More than 200 House Democrats voted against banning Medicaid dollars from funding transgender treatments for minors.

The Do No Harm in Medicaid Act was introduced by Rep. Dan Crenshaw, R-Texas, and received support from all House Republicans when it was put to a vote Thursday afternoon.

The measure passed 215-201, with all opposition coming from Democrats. All Republicans who voted approved the bill.

Four Democratic representatives voted for the bill — Henry Cuellar, D-Texas; Vicente Gonzalez, D-Texas; Don Davis, D-N.C.; and Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, D-Wash.

Transgender issues, particularly related to minors, have been one of the topics driving a wedge between moderate and progressive Democrats. 

The bill would block federal reimbursement for specific gender surgeries performed on minors and treatments such as hormone therapies, according to the legislative text.

The legislation could also block Medicaid funding to states that do allow federal funds to be used for transgender medical treatments for minors.

But the bill provides exceptions for puberty blockers prescribed during precocious puberty and gender-related surgeries performed to fight injury, illness and the potential death of a child, among others.

House Energy & Commerce Committee Chairman Brett Guthrie, R-Ky., said the legislation would save $445 million over a decade for the Medicaid program during debate on the bill Thursday.

Guthrie said it did not prevent children from getting medically necessary treatment, adding it ‘simply prohibits the use of Medicaid funding on specified procedures that are medically unnecessary.’

‘I’m not sure my colleagues even believe what they’re saying,’ Crenshaw said during his turn to speak. ‘Today’s great sin in medicine is perhaps one of the worst that we’ve seen in human history — a sick, twisted ideology parroted by social media, fueling social confusion.’

But Rep. Frank Pallone, D-N.J., called it an ‘extreme attack on medically necessary treatment for children.’

‘This is Congress seeking to ban healthcare for the most vulnerable among us,’ Rep. Mark Takano, D-Calif., said. ‘The healthcare that trans youth receive is a decision that they should be able to make in consultation with their parents, therapists and doctors, not politicians.

‘The hypocrisy of this legislation is staggering,’ he added, arguing the medical procedures it bans ‘allows for the same exact care for non-transgender youth.’

Second lady Usha Vance worked to ensure a provision limiting the use of cellphones in Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) classrooms was included in the National Defense Authorization Act, Fox News Digital has learned. 

The Senate passed the NDAA Wednesday — a bill that authorizes $901 billion for the Department of Defense, provides a pay raise for U.S. troops, and more.

‘Education is foundational to a child’s future, and the Second Lady has long believed that classrooms should be places of focus, curiosity, and meaningful connection,’ a spokesperson for Vance told Fox News Digital.

‘She was proud to support efforts to ensure the National Defense Authorization Act included provisions that limit cellphone use in DoDEA classrooms, recognizing that reducing distractions is essential for young learners,’ the spokesperson said. ‘This issue reflects her deep passion for early education and her commitment to giving children the best possible environment to learn, grow, and thrive.’

DoDEA schools were created by the U.S. military after the end of World War II for the children of service men and women.

DoDEA is one of the only two federally operated school systems and is responsible for planning, directing, coordinating and managing pre-K through 12th grade educational programs on behalf of the Department of Defense. DoDEA serves more than 67,000 children of active duty military and DoD civilian families.

Vance worked with Sen. Jim Banks, R-Ind., and Sen. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., to have the provision included. The two senators had introduced a bipartisan measure that was aimed at prohibiting smartphone use during instructional hours in DoDEA schools.

Vance collaborated and worked with Banks’ team, the White House Office of Legislative Affairs, and the House and Senate Armed Services Committees to ensure the provision would be included in the final NDAA.

With the addition of the provision in the final NDAA, DoDEA schools will update and standardize cellphone policies to ensure that mobile devices are used in a limited capacity during school hours.

During her time in the Trump administration, the second lady has spearheaded a number of projects — like her Summer Reading Challenge — to focus directly on improving early childhood literacy.

