Trump administration defers $259M in payments until state proposes plan to stop welfare schemes

By Emma Colton
Fox News

Published February 25, 2026 5:55pm EST

Vice President JD Vance announced Wednesday that the Trump administration is temporarily halting Medicaid funding to the state of Minnesota, giving Democratic Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz 60 days to clean up how the state doles out funding.

“We have decided to temporarily halt certain amounts of Medicaid funding that are going to the state of Minnesota in order to ensure that the state of Minnesota takes its obligations seriously to be good stewards of the American people’s tax money,” Vance said Wednesday in a press event attended by Administrator for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Mehmet Oz.

The announcement comes after President Donald Trump railed against fraud in the Gopher State Tuesday evening in his State of the Union address. Minnesota has been rocked by alleged fraud surrounding social programs and welfare programs stretching back to the COVID-19 pandemic that investigators estimate could top $9 billion.

Trump pointed to his vice president as leading the administration’s “war on fraud” amid his State of the Union remarks.

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Vice President JD Vance, alongside Medicare and Medicaid Administrator Mehmet Oz, speaks about combatting fraud Feb. 25, 2026.(Oliver Contreras / AFP via Getty Images)

Vance explained Wednesday that “we are stopping the federal payments that will go to the state government until the state government takes its obligations seriously to stop the fraud that’s being perpetrated against the American taxpayer.”

The vice president continued that officials have verified that a program in Minnesota intended to provide after-school care to autistic children actually benefited fraudsters.

“A lot of people are getting rich off the generosity of American taxpayers,” Vance said. “But more fundamentally, and more importantly than that, it means that there are kids in Minnesota who deserve these services, who need these services, and they’re not going to those kids. They’re going to fraudsters in Minneapolis. That is unacceptable. And that’s the sort of thing that we’re cutting off with this action today.”

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Sen. Joni Ernst named Gov. Tim Walz the recipient of her monthly “Squeal Award” for the sweeping Minnesota fraud scandal.(Jim Vondruska/Getty Images)

Oz added that it is that the pause marks “the largest action against fraud that we’ve ever taken” at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, before launching into how the administration is deferring funds to the state.

HEAVILY-REDACTED AUDIT FINDS MINNESOTA MEDICAID HAD WIDESPREAD VULNERABILITIES

“It’s going to be $259 million of deferred payments for Medicaid to Minnesota, which we’re announcing as I speak, to Governor Walz and his team,” Oz said. “That’s based on an audit of the last three months of 2025. Restated: a quarter billion dollars is not going to be paid this month to Minnesota for its Medicaid claims.”

“We have notified the state and said that we will give them the money, but we’re going to hold it and only release it after they propose and act on a comprehensive corrective action plan to solve the problem,” Oz said. “If Minnesota fails to clean up the systems, the state will rack up $1 billion of deferred payments this year.”

Walz has 60 days to respond to a letter Oz and the administration sent to Walz on the matter, Oz said.

Fox News Digital reached out to Walz’s office Wednesday afternoon for comment and has yet to receive a reply.

Oz continued that he believes Walz will take the matter seriously, and noted fraud is not exclusive to Minnesota, but also other states.

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Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Mehmet Oz attends a press conference at the U.S. Department of Justice in Washington, D.C., on June 30.(Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

“These schemes disproportionately involve immigrant communities,” Oz continued. “They’re insulated, they’re able to … organize efforts, and sometimes they don’t understand what’s going on.”

Vance added that the administration does not want to make this move, but it is needed due to Minnesota being “careless with federal tax dollars.”

“All we need the governor and the administration of Minnesota to do is something quite simple, which is to show that before you give Medicaid funds to somebody, you’re taking seriously whether they provided the services that they say that they’re providing,” the vice president said, calling the fraud a “disgrace.”

MINNESOTA DEMOCRATS DEMAND REPARATIONS FROM ICE AFTER LOSING $18 BILLION TO SOMALI FRAUD

Trump spotlighted the fraud in his State of the Union address Tuesday, underscoring that while Minnesota has taken the spotlight, schemes run deep in other states as well.

