By Lauren Victoria Burke, NNPA Newswire Correspondent

A group of MAGA pro-Trump activists, who say they are working in coordination with the White House, are circulating a 17-page draft executive order that would claim without evidence that China interfered with the 2020 presidential election. Donald Trump lost the 2020 presidential to President Joe Biden by over 7 million votes. Since Trump lost to Biden in 2020, he has repeatedly claimed that the election was “stolen” without evidence. The report of a group of “Trump allies” preparing an executive order to give Trump power over elections was first reported by The Washington Post.

The lies around the right-wing campaign that pushed falsehoods that the 2020 election was stolen was trafficked through right-wing media, particularly Fox News. Fox News was then sued for defamation for the claims by Dominion Voting Systems. Fox lost the case and had to settle for the largest defamation amount on record of $787.5 million in April 2023.

The document that could lead to an executive order proposes using the claim that China interfered with the 2020 elections as grounds to “declare a national emergency.” The move would be an unprecedented step that would grant Trump new authority over the voting systems in the U.S.

The story in The Washington Post arrives as Trump increasingly signals that he may take actions that would alter the result of the 2026 midterms. The Republicans are widely expected to lose as their approval ratings plummet as a result of a failing economy under Trump. Over 50 members of Congress have announced they will retire this year and not return in 2027.

The Trump Department of Justice, which now has a large image of Trump on the side of it, “sued five new states Thursday [Feb. 26, 2026] demanding access to their unredacted voter rolls — escalating a campaign that has been rejected by multiple federal courts and faces resistance from Republican-led states as well,” according to Democracy Docket, a group that works to protect voting rights.

Trump claimed back in late 2020, the last year of his first term, that he had the authority to issue an executive order related to mail-in voting for the 2020 elections — which he would then lose. But the Constitution states that control of elections lies with the states. As the GOP works to place hurdles in front of voting, Democrats worked to make voting easier.

In March 2021, President Biden signed an executive order calling on federal agencies to expand voting access as part of the Biden Administration’s effort “to promote and defend the right to vote for all Americans who are legally entitled to participate in elections.”

Trump’s focus is clearly on altering the November 2026 midterm elections. Trump’s polling numbers and the elections and special elections that have taken place around the U.S. over the last year clearly indicate that Republicans are about to be hit by a blue wave of Democratic victories.

Lauren Victoria Burke is an independent investigative journalist and the founder of Black Virginia News. She is a political analyst who appears on #RolandMartinUnfiltered and hosts the show LAUREN LIVE on YouTube @LaurenVictoriaBurke. She can be contacted at [email protected] and on twitter at @LVBurke

By Lauren Victoria Burke

A man attacked Congresswoman Ilhan Omar at a town hall in Minneapolis on the evening of January 27. The attack on Rep. Omar was the second attack on a member of the Congressional Black Caucus in five days. Rep. Maxwell Frost was assaulted at the Sundance Film Festival on January 23 in what Rep. Frost said was a racist attack.

The man who attacked Rep. Omar sat in the first row of the town hall event and sprayed her with an unknown substance from a syringe. The man was quickly tackled by nearby security personnel. The unidentified man was then arrested for assault.

“We are outraged by this brazen attack on our colleague and relieved that Congresswoman Omar is safe. We thank the Minneapolis Police Department for their swift response and the apprehension of the individual responsible,” stated the Congressional Black Caucus in an evening statement on January 27. 

President Donald Trump has often verbally attacked Rep. Omar and the Somali community. The constant verbal attacks by Trump have prompted a situation where she requires extra security by the US Capitol Police. Threats on members of Congress have doubled in the last year, according to the New York Times. Political rhetoric from Trump and his Senior Advisor Stephen Miller has featured vitriol, unsubstantiated claims, and over-the-top rhetoric.

Trump has repeatedly stated that Rep. Omar should be “sent back to Somalia” or “thrown the hell out” of the country. 

On January 24, masked individuals sent to Minneapolis by the Trump Administration and wearing no badges or identifying nameplates while patrolling the city of Minneapolis shot and killed a second American citizen, Alex Pretti. On January 7, masked individuals shot and killed Renee Good as she navigated her car around an individual who shot her three times. The federal government claims that the masked individuals without badges are “agents” of the federal government, affiliated with immigration and customs. 

In an incident outside Minneapolis, Rep. Frost was assaulted over the weekend in Park City, Utah. 

