NationalWatch

Democrats up for re-election in battleground states face a bind in the Senate as the impeachment trial for Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas is expected to begin this month over his role in the ongoing crisis at the southern border.

Several Republican Senate sources told Fox News Digital they expect the pressure to ramp up for lawmakers such as Sens. Jon Tester, D-Mont., Jacky Rosen, D-Nev., Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, and Bob Casey, D-Penn., who face competitive re-election races in November.

Voters in each of the senators’ states have indicated strong concerns over the state of the border.

Republican senators recently accused Tester of being unwilling to vote on border or immigration-related amendments during negotiations over the $1.2 trillion spending package that caused a brief partial government shutdown before being passed last month. Tester’s office denied the claims. 

BATTLEGROUND STATE DEM SHOWS ZERO SOCIAL MEDIA POSTS REMEMBERING LAKEN RILEY BUT REPEAT POSTS ON GEORGE FLOYD

One senior Republican Senate source predicted Tester would be similarly pushed during the impeachment trial procedure: “He’ll have to go on the record with it. No way out,” the source said. They noted that Brown would also be put to the test in the Mayorkas trial. 

A representative for Tester told Fox News Digital on Wednesday, “Senator Tester will review the articles when they are sent over to the Senate.”

The House passed two articles of impeachment against Mayorkas in early February but held onto them until after the appropriations process finished. In a letter last week, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., revealed his intention to deliver the articles to the Senate on April 10 and urged Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., to move quickly on a trial. 

When the articles are delivered, “all senators have to be sworn in as jurors and sign the book,” a senior GOP source said. 

“We actually go into trial mode, but Schumer will put forward a vote to dismiss it,” the source predicted.

SEAN HANNITY: BORDER CRISIS A MODERN-DAY ‘BLOODBATH’

Schumer’s office did not provide comment to Fox News Digital.

“Everything is simple majority,” the source noted, meaning only 51 of the 100 senators are necessary to move forward with any action. 

While Senate Democrats have largely dismissed the charges against Mayorkas as meritless and political posturing, the lawmakers who are competing in close races in the general election may be influenced by the growing concern over the border among their constituents. In a March Fox News Poll, 41% of all registered voters agreed the situation at the southern border is an emergency. This included 65% of Republicans, 31% of independents and 20% of Democrats.

As a result, the vulnerable Democrat senators are certain to be met with attacks on the campaign trail from their Republican opponents, who will pose the question of their seriousness on the border crisis. In a February memo from National Republican Senatorial Committee political director Tim Edson that was obtained by Fox News Digital, Senate candidates were advised to hold their Democrat counterparts accountable.

“We cannot allow Senate Democrats to sweep the Biden Administration’s failures at the southern border under the rug,” it reads. “Democrats caused this crisis, and voting to acquit Mayorkas is a vote to allow the continued invasion of our country.”

Tester’s opponent, Republican Senate candidate Tim Sheehy, said in a statement that “the Senate should hold a full impeachment trial.”

“Senator Jon Tester wants to avoid a trial and let Mayorkas off the hook because they BOTH support the radical Left’s push of open borders and letting illegal immigrants flood into America. We deserve accountability!” he continued.

TRUMP SPOTLIGHTS ‘BIDEN’S BORDER BLOODBATH’ DURING STOP IN CRUCIAL BATTLEGROUND STATE HE LOST IN 2020

Representatives for Rosen, Baldwin, Brown and Casey did not provide comment to Fox News Digital.

“If Bob Casey is serious about securing the border, he’ll urge Chuck Schumer to move this inquiry forward and hold them accountable,” said Pennsylvania Republican Senate front-runner Dave McCormick in a statement to Fox News Digital.

Spokesperson Ben Voelkel for Wisconsin Republican Senate front-runner Eric Hovde said in a statement, “Sen. Baldwin needs to hold [Mayorkas] accountable. If she doesn’t, Wisconsin voters will hold her accountable for her inaction.”

“If Sherrod Brown cares about hardworking Ohioans who have been impacted by the border invasion and fentanyl crisis, he will hold Mayorkas accountable in the Senate trial,” said Reagan McCarthy, spokesperson for Ohio Republican Senate candidate Bernie Moreno.

Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., who has occasionally been out of step with Democrats, appears likely to stick with his caucus in the likely case they look to dismiss the trial quickly. In February, he told Politico that the forthcoming impeachment was “Pure crap,” adding that he wants “No trial at all.”

Manchin’s office referred Fox News Digital to his previous comment.

Republican strategist Brian Walsh, a former staffer for Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, said, “It highlights a huge political vulnerability for Democratic Senators like Jon Tester, Sherrod Brown and Bob Casey going into the 2024 election.”

WHITE HOUSE PRESSED ON WHETHER BIDEN BELIEVES BORDER CROSSERS COULD BE IN US PLOTTING TERROR ATTACK ON AMERICA

They will be forced to “pick a side” between their base and “the majority of voters, including independents” who say the border is the most important problem in the country, Walsh added.

As the senators face a difficult decision, it’s not clear that all Republicans will be on board to continue the trial. Each vote matters, given the Senate’s narrow 49-51 split between Republicans and those in the Democrat caucus. 

Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, criticized the idea of a trial in late February, writing on X, formerly known as Twitter, that it “might be great politics, but it’s not the remedy for bad policy & would set a terrible constitutional precedent.”

Romney’s office did not provide comment to Fox News Digital. 

Other concerns for the impeachment effort are Sens. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, and Susan Collins, R-Maine, who have gone against the conference previously. Neither of their offices provided comment to Fox News Digital on the subject.

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Meanwhile, Mayorkas is set to appear on Capitol Hill on April 10, the same day the articles of impeachment are expected to be delivered to the Senate, for an unrelated hearing before the House Appropriations Homeland Security Subcommittee regarding the department’s fiscal 2025 request.

DHS did not provide comment to Fox News Digital.

Welcome to Fox News’ Politics newsletter with the latest political news from Washington D.C. and updates from the 2024 campaign trail. 

What’s happening? 

– Biden goes after Utah for keeping trans prisoner in male prison

– Trump campaign receives hefty fundraising haul

– Americans agree on more than you think

Biden accused of ‘obvious hypocrisy’

President Biden’s condemnation of the Israeli airstrike that killed seven food aid workers in Gaza earlier this week isn’t sitting well with some critics, who called the president’s reaction “obvious hypocrisy.”

“I am outraged and heartbroken by the deaths of seven humanitarian workers from World Central Kitchen, including one American, in Gaza yesterday,” Biden wrote in a statement. “They were providing food to hungry civilians in the middle of a war. They were brave and selfless. Their deaths are a tragedy.”

Biden’s comments on the incident quickly drew the ire of some individuals who blasted the president’s remarks as hypocritical, since the U.S. conducted a drone strike in August 2021 that killed 10 civilians in Kabul, Afghanistan. The strike happened just days after the Biden administration’s botched withdrawal from Afghanistan led to the deaths of 13 U.S. service members when ISIS terrorists detonated a bomb at an entrance to the Kabul airport. 

“There’s obvious hypocrisy there and lack of self-reflection,” Richard Goldberg, a senior adviser at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told Fox News Digital on Wednesday. “I think it reflects the president’s posture right now to be hypercritical of Israel whenever possible, as part of a sustained political warfare campaign against the Israeli government if there’s an opportunity to amplify that criticism in order to make his left wing happier.”

