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The Supreme Court agreed Thursday to hear a blockbuster challenge to ICE’s mandatory detention policy after the Trump administration asked the justices to review the case.

The outcome of this case will determine whether certain noncitizens held in immigration detention while awaiting deportation are entitled to bond hearings, an issue that has divided the federal appeals courts.

Nine federal appeals courts have rejected the Trump administration’s interpretation of the 1996 Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act. The case now before the Supreme Court stems from a ruling by the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The 5th and 8th U.S. Circuits have taken the opposite view, ruling that the Trump administration may require the mandatory detention of certain noncitizens without offering them bond hearings.

SOTOMAYOR DENIES MOM’S BID TO GET SON INTO ELITE NYC SCHOOL ADMID RACIAL DISCRIMINATION FIGHT

The case before the Supreme Court centers on Ricardo Aparecido Barbosa da Cunha, a Brazilian citizen who entered the United States without inspection more than two decades ago, applied for asylum in 2016 and was granted work authorization while his application was pending. ICE arrested him in September 2025 and argued he was subject to mandatory detention without a bond hearing while his removal case proceeded.

Barbosa da Cunha challenged the government’s interpretation of federal immigration law, arguing his detention was governed by a different provision that permits immigration judges to hold bond hearings. The district court agreed, and the 2nd U.S. Circuit affirmed.

The district court ruled Barbosa da Cunha was entitled to a bond hearing because his detention was governed by a different provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act. An immigration judge later found he did not pose a flight risk or danger to the community and ordered him released on bond.

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“Mr. Barbosa da Cunha has been living in the U.S. for the last 22 years,” attorney Paul Dwyer of the Law Office of Paul Dwyer PC said in a statement. “He is a hard-working, small-business owner with a U.S. citizen family and no criminal history. He has never missed an immigration appointment or hearing. Detaining him without the possibility of release on bond serves no purpose other than to punish him for being an immigrant, and has been solidly rejected by every court to have considered his case. We are confident that the Supreme Court will agree.”

“The courts have repeatedly and resoundingly rejected the Trump administration’s radical misinterpretation of the law,” Michael K.T. Tan, deputy director of the ACLU’s Immigrants’ Rights Project. said in a statement. “Try as it might, the government cannot twist the law to detain immigrants for months or even years on end without a bond hearing. Not only is it cruel and inhumane; it is unlawful. We look forward to making that case to the Supreme Court.”

The case comes as President Donald Trump has made mass deportations of illegal immigrants a centerpiece to his second term, deploying immigration enforcement operations across the country and authorizing expansions of  immigration detention centers to help meet the goal. 

SOTOMAYOR DENIES MOM’S BID TO GET SON INTO ELITE NYC SCHOOL AMID RACIAL DISCRIMINATION FIGHT

Since Trump’s return to office, the population of detainees has grown to over 73,000 as of mid-January, jumping by 75% in one year, according to the American Immigration Council. 

The case before the Supreme Court mirrors  a petition submitted by Sauer, which also deals with the constitutionality of mandatory detentions for immigrants, both illegal and with lawful status, who have committed crimes. The case, Genalo v. D.C., was previously ruled moot after Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul pardoned the migrant at the center of the case. 

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Oral arguments are expected to be held later this term.

Economic concerns and party loyalty are key factors shaping Iowa’s U.S. Senate matchup.

A Fox News statewide survey of Iowa likely voters finds Democrat Josh Turek with a two-point edge over Republican Ashley Hinson, 49% to 47%, well within the margin of error.

Among registered voters, Turek is ahead by 4 points, 50% to 46%. That also falls within the range of sampling error and has been unchanged since June.

The analysis below is based on likely voter results.

Democrats are more unified behind state representative Turek (96%) than Republicans are of current Congresswoman Hinson (87%). Independents favor Turek by two-to-one, and 10% of Republicans back him. It’s Iowa’s partisan structure that keeps the race tight, as more voters identify as Republicans than Democrats.

FOX NEWS POLL: MICHIGAN VOTERS SPLIT BETWEEN EL-SAYED AND ROGERS

Iowa voters are split on control of the Senate: 49% prefer Democratic control and 48% favor Republican. With those numbers nearly matching the Senate matchup, both candidates are performing close to their party’s ceiling.

Turek is preferred by 11 points among women, 16 points in the suburbs, 17 points among voters with a college degree, and 32 points among independents.

Hinson is up by 7 points among men, 6 points among those without a college degree, 14 points among rural voters, and 41 points among White evangelical Christians. 

Economic pressure influences the contest. In the 2024 Fox News Voter Analysis, 3 in 10 Iowans described their families as falling behind financially. That share has risen to 4 in 10 today, and they back Turek by a 38-point margin. Meanwhile, those holding steady (45%) and getting ahead (13%) favor Hinson (by 14 and 53 points respectively).

