NationalWatch

FIRST ON FOX: Twenty-one-term Democratic Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur is facing renewed criticism from Republicans in her state over comments she made in a resurfaced interview where she appears to compare Osama bin Laden and the United States’ war against terrorism with the Founding Fathers of the American Revolution.

“Before launching a military strike against Iraq, Americans should consider their own history to remember how powerful the mix of religion and politics can be, U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D., Toledo) said,” a March 2003 article from the Toledo Blade reports about a conversation with Kaptur, who is running for re-election in November for a seat she has held in Congress since 1983.

“If you think back to our founding as a country, we are a country of revolution,” Kaptur is quoted as saying as the country was preparing for an invasion of Iraq. “One could say that Osama bin Laden and these non-nation-state fighters with religious purpose are very similar to those kind of atypical revolutionaries that helped to cast off the British crown.”

Kaptur went on to explain that the United States should not get “caught in the crossfire” of religious extremism in the Middle East.

VULNERABLE HOUSE DEM UNDER FIRE FOR INTRODUCING ONLY 5 BILLS THAT BECAME LAW IN 41 YEARS: ‘HASN’T DONE SQUAT’

“I think that one thing that people of faith understand about the world of Islam is that the kind of insurgency we see occurring in many of these countries is an act of hope that life will be better using Islam as the only reed that they have to lean on,” Kaptur said. “I think that people of faith understand that for many of the terrorists, their actions are acts of sacred piety to the point of losing their lives. And I think that people of faith understand that there is a heavy religious overtone to the opposition.”

Kaptur’s comments drew criticism from Republicans at the time it was made, including from then National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) Chairman Thomas M. Reynolds, who called it “outrageous,” Washington Post reported.

That criticism was renewed this week by Kaptur’s critics in Ohio, including her Republican challenger, Republican Ohio state Rep. Derek Merrin.

GOP CANDIDATE PUSHING TERM LIMITS SEEKS TO UNSEAT VULNERABLE 41-YEAR DEM INCUMBENT: ‘COUNTRY IS IN TROUBLE’

“It’s clear Marcy Kaptur left her values behind many years ago,” Merrin told Fox News Digital. 

“Whether it’s comparing a terrorist to our Founding Fathers, voting in lockstep with radical Democrats, or failing to deliver results for Northwest Ohio, Kaptur has demonstrated time and again that she’s lost touch with working-class people that love America. Our Founding Fathers created the best country on Earth,” Merrin continued. “They should never be considered in the same sentence as a terrorist who has done immeasurable harm to Americans.”

Mike Marinella, a NRCC spokesperson, also slammed Kaptur in a statement to Fox News Digital.

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“When you’ve only passed five bills in forty years like Marcy Kaptur, apparently you have time on your hands to contemplate radical deep thoughts,” Marinella said. “No Ohioan agrees with Kaptur’s sympathy for terrorists – she must apologize immediately.”

Fox News Digital reached out to Kaptur’s campaign for comment but did not receive a response.

In 2003, Kaptur told the Washington Post that Republican critics had “chosen to twist my words.”

“My comments were intended to point out that what faces us is a rising revolution being felt across repressive regimes of the Arab and Islamic world,” Kaptur said at the time. “The American people understand the power of revolution. It is in that context that I referred to the American Revolution.”

The general election race in Ohio’s 9th Congressional District is expected to be a tight one with Kaptur defending her seat in a district that Trump won by three points in 2020. The Cook Political report ranks the race as a “toss up” that Republicans are targeting as an opportunity to hold and improve on their slim majority in the House.

Candidates debate when they have to debate.

That’s why Donald Trump didn’t during the primaries.

That’s why Joe Biden, battling abysmal poll numbers, surprised everyone yesterday by agreeing to two debates.

And why Trump, who’s been demanding a side-by-side comparison – he had even floated debating on my show – immediately accepted.

BIDEN’S TEAM IS AFRAID TO ‘LET HIM LOOSE’: LUCY CALDWELL

With a speed that raised questions about whether it was “rigged,” both camps agreed within a couple of hours to do the faceoffs on CNN on June 27, and on ABC Sept. 10. (Four networks were deemed eligible.) CNN has already announced Jake Tapper and Dana Bash as moderators.

While key details remain to be worked out, Trump appears to have agreed to two key Biden conditions. And this is not a man who likes others dictating the rules.

First, Biden doesn’t want an audience. He doesn’t want Trump, who draws huge crowds at rallies, whipping his supporters into hooting and hollering. (Trump said he wanted big venues for “excitement.”) The president wants a quiet debate focused on policy. 

Second, Biden wants a mute button. That is, when one candidate is speaking for the allotted 60 or 30 seconds, the other’s mike is shut off. This is to prevent a replay of their first debate in 2020, when Trump was constantly interrupting or talking over Biden and moderator Chris Wallace. The former president can’t be thrilled about that.

CROSS-EXAMINATION THROWS MICHAEL COHEN OFF BALANCE, BUT BELABORS POINT THAT HE HATES TRUMP

This all went public at 8 a.m. Eastern yesterday morning, when Biden posted a short and snarky video:

“Now he’s acting like he wants to debate me again. Well, make my day, pal.” 

By the way, the man doesn’t make a very convincing Clint Eastwood.

“I’ll even do it twice. So let’s pick the dates. Donald. I hear you’re free on Wednesdays.” (The joke, in case you were wondering, is that the hush money trial isn’t in session on Wednesdays – like yesterday, when Biden’s message would actually get covered.”

Trump responded on Truth Social that while “Crooked Joe Biden is the WORST debater I have ever faced” and “can’t put two sentences together,” he accepts.

It’s hard to overstate the importance of these two events, which more than any debate since Ronald Reagan told Jimmy Carter in 1980 “there you go again,” could decide the election.

Biden was on track to lose the election. He’s been shielded and hardly making any news, even before Trump’s hush money trial began. His team must belatedly recognize this. Joe had to do something to shake things up.

The Biden camp believes that his superior knowledge will become evident in no-frills debates. There’s also a conviction that the more the public sees of Trump, who’s been cooped up in a Manhattan courthouse, the better it is for the president.

On the other hand, Trump’s sheer physical presence, and bombastic style, will present a favorable contrast to Biden’s elderly mien and thin voice (though they’re only 3-½ years apart).

And trust me, as someone who’s sat down with Donald for an hour-long interview, he can focus and exercise discipline when he wants to.

SUBSCRIBE TO HOWIE’S MEDIA BUZZMETER PODCAST, A RIFF ON THE DAY’S HOTTEST STORIES

This probably sounds the death knell for the Commission on Presidential Debates, which has handled the fall events since 1988. It has become something of a dinosaur, locked into three October debates (after early voting starts) with a loud audience. Plus the moderators, picked from the usual suspects (except the late great Jim Lehrer) were often distrusted. So both candidates are bailing on the bipartisan panel.

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Already there’s chatter that Trump might find reasons to back out, but I don’t see that happening. And I didn’t think his opponent would engage.

But Biden’s calculation is that he had to roll the dice. We’ll know soon enough whether his gamble pays off. 

President Biden addressed the National Peace Officers’ Memorial Service at the Capitol on Wednesday, paying tribute to police officers who lost their lives in the line of duty.

In remarks at the annual event, which is sponsored by the National Fraternal Order of Police (FOP), Biden highlighted the trip he took to North Carolina just a couple of weeks ago to meet with the families of fallen officers in Charlotte. Four law enforcement officers were killed, and four other officers wounded by a suspect who opened fire in a warrant-related gunfight on April 30.

“Every time you put on that shield and walk out of the house, your family wonders if that call will come, or if they’ll get that terrible call somewhere during the day or night,” Biden said.

“You feel like you’re being sucked into this… losing part of your soul,” he added, sharing about his personal experiences with loss. 

TRUMP ACCEPTS BIDEN OFFER TO DEBATE HIM IN JUNE AND SEPTEMBER

He referenced his late son Beau’s Army service and repeated a common line about how loss feels like a “black hole in the middle of your chest.” Beau Biden died from glioblastoma, the most common form of brain cancer, in May 2015 at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland. Beau served a tour in Iraq from 2008 to 2009.

Biden said, “I hope you take comfort, and knowledge that their sacrifice will never be forgotten.”

The president spoke about some of the achievements his administration has prioritized to get cops on the street, invest in public safety, pass gun control measures and protect first responders. He mentioned $350 billion included in the American Rescue Plan for states and cities to hire and retain police officers and pay benefits to disabled first responders, as well as $37 billion included in the Save America Plan to improve community policing. 

Biden also touted his executive order on policing and reforms to mental health services.

MIGRANTS IN NYPD TIMES SQUARE ATTACK OFFERED PLEA DEALS, INCLUDING 1 JUST RE-ARRESTED FOR ALLEGEDLY STEALING

“Being a cop is one hell of a lot harder than it’s ever been. We expect everything of you,” Biden said, saying that officers are expected to be drug counselors, social workers and guardians of “communities flooded with weapons and fear.” 

Biden claimed violent crime is near a 50-year low thanks to “the extraordinary efforts” of law enforcement in communities across America.

The FBI reported a 5.7% drop in violent crime between Q4 2022 and Q4 2023 in the latest Quarterly Uniform Crime Report, made available on March 18, 2024. The murder rate also fell 13.2%, FBI data showed. 

Biden’s claim about violent crime appears to reference Jeff Asher, a crime analyst, who wrote in his newsletter that the violent-crime rate was near its lowest level in more than 50 years, citing FBI figures. 

