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GOP must race for new ‘big, beautiful bill’ to slash costs before midterms, top House Republicans warn

The Republican Study Committee chairman said ‘good movement’ needs to happen in February

By Elizabeth Elkind
Fox News

Published February 4, 2026 10:00am EST

FIRST ON FOX:House Republicans who are spearheading the charge of another “big, beautiful bill” say they only have a short window of time to pass a massive piece of legislation aimed at lowering costs for Americans across the board.

“We need to see good movement within the month of February that puts us on a path to achieve this by late spring, early summer,” Republican Study Committee (RSC) Chairman August Pfluger, R-Texas, told Fox News Digital.

President Donald Trump led Republicans through passing the One Big, Beautiful Bill Act last year, sprawling legislation that made good on versions of several Trump campaign promises like reducing taxes on tipped and overtime wages, extending his 2017 tax cuts, and surging more money toward his immigration crackdown.

The budget reconciliation process makes such a feat possible by lowering the Senate’s threshold for passage to line up with the House’s own simple majority line, empowering the party holding the levers of power in Congress to pass sweeping fiscal changes to U.S. law.

GOP UNVEILS PLAN TO CUT DEFICIT BY $1 TRILLION WITH SECOND ‘BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL’

Republican Study Committee Chairman August Pfluger speaks during a press conference in Washington, D.C., Oct. 28, 2025.(Nathan Posner/Anadolu via Getty Images)

A large contingent of Republican lawmakers, including Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., have said they want to use that process again sometime this year. Pfluger’s RSC, the largest caucus in the House GOP, released a framework last month with recommendations on a bill that would lower costs in areas like housing, healthcare and energy.

Pfluger told Fox News Digital that affordability would likely be a “major driver” of another such GOP bill, but said he was still working on getting input from other areas of the House Republican Conference.

“I’m sure that there will be refinement as we hear feedback from the different groups. But we do believe that it’s a solid framework. We believe that it’s a winning issue based on good policy,” Pfluger said.

‘ONE MORE’: SENATE REPUBLICANS EYE TACKLING ANOTHER RECONCILIATION BILL

But both he and House Budget Committee Chairman Jodey Arrington, R-Texas, have acknowledged they will need to work fast — particularly with the 2026 midterm elections coming in November.

“I would be embarrassed as a leader and as a conservative if our conference and Republicans in Washington won’t rally in these 10 or 11 months we have before November, where we still have this window of opportunity to strike,” Arrington said in a forthcoming episode of the RSC’s “Right to the Point” podcast, which Fox News Digital got an exclusive first look at.

Rep. Jodey Arrington speaks at a news conference at the U.S. Capitol on May 22, 2025, in Washington, D.C.(Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

He said elsewhere in the podcast that Republicans “probably have a three-month window” to take meaningful action, lining up with Pfluger’s own prediction that action should happen by springtime.

KENNEDY URGES GOP TO RESTART SPENDING BATTLE AMID SOARING COST OF LIVING, WARNS AGAINST WASTING MAJORITY

Pfluger said he hoped to get the first key step done this month after sending instructions on what kind of cuts to enact to various House committees.

But Republicans are currently dealing with a one-seat majority in the House until a special election to replace former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., takes place in March.

That could get reduced back down in April after a special election for a blue-leaning seat to replace New Jersey’s new Gov. Mikie Sherrill. Republicans won’t get more breathing room until early August, when California holds a special election for the GOP-leaning seat that was held by the late Rep. Doug LaMalfa, R-Calif.

Their first reconciliation bill notably passed with all but two House Republicans on board.

“We have a path. We’ve dug that path, and we should just do it for the things that we can all agree on,” Arrington argued.

President Donald Trump holds a gavel presented to him by House Speaker Mike Johnson after he signed his signature bill of tax breaks and spending cuts at the White House, July 4, 2025.(Evan Vucci/AP Photo)

He said a second bill “doesn’t have to be as big and comprehensive, it needs to be targeted on the things that were either left undone, things that fell out, that we should put back in… like not allowing tax dollars to go to transgender procedures and not allowing the fungible federal dollars to support states that use their state Medicaid dollars to fund illegals.”

