Secretary of State Marco Rubio will sit for testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee this morning to discuss the Trump Administration’s policy on Venezuela. 

This is Rubio’s first public testimony since the Trump Administration’s arrest of Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro earlier this month.

Trump sent the military into Venezuela guns a blazing earlier this month, and Maduro is now in a New York prison awaiting trial on charges of narco-terrorism conspiracy, cocaine importation conspiracy, possession of machine guns and destructive devices, and conspiracy to possess machine guns and Destructive Devices against the United States. No American military members were killed in the daring, middle-of-the-night operation.

After Maduro’s arrest in Caracas, Trump posted the following video of the strikes, which targeted at least four sites around Caracas, Venezuela. No US troops were killed in the operation.

WATCH:

Meanwhile, strikes on drug boats operated by designated drug-trafficking terrorist organizations have continued. As The Gateway Pundit reported last week, US forces executed strikes against a 36th drug boat in the Eastern Pacific. It was also the first known strike since Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro was captured on January 3, 2026.

At least 117 “narco-terrorists” have been killed in these strikes since the operations began on September 2, 2025.

WATCH:

Fox reports:

Rubio’s return to the Hill, an increasingly frequent occurrence in recent months, comes after he, President Donald Trump, administration officials and Senate Republican leadership successfully killed a bipartisan push to rein in the president’s war authorities in Venezuela.

His scheduled appearance before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Wednesday at 10 a.m. comes just weeks after he helped to convince two lawmakers, Sens. Todd Young, R-Ind., and Josh Hawley, R-Mo., to flip their votes and back the administration.

They were convinced by Rubio and the administration that no further military action would take place, and that if it were, President Donald Trump would come to Congress first.

Young said at the time that the effort, spurred by Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., was ultimately just a messaging exercise that never would have survived in the House, nor evaded a veto from Trump.

“I had to accept that this was all a communications exercise,” Young said. “I think we [used] this moment to shine a bright light on Congress’ shortcomings as it relates to war powers in recent history.”

The hearing is scheduled to begin at 10 am ET.

Watch live below:

The post WATCH LIVE: Secretary of State Marco Rubio to Give First Public Testimony on Venezuela Policy Since Maduro Ouster Before Senate Committee appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

From our trusted source in South Korea

While the world slept, a free South Korea is being torn apart by pro-China leftists.

In their latest move to steal individual rights from the people, the pro-China South Korean leftists are proposing an amendment that will give government the power to investigate, suspend, or dissolve non profit religious bodies, including churches, do not agree with.

This comes after the far left government started raiding ‘opposition’ churches last year.

‘Standing Strong’: South Korean Megachurch Pastor Who Defied COVID Lockdowns and Woke Laws Arrested and Jailed

Now a group of lawmakers has introduced what is effectively a church dissolution law, giving the government broad authority to shut down religious organizations on political grounds.

The bill was introduced by Rep Choi Hyuk jin, joined by Democratic Party lawmakers Kim Woo young, Kim Jun hyuk, Kwon Chil seung, Yum Tae young, Lee Geon tae, Lee Sung yoon, Song Jae bong, Seo Mi hwa, and others. Eleven lawmakers in total are pushing this measure.

The proposed amendment to the Civil Act allows the government to investigate, suspend, or dissolve non profit religious bodies by expanding the definition of public interest violations. It also enables asset seizure and indefinite administrative control.

The most alarming part is that the bill’s own explanation cites recent cases where specific religious groups supported political activities. This language directly points to conservative and opposition aligned churches. The bill openly targets them under the pretext of preventing abuse of legal status.

This comes amid escalating actions against opposition voices in South Korea. Pastors have been prosecuted. Conservative civic groups have been raided. Speech is being restricted. Now lawmakers are moving to legally dismantle churches critical of the administration.

‘Standing Strong’: South Korean Megachurch Pastor Who Defied COVID Lockdowns and Woke Laws Arrested and Jailed

For a country long regarded as a strong ally of the United States and a defender of religious liberty, a law enabling government led dissolution of churches is an extraordinary warning sign. It resembles measures used by authoritarian systems to suppress ideological opponents by weaponizing state authority against religious institutions.

South Koreans are deeply concerned that this bill is designed not to regulate non profits, but to silence religious communities that stand with the opposition.

The regime has already jailed Christian pastors.

‘Standing Strong’: South Korean Megachurch Pastor Who Defied COVID Lockdowns and Woke Laws Arrested and Jailed

The post South Korean Leftists Introduce Legislation to Dissolve Churches on Political Grounds appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

Another day, another stunning example of the two-tier justice system.

Minnesota’s chief federal judge, Patrick J. Schiltz, a George W. Bush appointee, is now threatening to hold Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons in contempt of court over detainee releases tied to Operation Metro Surge, a Trump-era enforcement initiative that netted more than 3,000 arrests of criminal noncitizens in the Twin Cities.

But newly resurfaced information raises serious questions about whether Judge Schiltz should have ever touched the case.

Late Monday, Judge Schiltz issued an extraordinary order summoning ICE Acting Director Todd Lyons to appear in person in federal court in Minneapolis, warning that the court’s “patience is at an end.”

The judge accused ICE of repeatedly violating court orders by failing to release detainees quickly enough after habeas rulings, specifically citing the case of Juan Hugo Tobay Robles, an Ecuadorian national who entered the U.S. illegally as a minor in 1999.

Robles was arrested during Operation Metro Surge on January 6 and transferred to Texas.

Although a judge granted a habeas petition ordering his release on January 14, ICE did not immediately release him.

