INTERNACIONAL
Flaring Iran nuclear crisis provides first major test for pivotal Trump trio
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A trio of key Trump administration officials — Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard and White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt — are in the midst of facing their first major foreign policy test in their high-profile admin roles after Israel launched preemptive strikes on Iran and President Donald Trump weighs involving the U.S. in the conflict.
The trio ascended to their roles with widespread fanfare among many MAGA conservatives, though many critics just months ago questioned if their prior careers prepared them for what was to come. The current flaring tensions with the Islamic Republic could be the final arbiter of which side was correct.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. (Fox News / The Will Cain Show)
«President Trump leads from the front, and he has assembled a highly-qualified, world-class team that has helped him achieve numerous foreign policy accomplishments this term,» White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly told Fox Digital on Wednesday when asked about the trio’s test on Iran. «The American people trust the President to make the right decisions that keep them safe, and he has empowered his team to meet the moment and advance his foreign policy goals.»
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth
Secretary Hegseth was one of Trump’s more controversial nominees among critics, as Democrat lawmakers and left-wing pundits slammed Hegseth as unqualified for the job.
IRAN WARNS US JOINING CONFLICT WOULD MEAN ‘ALL-OUT WAR,’ REFUSES DEMANDS TO GIVE UP DISPUTED NUCLEAR PROGRAM
«This hearing now seems to be a hearing about whether or not women are qualified to serve in combat. And not about whether or not you are qualified to be secretary of defense,» Illinois Democrat Sen. Tammy Duckworth said during Hegseth’s confirmation hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee in January. «And let me just say that the American people need a secretary of defense who’s ready to lead on day one. You are not that person.»
«Is Pete Hegseth truly the best we have to offer?» asked Democrat Sen. Jack Reed of Rhode Island, ranking member of the committee.
President Donald Trump speaks during a roundtable. (Evan Vucci/The Associated Press)
Hegseth battled against claims he would lower previous standards for the secretary of Defense and that his vows to strengthen the military could be bluster once he was in the role and juggling oversight of the entire military.
«As I’ve said to many of you in our private meetings, when President Trump chose me for this position, the primary charge he gave me was to bring the warrior culture back to the Department of Defense,» he said in his opening statement during his confirmation hearing. «He, like me, wants a Pentagon laser focused on warfighting, lethality, meritocracy, standards, and readiness. That’s it. That is my job.»
Hegseth was confirmed to the role after Vice President JD Vance issued a tie-breaking vote when Republican Sens. Lisa Murkowski, Susan Collins and Mitch McConnell joined Democrats in voting against the confirmation.
Hegseth is an Ivy League graduate and former National Guard officer who was deployed to Iraq, Afghanistan and Guantanamo Bay during his military career, which began in 2003. He is also the recipient of a handful of military awards, including two Bronze Stars. He appeared before the Senate Armed Services Committee on Wednesday and was pressed about the Israel–Iran conflict.
«They should have made a deal,» Hegseth said.
«President Trump’s word means something — the world understands that,» Hegseth said, referring to Trump’s repeated pressure on Iran to make a deal with the U.S. on its nuclear program as the conflict spiraled.
VANCE DEFENDS TRUMP’S IRAN POSITION AMID ‘CRAZY STUFF ON SOCIAL MEDIA’
«And at the Defense Department, our job is to stand ready and prepared with options. And that’s precisely what we’re doing,» Hegseth continued.
He did not reveal if the U.S. would assist Israel in the ongoing strikes on Iran, but that the Pentagon is in the midst of preparing options for Trump.
Any potential U.S. involvement in the strikes could pull the country into war against Iran.
«I may do it, I may not do it,» Trump said Wednesday on whether he would order a strike on Iran. «I mean, nobody knows what I’m going to do.»
Hegseth was among high-profile Trump officials who joined Trump in the White House’s Situation Room as the president and his team closely monitor the flaring conflict.
Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard. (John McDonnell/The Associated Press)
Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard
Director of National Intelligence Gabbard is another Trump official who faced an intense confirmation hearing as critics argued she was unqualified for the role.
Gabbard is a former Democrat who served in the U.S. House representing Hawaii from 2013 to 2021, a former member of the House Armed Services Committee and an Iraq war veteran. However, she had never held a formal position within the intelligence community before serving as director of national intelligence.