[image_4]

President Donald Trump warned during his State of the Union speech about Iran’s nuclear program.(Kenny Holston/The New York Times via AP)

“When it comes to the corruption that is plundering — it really, it’s plundering America — there’s been no more stunning example than Minnesota, where members of the Somali community have pillaged an estimated $19 billion from the American taxpayer,” Trump said. “Oh, we have all the information.”

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“And in actuality, the number is much higher than that, and California, Massachusetts, Maine and many other states are even worse. This is the kind of corruption that shreds the fabric of a nation, and we are working on it like you wouldn’t believe,” he continued, before naming Vance as the administration leader taking on fraud.

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JD Vance spearheads ‘war on fraud,’ promises to root out taxpayer money ‘stolen’ by illegal immigrants

FBI’s head of congressional affairs stepping down, sources say

February 25, 2026 / 6:16 PM EST / CBS News

Marshall Yates, who led the FBI’s congressional affairs office, is departing from the bureau, multiple sources told CBS News.

Yates, a former Capitol Hill staffer, last year served as one of the FBI’s representatives on the Interagency Weaponization Working Group, which is composed of dozens of government officials from at least 12 different government offices who are tasked with carrying out President Trump’s quest for retribution against his political enemies, according to other sources with direct knowledge of the matter.

Yates was one of several FBI employees assigned to the group.

He has also been involved with the Justice Department-led Weaponization Working Group on topics including the prosecutions of Jan. 6 rioters and the potential reinstatement of fired former FBI agents who have claimed they were removed during the Biden administration for complaints about COVID-19 protocols, the Jan. 6 cases and other issues, those sources said.

Yates’ last day is expected to be Friday, a source said. His departure was reported earlier by ProPublica.

A source familiar with Yates’ plans told CBS News he was stepping down to spend more time with family and is working to help find his replacement.

CBS News reached out to Yates for comment.

As the head of congressional affairs, Yates has been the key point person for discussions with Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Charles Grassley.

Over the last year, Grassley has repeatedly released a series of documents related to the FBI’s investigation into President Trump, known as “Arctic Frost,” without redacting agent names.

After those names became public, the FBI went on to fire them.

Among them was Walt Giardina, a former agent who worked on investigations into Trump and his political allies.

Former Acting FBI Director Brian Driscoll and other former senior officials have filed a lawsuit filed against the FBI, alleging that the then-head of the D.C. office begged FBI Director Kash Patel and Yates in a meeting not to disclose Giardina’s name to Capitol Hill, telling them that Giardina’s wife was dying of cancer and that doing so would also “trigger a torrent of online abuse and threats of violence.”

Giardina’s name was later released in records from Grassley’s office, and Giardina was fired.

Yates previously worked on Capitol Hill for Republican Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky, who is locked in a war of words with the Justice Department over its handling of the release of the Epstein files.

He was also previously an aide to Congressman Mo Brooks and worked with the Election Integrity Network, a group spearheaded by Cleta Mitchell, a lawyer who was involved in efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. Mitchell raised questions about ballots in Fulton County, Georgia, and participated in a call with Mr. Trump and the Georgia secretary of state, in which the president asked him to “find” enough votes to overturn Joe Biden’s victory in the state.

Trump administration’s ‘third country’ deportation policy is unlawful, judge rules

Published Feb 25, 2026, 5:33 PM ET / Source: Associated Press

Members of the Venezuela’s General Directorate of Military Counterintelligence stand guard as a flight carrying migrants deported from the United States arrives at Simon Bolivar International Airport in Maiquetia, Venezuela, on January 19.

Maxwell Briceno/Anadolu/Getty Images

The Trump administration’s latest policy of deporting immigrants to “third countries” to which they have no ties is unlawful and must be set aside, a federal judge ruled Wednesday in a case that already reached the nation’s highest court.

