U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin clapped back after Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, said he had taken money from someone named Jeffrey Epstein.

The congresswoman dropped Zeldin’s name while listing figures and entities she said had taken money from ‘somebody’ by the name of Jeffrey Epstein. Noting that she had her ‘team dig in very quickly,’ she rattled off the following list: ‘Mitt Romney, the NRCC, Lee Zeldin, George Bush, WinRed, McCain-Palin, Rick Lazio.’

Zeldin fired back in a post to X, noting that the donation to one of his former campaigns had nothing to do with the notorious late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

‘Yes, Crockett, a physician named Dr. Jeffrey Epstein (who is a totally different person than the other Jeffrey Epstein) donated to a prior campaign of mine,’ Zeldin wrote, reposting another person’s post that featured footage of Crockett’s comments.

Zeldin then exclaimed in all caps, ‘NO [clap emoji] FREAKIN [clap emoji] RELATION [clap emoji] YOU [clap emoji] GENIUS!!!’

Fox News Digital reached out to Crockett’s office for comment.

Zeldin, a Republican, lost the 2022 New York gubernatorial contest to Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul. He served in the U.S. House of Representatives from early 2015 through early 2023, and he had previously served in the New York state Senate.

President Donald Trump has previously called Crockett ‘a very low-IQ person.’

Ro Khanna, D-Calif., is a man in a rush. On Tuesday, he was at the center of the vote to release the Epstein files, and when I saw him, on the way to his office in the Cannon building, he asked if I could walk and talk, as he had a few stops to make. 

‘Sure thing,’ I said, and we were off.

I wasn’t there for Epstein. I wanted to know about the future of his Democratic Party. So I started by asking if he and it have moved the goal of the social safety net from hand up to handout.

‘That’s not my vision,’ Khanna said. ‘My vision is an FDR-like vision where we need to have wealth generation across this country. We need production and manufacturing and making things across America.’

He pointed out that Roosevelt did not only have handouts, he also helped industrialize America.

I pressed him on his call for $10-a-day childcare for all Americans. Isn’t this, along with his Medicare for all policy, a free giant payout from the state? Again he pivoted to FDR.

‘It’s the New Deal,’ he said. ‘I believe in an economic bill of rights, in national healthcare. That’s what FDR believed in: universal childcare. Under FDR, we had war nurseries, do you know why?’

I could have guessed, but it was because somebody had to watch Rosie the Riveter’s kids as she built planes and tanks.

FDR and the New Deal really do seem to be at the heart of Khanna’s economic vision, and while conservatives, especially the old guard, tend to hate the New Deal, they’d likely take FDR over Karl Marx, who seems to be the inspiration for others in his party these days.

By the time I shifted my questions to immigration, we had reached an elevator, the only one the congressman took in our 25 minute traipse. ‘The stairs are faster,’ he told me.

This was a chance to bring the road, where I live, to the halls of power in D.C., where I’ll only go as a reluctant tourist.

‘People say to me all the time, ‘Democrats let 20 million illegal immigrants in with little to no process, now they say every one of them has to go through due process.’ What do you say to them?’

For emphasis, I added that if you give 20 million people each a one-hour hearing, the total time it would take is over 2,000 years.

Khanna launched into something of a filibuster, telling stories of his own immigrant parents, how his mother stressed learning English and learning our nation’s history and values. And, that he had won the lottery and, as an American, should focus on his responsibilities more than his rights.

The congressman was ducking the question, but it was notable that this pride in and gratitude to America stands in opposition to the rhetoric of his party’s ascendant socialist wing.

At this point, Khanna had to duck into a meeting. He motioned to me to join, but a polite guard informed us my Adidas Gazelles and white sweater were not proper attire. In my defense, it’s a nice sweater.

When he came out, I took another shot at the question of the 20 million illegal immigrants.

‘You’re asking about the millions already here. I believe that if you committed a crime, a violent crime, then there needs to be a deportation after due process. But for many people who are here, giving childcare and working in hospitality, or construction and paying taxes, I do believe there needs to be a path to legalization.’

And there it was. They get to stay.

As the elevator door opened to the crowded, bright white subterranean pathways we had already come through, I told Khanna, ‘Here’s exactly the people on the road will say to that: ‘If Democrats let 20 million in last time, why won’t they do it again if given power?”

It seemed to land.

‘That’s a very good point, that’s a very good question, because we don’t want to lose elections,’ Khanna said, suggesting the open border was to blame for recent GOP gains.

