Don Lemon told he may not have First Amendment protection in church protest

Former CNN host Don Lemon has been put “on notice” by the Justice Department after he joined anti-ICE agitators who stormed a church in Minneapolis during a service on Sunday.

Lemon, who has been posting independent journalism online since being fired by CNN, has been documenting the Minnesota chaos following the fatal ICE shooting of Renee Nicole Good. He entered the church along with anti-ICE agitators and began filming, telling viewers that “the freedom to protest” is what the First Amendment is all about.

But Harmeet Dhillon, the Justice Department’s assistant attorney general for civil rights, disagrees with Lemon.

CNN FIRES DON LEMON, LEAVING LONGTIME ANCHOR ‘STUNNED’

DOJ LAUNCHES CIVIL RIGHTS INVESTIGATION AFTER MINNESOTA AGITATORS STORM CHURCH

“A house of worship is not a public forum for your protest! It is a space protected from exactly such acts by federal criminal and civil laws! Nor does the First Amendment protect your pseudo journalism of disrupting a prayer service. You are on notice,” Dhillon wrote on X.

Dhillon also said she is in touch with Attorney General Pamela Bondi on the issue.

“We are all over it. We are investigating potential criminal violations of federal law,” Dhillon wrote.

In an interview with Benny Johnson on Monday, Dhillon said Lemon’s role as a journalist wasn’t necessarily a “shield” for him being a potential party to a crime.

DON LEMON SPOTTED AT THE BEACH AFTER PHONING IN APOLOGY TO CNN COLLEAGUES OVER SEXIST NIKKI HALEY COMMENTS

Lemon was fired by CNN in 2023 after 17 years at the network and now hosts an independent show.

“The Don Lemon Show” did not immediately respond to a request for comment. 

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This is a developing story, more to come…

Hollywood elites thought viewers would obey — instead, Americans are tuning out

Towards the end of the fifth season of “Stranger Things,” the character of Will Byers gathers his family and friends together. He has good reason. They need to prepare for the final battle against Vecna, a terrifying, skinless monster with a penchant for mass murder and apocalyptic terrorism. But instead, Will comes out as gay.

This is perhaps the most anticlimactic moment in television since Pam woke up to reveal that the entire tenth season of “Dallas” had been a dream. In laborious and earnest tones, Will takes four minutes to tell everyone that he just isn’t into girls. Cue the inevitable chorus of solidarity from his friends and a warm group hug. Given that this series is set in the 1980s, a more realistic approach would have been for them to storm out and declare Will to be more disgusting than Vecna.

This has happened so often in Hollywood that it’s become the norm. A storyline is upended to promote the ideological obsessions of the present. We’ve had a Black Cleopatra, a lesbian kiss in the “Toy Story” spinoff “Lightyear,” empathetic, home-loving orcs in Middle Earth, and a robot in an animated series of “Transformers”declaring its pronouns as “they/them,” as though mechanized killing machines are sensitive about their gender identities.

ROB SCHNEIDER EXPOSES HOLLYWOOD’S ‘ROT’ AS HE CLAIMS CONSERVATIVE ACTORS FACE INDUSTRY BLACKLIST

A key aspect of storytelling is verisimilitude. Movies can present completely unreal worlds, but unless an audience buys into the internal logic, they quickly lose interest. Consider the recent Netflix series “Ripley,” in which a major male character is played by a female actor who identifies as “nonbinary.” The characters don’t notice that she’s a woman, and we’re expected to play along. It insults our intelligence and completely derails an otherwise brilliant series.

If we want to save the arts, we must return to the universal. We have to remember that we’re meant to be entertainers, not high priests of a new religion that nobody asked for.

The audiences know it, too. The “coming out” episode of “Stranger Things”is currently the lowest-rated episode on IMDb. The recent live-action remake of “Snow White,” with its emphasis on diversity rather than murderous stepmothers and subterranean dwarves, reportedly lost over $115 million for Disney. 