US District Judge Brian E. Murphy in Massachusetts agreed to suspend his decision for 15 days, giving the government time to appeal his latest ruling in the case. Murphy noted that the US Supreme Court ruled in the administration’s favor last year, pausing his previous decision and clearing the way for a flight carrying several migrants to complete its trip to war-torn South Sudan, where they had no ties.

Murphy said migrants challenging the Department of Homeland Security’s policy have the right to “meaningful notice” and an opportunity to object before they are removed to a third country. The policy “extinguishes valid challenges to third-country removal by effecting removal before those challenges can be raised,” the judge concluded.

“These are our laws, and it is with profound gratitude for the unbelievable luck of being born in the United States of America that this Court affirms these and our nation’s bedrock principle: that no ‘person’ in this country may be ‘deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law,’” Murphy wrote.

In June, the Supreme Court’s conservative majority found that immigration officials can quickly deport people to third countries. Liberal justices Sonia Sotomayor and Ketanji Brown Jackson dissented, saying the ruling gives the government special treatment.

Murphy said President Donald Trump’s administration has repeatedly violated — or tried to violate — his orders. Last March, he noted, the Defense Department deported at least six class members to El Salvador and Mexico without providing the process required under a temporary restraining order that Murphy issued. DHS issued its new policy guidance for third-country removals on March 30, two days after Murphy’s order.

“The simple reality is that nobody knows the merits of any individual class member’s claim because (administration officials) are withholding the predicate fact: the country of removal,” wrote Murphy, who was nominated to the bench by Democratic President Joe Biden.

Murphy said the DHS third-country removal policy has targeted immigrants who were granted protection from being sent back to their home countries, where they feared being tortured or persecuted in other ways.

Eight men who were sent to South Sudan in May had been convicted of crimes in the US and had final orders of removal, Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials have said.

古巴：美籍快艇闯古巴领海并开火 边防队还击打死四人

2026年2月26日 07:06 / 联合早报

古巴海岸警卫队在古巴海岸附近与一艘美国注册的快艇发生交火，造成四人死亡，六人受伤。

事件发生在在古巴比亚克拉拉省附近领海内，法新社引述古巴内务部星期三（2月25日）在哈瓦那发布的通报称，当一艘边防警卫队船只靠近这艘佛罗里达州注册的快艇以核实乘客身份时，“船上有人开枪”，导致古巴船只的船长受伤。

内政部说，“冲突导致四名外方人员死亡，另有六人受伤”，并补充说，伤者已疏散并接受了医疗救助。

通报没有提及外方袭击者身份。内务部说，主管部门正在调查这一事件。

佛州将对枪击事件展开调查

美国佛罗里达州总检察长说，政府已对古巴边防警卫队枪杀四人的事件展开调查。

在古巴当局称该快艇“非法”并称遭到枪击后，总检察长詹姆斯·乌斯迈尔（James Uthmeier）在社交媒体上发帖称：“我已经指示州检察办公室与联邦、州和执法部门的合作伙伴合作，展开调查。”

乌斯迈尔是首名就此事件发表评论的美国官员，他说，古巴政府不可信赖，佛州将竭尽全力追究责任。

新华社报道，现阶段，古巴与美国关系紧张加剧。1月29日，美国总统特朗普签署行政令，威胁对向古巴提供石油国家的输美商品加征从价关税。2月6日，古巴宣布一系列措施应对美国新一轮石油封锁。

What’s behind the Anthropic-Pentagon feud

February 25, 2026 / 6:33 PM EST / CBS News

Washington — The Pentagon gave Anthropic an ultimatum this week: Give the U.S. military unrestricted use of its AI technology or face a ban from all government contracts.

At the center of the issue is a question of who controls how artificial intelligence models are used, the Pentagon or the company’s CEO.

The Pentagon’s AI contracts

---

The Pentagon awarded Anthropic a $200 million contract in July to develop AI capabilities that would advance U.S. national security.

