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Top Republican warns Trump against making a deal with Iran: ‘Finish the job’

May 22, 2026 3:33pm EDT / Fox News

Armed Services Committee chairman says administration should let military ‘reopen the strait’ instead of negotiating

By Morgan Phillips Fox News

A top Senate Republican is publicly pressuring President Donald Trump against pursuing what he described as a weak Iran deal as administration officials signal negotiations with Tehran are making progress.

Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, issued a sharply worded warning Thursday urging Trump not to abandon military pressure on the Iranian regime in favor of diplomacy.

“We are at a moment that will define President Trump’s legacy,” Wicker said in a statement. “His instincts have been to finish the job he started in Iran, but he is being ill advised to pursue a deal that would not be worth the paper it is written on.”

REPUBLICANS URGE TRUMP TO FOLLOW THROUGH ON HIS PLAN TO DISMANTLE IRAN’S NUCLEAR CAPABILITIES

“Our commander-in-chief needs to allow America’s skilled armed forces to finish the destruction of Iran’s conventional military capabilities and reopen the strait,” Wicker went on. “Further pursuit of an agreement with Iran’s Islamist regime risks a perception of weakness. We must finish what we started. It is past time for action.”

The remarks expose growing tension inside Republican national security circles as the Trump administration weighs whether to pursue a negotiated agreement with Iran or continue its military campaign against the Iranian regime and its nuclear capabilities.

Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, issued a sharply worded warning Thursday urging Trump not to abandon military pressure on the Iranian regime in favor of diplomacy.(Anna Rose Layden/Getty Images)

The White House could not immediately be reached for comment.

Wicker’s comments came just hours after Secretary of State Marco Rubio acknowledged there had been “some progress” in ongoing negotiations with Iran, while cautioning that no agreement had been reached.

“There’s been some progress,” Rubio said Thursday. “I wouldn’t exaggerate it. I wouldn’t diminish it.”

Wicker’s comments came just hours after Secretary of State Marco Rubio acknowledged there had been “some progress” in ongoing negotiations with Iran.(Aaron Schwartz/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

“We’re not there yet,” Rubio added. “I hope we get there.”

Rubio said key issues remain unresolved, including Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium and whether Tehran would be permitted any future uranium enrichment capability under a potential agreement.

“The issue of highly enriched uranium has to be discussed. Its disposition has to be dealt with. And of course, the issue of future enrichment has to be dealt with as well,” Rubio said.

He also indicated discussions involving the Strait of Hormuz remain part of broader negotiations.

The comments marked one of the clearest public signs yet that active diplomacy between Washington and Iran remains underway despite recent military escalation and fears of a wider regional conflict.

Trump himself recently signaled he remains open to giving diplomacy additional time before considering further military action.

Ships are anchored in the Strait of Hormuz off Bandar Abbas in southern Iran on May 4. A report on May 15 said a ship was seized off the coast of the United Arab Emirates and is being brought toward Iranian waters.(Amirhossein Khorgooei/ISNA/AFP via Getty Images)

“If I can save war by waiting a couple of days, if I can save people being killed by waiting a couple of days, I think it’s a great thing to do,” Trump said in recent days.

PAKISTAN’S AMBASSADOR WARNS IRAN TOO ‘WAR-TORN’ TO RESPOND QUICKLY AS TRUMP EXTENDS STRIKE DEADLINE

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The administration’s diplomatic push has coincided with intensified regional mediation efforts, including a high-profile visit by Pakistan’s army chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, to Iran — a trip widely viewed as part of broader backchannel efforts aimed at reducing tensions between Washington and Iran.

The visit fueled further speculation that Pakistan is playing a quiet intermediary role as negotiators explore possible frameworks to avoid additional military escalation.

Still, Rubio repeatedly emphasized Thursday that negotiations remain fragile and could ultimately collapse.

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“We’re dealing with a very difficult group of people,” Rubio said. “It may not” happen

He added that Trump “has other options” if diplomacy fails, while stressing the president still prefers “the negotiated option and having a good deal.”

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Trump’s ‘Anti-Weaponization Fund’ hit with another legal challenge

2026-05-22 3:16 PM ET / CNN

By Devan Cole

14 min ago

PUBLISHED May 22, 2026, 3:16 PM ET

President Donald Trump speaks during an event about loosening a federal refrigerant rule, in the Oval Office at the White House, Thursday, May 21, 2026, in Washington.

