NationalWatch

Rhode Island State Rep. David Morales, a 27-year-old democratic socialist endorsed by Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., defeated Providence Mayor Brett Smiley in the Democratic primary Wednesday night, ousting the incumbent after one term.

If Morales wins the general election, he will be Providence’s youngest mayor in history.

“Few believed that a 27-year-old democratic socialist could ever, few believed that we could ever take on big money, corporate real estate interests and endless attack ads – and we took them on and we won,” Morales said in his victory speech, delivered partly in Spanish, after winning by roughly 8 points (54%-46%).

Smiley, 47, who faced his heaviest media scrutiny over his handling of the Brown University shooting last December, served just one term.

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“So neighbors, with the bold agenda and the mandate that we have voted for, let’s get ready. Providence, let’s get ready.”

Morales will face Republican nominee Dave Talan, 77, in November. Republicans hold no seats on the Providence City Council, and Democrats make up a majority of registered voters in the city. Former Vice President Kamala Harris beat President Donald Trump in the city by 51 points in 2024.

“The voters of Providence made their choice, and they chose David Morales as our next mayor in the Democratic primary,” Smiley said in his concession speech after calling Morales. “While I’m not happy with that outcome, I’m so happy and proud of the campaign that we ran.”

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Morales, who also received backing from Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., former Providence Mayor Jorge Elorza and several labor unions, campaigned on a progressive platform that included capping rent hikes, expanding affordable housing and raising taxes on polluters and corporate landlords.

“Nearly a year ago today, we launched a campaign centered around a simple vision that the working people who make Providence home deserve to live here,” Morales said. “A simple vision that our neighbors deserve a mayor who will fight for them.”

The contest was part of a broader series of Democratic primary battles between progressive challengers and more established incumbents. Morales sought to tap into frustration over housing costs and the direction of city government, while Smiley argued that his experience and record made him the better choice to lead Providence.

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“The same way that we campaigned, we are going to govern — in coalition, side by side with our neighbors,” Morales said.

The primary also featured a battle over rent stabilization. The Providence City Council approved a measure that would have capped annual rent increases at 4% for certain apartments, but Smiley vetoed it in April. The council fell one vote short of overriding the veto in May.

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“When working people are getting priced out of the city that they love, then we must cap rent increases at 4% every single year,” Morales said.

“We put housing justice on the ballot.”

Morales also ran as a hard-liner on Providence being a sanctuary for illegal migrants, and against the Trump administration’s effort to enforce U.S. immigration law.

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“The city of Providence must use every tool that we have at our disposal to defend our immigrant community and protect us from the fascist ICE agents,” Morales, the son of a Mexican immigrant mother, said.

FIRST ON FOX: Congressional scrutiny of foreign influence operations in the United States is widening, with a powerful panel of lawmakers set to hold a hearing next week examining how nonprofits and activist networks serve as potential “Trojan horses” for foreign adversaries.

Fox News Digital has learned the House Foreign Affairs SubCommittee on South and Central Asia has scheduled an open hearing for Tuesday titled “Trojan Horses: Covert Foreign Malign Influence Operations in America.”

“This is a critically important topic right now because the vectors for foreign influence in our public discourse are greater than they’ve ever been before, in large part because of social media,” Sam Lyman, head of research at the Bitcoin Policy Institute and one of the hearing’s planned witnesses, told Fox News Digital.

“Social media acts as a gain-of-function for mind viruses that are incubated overseas and oftentimes find their way over to the United States,” said Lyman, a former senior advisor and speechwriter to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.

The planned hearing, which takes its name from the mythological horse Greek soldiers hid inside of to infiltrate the fortified city of Troy, is expected to include a scrutiny of influence from China and Cuba to the Islamic Republic of Iran and pro-Palestinian groups. It marks an expansion of congressional scrutiny of foreign influence beyond the tax and financial questions already being pursued by the House Ways and Means Committee, which has subpoenaed three nonprofits in a network funded by Neville Roy Singham, an American-born communist tech tycoon now based in Shanghai.

Mike Gonzalez, a senior fellow at the Heritage Foundation who is scheduled to testify as a witness, told Fox News Digital the threat is real.

“Adversaries and outright enemies of the United States such as China and Cuba, shadowy non-government organizations surreptitiously implanting Islamism – and even friendlier countries such as Mexico, which tries to use its diaspora populations for lobbying – take advantage of the open nature of our society to infiltrate and influence America.”

Evidence of foreign influence abounds throughout society, he said.

“They do it in the K-12 educational system that instructs our entire population, the institutions of higher education that produce our leaders, the government agencies that make up our government, the lobbying firms that write far too many of our laws, the museums that exist to transmit our heritage to future generations, etc.,” Gonzalez said.

The Senate Judiciary Committee, House Oversight Committee and the House Select Committee on China have also investigated the issue of malign foreign influence. Singham hasn’t responded to repeated requests for comment.

The Foreign Affairs subcommittee, which oversees the State Department’s Office of Public Diplomacy, now promises to ask the larger national-security question behind those financial investigations: whether America’s open political system and nonprofit sector are being exploited as Trojan horses by foreign governments seeking to influence American politics, public opinion and strategic policy from within. Earlier this year, the Office of Public Diplomacy, led by Undersecretary Sarah Rodgers, issued the subcommittee a report about foreign “vectors” of influence in the U.S.

In March, Fox News Digital published a five-part investigation that mapped 223 transactions totaling $591 million across five continents from 2017 through 2025 through 67 core organizations in the Singham network that act like an inner hub for a constellation of an estimated 2,000 groups worldwide, pushing pro-China, anti-American propaganda, including the communist Party for Socialism and Liberation.

The investigation documented how Singham directly poured $285 million into an activist network of six pro-China, pro-communist nonprofit organizations, starting in 2017 – Breakthrough BT Media Inc., CodePink Women for Peace, Justice and Education Fund Inc., People’s Forum Inc., People’s Support Foundation Ltd. and Tricontinenental Ltd.

As Fox News Digital first reported in June, the Justice Department is investigating alleged financial crimes connected to Singham and the nonprofit organizations he funded, with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York opening a grand jury investigation into Singham’s money. Singham and the nonprofits have denied taking direction from the Chinese government, and neither Singham nor the organizations have been charged with crimes.

Rep. Bill Huizenga, R-Mich., chairs the South and Central Asia subcommittee, while Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove, D-Calif., serves as ranking member. Republican members include Reps. James Moylan of Guam, Jefferson Shreve of Indiana, Thomas Kean Jr. of New Jersey, Scott Perry of Pennsylvania, Tim Burchett of Tennessee, Keith Self of Texas and Michael Baumgartner of Washington. Democratic members include Reps. Ami Bera of California, Kweisi Mfume of Maryland, Pramila Jayapal of Washington, George Latimer of New York and Julie Johnson of Texas.

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The hearing puts the investigation under the umbrella of House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Brian Mast, R-Fla., whose committee has made confronting the Chinese Communist Party and strengthening U.S. defenses against Beijing a central focus. Earlier this year, Mast joined lawmakers from both parties in pressing the Trump administration to tighten export controls aimed at restricting China’s access to advanced semiconductor manufacturing technology.

The three scheduled witnesses invited by Republican lawmakers to testify at the hearing bring together three different fronts in the emerging foreign-influence investigation: Cuba’s influence infrastructure inside the United States, the Chinese Communist Party’s broader political and technological strategy and campaigns by the Singham network targeting America’s artificial-intelligence and data-center buildout.

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Gonzalez is expected to speak on Cuba’s alleged influence network in the United States. “Cuba is 100% operating a foreign influence operation in the U.S.,” Gonzalez told Fox News Digital earlier this year, describing the communist island as “ground zero for anti-American revolutionary organizing in the Western Hemisphere.”

Gonzalez said investigators should determine whether American organizations crossed the line between constitutionally protected activism and political activity coordinated by a foreign government.

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A Fox News Digital investigation identified an ecosystem of U.S. organizations supportinging Cuba that overlaps significantly with the Singham network. CodePink, the People’s Forum, BreakThrough News, Tricontinental, the ANSWER Coalition and the Party for Socialism and Liberation have all been key players supporting the Communist Party of Cuba and developed close relationships with Cuba and its state institutions. Gonzalez has written specifically about that intersection.

