Deep in Trump country, a Republican vying for a seat in the Senate is wondering why his possible future colleagues can’t pass a key voter ID and citizenship verification bill. 

Rep. Kevin Hern, R-Okla., cruised to a primary victory Tuesday night in the Sooner State, where he told Fox News Digital in an interview that the one thing he hears from voters constantly is whether Congress will pass the Safeguarding American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) America Act. 

«They’re saying we need to work on, you know, the SAVE Act,» Hern said ahead of primary Election Day. «I mean, this is time and time again.» 

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But the legislation has been stuck in the Senate, where all Democrats have vowed to block it. A cohort of Republicans have voted against the bill in various forms, too.

«This is something I’m not real sure why Republican senators are not supporting,» Hern said. «I understand why Democrats don’t support it. They don’t support anything that protects America.»

Hern has served five terms in the House, where he’s moved up the chain into the fourth-highest role in House GOP leadership as House Republican Policy chair. He also ran for Speaker of the House when former Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., was ousted. 

His decision to leave the House and seek a seat in the Senate came after President Donald Trump nominated fellow Oklahoman, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, to lead the DHS.

HOUSE GOP LEADER LAUNCHES SENATE BID AS TRUMP TAPS MARKWAYNE MULLIN FOR DHS

Since jumping into the race earlier this year, Hern has amassed a bevy of endorsements from senators and Trump, who lauded the lawmaker as being «strongly supported by the fiercest MAGA Warriors in Oklahoma, and the most Highly Respected Leaders in the United States Senate!»

And Hern knows that Oklahoma is Trump country, noting that voters there «love the president. They love the fact that I support the president and I work with the president.» 

Hern likely won’t face strong headwinds in November against one of a half dozen Democratic candidates seeking the nomination in the Sooner State, given that Trump has won the state — and all 77 of its counties — three times.

MULLIN PROMISES TO EARN DEM VOTES AS GOP COLLEAGUES POUNCE ON HIS SEAT

President Donald Trump spoke during a proclamation signing in the Oval Office of the White House on June 11, 2026, in Washington, D.C. (Jim Lo Scalzo/EPA/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

That doesn’t mean he intends to rest on his laurels until November. Hern, who grew up without indoor plumbing, said he knows the value of work and preparation. It’s what landed him his own McDonald’s franchise empire in Oklahoma, where he owned 24 restaurants — his past life in business also earned him the nickname «McCongressman.»

«I just respect the idea of work. I think working hard gives you a chance to compete with anybody,» Hern said. «And so, same thing with the Senate race. I came out strong, set a tone from day one.»

«The president endorsed me in the first 48 hours because of the work I’ve done over the last eight years,» he continued. «And I think it goes back to that common word of work and working hard.» 

And if successful in November, Hern isn’t shutting down the option of seeking a spot in Senate GOP leadership.

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Hern said that throughout his business career he would tell anyone that «if you wait till something comes available, and you start working hard, it’s too late because there are other people like me that have started out in the proverbial parking lot.» 

«We’ve got people on third base who think they’re ready to be in leadership, and I’m running right past them, and they say, ‘Who’s this guy?’ And it’s a guy like me that’s just been working hard, positioning, building relationships,» Hern said. «And I think that’s important going forward, and we’ll see what comes open.»

El Senado, de mayoría republicana, rechazó el martes una resolución para impedir que el presidente Donald Trump ordenara nuevos ataques estadounidenses contra Irán, días después de que ambos países alcanzaran un acuerdo limitado para poner fin a meses de combates e iniciar negociaciones más amplias.

La votación supone un revés para los demócratas en su intento de obligar a Trump a concluir el impopular conflicto, a pesar de que algunos republicanos se han desmarcado de su partido y han votado con los demócratas.

El Senado aprobó por un estrecho margen una resolución similar sobre poderes de guerra el mes pasado, después de que cuatro republicanos se desmarcaran de su partido y varios otros se ausentaran de la votación. La Cámara de Representantes aprobó su propia resolución este mes para obligar a Trump a poner fin a la guerra.

Sin embargo, la resolución del martes del senador Raphael G. Warnock (demócrata por Georgia) fue rechazada por 48 votos contra 47 en una votación de procedimiento.

Cuatro senadores republicanos —Susan Collins (Maine), Bill Cassidy (Luisiana), Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) y Rand Paul (Kentucky)— votaron con los demócratas a favor de la resolución. Todos ellos también votaron a favor de la resolución del mes pasado.

