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DHS fires back after Dem billionaire David Trone claims ICE is ‘executing people’

Former State Del Neil Parrott, a Republican considering running against David Trone, said the Democrat’s comments are no way to represent a moderate district

By Charles Creitz
Fox News

Published February 4, 2026 6:00am EST

FIRST ON FOX: DHS threw cold water on a snowy video of Total Wine billionaire David Trone — who is seeking to recapture his Maryland congressional district from fellow Democrat Rep. April McClain-Delaney — standing outside a warehouse in Washington County while ridiculing ICE’s operations.

Former Rep. David Trone, D-Md., who gave up the seat last term to mount an ultimately unsuccessful bid against now-Sen. Angela Alsobrooks, D-Md., for that open Senate seat, stood outside a Hagerstown-area warehouse and lambasted ICE’s immigration enforcement operations.

“Today we’re just outside the city limit of Hagerstown, stopping by what’s going be a future ICE facility. We know one thing, we don’t need another ICE prison here or anywhere else in America,” Trone said, standing beside the snowy site in Williamsport.

Trone said that “since day one,” ICE has been taking prisoners, “literally executing people on the streets” in “not just Minneapolis… all over the United States.”

TOP DEM LAMBASTED FOR DEMANDING CONGRESS BAN ICE FROM POLLING PLACES: ‘WAIT, WHY…?’

Total Wine co-founder David Trone is running for his old congressional seat in the Maryland panhandle.(Robb Hill/Getty Images)

“ICE has to go and we sure don’t want them in Washington County.”

The East Berlin, Pennsylvania-born billionaire founded the liquor superstore chain Total Wine & More with his brother in 1991 and would be the wealthiest member of Congress if he returned to Washington.

In response to Trone’s video, a DHS official told Fox News Digital exclusively that DHS had indeed purchased land and a facility near Hagerstown, but that they will not be simply warehousing anyone.

“[These] will be very well-structured [detention facilities] meeting our regular detention standards,” the DHS official said.

“Every day, DHS is conducting law enforcement activities across the country to keep Americans safe. It should not come as news that ICE will be making arrests in states across the U.S. and is actively working to expand detention space.”

The official added that ICE is targeting the most “vicious” of illegal immigrants, as Trone’s Maryland was also ground zero for the Kilmar Abrego-Garcia saga.

DEMS BLASTED FOR TRYING TO ‘DEPORT’ ICE FROM SWING COUNTY, REFERENCING ‘BLOOD MONEY’ RENT

“Thanks to the One Big Beautiful Bill, ICE has new funding to expand detention space to keep these criminals off American streets before they are removed for good from our communities,” the official said, in apparent reference to the newest purchase.

It reportedly sold for $102 million.

DHS also purchased another massive property in Shartlesville, Pennsylvania, across Interstate 78 from the former Roadside America tourist attraction for reportedly similar reasons.

DEM SENATOR WARNER ADMITS BIDEN ‘SCREWED UP’ THE BORDER, BUT CLAIMS ICE NOW TARGETING NON-CRIMINALS

Del. Neil Parrott, left., former Rep. Roscoe Bartlett, R-Md., right.(Tom Williams/Getty Images)

While Trone said that Hagerstown does not need ICE’s intervention, the agency disagreed.

The official pointed to two recent captures of violent illegal immigrants in the city, which is sandwiched between the Mason-Dixon Line and Potomac River.

Jose Antonio Rodas-Ortes, a criminal illegal immigrant, was recently detained in the Washington County seat, with a rap sheet including sex offenses.

MINNESOTA SHAKEUP SHIFTS LEADERSHIP NOT STRATEGY, WHITE HOUSE SAYS, PUSHING BACK ON ‘RETREAT’ CLAIM

Another illegal immigrant, Mohamed Bah, was captured with a record including aggravated assault with a gun, cocaine-related charges, assault, and illegally possessing a weapon – while Allan Garcia-Pinto was picked up by ICE with a prior drug trafficking conviction.

Trone’s election this year is a complex contest, as he faces McClain-Delaney in the primary while Republicans have a slightly stronger hand amid redistricting.

For decades, the seat ran throughout the “Mountain Maryland” and the panhandle and into relatively rural Carroll County north of Washington.