A second witness, Jamestown Foundation senior fellow Matthew Johnson, brings expertise on the Chinese Communist Party. Johnson specializes in China’s elite politics, strategic thinking, technology policy and the party-state’s control over China’s financial sector and private economy. His research has examined the relationship between CCP ideology, propaganda, political control and China’s technology strategy.

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The third witness, Lyman, has investigated another front of the same battle: the campaign against America’s AI and data-center infrastructure. Lyman co-authored research identifying the Singham network, and particularly the Party for Socialism and Liberation, as a significant force in protests against data centers around the country. His research identified 21 campaigns across 14 states and calculated that about $23.6 billion in proposed AI and data-center investment had been delayed, reduced or blocked in campaigns in which the Party for Socialism and Liberation was a significant mobilizing force.

The research described a broader information environment in which Chinese state media criticized the environmental and economic effects of American data centers while Beijing subsidized the expansion of its own AI infrastructure. Lyman has argued that legitimate debate over AI safety, energy use and data-center construction should be insulated from influence by geopolitical competitors seeking an advantage over the United States.

House Ways and Means Chairman Jason Smith, R-Mo., has described the organizations as part of a “foreign-aligned influence network” and is investigating whether some tax-exempt groups are functioning as agents of foreign interests. His committee recently issued subpoenas to the People’s Forum, Tricontinental and BreakThrough BT Media after months of seeking records about their funding, foreign contacts and relationships with Singham. The organizations refused to produce documents in response to the subpoenas, saying they were the targets of a “witch hunt.”

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Fox News Digital’s Reagan Schroeder contributed to this report.

DALLAS — A top Senate Republican warned that the real leaders of the Democratic Party aren’t the top two Democrats in Congress.

Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., told Fox News Digital that Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., weren’t the ones calling the shots for Democrats — it’s the far-left progressives, both inside and out of Congress, that are leading the way.

“Let’s be clear, the leader of the Democrat Party is not Schumer, it’s not Jeffries,” Scott said. “It’s Hasan Piker, it is AOC and [Zohran] Mamdani.”

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Republicans are congregating in Dallas, Texas, to pitch why they should maintain power in Congress and energize their base during a midterm cycle in which Democrats are fighting to retake control of both chambers.

Scott, who once led the Senate GOP’s campaign arm known as the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC), argued that Schumer and Senate Democrats could “salivate all they want, but their message is horrible.”

That message is driven by the likes of streamer Hasan Piker, who has come under fire from both Republicans and Democrats, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., and New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani.

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“They’re going to say, ‘Gosh, we want men to play in women’s sports, to destroy women’s sport,’” Scott said. “They can talk about socialism, how they want to kill all the capitalists.”

“I tell people, you go vote for a Democrat, which is now a socialist, right? Then you better buy a bunch of guns,” he continued. “Because you can vote socialism in, ask the people in Venezuela, but guess what? You can’t get rid of it without guns.”

Still, Republicans are facing political headwinds as November creeps closer, with the Iran war still raging, prices at the gas pump and checkout line still high, and a fresh trade war with Canada putting GOP incumbents and candidates in a bind.

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And midterm elections are more often than not a referendum against the party in power. Scott, however, believes that Republicans are going to “actually have a good cycle,” and maintain control of the Senate.

“The reason is we have a better message and we have great candidates,” Scott said. “If you look at our Senate candidates, I mean, how would you like to be out and defend [Abdul] El-Sayed’s record of being antisemitic and hating this country.”

Much of the purpose of the convention, Scott acknowledged, was to remind voters that while his name isn’t explicitly on the ballot, the midterm elections were all about President Donald Trump.

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Trump is set to speak on Wednesday night as the NFL starts again, and as Republicans formulate their final message to their base. And that message is that if Democrats win, Trump’s agenda will stall completely.

“There’s no question the Trump agenda is on the ballot,” Scott said. “If you want the Trump agenda accomplished, we have to control the House, we have to control the Senate.”

“And if the Democrats control the House, they’re gonna impeach him for combing his hair the wrong way,” he continued. “So we’ve gotta control the House and we gotta control the Senate.”

DALLAS — Facing a difficult political environment as Republicans fight to hold their congressional majorities, President Donald Trump used his address at the first-ever GOP midterm convention to unveil an unusual offer: a $5,000 dividend for every adult U.S. citizen if Republicans hold their House and Senate majorities.

With less than two months until the midterm elections — and early voting just weeks away — Trump and Republican leaders on the first night of the two-day convention used their speeches to showcase policy wins and paint Democratic Party politicians as far-left radicals.

Facing energized Democrats and stiff political headwinds, Trump and Republicans are using the gathering at the American Airlines Center in Dallas to motivate the party’s MAGA base and boost turnout in key races that will determine control of Congress.

“I’m asking you to pretend that I’m on the ballot,” the president urged, as he rallied his supporters.

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Here are five takeaways from night one at what’s been described by Republican leaders as a “Trumpapalooza.

Trump’s offer to Americans

Nearly an hour into his address, Trump unveiled what he described as “the best part of the speech,” direct payments to the Americans funded by tariff revenues if Republicans retain control of Congress.

“If the Republicans win the ​House of Representatives and the United States Senate, ⁠ both of them,” Trump announced, “because of our ​tremendous strength and success economically, I will issue a ​dividend to every ‌adult citizen in the United States of ⁠ America for $5,000.”

The president didn’t reveal any other details, other than to add, “The only caveat I have is ​that the dividend that we’re making must be spent in the ‌United States of America.”

Democrats quickly pounced on the president’s proposal.

“Donald Trump and Republicans are once again offering empty promises to Americans,” Democratic National Committee (DNC) Rapid Response Director Kendall Witmer claimed in a statement to Fox News Digital.

Trump’s ‘tremendous’ economy

Amid persistent inflation, a new surge in fuel prices due to a flare-up in the ongoing war with Iran, and a deepening trade war with neighboring Canada, public opinion polls indicate Trump’s approval ratings on the economy remain underwater.

But the president painted an optimistic picture of better times ahead.

“I’m bringing the prices down, way, way down,” Trump touted. And he said that “oil will be going down as soon as we win the war with Iran,” which he said. “is taking place right now.”

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Trump also showcased the tax cuts passed lasted year along party lines by the GOP-controlled Congress.

“The largest tax cuts in the history of country,” he highlighted. “We gave you no tax on tips, no tax on overtime and no tax on Social Security.”

He also pointed to “the largest prescription drug price cuts in history… that alone should win the midterms.”

While Trump touted “tremendous economic success,” public opinion polls paint a very different picture, with the president’s approval rating on his handling of the economy well into negative territory. Inflation was a key issue that helped boost Trump and the GOP to sweeping election victories in 2024. But Democrats say affordability has been the issue that fueled their ballot box victories and overperformances since Trump returned to the White House.

The DNC, which remains in debt and decided against holding a similar convention, is more than happy to focus on the economy.

“The only people reaping the benefits of Trump’s economy are himself, his family, and his ultra-rich elite donors. Meanwhile, working families get nothing except sky-high receipts at the grocery store and the pump, unaffordable healthcare premiums, and wages that aren’t keeping up with inflation,” the DNC’s Witmer charged.

‘Crazed lunatics’

Midterm elections are often a referendum on the party in power, but Republicans aim to use the convention to draw a contrast as they spotlight Democrats’ leftward lurch in this year’s primaries and tie the party to far-left and socialist proposals.

“These people are radical left communists,” Trump claimed, as he referred to Democrats.

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“Crazed lunatics and radicals,” he added.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, in his speech from the convention podium, argued “the radical left is relentless in their pursuit to remake America, in the image of every socialist hellscape of the last century.”

And Sen. John Barrasso of Wyoming, the number three Republican in the chamber charged that “Democrats north, south, east and west are running on this radical roadmap. They sound like an anti-American hate group.”

Counterprogramming

Hours before the confab kicked off, Democrats presented their prebuttal.

“Voters can see through the BS that Republicans are spewing,” Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker of Illinois told reporters at a DNC counterprogramming news conference across the street from the convention hall.

“This bizarre Republican midterm convention here can’t paper over the fact that Republicans have done nothing to earn your vote,” Pritzker said. 