Los demócratas necesitaban que al menos un republicano más cambiara su voto el jueves para aprobar la resolución, ya que un demócrata, el senador John Fetterman (Pensilvania), se opuso.

Cinco senadores —Bernie Sanders (independiente por Vermont), Josh Hawley (republicano por Misuri), Mitch McConnell (republicano por Kentucky), Cory Booker (demócrata por Nueva Jersey) y Michael Bennet (demócrata por Colorado)— no estuvieron presentes en la votación, pero su ausencia no fue determinante.

Si todos hubieran votado como lo hicieron en resoluciones anteriores, la resolución del martes habría fracasado por 50 votos a favor y 50 en contra.

El Senado aún puede debatir la resolución sobre poderes de guerra que avanzó el mes pasado, presentada por el senador Tim Kaine (demócrata por Virginia). El líder de la minoría en el Senado, Charles E. Schumer (demócrata por Nueva York), indicó que consideraba la votación del martes como una prueba, ya que los demócratas intentan convencer a suficientes senadores republicanos para aprobar la resolución de Kaine.

“Estamos intentando que algunos republicanos más voten a favor de la resolución de Kaine para poder seguir adelante”, declaró Schumer a la prensa. “Nos falta uno”.

Los demócratas han forzado repetidas votaciones sobre resoluciones similares en ambas cámaras desde el inicio del conflicto, ganando poco a poco más apoyo republicano.

La Resolución sobre Poderes de Guerra de 1973, la ley que los demócratas utilizaron para forzar la votación, exige a los presidentes retirar las fuerzas estadounidenses de cualquier conflicto no autorizado por el Congreso en un plazo de 60 días. Trump cumplió el plazo el 1 de mayo, pero lo eludió argumentando que las hostilidades habían terminado cuando entró en vigor un alto el fuego en abril.

Los obstáculos para que el Congreso impida a Trump ordenar nuevos ataques contra Irán son considerables.

Ambas cámaras tendrían que aprobar la resolución de Kaine antes de que llegara al despacho de Trump. Es casi seguro que Trump la vetaría, lo que obligaría al Senado y a la Cámara de Representantes a anular su veto con una mayoría de dos tercios en ambas cámaras para que la resolución entrara en vigor. Ninguna resolución sobre poderes de guerra ha logrado jamás superar un veto.

(c) 2026 , The Washington Post

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Minnesota on Tuesday announced that 15 Antifa members have been indicted for their alleged roles in conspiring to hinder federal immigration enforcement operations in Minneapolis earlier this year.

The suspects, 12 of whom are in custody, are all charged with conspiracy to impede or injure a federal officer, according to a 94-page criminal complaint, and some are charged with further crimes. Federal prosecutors allege that each suspect took part in a conspiracy to obstruct federal immigration enforcement officers, including ICE personnel, through force, intimidation and threats.

The suspects are alleged members of the Antifa cell Direct Action Minnesota Network (DAMN), a radical far-left group accused of coordinating operations against federal immigration officers.

Federal prosecutors maintain that the group use Signal chats to organize and carry out rapid response operations including coordinating street blockades, tracking federal vehicles, surveilling the ICE field office at the federal Whipple Building and other activities meant to stop immigration officials from conducting their business.

FBI INVESTIGATING MINNESOTA ANTI-ICE SIGNAL GROUP CHATS, PATEL SAYS

The government says that DAMN served as the hub for participants to share intelligence, plan actions, recruit volunteers and assign roles.

Below is a full list of the suspects and the charges they face:

• Isaac Auman Sant – conspiracy to impede or injure a federal officer, interstate stalking
• Emmett James Doyle – conspiracy to impede or injure a federal officer
• Cameron Kennedy – conspiracy to impede or injure a federal officer
• Callum Robinet – conspiracy to impede or injure a federal officer
• Erik Davis – conspiracy to impede or injure a federal officer
• Kyle Wagner – conspiracy to impede or injure a federal officer, solicitation of violence, interstate threats
• Hannah Margaret Van de Water Davis – conspiracy to impede or injure a federal office
• Treasure Cay Thoreson – conspiracy to impede or injure a federal officer
• Nathan Junho Kim – conspiracy to impede or injure a federal officer
• Alec Stewart – conspiracy to impede or injure a federal officer
• Douglas Misterek – conspiracy to impede or injure a federal officer
• Dustin Scott Beisell – conspiracy to impede or injure a federal officer
• William Morgan – conspiracy to impede or injure a federal officer, interstate stalking, assault on a federal officer, destruction of government property
• Natasha Rakotz – conspiracy to impede or injure a federal officer, assault on a federal officer resulting in bodily injury/use of a dangerous weapon