“Last night, I was assaulted by a man at the Sundance Festival who told me that Trump was going to deport me before he punched me in the face. He was heard screaming racist remarks as he drunkenly ran off. The individual was arrested, and I am okay. Thank you to the venue security and Park City PD for assistance on this incident,” wrote Congressman Maxwell Frost of Florida.

A white male was arrested at Park City’s High West Saloon on Jan. 23, during CAA‘s Sundance Film Festival celebration, after allegedly assaulting Rep. Frost.

The man allegedly punched Rep. Frost after initiating a verbal confrontation with him in a restroom.

“Security detained the man, and police later took him into custody,” according to a report in Variety.

“A spokesperson for the Park City Police Department identified the man as Christian Young. The department spokesperson said an officer arrived at High West Saloon after midnight on Friday and conducted an investigation, which determined that Young “unlawfully entered a private party” after being turned away for not having an invitation, Variety also reported.

Once inside, Young assaulted Florida Congressman Maxwell Frost and a female who was attending the private event,” the police statement reads. Young was booked into the Summit County Jail on charges of aggravated burglary and two counts of simple assault, a police spokesperson said.

“I am horrified by the attack on Congressman Maxwell Frost. Grateful that he is okay but appalled that this terrifying assault took place. The perpetrator must be aggressively prosecuted. Hate and political violence have no place in our country, and the entire House Democratic Caucus family stands with Maxwell,” wrote US House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries about the attack on Rep. Frost.

Political violence has increased in recent years. 

On June 14, 2025, Minnesota state representative Melissa Hortman was assassinated in a shooting at her home in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota. Hortman, the leader of the state’s House Democratic caucus, was shot and killed alongside her husband, Mark. State senator John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, suffered serious injuries from gunshots in their nearby home earlier that morning. 

President Trump did not honor their deaths.

Lauren Victoria Burke is an independent investigative journalist and the founder of Black Virginia News. She is a political analyst who appears on #RolandMartinUnfiltered and hosts LAUREN LIVE on YouTube @LaurenVictoriaBurke.
She can be contacted at [email protected] and on X  @LVBurke

By Lauren Victoria Burke, NNPA Newswire Contributor

President Donald Trump has ordered the bombing of seven countries in 2025. They are Iran, Iraq, Nigeria, Somalia, Syria, Venezuela and Yemen. There has been no congressional authorization for any of the military action. Trump is also threatening Columbia and Cuba.

On the afternoon of January 5, Trump’s Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, Attorney General Pam Bondi, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and CIA Director John Ratcliffe met meet with members of Congress on their latest military action.

But a growing question is haunting some members of Congress: Is Congress now irrelevant? Trump is ignoring Congress’ Constitutional authority on domestic and foreign military actions regarding the declaration of war. There are many critics pressing Democrats to “take action” but no one in Congress or out appears to have a definitive answer on how to stop Trump from ignoring the constitution and the legislative branch.

During a January 4 emergency zoom call scheduled by House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries with House Democrats, a senior Democrat “went there” on the question of Congress’ lack of power against a President who operates as if the legislative branch doesn’t exist. Though the emergency meeting was mostly focused on messaging, the larger question of congressional relevance in a nagging one.

Congress returns to session after the Christmas break on January 6. Democrats expected to be focused on the rise in health care costs for millions of Americans after the Republican controlled House and Senate failed to pass an extension of tax credits for the Affordable Care Act. The other topic that exploded in the news over the Christmas break was the partial release of the Epstein files. The latest document drop has included hundreds of photographs along with thousands of lines of redactions that appear to conceal the involvement of Donald Trump.

But when Trump bombed Venezuela on January 3 and abducted President Nicolás Maduro, the direction of the news cycle changed.

Congressman Greg Meeks, who is the senior member on the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, was a prominent voice on the emergency call. Questions about the U.S. becoming the “world police” emerged in general several times.

“The U.S. military to attempt regime change in a sovereign foreign nation, without approval from Congress, without a defined objective or plan for the day after, and without support from our allies, risks entangling the United States in an open-ended conflict in Venezuela that could destabilize the entire region,” Rep. Meeks declared in a statement on January 3.

“There’s nothing “America-First” about deploying American sons and daughters to Latin America with no plan and no Congressional oversight,” said Senator Mark Warner, the senior Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee on January 4.

Members were heard to agree that Trump believes that he can do whatever he wants in the same model as Vladimir Putin — with no explanation presented other than the existence of raw power.

