December 24, 2025: All Newsclips

Lead Stories

U.S. Supreme Court rules that Trump can't deploy Texas National Guard to Illinois

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled against President Trump on Tuesday, refusing to reinstate, for now, Trump's ability to send National Guard troops into Illinois over the objections of its governor. The administration argued in its appeal in October that it needed to federalize the National Guard to stop what Trump has said is unremitting violence against Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents at detention facilities in the Chicago area. But two lower courts ruled against Trump's claim that the protests in the Chicago area constituted a "rebellion or danger of rebellion" against the United States government that the president has the right to put down.

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The court's action is one of only a handful of such "emergency docket" cases in which the conservative court has ruled against Trump since he began his second term as president almost a year ago. Many legal experts thought this emergency decision would take days or weeks, not months, as ended up being the case. It's unclear why it took so long. "At this preliminary stage, the Government has failed to identify a source of authority that would allow the military to execute the laws in Illinois," the majority wrote in its brief opinion. The court wrote that the president failed to explain why the situation in Illinois warranted an exception to the Posse Comitatus Act that limits the military's ability to execute laws on U.S. soil. It's the first time the highest court has weighed in on the controversial deployments. While the decision does not set precedent, it brings some clarity about the president's power to deploy federal military resources.

Major release of Epstein documents contains mentions of Trump and Mar-a-Lago subpoenas

The latest batch of files related to the investigations of the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein disclosed hundreds of references to President Trump and contained two subpoenas sent to Mar-a-Lago, Mr. Trump’s residence in Florida, where, he once said, Mr. Epstein “hired away” an employee. The new documents — nearly 30,000 in all — also include different versions of Mr. Epstein’s will; blacked-out pages of tax returns for Ghislaine Maxwell, a confidante of Mr. Epstein’s who was convicted of sex trafficking in 2021; and internal communications from the Manhattan jail where Mr. Epstein died. The partly redacted subpoenas sought employment records as part of the federal criminal case against Ms. Maxwell. Mr. Trump has not been accused of wrongdoing in connection with Mr. Epstein or Ms. Maxwell. The Justice Department said in a statement that some of the newly released material contained false accusations, without specifying which claims it believed to be untrue.

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Most appearances of Mr. Trump’s name in the files that were released on Monday by the Justice Department came from news reports and other documents, but some dealt directly with the relationship between the one-time friends. One email, sent by an unidentified federal prosecutor in 2020, during Mr. Trump’s first term, alerted the recipient that Mr. Trump had flown on Mr. Epstein’s private jet “many more times than previously has been reported (or that we were aware),” though those trips have since become public knowledge. The names of the sender and the recipient are redacted, but the prosecutor wrote that they were sending the email for “situational awareness” and that they “didn’t want any of this to be a surprise down the road.” Ms. Maxwell received a series of letters from a sender she referred to as “Andrew,” which offer a number of identifying details that match those of Prince Andrew, who was recently stripped of his royal titles and evicted from the mansion where he lived because of his ties with Mr. Epstein.

Texas billionaire Robert Brockman's heirs to pay $750 million in biggest-ever U.S. tax-fraud case

The estate of the late billionaire Robert Brockman has reached an agreement to pay $750 million in back taxes and penalties, settling a civil suit that stemmed from what the government had called the biggest U.S. tax-fraud case ever filed involving an individual, according to a U.S. Tax Court filing Tuesday. The Internal Revenue Service had been seeking $1.4 billion in the case, a figure that included interest. Counting only back taxes and penalties, it had been seeking $993 million. It isn’t clear from Tuesday’s filing how much interest the estate might have to pay. Brockman, a Texas automotive-software entrepreneur, was indicted in 2020 on tax-fraud charges, accused by the government of using a web of offshore entities to conceal more than $2 billion in income from the IRS. He used encrypted computer servers and fishing-related code names to communicate with those running his offshore empire, the government alleged.

