NationalWatch

FIRST ON FOX: Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Rep. Sam Graves, R-Mo., are leading a bicameral effort opposing the Biden administration’s action last month prohibiting companies from transporting liquefied natural gas (LNG) via rail.

Cruz, the ranking member of the Senate Commerce Committee, and Graves, chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, penned a letter Wednesday co-signed by 23 fellow GOP lawmakers to Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) Deputy Administrator Tristan Brown, expressing concern with her agency’s actions. 

“This suspension, which is the latest attack in the Biden administration’s war on American energy, calls into question PHMSA’s commitment to its safety mission, PHMSA’s role in promoting the administration’s extreme green policies, and whether PHMSA will ever reasonably allow for the movement of LNG by rail,” the lawmakers wrote to Brown. 

“We ask you to reverse this misstep or, at a minimum, ensure rules going forward focus on PHMSA’s safety mission and strongly consider cost-benefit analysis.”

OFFSHORE OIL AND GAS PERMITTING PLUMMETS TO 2-DECADE LOW UNDER BIDEN

On Sept. 1, PHMSA, a Transportation Department agency, issued a federal rule suspending a 2020 authorization of LNG transportation in rail tank cars granted under the Trump administration. The rule will remain in effect until either a permanent rule regarding LNG rail tank car transportation is proposed and finalized — a process that may take several months — or June 30, 2025.

MANCHIN, OTHERS TORCH BIDEN FOR BANNING OIL DRILLING ACROSS MILLIONS OF ACRES: ‘ASSAULT ON OUR ECONOMY’

In their letter, the 25 Republicans argued PHMSA is primarily a safety agency, not an environmental agency, and that LNG transportation by rail has been proven safe and reliable. And they pointed to PHMSA’s own data showing the movement of hazardous materials by highway is inherently less safe for the public.

They further stated the rule was part of a broader attack on domestic fossil fuel production that “willfully ignores the attendant harms to consumers and national security.”

“This effort comes from the highest level of the administration, as President Biden specifically targeted PHMSA’s LNG by rail rule through an alarmist, anti-fossil fuel executive order purporting ‘to Tackle the Climate Crisis.’ After President Biden explicitly targeted the LNG by rail rule, PHMSA issued a proposal to suspend the LNG by rail rule later that year,” the letter adds.

And the lawmakers said PHMSA’s suggestion that the rule is temporary is a “smokescreen for intended permanent deterrence” of LNG rail transportation. 

“Perversely, PHMSA’s participation in an all-out effort against American energy production works against the goal it purports to serve,” the lawmakers wrote. “PHMSA declares that the suspension ‘avoid[s] potential risks to public health and safety or environmental consequences (to include direct and indirect greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions).’

INTERNAL EMAILS SHOW BIDEN OFFICIALS OPENLY DISAGREED WITH ADMIN’S FOSSIL FUEL POLICIES

“In reality, the United States has led the world in reducing carbon emissions since peaking in 2007, largely because of America’s development and use of affordable and clean natural gas,” the Republicans added. “Greater transportation of LNG by rail would give Americans an affordable and environmentally responsible option to meet their energy needs. Suspension of the LNG by rail rule is mere virtue signaling, not progress in reducing emissions.”

PHMSA said its Sept. 1 rule provides sufficient time to complete ongoing testing and evaluation efforts regarding LNG rail transportation and allows development of mitigation measures for such transportation.

“Advancing rail safety measures that are based on the best available science and testing is crucial to keeping communities safe,” Brown told Fox News Digital in a statement last month.

“This suspension will give time for PHMSA, in conjunction with the National Academies of Sciences and Engineering as well as its Canadian regulator counterparts, to complete critical research on transporting cryogenic liquids like LNG (and hydrogen) by rail more safely. This research is expected to conclude in the next year or so and will inform future federal safety regulations from PHMSA and the FRA.”

INSPECTOR GENERAL WARNS BIDEN ADMIN’S $400 BILLION GREEN ENERGY LOAN PROGRAM IS RIPE FOR ABUSE

The move came after the Sierra Club and several other environmental organizations, like Earthjustice, Natural Resources Defense Council and Food & Water Watch, argued that allowing LNG transportation could be hazardous to communities. The groups have said LNG is highly flammable and vulnerable to devastating explosions which could destroy communities railroads cut through.

Democratic lawmakers, led by Rep. Chrissy Houlahan, D-Pa., additionally wrote to Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg earlier this year, asking for a permanent ban on LNG transportation via rail and pointed to safety risks cited by environmental groups.

In June 2020, the Trump administration announced it had finalized a rule allowing the rail shipment of LNG. Former Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao said the agency had put new safeguards in place to prevent dangerous accidents.

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The rule was challenged in court by environmental groups but received support from Republicans and the rail industry, which said it was committed to freight rail transportation safety.

“The extended hold of the rule for transporting LNG by rail is disappointing,” Railway Supply Institute President Patty Long said last month. “Transporting LNG has a proven safety record, and with our country continuing to face rising energy prices, we should be incentivizing critical infrastructure that can provide additional capacity to the U.S.

“We should not have to rely on foreign sources of LNG to meet demand in certain parts of the country.”

EXCLUSIVE—Former Republican North Carolina Congressman Mark Walker is dropping out of the Tar Heel state’s gubernatorial race and is launching his bid for North Carolina’s 6th Congressional district. 

“As much as we would like to be the ambassador of the state and the chief executive, we feel almost like that our skill set, our experience, our background is needed here in the United States Congress,” Walker tells Fox News Digital. “The highest rated conservative to be elected to leadership in Congress. That’s a pretty strong voting record.”

NORTH CAROLINA BECOMING 2024 BATTLEGROUND FOR DEMOCRATS VYING TO RECLAIM SWING STATE TRUMP WON IN 2020

Walker was running against North Carolina Lieutenant Governor Mark Robinson, who is considered the frontrunner in the race and is endorsed by former President Trump. 

However, the former congressman believes Robinson may not have the statewide appeal in a divided background state, given his comments about women’s roles and the LGBT community. 

“I would be disingenuous to say that you can just throw out all those comments. They are problematic,” said Walker. “Sometimes targeting different communities is not just bad for politics, but it’s bad for when it comes to leadership.”

The former congressman has “not finalized” who he will be endorsing at this point but will throw his support behind a candidate with “character and substance.”

“We want to see the pros and cons. For us, it’s about who’s the best candidate to make sure that we never turn things over to Josh Stein,” said Walker. 

Walker, a pastor from Greensboro and owner of a business consulting firm, rose the ranks in Congress from 2014-2021, leading the Republican Study Committee and becoming the vice chair for the House Republican Conference. 

Once floated as a potential successor to Speaker Paul Ryan, Walker lost his political footing after redistricting eliminated his GOP-leaning House seat in 2020. Then, the former congressman finished third in the 2022 Republican U.S. Senate primary to current Senator Ted Budd. 

“I’m now 54, not 44 when I first ran for Congress,” said Walker. ” But I think that seasoning, that maturity, continues to help build the kind of leadership and experience that’s needed.”

Now, Walker hopes to defeat Democrat incumbent Kathy Manning and return to his district covering the Greensboro, Winston-Salem, and High Point areas.

“We’ve been serving the people of North Carolina for 25, almost 27 years. The bulk of that time was as a pastor,” said Walker. 

“Our whole background is looking for a place to serve through no fault of our own…We would have continued that service. We’ve continued to look for opportunities that we can stand firm to the conservative values, but also leading in a way.” – Former North Carolina Congressman Mark Walker (R)

Manning won the district with nearly 54 percent of the vote in 2022 against Republican candidate Christian Castelli. Nonetheless, Manning, along with Reps. Jeff Jackson and Wiley Nickel, face tough reelection prospects with new state maps released Monday. 

GOP SET TO GAIN 3 US HOUSE SEATS UNDER MAP ADVANCED IN NC SENATE

“These maps were created for one purpose only: to ensure Republicans win more House seats so that they can maintain control of the U.S. House of Representatives,” Manning said in a statement on October 19. “They are not a reflection of the best interests of North Carolinians but rather an offering to the national Republican Party.”

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The North Carolina primary is scheduled for March 5, 2024. The general election will occur on November 5, 2024.

Newly elected Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., declared Wednesday that the House of Representatives was “back in business,” and vowed his first legislative action would be in support of Israel as it faces multiple threats.

“I want to thank you all for the trust that you have instilled in me to lead us in this historic and unprecedented moment that we’re in. The challenge before us is great, but the time for action is now, and I will not let you down,” he told his Republican colleagues in his first address to the House after winning the race for speaker.

Johnson became the first House speaker elected from the state of Louisiana after winning a 220-209 vote with the support of the entire Republican conference (minus one absence) while Democrats unanimously supported House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., as expected. 