Fox News Digital has learned that the second lady plans to continue championing child literacy by expanding efforts that help young learners build strong reading foundations early in life.

The second lady is expected to work closely with educators, families and community partners to support innovative programs and collaborations that improve literacy outcomes for children across the country.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is incorporating Gen Z messaging and viral jabs at Vice President J.D. Vance into her playbook as she builds momentum for a 2028 presidential run, a Republican political strategist has claimed.

The strategist’s comments came after the New York Democrat used meme-style language and mocked Vance on Dec. 17 over a poll and declared she would ‘stomp him’ if the matchup became real.

‘It is a case of the squeaky wheel gets the grease, so it wouldn’t be surprising that she will run a vibes-based campaign,’ Libby Krieger of the Communications Counsel told Fox News Digital. 

‘This is because a lot of her substance is soundbites or progressive policies,’ Krieger added.

Ocasio-Cortez sparked the first round of attention Wednesday by reposting the Verasight poll on X.

The poll showed her narrowly ahead of Vance, 51% to 49%, in a hypothetical 2028 matchup. Her first response was ‘Bloop!’

Ocasio-Cortez’s communication style morphed into a second message later Wednesday declaring she would ‘stomp him’ if the 2028 race became real.

When asked by a reporter if she thought she could defeat the 41-year-old, she replied: ‘Listen, these polls, like three years out, are, you know, they are what they are. But let the record show: I would stomp him. I would stomp him!’

The two moments highlighted what Krieger says will evolve into a youth-oriented, ‘vibes’-driven campaign targeted toward young voters.

‘AOC is trying to lean into the Gen Z language and connect with younger voters,’ she said. 

‘She is setting up a campaign that would be based more on vibes than on her policy platform.’

Krieger compared the approach to Kamala Harris’ attempt to embrace ‘brat’ culture during the last cycle.

‘This almost seems reminiscent of Kamala’s use of ‘brat’ and her version of that,’ she said.

‘AOC would probably do a little bit better than Kamala in running a campaign based on vibes because she’s younger,’ she explained.

‘But she’ll still have to talk some policy, as not every voter will be content with voting on vibes – and when she does talk policy, they’ll all see how radical she really is.’

‘AOC is not a great candidate because the policies that she has come to be known for are extremely progressive,’ Krieger added.

‘If she were to make it to a general election she would have to center herself a little bit more to the middle, but that’d be hard given the reputation she’s made for herself.’

By contrast, Krieger said Vance holds an advantage with voters who prioritize depth and policy grounding.

‘J.D. Vance has more substance than AOC and I think Americans would see that,’ she said. ‘Vance knows his stuff on nearly every issue and is extremely articulate, and he’s also young.’

She added that both Ocasio-Cortez and Vance tap into newer strains of populism, including a willingness to appear casual or self-aware online.

‘Decorum can sometimes be perceived as elitist or very establishment,’ she said. ‘But Vance has the advantage of not just being a squeaky wheel like AOC while still being young enough to come across as relatable.’

Fox News Digital has reached out to Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and J.D. Vance for comment.

In a Thursday press conference, federal authorities in Minnesota announced new charges in the fraud scandal that has grabbed national headlines and spoke on the scope of the crisis, saying that it goes beyond what has previously been reported.

‘Minnesotans and taxpayers deserve to know the truth of the fraud,’ First Assistant U.S. Attorney Joe Thompson told reporters at a press conference.  ‘The fraud is not small. It isn’t isolated. The magnitude cannot be overstated. What we see in Minnesota is not a handful of bad actors committing crimes. It’s staggering industrial-scale fraud. It’s swamping Minnesota and calling into question everything we know about our state.’

Thompson explained that 14 programs have been identified as containing fraud and those programs have cost taxpayers $18 billion overall since 2018.