AS ASSAULTS ON LAW ENFORCEMENT HIT 10-YEAR HIGH, POLICE UNION SAYS OFFICERS ‘TREATED LIKE SCUM’

“The decline in crime shown in the quarterly data – if realized – would be historically large,” Asher wrote in December. “To put some of this in perspective, a 4 percent decline in the nation’s violent crime rate relative to 2022’s reported rate would lead to the lowest violent crime rate nationally since 1969.”

The FBI will release an annual report on crime rates later this year. 

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During his remarks, Biden emphasized his administration’s gun control initiatives. 

“The historic steps taken to support you, to stop the flow of illegal guns, to hold gun traffickers accountable for crime, it matters, and it matters a lot,” Biden told the gathered law enforcement officers, adding, “There’s still much more to be done.”

Fox News’ Nick Rojas contributed to this report.

Democratic incumbent Senate candidates across the country in key battleground states are moving more and more to the center and right as polls continue to show President Biden trailing former President Trump in many key swing states.

Biden trails Trump in six battleground states with about six months to go before the election, according to Fox News polling last month, with Biden finding himself behind in Pennsylvania, Michigan, Arizona, Georgia, Nevada and North Carolina.

Nevada Democratic Sen. Jacky Rosen has made it a point to tout her bipartisan credentials on the campaign trail.

“I know what Nevada families are going through,” Rosen said in her first ad launching her re-election campaign. “It’s why I first ran for Congress. And it’s why in the Senate, I’ve worked with both parties to solve problems. And always focused on making a difference in people’s lives.”

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Rosen, like many other incumbent Democrats, is in a tough re-election campaign under the backdrop of historically low approval ratings for Biden, while also carrying a record of voting with the president 98.6% of the time last year, Fox News Digital reported.

“Since day one, Sen. Jacky Rosen has worked to get things done in a bipartisan way,” a Rosen campaign spokesperson told Fox News Digital. “That’s why she’s been recognized as one of the most bipartisan and effective senators in the nation. No matter what year it is, Sen. Rosen will always be focused on bringing Republicans and Democrats together to deliver for Nevadans.”

Longtime Democratic Sen. Bob Casey is up for re-election in the key swing state of Pennsylvania, which Biden narrowly won in 2020 in a race he has acknowledged will be “tough.”

Casey recently distanced himself from the defund the police movement, despite recent endorsements from groups advocating that police departments be defended, and promoting a bill that would have overhauled policing practices at the height of 2020s protests and riots. 

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Casey has faced strong criticism from his Republican opponent, businessman Dave McCormick, for allegedly shifting positions on key issues like immigration over the years, particularly when he is up for re-election.

The Pennsylvania Democrat has adopted a populist message on the economy, where Biden is underwater with voters, according to Fox News polling, by attacking “greedflation” – a blunt term for corporations that jack up prices and rip off shoppers to maximize profits – and trying to reframe the election-year narrative about the economy.

“Casey’s biggest vulnerability is the Biden administration,” GOP consultant Vince Galko recently told the Philadelphia Inquirer. “Casey wins or loses based on what Biden does in the next couple of months.”

In a statement to Fox News Digital, Casey campaign spokesperson Maddy McDaniel said, “Bob Casey is consistently ranked among the most effective and bipartisan senators in Washington and has worked across the aisle to create jobs and lower costs. Meanwhile, his opponent David McCormick has only worked to increase his bottom line, from outsourcing American jobs to investing in Chinese military companies.” 

In Wisconsin, Dem. Sen. Tammy Baldwin is running in a state Trump won in 2016 and narrowly lost in 2020, and she has attempted to position herself as a “pro worker” candidate who champions the needs of the working class.

While Baldwin often touts her relationship with Biden, she recently joined several other vulnerable Democrats and opposed the president’s unfreezing of Iranian assets in October.

“Tammy Baldwin is willing to work with and stand up to anyone if it means getting the job done for Wisconsin,” Baldwin campaign spokesperson Andrew Mamo told Fox News Digital. “She has stood up for our workers by voting to repeal President Biden’s policy that let China cheat in the solar industry and successfully pausing his Indo-Pacific trade deal, and has gone to bat for our farmers by taking on the FDA for their wrongheaded decision to allow plant-based products to use the good name of Wisconsin milk.”

Incumbent Democratic senators in Ohio and Montana are also finding themselves in close races, with the Cook Political Report labeling both a “toss up,” prompting each senator to publicly take more moderate positions.

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Sherrod Brown has served as a Democrat representing Ohio in the Senate since 2007 and finds himself running for re-election in a state that Trump carried by eight points in 2020 and is expected to carry again.

Brown, who carries with him a record of voting with Biden 99% of the time from 2021-2023, and 97% of the time since 2023, has broken with the president on a few issues in recent months.

Brown became only the second Democrat earlier this month to oppose Biden’s electric vehicle tax credit plan, Politico reported, and also bucked the president over his repeal of Title 42 last year. 

Montana Democratic Sen. Jon Tester, running in a state that Trump carried by almost 20 points in 2020, has been described by his GOP challenger Tim Sheehy as “two-faced” during election years, and has been taking positions to the right of Biden on key issues such as immigration.

Tester recently became the first Democrat in the Senate to back the Laken Riley Act after first opposing it as an amendment, which would require federal officials to arrest illegal immigrants charged with certain crimes like burglary, similar to the illegal immigrant alleged to have killed the 22-year-old Georgia nursing student for whom the bill is named.

Tester has publicly criticized Biden’s handling of the border and recently secured over $10 million to support law enforcement in Montana. 

“Jon Tester does what’s right for Montana. President Trump signed more than 20 of his bills into law, including to help veterans, crack down on government waste and abuse, and support our first responders, and Jon stood up to President Biden by demanding action be taken to secure our border and protect Montana’s way of life,” Tester campaign spokesperson Monica Robinson told Fox News Digital. “That’s why Jon has been ranked one of the most effective U.S. senators of either party.”

While incumbent Democrats across the country move to the middle and pitch themselves as pragmatic problem solvers who work across the aisle, Biden faces accusations of moving even further to the left on issues such as the conflict between Israel and Hamas and student loan handouts. 

Biden has faced criticism, including from his own donors, over threatening to delay weapons shipments to Israel if they continue a military campaign to rid Hamas from the city of Rafah, Gaza. Republicans have alleged that Biden is siding with progressive activists in his own party in an attempt to win over voters in key swing areas like Dearborn, Michigan, rather than give full support to Israel. 

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Biden has made a noticeable effort in recent months to win back his Democratic base by holding events with progressives such as Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., in April and issuing a “flurry of left-leaning policy announcements,” according to Axios. 

Biden continues to be plagued by historically low approval numbers and low popularity in key swing states as Republicans grow more and more optimistic about taking back control of the Senate, which Democrats currently hold 51-49.

Polling this week shows that Democratic incumbents, or likely nominees, in the Arizona, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin Senate races all lead their respective GOP opponents, or hypothetical opponents, with less than six months to go until the general election in November, but the president trails Trump in almost every single battleground state, often by a significant margin.

The Associated Press and Fox News Digital’s Aubrie Spady contributed to this report

House GOP investigators are seeking all communications between former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson and people related to the now-defunct House select committee probing Jan. 6, including the panel’s former vice chair, ex-Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo.

Rep. Barry Loudermilk, R-Ga., chairman of the Committee on House Administration’s oversight subcommittee, wrote to Hutchinson on Wednesday asking for her exchanges with Cheney, former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, ex-White House communications director Alyssa Farah Griffin, former White House deputy chief Anthony Ornato and Secret Service agent Robert Engel, among others.

Hutchinson, who published a memoir last year, was also asked for “all communications referencing or referring to potential publishing or book deals or related compensation.”

DOJ WILL NOT TURN OVER BIDEN’S RECORDED INTERVIEW WITH SPECIAL COUNSEL HUR TO CONGRESS

The former Trump administration aide was a star witness for the Jan. 6 committee, set up by then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. She had testified that former President Donald Trump physically lunged at Engel, who was his driver, when the agent refused to drive him to the U.S. Capitol. Trump and others linked to the story have denied her claims.

Hutchinson and Cheney appear to have grown close since then. Hutchinson lauded Cheney in a September 2023 MSNBC interview: “Liz Cheney is the leader that we all need to aspire to be, and she is the leader that we need as a country to come together and find people to elect people like Liz Cheney.”

Loudermilk’s subcommittee, which has been investigating the House Jan. 6 probe, accused the Democrat-led committee of having “failed to properly archive their records, including as many as 900 interview summaries or transcripts, over one terabyte of digital data, and over 100 deleted or encrypted documents.”

HOUSE GOP THREATENS TO HOLD AG GARLAND IN CONTEMPT OF CONGRESS OVER RECORDINGS OF BIDEN INTERVIEW IN HUR CASE

“Therefore, the Subcommittee must now determine what documents were not properly archived, and assess what documents are necessary to accomplish a productive investigation. The Subcommittee has no choice but to repeat much of the work of the Select Committee to understand their investigative findings,” he wrote.

The Georgia Republican acknowledged that Hutchinson had provided his committee with documentation that she had also given the Jan. 6 panel, but said she did not produce “all records, notes, or documents prepared by you for interviews with the Select Committee or the Department of Justice,” which Loudermilk asked for earlier this year.