Jacquelyn Martin/AP

The Trump administration’s newly created nearly $1.8 billion fund for allies of President Donald Trump who say they were wrongly targeted by the government was hit with a second lawsuit on Friday, adding to the growing legal and political backlash facing the White House.

Friday, a diverse group of people and organizations — including a former federal prosecutor and a prominent government watchdog group — asked a judge in Alexandria, Virginia, to block the Trump administration from distributing any money, arguing the fund is unconstitutional and violates a series of federal laws.

Among the plaintiffs in the case are Andrew Floyd, a former federal prosecutor who worked on criminal cases brought against people who participated in the January 6, 2021, US Capitol riot, and John Caravello, a professor in California who was acquitted of charges that he assaulted a federal agent while protesting an immigration raid last year.

Also challenging the new fund is the city of New Haven, Connecticut, the National Abortion Federation and Common Cause, a watchdog group that frequently challenges controversial moves by the Trump administration.

The lawsuit comes two days after current and former police officers in Washington, DC, who defended the US Capitol during the riot sued to block implementation of the fund, arguing it could potentially be used to pay individuals who participated in the attack and finance various paramilitary organizations in the country – both of which they say would be unlawful.

The fund announced Monday was born out of an extraordinary settlement reached between the Trump administration and Trump, one of his adult sons and the Trump Organization in a lawsuit they brought in January over the unauthorized disclosure of Trump’s tax information years ago.

The fund, which will be run by five commissioners selected by the attorney general, will review claims submitted by people who say they were unfairly targeted by previous administrations. The massive pot of money is being drawn from the DOJ’s Judgment Fund, which is taxpayer money set aside by Congress for monetary settlements the government reaches.

In the new lawsuit, the plaintiffs specifically challenge the Trump administration’s decision to draw from the Judgment Fund for the new program, arguing it’s unlawful because the underlying legal case was “meritless” given the president’s unique role as both a plaintiff and the Executive Branch agencies that were named defendants in the lawsuit.

They also say the fund violates the Constitution by usurping Congress’ authority over the country’s purse strings, among other things.

“This latest attempt by the Trump-Vance administration to make grift great again is profoundly unlawful and will not withstand judicial scrutiny,” said Skye Perryman, the president and CEO of Democracy Forward and one of the attorneys who filed the lawsuit. “This lawsuit is about protecting the rule of law and preventing a dangerous abuse of government power, and we will keep showing up in court to hold this administration accountable.”

The new fund has drawn criticism from Democrats and even some members of Trump’s own party, with Senate Republicans saying this week that they were blindsided by it and at odds over how to rein it in, CNN reported.

During a private meeting with acting Attorney General Todd Blanche on Thursday, several senators had warned that the party’s major immigration enforcement bill could be derailed with the issue of the fund hanging over them, according to a person familiar with the matter, and hardly any members spoke up in the meeting to defend it.

President Trump won’t attend son Donald Trump Jr.’s wedding, citing responsibilities in Washington

May 22, 2026 / 2:03 PM EDT / CBS News

Washington— President Trump on Friday said he won’t be attending the wedding of his son, Donald Trump Jr., to Bettina Anderson this weekend, citing responsibilities at the White House.

“While I very much wanted to be with my son, Don Jr., and the newest member of the Trump Family, his soon to be wife, Bettina, circumstances pertaining to Government, and my love for the United States of America, do not allow me to do so,” the president wrote on Truth Social. “I feel it is important for me to remain in Washington, D.C., at the White House during this important period of time. Congratulations to Don and Bettina!”

The wedding is reportedly in the Bahamas. On Thursday, Mr. Trump said he may not attend because of the situation with Iran, among other things.

“He’d like me to go,” the president said when asked on Friday whether he would attend his son’s wedding. “But it’s going to be just a small little private affair. And I’m going to try and make it. I’m in the midst — I said, you know, this is not good timing for me. I have a thing called Iran and other things. That’s one I can’t win on. If I do attend, I get killed. If I don’t attend, I get killed. By the fake news, of course, I’m talking about.”

On Friday, the president didn’t mention specific responsibilities with the war or other matters that would cause him to stay in Washington. The president’s updated schedule for Saturday and Sunday lists only “executive time” at the White House.

It’s a second marriage for Don Jr., who has five children with his first wife, Vanessa. They divorced in 2018, during Mr. Trump’s first term in office.

