Venezuela tore into President Donald Trump’s Tuesday order to blockade the waters near Venezuela and prevent sanctioned oil tankers from passing through as ‘warmongering threats.’ 

In a statement, the government said Trump’s ‘irrational blockade’ was a ‘grotesque threat’ and an effort to ‘steal’ the nation’s oil wealth. 

Caracas formally filed a complaint with the United Nations Security Council Tuesday as the U.S. took aim at a key lifeline: oil shipments to China.

Venezuelan exports fell sharply this week as U.S. actions disrupted shipping lanes. On Tuesday, Trump demanded Venezuela return ‘stolen’ oil assets to the U.S.

‘Venezuela is completely surrounded by the largest Armada ever assembled in the History of South America. It will only get bigger, and the shock to them will be like nothing they have ever seen before — Until such time as they return to the United States of America all of the Oil, Land, and other Assets that they previously stole from us,’ he wrote on Truth Social. ‘I am ordering A TOTAL AND COMPLETE BLOCKADE OF ALL SANCTIONED OIL TANKERS going into, and out of, Venezuela.’

Trump’s reference to ‘stolen’ U.S. assets stems from a long-running dispute over Venezuela’s seizure of American-owned oil projects more than a decade ago. Beginning in 2007, the Chávez government forced U.S. firms like ExxonMobil and ConocoPhillips to surrender multibillion-dollar investments in some of the country’s largest oil fields, triggering arbitration cases that remain unresolved. 

Those expropriations targeted corporate property, not U.S. government land, but Trump has cast the episode as a broader theft from the American people as he presses for tougher measures against the Maduro regime.

With most Western buyers off the table, China has become Venezuela’s dominant customer for crude, often taking the vast majority of the country’s exportable barrels. Cutting or constraining those shipments threatens the government’s most reliable source of hard currency at a time when Maduro lives in fear of a potential U.S.-led effort to oust him from the presidency.

Oil accounts for around 88% of Venezuela’s $24 billion in export revenues, according to a recent New York Times report.

Amid dozens of strikes on alleged narco-traffickers in the waters near Venezuela, the U.S. has built up its largest military presence in the Latin America region in decades: 15% of all naval assets are now positioned in the Southern Command theater.

On Dec. 10, the U.S. seized a major oil tanker known as the Skipper, and plans to seek a warrant to seize the oil, worth tens of millions.

Analysts say the regime has few practical ways to hit back without doing even more damage to itself.

Maduro could target U.S. oil interests in Venezuela — Chevron still has a license to operate there — but doing so would almost certainly inflict more pain on his own cash-starved regime than on the United States.

Fox News Digital spoke to Minnesota state Rep. Kristin Robbins shortly after she unveiled millions in alleged fraud in the state’s assisted living program and identified an individual already indicted for fraud who is still receiving payments from the state, adding to the already exploding fraud scandal in the state. 

The Fraud Prevention and State Agency Oversight Policy, chaired by Robbins, held a hearing that focused on a new sector of fraud, the state’s assisted living programs, that comes amid a massive unfolding fraud scandal in the state that has affected a variety of other sectors and resulted in calls for the state’s chief executive, Gov. Tim Walz, to resign. 

The committee alleges that a number of individuals tied to other fraud schemes are receiving millions in taxpayer dollars for an assisted living program and that one of those individuals, referred to as ‘FOF Defendant,’ is already facing indictment charges as part of the Feeding the Future fraud scheme yet still receiving payments from Minnesota’s Department of Human Services. 

In a presentation, Robbins outlined properties owned by FOF Defendant connected to the assistant living facility fraud and what she called an ‘unbelievable’ network of fraud that slipped past any oversight procedures. 

‘I bring this to your attention because despite months of hearings, we continue to miss the most basic internal controls and the most basic checks and balances when we are enrolling providers,’ Robbins said during the hearing. ‘This is just one network. Our researchers has multiple networks that we could have discussed today.’

Robbins, who is a Republican candidate for governor to replace Walz next year, says she will be turning her findings over to the U.S. Attorney today for further investigation.

‘I just find it unconscionable that they, the department didn’t run a basic check of all these Feeding Our Future people who’ve been indicted or convicted, and make sure that they weren’t getting state money in other programs,’ Robbins told Fox News Digital.

While investigations into fraud have focus mainly on nonprofits who abused COVID-19 and food aid programs, the committee’s assertion that adult daycare services and assisted living facilities also engaged in fraud suggests that the scandal is more wideranging than previously reported.

