Trump Sending Tom Homan to Minneapolis to Oversee Immigration Enforcement Operations

And the Border Czar will report directly to the president. On the ground, Homan will replace Border Patrol Commander Greg Bovino. Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt: Mr. Homan is someone who has been lauded for many, many decades for his experience working in law enforcement… I would remind everyone in this room that it was Former President Barack Hussein Obama who awarded a medal to Mr. Homan” (Rapid Response). President Trump: I am sending Tom Homan to Minnesota tonight. He has not been involved in that area, but knows and likes many of the people there. Tom is tough but fair, and will report directly to me (Truth). Texas Rep. Chip Roy (R): President Trump is doing a good job sending Tom out there to calm everything down (Roy). Republicans are rallying behind Homan: Some Republicans on Capitol Hill expressed relief after President Donald Trump announced Monday he would send border czar Tom Homan to handle immigration enforcement in Minnesota after Department of Homeland Security agents shot and killed a second U.S. citizen there…. Senate Majority Leader John Thune called the move a “positive development,” while Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) also offered praise Monday, saying on X “we need a new set of eyes and someone with his experience to help turn around the problems of the moment and the future. Tom is the right man to find a way to de-escalate the situation,” Graham added (Politico).

Walz Reaches Out to Trump, Will Cooperate With Federal Government

It looks like the Trump move to send Homan to Minneapolis may have given both sides a chance to recalibrate. Ed Morrissey: Donald Trump announced that he and Governor Tim Walz spoke this morning by phone about calming the situation in Minneapolis. Trump called it “a very good call” in a post on Truth Social, claiming that Walz is now on a “similar wavelength” about enforcement of law and protection of order in Minnesota. This might be the first fruits of Trump’s decision to bypass Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem by putting Tom Homan in charge: “Governor Tim Walz called me with the request to work together with respect to Minnesota. It was a very good call, and we, actually, seemed to be on a similar wavelength. I told Governor Walz that I would have Tom Homan call him, and that what we are looking for are any and all Criminals that they have in their possession. The Governor, very respectfully, understood that, and I will be speaking to him in the near future. He was happy that Tom Homan was going to Minnesota, and so am I! We have had such tremendous SUCCESS in Washington, D.C., Memphis, Tennessee, and New Orleans, Louisiana, and virtually every other place that we have “touched” and, even in Minnesota, Crime is way down, but both Governor Walz and I want to make it better!” PRESIDENT DONALD J. TRUMP (Hot Air).

Schumer Threatening Another Government Shutdown

The Senate Minority leader is using the latest with ICE and CBP in Minnesota to leverage Republicans. It’s worth noting, though, that ICE has already been funded via the Big, Beautiful Bill. Arkansas Senator Tom Cotton: Notably Patty Murray, the senior Democrat who wrote these bills, said just a few days ago that a shutdown would not restrain ICE in any way. In fact, it would probably give the president more discretion. So, she acknowledges, as other Democrats have acknowledged, that voting against this bill will do literally nothing to stop ICE from undertaking these lawful operations…. the Democrats, just desire to virtue signal to their own radical base are willing to shut down the government knowing it will have no effect on what’s happening in Minneapolis or ICE operations elsewhere. But it will, for instance, have a big impact on FEMA or TSA after one of the biggest winter storms in years. Also, our military and all of our public health agencies and the Department of Transportation and every other government agency that they’d be willing to hold up funding for because they want a purely symbolic action that even senior Democrats admit would’ve no impact on what you see in Minneapolis (Cotton). Jeff Charles at Townhall: Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) is calling on Republican lawmakers to avoid another government shutdown by removing funding for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). His demand comes after two high-profile fatal shootings involving Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Border Patrol officers in Minneapolis this month. Schumer released a statement on Sunday saying, “What’s happening in Minnesota is appalling—and unacceptable in any American city.” “Democrats sought common sense reforms in the Department of Homeland Security spending bill, but because of Republicans’ refusal to stand up to President Trump, the DHS bill is woefully inadequate to rein in the abuses of ICE,” Schumer continued. “I will vote no. “Senate Democrats will not provide the votes to proceed to the appropriations bill if the DHS funding bill is included” (Townhall).