US judge dismisses indictment against Salvadoran migrant Kilmar Abrego

2026-05-22T19:02:20.855Z / Reuters

By Luc Cohen

May 22, 2026 7:02 PM UTC Updated 9 mins ago

Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the migrant whose wrongful deportation to El Salvador made him a symbol of U.S. President Donald Trump’s aggressive immigration policies, walks outside U.S. District Court on the day of a hearing in his case, in Greenbelt, Maryland, U.S., December 22, 2025. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab

NEW YORK, May 22 (Reuters) – A U.S. judge dismissed an indictment ​against Salvadoran migrant Kilmar Abrego on Friday, finding ‌that the Trump administration would not have prosecuted him had he not challenged his deportation.

Abrego, who entered the United ​States illegally, became a symbol of the Trump ​administration’s drive for mass deportations when he was ⁠sent to a megaprison in El Salvador in ​March despite a prior court order barring him from ​being returned there because of a risk of persecution.

The Reuters Iran Briefing newsletter keeps you informed with the latest developments and analysis of the Iran war. Sign up here.

The Trump administration brought Abrego back to the U.S. in June after the ​U.S. Supreme Court ordered the government to facilitate ​his return. His return came only after prosecutors secured a criminal ‌indictment ⁠charging Abrego with human smuggling.

Abrego pleaded not guilty and argued he was being prosecuted in retaliation for suing the government to be returned.

U.S. District Judge Waverly ​Crenshaw in ​Nashville, Tennessee, ⁠wrote that the Justice Department only reopened its human smuggling probe stemming from a ​2022 traffic stop after Abrego filed his ​lawsuit.

“The ⁠court does not reach its conclusion lightly,” Crenshaw wrote. “The objective evidence here shows that, absent Abrego’s successful lawsuit ⁠challenging ​his removal to El Salvador, ​the Government would not have brought this prosecution.”

Reporting by Luc Cohen in ​New York; Editing by Noeleen Walder and Daniel Wallis

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EXCLUSIVE: Tulsi Gabbard resigns from Trump Cabinet

Her husband Abraham was recently diagnosed with extremely rare form of bone cancer, she wrote in resignation letter

2026-05-22 1:00pm EDT / Fox News

By Brooke Singman , Robert Schmad, Fox News

Published May 22, 2026 1:00pm EDT | Updated May 22, 2026 1:39pm EDT

Tulsi Gabbard is resigning as director of national intelligence

Director of National intelligence Tulsi Gabbard has announced her resignation following her husband’s diagnosis of bone cancer, no immediate replacement is known.

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EXCLUSIVE: Tulsi Gabbard is resigning from her post as Director of National Intelligence to support her husband through his battle with “an extremely rare form of bone cancer,” Fox News Digital learned.

Gabbard notified President Donald Trump during a meeting in the Oval Office Friday. Her last day at ODNI is expected to be June 30.

Fox News Digital exclusively obtained her formal resignation letter, in which Gabbard says she is “deeply grateful for the trust you placed in me and for the opportunity to lead the Office of the Director of National Intelligence for the last year and a half.”

“Unfortunately, I must submit my resignation, effective June 30, 2026,” she wrote. “My husband, Abraham, has recently been diagnosed with an extremely rare form of bone cancer.”

GABBARD ESTABLISHES NEW INTELLIGENCE COMMUNITY TASK FORCE TO RESTORE TRANSPARENCY

Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard testifies during a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on worldwide threats at the Hart Senate Office Building in Washington, D.C., on March 18, 2026.(Win McNamee/Getty Images)

Gabbard said her husband “faces major challenges in the coming weeks and months.”

“At this time, I must step away from public service to be by his side and fully support him through this battle,” she said.

Gabbard added: “Abraham has been my rock throughout our eleven years of marriage — standing steadfast through my deployment to East Africa on a Joint Special Operations mission, multiple political campaigns and now my service in this role.”

“His strength and love have sustained me through every challenge,” she continued. “I cannot in good conscience ask him to face this fight alone while I continue in this demanding and time-consuming position.”

Trump reacted to the resignation later on Friday, writing on Truth Social, “Unfortunately, after having done a great job, Tulsi Gabbard will be leaving the Administration on June 30th.”