Anthropic’s rivals, including OpenAI, Google and xAI were also awarded $200 million contracts by the Pentagon last year.

Anthropic is currently the only AI company to have its model deployed on the Pentagon’s classified networks, through a partnership with data analytics giant Palantir.

A senior Pentagon official told CBS News that Grok, which is owned by Elon Musk’s xAI, is on board with being used in a classified setting, and other AI companies are close.

The Pentagon announced last month that it’s looking to accelerate its uses of AI, saying the technology could help the military “rapidly convert intelligence data” and “make our Warfighters more lethal and efficient.”

Clash over the guardrails

---

The standoff between the Pentagon and Anthropic was reportedly set off by the U.S. military’s use of its technology, known as Claude, during the operation to capture former Venezuela President Nicolás Maduro in January.

Anthropic has repeatedly asked the Pentagon to agree to certain guardrails, among them a restriction on using Claude to conduct mass surveillance of Americans, sources told CBS News.

And the company also wants to ensure Claude is not used by the Pentagon for final targeting decisions in military operations without any human involvement, one source familiar with the matter said. Claude is not immune from hallucinations and not reliable enough to avoid potentially lethal mistakes, like unintended escalation or mission failure without human judgment, the source said.

When asked for comment, a senior Pentagon official said: “This has nothing to do with mass surveillance and autonomous weapons being used. The Pentagon has only given out lawful orders.”

Pentagon officials have expressed concerns to Anthropic that the company’s guardrails could stand in the way of critical actions, such as responding to an intercontinental ballistic missile launched toward the United States.

Any company-imposed restrictions “could create a dynamic where we start using them and get used to how those models work, and when it comes that we need to use it in an urgent situation, we’re prevented from using it,” Emil Michael, the undersecretary of defense for research, said at an event in February.

On the question of when AI is used to strike or kill military targets and makes a mistake, who is liable — the military or the AI company — a defense official said: Legality is the Pentagon’s responsibility as the end user.

What top leaders are saying

---

Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei has been vocal in expressing his concerns about the potential dangers of AI and has centered the company’s brand around safety and transparency.

In a lengthy essay last month, Amodei warned of the potential for abuse of the technologies, writing that “a powerful AI looking across billions of conversations from millions of people could gauge public sentiment, detect pockets of disloyalty forming, and stamp them out before they grow.”

“Democracies normally have safeguards that prevent their military and intelligence apparatus from being turned inwards against their own population, but because AI tools require so few people to operate, there is potential for them to circumvent these safeguards and the norms that support them. It is also worth noting that some of these safeguards are already gradually eroding in some democracies,” he wrote.

Amodei has long backed what he describes as “sensible AI regulation,” including rules that would require AI companies to be transparent about the risks posed by their models and any steps taken to mitigate them.

The Trump administration, meanwhile, has favored a lighter touch, and has argued that stringent AI regulations could stifle innovation and make it harder for the American AI industry to compete. The administration has sought to block what it calls “excessive” state-level regulations. At one point last year, venture capitalist and White House AI and crypto adviser David Sacks accused Anthropic of “fear-mongering” and suggested its interest in AI regulations is self-serving.

In a January speech, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth derided what he views as “social justice infusions that constrain and confuse our employment of this technology.”

“We will not employ AI models that won’t allow you to fight wars,” Hegseth declared. “We will judge AI models on this standard alone; factually accurate, mission relevant, without ideological constraints that limit lawful military applications. Department of War AI will not be woke. It will work for us. We’re building war-ready weapons and systems, not chatbots for an Ivy League faculty lounge.”

What’s next in the Anthropic v. Pentagon saga

---

Hegseth gave Anthropic until Friday, Feb. 28, to agree to give the U.S. military unrestricted use of its technology or risk being blacklisted, sources familiar with the situation told CBS News.

Pentagon officials are considering invoking the Defense Production Act to compel Anthropic to comply on national security grounds.

