Raw Story

President Donald Trump is under renewed impeachment scrutiny after admitting he alerted oil companies — but not Congress — ahead of the U.S. attack on Venezuela, an extraordinary disclosure critics say exposes the true beneficiaries of the operation. Speaking aboard Air Force One, Trump openly touted oil executives’ eagerness to “go in” and secure Venezuela’s massive oil reserves, even as lawmakers confirmed they were left in the dark, including members of Congress traditionally briefed on such actions. The admission stunned critics, who warned U.S. service members were effectively deployed to advance donor interests, not national security, and drew sharp accusations that Trump is running an oligarch-driven, authoritarian-style government as oil stocks surged in the aftermath of the assault.

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Trump admits he told oil companies, not Congress, before Venezuela attack Trump admits he told oil companies, not Congress, before Venezuela attack

James Talarico reports raising nearly $7 million, continuing cash influx to U.S. Senate bid

by Alejandro Serrano, The Texas Tribune
January 2, 2026

State Rep. James Talarico raised nearly $7 million for his U.S. Senate run during the latest fundraising quarter, increasing his total haul to $13 million since launching his bid, his campaign said Friday.

Talarico established himself as a prolific fundraiser after raising $6.2 million in the first three weeks of his campaign, which far outpaced other recent Democrats who sought statewide office. Democrats have not won statewide office in Texas since 1994.

The figure released Friday — $6.8 million worth of contributions — suggests the money momentum continues for Talarico, a former public school teacher who has represented a district that includes North Austin and parts of Pflugerville and Round Rock in the Texas House since 2018. Most of Talarico’s donations — 98% — were for $100 or less and none came from corporate PACs, according to the campaign.

It is not clear how much of the money Talarico has already spent. All candidates for federal office must file a finance update with the election commission by the end of the month.

“With the help of more than 215,000 neighbors, we are building a campaign to win the primary, win the general, and deliver for working people across Texas,” Talarico said in a statement, referring to the number of individual contributors.

A spokesperson for his primary opponent, U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Dallas, did not immediately return a request for comment. Crockett, who filed to run for Senate later than Talarico, is also a prolific fundraiser.

A poll released last month had Crockett leading Talarico by 8 percentage points.

Talarico’s early cash influx gave him an upper hand over former U.S. Rep. Collin Allred, who took two months to raise as much money during his unsuccessful challenge to U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz last cycle. Allred left the Senate race in December and pivoted to run for the Dallas-based 33rd Congressional District.

On the Republican side, U.S. Sen. John Cornyn is facing the biggest challenge of his career in a three-way contest to be the GOP nominee as Attorney General Ken Paxton and U.S. Rep. Wesley Hunt, R-Houston, try to unseat the incumbent. As of October, Cornyn carried a big financial advantage over Paxton and Hunt.

This article first appeared on The Texas Tribune.

The children of a slain Democratic lawmaker called out President Donald Trump on Sunday after he shared a "false" video on Truth Social that they claim "twisted" the vote of their late mother.

On Sunday, Trump posted a video on Truth Social that claimed Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz had former state lawmaker Melissa Hortman, her husband Mark, and their dog assassinated because she voted to take away health care for illegal immigrants. Hortman was gunned down at home over the summer by Vance Boelter, a Republican voter who impersonated law enforcement to gain access to the Hortmans' home, according to the Department of Justice.

Colin and Sophie Hortman, the late lawmaker's son and daughter, called on Trump to remove the video from social media and apologize to the family.

"I am asking President Trump to remove the video that he shared and apologize to me and my family for posting this misinformation and for using my mother's own words to dishonor her legacy," Colin Hortman said in a statement.

"The video the president shared is another hurdle our family must overcome in grieving the loss of my parents ... I ask President Trump to please consider the pain and sadness we have faced, and to honor the spirit of the holidays we have just spent without our parents by taking down the post on Truth Social," Sohpie Hortman added.

A prominent psychologist revealed on Sunday some of the reasons why President Donald Trump rages at reports of his failing physical and mental health.

Trump has recently lashed out at The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times for reporting on his health. After The Journal published its report, Trump posted on Truth Social that he "aced" multiple cognitive exams. He has also called the NYT the "enemy of the people" and called for the outlet to be investigated for reporting on his health.

Dr. John Gartner, a psychologist and former professor, discussed why Trump has such extreme reactions to these reports on a new episode of "The Daily Beast Podcast."

"No story enrages Donald Trump more than the stories about his physical and cognitive health," Gartner said. "And there's a reason for that. One, he knows that he's covering something up, but two, as a malignant narcissist, the one thing you need to project is strength. It's okay to be hated and feared, but you have to appear strong. And so this is really it."

"Donald Trump's Achilles heel is his brain and now, I guess, a whole bunch of other organs," he continued. "His ankles, his heart, his his hands. His psychomotor performance is getting worse."

Gartner noted Trump's difficulty using the right side of his body, like when he was unable to perform a coinflip during the Army and Navy game, and his struggle saluting with his right hand. Gartner has also noted the right side of Trump's face drooping when he's fallen asleep, a sign that he may have recently had a stroke.

"He knows it's showing his Achilles heel and yet he can't stop the behavior because it's involuntary," Gartner said.

A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said on Sunday that Venezuelans living in the U.S. with temporary protected status should self-deport following the capture of the country's dictator.

On Saturday morning, the Trump administration sent military forces to Venezuela to detain dictator Nicolás Maduro. Maduro and his wife were then swiftly brought to the U.S., where they will stand trial for narco-terrorism and gun charges. Some legal experts have said the move exceeded Trump's authority as president, and calls for the president to be impeached began to grow following the move.

Tricia McLaughlin, DHS assistant secretary for public affairs, offered a different take during an appearance on Fox News's "The Big Weekend Show" on Sunday. She said Maduro's arrest gives Venezuelans living in the U.S. protected status a reason to "go home."

"I think the great news for people from Venezuela who are here on temporary protected status is that they can now go home with hope for their country that they love," McLaughlin said.

The Trump administration has sought to end temporary protected status for multiple ethnicities during his second administration. However, courts have mostly blocked the administration from ending the status. Most recently, a judge in San Francisco ruled that the administration's efforts to end TPS for people from Honduras, Nepal, and Nicaragua were illegal.

McLaughlin claimed there has been a "loss of integrity" in the program.

Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) suggested that Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) had failed the Republican Party by refusing to open the House of Representatives for legislative business during the government shutdown last year.

During an appearance on C-SPAN this week, host Dasha Burns noted that the year ended without passing an extension for health care subsidies, causing insurance costs to skyrocket for many Americans.

"Republicans having the majority should have planned further in advance instead of the last weeks of the year to see how am I going to deal with this," McCarthy replied. "So now they've kind of got a political football. Remember what happened in the House."

"The Democrats did shut the government down. Everybody would agree with that," he continued. "But the Senate kept working. The House kept everybody away. And when you only have a majority for two years to pass a bill, you have to have a hearing, then you have to have a markup, then you've got to pass the bill, then it's got to go the floor? You just lost two months."

"Was it a mistake for Johnson to send the House home?" Burns wondered.

"The House, you have the power as the Speaker and the majority," McCarthy pointed out. "If you give that power away, you may look at the end of the day, oh, I gave two months, maybe the Democrats won the shutdown."

"How many other bills could we have passed? How many things could we brought to the floor that was an 80-20 issue that actually put the Democrats in a bad place for shutting the government down?"