Ahead of her confirmation, Gabbard’s critics slammed her as lacking the qualifications for the role, questioning her judgment over a 2017 meeting with then-Syrian dictator Bashar Assad, labeling her as sympathetic toward Russia, and balking at her previous favorable remarks related to former National Security Agency whistleblower Edward Snowden.
USS NIMITZ CARRIER STRIKE GROUP SAILING TOWARD MIDDLE EAST AHEAD OF SCHEDULE, US OFFICIAL SAYS
«Those who oppose my nomination imply that I am loyal to something or someone other than God, my own conscience and the Constitution of the United States,» she said during her confirmation hearing. «Accusing me of being Trump’s puppet, Putin’s puppet, Assad’s puppet, a guru’s puppet, Modi’s puppet, not recognizing the absurdity of simultaneously being the puppet of five different puppet masters.»
She ultimately was confirmed in a 52–48 vote.
Smoke rises from the building of Iran’s state-run television after an Israeli strike in Tehran, Iran, on Monday, June 16, 2025. (AP Photo)
Gabbard’s March testimony before the Senate dismissing concerns Iran was actively building a nuclear weapon is back under the nation’s microscope after Israel launched preemptive strikes on Iran. Israel’s strikes were in direct response to Israeli intelligence showing Iran could produce a nuclear weapon in a short span of time.
Trump was asked about Gabbard’s testimony while traveling back to Washington Monday evening from the G7 summit in Canada, and the president said he did not «care» what Gabbard had to say in previous testimony, arguing he believes Iran is close to building a nuke.
«You’ve always said that you don’t believe Iran should be able to have a nuclear weapon,» a reporter asked Trump while aboard Air Force One on Monday. «But how close do you personally think that they were to getting one?»
«Very close,» Trump responded.
«Because Tulsi Gabbard testified in March that the intelligence community said Iran wasn’t building a nuclear weapon,» the reporter continued.
Trump shot back, «I don’t care what she said. I think they were very close to having one.»
When Gabbard appeared before the Senate Intelligence Committee in March, she delivered a statement on behalf of the intelligence community that included testimony that Iran was not actively building a nuclear weapon.
«Iran’s cyber operations and capabilities also present a serious threat to U.S. networks and data,» Gabbard told the committee on March 26.
The intelligence community «continues to assess that Iran is not building a nuclear weapon, and Supreme Leader Khamenei has not authorized the nuclear weapons program that he suspended in 2003,» she said. She did add that «Iran’s enriched uranium stockpile is at its highest levels and is unprecedented for a state without nuclear weapons.»
«Iran will likely continue efforts to counter Israel and press for U.S. military withdrawal from the region by aiding, arming and helping to reconstitute its loose consortium of like-minded terrorist actors, which it refers to as its axis of resistance,» she warned.
However, as critics picked apart Gabbard’s past comments, the White House stressed that Gabbard and Trump are closely aligned on Iran.
A White House official told Fox News Digital Tuesday afternoon that Trump and Gabbard are closely aligned and that the distinction being raised between Gabbard’s March testimony and Trump’s remarks that Iran is «very close» to getting a nuclear weapon is one without a difference.
The official noted that Gabbard underscored in her March testimony that Iran had the resources to potentially build a nuclear weapon. Her testimony in March reflected intelligence she received that Iran was not building a weapon at the time but that the country could do so based on the resources it amassed for such an endeavor.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt. (Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images)
Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt
Leavitt is the youngest press secretary in U.S. history, assuming the role at age 27.
Some liberal critics, such as Joy Behar of «The View,» attempted to discount her appointment when she was first tapped by Trump, and she has since emerged as a Trump administration firebrand during her routine White House press briefings.
Though Leavitt has overwhelmingly been praised by supporters of the president for her defense of the administration and repeated fiery exchanges with left-wing media outlets during briefings, her tenure has overwhelmingly focused on domestic issues.