“Her wonderful husband, Abraham, has been recently diagnosed with a rare form of bone cancer, and she, rightfully, wants to be with him, bringing him back to good health as they currently fight a tough battle together,” he continued. “I have no doubt he will soon be better than ever. Tulsi has done an incredible job, and we will miss her. Her highly respected Principal Deputy Director of National Intelligence, Aaron Lukas, will serve as Acting Director of National Intelligence.”

Newly sworn in Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard shakes hands with U.S. President Donald Trump in the Oval Office at the White House on February 12, 2025, in Washington, D.C.(Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

Gabbard said she has “made significant progress at the ODNI — advancing unprecedented transparency and restoring integrity to the intelligence community,” but said she recognizes “there is still important work to be done.”

“I am fully committed to ensuring a smooth and thorough transition over the coming weeks so that you and your team experience no disruption in leadership or momentum,” she said.

“Thank you for your understanding during this deeply personal and difficult time for our family.”

Gabbard added: “I will remain forever grateful to you and to the American people for the profound honor of serving our nation as DNI.”

Gabbard posted her resignation letter to X later Friday afternoon, noting that, “It has been a profound honor to serve the American people as DNI.”

GREGG JARRETT: LONG-HIDDEN DOCUMENTS REVEAL FIRST TRUMP IMPEACHMENT WAS A TOTAL FRAUD

Gabbard, as DNI, began a transformational effort to reshape the Intelligence Community— reducing the agency in size and saving taxpayers more than $700 million per year, dismantling DEI programs in the IC and more.

Gabbard, as of this month, declassified more than half a million pages of government records, including those related to the Trump-Russia investigation, the JFK and RFK assassinations and more.

Tulsi Gabbard, President Donald Trump’s choice to be the Director of National Intelligence, arrives to appear before the Senate Intelligence Committee for her confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill Thursday, Jan. 30, 2025, in Washington.(AP Photo/John McDonnell)

Gabbard also declassified documents tied to the origins of the Trump-Russia “Crossfire Hurricane” probe, arguing they showed Obama administration officials politicized intelligence related to Russia’s 2016 election interference and used it to undermine Trump’s first presidential victory.

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Meanwhile, Gabbard created the first-ever “Weaponization Working Group,” aimed at coordinating efforts across the federal government to expose the Biden Admin’s weaponization of government.

As DNI, Gabbard’s National Counterterrorism Center prevented more than 10,000 individuals with ties to narco-terrorism from entering the country in 2025 and placed more than 85,000 similarly tied individuals on the terror watchlist.

Brooke Singman is a political correspondent and reporter for Fox News Digital, Fox News Channel and FOX Business.

House lawmakers launch insider trading probe into Kalshi and Polymarket

May 22, 2026 / 2:50 PM EDT / CBS News

By Mary Cunningham

The House Oversight Committee said on Friday that it is opening an investigation into Kalshi and Polymaket over alleged incidents of insider trading by users of the prediction markets.

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Rep. James Comer of Kentucky, the panel’s chairman,sent letters to Kalshi CEO Tarek Mansour and Polymarket CEO Shayne Coplan requesting internal documents to determine what the companies are doing to deter insider trading.

Specifically, Comer asked Kalshi and Polymarket to provide information on how they investigate potential insider trading and on the identity verification processes for domestic and international account holders.

Polymarket and Kalshi allow users to speculate on the outcome of future events, such as elections, sports and geopolitical developments. While their popularity has skyrocketed, they’ve also drawn scrutiny from lawmakers after a series of suspiciously timed bets sparked concerns about insider trading.

In his letter on Friday, Comer requested information from Mansour and Coplan on trading activity on their platforms tied to the Iran war and to the Trump administration’s capture of former Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro.

According to a recent “60 Minutes” report, an investigation by data analytics firm Bubblemaps found that 9 Polymarket accounts made a total of $2.4 million by correctly guessing the dates of pivotal moments in the conflict.

In April, federal prosecutors charged a U.S. special forces soldier with allegedly using confidential government information to bet on Maduro’s removal from office, a trade that netted more than $400,000.

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The soldier, Gannon Ken Van Dyke, 38, has been charged with unlawful use of confidential government information for personal gain, theft of nonpublic government information, commodities fraud, wire fraud and making an unlawful monetary transaction. He has pleaded not guilty.

In a statement to CBS News on Friday, a Polymarket spokesperson said the company “maintains a comprehensive market integrity framework.”

