Politics
Newly sworn-in LAPD chief sparks backlash after revealing plan to buck Trump admin on 'mass deportations'
The newly confirmed chief of the Los Angeles Police Department made it clear during a recent hearing that his department will “not assist” with the “mass deportations” in comments that sparked social media backlash.
“Since my appearance before the committee on public safety, the national election has caused many Angelenos to feel a deep, deep fear, especially in the immigrant community,” new LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell said at a November 8 city council meeting before being sworn in as the department’s 59th chief.
“I have met with members of the community and heard that fear. We also heard some of that just now at public comment. I know we’ll speak more about immigration later in this hearing, but I want to be unequivocally clear here in my opening comments,” McDonnell continued. “LAPD will protect our immigrant community, LAPD officers will not take action to determine a person’s immigration status, and will not arrest someone for their status, and LAPD will not assist with mass deportations.”
McDonnell went on to say that Los Angeles is a “city of immigrants.”
PRESIDENT-ELECT TRUMP’S DEPORTATION PLAN TOUTED AS A ‘COST SAVINGS’ OPPORTUNITY FOR AMERICANS
“I know immigrants are being disparaged right now,” McDonnell said. “But I want the people of Los Angeles to know my viewpoint. Our nation was built by immigrants and L.A. is such an extraordinary city because of people here from literally all over the world.”
McDonnell’s comments sparked criticism from conservatives on social media and a clip of the hearing was posted on X by the popular conservative account LibsofTikTok.
“Who wants to tell him that they’re getting deported whether he likes it or not,” the account posted.
“Time to send in the Feds,” conservative influencer Harrison Krank posted on X.
“Get out of California while you still can!” political commentator Gunther Eagleman posted on X.
McDonnell, while previously serving as LA County Sheriff during Trump’s first term, worked with federal immigration agents to deport illegal alien criminals, Los Angeles Times reported, but said during the hearing he would not do so in his current role while pointing to specific policy, including Special Order 40, that prohibits it.
McDonnell was pressed in the hearing by Los Angeles City Councilwoman Monica Rodriguez on the issue of immigration pointing to the “seismic shift in the national landscape” and asked him to talk about what “protections are guaranteed” for Los Angeles residents illegally living in the United States.
TRUMP SAYS MASS DEPORTATIONS ‘NOT A QUESTION OF A PRICE TAG’
Migrants are processed by the U.S. Border Patrol near the Jacumba Hot Springs after crossing the US-Mexico border on June 13, 2024 in San Diego, California. (Qian Weizhong/VCG via Getty Images)
“We don’t stop somebody, we don’t arrest somebody, we don’t deal with people based on their immigration status, everybody gets to be treated equally across the city and so we will continue with that as part of who we are,” McDonnell said in the hearing.
“That’s also bolstered in recent years by the Trust Act and California Values Act in more recent years so the path forward is very clear,” McDonnell said. “LAPD is here to serve all of our communities, immigration is not a factor in how we deal with any individual or any group of people in any of our communities, the way we’re successful as a police organization is if when a crime occurs people are willing to come forward as a witness, as a victim, and be able to be part of the criminal justice process to hold people accountable for their crimes.
The Trust Act became law in California in 2014, after being signed by then Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown, and limits the amount of time and reasons ICE hold requests can be honored by local jails.
Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump pumps his fist as he arrives to speak at a campaign event at Nassau Coliseum, Wednesday, Sept.18, 2024, in Uniondale, N.Y. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
A Cato Institute report in 2018 concluded that deportations went down in the city of Los Angeles after the Trust Act and dropped 39% while the rest of the country experienced a 9% drop.
McDonnell told Rodriguez he will be “very clear” about these immigration positions to whoever he talks to, regardless of “what we hear as part of the rhetoric of political discourse.”
Fox News Digital reached out to the LAPD asking whether McDonnell believes it is “wrong” to deport criminal illegal aliens and whether his department would assist in that effort but did not receive a response.
“If they’re not willing to help, then get the hell out of the way because [Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)] is going to do their job,” Tom Homan, who was acting ICE director during the first Trump administration and was recently named “border czar” under Trump, told Fox News Digital in an interview on Friday about jurisdictions that oppose a deportation effort.
Homan also pledged that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) would be empowered to go after the 425,000 illegal immigrants convicted of crimes and currently roaming free in the United States, according to a recent ICE report.
“We’re going to go get them,” Homan told Fox News’ Sean Hannity.
“And I saw today numerous governors from sanctuary states saying they’re going to step in the way. They better get the hell out of the way. Either you help us or get the hell out of the way, because ICE is going to do their job. We’re going to take the handcuffs off ICE that the Biden Administration put on them and let ICE do what they do, what they do best,” he added.