When asked specifically by a reporter how much of that $18 billion is suspected to be fraudulent, which reports have previously suggested could be around $1 billion, Thompson suggested that number will be higher when the investigations are concluded. 

‘I think a significant portion,’ Thompson responded.

Thompson later said, ‘When I say significant, I’m talking in the order of half or more. But we’ll see.’

Six new defendants have been charged in connection with a Minnesota housing services fraud, Thompson revealed on Thursday.

Two defendants pocketed $750,000 instead of helping Medicaid recipients find stable housing, Thompson said. Prosecutors allege they used the proceeds to travel to international destinations, including London, Istanbul and Dubai.

One defendant submitted $1.4 million in fraudulent claims, using some to purchase cryptocurrency, Thompson said. Federal officials say he fled the country after receiving a subpoena.

The six new defendants join eight others charged in September for their alleged roles in the scheme to defraud the Minnesota Housing Stability Services Program.

Two dependents mentioned by Thompson sent significant sums of money overseas to Kenya, in one case over $200,000.

‘There’s been a significant amount of money sent abroad, mostly to East Africa, much of it to Kenya and to Nairobi, that the money that we’ve traced most, most of which has been used to purchase real estate in Nairobi,’ Thompson said, mentioning the ‘large Somali diaspora’ in those areas.

Prosecutors also named a new defendant accused of defrauding another state-run, federally funded program that provides services for children with autism, alleging he submitted millions of dollars worth of claims for Medicaid reimbursement. One woman previously charged with exploiting that program pleaded guilty Thursday morning, officials said.

Thompson said that two of the dependents aren’t from Minnesota but came from Philadelphia because ‘they heard that Minnesota and its housing stabilization services program was easy money.’

‘What we’re seeing is programs that are just entirely fraudulent,’ Thompson said. ‘These aren’t companies that are providing some services, but overbilling Medicare, Medicaid. These are companies that are providing essentially no services. They’re essentially shell companies created to defraud the program created to submit on a wholesale level, fraudulent claims for services that aren’t necessary and are provided.’

In a press release, dependents were identified as Abdinajib Hassan Yussuf, Anthony Waddell Jefferson, Lester Brown, Hassan Ahmed Hussein, Ahmed Abdirashid Mohamed, and Kaamil Omar Sallah.

Minnesota’s fraud crisis has been in the spotlight in recent weeks as the Trump administration and local Republicans have blasted Minnesota’s elected officials over the scandal, which dates back to at least 2020 and involves fraudulent billing for a wide range of government services, mostly involving, but not limited to, the state’s Somali community. 

‘When I was on the Feeding Our Future case, the big thing that jumped out to me was, honestly, how easy this fraud was to do,’ former federal prosecutor Joe Teirab, who worked on the fraud investigation into Feeding our Future, one of the most high-profile examples of organizations that prosecutors say was propped up by fraud, recently told Fox News Digital. 

‘I mean, these fraudsters were just saying that they were spending all this money on feeding kids, and they were just making up these PDFs, putting false names into Excel sheets. I could do that in five minutes on a computer if I had absolutely no conscience.’

The Trump administration has launched a variety of efforts to crack down and investigate the fraud at a federal level and Fox News Digital first reported that Education Secretary Linda McMahon had sent a letter to Walz calling on him to resign over the scandal. 

‘It’s been allowed to go on for far too long, and we need to do whatever we can to stop it in its tracks,’ Thompson said in the press conference. 

Associated Press contributed to this report.

China denounced the United States for approving an $11.1 billion weapons package for Taiwan, warning that the deal risks turning the island into a ‘powder keg’ and driving the region toward ‘military confrontation and war.’

The unprecedented sale includes 82 HIMARS launchers paired with 420 ATACMS long-range missiles, a combination that would give Taiwan new deep-strike capability across the Taiwan Strait, along with 60 self-propelled howitzers, advanced UAV systems, military software packages and anti-armor weapons.

