Secretary of State Marco Rubio and New York Democrat Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez are both hopeful about becoming their party’s presidential nominee in 2028. They both have a shot. Odds-makers place the New York congresswoman second only to California Gov. Gavin Newsom in the race to be the Democratic nominee, while President Trump, asked whether Vice President JD Vance is his chosen successor, has more than once suggested that Rubio is also in the running.

Recently, both spoke at the Munich Security Conference. While Secretary of State Rubio earned well-deserved applause from policymakers at home and abroad for his speech, Rep. Ocasio-Cortez showed she was not ready for prime time — not even close.

In what may prove a preview of the presidential race two years from now, Rubio and Ocasio-Cortez squared off on geopolitics. For Rubio, the occasion was another opportunity to articulate President Trump’s foreign policy vision — one that embraces American leadership powered by a strong military, a forceful trade agenda, energy independence and a robust economy. And, as we have seen, the Trump White House is not shy about using that military.

Trump has also declined to surrender national sovereignty to global treaties such as the Paris Climate Accord or institutions such as the United Nations and the World Health Organization — bodies he has deemed anti-American. In the case of the United Nations, the recent elevation of Abbas Tajik, Iran’s representative to the United Nations, to serve as vice chair of the 65th Session of the Commission for Social Development — a group purportedly ‘tasked with promoting democracy, gender equality, tolerance and non-violence,’ as one critic described it — proves once again the debasement of the institution’s integrity. Iran, which only recently crushed protests and slaughtered tens of thousands of its own innocent, unarmed citizens, should be thrown out of the U.N., not rewarded. And certainly not congratulated by U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres on the anniversary of the 1979 Islamic Revolution — which he did even as his own Human Rights Council passed a resolution condemning the mass murders.

Rubio’s speech was challenging, calling out European allies for succumbing to climate zealotry, encouraging mass migration, exporting industrial self-sufficiency and investing ‘in massive welfare states at the cost of maintaining the ability to defend themselves.’ But it was also conciliatory, emphasizing that ‘we are connected spiritually and we are connected culturally,’ and reviewing the many bonds that link the United States and Europe. It was an inspiring call for unity and progress, assuring the appreciative audience that ‘our destiny is and will always be intertwined with yours.’

The Wall Street Journal Editorial Board described Rubio’s speech as drawn from Ronald Reagan’s playbook, arguing that Trump’s ‘greatest failure as president is that he won’t, or can’t, articulate his larger principles.’ I would argue that Trump is putting those principles into action, coherently and consistently, and that Rubio brilliantly summarized the Trump doctrine.

Meanwhile, Rep. Ocasio-Cortez delivered remarks at a forum on the sidelines of the Munich conference and reminded us why she should not be allowed anywhere near the Oval Office. Former Vice President Kamala Harris introduced Americans to the magic of word salads — the endless spewing of language that says nothing while helpfully obscuring vast pits of ignorace — but AOC has perfected the art.

Ocasio-Cortez is known as a fierce critic of Israel but otherwise is not known for her geopolitical views, having largely spent her career railing against corporations and the evil rich. But if she wants to run for president, it is important for her to demonstrate some basic foreign policy chops. Hence, the trip to Munich. Unhappily for her, the foray into the world of diplomacy did not go well. Even The New York Times had to admit that she had some ‘shaky moments.’

Asked whether the United States should come to Taiwan’s aid if China attempted to seize the island, Ocasio-Cortez hesitated for several uncomfortable minutes. Even the  description from anti-Trump left-wing Bloomberg, whose reporter had posed the question, said the response was ‘flubbed,’  and wrote: ‘Normally quick to respond, Ocasio-Cortez was at a loss for words, saying, ‘this is such a, a, you know, I think that, this is a, um, this is of course, a, ah, a very longstanding, um, policy of the United States.’’ Hilariously, the piece added that AOC regrouped with what it called a ‘cogent response,’ saying the United States should ‘avoid any such confrontation and for that question to even arise.’ That’s cogent?

