The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) released audio on Thursday of a civilian in Tehran describing what it’s like on the ground as Operation Epic Fury rocks Iran.

‘To us here, the war did not start four days ago. It started when we heard the initial news of a piling up of the forces in the region and preparations for war. Now, with the war going on, we hear constant explosions and there is no respite from this,’ the unidentified civilian said.

The civilian said that the frequency of explosions has made people so nervous that even everyday noises can cause panic attacks.

‘Any moment you can expect a loud noise. This has made us so nervous that any loud noise, including the noise of a car passing by, gives us a panic attack,’ the civilian said.

Even with the noise of the explosions, what the civilian, who said he was born and raised in Tehran, noticed was that the city has become a ghost town as people have either fled the war or limited movements in order to stay safe from aerial attacks.

‘As a person who was born and lived his whole life in this city, I have never seen the city so quiet,’ the civilian said. ‘Some of the people of my city have left, many others stayed in, trying to limit movements to avoid getting caught in the aerial attacks on the city that never seem to come to an end. You don’t see people around. My city was a very big city and busy. I’m not used to seeing my city so calm and quiet.’

The U.S. and Israel have carried out air and sea attacks on Iran since the operation began on Saturday. The operation has killed at least 1,230 people in Iran, according to The Associated Press. Additionally, six U.S. service members in Kuwait were killed in the hostilities.

The ICRC has expressed concerns about the situation in Iran, with the organization’s president saying on day one of Operation Epic Fury that it could lead to ‘devastating consequences for civilians.’

‘The military escalation in the Middle East is igniting a dangerous chain reaction across the region, with potentially devastating consequences for civilians,’ ICRC President Mirjana Spoljaric said.

In a statement issued a few days later, Spoljaric warned that ‘the scale of major military operations flaring across the Middle East risks embroiling the region – and beyond – into another large-scale armed conflict that will overwhelm any humanitarian response.’

‘Without urgent steps to de-escalate the situation and respect the rules of war, further civilian lives will be lost,’ Spoljaric added. ‘Civilians are already suffering the consequences of war.’

According to the civilian, Iranians on the ground are worried about the future and wonder how the war will play out. Another fear among the people is the possibility of supplies running out.

‘The supplies are available in the shops that are open and work. But what if the situation gets worse or continues as it is now? Will the supplies being stocked be of any help, or they will be meaningless in the face of what can happen?’ the civilian wondered. ‘It is especially more worrying for people like me, who have to take care of people with medical complications that require special care. We are now under a lot of stress, worried to see what can come next.’ 

Fox News Digital reached out to ICRC for comment.

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Kristi Noem, the former South Dakota congresswoman and governor who has led President Donald Trump’s Department of Homeland Security in his second term, was ousted from her position on Thursday.

President Donald Trump announced on Truth Social that he will nominate Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., to replace Noem, effective March 31.

‘The current Secretary, Kristi Noem, who has served us well, and has had numerous and spectacular results (especially on the Border!), will be moving to be Special Envoy for The Shield of the Americas, our new Security Initiative in the Western Hemisphere we are announcing on Saturday in Doral, Florida. I thank Kristi for her service at ‘Homeland.’’

Trump said Mullin has done a ‘tremendous job’ in Congress and cited his resume as a former undefeated MMA fighter.

‘As the only Native American in the Senate, Markwayne is a fantastic advocate for our incredible Tribal Communities. Markwayne will work tirelessly to Keep our Border Secure, Stop Migrant Crime, Murderers, and other Criminals from illegally entering our Country, End the Scourge of Illegal Drugs and, MAKE AMERICA SAFE AGAIN,’ Trump said.

Mullin is the first Native American senator in decades, following Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell of Colorado.

Noem, 54, will likely be at least temporarily replaced by Deputy Secretary Troy Edgar, a Navy veteran and former mayor of Los Alamitos, California, in the line of succession for the agency.

Noem’s tenure marked a distinct reversal of the open-border policies permitted by predecessor Alejandro Mayorkas during the Biden administration, and DHS has notched record drug interdictions totaling more than half a million pounds of illegal drugs in her first year.

Her management of Trump’s mass deportation agenda has also led to more than 2 million reported self-deportations in 2025 and about 670,000 removals of illegal immigrants, a figure supporters have hailed as the most successful immigration enforcement operation in history.

Her agency has also been unafraid to hit back at high-profile critics, including California Gov. Gavin Newsom; Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif.; Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz; and 2026 midterm candidate David Trone of Maryland, who accused DHS of ‘executing people in the streets’ as he filmed a protest ad outside a Williamsport compound recently purchased for use as a detention facility.

Such criticisms of her mass deportation operations, particularly in Minneapolis, appeared to somewhat sour public sentiment on the administration’s handling of the immigration issue, as U.S. Border Patrol Cmdr. Gregory Bovino — a DHS subordinate — was replaced in the Twin Cities by border czar Tom Homan amid the firestorm.

