Three of New York’s top elected officials appeared surprised Thursday when pressed about a House Judiciary Committee report alleging local prosecutors intentionally downgraded charges against noncitizens to protect them from deportation.
During a Manhattan press conference, New York Attorney General Letitia James, Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz and Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez faced questions regarding claims that city prosecutors altered or reduced charges to help noncitizens avoid convictions that would trigger removal.
"Did any of you order prosecutors to downgrade gun charges to keep illegal immigrants in the U. S., per the Judiciary Committee report?" a reporter asked.
Katz threw her hands up and shrugged in response, the New York Post reported.
"Our answer couldn’t help it," Katz said, before a speaker redirected the room, asking for "any other on-topic questions" and moving the news conference along.
"We charge any defendant with an illegal firearm with the highest possible charge under the law," a spokesperson for Katz's office told Fox News Digital.
The news conference exchange followed the release of a 22-page congressional report detailing widespread practices across New York City prosecutors' offices.
According to the document, Katz's office employs an "Immigration Specialist" to help negotiate "immigration-safe" plea deals and reduce past convictions.
The report also cited a 2022 memorandum from Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg allegedly instructing prosecutors to seek dispositions that avoid deportation consequences for all misdemeanors and non-carceral felonies.
In addition, the report states that the office of Bronx DA Darcel Clark trains prosecutors in "Immigration-Conscious Plea Bargaining." That includes offering non-deportable offenses, avoiding aggravated felony charges and using hypothetical or "legally impossible" charges, such as "attempted reckless assault," which lack legal intent requirements.
Prosecutors were also allegedly instructed to omit critical details from official conviction records, such as gun involvement, domestic relationships or the age of minor victims, to prevent federal immigration authorities from using them as grounds for removal.
After the news conference, a spokesperson for Katz reached out to the Post to deny that leniency is ever shown in weapons cases.
"We charge any defendant with an illegal firearm with the highest possible charge under the law," the spokesperson said.
We have come to expect sanctimony mixed with hypocrisy from Barack Obama. But his latest endeavor turns out to be a doozy.
Preaching his usual moral superiority, the former president recently took to social media to inveigh against the current president for targeting Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota with a criminal investigation. He called it "appalling."
Obama should have sat this one out at his luxurious spread on Martha’s Vineyard.
Lo and behold, he did the same thing when he was president. And Omar was the target. But, of course, the probe was kept under wraps. Until now.
Reporting by The New York Times reveals that Obama’s Department of Homeland Security and the FBI did a deep dive in the summer of 2016 into whether Omar entered into a sham marriage with her alleged brother, Ahmed Nur Said Elmi, to enable him to secure a green card.
Brace yourself for the result. That investigation "found some evidence that it was fraudulent," according to the Times.
Accusations of marriage fraud have long dogged Omar, who has consistently dismissed them as politically driven and a right-wing conspiracy. So much for that argument.
The latest investigation that culminated in a judicially ordered search of Omar’s home on October 12, 2026, reportedly encompasses not only the suspect marriage but troubling questions over whether she ran afoul of the law by using a fake name and false birth date to obtain citizenship. A separate investigation is examining her financial transactions.
The Obama-era inquiry did not end because of insufficient evidence. Instead, the Times divulges that it was shelved "because prosecutors concluded that the potential crime, a felony, fell outside a five-year statute of limitations." The newspaper’s story relied on statements by current and former officials with knowledge of the first case.
That decision to mothball any legal action against Omar makes little sense, unless one factors in political favoritism by Obama and his prosecutorial cohorts.
It is true that marriage fraud is a federal felony governed by a five-year statute of limitations under 8 U.S.C. § 1325(c). However, the clock runs from the last overt act of fraud or submission of false documents, not the date of the wedding ceremony itself in 2009.
Taking steps to later obtain a green card would qualify as an overt act, as would document fraud (18 U.S.C. § 1546). So, too, would any act to cover up a sham marriage or efforts to conceal it. Indeed, it would constitute additional crimes such as conspiracy (18 U.S.C. § 371) and obstruction of justice or obstruction of proceedings (18 U.S.C. §§ 1505 and 1512).
Elmi abandoned his quest for a green card and left the U.S. for London sometime in 2011 when disturbing questions reportedly arose over his application. His actions and any misrepresentations associated with Omar might have brought the case within the permissible statute of limitations.
Obama’s DHS and DOJ could have pursued a simpler approach under civil (not criminal) immigration fraud. Orchestrating a scheme to illegally obtain U.S. immigration status or benefits carries severe legal consequences. There is no statute of limitations.
If the Obama administration had chosen this logical course, it could have led to Omar’s denaturalization and subsequent deportation. The standard of proof is "clear and convincing evidence," much lower than in criminal prosecutions.
It is unclear, but curious, why this legal road was never taken. We only know that authorities under Obama shuttered the case and buried the investigation. Preferential treatment? Political cronyism? It has the unmistakable stench.
This makes Obama’s social media screed against President Trump even more outlandish. Trump is doing what Obama did, except that Trump’s administration has expanded the Omar inquiry into areas where the former president’s prosecutors refused to go.
They should have gone there.
Obama’s harangue on X accused Trump of selectively targeting Omar without ever disclosing that his own administration investigated her first. That was dishonesty by omission. A mere oversight? Doubtful.
