FBI and IRS to investigate nonprofit groups for domestic terrorism links, sources say

March 18, 2026 / 3:21 PM EDT / CBS News

FBI and IRS agents are forming a new initiative to investigate nonprofit organizations over suspected possible links to domestic terrorism, sources briefed on the matter told CBS News.

In December, Attorney General Pam Bondi ordered law enforcement agencies and federal prosecutors to prioritize efforts to investigate and prosecute groups and individuals who belong to the anti-fascist antifa movement or are deemed “extremist.”

“These domestic terrorists use violence or the threat of violence to advance political and social agendas, including opposition to law and immigration enforcement; extreme views in favor of mass migration and open borders; adherence to radical gender ideology, anti-Americanism, anti-capitalism, or anti-Christianity,” Bondi wrote in the Dec. 4 memo.

The memo asked law enforcement agents to consider potential “tax crimes” in which extremist groups are “suspected of defrauding the Internal Revenue Service.”

A spokesperson for the FBI declined to comment.

“The Department of Justice is fully committed to preserving the rule of law, protecting law enforcement from coordinated attacks, ensuring everyone has the freedom to speak in the public square, participate freely in the electoral process, and practice their faith without fear of violence or harm, and bringing to justice the full range of criminal actors engaged in criminal conduct matching Congress’s definition of domestic terrorism,” a Justice Department spokesperson said.

A government official confirmed the plans for the FBI-IRS partnership, adding that the focus will be on exploring potential funding streams at nonprofits that support domestic terrorism or political violence.

The new “mission control command center” that is probing nonprofits will be based at the FBI, with agents from IRS Criminal Investigations working on one-year temporary assignments, one of the sources added.

It is not yet clear what groups could be targeted for investigation, though Bondi’s memo instructed all federal law enforcement agencies to scour their files for intelligence on antifa groups and forward it to the FBI.

The FBI was also ordered to develop a list of groups that are engaged in acts that “may constitute domestic terrorism,” as defined by federal law.

Such individuals or groups are, according to the law, involved in “acts dangerous to human life” that occur within the U.S. and may be intended to intimidate or coerce people, influence government policy through intimidation or affect the conduct of the government “by mass destruction, assassination or kidnapping.”

Although the term is defined in the law, there is no criminal charge on the books for domestic terrorism. Prosecutors typically charge defendants with other crimes and seek terrorism enhancements at sentencing.

Tom Brzozowski, the former domestic terrorism counsel at the Justice Department’s National Security Division, said the investigative approach laid out by Bondi in her December memo is concerning and raises questions about what predication the FBI has in order to legally justify creating a list of groups that should be targeted for criminal investigation.

Federal investigators “can look at open source information all they want. They don’t need any kind of particular predication to do that,” he told CBS News. “If you’re going to pull down information and retain it in a government data set, you have to have predication to do that – especially if you’re looking at it through an investigative lens.”

Bondi issued her memo after President Trump in late September issued an executive order on domestic terrorism that was sparked by a series of high-profile events, including the 2025 assassination of far-right influencer Charlie Kirk.

In addition to the FBI-IRS joint initiative, the deputy attorney general’s office has also been involved in creating a task force focused on looking into funding into antifa-linked groups, according to a source with direct knowledge of the matter.

U.S. attorney offices, meanwhile, have also been asked to assign a domestic terrorism coordinator, one of the sources added.

To date, there have been relatively few public criminal cases involving antifa.

The most prominent took place in northern Texas, where nine people accused of being part of a so-called antifa cell were convicted earlier this month for their roles in using weapons and explosives, providing material support to terrorists, obstruction, and attempted murder of an Alvarado police officer and correctional officers at the Prairieland ICE Detention Center.

Antifa, short for “anti-facist,” did not come up on Wednesday when FBI Director Kash Patel testified alongside other senior government intelligence officials before the Senate Intelligence Committee during its annual hearing on worldwide threats, nor was it referenced in the 2026 unclassified annual threat assessment of the intelligence community.

Patel is slated to appear again for the second of two worldwide threats hearings on Thursday, this time before the House Intelligence Committee.

During a hearing before the House Homeland Security Committee in December, a senior FBI official testified that antifa represented one of the biggest threats, but struggled to answer questions about the organization, its structure, or why the FBI labeled it as such.

US aircraft carrier moves away from Iran war for repairs after fire

2026-03-18T19:36:46.374Z / CNN

By [Haley Britzky]

23 min ago

PUBLISHED Mar 18, 2026, 3:36 PM ET

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The US Navy aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford departs Souda Bay on the island of Crete on February 26, 2026.

Costas Metaxakis/AFP/Getty Images/File

The USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier is moving away from operations tied to the Iran war and sailing to the US Navy’s base in Crete for repairs after a fire broke out in the ship’s laundry area last week, a US official said.

The movement of the Navy’s most advanced aircraft carrier comes as military operations against Iran are still in full swing, particularly as the US is seeking ways to reduce Iran’s threat to shipping in the Strait of Hormuz. The carrier has served as a ready platform for American fighter jets to participate in the campaign.

The fire on March 12 was not combat-related, the US military said at the time. Two sailors received medical treatment for non-life-threatening injuries and were in stable condition.

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The US official said the Ford, which was sailing in the Red Sea, would be at Souda Bay in Crete “for a brief period to conduct repairs,” which would determine what can be fixed immediately and what may need to be fixed when the ship goes back to its home port after its deployment. The other ships within the Ford Carrier Strike Group are remaining where they are in the region and not joining the Ford at Souda Bay.

USNI News first reported that the Ford was heading to Souda Bay for repairs.

The Pentagon did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine said Friday that the Pentagon was aware of the fire on board the Ford.

“We’re thinking about the crew there who were injured in the fire,” Caine said during a Pentagon press briefing. “We believe and hope that everyone will be OK and we’re grateful for that.”

The Ford — the Navy’s most advanced aircraft carrier — has been deployed for months, first [to the Caribbean] as part of the US military’s buildup in the region amid heightened tensions with Venezuela. In February, President Donald Trump said he was sending the carrier strike group to the Middle East in a move to apply more pressure on Iran.