Following Trump’s speech, which last nearly two hours, DNC Chair Ken Martin argued, “The biggest liability in American politics right now is Donald Trump — and he just proved it. Republicans now have to spin his disastrous, rambling speech when it’s clear that this bizarre dog-and-pony show is being held to placate Trump’s fragile ego.”

Fetterman draws hard line after surprise appearance

Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, a centrist Democrat known for bashing his party’s left flank, made a surprise pre-recorded video appearance at the GOP convention.

As he introduced Pennsylvania’s other U.S. senator, Republican David McCormick, Fetterman explained his appearance.

“Why am I here talking to you today? Because. Well, I’m a commonsense Democrat. I’m always going to stand with America. I’m always going to reject the extremes and socialism and that anti-American way of life,” the senator said. “Dave McCormick is the kind of senator that gets the job done, and he’s going to fight for Pennsylvania. I’m proud to count him as my friend right back over my shoulder.”

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Fetterman, who is a strong supporter of Israel, has increasingly railed against fellow Democrats who have criticized Israeli leaders over their ongoing war against Hamas in Gaza. Fetterman has said he has “no plans” to leave the Democratic Party. But he added if Democrats officially became the “anti-Israel party,” count him out.

In a statement released after his appearance, Fetterman emphasized, “I’m a lifelong Democrat who votes overwhelmingly with my party—and should the Senate flip in November, I will still be the 51st vote that I ran on.”

More than 1.7 million free eggs have already been delivered to Texas food banks, with another 5.3 million slated to arrive in the coming weeks as part of an antitrust settlement with three major egg producers, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced Tuesday.

The statewide distribution stems from settlements reached in June with Cal-Maine Foods, Centrum/Versova and Hickman’s Egg Ranch, resolving antitrust claims brought by the Trump administration’s Department of Justice and a coalition of state attorneys general over allegations the companies conspired to inflate egg prices between 2022 and 2025.

Under the agreements, the companies will donate more than 7 million eggs to Texas food banks and pay a combined $3.3 million to participating states.

“After securing 7 million eggs for the people of Texas, I am excited to announce that Texans will now have an opportunity to receive cartons of free eggs in communities across the state,” Paxton said. “I will continue to help our families put food on the table and do everything within my power to lower prices and help Texans who are struggling to make ends meet.”

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The distributions are being coordinated with Feeding Texas, the state’s largest hunger-relief organization. Seventeen food banks are participating in the effort.

The Houston Food Bank is expected to receive the largest allocation of 1,544,400 eggs, followed by the North Texas Food Bank in Plano and the Tarrant Area Food Bank in Fort Worth, which will each receive 842,400 eggs. Other participating food banks are located across the state, including Austin, San Antonio, Tyler, Corpus Christi, El Paso, Laredo, Odessa, Pharr, Beaumont, Amarillo, Lubbock, Victoria, Abilene and Wichita Falls.

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It was not immediately clear when individual food banks would begin distributing the eggs to Texans or whether eligibility requirements would vary by location.

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A spokesperson for Feeding Texas did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment on distribution timing and how Texans can receive the eggs. Fox News Digital also reached out to Cal-Maine Foods for comment on the settlement and the statewide donation effort.

A previously deported illegal alien allegedly drove drunk before flipping his SUV into oncoming traffic and killing a newly engaged Ohio teacher, authorities said.

Alvaro Uribe-Gonzalez, a 33-year-old Mexican national who federal officials say illegally returned to the U.S. after being deported, now faces aggravated vehicular homicide and other charges in the death of 23-year-old Cameron Lyon.

Lyon’s fiancée, 23-year-old Abrielle Kerns, was seriously injured in the fiery Sunday evening crash on U.S. Route 33 in Fairfield County, according to her family.

The Ohio State Highway Patrol initially described Kerns’ injuries as non-life-threatening, but relatives said she remained in intensive care “fighting to recover” as the family grappled with Lyon’s death.

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“This is an unconscionable tragedy because it was preventable,” Republican Ohio gubernatorial nominee Vivek Ramaswamy wrote. “This perpetrator shouldn’t have ever been in our country, let alone permitted to remain here.”

Ramaswamy pointed to Uribe-Gonzalez’s alleged drunken driving and immigration history as he vowed to take action if elected governor.

“But he ended up driving drunk & killed an innocent young man in Ohio. I won’t tolerate this in our state,” Ramaswamy wrote. “So devastating. It doesn’t have to be this way. I’ll fix it in Ohio next year & will go hard as necessary.”

The Ohio State Highway Patrol said Lyon was driving west when Uribe-Gonzalez’s eastbound GMC Terrain went off the right side of the highway shortly after 6 p.m.

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Uribe-Gonzalez allegedly overcorrected, veered across the roadway and overturned into the westbound lanes, slamming into Lyon’s Chevrolet Trax. The GMC then caught fire.

Lyon was treated at the crash site but died a short time later, the patrol said. Uribe-Gonzalez suffered minor injuries.

Investigators said alcohol is suspected to have played a role in the crash.

Uribe-Gonzalez was charged with aggravated vehicular homicide, driving under the influence of alcohol and operating a motor vehicle without a valid license.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) lodged a detainer with the Fairfield County Jail the day after his arrest, asking local officials not to release him before federal agents can take custody.

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The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said Uribe-Gonzalez first entered the country illegally through Texas in January 2020 and was arrested by Border Patrol.

An immigration judge issued a final removal order Jan. 11, 2020, and the Trump administration deported him to Mexico April 14 of that year, according to DHS.

Federal officials said Uribe-Gonzalez later illegally crossed back into the U.S. at an unknown date and location.

“This illegal alien has been charged with aggravated vehicular homicide and driving under the influence of alcohol after allegedly causing a car crash that killed 23-year-old Cameron Lyon in Ohio,” DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin said.

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“Cameron had his whole life ahead of him, and that life was stolen by this criminal who never should have been in our country in the first place.”

Mullin said ICE wants Ohio officials to cooperate with the detainer so Uribe-Gonzalez can be taken into federal custody and removed from the country.

Lyon had recently begun his first teaching job and was well-loved by staff and students at Crestline Exempted Schools, according to a fundraiser for his family.

A graduate of Otterbein University, Lyon was remembered as a cherished son, brother and friend whose death left his family and community devastated.

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Lyon and Kerns had recently become engaged and were preparing to begin their life together. The couple had moved into a home that had been in Lyon’s family for generations and were renovating it together, according to Earthly Pottery Co., where Kerns worked.

“We are devastated by this needless tragedy and miss him dearly,” organizers of the fundraiser for Lyon’s family wrote.

A separate fundraiser organized by Kerns’ aunt and uncle said the family was standing beside her through the “shock, pain and uncertainty” of the difficult days following the crash.

“Everyone who knew Abrielle and Cameron could see the love they shared and the future they were building together,” the family wrote.

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The money raised will help cover Kerns’ medical bills and the mounting challenges she faces as she recovers and begins rebuilding her life without Lyon.

“Her world has been turned upside down, and the physical and emotional hardships ahead will be enormous,” organizers wrote.

The tragedy has rippled through the community as local businesses rallied around Kerns and Lyon’s family.

Millersport Coffee announced it will donate a portion of its weekend sales to support Lyon’s family and help cover Kerns’ medical needs.

“The entire Kerns family is like family to us,” the coffee shop wrote. “We are incredibly thankful that she survived, while we grieve with her and the Lyon family over the heartbreaking loss of her fiancé, Cameron Lyon.”

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Earthly Pottery Co. said Kerns had helped teach its classes, while Lyon was always willing to lend a hand when the business needed help.

“Their little lives were taking shape and we got a front row seat,” the business wrote. “We were texting earlier in the day about getting her studio all set up.”

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The shop summed up the loss now gripping those who knew Lyon.

“A family has lost a son, a brother, a classroom has lost their teacher, friends have lost their friend,” Earthly Pottery Co. wrote.

The crash remains under investigation.

In a Fox News exclusive interview, Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico came out in favor of banning gender surgery for minors and opposed transgender-identifying men competing in women’s sports.

Talarico also backtracked on several of his more controversial claims, including saying there are six genders and that “God is nonbinary.”

This comes as the Texas Senate race, which is surprisingly close according to recent Fox News polling, enters its final months. The race is considered critical to both parties’ chances of securing a Senate majority. Talarico is facing Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, a Republican who has faced controversies of his own. A Republican loss in Texas would significantly impact President Donald Trump’s ability to implement his agenda.