But it’s not yet clear that such policies could make it in or gain the support of moderate Republicans who are wary of an election cycle that’s expected to be an uphill climb for the GOP.

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Pfluger, however, told Fox News Digital that he hoped they could even get some Democratic support if the bill stayed focused on affordability measures.

“I believe that we are going to produce something that is going to make it very difficult for Democrats to vote against,” he said. “I would hope that we would have something on the board that would get Democrat support in some cases.”

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

https://www.foxnews.com/video/6386158353112

Pinterest fired 2 engineers who built an internal layoff tracker

February 4, 2026 / 11:16 AM EST / CBS News

Pinterest said it fired two engineers who built an internal tool to track which employees had been laid off following a recent round of job cuts at the social media company.

The firings come about a week after the lifestyle app said it was cutting 15% of its staff as it invests in artificial intelligence. Pinterest, which had about 4,700 employees prior to the layoffs, said the restructuring should be complete by Sept. 30.

Pinterest’s chief security officer had told engineering employees in a meeting that it wouldn’t disclose a list of laid-off employees due to those individuals’ privacy rights and the company’s privacy policies, according to a source with the company. After that meeting, two engineers built an internal tool to create a master list of employees who were impacted by the job cuts, the person said.

Privacy violation

The engineers who wrote the scripts were fired, a Pinterest spokesperson told CBS News.

“After being clearly informed that Pinterest would not broadly share information identifying impacted employees, two engineers wrote custom scripts improperly accessing confidential company information to identify the locations and names of all dismissed employees and then shared it more broadly,” the spokesperson said.

She added, “This was a clear violation of Pinterest policy and of their former colleagues’ privacy.”

“Obstructionist” behavior?

At a companywide meeting last week, according to CNBC, Ready told workers, “Healthy debate and dissent are expected, that’s how we make our decisions. But there’s a clear line between constructive debate and behavior that’s obstructionist.”

Ready also described Pinterest as facing a “critical moment,” and told employees they should consider working elsewhere if they are “working against the direction of the company,” CNBC reported.

Pinterest is the latest in a number of large businesses to cite AI in reducing headcount. Companies in 2025 directly pointed to their use of AI in announcing 55,000 job cuts — more than 12 times the number of layoffs attributed to AI just two years earlier, according to outplacement firm Challenger, Gray and Christmas.

Edited by Alain Sherter

Attempted Trump assassin Ryan Routh is sentenced to life in prison, plus 7 years

Ryan Routh was convicted last September on five federal criminal counts

By Greg Norman-Diamond
Fox News

Published February 4, 2026 12:44pm EST | Updated February 4, 2026 1:23pm EST

Fox News correspondent Danamarie McNicholl reports the latest on Ryan Routh’s sentencing as he faces life in prison plus 7 years.

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Ryan Routh was sentenced Wednesday to life in prison plus seven years following his 2024 assassination attempt against then-presidential candidate Donald Trump at his West Palm Beach golf club in Florida.

The sentencing comes after Routh was convicted last September on five federal criminal counts, including attempting to assassinate a major presidential candidate, assaulting a federal officer and multiple firearms offenses.

Routh spoke in court for about 15 minutes on Wednesday, repeating topics that he mentioned during his trial, such as talking about himself as a good person and his alleged work in Ukraine trying to recruit for their army.

However, Judge Aileen Cannon eventually stopped Routh and made her sentencing, saying he is an evil person who intended to kill Trump and would have done so if it hadn’t been for a Secret Service agent who disrupted the plot.