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Much of the money Brockman allegedly hid stemmed from his investments in private-equity firm Vista Equity Partners, which he helped launch as an early backer of the firm. Vista CEO Robert Smith previously settled his own related tax-evasion case with the government. Brockman, who denied the allegations, died in 2022 at age 81, while awaiting trial on criminal charges stemming from the alleged fraud. A Houston tax lawyer who allegedly advised both Brockman and Smith died by suicide on the eve of his own criminal trial. A parallel civil case continued in tax court after Brockman’s death. In the settlement, Brockman’s estate agreed to pay $456 million in back taxes and $294 million in penalties for tax years between 2004 and 2018. Brockman was known for his penny-pinching ways, staying at budget hotels and eating frozen dinners in his room while visiting one of his company’s offices, according to a former executive. He had an antigovernment streak and didn’t approve of the IRS, telling former associates it was a corrupt organization that unfairly targeted taxpayers.

ERCOT says power grid is prepared for winter

The weather outside is far from frightful this Christmas week, but winter still carries echoes Texans haven’t forgotten. Nearly five years after a devastating, nearly weeklong freeze, grid officials say the chances of blackouts this season are low, though not eliminated. ERCOT, the state’s power grid operator, has projected about a 1% chance of ordering rolling blackouts in January and February, a last-resort move to keep the system from failing when demand overwhelms supply. The outlook is improved from recent winters, though a 2021-style freeze would again push outage risks sharply higher. That’s when an extreme winter storm blanketed the state in snow and ice for days. It overwhelmed power plants, fuel supplies and equipment, forcing grid managers to cut electricity to prevent a grid collapse. Millions of Texans lost power, many for days. More than 200 deaths were later linked to the prolonged cold and loss of heat. Billions of dollars in economic damage were reported statewide.

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After years of reforms and investment, ERCOT says the grid is better positioned, even as it forecasts a colder winter than the last four years but warmer than average overall. Independent analysts largely agree. “Looking at the numbers that ERCOT put out, it looks pretty good,” said Joshua Rhodes, a research scientist for the Webber Energy Group at the University of Texas at Austin. “But there’s always a chance that something goes awry.” The Christmas Day outlook offers little hint of that. Thursday in Dallas is expected to be near-record mild, with highs in the upper 70s. Still, uncertainty remains over the coming months, with volatility in polar weather patterns making winter conditions harder to gauge, according to a Dec. 9 ERCOT report. Officials cited recent instability in the Polar Vortex, an Arctic stream of cold air that can push south when it weakens. ERCOT CEO Pablo Vegas said at a recent ERCOT board meeting that while renewable energy generation — mainly solar power — has grown rapidly in recent years, its unavailability during the hours of highest winter demand creates a vulnerability. “Winter still represents the higher risk period in the ERCOT market, because fewer of these resources that are being added are available during the winter peak periods, which tend to be in the mornings, before the sun rises, or in the early evenings, right after it sets,” Vegas said. The rise in battery capacity over the last two years is perhaps the most significant factor affecting grid stability. The storage capacity of large-scale batteries has nearly quadrupled since December 2023, and recently overtook coal power.

State Stories

Federal judge blocks Texas app store age verification law from taking effect in the new year

A Texas federal judge temporarily blocked a new state law requiring adults and minors to verify their age before downloading apps or making in-app purchases Tuesday. Senate Bill 2420, scheduled to take effect Jan. 1, passed almost unanimously in this year's legislative session. Also known as the App Store Accountability Act, the law would require adults to verify their age before downloading any app, and minors would need parental approval before downloading apps or making in-app purchases. Parents would have to prove their identity and give consent with each download. Students Engaged in Advancing Texas, or SEAT, and two high school students under 18 sued Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton — whose office would enforce the law — in October to stop it from taking effect. Plaintiffs argued the law would put content-based restrictions on speech, replacing parents' freedom to moderate their kids' internet access.

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U.S. District Judge Robert Pitman of Austin sided with the plaintiffs in a preliminary injunction order Tuesday, finding that the law is likely unconstitutional. But Pitman also acknowledged the importance of efforts to curb children's use of devices, social media and games that can interfere with their real lives. "These consequences are substantial, and the Court recognizes the broad support for protecting children when they use apps," Pitman wrote. "But the means to achieve that end must be consistent with the First Amendment." Adam Sieff, one of the students' attorneys, said in a statement the law was Texas' latest attempt to censor the students and regulate their households, and he lauded Pitman for blocking it. “App stores allow anyone with a smartphone and an internet connection to access the accumulated sum of virtually all recorded human knowledge and expression," Sieff said. "Banning students like SEAT’s members, M.F., and Z.B., from accessing these massive libraries without parental consent, just because the government thinks that’s what their parents ought to want, has never been a constitutionally permissible way to protect kids or support families.”