The all-female leads of “The Marvels”might have made a few executives feel good about themselves, until it turned out to be the franchise’s biggest bomb of all time. And after poor test screenings, HBO’s big-budget wokefest “Batgirl” was shelved altogether.

So, while executives pat themselves on the back for their “virtue,” their studios are plunged into debt. According to public filings, as of late 2025, Disney’s debt is roughly $35.3 billion and Warner Bros. Discovery’s debt stands at approximately $33.5 billion. Cinema attendance continues to decline, with annual box office receipts in North America struggling to reach $9 billion. In a world where production and marketing costs have skyrocketed, these numbers represent a dying industry.

DEI AND WOKE IDEOLOGY ARE ON LIFE SUPPORT UNDER TRUMP’S RETURN TO DC, BUT COULD COME ROARING BACK WITH REBRAND

It turns out that audiences prefer to be entertained rather than hectored. If people wanted a sermon, they’d probably just stick to church. I’ll make a prediction right now: if things don’t change, they won’t be making movies on those legendary big studio lots in five years’ time — they’ll be selling them off as prime real estate for luxury condos. You can’t continually patronize and insult your customers and expect to keep the lights on.

Since the rise of the “woke” movement, and its total domination of the creative industries, anyone with a conservative point of view has been punished and even blacklisted. 

Artists are meant to be the most free-thinking people in the world, but the industry demands conformity above all else. Worse still, the woke fixation simply doesn’t tally with the views of the general public, most of whom don’t want their children being indoctrinated by studios smuggling in ideology and propaganda under the guise of entertainment.

Contrary to what the self-identifying, morally superior, adjacent elites want you to believe, the woke ideology has never been popular with the public. It represents the luxury beliefs of the privileged few, those who spend most of their time pontificating about “social justice” and “environmental responsibility” while flying in their private jets and ingesting enough cocaine to keep the cartels of Mexico living like kings.

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The good news is that the American people aren’t waiting for permission from the big studios anymore. We are seeing a massive explosion of alternative media. Whether it’s independent streaming platforms, podcasts or creator-owned networks, a new frontier is being built.

Audiences are migrating to where they can find authenticity and truth. They’re supporting creators who prioritize strong storytelling over “the message.” While the legacy studios are busy building “safe spaces” for their writers, and scolding audiences for not being sufficiently “progressive,” we are building a new industry for the people.

Hollywood used to be about what brought us together. Now, it’s about what divides us. They’ve traded the Dream Factory for an Indoctrination Lab, and the American people are voting with their wallets and their remote controls.

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If we want to save the arts, we must return to the universal. We have to remember that we’re meant to be entertainers, not high priests of a new religion that nobody asked for.

If that doesn’t happen, get ready to see a lot of “For Sale” signs on those studio gates.

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Trump targets Ilhan Omar, calling for jail or removal from US to Somalia

President Donald Trump asserted in a Sunday night Truth Social post that Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota should either be locked up in jail or sent to Somalia.

“There is 19 Billion Dollars in Minnesota Somalia Fraud. Fake ‘Congresswoman’ Illhan Omar, a constant complainer who hates the USA, knows everything there is to know. She should be in jail, or even a worse punishment, sent back to Somalia, considered one of the absolutely worst countries in the World. She could help to MAKE SOMALIA GREAT AGAIN!” Trump declared in the post.

Omar, who has served in the U.S. House of Representatives since early 2019, was born in Somalia and became a U.S. citizen in 2000.

“ICE is removing some of the most violent criminals in the World from our Country, and bring them back home, where they belong. Why is Minnesota fighting this? Do they really want murderers and drug dealers to be ensconced in their community? The thugs that are protesting include many highly paid professional agitators and anarchists. Is this really what Minnesota wants?” the president asked in a Sunday Truth Social post.

TRUMP ACCUSES TIM WALZ AND ILHAN OMAR OF USING ICE PROTESTS TO DISTRACT FROM MASSIVE STATE FRAUD

“The crooked Governor and ‘Congresswoman’ Omar, who married her brother, don’t mind because it keeps the focus of attention off the 18 Billion Dollar, Plus, FRAUD, that has taken place in the State! Don’t worry, we’re on it!” he added in the post.