Fox News spoke with Talarico at a food drive campaign event in Dallas on Tuesday. Talarico’s event took place as the first-ever GOP midterm convention kicked off just miles away in downtown Dallas.

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Asked whether he would vote as a U.S. senator in favor of a national ban on gender surgery for minors, Talarico answered, “Absolutely.”

He said, “I’ve been consistent on this issue,” explaining his opposition to a Texas bill to ban transgender surgeries on minors by saying the measure “was overly broad.”

“If you go back and check, I voted for a major amendment to limit the bill to banning surgeries for minors,” he said. “As a lawmaker, my job is to try to sift through everything the bill does. And sometimes there’s stuff in it that’s really harmful, and I have no choice but to oppose the bill as a whole.”

“It’s why I try to use amendments, to narrow the focus of the bill so that it does exactly what we intend it to do,” he continued. “It’s what I tried to do with that piece of legislation, and unfortunately the amendment I supported was unsuccessful.”

In 2023, as a member of the Texas House of Representatives, Talarico voted against a state bill titled SB 14, which prohibited certain gender surgery, puberty blockers and certain hormone treatments for minors. There were 18 amendments to the bill proposed by Democrats, all of which Talarico voted in favor and all of which ultimately failed.

In the same interview, Talarico acknowledged that men in women’s sports is a significant issue in Texas. He said, “I oppose trans athletes playing in girls’ sports if it endangers safety or fairness.”

“Every sport has to be safe and fair. As a former public school teacher, I care a lot about our student athletes. I care a lot about our students. And so, I will oppose trans athletes playing in girls’ sports if it risks safety or fairness,” he said.

Talarico’s comments mark a shift from his earlier position as a Texas state lawmaker. 

In 2021, while serving on the Texas House Public Education Committee, he opposed SB 29, which sought to require public-school athletes to compete based on the biological sex listed on their birth certificate, calling the issue a “manufactured problem.” Later that year, he voted against HB 25, which enacted similar restrictions into Texas law.

JAMES TALARICO ADMITS PAST COMMENTS ‘MISSED THE MARK’ WHEN CONFRONTED ON CLAIMS LIKE GOD IS ‘NON-BINARY’

He also addressed perhaps his most controversial statement, which he made in 2021, while opposing a Texas bill to keep men out of women’s sports. Talarico said on the state House floor that “God is both masculine and feminine and everything in between. God is non-binary.”

“I was being provocative with that statement. I get that,” Talarico admitted, explaining, “What I was trying to say is that you can’t use human categories to define God, and that’s not controversial theologically. In fact, the late Charlie Kirk, the late Pope Benedict all said the same thing.”

Talarico continued, claiming “these comments are being clipped out of context to try to distract from Ken Paxton’s career of corruption.”

“You mentioned [Paxton] being acquitted in the state Senate. That was after two of his billionaire megadonors gave the lieutenant governor a $3 million check to buy his acquittal,” Talarico said. “So, Ken Paxton is the most corrupt politician in Texas and he’s gonna try to clip some of my comments, including comments where I was being a little provocative in order to try to distract from that career.”

Fox News Digital reached out to the Paxton campaign for a response.

LONGTIME GOP AIDE DEFECTS TO DEM RISING STAR AS TEXAS SENATE BATTLE FOR CORNYN’S SEAT HEATS UP

Regarding his past comment about there being more than two genders, Talarico said he does not currently believe there are six sexes.

“I’ve missed the mark on some of my past statements. I will be the first to admit it,” he said. “What I meant is that there are two sexes, and then there’s a small percentage of people with genetic abnormalities.”

“Obviously didn’t say it correctly. There are not six sexes. There are two, and I think the reason that politicians in that convention center across the street want to talk about six sexes is because they don’t want to talk about $6 diesel,” he said.

Though he walked back these controversies, Talarico did not hold back on his criticism of the Supreme Court, which he described as “infected” with corruption, saying it “needs to be overhauled.”

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He said that if elected, “You’re going to expect that I will vote for overhaul to the Supreme Court. That will include binding codes of conduct for our justices. It’ll include term limits, and I am open to a discussion about expanding the number of justices.”

Following these controversies, Talarico pledged to keep his message focused on affordability for the remainder of the campaign.

“Everywhere I go across the state of Texas, people are struggling to survive in this economy. They are struggling to afford the basics: groceries, gas, utilities, healthcare. And that’s what I’m going to be focused on from now until Election Day.”

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On the topic of affordability, Talarico said that “we should not have a state income tax” in Texas. This is despite Talarico previously voting against a measure to permanently ban a state income tax, which he suggested was redundant and an example of “government waste at its worst.” 

The measure was ultimately passed by the Texas Legislature and approved by Texas voters in November 2019.

Elaine Pelino, a former NFL cheerleader and publisher pitching herself as the party-line choice, and Aaron Guckian, a former aide to former Gov. Donald Carcieri and a more centrist candidate are locked in a GOP primary that remained too close to call by early Thursday morning.

The race centered on experience and qualifications as Republicans hope they have found a candidate to win over a historically Democratic-leaning state.

SENATE REPUBLICAN PUSHES OVERHAUL TO CUT RED TAPE AND SPEED UP AMERICAN ENERGY PROJECTS

In the last election, Daniel McKee, the then-Democratic candidate and current governor of Rhode Island, beat out Republican challenger Ashley Kalus in a 57.9% to 38.9% victory.

Among other priorities in her campaign, Pelino promised to champion merit-based hiring, support law enforcement, immigration law and school choice.”This is what I’m going to do. I’m learning. Everything is a learning [curve] because I’m not a lifetime politician. I’m here because I love Rhode Island. And I want them to have a great life. I want them to live in a prosperous and safe place. We should get all the illegals out of here,” Pelino said at a candidate forum.

DEM INCUMBENT BECOMES FIRST SITTING GOVERNOR TO LOSE PRIMARY SINCE 2018

Before her time in politics, Pelino had a wide range of experience, working as a model, in media and even as a cheerleader for the Houston Oilers, the football team that would eventually become the NFL’s Tennessee Titans. Later, in 2011, she founded Tigress magazine, which published 12 issues.

For his part, Guckian took a far more policy-centric approach, committing to overhaul Rhode Island’s permitting, improve service delivery and tighten use of the state’s revenue. He argued that the state’s budget growth had “gone too far.”

“The state budget increased from $9.3 billion in 2019 to more than $14 billion between 2024 and 2026, nearly 50% growth in five years, even as federal COVID relief dollars are expiring,” Guckian said on his campaign website.

“Rhode Island made a critical mistake. We built permanent commitments on temporary federal money.”

SELF-FUNDED CEO CLAIMS GOP NOMINATION TO CHALLENGE MASSACHUSETTS DEMOCRAT’S SECOND-TERM BID

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Once one of them has secured the primary, Pelino or Guckian will face an uphill battle in the Nov. 3 general election.

DALLAS — A rogue Senate Democrat toying with the idea of leaving his party drew a hard line in the sand after making a surprise appearance at the GOP’s Trump-centric convention.

Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., has been welcomed with open arms by Republicans to join the party after he floated leaving his own caucus, and spurred further speculation that he would jump ship after dropping a video introducing his colleague, Sen. Dave McCormick, R-Pa., at the Republican National Committee’s midterm convention on Wednesday.

But in a statement to Fox News Digital, the progressive-turned centrist said that he wasn’t turning his back on the Democratic Party, even as the knives have come out to cut him loose from the Senate.

DEM SENATOR DELIVERS SURPRISE VIDEO AT REPUBLICAN CONVENTION BACKING MCCORMICK

“My remarks introduced Dave McCormick as a great American and friend. We are in different parties, but we are both Team PA,” Fetterman said. “We have delivered hundreds of millions of dollars back to Pennsylvania, fought for improved transportation and affordable housing, and the Steel Way of Life.”

“I’m a lifelong Democrat who votes overwhelmingly with my party — and should the Senate flip in November, I will still be the 51st vote that I ran on,” he continued.

Fetterman started his career in the Senate after besting Dr. Mehmet Oz in a tight race for power in 2022, where he clinched a historically thin Democratic majority in 2022 running on a progressive platform.