Obama also pronounced as true certain facts about Omar’s age that may not be true at all. He declared with absolute confidence that she was 17 years old when she applied as a minor for derivative citizenship based on her father’s citizenship.
But her age and birth date are still very much in dispute. Her autobiography and other documents undermine Obama’s claim, indicating that Omar may have been an adult of 18 years and legally ineligible for the type of citizenship that she procured. If she or her father made false statements or committed fraud, it would nullify her citizenship and could lead to removal from the U.S.
This is not an "unsubstantiated theory," as Obama asserts in his social media post.
The former president accuses Trump of "intimidation" and laments that he is deploying "the full weight of the federal government" to bring down "a law-abiding elected official because she has dared to criticize the president." Spare us the duplicitous pearl-clutching.
Obama expressed no moral outrage when his successor, Joe Biden, targeted his political opponent with criminal indictments. Going back further to his own presidency, Obama’s dirty fingerprints were all over the initial stages of the government’s damaging investigation of Trump in the phony collusion scandal.
Obama seems to think that Americans are simpletons with anterograde amnesia. It resembles contempt.
The New York Times report exposes Obama’s glaring double standard for what it is — a transparently insincere attack based on shallow evidence. This comes as no surprise.
Obama always seems confident in his righteousness in an irritatingly pious way. Ever the charlatan, he pretends to be holier-than-thou. Sometimes the truth catches up with him.
But don’t expect Obama to change now that his hypocrisy has been revealed. That would require earnest introspection.
In the American political scene dominated by the GOP-Democrat duopoly, Libertarians like Kentucky congressional candidate Jeremy Todd are looking to offer voters an alternative as they head to the polls during the midterm elections.
"I think ultimately the Republican Party has abandoned… true conservatism, small government principles," Todd told Fox News Digital this week, asserting that "they may be more conservative than Democrats, but, to us true conservatives, that's not good enough."
Todd, who views himself as "right of MAGA," mounted his long-shot U.S. House bid after Rep. Thomas Massie lost the Republican primary in Kentucky's 4th Congressional District to Trump-backed former Navy SEAL Ed Gallrein. Democratic congressional candidate Melissa Strange is also running in the contest.
"We are welcoming people who are conservative, who believe in small, limited government, to my campaign and then to a larger movement that is probably gonna need to exist post the downfall of the Republican Party," Todd said.
Former National Counterterrorism Center Director Joe Kent, who quit his post earlier this year due to his opposition to the Iran war, and former Rep. Ron Paul, have both backed Todd.
In a Pew Research survey of U.S. adults released earlier this month, 5% of registered voters indicated that they would vote for another candidate other than the GOP and Democratic candidates in the U.S. House race in their district, while 15% were not sure about how they would vote. The poll, carried out Sept. 28-Oct. 4, had a margin of error among registered voters of plus or minus 1.8 percentage points.
Todd is not the only Libertarian running this election cycle looking to make an impact — but no candidate running under the Libertarian Party has ever been elected to the U.S. Congress.
Former Rep. Justin Amash of Michigan, who switched from Republican to Independent and then to Libertarian during his final term, became "the first LP member to serve in Congress," according to the Libertarian National Committee — but Amash, who served in the House for a decade, won all of his elections as a Republican.
Libertarian candidate Ted Brown is on the ballot for the 2026 Texas U.S. Senate race that features Trump-backed state Attorney General Ken Paxton and Democratic state Rep. James Talarico.
Brown earned only about 2.36% of the vote in the 2024 Texas U.S. Senate contest won by incumbent GOP Sen. Ted Cruz. He dismissed the criticism he says he gets regularly from Republicans that he is merely spoiling Paxton’s chances.
"They could avoid that problem by nominating a better candidate," Brown said, noting that he delivers the same message to Democrats.
"You can’t spoil a system that’s already rotten," Brown stated. "There are a lot of people making a protest vote, and there’s good reason to."
Bill Redpath, a former Libertarian National Committee (LNC) chair who is currently listed as an at-large LNC representative, is running in the special Ohio U.S. Senate race where Trump-backed Republican Sen. Jon Husted faces former Sen. Sherrod Brown, a Democrat.
Todd, while speaking to Fox News Digital, urged voters not to "buy into the lesser of two evils talk. Make sure you get out there and vote and give us a real shot because we can win this."
Todd, who supports Massie's bid to impeach War Secretary Pete Hegseth and the congressman's push to pass the Epstein Files Transparency Act II, is a fiscal hawk who advocates slashing government spending to address the much-discussed "affordability" issue.
"The affordability crisis is not a hoax," he said, suggesting that younger individuals particularly face this "stark reality."
"The only answer is we've got to cut government spending so that we stop money printing, so that we stop debasing and devaluing the currency and their wages have an opportunity to catch up. That's ultimately what's happening is we're printing money faster than wages can keep up with and it's kind of left an entire generation behind to the benefit of asset holders," Todd said.
"The easiest way you can cut government spending is get out of these stupid conflicts. We should not be paying billions of dollars to Ukraine to fight Russia. We should not be paying billions of dollars to come to Israel's defense," Todd asserted. "And last but not least, we should get out of this conflict in Iran. Just leave."