White House

WALKOUT: Doctor walked out of White House meeting with Biden over Israel-Hamas war …Read more

DARK MONEY MACHINE: Biden, top Dems benefit from millions in secretive campaign cash …Read more

CONTINUED SUPPORT: White House pressing Congress to approve F-15 sale to Israel despite criticism over airstrike accident …Read more

DOJ SUES UTAH: Biden admin goes after Utah for keeping trans prisoner in male prison …Read more

Capitol Hill

CALL FOR RECUSAL: Stefanik accuses judge in Trump hush money case of ‘clear judicial bias’ after gag order, cites family ties …Read more

EXTREME LENGTHS: House GOP demands Secretary Austin root out ‘left-wing extremism’ in military …Read more

‘FIND A FEDERAL PRISON’: GOP plan to name major airport after Trump makes Dems erupt …Read more

Tales from the Campaign Trail

‘GOING TO WIN BIG’: Trump campaign reveals hefty fundraising haul days before massive Mar-a-Lago event …Read more

‘NO, HE’S NOT’: Jill Biden snaps at network host over president’s dismal swing-state polling …Read more

‘TRUMP WAS RIGHT’: New ad rips Biden’s record on key issue tearing apart US cities …Read more

Across America

‘WINNER-TAKE-ALL’: Trump supports governor seeking to make changes to state elections …Read more

PAY FOR SLAYING: Federal judge hits Iran, Syria with $191M judgment for Hamas-supported slaying of American Israeli activist …Read more

COMMON TRAITS: Americans agree on most core values, think our democracy functions poorly, poll finds …Read more

TIME TO STEP DOWN?: Justice Sotomayor called on to retire by former MSNBC host …Read more

LAW AND ORDER: SF residents call on city to stop crime after prostitute beats homeless person on street …Read more

REPUBLICANS POUNCE: Detroit columnist: GOP ‘banking’ on migrant crime issue in 2024 …Read more

‘EVERY SINGLE QUESTION’: Sage Steele says ‘every word’ of her Biden interview was ‘scripted’ by ESPN execs …Read more

Subscribe now to get Fox News Politics newsletter in your inbox.

Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more on FoxNews.com.

Former President Trump on Tuesday endorsed businessman and entrepreneur Eric Hovde — the Republican candidate who Trump says is the most capable of unseating Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., in the state’s U.S. Senate election later this year.

The comments from Trump, the GOP’s presumptive presidential nominee for 2024, came during a visit by the former president to Green Bay, Wisconsin, for a campaign rally.

Describing Hovde as a “man who’s doing really good” and is “just about even in the polls,” Trump praised the GOP candidate during his trip to the Badger State.

“He’s a handsome devil, I just met him backstage,” Trump told the crowd of Hovde. “A beautiful wife, a beautiful family.”

WISCONSIN GOP SENATE CANDIDATE ERIC HOVDE RELEASES FIRST TELEVISED CAMPAIGN AD

“I’ve met Eric and I’ve studied Eric because we have to get it right. [He’s] running against some very fine people, really, but I’ve looked it out, and they’re going to have other opportunities. Eric, I am giving you my complete and total endorsement, so go out and win,” Trump added.

In a statement to Fox News Digital, Hovde, who will appear on the Wisconsin GOP primary election ballot on Aug. 13, noted that it’s going to take a total effort to defeat Baldwin in November.

“Wisconsin is the biggest swing state in the country and Sen. Baldwin’s failed record as a rubber stamp for the disastrous Biden policies will be on the ballot this fall,” Hovde wrote. “It will take an all-hands on deck effort to win in November, and we are building a strong coalition to get the job done.”

Hovde, who previously endorsed Trump for the presidency, formally launched his bid for U.S. Senate against Baldwin in February, saying that “America is slipping away” and “everything is going in the wrong direction.”

This is Hovde’s second Senate campaign; he ran in 2012 but lost in the GOP primary to former Gov. Tommy Thompson. Baldwin went on to win the election that year and is now seeking a third term in the battleground state.

WISCONSIN GOP SENATE CANDIDATE SAYS CHALLENGERS MUST BE ‘PRETTY WORRIED’ AFTER LATEST ‘SMEARING’ ATTEMPT

Re-electing Baldwin to a third term is critical for Democrat hopes to maintain majority control of the Senate. Democrats are defending 23 seats in the Senate in November, including two held by independents who caucus with Democrats. That’s compared with 11 seats that Republicans hope to keep in their column.

Baldwin’s campaign branded Hovde as “an out-of-touch megamillionaire” in a fundraising email sent minutes after his campaign website went live, and suggested that he would support the agenda of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., if elected.

“Hovde would vote to pass a national abortion ban, raise taxes on working families and seniors while cutting Social Security and Medicare, and repeal the Affordable Care Act,” Wisconsin Democratic Party spokesperson Arik Wolk said separately.

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Wisconsin’s primary election is slated for Aug. 13. Hovde is running against half a dozen other Republicans who are seeking the party’s nomination.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The Wisconsin Supreme Court on Wednesday refused to offer clarity on what legislative district boundary lines should be in play for a potential recall election sought by supporters of former President Donald Trump targeting the Republican Assembly speaker.

The effort to recall Speaker Robin Vos appears to have not gathered enough valid signatures to force an election. But the Wisconsin Elections Commission had asked the Supreme Court to clarify what maps should be used for any recall or special election that takes place before November, when new maps take effect.

GOV. EVERS TURNS TO WISCONSIN SUPREME COURT IN CRUSADE AGAINST ABSENTEE DROP BOX RESTRICTIONS

The court, in a unanimous order, noted that in December it had ruled that the legislative maps then in place were unconstitutional and barred their future use. In February, Democratic Gov. Tony Evers signed into law maps he proposed that the Republican-controlled Legislature passed.

Those are the maps take effect in November. The court’s order leaves open the question of what maps are in effect for any election before November.

“We decline to further clarify or amend the opinion and order,” the court said, referring to its December ruling.

It is the Wisconsin Elections Commission, not the Supreme Court, that has the responsibility to administer elections, the court said.

The next move will be up to the commission, which faces an April 11 deadline to determine whether the recall petition had sufficient signatures to trigger an election. Its decision can be appealed in court.

Commission spokesperson Riley Vetterkind had no comment on the court’s order.

The commission, based on its initial cursory review, determined there were not enough valid signatures collected from residents of the district Vos was elected to represent. But Vos’ district lines are changing under legislative maps that take effect in November.

Vos is being targeted for recall because he refused to impeach the state’s top elections official or proceed with attempting to decertify President Joe Biden’s 2020 victory in Wisconsin. His actions angered Trump, who accused Vos of covering up election corruption, while Trump’s followers mounted an unsuccessful primary challenge in 2022 and are now trying to force a recall election.

Vos, who challenged the validity of thousands of signatures and declared the effort failed no matter what district lines are used, has derided those targeting him as “whack jobs and morons.”

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Recall organizers, recognizing that their initial effort was likely short of the needed signatures, launched a second recall effort last week.

Vos is the most powerful Republican in the GOP-led Legislature. He was first elected in 2004 and is the longest-serving Assembly speaker in state history, holding the post since 2013.