He also noted that some of the information she produced — including messages between herself and former Trump officials John Ratcliffe and Kash Patel — were not archived by the Jan. 6 committee.

HOUSE GOP REPORT ALLEGES JAN 6 COMMITTEE ‘DELETED RECORDS AND HID EVIDENCE’

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“As such, the Subcommittee is working to determine why the Select Committee did not archive these documents produced by or related to you. Given the extensive interviews, lengthy errata sheet, and ex parte conversations with Select Committee Vice Chair Liz Cheney, the failure to archive certain parts of your production is concerning,” Loudermilk wrote.

Fox News Digital reached out to an attorney for Hutchinson and a representative for Cheney for comment.

Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., the former Jan. 6 committee chair, defended his panel’s handling of documents.

“This letter was not addressed to me, but I can tell you that Mr. Loudermilk’s previous correspondence to me has been riddled with significant factual errors,” Thompson said. “As I have said time and again, the Select Committee archived its official records in accordance with House rules. It seems Mr. Loudermilk is using this fishing expedition to distract from the fact that their release of security camera footage is completely failing to provide any evidence to support extreme MAGA Republican conspiracies about Jan. 6 — and is only bolstering the work we did in investigating the circumstances surrounding that terrible day.”

A New York state senator had to be held back after he allegedly shoved a lobbyist in the capital building in Albany before a committee meeting on energy and telecommunications.

Michael Carey, a lobbyist seeking support for a 911 civil rights bill, told Fox News Digital he was speaking with Democratic Sen. Kevin Parker before the Standing Committee on Energy and Telecommunications on Wednesday, when the altercation took place.

Carey had been seeking a piece of legislation, and he approached Parker ahead of the meeting and asked for his support.

NEW YORK SENATE DEM FACES RAPE ALLEGATIONS IN LAWSUIT: ‘EXTREMELY DISTURBING’

Specifically, Carey has been calling for a change in state developmental disabilities systems. Carey’s son died in 2007 while he was being cared for by the state.

Carey allegedly tried to explain the situation to Parker ahead of the meeting, which the latter yelled back, “I don’t care,” the lobbyist claimed.

The two men were standing about 15 feet away when Carey questioned Parker, saying, “You don’t care my son died?”

Parker, for a second time, said, “I don’t care,” Carey said.

Carey then claims he turned around to the others in the room and said, “You heard it, everybody. He doesn’t care.”

The next thing Carey knew, Parker was allegedly in his face.

Parker allegedly lunged toward Carey after he called the senator out for not showing remorse for his dead son. Onlookers then reportedly pounced to hold Parker back.

NEW YORK SENATE DEM APOLOGIZES FOR SUGGESTING GOP STAFFER KILL HERSELF, THEN BLASTS HER AS ‘TWITTER TROLL’

Fox News Digital reached out to Parker and the state police for comment, but did not immediately hear back.

Still, Carey said he has filed charges against Parker. He said he is not sure how the senator reached the level of assaulting him, but he hopes Parker gets help for his anger.

“That’s my hope,” Carey said. “I don’t wish the senator ill will.”

Charges have not been filed against either man.

After the altercation, Parker was seen taking his seat at the beginning of the committee meeting video and joking about the matter.

“There’s always lots of excitement in this committee,” Parker said. “I don’t know. Someone said my committee meetings are boring.”

BLUE STATE POL WHO BACKED LAW ENABLING TRUMP SUIT NOW SAYS IT’S ‘UNCONSTITUTIONAL’ AMID RAPE CLAIM

He then proceeded to say he hoped Wednesday’s meeting would “be as exciting as the pregame.”

Last year, Parker was accused in a lawsuit of raping a woman early in his legislative career, when he went to her home to discuss disaster relief efforts for Haiti.

The lawsuit filed in November 2023 claims Parker assaulted the woman in 2004. She claimed they were working on providing aid to Haiti, and after finishing a discussion about her work, she stood up and said goodbye.

The woman alleges that Parker then grabbed her wrists, took her down a hallway to her bedroom, made a sexual comment and raped her, according to the lawsuit.

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In 2005, Parker was arrested and charged with third-degree assault after punching a traffic agent who gave him a ticket for double-parking, according to news reports from that time. In that same year, a former aide accused Parker of threatening her after she publicly complained that he shoved and hit her when she worked for him.

Parker was also convicted of misdemeanor criminal mischief charges in 2010 after he chased a New York Post photographer and damaged their camera.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

FIRST ON FOX: A stalwart in the West Virginia Republican Party for decades lost his primary race on Tuesday night due in part to his support of a controversial bill that critics say would provide healthcare for illegal immigrants, according to a group that actively campaigned against him.

West Virginia GOP State Sen. Craig Blair, the president of the state senate who has served as a state senator since 2013 and in the legislature for years before that, lost to his primary challenger Tom Willis on Tuesday night, WV Metro News reported.

Stand For Us PAC, a group that has pledged to put at least $1 million into defeating incumbents who they deemed weak on illegal immigration, says Blair lost because of his support of subsidizing healthcare for illegal immigrants.

“It’s simple: Craig Blair caved to the far-left on illegal immigration and turned his back on the people of West Virginia…and Stand for Us PAC held him accountable,” Katie Miller, Chair of Stand for Us PAC, said in a statement to Fox News Digital on Wednesday. 

‘CHILD PREDATOR’: ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT WITH PAST SEX CONVICTION CAPTURED IN BORDER STATE

“Over the last month, Stand for Us spent over $400,000 to defeat Blair, with the majority of our resources going to informing the Senate President’s constituents about how he led the charge to strengthen a federal program that uses taxpayer dollars to subsidize health care for illegal immigrants.”

At the heart of the issue was Blair’s support for West Virginia Senate Bill 325 which critics say strengthens the federal 340B federal program which would ultimately mean subsidized healthcare for illegal immigrants.

Similar legislation across the country has drawn ire from Republicans including in Virginia where Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin vetoed the bill. 

Stand for Us PAC ran multiple ads hammering Blair on the issue arguing that Blair was “working against Trump’s America First agenda.”

‘ENOUGH’: CONTROVERSIAL ID PROGRAM FOR ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS TARGETED BY GOP SENATOR

“It’s disappointing to me that a bill that passed the Senate with a unanimous, bipartisan vote would be so blatantly misconstrued and weaponized as it was,” Blair, who is the Lt. Governor of West Virginia, told Fox News Digital in a statement on Wednesday.

“This bill has nothing, whatsoever, to do with subsidizing health care for illegal immigrants. If providing more affordable prescription drugs to West Virginians — especially our vulnerable senior citizens on a fixed income — is a ‘fireable offense,’ then I’ll proudly take that pink slip.”

Miller explained in her press release the strategy that Stand For Us used to unseat Blair who held a plus 12 favorability rating and an 11 point lead over Willis in April.

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Miller also warned in a statement that Republican incumbents should be wary of their stance on illegal immigration in light of Blair’s surprise defeat.

“Other Republicans should take notice, Miller said. “We only had a month from our first expenditure to Election Day and we were still able to oust a well-established Senate President by double-digits. That should make clear to Republicans across the country considering voting for legislation to strengthen the 340b program or allow non-citizen voting that they will not be safe no matter how powerful they are.”

Miller continued, “Stand for Us isn’t going anywhere and the results of our efforts have only emboldened us to increase our initial investment so we can hold more so-called conservatives accountable for refusing to crack down on illegal immigration. Republicans are now on notice that they support 340b or non-citizen voting at their own political peril.” 

President Biden responded with smiles Wednesday, after being asked about debating former President Donald Trump a third time, and possibly even Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

Shortly after the president laughed off the possibility of debating RFK Jr., the latter posted on X that he’d be debating both Trump and Biden.

“I’m happy to report that I will meet the criteria to participate in the [CNN] debate before the June 20 deadline,” RFK Jr. wrote. “I look forward to holding Presidents Biden and Trump accountable for their records in Atlanta on June 27 to give Americans the debate they deserve.”

TRUMP URGES BIDEN TO FOLLOW THROUGH WITH DEBATE PROMISE: ‘I’M READY TO GO ANYWHERE’

Biden met with reporters at the Joint Chiefs Combatant Commander’s Meeting on Wednesday, where he provided a few statements before the meeting.

After finishing, reporters quickly shouted as many questions as they could before being moved out of the room.

One of those reporters was Fox News Channel White House correspondent Peter Doocy, who asked Biden, “Did you see Trump said he’ll do a third debate?”

BIDEN GIVES 3-WORD RESPONSE WHEN ASKED WHEN HE’LL DEBATE TRUMP

The president is seen on video smiling and looking down after hearing Doocy’s question.

“Would you? Why not debate a third time? Why Not?” Doocy asked.

Another reporter asked Biden if he was looking forward to the debates, and he answered, “I am. Come on.”

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Doocy then asked Biden a question, which the reporter captured using his iPhone.

“You don’t want to debate RFK Jr.,” Doocy asked, which Biden acknowledged with a smile. “That’s a no?”

Biden and Trump solidified plans to face off during debates in June and September.

TRUMP URGES BIDEN TO FOLLOW THROUGH WITH DEBATE PROMISE: ‘I’M READY TO GO ANYWHERE’

Trump gave Biden an open invitation to debate anytime, anywhere, and Biden stepped up and told Trump to “make my day” in a heavily edited video on social media.

Alongside Biden’s announcement came a letter from his campaign to the Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD), which revealed a few critical limits that the Biden camp placed on any debate with Trump.