In a Sunday post on X, Todd called President Donald Trump "a warmonger."
During the Fox News Digital interview, Todd credited Trump with forging "the greatest coalition we've maybe ever seen in politics," noting that Trump delivered a speech at the Libertarian National Convention in 2024 to appeal to the voting bloc.
"We believe that the job of the United States military is not to wage endless regime-change wars around the globe," Trump told that Libertarian gathering in 2024, but "to defend America from attack and invasion here at home."
Todd said since delivering that speech, Trump has gone "back on all but essentially one of the promises, which is border security."
"We've not gotten deportations to the level that we wanted. We've gotten into another stupid and maybe the biggest and most ridiculous Middle Eastern conflict," Todd said.
The White House did not respond to Fox News Digital's requests for comment.
In a statement provided to Fox News Digital, Republican National Committee national press secretary Natalie Baldassarre declared, "President Trump has endorsed Ed Gallrein, a Navy SEAL and fifth-generation farmer who will represent the needs of working families in Congress. Republicans are focused on electing America First Republicans in Kentucky and around the country."
Trump, who has been traveling to various states to campaign for Republican candidates amid midterm election season, rallied in Kentucky's 4th Congressional District earlier this month, blasting Massie as "the worst."
Fox News Digital reached out to Massie to find out whether he'll vote in the congressional race, and, if so, how he will cast his ballot.
"I won't be voting for the AIPAC candidate," Massie tersely texted Fox News Digital, referring to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee.
Reports indicate that millions in AIPAC-linked funds were poured into the primary, with The New York Times saying, "This year, one of the group’s most high-profile wins was the ouster of Mr. Massie, a seven-term congressman who has called for ending military aid to Israel."
AIPAC did not provide comment to Fox News Digital for this report.
The Gallrein campaign responded to Fox News Digital’s request for comment on Massie with the following statement: "It is tragically fitting that his last act as congressman would be to once again, turn his back on his district and his party by siding with radical Democrats. This is exactly why voters fired him in May."
In an interview with a local news station, Todd said he would never run against Massie, but now, he’s "running for him."
A little-known congressional maneuver could block members of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) from being sworn in as members of the House of Representatives next year, even if they win their elections on Tuesday.
Members-elect must swear an oath to uphold the Constitution before they can become full members of the House. At the beginning of a new Congress, that oath is typically taken en masse by all 435 members, led by the House speaker.
But an argument circulating in conservative circles posits that any member-elect can challenge another member-elect's right to be sworn in, provided they have compiled evidence that that person would not uphold their oath. That would then lead to House-wide deliberations followed by a vote on whether that member-elect has a right to be sworn in.
In the case of DSA members, one potential argument could be the group's platform calling to scrap the current U.S. Constitution and draft a new one. Several DSA members and self-proclaimed democratic socialists have already won primaries across the country.
Rep. Keith Self, R-Texas, suggested to Fox News Digital that he could invoke the maneuver.
"You cannot swear an oath to support and defend the Constitution while actively working to destroy it. The oath of office is not just words you say at a ceremony. It is a belief. It is an oath to our country and our fellow countrymen," Self told Fox News Digital.
"The House has both the authority and the duty to ensure that anyone who takes that oath does so in good faith, without mental reservation or purpose of evasion. As DSA candidates and the Red-Green Alliance gain ground, we must enforce the Constitution as written or risk allowing people committed to replacing it to take seats of power under false pretenses."
The "Red-Green Alliance" is a term used on the right to describe cooperation between far-left groups and radical Islamic organizations or operators.
"Anyone who has personally embraced the destruction of the Constitution has no business being sworn in to uphold it," Self said.
According to an analysis by the Center for Renewing America, a challenge to a member-elect's fitness to take the oath of office can be followed by the House speaker asking them to step aside while the debate begins.
"The objecting member should place the documentary record before the House, and the House should debate whether that evidence establishes that the member-elect remains committed to destroying the constitutional order," the group's analysis said.
The House would then vote on a resolution that "establishes the member-elect’s commitment to destroying the constitutional order," which, if passed, could stop them from being sworn in.
The theory relies on a number of variables. For example, if House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., is elected speaker, he could decide to dismiss the challenge altogether. Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., could do the same if he so chooses if Republicans keep their majority.
Johnson told reporters as much during an event this month in Iowa, calling the idea of him refusing to seat elected Democrats a "nonsense narrative" and vowing, "We are going to follow the law."
It would also raise questions about challenging the will of the people who elected that person to represent them.
Such a move would also be in direct conflict with Supreme Court precedent, meaning it is virtually guaranteed to be relitigated.
The 1969 case of Powell v. McCormack ruled that the House cannot exclude an elected candidate from being sworn in if they otherwise meet the constitutional requirements of age, residency, and U.S. citizenship.
It comes after Adam Clayton Powell Jr., then a senior lawmaker representing New York as a Democrat, was refused his oath of office by the House speaker after winning again in 1966. Powell Jr. had been embroiled in multiple financial scandals at the time.
The House then adopted a resolution barring him from taking his seat, a decision that was ultimately overturned by the Supreme Court.
But that has not stopped Republicans from considering the idea of revisiting the move.
Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., told the New York Post earlier this month that he would use the maneuver to try to block Darializa Avila Chevalier from joining Congress next year.
Chevalier, whose upset victory unseated a senior House Democrat, is from a deep-blue district and is almost certainly going to win her general election next week.
Burchett told the Post that he intended to declare her ineligible to take the oath over a now-deleted X post from 2019 in which she boasted about wiping her hands on the American flag because she did not have a napkin.
Whether the efforts succeed, the threats underscore the partisan rancor that's taking shape even before the new Congress is formally selected in next week's midterms.
Nearly 40 House Democrats appear to have shunned an effort by their colleagues to end the federal probe into Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn.
House Democrats led by Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., sent a letter to the Trump administration earlier this week demanding a stop to the investigation into Omar's immigration paperwork, arguing it was a bid to sway her re-election campaign ahead of Tuesday's midterm Election Day.
The letter was backed by some 175 House Democrats, more than two-thirds of the caucus — though some notable names were left off.
Two of three of House Democrats' previous senior leadership did not sign the letter. Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and former House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., did not sign on. Rep. Jim Clyburn, D-S.C., who previously served as House majority whip, was among the signatories, along with all three current members of House Democratic leadership.
Both Pelosi and Hoyer are retiring, but it's worth noting that nearing the exit did not stop other outgoing members like Rep. Nydia Velazquez, D-N.Y., from signing the letter.
Democrats running in tight races also kept their distance from the public condemnation of the probe. Reps. Henry Cuellar, D-Texas, Tom Suozzi, D-N.Y., Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, D-Wash., and Don Davis, D-N.C., are among the names left off the letter as well.
Fox News Digital reached out to each of them for comment but did not immediately hear back.
"Congresswoman Omar is seeking reelection in Minnesota’s 5th congressional district in just one week. News of the search warrant, whether properly predicated or not, could affect voters’ decisions, which is exactly why federal law enforcement should not engage in such conduct when voters are casting their ballots. This type of interference strips Minnesotans of their right to a free and fair election guaranteed to them under the Constitution," the letter said.
"We stand with Congresswoman Omar and condemn the weaponization of law enforcement against her. You have already disgraced the offices you hold, and we demand you refrain from taking any further actions that could affect the outcome of the upcoming election."
Omar is under federal investigation over allegations she or her father lied about her birth year on immigration paperwork to obtain her citizenship when her family fled Somalia in the late 1990s. If she was 17 when her father obtained citizenship, as previously thought, she would have automatically qualified along with him. If she was 18 or older, which federal officials now suspect, she would have had to make her own application.
Her fellow House Democrats recounted the allegations in their letter, saying, "Your probe into the congresswoman reportedly concerns her late father’s filing of immigration paperwork after she fled Somalia’s civil war at age eight, making her a U.S. citizen at age seventeen."
But they argued it does not justify "a pre-dawn raid on her home for paperwork her father filed when she was a minor."
Federal agents executed a judicially authorized search warrant on Omar's home on Oct. 12, seizing multiple phones and notebooks, among other items.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., rejected a question from CNN chief congressional correspondent Manu Raju about seating newly elected Democrats as a "nonsense narrative."
While campaigning in Iowa for Republican Rep. Zach Nunn, whose seat is among those that Democrats are targeting ahead of next week's midterm elections, Johnson fielded questions from Raju about President Donald Trump and the GOP's political strategy during the elections and beyond.
"Will you vow to seat every Democrat who wins on Jan. 3?" Raju asked, referring to the day elected members will be sworn in.
"Of course, this is a nonsense narrative," Johnson replied. "We are going to follow the law."
"What if Trump says ‘it's a rigged election’?" Raju asked.
"Look, I'm a constitutional attorney. I've always been steady and consistent about this. This is going to be a no-drama swearing-in ceremony, but we're going to hold the majority, and I'm going to be the speaker of the House," Johnson said. "And when I administer the oath, there will be one on Jan. 3. We'll administer the oath to everybody."
"I'll do my job as the speaker of the House," Johnson replied. "The president has vowed, of course, he wants to follow the law as well. That's what's going to happen."
Johnson also defended Trump’s involvement in midterm races, saying he is having "no drag at all" on Republicans’ chances.
"I’ve seen the voters on the ground, and I’m telling you the polls are wrong, they are inaccurate, they’re underrepresenting Republicans and many of the pollsters have admitted that," he said. "The polling isn’t accurate, the Republicans aren’t responding anymore."
Raju challenged that assessment, questioning why Republicans were spending heavily in traditionally Republican districts.
"You're spending millions in deep Republican districts," Raju said.
Johnson responded that Iowa is a state where Republicans "always win, but it's close" and said battleground districts exist across the country, particularly following recent redistricting efforts.
"We have to win in the districts that are presented, and we’re leaving everything on the field to get it done," he said.
Mary Marslender, a GOP consultant and former senior advisor to the U.S. Senate, criticized Raju's questioning in comments to Fox News Digital.
"CNN is once again pushing a fake narrative — color me shocked. Instead of chasing a nonexistent 'Trump won’t seat Democrats' story, Manu Raju should focus on reporting the news that matters," Marslender said. "Americans are concerned about costs, wages, the border, and crime. If reporters covered those real issues, perhaps their audiences wouldn’t keep shrinking. Speaker Johnson’s answers were consistent with both the law and standard House procedure. Raju’s repeated hypotheticals reveal more about the story CNN wants to tell than any actual plan to block lawmakers."