ATTEMPTED TRUMP ASSASSIN TO LEARN SENTENCE, WITH PROSECUTORS SEEKING LIFE

Ryan Routh is seen in May 2022 holding a banner stating ‘World Help Us’ during a demonstration in Kyiv, Ukraine.(Artem Gvozdkov/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images)

Prosecutors pushed for the 59-year-old to get a life sentence, while Routh’s attorney, Martin Roth, asked the judge for 20 years in prison on top of a seven-year, mandatory sentence for one of the gun convictions.

Routh’s sentencing in Fort Pierce, Fla., had initially been scheduled for December, but U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon agreed to move the date back after Routh decided to use an attorney during the sentencing phase instead of representing himself as he did for most of the trial.

SECRET SERVICE AGENT DETAILS ‘TEXTBOOK AMBUSH,’ BIZARRE SELF-REPRESENTATION IN RYAN ROUTH TRIAL

Suspected would-be assassin Ryan Routh was arrested by law enforcement in Florida in September 2024. He was convicted of all charges against him.(Martin County Sheriff’s Office/Reuters)

Prosecutors said Routh spent weeks plotting to kill Trump before aiming a rifle through shrubbery as the then-Republican presidential candidate played golf on Sept. 15, 2024, at his West Palm Beach, Fla., country club.

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At Routh’s trial, a Secret Service agent helping protect Trump on the golf course testified that he spotted Routh before Trump came into view. Routh aimed his rifle at the agent, who opened fire, causing Routh to drop his weapon and run away without firing a shot.

Fox News Digital’s Breanne Deppisch, Heather Lacy, Andre Tinoco and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

Greg Norman is a reporter at Fox News Digital.

Millions of Americans face higher utility bills as dozens of rate hikes take effect

February 4, 2026 / 12:58 PM EST / CBS News

Tens of millions of Americans are facing higher utility bills after regulators approved dozens of rate hikes last year.

Regulators green-lit 43 rate hikes across the country in 2025, totaling $11.6 billion in increases, according to an analysis by Powerlines. The nonprofit, which is focused on lowering utility costs, said the vast majority of hikes have already gone into effect, while eight are slated to go live in the coming months.

All told, 56 million Americans will see higher utility bills, according to Powerlines, adding fresh financial pressure on consumers at a time when energy costs are already a major headache. Utilities are hiking their rates to pay for repairing and replacing ailing infrastructure, costs linked to extreme weather events, volatile fuel prices and the increase in electricity demand, driven largely by data centers.

Consumers absorb the cost of rate hikes, as well as utilities’ operational and capital infrastructure costs, in their monthly utility bills, according to Powerlines.

“We’re calling this the new politics of electricity, where electricity is the new eggs,” said Charles Hua, the executive director of Powerlines, during a media briefing last Wednesday, referring to the soaring price of eggs in 2024 and 2025 that became a focal point of consumer frustration over grocery costs.

Where are rates rising?

While the impact of the rate hikes is scattered across all corners of the country, the South is bearing the brunt, data from Powerlines shows. Utilities in the region requested 13 rate hikes, with regulators approving increases totaling $8.4 billion.

That includes a highly contested rate hike by the utility company Florida Power & Light, which will force Floridians to pay billions of additional dollars in utility costs in the coming years. The battle over the rate hike request was closely watched given the sheer scale of the nearly $10 billion proposal.

Powerlines tabulated a total of 83 rate requests in 2025, 38 of which are still pending and two of which were rejected. If the pending requests are approved, more than 80 million Americans could be facing higher utility bills, the analysis found.

Sky-high costs

The new round of rate hikes comes at a time when Americans are already feeling weighed down by soaring energy costs. Around one in three Americans said they had to forgo a basic expense in 2024 to afford their energy bills, according to a LendingTree analysis of U.S. Census Bureau Household Pulse Survey data.

As of July 2025, Americans paid about $250 a month on average for their utilities, data released last year from The Century Foundation, a progressive think tank, and advocacy group Protect Borrowers shows.

The reason for a rate hike will likely depend on where you live, Hua said.