FOX NEWS POLL: VOTERS QUESTION WHETHER AI’S PROMISE OUTWEIGHS ITS RISKS

In addition, 6 in 10 say the cost of living will be extremely important to their Senate vote decision. That outpaces other top issues, like President Donald Trump (43% extremely), immigration (39% extremely), and AI technology (27% extremely).

Turek has the advantage among voters who say the cost of living, Trump, and AI technology are each extremely important to their vote, while voters prioritizing immigration favor Hinson.

Trump won Iowa with nearly 56% of the vote in 2024. Today, that’s how many Iowa voters disapprove of his job performance as president (57%), while far fewer, 42%, approve.

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The president’s ratings are only part of Hinson’s challenge. While 42% view her positively, 50% have an unfavorable view, including nearly 4 in 10 who are “strongly” unfavorable. In contrast, Turek’s ratings are net positive: 48% favorable to 40% unfavorable (24% “strongly” unfavorable).

By a 9-point margin, more voters are concerned Hinson is too close to Trump than are worried Turek’s views are too liberal (52% vs. 43%). Among those “extremely” concerned, that gap widens to 14 points: 36% say Hinson is too tied to Trump, while 22% say Turek is too liberal.

More of Turek’s backers are certain of their choice: 88% are committed to him compared to 77% for Hinson. Twice as many Hinson supporters say they might change their mind (20% vs. 10%). 

“Recent history and the state’s partisan makeup suggest Hinson can pull this out,” says GOP pollster Daron Shaw, who works on the Fox News Poll with Democrat Chris Anderson. “But the warning signs are clear: Iowa Republicans seem ambivalent, independents prefer Turek, and even her supporters say they aren’t sure.”

Iowa hasn’t elected a Democrat to the Senate in 18 years (when Sen. Tom Harkin won his final term), and it’s been 20 years since they elected a Democrat as governor.

In the Iowa governor’s contest, Democrat Rob Sand outperforms Republican Zach Lahn among likely voters by 53-44%. The race has been steady since June.

Sand’s lead comes not only from getting the support of nearly all Democrats (97%), but also 14% of Republicans and 66% of independents (vs. 16% of independents for Lahn). Plus, 11% of voters backing Hinson for Senate switched parties to support Sand for governor.

Conducted September 24-28, 2026, under the joint direction of Beacon Research (D) and Shaw & Company Research (R), this Fox News Poll includes interviews with a sample of 1,204 Iowa registered voters randomly selected from a statewide voter file. Respondents spoke with live interviewers on landlines (183) and cellphones (733) or completed the survey online after receiving a text message (288). Results based on the registered voter sample have a margin of sampling error of ±2.5 percentage points and for the subsample of 1,008 likely voters it is ±3 percentage points. Sampling error for results among subgroups is higher. In addition to sampling error, question wording and order can influence results. Sources for developing weight targets include the most recent American Community Survey, Fox News Voter Analysis, and voter file data. Weights are generally applied to age, race, education, and area variables to ensure the demographics of respondents are representative of the registered voter population. Likely voters are based on a probabilistic statistical model that relies on past vote history, interest in the current election, intention to vote, age, education, race, ethnicity, and marital status. Results among subgroups are only shown when the sample size is at least N=100. 

Fox News’ Victoria Balara contributed to this report.

Republicans fully acknowledge that they are facing political headwinds going into the midterm elections in November, and those winds are swirling in a race that has become quietly competitive as Election Day nears.

Kansas has, for nearly a century, consistently elected Republicans to the Senate. But in a midterm election year when voters are unhappy with the Trump administration’s actions and its impacts on the economy, the race between Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., and megachurch pastor Adam Hamilton has tightened more than some in the GOP would have liked.

Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., the Senate GOP’s campaign chief, acknowledged that the race is close, but remained confident Marshall would hold on.

WOKE MEGACHURCH PASTOR, DEM NOMINEE CALLED ON CONGREGATION TO REPENT FOR DRIVING, EATING BEEF

“Listen, I think, if you look at Kansas, it’s a very competitive state, more competitive than I’d like to see it, but the fact of the matter is that we’re gonna win in Kansas,” Scott said.

Republicans are trying to maintain and grow their 53-seat majority, but face many toss-up contests across the map, and voters that are frustrated with high fuel prices, tariffs and the war in Iran, that could threaten that grip on power.

Kansas isn’t in that toss-up category, but it was recently downgraded by “Likely Republican” to “Lean Republican” by the Cook Political Report and in Fox News’ election power rankings.

“No one should be surprised that Adam’s message of leading from the middle and working together is resonating across Kansas,” Tyson Brody, a spokesperson for Hamilton told Fox News Digital.