Fox News Digital reached out to Johnson's office and CNN for additional comment but did not immediately receive responses.
A top House Republican leading the investigation into ActBlue is warning that Democrats' main fundraising platform could potentially face criminal charges.
Committee on House Administration Chairman Bryan Steil, R-Wis., told Fox News Digital that the congressional investigation into ActBlue would continue and that he suspected the Department of Justice (DOJ) would act as well if federal prosecutors believed a crime could be proven in court.
"We know that ActBlue did not have the fraud prevention standards in place that were necessary to prevent foreign funds from finding their way, through the ActBlue platform, into Democratic campaigns and Democratic causes. I'm of the belief that we ultimately need to continue this investigation," Steil told Fox News Digital.
"And then, separate of that, the United States Department of Justice will make a decision as to whether or not they believe that there was a crime committed. And if they can prove that in court, my belief would be that the Department of Justice would move forward."
Steil's committee, along with the House committees on oversight and the judiciary, have for years probed allegations that ActBlue's lax verification standards have allowed foreign cash to seep into American elections. ActBlue has denied any wrongdoing and dismissed the probe as a partisan attack.
ActBlue has, however, sought to shore up its donor verification standards as the probe has gone on, including most recently rolling out a new passport verification system.
"Our investigation is about getting the facts to the American people, and, in large part, putting ourselves in a position to update our campaign finance laws for the digital era," Steil said. "So many of our campaign finance laws were written for a previous time. It is absolutely essential that we're updating our laws to actually address the fact that we are in a campaign finance digital era."
President Donald Trump directed now-former Attorney General Pam Bondi to open an investigation into ActBlue in April 2025, but the current status of that probe is unknown. Fox News Digital reached out to the DOJ with Steil's comments, asking for an update on the investigation.
The platform has long been used by many Democrats to raise money for their political campaigns, including Democratic leaders in the House and Senate, though it said it paused donations from Americans abroad in 2025.
ActBlue has consistently denied wrongdoing in responses to Fox News Digital and communications to House investigators. Ten top figures within the company, including executives and founders, have pleaded the Fifth Amendment to avoid answering questions in both public and private sit-downs with GOP-led committees.
But a new report released earlier this month, first reported by Fox News Digital, appeared to show employees green-lighting donations despite some questions about where they came from.
Chief among the GOP's concerns was ActBlue's passport number verification. According to the report, the field only required the correct number of characters for a U.S. passport number rather than a valid code for a donation to be accepted.
A letter sent to House investigators by ActBlue's lawyers earlier this month said its new program "adds passport-based identity verification as a further enhancement to ActBlue’s multi-layered approach to fraud and foreign-contribution prevention."
"The new program uses the best available technology to allow eligible donors located abroad to verify their identity using a valid U.S. passport. It reflects substantial engineering investments by ActBlue to ensure that, as it resumes processing contributions from foreign addresses, its compliance systems can withstand scrutiny," the letter said.
Steil said at the time that the update "only confirms what we've been saying: ActBlue failed to verify the citizenship of individuals who made donations from abroad."
Fox News’ recent report on how a Democratic majority could expose the limits of the progressive agenda identifies the tension at the center of the next Congress: Democrats could win the House with a coalition of progressive members and moderates elected in competitive districts, then struggle to agree on what their majority should do. Fox’s House rankings also show how narrow that majority could be, while its Senate analysis describes a chamber where a 50-50 split would leave Republicans with the vice president’s tiebreaking vote.
For Republicans, the strategic task is clear: hold the Senate, keep House losses as small as possible and make the case for governing around voters’ priorities.
A Democratic House would have the authority to investigate the administration. Oversight is a legitimate responsibility, but if Democratic leaders make investigations the organizing principle of their majority, hearings, subpoenas and document disputes could consume the calendar and political attention that Congress needs to address the cost of living, energy prices, border security and national defense.
That choice could also deepen divisions inside the Democratic caucus. In a House majority measured by only a few seats, a small group of members can gain leverage over leadership votes, procedural decisions and the price of passing legislation. Fox's reporting describes how Democratic leaders are already navigating progressive demands alongside the concerns of members from more competitive districts.
That is where members of the Democratic Socialists of America, along with other lawmakers aligned with its priorities, could become the party’s outliers. They would not control the entire caucus, but could have an outsized role in deciding the legislative schedule. When the margin is razor-thin, even a handful of members can press leadership for commitments on policy or use a close vote to extract concessions. If Democrats do not go far enough for them, they could slow or block their own party’s agenda.
Republicans should understand the opportunity. The DSA could dictate key decisions in a Democratic House. The risk for Democratic leaders is a recurring internal negotiation that makes compromise harder and gives moderates another reason to hesitate. If progressives demand more than swing-district members can defend, Republicans can argue that Democratic leaders are spending their majority on intraparty disputes instead of practical results. How the tables would have turned.