Kalshi also touted its efforts to prevent insider trading. Spokesperson Elisabeth Diana told CBS News that the company has implemented “comprehensive” safeguards.

In recent months, both platforms have tightened their rules to prevent users from trading on confidential information.

In April, Kalshi fined three congressional candidates and suspended their accounts on the platform for five years after a company investigation found they gambled on their own elections. The prediction market platform now bans members of Congress from creating accounts.

A new rule Polymarket implemented in March also prohibits traders from betting on an event if they “hold a position of authority” or influence that could affect its outcome.

Edited by Alain Sherter

Tulsi Gabbard is resigning as director of national intelligence

2026-05-22T17:19:07.380Z / https://www.cnn.com/2026/05/22/politics/tulsi-gabbard-resigns

Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard announced Friday that she’s resigning at the end of June, citing her husband’s diagnosis with cancer.

“Unfortunately, I must submit my resignation, effective June 30, 2026,” she wrote in a letter President Donald Trump. “My husband, Abraham, has recently been diagnosed with an extremely rare form of bone cancer. He faces major challenges in the coming weeks and months. At this time, I must step away from public service to be by his side and fully support him through this battle.”

Trump quickly praised Gabbard and announced Principal Deputy Director of National Intelligence Aaron Lukas will serve as acting director of national intelligence.

“Her wonderful husband, Abraham, has been recently diagnosed with a rare form of bone cancer, and she, rightfully, wants to be with him, bringing him back to good health as they currently fight a tough battle together,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, adding that Gabbard has done “an incredible job, and we will miss her.”

Over the last few weeks, White House officials heard rumors that Gabbard was planning to leave. But as of two weeks ago, she was denying she was leaving the administration, a senior administration official said. On Friday, Gabbard met with Trump in the Oval Office to deliver the letter, according to a source familiar.

In her letter, Gabbard said she couldn’t let her husband face the diagnosis on his own.

“Abraham has been my rock throughout our eleven years of marriage —standing steadfast through my deployment to East Africa on a Joint Special Operations mission, multiple political campaigns, and now my service in this role. His strength and love have sustained me through every challenge. I cannot in good conscience ask him to face this fight alone while I continue in this demanding and time-consuming position,” she wrote.

Gabbard’s tenure has been riddled with contradictory and confusing messaging, particularly on the US war with Iran, which at times put her out of favor with the White House.

She will be the latest Cabinet member to depart, following Trump’s ousters of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and Attorney General Pam Bondi and the departure of Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer.

“While we have made significant progress at the ODNI — advancing unprecedented transparency and restoring integrity to the intelligence community — I recognize there is still important work to be done,” Gabbard wrote in her letter to the president, noting that she’s committed to facilitating a smooth transition.

Gabbard’s messaging on Iran had at times been at odds with the White House’s claims and justifications, beginning months before the war started in late February.

CNN reported in June 2025 — days before the US struck Iranian nuclear facilities — that multiple people inside the West Wing had grown disillusioned with Gabbard’s performance, with Trump seeing her as “off message” regarding the Israel-Iran conflict, according to one senior White House adviser.

Trump’s annoyance peaked earlier that month when Gabbard posted a video warning that the world was “closer to the brink of nuclear annihilation than ever before” and blaming “political elite and warmongers” for stoking “fear and tensions between nuclear powers.”

Trump viewed the video as a thinly veiled criticism of his consideration to allow Israel to strike Iran, and many inside the White House agreed Gabbard was speaking out of turn, a source told CNN at the time.

Later that month, Trump publicly rebuked his intel chief’s testimony to Congress that Iran was not actively pursuing a nuclear weapon, telling reporters, “I don’t care what she said. I think they were very close to having it.” The same day, Trump greenlit US strikes on Iran’s nuclear sites, known as Operation Midnight Hammer.

After the US-Israeli war against Iran began in February of this year, Trump and administration officials attempted to justify the conflict by claiming Iran was rebuilding its nuclear program after those June 2025 strikes and posed an imminent threat.

However, in her prepared remarks to the Senate Intelligence Committee less than a month later, Gabbard said, “As a result of Operation Midnight Hammer (in June), Iran’s nuclear enrichment program was obliterated. There has been no efforts since then to try to rebuild their enrichment capability.”

She did not read that portion of her prepared remarks during the congressional hearing. Pressed on why, she said it was because her “time was running long” but said, “yes” when asked whether that remained the assessment of the intelligence community.

