House Republicans are coalescing around progressive ‘Squad’ member Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., after she was attacked during a town hall in Minneapolis on Tuesday night.

‘This is totally unacceptable. I am glad Rep. Omar is okay,’ Rep. Pete Stauber, R-Minn., wrote on X in response to a video of the incident.

It’s a rare show of bipartisanship in the face of political violence that has become common in recent years amid increasingly volatile rhetoric on both sides.

Support for Omar came from both conservative and moderate Republicans after a man appeared to confront her and spray a substance on her before he was quickly subdued at her public event.

‘Political, religious, and ideological differences never justify violence,’ Rep. Nathaniel Moran, R-Texas, wrote of the attack. ‘Those who resort to violence to make a political point should understand that such actions only undermine the very rights that form the foundation of our Republic.’

Rep. Tom Barrett, R-Mich., noted that political violence against members of Congress had been escalating for some time.

‘The assault on Congresswoman Omar is disturbing and unacceptable, and the attacker must be prosecuted and punished to the full extent of the law,’ he said in his own statement. ‘This attack is the latest of thousands of acts and threats of violence directed against Congress over the past year, resulting in a 57% increase just since 2024.’

Moderate Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., similarly said Wednesday morning, ‘I condemn the attack on Rep. Ilhan Omar that occurred yesterday.’

‘We always have the right to free speech and to petition the government, but political violence must be dealt with sternly. The criminal here needs to spend some time behind bars,’ Bacon said.

And Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., noted she ‘deeply disagreed’ with Omar but said she was ‘deeply disturbed’ by the attack.

‘No elected official should face physical attacks. This is not who we are,’ Mace said.

It comes in addition to a slew of Democrats condemning the incident, though several immediately sought to blame President Donald Trump and the GOP for previously criticizing the progressive Minnesota lawmaker.

‘Trump’s hateful, dangerous rhetoric fuels this kind of political violence, and we must all reject it,’ said Rep. Rob Menendez, D-N.J.

And Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., wrote on X, ‘It is not a coincidence that after days of President Trump and [Vice President] Vance putting Rep. Omar in their crosshairs with slanderous public attacks, she gets assaulted at her town hall.’

The attack occurred minutes after Omar’s town hall began, and despite being urged to wrap up the event, she continued until the end.

Her office released a statement afterward, ‘During her town hall, an agitator tried to attack the Congresswoman by spraying an unknown substance with a syringe. Security and the Minneapolis Police Department quickly apprehended the individual. He is now in custody. The Congresswoman is okay. She continued with her town hall because she doesn’t let bullies win.’

The suspect who attacked her was arrested and charged with third-degree assault.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio will publicly testify on the Trump administration’s policy in Venezuela Wednesday morning after vowing to lawmakers that no more military action was expected in the region. 

Rubio’s return to the Hill, an increasingly frequent occurrence in recent months, comes after he, President Donald Trump, administration officials and Senate Republican leadership successfully killed a bipartisan push to rein in the president’s war authorities in Venezuela. 

His scheduled appearance before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Wednesday at 10 a.m. comes just weeks after he helped to convince two lawmakers, Sens. Todd Young, R-Ind., and Josh Hawley, R-Mo., to flip their votes and back the administration. 

Both were concerned about boots on the ground in Venezuela and Congress’ constitutional authority to weigh in on the matter.

They were convinced by Rubio and the administration that no further military action would take place, and that if it were, President Donald Trump would come to Congress first. 

Young said at the time that the effort, spurred by Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., was ultimately just a messaging exercise that never would have survived in the House, nor evaded a veto from Trump. 

‘I had to accept that this was all a communications exercise,’ Young said. ‘I think we [used] this moment to shine a bright light on Congress’ shortcomings as it relates to war powers in recent history.’

Rubio also wrote to Senate Foreign Relations Chair James Risch, R-Idaho, to spell out that the administration would clue in Congress should any future military action take place in the region.

