Washington and Baghdad are working on a plan to draw down the U.S. troop presence in Iraq as soon as next year.

The U.S. and Iraq have reached an ‘understanding’ on plans to have hundreds of U.S. troops leave Iraq by September 2025 and the remainder leave by January 2027, according to a new Reuters report. However, no set-in-stone decision has been made, two defense officials told Fox News, and the timing is in flux. 

While the U.S. pulled out the last of its troops from Afghanistan in 2021, some 2,500 troops still remain in Iraq, and 900 remain in Syria. 

The remaining service members in Iraq are largely focused on combating ISIS under a global coalition, known as Operation Inherent Resolve. Last month, the U.S. carried out a joint raid, killing 15 ISIS fighters in Western Iraq. 

When asked about the Reuters report on Monday, Pentagon press secretary Pat Ryder told reporters that U.S. and Iraqi officials ‘continue to have their discussions’ on drawing down troops, as they have been since the start of the year. He would not comment on the accuracy of the report. 

‘As part of the U.S. Iraq Joint Security Cooperation dialog, we establish the Higher Military Commission, that will look at, the transition of the global coalition, into a long-term U.S. Iraq bilateral security cooperation relationship. And so those conversations are ongoing. And I just don’t want to get ahead of that process.’ 

The U.S. initially invaded Iraq in 2003, toppling Saddam Hussein’s regime and drawing down its troop presence from wartime levels in 2007 and leaving altogether in 2011, before returning in 2014 at the head of the coalition to fight the Islamic State.

Other nations, including Germany, France, Spain and Italy, also contribute hundreds of troops to the coalition. Under the reported plan, all coalition forces would leave the Ain al-Asad Air Base in the western Anbar province and significantly pull back their presence in Baghdad by September 2025.

While their mission is focused on the Islamic State, the U.S. troop presence serves as a strategic position against the growing threat of Iran. U.S. forces in Iraq have shot down rockets and drones fired towards Israel in recent months, according to U.S. officials. 

Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani has said he appreciates the U.S. help, but forces there have become a target for instability, often targeted and responding with strikes not coordinated with the Iraqi government. Al-Sudani is walking a tight line between an alliance with both Washington and Tehran. 

Defense experts argue that U.S. resources in Iraq indirectly benefit Iran because of the Iraqi government’s close alignment with the regime.

‘Our continued presence, while necessary during the fight against ISIS, now risks contributing to instability rather than achieving long-term peace,’ Jason Beardsley, a former senior Defense official, told Fox News Digital.

‘Recent events have shown that Iraqi forces are increasingly capable of managing their own security,’ the Army and Navy veteran said. 

‘With the current Iraqi government heavily influenced by Iranian-backed Shia factions, including the Popular Mobilization Front, maintaining U.S. troops doesn’t effectively counterbalance Iran. In fact, our resources end up indirectly benefiting those aligned with Iranian interests, making this a misguided strategy.’

‘The Iranians have done a fantastic job infiltrating the Iraqi Security Forces,’ said Bill Roggio, a senior fellow with the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. ‘But this ensures Iranian dominance in Iraq.’

‘They get free rein in Iraq to do their bidding. And as far as the fight against the Islamic State goes, this is going to be harmful as well. Islamic State has not been defeated, as much as the Trump and Biden administrations have said,’ he went on. ‘I also don’t see how the U.S. is going to maintain troops in Syria. Without the troops in Iraq, they’re going to be isolated.’

However, according to Roggio, ‘As currently situated, the U.S. either needs to put more troops in to secure themselves from militia attacks, or they need to be withdrawn.’

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y. hosted a Gold Medal ceremony for the 13 U.S. service members killed at Abbey Gate during the Afghanistan withdrawal. 

Johnson posthumously presented the Gold Medal, Congress’ highest honor, to the 13 fallen Americans who were killed during the August 2021 ISIS-K suicide bombing at the Kabul Airport. 

He opened the ceremony on Tuesday by naming the fallen and apologizing to their families. 

The 13 U.S. service members killed at Abbey Gate were: Marine Corps Staff Sgt. Darin T. Hoover, Marine Corps Sgt. Johanny Rosario Pichardo, Marine Corps Sgt. Nicole L. Gee, Marine Corps Cpl. Hunter Lopez, Marine Corps Cpl. Daegan W. Page, Marine Corps Cpl. Humberto A. Sanchez, Marine Corps Lance Cpl. David L. Espinoza, Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Jared M. Schmitz, Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Rylee J. McCollum, Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Dylan R. Merola, Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Kareem M. Nikoui, Navy Petty Officer Third Class Maxton W. Soviak, and Army Staff Sgt. Ryan C. Knauss. 