Meanwhile, reports surfaced Thursday that Trump is ‘furious’ with Noem over her performance in bicameral Judiciary Committee hearings this week, particularly over a contract for an advertisement that Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., and others grilled her on.

Trump reportedly took issue with her suggesting to Kennedy that he approved a taxpayer-funded ad subcontracted to a firm connected with her inner circle, according to National Review, which also reported that Mullin was being considered a top candidate for her replacement.

A White House official confirmed to Fox News that Trump did not know about the ad and did not approve it, despite her claims to the contrary at the hearings.

‘It was a combination of her many unfortunate leadership failures. From [Minnesota] to the ad campaign to the allegations of an affair,’ a source familiar with the situation told Fox News.

When confronted by reporters on the Capitol steps, Mullin indicated he had only short notice of Trump’s decision to pick him as Noem’s successor.

‘No, the president and I still have to communicate so we’ll talk about it moving forward,’ Mullin said. ‘The president and I have already talked – We have to talk to the president and get on the same page… I’ll talk to you all [later].’

In Wednesday’s House hearing, Noem was questioned by Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove, D-Calif., over rumors of an affair with DHS ‘special government employee’ Corey Lewandowski, a top figure in Trump’s 2016 campaign.

Noem criticized Kamlager-Dove in response, as her husband, insurance company owner and former South Dakota first gentleman Bryon Noem, sat just feet behind her.

Kamlager-Dove asked Noem if at any time during her tenure she had ‘sexual relations with Corey Lewandowski,’ before slamming the longtime Trump aide as a ‘failed campaign manager’ and someone lacking military experience.

Rep. Jared Moskowitz, D-Fla., followed up, pressing Noem on Lewandowski while wearing a Justice for Cricket pin, referencing the dog Noem once wrote she had to euthanize on her farm.

‘I really think you need to say the word ‘no’ into the record so that you can clear that up,’ Moskowitz said.

Noem pushed back hard on both Democrats, saying what they were implying is ‘offensive’ and telling Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, that she was ‘shocked that we’re going down and peddling this tabloid garbage in this committee today.’

‘The socialist, liberal left: you go off and you attack conservative women and you say that we’re either stupid or we’re sluts. That’s what you do. And I will tell you sir… I am neither of those,’ Noem fumed at Moskowitz.

Through the recent turmoil, many Republicans remained highly complimentary of Noem’s tenure.

Rep. Clay Higgins, R-La., a former law enforcement officer himself, said during the hearing that he was ’embarrassed by the antics of my colleagues across the aisle.’

‘Madam Secretary, you inherited a disaster, and you turned it around. An astonishing 97% decrease in illegal crossings isn’t a coincidence; it’s leadership. Know that this committee has your back,’ Higgins said.

When Swalwell pressed her on the ad campaign and contract, Noem shot back that while the Alameda Democrat was ‘focusing on photo-ops and luxury jets, I’m focused on the fact that the Coast Guard might not get paid because your party is choosing not to fund them.’

Fox News’ Jacqui Heinrich contributed to this report.

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Minnesota Republican Senate candidate Michele Tafoya slammed Gov. Tim Walz’s testimony on the massive fraud scandal roiling Minnesota during a contentious House hearing on Wednesday and outlined her plan to combat fraud, which she says voters have been clamoring about on the campaign trial. 

House Oversight Committee Republicans grilled Walz over allegations he knowingly permitted the sprawling fraud scheme to continue under his watch despite repeated warnings from whistleblowers. Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison also testified under oath at the hearing. 

‘Seeing Tim Walz testify today on fraud was everything I expected it to be: dodging, giving answers that were incomplete, not having information at his disposal, simply kind of passing the buck and taking credit for people behind bars that really he had nothing to do with,’ Tafoya told Fox News Digital in an exclusive interview Wednesday.

‘This is par for the course for Tim Walz,’ Tafoya said. ‘This is why he is no longer running for governor for a third term. It was more of the same. Same with A.G. Keith Ellison.’

Tafoya, a longtime former NFL sideline reporter, recently launched a campaign for Minnesota’s open Democratic-held Senate seat. She is vowing to crack down on the fraud scheme involving the state’s welfare programs, which unfolded during the tenure of Walz and his deputy, Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan. Tafoya could face Flanagan, a progressive Democrat running for the state’s open Senate seat, in the November general election.

Federal prosecutors allege fraudsters stole as much as $9 billion in taxpayer money and have charged nearly 100 individuals in various Minnesota fraud-related cases, mostly of whom are of Somali descent.

Fox News Digital exclusively obtained a three-part anti-fraud plan from Tafoya’s campaign, which she is promising to enact if elected to the Senate in November.

Tafoya said she would cosponsor the Deporting Fraudsters Act, which would allow for noncitizens who are convicted of fraud to be deported and barred from entering the United States. Sens. John Cornyn and Ted Cruz, R-Tex., and Mike Lee, R-Utah, introduced the legislation in 2025, but the bill has since stalled in the Senate.