“In California, wildfires have been by far the biggest driver,”Hua said last week. “In Georgia, things like extreme weather events, or the Vogtle nuclear plant, have been the biggest driver of the utility bill increases that people ultimately have felt.”

Power-hungry data centers are another culprit, although how much these facilities will impact a given customer’s utility bill is nuanced, according to Hua.

“It differs a lot based on the geography, electricity market structure, as well as the state utility regulatory paradigm, and what actions the public utility commission is or isn’t taking in that jurisdiction,” he said.

To assuage consumer concerns, the White House and Congress have called on big tech companies to foot the bill on new artificial intelligence plants, with some, like Meta and Google, already offering commitments to absorb the costs.

State of natural gas and electricity prices

Higher utility bills may continue to be a pain point for Americans, especially as electricity prices are expected to continue to rise.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration predicts residential electricity prices will rise nearly 4% in 2026. Because electricity rates vary by state, prices vary depending on where you live.

Americans spent $1,833 on average on their electricity bills in 2024, according to Powerlines. The nonprofit said wholesale electricity prices have surged in recent years due to rising demand from electrification, manufacturing and data centers.

Residential natural gas prices are expected to dip in the coming years, an EIA projection shows, potentially offering some relief.

While the price of natural gas overall is expected to fall in the next several years, it will likely remain volatile, experts told CBS News. Take the recent winter storm blitz, when global natural gas prices rose due to a surge in demand. Natural gas futures settled at nearly $7 per MMBtu (British thermal unit) on Jan. 27, the highest level since December 2022.

“Heating demand was significantly higher, and electricity demand increased significantly, which increased natural gas-fired generation to a very high level for this time of year,” Matthew Palmer, executive director and head of Americas gas research at S&P Global Energy, told CBS News in an email.

Weather events can push up natural gas demand, but they aren’t likely to impact utility bills in the near term, experts said.

“Short-term spikes are unlikely to impact individuals’ utility bills since much of what they consume is hedged out months ahead of time by utilities,” Eric McGuire, director of research at Wood Mackenzie, an energy research company, told CBS News. “That being said, if prices remain high or we see continued volatility, it could impact the prices they pay in the future.”

Edited by Aimee Picchi

In:

• Utility Bills

How to save on energy bill as heating costs surge

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How to save money on your energy bill as heating costs surge

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Trump doubles down on calls for GOP to ‘nationalize’ voting as congressional leaders balk

GOP leaders in the House and Senate say they don’t want to federalize elections

By Anders Hagstrom
Fox News

Published February 4, 2026 1:36pm EST

President Donald Trump doubled down on his call for Republicans to “nationalize” voting, this time defending the idea directly to the press.

Trump made the comments during a signing ceremony in the Oval Office on Tuesday, flanked by prominent congressional Republicans. White House officials have said Trump is primarily interested in defending election integrity.

“I want to see elections be honest, and if a state can’t [run an election], I think the people behind me should do something about it,” Trump told reporters at the event, referencing the GOP lawmakers.

“Take a look at Detroit … take a look at Philadelphia, take a look at Atlanta,” Trump continued. “The federal government should not allow that. The federal government should get involved. These are agents of the federal government to count the vote. If they can’t count the vote legally and honestly, then somebody else should take over.”

TRUMP DOJ DEMANDS MINNESOTA VOTING RECORDS OVER SAME-DAY REGISTRATION ‘VOUCHING’ CONCERNS

President Donald Trump took to Truth Social to blast The New York Times and Harvard University.(AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

Prominent Republicans have hesitated to fall in behind Trump on the issue. Senate Majority Leader John Thune outright rejected the idea when asked about it later Tuesday.

“I’m not in favor of federalizing elections, no. I think that’s a constitutional issue,” he told reporters.

HOUSE REPUBLICANS PUSH ELECTION OVERHAUL WITH VOTER ID, MAIL-IN BALLOT CHANGES AHEAD OF MIDTERMS

House Speaker Mike Johnson sought to make excuses for Trump’s suggestion when he was asked about the issue. He argued Trump was simply “expressing his frustration” about election issues. Nevertheless, he ultimately said he would not support federalizing elections either.