President Donald Trump is in the midst of monitoring the flaring conflict between Israel and Iran. (Alex Brandon/The Associated Press )
Leavitt has kept the nation updated on issues such as mass deportation efforts, Trump’s ongoing list of executive orders affecting policies from transgender issues to electric vehicles, national tragedies such as the terror attack in Boulder targeting Jewish Americans and Trump’s wide-ranging tariff policy that affects foreign nations.
Though the administration entered office with a war raging between Russia and Ukraine, as well as the ongoing war in Israel after Hamas attacked the country in 2023, the Israel–Iran conflict provides Leavitt with her first major international crisis that could include U.S. involvement.
Leavitt’s highly anticipated first press briefing since Israel launched its preemptive strikes is scheduled for Thursday.
INTERNACIONAL
Tensión Estados Unidos-Colombia: Donald Trump ahora dice que Gustavo Petro es un «matón» y un «mal tipo» que fabrica «muchas drogas»
El presidente de Estados Unidos, Donald Trump, aseguró este miércoles que su homólogo colombiano, Gustavo Petro, es un «matón y un mal tipo» y lo acusó de fabricar «muchas drogas», días después de imputarle ser un «líder del narcotráfico».
«Es un matón y un mal tipo. Es un tipo que fabrica muchas drogas», declaró Trump a los reporteros en el Despacho Oval. «Ha hecho mucho daño a su país. Les está yendo muy mal».
El mandatario estadounidense se refirió al colombiano días después de anunciar el fin de la ayuda financiera a Colombia por su inacción en la lucha contra el narcotráfico y señalar a Petro como un «líder del narcotráfico».
«Tienen fábricas de cocaína. Cultivan todo tipo de porquerías y las drogas malas que entran en Estados Unidos generalmente pasan por México, y más le vale tener cuidado y tomar medidas muy serias contra él y su país», añadió Trump.
El magnate republicano aseguró que lo que Petro le «ha hecho a su país es una trampa mortal».
Estas declaraciones y el anuncio del fin de las ayudas se producen en medio de la escalada de las tensiones entre Bogotá y Washington por la guerra que EE.UU. ha declarado contra el narcotráfico.
Video
Dos muertos tras el ataque de EE.UU. contra otro supuesto barco con drogas.
La presencia de navíos y aeronaves militares estadounidenses en aguas del mar caribe han provocado el rechazo de gobiernos como el colombiano y el venezolana, elevando aún más las tensiones con Trump.
Este miércoles, el Pentágono anunció un nuevo ataque contra una supuesta narcolancha, esta vez en aguas del Pacífico frente a Colombia.
El lunes, Colombia llamó a consultas a su embajador en Washington y denunció una amenaza de invasión por parte de Estados Unidos luego del anuncio de Donald Trump de que retirará la ayuda financiera a Bogotá por «fomentar» la producción de drogas.
El ministro del Interior de Colombia, Armando Benedetti, denunció una «amenaza» de «invasión» de Trump, quien pareció sugerir algún tipo de intervención de Washington contra la producción de droga en el país sudamericano.
Trump detuvo el domingo el apoyo económico a Bogotá por supuestamente «fomentar» el narcotráfico y afirmó que debería «cerrar» los narcocultivos de «inmediato, o Estados Unidos se los cerrará».
La relación entre ambos países, que históricamente fueron aliados, entró en su peor momento con la llegada de Trump a la Casa Blanca mientras en Colombia gobierna el primer presidente izquierdista de su historia. Esa mala tensión creció en el último mes.
El primer episodio ocurrió a fines de septiembre en Nueva York, cuando el presidente Gustavo Petro -que había viajado a Estados Unidos para asistir a la Asamblea General de Naciones Unidas- participó de una manifestación por Gaza que se llevó a cabo en esa ciudad en la que instó a los soldados norteamericanos a desobedecer al líder de la Casa Blanca.
Como consecuencia de esa participación, Washington decidió revocarle el visado de ingreso al país, acusándolo de «actos temerarios e incendiarios» durante la protesta.
Las tensiones se agudizaron por el despliegue militar de Estados Unidos en aguas del Caribe. Petro ha denunciado que los ataques letales contra embarcaciones acusadas de transportar drogas son desproporcionados y constituyen un “asesinato”.