‘Should there be any new military operations that introduce U.S. Armed Forces into hostilities, they will be undertaken consistent with the Constitution of the United States, and we will transmit written notifications consistent with section 4(a) of the War Powers Resolution (Public Law 93-148),’ he said.

However, Rubio’s appearance before the panel comes on the heels of unrest stateside following another fatal shooting in Minnesota, where Alex Pretti was killed in the midst of a Department of Homeland Security-led immigration operation in Minneapolis.

While he won’t have to answer for that situation, it has drastically shifted the Senate’s attention over the last several days. 

It also follows Kaine’s vow to file several more war powers resolutions against Trump, specifically against action in Greenland, Iran and elsewhere. 

Kaine believed that he could take advantage of cracks that formed in Republicans’ unified front earlier this month, when five joined all Senate Democrats to advance his resolution to require any future military action in Venezuela would need Congress’ approval.

‘The way cracks grow is through pressure and the pressure campaign that I sort of decided to launch by use of these privileged motions,’ Kaine said after his initial push failed. 

‘I’m going to file every one I can to challenge emergencies, to challenge unlawful wars, to seek human rights reports, arms transfers if they’re wrong,’ he continued.

President Donald Trump paused during a restaurant stop in Iowa after a patron asked if he could pray for him ahead of the president’s remarks near Des Moines.

Video shared on X by White House aide Margo Martin shows the moment unfolding inside the Machine Shed restaurant, where a man from the crowd addressed Trump directly.

‘Can I pray for you real quick?’ the man asked.

‘Absolutely! Come on. Let’s go,’ Trump replied, bowing his head as the man began to pray.

The brief prayer thanked God for the president and asked for wisdom, discernment, peace and protection, as others in the restaurant joined in.

‘Lord God, we give thanks for this president,’ the man said during the prayer, ‘Lord, thank you for him and the potential. Thank you for continuing wisdom, we pray for discernment. Pray for hope, we pray for more peace, Lord.’

The prayer from the restaurant patron drew several ‘Amens’ from the surrounding crowd.

The unscripted moment occurred as Trump made a stop at the Iowa restaurant before heading to deliver a speech in the Des Moines area to kick off his 2026 midterm campaign.

The video shows patrons standing nearby as the prayer concluded, followed by applause and words of praise: ‘Amen, praise God.’

The White House has recently shared a national invitation to prayer and spiritual re-dedication ahead of the United States’ 250th anniversary. 

In a statement released by the administration, Trump encouraged Americans to pray for the nation and its people, saying the country has long been ‘sustained and strengthened by prayer.’

Trump added that as the nation prepares to mark 250 years since its founding, Americans should ‘rededicate ourselves to one nation under God.’

The White House was contacted for additional context on the stop and the timing of the visit.

Sen. Ted Cruz called for the U.S. to arm Iranian protesters Tuesday as unrest continues inside the nation and Iran-backed militias issued threats against Washington.

‘We should be arming the protesters in Iran. NOW,’ Cruz wrote in a post on X.

‘For the Iranian people to overthrow the Ayatollah — a tyrant who routinely chants ‘death to America’ — would make America much, much safer,’ the Texas Republican added.

Cruz was responding to another post from Tehran Bureau, which cited a source inside Iran detailing what was described as a rapidly deteriorating situation on the ground as security forces continued to crack down on demonstrations.

‘From trusted source in Tehran: Tell all of your friends [abroad] — everyone you know: there is absolutely nothing else we can do here inside Iran,’ the post read.

‘They are killing people in such ways, they’ve descended upon people so brutally, they’re attacking us in such ways… We’ve lost so many lives that no one dares go out anymore. They shoot directly with bullets. They kill outright. And even after killing, they come and behead you, and do countless other violent things to you,’ it continued.

‘Going out into the streets is literally suicide. It’s not about bravery anymore. It’s madness. You go out and they shoot you point-blank. They don’t even ask why you came. They just kill you,’ the post continued. ‘There is absolutely no way for us to gather unless we had weapons, unless we were armed like them. Otherwise they have weapons everywhere.’