MIKE DAVIS: WHY SURRENDER IS NOT AN OPTION FOR ICE’S MINNESOTA MISSION

Then-Rep. Roscoe Bartlett, R-Md., lost his 2010 contest after Carroll was removed, and the district was adjusted to include a slice of dense, liberal Montgomery County – going from a 28-point Bartlett win to a 20-point Bartlett loss in one cycle.

The 2014 race was the closest Republicans have come to taking back the seat, when former FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino lost to McClain-Delaney’s husband John by one point.

Since 2022’s latest map, some of the district’s less-Washingtonian confines have been returned, but it still is rated as Democrat-favored.

FAR-LEFT DC SUBURB TELLS RESIDENTS TO CALL 911 IF THEY SEE ICE

Former state Del. Neil Parrott, R-Hagerstown, formed an exploratory committee and is considering a fourth attempt to win the seat. Marine veteran and small business owner Chris Burnett of Gaithersburg is currently declared.

Parrott told Fox News Digital that Trone’s rhetoric is “very disappointing” as he runs to represent what is geographically a moderate district.

“This is not the way to bring our country together or represent District 6. You have very conservative Garrett and Allegany counties, moderate Frederick and liberal Montgomery.”

Citing Maryland’s failure to secure FEMA funds after Potomac tributaries ravaged Westernport and Luke last year, Parrott said it is “no surprise” given how Democrats in the district go “over the top attacking the president and [showing] no intention to work with Republicans at all.”

In December, Trone told Politico that opposition to President Donald Trump will be key to his campaign, saying that the president and his party are committing an “assault on democracy” and weaponizing government.

“Our fundamental freedoms are being dismantled piece by piece,” he said.

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McClain-Delaney compared Trone to Trump in terms of “arrogance,” telling the outlet that Trone appears to think she “should step aside so he can have his old seat.”

Fox News Digital reached out to the campaigns of Trone, McClain-Delaney and Burnett 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.

美伊谈判在即军事摩擦不断：美军击落无人机 伊朗扣押油轮 | 联合早报

发布/2026年2月4日 20:54

（华盛顿／迪拜／德黑兰综合电）在美国与伊朗即将重启核谈判前夕，双方在中东海域接连发生军事摩擦，令本已脆弱的外交努力再添不确定性。

美国中央司令部发言人霍金斯发声明说，伊朗一架“目击者-139”型无人机星期二（2月3日）在阿拉伯海，以侵略性方式接近亚伯拉罕·林肯号航母，且意图不明。这架无人机在“美军在国际水域采取缓和局势措施后仍继续飞向航母”，美军F-35C战机随后将它击落。此次事件并未造成美方人员受伤，也未有装备受损。

无人机事件发生几小时后，两艘伊朗伊斯兰革命卫队船只和一架伊朗无人机在霍尔木兹海峡，高速接近一艘悬挂美国国旗、由美国船员驾驶的油轮，并威胁登船扣押这艘油轮。

霍金斯指出，当时在该海域执行任务的美军麦克福尔号导弹驱逐舰立即赶赴现场，在美国空军支援下护送这艘油轮。他说：“局势因此得以缓和，这艘油轮目前正在安全航行。”

伊朗方面则称，这艘未指明国籍的船只进入了伊朗在霍尔木兹海峡的领海，并在受到警告后立即离开了伊朗水域。

这两起在中东海域发生的冲突事件导致两国紧张关系加剧。

不过，美国总统特朗普星期二在白宫告诉记者，美伊两国仍在进行外交对话。白宫也说，美国特使威特科夫与伊朗定星期五（6日）举行的核谈判仍会进行。

但有美方官员向《华尔街日报》透露，海上对峙发生后，特朗普曾考虑退出与伊朗的谈判，但最终选择继续推进。

海上对峙添变数 伊朗要求改地点限议题推核谈

据一名了解伊朗诉求的地区外交官说，新的对峙为本已脆弱的外交努力增添变数。伊朗正要求将谈判地点由土耳其改至阿曼，并将议题范围收窄至仅限美伊之间的核谈判。

这名外交官补充称，伊朗目前只想与美国讨论核问题，但美方却希望纳入其他议题。据知，特朗普提出恢复谈判的三个条件，即伊朗停止铀浓缩活动、限制德黑兰的弹道导弹计划，以及停止支持地区代理人。