Two takeaways here, one is that Khanna and the Democrats think the vast majority of the 20 million Biden illegals get to stay. The other is that they may plan to run, at least nominally, in favor of Trump’s border security measures.

As we made our circuitous route back to his office, I asked the congressman about Israel. He agreed that even 10 years ago, his party was far friendlier towards the Jewish state.

‘What changed?’ I asked.

He didn’t miss a beat, ‘Netanyahu.’ Khanna had initially supported Bibi’s efforts to hit Hamas after the massacre of Oct. 7, but after several months, felt they were going too far.

If there is a silver lining for Zionists, it is that, unlike New York City Mayor-elect and Socialist wunderkind Zohran Mamdani, Khanna does support the right for Israel to exist as a Jewish State.

We both agreed that if President Donald Trump’s peace effort holds, the Israel question may soon fade to the background.

Finally, back in Khanna’s office for a few minutes, I asked him about Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., who has argued fervently that his party is moving too far left.

‘I like John,’ Khanna said. ‘Maybe I shouldn’t say it. We have drinks, but I’m a progressive Democrat, so we have disagreements.’

It was that moment when I realized that this was the third or fourth time Khanna had referred to himself as a ‘progressive Democrat,’ and for the very first time, this phrase I’d known for decades had a new meaning. It meant, ‘not socialist.’

This is an incredibly important distinction and will be the major skirmish line for the soul of the party. ‘Progressive Democrat,’ until about 10 minutes ago, meant those farthest to the left. It included Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez, D-N.Y. and her squad. Now it is beginning to mean, ‘a bit to the right of the socialists.’

As the midterms approach, this jockeying in what was once the party of Jefferson and Jackson will grow more intense. A lean and hungry Ro Khanna is racing to be at the forefront of the fight.

The Senate has officially passed a bill that would force the Department of Justice to release all materials related to Jeffrey Epstein, marking an end to a saga that consumed Congress for several months. 

The House sent over the bill early Tuesday morning, which triggered immediate passage of the legislation after no Senate Republican blocked an attempt by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., to fast track the bill through the upper chamber. 

It now heads to president Donald Trump’s desk. 

Schumer argued on the floor that the Senate ‘should pass this bill as soon as possible, as written and without a hint of delay.’ 

‘Republicans must not try to change this bill or bury it in committee, or slow walk it in any way,’ he said. ‘Any amendment to this bill would force it back to the House and risk further delay. Who knows what would happen over there?’

The resolution from Reps. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., and Ro Khanna, D-Calif., would require that the Department of Justice (DOJ) release all unclassified records, documents, communications and investigative materials ‘publicly available in a searchable and downloadable format’ related to the late financier and convicted pedophile and his accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell within 30 days of the bill being signed into law. 

The Epstein fervor has not had nearly the impact in the Senate as the House, which was thrust into chaos by the bipartisan push to see the release of the files. Earlier this year, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., put the House into recess to quell the Epstein drama and has since been accused of running from a vote on the issue.

The drama that roiled through the House, and sidelined lawmakers for several weeks came and went through the Senate in a matter of minutes Tuesday night. 

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said that Republicans were already mulling the bill through the hotline process, which is where legislation is considered among lawmakers before making it to the floor. Thune said the plan, if the bill clears the hotline, would be to have it on the floor before lawmakers leave for Thanksgiving recess at the end of this week. 

‘We’ll see what the Democrats have to say,’ he said. ‘But it’s the kind of thing, probably, that could perhaps move by unanimous consent.’

That ended up not being necessary, with bill making its way through the upper chamber without a full vote. 

The calculus surrounding the Epstein bill changed in the Senate, too, given that President Donald Trump, who for months railed against attempts to release the files, threw his support behind Massie and Khanna’s legislation over the weekend.

He charged that it was a ‘Democrat Hoax perpetrated by Radical Left Lunatics in order to deflect from the Great Success of the Republican Party.’

‘Nobody cared about Jeffrey Epstein when he was alive and, if the Democrats had anything, they would have released it before our Landslide Election Victory,’ he said in a post on Truth Social.

Senate Republicans, like their counterparts in the House, wanted more transparency on the issue when the Epstein saga resurfaced over the summer but cautioned that no materials should be released until the names or identifying traits of victims are combed through and kept safe.

But, despite calls from Johnson to amend the bill to include those kinds of guardrails in the legislation, it’s unlikely to happen in the Senate. 