ILHAN OMAR LASHES OUT AT ‘SICK’ REPUBLICANS FOR INVESTIGATING HER ALLEGED MARRIAGE TO BROTHER

Omar recently drew criticism for referring to the nation as the “U.S. God—- States.”

“No member of Congress should *ever* refer to our country as the ‘U.S. G—— States,’” GOP Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah wrote in a post on X, asking, “What should be the consequence of saying that?”

ILHAN OMAR REFERS TO ‘US GOD—- STATES’ DURING IMPASSIONED REMARKS ABOUT ICE

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Business tycoon Elon Musk replied, “Whatever the penalty is for treason.” 

Fox News Digital reached out to Omar’s office on Monday to request comment on the Truth Social post.

Iran strikes could signal limits of Beijing and Moscow’s power as US flexes strength

President Donald Trump is weighing whether to pull the trigger and launch strikes against Iran — a move that could potentially expose the weaknesses of both Russia and China, according to experts. 

While Russia and China have sought to make inroads in areas of Africa and Latin America — presenting themselves as partners for infrastructure and military equipment — neither Russia nor China intervened to defend their ally Venezuela when the U.S. took action Jan. 3 to topple dictator Nicolás Maduro’s regime. 

Potential strikes in Iran, coupled with the strikes in Venezuela to overthrow Maduro, would drive home just how formidable the U.S. is and even near-peer adversaries like Beijing can’t compete, according to experts. 

“Beijing would likely respond with familiar condemnations and calls for restraint, but the deeper takeaway would be uncomfortable: China’s partnerships offer little protection when the United States decides to act,” Craig Singleton, a senior China fellow for the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, said in a statement Wednesday. “Venezuela made that clear regionally; Iran would underscore it globally. Chinese officials will brand Washington reckless or rogue, but privately this episode would validate long-standing Chinese views about how power is actually exercised and that the U.S. is the only country willing and able to project force across multiple theaters on short notice.”

RAND PAUL SAYS TRUMP’S THREAT TO BOMB IRAN ‘IS NOT THE ANSWER’: NOT THE ‘JOB OF THE AMERICAN GOVERNMENT’

“Two complex military operations in two regions just two weeks apart would reinforce a core assessment inside China’s system: America’s military might remains unmatched, and Washington is willing to use it when it judges the risks manageable,” Singleton said. “That combination commands professional respect even as it sharpens Chinese unease.” 

Mark Cancian, a senior advisor with the Center for Strategic and International Studies’ defense and security department, voiced similar sentiments and said that countries like Iran and Venezuela who’ve cozied up to Russia and Beijing are likely realizing the pitfalls of those ties. 

For example, Venezuela has had long-standing ties to Russia and has purchased Russian military equipment — yet Russia was not there to safeguard Caracas from U.S. strikes or prevent the U.S. from capturing Maduro, Cancian said. Another military strike in Iran would only expose Russia and China’s limitations further, Cancian said.

TOP IRANIAN GENERAL THREATENS TO ‘CUT OFF’ TRUMP’S HAND OVER POTENTIAL MILITARY STRIKES

“I think many countries are seeing that Russia and China can’t protect them, that those alliances have severe limitations,” Cancian told Fox News Digital Friday. 

“I think that a strike on Iran would make the same point,” Cancian said. 

According to Cancian, the reason Moscow and Beijing can’t defend their allies and partners is because neither maintains a global military like the U.S. does. 

TRUMP ANNOUNCES ‘FINAL’ 25% TARIFF ON COUNTRIES DOING BUSINESS WITH IRAN REGIME

“The United States does maintain United bases all over the world,” Cancian said. “It has a Navy that deploys all over the world. The Chinese don’t have that. The Russians don’t have that. So although they have powerful militaries, they don’t have the global capability to protect allies and partners.”