The strike group entered the Mediterranean Sea in late February. The USS Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group has also been deployed in the region.

The Ford could break a record for the longest carrier deployment post-Vietnam if it remains deployed through mid-April, according to USNI News. It left for deployment to the Caribbean on June 24, 2025, according to US Southern Command.

The fire last week followed reports of consistent plumbing issues aboard the carrier, though the Navy said those issues had no impact on the carrier’s operations.

The New York Times [reported this week] that it took more than 30 hours to put out the fire, and that 600 crew members lost their beds. The US official said, however, that the entire effort in responding to the fire took 30 hours — putting out the fire, cleaning up water damage or other substances used to put out the fire, and ensuring there were no flare-ups — not that the fire itself burned for 30 hours.

The official also said that slightly more than 100 beds were damaged in the fire, as some sleeping areas are adjacent to the laundry area. But they acknowledged roughly 600 sailors total were displaced from their sleeping areas or bunks. Displacement could happen because their bed specifically was impacted — beds are sometimes shared by service members who are on opposite shifts — or because the entire space is deemed uninhabitable because of smoke or water damage to some of the beds.

The Ford strike group consists of the carrier and its carrier air wing, as well as Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyers the USS Mahan, USS Bainbridge, and the USS Winston S. Churchill.

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Justice Department blocked release of secret Epstein drug probe file, Sen. Ron Wyden says

Updated on: March 18, 2026 / 2:39 PM EDT / CBS News

Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon accused a top Justice Department official of blocking the release of a document related to a secret investigation of drug trafficking and prostitution by Jeffrey Epstein.

Wyden said Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche blocked the release of an unredacted 2015 memorandum prepared by the Justice Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces, an entity charged with coordinating complex drug and money laundering investigations across government agencies.

Blanche said in a social media post, ” A sitting U.S. Senator has completely fabricated a story for clicks. No one is blocking anything.” He added that the memo is available to members of Congress “unredacted in our reading room,” but Wyden never visited.

CBS News reported in February that the heavily redacted memo included in the more than 3 million Epstein files released in January shows the convicted sex offender was the subject of a Drug Enforcement Agency probe that stretched at least five years.

Wyden wrote in his letter to Blanche Wednesday that investigators for the Senate Finance Committee were told the DEA was prepared to comply with his request for an unredacted copy of the memo — until Blanche intervened some time during the last three weeks.

“It has come to my attention that you are preventing the Drug Enforcement Administration from producing an unredacted copy of a report I requested regarding drug trafficking and money laundering by Jeffrey Epstein and several associates,” Wyden wrote. “Your alleged interference in this matter is highly disturbing.”

Wyden added he believes the government had “ample evidence” that Epstein was involved in drug trafficking and “likely pumping his victims, including underage girls, with incapacitating drugs to facilitate abuse.”

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The redacted document shows the DEA’s investigation targeted Epstein and 14 others for suspicious money transfers possibly linked to illegal narcotics. Sources tell CBS News that internal case coding indicates the DEA agents were targeting “club-drugs,” which included ketamine, ecstasy and GHB. The document indicates the case was related to the drug MDMA, otherwise known as ecstasy.

“DEA reporting indicates the above individuals are involved in illegitimate wire transfers which are tied to illicit drug and/or prostitution activities occurring in the U.S. Virgin Islands and New York City,” the 2015 document says. The 69-page memo is marked “law enforcement sensitive” and conceals the names of the 14 other targets.

The document appears to stem from a request by the DEA to an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces Fusion Center in Virginia for a complete workup on case targets, a law enforcement source told CBS News. The fusion center then ran the names against all the major federal law enforcement databases and produced the information for the task force.

A law enforcement source told CBS News that for the DEA to open the case, there would have to be a drug nexus, and the fusion center’s involvement indicated the investigation was “significant.”

Earlier this month, CBS News submitted a Freedom of Information Act request to the DEA for additional information relating to the agency’s case. That request was denied by the agency citing that the memo’s release “[c]ould reasonably be expected to interfere with enforcement proceedings,” among other reasons.

Law enforcement sources said the memo might be withheld because it could contain enforcement actions connected to the case or confidential informant names could be listed.

Epstein was arrested and jailed in July 2019, after a separate investigation by the U.S Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York. Sources involved in that case told CBS News the prosecutors were not aware of the earlier DEA investigation.

His death in jail weeks later was ruled a suicide.

By

[Morgan Rimmer]

53 min ago

PUBLISHED Mar 18, 2026, 3:06 PM ET

Congressional news Federal agencies Donald Trump

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Sen. Markwayne Mullin, President Donald Trump’s nominee for Homeland Security secretary, departs after his confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill, Wednesday.

Evan Vucci/Reuters

A typically friendly setting for one of their own turned tense on Capitol Hill Wednesday with senators grilling Markwayne Mullin for roughly three hours as he vies to become President Donald Trump’s next Department of Homeland Security chief.

Republican Homeland Security Committee Chairman Rand Paul cast doubt on whether the Oklahoma Republican had the temperament to lead the department of more than 260,000 employees, reprising a long-simmering feud in which Mullin called him a “snake.”

Sen. Gary Peters, the top Democrat on the panel, pressed the senator on allegations of stolen valor and then put him on his heels, pressing for an apology over a previous comment that Alex Pretti was a “deranged individual.”

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[Related article Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images Democrats like Markwayne Mullin but that doesn’t mean they’ll vote for him for DHS secretary 8 min read]

It all amounted to a particularly heightened confirmation hearing for Mullin at a critical moment for Trump’s Department of Homeland Security, which is shut down as lawmakers withhold funding to debate reforms that could shape its future. The administration – and lawmakers alike – hope the next head of the department, which oversees critical agencies including Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Transportation Security Administration and the Coast Guard, will re-right a workforce under public scrutiny and political turmoil.

