Category: Fox News
VP Vance says Tim Walz should resign over massive Minnesota welfare fraud scandal investigation
Vice President JD Vance claims nationwide welfare fraud ring involves illegal immigrants, vows prosecutions as Trump admin pauses $10B to five states over alleged fraud on ‘Jesse Watters Primetime.’
Tim Walz says Minnesota is ‘at war’ with the federal government after fatal ICE shooting
Democratic Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz accused the federal government of being at war with his state after the fatal shooting during an Immigration and Customs Enforcement operation.
Tensions with the Trump administration escalated sharply Wednesday when an ICE agent shot a woman who appeared to be interrupting their operation with her vehicle. Video shows her swerving into an agent, who fired at her and killed her.
‘Minnesota will not allow our community to be used as a prop in a national political fight. We will not take the bait.’
Walz blamed the Trump administration for the shooting by claiming the increased immigration enforcement actions were unnecessary.
“I said this yesterday, we’ve never been at war with our federal government,” the governor said during a media briefing.
He went on to suggest that he would order the Minnesota National Guard to oppose the federal government.
“We do not need any further help from the federal government. To Donald Trump and Kristi Noem: You’ve done enough. There’s nothing more important than Minnesotans’ safety,” he said.
“I’ve issued a warning order to prepare the Minnesota National Guard. We have soldiers in training and prepared to be deployed if necessary. I remind you, a warning order is a heads-up for folks,” he added.
“These National Guard troops are our National Guard troops,” he emphasized. “They’re teachers in your community, they’re business owners, they’re construction professionals. They are Minnesotans. Minnesota will not allow our community to be used as a prop in a national political fight. We will not take the bait.”
Homeland Security Assistant Sec. Tricia McLaughlin had previously blamed Democratic rhetoric for the shooting.
“This is the direct consequence of constant attacks and demonization of our officers by sanctuary politicians who fuel and encourage rampant assaults on our law enforcement,” she said. “These men and women who are simply enforcing the law on the books are facing 1,300% increase in assaults against them and an 8,000% increase in death threats.”
Other Democrats are using the shooting to call for the federal government to pull officers out of Minnesota.
“I have a message for ICE. To ICE, get the f**k out of Minneapolis!” Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey (D) said during an earlier media briefing.
“We do not want you here. Your stated reason for being in this city is to create some kind of safety, and you are doing exactly the opposite,” he added. “People are being hurt. Families are being ripped apart. Long-term Minneapolis residents that have contributed so greatly to our city, to our culture, to our economy are being terrorized, and now somebody is dead.”
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Trump wants to ban institutional investors from purchasing single-family homes
President Donald Trump said in a statement on social media that he is moving to ban institutional investors from buying single-family homes and that he wants Congress to “codify” the ban into law.
The president has made easing the housing crisis a goal of his second term, and many have pointed to institutional investors as a large source of the problem.
‘People live in homes, not corporations.’
In a post on Truth Social Wednesday, Trump mentioned banning institutional housing purchases and hinted at other solutions to ease the housing crisis.
“For a very long time, buying and owning a home was considered the pinnacle of the American Dream. It was the reward for working hard, and doing the right thing, but now, because of the Record High Inflation caused by Joe Biden and the Democrats in Congress, that American Dream is increasingly out of reach for far too many people, especially younger Americans,” he wrote.
“It is for that reason, and much more, that I am immediately taking steps to ban large institutional investors from buying more single-family homes, and I will be calling on Congress to codify it,” the president added. “People live in homes, not corporations.”
Trump did not provide details about these “steps” in the post.
He went on to say that he would discuss the policy at a speech in Davos, Switzerland, during the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum.
Housing prices skyrocketed during the pandemic, when interest rates were lowered to encourage economic activity and many Americans moved to larger homes to take advantage of work-from-home policies. While interest rates have returned to historic averages, housing prices continued to climb, albeit at a slower pace.
Many have blamed companies like BlackRock for purchasing single-family homes as part of their investment portfolios, but some say institutional investors make up a small portion of the market.
Others say that encouraging more housing construction would lower housing costs by easing regulations and increasing supply to meet the demand.