The Times, too, admitted the Munich outing ‘demonstrated the relative foreign policy inexperience of Ms. Ocasio-Cortez’, and that she ‘struggled at times to formulate succinct answers’. But the Times excused her incapacity, describing the questions posed as ‘probing and specific.’ Asking her policy vis-à-vis Taiwan is hardly ‘probing’; this issue is, along with our relationship with Israel, fundamental.

Ocasio-Cortez also mixed up the trans-Atlantic partnership, referring to it as the ‘Trans-Pacific Partnership,’ and scoffed at Rubio’s claim that American cowboy culture came from Spain. (It did.) But the corker was another response she gave, enthusiastically endorsed by the Times, about President Trump’s foreign policy, ‘They are looking to withdraw the United States from the entire world so that we can turn into an age of authoritarians that can carve out a world where Donald Trump can command the Western Hemisphere and Latin America as his personal sandbox, where Putin can saber-rattle around Europe.’

Yes, AOC, Trump is withdrawing the U.S. from the ‘entire world’ by trying to end the war between Ukraine and Russia, deliver the people of Iran, Venezuela and Cuba from authoritarian regimes, confront China, protect Christians in Nigeria, strengthen Western defense capabilities and pursue peace in the Middle East. Former President Joe Biden declared that ‘America is back,’ but did nothing to protect our interests around the globe.

Under President Trump, the U.S. is not only ‘back,’ it is also in the lead and moving persuasively forward.

President Donald Trump’s newly appointed envoy to Greenland said Tuesday the administration wants to open a dialogue with residents of the territory, stressing the U.S. is not seeking to ‘conquer’ the island.

During an appearance on Fox News’ ‘The Will Cain Show,’ Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry, who was tapped as special envoy to Greenland by Trump on Sunday, said discussions must be had with Greenlanders to understand what they want moving forward.

‘What are they looking for? What opportunities have they not gotten? Why haven’t they gotten the protection that they actually deserve?’ Landry said.

Landry added that the U.S. ‘has always been a welcoming party,’ and that the Trump administration is not going to ‘go in there trying to conquer anybody’ or ‘take over anybody’s country.’

Landry’s comments came after Danish leaders sharply criticized Trump after he announced the appointment of the new special envoy to Greenland, a territory controlled by Denmark.

‘We have said it before. Now, we say it again. National borders and the sovereignty of states are rooted in international law,’ Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and Greenlandic Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen said in a joint statement Monday. ‘They are fundamental principles. You cannot annex another country. Not even with an argument about international security.’

Trump wrote on Truth Social Monday that Landry ‘understands how essential Greenland is to our National Security, and will strongly advance our Country’s Interests for the Safety, Security, and Survival of our Allies, and indeed, the World.’

On Tuesday, Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen called Trump’s comments ‘completely unacceptable,’ adding that he would summon the U.S. ambassador.

The Danish kingdom, he wrote on Facebook, is ‘sovereign and cannot accept that others question it.’

Trump has previously expressed ambitions for the U.S. to acquire Greenland, posting on Truth Social in December 2024 that ‘ownership and control of Greenland is an absolute necessity’ for national security purposes.

In another post from January 2025, Trump said Greenland is an ‘incredible place,’ and its people will ‘benefit tremendously if, and when, it becomes part of our Nation,’ before declaring, ‘MAKE GREENLAND GREAT AGAIN!’

Fox News Digital has reached out to the White House for comment.

Fox News Digital’s Alex Nitzberg and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

A House Democrat with a background in physics is sounding the alarm over what he views as a lack of a plan to deal with Iran’s nuclear sites during the U.S. offensive campaign.

After a classified briefing Tuesday with top administration officials, Rep. Bill Foster, D-Ill., said lawmakers were not presented with a clear plan to secure or neutralize Iran’s stockpile of enriched uranium.

‘We have heard that they never had a plan for that nuclear stockpile of enriched uranium — to destroy that, to seize it or to put it under international inspection,’ he said.

The U.S. intervention was publicly justifiedby the Trump administration as a necessary step to stop Iran from developing a nuclear weapon. 