Keeping the Senate matters for the same reason. A Republican Senate would preserve a check on the House majority, shape judicial and executive confirmations and give bipartisan proposals a place to move if members in both parties are willing to negotiate. A tie would still leave Republicans with effective control through the vice president’s tie-breaking vote. That would not let Republicans pass major legislation on their own. Most bills would still require cooperation across chambers, and many would need broad support in the Senate. But it would keep the chamber from becoming an extension of the House Democratic agenda.
In the campaign’s final days, Republicans should make the case that pocketbook issues require a Congress focused on governing, not one consumed by investigations or pulled toward the loudest voices in either party. The objective is to keep the House margin close enough that Democrats must answer to their moderates, while retaining a Republican Senate as a check and a forum for bipartisan dealmaking.
Voters should see the stakes clearly: a narrowly divided House, a Senate no faction can dominate, and a Democratic caucus pulled between progressives and members elected in competitive districts. Republicans can close by promising what voters want from Congress: serious debate and workable solutions. If we hold the Senate and limit our House losses, divided government does not have to mean gridlock.
Reps. Dan Crenshaw (R-Texas) and Ilhan Omar (D-Minnesota) were born outside the US.
Getty Images
The US House of Representatives has 435 members, each representing a state congressional district.
US representatives do not need to be natural-born citizens in order to take office.
See the 26 current representatives born outside the US.
Similar to the US Senate, members of the House of Representatives do not need to be natural-born citizens in order to take office.
In fact, the only members of government who do are the president and vice president.
The House of Representatives, one of the two chambers of Congress alongside the Senate, has 435 voting members. They represent congressional districts allocated among the states based on population and serve two-year terms with no term limits.
To qualify as a US House representative, a person must be:
At least 25 years old
A US citizen for at least seven years.
Live in the state they want to represent at the time of the election.
Many current House members were US citizens at birth despite being born in another country — for instance, because they were born to American parents working in government positions abroad.
Here are the 26 active House representatives born outside the US.
Becca Balint (D)
WASHINGTON, DC - FEBRUARY 11: U.S. Rep. Becca Balint (D-VT) listens as U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi testifies before the House Judiciary Committee in the Rayburn House Office Building on February 11, 2026 in Washington, DC. Bondi is expected to face questions on her department’s handling of the files related to the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, President Trump’s investigations into political foes and the handing of the two fatal ICE shootings of U.S. citizens. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)
Alex Wong/Getty Images
State: Vermont
District: At Large
Place of birth: Germany
Balint has served in Congress since 2023. She was born in Germany while her father was serving in the US armed forces, making her a US citizen at birth.
Donald S. Beyer Jr. (D)
UNITED STATES - MARCH 1: Former Virginia Lieutenant Gov. Donald S. Beyer Jr., speaks during the Mount Vernon District Democratic Committee's annual Mardi Gras fundraiser at Don Beyer's Volvo car dealership in Alexandria, Va., on Saturday, March 1, 2014. Beyer won a straw poll over 10 other candidates vying to replace the retiring Rep. Jim Moran, D-Va. (Photo By Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call)
Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call
State: Virginia
District: 08
Place of birth: Free Territory of Trieste (now Italy)
WASHINGTON, DC - SEPTEMBER 1: Rep. Salud Carbajal (D-CA) arrives for a Democratic caucus meeting on Capitol Hill on September 1, 2026 in Washington, DC. House Republicans and Democrats are gathering for their first conference meetings after the August recess. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
Representative Sean Casten, a Democrat from Illinois, during a House Financial Services Committee hearing in Washington, DC, US, on Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2026. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said he's supportive of a plan floated by President Donald Trump to send $5,000 checks to American adults if Republicans retain their majorities in Congress, downplaying concerns about the potential cost. Photographer: Graeme Sloan/Bloomberg via Getty Images
WASHINGTON, DC - JULY 21: U.S. Rep. Juan Ciscomani (R-AZ) arrives to a House Republican Conference meeting in the U.S. Capitol Building on July 21, 2026 in Washington, DC. The U.S. House of Representatives is expected to start a long recess through August after completing legislative business this week. (Photo by Finn Gomez/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 13: Rep. Andrew Clyde (R-GA) speaks to the press during a press conference on Capitol Hill on June 13, 2023 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Michael A. McCoy/Getty Images)
Michael A. McCoy/Getty Images
State: Georgia
District: 09
Place of birth: Canada
Clyde has served in Congress since 2021. He was born to American parents, making him a US citizen at birth.
Dan Crenshaw (R)
WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 26: Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-TX) speaks during a press conference on Capitol Hill on June 26, 2024 in Washington, DC. Republicans in the House are attempting to hold Attorney General Derrick Garland in contempt of Congress after he advised that President Biden assert Executive Privilege over the audio and video records of his interview with Special Counsel Robert Hur. (Photo by Samuel Corum/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 30: Rep. Sharice Davids (D-KS) listens as Rep. Suzan DelBene (D-WA), the chairwoman of the New Democrat Coalition, speaks to reporters outside of the West Wing of the White House on March 30, 2022 in Washington, DC. The coalition met with U.S. President Joe Biden to discuss Biden’s domestic agenda and how to move forward with new legislation since the failure to pass Build Back Better in the U.S. Senate. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
State: Kansas
District: 03
Place of birth: Germany
Davids has served in Congress since 2019. She was born in Germany to a mother who served 20 years in the US Army, making her a US citizen at birth.