Throughout, Mullin sought to underscore the differences between how he would lead the department and the tenure of outgoing Secretary Kristi Noem, vowing to admit his mistakes and keep a lower profile. But whether he did enough to convince lawmakers to back him remains to be seen; the committee is expected to vote on whether to advance Mullin’s nomination Thursday.

Notably, Paul told reporters after the hearing that he will oppose Mullin.

“The fact that he can’t bring himself to say that, you know, really, we shouldn’t settle political questions with violence, I think that would be a terrible example for ICE and for our border patrol agents,” Paul said.

“We’re in the midst, I think, of a crisis where there needs to be more direction from the top, and a guy who brawls, a guy who can’t even say he’s sorry about, you know, wishing violence on me and really applauding the attack that happened on me, can’t come to say that? I don’t know how he could, from my point of view, be a leader of ICE or border patrol.”

An accusation of ‘anger issues’

GOP chairman questions Mullin’s temperament for DHS chief and rails on past “snake” comment

2:12 • Source: CNN

GOP chairman questions Mullin’s temperament for DHS chief and rails on past “snake” comment

2:12

Notably, Paul’s opposition to Mullin’s nomination could jeopardize his confirmation, unless Democratic Sen. John Fetterman, who has said he will vote to confirm Mullin on the Senate floor, joins all other Republicans on the panel to advance his nomination out of the committee.

At the crux of Paul’s blistering opening remarks is Mullin’s frustrations that his colleague is often a thorn in Trump’s side and has repeatedly voted against GOP priorities, causing delays and roadblocks on the Senate floor.

Mullin recently told a group of voters in Oklahoma he “understood” why Paul’s neighbor had attacked him back in 2017 and called him a “snake.”

Paul on Wednesday railed on Mullin’s comments, arguing that his refusal to apologize or confront him directly put Mullin’s character and ability to lead DHS in doubt.

“I was shocked that you would justify and celebrate this violent assault that caused me so much pain and my family so much pain. I just wonder if someone who applauds violence against their political opponents is the right person to lead an agency that has struggled to accept limits to the proper use of force,” Paul of Kentucky told Mullin.

Mullin, he said, would have the opportunity to “look [him] in the eye” and repeat those words during the hearing. Then, accusing the senator of having “ anger issues,” he pointed to an episode during a 2023 hearing in which Mullin appeared prepared to physically fight a witness.

Repeatedly, Paul pressed Mullin to apologize for his comments, but Mullin refused.

Instead, Mullin argued the pair should “set it aside,” and move forward with considering his nomination. He repeatedly expressed he was humbled – once a small town kid with a speech impediment – he was being considered for such a high federal office.

“Everybody in this room knows that I’m very blunt and direct to the point, and if I have something to say, I’ll say it directly to your face,” Mullin said, arguing Paul spends more time trying to “fight Republicans more than you work with us.”

“I can set it aside, if you’re willing to set it aside. Let me earn your respect. Let me earn the job. I won’t fail you. I won’t back down from a challenge,” he added.

Saying “roll the tape,” Paul hit back with a clip of the 2023 hearing paired with Mullin’s comments afterward that he didn’t regret his behavior.

Mullin told the committee in response that the witness – President of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters Sean O’Brien – has become a “close friend,” and was attending the hearing as his guest.

After the back-and-forth, Fetterman encouraged both men to move on, and pointed to Mullin and O’Brien as an example.

“I know there’s a lot of hard personal feelings here, and absolutely I would, I — It’s terrible, what’s happened and political violence, I mean, it’s, it’s rampant so now. But also, also President O’Brien’s here, not for round two. He’s here because he fully supports your … so it’s about, it’s about letting it go and moving on.”

Fetterman maintained he’ll have an “open mind,” and praised Mullin’s “consistent kindness and professionalism.”

Allegations of stolen valor

Paul threatens to cancel committee vote on Mullin’s nomination over stolen valor allegations

2:19 • Source: CNN

Paul threatens to cancel committee vote on Mullin’s nomination over stolen valor allegations

2:19

Mullin, who has no history of US military service, was also questioned about accusations that previous, vague statements he has made about serving overseas and smelling war amounted to stolen valor.

The Republican senator chalked the allegations up to a “misunderstanding,” saying he was asked to train with a “very small contingency and go to a certain area” around 2016. As part of that trip, he said he participated in Survival, Evasion, Resistance, and Escape training, which he simultaneously described as “kind of fun” and “absolutely awful.”

Aspects of that training and trip were classified, he said.

“So where did you smell war, sir?” Peters, a Michigan Democrat, asked.

Mullin responded that his answer would be classified.

The line of questioning was brought up at different times during Mullin’s appearance, with Peters later telling him: “You’ve not been forthcoming with me or this committee. The story always seems to evolve, to kind of change. And as you know, candor, honesty, transparency are absolutely critical, particularly at this time, to try to build trust as the Secretary of Homeland Security.”

After Paul threatened to cancel the committee’s Wednesday vote unless Mullin provided them with clarity on the classified work he claimed to have done, Mullin agreed to meet with lawmakers in a secure setting after the hearing.

A change from Noem

Mullin says calling Alex Pretti a “deranged individual” was a mistake

1:22 • Source: CNN

Mullin says calling Alex Pretti a “deranged individual” was a mistake

1:22

Mullin emphasized the differences between how he plans to lead the department and how Noem has done the job.

He told senators that he’s “not perfect,” and will “own” his mistakes and learn from them, in contrast with Noem’s reluctance to acknowledge her missteps. “My goal in six months is that we’re not in the lead story every single day,” he said.

He told Democratic Sen. Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire, “Everybody has different leadership styles. My management style is empowering people,” and he pledged to New Jersey Sen. Andy Kim that he will be responsive to members of Congress, after frequent complaints from members that, under Noem, the department had not answered lawmakers’ questions in a timely manner.

“I think all of us that’s been either in the House or in the Senate, always complain about the outreach of agencies. I will make a commitment to you that I’m going to have the best,” he said.

“We’re going to work with you. But most importantly, I think everybody on this dais has my personal cell phone. That cell phone isn’t going to change. And if you, if you call me, you’re going to get a response. If you text me, we’re going to get a response,” he added.