NEW POLL: TIGHT RACE BETWEEN TRUMP, BIDEN WITH RFK, CORNEL WEST INDEPENDENT BIDS THREATENING BOTH CANDIDACIES

Johnson was the fourth GOP nominee vying for the role after numerous failed attempts to unite Republicans following former Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s ouster earlier this month.

“I want to say to the American people on behalf of all of us here: We hear you. We know the challenges you’re facing. We know that there’s alot going on in our country domestically and abroad, and we’re ready to get to work again to solve those problems, and we will,” Johnson said. 

“Our mission here is to serve you well, to restore the people’s faith in this house, in this great and essential institution,” he added.

WATCH: ILHAN OMAR BREAKS DOWN IN FIT OF RAGE AIMED AT BIDEN, DEMOCRAT LEADERSHIP OVER SUPPORT FOR ISRAEL

Johnson vowed the “first bill” he would bring to the House floor as speaker would be “in support of our dear friend Israel.”

“We are overdue in getting that done,” he said. “We are going to show not only Israel, but the entire world that the barbarism of Hamas that we have all seen play out on our television screens is wretched and wrong, and we are going to stand for the good in the conflict.”

He also promised to “immediately” form a bipartisan debt commission to address the nation’s growing debt crisis, and called on the House to come together to address the “broken” U.S. southern border.

REPUBLICANS ANNOUNCE ‘RECORD-BREAKING’ FUNDRAISING HAUL IN EFFORT TO GROW HOUSE MAJORITY IN 2024

Johnson dedicated part of his speech to thanking McCarthy for his dedication to “selfless public service,” and praised him as “the reason we are in this majority today.”

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“His impact can never be overstated,” he said.

EXCLUSIVE: The FBI maintained more than 40 confidential human sources on various criminal matters related to the Biden family, including Joe Biden, dating back to his time as vice president, according to information obtained by Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa.

The confidential human sources “provided criminal information to the FBI relating to Joe Biden, James Biden, and Hunter Biden.” Those confidential human sources were managed by multiple FBI field offices across the nation, including the FBI’s Seattle Field Office.

EXCLUSIVE: JOE BIDEN ALLEGEDLY PAID $5M BY BURISMA EXECUTIVE AS PART OF A BRIBERY SCHEME, ACCORDING TO FBI DOCUMENT

But Grassley learned that an FBI task force within the Washington Field Office sought to, and in some cases, successfully, shut down reporting and information from those sources by falsely discrediting the information as foreign disinformation. That effort “caused investigative activity to cease.”

However, despite those efforts by the FBI task force, Grassley said in at least one instance, a confidential human source and its information had been vetted by multiple U.S. attorneys’ offices, which found “no hits to known sources of Russian disinformation.”

The revelations were laid out in a letter Grassley wrote to Attorney General Merrick Garland and FBI Director Christopher Wray late Tuesday night. The letter was exclusively obtained by Fox News Digital.

“Based on the information provided to my office over a period of years by multiple credible whistleblowers, there appears to be an effort within the Justice Department and FBI to shut down investigative activity relating to the Biden family,” Grassley wrote to Garland and Wray. “Such decisions point to significant political bias infecting the decision-making of not only the Attorney General and FBI Director, but also line agents and prosecutors.”

He added: “Our Republic cannot survive such a political infection and you have an obligation to this country to clear the air.”

Grassley has been investigating for years information, records, and allegations from multiple Justice Department whistleblowers that indicate “there is — and has been — an effort among certain Justice Department and FBI officials to improperly delay and stop full and complete investigative activity into the Biden family, including but not limited to FD-1023s referencing the Biden family.”

An FD-1023 is an FBI-generated form used to document confidential human source reporting.

BIDENS ALLEGEDLY ‘COERCED’ BURISMA CEO TO PAY THEM MILLIONS TO HELP GET UKRAINE PROSECUTOR FIRED: FBI FORM

“An essential question that must be answered is this: did the FBI investigate the information or shut it down?” Grassley wrote, noting that if those sources were “improperly shut down, it wouldn’t be out of the ordinary for the FBI.”

One critical FD-1023 in question was first reported on by Fox News Digital earlier this year. That form included reporting from a “highly-credible” confidential human source who alleged a criminal bribery scheme between then-Vice President Joe Biden, his son Hunter Biden, and the founder and CEO of Ukrainian natural gas firm Burisma Holdings, Mykola Zlochevsky.

The form details multiple meetings and conversations the source had with a top executive of Burisma Holdings over the course of several years starting in 2015. Hunter Biden, at the time, sat on the board of Burisma.

The source told the FBI that Joe Biden and Hunter Biden allegedly “coerced” Zlochevsky to pay them millions of dollars in exchange for their help in getting the Ukrainian prosecutor investigating the company, Viktor Shokin, fired.

The White House has denied the allegations.

But that form and those allegations are “part of an ongoing investigative matter,” which Grassley says indicates “its investigative credibility and authenticity.”

In the letter transmitted to the DOJ and FBI late Tuesday, Grassley revealed that in December 2019, the FBI Washington Field Office closed a “205B” Kleptocracy case into Zlochevsky. That probe had been opened in January 2016 by a Foreign Corrupt Practices Act squad based out of that same field office — a squad that included agents from FBI headquarters.

EXCLUSIVE: PERSON ALLEGING BIDEN CRIMINAL BRIBERY SCHEME IS ‘HIGHLY CREDIBLE’ FBI SOURCE USED SINCE OBAMA ADMIN: SOURCE

At the time of the closing of the probe, in December 2019, Hunter Biden’s role on the board of Burisma was heavily under the microscope amid the first impeachment of former President Donald Trump. The impeachment proceedings were based on a request from Trump to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to investigate the Biden family’s business dealings in Ukraine and why the prosecutor investigating Burisma had been fired.

Months later, in February 2020, Grassley said a meeting took place at the FBI’s Pittsburgh Field Office, which involved discussion about investigative matters relating to the Hunter Biden investigation and related inquiries. By March 2020, a “guardian” assessment was opened in that office to analyze information about the Bidens provided by then-Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani.

During the course of that assessment, DOJ and FBI officials located an FD-1023 from March 1, 2017, relating to the kleptocracy investigation of Zlochevsky. That document included a reference to Hunter Biden being on the board of Burisma, which “the handling agent deemed at the time non-relevant information to the ongoing criminal financial case.” 

“When that FD-1023 was discovered, Justice Department and FBI officials asked the handler for the Confidential Human Source to re-interview that CHS,” Grassley said.

Eventually, that re-interview took place, Grassley said, and the aforementioned FD-1023 alleging a criminal scheme between then-Vice President Biden, Hunter Biden, and Zlochevsky was created in June 2020.

But federal prosecutors in Pittsburgh were “limited in their investigative abilities.” Grassley said, because it was merely an “assessment.” Prosecutors were not able to issue subpoenas and search warrants, but instead, only able to conduct “database checks.”

“My office has been informed that the FBI agents and DOJ officials working the Pittsburgh Assessment had to pause their work for weeks at a time because the assessment had to be re-approved every 30 days by multiple DOJ and FBI officials,” Grassley wrote in the letter.

DOJ KNEW HUNTER BIDEN LAPTOP WAS ‘NOT MANIPULATED,’ CONTAINED ‘RELIABLE EVIDENCE’ IN 2019: WHISTLEBLOWER

Several months later, in August 2020, FBI Supervisory Intelligence Analyst Brian Auten opened an assessment, which was used by the Foreign Influence Task Force, to seek out confidential human source information at FBI field offices across the country relating to the Biden family. Grassley said he then worked to “falsely discredit them as foreign disinformation.”

The task force “attempted to shut down” the investigative steps on the FD-1023 in question, saying it “was subject to foreign disinformation.” 

“It should be emphasized that the basis for trying to shut down the Biden family 1023 has been described to my office as highly suspect and is contradicted by other documents my office has been told exist within the Foreign Influence Task Force, FBI Seattle Field Office, FBI Baltimore Field Office, and FBI HQ holdings,” Grassley wrote.

During that same time period, in August 2020, that task force traveled to Capitol Hill and “improperly briefed” Grassley and Johnson on their investigation into the Biden family after “pressure from congressional Democrats.”

“That improper briefing was used by Democrats and the partisan media to falsely claim our investigation, which was based on Obama/Biden administration records, was impacted by foreign disinformation,” Grassley wrote.

The Pittsburgh assessment was ultimately closed weeks later, in September 2020, and a final report of its findings was transmitted by U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Pennsylvania, Scott Brady to the main Justice Department — specifically directed to Principal Associate Deputy Attorney General Rich Donoghue.