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson says he does not support federalizing elections.(Jose Luis Magana/AP)

Trump first called for federalizing elections during a podcast interview with former Deputy FBI Director Dan Bongino that aired Monday.

“The Republicans should say, ‘We want to take over,’” Trump told Bongino. “We should take over the voting … in at least many, 15 places. The Republicans ought to nationalize the voting. We have states that are so crooked and they’re counting votes.”

FEDERAL JUDGE STRIKES DOWN PARTS OF TRUMP EXECUTIVE ORDER ON CITIZENSHIP VERIFICATION FOR VOTER REGISTRATION

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer pounced on Trump’s statement during remarks on the floor of the Senate.

“Just a few hours ago, Donald Trump said he wants to nationalize elections around the country. That’s what Trump said. You think he believes in democracy? He said, ‘We want to take over, the Republicans ought to nationalize the voting,’” Schumer said Monday. “Does Donald Trump need a copy of the Constitution? What he is saying is outlandishly illegal.”

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer blasted the idea of a federal election takeover.(Nathan Posner/Anadolu via Getty Images)

White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson later clarified Trump’s comments in a statement to ABC News. She argued Trump was expressing his desire for the U.S. to have free and fair elections.

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“President Trump cares deeply about the safety and security of our elections – that’s why he’s urged Congress to pass the SAVE Act and other legislative proposals that would establish a uniform standard of photo ID for voting, prohibit no-excuse mail-in voting, and end the practice of ballot harvesting,” Jackson said.

Anders Hagstrom is a reporter with Fox News Digital covering national politics and major breaking news events. Send tips to Anders.Hagstrom@Fox.com, or on X: @Hagstrom_Anders.

Police probing Peter Mandelson, ex-U.K. ambassador to U.S., as Epstein files suggest he shared state secrets

February 4, 2026 / 1:02 PM EST / CBS News

London — U.K. police have launched an investigation into former British Ambassador to the United States Peter Mandelson after the U.S. Department of Justice released emails last week that indicate he may have shared confidential U.K. government documents with the late financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The documents relate to years during which Mandelson served as a senior official in the British government nearly two decades ago.

“Following the further release of millions of court documents in relation to Jeffrey Epstein by the United States Department of Justice, the Met received a number of reports into alleged misconduct in public office including a referral from the U.K. Government,” Metropolitan Police Commander Ella Marriott said in a statement Tuesday. “I can confirm that the Metropolitan Police has now launched an investigation into a 72-year-old man, a former Government Minister, for misconduct in public office offenses.”

Emails released last Friday appear to show that while Mandelson was in government as the U.K. Business Secretary in 2009 and 2010, he shared confidential, market-sensitive information with Epstein.

It was a period when the U.K., U.S. and European governments were still battling to contain the global financial crisis, and in one 2009 email released Friday, Mandelson confirmed rumors of a €500 billion eurozone bailout, telling Epstein the announcement would come that night.

Then-U.K. Ambassador to the U.S., Lord Peter Mandelson arrives at the Cabinet Office in central London, in a June 18, 2025, file photo. Jonathan Brady/PA Images/Getty

In another 2010 exchange, Mandelson sent an internal government communication to Epstein, with the message: “Interesting note that’s gone to the PM.”

The memo in question appeared to be a note from an advisor to then-Prime Minister Gordon Brown, detailing the U.K.’s struggling economy with a policy recommendation to sell off government-held assets in order to raise revenue.

Other documents released by the Justice Department on Friday appear to show that Epstein made $75,000 in payments to Mandelson in three separate $25,000 transactions in 2003 and 2004. Mandelson was a private citizen at that time.

Documents released Friday also suggest that, in 2009, Epstein sent almost $12,000 to Reinaldo Avila da Silva, Mandelson’s husband, to pay for an osteopathy course.