An email to Blaze News from a spokesperson for BlackRock denied that the hedge fund owned any single family homes and linked to their statement online about the issue.
“A number of other large asset managers and private equity firms are very active today in purchasing single-family residences. BlackRock is sometimes confused with them,” the statement reads. “As a fiduciary asset manager, we invest and manage capital on behalf of our clients in a vast array of public and private U.S. real estate markets — but buying individual homes is not one of them.”
The company also referenced an Investopedia report saying many confuse BlackRock with BlackStone, which purchased housing stock after the 2008 financial meltdown.
BlackRock’s stock slid by 2.3% in the wake of the announcement.
Editor’s note: This article has been edited after publication to include a statement from BlackRock and to remove the company from the headline.
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VIDEO: Texas Republican brutalizes Democrat witness arguing that large-scale Somali immigration has strengthened Minnesota
A congressman from Texas crushed a Democratic witness in congressional testimony about the effect of large-scale Somali immigration on Minnesota.
Republican Rep. Brandon Gill of Texas questioned former Justice Dept. prosecutor Brendan Ballou during Wednesday’s House Oversight Committee hearing on fraud in Minnesota. Ballou was a witness for Democrats on the committee.
‘It doesn’t sound like something that makes our country stronger to me, and I think most Americans would agree with me on that.’
“Does large-scale Somali immigration make Minnesota stronger or weaker?” asked Gill.
“Certainly stronger,” Ballou responded.
“Certainly stronger,” Gill repeated. “Do you know what percentage of Somali-headed households in Minnesota are on food stamps?”
“No,” Ballou replied.
“Fifty-four percent. Do you know what that number is for native Minnesota-headed households?” Gill asked.
Ballou disputed the term “native households,” which led to Gill interrupting to say that only 7% of non-Somali Minnesotan households were on food stamps.
“What percentage of Somali-headed households in Minnesota are on Medicaid?” Gill asked.
“I don’t know,” Ballou said.
Gill told him the figure was 73% and compared it to the number of non-Somalis on Medicaid.
“The number is 18%. That’s quite an astounding difference, I think we would agree,” Gill said.
Gill went on to say that 81% of Somali-headed households were on welfare in general, a figure Ballou did not know.
“Let me just ask you, after 10 years of being in the United States, what percentage of Somali-immigrant households continue to be on welfare?” Gill asked.
“I don’t know,” Ballou said.
“The number is 78%,” he replied.
Gill said that about half of working-age Somalis who have been in the U.S. for 10 years or more speak English “very well.”
“That seems pretty low, doesn’t it?” Gill asked rhetorically. “It doesn’t sound like something that makes our country stronger to me, and I think most Americans would agree with me on that.”
Video of the exchange was posted to social media by the Oversight Committee.
RELATED: Minnesota news outlet gets wrecked for story on Somali migrants’ economic impact
Ballou asserted in his testimony when questioned by Democrats that the incidents of Somali fraud were low compared to their population in Minnesota. While 82 Somalis have been indicted thus far, Ballou said that this represents about 0.07% of the 108,000 estimated Somalis in Minnesota.
“When you compare that to one-third of all Americans [who] have a criminal record, and I think it’s 40% approximately of white men under the age of 23 have been arrested, I don’t think the statistics really compare,” Ballou said.
Gill also posted the video of the interaction to his social media timeline.
“This Democrat witness claims large-scale Somali immigration makes Minnesota stronger. The numbers tell a different story,” he wrote.
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Walz prepares National Guard after woman killed in ICE operation: ‘Never been at war’ with federal government
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz said the National Guard is prepared to deploy if needed following the fatal shooting of a woman during a federal ICE operation in Minneapolis.
Familiar groups mobilize immediately after ICE shooting of Minnesota protester
A Minnesota protester was allegedly shot dead after allegedly attempting to run over ICE agents, sparking immediate nationwide mobilization by far-left groups.
Venezuelan oil shipments surge to US ports with heavy crude after Maduro capture
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9 House Republicans defy Mike Johnson, join Dems to advance Obamacare extension vote
GOP rebels dealt a blow to Speaker Johnson as nine House Republicans joined Democrats to advance an Obamacare subsidy vote despite party leadership opposition.