DOJ ORDERED HUNTER BIDEN INVESTIGATORS TO ‘REMOVE ANY REFERENCE’ TO JOE BIDEN IN FARA PROBE WARRANT: HOUSE GOP

The subject line of that report, dated Sept. 21, 2020, was: “VETTING.”

In that report, Brady noted that investigators “had limited ability to verify all information,” due to their lack of authorization for a grand jury. Investigators were unable to issue subpoenas for relevant documents or for interviews. The report, though, included a recommendation that “additional investigative activity be done.” 

Brady’s office, did, however, coordinate with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York in 2020 on the Biden FD-1023. Both U.S. attorneys’ offices “found no hits to known sources of Russian disinformation” related to the FD-1023 in question.

The report was eventually transmitted to now-Special Counsel David Weiss, who has been investigating Hunter Biden since 2018. That probe was launched initially as a money laundering investigation and a Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) case. That investigation is ongoing.

Meanwhile, on a call in early October 2020, it became clear that FBI agents in Delaware “were in possession of email evidence that contradicted denials made by Joe Biden that he was never aware of or involved in Hunter Biden’s business arrangements.”

Assistant U.S. Attorney Lesley Wolf was briefed in late October 2020 on the contents of the FD-1023 in question, but Grassley said she “prevented investigators from seeking information about Joe Biden’s involvement in Hunter Biden’s criminal arrangements.” IRS whistleblowers involved in the investigation have also made that allegation.

Grassley also noted that in October 2020, an “avenue of derogatory Hunter Biden reporting was ordered closed” at the direction of Assistant Special Agent in Charge Tim Thibault — a move that whistleblowers said was made “in furtherance of Auten’s assessment.”

Grassley said publicly released portions of Thibault’s interview with the House Judiciary Committee confirmed those allegations and reveals that an FBI headquarters and “Baltimore element wanted the Hunter Biden reporting closed which Thibault followed through on.” 

DOJ REVEALS HUNTER BIDEN STILL UNDER FEDERAL INVESTIGATION FOR POTENTIAL FARA VIOLATIONS

Weeks later, after the 2020 presidential election, Grassley and Johnson made public their final report out of their probe, detailing their findings based on hundreds of Treasury Department Suspicious Activity Reports, interviews and thousands of pages of government records dating back to the Obama administration.

“Our findings indicated potential criminal activity, to include money laundering, with respect to members of the Biden family and their business associates as well as strong financial connections to questionable foreign nationals and foreign government-linked corporate entities,” Grassley wrote.

HUNTER BIDEN INVESTIGATORS LIMITED QUESTIONS ABOUT ‘DAD,’ ‘BIG GUY’ DESPITE FBI, IRS OBJECTIONS: WHISTLEBLOWER

Since, Grassley has been in touch with Weiss’ team, and has provided hundreds of pages of bank records “connecting the Biden family to Chinese-government linked entities.”

Grassley demanded the FBI and DOJ provide answers to his letter by Nov. 17.

Neither the Justice Department nor the FBI immediately responded to Fox News Digital’s request for comment. 

Former President Trump was fined $10,000 on Wednesday for violating the partial gag order imposed by New York Judge Arthur Engoron in the civil trial stemming from New York Attorney General Letitia James’ lawsuit against him and the Trump Organization.

Engoron imposed a partial gag order earlier this month, blocking all parties from making derogatory statements about his court staff. Engoron fined Trump on Friday $5,000 for violating the order on social media, and threatened imprisonment if further violations were committed.

NEW YORK JUDGE FINES TRUMP $5K FOR VIOLATING PARTIAL GAG ORDER IN CIVIL FRAUD TRIAL

On Wednesday, Engoron asked that the former president take the stand during the civil trial, and discussed statements Trump made to the press earlier in the day about “a person who’s very partisan sitting alongside” the judge. 

When Engoron asked who Trump was referring to, the former president replied: “You and Cohen.” Trump was referring to Engoron and Michael Cohen, his former lawyer who took the stand and testified against him on Tuesday. 

The judge pressed him again, and asked if he was sure he was not referring to his clerk.

“Yes I’m sure,” Trump said.

Engoron said that, in the past, Trump had criticized and referred to his clerk.

“I think she’s very unfair,” Trump said, adding that she is “biased against us.” 

But Engoron said his principal clerk “is very close to me,” and ruled, instead, that Trump was referring to his law clerk. 

Engoron fined Trump $10,000, which he said is, “on the liberal side.”

JUDGE IMPOSES PARTIAL GAG ORDER IN TRUMP ORG. TRIAL BLOCKING PARTIES FROM VERBAL ATTACKS AGAINST COURT STAFF

Trump attorneys argued against the fine, saying it was unusual to have a law clerk on the bench with the judge. Attorney Alina Habba calling it “inappropriate.” 

Habba said the clerk rolled her eyes, to which Habba said: “The influence from your bench is inappropriate.” 

Engoron fired back saying: “I make the final decisions. I value input from both of my law clerks.” 

In regard to the clerks sitting next to him, he says, “that’s how I do things.”

Engoron ultimately ruled that Trump was referring to his clerk, and fined him $10,000. 

The partial gag order was imposed earlier this month after Trump posted on his Truth Social account saying that Engoron’s law clerk had a relationship with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. The post also contained a photo. Trump added that because of that, the case “should be dismissed immediately.” 

Trump told Engoron he had deleted the post, but the judge discovered a copy of the post remained on Trump’s campaign website. Engoron fined Trump $5,000 on Friday. 

TRUMP JUDGE FACES ONLINE BACKLASH AFTER SMILING, POSING FOR CAMERAS IN COURTROOM: ‘PARTISAN DEMOCRAT CLOWN’

“Make no mistake: future violations, whether intentional or unintentional, will subject the violator to far more severe sanctions, which may include, but are not limited to, steeper financial penalties, holding Donald Trump in contempt of court, and possibly imprisoning him pursuant to New York Judiciary Law,” Engoron said in a filing Friday. 

The trial comes after James, a Democrat, brought a lawsuit against Trump last year alleging he and his company misled banks and others about the value of his assets. James claimed Donald Jr., Ivanka, and Eric, as well as his associates and businesses, committed “numerous acts of fraud and misrepresentation” on their financial statements.

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Engoron, last month, ruled that Trump and the Trump Organization committed fraud while building his real estate empire by deceiving banks, insurers and others by overvaluing his assets and exaggerating his net worth on paperwork used in making deals and securing financing.

Engoron’s ruling came after James sued Trump, his children and the Trump Organization, alleging that the former president “inflated his net worth by billions of dollars,” and said his children helped him to do so.

Rep. Dean Phillips of Minnesota is expected on Friday to announce a long-shot Democratic primary challenge against President Biden, according to people familiar with the lawmaker’s plans.

And the launch of Phillips’ Democratic campaign for the White House will come in New Hampshire, on the last day for candidates to file to place their name on the state’s famed first-in-the-nation presidential primary.

The 54-year-old millionaire businessman and co-founder of a gelato company turned three-term House Democrat is expected to hold an event on the plaza outside New Hampshire’s Statehouse in Concord, and to file for the primary inside the building, in the Secretary of State’s office, those familiar with his plans confirm to Fox News.

BIDEN BUCKS TRADITION, SKIPS FILING FOR FIRST-IN-THE-NATION PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARY 

“He has not actually scheduled a time with my office. I know that he has scheduled some space on the front lawn of the statehouse,” New Hampshire Secretary of State Dave Scanlan told reporters on Tuesday. 

And Scanlan said that a primary challenge by Phillips against the 80-year-old Biden “I think that would a healthy thing for the New Hampshire primary.”

NEW HAMPSHIRE’S SUNUNU SAYS 2024 RACE IS ‘WIDE OPEN’ IN FIRST PRIMARY STATE

A video posted to social media Tuesday showed a bus decorated with “Dean Phillips for President” signage traveling along an Ohio highway.

Phillips, who represents a district in suburban Minneapolis, recently spoke by phone with longtime New Hampshire Democratic Party chair Ray Buckley.

Buckley shared with Fox News that he told Phillips “of course we would be gracious hosts, as is our tradition, but both polling and grassroots interactions in New Hampshire reveal a high level of support for President Biden among the likely voters. It would be a tough challenge for Phillips or anyone. But sure, c’mon on up! “

Phillips, citing the president’s age, has repeatedly criticized Biden for “not passing the torch” to the next generation of Democratic leaders and urged that a serious contender primary challenge the president for the party’s 2024 nomination.

CHECK OUT THE LATEST FOX NEWS 2024 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION POLLING

When no other Democrats considered running against Biden, Phillips began to consider himself for the mission. Earlier this month he told MPR News (Minnesota Public Radio) that “it’s healthy to have alternatives. I think voters are demanding it.”