During that hearing, Gabbard also refused to say whether Iran posed an imminent threat, instead saying, “The only person who can determine what is and is not a threat is the president.”

“It is not the intelligence community’s responsibility to determine what is and is not an imminent threat,” she added.

Gabbard’s top counterterrorism official, Joe Kent, resigned less than three weeks into the war, citing misgivings about the conflict and saying Iran did not pose an “imminent threat.”

Gabbard distanced herself from Kent, and when asked during a House hearing whether she found his comments concerning, Gabbard said, “Yes.”

Gabbard also took on a role investigating alleged voter fraud in the 2020 election, which appeared to give her an opportunity to curry favor with Trump by supporting his false claims that the 2020 election was stolen from him.

In January of this year, Gabbard took the extraordinary step of going to the scene after FBI agents executed a search warrant at the Fulton County elections office, near Atlanta. The search was related to an effort by the Justice Department to seize voting data and search for alleged fraud in the county.

Gabbard’s presence was noteworthy since the director of national intelligence is generally involved in coordinating US intelligence agencies and their efforts overseas, not domestic matters or law enforcement.

She went on to tell top Democrats on the House and Senate Intelligence committees in a letter that her presence during the search “was requested by the President.” But that quickly became a point of confusion as the administration offered conflicting explanations about who sent her.

Several former senior intelligence officials and election law experts told CNN that Gabbard had no legal authority over the FBI search and that her presence in Fulton County risked eroding a crucial line between foreign and domestic intelligence activities instituted after Watergate.

As part of Gabbard’s quest for evidence of alleged voter fraud, the ODNI also obtained voting machines from Puerto Rico and probed them for security vulnerabilities. But the statement that ODNI put out after acquiring the voting machines flagged issues that have been long known to, and remediated by, election security experts.

Gabbard, who serves in the Army Reserves, is a former Democratic congresswoman who represented Hawaii’s 2nd Congressional District, making history as the first American Samoan and practicing Hindu in Congress. She ran for president as a Democrat in 2020, touting herself as an Iraq War veteran with an anti-interventionist foreign policy, before leaving the party two years later.

She went on to endorse Trump in 2024, campaigning with him and helping him prepare for his debate with then-Vice President Kamala Harris. Gabbard joined the GOP before the election and served on Trump’s transition team after he won. Trump tapped her to serve as director of national intelligence, the top post overseeing the 18 agencies that make up the intelligence community.

This story has been updated with additional details.

CNN’s Katie Bo Lillis, Jeremy Herb, Sean Lyngaas and Zachary Cohen contributed to this report.

Trump administration to require most immigrants seeking green cards to leave the U.S. first

May 22, 2026 / 2:59 PM EDT / CBS News

By
Camilo Montoya-Galvez Immigration Correspondent
Camilo Montoya-Galvez is the Immigration Correspondent at CBS News, where his reporting is featured across multiple programs and platforms, including national broadcast shows, CBS News 24/7, CBSNews.com and the organization’s social media accounts.

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The Trump administration on Friday announced a sweeping policy designed to make it harder for immigrants already in the U.S. to get permanent residency, or a green card, furthering its campaign to sharply limit legal immigration.

Officials said they would eliminate the option for many immigrants seeking a green card to complete the process without having to leave the U.S. Instead, in most cases, those immigrants will be required to return to their home countries in order to apply for an immigrant visa overseas through an American consulate, officials said.

Current and former U.S. immigration officials told CBS News the memo published Friday would likely have wide-ranging implications, forcing groups like students, tourists and other temporary visa holders, as well as those who entered legally but overstayed their visas, to leave the country before trying to obtain a green card through sponsorships filed by U.S. citizen spouses or employers.

For many immigrants, going back home could make it difficult or impossible for them to return to the U.S.

Citizens of 39 countries, most of them in Africa and Asia, currently face outright bans or restrictions from entering the U.S. under a proclamation, known as the “travel ban,” signed by President Trump on national security grounds. A separate Trump administration policy has paused all grants of immigrant visas for people in 75 countries seeking to move to the U.S. permanently, arguing that they could become economic burdens. Additionally, in most cases, people who overstayed their visas and have lived in the U.S. illegally for some time would trigger 10-year bans from reentering the country if they leave.