Meanwhile, Trump is still weighing whether he’ll conduct strikes on Iran again. The president told reporters Jan. 11 on Air Force One that the administration was “looking at some very strong options,” and Tuesday said that all meetings with the Iranian regime were scrapped until “the senseless killing of protesters STOPS.” He said that those who’ve killed anti-regime demonstrators will face consequences. 

On Wednesday, Trump told reporters that even though “killing in Iran is stopping,” he wouldn’t rule out military action and that the U.S. would “watch and see” what happens. Meanwhile, Trump said Friday that he had held off on strikes for now because Iran had canceled executions for more than 800 people.

Russia’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement Tuesday that warnings of potential military strikes against Iran were “categorically unacceptable,” and said that it amounted to “subversive external interference.” 

China’s foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning similarly told reporters it opposes any interference in other countries’ affairs, when asked about potential strikes. 

INSIDE THE LIGHTNING US STRIKE THAT OVERWHELMED VENEZUELA’S DEFENSES AND SEIZED MADURO

Protests broke out across Iran in December 2025 in response to economic hardships facing the country, as well as a referendum against Iran’s theocratic regime. 

More than 2,000 people — including at least nine children — have died in the recent protests, the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency reported Tuesday. According to The Sunday Times, that number is much higher. The outlet reported Sunday that a report doctors in the region created estimates roughly 16,000 protesters have been killed. 

Trump authorized several major military operations in recent months, on top of the strikes in Venezuela. For example, he also signed off on strikes in Nigeria and Syria in December targeting those affiliated with the Islamic State.

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This also wouldn’t be the first time Trump has conducted strikes against Iran — should he choose to go through with them. In June, he signed off on strikes targeting Iran’s nuclear sites Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan.

Tragic end for hiker who went searching for missing friends in California mountains

A hiker was found dead in the remote mountains of Southern California over the weekend after searching for friends who had gotten lost on a trail, according to authorities.

Deputies responded just before 8:30 p.m. Saturday to a call about a missing hiker near State Route 74 in Anza, the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office said.

The caller said four members of their group had set out on a hike early that morning and failed to return. Concerned they were in distress, another member of the group went searching for them.

The sheriff’s Aviation Unit and Riverside Mountain Rescue Unit launched a search.

HUNTER SURVIVES NEARLY 3 WEEKS STRANDED IN CALIFORNIA WILDERNESS AFTER TRUCK GETS STUCK

A helicopter crew found the initial four missing hikers and hoisted them to safety. The group was taken to the Lake Hemet Mountain Station, where they were medically evaluated.

Crews continued searching for the additional hiker and found the person near the base of a 150-foot rock face. Rescue personnel reached the hiker and pronounced the individual dead at the scene.

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The Riverside County Coroner’s Bureau is investigating the death.

Rescue teams later recovered the body from the remote terrain. Authorities have not released the hiker’s identity.

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The investigation remains ongoing.

Major fast-food franchisee with over 130 locations files for bankruptcy

A Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen franchisee that operates more than 130 locations filed for bankruptcy to rightsize itself after facing mounting debt. 

Sailormen Inc., a Miami-based franchisee that operates locations in Florida and Georgia, filed for bankruptcy protection in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Florida, according to its legal counsel.

The company, represented by Cole Schotz, is attempting to renegotiate or resolve the $129 million that it owes to lenders so it can emerge as a healthier franchisee. 

The company blamed “various macroeconomic factors” for disrupting the business and forcing it to file for bankruptcy protection. 

“Those factors include, among others, the national impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on restaurant operations, consumer choice, high inflation, increased borrowing rates and an increasingly limited qualified labor force,” according to the court documents. 

RED LOBSTER IS BACK; CEO PLOTS FUTURE FOR SEAFOOD CHAIN

Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen Inc. is a subsidiary of Restaurant Brands International (RBI), which acquired the chain in 2017. But the majority of Popeyes locations are owned and operated by franchisees. 