According to the Human Rights Activists News Agency, activist groups estimate that more than 6,000 people have been killed in Iran, with additional cases still under review.

The protests began in late December amid widespread anger over economic hardship, political repression and corruption, according to reports.

Cruz’s post came after armed militias aligned with Iran warned the U.S. they would retaliate against any American attack on the Islamic Republic, as the Trump administration moved forces into the region.

Kataib Hezbollah in Iraq said it was prepared for ‘total war’ if the U.S. attacked Iran, according to The Associated Press.

Abu Hussein al-Hamidawi, the group’s leader, said the ‘enemies’ of the Islamic Republic would face ‘the bitterest forms of death.’

‘You will taste every form of deadly suffering, nothing of you will remain in our region, and we will strike terror in your hearts,’ the statement read.

Meanwhile, Yemen’s Houthis also threatened to restart attacks on vessels in the Red Sea, releasing a video Monday showing a ship engulfed in flames, captioned: ‘Soon,’ The Associated Press reported.

As previously reported by Fox News Digital, President Donald Trump said Iran appeared to be seeking negotiations with the U.S. amid the growing military buildup, telling Axios, ‘They want to make a deal. I know so. They called on numerous occasions. They want to talk.’

The USS Abraham Lincoln arrived in the Middle East on Monday as unrest inside Iran continued to escalate.

Fox News Digital has reached out to Sen. Ted Cruz for comment.

A pair of Senate Republicans are demanding that Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem lose her job in the wake of a pair of fatal shootings in the midst of the agency’s immigration operations in Minnesota. 

Sens. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, and Thom Tillis, R-N.C., are no strangers to being critical of the Trump administration, and have again broken from their party in calling for Noem to either step aside or be fired by President Donald Trump. 

They join several Senate Democrats who have demanded accountability for the fatal shootings of Alex Pretti and Renee Nicole Good in the midst of DHS’ immigration operations in Minneapolis, Minn. It also comes as Senate Democrats are threatening to shut the government down in their bid to sideline the DHS funding bill. 

When pressed on whether Noem should resign, Murkowski noted that she voted for her confirmation last year.

‘I think the President needs to look at who he has in place as the Secretary of Homeland Security. I would not support her again, and I think it probably is time for her to step down,’ she said. 

Trump on Tuesday said that Noem was doing a ‘very good job.’ When asked if she would be stepping down, he said ‘no.’ 

Tillis, who has made a habit of going after Trump officials in the last several months and accusing them of giving the president bad policy advice, was more biting in his assessment of Noem’s performance, and extended that breakdown to White House Deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller, who similarly accused Pretti of being a domestic terrorist. 

He charged that ‘people like Noem are squandering’ Trump’s ability to codify policy and open the door to a discussion on immigration reform — something both sides of the aisle have desired for some time. 

‘I don’t know if it’s lost yet, but if it is an opportunity lost, I put it squarely on the shoulders of people like Noem and Stephen Miller,’ Tillis said. ‘Those two people told the president, before they even had any incident report whatsoever, that the person who died was a terrorist. I mean, that is amateur hour at its worst.’

When asked about Noem’s choice to label Pretti as a domestic terrorist, Murkowski said that the DHS head has an ‘obligation to control these situations that are under her jurisdiction, and she has not done so.’ 

Murkowski contended that accountability in the situation goes all the way to the top rung of leadership. 

‘I think you have a secretary right now who needs to be accountable to to the chaos and some of the tragedy that we have seen,’ Murkowski said. 

And Tillis, when asked if Noem should be removed from her position, said ‘100%,’ but stopped short of supporting impeachment. 

‘I’m not going to get into impeachment,’ Tillis said. ‘I think it should be a management decision. She needs to go.’

Fox News Digital reached out to DHS.