Democrats challenged Mullin on his past comments about Pretti’s fatal encounter with federal immigration officers in Minnesota earlier this year, and the senator apologized for calling Pretti a “deranged individual” in the immediate aftermath of the shooting.

“I shouldn’t have said that,” he acknowledged.

“The investigation is ongoing, and there is, like I said, there’s sometimes going to make mistake and I own it,” he told the panel. “That one, I went out there too fast. I was responding immediately without the facts. That’s my fault.”

He also said that there should be some changes as to how ICE is deployed around the country, telling senators, “I would love to see ICE become more a transport than on the front line,” and pledged to require ICE officers to obtain judicial warrants before entering private property, with limited exceptions.

Democrats have demanded that the use of judicial warrants, rather than the less-restrictive administrative warrants ICE has been using, be codified in legislation amid negotiations over funding DHS.

Overall, his comments about immigration officers working more closely with local law enforcement agencies suggest a return to traditional operations conducted by ICE, instead of broad immigration sweeps as seen under Noem.

A focus on Mullin’s relationships

Sen. Markwayne Mullin wipes tears as he speaks about his son during testimony on Capitol Hill Wednesday.

Evan Vucci/Reuters

Mullin’s Republican colleagues offered opportunities for the senator to discuss his close relationships with former House members, including Democratic Rep. Josh Gottheimer, who sat behind Mullin at the hearing, and his friendship with Trump.

Describing the president as a “friend,” Mullin said he speaks with Trump “from a friend level, more than I do a policy level.”

He grew emotional as he spoke about the president checking in on Mullin’s son after his traumatic brain injury in 2020, when his son lost much of his memory and muscle control.

“I am going to try to get through it without crying,” Mullin said, responding to a question from Wisconsin Republican Sen. Ron Johnson about where his loyalty to Trump originated.

“We almost lost him. For 26 hours he had an extremely low pulse, there was a time that they thought they lose his pulse altogether,” Mullin recalled.

Trump, he said, changed the trajectory of his son’s life, offering to send his “personal plane” to take him to a top neurorehabilitation center and frequently followed up with them.

“We’ve been friends ever since,” he said.

CNN’s Michael Williams, Priscilla Alvarez, Lauren Fox and Morgan Leason contributed to this report.

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Progressive influencer erupts after Illinois primary loss, drops profane anti-Trump, -ICE rant

Kat Abughazaleh received about 26% of the vote in Illinois Democratic primary, losing to Evanston mayor Daniel Biss

By Alexandra Koch, Patrick McGovern, Fox News

Published March 18, 2026 1:47pm EDT

After losing the Illinois 9th Congressional District Democratic primary Tuesday night, Progressive influencer Kat Abughazaleh ended her concession speech with “F— Trump, f— ICE, free Palestine.” (Credit: WFLD)

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Progressive influencer Kat Abughazaleh closed out her failed Illinois congressional bid Tuesday night with an expletive-laced tirade against President Donald Trump and federal immigration authorities, telling supporters, “f— Trump, f— ICE, free Palestine.”

The comments came at the end of her concession speech after losing the Illinois 9th Congressional District Democratic primary on Tuesday.

“I don’t know if you heard, but we didn’t win, and it really f—— sucks. We came really close,” Abughazaleh told the crowd, adding that her campaign was “something that no one in power even expected would be possible at all.”

Abughazaleh lost the primary to Daniel Biss, the current mayor of Evanston.

Democratic congressional candidate Kat Abughazaleh holds a megaphone outside the Broadview ICE Facility, Sept. 26, 2025, in Broadview, Ill.(Jim Vondruska/Reuters)

ILLINOIS LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR SEEKING US SENATE SEAT RELEASES VIDEO OF PEOPLE SAYING ‘F— TRUMP’

Abughazaleh received about 26% of the vote, compared to Biss’s nearly 30% support, according to a report from The Associated Press.

“There are progressives all over the country who are taking a chance just like we did, and we have to help them win,” Abughazaleh said. “No matter how hard it is, we have sent a message to this administration and anyone who enables it. … You and your jobs are not safe. This is the start and not the end.”

Abughazaleh, a Palestinian American, went on to claim the administration was “kidnap[ping] and kill[ing]” citizens, and “start[ing] illegal wars.”

Democratic congressional candidate Kat Abughazaleh protests outside the Broadview ICE Facility in September.(Reuters/Jim Vondruska)

HOUSE DEM EXPLODES ON TOP TRUMP IMMIGRATION OFFICIAL, SAYS HE ‘BETTER HOPE’ FOR PARDON FROM PRESIDENT

“When I said, when I said I would spend every single waking moment of the rest of my life to hold this administration accountable, win or lose, I f—— meant it,” Abughazaleh said. “I’m sorry that this sucks. But, f— Trump, f— ICE, free Palestine, I love you all.”

Biss will face Republican pastor John Elleson in November’s general election to replace Rep. Jan Schakowsky, a Democrat who is retiring after nearly 30 years in office.

Abughazaleh is still facing federal charges after she was accused of interfering with ICE operations outside the Broadview, Illinois ICE processing center last fall.

Kat Abughazaleh closed out her failed Illinois congressional bid Tuesday night with an expletive-laced tirade against the Trump administration.(Jon Stegenga via Storyful and WBBM)

‘SQUAD’ MEMBER WEARS ‘F— ICE’ PIN ON HOUSE FLOOR DURING TRUMP ADDRESS

Federal prosecutors allege Abughazaleh and a group of others scratched the word “PIG” on an ICE agent’s vehicle.

She pleaded not guilty and criticized the charges as an “attempt by the Trump administration to criminalize protest and punish those who dare to speak up.”

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The influencer also went viral after video showed an agent throwing her to the ground during the incident, footage she later used in her campaign ads for Congress.

Abughazaleh’s office did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

Alexandra Koch is a Fox News Digital journalist who covers breaking news, with a focus on high-impact events that shape national conversation.