FIRST ON FOX: A Republican Senate candidate in battleground state Nevada, Sam Brown, pulled in $2.2 million in the first quarter of 2024 for his challenge to incumbent Sen. Jacky Rosen, D-Nev.

The former U.S. Army captain, who was injured in Afghanistan, raised the sum in the first three months of the election year, as he inches closer to clinching the Republican nomination for Senate and taking on Rosen in November. 

“It’s clear that Nevadans are tired of Jacky Rosen and liberal elites telling them how to raise their kids and saying that gas and grocery prices being so high isn’t really that bad,” Brown said in an exclusive statement to Fox News Digital. “I’m running to end Joe Biden and Jacky Rosen’s American Nightmare and restore the American Dream for all Nevadans.”

JILL BIDEN SNAPS AT MENTION OF POLL WITH PRESIDENT TRAILING TRUMP IN SIX SWING STATES: ‘NO, HE’S NOT’

The $2.2 million total garnered between January and March is more than Brown raised in both previous quarters. In the third quarter of 2023, he brought in $1.1 million, and in the fourth quarter he upped it to $1.85 million. 

Rosen’s campaign did not reveal her fundraising for the first quarter of the election year or provide comment to Fox News Digital. 

“Nevadans see through Jacky Rosen’s pandering to the reality of her record: she consistently votes for open borders and reckless DC spending bills that skyrocket the cost of groceries and gas prices,” said Brown spokesperson Kristy Wilkinson. “Nevadans are ready to replace her with Sam Brown’s strong common-sense leadership.” 

The stakes in Nevada were raised on Wednesday when non-partisan race analyst the Cook Political Report shifted the race’s 2024 rating from “Lean Democrat” to “Toss Up.” The Nevada Senate race joins only three others in the category: Arizona, Montana and Ohio. 

Brown’s first quarter total is more than 2022 Republican Senate candidate Adam Laxalt pulled in at the same point in the midterm election cycle. Laxalt saw $1.6 million during January through March 2022. He ultimately lost to Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev.

ARIZONA ABORTION RIGHTS GROUP SECURES SIGNATURES FOR 2024 BALLOT REFERENDUM

While its unclear what Rosen’s fundraising looked like in the first months of 2024, she previously out-raised Brown in 2023. In the last quarter of the year, the incumbent senator brought in $3.2 million, which was on par with the $3.3 million Cortez Masto raised at the same point in 2021. 

While Brown has garnered national media attention, high profile endorsements and millions in fundraising, he still needs to clear the Republican Senate primary field. Other prominent challengers vying for the nomination are former Trump official Jeff Gunter, veteran Air Force pilot Tony Grady and former state Assemblyman Jim Marchant. 

TRUMP RAKES IN HEFTY MARCH FUNDRAISING HAUL AS CAMPAIGN AIMS TO CLOSE CASH GAP WITH BIDEN

Gunter’s campaign did not provide fundraising numbers to Fox News Digital. 

“My message to the Sam Brown campaign: It doesn’t matter how much you raise, we will spend whatever it takes to get the job done. Whether it’s $3 million, $30 million or $300 million, I am more committed than ever to supporting President Trump and the America First movement. I will self fund if that’s what it takes,” said Gunter in a statement.

He added that he plans to flood the airwaves over the next few months to bring voters his “America First, 110% pro-Trump message.” Gunter slammed Brown as “beholden to his donors and beholden to Trump hater Mitch McConnell, Nikki Haley and the failing political class.”

Brown endorsed former President Trump in January, but Trump hasn’t yet weighed in on the contentious Nevada Senate primary. However, Brown was a top recruit of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, chaired by Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., who quickly endorsed him. He has also been endorsed by Republican conference Chairman John Barrasso, R-Wyo. Other members of the Republican Senate leadership team have attended fundraisers for the candidate. 

Grady did not release his fundraising to Fox News Digital, but hit Brown in a statement as “a wannabe career politician.” According to the Republican candidate, Brown is trying to “buy himself a seat in Washington with the help of his big-donor friends.”

“I am the only candidate meeting with Nevada voters face-to-face and hearing the issues important to them. Instead of focusing on the Washington-elite, I will continue to listen to Nevada voters,” he added. 

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Marchant did not provide comment to Fox News Digital. 

The Nevada Senate primary will take place on June 11.

Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.

The New York judge overseeing former President Donald Trump’s hush money trial has rejected his bid for a delay until the U.S. Supreme Court rules on the issue of presidential immunity. 

Manhattan Judge Juan M. Merchan deemed Trump’s request untimely, ruling that his lawyers had plenty of opportunities to raise the immunity issue before they did earlier this month. 

“This Court finds that Defendant had myriad opportunities to raise the claim of presidential immunity well before March 7, 2024,” Merchan wrote, adding that Trump and his lawyers could have made the argument on September 29, 2023, which he says was just six days before he made the same presidential immunity argument in Special Counsel Jack Smith’s investigation into Jan. 6 and election interference. 

The United States Supreme Court will consider the issue of presidential immunity in Smith’s case on April 25. 

Merchan denied Trump’s motion “in its entirety as untimely.” 

“The Court declines to consider whether the doctrine of presidential immunity precludes the introduction of evidence of purported official presidential acts in a criminal proceeding,” Merchan wrote. 

TRUMP HUSH-MONEY CASE ‘COULD NOT BE WORSE FOR OUR COUNTRY,’ JONATHAN TURLEY WARNS

Lawyers for the presumptive Republican nominee had asked to adjourn the New York trial indefinitely until Trump’s immunity claim in his Washington, D.C., election interference case is resolved. The Supreme Court is expected to hear arguments later this month and issue a ruling in mid-June. 

Merchan previously chided Trump’s lawyers for missing a filing deadline, waiting more than two weeks before jury selection to raise the immunity issue and failing to “explain the reason for the late filing.”

Trump contends he is immune from prosecution for conduct alleged to involve official acts during his tenure in office. His lawyers argue some of the evidence and alleged acts in the hush money case overlap with his time in the White House and constitute official acts.

The trial stemming from Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s years-long investigation into alleged hush-money payments ahead of the 2016 election is set to begin with jury selection on April 15. Upon setting the trial date, Merchan granted Bragg’s request for a gag order to be imposed on Trump. 

The charges against Trump in the Bragg case are related to alleged hush-money payments made during the 2016 presidential campaign.

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Trump pleaded not guilty to all 34 counts of falsifying business records in the first degree last year.

In 2019, federal prosecutors in the Southern District of New York opted not to charge Trump related to the payments made to adult film actress Stormy Daniels and former Playboy model Karen McDougal.

The Federal Election Commission also tossed its investigation into the matter in 2021.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

With seven months to go until the presidential election, former President Donald Trump tops President Biden in all but one of the crucial battleground states that will likely decide their 2024 rematch, according to new polling.

A Wall Street Journal survey released Tuesday indicated Trump with the edge over the president in six of the seven states polled: Pennsylvania, Michigan, Arizona, Georgia, Nevada and North Carolina.

According to the survey, Trump holds a six-point lead over Biden in North Carolina in a ballot that also includes third-party and independent candidates. Trump has a five-point lead in Arizona, a four-point edge in Nevada, and three-point advantages in Michigan and Pennsylvania. The former president edges the White House incumbent by a single point in Georgia, with the two tied in Wisconsin.

Trump held similar leads when those questioned were given a head-to-head matchup between the former president and Biden.