Texas Republicans propose new property tax cuts as campaign season kicks off

Texas has the seventh highest property taxes in the country — a sore spot for homeowners. Lawmakers, both Democrat and Republican, worked to address the issue during the 2025 legislative session by increasing the homestead exemption. With the approval of Texas voters in November, homeowners will get an additional $40,000 added to their exemption, while citizens with disabilities or over the age of 65 will get an additional $60,000. That’s a big deal — and Sen. Paul Bettencourt, R-Houston, says the reception has been great. “The seniors are stopping me in my district through Austin, because they had about a thousand dollar savings and over half of them are not paying any additional property taxes for schools at this point,” Bettencourt said.

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For most property taxpayers in Texas, the homestead exemption is what ends up saving them the most money. That exemption applies to someone’s primary residence and reduces how much of the property’s value they’ll pay taxes on. Lawmakers have been patting each other on the back and touting their successes heading into an election year. But the battle is far from over, with many homeowners still complaining taxes are too high. Bettencourt recognizes that. He says this year’s move is just another cut on top of the pile that lawmakers have been working on for years. “What the state has been doing since 2019 is to dramatically ramp up how much money is being budgeted for property tax relief," Bettencourt told The Texas Newsroom. “We’re now at $51 billion, which is well into 20% of the state's budget.” Estimates from the state claim the average Texas homeowner will save around $1,700 on their property taxes each year due to the growing homestead exemption. But that isn’t the case for everyone, with some still seeing high tax bills. Shannon Halbrook, who handles fiscal policy research for nonpartisan policy group Every Texan, thinks that while it’s great to cut taxes, lawmakers must be mindful of the overall cost to the state. “We need to be asking ourselves how much we can afford to keep cutting them,” Halbrook said.

Two candidates for Texas Supreme Court denied access to GOP ballot

Two would-be candidates for the Texas Supreme Court have been denied access to the Republican primary ballot after separate courts on Monday upheld the state GOP's decision to reject their applications because they lacked the required petition signatures. The rulings pave the way for Chief Justice Jimmy Blacklock and Justice Brett Busby to run unopposed in the March 3 election. Former Supreme Court Justice Steve Smith had filed to challenge Blacklock and David Rogers, a member of the city council in the Austin suburb of Pflugerville, had planned to oppose Busby. Under state GOP rules, candidates for the Supreme Court must submit at least 50 valid signatures from qualified voters from each of the state's 15 appeals court districts. The party ruled that neither candidate had met that standard in at least some of the districts.

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The pair filed separate lawsuits challenging the state party's authority to determine how candidates gain access to the primary ballot. The Texas Supreme Court shot down Smith's challenge, saying his arguments were "threadbare" and that had he not waited until the final day for filing his candidacy, he might have been able to satisfy the party's requirements for ballot access. Neither Blacklock nor Busby participated in the ruling, which was unsigned. In the other case, state District Judge Amy Clark Meachum of Travis County last week temporarily paused the party's decision denying Rogers' request for access to the primary ballot, but on Monday affirmed the GOP's right to set its own rules on such matters. The Supreme Court's ruling was another in a series of political setbacks over the past two decades for Smith. In 2002, Smith won a special election to fill out the final two years of a vacated seat on the high court, defeating an establishment Republican in the primary who had been appointed by then-Gov. Rick Perry. Two years later, Smith was defeated in the primary. He lost a comeback bid in 2006. A decade later, he came in third in a four-candidate GOP primary field for a seat on the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals. Rogers, who has served on the Pflugerville City Council since 2020, was a deputy staff attorney for Smith during his time on the Supreme Court. Rogers also managed Smith's successful campaign in 2002.