She has covered major national crises, including the L.A. wildfires, Potomac and Hudson River aviation disasters, Boulder terror attack, and Texas Hill Country floods.

https://www.foxnews.com/video/6391134397112

What to know about Joe Kent, Trump counterterrorism chief who resigned over Iran war

March 18, 2026 / 3:48 PM EDT / CBS/AP

Joe Kent, who resigned Tuesday as National Counterterrorism Center director, has been a stalwart Trump supporter, backing him since his 2016 campaign, through his 2020 election defeat, the Jan. 6 riots, as well as during his own conservative media advocacy and two failed congressional bids.

But that ended with Mr. Trump’s war in Iran and his alliance with Israel against the Islamic clerics who led the Tehran government. In a resignation letter he posted on X,Kent saidTuesday that Iran “posed no imminent threat to our nation,” and he asserted that “we started this war due to pressure from Israel and its powerful American lobby.”

Kent, 45, is a special forces combat veteran with ties to right-wing extremists and was viewed as a Trump loyalist. His reasons for resigning contradicted the president’s assertion that Iran was poised to attack the U.S.

On Feb. 28, in a video announcing the first airstrikes, Mr. Trump said his objective was “eliminating imminent threats from the Iranian regime.”

“Its menacing activities directly endanger the United States, our troops, our bases overseas, and our allies throughout the world,” Mr. Trump said of Iran.

Kent, in his resignation letter to Mr. Trump suggested the president had been misled and that “high-ranking Israeli officials and influential members of the American media deployed a misinformation campaign … to encourage a war with Iran.” GOP Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky in a post on Xattacked the “virulent anti-Semitism of his resignation letter” and said it was clear Kent was incapable of upholding a pledge he’d made to senators “to lead with integrity and accountability.”

An administration official told CBS News that Kent was not involved on briefings on Iran.

Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, whose office oversaw Kent’s work, said it was up to Mr. Trump to decide whether Iran posed a threat to the U.S.

“After carefully reviewing all the information before him, President Trump concluded that the terrorist Islamist regime in Iran posed an imminent threat and he took action based on that conclusion,” she wrote in a social media post Tuesday.

Association with far-right figures, conspiracy theories

In his Senate confirmation hearings, Kent acknowledged that during one of his two failed congressional campaigns, a political consultant set up a call joined by right-wing white nationalist Nick Fuentes. Fuentes has said that Jews are holding the U.S. “hostage” and once proclaimed that “Hitler was awesome; Hitler was right.”

When he ran for a House seat in 2022, Kent paid Graham Jorgensen, a member of the far-right military group the Proud Boys, for consulting work. He also worked closely with Joey Gibson, the founder of the Christian nationalist group Patriot Prayer, and attracted support from a variety of far-right figures.

Kent has also endorsed a number of conspiracy theories and made a number of controversial claims. He’sclaimedthe COVID vaccine wasn’t a vaccine, but rather, “an experimental gene therapy” and has also said Anthony Fauci, the former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, should facemurdercharges. Kent also said he believes the 2020 election was stolen from Mr. Trump and has referred to the Jan. 6, 2021, rioters as “political prisoners.”

He echoed a conspiracy theory that federal agents had somehow instigated the Jan. 6, 2021, attack at the Capitol. He said Biden should be impeached and called for an investigation into the 2020 election. Kent called for the defunding of the FBI after its search at the president’s Mar-a-Lago home for classified documents.

Kent later disavowed some of his right-wing ties and said he rejected all “racism and bigotry.” During his Senate hearings, he declined to distance himself from his 2020 election denialism.

He was confirmed in July on a 52-44 Senate vote that fell closely along party lines. Every Democrat opposed his nomination, citing his right-wing ties. GOP Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina was the only Republican to oppose Kent’s confirmation.

As the director of the National Counterterrorism Center, Kent led an intelligence agency that was created after the 9/11 attacks to analyze and detect terrorist threats. Among other tasks, the agency maintains the U.S. government’s list of known and suspected terrorists.

Kent’s military background

Before his confirmation, Kent worked as Gabbard’s chief of staff. He’s a retired Green Beret who deployed to 11 combat missions, mostly in Iraq, during a 20-year career in the Army.

After his retirement in 2018, he became a paramilitary officer with the CIA and served as a counterterrorism adviser to Trump’s 2020 presidential reelection campaign. He was a regular on conservative cable shows and podcasts before and during his 2022 and 2024 congressional bids.

Kent’s first wife, Shannon Kent, was a Navy cryptologist killed by a suicide bomber in 2019 while fighting the Islamic State group in Syria. She was fluent in seven languages and paved the way for the increased inclusion of women in Special Operations Forces. She served multiple tours in Iraq and participated in a number of special operations that resulted in the capture of hundreds of enemy insurgents, according to the Navy.

After his wife’s death, Kent spoke out against U.S. intervention around the world. “That is why I have a skepticism of our federal government,” he said, adding that Shannon had died because “Republicans and Democrats consistently lied to the American people to keep us engaged in wars abroad.”

During the U.S.’s chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021, Kent lambasted the defense industry and “permanent ruling class” in Washington. He suggested some proponents of foreign nation building were naïve and others were driven by profit motives.

“It speaks to our hubris,” Kent told reporters while campaigning for Congress. “For us not to have learned from all this just shows that there are people making money and making their careers at the other end of it. They’ve been doing it on the backs and dead bodies of U.S. soldiers.”

Mr. Trump praised Kent when he nominated him in February 2025, saying in a social media post that Kent “will help us keep America safe by eradicating all terrorism, from the jihadists around the World, to the cartels in our backyard.”

In Senate confirmation hearings, Kent focused on cartels, rather than Middle East

But at his Senate confirmation hearings, Kent focused heavily on Latin American drug cartels, rather than the Middle East.

“President Trump is committed to identifying these cartels and these violent gang members and making sure that we locate them and that we get them out of our country,” Kent told the Senate Intelligence Committee.