Michael Valverde, who was a senior official at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services under Republican and Democratic administrations until his departure last year, said Friday’s announcement would “disrupt the plans of hundreds of thousands of families and employers annually.”

“This is a largely unprecedented move that will limit lawful immigration to the U.S. greatly,” Valverde said. “People who followed the rules faithfully now face tremendous uncertainty.”

The memo published by USCIS on Friday seeks to dramatically restrict when the agency can allow immigrants to get a green card through the “adjustment of status” process. That allows eligible immigrants in the U.S. to get a green card, without having to return to the U.S. and seek permanent residency through a visa application at an American consulate.

The memo instructed USCIS officers to treat the adjustment of status process as an “extraordinary” relief and act of “administrative grace,” arguing that Congress suggested in federal law that most green card applications should complete the process abroad. Officers were directed to treat someone’s decision to seek adjustment of status, instead of the consular process overseas, as “adverse factors” in their applications.

While exemptions to the policy were not precisely outlined, the memo suggested that people with so-called “dual intent” visas, such as H-1Bs for high-skilled workers, as well as refugees and asylees, would still be allowed to apply for a green card in the U.S. through the adjustment of status process.

“From now on, an alien who is in the U.S. temporarily and wants a Green Card must return to their home country to apply, except in extraordinary circumstances,” USCIS spokesman Zach Kahler said in a statement. “This policy allows our immigration system to function as the law intended instead of incentivizing loopholes.”

Kahler said the policy would also reduce the “need to find and remove those who decide to slip into the shadows and remain in the U.S. illegally after being denied residency.”

Doug Rand, a former senior USCIS official under the Biden administration, said the changes could affect hundreds of thousands of cases, since half a million people get green cards each year through the adjustment of status process. Immigrant spouses of U.S. citizens who are in the country on student and other temporary visas, he added, will likely be among those most affected by the changes.

“The primary impact of this appears to be to make it difficult or impossible for very large numbers of U.S. citizens to get on with their lives with the people they’ve chosen to marry who came here legally,” Rand said.

Many of those forced to leave the U.S., Rand added, may get stuck overseas.

“Imagine you fall in love with someone from Iran or Russia, or again, 114 different countries, where if you go back and try to apply for a permanent residency from that country, the Trump administration will not let you in,” Rand said.

Why Gabbard says she is resigning as Director of National Intelligence

1:40 PM EDT, Fri May 22, 2026 / CNN

Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard is resigning, according to three people familiar with the matter. Gabbard has informed associates that she is leaving because her husband is battling cancer, the people said.

Warren torched over ‘my kind of man’ praise for Platner after death-wish post for wounded veteran resurfaces

2026-05-22 14:19:42 EDT / Fox News

Warren smiled and said nothing when confronted by Fox News Digital about Platner’s resurfaced posts

By Charles Creitz Fox News

Published May 22, 2026 2:19pm EDT

Graham Platner mocks wounded soldier in unearthed post

Wounded combat veteran Teddy Daniels and a Purple Heart recipient responds to Graham Platner’s resurfaced Reddit post mocking a U.S. wounded soldier on ‘The Bottom Line.’

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Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s vocal support for her controversial New England neighbor Graham Platner’s Democratic Senate campaign is raising eyebrows in light of his Nazi-linked tattoo and a slew of resurfaced remarks, including an admission of getting aroused by smelling biocide in Port-a-Johns.

Most recently, Platner was lambasted for appearing to wish the Taliban had killed former Pennsylvania GOP lieutenant governor candidate Teddy Daniels after video of him under siege in Afghanistan surfaced:

“Dumb mother—er didn’t deserve to live,” Platner said in a resurfaced social media post about the Purple Heart recipient. “Poor marksmanship on the Taliban’s part…”

On his podcast, Washington-area radio host Larry O’Connor presented a mashup of Warren shouting, “my kind of man, with narration of Platner’s uncovered foibles.

UNEARTHED POSTS SHOW DEM SENATE HOPEFUL PRAISING VULGAR GRAFFITI, MAKING CRUDE PORTA-POTTY ADMISSION

Former Biden aide says there is no other ‘viable option’ than Graham Platner in Mainehttps://www.foxnews.com/video/6396311295112

“Hey Elizabeth Warren, Graham Platner says that whenever he goes into a Port-a-John, he smells the blue water in there and he has to pleasure himself — how do you respond?”