Beijing accused Taiwan’s leadership of ‘seeking independence through force’ and claimed Washington is using the island to ‘contain China,’ rhetoric that signals heightened tensions even as the U.S. frames the package as essential to bolstering Taiwan’s self-defense.

‘The ‘Taiwan independence’ forces on the island seek independence through force and resist reunification through force, squandering the hard-earned money of the people to purchase weapons at the cost of turning Taiwan into a powder keg,’ Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said.

‘This cannot save the doomed fate of ‘Taiwan independence’ but will only accelerate the push of the Taiwan Strait toward a dangerous situation of military confrontation and war. The U.S. support for ‘Taiwan Independence’ through arms will only end up backfiring. Using Taiwan to contain China will not succeed.’

U.S. officials have not yet detailed delivery timelines, but the sale reflects Washington’s push to accelerate Taiwan’s defenses amid growing concern over China’s military pressure campaign. The HIMARS and ATACMS combination is expected to draw particular attention from Beijing because it would allow Taiwan to target PLA staging areas, ships and infrastructure from mobile launchers, a capability China has repeatedly warned against.

In its notification to Congress, the State Department said the proposed sales would advance ‘U.S. national, economic, and security interests by supporting the recipient’s continuing efforts to modernize its armed forces and to maintain a credible defensive capability.’ 

The department added that the weapons would ‘help improve the security of the recipient and assist in maintaining political stability, military balance and economic progress in the region.’

Under longstanding U.S. policy, Washington provides Taiwan with arms it deems necessary for the island’s self-defense while maintaining a ‘One China’ policy and not supporting a declaration of formal independence. China argues that any enhancement of Taiwan’s defenses encourages separatism, while U.S. officials say the purpose of such sales is to preserve stability and deter conflict.

The package now enters a 30-day congressional review period, during which lawmakers could file a resolution attempting to block it, a step Congress has never taken for an arms sale to Taiwan. Once the review period ends, contracting and production begin, a process that typically stretches over several years and contributes to a backlog that once reached $20 billion in undelivered U.S. weapons Taiwan has already purchased.

China has a track record of responding to major Taiwan arms sales with military demonstrations, including large-scale PLA drills, increased air and naval activity near the island and sanctions on U.S. defense firms. Analysts say Beijing’s sharp rhetoric suggests additional military signaling is likely, though China did not immediately announce specific countermeasures.

The latest sale marks a significant boost to Taiwan’s conventional firepower. In recent months, Beijing has stepped up pressure across the strait with near-daily PLA air and naval patrols, record incursions around the island and high-profile exercises meant to signal its ability to encircle Taiwan.

Taiwan’s Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung thanked the U.S. Wednesday for its ‘long-term support for regional security and Taiwan’s self-defense capabilities,’ which he said are key to deterring a conflict in the Taiwan Strait.

Joint Task Force Southern Spear forces struck two alleged narco-terrorist vessels moving along a major drug corridor in the Eastern Pacific on Thursday, killing five militants without suffering any U.S. casualties.

U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) released a video on X showing the opening strike and the aftermath, with the targeted boat engulfed in flames.

‘On Dec. 18, at the direction of [Secretary of War] Pete Hegseth, Joint Task Force Southern Spear conducted lethal kinetic strikes on two vessels operated by Designated Terrorist Organizations in international waters,’ the post read. ‘Intelligence confirmed that the vessels were transiting along known narco-trafficking routes in the Eastern Pacific and were engaged in narco-trafficking operations.

‘A total of five male narco-terrorists were killed during these actions — three in the first vessel and two in the second vessel,’ SOUTHCOM added. ‘No U.S. military forces were harmed.’

Joint Task Force Southern Spear was established to help unify Navy, Coast Guard, intelligence and special operations assets to rapidly strike time-sensitive targets at sea.

The Pentagon has not released the identities of the four narco-terrorists killed or the specific terrorist organization involved.