 ‘If you are an immigrant in this country, you are a guest of this country, and you are convicted of defrauding the American people, you will be deported,’ Tafoya said. 

Tafoya is also pledging to crack down on Americans convicted of stealing taxpayer money. She told Fox News Digital that she would work to enact new mandatory minimum sentences for those involved in fraud schemes. 

‘This is not a second-class crime anymore,’ the Minnesota Republican added. ‘This deserves the full weight of the law.’

Thirdly, Tafoya voiced support for the Trump administration’s recent moves to temporarily halt hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars to states that fail to implement anti-fraud controls. 

The Trump administration recently announced it would withhold roughly $260 million in Medicaid funding to Minnesota until the state government puts guardrails in place to eliminate fraud. Federal officials have said the state could see more than $1 billion in deferred payments if Walz fails to comply with the president’s ‘war on fraud.’

Though Minnesota voters tend to favor Democrats at the federal level, Tafoya argued the fraud scandal gives Republicans an opening to flip the seat. Senate Republicans are also targeting Democratic-held seats in Georgia, Michigan and New Hampshire during the midterms. 

‘When I go and talk to people around the state of Minnesota and the word fraud comes up, there is an audible sort of hum or roar of disapproval,’ Tafoya said. ‘People are sick to their stomach over it, and I think it really is driving people to the polls this November.’

Tafoya, who is backed by Senate Republicans’ campaign arm, is expected to cruise to the general election despite facing a crowded field of candidates. On the Democratic side, Flanagan and Rep. Angie Craig are engaged in a bitter fight for the party’s nomination ahead of the August primary.

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Pentagon policy chief Elbridge Colby faced tough questions Thursday about President Donald Trump’s previous statements about war with Iran. 

While Colby was testifying before the House Armed Services Committee, the Democratic ranking member said that the president broke his campaign promise.

Colby appeared before the House Armed Services Committee on Thursday to testify about the recently-released 2026 National Defense Strategy (NDS). Several lawmakers focused on the U.S.’s Operation Epic Fury, as U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran continue.

‘When President Trump was running for office, he said over and over and over again, ‘I’m not going to do wars.’ In fact, he very specifically said, ‘If I’m president, we will not go to war with Iran.’ And here we are. So I’m genuinely curious what changed? What changed from when he was a candidate to when he was in office?’ Ranking Member Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash., said.

Smith later asked Colby the question, saying that Trump had routinely implied that ‘his mere presence and his policies’ could prevent wars as part of his ‘America First agenda.’ The lawmaker then wondered how that agenda allegedly failed in Iran.

‘I think the president sincerely meant that. He sincerely meant, ‘you put me in office, I’m going to do things to make sure that we don’t go to war with Iran.’ He failed. We’re at war with Iran,’ Smith said.

Colby pushed back, saying he did not think that the agenda had failed in Iran, noting Trump’s consistency in opposing Iran’s development of nuclear weapons. However, the ranking member would not accept that answer and retorted, once again bringing up the president’s statements about not going to war.

The Pentagon policy chief later brought up the president’s commitment to ‘peace through strength,’ citing the peace deals Trump has struck, such as the one in Gaza, as examples of ‘peace’ and saying that what was happening in Iran was the ‘strength’ part.

The lawmaker accepted Colby’s answer as ‘solid enough’ before saying that there was ‘no question that he failed’ in light of the launch of Operation Epic Fury.

Colby was not the only one to refute the argument that Trump broke promises by acting in Iran. Rep. Joe Wilson, R-S.C., said that under Trump’s leadership, ‘we’re preventing endless wars.’ 

Another lawmaker, Rep. Richard McCormick, R-Ga., asked Colby whether he would consider what is happening in Iran to be ‘a forever war,’ to which the Pentagon official said, ‘No, sir.’

Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment on Thursday.

Throughout his presidential campaign, Trump said that he would not drag the U.S. into endless wars and also spoke against Iran having a nuclear weapon. 

On Wednesday, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt refuted what she described as ‘fake news headlines’ suggesting U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran were unjustifiable. She told reporters at the first White House press briefing since Operation Epic Fury began that Iran ‘is a rogue terrorist regime that has been threatening the United States, our allies and our people for 47 years.’

‘The American people are smart enough to know that. And they’ve also been smart enough to listen to the president himself, not just over the past year in this second term, but during his first term as president, and also for the past 40 years of his life,’ Leavitt said. ‘This is a president who has been remarkably consistent on this issue, that Iran can never obtain a nuclear weapon. And the president tried peace through diplomacy exhaustively and extensively.’

‘He and his team gave it their best go, and the president ultimately came to the determination of that peace was not a suitable path,’ she said. ‘The Iranian regime, they want death. They want destruction. They want to kill Americans. And that’s unacceptable to this president. It’s intolerable to him as commander in chief.’

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House GOP leaders have asked embattled Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-Texas, to drop his bid for re-election.

