Fox News Politics Newsletter: Former radical group leader tied to Mamdani on AOC payroll

Welcome to the Fox News Politics newsletter, with the latest updates on the Trump administration, Capitol Hill and more Fox News politics content. Here's what's happening…

-Florida mayor predicts 'substantial exodus' of NYC businesses if Mamdani wins

-Jack Smith defends subpoenaing Republican senators’ phone records: ‘Entirely proper’

-Republican calls for public database naming illegal immigrants facing deportation

FIRST ON FOX: A former top leader and "lifetime member" of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) has been on the payroll of "Squad" Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s, D-N.Y., campaign since she first ran for Congress in 2018.

Frank Llewellyn, the former director of the largest socialist organization in America and a founding member of the socialist group that would later become DSA's sister organization, serves as the treasurer for both Ocasio-Cortez’s campaign and her political action committee, Courage to Change.

Ocasio-Cortez’s campaign has paid Llewellyn a total of over $250,000 for payroll, travel and other administrative expenses dating back to 2018, according to Federal Election Commission (FEC) filings reviewed by Fox News Digital. Disbursements range from $77.50 for cellphone, travel and internet stipends and salary payments of $1,281 approximately every two weeks…READ MORE.

WORST OF WORST: DHS arrests worst of VA illegals in the closing days of campaign

DIPLOMACY IN MOTION: Trump meets NATO’s Rutte as Ukraine peace talks take center stage after Zelenskyy visit

FINAL PUSH: Trump jumps into New Jersey race as GOP chases rare flip of governor’s seat

TOKYO REBOUND: Japan plans to tell Trump it will build up its military after years of 1% defense spending

'DAYS OF DESTINY': Vance hails 'days of destiny' as VP seeks to build on ceasefire agreement

PUTIN SAYS NYET: Trump, Zelensky agree on crucial aspect to end Ukraine war: 'good compromise'
 

ALLY TURNED ENEMY: Alliance with US ‘dismantled’ by leftist Petro regime, Colombia’s former defense minister says

FAITH UNDER FIRE: Cruz leads Senate push to hold China accountable for Beijing church crackdown

HEATED STANDOFF: White House slams Jeffries' dismissal of bill to pay troops as government shutdown enters day 22

NUMBERS GAME: Trump-backed North Carolina House map approved by lawmakers as Republicans aim to pick up seat

MAGA MOMENT: MAGA stars hit campaign trail in blue-leaning New Jersey as Republicans aim to flip governor's office

POLITICAL CALCULUS: Clinton campaign alum urges Jeffries, Schumer not to 'take the bait,' get 'bullied' into Mamdani endorsement

ELECTION INTEGRITY: California Republicans launch voter ID ballot push, need 875K signatures by deadline

'SHAME ON YOU': WATCH: Scathing report exposes what New Yorkers think of sanctuary policies as Mamdani victory looms

RETURN BID: Former GOP senator emerges from private sector with new mission: 'Somebody has to step up'

ARMED RESISTANCE: Los Angeles teacher says ICE agents are 'not the only ones with guns' after federal shooting

Get the latest updates on the Trump administration and Congress, exclusive interviews and more on FoxNews.com.

SCOOP: Trump's Memphis crime crackdown locates dozens of missing kids, removes 109 gangbangers from streets

FIRST ON FOX: Law enforcement officials have made more than 1,000 arrests and found dozens of missing children in Memphis, Tennessee, as part of President Donald Trump's crime crackdown in the notoriously violent city, Fox News Digital learned Wednesday. 

"From arresting more than 100 gang members to locating more than 70 missing children, our brave federal agents and local authorities are doing incredible work to protect the good people of Memphis," Attorney General Pam Bondi said Wednesday in comment to Fox News Digital. "Tolerating crime is a choice: under President Trump, we refuse to accept the victimization of innocent American citizens and will continue making our cities safe again." 

A White House official told Fox Digital that there have been 1,309 total arrests since September, when the operation officially launched, including nine arrests for homicide, 52 arrests for sex offenses, 527 for warrants and 132 for firearm offenses. 

Memphis, Tennessee, has long been one of America's most dangerous cities, frequently ranking in the top spot for violent crime and recording 40.6 homicides per 100,000 people in 2024. 

TRUMP STORMS MOST VIOLENT US CITY WITH FEDERAL MUSCLE AS POLICE GROUP WARNS OF SOFT-ON-CRIME CONSEQUENCES

Trump signed a presidential memorandum Sept. 15 that established the Memphis Safe Task Force and authorized the National Guard to report to the city. 

Tennessee is a red state, with Republican Gov. Bill Lee supporting and encouraging the administration's efforts to snuff out crime in the city. Lee said during a press conference earlier in October that the crime crackdown could last "forever" as federal officials converge on the city. 

"We do know this is going to last for months, and we have just begun," Lee said. "In fact, I will tell you that it will last forever." 

TRUMP ORDERS NATIONAL GUARD, FBI TO MEMPHIS IN NEW CRIME CRACKDOWN

The White House official told Fox News Digital that the operation has located 72 missing children and seized 247 firearms from the streets of Memphis, Tennessee. All in, law enforcement officials made 109 arrests of known gang members associated with groups such as Tren de Aragua or MS-13. 

The official provided Fox News Digital with a snapshot of arrests on the night of Oct. 21, including one man who was arrested on a warrant for aggravated rape of a child, the arrest of a known Grape Street Crip gang member on a warrant for kidnapping, aggravated assault, theft, domestic assault and parole violation, and the arrest of a known Bloods gang member on a warrant for harassment.

A known member of the gang Gangster Disciples, and a known member of the Vice Lords were also arrested Tuesday evening, according to the White House official. 

National Guard troops arrived in the city in September, with Bondi, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, and White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller meeting with the task force in Memphis, Tennessee, Oct. 1 to rally the team as the operation launched. 

TRUMP EYES FEDERAL TAKEOVER OF BLUE CITY WITH HIGHEST VIOLENT CRIME RATE IN US: 'DEEPLY TROUBLED'

Local lawmakers, such as Democrat Rep. Steve Cohen, railed against the operation when it first launched. 

"Memphians are not enemies; they are Americans," Cohen said, The Associated Press reported in October. "They are entitled to constitutional rights, not their government working to ‘intimidate, demoralize, hunt and kill’ them. We are not a training ground or target practice."

The Memphis crime crackdown is a piece of a larger puzzle the administration is working on to obliterate crime trends in cities that have been racked by violence since 2020's crime spiral and before. 

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Trump federalized the Washington, D.C., police force in August in an ongoing effort to end crime in the nation's capital, and also has ordered troops to crime-riddled cities such as Portland, Oregon, and Chicago, but those operations have been ensnared in court battles. 

"Memphis is deeply troubled," Trump said on "Fox & Friends" in September. "We're going to fix that, just like we did in Washington."

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