But Phillips – who recently stepped away from his leadership role as co-chair of the Democratic Policy and Communications Committee due to his potential White House bid – let lapse a September deadline he set for himself to decide whether he’d launch a primary challenge against the president. And Phillips last week missed a deadline to place his name on the ballot in Nevada, which is holding its presidential primary on Feb. 6 in the Democratic Party’s nominating calendar.

According to Democratic National Committee, which earlier this year upended years of tradition by revamping their longstanding nominating calendar, the Silver State is supposed to vote second, along with New Hampshire, three days after South Carolina’s Feb. 3 kick off primary. 

It’s all-but-certain that New Hampshire will move up the date of its primary to late January, in accordance with a state law that mandates the Granite State’s primary is held seven days ahead of a similar contest.

With New Hampshire on course to hold what is certain to be a primary that’s out of compliance with the Democratic National Committee’s revamped 2024 nominating calendar, Biden will avoid the unsanctioned contest.

And on Tuesday the president’s 2024 re-election campaign announced that Biden would not file to place his name on New Hampshire’s ballot. Top Democrats in the state now plan to mount a write-in effort on behalf of the president.

While the president’s the commanding front-runner for his party’s nomination, polls indicate Biden has faces mounting concerns from Democrats over his age and physical and mental stamina.

DEMOCRATIC CONGRESSMAN MULLING PRIMARY CHALLENGE AGAINST BIDEN RESIGNS FROM LEADERSHIP POST

The president is already facing a long-shot primary challenge from best-selling author spiritual adviser Marianne Williamson, who is making her second straight White House run.

Biden was also facing an uphill primary challenge from environmental lawyer and high-profile vaccine critic Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who is a scion of arguably the nation’s most famous family political dynasty.

But Kennedy announced at a campaign event in Philadelphia earlier this month that he would now seek the White House as an independent candidate.

The DNC is fully backing Biden, as the president campaigns for a second four-year term in the White House. At its winter meeting in February the DNC unanimously passed a resolution committing its “full and complete support” for the re-election of Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris. Additionally, the DNC has said there will be no primary debates between Biden and any of his challengers. 

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Williamson, Kennedy and others in the party criticized the DNC and Biden, but there is political precedent for the move. No incumbent president has participated in primary debates in modern times. 

Jim Demers, a longtime New Hampshire based political consultant and lobbyist who is helping to lead the write-in effort for Biden, terms a primary challenge by Phillips “a ridiculous idea.”

“Democrats in New Hampshire support the president,” Demers told Fox News. “So if his mission is to divide Democrats and help [former President] Donald Trump, then that’s what he’s doing.”

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

House GOP speaker nominee Mike Johnson of Louisiana may pull off his bid for the speaker’s gavel as his party’s support coalesces around him.

Cohesion has been a driving concern among the House GOP as they search for a new speaker after the ousting of former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif.

Johnson scored his party’s nomination late Tuesday, with several members absent and three voting present.

HOUSE TO CONVENE TO HOLD SPEAKER VOTE AFTER REPUBLICANS PICK JOHNSON

In just the hours from Tuesday, though, Johnson has shored up support from the three Republicans who voted present in Tuesday’s late nomination vote — Reps. Mark Amodei of Nevada, Thomas Massie of Kentucky, and French Hill of Arkansas.

Additionally, Wisconsin GOP Rep. Derrick Van Orden is still overseas in Israel on a fact-finding mission, meaning Johnson’s margin of loss is smaller.

Johnson also got support from former President Trump, who gave his support for the GOP nominee, urging Republicans to “get it done, fast” ahead of a potential House speaker vote Wednesday.

“He’s respected by all and that’s what we need. It looks like it’s going to happen,” Trump told reporters on Wednesday morning. “I put out a truth today on him, and last night, you saw that. He’s spectacular and maybe for many years to come, he’ll be very good. So, we’re very happy about that.”

He later said that Johnson is “popular, smart, sharp. He’s going to be fantastic.”

The Louisiana Republican is the fourth candidate the House GOP has put up to take the gavel after McCarthy was removed from the position.

House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., held the nomination for only hours on Tuesday before dropping from the race. Johnson was elected as the nominee later that day.

Johnson issued a letter to his colleagues laying out his plan to fund the government if elected.

He said he would support a stop gap bill past Nov. 17 that expires on either Jan. 15 or April 15, based on the consensus of a member working group that will look at the need for a continuing resolution.

The letter also laid out Johnson’s ambitious plan to pass the remaining appropriations bill by the week of Nov. 13.

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It would see appropriations bills considered for FY25 in May and June, no break for district work period in August unless all appropriations bills have passed the House, and negotiations wrapped up by the National Defense Authorization Act by September.

As he ticks off the items for the year ahead, the Oct-Dec section includes a pledge to “EXPAND OUR MAJORITY.”

Fox News Digital’s Adam Shaw and Lawrence Richard contributed reporting.

Former President Trump backed House Republican nominee Rep. Mike Johnson for speaker of the House, urging GOP lawmakers to vote for him during the floor vote Wednesday and to “get it done fast!”

Before entering a Manhattan courtroom Wednesday morning for another day of proceedings as part of the civil trial stemming from New York Attorney General Letitia James’ lawsuit against him and the Trump Organization, Trump touted Johnson.

“He’s respected by all and that’s what we need,” Trump said. “It looks like it’s going to happen.”

Trump called Johnson “spectacular and maybe for many years to come, he’ll be very good. So, we’re very happy about that.”

“We think Mike Johnson is going to do really well,” Trump continued. “He’s popular, smart, sharp. He’s going to be fantastic. I think he’s going to be a fantastic speaker. I believe that will happen.”

He added: “You’ll let me know when I come out, I’ll be out in a couple of hours.”

Trump, on Truth Social, posted before his comments at the court, and said he would not offer a formal endorsement to any of the current candidates, but made a “strong suggestion” to vote for Johnson, R-La.

“Congratulations to Congressional Republicans! Yesterday was a big and very important day. It gave us a quick and easy way forward with 5 candidates who are beyond reproach, and represent the absolute best there is in the Republican Party,” Trump posted on his Truth Social. “Even the Fake News Media is impressed with what took place yesterday and, more importantly, with the Candidates themselves.”

Trump congratulated Reps. Byron Donalds, R-Fla.; Charles J. “Chuck” Fleischmann, R-Tenn.; Mark Green, R-Tenn.; and Roger Williams, R-Texas, and “the ultimate winner of yesterday’s vote, by a significant margin, Mike Johnson (Louisiana).”

“I am not going to make an Endorsement in this race, because I COULD NEVER GO AGAINST ANY OF THESE FINE AND VERY TALENTED MEN, all of whom have supported me, in both mind and spirit, from the very beginning of our GREAT 2016 Victory,” Trump said. “In 2024, we will have an even bigger, & more important, WIN!”

He added: “My strong SUGGESTION is to go with the leading candidate, Mike Johnson, & GET IT DONE, FAST! LOVE, DJT,”

Trump’s comments come ahead of a House floor vote Wednesday, after House Republicans nominated Johnson as speaker late Tuesday night.

House Majority Whip Tom Emmer was the nominee through the day Tuesday, but Trump sunk his candidacy by blasting him as a “globalist RINO,” or, Republican In Name Only, and by warning House Republicans that electing him speaker “would be a tragic mistake.” 

Johnson is the fourth nominee chosen by the House Republican Conference since McCarthy, R-Calif., was historically voted out of his role.

Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., on Oct. 3, led a motion to vacate. All House Democrats and eight House Republicans, led by Gaetz, voted to remove McCarthy as speaker— a first in U.S. history.

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Since then, House Republicans tried to elect Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., and Jordan, but neither were able to secure votes on the House floor, facing significant Republican opposition. Emmer was the third nominee, and he dropped out ahead of a formal floor vote after pressure from Trump.

House Republicans also sought to empower Speaker Pro-tempore Patrick McHenry last week, but the effort also failed. 

This is the second-longest period the House has ever gone without a speaker. It lacked a speaker for two months in late 1855 and early 1856.

A new poll found that nearly two-thirds of New Yorkers blame President Biden for the migrant crisis, raising national security, financial and other concerns in the Empire State. 

According to a Sienna College poll released Tuesday, 64% of New Yorkers disapprove of the job Biden is doing to address the recent influx of migrants in the state as of October. That includes 48% of Democrats who flunk Biden for his handling of the crisis, 91% of Republicans and 72% of independents. The poll found 46% of New Yorkers disapprove and just 30% approve of how New York City Mayor Eric Adams has addressed the influx of migrants, and as for New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, 52% disapprove, while just 37% approve. 