‘The Ethics Committee has announced an investigation into Congressman Tony Gonzales’s conduct, and we urge them to act expeditiously. Congressman Gonzales has said he will fully cooperate with the investigation,’ the statement by Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and other top Republicans reads.

‘We have encouraged him to address these very serious allegations directly with his constituents and his colleagues. In the meantime, Leadership has asked Congressman Gonzales to withdraw from his race for re-election.’

Gonzales’ re-election bid has been plagued by scandal for weeks ever since allegations emerged that he had an affair with his late aide and sent her sexually explicit text messages.

The same aide, Regina Santos-Aviles, committed suicide by setting herself on fire outside her home late last year.

National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) Chairman Richard Hudson, R-N.C., leader of the House GOP campaign arm, told Fox News Digital, ‘I agree with the Speaker and the rest of leadership, Tony should withdraw from the runoff and allow the Ethics process to move forward while focusing on his family and serving his constituents for the remainder of his term.’

Gonzales suggested the affair did occur on the conservative ‘Joe Pags Show’ on Wednesday evening but gave no indication he would drop out.

‘I made a mistake and I had a lapse in judgment, and there was a lack of faith, and I take full responsibility for those actions. Since then, I’ve reconciled with my wife Angel. I’ve asked God to forgive me, which he has, and my faith is as strong as ever,’ the Texas Republican said.

He previously fought back against any accusation of impropriety and accused Santos-Aviles’ husband of extortion.

‘During my six years in Congress, not a single formal complaint has been levied against my office. Now days away from an election, coordinated political attacks reign in. IT WON’T WORK. Halfway through early voting and the intensity resides w/ TG voters. I’d rather be us than them,’ he posted on X in late February.

The House Ethics Committee opened an investigation into Gonzales on Wednesday, one day after he advanced to a runoff in his re-election bid.

Gonzales is facing Brandon Herrera, a social media influencer and firearms activist who previously challenged the incumbent lawmaker in 2024. Herrera lost to Gonzales by less than 2% in the previous election cycle.

This time, however, neither clinched an outright majority in the race and will now face off again in late May, if Gonzales does not drop out.

Fox News Digital reached out to Gonzales’ congressional office for comment.

Meanwhile, the growing scandal has prompted several of Gonzales’ fellow House Republicans to call for his resignation before the end of his term.

‘I would encourage him to consider resigning,’ Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., told reporters last week.

His fellow Texas lawmaker, Rep. Brandon Gill, R-Texas, urged Gonzales not to run for re-election. ‘America deserves better. Tony should drop out of the race,’ he posted on X.

Gonzales previously told reporters he had no intention of resigning.

Fox News Digital reached out to Gonzales’ congressional office and campaign for comment.

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As U.S. and Israeli military pressure on Iran intensifies, and President Donald Trump signals support for Kurdish forces, Kurdish opposition groups along the country’s western frontier tell Fox News Digital they are watching closely for an opportunity to strike back against the Islamic Republic, which they have fought for decades.

Kako Aliyar, a member of the leadership committee of the Kurdish opposition party Komala, told Fox News Digital from an undisclosed location in Iraq that the Kurdish movements are ready to act if conditions allow. 

‘Kurds have been waiting for a moment to do something,’ Aliyar said. ‘We believe that those moments are not far from us.’

But Aliyar said Kurdish forces cannot yet move against the regime because Iran still retains the ability to launch missile and drone attacks, which opposition fighters would struggle to defend against.

Aliyar said Iranian forces continue to target Kurdish opposition bases across the border in Iraq’s Kurdistan region.

Trump signaled support for Kurdish fighters launching an offensive against Iran, saying in a telephone interview with Reuters Thursday that he would back such a move. 

‘I think it’s wonderful that they want to do that — I’d be all for it,’ Trump said. 

Asked whether the United States would provide air cover for a Kurdish offensive, Trump declined to elaborate. 

‘I can’t tell you that,’ he said.

Aliyar said Kurdish groups remain under pressure from Iran and continue to face attacks on their bases across the border in Iraq’s Kurdistan region. 

‘Our camps, the Kurdish political parties, are still under attack by the Iranian regime, and we can’t go into detail,’ he said. 

Still, he indicated that if the opportunity arises, Kurdish fighters would attempt to return to Iranian territory. 

‘If we get an opportunity to go back to our own country, we will use it,’ he said.

Kurdish opposition signals unity

The comments come as Iranian Kurdish opposition groups attempt to present a united front against Iran.  

In February, several factions formed the Coalition of Political Forces of Iranian Kurdistan, bringing together parties including Komala, the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (PDKI), PJAK and the Kurdistan Freedom Party.

Aliyar said the coalition is still organizing itself but carries an important political message.

‘Politically, it’s a huge message for the Kurdish people inside the country and the international community that Kurds are united,’ he said. ‘We are working together, and we are trying to reach our goals together.’