Senate Republicans are marching forward with a massive funding package to avert a partial government shutdown, despite Senate Democrats doubling down on their resistance to the Homeland Security funding bill.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., on Tuesday teed up a key test vote for the six-bill package for Thursday. The move allows Senate Republicans time to hash out a deal with Senate Democrats, who are demanding several restrictions on the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

Republicans are eager to find a middle ground that doesn’t involve modifying the current funding package, given that doing so would almost guarantee a government shutdown and jeopardize funding to several other federal agencies, including the Pentagon.

But Democrats aren’t willing to budge, for now, until the DHS bill is stripped and sidelined.

Senate Appropriations Chair Susan Collins, R-Maine, said she spoke with DHS Secretary Kristi Noem on Monday, but wouldn’t reveal details of the conversation.

Collins, whose home state is also a target of Noem’s and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), noted that there were already bipartisan restrictions and reforms baked into the current DHS funding bill, like $20 million for body cams and numerous reporting requirements that, if not met, would halt money flowing to immigration operations.

But more could be done if needed.

‘I think there might be a way to add some further reforms or procedural protections, but those discussions are ongoing and really involve [Thune],’ Collins said.

Senate Democrats’ rapid unity against the bill came on the heels of the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti by a Border Patrol agent in Minneapolis over the weekend. Roughly two weeks before that, Renee Nicole Good was fatally shot by an ICE agent in her vehicle.

‘I understand how this has changed the conversation, but I still think if there are things the Democrats want in the Homeland bill or addressed in the context of the situation, that they ought to make those clear and known and see to what degree the administration may be able to address them,’ Thune said. ‘So I would prefer that there be a way that we keep the package together.’

But Senate Democrats appear ready to reject any executive action taken by the administration or President Donald Trump on the matter. 

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., argued on the Senate floor that the five other funding bills were got go, but that the ‘Senate must not pass the DHS budget as currently written.’ 

‘And it must be reworked to rein in and overhaul ICE to ensure the public’s safety,’ Schumer said. ‘The fix should come from Congress. The public can’t trust the administration to do the right thing on its own.’

Even if Senate Democrats are successful in their gambit and halt the DHS funding bill, the agency is still flush with billions in taxpayer dollars following Republicans’ passage of President Donald Trump’s signature ‘big, beautiful bill’ last year.

Sen. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., said during a virtual press conference that given that reality, Democrats ‘have to try no matter what.’

‘Look, if [Noem] doesn’t need the money, then she doesn’t need the money, but we can still have some legitimate restrictions on how these people are conducting themselves,’ Gallego said.

The other reality is that lawmakers are fast running out of time to concoct a solution by the Jan. 30 deadline.

Thursday’s vote, if successful, would tee up several hours of debate on the funding package in the Senate, eating away at valuable time and pushing final passage of the spending bills right to the midnight deadline.

The pressure created by the deadline and Democrats’ sudden reversal from just days before has Republicans scrambling.

Sen. Katie Britt, R-Ala., who chairs the Senate Homeland Security Appropriations Committee, is set to be a key figure in any deal that emerges, given that she helped bring an end to the previous shutdown last year.

She told reporters that a ‘government shutdown does not help anyone,’ but noted that what the path forward will be ‘is yet to be determined.’

‘We’re really going to have to put our heads together and figure out how we can make meaningful adjustments that would allow us to move these bills,’ Britt said. ‘And so that’s what we are looking for.’

A Minnesota fraud scandal is a ‘canary in the coal mine’ for how easily swindles can seep into government systems — including election administration — Republican election attorney Justin Riemer told Fox News Digital. 

‘What you’ve seen happen in Minnesota and now similar fraudulent schemes in other states, this should be very much a canary in the coal mine for other governmental processes,’ Riemer told Fox News Digital in a Zoom interview in January. ‘Which would include our voter registration and election processes. And it’s not somehow immune to the type of corruption that we’ve seen in Minnesota and in other places.’

Riemer leads Restoring Integrity and Trust in Elections (RITE), a legal nonprofit that fights court efforts from a ‘well-funded network of activists’ working to ‘undermine elections and democracy.’ He previewed that RITE is readying an investigation into Minnesota’s election system to see if it has potentially faced fraud similar to the sweeping multiyear, COVID-19-era schemes currently under scrutiny. 