The demands included not having an audience, so the debates could benefit the American voters watching on TV, not to be used as entertainment with “raucous or disruptive partisans and donors.”

HERE ARE ALL THE RESTRICTIONS BIDEN’S TEAM DEMANDED IN THEIR TRUMP DEBATE OFFER

The Biden camp also demanded microphones be muted after the time expires, a limit on the number of major new outlets that can host a 2024 presidential debate, and no participation by RFK Jr., or any other 3rd-party candidates.

“The debates should be one-on-one, allowing voters to compare the only two candidates with any statistical chance of prevailing in the Electoral College — and not squandering debate time on candidates with no prospect of becoming President,” Biden’s team wrote.

Kennedy condemned the requirement in a post on X, accusing both Trump and Biden of colluding to block him from the debate stage.

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“Presidents Trump and Biden are colluding to lock America into a head-to-head match-up that 70% say they do not want,” RFK Jr. wrote. “They are trying to exclude me from their debate because they are afraid I would win. Keeping viable candidates off the debate stage undermines democracy.”

 Fox News Digital’s Anders Hagstrom contributed to this report.

A lawyer who formerly advised Michael Cohen claims the ex-Trump attorney said the former president had nothing to do with a hush money payment made to pornographic performer Stormy Daniels and that Cohen took care of the arrangement himself. 

Robert Costello, an attorney who advised Cohen after Cohen was hit with federal charges in 2018, testified before the House Weaponization Committee on Capitol Hill Wednesday during the same week Cohen has been testifying against his former boss in a Manhattan courtroom. 

Costello, a former federal prosecutor in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, explained he is able to discuss his interactions with Cohen because he “waived the attorney-client privilege and the duty of loyalty of a lawyer to a client.” 

FLASHBACK: TRUMP-MANHATTAN DA CASE: BOB COSTELLO TESTIFIES TO GRAND JURY, SAYS MICHAEL COHEN IS A ‘SERIAL LIAR’

Costello testified before the grand jury for Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s case against former President Trump. Costello testified in March 2023, just weeks before Bragg’s grand jury indicted Trump on 34 counts of falsifying business records in the first degree. 

Trump pleaded not guilty to all charges. 

Costello recalled an interaction with Cohen in 2018, during which he said the ex-Trump attorney was “suicidal and desperately looking for an escape route” after being indicted. 

“I advised him that the SDNY thought he had committed crimes and that he might have evidence they could use for a prosecution of President Trump,” Costello testified Wednesday. “I explained to Cohen how he was not the target of the investigation but was a bump in the road and that the U.S. Attorney’s Office would run over him if it led them to Donald Trump.” 

Costello testified that he explained to Cohen that if he had “truthful information that would implicate Donald Trump, I could get him out his legal trouble by the end of the week — if he cooperated against Donald Trump.” 

“I emphasized that any information Cohen could give would have to be truthful, otherwise it was useless,” Costello testified, saying he did this “numerous times” during their first meeting. 

NY V. TRUMP: AS ‘STAR WITNESS’ MICHAEL COHEN TESTIFIES, TRUMP ALLIES FLOCK TO COURT TO ‘SUPPORT THEIR FRIEND’

“Each time, Cohen said to me, ‘I swear to God, Bob, I don’t have anything on Donald Trump,’” Costello recalled Cohen saying. “Cohen must have said this at least ten times because I kept coming back to it from different approaches.” 

During the conversation, Costello said, Cohen told him he would do “whatever” he had to do to not spend even one day in prison. 

Costello then referred back to a conversation he had on the phone with Cohen days earlier, saying Cohen indicated he was “seriously contemplating jumping off” the roof of the New York City Regency Hotel because he “couldn’t handle the pressure of the upcoming criminal case.” 

Costello said he pressed Cohen to reconsider. 

“Isn’t it easier to cooperate against Donald Trump if you have truthful information, than it is to kill yourself?” he asked.

Costello also testified that he was involved in a non-disclosure agreement with adult film actress Stormy Daniels. Costello said Cohen told him he was approached by her attorney, who said she would allege she had a sexual encounter with Trump unless Trump was willing to “buy her silence.” 

Costello on Wednesday said Cohen “decided that while he didn’t believe the allegation, he thought the story would be embarrassing for Trump, and especially for Melania, so he decided to take care of it himself.” 

Costello testified that Cohen’s “motivation for this became obvious” amid Cohen’s alleged desire to work in the Trump administration after the 2016 election. 

Costello testified Cohen thought Trump would make him attorney general “or at least chief of staff to the president.” 

“Cohen then explained that, for that reason, he negotiated the sum of $130,000 in exchange for the NDA. When asked if Trump had any knowledge of this, Cohen told me no. When asked whether Cohen got the $130,000 from Trump or any Trump entity or friend, Cohen again said no,” Costello testified. 

“When asked if this was from Cohen’s own money, Cohen said no. He was asked where, then, did he get the money, and Cohen explained he took out a HELOC Loan because he didn’t want anybody to know where the money came from.” 

MICHAEL COHEN TESTIFIES HE SECRETLY RECORDED TRUMP IN LEAD-UP TO 2016 ELECTION

Costello, echoing what Cohen testified to during Trump’s trial this week, said Cohen told him he didn’t want his wife to know, since she handled the family’s finances. 

So far, Cohen has testified in Trump’s criminal trial that he personally paid the $130,000 payment to Daniels using a home equity line of credit in an effort to conceal the payment from his wife. Cohen said he did this because Trump told him to “handle it” and prevent a negative story from coming out ahead of the election.

Cohen testified that he was “reimbursed $420,000” for the $130,000 he paid to Daniels. Cohen said former Trump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg suggested he “gross up” the payments, and that Trump himself was aware of the reimbursments.

But Cohen also testified at trial he didn’t tell Costello that Trump knew of the reimbursements because he was still loyal to Trump. He also said he “believed, based upon all of our conversations, that [Costello] would immediately run back to Mr. [Rudy] Giuliani and that communication would be divulged to President Trump.”

Costello stressed Wednesday that “the point” of his testimony is that “when Michael Cohen was presented with the opportunity to implicate Donald Trump in exchange for eliminating his own enormous legal problems, he repeatedly said he had nothing truthful on Donald Trump.

NY V. TRUMP: COHEN TESTIFIES TO PAYING STORMY DANIELS FROM HIS OWN POCKET

“Now, after going to jail, Michael Cohen is on a revenge tour because he blames Donald Trump for the loss of his law license and the fact that he did go to jail,” Costello said. “The U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York saw this and acted properly. The Manhattan District Attorney took a different route to become famous and to ‘get’ Trump.” 

Costello said Cohen is “simply not a credible man,” and claimed Cohen “lies when he thinks it is to his own advantage but tells the truth when it is to Michael Cohen’s own advantage.” 

Last year, after testifying before the grand jury, Costello told reporters Cohen was a “serial liar.” 

At the time, March 2023, Fox News Digital reached Cohen for comment on Costello’s claims. 

“If Bob Costello’s comments were any more fantastical, he would be a bestselling fiction author,” Cohen told Fox News Digital last year. “It is important to note, I never slept with Stormy. I stated years ago that the payment was done at the direction of, in coordination with and for the benefit of Donald.

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“Truth is truth, and the documents in the possession of the DANY demonstrate this.” 

Cohen is expected to continue testimony Thursday as the prosecution wraps up its case. Judge Juan Merchan is presiding at the Trump trial. 

The Environmental Protection Agency disputed whistleblower claims of mistakes and “no confidence” in early data collected from the site where a Norfolk-Southern train hauling caustic materials derailed along the Pennsylvania-Ohio border last year.

A person who said he helped craft the technology and interpret data from advanced radiological sensors on a high-tech EPA plane used to survey the damage and take hazmat readings told The Associated Press the aircraft was enlisted too late. In turn, the whistleblower told the outlet, it may have been unnecessary to burn off toxic vinyl chloride from five rail cars in a controlled release.

The EPA’s “ASPECT” single-engine turboprop based in Texas hosts what the agency calls a “suite of sensors and software” that provides vital data collection assistance in disaster areas. Those tools include an infrared line scanner, various spectrometers and a digital mapping camera, among other abilities.

Robert Kroutil told the AP the plane didn’t fly over the site, near the Ohio-Pennsylvania border, until a day after the controlled release of vinyl chloride. 

POLITICIANS REACT TO BIDEN VISITING EAST PALESTINE AFTER 1 YEAR: ‘TOO LITTLE TOO LATE’

“We could tell the data provided from the ASPECT plane’s two East Palestine flights on Feb. 7 was incomplete and irregular. We had no confidence in the data. We could not trust it,” said Kroutil, whose team considered the results of the flyover to be inconclusive, alleging chemical sensors were not active when the aircraft flew over now-polluted creeks in the area.

In comments to NewsNation, Kroutil called the deployment “the most unusual … I’ve ever seen.”

In a lengthy response to a Fox News Digital inquiry, the EPA pushed back on the allegations, saying whistleblower characterizations of the ASPECT plane’s response are “false,” adding weather conditions prevented the plane from prompt surveying of the location.

“EPA Region 5 [in the Midwest] requested ASPECT to fly to East Palestine late in the day on February 5, 2023. As soon as the request was made, the aircraft was deployed the same day from its home base in Addison, Texas, to Pittsburgh. Due to low ceilings and icing conditions, the flight crew made the determination that the aircraft was unable to fly safely on February 6, 2023, the day of the controlled burn.”