Kurdish groups have long fought the Iranian government. Armed clashes between Kurdish militants and Iranian forces date back to the years following the 1979 Islamic Revolution, when Kurdish factions sought autonomy and were violently suppressed by Tehran.

Today, many Kurdish opposition groups operate from neighboring Iraqi Kurdistan, where they maintain political offices and limited military forces.

Waiting for Iran’s military capabilities to weaken

Aliyar suggested Kurdish forces would only be able to move if Iran’s military capabilities are significantly degraded. 

‘I believe those missile and drone abilities have to be more weakened or totally removed because we are not able to defend ourselves against them,’ he said.

Iran’s ability to launch missiles and drones remains one of the regime’s strongest deterrents against internal or external challengers. 

‘They can still launch missiles and they can still kill people,’ Aliyar said.

If those capabilities were reduced, he believes Kurdish forces could attempt to exploit the moment. 

‘I think everyone has the capacity to do so because Kurdish political parties have huge legitimacy among the people,’ he said. ‘People support them, people support us.’

However, Aliyar cautioned that no one can predict how events will unfold. 

‘When a war starts, you are trying to find a way to use it in your best way, but you cannot predict what happens tomorrow,’ he said.

Kurdish resistance rooted in decades of struggle

Kurds in Iran represent one of the country’s largest ethnic minorities and have historically maintained organized opposition movements. 

Kurdish parties developed armed wings and political networks decades ago, giving them a level of organizational structure that many other Iranian opposition movements lack.

Jino Victoria Doabi, an international political analyst focused on Iran and Kurdistan, told Fox News Digital that ‘Kurds inside Iran have their own history and tradition of struggle and resistance with political parties and armed forces.’

Doabi said that Kurdish forces are unlikely to move without clear backing from Washington.

‘For that to happen, they need assurance from America, both politically but also security-wise,’ Doabi said.

‘Kurds have learned that they cannot just do it for the good cause anymore, because that’s going to cause civilians a lot of pain and destruction and killings.’

Discussions about the idea of Kurdish involvement may have been underway long before the recent escalation, according to Doabi. 

‘I don’t think this has happened overnight,’ she said. ‘I think this has been discussed for a long time.’

Regional complications

Despite the growing attention on Kurdish groups, Aliyar emphasized that Iraqi Kurdish authorities are not directly involved in any potential campaign. 

‘Iraqi Kurds are not part of it,’ he said. ‘I am not Iraqi, so I cannot comment on that.’

Analysts say Kurdish insurgents alone are unlikely to topple the Iranian regime. But if internal unrest spreads and Kurdish forces coordinate with broader opposition movements, Iran’s western frontier could become a serious pressure point for Iran. 

For Aliyar and other Kurdish leaders, however, the goal remains clear after decades of opposition to the Islamic Republic.

‘We have had this desire for 47 years,’ he said. ‘If we get an opportunity, we will use it.’

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Some Social Security number requests are not optional. Federal reporting systems rely on the SSN as a primary identifier.

Employment offers the clearest example. Employers collect your SSN to report wages and file taxes, including Form W-2 submissions. The Social Security Administration credits your earnings record with it. The IRS uses it to match payroll taxes with reported income. Federal agencies also require your SSN when you apply for certain benefits or meet tax obligations. If you refuse to provide your SSN in these situations, you can delay processing or lose access to services.

However, not every form carries that authority. Landlords, medical offices, schools, gyms and retailers often include an SSN field by default. In those cases, ask why they need it and whether another identifier will work. So how do you tell when your SSN is truly required and when you can push back?

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Examples of when you need to share your SSN

Certain U.S. laws and federal regulations require an SSN because it functions as the official taxpayer or benefits identifier.

The IRS requires individuals who qualify for an SSN to use it as their taxpayer identification number on Form 1040 and related filings. The IRS uses the number to match income statements, credits and refunds to the correct taxpayer record.

IRS regulations require employers to include each employee’s SSN on Form W-2. Employers submit the form to both the IRS and the SSA so agencies can record earnings and reconcile payroll taxes.

Applications for Social Security benefits require an SSN so the SSA can retrieve the applicant’s earnings history and calculate eligibility and payment amounts.

U.S. citizens and eligible noncitizens applying for federal student aid must provide a valid SSN on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). The number is verified against SSA records during processing.

Financial institutions must obtain a taxpayer identification number — usually an SSN for individuals — to report interest income to the IRS on Form 1099-INT.

In each of these cases, the requirement stems from tax administration statutes or federal benefits law. The SSN is used to link records across agencies and systems.

When you don’t need to share your SSN

Beyond tax filings, wage reporting and federal benefits, many SSN requests come from internal company policy rather than statute. Private businesses are generally allowed to ask for your SSN. In most everyday transactions, there is no federal law forcing you to provide it.

Landlords often request an SSN to run credit checks. Federal housing law does not mandate collecting a tenant’s SSN to lease property. Screening is conducted through consumer reporting agencies, and alternative verification methods may be available.