U.S. forces have struck more than 1,700 targets across Iran, including ballistic missile launch sites, air defenses, naval assets and command centers. Core nuclear facilities, however, have not been among the primary targets.

‘Until that happens, Iran will be very, very close to making — as many observers have pointed out in a nonclassified situation — Iran can use that material to make a handful of Hiroshima-style nuclear devices,’ Foster told Fox News Digital. ‘Not the sort you can put on a missile, but the sort you can deliver by a number of other ways and are very hard to stop.’ 

Foster was referring to Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium, material that, if weaponized, could be used to build a nuclear explosive device.

Experts note that building a compact warhead that fits on a ballistic missile is technically complex and requires advanced engineering. But a simpler, larger nuclear device — similar in basic concept to the bomb the U.S. dropped on Hiroshima, Japan, in 1945 — would not need to be miniaturized to fit on a missile. Such a device could not be delivered by long-range rocket but could theoretically be transported by other means.

Foster argued that containing Iran’s nuclear materials, most of which are buried deep underground, would likely require U.S. forces to enter Iran.

Recent satellite imagery shows damage to support buildings and access points at Iran’s Natanz enrichment site, though the deepest underground infrastructure at key nuclear facilities has not been confirmed as a primary target in the current campaign.

U.S. and international officials previously have acknowledged that while strikes can damage enrichment infrastructure, stockpiled enriched uranium stored underground may remain intact and potentially retrievable unless physically secured or removed.

‘You have to go in there with boots on the ground and grab a bunch of equipment,’ Foster said. ‘You have to go underground into those facilities and lose a lot of soldiers’ lives doing that.

‘They’re unwilling to do that, or they’ve decided not to or they’ve decided it’s impossible. In any case, they did not present to us any plan that would actually get the material under control.’

Without securing the nuclear material, he argued, military operations may push Iran closer to a nuclear weapon than diplomatic negotiations would have.

‘The only positive thing about the ayatollah is that he had a fatwa against building nuclear weapons,’ Foster said. ‘Who knows what the next generation of ayatollahs are going to feel? They’re going to be under a lot of pressure from the IRGC, which was not so much against having a nuclear weapon.’

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in the joint U.S.-Israeli operations, had previously issued a fatwa, a religious edict, opposing the pursuit of nuclear weapons. Analysts have long debated how binding or durable that ruling was.

At a White House briefing Wednesday, press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the administration believes Iran ‘wanted to build nuclear weapons to use against Americans and our allies,’ framing the strikes as necessary to prevent Tehran from advancing its nuclear ambitions.

‘The US military has more than enough munitions, ammo, and weapons stockpiles to achieve the goals of Operation Epic Fury laid out by President Trump — and beyond. Nevertheless, President Trump has always been intensely focused on strengthen our Armed Forces and he will continue to call on defense contractors to more speedily build American-made weapons, which are the best in the world,’ she said in a follow up statement to Fox News Digital. 

Missile suppression strategy faces ‘math problem’

Senior administration officials have emphasized that the current phase of the campaign is aimed at dismantling Iran’s ability to project force with missiles, drones and naval assets. 

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has highlighted strikes on Iran’s ballistic missile systems, air defenses and naval capabilities, describing the effort as a push to degrade the conventional tools Tehran uses to threaten U.S. forces and regional allies. 

Secretary of State Marco Rubio similarly has said the United States is working to ‘systematically take apart’ Iran’s missile program, so it could not ‘hide behind’ it to develop a nuclear weapon. 

While the broader justification for intervention centered on preventing a nuclear-armed Iran, the most immediate threat facing U.S. troops and partners has been Iran’s ongoing missile and drone launches. Administration officials contend Iran’s missile buildup was meant to create a deterrent buffer, shielding its broader strategic ambitions, including its nuclear program, from outside attack.

Lawmakers emerging from classified briefings said the campaign has become, in part, a question of sustainability.