PENCE TORCHES ‘AWOL’ BIDEN: HE ‘DERAILED’ OHIO LONG BEFORE FAILURE TO ADDRESS TRAIN SPILL CRISIS

When Mother Nature cooperated the following day, ASPECT flew two missions over the location, the agency said, adding that EPA staff was already on scene “establishing a robust air monitoring network … within the community.”

The EPA told Fox News Digital readings from the ground on the first two days – before the plane flew over – depicted contaminants to be below detection levels with the exception of particulates. It said Kroutil, “the contractor mentioned,” was not part of the ASPECT flight crew in Ohio and that the agency does not comment on internal personnel matters relating to contractors.

Since the disaster, the agency said it has collected 28,000 air samples and that, in the time since residents were allowed back to their homes, there have not been “sustained chemicals of concern found in the air.” The agency added it will continue to honor public records requests and be transparent in its response to the tragedy.

Ohio Republican Gov. Mike DeWine’s office said that when it comes to whistleblowers, anyone with time-sensitive and pertinent information has been asked repeatedly to come forward, including in the immediate aftermath of the Norfolk-Southern spill. 

“They failed to bring it forward,” a spokesman for DeWine said. 

“If there was a person who had knowledge at the time … they knew who was in charge and it was very clear who was on the ground,” he said, adding that Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, and DeWine publicly made the same plea.

ERIN BROCKOVICH REBUKES FEDERAL RESPONSE TO EAST PALESTINE DISASTER

“We do understand there are experts who had other opinions [on the disaster response]. … Vance said no one brought [further information] forward,” the spokesman added.

Requests seeking comment from Vance’s office went unanswered, but the senator notably called President Biden’s visit to East Palestine one year after the derailment “pure politics” and akin to a “political stunt.”

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Across the nearby Pennsylvania border, waterways, air and land were similarly affected by the disaster, including in the Beaver County district of State Sen. Elder Vogel, Jr.

“It is very disheartening to hear that these alleged delays and botched response approaches took place – especially since those in East Palestine, Ohio, and areas in my district here in Pennsylvania have been dealing with the aftermath of this derailment for over a year now,” Vogel told Fox News Digital regarding the whistleblower’s account prior to EPA pushback.

“Earlier intervention could have made a difference following the derailment and better assisted those responding to the incident.” 

Sen. Doug Mastriano, R–Pa., of Gettysburg, held at least two hearings in Beaver County in response to the disaster, including one in March where residents sounded off about how they are still feeling long-term effects. 

In April, Mastriano, Vogel and State Sen. Michele Brooks launched an effort to allow Pennsylvania-based victims of the disaster to claim an added tax deduction on any payouts from Norfolk-Southern.

Fox News Digital further reached out to Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, a Democrat, who was also a public fixture in the aftermath of the disaster, but did not receive a response by press time. Calls placed to officials in the city of East Palestine for comment also went unanswered. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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? 

-GOP Reps call for special counsel over Biden’s stalled Israel aid

-Biden calls Trump a ‘loser’ who ‘might have injected bleach’

– Opening statements begin in Dem senator’s corruption trial

Fight Night

Former President Trump accepted President Biden’s offer to debate him on television in June and September. 

After Trump said he was in, Biden said in a post on X that he “received and accepted an invitation” from CNN for a debate on June 27 — which is far, far earlier in the election cycle than most presidential year showdowns. 

“Over to you, Donald. As you said: anywhere, any time, any place,” Biden wrote. Biden did have several requirements for the debates, including that they be held without a live audience, and with microphones that cut out when each candidate’s time expired.

Trump told Fox News Digital that he will accept and “will be there.” The Republican added that he is “looking forward to being in beautiful Atlanta.”

The proposal was initially outlined by the Biden-Harris campaign in a letter to the bipartisan Commission on Presidential Debates on Wednesday morning. It abandoned the decades-old tradition of three fall meetings organized by the debate commission. Trump afterward told Fox News Digital that he’d accept the timeline proposed by the incumbent Democrat. 

“Crooked Joe Biden is the worst debater I have ever faced — he can’t put two sentences together,” Trump told Fox News Digital. “Crooked is also the worst president in the history of the United States, by far.” 

Trump told Fox News Digital that “it is time for a debate to take place – even if it has to be held through the offices of the Commission on Presidential Debates, which are totally controlled by Democrats and who, as people remember, got caught cheating with me with debate sound levels.”

White House

TONE-DEAF: Blinken blasted for playing ‘Rockin’ in the Free World’ during Ukraine visit …Read more

‘GOTAWAY’ EXPLOSION: Number of illegal immigrants escaping skyrockets under Biden …Read more

Capitol Hill

‘ACTION THROUGH INACTION’: GOP rep calls for Garland to appoint special counsel to investigate Biden’s stalled Israel aid …Read more

‘POWER OF THE PURSE’: Johnson answers Fox News Digital question about Jack Smith’s future …Read more

‘USE YOUR GOOD JUDGEMENT’: Opening statements begin in Sen. Menendez’ corruption trial …Read more

Tales from the Campaign Trail

WINNER, WINNER: 2020 presidential candidate’s spouse wins primary for David Trone’s Maryland House seat …Read more

‘LOSER’: Biden calls Trump a ‘loser,’ wonders if former president ‘injected bleach’ …Read more

‘HUGE PROBLEM’: Resurfaced interview comes back to haunt vulnerable Dem in state Trump won big in 2020 …Read more

‘BIGGEST LOSER’: Dem mocked for spending millions of own money on failed Senate bid …Read more

DEBATE SNUB: RFK Jr. claims Biden, Trump ‘colluding’ to exclude him because they’re ‘afraid I would win’ …Read more

ABOUT-FACE: RFK Jr. explains change on full-term abortion stance: ‘Basically killing a child’ …Read more

Campus Chaos

BESMIRCH ENGINE: Google conference disrupted by anti-Israel protest: ‘Google Cloud rains blood’ …Read more

‘COMRADES’: Communist organizer spotted calling for ‘revolution’ during anti-Israel protest …Read more

HEAVY WORRY: Justice Alito warns college students that ‘support for freedom of speech is declining’ …Read more

Across America

‘SAFETY’ CONCERNS: New Jersey Senate cancels hearing on bill to adopt antisemitism definition …Read more

HIDING IN PLAIN SIGHT: IDF claims photos show Hamas combatants inside UN compound in Rafah …Read more

‘SELECTIVE PROSECUTION’: Pro-life activist sentenced to nearly 5 years in prison in ‘shocking’ outcome …Read more

BORDER BACKLOG: Immigration judges ramp up pace closing deportation cases, but not enough …Read more

‘DISINFORMATION EXPERTS’: Ex-NYT journalist mocks blatant bias at newspaper in latest book …Read more

BARELY AFLOAT: New York City Mayor Adams grilled by NBC host for ‘racist’ claim that migrants are ‘excellent swimmers’ …Read more

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

Democrats are reminding voters often of Republican opposition to a Senate bill designed to be a compromise on border security, accusing their counterparts of “exploiting” the crisis at the southern border rather than legislating. 

Democrats in the upper chamber have continued to espouse their support for a border security bill that was negotiated in a bipartisan fashion but was shot down in a test vote by Republicans in February for not being strong enough.

“Instead of just making a lot of speeches, pointing a lot of fingers – blame, blame, blame – we Democrats want to get something done to secure our border,” Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said in floor remarks on Wednesday. 

DEMS SAY KATIE BRITT’S NEW BILL WOULD CREATE ‘DATABASE OF PREGNANT WOMEN’

Schumer began a daily countdown earlier this month, tracking the number of days that have gone by since the immigration bill failed to garner the 60 votes necessary to move forward. 

“It’s been 98 days since Donald Trump and the Republicans blocked the strongest, most comprehensive border security bill in a generation. And they still don’t have any plan except exploiting the border for Trump’s political gain,” he wrote Wednesday on X in the latest tally. 

This comes after a source familiar with the discussion told Fox News Digital that the majority leader relayed to Democrats last week his strong consideration for bringing the bill back to the floor, just months ahead of the 2024 elections. 

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., noted the renewed focus on the border measure in his own floor remarks. He pointed to months of polling revealing the importance of the immigration issue to voters going into the elections, telling colleagues, “perhaps it’s not a coincidence that the Democratic leader has indicated his intention to once again turn the Senate’s focus to the border crisis and to portions of the bipartisan legislation Senator Lankford helped produce earlier this year.”

DEMS PUSH BIDEN TO ACT ON FOOD PRICES WITH INFLATION RANKING AS TOP ISSUE AHEAD OF ELECTION

McConnell explained that President Biden already has all the power he needs to remedy the issues at the southern border, but that he refuses to do so. “The path out of the deepening border crisis [is] actually not a mystery. It just requires a president who’s willing to stop digging,” he said. 

When a procedural test vote was held in February on the negotiated border measure crafted by Sens. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., Kyrsten Sinema, I-Ariz., and James Lankford, R-Okla., it failed with nearly every Republican voting against it. 

Many claimed the bill was too weak and did not include enough Republican priorities, while some said it would make the border issue worse. 

BIDEN TORCHED BY REPUBLICANS FOR TOUGHER IMMIGRATION RULE AHEAD OF NOVEMBER ELECTION

Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wisc., discussed the potential revival of the measure, telling Fox News host Maria Bartiromo that Democrats weren’t operating in good faith during the negotiations. “Democrats were always negotiating for political cover with their failed border bill,” he wrote on X. 