‘Our nation owes a profound debt of gratitude to these service members and those here today who were with them in Kabul. We also owe them something deeper, and that is an apology to the families who are here. I know many of you have yet to hear these words, so I will say them. We are sorry,’ Johnson said in opening remarks. ‘The United States government should have done everything to protect our troops. Those fallen and wounded at Abbey gate deserved our best efforts, and the families who have been left to pick up the pieces continue to deserve transparency and appreciation and recognition to you and the families who are not here. I can promise you this you are not alone in shouldering the burdens from that day. And although we can never fully measure your loss, we can and we must memorialize the ultimate sacrifice that was paid.’

Coral Doolittle, the mother of Marine Cpl. Humberto Sanchez, closed the ceremony with a plea to Americans on behalf of the families of the 13 fallen: ‘Say their names. Speak their names and tell their stories.’ 

‘We are honored to stand here today, receiving this recognition on behalf of the 13 who gave their lives. As their parents, our grief never truly ends,’ she said. ‘It changes, it transforms, but it remains with us always. A big part of us died with our children on Aug. 26, 2021. We want everybody to know the ceremonies like this provide a small but meaningful breath of relief in our ongoing journey of grief, reminding us that we raised the best and brightest for this country. We deeply appreciate the efforts of Congress and the Speaker of the House for making this moment possible.’ 

In his remarks, Jeffries said with the congressional Gold Medal, ‘we reverently honor 13 patriots who have fallen in a war zone with tremendous valor.’

‘The 13 heroes we are honoring here today represent the best of America. They were beloved sons and daughters, brothers and sisters, spouses and friends who knew the dangers of the mission but nevertheless answered the call to serve, risking their own safety for that of our fellow Americans, our allies and our Afghan partners. They defended freedom and democracy until their last breath. They held the gate,’ Jeffries said. ‘The Gold Medal we are presenting today is the highest honor that can be conferred by the United States Congress. But no honor can truly repay the incredible sacrifice made by our fallen to the families here.’

‘This Congressional Gold Medal also represents our ironclad promise to you. We have not forgotten your pain. We will never forget the ultimate sacrifice your loved ones have made, and our gratitude will be eternal,’ he said. ‘May the memory of these children of God, defenders of peace and defenders of liberty continue to inspire us all to protect freedom and democracy here at home and throughout the world, as they valiantly did.’ 

House Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., recognized that the 13 U.S. service members killed ‘bound up the wounds of a war that had spanned their entire lives.’ 

‘In an instant, 13 young Americans from every corner of our country were bonded forever. In an instant, their heroic service became an ultimate and eternal sacrifice,’ McConnell said, after reading personal details about how each of the fallen are remembered by their families. ‘Today, the name Abbey Gate carries a heavy toll of anger, of confusion and unspeakable grief. But we declare here today, with the highest honor in Congress, and bestow that deep in the hearts of a grateful nation, those two words will forever stand for bravery, the bravery of your sons and daughters and our heroes. ‘ 

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., pointed out how some of the 13 U.S. service members killed at Abbey Gate ‘were even younger than the war in Afghanistan itself.’

‘But to the citizens desperately trying to escape the Taliban’s rule through Abbey Gate on that fateful day, these 13 Americans were something more heroes. Guardians, saviors that were fighting for a cause far bigger than themselves, to deliver freedom to those who otherwise might never, never have known it again,’ Schumer said. ‘As we remember the 13 fallen heroes, we likewise remember every American who served in Afghanistan, including the 2,400 killed, the over 20,000 wounded, and the hundreds of thousands more who wore the uniform.’ 

‘Tomorrow, we honor the anniversary of September 11th, a day when we rededicate ourselves to that sacred promise. Never forget,’ Schumer said. ‘Well, that is what this morning’s ceremony is all about. We will never forget the sacrifice of the fallen 13 service members. It now falls on us to all of us gathered here under the dome of Lady Liberty to ensure the sacrifices of all our servicemen were not in vain.’ 