‘We do not have an unlimited supply,’ Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., said of U.S. and allied interceptor inventories. He warned the conflict could become a ‘math problem,’ balancing launch volumes against finite air defense munitions and the ability to replenish them without weakening readiness in other theaters.

‘At some point — and we’re probably already in this — this becomes a math problem,’ Kelly added.

He said he pressed defense officials on how interceptor stocks are being replenished and whether diverting munitions to the Middle East could strain U.S. readiness elsewhere.

‘How can we resupply air defense munitions? Where are they going to come from? How does that affect other theaters?’ he said. ‘The math on this currently seems to be an issue.’

Sen. Andy Kim, D-N.J., said he also sought clarity on interceptor inventories but did not receive detailed answers.

‘I am very concerned about that,’ Kim said. ‘I did not get any specificity today. … Something akin to ‘trust us’ is not good enough for me.’

Republicans, however, pushed back on the notion that interceptor supplies are strained. 

Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., said officials told lawmakers U.S. forces are ‘in great shape,’ dismissing concerns about shortages.

Ehud Eilam, a former Israeli defense official and national security analyst, said that while a nuclear weapon remains the most serious long-term threat, missile and drone systems pose the most immediate danger if intelligence assessments conclude Iran is not on the verge of assembling a device.

‘As long as it is estimated Iran cannot produce a nuclear weapon soon, then the focus moves to missiles and drones,’ Eilam said, noting that ballistic missiles would ultimately be required to deliver any future nuclear warhead. Suppressing mobile launchers, crews and command networks can reduce Iran’s firing tempo, conserving interceptor supplies while degrading Tehran’s broader military capacity, he said.

The concern is not theoretical. 

During the intense June 2025 Iran–Israel conflict, U.S. forces reportedly fired more than 150 Terminal High Altitude Area Defense interceptors, roughly a quarter of the global inventory, along with large numbers of ship-based Standard Missile interceptors to shield allies. 

Analysts note that replenishing high-end air defense systems such as Patriot, THAAD and SM-3 interceptors could take more than a year under current production rates.

The Pentagon also is balancing competing demands. The same missile defense systems used to protect U.S. bases and Gulf partners are being supplied to Ukraine to defend against Russian cruise missile attacks, creating what some analysts describe as a ‘zero-sum’ competition for inventory between Europe and the Middle East.

‘There is a limit to how many THAAD missiles can be used,’ Eilam said. ‘These are not systems you can reproduce overnight.’

As questions swirl about FBI Director Kash Patel’s leadership of the agency, particularly in the immediate hours after the assassination of Charlie Kirk, Senate Republicans appear ready to back him.

Patel is due before the Senate Judiciary Committee for an annual oversight hearing of the FBI on Tuesday morning, but the timing comes at a crucial moment for him as scrutiny mounts over a wave of firings at the agency and his handling of the investigation into Kirk’s alleged killer.

There is also a new face in FBI management — former Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey, who was sworn in on Monday in a power-sharing role with FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino.

But Senate Republicans on the Judiciary Committee intend to look at Patel’s track record as a whole over the last nine months, and they signaled that they still have confidence in him.

Senate Judiciary Chair Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, told Fox News Digital that he just planned to talk about oversight of the FBI during the hearing.

When asked if he felt there should be increased scrutiny of Patel, Grassley said, ‘Well, that’s why we have an oversight hearing, we do it once a year.’

The top Democrat on the panel, Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., however, signaled that he would be going after Patel, particularly in the wake of a lawsuit from three former senior FBI officials last week, who alleged they were fired from the agency for political reasons, and Patel’s firing of former Salt Lake City FBI field office head Mehtab Syed.

Durbin said it was unclear what kind of impact Syed would have had on the investigation, but he noted her lengthy career and specialty in counterterrorism.

‘We do know that the person who pushed her out, Director Patel, quickly took to social media and falsely announced that the suspect was in custody,’ Durbin said on the Senate floor. ‘Remember that? Only to be forced to walk back those claims shortly after.’

Patel has again come under the microscope for a post he made on X in the hours after Kirk was killed where he wrote, ‘The subject for the horrific shooting today that took the life of Charlie Kirk is now in custody.’