Neiman Marcus parent reportedly considers bankruptcy

Saks Global Enterprises, facing limited options ahead of a more than $100 million debt payment due at the end of this month, is considering Chapter 11 bankruptcy as a last resort, according to people with knowledge of the situation. The company is also weighing additional ways to shore up liquidity, including raising emergency financing or selling assets, the people said, asking not to be identified because they’re not authorized to speak publicly. Separately, some Saks lenders have held confidential talks in recent days to assess the company’s cash needs, according to other people familiar with the matter. Those discussions have focused on a potential debtor-in-possession loan, a form of bankruptcy funding.

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Saks raised billions of dollars from bond investors late last year to finance a bold turnaround plan centered on the acquisition of Neiman Marcus, betting that scale would revive the struggling luxury retailer. Instead, the deal deepened the company’s debt burden and failed to resolve long-running issues with vendors, many of whom halted shipments amid missed payments, accelerating losses. In June, Saks persuaded creditors to provide hundreds of millions of dollars more as part of a debt deal that reshuffled repayment priorities, creating multiple tiers of bondholders with differing claims on the company’s assets. Even those securities have since plunged, underscoring concern among investors that the turnaround effort is running out of time. “Together with our key financial stakeholders, we are exploring all potential paths to secure a strong and stable future for Saks Global and advance our transformation while delivering exceptional products, elevated experiences and personalized service to our customers,” a representative for Saks said via email. PJT Partners, which is advising the company, declined to comment. The tie-up with Neiman last year was intended to create a multibrand luxury giant powered by the technology of new high-profile investors, which included Amazon.com Inc. and Salesforce Inc. But by May, bondholders were already facing paper losses of more than $1 billion as the plan stumbled.

City of El Paso’s drone program not grounded, but future expansion unclear under FCC ban

The city of El Paso’s drone program could be grounded from expansion under a new federal rule that blocks the sale of new foreign-made drones – including those produced by China-based DJI, the city’s supplier. The Federal Communications Commission on Monday said it will ban new models of foreign-made drones from entering the U.S. market, stating that while the aircraft can enhance public safety, criminals and terrorists “can use them to present new and serious threats to our homeland.” The move follows a mandate in last year’s federal defense bill requiring a national security review of Chinese-made drones. The FCC’s decision effectively prevents U.S. cities, agencies and private operators from purchasing or importing new drones produced in foreign countries, according to an FCC fact sheet.

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The ruling could have implications for the future of the city’s drone program, as the airport as well as police and fire departments rely on DJI drones for some public safety operations and airport monitoring. The FCC’s new guidelines also broadly covers critical components, which could affect the city’s ability to repair its fleet already in use. “At this time, the ruling does not require the city to immediately suspend existing drone operations. The city’s drone program remains focused on public safety, and we will continue to comply with all applicable federal guidance and requirements,” city spokesperson Laura Cruz-Acosta said in an emailed statement to El Paso Matters. The guidelines do not prevent consumers such as the city of El Paso from continuing to use the drones they previously purchased, nor does it prevent retailers from selling models previously approved through the FCC’s equipment authorization process, according to the agency.

An oil tanker seized off the coast of Venezuela has arrived near Galveston. Now what?

An oil tanker seized by the United States near Venezuela earlier this month is now close to the Gulf Coast. An online marine traffic tracker on Monday showed the tanker located about 40 miles from Galveston, an island south of Houston. According to the Greater Houston Port Bureau, the tanker is too large to enter the Houston Ship Channel. Ed Hirs, an energy fellow at the University of Houston, said the tanker was likely sent to the Galveston area because of its oil infrastructure.

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"It's the closest harbor (that's) closest to oil infrastructure on the Texas Gulf Coast," he said. "It's pretty easy to get that oil onto shore." Hirs said the oil will have to be unloaded to smaller tankers, but what happens after that remains to be seen. The larger tanker, known as the Skipper, was seized on Dec. 10 amid escalating tensions between U.S. President Donald Trump's administration and Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. It’s a conflict that has implications for the oil industry in Houston and beyond. "I think that's up to maritime law where the oil will go, what the disposition of the tanker will be," Hirs said. The U.S. Coast Guard referred Houston Public Media to the White House for more information about the tanker's offloading process. The White House did not immediately respond to questions. The U.S. announced over the weekend that it had seized a second tanker recently departing from Venezuela.