TOP REPUBLICAN NAMES WHO HE SAYS IS REALLY LEADING DEMOCRATS — AND IT’S NOT SCHUMER OR JEFFRIES

But since then, he has become a thorn in Democrats’ side, and challenged the direction of the party.

Earlier this year, Fetterman warned that if Democrats became more entrenched in anti-Israel policy positions, he would exit the party, and has taken jabs at the party’s direction during this midterm election cycle as far-left progressives, like Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan, have emerged as standard-bearers.

Fetterman has routinely bucked Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and his colleagues on a handful of key issues, like President Donald Trump’s war in Iran or voting with Republicans to end the marathon government shutdown last Fall.

FETTERMAN FACES DEM REVOLT AS BOMBSHELL REPORT FUELS PUSH TO OUST HIM: ‘DISGRACE’

His latest edict followed a bombshell report that alleged through leaked texts with his aides that the maverick Democrat would often brush off duties of his office, like meeting with paralyzed veterans or charging that a three-hour funeral service for slain police officers was a “non-starter.”

And Republicans would gladly welcome him into the fold. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said in July that he and others in the Senate GOP have had “had conversations with him in the past … about the challenges he faces in his caucus.”

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“And, you know, there are many of us who I think would welcome the opportunity to have him join the Republican conference,” Thune said.

But for now, Fetterman is staying put even if Democrats flip the Senate in November.

DALLAS — President Donald Trump delivered the keynote speech on day one of the GOP’s inaugural midterm convention, alternating between touting his successes in office and rallying thousands of supporters for Republican candidates ahead of November’s general election before making a promise to American voters.

In a stunning move, Trump made a promise unheard of in the history of American politics — offering a cash prize should Republicans keep control of Congress.

“I can make this promise to you, and here is my promise,” he said. “If the Republicans win the House of Representatives and the United States Senate, both of them, because of our economic — tremendous economic success like in history, we’ve never had anything like what’s happening. but because of our tremendous strength and success economically — I will issue a dividend to every adult citizen in the United States of America for $5,000. Very much like a successful company will do a cash distribution to its shareholders.”

TRUMP’S UNUSUAL ROLE AT MIDTERM CONVENTION REVEALED AS SCHEDULE GOES PUBLIC

“It will be called the ‘Trump dividend,'” he added.

Trump opened the speech by grading his own performance since taking office for a second time in January 2025, saying he’s “doing a great job.” He quickly shifted to addressing the historical challenge that incumbent parties rarely retain control of Congress in midterm elections.

JOHNSON DOWNPLAYS GOP’S MIDTERM WOES AS DEMOCRATS EYE HOUSE TAKEOVER: ‘I AM VERY BULLISH’

“But I say, why is it that no matter how well you’re doing, we see not a president — Democrat or Republican — almost never wins the midterms?’ said Trump. “We’ve got to change that because we have something going that’s so good we can’t let that string be broken. So I’m asking you to pretend that I’m on the ballot. I’m on the ballot, just one more time.”

During his effort to rally GOP voters to help Republicans hang onto the House and Senate, Trump made sure to give credit to Republicans on Capitol Hill for their work in passing his agenda.

MILLIONS TAP TRUMP TAX CUTS THIS FILING SEASON AS REFUNDS TOP $3,400

“Our Republican Congress puts thousands of dollars into the pockets of working families with the largest tax cuts in the history of our country,” he said. “So we had the largest in history. We gave you no tax on tips, no tax on overtime and no tax on Social Security for our great seniors.”

He said his administration’s efforts on critical issues will be crushed if the GOP loses majorities in either or both chambers of Congress.

TRUMP ADMIN MARKS 15 STRAIGHT MONTHS WITH ZERO BORDER RELEASES AS APPREHENSIONS PLUNGE 94%

“Because if we lose, you’re going to lose your border,” he said. “You’re going to lose your tax cuts. You’re going to lose your safety and security. You’re going to lose your wealth.”

Fox News polling shows Trump is underwater with voters on the economy, cost of living and inflation. Sixty-five percent of voters disapprove of his handling of the economy. The president also defended the military conflict in Iran, saying he has received criticism over rising gas prices tied to the conflict but arguing that “I’m right,” because Iran was one month away from securing a nuclear weapon. Inflation has risen from 2.4% to 3.4% since the war began in February, while gas prices have also increased.

RECORD GAS PRICES SQUEEZE AMERICANS AS SUMMER TRAVEL SEASON ENDS, MIDTERMS LOOM AND IRAN WAR WAGES ON

Republicans who spoke to Fox News Digital on day one of the convention weren’t concerned with Trump’s economic policies.

“I believe that Trump is doing the right thing,” one RNC attendee told Fox News Digital. “The tariffs are bringing a lot of money back, you know, correcting the national debt. And that’s gonna improve everything across the board.”

“I feel like as soon as we bring this conflict in Iran to a close, we’ll start seeing the full effects of President Trump and the greatness that he’s done as far as the economy, the great thing of tariffs, and some of the products of the Trump economy in the golden age,” said Jacquez Jones of Texas.

Later, Trump shifted his sights to Texas’ high profile U.S. Senate race between Republican state Attorney General Ken Paxton and Democrat state Rep. James Talarico.

“We have to elect Ken Paxton,” he said, segueing into border security, a top issue under both Trump administrations. “Together, we’re going to continue to have — we have the strongest borders now in the history of our country.”

‘FAKE’ MODERATE TALARICO’S TEXAS SURGE TESTS PAXTON IN FIGHT TO HOLD CRUCIAL GOP SENATE SEAT

“We have the lowest level of illegal immigration ever recorded in our country,” he said, adding that zero illegal immigrants have entered the country through Texas in 16 months.

“And therefore zero have been admitted into Texas where they used to be running around, running rampant, killing people, destroying many houses and farms, and ruining property values and creating havoc all over the state of Texas,” he said.

During the speech, he also took aim at Democratic Senate candidates Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan and former Gov. Roy Cooper in North Carolina.

LONGTIME GOP AIDE DEFECTS TO DEM RISING STAR AS TEXAS SENATE BATTLE FOR CORNYN’S SEAT HEATS UP

He also touted what he described as foreign policy wins. After the arrest of former Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, Trump boasted about “the biggest oil deal” ever, which he said might be “the biggest deal in the history of our country.”

“65 billion barrels are ours,” Trump said. “And you know what they say it is lifetime 500 years.”

Later, Trump transitioned to slamming the GOP’s far-left opponents.

“In this election, the Democrats have nominated the most extreme and dangerous group of candidates for the House and Senate ever to seek office,” he said. “These people are radical left communists. Many of them. Not all of them, but many of them in state after state. The Democrat establishment has been overthrown and replaced by crazed lunatics and radicals. They call themselves Democrat socialists. But actually they’re communists. They’re not socialists. They’re long beyond socialists.”

He noted the DSA has proposed abolishing prisons, ICE, Border Patrol, the U.S. Senate and the presidency.

That message was one Alex Stone of Kansas City, Missouri, hoped for earlier in the day.

“Tell the truth about who they are, what they believe and what they plan on doing,” he told Fox News Digital when asked what Trump’s message to Americans should be. “Democratic Socialists of America with El-Sayed in Michigan, in particular, these people want to destroy people like myself. They want to destory people like President Trump and many of the other people here. If they get into power, what is going to happen to us?”

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The president said he’s prepared for stiff opposition from those opponents.

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“The pundits, the fake news media and the radical left communists will say anything they can to try and stop us. But in this election, all that matters is that we are united, we are together, and what we say counts.”

EXCLUSIVE: U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has deported more than 2,000 known or suspected terrorists from the U.S. since President Donald Trump took office in January 2025, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) tells Fox News Digital, as the nation prepares to mark 25 years since the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

DHS said ICE arrested more than 2,150 known or suspected terrorists between Jan. 20, 2025, and Sept. 9, 2026, and deported 2,015 during that period.

“As we reflect on the 25th anniversary of the September 11 attacks, the brave men and women of ICE continue to carry out their duty to protect the homeland and keep the American people safe,” DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin said in the department’s announcement.

TRUMP ADMINISTRATION’S IMMIGRATION PUSH FUELS ICE’S BIGGEST ARREST MONTH IN AGENCY HISTORY

Mullin said ICE had arrested more than 2,100 known or suspected terrorists and deported more than 2,000, adding that the anniversary underscored the department’s commitment to “eternal vigilance.”