‘I expect there will be more fraud uncovered in those sectors. And I’m assuming it’s happening in other states. as we’ve seen, there is a similar fraud going on in Maine, and I’m sure many other states. And so I think all agencies around the country need to be attuned to this and need to look at the programs,’ Robbins said.

She add, ‘And it’s not high finance. It’s basic internal controls that they should be doing.’

Fox News Digital reached out to Walz’s office for comment. 

The fraud scandal in Minnesota, that dates back to at least 2020 but has exploded into the national spotlight in recent weeks, has prompted several swift actions from the Trump administration and Congress.

The Small Business Administration is investigating a network of Somali groups in Minnesota that it says is tied to the scandal, and a House Oversight Committee has opened an investigation into Walz’s role.

The Department of Health and Human Services has launched a review into how Minnesota used billions of dollars in federal social service funding, requesting detailed records from Walz’s administration and other state entities after reports raised questions about whether portions of the money were misused.

On Tuesday, Fox News Digital first reported that Education Secretary Linda McMahon called on Walz to resign over the scandal. 

‘You have been Minnesota’s Governor since 2019,’ McMahon wrote. ‘During that time, your careless lack of oversight and abuse of the welfare system has attracted fraudsters from around the world, especially from Somalia, to establish a beachhead of criminality in our country. As President Trump put it, you have turned Minnesota into a ‘fraudulent hub of money laundering activity.’’

A doctor-turned-House Republican is arguing that there is a direct link between the Affordable Care Act (ACA), colloquially known as Obamacare, and the increasing cost of healthcare putting a strain on Americans’ wallets.

‘They removed choice by patients by limiting and prohibiting association health plans, so small businesses were disadvantaged,’ said Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks, R-Iowa. 

‘They had mandates for how the rating for insurance companies can go — they had mandated essential benefits, so people that are young and healthy and may not want a lot of healthcare, they just want it for catastrophic, couldn’t get just catastrophic coverage, so there was no choice in what benefits you had.’

Miller-Meeks said it led to people having to pay for their health premiums but not being able to afford the deductible to actually go see a doctor — in other words, ‘You can have insurance, but not care.’

She said costs were also driven up by ‘simple things such as prohibiting doctors from doing things in their office, but paying a hospital more, which led to the development of hospital outpatient clinics.’

‘Well, they paid the hospitals more to do it, so you weren’t having [a simple procedure] done at a doctor’s office…it was done at the hospital. So there are many things within the unaffordable care act that drove up healthcare costs,’ she explained.

Miller-Meeks is leading the House GOP’s ‘Lower Health Care Premiums for All Americans Act,’ a bill that House Republican leaders say is aimed at lowering healthcare costs for a broader swath of the country than simply extending enhanced Obamacare subsidies that are set to expire at the end of this year.

It’s set to be voted on in the early evening on Wednesday, when it’s expected to pass roughly along party lines.

The plan as-is 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%.

New transparency requirements for pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) are also in the legislation, aimed at forcing PBMs to be more upfront about costs to employers.

PBMs are third parties that act as intermediaries between pharmaceutical companies and those responsible for insurance coverage, often responsible for administrative tasks and negotiating drug prices.

‘What’s important about this bill is that Republicans want to reduce healthcare costs for everyone, for all people, not just a select few. And we certainly don’t want to continue the corporate gravy train of subsidies to insurance companies, which then have no incentive to lower premiums,’ Miller-Meeks said.

She said its various facets ‘will reduce premiums by 11%.’

‘So it gives patients more choice, it allows more flexibility in what kind of insurance coverage they have, but most importantly, it’s the first bill to actually bring down premiums,’ Miller-Meeks said.

Senate Republicans blocked an attempt by Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., to force the release of unedited footage to Congress and the public of the U.S. military’s controversial Sept. 2 double-tap strike on an alleged drug boat in the Caribbean.

Schiff’s move Wednesday afternoon followed passage of the annual National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which included a provision to require the Pentagon to release all unedited footage of the strikes in the Caribbean to Congress in exchange for full funding of the Department of War’s travel expenses.

His bill went a step further and was specifically geared toward the early September double strike against an alleged drug boat that has divided lawmakers in recent weeks, particularly over whether the strikes were legal.