Investigators are examining whether Mandelson abused his position, with critics raising questions about potential national security breaches.

It has put more pressure on Prime Minister Keir Starmer over his decision to appoint Mandelson last year as Britain’s top diplomat in the U.S.

Starmer’s office said Tuesday that it had conducted its own review of the documents released on Friday in Washington. In a statement, it said it had concluded that “safeguards were compromised” in relation to sensitive information being shared improperly, and, “in light of this information the Cabinet Office has referred this material to the police.”

Starmer has said Mandelson’s links to Epstein were vetted as part of his appointment to the U.S. ambassadorship, but that Mandelson had lied about the extent of his relationship with the American financier.

“Mandelson betrayed our country, our parliament, and my party,” Starmer said in parliament on Wednesday.

CBS News has sought comment from Mandelson on the allegations. In an interview with the BBC last month, he denied any knowledge of or complicity in Epstein’s sexual crimes.

In a letter in which Mandelson formally resigned from the Labour Party earlier this week, he also denied receiving payments from Epstein, saying, “allegations which I believe to be false that he made financial payments to me 20 years ago, and of which I have no record or recollection, need investigating by me.”

In an interview published by the Times of London this week, Mandelson said any payments made to his partner did not influence his position as a government minister.

“The idea that giving Reinaldo an osteopath bursary is going to sway mine or anyone else’s views about banking policy is risible,” he said.

During his decades-long career as a Labour Party politician, he earned the nickname “the Prince of Darkness,” for the record he built up as a ruthless, media-savvy problem solver.

Many political pundits believe it was that reputation as a well-connected political maneuverer that landed him the coveted ambassadorship not long after Mr. Trump began his second term.

Starmer fired him from that position in September, after Epstein-related documents released by the U.S. House of Representatives showed Mandelson had maintained a close relationship with Epstein years after the disgraced financier’s 2008 conviction on charges of solicitation of prostitution and procuring a child for prostitution.

Authorities searching for Savannah Guthrie’s mom, Nancy Guthrie, say no suspect or person of interest identified

Updated on: February 4, 2026 / 1:02 PM EST / CBS News

Investigators in the disappearance of “Today” show co-host Savannah Guthrie’s mother, Nancy Guthrie, haven’t identified a suspect or person of interest in the Arizona case, which is being investigated as a crime, authorities said Wednesday.

The Pima County Sheriff’s Department posted the update to social media as the search continues for Nancy Guthrie, 84, who was reported missing Sunday.

“Detectives continue to speak with anyone who may have had contact with Mrs. Guthrie,” the sheriff’s department said in Wednesday’s statement.

Authorities believe Guthrie was taken from her Tucson, Arizona, home over the weekend. A little bit of blood found inside the home was being tested, a law enforcement source familiar with the case told CBS News.

“Detectives are working closely with the Guthrie family,” the sheriff’s department said in its statement Wednesday. “While we appreciate the public’s concern, the sharing of unverified accusations or false information is irresponsible and does not assist the investigation.”

Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos said Tuesday that evidence collected from the home hadn’t yet pointed toward a suspect. He also said it wasn’t clear how many people took Guthrie. “It could be one, it could’ve been more, I don’t know,” he said.

Guthrie’s family reported the disappearance to authorities Sunday after looking for her at her home when they were told that Guthrie missed church that morning.

Savannah Guthrie and mother Nancy Guthrie on the “Today” show June 15, 2023. Nathan Congleton/NBC via Getty Images

Nanos told CBS News on Tuesday that a ransom note was sent to a local Arizona news station following Guthrie’s disappearance.

The note, which the station received Monday and agreed not to report on, contained specific details about the home and what Guthrie was wearing that night, Nanos said, although he would not confirm the accuracy of that information or the legitimacy of the note.

Nanos did not specify which station the note was sent to, but CBS affiliate KOLD-TV reported Tuesday it had received an email that “appears to be one of the alleged ransom notes,” which it forwarded to the sheriff’s office.