“That will still be the case if they decide to bring it up again. It was an awful bill, that’s why it died within 24 hours of it being introduced,” he added. 

Republicans have also pointed to the fact that the House has previously passed a preferred border measure that would re-institute a policy requiring asylum seekers to stay in Mexico while awaiting hearings and resume construction of the border wall, among other things. A similar measure also touts strong support in the House and would similarly “institute Remain in Mexico, reform the parole and asylum laws, and build the border wall,” per a spokesperson from the office of House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La.

DEMS PLAN TO REVIVE BORDER BILL REJECTED BY REPUBLICANS AHEAD OF NOVEMBER ELECTION

However, the bill that already passed in the House was never taken up by Schumer. 

Upon the release of the text for the negotiated Senate border bill, Schumer said in a statement, “Many on the hard-right wanted to hijack this process by demanding we take up H.R. 2, but I made clear the only bill I would bring to the floor was one that could win bipartisan support.”

“Not a single Democrat in the House or Senate voted for H.R. 2,” he said. 

In February, Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, looked to attach the GOP-backed border measure, or H.R. 2, to a government spending extension. The proposal was ultimately rejected. 

Also in February, the issue of immigration soared to the top of Gallup’s “Most Important Problem” list that surveyed Americans. 

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Of those polled, 28% said immigration was the country’s top issue. This was the first time immigration emerged as the most important issue since 2019. 

As McConnell alluded to, Democrats in the Senate face the worst election map in years, with several incumbents in competitive races in swing states. Schumer and the Democrats enjoy a slim majority in the upper chamber, with 51 senators caucusing with Democrats to 49 Republicans. 

The seven most competitive Senate races in 2024, per non-partisan political handicapper the Cook Political Report, are for seats that are currently held by those caucusing with Democrats in Michigan, Arizona, Montana, Ohio, Nevada, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania. 

Given the difficult election map, Republicans face a significant opportunity to regain the majority in the chamber come 2025, especially as the vulnerable incumbents are prompted to defend the border under Democratic rule. 

A dozen jurors and six alternatives were chosen Wednesday and began hearing opening statements in the high-profile federal corruption trial of New Jersey Democrat Sen. Bob Menendez. Opening statements are expected to take up to three hours total, and prosecutor Lara Pomerantz was allotted 45 minutes. 

U.S. Judge Sidney H. Stein told the jurors, “use your common sense, use your life experience, use your good judgment.” 

Jurors will determine whether evidence against Menendez and two New Jersey businessmen, Fred Daibes and Wael Hana, shows a bribery scheme that allegedly involved meddling in criminal investigations and taking actions to benefit the governments of Egypt and Qatar. 

US V. MENENDEZ: DEM SENATOR’S CORRUPTION TRIAL KICKS OFF WITH SURPRISING DELAY

Menendez “put his power up for sale,” while aiding the Egyptian government and trying to brush criminal cases under the rug in exchange for 22 gold bars, jewelry, cash and a Mercedes-Benz convertible, according to the prosecutor’s opening statements, the New York Times reported.

Menendez’s defense attorney, Avi Weitzman, will have about an hour, while Hana and Daibes’ attorneys are expected to each speak for about 30 minutes during opening arguments. 

In his opening statements, Weitzman described Menendez as “an American patriot,” waving away the claim that he’s a “foreign agent,” like the prosecution alleges, according to The Times.

All three alleged conspirators have pleaded not guilty, but co-defendant Jose Uribe has pleaded guilty and agreed to testify against the other defendants. A trial for the senator’s wife, Nadine, who is also charged and has also pleaded not guilty, is delayed until at least July for health reasons. 

This is the second time in a decade that Menendez has been accused in a federal corruption case. 

TRUMP VP CONTENDERS, SITTING SENATORS HEADLINE MENENDEZ TRIAL POTENTIAL WITNESS LIST

On Tuesday, the judge told potential jurors that several sitting U.S. senators — including a couple rumored to be in consideration for the GOP vice presidential nod — are among a lengthy list of prominent individuals who could be called as witnesses.

The list included: David Axelrod, former political strategist for former President Barack Obama; Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn.; Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J.; Sen. Chris Coons, D-Delaware; Rep. Dan Goldman, D-N.Y.; Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.; Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Virginia; former Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt.; former Secretary of the Treasury Steve Mnuchin; former U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo; Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla.; Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C.; Sen. Kristen Sinema, I-Ariz.; and Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Maryland. 

BOB MENENDEZ’S CORRUPTION CASE CO-DEFENDANT PLEADS GUILTY TO 7 COUNTS, COOPERATING WITH INVESTIGATORS

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Fox News’ Jennifer Johnson contributed to this report. 

As they move toward facing off on the debate stage next month, President Biden and former President Trump are exhibiting signs of weakness in their 2024 election rematch – as they both apparently struggle to lock up their base voters.

More than two months after she dropped out of the Republican presidential nomination race, zombie candidate Nikki Haley is still grabbing sizable support in the GOP primaries at the expense of Trump.

And Biden is continuing to deal with a persistent “uncommitted” vote protesting the president’s support for Israel in its war in Gaza against Hamas.

“You’re going to see most Democrats and most Republicans come home. But there are so many warning signs flashing in these primaries,” David Kochel, a longtime Republican consultant and veteran of numerous GOP presidential campaigns, told Fox News Digital.

FOX EXCLUSIVE: TRUMP AGREES TO BIDEN PROPOSAL FOR PRESIDENTIAL DEBATES

One week after Haley won 22% of the vote in Indiana’s GOP presidential primary, where independents and Democrats could vote, it was supposed to be a different story on Tuesday as Maryland, Nebraska, and West Virginia held mostly closed Republican contests.

But according to unofficial and incomplete results, Haley grabbed 20% in Maryland and 18% in Nebraska.

TRUMP AHEAD OF BIDEN IN THESE CRUCIAL PRESIDENTIAL BATTLEGROUND STATES 

And Haley performed strongest in suburban areas in both states, as she did in earlier primaries after suspending her presidential bid. It’s another potential general election problem for Trump, who is currently making history as the first former or current president to stand trial in a criminal case.

“It might just be that Republicans want one last chance to express their dissatisfaction with the nominee and they’ll come home,” Kochel, who remained neutral in the 2024 GOP nomination race, said. 

“But if I’m running the Trump campaign, particularly as I look toward the vice presidential nomination, I would be trying to figure out any way I could to reassure the Haley voters that we’re going to listen to them and not just run a base only strategy,” he suggested.

Biden also saw a red flag in Tuesday’s primaries, as just over 10% of votes in the Democratic presidential contest in Maryland were “uncommitted,” according to unofficial and incomplete tabulations. It’s the latest example of far left voters expressing their dissatisfaction with the president’s Mideast policies.

GAME ON AS GOP AIMS TO FLIP DEMOCRATIC HELD SENATE SEAT IN HEAVILY BLUE STATE

The primaries were held on the eve of a proposal by Biden and his re-election campaign to hold presidential debates with Trump in June and early September – with a vice presidential debate over the summer – to which Trump quickly agreed.

Mark Penn, the longtime Democratic pollster, former top political adviser to former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and Fox News contributor, pointed to Biden’s anemic poll numbers in the key battleground states as he argued the president’s debate proposal came out of weakness.

“You don’t want to debate when you’re ahead. You want to avoid debates at all costs,” Penn said in an interview on Fox News’ “America’s Newsroom.” “Obviously it’s uphill for President Biden, or he wouldn’t be debating in the first place.”

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National surveys for months have indicated that many Americans are anything but thrilled with the rematch between the 81-year-old Democratic incumbent and his 77-year-old predecessor in the White House.

“You’re going to put the most unpopular politicians we’ve ever seen run against each other in front of 80 million people on a debate stage. One of them is famously bombastic and toxic and loose with the facts. The other one is barely able to get out a sentence. He had six jump cuts in a 13-second video they put out today,” Kochel said as he pointed to Trump and specifically to Biden’s video proposing the debates. 

Kochel predicted that the debates may “reinforce to the country how dissatisfied they are with these choices.”

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

EXCLUSIVE: The number of illegal immigrants evading Border Patrol agents has skyrocketed under the Biden administration, new data obtained by Fox News shows.

The numbers of Border Patrol nationwide gotaways — illegal immigrants who avoided agents but were detected by other forms of surveillance such as cameras and sensors — were obtained by a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request filed by Fox in October.

They show that between FY 2010 and FY 2020 inclusive, there were over 1.4 million gotaways, ranging from a low of 86,226 in FY 2011 to a high of 171,663 in FY 2013.

BORDER PATROL OFFICIALS SAY THREAT POSED BY ‘GOTAWAYS’ AT SOUTHERN BORDER ‘KEEPS US UP AT NIGHT’ 

In FY 2020, there were 136,808 gotaways at the border. That number then rose to 387,398 in FY 2021, which coincided with the last months of the Trump administration and the first months of the Biden administration.

As the migrant numbers at the southern border rose to crisis levels, so did the number of gotaways — with numbers then skyrocketing to 606,131 in FY 2022 and 670,674 in FY 23.

This means that there were more gotaways in FY21-23 (1.6 million) than the decade of FY 2010 and FY 2020 (1.4 million).

So far in FY 24, which began in October, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) sources have told Fox News separately there have been more than 175,000 gotaways.