Con una publicación en redes sociales, el presidente estadounidense tildó a su par colombiano de “capo de las drogas” que tiene «bajos índices de aprobación y es muy impopular». Y le advirtió además que “más le vale” frenar operaciones del narcotráfico «o Estados Unidos las cerrará por él, y no lo hará de manera amable».
Petro, quien puede ser tan expresivo en redes sociales como su homólogo estadounidense, rechazó las acusaciones de Trump y defendió su trabajo para combatir el narcotráfico en Colombia, el mayor exportador mundial de cocaína.
“Tratar de impulsar la paz de Colombia no es ser narcotraficante”, escribió Petro. Insinuó que Trump estaba siendo engañado por sus asesores y dijo que Trump estaba siendo “grosero e ignorante con Colombia”.
INTERNACIONAL
Expert warns critical hours slipping away as kidnappers likely to move US missionary in Niger
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A security expert told Fox News Digital the first 48 hours are critical in the search for an American Christian missionary kidnapped in the West African nation of Niger, who may have already been moved between Islamic State-controlled areas where an ISIS offshoot operates.
Bryan Stern, founder of the crisis response group Grey Bull Rescue, said in an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital that in most organized kidnappings, those who seize a hostage are rarely the same people who hold them.
«What happens in most of these cases is whoever took the hostage isn’t who’s holding on to the hostage,» Stern said. «The people who hold hostages generally are a lot smarter, a lot more capable, less disposable… so getting to them as soon as possible does matter in a very demonstrable way.»
Stern said every passing hour reduces the chance of recovery. In many cases, hostages are quickly traded or sold between groups with differing motives — from ransom to propaganda — making it difficult to know what the captors want.
AMERICAN MISSIONARY KIDNAPPED IN NIGER BY SUSPECTED ISLAMIST MILITANTS, SOURCES SAY
This picture taken on Sept. 7, 2023, shows Niger’s presidential palace in Niamey. The building has remained under the control of the military junta since President Mohamed Bazoum was ousted in a 2023 coup. (AFP via Getty Images)
«It’s easy to understand who took somebody, but once people start getting traded around like cards and stuff, it’s hard to then understand what the current holding party wants,» he said.
The groups often operate with their own chain of command and pecking order, each with different goals and levels of influence.
«All those different things play into how you’re gonna get somebody back, and the most dangerous thing to do is send ninjas in and shoot everybody,» Stern said. «That’s the most highest-risk thing that we do because there’s no margin for error.»
I WAS KIDNAPPED BY BOKO HARAM, AND SURVIVED. NO THANKS TO THE WEST’S SILENCE
Niger’s junta leader Gen. Abdourahamane Tchiani salutes during an official ceremony in Niamey, Niger, on Aug. 26, 2023. Tchiani seized power in a July 2023 coup that ousted President Mohamed Bazoum and has ruled the West African nation since. (AFP via Getty Images)
U.S. officials confirmed they are aware of the kidnapping, which took place in Niamey, about 100 yards from Niger’s presidential palace. The missionary, a pilot for the evangelical group Serving in Mission, was reportedly taken north toward an area controlled by an ISIS offshoot.
A State Department spokesperson said embassy officials are working closely with local authorities and that the Trump administration views the safe return of the U.S. citizen as a top priority. The U.S. Embassy has also restricted staff movements to armored vehicles and prohibited visits to restaurants and open-air markets.
Stern described the region as «31 flavors,» meaning there is everything from Russian proxies to criminal gangs and Islamic fundamentalists running around.
CRUZ CLASHES WITH NIGERIA OVER HIS CLAIMS 50,000 CHRISTIANS KILLED SINCE 2009 IN RELIGIOUS VIOLENCE
A general view of a crowded street market in Niamey, Niger, on May 17, 2023. The capital city has faced rising instability since the 2023 military coup that toppled President Mohamed Bazoum. (Michele Cattani / AFP via Getty Images)
While it’s easy to assume Islamist militants were behind the abduction, Stern cautioned, «until you know…it becomes speculation.»
«At some point, somebody will ask for something, you hope,» he said. «It’s very scary when they don’t ask for anything… the worst case scenario is a hostage taken by someone who doesn’t want anything. Then there’s no play to be made other than find them and kill them, and hopefully you survive that process.»
For now, the focus is on finding proof of life and establishing communication.