目前已有多个国家获邀参与谈判，但伊朗方面希望只有伊朗和美国双方谈判，而非有多个阿拉伯和伊斯兰国家作为观察员出席。

伊朗尚未确认会谈地点，但称土耳其、阿曼和一些地区国家已表示愿意主办会谈。

另有消息人士称，特朗普政府已同意会谈改在阿曼举行。以色列总理内坦亚胡则敦促美国特使在重启核谈判中对伊朗保持怀疑，称德黑兰的承诺并不可信。

华盛顿中东研究所高级研究员卡图利斯认为，当前可能出现一种“遮羞布式”安排，即通过有限接触或象征性谈判，为特朗普争取时间推进外交，同时避免立即动用武力。但他也指出，在谈判尚需数日才能展开的情况下，海上对峙频繁发生，误判升级为军事冲突的风险仍然存在。

韩国高龄者雇佣率首破70% 延长退休年龄成政策焦点

2026年2月4日 20:35 联合早报

随着韩国高龄人口不断增加，延迟退休成为社会关注课题。 （法新社）

在中壮年重新活跃于劳动市场的趋势下，韩国55至64岁高龄者的雇佣率于2025年首次突破70%，引发各界对延长退休年龄与再雇用制度的广泛讨论。

据韩国雇佣劳动部星期三（2月4日）发布的《高龄者雇佣动向》数据显示，2025年，55至64岁高龄者雇佣率达70.5%，较2024年的69.9%提高0.6个百分点，创1983年有统计以来新高。

自2007年起，高龄者就业率维持在60%左右，2013年后逐步上升，2022年进入60%后段区间，呈持续增长趋势。这意味着超过七成的高龄人口仍活跃于职场，反映其对经济收入的高度依赖。

此外，高龄者的经济活动参与率（包括就业者与求职者）亦达72.0%，同比上升0.4个百分点，同期失业率则由2.4%降至2.1%，呈现稳定下降趋势。

延迟退休成社会关注课题

国家统计资料也显示，高龄者（55至64岁）在职人口中，占比达18.4%，在15岁以上人口中则为五分之一。目前逐步进入60岁的群体多为1964至1974年出生的“第二次婴儿潮”一代，约有954万人，占全国人口的18.6%。该世代的大量退休，使得韩国面临严重的劳动力结构压力。

随着高龄人口不断增加，延迟退休成为社会关注课题。

劳动界主张，应依据国民年金的领取年龄，将退休年龄延至65岁，企业界则更倾向于推行“退休后再雇用”等灵活模式，同时指出在现有“定岗年薪制”下，如延长退休年龄，还需配合薪资体系的改革。

此外，一些人担忧，大规模延迟退休可能抑制青年就业，诱发代际矛盾。

高龄就业趋势 折射出严重老年贫困问题

值得注意的是，韩国高龄就业趋势背后，也折射出严重的老年贫困问题。

据统计，2023年韩国66岁以上人口的收入贫困率为39.7%，在经济合作与发展组织（OECD）成员国中排名第一。2024年，相对贫困率在66至75岁为26.6%，76岁以上更飙升至53.8%。贫困程度随年龄递增，尤其在农村地区更加明显，农渔村老年人口贫困率比城市高出1.37倍。

专家呼吁，政府加快改革养老金制度，扩大对高龄群体的社会保障，尤其应强化农村与弱势群体的福利支援，并创造更多适合老年人的灵活就业岗位，以应对持续扩大的老年贫困与劳动力结构变动。

调查记者刘虎被拘 中国外交部：司法机关依法办案

2026年2月4日 20:24 / 联合早报

中国警方拘留两名独立记者遭到无国界记者组织谴责，中国外交部回应称，中国司法机关依法办案，法律面前人人平等。

中国知名调查记者刘虎和另一名自媒体人巫英蛟日前被警方拘留，此举遭到无国界记者组织谴责。

中国外交部发言人林剑星期三（2月4日）在例行记者会上答记者问时说，上述具体案件，中方的有关主管部门已经发布了消息。

“我要强调的是，中国是法治国家。中国的司法机关依法办案，法律面前人人平等。”

刘虎和巫英蛟在撰写了《曾逼死教授的四川县委书记，如今又把招商企业逼向破产》一文后，星期天（2月1日）被四川成都警方采取刑事强制措施。据警方通报，对两人涉嫌“诬告陷害罪”和“非法经营罪”立案侦查。

总部设在法国巴黎的无国界记者组织认为，此次拘留事件凸显出中国独立报道环境的“限制性和敌对性”。

Feds releasing Elizabeth Zuna, 4th-grader who’s from same school district as Liam Ramos, officials say

February 4, 2026 / 6:16 AM EST / CBS News

Federal authorities are releasing fourth-grader Elizabeth Zuna, the first of several students detained by immigration officers in the Minneapolis suburb of Columbia Heights, the school district’s superintendent said late Tuesday.