TRUMP RAKES IN HEFTY MARCH FUNDRAISING HAUL AS CAMPAIGN AIMS TO CLOSE CASH GAP WITH BIDEN

Biden narrowly edged Trump in all the battlegrounds tested, other than North Carolina, to win the White House four years ago.

According to the survey, along with coming in second to Trump among most voters, Biden also had a negative job performance rating in all seven battleground states. On the flip side, voters in every state except Nevada had a favorable opinion of Trump’s time in the White House.

JILL BIDEN SNAPS AT MENTION OF POLL WITH PRESIDENT TRAILING TRUMP IN SIX STATES: ‘NO, HE’S NOT’

When asked about specific issues, respondents said they trust Trump to handle the economy and immigration over Biden. The Democrat president, however, was the preferred candidate to deal with the issue of abortion.

The polling results also mirror recent concerns over the president’s physical fitness. About 48% of voters believe Trump is more fit to serve as president over only 28% who see 81-year-old Biden as having the mental and physical fitness to serve another four-year term as president.

First lady Jill Biden was asked about Biden’s dismal WSJ polling results on “CBS Mornings” on Wednesday, but dismissed the dismal results, saying, “No, he’s not losing in all the battleground states. He’s coming up.”

The WSJ poll was conducted March 17 to 24 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 1.5 percentage points.

A national survey from NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist on Wednesday showed Biden leading Trump by two percentage points on the general election ballot. When asked who they would vote for if the election were held today, 50% of likely voters said Biden, while 48% support Trump in his third straight presidential bid. 

While Biden secured a narrow lead in the poll, four in 10 of those surveyed said their minds could change ahead of the November election.

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Among independent voters, however, Trump led Biden by seven points, 52% to 45%.

“The presidential contest remains close, but there are some interesting twists which run counter to the conventional wisdom,” Lee M. Miringoff, Director of the Marist Institute for Public Opinion, said alongside the polling results. “Three points to note: first, about four in 10 voters are not rock solid in their choice for president; second, Biden supporters are slightly more locked in; and third, Democrats are more cohesive in their positions on the issues.”

The NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll was conducted from March 25 to 28 with a margin of error of plus or minus 3.7 percentage points.

Trump and the Republican National Committee announced hauling in $65.6 million in fundraising in March and ended the month with $93.1 million in cash on hand, Fox News Digital confirmed news first reported by Politico.

Biden’s campaign has not yet announced its March fundraising haul, but reported raising $53 million in February and ending the month with $155 million cash on hand. 

Fox News’ Andrew Mark Miller contributed to this report.

Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.

U.S. Border Patrol agents apprehended 182 Chinese citizens who crossed illegally into the U.S. through a key sector of the southern border on Tuesday, Fox News has learned. 

The Chinese nationals were caught after crossing into the San Diego Sector, a U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) source told Fox News, which has seen large numbers of Chinese migrants in recent months. 

More than 22,000 Chinese nationals have been apprehended by the Border Patrol since Oct. 1. 

CHINESE ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION ON PACE TO BREAK RECORDS AT US SOUTHERN BORDER

Fox News Digital has reached out to border authorities. 

The number of Chinese citizens arrested after crossing illegally has dramatically increased in recent years from 342 in 2021 to 22,233 since Oct. 1, the beginning of the 2024 fiscal year. 

Fiscal year 2022 saw 1,987 arrests and 24,125 were reported for fiscal year 2023. 

The number of Chinese migrants being encountered in the San Diego Sector is exceeding that of Mexican citizens, according to CBP data. Since October, the number of Chinese migrants encountered by border authorities is second only to Colombia (28,000). Third is Mexican nationals with 18,000, followed by Brazil (8,700) and Ecuador (7,700). 

READ MORE OF FOX NEWS’ COVERAGE OF THE BORDER CRISIS

Some Chinese migrants have expressed support for President Biden, who has been criticized by Republicans for reversing Trump-era border policies, but others are indifferent.

One migrant who spoke with Fox News said he picked up tips on the arduous journey from Chinese social media apps. He said he collected information from online sources to learn how to make it to the U.S., including information about routes, border navigation and ways to dispose of information to avoid having your origin traced.

MIGRANTS FLOWN TO MARTHA’S VINEYARD ON FLIGHTS COORDINATED BY DESANTIS CAN SUE AVIATION COMPANY

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“No matter whether it is Trump or Biden, we just wanted to come to the United States,” he said. “I am not worried about my legal identity problem, because as long as we arrive in the United States, there will always be a way to solve the identity problem. We want to go to the United States mainly for our children and to give them a better future.”

Fox News Digital’s Adam Shaw and Griff Jenkins contributed to this report. 

Federal prosecutors rebuked the judge presiding over former President Trump’s classified documents case in the Southern District of Florida, asserting that potential jury instructions she issued rest on a “fundamentally flawed legal premise.” 

In a court filing Tuesday, Smith said U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon’s unusual request that prosecutors and defense attorneys submit hypothetical jury instructions was “wrong” and would “distort” the trial. The judge had asked the lawyers to respond to two different scenarios where she accepted Trump’s argument that he was entitled to retain sensitive documents under the Presidential Records Act, an act for which he now faces criminal charges.

Smith argued that the Presidential Records Act is not relevant to Trump’s case and told the judge that the Republican ex-president was not authorized under the Espionage Act to take highly classified documents with him to his Mar-a-Lago home in Florida when he left the White House.

“Both scenarios rest on an unstated and fundamentally flawed legal premise — namely, that the Presidential Records Act (‘PRA’), and in particular it’s distinction between ‘personal’ and ‘Presidential’ records … determines whether a former President is ‘[a]uthorized’ under the Espionage Act … to possess highly classified documents and store than in an unsecured facility,” Smith wrote.

TRUMP FLORIDA JUDGE CANNON DENIES TRUMP DISMISSAL ON ‘UNCONSTITUTIONAL VAGUENESS’

Prosecutors allege the documents recovered from Mar-a-Lago in a 2022 FBI raid were not personal and said there is no evidence Trump ever legally designated them as such. They claim Trump “invented” his argument only after his possession of those documents became public knowledge and said no witnesses interviewed for Smith’s investigation supported the president’s claims.

“Not a single one had heard Trump say that he was designating records as personal or that, at the time he caused the transfer of boxes to Mar-a-Lago, he believed that his removal of records amounted to designating them as personal under the PRA,” prosecutors wrote. “To the contrary, every witness who was asked this question had never heard such a thing.”

Smith warned that if Cannon proceeds with her order on jury instructions, prosecutors will appeal.

Prosecutors have expressed growing frustration with how Cannon has handled Trump’s case.

TRUMP LAWYERS PUSH FOR DISMISSAL OF CLASSIFIED DOCUMENTS CASE, ARGUING ‘PRESIDENTIAL IMMUNITY’

The Trump-appointed judge has yet to rule on multiple defense motions to dismiss the indictment as well as other disagreements between the two sides, and the trial date remains unsettled, suggesting that a criminal case that Smith’s team has said features overwhelming evidence could remain unresolved by the time of the November presidential election.

Cannon, who earlier faced blistering criticism over her decision to grant Trump’s request for an independent arbiter to review documents obtained during an FBI search of Mar-a-Lago, heard arguments last month on two of Trump’s motions to dismiss the case, including that the Presidential Records Act permitted him to designate the documents as personal and that he was therefore permitted to retain them.