“That’s my kind of man!” a clip of Warren intercedes.

“Hey Elizabeth Warren, Graham Platner just said that ‘American Sniper’ Chris Kyle … is actually a psychopathic murderer…”

“That’s my kind of man,” the clip replayed.

“Yeah I could do this all day,” O’Connor quipped. “And I have no doubt that is in fact her kind of man.”

When confronted by Fox News Digital in Washington on Wednesday, Warren smiled at the camera, said nothing, and continued walking into an office building.

DEMS SILENT ON PROGRESSIVE CANDIDATE’S NAZI-STYLE TATTOO AFTER KNOCKING HEGSETH FOR CHRISTIAN SYMBOL

Conservative commentator “Western Lensman” flagged a 33-page letter Warren had sent to Secretary of War Pete Hegseth when he was under nomination consideration in 2025.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, left, gestures in a hearing; Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner, right.(Kent Nishimura/Getty Images; Sophie Park/Getty Images)

Warren questioned Hegseth about a tattoo with a Christian phrase tied to the Crusades — “Deus Vult” or “God Wills It” — and expressed concern about Hegseth reportedly being removed from former President Joe Biden’s inauguration because “fellow servicemembers feel concerned enough about to report as a potential insider threat.”

Lensman contrasted that objection to Hegseth’s Christian tattoo with her silence on Platner’s own chest tattoo considered German Nazi imagery.

“It just tells you all the the left’s complaints about right-wing White supremacy blah-blah is all performative nonsense,” he said.

Bernadette Breslin, a former top aide to Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., offered a side-by-side of Warren crowing about Platner just weeks ago before appearing tight-lipped to Fox News Digital.

“Look how quickly she changed her tune once his baggage started becoming a political liability,” Breslin said on X.

TOP DEM LAWMAKERS DUCK QUESTIONS WHEN PRESSED ON PLATNER’S REDDIT SCANDAL

Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner’s old social posts stir up controversyhttps://www.foxnews.com/video/6396266441112

The Republican Party’s rapid-response account RNC Research latched onto Warren’s glowing words for Platner and is now using them for second-degree criticism.

When Iowa State Sen. Zach Wahls, D-Iowa City, invoked Warren at an event and said he is “very honored to have her endorsement” in his US Senate bid to fill retiring Sen. Joni Ernst’s, R-Iowa, seat, the RNC posted context about Warren also endorsing the controversial Platner.

“Warren has also endorsed candidates like Graham Platner — who got a Nazi tattoo, praised Hamas’ tactics, and said women should ‘act like an adult’ to avoid rape,” they said.

Meanwhile, Daniels – who also ran for sheriff of Dare County, North Carolina last year – told Fox News’ “The Bottom Line” that Platner’s comments are run-of-the-mill for what he’s dealt with and that he largely dismissed them.

“I don’t get offended. I’ve been attacked by the left for years,” Daniels said.

“This coming from a man whose party has no idea what a woman is, but yet he was online and saw a video of a man and had an emotional meltdown like a 13-year-old girl who just got dumped by her boyfriend – that’s not the type of leadership we need in our government,” he added.

MAINE SENATE CANDIDATE CITES COMBAT TRAUMA WHEN CONFRONTED ON ‘TERRIBLE’ POSTS ABOUT SEXUAL ASSAULT

Then-Pennsylvania lieutenant governor candidate Teddy Daniels speaks at a pro-police rally in Pike County. A video of Daniels under fire from the Taliban was mocked by Maine’s Graham Platner.(Preston Ehrler/Getty Images)

Platner has attributed his online behavior to PTSD from Middle East military service and personal depression, saying in a statement that “I’m sorry for this. Just know that it’s not reflective at all of who I am.”

“I don’t want you to judge me on the dumbest thing I ever wrote on the internet. I would prefer if people could judge me on the person I am today,” the oyster farmer added.

Other Democrats besides Warren have also become tight-lipped on Platner this week, as House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York claimed he had not seen the Reddit posts when confronted by a Fox News Digital reporter outside the same Washington, D.C., office building Wednesday that Warren had entered shortly beforehand.

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Platner’s sudden spike in controversy now endangers Democrats’ most-coveted Senate seat this cycle, as GOP Sen. Susan Collins seeks to continue her uniquely independent tenure as the last sitting federal Republican in office in all of New England.

Fox News Digital reached out to Warren 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.