FOX Business reached out to Schotz and Restaurant Brands International for comment. 

HOOTERS LOOKING AT POSSIBLE BANKRUPTCY FILING

This comes amid a string of eateries that have filed for bankruptcy in recent years. In fact, bankruptcy attorney Daniel Gielchinsky projected last year that a growing number of major restaurant chains will likely continue to file for bankruptcy protection over the coming years as the industry struggles to manage the heavy debt it accumulated during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Restaurants that exist today may not exist in five years. They’ll be off the map,” Gielchinsky told FOX Business in February 2025. Additionally, consumers will “see a lot of restaurants with a decreased footprint,” he added.

EXPECT MORE RESTAURANT BANKRUPTCIES IN 2025, EXPERT SAYS

Several factors led to their downfall, according to Gielchinsky, founder and partner of South Florida-based DGIM Law. However, the COVID-19 pandemic was the catalyst, as the industry saw traffic decline significantly. 

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Operators wanted to keep their doors open, so they had to cover costs like rent, insurance and payroll, even though customers weren’t coming in. To stay afloat, restaurants relied on government subsidies but also took out loans to fund business expenses. This meant that companies accumulated debt that they had to pay back over time plus interest. 

Pennsylvania governor reveals ‘offensive’ questions from Harris campaign team

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro claimed that former Vice President Kamala Harris‘ election team asked whether he was an “agent of the Israeli government” while discussing his potential as a vice presidential candidate.

In a preview for Shapiro’s upcoming book, “Where We Keep the Light,” published Sunday, The Atlantic reported a section devoted to what he described as “unnecessarily contentious” questions from Harris’ team — particularly former Biden aide Dana Remus.

One question he said he received during the vetting process included: “Have you ever been an agent of the Israeli government?”

JOSH SHAPIRO DEFENDS CLAIM THAT KAMALA HARRIS TRYING TO ‘COVER HER A–’ WITH CRITICAL BOOK EXCERPT

“Had I been a double agent for Israel? Was she kidding? I told her how offensive the question was,” Shapiro wrote.

“Remus was just doing her job. I get it. But the fact that she asked, or was told to ask that question by someone else, said a lot about some of the people around the VP,” he added.

Shapiro described further probing about his views on political topics — such as whether he’d be willing to “apologize for some of his comments about protesters at the University of Pennsylvania who had built encampments to decry Israel’s military campaign in Gaza and, in some cases, intimidated Jewish students.”

“It nagged at me that their questions weren’t really about substance,” Shapiro wrote. “Rather, they were questioning my ideology, my approach, my world view.”

RACHEL MADDOW REGRETS NOT PRESSING KAMALA HARRIS MORE DURING INTERVIEW ABOUT ‘107 DAYS’ MEMOIR

The Pennsylvania governor added that he eventually decided against becoming Harris’ running mate after Remus suggested the position “might be a financial burden for him and his wife.”

“Are you trying to convince me not to do this?” Shapiro wrote.

Harris’ team and Remus did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

Harris criticized Shapiro in her own book, “107 Days,” claiming that he wanted to be involved with every decision and that she needed to remind him “a vice president is not a co-president.”

JOSH SHAPIRO SAYS HARRIS IS ‘GOING TO HAVE TO ANSWER’ FOR WHY SHE NEVER RAISED CONCERNS OVER BIDEN’S HEALTH

In interviews following the book’s publication, Shapiro called the accusation “complete and utter bull—-.”

“I mean, she’s trying to sell books and cover her a–,” he said, before backtracking. “I shouldn’t say ‘cover her a–.’ I think that’s not appropriate.”

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“She’s trying to sell books. Period,” he concluded.

Bills defender blasts ‘sickening’ firing of Sean McDermott after playoff exit

Buffalo Bills defensive lineman Jordan Phillips appeared to be upset with the organization’s decision to fire head coach Sean McDermott on Monday following a tough playoff exit.

The Bills made the decision nearly two days after Buffalo lost to the Denver Broncos in overtime. It marked another season where the Bills have bowed out of the postseason amid Super Bowl expectations.