FBI Director Patel: Progress in Identifying Funding of Domestic Unrest

From an interview on Monday. FBI Director Kash Patel: Do you want to go out there and peacefully protest? Have at it. You want to go out there and use your second amendment right to bear arms. Okay, no problem. But look at the situation in Minnesota. This is not something that just happened overnight. They’ve been rioting, recklessly destroying federal vehicles, ramming federal agents, literally hitting them, striking them, and as you just highlighted, using coordinated attacks to threaten their families. None of that is lawful and none of that will be tolerated. You do not get to touch law enforcement. And we’ve got also investigations ongoing into the funding of this. We’ve made actual substantial progress. I just can’t publicize it yet, but we’ve actually found groups and individuals responsible for funding it because it’s not happening organically (Johnson).  Newsweek: Four individuals were arrested earlier this month, Patel said, in an interview Monday with conservative podcaster Benny Johnson. He added that another individual was arrested Sunday night, and the investigation is ongoing. “In a vehicle, we discovered not just [FBI] firearms, which thankfully we recovered, but also personal information about law enforcement,” Patel said in part. “That personal information was being used on the ground to issue threats of life to FBI agents, along with their wives and their children. There are going to be more arrests on that same matter, today and tomorrow. We’re not done” (Newsweek).

Eighth Circuit Stays Lower Court Injunction on Immigration Operations

The stay will allow the administration to continue their work. Susie Moore of Red State: There are multiple lawsuits ongoing involving the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement efforts in Minnesota (Operation Metro Surge), but the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals just pressed pause on one of them, issuing a stay pending appeal in the case titled Tincher v. Noem…. U.S. District Court Judge Kate Menendez issued a preliminary injunction on January 16th, which ordered agents not to retaliate against people “engaging in peaceful and unobstructive protest activity,” or to use pepper spray or other “crowd dispersal tools” in retaliation for protected speech. The judge also said agents could not stop or detain protesters in vehicles who are not “forcibly obstructing or interfering with” agents. The administration appealed that injunction and sought an administrative stay of it, as well as a stay pending appeal. The 8th Circuit issued an administrative stay on Wednesday and now has issued a formal stay pending appeal. The court’s ruling is brief (only six pages), and turns on its determination that the District Court’s injunction is both too broad and too vague (citations omitted): “We accessed and viewed the same videos the district court did. What they show is observers and protestors engaging in a wide range of conduct, some of it peaceful but much of it not” (Red State).

Arizona AG Defends Comments That Residents Could Use Lethal Force Against ICE Officers

Remarkably irresponsible rhetoric given the last couple weeks. Her quote: “we have a Stand Your Ground law that says that if you reasonably believe that your life is in danger and you’re in your house or your car or on your property, that you can defend yourself with lethal force.” New York Sun: Attorney General Kris Mayes of Arizona is defending her suggestion that residents could potentially use lethal force against masked Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents if they perceive a threat to their lives…. “It’s kind of a recipe for disaster because you have these masked federal officers with very little identification, sometimes no identification, wearing plain clothes and masks,” Ms. Mayes told 12 News anchor Brahm Resnik.  “And we have a Stand Your Ground law that says that if you reasonably believe that your life is in danger and you’re in your house or your car or on your property, that you can defend yourself with lethal force,” the attorney general said…. “I mean if somebody comes at me wearing a mask — by the way, I’m a gun owner — and I can’t tell whether they’re a police officer, what am I supposed to do? No, I’m not suggesting people pull out their guns, but this is a ‘Don’t Tread On Me’ state,” she said, adding that “real cops don’t wear masks” (New York Sun). Related: Her police liaison has resigned: Attorney General Kris Mayes’ law enforcement liaison has resigned, days after Mayes tied a potential ramp-up of immigration enforcement in the state to Arizona’s self-defense law and drew condemnation from law enforcement groups. Mayes’ spokesperson Richie Taylor confirmed that David Harvey, the office’s law enforcement liaison, resigned on Jan. 23 (AZ Central).