Or, if an agreement can’t be reached, defense officials have discussed declaring the company a “supply chain risk” to push it out of government, according to the sources.

https://www.cbsnews.com/video/pentagon-at-odds-with-tech-company-anthropic-over-ai-model/

Analysis: Hear the similarities between Biden’s 2024 SOTU address and Trump’s 2026 SOTU address on the economy | CNN Politics

2026-02-25T22:36:35.829Z / CNN

Analysis: Hear the similarities between Biden’s 2024 SOTU address and Trump’s 2026 SOTU address on the economy

Analysis: Hear the similarities between Biden’s 2024 SOTU address and Trump’s 2026 SOTU address on the economy

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CNN’s Kasie Hunt breaks down the similarities between President Donald Trump’s 2026 State of the Union address on the economy and former President Joe Biden’s 2024 address.

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特朗普拟要求科技巨头签承诺 承担数据中心电力成本

2026年2月26日 07:52 / 联合早报

美国总统特朗普下周将在白宫召集科技业高管签署承诺，保证他们的公司将承担高耗能数据中心的电力成本。

彭博社引述一名白宫官员说，来自亚马逊、Meta Platforms Inc.、微软以及谷歌母公司Alphabet在内的企业代表预计将出席3月4日与特朗普举行的活动。受邀名单还包括埃隆·马斯克旗下xAI、甲骨文以及OpenAI。

尽管这些承诺将不具约束力，也缺乏法律效力，但政府官员认为，正式且公开的承诺有助于问责，并为担心数据中心快速扩张可能带来环境损害和电费上涨的消费者提供一定保证。

白宫发言人泰勒·罗杰斯（Taylor Rogers）星期三（2月25日）说：“根据这项大胆的倡议，这些大型企业将为新的人工智能数据中心自行建设、引入或购买电力供应，确保随着用电需求的增长，美国人的电费账单不会上涨。”他说：“特朗普总统致力于在确保美国在人工智能领域保持主导的同时，降低工薪家庭的生活成本。”

延伸阅读

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美国AI热推动全球工业投资增长三成 特朗普携手美企 5000亿美元打造AI数据中心

‘Give me liberty’ Founding Father’s descendant blasts Spanberger’s redistricting push

Del Anne Ferrell Tata accuses Gov Spanberger of abandoning reform

By Charles Creitz
Fox News

Published February 25, 2026 1:40pm EST

FIRST ON FOX: Virginia Republicans offered their own response to Gov. Abigail Spanberger’s Democratic Party rebuttal to President Donald Trump’s State of the Union, featuring a descendant of the famously outspoken Founding Father Patrick Henry.

Del. Anne Ferrell Tata, R-Virginia Beach, is a direct descendant of Gov. Patrick Henry’s sister Elizabeth, a lineage Tata said stems from the first days of the Old Dominion and one she does not often discuss.

But, as Tata mentioned in recent floor remarks, Henry — famous for his “Give me liberty, or give me death” speech to the Second Virginia Convention at St. John’s Church of Richmond in 1775 — proved that “concern about the government silencing its citizens is not new.”

In her response to Spanberger, Tata condemned the governor’s partisan interest in redistricting out all but one Virginia congressional Republican, suggesting it is the new way some politicians are trying to silence citizens.

Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger offers the Democratic response to the State of the Union.(Mike Kropf/Getty Images)

“A few years ago, Virginians did something rare. We agreed the old redistricting system wasn’t working. Too much power in the hands of politicians, too little trust from the public,” Tata said.

“Voters approved a constitutional reform to remove politicians from the process and Gov. Spanberger, who was in Congress at the time, praised that change and spoke at length about the corrosive effects of gerrymandering on our democracy. It wasn’t easy. It required compromise. It required restraint and it required trust.”

Tata noted that Indiana, a Republican-led state, and legislative leaders in Maryland, a Democratic-led state, both opposed similar efforts to create a map that sweeps away the political minority’s voice.

