidential.’

‘My wife hates when I do this,’ Trump said Tuesday at the Kennedy Center during an address at the House GOP Member Retreat. 

‘She’s a very classy person, right? She said, ‘It’s so unpresidential.’ I said, ‘but I did become president.’ … She hates when I dance. I said, ‘Everybody wants me to dance.’’

”Darling, it’s not presidential,” he continued of what the first lady tells him. 

Trump dancing became a hallmark of 2024 campaign rallies, with Trump routinely kicking off and ending public events by dancing, frequently while the Village People’s ‘Y.M.C.A’ or Lee Greenwood’s ‘God Bless the U.S.A.’ blasted in the background. The signature dance typically includes Trump making a fist and shimmying his arms back and forth while pointing to people in the crowd. 

The president has previously mentioned the first lady did not approve of his rally dancing, recounting to crowds of supporters in 2023 in Iowa that: ‘She said, ‘Darling, I love you, I love you, but this is not presidential. You don’t dance off the stage. This is not presidential.”

Trump continued Tuesday that the first lady had pressed him that past presidents did not dance solo on political stages, pointing to President Franklin Delano Roosevelt as an example of how presidents should conduct themselves. 

‘She actually said, ‘Could you imagine FDR dancing,’’ he continued. ‘She said that to me.’

‘And I said, ‘There’s a long history that perhaps she doesn’t know because he was an elegant fellow, even as a Democrat.’

‘He was quite elegant, but he wouldn’t be doing this. But nor would too many others. But she said, ‘Darling, please, the weightlifting is terrible.’ And I have to say this, the dancing, they really like,’ Trump said of supporters who enjoy his rally dance routines. 

‘She said, ‘They don’t like it. They’re just being nice to you,” Trump recounted. 

‘I said, ‘that’s not right,” he continued. 

Trump’s comments on the first lady’s dislike of his dancing came amid him impersonating weightlifters while discussing biological males competing against biological females. Trump has said in public before that Melania Trump does not approve of him imitating weightlifters, as well as dancing during political events. 

Trump’s address before the group of Republican lawmakers follows a historic and busy weekend, when he confirmed the U.S. military carried out a successful strike in Venezuela and captured the nation’s former dictatorial president, Nicolás Maduro, and his wife. 

The pair, as well as others entrenched in the regime, were charged with narco-terrorism conspiracy charges. The couple pleaded not guilty in a New York City court Monday and are being held in a prison in Brooklyn. 

Tuesday’s event, however, is more focused on the party’s agenda for the coming year, as lawmakers prepare for the wild midterm season that will pick up steam in the coming months. 

Trump capped off his address by clapping and dancing to the ‘Y.M.C.A.’ as he walked offstage.

A House Republican is seeking to tighten the screws on the U.S. immigration system in the wake of multiple investigations into alleged fraud within Minnesota’s social services system.

Rep. Wesley Hunt, R-Texas, introduced a bill on Tuesday that would terminate Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for people from Sudan, Syria, Yemen, Lebanon and Somalia.

Immigrants from those countries currently in the U.S. on refugee status would be forced to self-deport within 180 days of the bill’s enactment.

‘It’s important that we ensure that those entering our country are properly vetted, and they clearly have not been properly vetted. So what we are trying to do is ensure that we address this, we stop this,’ Hunt told Fox News Digital.

Part of his impetus for introducing the bill now, Hunt said, was the increased scrutiny on Minnesota’s Somali community as federal prosecutors investigate what they believe could be billions of dollars of fraud targeting social programs in the Midwestern state.

Federal prosecutors in Minnesota have charged multiple people with stealing more than $240 million from the Federal Child Nutrition Program through the Minnesota-based nonprofit Feeding Our Future.

The probe has since widened to multiple state-run programs being investigated for potential fraud, however.

Childcare providers receiving state funding, mainly within the Somali community, are also under scrutiny.

Pressure from the growing scandal pushed Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz to drop his bid for a third term. He said Monday that he did not want to distract from efforts to shield his residents from both fraudsters and people seeking to politicize the situation.

‘Every minute that I spend defending my own political interests would be a minute I can’t spend defending the people of Minnesota against the criminals who prey on our generosity, and the cynics who want to prey on our differences,’ Walz said.