Officials have regularly expressed concern about the numbers crossing without being encountered, even though it is a relatively small number compared to the more than 1.3 million migrants encountered this fiscal year.

“That number is a large number, but what’s keeping me up at night is the 140,000 known gotaways,” Border Patrol Chief Jason Owens told CBS News in March, when numbers were lower.

ILLEGAL MIGRANTS FROM THIS FOREIGN ADVERSARY ARE INCREASINGLY CROSSING THE BORDER

“If a person is willing to put themselves into harm’s way crossing through very remote, very dangerous conditions to evade capture, you have to ask yourself why. What makes them willing to take that risk?” he told a House committee in May 2023. “That’s of concern to me. What’s also of concern to me is I don’t know who that individual is. I don’t know where they came from. I don’t know what their intention is. I don’t know what they brought with them. That unknown represents a risk, a threat. It’s of great concern to anybody that wears this uniform.”

Officials have also said that, due to increased investments in technology, there is greater situational awareness than before, leading to more detections of “gotaways” than in prior years.

“Because we have gotten more detection capability, because we have…more on the way, we’ve got the additional processing coordinators, we are in a better situation than we were in years past,” Owens said.

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas has previously noted changes in migration flow in correspondence with Congress.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE COVERAGE OF THE BORDER SECURITY CRISIS

“Before 2013, the majority of individuals attempting to cross the border entered without being caught,” he said in a letter in January to the House Homeland Security Committee. “Under this administration, the estimated annual apprehension rate has averaged 78%, the same average rate of apprehension as in the prior administration.”

DHS has instead said it is working within a “broken” immigration system in desperate need of reform and additional funding from Congress. It has also pointed to 720,000 removals or returns of illegal immigrants since May 2023, more than in every full fiscal year since 2011.  

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Most recently it has backed a bipartisan Senate bill that would increase funding, while also providing a mechanism to turn back border crossers when they reach a certain level. But conservative lawmakers rejected that measure, saying it would normalize high levels of illegal immigration.

Fox News’ Griff Jenkins and Emmett Jones contributed to this report.

Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., floated the possibility of defunding the U.S. Office of Special Counsel on Wednesday, the day after he pledged to “rein in” Special Counsel Jack Smith’s investigation into former President Trump.

“There’s a lot of different ideas. People are alarmed that the special counsel, in that capacity, has been abused in recent years,” Johnson said in answer to a Fox News Digital question at his weekly press conference. “How does Congress correct that error and ensure that a special counsel is not abusing their authority? You know, we have oversight, of course, we also have the power of the purse.”

Johnson became the highest ranking congressional lawmaker to support Trump in person Tuesday at the Manhattan courthouse, where the former president is facing a criminal trial related to accusations that he falsified business documents to cover up hush money payments to adult film star Stormy Daniels ahead of the 2016 election. 

MICHAEL COHEN TESTIFIES HE SECRETLY RECORDED TRUMP IN LEAD-UP TO 2016 ELECTION

That trial is unrelated to Smith’s probes into Trump in connection with the 2020 election and his handling of classified documents, but Johnson lambasted those investigations as well in comments to reporters after his court attendance.

He pledged on Tuesday, “I’m working with Chairman [Jim] Jordan of the House Judiciary Committee and Chairman [James] Comer of our Oversight Committee on measures to rein in the abuses of Special Counsel Jack Smith.”

Asked by Fox News Digital on Wednesday what that looked like, Johnson said, “There’s a lot of different ideas being discussed now on what that would look like. Do you defund the entire Special Counsel’s Office?”

MICHAEL COHEN’S CREDIBILITY ISSUES, BRAZEN TIKTOK USAGE RAISE MEDIA EYEBROWS AHEAD OF TESTIMONY

“What most people don’t realize is that is not funded in the regular appropriations process. It’s a separate, distinct account, and it’s effectively…funded autopilot,” Johnson said.

He said House Republicans would continue “actively discussing” various avenues to hold Smith accountable “even today.”

It’s not the first time Johnson has criticized Smith’s investigations or dismissed them as political operations. 

But his comments on Wednesday came after he poured cold water on calls to take Smith’s funding away in a Politico interview last week.

NY V TRUMP: COHEN TESTIFIES TO PAYING STORMY DANIELS FROM HIS OWN POCKET

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“That’s not something you wave a wand and just eliminate the special counsel as a provision,” Johnson told the outlet. “There is a necessity for a function like that, because sometimes the Department of Justice – which is an executive branch agency – can’t necessarily, without a conflict of interest, investigate or prosecute the president who’s their boss, or the president’s family.”

When reached for comment on the different statements, Johnson’s office referred Fox News Digital back to the speaker’s comments in the press conference and to a recent X post when he pledged to “rein in” Smith.

Fox News Digital also reached out to the Justice Department for comment.

U.S. immigration judges have completed over half a million new cases this year, putting them on pace to set a new record.

The immigration court backlog has grown from 2.8 million at the end of Fiscal Year 2023 to nearly 3.6 million in FY 2024, with immigration judges being unable to keep up with the current flow of new cases into the system, according to data collected by Syracuse University’s Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC), a nonpartisan data gathering organization that tracks immigration cases and backlogs.

The newest TRAC report, which was released last week, shows that 3.6 million migrants have pending deportation cases, with 1.3 million of those having filed asylum applications with the immigration court system as of the end of April.

DHS’ FAILURE TO FILE PAPERWORK HAS LED TO 200K IMMIGRATION COURT CASES TOSSED UNDER PRESIDENT BIDEN: TRAC

The number of new cases filed as well as the number of cases completed by immigration judges are both on pace to exceed all-time highs this year, the TRAC report notes, though the pace of completions will be unable to stem the growing backlog.

“Our system was never created to deal with the numbers we’re seeing,” Alfonso Aguilar, the director of Hispanic Engagement at the American Principles Project, told Fox News Digital. “We’re never going to have enough judges to process these cases.”

The report comes after a TRAC report in March found that about 200,000 deportation cases have been thrown out since President Biden took office after the Department of Homeland Security failed to file the required “Notice to Appear” in time for a scheduled hearing.

Aguilar believes the backlog of cases can also be traced back to the administration’s policies, arguing that the current administration will allow immigrants to “stay here indefinitely.”

BIDEN’S REVERSAL OF TRUMP POLICIES CREATED BORDER CRISIS, EXPERT SAYS: ‘INTENTIONALLY UNSECURED IT’

“The dramatic spike in cases is due to the administration’s efforts to facilitate asylum fraud,” he said. “Most of the people who are requesting asylum at the border and are being allowed in have no legitimate claim to it.”

Aguilar’s comments were echoed by Lora Ries, the director of the Heritage Foundation’s Border Security and Immigration center.

“The DOJ appears to be closing more immigration cases — but those cases only exist because of the historic number of illegal aliens that have poured into the country on Biden’s watch,” Ries told Fox News Digital. “When Biden came into office, 1.2 million cases were pending at the DOJ. Now, that number is 3.6 million. Only halfway into this current fiscal year, DHS has added more than 1.3 million new cases to the court’s docket. That’s more than were pending in total when Biden began.”

But reached for comment by Fox News Digital, a White House spokesperson argued that the blame for the situation at the border falls on Congress.

‘FEARMONGERING’: CHINESE MIGRANT SURGE HEARING DISMISSED BY HOUSE DEMS DESPITE NATIONAL SECURITY CONCERNS 

“The Administration spent months negotiating in good faith to deliver the toughest and fairest bipartisan border security bill in decades because we need Congress to make significant policy reforms and to provide additional funding to secure our border and fix our broken immigration system,” the spokesperson said. “The agreement would have added 100 new immigration judge teams to help reduce the asylum caseload backlog and adjudicate cases more quickly.”

The lack of an official ruling has left some migrants in legal limbo, unable to apply for asylum or obtain the work permit that often accompanies such a claim.

ICE AGENTS BLAST LA’S ‘FRUSTRATING’ SANCTUARY POLICIES AS THEY WORK TO NAB CRIMINAL ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS

In cases that do reach a decision, the most recent TRAC report notes that immigration judges have issued removal or voluntary departure orders in 35.7% of the completed cases so far this year. A removal order, otherwise known as a deportation order, allows a migrant to be removed by immigration authorities, while a voluntary order gives a migrant a certain amount of time to voluntarily leave the country. If the migrant fails to follow the order or reenters the country illegally again, that order would then become a removal order.

The report notes that Miami-Dade County in Florida had the most residents with pending deportation cases, while Colorado had the highest proportion of people ordered to leave the country. 

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Meanwhile, immigrants from Honduras topped the list of most orders to depart the country, the report notes.

Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito is warning students that “support for freedom of speech is declining” — especially on American college campuses. 

Alito made the remark over the weekend during a commencement speech at the Franciscan University of Steubenville in Ohio. Anti-Israel protests have been rocking college campuses nationwide. 

“Right now in the world outside this beautiful campus, troubled waters are slamming against some of our most fundamental principles. Support for freedom of speech is declining, dangerously,” Alito said Saturday. “Especially where it should find broadest and widest acceptance.” 

“In a book called The Idea of a University, St. John Henry Newman saw the university as a place for reason to debate. Today, very few colleges live up to that ideal,” he continued. “This place is one of the few that does and you are very fortunate to have had that experience.” 

CLARENCE THOMAS SAYS HE RECEIVES ‘NASTINESS’ FROM CRITICS, DESCRIBES D.C. AS A ‘HIDEOUS PLACE’ 

Alito also told students that religious liberty is being “threatened.” 