“While other issues in Washington and abroad have largely driven the news cycle over the last few weeks, the influx of migrants to New York remains top of mind for voters, with 84% saying it’s a serious – 57% very serious – problem for the state,” Siena College pollster Steven Greenberg said. “Seldom do we see an issue where at least 79% of Democrats, Republicans, independents, men, women, upstaters, downstaters, Blacks, Whites, Latinos, Catholics, Jews, and Protestants all agree – that the migrant influx is a serious problem.” 

“The strong majority of voters last month who said by 22 points that New Yorkers must work to slow the flow of migrants rather than accept and assimilate them, has grown to an overwhelming 35-point majority today,” Greenberg assessed. “That view is shared by 82% of Republicans, 68% of independents and 52% of Democrats, as well as two-thirds of downstaters and 59% of upstaters.”

MIGRANTS DEFY MAYOR ERIC ADAMS’ CALLS FOR THEM TO STAY AWAY FROM NEW YORK: ‘WE ARE GOOD PEOPLE’

“While a plurality of New Yorkers do not approve of the job Adams is doing to address the influx of migrants, a 58-32% majority of New Yorkers – including a narrow plurality of Democrats – agree with Adams’ statement that ‘this issue will destroy New York City.’ A majority of White (60%), Black (57%) and Latino (51%) voters all agree,” Greenberg said.

Greenberg assessed that New York remains a “true blue state,” as 49% of voters are enrolled as Democrats and only 23% as Republicans. 

“True, the last Republican presidential candidate to win here was Ronald Reagan in 1984. But also true is that just last year, a Republican came within seven points of being elected governor,” he added, noting Hochul’s relatively narrow victory over GOP gubernatorial candidate and then-congressman Lee Zeldin, who gained major ground with his anti-bail reform, tough on crime platform.  

“And also true is that right now, Biden has his worst-ever New York favorability and job approval ratings,” Greenberg said. “The good news for Biden is the election is more than a year away. The bad news is there’s more bad news.”

ERIC ADAMS SLAMS BIDEN FOR NOT MEETING, IGNORING MIGRANT CRISIS ON NYC VISIT: ‘EVERYBODY KNOWS WHERE I AM’

Greenberg noted that the poll found 52% of Democrats say they want a different presidential nominee in 2024. Addtionally, in the general, he said, Biden only leads Trump 46-37%, “a far cry from the 61-38% margin Biden won by in 2020.” Biden’s lead slips to just seven points if Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Cornell West – who, combined, win the support of nearly one in five voters – are on the ballot, Greenberg added. 

As of Oct. 16, more than 126,700 migrants have arrived in New York City since last spring, including more than 64,100 people who remain in the city’s care. With the rate at which migrants are pouring into New York City increasing, the Big Apple has faced a dual crisis due to the war in Israel. Hamas leaders have called for action around the globe, and the NYPD bolstered patrols this month, but Adams said so far there has been no credible threat. 

Adams’ relationship with Biden has soured over recent months amid the mayor’s urging for further and timely support from federal authorities in handling the migrant crisis. 

While Adams and Biden did not meet last month while the president was in New York City for the United Nations General Assembly, Hochul did meet Biden and secured a deal with the White House in fast-tracking work authorization for Venezuelans. 

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While Hochul has seemingly helped facilitate Adams’ controversial strategy of relocating migrants across the state by identifying tens of thousands of eligible jobs across various counties available for migrants, the city is also opening a migrant shelter at Floyd Bennett Field, an airfield in Brooklyn, in the coming weeks “to serve families with children seeking asylum in a semi-congregate setting.” City officials said privacy dividers with locks will be installed to provide approximately 500 families with children a place to stay.

Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has floated an idea that would see him return to the speakership, but this time with Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, serving as assistant speaker, according to NBC News.

McCarthy declined to confirm the Hail Mary proposal when asked by Fox News’ Chad Pergram on Wednesday. The reported pitch comes as Republicans have failed to fill the speaker’s chair for nearly a month, with three consecutive nominees being struck down by in-fighting.

It is unclear whether the latest nominee, Rep. Mike Johnson, R-La., stands a better chance than those who came before him. The first nominee, Rep. Steve Scalise, was brought down by allies of Jordan. Scalise and McCarthy’s allies then crippled Jordan’s nomination in turn. Finally, Rep. Tom Emmer, R-Minn., faced an all-out assault by former President Donald Trump, who opposed his nomination.

It is also unclear whether a co-speakership position is even possible, however, and one GOP lawmaker told NBC that the McCarthy-Jordan idea had only come about because, “We’re desperate.”

WHY JORDAN COULDN’T GRAB THE SPEAKER GAVEL AFTER THREE FAILED BALLOTS

Proponents of the deal likened it to the relationship that had existed between Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., as speaker and Rep. Katherine Clark, D-Mass., as assistant speaker from 2021-2023, the outlet reported.

HOUSE REPUBLICANS VOTE TO REMOVE JIM JORDAN AS SPEAKER NOMINEE

When Pergram asked McCarthy about the potential arrangement late Tuesday, the Republican declined to confirm it and said only that “Republicans are talking.”

If the plan were to come to fruition, however, Johnson’s nomination would have to deflate first. Johnson received 128 votes in the final round of voting at an internal GOP meeting on Tuesday with Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., getting 29.

McCarthy also got 43 votes in the same round, sources told Fox News Digital.

HOUSE VOTES TO REMOVE KEVIN MCCARTHY AS SPEAKER IN HISTORIC FIRST

The night began with five speaker candidates making their pitches to the conference before voting began. Rep. Chuck Fleischmann, R-Tenn., was the first candidate knocked out of the running, followed by Rep. Roger Williams, R-Texas, in the second round of voting.

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Emmer won multiple rounds of voting earlier in the day to become the party’s nominee before being forced to drop his bid in the face of staunch opposition from within the conference, as well as from Trump.

Fox News’ Elizibeth Elkind and Houston Keene contributed to this report.

Some evangelical voters in Iowa are now saying support for Israel has become their top priority for the Republican presidential caucus, now less than three months away, according to a report.

For decades, Christian conservatives have supported candidates who protect the lives of unborn children and curb abortion, but Hamas attacking Israel has changed the 2024 landscape. Israel’s ongoing war with Hamas in Gaza has put new pressure on Republican candidates to directly address the conflict and emphasize traditional Republican support for Israel, according to The Associated Press, which interviewed more than a dozen Iowa conservative activists.

Since the Oct. 7 attack, Iowa’s evangelical pastors, faith leaders and rank-and-file caucus participants have been looking more closely at candidates’ statements, while ministers urge their congregations to keep those positions top-of-mind when weighing their options.

Several leading Republican candidates, including former President Trump, Nikki Haley, Ron DeSantis and Tim Scott, have told Iowans where they stand on the conflict and shared how they would respond if they were in the White House.

TIM SCOTT EXPLAINS WHY MOVE TO GO ‘ALL IN’ IN IOWA WILL ‘TRANSLATE INTO VOTES’: ‘MESSAGE IS RESONATING’

In Iowa, just three days after Hamas attacked Israel and killed more than 1,400 people — which were mostly civilians — several Christian pastors delivered a message meant to resonate both biblically and politically.

“What we’re seeing in that region is pure evil,” said Steve Rowland, a senior minister at the Rising Sun Church of Christ in the Des Moines suburb of Altoona. “Israel has mobilized their army, and they are intent on stamping out evil, and we should be behind them. That’s where we should be, and I want you to know that, as a pastor.”

Some Christians support Israel due to Old Testament writings that Jews are God’s chosen people and that Israel is their rightful homeland. Some evangelicals believe Israel is key to an end-times prophecy that will bring about the return of the Christian messiah.

DEMOCRATS SUPPORT PALESTINIANS OVER ISRAEL, GOP OVERWHELMINGLY STANDS WITH US ALLY: 2023 POLL

Evangelical Christians dominate the first-in-the-nation Republican presidential caucuses, and several GOP contenders have begun to discuss the conflict in black-and-white terms, even accusing President Biden of not being tough enough on Hamas or Iran, a financial supporter of the terrorist group.

Haley, the former South Carolina governor and United Nations ambassador, described the ongoing war to The Associated Press as “between good and evil.”

“We’ve got a true war between good and evil, and we have to have a leader that has the moral clarity to know the difference,” Haley said in Iowa.

Former President Trump remains popular in Iowa, including among fervent Christian conservatives, where he leads in Iowa polls and gets the largest crowds at his campaign events. He continues to highlight his record while in the White House of supporting Israel, notably moving the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem and recognizing Israel’s annexation of the Golan Heights.