Riemer framed Minnesota as an early test case for broader concerns he believes are building ahead of the 2026 midterm elections, particularly around noncitizen registration and voting safeguards. 

‘They’ve definitely opened up opportunities for noncitizens to register. And honestly, there’s times where noncitizens are being unwittingly registered,’ Riemer said, before pointing to an instance that unfolded in 2025 in the Last Frontier State — Alaska. 

 ‘It’s happened in Alaska, actually, where you have two noncitizens who, by no fault of their own, were registered through some sloppy state automatic voter registration process, which essentially sucks in anyone that goes to the DMV into the registration system without any sort of voluntary registration on the part of the noncitizen,’ he said. 

The election attorney argued that the fastest-moving battles are increasingly being fought in court — including disputes over voter roll maintenance, documentary proof of citizenship requirements and ballot deadlines.

‘Look at what the Supreme Court is reviewing right now,’ Riemer said, pointing to litigation challenging whether states can accept ballots that arrive after Election Day. He also cited ongoing legal fights involving state efforts to remove noncitizens from voter rolls and require documentary proof of citizenship.

‘There are also various cases winding their way through the courts on state efforts to remove noncitizens and to require documentary proof of citizenship,’ he continued. ‘So I think a lot of the action you’re going to see is going to be in the courts.’

RITE says its mission is to defend state election laws in court and prevent what it calls efforts to dilute the votes of eligible citizens.

Riemer told Fox Digital that Democratic-aligned legal groups are a major force opposing stricter election rules, describing them as heavily funded and aggressive in litigation.

‘The boogeyman is the left-wing lawyers and interest groups that are funded by basically unlimited amounts of money that sue a state for doing anything that increases the integrity of their elections,’ he said. ‘They claim that some of these laws disenfranchise or suppress the vote. But they have a very hard time proving that in court. But I would point to the left-wing lawyers and to the donors who fund them with essentially unlimited amounts of money to file ridiculous and frivolous lawsuits.’

RITE points to recent court wins it says strengthened election safeguards, including a federal ruling in Maryland requiring public access to certain voter-roll maintenance records under the National Voter Registration Act. The group also assisted in cases in Colorado and Pennsylvania that preserved mail-ballot authentication requirements, including signature verification and envelope-signature and dating rules.

‘RITE is out there fighting to stop these things from happening,’ he said. ‘We’re out there fighting in the courts to try and make sure that states, especially those who are unwilling, are being forced to perform more checks at the front end, because the registration process is really where it all begins. And states need to be doing more than they are.’ 

On the national level, President Donald Trump’s administration has made it easier for states to verify voter eligibility, notching some wins in the Republicans’ election integrity battle ahead of the midterms. 

‘The Trump administration has really emphasized election integrity as a priority,’ he said. ‘And one of the big things I would point to is what they have done to allow states to verify the citizenship of those who are registering to vote. They’ve opened up databases at the Department of Homeland Security that state election officials can use to determine whether or not voters on their registration lists are actually citizens or otherwise eligible to vote. That’s been key.’ 

The Minnesota fraud case unfolding in the Twin Cities has continued since December 2025, when it hit the nation’s radar in earnest that officials were uncovering hundreds of millions of dollars in state-administered funds allegedly lost to fraud that could exceed $9 billion. 

The investigations have been underscored by federal immigration law enforcement presence in the Twin Cities, which has led to violent protests and two fatal shootings of Americans by federal police officials. 

President Donald Trump credits Secretary of State Marco Rubio as the one for training him to become a diplomat, comments that come as Rubio has increasingly secured more responsibility and influence over the president during the second Trump administration. 

Trump described Rubio’s guidance as he described his relationship with Chinese President Xi Jinping and shared an anecdote about how Xi requested that Trump stop referring to COVID-19 virus as the ‘China virus.’ According to Trump, Xi requested that the president use a different name – an ask that Trump said he chose to respect.