Walz previously said his administration has taken steps to crack down on the fraud, but argued federal officials are over-inflating the scope of the damage.

‘I mean, looking at Tim Walz’s decision not to seek re-election — where there’s smoke, there’s fire. There certainly is more to come out of this situation,’ Hunt said. ‘He was clearly complicit in what was going on. That’s why he’s not seeking reelection, and so there’s a lot of ‘there’ that’s there, and it needs to be exposed, needs to be investigated.’

He added, ‘Making sure that we revoke these TPS designations is the beginning of cleaning up this mess.’

Hunt argued that his bill would help hasten the timeline for President Donald Trump’s move to end TPS for foreign-born Somalis in Minnesota.

He added that the wider purpose of the bill was also to block Sharia law from spreading in the U.S., noting it was something he experienced firsthand as a member of the military.

‘As somebody that has lived under Sharia law, somebody that has deployed to the Middle East, this is also a broader conversation about keeping people that hate our country out of here,’ Hunt said. ‘And so what we’re going to do is try to pass legislation that codifies what President Trump is trying to do.’

Hunt is currently running for U.S. Senate in Texas.

As Venezuela enters the post-Nicolas Maduro era, former officials and regional experts warn the country may be facing not a democratic transition, but a period of deeper instability and internal conflict between possible successors that some warn could be even worse than Maduro.

Marshall Billingslea, the former assistant secretary for terrorist financing and financial crimes in the U.S. Treasury Department, said Maduro’s removal has exposed a fractured system that was never held together by a single strongman, but by competing criminal power centers now moving independently.

‘The cartel has always been a loose association, with each of the mafia bosses having their own centers of gravity,’ Billingslea said. ‘Maduro was the frontman, but he didn’t exercise total control. Now we’re seeing each of those centers spinning off on their own.’

Billingslea said the capture of Cilia Flores, Maduro’s wife, was as consequential as Maduro’s removal itself.

‘The capture of Cilia Flores is a particularly big deal because she was the brains behind the operation and the one who cleared out potential rivals,’ he said. ‘Her removal is equally significant.’

Billingslea outlined what he described as five competing power centers, four within the regime and one outside it. ‘The removal of Maduro, and particularly the removal of Cilia Flores, leaves a huge power vacuum in the cartel,’ he said. ‘We haven’t yet reached a new equilibrium here.’

In the interim, he foresees a high risk of internal power struggles, violence and further repression as rival factions maneuver to secure control in a post-Maduro Venezuela. But he notes that the Trump administration anticipates this and is executing a clear-eyed strategy to first secure U.S. core interests, followed by the gradual restoration of democracy, all without needing American ‘boots on the ground.’

Delcy Rodríguez takes over, but power remains contested

Delcy Rodríguez, Maduro’s longtime vice president, was quickly installed as interim leader. But her rise has done little to reassure Venezuelans or international observers that meaningful change is coming.

Rodríguez is deeply embedded in the Maduro system and has long played a central role in overseeing Venezuela’s internal intelligence and security apparatus. According to regional reporting, her focus since taking office has been consolidating control within those institutions rather than signaling political reform.

Former U.S. and regional officials say Delcy Rodríguez’s rise has revived long-standing questions about who truly influences her decisions as she moves to consolidate power.

Those officials point to Rodríguez’s deep ties with Cuban intelligence, which helped build and operate Venezuela’s internal security and surveillance apparatus over the past two decades. Cuban operatives played a central role in shaping how the regime monitored dissent and protected senior leadership, embedding themselves inside Venezuela’s intelligence services.

At the same time, former officials say Rodríguez appears to be testing cooperation with Washington, creating uncertainty over how much leverage the United States actually holds. Some view her limited engagement with U.S. demands as tactical, aimed at buying time while she works to secure loyalty inside the regime and neutralize rival factions.

A former Venezuelan official previously told Fox News Digital that Rodríguez ‘hates the West’ and represents continuity with the Maduro regime, not a break from it.

Cabello mobilizes loyalists

Diosdado Cabello, one of the most feared figures in the country, has emerged as a central player in the post-Maduro scramble for control.