His nominationfaced some scrutinywhen emails emerged showing that while he was Gabbard’s chief of staff, he had pressed senior intelligence analysts to amend an assessment of links between the Venezuelan government and the criminal gang,Tren de Aragua. In the emails, Kent pressed the analysts to align the assessment more closely with Trump administration policies and to include references that criticized Biden-era immigration programs. Kent’s revisions supported Mr. Trump’s assertions that Tren de Aragua members could be removed under the wartime Alien Enemies Act.

Signal chat about strikes on Houthis

During his confirmation hearing, Democratic senators grilled Kent about his participation in a group chat on Signal used by Mr. Trump’s national security team to discuss sensitive military plans.

The Signal chat, which inadvertently included the editor in chief of The Atlantic magazine, showed Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth provided information about the timing of warplane launches and airstrikes against Houthis in Yemen in March 2025. The disclosure of typically classified information came before the men and women flying those attacks were airborne.

It became an embarrassing flashpoint for the administration, though top Trump administration officials denied classified information was divulged and Hegseth, Kent and others faced no consequences from the president.

Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., grilled Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., on his history of personal attacks against Paul during his opening statement at Wednesday’s Homeland Security confirmation hearing.

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Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., pulled no punches in his opening statement Wednesday morning at the Department of Homeland Security Committee hearing on fellow GOP Sen. Markwayne Mullin’s nomination to be Kristi Noem’s successor as secretary.

Paul, chairman of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, accused Mullin of excusing political violence and challenging him to repeat past remarks of having called him a “snake” and saying he understood why Paul was attacked violently by a neighbor in 2017.

“You have never had the courage to look me in the eye and tell me that the assault was justified,” Paul told the committee in his opening remarks. “So today you’ll have your chance. Today I’ll give you that chance to clear the record.

“Tell it to my face if that’s what you believe. Tell it to me today. Tell the world why you believe I deserve to be assaulted from behind, have six ribs broken and a damaged lung.

“Tell me to my face why you think I deserved it.”

Mullin opened his own remarks off the cuff before his prepared statement to address Paul’s verbal attack.

“I have to address the remarks the chairman made, calling me a liar,” Mullin opened. “Everybody in this room knows that I’m very blunt and direct to the point. And if I have something to say, I’ll say it directly to your face.”

Mullin pointed Paul back to a private conversation back in their days as House GOP members.

“I said I could understand because of the behavior you were having, that I could understand why your neighbor…did what he did,” Mullin said. “As far as my terms, the snake in the grass, sir, I work around this room to try to fix problems. I’ve worked with many people in this room.

“It seems like you fight Republicans more than you work with us. I did address those remarks.”

Mullin vowed to Paul to be blunt and direct.

“If I do have something to say, everybody in this room knows how I’ll come straight to you,” he said. “I’ll say it publicly and I’ll say it privately, but I’ll never say it behind your back.”

Mullin acknowledged about Paul, “We just don’t get along,” and saying Paul has “spent millions of dollars in my campaigns against me.”

“That doesn’t keep me at all from doing my job,” Mullin continued. “I can have different opinions with everybody in this room, but as secretary of homeland, I’ll be protecting everybody, including Kentucky, as much as I will my own backyard in Oklahoma.

“It’s bigger than the partisan bickering that we have. It’s bigger than the political differences we have.”

“The truth is, I have a job to do, and I don’t like to fail at anything at all. So I can set it aside, if you’re willing to set it aside. Let me earn your respect. I’m going to earn the job. I won’t fail you. I won’t back down from a challenge. And I’ll also admit when I’m wrong. I’m not perfect. I don’t claim to be perfect. I make mistakes just like anybody else. But mistakes, if you own them, you can learn from them and you can move ahead. And I’ll make that commitment to you _.”

Paul showed no interest in setting the feud aside.

“The record should show, and I think we’ll show a lack of contrition: No apology and no regrets for your support,” Paul picked up in his first line of questioning. “You completely understand the violence that was perpetrated on me. You’re unrepentant. The only thing you quibble about is whether I met you somehow when you’re in the House.”

“I don’t think we ever met when you were in the House, and this idea that the only thing you’re upset about is not that you are for violence. What you’re upset about is that I called you a liar because you said it to my face. So it’s really more about this machismo that you have.”

Paul was under some scrutiny for blocking fellow Sen. Katie Britt, R-Ala., from introducing Mullin at the start of the hearing, forcing Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., to do the introduction instead, three sources told Fox News’ Bill Melugin.

“Rand Paul has become completely blinded by his hatred of President Trump and petty personal squabbles,” a senior Senate Republican source told Melugin. “His actions today were those of a seething snake — and a hopeless hypocrite.”

“What kind of free speech advocate would bar Sen. Mullin’s choice to deliver his introduction from speaking?” the source asked. “What kind of Republican would bar a fellow Republican Senator from voicing their support of a colleague? Why is this guy allowed to hold a Republican gavel anymore?”

Eric Mack is a writer for Fox News Digital covering breaking news.

Top conservative group takes parents’ rights fight to Capitol Hill, expected to meet with Mike Johnson

Moms for Liberty has grown significantly since starting in 2021
By Elizabeth Elkind
Fox News
Published March 18, 2026 8:00am EDT

FIRST ON FOX:A top conservative organization advocating parents’ rights is descending on Capitol Hill Wednesday to meet with both Republicans and Democrats on the subject of transgender issues and other agenda items.

Moms for Liberty is taking its “parents pledge” to Congress, with group members expected to sit down with Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and others in a bid to grow support for its movement to define what rights parents have over their children while in school and other places outside their immediate control.

“Moms for Liberty brought 100 members from across 20 states to Capitol Hill,” the group’s co-founder and CEO Tina Descovich told Fox News Digital.

[CHLOE COLE ACT AIMED AT BLOCKING MINORS FROM UNDERGOING LIFE-ALTERING TRANSGENDER SURGERIES, GOP LAWMAKER SAYS]

She said members of Congress would join President Donald Trump in signing their pledge, which Descovich called “a commonsense promise to the American people that you support their rights.”