Diana DeGette (D)
DENVER, COLORADO - MAY 28: Diana DeGette participated in a League of Women Voters Congressional District 1 candidate forum at Montview Presbyterian Church on May 28, 2026, in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by RJ Sangosti/MediaNews Group/The Denver Post via Getty Images)
RJ Sangosti/MediaNews Group/The Denver Post via Getty Images
State: Colorado
District: 01
Place of birth: Japan
DeGette has served in Congress since 1997. She was born in Japan while her father served in the US armed forces, making her a US citizen at birth.
Adriano Espaillat (D)
Representative Adriano Espaillat, a Democrat from New York, joined by House Democratic Party caucus chairs, speaks during a news conference on the US Supreme Court birthright citizenship decision outside the US Capitol in Washington, DC, US, on Tuesday, June 30, 2026. The US Supreme Court rejected a central plank of President Donald Trump's immigration agenda on Tuesday, deeming his plan to restrict birthright citizenship to be unconstitutional. Photographer: Graeme Sloan/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Bloomberg/Getty Images
State: New York
District: 13
Place of birth: Dominican Republic
Espaillat has served in Congress since 2017. He came to the US as a child and became a naturalized US citizen in the early 1980s. Espaillat is the first formerly undocumented member of Congress.
Jesús G. "Chuy" García (D)
WASHINGTON, D C , UNITED STATES - 2019/06/25: U.S. Representative Jesús García (D-IL, aka Jesús G. "Chuy" García) speaking at a rally against the proposed United StatesMexicoCanada Agreement (USMCA), the proposed successor to NAFTA, at the Capitol. (Photo by Michael Brochstein/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
Michael Brochstein/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images
State: Illinois
District: 04
Place of birth: Mexico
García has served in Congress since 2019. He emigrated to Illinois in 1965 and became a US citizen in 1977.
Robert Garcia (D)
Representative Robert Garcia, a Democrat from California and ranking member of the House Oversight and Accountability Committee, speaks to members of the media during a break in a closed-door interview with Kathryn Ruemmler, former lawyer at Goldman Sachs, not pictured, in Washington, DC, US, on Wednesday, July 15, 2026. Goldman Sachs Group Inc.'s former general counsel defended her association with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein to Congress, calling him a "masterful liar" who used her and others to help legitimize him. Photographer: Graeme Sloan/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Bloomberg/Getty Images
State: California
District: 42
Place of birth: Peru
Garcia has served in Congress since 2023. He emigrated to the US when he was a young child and became a naturalized citizen in his early 20s.
Carlos A. Gimenez (R)
WASHINGTON, DC - MAY 20: U.S. Rep. Carlos Gimenez (R-FL) (C) speaks as Rep. Maria Salazar (R-FL) (L) and Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart (R-FL) (R) listen during a news conference on former Cuban President Raul Castro at the U.S. Capitol on May 20, 2026 in Washington, DC. Rep. Diaz-Balart held a news conference to urge the U.S. government to hold former Cuban President Raul Castro accountable for the 1996 downing of two Brothers to the Rescue planes, which resulted in the deaths of four volunteers, including three Americans. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)
Alex Wong/Getty Images
State: Florida
District: 28
Place of birth: Cuba
Gimenez has served in Congress since 2021. His family emigrated to Miami in 1960, and he became a US citizen in 1976.
James A. Himes (D)
WASHINGTON, DC - FEBRUARY 14: U.S. Rep. Jim Himes (D-CT) speaks to members of the press after a briefing at the U.S. Capitol on February 14, 2024 in Washington, DC. Earlier in the day, Turner released a public statement warning members of Congress about a "serious national security threat" without giving any information about the nature of the threat and demanded that President Joe Biden declassify the information. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)
Alex Wong/Getty Images
State: Connecticut
District: 04
Place of birth: Peru
Himes has served in Congress since 2009. He was born to American parents, making him a US citizen at birth.
Pramila Jayapal (D)
WASHINGTON, DC - SEPTEMBER 01: Ranking Member Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) listens during a hearing before the Subcommittee on Immigration Integrity, Security, and Enforcement of the House Judiciary Committee at Rayburn House Office Building on Capitol Hill on September 1, 2026 in Washington, DC. The subcommittee held a hearing titled "Sanctuary Policies, Tragic Consequences," to examine how sanctuary policies, specifically in California, Colorado, and Maryland, endanger communities by putting the interests of criminal aliens ahead of the interests of Americans. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)
Alex Wong/Getty Images
State: Washington
District: 07
Place of birth: India
Jayapal has served in Congress since 2017. She emigrated from India at age 16 in 1982 and became a naturalized citizen in 2000.
Young Kim (R)
WASHINGTON, DC - FEBRUARY 02: U.S. Rep. Young Kim (R-CA) (2nd L) speaks as (L-R) Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX) and Rep Claudia Tenney (R-NY) listen during a news conference at the U.S. Capitol on February 2, 2022 in Washington, DC. House Republican leadership held a news conference to discuss GOP agenda after a caucus meeting. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)
Alex Wong/Getty Images
State: California
District: 40
Place of birth: South Korea
Kim has served in Congress since 2021. She emigrated to the US at age 12 and later became a naturalized US citizen.