‘I think when a bill comes out of the House 427 to one, and the president said he’d sign it, I’m not sure that amending it is in the cards,’ Thune said. 

President Donald Trump has given his approval for the CIA to carry out covert operations within Venezuela, The New York Times reported Tuesday.

The report comes after the U.S. deployed USS Gerald Ford, America’s largest aircraft carrier, to the Caribbean. Citing multiple people briefed on the matter, the Times reported that the covert operations could lay the groundwork for a potentially more broad military campaign.

The unnamed sources further said that back channel negotiations with Venezuela’s government have so far failed to produce results. They say Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro offered to step down after a delay of ‘a couple years,’ but the Trump administration rejected the offer.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.

The news was first reported less than a day after Trump labeled Maduro a ‘terrorist’ and left the door open to deploying U.S. troops to Venezuela.

‘No, I don’t rule out that, I don’t rule out anything,’ Trump said Monday when asked about the possibility.

‘We just have to take care of Venezuela. They dumped hundreds of thousands of people into our country from prisons. Nobody knows better than this young lady right here,’ Trump continued, referring to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. ‘She’s done an incredible job with Tom Homan and all of your people.’

The U.S. has carried out a series of strikes on boats that reportedly traffic narcotics in the waters off of Central and South America since September. The administration has carried out at least 21 fatal strikes on the boats since September, with the most recent strike unfolding Sunday. 

Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced Sunday that a criminal network allegedly tied to Maduro and his allies, the Cartel de los Soles, will be designated a foreign terrorist organization as tensions continue to escalate.

Trump added Monday that he would speak with Maduro when asked if he was prepared to directly speak with the dictator. 

‘Yeah, I probably would talk to him. Yeah, I talked to everybody,’ Trump said.

The administration has defended the strikes, saying the U.S. is engaged in an ‘armed conflict‘ with drug cartels after the groups evolved into transnational terror organizations.

Fox News’ Emma Colton contributed to this report.

A major national security debate is unfolding, and it affects more than government networks. It touches your home, your devices, and the Wi-Fi your family uses every day. The Commerce Department has proposed blocking new sales of TP-Link products after a months-long review into the company’s ties to China, citing a growing TP-Link security risk.

Multiple agencies, including Homeland Security and Defense, supported that proposal. They believe the company’s connections could expose American networks to foreign influence.

Security experts warn that foreign-backed hackers have targeted home and office routers for years. These devices often act as silent stepping stones that help attackers move deeper into sensitive systems. When compromised, they can expose everything connected to them, including computers, smart home gear, military devices used on base and more.

This potential ban would be one of the biggest consumer tech actions in U.S. history. It comes as lawmakers raise fresh alarms about Chinese-made cameras, routers and connected home products sold on military exchanges and in homes across the country.

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Why military families are even more vulnerable

Lawmakers from both parties say military households face extra risk. Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), who leads a bipartisan group of 23 lawmakers, warns that TP-Link cameras and networking devices sold on Army, Navy and Air Force exchange sites could expose sensitive footage from base housing and dorms. Rep. Ashley Hinson (R-Iowa) echoed that concern, saying these devices could act as a backdoor for Chinese intelligence to collect information on service members and their families. Even when products appear out of stock, officials worry they remain popular in military communities.

These lawmakers say Chinese laws could force companies to share data or push hidden software changes that weaken U.S. networks. They argue that this creates a real risk for households on or near military installations. While TP-Link disputes every allegation and states that it stores U.S. data inside America, lawmakers want a deeper investigation.

‘China will use any way to infiltrate us, and we must ensure they cannot access our homeland or military bases,’ said Ernst.’High-tech security cameras sending video and audio directly back to Beijing must be treated like the grave threat that they are. We have seen this playbook from China before, with Huawei Technologies, and need the Trump administration to investigate and determine if TP-Link is a trojan horse compromising our national security.’

How Congress is responding to TP-Link security risks

Sen. Ernst is pressing the Commerce Department to finish its investigation by November 30. Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Arkansas), who chairs the Senate Intelligence Committee, says TP-Link could give the Chinese government access to American networks and wants faster action. Their concerns reflect past decisions involving Huawei and Kaspersky, which lost access to the U.S. market due to national security risks.

Congressional leaders say foreign-made smart home devices sold on military bases should face strict scrutiny. They see routers, cameras and other connected home gear as critical targets in a time when cyberthreats continue to grow.