Cabello, who wields influence over the ruling party and interior security, has been rallying armed colectivos and loyalist groups. Those groups have been active in the streets, detaining opponents and reinforcing regime authority through intimidation.

Sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury for corruption and alleged ties to drug-trafficking networks, Cabello is widely viewed as a figure capable of consolidating power through force rather than institutions.

Jorge Rodríguez holds the levers of control

Jorge Rodríguez, president of the National Assembly and brother of Delcy Rodríguez, remains one of the regime’s most important political operators.

Rodríguez has served as a key strategist for Maduro, overseeing communications, elections and internal coordination. Recent reporting indicates he continues to work closely with his sister to maintain control over intelligence and security structures, reinforcing the regime’s grip despite Maduro’s removal.

Experts say Rodríguez could play a central role in shaping any managed transition that preserves the system Maduro built.

Padrino López

Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino López, long considered the backbone of Maduro’s survival, remains a critical figure as well.

While Padrino López has not publicly positioned himself as a successor, analysts note that the armed forces are no longer unified behind a single leader. Senior generals are split across competing factions, raising the risk of internal clashes or a shift toward overt military rule if civilian authority weakens further.

Beyond the power struggle among regime elites, Venezuela faces a broader danger.

Large parts of the country are already influenced by criminal syndicates and armed groups. As centralized authority weakens, those actors could exploit the vacuum, expanding control over territory and smuggling routes.

Experts warned that an uncontrolled collapse could unleash forces more violent and less predictable than Maduro’s centralized repression, and the events unfolding now suggest that risk is growing.

Outside the regime, opposition leader María Corina Machado remains the most popular political figure among Venezuelan voters. But popularity alone may not be enough to translate into power.

Machado lacks control over security forces, intelligence agencies or armed groups. As repression intensifies and rival factions maneuver, her ability to convert public support into political authority remains uncertain.

Maduro’s fall, analysts say, did not dismantle Venezuela’s power structure. It fractured it.

With armed loyalists in the streets, rival factions competing behind the scenes, and an interim leader struggling to assert authority, Venezuela now faces a dangerous period in which the aftermath of Maduro’s rule could prove more chaotic — and potentially more brutal — than what came before, experts say. For Venezuelans, the question is no longer whether Maduro is gone, but whether anything that replaces him will be better.

Health insurance companies are being summoned to Capitol Hill for a pair of blockbuster hearings as Americans across the country deal with rising costs for their care, Fox News Digital is first to learn.

The House Energy and Commerce Committee, which oversees health policy, and the Ways and Means Committee, which has jurisdiction over tax policy, are both holding hearings on the rising cost of healthcare in the U.S.

It’s not immediately clear which companies will be represented or if they will allow executives to appear voluntarily.

But the announcement appears to be the House GOP’s move to counter-program an expected vote this week on extending enhanced Obamacare subsidies that expired at the end of 2025.

Obamacare subsidies were expanded in 2020 and 2021 to be available to more people during the COVID-19 pandemic, but then-Democratic majorities in Congress were only able to extend those for a finite period of time.

Whether to extend those subsidies was the subject of fierce debate on Capitol Hill in the waning months of 2025.

The vast majority of Republicans are opposed to extending the subsidies, dismissing them as a pandemic-era relic that’s part of a broken federal healthcare system.

Republicans have also argued that the subsidies only eased costs for 7% of Americans and did nothing to tackle the root causes of high healthcare costs.

But the moderate GOP lawmakers and Democrats who support extending the program have pointed out that an extension would give Congress more time to work on a more permanent solution to healthcare while avoiding the cost cliff seen at the end of last year.

A small group of moderate Republicans joined Democrats in late December to successfully force a vote on a three-year extension, which is taking place on Thursday.

The legislation is likely dead on arrival in the Senate if it passes, however.

House Republicans passed a healthcare bill just before leaving Washington for their two-week holiday break in December.

The Lower Health Care Premiums for All Americans Act includes provisions to codify association health plans, which allow small businesses and people who are self-employed to band together to purchase healthcare coverage plans, giving them access to greater bargaining power.

Republicans also plan to appropriate funding for cost-sharing reductions beginning in 2027, which are designed to lower out-of-pocket medical costs in the individual healthcare market. House GOP leadership aides said it would bring down the cost of premiums by 12%.