NXP is putting its longtime US HQ on market in Austin

NXP Semiconductors NV is putting its 155-acre Oak Hill campus — which has served as its longtime U.S. headquarters — on the market as it scours the area for a new office space, several sources told the Austin Business Journal. The Dutch semiconductor company has enlisted the help of CBRE Inc. to list the 1.5 million-square-foot campus at 6501 William Cannon Blvd. for sale, sources said. The campus was originally built in 1984 for Freescale Semiconductor, which was acquired by NXP in 2015, and has been used for office, research and development and manufacturing. It makes chips used in cars, mobile phones, communications infrastructure and other products. The property was most recently appraised at $43 million, according to Travis Central Appraisal District.

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NXP also has a 960,000-square-foot office and manufacturing space at 3949 Ed Bluestein Blvd. that was built in 1974, according to its website. In a statement, NXP officials said the company is "exploring options for a new office space driven by the need to modernize and create a vibrant environment that enhances how we work and engage." The company is considering locations based on traffic patterns, talent density, geographical growth trends in Austin, and where employees live, officials said, adding that they have communicated that to local employees. "NXP is committed to building a workspace in Austin that fosters greater collaboration, drives innovation, and enhances the overall team member experience," the statement said. Sources confirmed to the ABJ that NXP (Nasdaq: NXPI) is indeed known to be searching in the market for an office location. CBRE's Trey Low is handling the marketing of the Oak Hill site for sale. CBRE executives couldn't immediately be reached for comment. The move comes amid a series of changes for NXP. The company, which does both design and manufacturing, in October reported $3.17 billion in revenue during the third quarter, which was down 2% year-over-year. The company on Dec. 10 announced it was planning to shutter a Phoenix-area manufacturing facility and shut down part of the business, according to the Phoenix Business Journal.

Harlingen mayor denies involvement in campaign mailer as more questions arise

Mayor Norma Sepulveda is denying involvement in a political mailer displaying newly elected Commissioner Delia Cavazos-Gamez’s police records in a dismissed case. Instead, Sepulveda is claiming she requested the police report and mug shots to determine Cavazos-Gamez’s “fitness” to continue serving on two city boards. “I had nothing to do with any campaign mailer and neither did the city,” Sepulveda said in a Facebook post. Sepulveda said she didn’t consider residents serving on city boards to be “private citizens in that role.” “When serious concerns arise that could affect fitness to serve, it would be irresponsible not to look into them,” she said in her post. “That type of review is not political. It is part of responsible oversight. When matters are resolved, the review ends.”

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Sepulveda declined to speak on the record with the Valley Morning Star. On Tuesday, Sepulveda did not respond to another request for comment as to whether she has checked on other board members’ backgrounds. Meanwhile, Robert Drinkard, an attorney with the law firm of Denton, Navarro, Rocha, Bernal and Zech, who’s representing Cavazos-Gamez, is calling on the city commission to investigate concerns stemming from the campaign mailer. In the city’s Nov. 5 election, Cavazos-Gamez, a nurse sitting on two city boards, defeated former Commissioner Richard Uribe, whom Sepulveda supported, by 55.7% of the vote in the race for the city commission’s District 1 seat. Last week, Uribe strongly denied connection with the mailer, which did not include the producer’s name. As the election’s early voting period opened in late October 2025, a campaign mailer was sent to homes in District 1 displaying images of Cavazos-Gamez’s police report and mugshots stemming from a Jan. 9, 2024 incident at her home in which police arrested her for alleged “assault bodily injury family violence.” About four months later, the Cameron County District Attorney’s Office dismissed the case, Drinkard said.

Cincinnati's second-largest private company relocating headquarters to Texas in 2026

Greater Cincinnati’s second-largest private company is moving its corporate headquarters to Houston. RelaDyne, an international distributor of industrial lubricants and the largest such firm in the U.S., will move to Houston effective Jan. 1, 2026. The firm was formerly headquartered in an office in Sycamore Township, Ohio. But few, if any, local RelaDyne employees are expected to relocate outside the region, according to CEO Eric Royse. The company’s recently announced expansion of its Hebron facility, according to Royse, will in fact increase its corporate presence in the region, albeit south of the river and with an incentive deal that reduces its income tax burden. A $5 billion company with more than 4,000 employees, RelaDyne was headquartered in Greater Cincinnati only in a titular sense, Royse told the Cincinnati Business Courier, a sister publication of the Houston Business Journal.