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Phillips made his feelings known on Instagram.

“This s— here is so stupid honestly sickening,” Phillips wrote in a post on his Instagram Stories. “The best coach I’ve ever been around.”

Phillips joined the Bills for his third stint in the middle of the 2024 season. He played for the Dallas Cowboys for two games before he was released and re-signed with the Bills. Phillips played in 11 games this season but his year was cut short due to an ankle injury.

McDermott was the head coach in each of Phillips’ stints with the Bills.

BILLS FIRE HEAD COACH SEAN MCDERMOTT

Buffalo will embark on its first head-coaching search since the 2017 offseason.

“Sean has done an admirable job of leading our football team for the past 9 seasons,” team owner Terry Pegula said in a statement. “But I feel we are in need of a new structure within our leadership to give this organization the best opportunity to take our team to the next level. We owe that to our players and to Bills Mafia.

“Sean helped change the mindset of this organization and was instrumental in the Bills becoming a perennial playoff team. I respect all the work, loyalty and attention to detail he showed for this team and the community. I wish Sean, Jamie and his family all the best.”

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McDermott had one losing season at the helm. However, he was never able to guide Buffalo to a Super Bowl appearance.

Trump’s energy dominance rewrites Strategic Petroleum Reserve after Biden drawdowns

America’s rise as a global oil powerhouse has changed how critical the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) is to U.S. security and economic stability — even after President Joe Biden’s drawdowns drove stockpiles to modern-era lows, an economist and energy expert explained to Fox News Digital. 

As the Trump administration works to gradually replenish the Strategic Petroleum Reserve following record releases under the Biden administration, Diana Furchtgott-Roth, director of The Heritage Foundation’s Center for Energy, Climate and Environment, told Fox News Digital that the decades-old emergency oil stockpile no longer plays the same central role it once did.

President Donald Trump‘s policies of “unleashing” energy and his “drill, baby, drill” mantra are key as to why, following the U.S. as domestic supply rose and demand shifted. 

“I don’t think for the security of the United States, for the economy of the United States, I don’t think the SPR is as important as it was 25, 30 years ago because now we are one of the greatest oil and natural gas producers in the world,” Furchtgott-Roth said.

US MILITARY SEIZES ANOTHER FUGITIVE OIL TANKER LINKED TO VENEZUELA

The U.S. became the world’s largest natural gas producer in 2011, surpassing Russia, and then the top crude oil producer in 2018, overtaking Saudi Arabia and Russia — a surge driven largely by the shale revolution, which took off in the mid-to-late 2000s with the widespread use of horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing.

The Strategic Petroleum Reserve was created in the aftermath of the 1970s oil crisis to protect the United States from foreign supply shocks, at a time when the country relied heavily on imported oil. That dynamic has shifted dramatically as domestic production surged, turning the U.S. into the world’s largest producer of oil and natural gas.

Furchtgott-Roth said the U.S.’ shift to become an energy producer, combined with Trump’s policies, have opened the floodgates of producing U.S. oil, which lessens the need for the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. 

“We have the potential to produce a lot more, and we have a government that’s supportive of that,” Furchtgott-Roth said of the oil in the U.S. “It’s now possible to fill the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, but I just want to say the biggest strategic petroleum reserves we have is right under our feet in places like Texas, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, Ohio. We have so much oil and natural gas in this country.”

TRUMP ADMINISTRATION FILES SEIZURE WARRANTS TARGETING SHIPS TIED TO VENEZUELAN OIL TRADE: REPORT

Since returning to office, Trump has used executive authority to fast-track domestic energy production, including signing an order titled “Unleashing American Energy” aimed at rolling back regulatory barriers and accelerating permitting for oil and gas projects. The administration also moved to restart and speed reviews of liquefied natural gas export approvals, reversing the Biden-era “pause” approach and positioning U.S. natural gas exports as a centerpiece of its energy strategy.