Several activists interviewed by The Associated Press, however, were annoyed by Trump’s criticism of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu following the Hamas attack. Trump also said Hezbollah, an Iran-backed terror group that is fighting with Israel on the country’s northern border, was “very smart.”

BIDEN PUTS CONDITION ON HUMANITARIAN AID TO GAZA AS ISRAEL ALLOWS EGYPT TO DELIVER SUPPLIES

South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, who has invested heavily in Iowa, often speaks of Israel’s importance by referencing the Bible, which highlights Israel as God’s chosen people.

“Pray for the peace of Jerusalem,” Scott told an audience in Newton this month, quoting from the Book of Psalms. Scott, paraphrasing the Book of Romans, said of Israel’s enemies: “the wrath of God, let them feel it.”

DeSantis has also tried to win the support of evangelical clergy in Iowa, especially those who called Trump’s criticism of Netanyahu “a huge turnoff,” like Iowa pastor Joseph Brown.

“Even though Donald Trump has done amazing things when it comes to Israel, we need some assurances now,” said Brown, who leads Marion Avenue Baptist Church in Washington, Iowa. “I don’t think he understands the biblical foundation of why we stand with Israel.”

The Israeli-Hamas war has also caused concern for the civilian casualties, including whether the U.S. should accept refugees from Gaza, where many of its roughly 2 million residents have been displaced by Israeli airstrikes and face acute shortages of food and water.

Haley has expressed concern for the humanitarian crisis and said in a recent televised interview that the U.S. could appropriately determine which Palestinians “want to be free from this terrorist rule.”

Following Haley’s interview, the pro-DeSantis PAC Never Back Down argued Haley was “in support of bringing Gaza refugees to America” — a statement PolitiFact later rated “false.”

Haley did not call for bringing refugees from Gaza to the United States but instead called on regional countries to support the crisis.

“We should care about the Palestinian citizens, especially the innocent ones, because they didn’t ask for this,” Haley said during the interview, when asked if the U.S. should accept Gazans. “But where are the Arab countries? Where are they? Where is Qatar? Where is Lebanon? Where is Jordan? Where is Egypt? Do you know we give Egypt over a billion dollars a year? Why aren’t they opening the gates? Why aren’t they taking the Palestinians?”

STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL CALLS IT QUITS AFTER BIDEN SAYS US WILL SUPPORT ISRAEL: ‘POLICY DISAGREEMENT’

She added, “You know why? Because they know they can’t vet them, and they don’t want Hamas in their neighborhood. So, why would Israel want them in their neighborhood? So, let’s be honest with what’s going on. The Arab countries aren’t doing anything to help the Palestinians because they don’t trust who is right, who is good, who is evil, and they don’t want it in their country.”

Ann Trimble Ray, a conservative from Early, Iowa, told The Associated Press she is supporting Haley over her sympathetic stance.

“There are victims on both sides now,” she said. “The terrorists who want to rid the world of Jews struck first and killed innocents, and now Israel is retaliating and there is innocent loss of life on both sides.”

Trump has alleged Hamas sympathizers could be among the Palestinians seeking to leave Gaza, potentially including those who could cross the southern U.S. border.

DeSantis has also argued the U.S. should not take in any Gaza refugees.

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Several Iowan pastors have criticized biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, a political newcomer who has an affinity for Judeo-Christian beliefs.

“I think he’s trying to figure out what conservatives want to hear,” said Brad Cranston, the former pastor of Heritage Baptist Church in Burlington, Iowa. “And I think he thinks conservatives want a less interventionist foreign policy. But that does not work when it comes to Israel.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin is conducting a 2024 litmus test on abortion by urging state Republicans to support a 15-week ban ahead of next month’s legislative elections. 

The governor is helping GOP candidates running in Virginia’s Nov. 7 elections for all 140 seats in the General Assembly potentially align themselves with a 15-week limit on abortion with exceptions for rape, incest and the life of the pregnant women as a “reasonable” and “common” approach, The Washington Post reported. 

A $1.4 million ad blitz funded by Youngkin’s Spirit of Virginia group promoted the policy, saying, “Here’s the truth: There is no ban.”

Next month’s election in Virginia is the only major race in the country ahead of the 2024 presidential and congressional elections, so Youngkin’s strategy is viewed a critical test for national Republicans who have struggled on a common pro-life message since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. 

GLENN YOUNGKIN PRESSED ON 2024 PLANS AS SPECULATION SWIRLS

Though Democrats running for Virginia’s General Assembly out-raised Republicans in September, Youngkin has drawn from his national fundraising – which has seen surges amid the governor’s own flirtation with a potential presidential run – to throw support behind helping the state GOP maintain control of the House of Delegates and flip the Democratic-controlled Senate, the Post reported. 

If he succeeds, it will give him more leeway to push a conservative agenda not only including limits on abortions but also tax cuts, stricter criminal justice laws and more lenient environmental restrictions.  

In the 2022 elections, national Republicans were caught flat-footed on the abortion issue, while Democrats successfully rallied support in many races after the Dobbs ruling.  

“There was no Republican response, none, and the results were tough in the ’22 midterms,” Zack Roday, a spokesman for Youngkin’s Spirit of Virginia PAC, told the Post. “Republicans didn’t talk about where they were. They didn’t swat back the misstatements, the sometimes outright lies.”

Taking a beating by some pro-life groups, GOP presidential candidate and former President Donald Trump said it could be detrimental for the Republican Party in 2024 if they don’t reach a consensus on abortion, describing Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ support of a 6-week abortion ban as a “terrible thing.” 

Youngkin’s strategy, which seeks to provide a roadmap for how to tackle abortion on the state and federal level, could prove risky to his own national prospects, as not many Republican candidates running in his state have embraced the 15-week restriction ahead of November. The media tracking firm AdImpact found that abortion is mentioned in 42% of ads aired by Democratic House and Senate candidates in Virginia through Oct. 17, compared to just 3% of those aired by Republicans. 

YOUNGKIN DISMISSES SPECULATION OF 2024 PRESIDENTIAL RUN, SAYS HE’S FOCUSED ON VIRGINIA’S ELECTIONS

Virginia Democrats in turn have flooded ad dollars into arguing Youngkin’s strategy equates to a “ban.” 

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“I hope they keep it up,” Democratic Party of Virginia chairwoman Susan Swecker told the Post of Youngkin’s ad campaign. “We’re the only Southern state that doesn’t ban abortion and [protecting access] is something that resonates across the commonwealth in all social, economic and diverse communities.”

Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., who led the effort to oust former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, has joined in a chorus of Republicans supporting the new House speaker nominee, Rep. Mike Johnson, R-La.

After Republicans spent most of Tuesday behind closed doors selecting Johnson as the new GOP speaker candidate, Gaetz praised him as a “good godly man who’s going to advance Republicans.” The Florida Republican also told a group of reporters that his colleague is the “best possible candidate” as the GOP looks to finally elect a speaker after McCarthy was voted out of the position three weeks ago.

One issue in particular that attracted conference members to Johnson was his support for single subject appropriations bills, or spending bills that fund one department or initiative at a time rather than a spending package that can force members to support some spending levels they would be uncomfortable with otherwise supporting, Gaetz said.

“He talks about single subject spending bills being the organizing principle in the House of Representatives. That is what I’ve been fighting for since January,” Gaetz said of Johnson. “It is the reason Kevin McCarthy was vacated and despite the swamps, best efforts, we got a good godly man who’s going to advance Republicans.”

REPUBLICANS EXUDE OPTIMISM AS FOURTH SPEAKER CANDIDATE HEADS TO THE HOUSE FLOOR

A majority of Republicans backed Johnson, who received 128 votes in the final round of votes, with Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., getting 29, sources confirmed to Fox News Digital. Other candidates, including McCarthy, received votes.

Johnson said he was “honored” to have the support of his colleagues and exhibit “servant leadership” in Congress.

“We’re going to serve the people of this country. We’re going to restore their faith in this Congress, in this institution of government,” Johnson said.

He added, “We’re going to govern well. We’re going to do what’s right by the people, and believe people are going to reward that next year.”

House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., won multiple rounds of voting earlier in the day to become the party’s nominee but ultimately withdrew his candidacy in the face of staunch opposition from within the conference, as well as former President Trump.

Speaking with reporters Tuesday, Gaetz said there were efforts within the committee to try and prevent Johnson from winning the nomination, but his supporters ultimately succeeded in getting him across the finish line.

HOUSE VOTES TO REMOVE KEVIN MCCARTHY AS SPEAKER IN HISTORIC FIRST

“Well, Kevin McCarthy did everything we could to scuttle Mike Johnson without announcing his candidacy, and he had, like, 40 people vote to try to create a balance against anybody getting to 217 but we scoped him out,” Gaetz said. “We have votes for Mike Johnson across the board. And from some of these conservative members of our conference to some of our freight liners. There was enthusiastic support for this transformation.”