Elizabeth and her mother were “picked up by ICE on their way to school” on Jan. 6 and were being held at the Dilley Immigration Processing Center, Zena Stenvik said in a statement. The ICE facility, which houses parents and children taken into federal custody over alleged violations of immigration law, is located in south Texas.

It wasn’t clear when they would return to Minnesota due in part to a measles outbreak at the detention facility that “may require a quarantine period,” Stenvik said, adding that “we do not know the status of Elizabeth’s health at this time.”

But, she went on to say, “We are filled with joy at the anticipation of the family when Elizabeth’s father can once again be reunited with his daughter and wife.”

Columbia Heights is the same city where 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos and his father were detained last month in a case that sparked much controversy. Both were released from Dilley and returned home Sunday, a day after a federal judge ordered ICE to free them.

Columbia Heights schools reopened Tuesday following a racially and politically motivated bomb threat that forced them to close for the day on Monday, CBS News Minnesota reported.

While it was a relief for district residents to see Liam return home, Stenvik said the struggle is far from over.

“Having Liam return to his family has provided us with a glimmer of hope, but it is bittersweet,” she said, pointing out that four other Columbia Heights students were still in federal custody at Dilley. Elizabeth’s release would leave three.

Stenvik also said dozens of parents of Columbia Heights elementary schoolers have been taken by federal agents.

She observed that while many people are hoping for de-escalation of tensions and of the ICE presence in the district, she hasn’t seen any.

In her statement late Monday, Stenvik said, “We have been very concerned about (Elizabeth) and our other students and families who are unjustly being held in detention centers. We seek the full release of all children and unjustly detained parents from detention center across our country.

“We seek a diplomatic and peaceful solution to end this terror that the enhanced immigration enforcement is causing in our community, our state and our county.”

Ryan Routh to be sentenced Wednesday for attempted assassination of Trump in 2024 at Florida golf course

Published Feb 4, 2026, 4:00 AM ET / CNN

By

[Holmes Lybrand]
,

[Randi Kaye]

3 hr ago

In this imaged released by the Martin County, Florida, Sheriff’s Office, law enforcement officers arrest Ryan Routh on September 15, 2024.

Martin County Sheriff’s Office/AP/File

After plotting, stalking and lying in wait for the right moment to shoot and kill then-former President Donald Trump, the man who set up a sniper’s nest on the edge of Trump’s West Palm Beach golf course in Florida and was thwarted by a Secret Service agent, will be sentenced Wednesday.

Ryan Routh was convicted of five counts in September after a disastrous attempt to represent himself at trial – where he was constantly reprimanded by the federal judge presiding, Aileen Cannon.

Cannon will be tasked with determining Routh’s sentence for the convicted charges, which include attempted assassination of a major presidential candidate. Routh is expected to argue in court Wednesday against prosecutors’ attempts to add a terrorism enhancement to increase his sentence.

“He’s his own man, he doesn’t follow the advice that lawyers give him, but he’s well within his rights to say whatever is on his mind and whatever is on his chest,” Martin Roth, an attorney for Routh hired after his conviction, told CNN.

Roth said that his client’s comments Wednesday “will be unusual” and likely “will only be partially about the case.”

Prosecutors are asking Cannon to impose a life sentence.

“Routh’s crimes undeniably warrant a life sentence – he took steps over the course of months to assassinate a major Presidential candidate,” prosecutors said in a court filing last month. Routh “demonstrated the will to kill anybody in the way, and has since expressed neither regret nor remorse to his victims.”

During his trial, Routh was constantly shut down by Cannon after veering into off-topic areas or potential explanations for his actions, including drug use.