The U.S. has conducted dozens of strikes on suspected drug-trafficking vessels in the Eastern Pacific and Caribbean to dismantle narco-terrorist networks, targeting groups such as Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua and Colombia’s Ejército de Liberación Nacional.

The campaign began Sept. 2 with a strike that killed 11 alleged members of Tren de Aragua, followed by additional operations that reportedly eliminated dozens more across known trafficking routes.

U.S. forces have reportedly hit various types of vessels, including submersibles, fishing boats and high-speed vessels.

Earlier this month, the Trump administration launched its ‘Fentanyl Free America’ plan, with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) reporting that strikes on suspected Caribbean drug vessels are helping curb the flow of illegal drugs into the U.S.

Fox News Digital’s Bonny Chu contributed to this report.

Maria Shriver slammed President Donald Trump on Thursday after the Kennedy Center’s board voted unanimously to rename the institution to the ‘Trump-Kennedy Center,’ accusing him of trying to attach his name to a memorial dedicated to her uncle, President John F. Kennedy.

Shriver, a high-profile member of the Kennedy family, said it is ‘beyond comprehension’ to change the center’s name, accusing Trump of staining JFK’s legacy in art, culture and education.

‘It is beyond comprehension that this sitting president has sought to rename this great memorial dedicated to President Kennedy,’ Shriver wrote on X. ‘It is beyond wild that he would think adding his name in front of President Kennedy’s name is acceptable. It is not.’

Kennedy Center vice president of public relations Roma Daravi told Fox Digital Thursday that the unanimous vote ‘recognizes’ Trump’s work to pull the center out of financial straits while working to also update the building originally constructed in the 1960s, and opened in 1971.

Shriver argued that adding Trump’s name was not ‘dignified’ or ‘funny,’ and ‘is way beneath the stature of the job.’

‘Just when you think someone can’t stoop any lower, down they go,’ she said.

The former First Lady of California quipped that Trump might want to rename JFK Airport or make other changes, including the ‘Trump Lincoln Memorial,’ ‘Trump Jefferson Memorial’ and ‘Trump Smithsonian.’

‘Can we not see what is happening here?’ Shriver said. ‘C’mon, my fellow Americans! Wake up!’

President Trump said on Thursday he was ‘honored’ and ‘surprised’ by the update. 

‘We’re saving the building. We saved the building. The building was in such bad shape, physically, financially, in every other way. And now it’s very solid, very strong. We have something going on television, I guess on the 23rd December. I think it’s going to get very big ratings and the Kennedy Center is really, really back strongly,’ he told reporters.

Other members of the Kennedy family, including JFK’s great-nephew, Joe Kennedy III, weighed in on the name change, arguing that federal law protects the center’s name from being changed.

‘It can no sooner be renamed than can someone rename the Lincoln Memorial, no matter what anyone says,’ he wrote on X.

The name change follows recent precedent, a Kennedy Center official told Fox News Digital, noting that the State Department’s decided earlier this month to add Trump’s name to the U.S. Institute of Peace and to past presidential administrations that have renamed military bases.

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

Fox News Digital’s Ashley Carnahan and Emma Colton contributed to this report.

President Trump signed into law a nearly $1 trillion defense policy bill Thursday and approved what looks to be the largest military spending package in U.S. history.

The fiscal 2026 National Defense Authorization Act authorizes $901 billion in military spending, roughly $8 billion more than the administration requested, according to Reuters.

It also delivers a nearly 4% pay raise for troops, provides new funding for Ukraine and the Baltic States and includes measures designed to scale back security commitments abroad.

In a release shared online, Rep. Rick Allen, R-Ga., said, ‘With President Trump’s signature, the FY2026 NDAA officially delivers on our peace-through-strength agenda with a generational investment in our national defense.

‘Not only does this bipartisan bill ensure America’s warfighters are the most lethal and capable fighting force in the world, but it also improves the quality of life for our service members in the 12th District and nationwide.’