Healthcare providers routinely include an SSN field. Federal law does not require patients to disclose an SSN for treatment. Since 2018, Medicare cards have used randomized beneficiary identifiers instead of SSNs. These Medicare Beneficiary Identifiers (MBI) don’t include your SSN.

Public schools may request a student’s SSN, but students cannot be denied enrollment for refusing to provide one. Institutions tend to assign their own identification numbers.

Power companies, mobile carriers and gyms sometimes request an SSN to evaluate credit risk or secure payment agreements. This is a risk management choice, not a statutory requirement.

In these cases, the request may feel routine. The legal footing is different from tax or benefits administration. You can ask what authority requires it and whether another form of identification will suffice.

What to ask before you hand over your SSN

If the request comes from a government agency, look for a Privacy Act disclosure statement. Federal law requires agencies to state whether providing your SSN is mandatory or voluntary, cite the legal authority for the request, and explain how it will be used. If the request comes from a private company, ask direct questions:

Is this required by federal or state law?

What will the SSN be used for?

Can you accept the last four digits instead?

Is there an alternative way to verify identity?

You can also ask how the number will be stored, whether it is encrypted and who has access to it. Collecting only what is necessary is a recognized security practice, but not every organization follows it.

What actually happens when your SSN is leaked

A leaked or stolen SSN can be used anywhere that number is treated as proof of identity.

In tax administration, the IRS processes returns based on the SSN attached to them. If a fraudulent return is filed first, the legitimate taxpayer’s electronic filing may be rejected because the number has already been used. Fixing it means paper filing and identity verification while the IRS reviews the case. The agency’s Identity Protection PIN program was introduced after years of SSN-based tax fraud.

Credit reporting works the same way. Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act framework, credit bureaus use the SSN to build and match consumer files. If credit is issued using your SSN, that account can attach to your report until you dispute it. It stays there while bureaus and lenders investigate.

Federal benefit systems also depend on the number. The SSA warns that criminals use stolen SSNs to impersonate beneficiaries and create fraudulent online accounts. An SSN does not expire or reset. Once exposed, it can continue appearing in tax filings, credit applications, or benefit records until you flag it.

How identity monitoring services help you respond faster

Identity monitoring services attempt to detect suspicious activity tied to your personal information as early as possible. Many services track credit activity across all three major U.S. bureaus and alert you to new inquiries, accounts and report changes. Some also scan known data breach datasets for exposed identifiers, including Social Security numbers.

Certain plans include identity theft insurance to cover eligible recovery costs, along with fraud resolution support to guide you through disputes and paperwork if something goes wrong.

No service can prevent every type of identity theft. The real value is early warning, knowing when and where your SSN is being used so you can act quickly before damage spreads.

How to check if your personal information was exposed

If you are unsure whether your personal information has been compromised, take action. Start with a reputable breach scan to see whether your email or other identifiers appear in known leaks. Early detection gives you more control and helps you respond before fraud escalates.

See my tips and best picks on Best Identity Theft Protection at Cyberguy.com.

Kurt’s key takeaways

Lawmakers created the Social Security number to track earnings and administer benefits, not to unlock every part of your life. Yet today, many companies treat it like a universal key. In some situations, you must provide your SSN. Taxes, employment and federal benefits depend on it. However, many everyday requests come from internal company policies, not federal law. That distinction matters. Before you share your number, pause and ask why the business needs it. Ask how they store it. Ask whether another form of identification will work. Small questions can prevent big problems. If someone has exposed your SSN, act quickly. Monitor your credit. Set up alerts. Report suspicious activity right away. Early action limits damage and protects your identity. Your Social Security number does not change. But you control when, where and how you share it.

Have you ever been asked for your Social Security number in a situation that didn’t feel necessary, and did you push back? Let us know by writing to us at Cyberguy.com.

Get my best tech tips, urgent security alerts and exclusive deals delivered straight to your inbox. Plus, you’ll get instant access to my Ultimate Scam Survival Guide – free when you join my CYBERGUY.COM newsletter.

Copyright 2026 CyberGuy.com. All rights reserved.

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Senate Democrats again blocked Republicans’ attempt to reopen the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) as background negotiations appear to have fizzled out.

It came just minutes after Kristi Noem, the former South Dakota congresswoman and governor who led President Donald Trump’s DHS in his second term, was ousted from her position on Wednesday.

The agency has been shuttered for nearly three weeks, and Democrats’ latest rejection of a full-year funding bill likely ensures that the closure extends into a fourth week.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and his caucus remained dug in on their position that unless the White House caters to their list of reforms to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), they wouldn’t play ball.

‘It’s very easy for them to get all of this funded — simply agree to our common-sense proposals on ICE and Border Patrol,’ Schumer said before the vote. ‘These are proposals. What we’ve asked for is what every police force does in terms of our negotiations. Look, we’re still far apart, but we’re still negotiating and exchanging paper back and forth.’