Biden ordered a 50 million–barrel release from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve in 2021, framing it as a move to ease gasoline prices and help relieve pandemic-era supply chain pressures after COVID-19 brought the global economy to a “near economic standstill.”

He dramatically expanded the drawdown in March 2022, announcing a plan to release up to 1 million barrels per day for six months as gas prices climbed. The move came weeks after Russia’s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine and subsequent Western sanctions targeting Moscow’s energy sector. In total, Biden released roughly 300 million barrels from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve over his four years.

GOP EYES VENEZUELA’S UNTAPPED OIL WEALTH AS DEMOCRATS SOUND ALARM OVER TAXPAYER RISK

Trump repeatedly criticized Biden’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve releases between his first and second terms, telling the New York Post in 2021 the reserve should be tapped only for “serious emergencies, like war, and nothing else.” 

He later pledged in his Jan. 20 inaugural address to “fill our strategic reserves up again right to the top” while driving prices down and expanding U.S. energy exports.

Furchtgott-Roth also criticized Biden’s drawdowns, arguing the reserve was never meant to be used as a tool to manage consumer prices. She added that high energy prices during the Biden years were driven by domestic policy decisions.

“That’s not what the Strategic Petroleum Reserve is supposed to be useful for,” she said. “It’s supposed to be used for a national security emergency. It’s not supposed to be used because prices are too high. And in this case, it was a self-caused emergency caused by President Biden’s different policies regarding oil and natural gas.”

Meanwhile, the U.S. military successfully captured Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro in January, with Trump shortly after announcing the U.S. would “run” the South American, oil-rich nation. 

He announced on social media in January that Venezuelan oil would immediately be turned over to the U.S., including “between 30 and 50 MILLION Barrels of High Quality, Sanctioned Oil, to the United States of America.”

“This Oil will be sold at its Market Price, and that money will be controlled by me, as President of the United States of America, to ensure it is used to benefit the people of Venezuela and the United States! I have asked Energy Secretary Chris Wright to execute this plan, immediately. It will be taken by storage ships, and brought directly to unloading docks in the United States,” Trump wrote. 

An administration official told Fox Digital that refilling the Strategic Petroleum Reserve with Venezuelan oil is not currently under consideration. 

Energy Secretary Chris Wright told FOX Business that the “we’re going to bring more crude onto the marketplace” with Venezuelan oil.

“We’re going to bring crude that’s particularly well-suited for American refineries,” he explained Friday. “It helps us build asphalt as well. All of those things, as you drive market prices down, and you drive supply up, that’s helpful for giving us multiple ways to fill the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.”

TRUMP ULTIMATUM TO CUBA: ‘MAKE A DEAL, BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE’ OR FACE CONSEQUENCES

Furchtgott-Roth said Venezuela’s power shift sent a powerful signal to U.S. adversaries, weakening Cuba’s economy, cutting into Russia’s oil revenues, limiting China’s leverage in Latin America, and emboldening opposition movements in Iran by demonstrating Washington’s willingness to confront authoritarian regimes.

She added that Venezuela’s oil comeback would take time because production collapsed after the regime expropriated U.S. infrastructure and couldn’t operate it, driving output from roughly 3.5 million barrels a day pre-Hugo Chávez to under 1 million today. 

A Trump official explained to Fox Digital in December 2025 that the administration is working to “gradually” refill the Strategic Petroleum Reserve with oil, while citing significant “damage” left to the reserve following the Biden administration releasing millions of barrels of oil in 2021 and 2022. 

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“Joe Biden’s disastrous green energy policies sent gas prices soaring across the country, making the past four years painfully unaffordable for Americans filling their gas tanks to commute to work, take their children to school, and travel during the summer and holiday seasons,” White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers told Fox News Digital. 

Congress must appropriate funding to fully replenish the reserve. The Department of Energy currently has refill authority and funding under the so-called “big, beautiful bill,” which set aside $218 million for maintenance and repairs and another $171 million to begin refilling the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.