[Related vertical video Lothar Speer Would-be Trump assassin tries to stab himself in neck after guilty verdict]

The failed plot

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According to evidence presented at trial, Routh had been near the golf course and Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence in the weeks leading up to his thwarted assassination attempt. Burner phones used by Routh also showed searches for “Trump’s upcoming rallies” and “Palm Beach traffic cameras.”

In a letter quickly uncovered by investigators, Routh had written a confession of his attempt to assassinate Trump, writing on the first page: “I tried my best and gave it all the gumption I could muster. It is up to you now to finish the job; and I will offer $150,000 to whomever can complete the job.”

There’s no indication Routh had the money to fund his offer.

Armed with an old, Soviet-styled rifle and protected by armored plates hanging over the fence, Routh set his sights on the sixth hole of Trump’s golf course on September 15, 2024, with the former president playing a round of golf one hole back, just minutes away.

A Secret Service agent, tasked with clearing the area ahead of Trump, spotted Routh’s partially obscured face and the barrel of a rifle sticking through the chain-linked fence bordering the course.

With the gun pointed at him, the agent fired several shots from his pistol before taking cover behind a tree and radioing in the threat.

Routh fled the scene but was spotted by a citizen, Tommy McGee, crossing the street, getting into a vehicle and driving away.

McGee, who testified at Routh’s trial, took down the license plate of the car and was later flown that same day to where local authorities located and stopped Routh to identify the would-be assassin.

During his cross-examination at trial, Routh told McGee, “You’re a good man. You’re my hero. You’re an American hero.”

Other evidence presented at trial showed Routh plotting his getaway, searching terms like “Directions to Miami airport” and “flights to Mexico.”

A unique trial and near-deadly end

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Routh chose to represent himself early on in his case, including through public court filings before trial where he called Trump “a racist pig” and challenged the president to “a beatdown session” or a round of golf, adding that if “he wins he can execute me, I win I get his job.”

Judge Cannon continually stopped Routh during September’s trial, as he jumped around in territory outside the bounds of the case.

During closing arguments, Routh argued the assassination of Trump was “never going to happen” and therefore “if the attempted assassination was not taken, it is not an attempt.”

Cannon interrupted Routh at least 10 times in his closing arguments alone, after which a jury convened for 3 hours before announcing the guilty verdict.

Once the verdict was read in open court, Routh attempted to stab himself in the neck with a pen as his daughter yelled from the audience, “Oh my god, he’s trying to kill himself, he’s trying to kill himself! Someone stop him, please!”

He was stopped by deputy US Marshals.

美国联邦政府结束部分停摆 特朗普吁选举改由联邦政府监管 | 联合早报

（华盛顿综合电）美国总统特朗普周二（2月3日）签署一项拨款法案，结束为期四天的联邦政府部分停摆。

共和党控制的众议院同日稍早以217票对214票的微弱优势通过有关法案。投票结果基本以党派划分，但有21名民主党议员投支持票，21名共和党议员投反对票。

这项法案为国防部、教育部、卫生与公众服务部、劳工部、交通部，以及住房与城市发展部提供资金，直至9月30日本财政年度结束。原本捆绑在一起的国土安全部拨款则被拆分出来，只获得两周的临时拨款至下星期五（2月13日），期间民主、共和两党将继续就改进国安部运作进行谈判。

在这之前，民主党议员因不满国安部下属的移民与海关执法局（ICE）人员在明尼阿波利斯市执法时枪杀两名美国平民，坚持要求对移民执法进行全面改革，导致原本的拨款法案无法在国会通过，联邦政府因此从上星期日（1月31日）开始部分停摆。白宫和民主党领袖磋商后，同意只为国安部提供两周拨款，并继续谈判移民执法改革，僵局才得以打破。

特朗普在白宫签署拨款法案时，称赞这是“美国人民的巨大胜利”。

许多民主党众议员投票反对这项法案，因为它为国安部提供两周资金，却没有对移民执法人员施加新的限制。

一群保守派众议员本来也威胁要通过程序性手段阻挠这项法案通过，但在特朗普要求他们投票支持后放弃阻挠。

这些保守派人士中，一些反对这项法案是因为其中包含一些增加支出和民主党支持的重点项目；另一些则希望加入一些选举法的修改条款。

民主党担心特朗普意图干预中期选举

特朗普周二在椭圆形办公室对记者讲话时，也敦促共和党议员通过选举改革法案，同时呼吁共和党人将选举“全国化”。这遭到民主党和一些共和党议员的强烈反对。民主党人担心，特朗普意图干预11月举行的中期选举，这次选举将决定国会的控制权。