NATO Secretary: Europe is ‘Dreaming’ If They Think They Can Defend Themselves Without US

The candor from NATO Secretary Mark Rutte in recent weeks has been both helpful and refreshing. Mark Rutte, speaking before members of the European Parliament in Brussels: And if anyone thinks here again that a European Union or a Europe as a whole can defend itself without the US, keep on dreaming. You can’t. We can’t. We need each other” (Daugherty). Financial Times: Independence from the US security umbrella that has shielded Europe since the second world war was once a niche idea, promoted largely by France. But the notion of “strategic autonomy” has moved steadily into the EU mainstream in recent years, as Donald Trump’s erratic approach to Nato allies — reinforced by Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine — has sharpened debate over how Europe can strengthen its own defence capabilities…. “If you really want to go it alone, forget that you can ever get there with 5 per cent [defence spending]. It will be 10 per cent,” Rutte said on Monday. “You have to build up your own nuclear capability. That costs billions and billions of euros” (Financial Times).

Congress and DOJ Both Looking Into Stratospheric Growth of Ilhan Omar’s Net Worth

All who are watching the Somali fraud are more than a little bit suspicious. New York Post: President Trump confirmed Monday that the Department of Justice and Congress are investigating “Squad” Rep. Ilhan Omar’s skyrocketing net worth — after The Post revealed House Republicans would be taking a look at the Minnesota Democrat and her investor husband’s finances. The president — who has previously called for Omar to be jailed or deported to her birth country of Somalia — revealed the federal and congressional inquiries after dispatching border czar Tom Homan to ease tensions in Minnesota related to Saturday’s fatal shooting of ICU nurse Alex Pretti by a federal immigration officer (New York Post). An earlier piece quantifies the growth: Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) reported a net worth of up to $30 million in her latest financial disclosure — a document filed just months after the congresswoman dismissed claims she was a millionaire as “ridiculous” and “categorically false.” The disclosure, filed in May, shows the far-left “Squad” lawmaker and her husband, Tim Mynett, experienced a roughly 3,500% increase in net worth last year, compared to 2023 (New York Post).

Former Home Secretary in UK Leaves Conservative Party for Reform UK

Suella Braverman was Home Secretary under Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak. Her defection is significant as the nation has not had an effective alternative to Keir Starmer and his Labor Party. The right-of-center vote has been split between Conservatives and Reform UK. Now: Reform UK is gaining momentum. BBC: Former Home Secretary Suella Braverman has accused the Conservatives of “betrayal” as she became the latest MP from the party to defect to Reform UK. She is the third sitting Tory MP to join Nigel Farage’s party in the last eleven days, and takes Reform’s tally of MPs to eight. At a press conference following her defection, Braverman said she had felt “politically homeless for the best part of two years” pointing to differences over areas including Brexit and immigration. Her defection comes hot on the heels of Robert Jenrick and Andrew Rosindell, who also left the Conservatives earlier this month (BBC). Current polling: Reform 29 percent, Conservative 18 percent, Labor 18 percent (Politico). The next general election is expected in 2029 unless the Prime Minister calls one early (Standard).

Israel Recovers Body of Final Hostage in Gaza

This, as they prepare to enter phase two of the Trump plan. Ed Morrissey: For the first time in more than a decade, Gaza holds no Israeli hostages. That fact may move the peace plan created by Donald Trump to its second general phase, but it’s worth contemplating on its own, especially for those who insist that cease fire deals with Hamas mean peace. And in fact, that does have implications for Phase 2 as well.  The Israelis finally found the remains of Sergeant Major Ran Givli, but not because Hamas finally fulfilled its obligations under the Trump peace plan. The IDF had to find Givli’s remains on their own in a northern Gaza cemetery (Hot Air). Arial Kahana of Israel Hayom: On this deeply emotional day, there are two additional things that can now be said. First, the working assumption among professional officials was that “there would be many Ron Arads”, hostages whose fate would never be known. In Israel, it was believed that at least in some cases Hamas would not know where those hostages were buried. The intelligence in Israel’s possession was also insufficient. And yet, beyond all expectations, everyone is here. To the very last one. The living and the dead. Although everyone longed for this ending, only a few believed it was truly possible. This knowledge alone proves just how moving this moment is (Israel Hayom). Times of Israel: For the first time since 2014, no hostages are held in the Gaza Strip…. The entire people of Israel are moved to tears,” President Isaac Herzog said in a statement. “After many difficult years, for the first time since 2014, there are no Israeli citizens held hostage in Gaza. An entire nation prayed and waited for this moment. May Ran’s memory be a blessing” (Times of Israel).