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ACA subsidies: Texas law could protect against biggest cost hikes

Americans who receive health insurance through the Affordable Care Act are bracing for steep premium spikes because of Republicans' decision not to extend subsidies. But the effects may not be as dramatic in Texas, thanks to a four-year-old state law that gives the state's insurance department more control over pricing. Public health experts say the little-known state law has resulted in lower premiums on some of the Texas plans sold on Healthcare.gov and could help people maintain their health insurance at close to what they're spending now.

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For instance, in Harris County, a 40-year-old single adult earning $37,500 a year who is enrolled in a mid-level silver plan is set to see the premium more than double to $252 a month next year after tax credits have been applied. But they have the option to switch to a gold plan with better coverage for just $164 per month, or a bronze plan with a higher deductible and lower-cost sharing for $37 a month, according to analysis by the non-profit Texas 2036. "Sticker prices get the headlines but the prices people pay are staying relatively stable," said Alex Mendoza, a policy advisor at Texas 2036. "There are zero or low cost plans for a lot of Texans." Early data suggests Texas customers could already be figuring out how to maintain an affordable plan. According to data released by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, 17% more Texans signed up for Affordable Care Act plans this year through the first month of enrollment, which began Nov. 1. That's compared to an increase of 7% nationwide, according to analysis by the health news service Becker's Hospital Review.

Prairieland ICE shooting trial pushed to February

The federal trial of nine people charged for a July 4 shooting at a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center in Alvarado was moved to Feb. 17 due to attorney scheduling conflicts, according to court records. Court documents allege about 11 people gathered outside the Prairieland Detention Center, setting off fireworks and spray painting building structures and property. Correctional officers called 911, and Alvarado Police Lt. Thomas Gross arrived at the scene, issuing commands to people who began fleeing on foot. Then a person in a green mask allegedly opened fire on Gross and correctional officers, according to court records, which alternately describe Gross as being hit in the neck or upper back. Authorities say he's since returned to work following his injury.

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Eighteen people in total have been arrested in connection with what defendants said was a protest and noise demonstration, facing a mix of state and federal charges. Four of them — Benjamin Song, Meagan Morris, Maricela Rueda and Savanna Batten — pleaded not guilty in Fort Worth federal court earlier this month. Defendants Autumn Hill, Zachary Evetts, Ines Soto, Elizabeth Soto and Daniel Sanchez Estrada pleaded not guilty in the weeks before and waived their arraignment hearings. Prosecutors brought a second superseding indictment Dec. 10 against the nine defendants going to trial with no significant changes. The defendants once again pleaded not guilty. The U.S. Attorney's Office called the indictment against the nine defendants the first in the country against a group of "violent Antifa cell members." The label has held extra weight since President Donald Trump designated the "antifa" ideology a domestic terror threat in September.

National Stories

Poll finds every major political figure underwater in approval, with Powell and Rubio at top

A new Gallup poll highlighted the polarized state of the United States, finding that no national political figure has neared 50% approval. A Gallup poll conducted from Dec. 1 to Dec. 15 found that Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell was the highest-rated national political figure at 44%, followed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio at 41%. The duo were the only two who had an approval rating above 40%, with the rest ranging from 28% to 39%. The most unpopular figure was Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), who had a 28% approval rating. His Republican counterpart, Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD), came in not far ahead at 34%.

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Responses were heavily polarized along political lines. Vice President JD Vance ranked as the single most popular figure in his party with a 91% approval rating, even surpassing President Donald Trump among Republicans, who gave him an 89% approval rating. Vance’s overall approval rating was 39%; however, it was weighed down by heavy disapproval from Democrats, who gave him just a 5% approval rating. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Attorney General Pam Bondi, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts, and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. were all closely clustered in approval ratings, ranging from 35% to 39%. Rubio’s status as the second most popular political figure bodes well for his future political ambitions, surpassing the popularity of the 2028 presidential nominee favorite — Vance. However, the vice president’s unparalleled popularity among Republicans would disadvantage him in a primary, with Rubio trailing his approval at 84%.