As previously reported by Fox News Digital, the Senate passed the NDAA Wednesday, sending the compromise bill approved with bipartisan support to the president’s desk. 

Trump signed it quietly Thursday evening, according to Reuters.

The NDAA includes $800 million for Ukraine over the next two years as part of the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, which pays U.S. firms for weapons for Ukraine’s military.

It also includes $175 million for the Baltic Security Initiative, which supports Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia.

The bill prohibits reducing U.S. troop levels in Europe below 76,000 for more than 45 days without formal certification by Congress.

The legislation also restricts the administration from reducing U.S. forces in South Korea below 28,500 troops.

Trump ultimately backed the bill in part because it codifies some of his executive orders, including funding the Golden Dome missile defense system and getting rid of diversity, equity and inclusion programs, per Reuters.

‘Under President Trump, the U.S. is rebuilding strength, restoring deterrence and proving America will not back down. President Trump and Republicans promised peace through strength. The FY26 NDAA delivers it,’ House Speaker Mike Johnson had said in a statement Dec. 7 on the new measures.

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

Senate Republicans confirmed nearly 100 of President Donald Trump’s nominees, leapfrogging previous administrations and his own first term in the process in their sprint to finish off the year. 

The confirmation of 97 of Trump’s picks on Thursday with a 53-43 vote marked one of the final bits of floor action in the upper chamber following a blistering pace set out by Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., once Republicans gained control of the Senate in January.

Senate Republicans overcame several obstacles throughout the year, including mending intra-party rifts to pass the president’s signature legislation, the ‘one big, beautiful bill,’ and reopening the government after the longest shutdown in history.

But it was confirming Trump’s nominees that proved near impossible within the confines of Senate rules, given that Senate Democrats laid out a blanket objection to even the lowest level positions throughout the government.

Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso, R-Wyo., noted that Republicans kicked off the year by confirming Trump’s Cabinet at a breakneck pace, but they soon slammed into a wall of ‘unprecedented obstruction from the Democratic minority.’

‘We began the year by confirming President Trump’s Cabinet faster than any Senate in modern history,’ Barrasso said. ‘And by week’s end, President Trump will have 417 nominees confirmed by the Senate this year. That’s far more than the 365 that Joe Biden had in his first year in office.’

In response, Republicans turned to the nuclear option in September and changed the vote threshold for confirming sub-Cabinet-level positions, and have since confirmed 417 of Trump’s picks.

Thune argued that Senate Democrats, led by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., were engaging in ‘nothing more than petty politics,’ not allowing nominees through the typical fast-track processes, like voice votes or unanimous consent, to install low-level presidential nominations.

‘Democrats cannot deal with the fact that the American people elected President Trump, and so they’ve engaged in this pointless political obstruction in revenge,’ Thune said.

With the latest batch of confirmations, Senate Republicans have nearly cleared the backlog of nominees that over the summer had ballooned to nearly 150 picks awaiting lawmakers’ decision. Now, there are only 15 picks left to be confirmed.

Among the list of now-confirmed nominees are former Rep. Anthony D’Esposito, R-N.Y., to serve as inspector general at the Department of Labor and two picks for the National Labor Relations Board, James Murphy and Scott Mayer, along with several others in nearly every federal agency.

Lawmakers are set to tee up another nominee, Joshua Simmons, who Trump tapped to be the CIA’s special counsel, before the night is over. And they’re still working to move forward with a colossal spending package that ties five appropriations bills together. 

But some Senate Democrats are objecting to the minibus spending package, jeopardizing its chances of hitting the floor before lawmakers flee Capitol Hill. Conversations between Republicans and Democrats are ongoing, and could go deep into the night on a path forward. 

Thune, as he walked onto the Senate floor Thursday night, said that the plan was to at least knock out the nominees package first. 

‘We’ll see where it goes from there,’ he said.