“Both chose to respect the rules. Both chose to keep the promise they made to voters,” she said.

WHO IS ABIGAIL SPANBERGER, AND WHY DID DEMOCRATS CHOOSE HER FOR TO THEIR STATE OF THE UNION RESPONSE?

Virginia’s Patrick Henry delivers his “Give me liberty” speech in Richmond.(Smith Collection/Getty Images)

“Here in Virginia, our governor and her allies faced the same test. And they chose power instead.”

“This isn’t about maps. It isn’t about party. It’s about whether reform means something when it costs you.”

Tata said that when leaders like Spanberger “abandon voter-approved reform” they prove why voters do not trust their political system.

“Virginians deserve leaders who keep their word, especially when it’s hard. That is the standard, and it should apply to all of us,” Tata said.

In prior remarks to the state House chamber, Tata said Henry warned against a government that “grows too strong and too indifferent to the natural rights of its citizens; rights bestowed by God.”

“That warning remains as poignant as ever. Every voter deserves an equal vote in this government, regardless of zip code.”

VIRGINIA REPUBLICANS CHARGE ‘POWER GRAB’ AS DEMOCRAT WHO BACKED REDISTRICTING RUNS FOR CONGRESS

Henry, who was born in Hanover and lived most of his life at “Red Hill” in Brookneal, was Virginia’s first governor — and his name can be found throughout the commonwealth — from the formerly conjoined Patrick and Henry counties far to the southwest to U.S. Route 1 being divided into Patrick and Henry Streets in the Washington suburb of Alexandria.

In his famous address, Henry warned that armed conflict with England was becoming inevitable, and that lawmakers assembled on Church Hill should agree to arm the colony for its own defense.

“I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death,” Henry boomed as he concluded his remarks.

Earlier in his speech, Henry said that men are naturally “apt to shut our eyes against a painful truth, and listen to the song of that siren till she transforms us into beasts.”

“Is this the part of wise men, engaged in a great and arduous struggle for liberty? Are we disposed to be of the number of those who, having eyes, see not, and, having ears, hear not, the things which so nearly concern their temporal salvation? For my part, whatever anguish of spirit it may cost, I am willing to know the whole truth; to know the worst, and to provide for it.”

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That address has gone on to live as one of early America’s most important events, and is often recited around its anniversary in Richmond.

Fox News Digital reached out to Spanberger for comment.

Charles Creitz is a reporter for Fox News Digital.

He joined Fox News in 2013 as a writer and production assistant.

Charles covers media, politics and culture for Fox News Digital.

Charles is a Pennsylvania native and graduated from Temple University with a B.A. in Broadcast Journalism. Story tips can be sent to charles.creitz@fox.com.

President Donald Trump warned in his State of the Union address that Iran has ‘sinister ambitions’ with its nuclear program and that the U.S. has not yet heard from Tehran that it will ‘never have a nuclear weapon.’

The remarks come as the U.S. and Iran are gearing up for another round of negotiations on Thursday.

“After Midnight Hammer, they were warned to make no future attempts to rebuild their weapons program and, in particular, nuclear weapons. Yet they continue starting it all over.We wiped it out, and they want to start all over again and are at this moment again pursuing their sinister ambitions,” Trump said Tuesday, referencing the U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities last summer.

“We are in negotiations with them. They want to make a deal, but we haven’t heard those secret words, ‘We will never have a nuclear weapon,’” Trump added. “My preference is to solve this problem through diplomacy. But one thing is certain, I will never allow the world’s number one sponsor of terror, which they are by far,to have a nuclear weapon.Can’t let that happen.”

“For decades it had been the policy of the United States never to allow Iran to obtain a nuclear weapon. Many decades. Since they seized control of that proud nation 47 years ago, the regime and its murderous proxies have spread nothing but terrorism and death and hate,” Trump also said during his speech. “They’ve killed and maimed thousands of American service members and hundreds of thousands and even millions of people with what’s called roadside bombs. They were the kings of the roadside bomb. And we took out Iranian Gen. Qassim Soleimani. I did that during my first term.Had a huge impact.He was the father of the roadside bomb.”