Investigators have analyzed the note and are taking it seriously, Nanos said.

Nanos told the New York Times on Tuesday that Guthrie’s other daughter, Annie Guthrie, and her husband, Tommaso Cioni, had dinner together Saturday night. The couple live near Nancy Guthrie, and Cioni took her home afterward, making sure that she got inside OK before he left, Nanos told the Times. Earlier this week, Nanos told Us Weekly that Annie Guthrie was the last known person to see her mother before the disappearance.

Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos speaks to the media on February 3, 2026 in Tucson, Arizona. He was answering questions about the search for Nancy Guthrie, the missing mother of NBC host Savannah Guthrie. Jan Sonnenmair / Getty Images

Nanos has dismissed the possibility that Nancy Guthrie, who lives alone, may have wandered away from her home because he said she doesn’t have any cognitive issues and her mobility is limited.

Nancy Guthrie has three children in total: Annie Guthrie, Savannah Guthrie and son Charles Guthrie.

Jordan Freiman, Pat Milton and Jonathan Vigliotti contributed to this report.

美官员称将立即从明尼苏达州撤离700名执法人员 | 联合早报

发布/2026年2月4日 23:45

美国政府边境事务主管霍曼星期三（2月4日）宣布，将立即从明尼苏达州撤离700名联邦执法人员。 （法新社）

美国政府边境事务主管霍曼星期三（2月4日）宣布，将立即从明尼苏达州撤离700名联邦执法人员。

法新社报道，霍曼指这项决定将“立即”生效，称此举是基于与地方当局加强合作的结果，但未说明这些警员将撤离明尼阿波利斯市，还是从其他地区撤离。

霍曼解释称，如今“更多警员直接从监狱接收被羁押的外国犯人”，而非在街头拘捕，而这大幅减少所需的人力。

但他说，缩编后明尼苏达州仍将保留约2000名警员，远高于大规模移民执法行动前约150人的规模。

霍曼强调，自己不会离开明尼阿波利斯，“直到我们完成所有任务”。

在特朗普政府升级移民执法、联邦人员大规模进驻明尼苏达州期间，明尼阿波利斯居民普雷蒂于1月24日被执法人员枪杀，成为该行动中第二名丧生的当地居民，事件迅速引发当地紧张局势升级以及全美多州抗议。

Thune blasts Jeffries, Schumer as ‘afraid of their shadows’ as DHS funding fight heats up

Senate Majority Leader John Thune doesn’t have confidence that top congressional Democrats want to fix DHS funding bill

By Alex Miller
Fox News

Published February 4, 2026 11:55am EST

Fox News chief congressional correspondent Chad Pergram reports on the end of a partial government shutdown as the battle over DHS funding continues ahead of a new deadline on ‘Fox News @ Night.’

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., doesn’t have confidence that top congressional Democrats want to fix Homeland Security funding as Congress gears up for tense negotiations in the coming days.

With the partial four-day government shutdown now over, Democrats and Republicans are readying to relitigate the controversial Department of Homeland Security (DHS) bill, which threatened to completely derail a previous bipartisan funding deal.

And with nine days on the clock to figure out a way forward, Thune doesn’t believe that House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., or Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., are prepared to actually reach a bipartisan deal on the bill.

SHUTDOWN AVERTED FOR NOW, BUT SENATE WARNS DHS FIGHT COULD TRIGGER ANOTHER IN DAYS

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., doesn’t believe that Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., or House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., would be honest brokers in the upcoming DHS negotiations.(Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

When asked if he viewed Jeffries, who rebelled against Schumer’s funding deal with President Donald Trump, as a good-faith partner in the coming back-and-forth, Thune said, “He’s just not.”

“He and, for that matter, Leader Schumer, both are afraid of their shadows, and they’re getting a lot of rollback and pressure from their left,” Thune said. “So, I don’t think they want to — particularly in [Jeffries’] case, I don’t think he wants to make a deal at all.”