U.S. special operations units are likely monitoring surveillance and communications from the region, but Stern cautioned that a rescue attempt would be «the most dangerous thing special operations does.»
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Officials have not said whether any group has claimed responsibility or issued any demands.
Fox News Digital’s Michael Dorgan and Paul Tilsley contributed to this report.
africa,missing persons,terrorism,isis
INTERNACIONAL
Merkley nearly breaks Booker’s filibuster record, wins his praise for fighting ‘Trump’s authoritarian tactics’
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Democrats pulled out all the stops on Wednesday to delay the vote on a short-term spending bill to reopen the government — the 12th time the Senate has considered the measure since the government entered a shutdown on Oct. 1.
Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., embarked on a nearly 24-hour speech at 6:23 p.m. on Tuesday, concluding his remarks at 5:00 p.m. the next day. Merkley, 68, warned viewers of the authoritarianism he said had become a facet of the Trump administration.
«Be aware and worried about the possibility of the use of an emergency in order to expand authoritarian power. That’s the position we’re in now in the United States of America. Authoritarianism with a rubber-stamp Congress, a court that’s delivering more and more power to the executive and an executive who has a well-planned strategy,» Merkley said in his remarks.
JOHNSON WARNS US ‘BARRELING TOWARD ONE OF THE LONGEST SHUTDOWNS’ IN HISTORY
Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., speaks to reporters following a weekly Senate Democratic policy luncheon at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Feb. 19, 2025. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
«Republicans have shut down the government to continue the strategy of slashing Americans’ healthcare,» he said.
His speech comes as lawmakers remain gridlocked over federal funding for 2026. Whereas Republicans in the House of Representatives have passed a short-term funding bill to keep the government open through Nov. 21, Democrats in the Senate have voted a dozen times to defeat the package.
The Senate once again failed to advance the package on Wednesday. It failed in a 54-46 vote.
Democrats, led by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., have demanded an extension of COVID-era supplemental funding for Obamacare healthcare subsidies that are set to sunset in 2025.
SCREAMING MATCH ERUPTS BETWEEN HAKEEM JEFFRIES, MIKE LAWLER AS GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN CHAOS CONTINUES
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., right, update reporters following their face-to-face meeting with President Donald Trump and Republican leaders on the government funding crisis, at the Capitol in Washington, Sept. 29, 2025. (J. Scott Applewhite/AP Photo)
Republicans need the support of seven Democrats to overcome the 60-vote threshold to overcome a filibuster. The GOP holds 53 seats in the chamber.
Merkley, who came close to breaking Sen. Cory Booker’s 25-hour and 4-minute record that was set earlier this year, put the shutdown blame on Republicans throughout his discourse.
Booker praised Merkley’s stalling efforts online.
«Listening to Senator Jeff Merkley for over 22 hours, it is clear that we need to stand up for our democracy. We must continue to call out and counter Trump’s authoritarian tactics. Thank you, Jeff!» Booker said in a post on X.
BOOKER CONCLUDES RECORD 25-HOUR SPEECH AGAINST TRUMP, MUSK, MARKING THE LONGEST EVER ON THE SENATE FLOOR
On the issue of authoritarianism, which comprised the bulk of Merkley’s remarks, Merkley decried what he saw as the Trump administration’s attempts to push the limits on executive power — like its deployment of the National Guard to urban areas.
«If you remove a clear standard as to whether there is a rebellion and just say a president can deploy the military on a whim in places he doesn’t like against peaceful protesters to distract Americans or to exercise a suppression of dissent, then you have flung the doors open to tyranny. To a strongman state,» Merkley said.
National Guard members began patrolling Memphis in October as part of a federal task force established by President Donald Trump to combat what the administration says is violent crime in the city. (Brett Carlsen/Getty Images)
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President Donald Trump has deployed the National Guard to Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, Chicago, Memphis, and Portland, Oregon, citing a need to protect law enforcement and government operations in those cities.
politics,congress,senate
Tensión Estados Unidos-Colombia: Donald Trump ahora dice que Gustavo Petro es un «matón» y un «mal tipo» que fabrica «muchas drogas»
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Expert warns critical hours slipping away as kidnappers likely to move US missionary in Niger
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