在周一发布的一段与前联邦调查局（FBI）副局长邦吉诺（Dan Bongino）的播客访谈中，特朗普重复他关于2020年大选被窃取的虚假说法，并称共和党应该“接管”至少15个地方的投票，并由联邦政府负责监督管理选务工作，但他未详细说明。

特朗普周二说：“各州是联邦政府在选举中的代理机构。我不明白为什么联邦政府不直接负责选举。”

根据美国宪法，选举由州政府而非联邦政府负责监督，大多数选举由县和地方官员管理。民主党官员和投票权倡导者说，特朗普发表这番言论，表明他计划破坏甚至操纵今年的选举结果。

弗吉尼亚州民主党参议员沃纳（Mark Warner）在记者会上说：“这与2020年大选无关。这显然关乎未来。”

总统所属政党历来会在中期选举失去席位，而民主党只须在11月选举中拿下三个共和党控制的选区，就能掌控众议院。

中国检察机关去年前11月起诉缅北涉诈人员超1.1万人

2026-02-04T12:05:00.000Z / 联合早报

柬埔寨警方1月31日在柴桢省捣毁一个大型电诈园区，逮捕2000余名外籍嫌犯，其中1792人是中国籍。 （取自柬埔寨警方脸书）

去年1月至11月，中国检察机关批捕缅北涉诈人员4300余人，起诉超过1万1000人。

中新经纬报道，中国最高人民检察院检委会委员、经济犯罪检察厅厅长杜学毅星期三（2月4日）在最高检厅长访谈时透露以上数据。

据介绍，过去一年，中国检察机关持续释放对电诈犯罪从严惩治的强烈信号。去年1月至11月，中国检察机关起诉电信网络诈骗犯罪6万2000人，包括对4300余名缅北集中遣返涉诈人员批准逮捕。

浙江、广东、福建等检察机关依法办理缅北明家、白家、魏家、刘家等重大跨境犯罪集团案件，案件由最高检挂牌督办、全程指导督导，其中明家、白家犯罪集团已经判决。

杜学毅称，缅北系列案件是中国依法行使司法管辖权，对境外特重大犯罪集团及其外国籍首要分子依法严惩的典型案件，充分彰显了中国依法从严从重惩处的坚定立场，以及保护公民生命财产安全的坚定决心。

此外，中国检察机关也打击为电诈提供各类帮助的网络黑灰产，去年1月至11月，共起诉帮助信息网络犯罪活动犯罪2万9000余人。

据新华社报道，杜学毅也提到，在打击电诈的同时，检察机关近年严惩洗钱犯罪。

2022年至2024年，洗钱罪起诉案件数量年平均增幅约10%。2025年1月至11月，检察机关以洗钱罪起诉2308件、涉2684人；结合打击跨境电诈、网络赌博等专项行动，起诉掩饰隐瞒犯罪所得、犯罪所得收益犯罪5万9000余件、涉9万3000余人。

What replaced USAID? Inside the Trump administration’s global health overhaul

New framework ties billions in foreign aid to performance benchmarks and pushes countries to assume greater responsibility through bilateral agreements

By Morgan Phillips
Fox News

Published February 4, 2026 7:00am EST

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For months after the Trump administration dismantled the U.S. Agency for International Development, critics warned that America’s global health programs were being gutted. What drew far less attention was what replaced it.

In December 2025, the White House quietly rolled out the America First Global Health Strategy, shifting control of U.S. global health aid from USAID to the State Department and fundamentally rewriting how billions of dollars in foreign assistance are distributed.

The transition has been shaped in part by a small group of former officials now advising the White House from the private sector, including former USAID administrator Mark Green and former lawmakers Ted Yoho and Chris Stewart. They are not running the programs, but they have been involved in pressing for clearer accountability standards, tighter performance metrics and congressional guardrails they say are necessary if the new framework is going to last beyond a single administration.

At the core of the strategy is a sharp break from how U.S. health aid traditionally has worked. The America First Global Health Strategy replaces USAID’s grant-heavy, nongovernmental organization-driven model with country-by-country agreements that tie funding to performance benchmarks and push foreign governments to assume greater responsibility over time. The framework promises tighter control over spending, but many of its enforcement details — including how benchmarks will be set and applied — are still being developed.