DHS pointed to several recent cases involving alleged terrorists and members of designated foreign terrorist organizations.

WHITE HOUSE UFC TERROR PLOT ‘RINGLEADER’ IS A MEXICAN ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT, DHS CONFIRMS

In June, federal authorities arrested Abraham Hermosillo Alvarez, a Mexican national DHS described as the suspected ringleader of an alleged mass-casualty plot targeting UFC Freedom 250 at the White House.

DHS said Alvarez overstayed a visitor visa that expired in 2001 and later received DACA status in 2014. ICE lodged a detainer following his arrest.

Days earlier, ICE Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) arrested Felipe Linares De Oliveira Dell Aquilla, a Brazilian national DHS identified as a former commander of two designated foreign terrorist organizations.

Authorities said they recovered a handgun, cash and multiple electronic devices after a vehicle and foot pursuit in North Carolina.

TRUMP ADMINISTRATION SAYS FEDERAL AUTHORITIES HAVE ARRESTED MORE THAN 10,000 SUSPECTED GANG MEMBERS

DHS said Aquilla was wanted in Brazil on criminal association and extortion charges and was allegedly holding his wife against her will while preparing to flee to Mexico.

ICE lodged a detainer after his arrest, while investigators pursued additional firearm and kidnapping charges.

Four Venezuelan members of Tren de Aragua also pleaded guilty in May to charges stemming from a 2024 Bronx shooting that killed two people.

DHS said all four had entered the United States illegally between 2022 and 2023.

REPORTER’S NOTEBOOK: 9/11 IS JUST A HISTORY CHAPTER FOR A NEW GENERATION OF AMERICANS

The announcement comes as the nation prepares to mark 25 years since the 9/11 terrorist attacks, which killed nearly 3,000 people in New York City, at the Pentagon and in Pennsylvania.

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The attacks prompted the largest overhaul of the nation’s homeland security apparatus in decades, including the creation of DHS in 2002 and ICE the following year.

Friday’s anniversary will commemorate the victims of the attacks and the first responders who rushed into danger, while marking a quarter-century of U.S. efforts to prevent another large-scale terrorist attack on American soil.

Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., delivered a surprise video message at the GOP midterm convention Wednesday night, praising President Donald Trump and Republican Sen. Dave McCormick while rejecting what he described as the Democratic Party’s “extremes and socialism.”

“I’m a commonsense Democrat. I’m always going to stand with America,” Fetterman said. “I’m always going to reject the extremes and socialism and that anti-American way of life.”

Fetterman introduced McCormick, who is seeking re-election to the Senate, as “the kind of senator that gets the job done” and someone who will “fight for Pennsylvania.”

FETTERMAN LEANS ON UNLIKELY GOP ALLY AS DEMS SHARPEN THEIR KNIVES OVER EXPLOSIVE REPORT

Standing in front of an iconic U.S. steel mill, Fetterman said he was proud to work with McCormick and Trump to defend Pennsylvania’s steel industry, which remains a central part of the state’s economic and political identity.

“That’s exactly the kind of thing that we will work together and will work with President Trump to fight and defend the steel way of life right here in the Steel Valley,” Fetterman said.

The message was notable because Fetterman is a sitting Democratic senator appearing at the Republican Party’s first midterm convention, where Trump is expected to rally GOP voters ahead of the Nov. 3 elections.

His appearance also highlighted his increasingly strained relationship with Democratic leaders and the party’s left wing. Fetterman has repeatedly broken with Democrats on issues including Israel, immigration and Trump’s military actions against Iran.

He has remained one of the most outspoken Democratic supporters of Israel in the Senate and has criticized members of his party who have sought to limit U.S. support for the country. Fetterman has also backed tougher immigration enforcement and supported some Trump administration nominees, positions that have drawn criticism from Democrats.

Fetterman has said he would consider leaving the Democratic Party if it became “the anti-Israel party,” though he has not indicated that he plans to switch parties.

The senator’s relationship with McCormick has also fueled speculation about his political future. The two Pennsylvania senators previously faced one another in the 2022 Senate race, when Fetterman defeated Republican nominee Mehmet Oz and McCormick lost the GOP primary.

CAN THE ‘BEST SHOWMAN IN POLITICS’ DELIVER AGAIN? GOP BETS ON TRUMP AT HISTORIC MIDTERM CONVENTION

Since then, Fetterman and McCormick have developed an unusually close relationship. Their campaigns formed a bipartisan joint fundraising committee in July, an arrangement that drew attention because the two senators belong to opposing parties.

McCormick has also sought to emphasize his ties to Pennsylvania’s industrial base and his support for the state’s steelworkers. Fetterman’s video allowed him to reinforce that message while presenting McCormick as a senator willing to work across party lines.

The appearance does not mean Fetterman is switching parties, but it is likely to intensify questions about whether he can maintain support from Democratic voters as he continues to align himself with Trump and Republican priorities.

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It also gives Republicans a high-profile Democratic voice to showcase as they argue that the party’s coalition is expanding beyond traditional GOP voters.

“A different party,” Fetterman said of McCormick. “But I’m proud to count him as my great friend.”

Rhode Island Gov. Dan McKee lost his Democratic primary Wednesday to businesswoman Helena Foulkes, becoming the first sitting governor in the country since 2018 to be denied his party’s nomination.

Foulkes, a former CVS executive and current Costco board member, defeated McKee in a rematch of their closely fought 2022 Democratic primary, when McKee edged her out by just a few percentage points. McKee’s defeat Wednesday adds another incumbent to a growing list of officeholders ousted during the 2026 primary season.

McKee first became governor in 2021 after then-Gov. Gina Raimondo left office to serve as Commerce Secretary in the Biden administration. The former Cumberland mayor and two-term lieutenant governor went on to win his first full term in 2022 after narrowly emerging from a crowded Democratic primary that included Foulkes.

INCUMBENT GOP GOVERNOR ROLLS TO PRIMARY VICTORY AFTER KEEPING TRUMP AT A DISTANCE

The last sitting governor to lose his party’s nomination was Kansas Republican Gov. Jeff Colyer. Colyer lost the 2018 GOP primary to then-Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach, backed by Donald Trump at the time, by fewer than 400 votes.

Foulkes has spent decades in the private sector, including as a senior executive at Rhode Island-based CVS Health, and later served as CEO of Hudson’s Bay Company. She currently sits on Costco’s board of directors.

Her 2026 campaign marked Foulkes’ second bid for elected office after finishing second to McKee in the 2022 Democratic gubernatorial primary.

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The rematch centered in part on the candidates’ competing arguments over their records and leadership.

Foulkes criticized McKee’s management of state government, including his administration’s handling of the Washington Bridge, which was abruptly closed over structural concerns in December 2023 and remains under reconstruction.

Meanwhile, McKee defended his administration’s record and repeatedly targeted Foulkes’ tenure at CVS, suggesting she is an out-of-touch corporate executive and going after her leadership role at the company amid its controversial handling of prescription opioids.

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Foulkes will advance to the November general election as a favorite against the winner of the Republican primary between Aaron Guckian, the GOP’s 2022 nominee for Rhode Island lieutenant governor, and retired business executive Elaine Pelino. 

The Trump administration is weighing the future of an accreditor overseeing roughly 1,300 beauty and cosmetology schools and more than 120,000 students, in a decision that could test how the president’s push to overhaul higher education accreditation is applied beyond the diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) battles that have dominated the issue.

President Donald Trump promised during the 2024 campaign to “fire the radical left accreditors” and called accreditation his “secret weapon” against colleges and universities he argued had been captured by the political left.

But the case now before the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) is different.

Rather than allegations involving DEI requirements, it centers on whether the National Accrediting Commission of Career Arts and Sciences, or NACCAS, has complied with federal requirements and what consequences should follow if it has not.

MCMAHON TELLS HOUSE PANEL TRUMP ADMIN MOVING TO DISMANTLE ‘FAILED’ $3T EDUCATION BUREAUCRACY

That distinction matters to students because recognition by a DOE-approved accreditor is generally necessary for schools to participate in federal student aid programs. NACCAS says it accredits approximately 1,300 institutions serving more than 120,000 students in cosmetology, beauty and related career programs.