The attack also left roughly 170 Afghans dead. Tuesday’s ceremony comes two days after Rep. Mike McCaul, the Republican chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, released a scathing 350-page report that took a fine-toothed comb to the military’s 2021 Afghanistan withdrawal and highlighted areas of serious mismanagement. 

The Republican-led report opens by harkening back to President Biden’s urgency to withdraw from the Vietnam War as a senator in the 1970s. That, along with the Afghanistan withdrawal, demonstrates a ‘pattern of callous foreign policy positions and readiness to abandon strategic partners,’ according to the report.

The report also disputed Biden’s assertion that his hands were tied to the Doha agreement former President Trump had made with the Taliban establishing a deadline for U.S. withdrawal for the summer of 2021, and it revealed how state officials had no plan for getting Americans and allies out while there were still troops there to protect them.  

On the three-year anniversary of the attack last month, Trump joined the families of the slain 13 U.S. service members at Arlington National Cemetery. 

Biden and Vice President Harris were absent. Though they released written statements listing the names of the 13 fallen that day, neither Biden nor Harris spoke publicly on the anniversary. 

At the Republican National Convention in July, the Gold Star families took to the stage blasting President Biden for never saying the names of those 13 Americans killed publicly out loud. 

Harris later accused Trump of playing politics with the visit to Arlington National Cemetery, but in a series of short videos, eight families said they had invited Trump, and bitterly blasted the Biden-Harris administration over the pullout that left 13 U.S. service members dead three years ago. 

The vice president had criticized Trump’s team for taking photographs and videos at a wreath-laying ceremony event. The Army said that an Arlington National Cemetery official was ‘abruptly pushed aside’ while making sure that Trump’s team was ‘made aware of federal laws, Army regulations and DoD policies, which clearly prohibit political activities on cemetery grounds.’

The Gold Star families who lost loved ones in the botched Afghanistan withdrawal blasted Harris over her attack on Trump’s visit paying respect to the fallen. 

Fox News’ Morgan Phillips, Nicholas Kalman and Andrea Vacchiano contributed to this report. This is a developing story. Please check back for updates. 

Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., revealed the ‘biggest thing’ he believes can help former President Donald Trump in his debate against Vice President Kamala Harris in Philadelphia. 

During Tuesday night’s debate in the battleground state of Pennsylvania, Scott said that ‘the best thing Trump can get her to do is if she could talk 99% of the time.’

‘It’ll be interesting to see which Kamala Harris shows up,’ Scott told Fox News Digital. ‘The Harris that has been part of the Biden administration that has opened the border, ruined the economy and … stopped supporting Israel and allowed Iran to have all the weapons, or is it a new Harris that, you know, that believes the border ought to be secure, and we ought to get inflation under control by allowing free markets to work … allowing oil and gas production in this country so we can get the gas prices down. So it’ll be interesting to see which Harris shows up.’

‘I think the biggest thing is make sure that Harris talks,’ Scott, a Trump 2024 campaign surrogate, said. ‘When she talks, no one, almost nobody agrees with her – maybe some socialists would. So I think the biggest thing is for her to talk about her ideas, whether it’s to talk about the border, talk about the economy, talk about foreign policy … there is no logic to her thought process.’

‘When she talks about price controls, that just means product shortages,’ the senator said during a phone interview Monday morning. ‘When she talks about the border, people say, ‘Well, why didn’t she do it now?’ And because everything she says she’s going to do, I mean, I think the first reaction everybody has is ‘Well, why didn’t you do it?”

Scott said ABC News moderators should ask Harris during the debate if she will apologize to the families of the 13 U.S. service members killed in the August 2021 suicide bombing at Abbey Gate during the Afghanistan withdrawal. He also said the moderators should ask what Harris has to say to the families in this country who ‘can’t afford grocery prices and gas prices and rent because of the inflation she and Joe Biden caused.’

Scott, who sat next to Harris for two years on the Senate Homeland Security Committee, said he noticed during that time that she ‘wasn’t serious about any policy issues,’ but ‘was serious about getting on television.’

After plenty of debate over the debate, both camps agreed to adhere to the same rules that governed the Biden-Trump debate. The most contentious rule – the microphones will once again be muted during an opponent’s responses, which pundits see as a victory for Trump. As with the June debate hosted by CNN in Atlanta, there will be no studio audience.

The moderators, ABC News’ David Muir and Linsey Davis, will be the only ones asking questions, according to the rules.