The judge last month dismissed Trump’s motion to dismiss charges on grounds of “unconstitutional vagueness,” reasoning that the former president’s arguments might have “some force at trial, but it’s hard to see how it gets you to a dismissal.”

The judge at one point remarked that the Trump defense team’s view of the Presidential Records Act would essentially “gut the PRA,” giving presidents the unfettered ability to classify clearly presidential records as personal.

TRUMP DEMANDS JUSTICE DEPARTMENT ‘IMMEDIATELY’ DROP CHARGES AGAINST HIM IN CLASSIFIED DOCUMENTS CASE AFTER BIDEN DECISION 

Days after her decision, Cannon requested that prosecutors and defense attorneys draft jury instructions that responded to this premise: “A president has sole authority under the PRA to categorize records as personal or presidential during his/her presidency. Neither a court nor a jury is permitted to make or review such a categorization decision.”

Her premise stated that an outgoing president’s decision to exclude personal records from those returned to the government “constitutes a president’s categorization of those records as personal under the PRA.”

Prosecutors said this interpretation of the law is incorrect. They also requested that Cannon quickly reject the defense’s remaining motion to dismiss. 

“The PRA’s distinction between personal and presidential records has no bearing on whether a former President’s possession of documents containing national defense information is authorized under the Espionage Act, and the PRA should play no role in the jury instructions on the elements of Section 793,” Smith’s team argued. 

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“Indeed, based on the current record, the PRA should not play any role at trial at all,” they added.

The documents case is one of four pending criminal cases against Trump. He has pleaded not guilty in all of them. 

Fox News Digital’s Jake Gibson, Heather Lacy and Bradford Betz, as well as the Associated Press, contributed to this report.

North Dakota lawmakers are expecting a legal challenge to a proposed congressional age limit, and estimate $1 million to defend the measure up to the U.S. Supreme Court, in what some observers see as a likely test case.

A top legislative panel on Wednesday unanimously approved a $1 million cost estimate for the state to defend the age limit proposed in a constitutional initiative approved for the June 11 ballot. Some legal scholars and political observers have said a state age limit for members of Congress would be unconstitutional. They cite a 1995 U.S. Supreme Court ruling on term limits that states cannot set congressional qualifications beyond those in the U.S. Constitution.

“I think I see clear intent, whether it’s through media and their own spokesman, that the intent here is litigation, and they’re using the initiated measure process to push that litigation,” Republican Sen. Janne Myrdal said.

DEMOCRAT DROPS LONGSHOT BID TO REPLACE BURGUM AS NORTH DAKOTA’S GOVERNOR

Republican Sen. Brad Bekkedahl said he “absolutely” foresees an age limit challenge being appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.

The measure would prevent people from running for Congress if they could turn 81 during their House or Senate term. The $1 million fiscal impact will be listed on the ballot.

Measure chairman Jared Hendrix called the number “quite inflated,” and said age limits are popular.

“Over 40,000 people signed our petition to place this measure on the ballot. It should be expected that the state defends something that the people clearly want. It’s literally the job of our attorney general to defend our constitution and laws. If someone doesn’t want to do that job of defending, they should not be in those positions,” Hendrix said in an email.

It’s unclear who would challenge the age limit, if passed. Someone could challenge the age limit as unconstitutional on its face, or an affected candidate could sue, according to Deputy Attorney General Claire Ness.

The measure would require North Dakota’s attorney general to “zealously defend” the age limit, and would give any voter legal standing to enforce the age limit. Ness said it’s unclear what role, if any, the attorney general’s office would have as to the latter scenario.

The state would likely have to hire a special assistant attorney general, costs of which can vary, depending on the legal issues raised by the other side, the attorney’s hourly rate and whether the case goes to appeal, Ness said. Costs could easily be in the hundreds of thousands of dollars, she told lawmakers.

“I don’t think that $1 million is unreasonable as a high number. It could go beyond that,” Ness said.

The measure wouldn’t stop any incumbents from running again. The oldest member of North Dakota’s three-person congressional delegation is Republican Sen. John Hoeven, at 67. North Dakota has had octogenarian senators in the past, including Democrat Quentin Burdick, who died in office in 1992 at age 84.

While the initiative applies only to congressional seats, this election year will also feature President Joe Biden, 81, and former President Donald Trump, 77, competing in an election rematch that has drawn scrutiny of their ages and fitness.

The measure reads: “No person may be elected or appointed to serve a term or a portion of a term in the U.S. Senate or the U.S. House of Representatives if that person could attain 81 years of age by December 31st of the year immediately preceding the end of the term.”

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The measure’s push emerged last summer amid age- and health-related scrutiny of members of Congress. Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein died last year at age 90 after health struggles. Republican Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, 82, froze twice in front of reporters last year.

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — U.S. Sen. Rick Scott is spending millions to reach out to Florida’s Hispanic voters, a key voting group for his November reelection campaign that has grown to lean more heavily Republican.

Scott’s campaign said Wednesday it plans to spend about $700,000 per week for a series of radio, digital, TV and streaming-services ads in English and Spanish.

SEN RICK SCOTT SAYS SENATE BORDER DEAL WON’T FIX MIGRANT CRISIS: ‘SUICIDE MISSION’

Over the next several weeks, the campaign will release different ads aimed toward this key voting group, which has voted increasingly Republican in the past few election cycles. These ads will run in Miami, West Palm Beach, Orlando and Tampa — all which are major cities in Florida critical for his reelection campaign, Miami having the largest group of Hispanic voters.

The first TV ad was released Wednesday, with no mention of Debbie Mucarsel-Powell, a former U.S. representative from Miami running to unseat the senator.

This week, Democrats have celebrated a glimmer of hope for this election cycle after the Florida Supreme Court approved an abortion-rights ballot initiative to be decided by Florida’s voters this November.

“In Florida, we understand how socialism suffocates the human spirit,” Scott said in the Wednesday morning ad. “That’s why I fight against the socialist agenda in Washington.”

Scott, like other Republicans, has often accused Democrats of leaning into socialism. This accusation has generally kept a rift between Democrats and Hispanic voter groups who escaped communist regimes in Cuba and Venezuela, which makes up a large portion of voters in Miami-Dade County. This traditionally blue county leaned red in the most recent midterm cycle, and it currently is Florida’s most populated county with more than 60% of its registered voters identifying as Hispanic.

Scott said last month that he puts a lot of effort into talking to Hispanic voters and finds that they care about the “same issues that everybody does,” like education, public safety and jobs.

“People that have come from to this country from another country, in a legal way, they came here because they wanted rule of law,” Scott said. “They want what America has to offer.”

Mucarsel-Powell, who announced her campaign last August, was elected in 2018. She was born in Ecuador and was Congress’ first Ecuadorian American and first South American-born congressional delegate. She lost her seat to Republican U.S. Rep. Carlos Gimenez after one term.

Mucarsel-Powell said last month that she relates to Hispanic voters because her story is similar to “so many people that live here in South Florida.”

As part of her campaign, she does biweekly Spanish radio interviews to reach out to Hispanic communities. In these interviews, she often speaks to voters concerned about socialism and has accused Scott of promoting “misinformation.”