The pledge states, “I pledge to honor the fundamental rights of parents, including, but not limited to the right to direct the education, medical care, and moral upbringing of their children. I pledge to advance policies that strengthen parental involvement and decision-making, increase transparency, defend against government overreach, and secure parental rights at all levels of government.”

Among the group’s legislative priorities, Fox News Digital was told, are to eliminate school-based health clinics, oppose any policy that circumvents parental authority in schools, and require schools to give parents full access to curriculum, lesson plans, evaluations and learning standards.

On the issue of transgender policies, Moms for Liberty is pushing to maintain sex-specific spaces like school sports and restrooms, as well as the biological definition of sex and promoting pronoun usage consistent with students and staff members’ sex.

Moms for Liberty was established in 2021 to fight COVID-19 pandemic restrictions on students.

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Since then, it’s ballooned into a nationwide group with multiple chapters across the country.

And their meeting with Johnson on Wednesday is notable in that it’s a sign of their influence and Republicans’ focus on culture war issues like parental rights, even as they fight an uphill battle to keep control during the November midterms.

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

NATO allies reject Hormuz mission as Trump warns of consequences for alliance | Fox News

By Morgan Phillips | Fox News
Published March 18, 2026 10:56am EDT

Foundation for Defense of Democracies CEO Mark Dubowitz discusses whether there is room for negotiations with Iran as Operation Epic Fury continues on ‘The Will Cain Show.’

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NATO allies are declining to join a potential effort to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, frustrating President Donald Trump and prompting questions among some U.S. officials about the alliance’s reliability in a major global crisis.

Trump has warned the Hormuz standoff with Iran could have serious consequences for NATO, arguing that allies benefit from global security without sharing the burden.

“The United States has been informed by most of our NATO ‘Allies’ that they don’t want to get involved with our Military Operation,” the president wrote on Truth Social Tuesday.

“We will protect them, but they will do nothing for us, in particular, in a time of need,” he said.

The Strait of Hormuz is a vital artery for the global economy, carrying about 20% of the world’s oil supply. Even limited disruption can send energy prices soaring and strain economies worldwide.

Though NATO’s core mission is regional defense, allied involvement in securing the strait would demonstrate whether the alliance can project power beyond Europe — or whether it relies primarily on the U.S. to safeguard global commerce.

The frustration is spreading beyond the White House.

Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham said the lack of allied support “makes me second guess the value of these alliances,” warning the repercussions could be “wide and deep.”

Trump also has questioned the future of the alliance.

“If there’s no response or if it’s a negative response, I think it will be very bad for the future of NATO,” he told the Financial Times.

Allies hold back as US moves to secure oil choke point

European allies, however, have shown little willingness to join a U.S.-led military effort against Iran in the Strait of Hormuz.

The Strait of Hormuz is a narrow waterway between Iran and Oman that serves as the primary transit route for roughly 20% of the world’s oil supply.

The current standoff follows escalating U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iranian targets, raising fears Tehran could retaliate by disrupting shipping through the strait using naval mines, drones or fast-attack vessels.

Insurance companies have begun refusing to insure ships traversing the strait and a very limited number of ships have passed since the start of the U.S.-led mission against Iran known as Operation Epic Fury.

The United Kingdom has ruled out sending warships into the Strait of Hormuz or nearby Iranian waters, signaling it will avoid direct involvement in combat operations.

Instead, British officials have discussed more limited support, including the use of minesweeping drones — unmanned systems designed to detect and help neutralize naval mines, which Iran historically has used as a low-cost way to threaten commercial shipping. While such systems can help keep sea lanes open, they are typically used after mines are deployed and do not deter attacks in real time.

The U.K. has permitted the U.S. to use two of its military bases — Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean and Royal Air Force Fairford in England — for “specific and limited” defensive actions against Iran. Diego Garcia has long served as a staging ground for U.S. long-range bomber operations and logistics in the Middle East, while RAF Fairford is one of the few European bases capable of hosting U.S. strategic bombers, including B-52 and B-2 aircraft, which can be used for strike missions or deterrence patrols.

France similarly has declined to participate in combat operations, with French President Emmanuel Macron saying any potential escort mission would only take place once the situation stabilizes. Germany has taken an even firmer stance, ruling out involvement entirely and emphasizing that NATO is a defensive alliance not designed for intervention in conflicts like the current Iran crisis.

While larger European allies have declined to participate, some smaller partners have signaled a willingness to contribute.

Estonia’s foreign minister, Margus Tsahkna, said the country is prepared to discuss how it could assist if Washington makes a formal request.

Ukraine also has moved to provide expertise and technology to counter Iranian drone attacks, including low-cost interceptor drones and battlefield-tested air defense tactics developed during its war with Russia. U.S. and Gulf partners already have requested Ukrainian assistance, with Kyiv signaling it is prepared to share both systems and personnel to help defend against Iranian aerial threats.

“Estonia joined NATO barely 20 years ago, Ukraine isn’t even a member, and they’re both ready to roll,” one European policy analyst said. “Meanwhile, the rest of Europe is still debating how to form a committee to form a working group to study the matter.”

Global oil flows threatened

The Strait of Hormuz — a critical choke point for global energy supplies — has seen shipping disrupted amid the escalating conflict, with tanker movements slowing or halting after repeated attacks and threats from Iran.

The waterway carries roughly 20% of the world’s oil and significant volumes of liquefied natural gas, and the disruption has pushed crude prices above $100 per barrel.

The Trump administration has said the U.S. could deploy naval escorts to protect commercial tankers, but so far has not done so as officials weigh the risks and resources required.

Naval capability across Europe is uneven, with only a handful of countries — particularly the United Kingdom and France — able to deploy the kind of assets required for a high-risk mission in the region.

“Only England and France really have any type of naval power that could be helpful,” said Harley Lippman, a geopolitical analyst who regularly engages with Gulf leaders, adding that other European navies are “too small and too weak.”

Securing the narrow waterway likely would require naval escorts, air and missile defense, and mine-clearing capabilities, all while operating within range of Iranian forces.