“When you venture out into the world, you may find yourself in a job, or a community or a social setting where you will be pressured to endorse ideas you don’t believe, or to abandon core beliefs. It will be up to you to stand firm… it will be up to you to speak out,” he said. 

Alito spoke as the Supreme Court is weighing a number of high-profile cases, including whether former President Trump can claim presidential immunity against criminal charges brought by the Biden Justice Department.  

JUSTICE ALITO QUESTIONS WHETHER PRESIDENTS WILL HAVE TO FEAR ‘BITTER POLITICAL OPPONENT’ THROWING THEM IN JAIL 

In late April, Alito questioned the repercussions of charging a former president as arguments were being presented in that case. 

“Now if an incumbent who loses a very close, hotly contested election knows that a real possible nullity after leaving office is not that the president is going to be able to go off into a peaceful retirement, but that the president may be criminally prosecuted by a bitter political opponent, will that not lead us into a cycle that destabilizes the functioning of our country as a democracy?” he said.  

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“And we can look around the world and find countries where we have seen this process, where the loser gets thrown in jail,” Alito added. 

Fox News’ Brianna Herlihy and Brooke Singman contributed to this report. 

Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown is facing heat both online and from his political opponents over a resurfaced clip where he explains that the policies of President Biden are “not much different” than his. 

“I’ve known him well enough over really decades now, I think he predictably will fight for workers, he will be an appealing presence in Ohio,” Brown told WKYC Channel 3 during an interview in January 2021, shortly before Biden’s inauguration. 

“I know he lost Ohio. Ohio, as you point out Stephanie, is increasingly harder for a Democrat to win but I won here decisively only a couple years ago, Joe Biden’s politics now are not much different from mine and I think people will get to more and more appreciate the work he does to help people get jobs, to raise wages, to provide health and pension benefits to people and the small businesses to provide those jobs increasingly and that will matter.”

The resurfaced clip from the interview three years ago sparked criticism from many conservatives in light of Brown’s highly watched re-election campaign in a state then-President Trump won by 8 points in 2020 that many believe represents one of the best chances Republicans have to re-take control of the Senate in November.

VULNERABLE DEM SENATOR BLASTED OVER VOTING RECORD AFTER AD TOUTS STRENGTH ON IMMIGRATION: ‘WON’T BE FOOLED’

“And that right there folks is a huge problem,” conservative communicator Steve Guest posted on X along with the clip.

“Sherrod is going to spend the next 6 months lying to Ohio voters and pretending that he doesn’t vote with Biden virtually 100% of the time,” Donald Trump Jr. posted on X. “Don’t fall for his lies!”

A spokesperson for businessman Bernie Moreno, Brown’s Republican opponent in November, told Fox News Digital, “No matter how hard he may try, Sherrod Brown can’t run from his record as a rubber-stamp for Joe Biden’s disastrous left-wing agenda.” 

VULNERABLE DEM SENATOR RIPPED FOR IGNORING QUESTIONS ABOUT BIDEN’S PUSH TO ‘BAN’ GAS-POWERED CARS

“Voting with Biden 99% of the time, Brown has helped create record inflation, a war on American energy, and an unprecedented invasion at our southern border. In November, Ohioans will retire Biden and Brown and send new leadership to D.C.”

Philip Letsou, spokesperson for the National Republican Senatorial Committee, told Fox News Digital, “Sherrod Brown is right, there’s no difference at all between him and Joe Biden.”

“That’s why Brown votes with Biden 99% of the time, working hand-in-hand to turbocharge inflation with massive spending bills, open the southern border, and flood the country with Chinese fentanyl,” Letsou added.

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Brown’s race is one of four Senate races, along with Montana, Arizona, and Nevada, that the Cook Political Report ranks as a “toss up” and most political analysts believe President Biden’s record and low approval numbers will play a significant role in each of those races.

“Sherrod works for Ohio, which is why he’s stood up to presidents of both parties to block bad trade deals, worked with Republicans to make sure border patrol agents and law enforcement officers have the resources they need, and demanded the Biden Administration crack down on Chinese solar products that undercut Ohio manufacturers,” Friends of Sherrod Brown spokesperson Matt Keyes told Fox News Digital. 

The campaign pointed to several examples of Brown taking policy positions different from Biden’s, including opposing the expiration of Title 42, calling on Biden to ban chinese electric vehicles and opposing Biden’s suspension of tariffs on Chinese solar power.

ANNAPOLIS, MD. – Former two-term Gov. Larry Hogan, making his pitch to Democrats and independent voters, after cruising to the Republican Senate nomination in the overwhelmingly blue state of Maryland.

“You know me. You know my proven track record of reaching across the aisle to find common ground for the common good.” Hogan told a couple of hundred supporters packed into a hotel ballroom in Maryland’s capital city. “You know that I’m not going to be just one more Capitol Hill Republican.”

Hogan will now face off with Democrat Angela Alsobrooks, who as Prince George’s County Executive steers Maryland’s second-most populous county, in the race to succeed retiring longtime Democratic Sen. Ben Cardin.

It’s a general election showdown that may decide whether the Republicans win back the Senate majority in November.

REPUBLICAN LARRY HOGAN TAKES STEP TOWARDS WINNING SENATE RACE IN BLUE STATE MARYLAND

Democrats, as they try to defend their fragile 51-49 majority in the Senate, are playing plenty of defense as they defend 23 of the 34 seats up for grabs in November.

Three of those seats are in red states that former President Donald Trump easily carried in 2020 — Ohio, Montana, and West Virginia, where Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin is not running for re-election. Five more are in crucial general election battleground states.

Polls indicate that Hogan remains very popular with Maryland voters, and his late entry into the Senate race in February gave Democrats an unexpected headache, and will force them to spend time and resources to defend an open seat in a state that was previously considered safe territory.

CONTENTIOUS PRIMARIES IN THREE STATES SET UP CRUCIAL GENERAL ELECTION SHOWDOWNS

Moments after Hogan was projected the primary winner Tuesday evening over half a dozen lesser known Republican rivals, the Senate Democrats’ campaign committee fired up a video which spotlighted that Hogan’s “a lifelong Republican.”

And Alsobrooks, in her primary night victory speech, took aim at Hogan, emphasizing that “if he’s elected, he will give Republicans the majority.”

But Hogan, in a Fox News Digital interview on Tuesday, said he would “try to convince them [Democrats and independents] that I’m going to be the same exact kind of U.S. senator that I was as governor.” 

And pointing to his approval rating as he left office early last year, he added that “77% of them thought I did a pretty good job as governor.”

But Hogan faces an uphill climb. While the GOP has had success in gubernatorial elections, no Republican has won a Senate election in Maryland in nearly four decades. 

“I’m always going to be the underdog in Maryland, where it’s arguably the bluest state in the country, and we’re outnumbered two-to-one,” he acknowledged in his Fox News interview.

While Hogan’s victory in the GOP primary campaign was never in doubt, Alsobrooks came from behind to defeat three-term Rep. David Trone in a competitive and contentious Democratic Senate nomination battle.

SIX SENATE SEATS THE GOP AIMS TO FLIP IN NOVEMBER’S ELECTIONS

Trone, the co-founder and co-owner of Total Wine and More and one of the wealthiest members of Congress, shelled out more than $60 million of his own money into his unsuccessful primary campaign as he took aim at Alsobrooks.

“I think it’s been a very divisive, kind of angry Democratic primary that’s turned off a lot of voters,” Hogan argued.

The Democrats quickly aimed for unity.

Trone, in his concession speech, urged that “I need all of you to come together to support the Democratic Party, so we can hold the Senate… we cannot let the party of Trump take our Senate.”

And Alsobrooks emphasized that Democrats need to be “united in our focus to keep the Senate blue.”

Alsobooks also took aim at Hogan over the combustible issue of abortion, highlighting that “he will not support a national law to protect abortion rights.”

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Turnout for the Democrats in Maryland could be boosted in the general election courtesy of a measure on the November ballot codifying abortion rights.

Hogan, who has repeatedly said he doesn’t support any attempts by his party to pass a federal abortion ban, highlighted the issue in his primary night speech.

“Let me once again set the record straight tonight to the women of Maryland. You have my word that I will continue to protect your right to make your own reproductive health decisions, just like I did for eight years when I had the honor of serving as your governor,” he said.

And Hogan argued in his Fox News interview that Democrats “are going to continue to use cookie cutter Republican attacks against me, but they don’t work against me.”

Hogan, who was a successful business leader before entering politics, won the governorship in 2014 and was re-elected to a second term in 2018.

During his last year as governor, Republican leaders in the nation’s capital and in Maryland heavily courted Hogan to run for the Senate in the 2022 midterm elections.

But Hogan declined, saying in a news conference in February that year that “as I have repeatedly said, I don’t aspire to be a United States senator.”

Fast-forward two years and Hogan changed his mind after another full-court press by national Republican leaders.

Hogan, a very vocal GOP critic of Trump, flirted with a 2024 White House run before deciding against it. And he has repeatedly said he won’t vote for the former president in November.

Asked if he’s concerned that his comments could cost him the votes of some Trump loyalists and supporters in the general election, Hogan answered that “the choice will be between me and a liberal Democrat. Hopefully, even if they’re a little upset with me about one particular issue or another, hopefully they’ll decide I’m the best choice for them.”

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