KANSAS DEMOCRAT BEGS KAMALA HARRIS NOT TO CAMPAIGN WITH HIM, ‘PLEASE DO NOT COME TO MY STATE’

“Roger Marshall has spent the past 18 months hiding from his constituents, voting to slash health care, and supporting endless war that’s led to skyrocketing gas and grocery prices,” he continued. “Kansans are ready for something different, and that’s why we’ll vote to elect Adam in November.”

Still, Scott gave Marshall and others some advice that could be the recipe for success, even in close contests.

“I told Roger Marshall the same thing I told all the candidates nearly two years ago: “You do one of two things, you either run afraid or you run unopposed,’” Scott said. “And, frankly, it’s not unopposed.”

“And therefore, you can’t run to the tape, you have to run through the tape. I believe that Kansas is a competitive state,” he continued. “I will, however, say that, as I look at all the data, it tells me that Roger Marshall will be successful.”

GOP SENATOR ALLEGES SCHUMER BEHIND ‘HIT JOB’ REPORT ON FORMER PATIENTS

He has already gotten reinforcements in the form of Vice President JD Vance, who earlier this month rallied for the lawmaker and pitched to voters that Marshall, a former obstetrician, was a man who devoted his life to delivering babies and making sure that moms and children from every walk of life were safe and had the healthcare that they need.”

“Let’s stand for Doc Marshall and send the crazy people packing, ladies and gentlemen,” Vance said.

He will get more back up soon, too. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., told Fox News Digital as he exited the Senate late Wednesday night that he planned to travel to Kansas. When asked if Republicans would keep the majority, Thune said “of course we are.”

Marshall is eying a second term in the Senate against Hamilton, a political newcomer who was previously registered as a Republican now running a centrist-aligned campaign. Marshall was first elected to the upper chamber in 2020, cruising to an 11-point victory while Republicans across the country took hits as Trump’s first term came to an end.

Since then, he has aligned himself with Trump, as did many Republicans during their time in total control of Washington.

But in recent weeks and months, Marshall has started to distance himself from the administration — like pushing for ICE to coordinate with local law enforcement as agents descended upon southern Kansas or vowing to fight for jobs at Bombardier, a Canadian aircraft maintenance facility that employs nearly 1,500 Kansans as Trump’s trade wars ensues.

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Hamilton has his own headaches, too. Marshall has consistently painted him as a “woke” pastor, where he has delivered sermons to Kansas’ largest United Methodist congregation on Black Lives Matter and climate change, among others.

“As voters continue to learn more about Democrat Adam Hamilton, they are realizing his views are just a carbon copy of every other woke liberal in Washington,” Brent Robertson, a longtime senior advisor to Marshall, told Fox News Digital. 

“Voters are turning on this guy quicker than cider,” he continued.

And during one sermon six years ago, he called on his congregation to repent for eating and producing beef. Notably, Kansas is the third-largest cattle producer in the country.

“Some of the things that we grow, because we like to eat them, like cattle, end up producing more carbon dioxide than other crops that we could grow, other forms of food that we could have,” Hamilton said. “And so, in all of these ways, we are creating or adding to the amount of greenhouse gases in our world.”

A judge on Thursday permanently dismissed the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool vandalism case against former Olympian David Hearn, who was accused of damaging the costly $14 million renovation project in June.

D.C. Superior Court Judge Todd Edelman’s ruling marks the end of a monthslong legal battle that included President Donald Trump criticizing U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro after she moved to voluntarily dismiss the federal charges in late July.

Unlike Pirro’s decision, Thursday’s ruling was made with prejudice, meaning the Department of Justice (DOJ) cannot refile the same charges against Hearn.

Edelman rejected prosecutors’ request to preserve the possibility of recharging Hearn if new evidence surfaced, finding that existing investigative findings were sufficient to show the damage stemmed from a flawed renovation job.

TRUMP SAYS HE ‘DISAGREES 100%’ WITH U.S. ATTORNEY JEANINE PIRRO OVER REFLECTING POOL CASE

“In the exceptional circumstances posed by this case, the government has no right to retain the ability to compound the errors it has already made, or even to threaten to do so, at Mr. Hearn’s expense,” Edelman said. “This case must be dismissed with prejudice, and the government must thus be barred from reinstituting this charge against Mr. Hearn.”

Hearn’s counsel described the decision as a victory for “an innocent American seeking justice.”

“This case never should have been brought in the first place. This was a miscarriage of justice, and what happened to Mr. Hearn is an outrage that should shock every American,” Hearn’s counsel said in a statement.

“This administration chose to pursue an unjust prosecution against Mr. Hearn. It should not get repeated chances to wield the power of criminal prosecution against someone who should never have been prosecuted.”

Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment. 