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“I have seen firsthand what it looks like when you have a dictators take over,” Mucarsel-Powell said. “So many people relate to that. That’s why it’ll be more difficult — very difficult — for him to be able to really get in touch with the reality of Latinos that live here in South Florida and what we’re facing.”

The ad campaign was first reported by NBC News.

Texas on Wednesday defended its anti-illegal immigration law in oral arguments before a federal appeals court panel as the law remains on hold due to a legal challenge from the Biden administration.

Gov. Greg Abbott signed the legislation, SB 4, in December, which allows local police to arrest illegal immigrants and for judges to order them deported.

However, the law has been on hold due to a challenge from the Biden administration, which says the law is unconstitutional, hurts international relations and impedes the federal government’s enforcement of immigration law. 

CLICK HERE FOR MORE IMMIGRATION COVERAGE

“[Texas’] efforts, through SB 4, intrude on the federal government’s exclusive authority to regulate the entry and removal of noncitizens, frustrate the United States’ immigration operations and proceedings, and interfere with U.S. foreign relations,” the Department of Justice said in its initial lawsuit.

Texas has argued that the law is necessary due to the Biden administration’s alleged failure to secure the southern border and enforce immigration law, and on Wednesday it argued before the three-judge panel that the ongoing crisis at the border is unprecedented.

“There’s always been people who cross the border,” Solicitor General Aaron Nielson said. “But before, we talked about hundreds of thousands. Now, we talk about millions. Before, we talked about tens of thousands of unaccompanied minors. Now, we talk about hundreds of thousands. Before, we talked about a few countries. Now, we talk about essentially all countries.”

BIDEN, TEXAS FEUD OVER ANTI-ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION LAW AS MIGRANTS RUSH BORDER: WHAT TO KNOW

He also said that Texas has been offering more assistance and resources, something that the Biden administration has said it needs.

“Texas all along has been doing everything within our power to encourage the federal government to do what Congress has directed and address the border crisis. And the answer that we have received at every turn is ‘we don’t have the resources.’ We get that. We understand that. But here, Texas has come forward with additional resources, saying, ‘Let us protect the border,’” he said.

The DOJ has said that enforcing federal immigration law is the federal government’s job, while representatives of the American Civil Liberties Union presenting arguments cited estimates of more than 80,000 arrests a year if it went into effect.

“No one has disputed that this is going to be a massive new system, if it’s allowed to go into effect,” said Cody Wofsy, deputy director of the ACLU Immigrants’ Rights Project.

MIGRANT ENCOUNTERS AT SOUTHERN BORDER HIT NEW FEBRUARY RECORD HIGH

The Biden administration has previously pointed to a 2012 Supreme Court ruling that invalidated parts of an Arizona law because it clashed with the scope of the federal government. However, on Wednesday, at least one judge seemed skeptical about the court’s ability to block the entirety of the Texas law.

“As far as I can tell, never in the history of the nation has the United States achieved what they’ve achieved in this case, which is a facial invalidation of a statute that never went into effect, with no course of action, which is an extraordinary achievement,” said Judge Andrew Oldham, a Trump appointee.

ANOTHER RED STATE MOVES STEP CLOSER TO ENACTING TEXAS-STYLE ANTI-ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION BILL

The court had previously blocked the law from going into effect, but it was then briefly allowed to go into effect by the U.S. Supreme Court before being kicked back down and blocked again by the Fifth Circuit.

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It is one of a number of such measures being passed or moved forward by states across the U.S. Louisiana, Iowa and Tennessee are all states that have bills under consideration that would do either the same or similar to what Texas is seeking to do.

Fox News’ Jake Gibson contributed to this report.

A social media account belonging to President Biden’s re-election campaign was slammed on social media after it posted a clip that left out key context from former President Donald Trump’s speech on illegal immigrants committing violent crimes across the U.S.

The account, under the username Biden-Harris HQ, posted a 7-second clip of Trump saying illegal immigrants are “animals” — but cut out Trump’s statement from just seconds before that shows the comment was directed to migrants recently convicted of murder.

“Democrats said please don’t call immigrants ‘animals.’ I said, no, they’re not humans, they’re animals,” Trump is seen saying in the short clip posted by the campaign account, leaving out key context from moments before where the former president was discussing the illegal immigrant arrested for the murder of Laken Riley.

In Trump’s full statement, left out by the Biden account, he said “just a few weeks ago I met with the grieving family of Laken Riley,” adding that the 22-year-old was “barbarically murdered by an illegal alien animal. Democrats said please don’t call immigrants ‘animals.’ I said, no, they’re not humans, they’re animals.”

BIDEN RIPPED IN NEW AD SPOTLIGHTING HIS IMMIGRATION RECORD AS BORDER CRISIS ESCALATES: ‘TRUMP WAS RIGHT’

In the speech, Trump was discussing recent examples in which young Americans have been killed by illegal immigrants who came over the southern border. Specifically, he mentioned 25-year-old Ruby Garcia, who was allegedly murdered by an illegal immigrant that was deported in 2020, but re-entered the U.S. during Biden’s term.

The Trump team, along with many conservatives, blasted the Biden campaign for not including the full context of the quote.

“Why is the Biden campaign constantly jumping to the defense of bloodthirsty illegal alien murderers who killed American citizens? President Trump was clearly speaking of Laken Riley’s killer here,” Team Trump posted on X.

TRUMP SPOTLIGHTS ‘BIDEN’S BORDER BLOODBATH’ DURING STOP IN CRUCIAL BATTLEGROUND STATE HE LOST IN 2020

“Democrats can’t even say Laken Riley’s name but will get angry when Trump refers to her killer as an animal,” State Freedom Caucus Network Comms Director Greg Price posted on X.

“Crazy how the Biden campaign account can push lies like this all day and never be fact checked,” comedian Tim Young posted on X.

“Another day and another hoax from the Biden campaign,” Donald Trump, Jr. posted on X. “It’s bloodbath part two. Here is the full video where Trump is clearly calling the illegal who murdered Laken Riley an animal. Does Biden think her killer is a good person and not an animal???”

“Biden defending Riley’s accused murderer,” Trump senior adviser Stephen Miller posted on X.

“Biden’s misinformation is disgusting — a pathetic, embarrassing, contemptuous affront to Americans who just want to feel safe in their own backyards,” a social media account belonging to the Republican National Convention posted on X. “Never before has an American president defended illegal aliens over his country’s own citizens.”

The Biden campaign clip has been viewed almost 5 million times on X.

The Biden campaign did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

Trump held rallies in both Grand Rapids, Michigan, and Green Bay, Wisconsin, on Tuesday, giving two speeches that both focused heavily on immigration and President Biden’s role in that issue.

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“I’m here tonight to declare that Joe Biden’s border bloodbath… this is a border bloodbath — ends the day I take the oath of office,” Trump told the Green Bay crowd. 

“With your vote, I will seal the border. I will stop the invasion. I will end the carnage, bloodshed and killing, and we will crush the human traffickers.”

Democrats are reacting furiously to a new GOP proposal to rename Washington, D.C.’s main international airport after former President Donald Trump.

Rep. Guy Reschenthaler, R-Pa., unveiled a bill backed by six of his fellow House Republicans to change the name of Washington Dulles International Airport to Donald J. Trump International Airport.

While the bill likely has little chance of being passed in the current Congress, it did succeed in triggering the ex-president’s critics when the legislative text was unveiled on Tuesday.