When asked about how the Republican nominee should appeal to women during the debate amid recent polling indicating Harris has an advantage over Trump when it comes to female voters, Scott said Trump should talk about important issues like the economy, education and keeping people safe, which he argues ‘resonates with all men and all women.’ 

‘I think letting men playing women’s sports resonates to women, but I think it also resonates to men,’ Scott said. ‘And I think – just make sure Harris talks about what she believes in, and I think it turns people off.’ 

Fox News Digital also asked whether Trump should mention during the debate a piece of legislation called the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act, which aims to require states to obtain proof of citizenship – in person – when registering an individual to vote and require states to remove noncitizens from existing voter rolls. 

Some Republicans, including Scott, have pushed for the SAVE Act to be attached to a spending bill extension to avoid a government shutdown at the end of the fiscal year. 
 

‘Do you think specifically Trump should mention the SAVE act and the concern about illegal immigrants, noncitizens voting in this upcoming election?’ Fox News Digital asked. 

‘Yes,’ Scott said. ‘As I travel around Florida because I’m up this year, one of the things that comes up in every talk is, you know, are they going to steal the election. So I think it’s important to people.’

‘So I’m hopeful, hopefully it will pass the House,’ Scott said of the bill. ‘And then, you know, unless Schumer wants to shut down government, he’ll pass it out of the Senate.’ 

Fox News’ Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report. 

An anti-CCP group is launching a 6-figure ad in key battleground states during Tuesday’s debate between former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris that accuses her of ‘doing damage’ to the country through her position on China.

‘The Protecting America Initiative, a nonprofit organization focused on safeguarding the nation from Communist China’s growing influence in the states, today released a six-figure TV ad that will air during the Trump-Harris Presidential Debate on Tuesday,’ the Protecting America Initiative said in a press release this week leading up to the first debate between Trump and Harris. 

In the 30-second ad, which will run in the battleground states of Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, North Carolina, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin during Tuesday’s debate, the group takes direct aim at the Harris-Walz record on China.

‘Joe Biden and Kamala Harris opened the door to Communist China, and they’re marching right through it,’ the ad says.

‘A new Biden-Harris rule means China will hold our auto industry hostage. Harris even cast the tiebreaking vote that made it possible. And now that she’s running for president, she’s chosen a running mate under federal investigation for ‘close ties’ to the CCP,’ the ad continued. ‘Harris has done enough damage. It’s time to fight back. To safeguard our manufacturing, our food supply, and our border…It’s time to stand up to China and Protect America.’

The Protecting America Initiative describes itself as a ‘conservative nonprofit organization that supports state lawmakers in their effort to crack down on the growing threat of the Communist Chinese Party’ that is led by former Trump Acting Director of National Intelligence Richard Grenell and former GOP Congressman Lee Zeldin.

The Harris-Walz campaign has faced scrutiny over its positions on China, specifically Walz, who is the subject of an investigation in the House over his ‘longstanding connections’ to China. 

House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer announced earlier this year he is seeking information about the Chinese entities and officials Walz has ‘engaged and partnered with,’ as well as any ‘warnings or advice the FBI may have given to Governor Walz about U.S. political figures being targeted by or recruited for CCP influence operations.’ 

Comer said Walz has ‘longstanding connections to CCP-connected entities and officials that make him susceptible’ to the CCP’s strategy of ‘elite capture,’ which seeks to co-opt influential figures in elite political, cultural and academic circles to ‘influence the United States to the benefit of the communist regime and the detriment of Americans.’ 

Comer pointed to reports of Walz’s ‘extensive engagement with CCP officials and entities while serving in public office,’ saying it raises questions about ‘possible CCP influence in his decision-making as governor — and, should he be elected, as vice president.’ 

Fox News Digital reached out to the Harris-Walz campaign for comment but did not receive a response.

Fox News Digital’s Brooke Singman contributed to this report.

A high-ranking leader within the United States Secret Service (USSS) has been asked to retire, Fox News Digital has learned. 

Michael Plati, the office of protective operations assistant director, has been asked to retire from his position, and he is ending his tenure with the service in the coming days.

The decision is reportedly linked with the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania — a security failure that has sent shock waves through all levels of the agency.

The USSS is preparing to brief Congress in the coming days about lessons learned from the July 13 attempt on Trump’s life.

Plati was asked to step down by senior leadership, including Acting Director Ronald Rowe.

Fox News Digital has reached out to the USSS for comment and is awaiting its response. 