The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), essentially has been replaced by a new program known as America First Global Health Strategy.(Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

So far, the strategy has been implemented through a limited number of bilateral health agreements negotiated country by country. In December 2025, the United States signed a five-year health cooperation agreement with Kenya, covering areas such as HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis, with U.S. funding tied to continued performance and increased co-investment by the Kenyan government. Similar memorandums of understanding have since been signed or are under negotiation with countries including Nigeria and Cameroon, according to State Department disclosures.

Congress has long appropriated global health funding at a high level, giving USAID broad discretion over how programs were designed and implemented — a structure that left lawmakers with oversight but little involvement in individual funding decisions. Yoho said that discretion allowed the agency to drift over time.

“It lost the purity of purpose of what it was designed to do,” Yoho said. “They lost their mark and they became political and ideological.”

The new strategy, by contrast, explicitly frames global health assistance around U.S. national security, bilateral relationships and economic interests. But because it has not been codified into law, those priorities could be redefined or reversed by a future administration.

TRUMP’S GLOBAL HEALTH STRATEGY COULD MARK A TURNING POINT IN THE AIDS BATTLE

“If it’s not codified in the law, how aid is supposed to be done, it’ll go away if we flip to a Democratic administration,” Yoho said.

Former Rep. Chris Stewart, who served on both the House Intelligence Committee and the Appropriations subcommittee responsible for funding foreign assistance, said that even lawmakers who approved global health spending often had limited visibility into how programs operated once money left Washington.

“Even as an appropriator — someone who supposedly wrote the checks — we didn’t have the oversight that we needed,” Stewart said.

Under the America First Global Health Strategy, Stewart said oversight is intended to begin earlier, with clearer priorities and closer alignment between U.S. objectives and what recipient countries actually want. During his travels, Stewart said foreign leaders repeatedly told him they were less interested in open-ended aid than in building their own capacity.

“We don’t really just want aid,” Stewart said. “We want trade. We want to build our own capacity.”

Stewart said the shift toward government-to-government agreements is intended to make spending more traceable and more directly attributable to the United States, while still requiring firm controls to prevent waste or abuse.

Because it has not been codified into law, current priorities could be redefined or reversed by a future administration.(Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

In December, the United States signed a five-year health cooperation agreement with Kenya, covering areas such as HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis, with U.S. funding tied to continued performance and increased co-investment by the Kenyan government.(iStock)

RUBIO UNLOADS ON ‘ALARMISTS,’ TOUTS STATE DEPT DISASTER RESPONSE AFTER USAID CLOSURE

“That doesn’t mean every government we work with is perfect,” he said, “but it does make it easier to know where the money is actually going.”

Supporters of the new framework point to longstanding disease-specific programs as evidence that tighter oversight does not require abandoning global health investments altogether. Yoho, Stewart and Green all cited PEPFAR, the U.S. government’s HIV/AIDS initiative, as a model of bipartisan foreign assistance that has saved lives while strengthening U.S. relationships abroad.

Stewart and Green also pointed to malaria prevention efforts, while both emphasized child health and nutrition as areas Congress should continue to prioritize.

Yoho also cited the use of ready-to-use therapeutic food (RUTF) to treat severe childhood malnutrition, describing it as a low-cost intervention with clear humanitarian impact and broad bipartisan support.

Former USAID administrator Green said the strategy is built around accelerating what he calls the “journey to self-reliance,” moving countries from long-term aid recipients to partners — and eventually, in some cases, donors themselves.

“We want every country to go from being an aid recipient, to a partner, to — in a perfect world — a fellow donor and investor,” Green said.

Congress has long appropriated global health funding at a high level, giving USAID broad discretion over how programs were designed and implemented — a structure that left lawmakers with oversight but little involvement in individual funding decisions.(Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP Photo)

Under the new framework, Green said global health assistance is negotiated nation by nation through bilateral agreements tailored to local conditions and reciprocal obligations.

“This isn’t a handout,” he said. “This instead is a joint venture between the U.S. and the government in another country,” designed to build local capacity and shift responsibility over time.

The strategy also places greater emphasis on leveraging private-sector tools alongside government funding.