TRUMP UNDERCUTS GOP PUSH TO ATTACH SAVE ACT TO SHUTDOWN BILL AS CONSERVATIVES THREATEN MUTINY

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., arrives for a news conference after a policy luncheon on Capitol Hill, Feb. 3, 2026, in Washington.(Mariam Zuhaib/AP Photo)

Schumer on Tuesday said that Democrats would have a proposal ready for Republicans to review that same day, but Thune noted that no such list had been handed over to his side of the aisle.

There may still be lingering discourse between the top Democratic leaders, too, after Jeffries turned his back on the Trump-Schumer funding deal. However, both met on Tuesday night, and Schumer affirmed that they were on the same page.

HOUSE DEMOCRATS MUTINY SCHUMER’S DEAL WITH WHITE HOUSE, THREATENING LONGER SHUTDOWN

President Donald Trump during a bill signing to end the partial government shutdown in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, Feb. 3, 2026.(Yuri Gripas/Abaca/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Meanwhile, DHS is currently operating under a two-week continuing resolution (CR) that maintains previous funding levels until Congress can pass legislation to fully fund it. But Thune and other Republicans believe that the truncated time period just isn’t long enough to actually hash out a deal.

And it’s an open question whether Congress will again need to temporarily extend the funding patch, or allow the agency to shut down.

Compounding frustrations among Republicans is that the original DHS bill was the product of bipartisan negotiations and included several guardrails and reporting requirements targeting Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) that would limit or block funding if they weren’t met.

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“I think they want to litigate, have the issue as a political issue,” Thune said. “Whether or not there’s a solution remains to be seen, but at least what they’re saying publicly suggests that that’s not their objective.”

Alex Miller is a writer for Fox News Digital covering the U.S. Senate.

Ryan Routh sentenced to life in prison in Trump 2024 assassination attempt in Florida

February 4, 2026 / 1:10 PM EST / CBS News

[Ryan Routh], the man convicted of attempting to assassinate President Trump at his Florida golf course in 2024, has been sentenced to life in prison.

The sentence came down Wednesday during a federal court hearing. It was presided over by Judge Aileen Cannon, who dismissed the classified documents case against Mr. Trump last year.

A Florida jury in September found Routh, 59, guilty of all five felony charges that had been brought against him after the assassination attempt. They included one for attempted assassination of a major presidential candidate, another for assaulting a federal officer and multiple counts of unlawful firearm possession. Most of his convictions carried maximum sentences of 15 years, or more, in prison.

Routh represented himself during the criminal trial, delivering a confusing and at times dramatic defense that culminated in him apparently trying to harm himself using a pen when the jury announced its verdict. He was appointed an attorney for the sentencing.

The attorney had sought a reduced sentence for Routh while prosecutors pushed for life in prison.

In a court filing ahead of Wednesday’s hearing, Routh’s attorney asked the judge for a sentence of 27 years based on Routh’s age, mental health status and the fact that he ineffectively defended his case. The filing said Routh “asserts that the jury was misled by his inability to effectively confront witnesses, use exhibits or affirmatively introduce impeachment evidence designed to prove his lack of intent to cause injury to anyone,” and noted that he objected to the classification of his actions as a “federal crime of terrorism.”

Prosecutors, meanwhile, had argued that Routh’s crimes “undeniably warrant a life sentence,” saying in a separate filing that “he took steps over the course of months to assassinate a major Presidential candidate, demonstrated the will to kill anybody in the way, and has since expressed neither regret nor remorse to his victims.”

Routh was arrested in September 2024 at Mr. Trump’s West Palm Beach golf club. A U.S. Secret Service agent who testified at Routh’s trial said that he saw Routh on the property before Mr. Trump, then the Republican presidential candidate. Routh aimed his rifle at the agent but dropped the weapon and fled without firing any shots once the agent opened fire in his direction, according to the testimony.

Katrina Kaufman contributed to this report.