TRUMP SPOTLIGHTS ‘BIDEN’S BORDER BLOODBATH’ DURING STOP IN CRUCIAL BATTLEGROUND STATE HE LOST IN 2020

“Donald Trump is facing 91 felony charges. If Republicans want to name something after him, I’d suggest they find a federal prison,” said Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Va., whose district partially covers Dulles.

The rest is in the district represented by Rep. Jennifer Wexton, D-Va., who sounded off, “This is just another in a long list of instances where extreme House Republicans have shown how unserious & delusional they are.”

TRUMP AIMS TO LEVEL PLAYING FIELD IN FUNDRAISING BATTLE WITH BIDEN AS GOP BILLIONAIRES COME TO THE RESCUE

“Let’s get to work on the real issues the American people sent us here for — not renaming an airport after someone who sought to undermine our democracy,” Wexton said.

Rep. Don Beyer, D-Va., said he was at the transit hub with worried families when Trump’s travel ban on terror-prone countries, most of them predominantly Muslim, was fueling “chaos” at major airports.

“One of Trump’s first acts as president was a racist Muslim ban that blocked permanent American residents from their own country,” Beyer said. “I went to Dulles to try to help innocent people caught up in the chaos. I remember grandparents detained for hours as their terrified families waited.”

Reschenthaler’s fellow Pennsylvanian, Rep. Brendan Boyle, D-Pa., said, “Dulles is an old, ugly airport that no one wants to see. So I think this is a fitting tribute to [the 45th president].”

BIDEN RIPPED IN NEW AD SPOTLIGHTING HIS IMMIGRATION RECORD AS BORDER CRISIS ESCALATES: ‘TRUMP WAS RIGHT’

Rep. Sean Casten, D-Ill., called the bill’s supporters “children, competing for the attention of an abusive parent.”

Fox News Digital reached out to Reschenthaler for comment on the Democrats’ response.

Reschenthaler told Fox News Digital of his bill on Tuesday, “As millions of domestic and international travelers fly through the airport, there is no better symbol of freedom, prosperity and strength than hearing ‘Welcome to Trump International Airport’ as they land on American soil.”

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Dulles is a busy international hub that’s critical for lawmakers and other Washington officials’ travel, particularly for airlines and routes that do not operate out of Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, its smaller domestic counterpart also located in Virginia.

Dulles was ranked 33rd out of 764 U.S. airports in terms of passenger traffic in 2023, according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics. With domestic and international travel combined, roughly 25 million passengers went through Dulles last year.

Jill Biden is attempting to dismiss recent dismal polling that shows former President Donald Trump is leading her husband President Joe Biden in all but one battleground state.

The first lady was asked about the state of Biden’s re-election campaign during an appearance on “CBS Mornings” Wednesday, and was specifically questioned on a recent Wall Street Journal survey that found the Democratic incumbent is trailing former President Trump in six of seven 2024 swing states.

CBS host Tony Dokoupil began asking the first lady about the polling results before she cut him off to say “no, he’s not losing.”

“No, he’s not losing in all the battleground states. He’s coming up,” Jill Biden said before the host could finish asking the question.

DARK MONEY MACHINE BIDEN, TOP DEMS BENEFIT FROM MILLIONS IN SECRETIVE ELECTION CASH

“He’s even or doing better,” Jill added. “You know what, once people start to focus in, and they see their two choices, it’s obvious that Joe will win this election.”

The first lady was also asked if she was at all worried about President Biden’s re-election efforts, responding “no, no, no. I feel that Joe will be re-elected.”

The referenced Wall Street Journal poll, released Tuesday, found that Trump is currently leading Biden in Pennsylvania, Michigan, Arizona, Georgia, Nevada and North Carolina — states that will play a crucial role in securing a win on the November ballot. The results found that Biden was tied with Trump in Wisconsin, but did not secure any leads in the battleground states survey.

TRUMP SAYS BIDEN ‘ORCHESTRATED’ LEGAL CHALLENGES AHEAD OF CAMPAIGN STOPS IN BATTLEGROUND STATES

According to reports, Biden himself reportedly has grown increasingly frustrated and worried over his re-election efforts.

NBC News previously reported that he began to “shout and swear” in a January meeting when informed that his poll numbers had dipped in the battleground states of Michigan and Georgia over his handling of the Israel-Hamas war, a lawmaker familiar with the situation told the publication.

Biden’s alleged outburst came as he has long believed he is not getting the credit he deserves in several areas, the outlet noted. Privately, another source told the publication that he regularly pushes aides about what parts of his accomplishments he should highlight in different states.

The report also said he is surrounded by “protective aides who want to minimize the chances of a flub,” something he has dealt with in recent months as he has made several blunders that have called into question his mental acuity. 

“The man’s been successful for decades in Congress and became vice president and president,” a source told NBC News. “If you try to change the person, you’re making a mistake. Let the president go out there and do his thing.”

Biden’s frustration follows other Democrats fretting over his age and energy. According to past reports, he has consistently held several closed-door meetings with his top donors to alleviate their anxieties about the 2024 election.

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The first lady was also asked if she was at all worried, responding “No, no, no i feel that Joe will be re-elected.”

Former President Trump is cheering on efforts in Nebraska to change the state electoral system to “winner-take-all.”

Nebraska is one of only two states in the U.S. that do not use the winner-take-all system, the other being Maine. The two states assign votes in the Electoral College based on district, sometimes leading to Democrats snagging an extra delegate from the mostly red state. 

Gov. Jim Pillen came out in support of a bill introduced by a state senator seeking to align Nebraska’s electoral system with the rest of the country.

TRUMP SPOTLIGHTS ‘BIDEN’S BORDER BLOODBATH’ DURING STOP IN CRUCIAL BATTLEGROUND STATE HE LOST IN 2020

“I am a strong supporter of Senator [Loren] Lippincott’s winner-take-all bill (LB 764) and have been from the start. It would bring Nebraska into line with 48 of our fellow states, better reflect the founders’ intent, and ensure our state speaks with one unified voice in presidential elections,” Pillen said in a Tuesday statement. 

He added, “I call upon fellow Republicans in the Legislature to pass this bill to my desk so I can sign it into law.”

Trump published a copy of the governor’s statement to his proprietary social media platform, Truth Social, on the same day.

NEBRASKA GOVERNOR TIGHTENS RESTRICTIONS ON GENDER TRANSITION TREATMENTS FOR MINORS

This was followed by a separate post voicing support for changing Nebraska to a winner-take-all system.

READ THE NEBRASKA ‘WINNER-TAKE-ALL’ BILL: MOBILE USERS, CLICK HERE

“Governor Jim Pillen of Nebraska, a very smart and popular Governor, who has done some really great things, came out today with a very strong letter in support of returning Nebraska’s Electoral Votes to a Winner-Take-All System,” Trump wrote via Truth Social on Tuesday.

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“Most Nebraskans have wanted to go back to this system for a very long time, because it’s what 48 other States do – It’s what the Founders intended, and it’s right for Nebraska,” Trump added.

A change to winner-take-all would almost certainly benefit Republicans by allowing the red majority of Nebraska to dominate and prevent minority blue factions from capturing a single delegate, as has happened in the past.

Former President Trump and the Republican National Committee raked in a substantial amount of cash in March, possibly assuaging concerns from some that the campaign was trailing the money brought in by President Biden.