USSS Director Kimberly Cheatle resigned under mounting pressure on July 23 following the assassination attempt on the former president, Fox News confirmed. 

The Department of Defense (DOD) has since offered the USSS ‘additional assistance’ in protecting political figures that require personal security.

Anthony Guglielmi, U.S. Secret Service chief of communications, announced last month that the DOD will provide ‘additional assistance including logistics, transportation, and communications, through the 2024 campaign season.’

This is a developing story. Please check back soon for further updates.

– Two well-known former Democrats turned independents who are backing Donald Trump will be in the spin room at Tuesday night’s debate between the former president and Vice President Kamala Harris, to talk up Trump’s performance.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. the well-known environmental activist and vaccine skeptic who last month suspended his own presidential campaign and endorsed Trump, will be on hand at Philadelphia’s National Constitution Center, the Trump campaign confirmed to Fox News.

So will former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii, who unsuccessfully ran for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination before leaving the party and becoming an independent two years ago.

Gabbard, who’s become a favorite of many on the political right, backed Trump last month.

Joining Kennedy and Gabbard in the spin room at the debate – which is the first and potentially only face-to-face showdown between Harris and Trump before Election Day on Nov 5 – is a squad of high-profile Republicans.

Topping the list is Trump’s running mate, Sen. JD Vance of Ohio.

Also in the spin room for Trump: Republican National Committee chair Michael Whatley and co-chair Lara Trump, who is the former president’s daughter-in-law.

So will former Trump rivals during the race for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination turned surrogates: Gov. Doug Burgum of North Dakota, Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina and Vivek Ramaswamy.

Other top surrogates in the spin room will be Sens. Marco Rubio and Rick Scott of Florida, and Tom Cotton of Arkansas, Reps. Byron Donalds and Matt Gaetz of Florida and Mike Waltz of Texas, and Gov. Kristi Noem of South Dakota.

News of the Trump spin room surrogates was first reported by Politico.

The Harris campaign had yet to announce their list of spin room surrogates.

A program is being rolled out and overseen by the House of Representatives this week that is aimed at boosting transparency in the high-profile fight for control of Congress.

‘We’re excited to really ramp the program up, roll it out, as we come into the final eight weeks before the election,’ House Committee on Administration Chair Bryan Steil, R-Wis., told Fox News Digital in an interview about the program, which has been used in several election cycles.

More than a dozen House races are expected to come down to razor-thin margins in November. Democrats are fighting to win back control from the House GOP and the fight is likely to be close either way.

The House Committee on Administration is moving to boost accountability efforts at the polls for such races through the Election Observer Program.

Congressional staffers are eligible to volunteer for a training program that would set them up to be poll watchers in the upcoming election. 

They would then be sent out to districts, not including their own, if requested by a congressional candidate in a close race.

‘I think uniquely this Congress, we can raise awareness, engagement and participation in the program,’ Steil said. ‘This is a program that’s been around for some time, and it’s been a successful program. My staff has participated in it, and I think it’s an important piece of the puzzle as we work to enhance the integrity and Americans’ confidence in our elections.’

He said it is imperative to boost the program’s visibility so that candidates and incumbents running across the political spectrum in November know it is available to them.

Asked if he had any particular security concerns about this year’s elections, Steil said he was ‘frustrated’ by a lack of answers from the Biden administration in response to his probing of a June executive order aimed at using federal resources to bolster voter access.

‘The administration continues to hide the ball on the work they’re doing as it relates to President Biden’s executive order, and I think there’s areas in particular as it relates to noncitizen voting that we should work to continue to get in place,’ Steil said.

The House’s Election Observer Program is one of several election security measures Steil has used his committee gavel to focus on.

Democrats, meanwhile, have panned several key GOP-led election efforts as voter suppression. 

Congressional Democrat leaders are also opposing a short-term government funding bill that is attached to legislation mandating proof of citizenship in the voter registration process. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., called the Republican plan ‘extreme.’

Steil said he hopes Democrats utilize the program as they had before, though he conceded that election integrity issues have become highly political.

‘A lot of things that did not used to be viewed as partisan in nature, in particular as it relates to election integrity, have become an attempt by the left to try to weaponize the efforts in the other direction,’ he said. ‘We’ll see how our Democratic colleagues respond to a program they participated in the past.’

‘But I am of the view that we have an opportunity to take this program and move it up to the next level, both in visibility and in participation.’