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio briefed every senator on the strikes Tuesday, but Senate Democrats left unsatisfied because they weren’t shown the footage of the strikes. Hegseth argued that the Pentagon has a longstanding policy to not release unedited, top-secret footage.

‘The public should see this, and I hope that we’ll have support to make it public,’ Schiff said after the meeting. ‘I found the legal explanations and the strategic explanations incoherent, but I think the American people should see this video. And all members of Congress should have that opportunity. I certainly want it for myself.’

But the push was blocked by Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., who argued on the floor that Schiff’s motives may have been politically influenced and that when former President Barack Obama used drones during his administration, there wasn’t near the same level of hand-wringing. 

Schiff’s legislation would have given Hegseth 10 days to make the unedited footage available to all members of Congress and 15 days to fully release the footage to the public.

Broadly, Senate Republicans support the release of the footage, either directly to the Senate Armed Services or Senate Intelligence committees, but some have stopped short of demanding a wide rollout.

Mullin argued that only certain lawmakers should get access to the footage who are on the proper committees and who have the necessary security clearances to view it.

‘There’s a lot of members that are going to walk out of there, that are going to leak classified information, and there’s got to be certain ones that you hold accountable. So, not everybody can go through the same background checks that need to be able to get cleared on this,’ he said.

But there is still a desire among the GOP for all of Congress and the public to see the footage.

Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., contended that the administration has released every other video related to the strikes and that ‘they brag about killing these people, unarmed people.’

‘They brag about how mighty they are and how powerful they are, and they show us the clips almost instantaneously when they blow people up,’ he said. ‘They don’t want to show the image of blowing up people clinging to wreckage, destroying their entire narrative.’

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Wednesday that Russia’s goals in Ukraine are unchanged and will be accomplished either through negotiations or by further military advances if diplomatic efforts fail.

Putin, speaking at an annual board meeting of the country’s Defense Ministry, touted Russia’s military progress on the battlefield and technological advancements as his war in Ukraine grinds on into a fourth year.

‘The goals of the special military operation will undoubtedly be achieved,’ he said, using the Kremlin’s term to refer to Moscow’s 2022 full-scale invasion.

‘We would prefer to accomplish this and address the root causes of the conflict through diplomatic means. However, if the opposing side and its foreign patrons refuse to engage in substantive dialogue, Russia will achieve the liberation of its historical lands by military means,’ the Russian leader told military officials, according to a transcript of the speech released by the government.

Putin also took aim at Kyiv and its European allies for ‘whipping up hysteria’ about Moscow as the Trump administration works to end the war. 

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte warned allies last week that Russia could be ready to use military force against the alliance within five years and urged members to boost defense spending and production, so their armed forces have the resources to protect their homelands.

Putin referred to European leaders as ‘piglets’ during the Defense Ministry meeting, according to a translated video of the remarks posted by Russian presidential envoy Kirill Dmitriev.

The comment was part of a broader tirade against the West, with Putin accusing European governments of helping Washington try to weaken and divide Russia.

‘They were hoping to profit from the collapse of our country. To get back something that was lost in previous historical periods and try to take revenge,’ said Putin. ‘As it has now become obvious to everyone, all these attempts and all these destructive plans towards Russia completely failed.’

The remarks come as U.S., European, Russian and Ukrainian officials engage in a flurry of diplomacy over potential paths to ending the war.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his negotiating team met in Berlin Sunday with Jared Kushner and U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff to discuss security guarantees for Ukraine.

Witkoff and Kushner previously held a five-hour meeting in Moscow with Putin and top foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov in early December to hash out elements of a revised peace proposal after the original leaked 28-point draft drew criticism for being too favorable to the Kremlin.

Ushakov said the Russian side received four documents from the U.S. envoys during the meeting, including one that consisted of 27 points, but he declined to go into detail of what they contained.

Four moderate House Republicans are rebelling against Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., to join his Democratic counterpart in forcing a vote on enhanced Obamacare subsidies set to expire at the end of this year.

Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa., Ryan Mackenzie, R-Pa., Rob Bresnahan, R-Pa., and Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., all joined a discharge petition by House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., on his push for a three-year extension of the subsidies.

A discharge petition is a mechanism for overriding the will of House leaders to get a chamber-wide vote on specific legislation, provided it has support from a majority of lawmakers.

In this case, the four House Republicans’ signatures put Jeffries’ petition at 218 — clinching the critical majority threshold.