‘I decided to do that because why should we have a problem over that?’ Trump said at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Wednesday. 

‘You were a true diplomat, huh?’ said Børge Brende, the president and CEO of the World Economic Forum.

‘I became a diplomat for the first time. Well, you know, taught me that? Marco Rubio. He said, ‘Let me teach you about diplomacy,’’ Trump said. 

Trump has entrusted Rubio with a portfolio of responsibilities, and in addition to leading the State Department, Rubio also is serving as the national security advisor and head of the National Archives for the Trump administration. Rubio is the only person to oversee the White House’s National Security Council and lead the State Department since Henry Kissinger since the Nixon administration. 

‘He’s just really smart, really effective, and he’s succeeded at everything he’s done,’ Matthew Kroenig, a former Pentagon official and current vice president at the Atlantic Council think tank, told Fox News Digital. ‘He doesn’t see his job as containing Trump. He understands who the boss is and channels those instincts into constructive directions.’

Rubio, who is the son of Cuban immigrants and previously served as a U.S. Senator representing Florida, has emerged as a key architect steering the Trump administration’s foreign policy agenda – gaining even more visibility after the U.S. launched strikes in Venezuela and captured dictator Nicolás Maduro on Jan. 3. 

Rubio, who historically has espoused more hawkish foreign policy positions, had long supported overthrowing Maduro. The first Trump administration sought to oust the Venezuelan strongman by imposing sanctions on Venezuela and backing opposition leader Juan Guaidó. 

In 2019, Rubio predicted Maduro’s fall — even though he was uncertain about the timeline. 

‘He’s picked a battle he can’t win,’ Rubio said in an interview with The New York Times about Maduro. ‘It’s just a matter of time. The only thing we don’t know is how long it will take — and whether it will be peaceful or bloody.’

Following Maduro’s capture, Trump announced that the U.S. would ‘run’ Venezuela until a peaceful transition could occur. The move to ouster Maduro has attracted scrutiny, mostly from Democrats, who have called into question the legality of the operation in Venezuela, which was conducted without Congress’ approval. 

Even so, Rubio has said that Congressional approval was not required since the operation was not an ‘invasion.’ 

Trump speculated in Switzerland that Rubio would be remembered as ‘the best’ Secretary of State, and noted that every single member of the Senate voted to confirm Rubio for his post in January 2025.

 ‘Hey, any guy that gets approved by 100% of the votes – you think of it, he got liberal Democrats and radical right Republicans to approve him,’ Trump said Wednesday. ‘He’s the only one…At first I wasn’t happy about it. I said, ‘Wait a minute, I don’t like that.’ And now it turns out that the Democrats probably wish they didn’t do that. And Marco has been fantastic.’ 

Fox News Digital reached out to the White House and Rubio for comment. 

Fox News’ Morgan Phillips contributed to this report.

President Donald Trump’s administration marked International Holocaust Remembrance Day on Tuesday, reflecting on the genocide committed by Nazi Germany during World War II.

‘Today, we pay respect to the blessed memories of the millions of Jewish people, who were murdered at the hands of the Nazi Regime and its collaborators during the Holocaust— as well as the Slavs and the Roma, people with disabilities, religious leaders, persons targeted based on their sexual orientation, and political prisoners who were also targeted for systematic slaughter,’ Trump said in a statement.

‘On January 27, 1945, 81 years ago today, Allied forces liberated Auschwitz-Birkenau, the Nazi Regime’s largest concentration and death camp in World War II, where over one million people were marched to their senseless deaths,’ the presidential message  released by the White House noted.

Trump noted that since returning to the presidency last year he has sought to use the federal government to battle antisemitism.

‘After I took office as the 47th President of the United States, I proudly made it this administration’s priority directing the Federal Government to use all appropriate legal tools to combat the scourge of antisemitism. My Administration will remain a steadfast and unequivocal champion for Jewish Americans and the God-given right of every American to practice their faith freely, openly, and without fear,’ he asserted.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio also addressed the grim historical record in a statement on Tuesday. 