Fox News Digital confirmed Trump and the RNC brought in $65.6 million in March and ended the month with $93.1 million in cash on hand in news that was first reported by Politico.

“President Donald J. Trump has again created a fundraising juggernaut among Republicans. While he has been the presumptive nominee for the Republican Party for less than a month, the RNC and Trump campaign are one unified operation and focused on victory,” RNC Chairman Michael Whatley said in a statement. 

“We’re raising funds and making strategic investments to get out the vote and protect the ballot. We are going to win BIG in just 31 weeks.”

TRUMP AIMS TO LEVEL PLAYING FIELD IN FUNDRAISING BATTLE WITH BIDEN AS GOP BILLIONAIRES COME TO THE RESCUE

“Our campaign, working together with the RNC, has been steadily ramping up our fundraising efforts, and our March numbers are a testament to the overwhelming support for President Trump by voters all across the spectrum,” Susie Wiles, senior adviser to the Trump campaign, added. 

“Republicans may not be beneficiaries of the self interested largess from Hollywood and Silicon Valley elites, but President Trump is proud to be supported by donations from voters who are the backbone of this nation, which will fuel Republicans up and down the ballot.”

BIDEN RIPPED IN NEW AD SPOTLIGHTING HIS IMMIGRATION RECORD AS BORDER CRISIS ESCALATES: ‘TRUMP WAS RIGHT’

The figure is significantly more than the $62 million that Trump raised in March 2020 when he was running for re-election.

February FEC filings showed Biden’s re-election campaign outraised the Trump campaign by a two-to-one margin in February and enjoyed a $71 million to $34 million cash-on-hand advantage at the end of that month.

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The Biden campaign has not yet announced its March fundraising haul but said it raised $53 million in February, ending the month with $155 million on hand. 

Trump has been attempting to close the fundraising gap with Biden as the former president also struggles to pay his mounting legal bills, with just seven months to go until the November election.

Trump is set to hold a major fundraiser at his Mar-a-Lago resort on Saturday in a push to both close the fundraising gap and trounce a record $26 million haul that Biden brought in during a recent Radio City Music Hall event featuring former Presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton.

The Biden campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital. 

Despite the country’s deep political polarization, most Americans share many core beliefs about what it means to be an American, according to a new poll.

The poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found that about 9 in 10 U.S. adults say the right to vote, the right to equal protection under the law and the right to privacy are extremely important or very important to the United States’ identity as a nation. The survey also found that 84% feel the same way about the freedom of religion.

The results, which included perspectives on a number of different freedoms and rights, have only small variances between Republicans and Democrats except on the right to bear arms, which Republicans are more likely to see as core to the nation’s identity. The overall findings are striking because they come at a time of extreme partisanship when political agreements seem rare and concerns are heightened over the potential for violence during a volatile presidential election year.

ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION, TERRORISM CONCERNS INCREASE AMONG US CITIZENS: GALLUP

“If you get a bunch of normal people at random and put them in a room together and chat about issues, there’s a lot more convergence than you might imagine,” said Michael Albertus, a political science professor at the University of Chicago.

A more pessimistic assessment of the country was reflected in another finding — that only about 3 in 10 Americans believe the nation’s democracy is functioning well. About half say the U.S. is a poorly functioning democracy, while 14% say the U.S. is not a democracy.

The tension between the broad consensus on the country’s fundamental values and discontent with how well its form of government is working is not a surprise, experts say.

“Part of it is really our leaders are not reflecting the electorate, and they behave in a way that’s much more polarized than what the electorate is,” said Lilliana Mason, a political scientist at Johns Hopkins University.

Most Americans, she said, “are pretty moderate, but they’ve been riled up to hate people of the other party for being different from them culturally, racially and religiously.”

The AP-NORC poll also found broad agreement on the importance of some key values for the U.S.’s identity as a country. About three-quarters of U.S. adults agree that a democratically elected government is extremely or very important, and about 8 in 10 think the same about the ability of people living in the U.S. to get good jobs and achieve the American dream.

But what achieving that dream means — and which values are most fundamental to American culture — isn’t something all Americans agree on.

AMERICAN VALUES: WHAT SMALL TOWN AMERICA IS SAYING ABOUT THE AMERICAN DREAM, ‘GETTING TOO HARD’

Democrats are more likely than Republicans — 71% to 38% — to believe that the ability to come to the U.S. from elsewhere in the world to escape violence or find economic opportunities is core to the country’s identity. A majority of Republicans, 58%, think a culture grounded in Christian values and beliefs is an essential characteristic, compared to only 18% of Democrats.

Juan Sierra, 51, a naturalized citizen whose family immigrated from the Dominican Republic after a hurricane destroyed his father’s cement business, said it is very important to him that the U.S. be seen as a place of opportunity.

The industrial technician in Port St. Lucie, Florida, said he believes democracy is working and will continue to do so “as long as there are good people in government.”

Sierra also said it was extremely important that people have freedom of religion, although he had concerns over the nation’s identity being tied to Christianity.

“We’re seeing what happens right now when laws are passed and decisions are made based on someone’s religion,” he said, citing the Alabama Supreme Court ruling in February that frozen embryos can be considered children and be afforded legal protections, a decision that temporarily halted IVF procedures in the state.

Susan Johnson, a 76-year-old Republican living in the Dallas suburbs, said the nation’s standing as a beacon to others who need refuge is very important, but said that could not override concerns about border security.

“We need people working,” she said. “We just need them to come the right way.”

Johnson also said she believes it’s extremely important that the nation’s identity be grounded in spirituality.

“Whether or not you’re Mormon or a Muslim or a Christian, they just have to have some higher power to reach up to,” she said. “The country is going to fall apart if we don’t believe in God.”

The poll found few divisions on democracy as a system in theory, but it identified one notable gap: younger Americans between the ages of 18 to 29 were less likely than those 60 and older to say the U.S. is a well-functioning democracy. They’re also less likely than older Americans to believe that some characteristics are essential to the U.S.’s character as a nation, including having a democratically elected government. About 6 in 10 younger adults see this as important, compared to about 9 in 10 older adults.

Palakjot Singh, a 21-year-old college student in Fresno, California, identified himself as a Republican and said he had a better quality of life when Donald Trump was president. He said the U.S. is not a well-functioning democracy in part because people are not open to debating different points of view compared to previous generations.

“There is not good communication,” he said. “Nobody is sitting together trying to get to one point.”

Howard Lavine, a political science professor at the University of Minnesota, said the generational split is understandable. Many younger people don’t remember a time when those with opposing views and from different political backgrounds could get together and “come over to your house.” Their frame of reference is the hyper partisanship of the Trump years, he said.

Joe Lagle, 55, a retired Air Force veteran in Colorado Springs who said he has not voted for either President Joe Biden or Trump, said the nation’s various rights are “all important” but believes they are being eroded by intolerance and well-meaning but shortsighted people.

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Mike Maloy, 41, an engineer in Greensboro, North Carolina, said having those rights and freedoms “doesn’t necessarily mean the U.S. is a functioning democracy.”

“Everything is run by a handful of people and their corporations,” he said. “That’s not a democracy.”

A Democrat, Maloy cited as an example this year’s presidential primary in North Carolina, when Biden was the lone candidate on the ballot. He called that “frustrating” and said the result was that voters “had no choice.”