We reached out to TP-Link Systems Inc., and a spokesperson provided CyberGuy with the following statement:

‘TP-Link Systems Inc. (TP-Link), an American company based in California, refutes the claims in this letter. This letter repeats false and misleading media reports and attacks that have been thoroughly debunked.

TP-Link emphatically objects to any allegation it is tied to the Communist Party of China, dependent on the Chinese government, or otherwise subject to interference under Chinese national security laws. The company is not controlled by any government, foreign or domestic. TP-Link has split from and has no affiliation with the China-based TP-LINK Technologies Co. Ltd., which is separately owned and operated.

This letter has nothing to do with security and everything to do with a competitor trying to remove TP-Link Systems’ products from the marketplace. The ‘open source information’ the members reference is actually a manufactured echo chamber of false and misleading attacks that the media has parroted over the past year. Instead of directly engaging with TP-Link Systems, these members essentially pressed ‘copy and paste’ on unsubstantiated claims about our American company.

TP-Link has not been contacted by policymakers to discuss the alleged concerns, but if we were to meet with them, they would learn that TP-Link has located its core security functions and data infrastructure in the United States. U.S. user data is securely stored on Amazon Web Services infrastructure in Virginia, under the full control of the company’s U.S. operations.

TP-Link Systems currently holds a very small share of the U.S. security camera market, representing approximately 3% of the consumer market segment according to Circana checkout data. The company has virtually no business presence in the enterprise segment. Additionally, TP-Link Systems’ router market share in the U.S. has been inaccurately reported as being much higher than it actually is. Recent market research from Dell’Oro Group, Inc., found that TP-Link Systems’ market share of residential Wi-Fi router sales in North America is under 10%.

TP-Link does not enable foreign surveillance of U.S. networks or users. The company’s operations are built to prevent potential attempts to subvert its business by outside influence. TP-Link’s substantial security investments cover its entire product portfolio, including security cameras and routers.

TP-Link continually monitors its products and services and takes timely and appropriate action to address vulnerabilities it becomes aware of. TP-Link has not identified any reliable information regarding new vulnerabilities in its products in connection with this letter.’

Steps to protect yourself from this growing threat

Even as the debate continues, you can take simple steps to secure your home. These easy moves help defend against threats tied to any router brand.

1) Check your router and update it

Look at the brand on your router. Then update the firmware through the official app or web dashboard. If your device is several years old or no longer supported, replace it. Check out our article on the top routers for the best security at

2) Change your Wi-Fi and admin passwords

Default passwords are dangerous. Create strong, unique passwords for both your Wi-Fi and the router’s admin panel. Consider using a password manager, which securely stores and generates complex passwords, reducing the risk of password reuse.

Next, see if your email has been exposed in past breaches. Our #1 password manager (see Cyberguy.com) pick includes a built-in breach scanner that checks whether your email address or passwords have appeared in known leaks. If you discover a match, immediately change any reused passwords and secure those accounts with new, unique credentials.

Check out the best expert-reviewed password managers of 2025 at

3) Use strong antivirus protection on every device

Threats like this continue to grow. Install strong, real-time antivirus protection on every computer, phone, and tablet in your home. The best way to safeguard yourself from malicious links that install malware, potentially accessing your private information, is to have strong antivirus software installed on all your devices. This protection can also alert you to phishing emails and ransomware scams, keeping your personal information and digital assets safe.

Get my picks for the best 2025 antivirus protection winners for your Windows, Mac, Android & iOS devices at

4) Turn off any of these features you do not need

Disable remote access, WPS and extra features you never use. These settings can open doors for attackers.

5) Put smart home devices on a guest network

Keep laptops and phones on your main network. Put cameras, plugs, TVs and IoT devices on a separate guest network so they cannot reach your sensitive devices.

Take my quiz: How safe is your online security?

Think your devices and data are truly protected? Take this quick quiz to see where your digital habits stand. From passwords to Wi-Fi settings, you’ll get a personalized breakdown of what you’re doing right and what needs improvement. Take my Quiz here:

Kurt’s key takeaways

The debate around TP-Link shows how something as routine as a home router can become part of a broader security conversation. Whether or not the government issues a ban, this moment is a clear reminder that cybersecurity starts at home. Small steps make a meaningful difference in how well your devices stand up against foreign-backed hacking groups.

Should the government ban router brands linked to foreign influence or should consumers decide for themselves? Let us know by writing to us at

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