The vote came moments after Trump announced he would nominate Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., to replace Noem as the new DHS chief, following reports that Trump was ‘furious’ with her performance in bicameral Judiciary Committee hearings this week.

Meanwhile, Trump’s Operation Epic Fury has taken center stage in the upper chamber, with a Democratic push to rein in his war authorities in the Middle East hitting a red wall of Republican resistance on Wednesday.

And as the strikes continue, it has spurred calls from Senate Republicans to fund the agency as concerns over retaliation on American soil increase.

‘Look, I’m not going to vote to fund Ice and let them detain, brutalize, shoot, or kill more American citizens just because Donald Trump started an unconstitutional war that no one asked for,’ Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., said.

The House is expected to vote on a slightly modified version of the DHS funding bill later in the day, which is expected to pass in the lower chamber. Even if it does, given the current political standoff, it would likely go nowhere in the Senate. 

The last offer made public by either side came last Friday, when the White House sent congressional Democrats what officials called a ‘serious’ counter-proposal. While it appeared that progress was being made after a week of silence, Schumer and Democrats still weren’t satisfied.

A frustrated Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., noted that Democrats had ‘rebuffed’ Sen. Katie Britt, R-Ala., whom he anointed to run point for the GOP in negotiations, after repeated attempts to reach out to their counterparts.

He also charged that it appeared the decision to ignore Britt and Republicans was coming from Schumer.

‘I would say, beyond not engaging, they are just flat rejecting any chance to sit down and actually talk about it,’ Thune said. ‘And that seems to be coming from the top.’

‘I think they see this as politically advantageous to them, but this is a posture they’ve adopted which has become increasingly clear — it is just a flat-out unwillingness to try and solve this problem or fund the department,’ he continued. ‘At some point, something bad is going to happen.’

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Europe is ramping up its nuclear defenses, as France expands its arsenal and Poland signals interest in closer nuclear coordination with allies. 

‘I have decided to increase the numbers of warheads of our arsenal,’ French President Emmanuel Macron said Monday. 

He also said France will no longer disclose the size of its nuclear arsenal, reversing previous transparency.

‘To be free, one needs to be feared,’ the French president concluded.

France’s shift comes as Europe faces its most volatile security moment in decades, with Russia’s war in Ukraine grinding on, repeated nuclear threats from Moscow, and renewed questions in European capitals about the long-term reliability of U.S. security guarantees. Recent U.S. military strikes against Iran have added to a sense of global instability.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, meanwhile, signaled his country eventually will try to obtain nuclear weapons. 

‘Poland takes nuclear security very seriously,’ he said Tuesday. ‘As our autonomous capabilities grow, we will strive to prepare Poland for the most autonomous actions possible in this matter in the future.’

Polish President Karol Nawrocki, who frequently finds himself at odds with Tusk, said he is ‘a big supporter of Poland joining the nuclear project.’

Poland is a signatory of the nuclear nonproliferation treaty from the 1960s, meaning it is officially committed not to obtaining nuclear weapons. 

Tusk said Monday that Poland was in talks with France after Macron offered to deploy nuclear-capable fighter jets to allied countries. 

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022 shattered long-standing assumptions about conventional deterrence on the continent and has been accompanied by repeated nuclear saber-rattling from Moscow, including threats tied to Western military support for Kyiv. Russian officials have periodically warned of escalation if NATO deepens its involvement, keeping nuclear deterrence at the forefront of European security planning.

At the same time, questions have resurfaced across European capitals about the long-term durability of U.S. security guarantees, even as Washington continues to lead NATO and maintain nuclear forces stationed in Europe under long-standing alliance arrangements.

Several European governments have sharply increased defense spending since the start of the Ukraine war. 

Germany announced a historic military buildup after decades of underinvestment. Poland has become one of NATO’s top defense spenders as a percentage of GDP, rapidly expanding its conventional forces. And leaders in Paris and elsewhere have revived calls for greater ‘strategic autonomy’ — the idea that Europe must be capable of defending itself if the United States shifts its focus elsewhere.

France is the only nuclear-armed nation in the European Union and maintains an independent deterrent separate from NATO’s U.S.-led nuclear umbrella. Any expansion of its arsenal or broader coordination with European partners marks a significant moment in the continent’s post-Cold War security architecture.

Globally, only nine countries are widely believed to possess nuclear weapons: the United States, Russia, China, France, the United Kingdom, India, Pakistan, North Korea and Israel.

The renewed nuclear focus in Europe is also unfolding as global tensions escalate beyond the continent. The U.S. recently carried out major military strikes against Iran, raising fears of a wider regional conflict and stretching U.S. military attention across multiple theaters.

For some European leaders, the combination of Russia’s aggression and instability in the Middle East reinforces arguments that the continent must be prepared to shoulder more of its own defense burden — including strengthening deterrence at the highest level.

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I spent decades inside the Pentagon watching technology reshape warfare. I saw precision munitions change the battlefield. I watched satellites compress decision cycles. But nothing compares to what is happening now.