However, that individual and another were caught and released before law enforcement nabbed 22-year-old Tyler Robinson, some 33 hours after the shooting.

Patel pushed back on criticism of his performance during an appearance on ‘Fox & Friends’ on Monday, where he argued that his post was made in a push for transparency.

‘I was being transparent with working with the public on our findings as I had them,’ he said. ‘Could I have worded it a little better in the heat of the moment? Sure. But do I regret putting it out? Absolutely not.’

Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., a member of the committee, told Fox News Digital that there would be ‘a lot of things to learn’ during the hearing, but appeared to still back Patel as director.

‘You know, my view is, listen, he serves at the pleasure of the president,’ Hawley said. ‘If the president has confidence in him, then I think that, you know, that’s good enough for me.’

To Hawley’s point, President Donald Trump appears to still support his embattled FBI director.

‘I am very proud of the FBI,’ Trump said Saturday. ‘Kash — and everyone else — they have done a great job.’

And Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., and a member of the panel, said that he was sure that ‘a lot of people are going to be looking at the shooting,’ but argued his focus was on the whole of Patel’s tenure at the FBI — one that he supported during his nomination and one he still supports now.

When asked about Patel’s performance during the investigation in Utah, Tillis contended, ‘Those things are fluid.’

‘I’ve seen a lot of armchair quarterbacks in my day, and I saw a lot of armchair quarterbacks, or Monday morning quarterbacks,’ Tillis said. ‘Could they have been tighter? People are demanding updates.’

‘I mean, if the only thing that they’re criticizing you for is talking about the potential suspects or persons of interest too soon, that’s kind of weak. Go after some more foundational things.’

Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., said that he believed it would be a ‘very important hearing tomorrow’ in light of Patel’s social media post and direction of the agency.

‘[It’s] something that even the lowest level comms director knows,’ Booker told Fox News Digital. ‘You don’t push out information that’s wrong in an investigation, you stick to the facts, and it’s very disappointing. I think, indicative of the kind of leader that he is.’

‘I’m also more concerned right now with how many of the FBI officials he’s fired for no cause. He’s politicized this department and weaponized the department in a partisan way that’s disappointing,’ he continued. ‘And then, finally, him actually undermining investigations that are ongoing that keep Americans safe is very troubling.’ 

Secretary of State Marco Rubio early Tuesday said that the U.S. and Qatar were on the verge of finalizing a defense cooperation agreement as he framed the Middle Eastern ally as the ‘only country in the world’ positioned to mediate between Israel and Hamas. 

The secretary’s comments came as he was leaving Jerusalem, where he had met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The meeting took place against the backdrop of Israel’s airstrikes on Hamas leaders in Qatar last week, as well as its intensifying bombardment of Gaza City. 

Rubio, who is now heading to Qatar for a quick visit, acknowledged Doha’s anger over the Israeli airstrikes, telling Fox News during an exclusive interview in Jerusalem: ‘We understand they’re not happy about what happened.’ 

Speaking to reporters, Rubio reaffirmed the U.S. commitment to Qatar as an ally, saying Doha can play a ‘key role’ in ensuring the terrorist group Hamas is ‘disarmed as a threat.’ 

‘We think Qatar can play a very key role in that. So, we’re going there. We have a close partnership with the Qataris,’ Rubio said before adding, ‘In fact, we have an enhanced defense cooperation agreement, which we’ve been working on and we’re on the verge of finalizing.’ 

Rubio said that if any country in the world could mediate an agreement between Israel and Hamas, ‘Qatar is the one.’ 

‘They’re the ones that can do it. Now, I don’t know if they can after what happened, but I think they could. If anyone can, they can. There’s no other country in the world that can play that role. And we hope they can,’ Rubio said. 

The secretary warned that the window for diplomacy with Hamas was narrowing, saying, ‘We don’t have months anymore … We probably have days, maybe a few weeks.’ 