ANTI-ICE MINNEAPOLIS AGITATORS SET UP CHECKPOINT TO TRACK FEDERAL AGENTS

Federal law enforcement agents stand guard facing anti-ICE protesters outside the Bishop Whipple Federal Building in Minneapolis, Minn., on Jan. 15, 2026. (Octavio Jones/AFP via Getty Images)

Isaac Sant is portrayed by prosecutors as one of the ringleaders of the conspiracy who allegedly organized meetings between anti-ICE factions, delivered shields and other equipment for «direct actions» against ICE and maintained a database of suspected federal immigration vehicles by tracking license plates.

He also allegedly coordinated «commuters» to follow federal immigration officials.

On May 4, according to the indictment, Sant personally followed a federal immigration officer from the Whipple Building in Minneapolis — a hub of anti-ICE activities — across state lines to Hudson, Wisconsin, leading to the interstate stalking charge.

William Morgan, the only suspect charged with four crimes, is also accused of interstate stalking for allegedly following a federal immigration officer on May 12 from the Whipple Building to near the officer’s home in Hudson.

VIRAL VIDEO SHOWS ICE AGENT TELLING AGITATORS THEY’RE DISRUPTING ARREST OF CHILD SEX OFFENDER IN MINNESOTA

Federal agents fire tear gas at protestors in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Jan. 24, 2026. Earlier that day, agents allegedly shot and killed a protestor during a scuffle to arrest him. The Trump administration deployed about 3,000 federal agents to the area to enforce immigration laws. (Brandon Bell/Getty Images)

Three days later, Morgan allegedly committed two more crimes by confronting an agent who was conducting an interview and physically assaulting him. He later was accused of kicking a federal vehicle, causing $1,000 in property damage, the complaint claims.

Natasha Rakotz was charged with assault on a federal officer resulting in bodily injury for allegedly driving her car into the path of a federal agent, striking and injuring him — similarly to how in a January incident in Minneapolis Renee Good was shot dead during an altercation where she ran her car into a federal immigration officer.

Kyle Wagner has been in custody since February, after encouraging followers to take up arms against federal agents. More charges were announced against him during Tuesday’s press conference.

WHO IS KYLE WAGNER? MEET THE SELF-IDENTIFIED ANTIFA MEMBER ARRESTED AFTER TARGETING ICE

On Jan. 8, 2026, Wagner posted a video warning ICE agents, «We’re f—ing coming for you.»

Prosecutors allege he urged followers to «get your guns,» and suggested identifying agents even if it had to be done «at the barrel of a gun.»

President Donald Trump declared Antifa to be a terrorist organization last year.

«Today’s charges and arrests reflect a broad federal effort to address organized, lawless behavior, which seeks to disrupt the execution of federal law, endanger law enforcement, and, importantly, endanger the very communities that these defendants falsely claim to be protecting,» U.S. Attorney Daniel Roden said in a Tuesday press conference announcing the charges.

MINNESOTA ANTI-ICE AGITATORS SWARM, CONFRONT FEDERAL AGENTS DURING ENFORCEMENT OPERATIONS

He emphasized that the defendants have not been arrested for speech — which is protected by the First Amendment — but for alleged criminal actions.

Homeland Security Investigations Special Agent in Charge Michael McCarthy echoed that sentiment.

A woman confronts a federal immigration officer at the scene of a reported shooting in Minneapolis on Jan. 14, 2026. (John Locher/AP Photo)

«Peaceful protest is a protected right and a cornerstone of our democracy. We respect and defend that right,» he said. «However, there’s a clear line that cannot be crossed when protest turns into rioting, violence or criminal activity, it becomes unlawful and it will not be tolerated.»

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«Working closely with the U.S. Attorney’s Office, our investigation uncovered extensive planning, material support and coordinated attacks against federal personnel and facilities. Our teams have worked tirelessly conducting surveillance, reviewing camera footage, and analyzing large volumes of information to identify those responsible.»

Fox News Digital’s Andrew Mark Miller contributed to this report.