Raja Krishnamoorthi (D)
WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 10: U.S. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL) speaks to the media as Microsoft Co-Founder Bill Gates testifies during a closed-door interview with the House Oversight Committee on Capitol Hill on June 10, 2026 in Washington, DC. The committee is continuing to hold closed-door interviews as part of their investigation into convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. (Photo by Tom Brenner/Getty Images)
Tom Brenner/Getty Images
State: Illinois
District: 08
Place of birth: India
Krishnamoorthi has served in Congress since 2017. The exact year of his naturalization is not in the public record, but he moved to the US with his family as a child.
Ted Lieu (D)
WASHINGTON, DC - SEPTEMBER 15: Democratic Caucus Vice Chair Ted Lieu (D-CA) speaks during a weekly news conference at the U.S. Capitol on September 15, 2026 in Washington, DC. Lieu spoke about Congress's ability to impose guardrails on artificial intelligence. (Photo by Heather Diehl/Getty Images)
Heather Diehl/Getty Images
State: California
District: 36
Place of birth: Taiwan
Lieu has served in Congress since 2015. The exact year of his naturalization is not in the public record, but he moved to the US with his family as a child.
Ilhan Omar (D)
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA - JANUARY 28: Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) speaks during a press conference at the Karmel Mall on January 28, 2026 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Omar continues to rally with community members after facing an attempted attack by a person who charged her podium with a syringe as she spoke yesterday at a town hall gathering. Protests and demonstrations continue around Minneapolis in the aftermath of the killings of Alex Pretti and Rene Nicole Good by federal law enforcement. (Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images)
Brandon Bell/Getty Images
State: Minnesota
District: 05
Place of birth: Somalia
Omar has served in Congress since 2019. She was naturalized in 2000, five years after arriving in the US from Kenya, where her family had lived in a refugee camp after fleeing Somalia.
David Rouzer (R)
UNITED STATES - JUNE 31: Rep. David Rouzer, R-N.C., leaves the House Republican Conference meeting in the Capitol on Tuesday, June 2, 2015. (Photo By Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call)
Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call
State: North Carolina
District: 07
Place of birth: Germany
Rouzer has served in Congress since 2015. He was born at Landstuhl Army Medical Center in Germany, where his father was stationed, making him a US citizen at birth.
Raul Ruiz (D)
UNITED STATES - JANUARY 14: Rep. Raul Ruiz, D-Calif., speaks during the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Communications and Technology hearing titled "Oversight of the Federal Communications Commission," in Rayburn building on Wednesday, January 14, 2026. FCC Chairman Brendan Carr, FCC Commissioners Anna Gomez, and Olivia Trusty testified. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images
State: California
District: 25
Place of birth: Mexico
Ruiz has served in Congress since 2013. He was born in Mexico and raised in Coachella, California, after his aunt and uncle adopted him as a baby. He is a naturalized US citizen.
Victoria Spartz (R)
WASHINGTON, DC - SEPTEMBER 20: U.S. Rep. Victoria Spartz (R-IN) questions Attorney General Merrick Garland as he testifies before the House Judiciary Committee in the Rayburn House Office Building on September 20, 2023 in Washington, DC. The committee is holding an oversight hearing on the U.S. Department of Justice. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC - JULY 15: U.S. Rep. Marilyn Strickland (D-WA) speaks during a press event on reproductive right in front of the U.S. Capitol July 15, 2022 in Washington, DC. The House is voting on the Women’s Health Protection Act today. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)
Alex Wong/Getty Images
State: Washington
District: 10
Place of birth: South Korea
Strickland has served in Congress since 2021. She was born to an American serviceman father and Korean mother, making her a US citizen at birth.
Shri Thanedar (D)
WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 14: Congressman Shri Thanedar (D-MI) speaks at a press conference with other Democratic members of House Homeland Security Committee on the killing of Renee Good, outside the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC on January 14, 2026. (Photo by Nathan Posner/Anadolu via Getty Images)
POMONA, CA - MAY 07: Congresswoman Norma J. Torres (D-CA-35) addresses the media after touring the temporary Office of Refugee Resettlement Emergency Intake Facility at Fairplex in Pomona Friday, May 7, 2021. Approximately 280 undocumented children are currently housed at the facility after being relocated from facilities near the border. (Photo by Will Lester/MediaNews Group/Inland Valley Daily Bulletin via Getty Images)
Will Lester/MediaNews Group/Inland Valley Daily Bulletin via Getty Images
State: California
District: 35
Place of birth: Guatemala
Torres has served in Congress since 2015. She emigrated to the US as a young child in the early 1970s and became a naturalized citizen in 1992.
Eugene Simon Vindman (D)
UNITED STATES - NOVEMBER 21: Rep.-elect Eugene Vindman, D-Va.., on phone, and his brother Alexander, are seen after Eugene drew number 57, the last pick, during the New Member Orientation Room Lottery for office space at the Capitol on Thursday, November 21, 2024. Reps.-elect Lateefah Simon, D-Calif., left, and Maxine Dexter, D-Ore., are also pictured. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images
State: Virginia
District: 07
Place of birth: Ukraine
Vindman has served in Congress since 2025. The exact year of his naturalization is not in the public record, but he moved to the US with his family as a child.
Login