The Floridian said he had “nothing bad to say about those other candidates” but that the consensus process — which “sometimes it takes a little longer” — ultimately “demands consensus.”

“This process clearly demanded consensus, and it led to the best possible candidate,” Gaetz said.

Gaetz’s praise for Johnson echoes that of some of his Republican colleagues, who are hopeful this latest nominee — the fourth after Rep. Steve Scalise, R.-La., Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, and Emmer — will become the next House speaker.

HOUSE REPUBLICANS VOTE TO REMOVE JIM JORDAN AS SPEAKER NOMINEE

Scalise released a statement Tuesday calling Johnson “honest, hardworking, and principled.”

“He is a great man and will make a great speaker. I look forward to continuing to work with my good friend to get this country back on track and deliver results for American families who deserve better from Washington,” Scalise said.

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Rep. Ben Cline, R-Va., told Fox News Digital, “All the different factions came together, and we’re confident that the members who weren’t here will recognize the unity that we have [and] importance of the mission ahead.”

Rep. Russell Fry, R-SC, told Fox News that he felt “great” with Johnson as the nominee.

“Mike Johnson was the consensus pick, he’s a great guy, he’s well trusted,” he said. “And I think overwhelmingly tonight the conference is ready to stand behind him on the floor tomorrow, and he is going to lead us over the next year and a half as we continue our work as the House Republican majority. “

Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart, R-Fla., agreed, saying Republicans “are unified.” 

“Oh, yeah, absolutely,” Diaz-Balart said when asked about supporting Johnson. “I think we are, we are unified. I think we are confident and we’re unified. You know, democracy is sometimes sloppy. “

A vote for Johnson’s speakership is expected on Wednesday afternoon, however, both Scalise and Emmer dropped their candidacy before receiving a full floor vote.

Rep. Patrick McHenry, R-NC, has remained the speaker pro tempore, overseeing only minimal House protocols, since McCarthy’s exit.

Fox News’ Kelly Phares, Elizabeth Elkind and Houston Keene contributed to this report.

House Republicans were jubilant when they coalesced around a new speaker nominee after a day of marathon-closed door meetings on Tuesday.

GOP Conference Vice Chair Mike Johnson, R-La., became speaker-designate on Tuesday evening, the fourth Republican nominee in three weeks.

But House GOP lawmakers insisted that their conference is finally on the same page and ready to unite under Johnson’s leadership — teeing up a House-wide vote Wednesday just after noon.

“My wife…and I were talking, and I said, if we can get somebody like a Mike Johnson, we would be very fortunate,” Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., told reporters after the vote.

WHY JORDAN COULDN’T GRAB THE SPEAKER GAVEL AFTER THREE FAILED BALLOTS

“I think he would be an excellent choice because… he’s very cerebral,” Burchett said. “And he’s kind of a goober… but I dig that about him. There’s an old saying in east Tennessee, ‘He’s cleaner than a hound’s tooth.'” 

Burchett was one of eight House Republicans who voted to oust ex-House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., three weeks ago Tuesday. He said Johnson “brings something to the table that’s lacking in Washington.”

Rep. Michael Cloud, R-Texas, one of the original 20 lawmakers to oppose McCarthy’s speakership bid in January, called Johnson a “capable” and “good man.”

HOUSE REPUBLICANS VOTE TO REMOVE JIM JORDAN AS SPEAKER NOMINEE

“I think it was important to make sure that we got the right person for the American people,” he told Fox News Digital.

Johnson also scored the support of leadership like Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., the No. 2 House Republican who was tapped as McCarthy’s original replacement — before dropping out of the race due to mounting opposition. 

“Mike is honest, hardworking, and principled — he is a great man and will make a great speaker. I look forward to continuing to work with my good friend to get this country back on track and deliver results for American families who deserve better from Washington,” Scalise said in a statement.

House Republicans had gathered earlier in the day for a speaker election where Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., came out on top. But opposition, including from former President Donald Trump, forced him to drop out hours later.

HOUSE VOTES TO REMOVE KEVIN MCCARTHY AS SPEAKER IN HISTORIC FIRST

GOP lawmakers hastily scheduled another candidate forum where Johnson emerged on top after previously coming in second to Emmer. 

A subsequent roll call vote where members were called upon by name to say whether they would support Johnson on the floor saw no one vote against him, and just a few lawmakers voting “present.” Johnson vowed to uphold conservative values in a press conference after the vote, in which all the House Republicans present flanked him and jubilantly cheered.

However, multiple lawmakers estimated that about 19 members were missing — a significant factor in the Wednesday vote. 

Rep. John Rutherford, R-Fla., who opposed House Republicans’ second speaker-designate, Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, said “I don’t think so” when asked if the absences will pose a problem for Johnson.

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And Rep. Ben Cline, R-Va., told Fox News Digital, “All the different factions came together, and we’re confident that the members who weren’t here will recognize the unity that we have [and] importance of the mission ahead.”

CONCORD, N.H. – Former President Donald Trump remains the commanding front-runner for the 2024 Republican nomination, but vocal GOP Trump critic Gov. Chris Sununu argues the race in the first primary state of New Hampshire is “wide open.”

Sununu, who’s repeatedly said he’ll make an endorsement in the Republican race later this year, has been teaming up with a number of the White House hopefuls on the campaign trail in New Hampshire, which holds the first primary and second overall contest in the GOP presidential nominating calendar.

On Tuesday, Sununu met up with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, and for the first time spent an entire day campaigning with a Republican presidential candidate.

Asked in an interview with Fox News Digital if his full day with DeSantis was any kind of signal, Sununu emphasized that “it’s a signal that Ron’s making a commitment to New Hampshire.”

DESANTIS, HALEY, TRADE FIRE OVER WHO WAS MORE CHINA-FRIENDLY 

While Trump remains the commanding front-runner in the race for the GOP nomination, DeSantis for months had second place in the polls to himself, ahead of the rest of the field of Republican White House contenders.

But former ambassador to the United Nations and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley has leapfrogged DeSantis to stand in second place in some of the most recent polls in New Hampshire and in her home state, which holds the first southern contest and votes fourth in the Republican schedule.

FED UP WITH BIDEN, SUNUNU MOVES TO BEEF UP BORDER SECURITY

Joining DeSantis in taking questions reporters at the Red Arrow Diner in Londonderry — their first stop on Tuesday — Sununu said “I think there’s three or four candidates that are clearly surging ahead.”

Later, joining DeSantis in a Fox News interview in Concord, Sununu reiterated that “the race is wide open. I think that’s the most important message.”

Pointing to Granite State voters (who are known to be late deciders) the governor said “folks won’t make their decision who they’re voting for till maybe late December, early January. So still plenty of time to actually earn those votes.”

While he’s concentrated much of his time the past two months in Iowa, which leads off the GOP nominating calendar, DeSantis on Tuesday returned to New Hampshire for the second straight week.

“We are going to be in New Hampshire and in Iowa nonstop between now and the caucuses and the primary. I think you got to show up. I think you got to earn the vote,” DeSantis emphasized.

And taking aim at Trump — who’s holding a much more limited campaign schedule — DeSantis stressed “nobody is entitled to this. You’re not going to see me out there wedded to the teleprompter. I’m going to go out there and let it rip. I’m going to take all the questions and we’re going to shake the hands and we’re going to earn this thing the way you need to.”

Sununu’s teamed up many of DeSantis’ rivals on the campaign trail, including Haley, former Vice President Mike Pence, Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum.

Scott, who last week returned to New Hampshire to file to place his name on the state’s GOP presidential primary ballot, on Monday told staffers that moving forward he’d concentrate nearly all of this campaign time in Iowa.

Sununu wouldn’t say if Scott’s move knocked him out of contention to earn an endorsement. 

And while he said “every candidate has to decide what’s best for their campaign,” Sununu added, “I believe that every candidate’s campaign is going to do better really splitting their time between Iowa and New Hampshire. Two different types of voters but you have to connect with those voters. You’ve got to earn your time there.”

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“You can’t just do well in Iowa and then think it’s going to translate to success here in New Hampshire,” Sununu added. “It doesn’t really work that way.”

Sununu’s repeatedly downplayed the significance of his eventual endorsement, telling Fox News that “I’m never a big believer that endorsements matter as much as the press think they do.”

But the presidential contenders continue to praise Sununu, and have made no secret that they’d be thrilled to land Sununu’s backing

“Chris Sununu and I have been friends for 12 years. I have enormous respect for him as a person and as a governor… he’s done a really great job here for eight years,” Christie told reporters last week as he filed in New Hampshire. “I would love to have him on my team. I make no secret about that.”