Democrats in Congress are expected to bring up the war powers resolution this week. When the Sunday emergency zoom call ended there was no stated conclusion as to what Democratic messaging will be this week.

Lauren Victoria Burke is an independent investigative journalist and the founder of Black Virginia News. She is a political analyst who appears on #RolandMartinUnfiltered and hosts the show LAUREN LIVE on YouTube @LaurenVictoriaBurke. She can be contacted at [email protected] and on twitter at @LVBurke

By Lauren Burke

On September 22, President Donald Trump signed an executive order designating “antifa” as a domestic terrorist organization. Trump has repeatedly referred to “antifa” on social media. On October 8, at the White House, Trump hosted an “antifa” roundtable. Sitting between his Attorney General Pam Bondi and his Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem, the event branded “Antifa” as a domestic “terrorist organization.”

But on December 11, at a hearing of the House Committee on Homeland Security, Secretary Noem and Michael Glasheen, an official with the National Security Branch of the FBI, were blank-faced on several issues brought up by Democrats on the committee. The Trump Administration — and now a top FBI official have proclaimed that antifa is the FBI’s “primary concern.”

But Glasheen could not answer any detailed questions or provide any evidence or data regarding the location of “antifa” or membership numbers. Nor could he respond to who the leader of “antifa” is. After Glasheen stated that “antifa is our primary concern right now,” during the December 11 hearing, he was hammered by Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-MS), the most senior Democrat on the committee, who asked the FBI for facts. The FBI official could provide none. Thompson asked Glasheen to reference FBI data on what Trump, and now the FBI, is calling the number one domestic terrorist threat in the U.S.

“Right now, what I see from my position is that that’s the most immediate terrorist threat we’re facing on the domestic side,” Glasheen told Homeland Security committee members on December 11.

“So, where is Antifa headquartered? Where in the United States does antifa exist if it’s a terrorist organization and you’ve identified it as number one?” Rep. Thompson pressed Glasheen. “How many members do they have in the United States as of right now?” Thompson also asked.

“It’s very fluid … the investigations are active,” Glasheen responded as he nervously moved his hands, seated next to Secretary Noem.

“Sir, you wouldn’t come to this committee to say something that you can’t prove. I know you wouldn’t do that. But you did,” Rep. Thompson said. Thompson is the senior member of the House Committee. The exchange quickly went viral on social media.

In past committee testimony under previous administrations, the FBI has identified white supremacists as the number one domestic terrorist threat in the U.S. On December 5, 2023, FBI Director Christopher Wray testified that, “the greatest terrorism threat to our homeland is posed by lone actors or small cells of individuals who typically radicalize to violence online, and who primarily use easily accessible weapons to attack soft targets. We see the lone offender threat with both Domestic Violent Extremists (“DVEs”) and HVEs, two distinct threats, both of which are located primarily in the United States and typically radicalize and mobilize to violence on their own.”

The Trump Administration has been attempting to erase reality on the issue of white supremacy and domestic terror. Rep. Thompson and other Democrats have been raising alarms all year on Trump’s increasing levels of militarization inside the U.S. and their brazen disregard for civil liberties and due process.

In a statement before the House voted on the National Defense Authorization Act, Rep. Thompson pointed out that the bill, “could lead to major civil liberties violations. Most troubling is that the proposal would waive wiretapping prohibitions for DHS carrying out counterdrone operations across any of its missions—including immigration enforcement. Now is not the time to write Trump’s DHS a blank check. The Trump Administration has shown it cannot be trusted.”

During the committee meeting on December 11, Noem was faced with questions on ICE arrests that have involved American citizens and veterans who have served in combat being apprehended. Secretary Noem denied that American citizens were being apprehended by ICE. Rep. Seth Magaziner (D-RI) hammered Noem when he asked if any American citizens or veterans were being abducted by ICE and then produced two examples that were in fact true by showcasing the individuals who were arrested, and in one case deported, live during the hearing.

Secretary Noem left the hearing early, referencing another event she had to attend. It was later reported that the event she referenced was cancelled. Because many members of Congress have been saying for months that the Trump Administration is largely unresponsive to their policy questions, committee hearings with Trump cabinet officials have become the only place where questioning can take place.

That has often resulted in embarrassing and telling exchanges that have featured few detailed policy answers from the Administration.

By Lauren Burke

Representative Maxine Waters, the veteran California Democrat and longtime standard-bearer of congressional leadership, received the National Council of Negro Women’s highest honor on December 5.