‘I’ve always supported bipartisan solutions that would bring about healthcare affordability in this country,’ Mackenzie told Fox News Digital on Wednesday of his decision. ‘Leader Jeffries and the Democrats have refused to sign onto either of those bipartisan solutions. And so at this point, our leadership is not calling up a bill to extend the [Obamacare] tax credits.’

He called for a vote on the Democrat-led solution as well as two bipartisan bills offering one and two-year extensions, respectively, with reforms.

It comes despite Johnson warning Republicans earlier on Wednesday not to support Jeffries’ petition, arguing it was not the best way to legislate.

Johnson told CNBC’s ‘Squawk Box’ that it was effectively ‘doing an end-run around the majority party, the speaker or the regular process is not the best way to make law.’

The House is expected to vote on a bill that Republicans say is aimed at lowering healthcare costs for all Americans, without extending the subsidies — which they argue are part of a deeply flawed public healthcare system.

Moderate Republicans offered several amendments to the legislation aimed at extending the Obamacare subsidies during a House Rules Committee meeting to advance the bill on Tuesday, but all were rejected by their fellow GOP lawmakers on the panel.

‘While I have been working for a bipartisan compromise with reforms, the failure of leadership to allow a vote on the floor left me with no choice but to sign the Democrats’ discharge petition,’ Lawler said in a statement on X.

‘The speaker should immediately bring it to the floor for an up-or-down vote and let the House do the work of the American people.’

Because of the timing constraints of a discharge petition, the earliest the House could consider the Jeffries bill would be early next year.

The Senate sent a colossal defense package to President Donald Trump’s desk on Wednesday, checking off one of the last remaining items of the year in the process.

Lawmakers banded together to pass the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), a roughly $901 billion package crammed to the brim with defense policy that unlocks funding for several of the Trump administration’s national defense priorities.

The measure passed through the upper chamber on a 77-20 bipartisan vote. It’s a perennial legislative exercise lawmakers undertake, and one that normally comes and goes with little fuss, given that Congress typically bookends the year with it.

But this year, the NDAA hit some snags in the House that threatened its survival. And while the drama was not as fiery in the Senate, there were still lingering issues with certain provisions that gave lawmakers heartburn.

Bipartisan frustration erupted over a provision that would roll back some safety standards in the Washington, D.C., airspace. It comes on the heels of the collision between a Black Hawk helicopter and passenger jet near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport earlier this year that killed 67 people.

Senate Commerce Committee Chair Ted Cruz, R-Texas, sought an amendment to the package that would have stripped the provision and instead included his ROTOR Act that would mandate technology in aircraft to boost awareness of air traffic.

But any amendment to the package would have sent it back to the House. Cruz instead plans to tack on his legislation to spending bills down the line.

‘I’m seeking a vote on the ROTOR Act as part of any appropriations measure before the current continuing resolution expires at the end of next month,’ Cruz said.

Other provisions, like a requirement for the Pentagon to release the unedited footage of boat strikes in the Caribbean in exchange for fully funding the Department of War’s travel fund, raised eyebrows but didn’t slow down the package’s success.

That provision comes as lawmakers demand more transparency in the Trump administration’s strikes against alleged drug boats, and in particular, as they seek the release of the footage from a Sept. 2 double-strike on a vessel.

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio briefed all senators on the strikes this week. Senate Republicans left largely satisfied, while Senate Democrats charged that Hegseth wouldn’t show the unedited footage to every lawmaker in the upper chamber.

‘He refused,’ Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said. ‘The administration came to this briefing empty-handed. That’s the major question that we face, and if they can’t be transparent on this, how can you trust their transparency on all the other issues swirling about in the Caribbean.’

Still, the package is filled with several provisions that both sides agree to, including guarantees for Ukrainian assistance, and repeals of the 1991 and 2002 authorizations of use of military force (AUMFs) for the Gulf War and Iraq War, respectively, among several others.

With the NDAA now headed for Trump’s signature, the Senate still has more on its agenda before fleeing Washington until the new year.

Senate Republicans want to ram through nearly 100 of Trump’s nominees, and both sides are eyeing a five-bill spending package that could alleviate some concerns heading into the looming Jan. 30 deadline to fund the government.

‘This defense authorization act, although it doesn’t have as much in there for defense as a lot of us would like, is a step in the right direction,’ Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said. ‘And I think the defense appropriations bill, which hopefully we’ll vote on later this week, is another example of the investment that we need to be making, to ensure that in a dangerous world, we are prepared to defend America and American interests.’