Sununu, who flirted for months with a White House run of his own before announcing in June that he wouldn’t seek the presidency, told Fox News earlier this month that “I’m not going to wait too long. My sense is November. Early December. Just like most voters, I’m going to start narrowing this thing down and then when I go, I’ll go.”

On Tuesday, when asked again about his timetable, the governor said “when the mood hits me.”

Adding that he’s not coy, he said “when I know everyone else will know.”

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

CONCORD, N.H. – Republican presidential candidate Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida is spotlighting his opposition to President Biden’s humanitarian aid to Palestinians in Gaza.

“They were wrong on the humanitarian aid to Hamas because Hamas is going to use that for terrorism,” DeSantis said on Tuesday in an interview with Fox News Digital when asked about the $100 million in humanitarian assistance for Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank.

The president, in announcing the aid last week, said the funding would help support “over a million displaced and conflict-affected people with clean water, food, hygiene support, medical care, and other essential needs. The United States provides humanitarian assistance through trusted partners, including U.N. agencies and international NGOs.”

After Hamas militants launched a horrific sneak assault on Israel two and a half weeks ago – in which more than 1,400 Israelis were killed in the worst attack on the Jewish state in a half century – Israel responded with relentless airstrikes on the Gaza Strip that have left nearly 5,000 people dead.

CLICK HERE FOR LIVE FOX NEWS UPDATES ON THE ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR 

The top contenders for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination – including former President Donald Trump, who’s the commanding frontrunner, DeSantis, former U.N. ambassador and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, and Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina – have all been calling out Biden for what they charge is backdoor assistance to Hamas, which aims to wipe out Israel.

“No U.S. tax dollars to the Gaza Strip. Hamas is holding American hostages and Biden wants to fund them?” DeSantis charged last week.

On Tuesday, DeSantis reiterated “you shouldn’t be doing that” regarding the aid, “knowing that Hamas rules the streets.”

2024 DIVIDE: GOP PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES SPAR OVER MIDEAST CONFLICT

Pointing to the over 200 Israelis and some Americans held hostage by Hamas in Gaza, DeSantis said “it’s doubly problematic when they still are holding all these people hostages. So wait a minute. How is it humanitarian to be holding these people hostages? That should have been a precondition before they even discussed anything else.”

“The president has a responsibility to look after Americans, and that includes Americans overseas. And in this case, you need to be engaged in that,” DeSantis said. “Most of what will go on will be things that are not going to be publicized. There’s going to be a lot of things that are going to rely on intelligence. I’d work closely with the Israelis, but I think we both have common interests in this to be able to recover all those hostages.”

DesSantis was interviewed during his latest campaign swing in New Hampshire, the state that holds the first primary and second overall contest in the GOP nominating calendar.

Haley has also spotlighted her opposition to the humanitarian aid, noting how easily the assistance could fall into the hands of Hamas.

“Nikki opposes taxpayer dollars for Gaza just like she did when she helped eliminate it at the U.N. The money is too easily diverted to Hamas and is not a good use of tax dollars. Arab countries should step up if they want to help Palestinians as much as they claim,” Haley’s campaign told Fox News.

And in an interview Monday on the Fox News Channel, Haley reiterated “no more money to countries that hate America.”

HEAD HERE FOR LIVE FOX NEWS CHANNEL COVERAGE OF THE ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR

During her tenure as ambassador to the U.N., Haley slashed U.S. funding to Palestinians in Gaza by defunding the U.N. Relief and Works Agency. The aid was later restored under the Biden administration.

“I stopped all U.S. taxpayer money going to the Palestinian refugees when I was at the United Nations. This is something that I always said – the Arab countries, it was their responsibility, not the American taxpayer’s responsibility,” Haley said in an interview last week on Fox News’ “Hannity.”

Scott told Fox News in a statement that “there should not be a single U.S. dollar that risks ending up in the hands of Hamas. The terrorist organization brutally murdered innocent Israelis and dozens of Americans.”

And Scott vowed to take steps “to ensure no future taxpayer dollars make their way into the hands of Hamas.”

Trump has slammed the aid as “totally inappropriate.”

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The White House has said the aid will be distributed through the United Nations and non-government organizations. But Hamas has a long track record of seizing assistance funneled through the U.N. or relief agencies.

While the Republican presidential contenders are mostly on the same page in criticizing the Biden administration over the humanitarian aid, they’ve traded blows on other aspects of the Israel-Hamas war.

Most notable is the verbal fireworks between DeSantis and Haley and their campaigns and allied super PACs over whether the U.S. should accept any Palestinian refugees fleeing the fighting.

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

• Committees on Wisconsin’s Republican-controlled Legislature have advanced multiple proposed amendments that would enshrine election reform measures into the state’s constitution.
• The amendments would ban both private election funding and noncitizen voting in local elections, as well as further enshrine voter ID requirements into state law.
• The Wisconsin Constitution can only be amended if said amendment passes in two consecutive legislative sessions. Democratic Gov. Tony Evers does not have the power to veto a constitutional amendment.

Republicans who control the Wisconsin Legislature have advanced a series of constitutional amendments that would outlaw private funding for elections ahead of the 2024 presidential contest, bar municipalities from allowing non-U.S. citizens to vote in local elections and enshrine existing voter photo ID requirements in the state constitution.

The proposals debated Tuesday at a joint hearing of the Senate and Assembly elections committees stem from false claims made by former President Donald Trump and his supporters that widespread voter fraud tipped the 2020 presidential election in favor of President Joe Biden.

Constitutional amendments must be passed in two consecutive sessions of the state Legislature before being ratified by voters in a statewide election. The governor cannot veto a constitutional amendment.

EX-WISCONSIN SUPREME COURT JUSTICE FIGHTS SUBPOENA OVER PROTASIEWICZ IMPEACHMENT ADVICE

Democratic Gov. Tony Evers has previously vetoed more than a dozen Republican-backed elections proposals, including a 2021 bill to outlaw private elections grants.

The Legislature approved the amendments requiring voters to be U.S. citizens and outlawing private elections grants in its last session. The voter ID amendment is a new proposal this year, which means the soonest it could be put on the ballot for voter approval is 2025.

Assembly Majority Leader Tyler August said Tuesday that he hopes to put the amendment outlawing election grants before voters in the statewide April 2024 election and put the citizenship requirements on the November 2024 ballot.

Conservatives were outraged in 2020 by a nonprofit that distributed hundreds of millions of dollars in grants, mostly funded by Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, to local election offices. Opponents termed the money “Zuckerbucks” and claimed it was an attempt by the billionaire to tip the vote in favor of Democrats, although there was no evidence to support that. Since 2020, GOP lawmakers in at least 20 states have outlawed private elections grants.

There has also been a recent push for states to specifically make clear that only U.S. citizens can vote in state and local elections. Some cities and towns across the country have allowed noncitizens to vote in local elections. Federal law already requires U.S. citizenship to vote in national elections and no state constitutions explicitly allow noncitizens to vote in state or local elections.

The Wisconsin Constitution guarantees that every U.S. citizen age 18 and over is a qualified elector. But it does not specifically say that only U.S. citizens are qualified to vote in state or local elections.

“I don’t think anyone in this room believes noncitizens are going to gain the right to vote in the state of Wisconsin anytime soon,” said Jamie Lynn Crofts, policy director for Wisconsin Voices. “It should be up to people at the local level to decide if noncitizens should be able to vote in their local elections.”

The photo ID amendment would enshrine the state’s current photo ID law, enacted in 2011, in the state constitution. The Legislature could still pass exceptions to the requirement.

WISCONSIN ALLOCATES $402M TO COMBAT PFAS, OTHER WATER POLLUTANTS

The move to make photo ID a constitutional requirement comes after the Wisconsin Supreme Court flipped to liberal control. There is no current legal challenge to the state’s voter ID requirement, which is one of the strictest in the country. But other election-related lawsuits challenging restrictions on absentee voting and ballot drop boxes could be taken up by the state Supreme Court.

Republican supporters at Tuesday’s hearing said the voter ID law is designed to ensure that only qualified voters cast ballots. But opponents say voter ID requirements make it more difficult for people to vote, particularly those with disabilities, the elderly and people who don’t have driver’s licenses.

Under current law, and the proposed amendment, voters must provide one of a list of approved photo IDs in order to cast their ballot. Acceptable IDs include a Wisconsin driver’s license, U.S. passport, tribal ID, U.S. military ID or student ID. Absentee voters must provide a photocopy of their ID when requesting a ballot.

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Voters who do not have one of the required photo IDs can vote a provisional ballot and then return by the deadline with the identification to have the ballot counted. The ability to cast a provisional ballot does not change under the proposed amendment.