Fox News Digital’s Kristine Parks contributed to this report
Politics
Video: Walz Drops Re-Election Bid as Minnesota Fraud Scandal Grows
new video loaded: Walz Drops Re-Election Bid as Minnesota Fraud Scandal Grows
transcript
transcript
Walz Drops Re-Election Bid as Minnesota Fraud Scandal Grows
Governor Tim Walz of Minnesota abandoned his re-election bid to focus on handling a scandal over fraud in social service programs that grew under his administration.
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“I’ve decided to step out of this race, and I’ll let others worry about the election while I focus on the work that’s in front of me for the next year.” “All right, so this is Quality Learing Center — meant to say Quality ‘Learning’ Center.” “Right now we have around 56 kids enrolled. If the children are not here, we mark absence.”
By Shawn Paik
January 6, 2026
Politics
Pelosi heir-apparent calls Trump’s Venezuela move a ‘lawless coup,’ urges impeachment, slams Netanyahu
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A San Francisco Democrat demanded the impeachment of President Donald Trump, accusing him of carrying out a “coup” against Venezuelan strongman Nicolás Maduro.
California state Sen. Scott Wiener, seen as the likely congressional successor to Rep. Nancy Pelosi, also took a swipe at Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Wiener has frequently drawn national attention for his progressive positions, including his legislation signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom designating California as a “refuge” for transgender children and remarks at a San Francisco Pride Month event referring to California children as “our kids.”
In a lengthy public statement following the Trump administration’s arrest and extradition of Maduro to New York, Wiener said the move shows the president only cares about “enriching his public donors” and “cares nothing for the human or economic cost of conquering another country.”
KAMALA HARRIS BLASTS TRUMP ADMINISTRATION’S CAPTURE OF VENEZUELA’S MADURO AS ‘UNLAWFUL AND UNWISE’
California State Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, speaks at a rally. (John Sciulli/Getty Images)
“This lawless coup is an invitation for China to invade Taiwan, for Russia to escalate its conquest in Ukraine, and for Netanyahu to expand the destruction of Gaza and annex the West Bank,” said Wiener, who originally hails from South Jersey.
He suggested that the Maduro operation was meant to distract from purportedly slumping poll numbers, the release of Jeffrey Epstein-related documents, and to essentially seize another country’s oil reserves.
“Trump is a total failure,” Wiener said. “By engaging in this reckless act, Trump is also making the entire world less safe … Trump is making clear yet again that, under this regime, there are no rules, there are no laws, there are no norms – there is only whatever Trump thinks is best for himself and his cronies at a given moment in time.”
GREENE HITS TRUMP OVER VENEZUELA STRIKES, ARGUES ACTION ‘DOESN’T SERVE THE AMERICAN PEOPLE’
In response, the White House said the administration’s actions against Maduro were “lawfully executed” and included a federal arrest warrant.”
“While Democrats take twisted stands in support of indicted drug smugglers, President Trump will always stand with victims and families who can finally receive closure thanks to this historic action,” White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly said.
Supporters of the operation have pushed back on claims of “regime change” – an accusation Wiener also made – pointing to actions by Maduro-aligned courts that barred top opposition leader María Corina Machado from running, even as publicly reported results indicated her proxy, Edmundo González Urrutia, won the vote.
“Trump’s illegal invasion of Venezuela isn’t about drugs, and it isn’t about helping the people of Venezuela or restoring Venezuelan democracy,” Wiener added. “Yes, Maduro is awful, but that’s not what the invasion is about. It’s all about oil and Trump’s collapsing support at home.”
EX-ESPN STAR KEITH OLBERMANN CALLS FOR IMPEACHMENT OF TRUMP OVER VENEZUELA STRIKES THAT CAPTURED MADURO
Around the country, a handful of other Democrats referenced impeachment or impeachable offenses, but did not go as far as Wiener in demanding such proceedings.
Rep. April McClain-Delaney, D-Md., who represents otherwise conservative “Mountain Maryland” in the state’s panhandle, said Monday that Democrats should “imminently consider impeachment proceedings,” according to TIME.
McClain-Delaney said Trump acted without constitutionally-prescribed congressional authorization and wrongly voiced “intention to ‘run’ the country.”
SCHUMER BLASTED TRUMP FOR FAILING TO OUST MADURO — NOW WARNS ARREST COULD LEAD TO ‘ENDLESS WAR’
One frequent Trump foil, Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., cited in a statement that she has called for Trump’s impeachment in the past; blaming Republicans for letting the president “escape accountability.”
“Today, many Democrats have understandably questioned whether impeachment is possible again under the current political reality. I am reconsidering that view,” Waters said.
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“What we are witnessing is an unprecedented escalation of an unlawful invasion, the detention of foreign leaders, and a president openly asserting power far beyond what the Constitution allows,” she said, while appearing to agree with Trump that Maduro was involved in drug trafficking and “collaborat[ion] with… terrorists.”