DOE staff identified deficiencies with NACCAS but recommended continuing its federal recognition with restrictions, additional reporting and monitoring while it works to come into compliance.

The National Advisory Committee on Institutional Quality and Integrity, or NACIQI, took a harder line at its July meeting, voting 9-3 to recommend that the department deny NACCAS renewed recognition.

TRUMP ADMIN TIGHTENS VISE ON STUDENT AID FRAUD IN ‘GHOST STUDENT’ CRACKDOWN

The DOE has not made a final decision.

The Department of Education told Fox News Digital that accreditor recognition is reviewed every five years through a three-step process: DOE staff makes a recommendation; the independent bipartisan NACIQI makes its own recommendation; a senior department official makes the final judgment based on both.

“We will not comment on details as the process is ongoing,” the DOE said.

For some students, the federal process has raised concerns about a source of funding they say they could not have attended beauty school without.

TRUMP ADMIN URGES RETURNING EDUCATION TO STATES, CITING $3 TRILLION OF TAXES SPENT AND POOR PROFICIENCY SCORES

Aliyah Fernandez, a recent Hollywood Institute cosmetology graduate and mother who now works as an assistant in a salon, said federal aid made her education possible.

“I could not have afforded beauty school without federal financial aid,” Fernandez told Fox News Digital. “It was because of that that I could attend at all.”

Fernandez said she chose cosmetology in part because she wanted a career that would allow her to earn a living while remaining present in her daughter’s life.

“I knew that if I worked full-time 9 to 5, I wouldn’t barely have any time to see her grow up,” Fernandez said. “I really just wanted to be there for her.

“I wanted an opportunity to financially support her and be present in her life at the same time,” she added. “I wanted to have both.”

I’M A UNIVERSITY PRESIDENT; TRUMP IS RIGHT TO MAKE COLLEGES DELIVER FOR STUDENTS

Blythe Fields, an expectant mother who is studying cosmetology while working in salons, said she previously paid for esthetician school herself and spent roughly two years saving her tips to continue her education.

“I paid out of pocket for esthetician school, and it made me go broke,” Fields told Fox News Digital.

Fields said she now works during the day and attends school at night, describing her schedule as “literally 12-hour days.”

She said federal financial aid allowed her to continue her education and that the flexibility of cosmetology will become even more important when her baby arrives.

“The first year is so important, and I need to be able to have that flexibility to raise a child,” she said.

Fernandez and Fields both said they helped start a petition asking the DOE not to adopt NACIQI’s recommendation outright. The petition calls instead for a monitored improvement period that would allow NACCAS to address the government’s findings while maintaining recognition.

Fernandez said she understood why federal officials raised concerns about NACCAS but believed denying recognition would go too far.

FOX NEWS POLL: FAITH IN HIGHER EDUCATION IN THE US IS COLLAPSING

“Having done the research myself, I can completely understand, you know, the side of the board,” Fernandez said. “However, I do not think a full termination of accreditation is reasonable considering how many people rely on this.”

Fields was more pointed when asked what she would tell Trump before his administration makes the final decision.

“I would ask him who cuts and colors his hair and how did they get there?” Fields said.

The disagreement over NACCAS centers on whether the deficiencies identified during its federal review warrant continued oversight or denial of recognition.

Education Department staff recommended that NACCAS be prohibited from accrediting additional institutions until it demonstrates compliance, complete corrective action within 12 months and submits additional reports to the department.

NACIQI instead recommended denial.

Zakiya Smith Ellis, a former Obama administration DOE official who serves on the advisory committee, made the motion to deny NACCAS renewed recognition.

Michael Poliakoff seconded the motion, which passed 9-3.

Smith Ellis argued during the July meeting that NACCAS had been given opportunities to address compliance problems and questioned whether giving it additional time would be sufficient. She also raised concerns about debt and earnings among students at NACCAS-accredited institutions.

Three committee members voted against denial, including Robert Eitel, who served in the DOE during Trump’s first term.

Eitel argued that NACCAS should be required to correct its deficiencies rather than lose recognition and raised concerns about the potential consequences for the schools and students it oversees.

The proceeding also creates an unusual contrast with the accreditation practices Trump highlighted in his April executive order.

The order directed the DOE to investigate whether accreditors require schools to engage in unlawful discrimination, including through DEI-related standards. The federal findings at issue in the NACCAS proceeding concern compliance and oversight rather than an allegation that NACCAS imposes DEI requirements.

Smith Ellis, meanwhile, has publicly defended DEI policies and previously served as a senior DOE official during the Obama administration.

Fox News Digital asked Smith Ellis why she favored denying recognition rather than the corrective measures recommended by DOE staff and what she would say to students concerned about the potential consequences. Smith Ellis did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

Fields told Fox News Digital she believes beauty careers can be overlooked in ways that other skilled trades are not. Asked whether she thought the same fight would be playing out around traditionally male-dominated trades such as plumbing or welding, she said she did not.

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“I think it’s because they’re like male fields, like mainly men are involved in,” Fields said. “They don’t think about that. They just think, ‘Oh, they went to hair school. It’s easy.’”

For Fields, however, the training will give her the career she hopes will allow her to earn a living while raising her child.

The White House, NACCAS, and the Hollywood Institute of Beauty did not respond to Fox News Digital’s requests for comment.

DALLAS – Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker of Illinois is urging voters to ignore the Republicans’ first-ever midterm convention.

“Voters can see through the BS that Republicans are spewing,” Pritzker told reporters at a Democratic National Committee-hosted counter programming news conference across the street from the American Airlines Center in Dallas, the site of this week’s first-ever Republican midterm convention.

With less than two months until the midterm elections — and early voting just weeks away — President Donald Trump and the GOP kicked off their convention on Wednesday as Republicans fight to keep control of Congress.

The GOP’s playbook for the convention, which comes as Republicans face energized Democrats and political headwinds as they defend their slim House and Senate majorities, is to motivate the party’s base and boost turnout in key races that will determine control of Congress.

GOP MIDTERM CONVENTION: CAN THE ‘BEST SHOWMAN IN POLITICS’ DELIVER AGAIN?

“We are putting the president on the ballot,” Republican National Committee (RNC) Chair Joe Gruters emphasized in a Fox News Digital interview on the eve of the gathering. “That’s exactly what we’re doing with this midterm convention.”

But Pritzker, a potential 2028 White House contender, blasted the two-day GOP confab.

“This bizarre Republican midterm convention here can’t paper over the fact that Republicans have done nothing to earn your vote. Donald Trump is hoping that a flashy primetime event will make you forget that, well, his trade war is killing costs for families at the grocery store. His war in Iran is killing ranchers and farmers and their way of life, and his war on people, on the working people, the working families of this country are raising the costs of health care and housing.”

FIRST ON FOX: WHO’S SPEAKING – AND WHEN – AT THE GOP’S HISTORIC MIDTERM ELECTION

The governor also charged that Republicans are trying to “rig” the midterm elections, arguing that Trump is aiming to use the U.S. Postal Service to restrict mail-in balloting across the country.

“Republicans know that they can’t win on the merits of their unpopular policies. So, they’re working to rig the 2026 election,” Pritzker charged.

Pritzker also warned that “if Democrats don’t win, if they don’t win in this election, we may not have other elections, or certainly we’re going to have future elections, every single one of which will be rigged.”

DEMOCRACY ’26: STAY UP TO DATE WITH THE FOX NEWS ELECTION HUB

The White House has defended Trump’s executive order on mail-in voting as a “commonsense measure” aimed at ensuring secure elections.

Pritzker, who is running for re-election this year for a third term steering Democrat-dominated Illinois, is seen as a possible presidential contender in the 2028 White House race to succeed Trump.

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But the governor pivoted when asked by Fox News if his stop in Dallas should be seen as a 2028 signal.

Standing alongside some top Texas Democrats, Pritzker said, “I care a great deal about what happens in Texas. Voters everywhere in the country should care about what happens in Texas. So, I’m pleased to be here for that reason. If I can advance the cause, that’s why I should stand here.”

A far-left podcaster known for her vile, often curse-laden rants against the political right took aim at first lady Melania Trump in a recent episode of her show.

“I don’t like anything for Melania,” Jennifer Welch said in a clip making its rounds on social media.

“And I wish I could be the bigger person and say that I do, but I don’t,” she continued. “I don’t like anything possible for her. She is, I think, just an absolutely horrific person.”