‘So, it’s a key moment – an important moment,’ Rubio said. ‘And again, our preference, our number one choice, is that this ends through a negotiated summit where Hamas says, ‘We’re going to demilitarize. We’re no longer going to pose this threat. We’re going to disband. We’re going to release every single hostage.’’ 

Former Sen. Joe Manchin, I-W.Va., wanted Republicans to win the Senate last year in order to prevent Democrats’ pursuit of ‘raw political power.’

In his new book, ‘Dead Center: In Defense of Common Sense,’ set to be released on Tuesday and obtained by Fox News Digital, the former West Virginia Democrat-turned-Independent ripped into his ex-political party, tore into former Presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden and blasted Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., while lauding the relationship that he had with President Donald Trump.

Manchin made waves when he and former Sen. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, who also left the Democratic Party to become an Independent, bucked Schumer and voted against the move to nuke the Senate filibuster in 2022.

He recalled that vote in his book and the pressure he felt from Schumer and Senate Democrats to fall in line on that and other key votes during Biden’s presidency.

Manchin accused Schumer of wanting a vote he ‘could broadcast to the radical left to prove his loyalty’ and said the then-Senate majority leader didn’t actually believe that getting rid of the filibuster was the right thing to do, but rather to fulfill his ‘only priority’ of maintaining control of the Senate.

‘Because of what I knew — and what I had seen firsthand — I wanted Republicans to win the Senate majority in 2024,’ Manchin wrote. ‘I believed it was the only hope for preserving the Senate as an institution. I truly believed that, if in power, Republicans would uphold the filibuster, the last guardrail preventing total partisan rule.’

‘Schumer and the Democrats had already shown their hand — eliminating the filibuster would have been their first order of business,’ he continued. ‘They had no interest in protecting the Senate’s role as the deliberative body. They only cared about raw political power.’

The quest to end the filibuster is also why Manchin wouldn’t endorse former Vice President Kamala Harris in her run against Trump.

‘She knew this was the Holy Grail and the only hope we have to preserve any bipartisanship and maintain our democracy,’ Manchin said.

He also outlined an early fight he had with Biden where, when Democrats were trying to ram through the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan in the early months of his presidency in an evenly-divided Senate, Manchin rejected it.

Biden ripped into Manchin for standing in the way of an early victory.

‘As the drama began, I got a call from the president, and was he hot,’ Manchin wrote. ”If you kill this f— bill, I will never speak to you again,’ he promised. Anyone who knows Joe Biden —­ and I have known him for a very long time —­knows he’s got a very bad temper. He calls it his ‘Irish.’ I call it unfortunate. But if he was going there, so was I.’

”Your actions are reckless,’ I spat back. ‘You’re sending a f—­ check to everyone. And if you missed anyone, it was only by mistake.’’

The legislation ultimately passed after a compromise was reached, but Manchin noted that he later regretted ‘capitulating on the American Rescue Plan.’

He also described having a far better relationship with Trump, who he considered a fellow ‘outsider,’ than Obama, and noted that Obama reached out to him twice during his entire presidency: once after he won re-election to the Senate in 2012 and again in 2015 to persuade him from voting against his nuclear deal with Iran.

‘From the start, President Trump had an open line of communication with me. I spoke to him more in the first two years of his presidency than I did to President Obama during all eight years of his time in office,’ Manchin said.

Fox News Digital reached out to the offices of Schumer, Obama and Biden for comment but did not immediately hear back. 

The Pentagon is not backing down from its quest for consequences for those who celebrate Charlie Kirk’s killing, even as Democrats warn the move is ‘un-American’ and violates free speech protections.

The controversy underscores a clash between military discipline and First Amendment rights, with top Pentagon officials arguing that celebrating the killing of an American political figure is unacceptable conduct for service members — while Democrats counter that the crackdown risks punishing constitutionally protected speech.

‘Hunting down and prosecuting service members for their individual political beliefs is dangerous and un-American,’ Rep. Jason Crow, D-Colo., a former Army Ranger, wrote on X.

‘We must condemn political violence AND allow peaceful speech that doesn’t impact the chain of command.’