Robles was ultimately freed Tuesday afternoon, making it unlikely Lyons will now appear in court, according to NBC News.

According to reporting by Bill Melugin of Fox News, Judge Schiltz appears on a 2019 donor and volunteer list for the Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota, a radical pro-illegal alien organization that provides free legal services to illegal immigrants and routinely litigates against ICE and DHS.

NEW: @FoxNews has learned that Patrick J. Schiltz, the Minnesota federal judge who is threatening to hold ICE Director Todd Lyons in contempt of court & is ordering him to appear in court on Friday, appears in a 2019 list of donors & volunteers for the Immigrant Law Center of… pic.twitter.com/yBzst713Pf

— Bill Melugin (@BillMelugin_) January 27, 2026

CONFLICT OF INTEREST: Judge Schiltz is threatening the ICE Director while financing the legal resistance against ICE.

When confronted by Fox News, Judge Schiltz did not deny his financial ties to immigrant groups.

Instead, he openly admitted them.

“I have donated for many years to the Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota. I have also donated for many years to Mid-Minnesota Legal Aid. I believe that poor people should be able to get legal representation,” Schiltz told Fox News.

UPDATE: Judge Schiltz statement to @FoxNews:

“I have donated for many years to the Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota. I have also donated for many years to Mid-Minnesota Legal Aid. I believe that poor people should be able to get legal representation.”

— Bill Melugin (@BillMelugin_) January 27, 2026

This is the same judge now positioning himself as the arbiter of ICE’s compliance, and the same judge who previously declined to find probable cause in cases involving far-left agitators, including Don Lemon, after a mob stormed a Minnesota church.

Per sources familiar, Judge Schiltz also declined probable cause on arrest warrants for Don Lemon and a handful of other protesters who stormed a church in Minnesota. He declined after federal magistrate Douglas Micko declined. 2/3 on appeals court also then declined.

— Bill Melugin (@BillMelugin_) January 27, 2026

The courts were never meant to be a political weapon. But once again, the evidence is overwhelming.

The post CONFLICT OF INTEREST EXPOSED: Bush-Appointed Judge Who Allegedly Let Don Lemon Walk and Threatens ICE Director With Contempt — Is a DONOR and VOLUNTEER for Pro-Illegal Alien Immigrant Law Center appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

Megyn Kelly eviscerated leftie Hollywood actress Natalie Portman on her show today after Portman shed tears for Minnesota activist Alex Pretti, who was injured shot dead at an anti-ICE operation. Pretti was injured before that when he wrestled with police just one week earlier at a protest.  On Saturday ICE agents shot Pretti dead in the Minnesota cold.

Megyn Kelly did not hold back!

Megyn Kelly: Can I just show you something? Let’s just do it this way. Can we play Natalie Portman? Natalie Portman is super upset. I’m going to show you some breaking news about the man she’s crying over. But here’s Natalie Portman.

Natalie Portman: What’s going on in our country right now is absolutely horrific with what the federal government, Trump’s government, Kristi Noem, ICE, what they’re doing is really the worst of the worst of humanity. And then we also have the best of the of humanity for the way people are showing up for each other in community and Americans coming out to support each other and protect each other and fight against injustice. I could not be prouder to be American right now by the way the Americans are acting. I could not be sadder to be American right now with the way the government is behaving…

…Sorry, I’m getting a little emotional because it’s really been… It’s really been a horrible day. It’s been a horrible week. It’s very joyful to be at a film festival and in a creative community celebrating the film together. But what is happening in our country is just obscene and what Trump and Kristi Noem are doing to our citizens and to undocumented people is outrageous and It needs to end. Okay.

Megyn Kelly: No one gives a shit about Natalie Portman’s political opinion, but she’s representative of these far left loons, the Karen Intafada that we’ve been watching in Minneapolis. That was after we learned about the death of Alex Pretty on Saturday… Alex Pretti broke rib in confrontation with federal agents a week before death, sources say.

Federal immigration officers have been collecting personal information about protesters and agitators in Minneapolis, sources told CNN, and had documented details about Alex before he was shot to death on Saturday. It is unclear how Pretty first came to the attention of federal authorities, but sources told CNN that about a week before his death, he suffered a broken rib when a group of federal officers tackled him while he was protesting their attempt to detain other individuals. The earlier incident started when Pretty stopped his car after observing ICE agents chasing what he described as a family on foot and began shouting and blowing his whistle, according to a source who asked not to be named out of fear of retribution. Pretty later told the source that five agents tackled him, and one leaned on his back, an encounter that left him with a broken rib. The agents quickly released him at the scene. That day, he thought he was going to die, said the source. Pretty was later given medication consistent with treating a broken rib, according to the records reviewed by CNN…

…My point is simply, this guy knew very well, very well knew what was going to happen to him if he, yet again, injected himself in the middle of a Border Patrol enforcement operation. But he did it anyway. I’m not shocked. You’re not shocked? We don’t give a shit what Natalie Portman thinks or doesn’t think about this. I’m just showing you her fake fucking tears. Where were her tears for Laken Reilly? I don’t remember her tearful video over Jocelyn Nungaray down in Texas. Did you cry for her, you rich bitch who’s protected by guards and fences and multimillion dollar estates from having to deal with anything like what these Border Patrol agents are going through, or these ICE agents are going through in order to protect people who don’t have your money and means and resources?

The post Megyn Kelly to Natalie Portman: “You F**king Idiot Hollywood Starlet… We Don’t Give a Sh*t What She Thinks. I’m Just Showing Her Fake Fu*king Tears” appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.