Artificial intelligence has moved the lab to the kill chain.

And the showdown between Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and AI firm Anthropic is not a contract dispute. It is the opening battle over who controls the most powerful military technology of the 21st century.

AI is already transforming war

Look at Ukraine.

Western officials report that drones now account for roughly 70-80% of battlefield casualties in that war. But the real revolution occurs when AI is added. Reports indicate AI-guided navigation can increase drone strike accuracy from 10–20% to as high as 70–80%.

That is not incremental change. That is a transformation in battlefield lethality.

The same dynamic is emerging in U.S. operations involving Iran and other theaters. AI tools are being used for intelligence analysis, targeting refinement, pattern recognition, and operational simulations. These systems compress time, reduce uncertainty and accelerate decisions.

AI is not theoretical. It is operational.

Which brings us to Washington.

What the Hegseth–Anthropic standoff is really about

On Feb. 27, Hegseth designated Anthropic a ‘supply chain risk to national security.’ President Donald Trump ordered federal agencies to cease using its Claude AI model after Anthropic refused to remove two guardrails:

A prohibition on fully autonomous weapons.

A prohibition on mass domestic surveillance.

Artificial intelligence has moved the lab to the kill chain.

The Pentagon argues that military commanders must be able to use AI tools for all lawful defense purposes without seeking permission from a private company in real time.

Anthropic argues that removing safeguards could enable autonomous killing systems or unconstitutional domestic spying.

Both concerns are legitimate.

But here is the deeper problem: America has outsourced strategic control of its most sensitive military algorithms to private contractors.

That is unsustainable.

Draw the right line

Let me be clear about what must not happen.

We must not expand domestic surveillance of American citizens under the banner of AI efficiency. The Fourth Amendment does not disappear in the age of algorithms.

Second, we must keep a human being in the kill chain. I served under lawful command authority. Life-and-death decisions carry moral accountability. They cannot be delegated entirely to autonomous systems.

Those are firm boundaries.

But here is the other boundary: no private corporation should hold an effective veto over how America defends itself.

Washington’s contractor addiction

For decades, the federal government has grown dependent on contractors for critical defense functions — logistics, cyber infrastructure, analytics and intelligence support. AI is simply the next frontier in that pattern.

But frontier AI models are not spare parts or uniforms. They are strategic infrastructure. They influence targeting, operational tempo and potentially deterrence modeling.

That level of sensitivity cannot remain under corporate ownership.

During World War II, the United States built the atomic bomb through the Manhattan Project under centralized national authority. It was not governed by venture-backed boards setting independent usage policies. It was directed by the U.S. government with a clear strategic mandate.

We need a similar mindset for our most sensitive AI systems.

Government must own core military algorithms. Not lease them. Not subscribe to them. Own them.

AI tools are being used for intelligence analysis, targeting refinement, pattern recognition, and operational simulations. These systems compress time, reduce uncertainty and accelerate decisions.

If AI is the new strategic high ground, America cannot subcontract the high ground.

China isn’t hesitating

As I argue in ‘The New AI Cold War,’ Beijing does not struggle with these dilemmas.

China fuses AI development directly to the state. There are no Silicon Valley executives in Beijing refusing military access. AI is treated as national infrastructure.

Russia and other nations are moving in similar directions. They are not debating internal guardrails while field-testing AI-enabled systems.

Strategic competition does not pause while we litigate contract language.

What must happen next

First, Congress must draw bright lines: no AI-enabled mass domestic surveillance of Americans without strict constitutional safeguards.

Second, codify meaningful human control over lethal force decisions.

Third — and most critically — build sovereign AI capacity inside government.

That means:

• Government-controlled AI research for classified applications
• Government ownership of core defense algorithms
• Reduced reliance on private frontier labs for sensitive military systems
• Long-term pipelines of cleared AI engineers

Anthropic argues that removing safeguards could enable autonomous killing systems or unconstitutional domestic spying.

Private industry will continue to innovate. But America’s most sensitive warfighting tools cannot remain dependent on companies whose corporate policies can override national defense requirements.

The real issue is sovereignty

The Pentagon–Anthropic feud is not about personalities. It is about sovereignty.

Who controls the algorithms that guide American force?

Who owns the code?

Who decides how it is used?

In the new AI Cold War, power will belong to those who control the models — not merely those who rent access to them.

America must protect liberty. We must reject AI-driven domestic surveillance. We must preserve human moral accountability in the use of force.

First, Congress must draw bright lines: no AI-enabled mass domestic surveillance of Americans without strict constitutional safeguards.

But we must also end the illusion that venture-backed firms can function as ultimate gatekeepers of national defense.

The AI Cold War is not hypothetical. It is unfolding on battlefields abroad and in policy fights at home.

This moment is not about one company. It is about whether the United States will treat artificial intelligence as strategic national infrastructure — or as a contractor service.

The answer will shape the next generation of warfare.

And history will not wait for us to decide.

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