“There are significant operational considerations.… It is not a simple operating environment,” said Kristine Berzina, a senior fellow at the German Marshall Fund, a Washington-based think tank focused on transatlantic relations. “But there’s also an overarching political climate” shaping decisions about involvement.

That broader context includes concerns about escalation, as well as differences over how the conflict began and how it should be handled.

European officials were not involved in the initial decision-making around the current U.S.–Iran military operation, and several governments have emphasized de-escalation and diplomatic engagement rather than direct participation.

Some countries are pursuing alternative approaches, including diplomatic efforts to secure safe passage through the strait, while others are wary of entering a crowded and volatile operating environment where miscalculation could trigger a wider conflict.

Domestic political pressures and competing priorities also play a role, as European governments remain focused on security challenges closer to home, particularly Russia and the war in Ukraine.

Berzina said the situation also reflects the limits of the alliance itself.

“NATO is a defensive alliance,” she said. “Once you get to the Middle East, you’re looking at the capabilities of individual allies.”

Lippman argued that Europe’s reliance on energy flows through the region makes the current reluctance difficult to justify.

“They benefit from the oil coming out of the Strait of Hormuz more than we do,” he said.

While U.S. consumers may feel more immediate price spikes, Europe is more exposed to longer-term disruptions due to its reliance on imported natural gas and limited ability to quickly replace supply.

Even if allies chose to participate, coordination would be a major hurdle.

“Who controls under what rules of engagement… is as important as whether participants have enough ships,” she said.

Hormuz crisis exposes growing cracks in NATO

The tensions come amid broader questions about the strength and expectations of the transatlantic alliance.

Trump long has been critical of NATO, repeatedly arguing that the United States bears a disproportionate share of the burden and questioning whether allies would come to America’s defense in a crisis.

The U.S. has played a leading role in supporting Ukraine following Russia’s invasion — a conflict with direct implications for European security — while European allies have contributed significant aid and resources.

But European governments are quick to note that after the Sept. 11 attacks in 2001, NATO invoked its collective defense clause for the first time in response to an attack on the United States. European allies also deployed forces to Afghanistan alongside U.S. troops and sustained significant casualties over the course of the war.

The current standoff may signal a broader shift in how the U.S. and Europe approach security cooperation.

“This is a moment of recalibration,” Berzina said. “We’ll see negotiations over the roles Europeans would be willing to consider.”

Trump’s push to acquire Greenland, territory of NATO ally Denmark, has already exposed fault lines within the alliance, with European leaders pushing back forcefully and warning the move risked undermining unity at a time of rising global threats.

Those tensions are now colliding with the crisis in the Middle East, as the U.S. looks for allied support in the Strait of Hormuz and finds limited appetite among key European partners.

At the same time, disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz could hand a strategic advantage to Russia. Any sustained spike in global oil prices — driven by threats to shipping through the waterway — would boost Moscow’s energy revenues as it continues its war in Ukraine under Western sanctions.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told Fox News’ “America’s Newsroom” on the matter, “We’re paying these countries billions of dollars, in our troops on their soil, (serving) as a deterrent for them. And the president wants the American taxpayer and our American military to be treated fairly. He feels sometimes with NATO, they are not.”

“And he’s right to call that out, and he’s right to call on them to step up and do more,” she said.

NATO could not immediately be reached for comment.

DNI Tulsi Gabbard says Trump acted because he concluded the Iranian regime ‘posed an imminent threat’

Joe Kent resigned from his role as National Counterterrorism Center director on Tuesday, citing his opposition to the Iran war

By Alex Nitzberg
Fox News

Published March 18, 2026 9:22am EDT

Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard on Tuesday issued a post on X in which she noted that President Donald Trump targeted Iran based on his conclusion that the regime “posed an imminent threat.”

She issued the post in the wake of Joe Kent’s resignation from his role as National Counterterrorism Center director over his opposition to the Iran war that Trump launched more than two weeks ago in conjunction with Israel.

“Donald Trump was overwhelmingly elected by the American people to be our President and Commander in Chief. As our Commander in Chief, he is responsible for determining what is and is not an imminent threat, and whether or not to take action he deems necessary to protect the safety and security of our troops, the American people and our country,” Gabbard noted in her post.

[WHITE HOUSE, AFTER TOP COUNTERTERRORISM OFFICIAL QUITS, SAYS TRUMP HAD ‘STRONG’ EVIDENCE IRAN WOULD ATTACK US]

Tulsi Gabbard, director of National Intelligence, during a Cabinet meeting at the White House on Dec. 2, 2025.(Yuri Gripas/CNP/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

“The Office of the Director of National Intelligence is responsible for helping coordinate and integrate all intelligence to provide the President and Commander in Chief with the best information available to inform his decisions,” she added.

“After carefully reviewing all the information before him, President Trump concluded that the terrorist Islamist regime in Iran posed an imminent threat and he took action based on that conclusion,” Gabbard wrote.

[TRUMP BIDS GOODBYE TO INTEL OFFICIAL WHO RESIGNED OVER IRAN: ‘GOOD THING THAT HE’S OUT’]

President Donald Trump departs a Friends of Ireland luncheon at the U.S. Capitol on March 17, 2026.(Nathan Posner/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Kent publicly shared his resignation letter on Tuesday, asserting that Iran did not pose an imminent threat to the U.S.

“I cannot in good conscience support the ongoing war in Iran,” Kent wrote.

“Iran posed no imminent threat to our nation, and it is clear that we started this war due to pressure from Israel and its powerful American lobby,” he asserted in the resignation letter.

[TOP COUNTERTERRORISM OFFICIAL RESIGNS IN PROTEST OF US WAR AGAINST IRAN]

Joe Kent, director of the National Counterterrorism Center, is sworn in to a House Homeland Security Committee hearing on Dec. 11, 2025.(Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

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Trump pushed back on Tuesday, saying that “it’s a good thing that he’s out because he said that Iran was not a threat. Iran was a threat. Every country realized what a threat Iran was. The question is whether or not they wanted to do something about it.”

Alex Nitzberg is a writer for Fox News Digital.