War Secretary Pete Hegseth and his team see it differently.

‘We will not tolerate military or civilian personnel who celebrate or mock the assassination of a fellow American,’ Sean Parnell, chief Pentagon spokesperson, told Fox News Digital in a statement.

‘Every service member and civilian at the Department takes an oath to defend the Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic. Those in our ranks who rejoice at an act of domestic terrorism are unfit to serve the American people at the Department of War.’

Already, Army Col. Scott Stephens was suspended following posts purportedly belonging to him that praised the killing. 

‘The death of Charlie Kirk in Utah was tragic. However, we can take comfort in the fact that Charlie was doing what he loved best — spreading hate, racism, homophobia, misogyny, and transphobia on college campuses,’ one post read.

Another Army Reserves officer was suspended over the weekend.

‘A monster died today,’ one post allegedly belonging to Maj. Bryan Bintliff, who went by ‘Bryan Harlow’ on social media, read. ‘It’s sad Charlie’s kids are traumatized for life, but it’s not a sad thing that he’s dead.’

Kirk was shot and killed on Wednesday in Orem, Utah, while speaking to college students at Utah Valley University.

The Pentagon isn’t the only one rooting out those with distasteful commentary on the killing: the State Department has announced it would be scanning social posts to revoke visas of foreign nationals who do the same.

‘We shouldn’t be bringing people into this country. We should not be giving visas to people who are going to come to the United States and do things like celebrate the murder, the execution, the assassination of a political figure, we should not and if they’re already here, we should be revoking their visa,’ a senior State Department official told Fox News in an exclusive interview.

‘Why would we want to bring people into our country? They’re going to engage in negative and destructive behavior? It makes no sense.’

Five years ago this week, history was made on the South Lawn of the White House when Israel, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain signed the Abraham Accords. What many had long dismissed as an impossible dream became an undeniable reality: Arab nations publicly embracing peace with Israel not as the byproduct of endless negotiations, but as the result of American leadership. 

I had the great privilege of working alongside President Donald Trump to make that day possible. The Abraham Accords were no accident of wishful diplomacy or naïve illusions. 

They were born of a policy deeply rooted in reality: that strength is the surest guarantor of peace, that America must stand unapologetically with Israel, and that Israel’s Arab neighbors, with the right encouragement, could find common cause with the Jewish state.

Five years later, their impact is unmistakable. The accords have preserved peace among the signatory nations, which now include Morocco and Sudan, even through some of the darkest days in Israel’s modern history. 

When Hamas launched the barbaric terrorist attacks of Oct. 7, 2023, plunging Israel into open warfare against Hamas-controlled Gaza, many feared the young partnerships would collapse. Instead, ambassadors remained in Israel, governments maintained ties and trade continued. In a region where alliances are often fleeting, that resilience is itself historic.

And the peace has been fruitful. Trade between Israel and its new partners has surged into the billions. 

Joint commercial ventures are not only creating jobs but knitting societies together in ways few ever imagined. Direct flights now link Tel Aviv with Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Manama. 

Israeli tourists now vacation in lands where Jews were forced to flee just decades ago. These human connections make future conflict far less likely and lasting stability more attainable. History reminds us that nations that prosper together seldom go to war with one another.

These achievements are even more remarkable considering that the Biden-Harris administration did virtually nothing to expand the accords’ circle of peace. In fact, the prior administration prioritized concessions to malevolent actors. The result is a peace that has endured but also stagnated, with untapped potential to reshape the Middle East for good.

Now, America has another chance to regain the momentum for peace that President Trump created in his first term, and the administration should make broadening the accords a top foreign policy priority. The United States should reaffirm our ironclad commitment to Israel’s security and our promise that any nation seeking partnership with Israel will find America to be a willing partner as well. In particular, Saudi Arabia’s entry into the accords would be a giant step forward. 

Normalization of Riyadh’s relations with Jerusalem would end the Jewish state’s long isolation in the Arab world, ushering in a new era of security, cooperation and economic growth that would bless the region for generations to come.