“And just over the last couple of months with the protests,they’ve killed, at least,it looks like 32,000 protesters in their own country. They shot them and hung them. We stopped them from hanging a lot of them, with the threat of serious violence. But this is some terrible people.They’ve already developed missiles that can threaten Europe and our bases overseas, and they’re working to build missiles that will soon reach the United States of America,” Trump said.

Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei said following Trump’s address that, “No one should be fooled by these prominent untruths.”

“Whatever they’re alleging in regards to Iran’s nuclear program, Iran’s ballistic missiles, and the number of casualties during January’s unrest is simply the repetition of ‘big lies,’” Baghaei claimed on X.

House GOP moves to censure Dem who disrupted Trump address for 2nd straight year

The censure resolution against Rep Al Green is being led by Rep Mike Rulli

By Elizabeth Elkind, Alex Miller
Fox News

Published February 25, 2026 12:13pm EST

Rep. Al Green says he’d ‘do it again’ after getting booted from Trump’s address for a 2nd time

Rep. Al Green, D-Texas, said shortly after being removed from President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address that he would “do it again,” and that at some point, “You have to confront him face-to-face.”

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FIRST ON FOX:There’s a new House GOP effort to censure Rep. Al Green, D-Texas, circulating after he was removed from President Donald Trump’s primetime address for the second year in a row.

Green was ejected from Trump’s State of the Union on Tuesday night minutes after it began. The Texas progressive held up a sign that read “Black people are not apes” in all capital letters as Trump entered the House chamber and remained standing and holding the sign as the president began speaking.

Rep. Mike Rulli, R-Ohio, told Fox News Digital that his office was now looking for other House lawmakers on both sides of the aisle to support a censure resolution against Green.

“His shenanigans at the State of the Union were uncalled for,” Rulli said on Wednesday. “We can’t really put up with that kind of conduct in Congress. Something had to be done.”

“I’m looking for as many co-sponsors from our conference as possible. And I’m reaching across the aisle for anyone over there that was embarrassed by their own guy.”

Rulli’s resolution, first obtained by Fox News Digital, said Green’s protest constituted a “breach of conduct.”

The text also noted that it “was the second time in less than a year that the Representative from Texas had to be removed from the chamber by the Sergeant at Arms due to unpatriotic disruptions that violated numerous House rules related to decorum.”

The House of Representatives voted to censure Green in March 2025 for his last protest, which included waving his cane and shouting over Trump as he attempted to give his speech.

At the time, 10 Democrats joined Republicans in passing that resolution.

Green told reporters on Tuesday night after being removed from the House for a second time, “I refuse to tolerate this level of hate that the president is in fact putting into policy. We must take a stand against this level of invidious discrimination.”

NANCY PELOSI STUMBLES ON CNN AFTER BEING PRESSED ON CALL-OUT AT SOTU OVER CONGRESSIONAL STOCK TRADING

“I wanted him to know, and I wanted them to see it and hear it. Up close. But judging from the expression on his face, he got the message. He saw it,” Green said.

Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., did not commit to holding a vote on a censure resolution when asked about the prospect after Trump’s speech but said he would defer to the will of his lawmakers.

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“Al Green was removed pretty quickly. I don’t know if censure is going to be appropriate. I’ll let our colleagues decide that,” Johnson said. “The point of a censure, is to bring someone to the House floor and bring shame upon them for their actions. I think they showed the American people shame already.”

Fox News Digital reached out to Green’s office for comment but did not immediately hear back.

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Elizabeth Elkind is a politics reporter for Fox News Digital leading coverage of the House of Representatives. Previous digital bylines seen at Daily Mail and CBS News.

Follow on Twitter at @liz_elkind and send tips to elizabeth.elkind@fox.com

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