At the organization’s 90th annual gala in Washington DC, Rep. Waters was presented with the Uncommon Height Crystal Stair Award, named after Dr. Dorothy Height, the legendary civil rights leader who led the council for more than four decades. The honor recognized not only Waters’s decades in public office but her role as one of Washington’s most unyielding critics of inequality, corporate power and political retrenchment on civil rights.

In her acceptance speech, the California Congresswoman framed the moment as a continuation of unfinished work. She reflected on Dr. Height’s place among the “Big Six” leaders of the civil rights movement during the 60s and praised her ability to build institutions as well as movements. The work has extended far beyond marches to include policy change.

“Dr. Height did more than protest injustice,” Waters said on Dec. 6. “She built something that would last.”

Congresswoman Waters, 87, has made a career of combining activism with power. First elected to Congress in 1990, she is now the ranking member of the House Financial Services Committee and previously served as its chair. She was the first Black woman to lead the powerful panel. From that position, she shaped debates over banking regulation, housing policy and economic inequality, often pressing institutions she argued were insulated from accountability. As chair during the Trump administration, Ms. Waters became a central figure in congressional oversight of Wall Street and the federal government’s financial apparatus.

Congresswoman Waters used her gavel to scrutinize major banks, defend the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau against efforts to weaken it, and press federal agencies to enforce fair housing and lending laws. She was also a leading voice in imposing financial sanctions on Russia after its invasion of Ukraine, arguing that economic tools were essential to global accountability.

Over three decades in office, Ms. Waters has been a consistent advocate for affordable housing, consumer protections, pay equity and racial justice. She played a key role in shaping housing provisions in pandemic-era relief legislation and has long argued that economic policy is inseparable from civil rights.

Her remarks on Saturday night took on a sharper political edge as she turned from history to the present day. Waters condemned attacks on diversity initiatives, voting rights and public education. Such policies, she said, amounted to an assault on Black families themselves — the very communities Dr. Height sought to strengthen through initiatives like the National Black Family Reunion, which the two women once organized together in Los Angeles.

“Dr. Height taught us how to fight moments like this,” Ms. Waters said. “She would not wait. She would act.”

Waters’ words reflected a consistent theme: Confrontation as a moral obligation. Revered by supporters for her fearlessness and criticized by opponents for her bluntness, she has remained unapologetic about using her platform to challenge presidents, corporations and colleagues alike.

“As long as I have a voice and a vote,” Ms. Waters said, “I will continue to march, build and fight.”

The National Council of Negro Women created an evening that served as a bridge between generations by honoring a living lawmaker whose career has been shaped by the movement’s pioneers, and who continues to argue that their lessons are as urgent now more than ever.

By Lauren Burke

Congressman Marc Veasey will not seek re-election for his congressional seat in Texas. Rep. Veasey has served in Congress since 2013.

The partisan redistricting purge has now impacted all three Black members of the Texas congressional delegation. On December 8, Rep. Jasmine Crockett announced she would run for U.S. Senate. The map changes have also forced competition between Black lawmakers on the state and federal level and decreased federal representation for Black communities in Texas.

Texas is now majority Hispanic. Hispanics make up 40 percent of the population. Whites make up 39 percent of the population and Blacks make up 14 percent. Though Texas is becoming increasingly diverse, political representation in the state does not reflect the racial diversity because of gerrymandering.

Rep. Veasey’s Dallas-area congressional seat was changed after a round of partisan congressional map moves by Texas Republicans in August. The GOP actions came after President Donald Trump signaled to Texas Republicans that he wanted more GOP seats. The strategy was made clear: Alter congressional maps so Republicans can maintain control of the U.S. House and win the midterm elections in 2026. But Democrats in California and Virginia are countering the move.

Rep. Veasey will now run for Tarrant County judge, according to several news reports.

On December 4, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the new racially gerrymandered maps recently created by Texas Republicans could go forward and be used for the 2026 elections.

Marc Veasey has represented Texas’s 33rd Congressional District in Congress for 12 years. Rep. Veasey’s district includes Fort Worth and parts of Dallas. While in Congress, Veasey has been a leading voice on voting rights, economic equity, healthcare access, and expanding digital infrastructure. He has played a prominent role in national discussions on technology and opportunity, including efforts to close the digital divide.

Veasey has also served in leadership within the Congressional Black Caucus and the Congressional Progressive Caucus. The congressional primaries in Texas are March 3, 2026.