Wiener’s upcoming primary is considered the deciding election in the D+36 district, while a handful of other lesser-known candidates have reportedly either filed FEC paperwork or declared their candidacy, including San Francisco Councilwoman Connie Chan.
Politics
California Congressman Doug LaMalfa dies, further narrowing GOP margin in Congress
California Rep. Doug LaMalfa (R-Richvale) has died, GOP leadership and President Trump confirmed Tuesday morning.
“Jacquie and I are devastated about the sudden loss of our friend, Congressman Doug LaMalfa. Doug was a loving father and husband, and staunch advocate for his constituents and rural America,” said Rep. Tom Emmer (R-Minn.), the House majority whip, in a post on X. “Our prayers are with Doug’s wife, Jill, and their children.”
LaMalfa, 65, was a fourth-generation rice farmer from Oroville and staunch Trump supporter who had represented his Northern California district for the past 12 years. His seat was one of several that was in jeopardy under the state’s redrawn districts approved by voters with Proposition 50.
Emergency personnel responded to a 911 call from LaMalfa’s residence at 6:50 p.m. Monday, according to the Butte County Sheriff’s Office. The congressman was taken to the Enloe Medical Center in Chico, where he died while undergoing emergency surgery, authorities said.
An autopsy to determine the cause of death is planned, according to the sheriff’s office.
LaMalfa’s district — which stretches from the northern outskirts of Sacramento, through Redding at the northern end of the Central Valley and Alturas in the state’s northeast corner — is largely rural, and constituents have long said they felt underrepresented in liberal California.
LaMalfa put much of his focus on boosting federal water supplies to farmers, and seeking to reduce environmental restrictions on logging and extraction of other natural resources.
One LaMalfa’s final acts in the U.S. House was to successfully push for the reauthorization of the Secure Rural Schools Act, a long-standing financial aid program for schools surrounded by untaxed federal forest land, whose budgets could not depend upon property taxes, as most public schools do. Despite broad bipartisan support, Congress let it lapse in 2023.
In an interview with The Times as he was walking onto the House floor in mid-December, LaMalfa said he was frustrated with Congress’s inability to pass even a popular bill like that reauthorization.
The Secure Rural Schools Act, he said, was a victim of a Congress in which “it’s still an eternal fight over anything fiscal.” It is “annoying,” LaMalfa said, “how hard it is to get basic things done around here.”
In a statement posted on X, California Democratic Sen. Adam Schiff said he considered LaMalfa “a friend and partner” and that the congressman was “deeply committed to his community and constituents, working to make life better for those he represented.”
“Doug’s life was one of great service and he will be deeply missed,” Schiff wrote.
Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom in a statement called LaMalfa a “devoted public servant who deeply loved his country, his state, and the communities he represented.”
“While we often approached issues from different perspectives, he fought every day for the people of California with conviction and care,” Newsom said.
Flags at the California State Capitol in Sacramento will be flown at half-staff in honor of the congressman, according to the governor.
Before his death, LaMalfa was facing a difficult reelection bid to hold his seat. After voters approved Proposition 50 in November — aimed at giving California Democrats more seats in Congress — LaMalfa was drawn into a new district that heavily favored his likely opponent, State Sen. Mike McGuire, a Democrat who represents the state’s northwest coast.
LaMalfa’s death puts the Republican majority in Congress in further jeopardy, with a margin of just two votes to secure passage of any bill along party lines after the resignation of Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene on Monday evening.
Adding to the party’s troubles, Rep. Jim Baird, a Republican from Indiana, was hospitalized on Tuesday for a car crash described by the White House as serious. While Baird is said to be stable, the Republican House speaker, Mike Johnson from Louisiana, will not be able to rely on his attendance. And he has one additional caucus member – Thomas Massie of Kentucky – who has made a habit of voting against the president, bringing their margin for error down effectively to zero.
President Trump, addressing a gathering of GOP House members at the Kennedy Center, addressed the news at the start of his remarks, expressing “tremendous sorrow at the loss of a great member” and stating his speech would be made in LaMalfa’s honor.
“He was the leader of the Western caucus – a fierce champion on California water issues. He was great on water. ‘Release the water!’ he’d scream out. And a true defender of American children.”
“You know, he voted with me 100% of the time,” Trump added.
A native of Oroville, LaMalfa attended Butte College and then earned an ag-business degree from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. He served in the California Assembly from 2002 to 2008 and the California State Senate from 2010 to 2012. Staunchly conservative, he was an early supporter of Proposition 209, which ended affirmative action in California, and he also pushed for passage of the Protection of Marriage Act, Proposition 22, which banned same-sex marriage in California.
While representing California’s 1st District, LaMalfa focused largely on issues affecting rural California and other western states. In 2025, Congressman he was elected as Chairman of the Congressional Western Caucus, which focuses on legislation affected rural areas.
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