ICE documents reveal plan to hold 80,000 immigrants in warehouses

The Trump administration is seeking contractors to help it overhaul the United States’ immigrant detention system in a plan that includes renovating industrial warehouses to hold more than 80,000 immigrant detainees at a time, according to a draft solicitation reviewed by The Washington Post. Rather than shuttling detainees around the country to wherever detention space is available, as happens now, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement aims to speed up deportations by establishing a deliberate feeder system, the document says. Newly arrested detainees would be booked into processing sites for a few weeks before being funneled into one of seven large-scale warehouses holding 5,000 to 10,000 people each, where they would be staged for deportation.

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The large warehouses would be located close to major logistics hubs in Virginia, Texas, Louisiana, Arizona, Georgia and Missouri. Sixteen smaller warehouses would hold up to 1,500 people each. The draft solicitation is not final and is subject to changes. ICE plans to share it with private detention companies this week to gauge interest and refine the plan, according to an internal email reviewed by The Post. A formal request for bids could follow soon after that. Tricia McLaughlin, a spokeswoman for the Department of Homeland Security, said she “cannot confirm” The Post’s reporting and declined to answer questions about the warehouse plan. NBC and Bloomberg News previously reported on ICE’s internal discussions about using warehouses as detention centers. The full scope of the project, the locations of the facilities and other details contained in the solicitation have not been previously disclosed or reported. The warehouse plan would bethe next step in President Donald Trump’s campaign to detain and deport millions of immigrants,which began with a scramble to expand the nation’s immigrant detention system, the largest in the world.

Federal judge blocks Trump administration's Homeland Security funding cut to Democratic states

A federal judge has blocked the Trump administration’s attempt to reallocate federal Homeland Security funding away from states that refuse to cooperate with certain federal immigration enforcement. U.S. District Judge Mary McElroy’s ruling on Monday solidified a win for the coalition of 12 attorneys general that sued the administration earlier this year after being alerted that their states would receive drastically reduced federal grants due to their “sanctuary” jurisdictions. In total, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Emergency Management Agency reduced more than $233 million from Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington. The money is part of a $1 billion program where allocations are supposed to be based on assessed risks, with states then largely passing most of the money on to police and fire departments.

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The cuts were unveiled shortly after a separate federal judge in a different legal challenge ruled it was unconstitutional for the federal government to require states to cooperate on immigration enforcement actions to get FEMA disaster funding. In her 48-page ruling, McElroy found that the federal government was weighing states’ police on federal immigration enforcement on whether to reduce federal funding for the Homeland Security Grant Program and others. “What else could defendants’ decisions to cut funding to specific counterterrorism programming by conspicuous round numbered amounts — including by slashing off the millions-place digits of awarded sums — be if not arbitrary and capricious? Neither a law degree nor a degree in mathematics is required to deduce that no plausible, rational formula could produce this result,” McElroy wrote. The Trump-appointed judge then ordered the Department of Homeland Security to restore the previously announced funding allocations to the plaintiff states. “Defendants’ wanton abuse of their role in federal grant administration is particularly troublesome given the fact that they have been entrusted with a most solemn duty: safeguarding our nation and its citizens,” McElroy wrote. “While the intricacies of administrative law and the terms and conditions on federal grants may seem abstract to some, the funding at issue here supports vital counterterrorism and law enforcement programs.”

Missouri voters sue to block GOP gerrymander until referendum vote

Missourians filed a lawsuit Tuesday asking a court to stop the state from using its new congressional map until voters have the chance to approve or reject the measure in a referendum. It’s the latest development in an escalating battle over a string of efforts by GOP state officials to place hurdles in the way of the referendum over the gerrymander. Missouri lawmakers passed a gerrymandered congressional map in September at President Donald Trump’s behest. Missouri is one of three GOP-controlled states that redrew maps this year to help Republicans rig the 2026 midterm elections. Earlier this month, opponents of the gerrymander turned in more than 300,000 petition signatures supporting a referendum vote, a move that historically has triggered state officials to pause the legislation being challenged.