MELANIA TRUMP CALLS FOR ABC TO FIRE JIMMY KIMMEL OVER ‘HATEFUL AND VIOLENT RHETORIC’

Other recent clips attacking homeschool parents and late South Carolina Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham have earned Welch a description as a member of the “dirtbag left.”

She describes herself as an “atheist from the Bible Belt” and often levies attacks against Christianity.

Welch, after calling the first lady “horrific” in her recent podcast episode, launched into a rant about a controversy involving a model and former diplomat, who was a friend of Melania’s, threatening in April to expose unspecified information about the first lady and President Donald Trump.

Then, the left-wing podcaster turned to taking a dig at the first couple’s sex lives.

“She cared enough in the bogus $40 million payoff she got to make sure that everybody — not only in the United States, but in the world — knows she does not screw her husband,” Welch said, referring to Amazon’s $40 million purchase of the rights to the “Melania” documentary.

There are no details about intimacy between the pair in the movie, according to a transcript of the film.

Still, Welch persisted.

KIMMEL CALLS MELANIA TRUMP AN ‘EXPECTANT WIDOW’ BEFORE WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENTS’ DINNER SHOOTING

“They could have cut that part out, but she made sure the world knows, ‘I do not screw my husband.’ So I’m not buying into this that Melania all of the sudden is liberated and doesn’t give a s— about stuff anymore, because I think that’s the thing that eats the Trumps up all the time.

“They care what everybody thinks about them, and they want to change everybody’s opinion on them.”

The first lady’s office did not return Fox News Digital’s request for comment on the podcaster’s remarks.

Welsh also attacked the rest of the Trumps in the episode, saying that even if they received the highest praise, the family members would still be “broken.”

“We are elevating the bad guy right here,” Welsh said. “We are elevating the most dysfunctional family in the United States, and wrapping it up in traditional Christian values. It’s just such bulls—.”

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Welch makes a habit on her podcast of discussing the private lives of Republicans. When Sen. Graham died, she graphically discussed long-circulated rumors that he was gay.

An emergency slide deployment on the Qatari-gifted Air Force One raised questions at Joint Base Andrews Wednesday before President Donald Trump revealed it was all part of a safety check.

“They were checking it before, and they just wanted to make sure,” Trump told reporters on the tarmac after exiting Marine One. “So they’ve, I guess, already put it up. They want to make sure everything works perfectly.”

The unusual scene unfolded after Marine One rolled to a stop near the presidential aircraft, with Trump remaining aboard the helicopter, and the slide could be seen extending from the plane.

TRUMP ADMINISTRATION SUBPOENAS NY TIMES JOURNALISTS IN GRAND JURY LEAK PROBE TIED TO AIR FORCE ONE REPORT

The White House print pool reported spotting what appeared to be an inflatable emergency slide deployed from the right side front door of the Qatari-gifted Boeing 747. The door is opposite the entrance Trump typically uses to board the plane.

At the same time, the older white-and-blue Air Force One was seen moving out of its hangar and into position a few hundred yards behind the newer aircraft. The older jet then deployed its front and rear stairs.

TRUMP EXPLAINS WHY HE’S FLYING OLD AIR FORCE ONE BACK TO DC

The door of Marine One remained closed as of 2:19 p.m., according to the pool, fueling questions about whether the unexpected slide deployment had disrupted the president’s travel plans.

Trump later emerged from the helicopter and said the equipment had been tested to ensure it was working properly, indicating there had not been an emergency aboard the aircraft.

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It was not immediately clear whether the safety check would affect which plane Trump would use for his next flight.

Fox News’ Nick Rojas contributed to this report.

The Missouri Supreme Court signaled Tuesday that it was considering holding Secretary of State Denny Hoskins in contempt amid an escalating battle over proposed congressional maps.

Hoskins, a Republican, said Tuesday that he would keep using the congressional districts redrawn last year, despite a U.S. Supreme Court decision that left standing a state Supreme Court order requiring Missouri to use its old districts instead.

“I look forward to my day in court,” Hoskins said in a post on X that cited the supremacy clause of the U.S. Constitution.

MISSOURI AG FILES PETITION ASKING SUPREME COURT TO REVIVE TRUMP-BACKED REDISTRICTING MAP

Hoskins must appear in court Thursday to explain why he shouldn’t be held in contempt for instructing election officials to use the 2025 congressional map despite an injunction barring its use.

Last week, Missouri’s high court ruled that the map backed by President Donald Trump cannot be used because thousands of voters signed a petition demanding a statewide referendum on it.

SUPREME COURT DEALS BLOW TO VIRGINIA DEMOCRATS IN FIGHT OVER STATE COURT ELECTION MAP RULING

Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh declined to grant an emergency stay requested by Hoskins, leaving in place the injunction ordered by the state Supreme Court.

However, shortly after Kavanaugh’s announcement, U.S. District Judge Stephen Clark, a Trump appointee, issued a temporary restraining order prohibiting Missouri from using any map other than the new 2025 districts.

GEORGIA REDISTRICTING BATTLE REVIVED AFTER APPEALS COURT OVERTURNS FEDERAL COURT DECISION

Opponents of the new redistricting plan quickly filed a notice to appeal Clark’s order to the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

“An individual federal judge cannot overrule the Missouri Supreme Court,” said attorney Chuck Hatfield, who represents People Not Politicians, the group that sponsored the referendum petition.

RNC AND NRCC FILE LAWSUIT DEFENDING MISSOURI’S NEW CONGRESSIONAL MAP AGAINST DEMOCRATIC CHALLENGES

Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway said she was prepared to comply with Clark’s order, which she argued “binds the state to using” the new congressional districts.

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“We maintain that changing the congressional map in between the primary and general elections is simply not feasible and profoundly unjust to Missouri voters,” she wrote on X.

BLOCKBUSTER SUPREME COURT VOTING RIGHTS RULING IGNITES REDISTRICTING WAR ACROSS SOUTHERN STATES

The conflict is part of a broader, nationwide effort by Republicans to redraw congressional districts mid-decade to gain U.S. House seats.

Missouri currently has six Republicans and two Democrats in the U.S. House. The new redistricting plan would eliminate one Democratic seat, currently held by Rep. Emanuel Cleaver.

Reps. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y. and Josh Gottheimer, D-N.J., are launching a congressional coalition to target antisemitism at institutions of higher education.

The Combating Antisemitism on College Campuses Caucus will provide a bipartisan avenue for lawmakers to “coordinate oversight of how” schools of higher learning react to antisemitism, according to press releases issued by the lawmakers’ offices.

The caucus will “press institutions to protect Jewish students, faculty, and staff, and to enforce their own anti-harassment and anti-discrimination policies,” “advance and track federal legislation targeting campus antisemitism and BDS-driven discrimination,” and “spotlight schools that are getting it right and share best practices across campuses nationwide,” the releases note.

CAMPUS ANTISEMITISM EXTENDS BEYOND STUDENT PROTESTS AND INTO CLASSROOMS, ADL WARNS

While Gottheimer is a Jewish Democrat and Stefanik is a Catholic Republican, both lawmakers are concerned about the problem of antisemitism.

“Since October 7th, Jewish students on too many campuses have been harassed, intimidated, and made to feel like strangers in their own school,” Gottheimer said, referring to the 2023 attack by Hamas terrorists in Israel.

TRUMP INDICATES SUPPORT FOR CHRISTIAN-BACKED PLAN TO HELP CANADIAN JEWS ESCAPE ANTISEMITISM

“That’s why Elise and I are teaming up to launch this caucus to hold universities accountable, back up the schools getting it right, like Vanderbilt, and make sure every Jewish kid can have a college experience without fear of discrimination or violence,” he noted.

Stefanik, the author of the book “Poisoned Ivies,” noted that she has “been proud to be the leader in Congress on combatting antisemitism and anti-Americanism at our colleges and universities.”

PIERS MORGAN EVISCERATES IVY LEAGUE STUDENT WHO REFUSED TO WORK ‘FOR A JEW’ AS ‘BRAZENLY’ ANTISEMITIC

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Gottheimer “has been a leading partner and legislator with whom I have worked on this critical issue,” Stefanik noted. “We are committed to saving American higher education for the next generation.”

Fox News’ Kelly Phares contributed to this report.