‘Today, the United States joins countries around the world in remembering the six million Jews who were systematically murdered in the Holocaust, as well as the millions of others the Nazis marked for persecution and mass murder. As we commemorate the liberation of the Nazi death camp Auschwitz-Birkenau, we reaffirm a solemn and moral truth: all human beings are valuable and endowed by their Creator with inherent dignity and certain unalienable rights,’ he said in the statement.

‘This enduring commitment, expressed in our annual commemoration of International Holocaust Remembrance Day, reflects our resolve, in the words of President Trump, to ‘build a society that always values the sanctity of every human life and the dignity of every faith.’ The United States will always counter antisemitism worldwide, champion justice for Holocaust survivors and heirs, and defend the integrity of Holocaust memory,’ he noted.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz earned backlash for remarks he made on Sunday likening the Trump administration’s crackdown on illegal immigration to the tragic life of Anne Frank, a Jewish teenager who authored a diary detailing her experience in hiding during World War II. 

‘We have got children in Minnesota hiding in their houses, afraid to go outside. Many of us grew up reading that story of Anne Frank. Somebody’s gonna write that children’s story about Minnesota,’ Walz said.

He made the comments on Sunday after an adult U.S. citizen, Alex Pretti, was fatally shot by a federal agent in the state on Saturday.

Rabbi Yehuda Kaploun, the State Department special envoy to monitor and combat antisemitism, staunchly objected to the Anne Frank comparison.

‘Ignorance like this cheapens the horror of the Holocaust. Anne Frank was in Amsterdam legally and abided by Dutch law. She was hauled off to a death camp because of her race and religion. Her story has nothing to do with the illegal immigration, fraud, and lawlessness plaguing Minnesota today,’ Kaploun wrote in a Monday post on X. ‘Our brave law enforcement should be commended, not tarred with this historically illiterate and antisemitic comparison.’

The U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum declared in a post on Monday, ‘Anne Frank was targeted and murdered solely because she was Jewish. Leaders making false equivalencies to her experience for political purposes is never acceptable. Despite tensions in Minneapolis, exploiting the Holocaust is deeply offensive, especially as antisemitism surges.’

China has publicly condemned U.S. pressure on Cuba, accusing Washington of violating international law and calling for an end to sanctions and the decades-long embargo. 

The comments echo Beijing’s long-standing pattern of backing smaller communist governments it says face foreign threats, including Cuba and Venezuela.

‘China is deeply concerned about and strongly condemns the U.S. moves, and urges the U.S. to stop depriving the Cuban people of their rights to subsistence and development, stop disrupting regional peace and stability, stop its violations of international law, and immediately lift its blockade and sanctions against Cuba,’ the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement on X on Tuesday morning.

The post was shared by China’s embassy in the U.S.

Beijing has routinely criticized U.S. sanctions policy, framing economic pressure on communist governments as a threat to regional stability.

There is no naval blockade currently in place, though U.S. officials have said it remains an option.

The escalation follows the U.S. capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro earlier this month, a move that significantly disrupted Cuba’s access to Venezuelan oil and triggered outrage from Havana.

The operation and its fallout marked a dramatic escalation in U.S.–Cuba tensions, with President Donald Trump declaring that Cuba would no longer receive oil or money from Venezuela — a move that severed Havana’s longtime energy and financial lifeline.

Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel said his administration was not negotiating with Washington, despite Trump’s threats to push Cuba into a deal now that Venezuelan oil will no longer be supplied.

The Wall Street Journal reported that the Trump administration is actively seeking Cuban officials willing to strike a deal that could facilitate regime change by the end of 2026.

In June, Trump signed a National Security Presidential Memorandum tightening U.S. policy toward Cuba, reinforcing sanctions and travel bans, restricting financial dealings with Cuban military-linked entities, and enforcing the economic embargo.

Fox News’ Nicole McManus contributed to this report.