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But Missouri Republicans – as part of a relentless effort to thwart the referendum – have defied precedent, insisting the new map is in effect until the vote takes place. Now, two voters who signed the petition are fighting back in court, arguing that state officials are denying them their state constitutional right to approve or reject legislation through a referendum. Both voters are residents of Missouri’s fifth congressional district, the seat targeted in the gerrymander. They are represented in the lawsuit by the ACLU of Missouri and the law firm Perkins Coie. Candidates will begin to file for a place on the Missouri primary ballot starting in February, and the referendum vote likely won’t be held until November. Gerrymander opponents point out that if state officials are allowed to use the new map until the referendum is held, they will in effect have circumvented the referendum process, at least for 2026, by enacting the gerrymander without voters having an opportunity to stop it. In the latest lawsuit, voters argue Missouri Secretary of State Denny Hoskins and Attorney General Catherine Hanaway are implementing a “transparent ploy” to force the use of the new map “until it is too late.”

DHS gives Santa ICE makeover in deranged Christmas video

The Department of Homeland Security has taken its holiday-themed campaign for mass deportations to new lows with a video that turns Santa Claus into an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent. Under the direction of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, the department has attempted to glamorize its raids by creating glossy videos, which have sometimes earned the ire of musicians whose work is used as soundtracks. Even a former DHS chief of staff under Trump has called them “creepy,” “stupid,” and “wildly irresponsible.” The latest offering is unlikely to change the agency’s reputation. “AVOID ICE AIR AND SANTA’S NAUGHTY LIST!” the official DHS X page posted on Monday alongside a video of Santa working for ICE.

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The cringeworthy artificial intelligence-generated clip shows Saint Nick suiting up for an evening on the ICE beat, cuffing arrestees, booking them at a grim-looking processing facility and loading people onto a plane to be deported. It ends with the message, “Merry Christmas.” The video also served as the department’s latest effort to popularize its CBP Home app, a rebranded version of the Biden-era CBP One platform that signals intent to deport and, if approved, gives travel assistance and financial support. “Self-deport today with the CBP Home app, earn $3,000 and spend Christmas at home with loved ones. Holiday incentive is valid through the end of 2025,” the rest of the X message from DHS read. It comes after Noem, 54, used an appearance on Fox & Friends to urge “illegal aliens” to leave voluntarily using the app—or face arrest and removal. “If you voluntarily want to go home now… we will give you $3,000," she said. She added on X that people ”should take advantage of this gift and self-deport because if they don’t, we will find them, we will arrest them, and they will not return."

19 states sue to block White House plan to end gender-related care for minors

A coalition of 19 states on Tuesday sued to block the Trump administration’s plan to strip federal funding from hospitals providing gender-related care for minors, a policy that would effectively shut down any health care providers that failed to comply. That plan, announced on Thursday by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., would cut off all Medicaid and Medicare payments — which make up a major share of hospital revenue — to any facility that provides minors with gender-related treatments in the country. Part of the underpinning of that plan is a declaration by Mr. Kennedy that gender-related treatments for minors “fail to meet professional recognized standards of health care.” In the suit, the states argue that the declaration is unlawful and a government overreach.

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“Secretary Kennedy cannot unilaterally change medical standards by posting a document online,” Letitia James, attorney general of New York, one of the states in the lawsuit, said in a statement on Tuesday. “And no one should lose access to medically necessary health care because their federal government tried to interfere in decisions that belong in doctors’ offices.” Gender-related treatments for minors — which can include puberty-blocking drugs, hormone therapies and, in rarer cases, surgeries — have been fiercely debated in other countries but are endorsed by most medical groups in the United States. Mr. Kennedy, in his announcement last week, referred to such treatments as “malpractice.” Mr. Kennedy drew on a report issued by his agency last month that concluded that the benefits of medical intervention were uncertain and that the risks, which could include irreversible changes, were more known. Authors argued that psychotherapy, an intervention that is also supported by little evidence, had fewer risks.

Copyright December 25, 2025, Harvey Kronberg, www.quorumreport.com, All rights are reserved