Green pointed to partnerships with U.S. companies such as Zipline, which uses drone technology to deliver blood and medical supplies in hard-to-reach areas, as an illustration of how the framework seeks to pair public health goals with American innovation.

Still, Green acknowledged that much of the system remains a work in progress. While the agreements are intended to tie funding to performance and burden-sharing, he said many of the specific benchmarks and enforcement mechanisms are still being finalized.

“A wedding is easy and a marriage is hard,” Green said, describing the challenge of translating broad agreements into measurable, enforceable outcomes.

For supporters of the new strategy, the tighter focus on accountability is also meant to address longstanding skepticism on the right about foreign aid itself. Yoho said he once shared that skepticism.

“I was one of those that wanted to get rid of foreign aid,” he said. “Then I got up there and realized how ignorant I was about good, effective foreign aid.”

He said the argument becomes easier when programs are clearly defined and measurable.

“If representatives have credible information and can go back to their constituents and explain why we should support something — because it makes America safer, stronger, and more prosperous — the majority of people will support it,” Yoho said.

Whether the America First Global Health Strategy ultimately delivers on its promises — or exposes new risks — may depend less on its design than on how much authority Congress chooses to formalize, and how rigorously the administration enforces the accountability standards it has laid out.

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Former Capitol Police officer Harry Dunn running for Congress

February 4, 2026 / 5:30 AM EST / CBS News

Former U.S. Capitol Police officer Harry Dunn, who emerged as a national figure and activist after the Capitol siege on Jan. 6, 2021, announced a run for Congress in Maryland on Wednesday.

Dunn, a Democrat, has rapidly transformed into a well-known face and name in national politics in the years after he appeared and testified publicly at nationally televised hearings for the House January 6th Select Committee.

This will be Dunn’s second run for Congress, after an unsuccessful attempt to secure the Democratic nomination for a seat in Maryland’s 3rd District in 2024. This time, he is running in the nearby 5th District, which includes the eastern and southern suburbs of Washington, D.C.

The district is being vacated by Rep. Steny Hoyer, a longtime Democrat who previously served in leadership as House Majority Leader. Several other Democrats are contending for the deep-blue seat, including a state lawmaker who was endorsed by Hoyer.

Dunn was raised in the 5th District, which includes Prince George’s County, where Dunn was born, went to school and was a star athlete: “It’s home and it made me who I am,” he said.

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“We need people here in Congress who are prepared to stand up and fight,” Dunn told CBS News. “I’m hearing the fear of the people in the district, as I speak at events in Maryland. People are scared now.”

Dunn said the Trump administration’s mass layoffs of federal workers had a disproportionate impact on the 5th District, where a large number of federal employees live and some federal offices are based.

Other Democrats have previously utilized Dunn’s political following by having him join fundraisers and political events to galvanize interest.

Dunn has been especially critical of President Trump, including his ongoing denial of the facts of the U.S. Capitol riot by Trump supporters.

“I have to respond to the rewriting of what happened that day,” Dunn said, “We refuse to let them happen.”

Trump pardoned more than 1,500 of the riot defendants, including those who beat and injured police officers. Trump has since sought to alter the history of Jan. 6, characterizing the prosecution of the convicted rioters as a “grave national injustice.”

The White House posted a page on its official government website last month with false claims about the attack, including that the 2020 election was “stolen” and that Capitol Police bear responsibility for the violence.

First elected in the early 1980s, Hoyer is a stalwart figure for House Democrats.

Maryland’s 5th District is reliably Democratic, and Hoyer easily won re-election in 2024 with more than 67% of the vote. But his upcoming retirement comes as Democrats continue to wrestle with tensions around generational change.

The race to succeed him already has notable dynamics on Democratic side as it draws a crowded field. And Dunn is entering the race after Hoyer already endorsed in the contest.

Among those already in the race are Quincy Bareebe, who lost a longshot primary run against Hoyer in 2024, and volunteer firefighter Harry Jarin, who started a primary run for the seat last May and said in an announcement news release at the time that “Steny represents a bygone era of politics that isn’t working for us anymore.”

After announcing he wouldn’t run for another term, Hoyer came out in support of Adrian Boafo, a Maryland state delegate who had once worked as his campaign manager, to replace him.

“Adrian has proven his ability to deliver results,” Hoyer said in a social media post.