The Abraham Accords have already written a new chapter in the story of the Middle East. They proved that true peace does not come from appeasing terror, but from uniting those with the courage to oppose it. 

As we commemorate their fifth anniversary, America must not only preserve what has been achieved but expand the circle of peace until it includes all who yearn for a future built on hope rather than hatred. 

The dream of a Middle East defined by peace and prosperity is closer today than at any point in living memory. With strong leadership from the Trump administration, it can yet become a lasting reality.

An FBI evidence specialist testified Monday that Ryan Routh’s black Nissan Xterra was cluttered with clothing, tools and handwritten notes — and appeared as though someone had been living in it — when she searched it the day after his arrest.

FBI Special Agent Cindy Barrois, an Evidence Response Team leader in the Miami Field Office, said the Xterra’s back seats were folded down with what looked like a mattress.

‘It appeared the vehicle was lived in,’ she said. 

In court Monday, she displayed six cellphones collected from the SUV, Routh’s expired Hawaii driver’s license, a valid U.S. passport and handwritten notes — including a list with ‘pipe,’ ‘C-clamp,’ ‘blanket,’ ‘pillow,’ ‘tape,’ ‘paint,’ ‘green poncho’ and phone numbers. 

Another note listed flight options to Mexico and Colombia under the name ‘Bryan Wilson.’ A separate Bank of Hawaii paper read, ‘Make tourniquet.’

Routh is on trial representing himself for federal charges filed against him for allegedly attempting to assassinate President Donald Trump exactly one year ago on Sept. 15, 2024. 

Barrois testified in court Monday the vehicle was ‘not organized,’ and included food, tools, gloves, a disposable tablecloth and a .45-caliber cartridge casing in the glove box. Photos shown to jurors included the passport in the driver’s area, multiple phones and where they were found, and a close-up of the .45 casing. 

She also pointed to alleged stickers on the Xterra that appeared to have been blacked out with spray paint, showing drip marks. Items presented in court from the SUV included a red Harbor Freight flashlight, an Akaso camera battery, a black metal rod like those used in chain-link fences, multiple pairs of work gloves, a black mask, poncho and zip tie in a Ziploc and a large quantity of orange earplugs.

Prosecutors also walked jurors through receipts they say place Routh in Palm Beach County, Florida, for weeks: cash overnight-parking slips from a Marathon gas station in South Bay, Florida, dated Aug. 14 (eight nights), Aug. 21 (six nights), Aug. 29 (six nights), Sept. 5 (six nights) and Sept. 12 (four nights), plus local receipts from Dollar Tree, Family Dollar and McDonald’s. 

Jurors also saw two unopened cans of Vienna sausages and a 56-ounce SunnyD bottle allegedly found in the car, along with a SunnyD receipt. Barrois said North Carolina and Ohio license plates were recovered under the driver’s seat; a North Carolina registration in the glove box listed Routh’s daughter, Sara Ellen Routh.

Routh, representing himself, asked whether some items ‘could have been in there for years’ and why one photo showed the .45-caliber casing in the glove box and another did not. For the first time in the trial, the prosecution came up after Routh’s cross-examination to ‘re-direct’ the witness with further questioning.

Routh also said there were dress clothes in the SUV and referenced a note that read, ‘If you need this car moved text,’ listing numbers for ‘Sarah’ and ‘Oran.’

Later, FBI Evidence Analysis Request Coordinator Erin Farais testified about items removed from the SKS rifle. She said a fingerprint was found on tape from the gun but did not identify whose it was.  

When Routh asked whether removing tape affected scope accuracy testing, Judge Aileen Cannon told jurors, ‘This case isn’t about how accurate the gun shoots.’

Court staff told media that trial exhibits will be made public only after the proceedings conclude. 

Routh also told the judge he hadn’t decided whether to call his son, Oran, to the witness stand. Judge Cannon noted ‘a lot of work’ had gone into arranging his transport. 

Prosecutors said additional FBI forensic witnesses — including a firearms/toolmark examiner — were slated to follow.