WHITE HOUSE ASKS DOJ TO CONSIDER NEW PROSECUTION IN REFLECTING POOL CASE

Hearn was arrested June 19 and later indicted on one felony count of destruction of property for allegedly damaging the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool’s lining.

Prosecutors alleged that Hearn was seen grabbing and tugging on a loose section of the pool’s coating, reportedly causing about $1,000 in damage. Officials added that he continued to do so even after National Park Service employees urged him to stop.

TRUMP DOUBLES DOWN ON REFLECTING POOL VANDALISM ALLEGATIONS, CITES NEW WITNESS ACCOUNT

Trump has strictly maintained that the pool was vandalized, criticizing Pirro’s decision to drop the case as “hastily made.”

“Anybody who thinks the Reflecting Pool wasn’t vandalized should go back to Law School!” Trump previously said in a post on Truth Social.

“People were on their knees with their hands in the water at the exact location of the ‘slashes.’ Additionally, there were witnesses to the VANDALISM, and the flexible areas of the material were cut with a knife.”

The DOJ moved to dismiss the indictment after evidence from the Department of the Interior revealed that the damage was caused by a “rushed and botched” installation by contractor Atlantic Industrial Coatings ahead of the America 250 celebrations, court filings said.

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According to the documents, Hearn touched peeling perimeter “overspray” material that was already peeling and had minimal economic value.

Hearn subsequently requested that the case be dismissed with prejudice, permanently barring the government from refiling the charges.

An immigration judge ruled Wednesday that federal authorities can deport the leader of Wisconsin’s largest mosque on national security grounds.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio invoked federal immigration law in June 2025 to determine that Salah Sarsour, the president of the Islamic Society of Milwaukee, could be deported because his presence in the United States could have potentially serious adverse foreign policy consequences. Government lawyers cited Sarsour’s decades-old convictions in Israel, including for throwing rocks at Israeli military personnel and attempting to procure weapons, in arguing that he posed a national security threat.

Government lawyers also claimed he had been convicted of throwing a Molotov cocktail at IDF personnel, though Sarsour’s lawyer rebuffed that allegation by stating that, though he was accused of doing so, he was never convicted.

JUDGE ORDERS ICE TO FREE WISCONSIN MOSQUE LEADER OVER ‘SUBSTANTIAL’ FREE SPEECH CLAIM AFTER CRITICIZING ISRAEL

“If a lawful resident of the United States for over 30 years with zero arrests or convictions in this country, a family man and the father of 6 U.S. citizen kids, the elected president of his mosque, and an advocate for interfaith dialogue is a ‘public safety threat,’ as DHS claims, those words cease to have any meaning at all,” Patrick Taurel, a lawyer representing Sarsour, told Fox News Digital.

A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson told Fox News Digital that Rubio had “reasonable grounds to believe Sarsour’s presence would have adverse foreign policy consequences for the U.S., and he has engaged in terrorist activity or supported a terrorist organization.”

A 2001 FBI memorandum summarized allegations from Sarsour’s brother, Jamil, that he had been involved in fundraising for the Holy Land Foundation, an organization shuttered by the federal government for terror ties, on behalf of Hamas. Jewish Insider, meanwhile, reported that Sarsour wrote a Facebook post asking God to “give Gaza people victory,” while acknowledging in a deposition that additional language in the post could be translated as asking God to punish those who wished harm on Gaza.

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“Under President Trump and Secretary Mullin, if you break the law, you will face the consequences. Criminal illegal aliens are not welcome in the U.S.,” the DHS spokesperson told Fox News Digital, adding that “illegal aliens receive due process.”

Sarsour, who is a lawful permanent resident according to court documents, and his lawyers claim that he is being targeted by the Trump administration for political reasons, namely his advocacy related to the Israel-Gaza conflict. He also claims that he was tortured into providing a confession by Israeli authorities.

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Sarsour’s lawyers also point out that he has been residing in the country for 30 years, questioning why the government waited so long to seek his removal if he was a threat to national security.

Sarsour has pledged to appeal the judge’s ruling that he can be deported.

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“I will continue fighting to defend the right to free speech and to stay in the country I have called home for more than three decades,” he said in a statement following the judge’s ruling.

The Trump administration is issuing refund checks to about 1 million Americans, accompanied by a personal letter from President Donald Trump, to people the administration says were overcharged for Obamacare.

An administration official told Fox News Digital that the U.S. Treasury began issuing $500 refund checks to more than 950,000 Americans across 30 states.

Each refund comes with a letter from Trump himself, a copy of which was obtained by Fox News Digital.

“For years, the Biden administration overcharged you to fund the operation of HealthCare.gov,” the letter says. “That money belongs to hard-working Americans, not the Government, and now I’m returning it to you!”

WHITE HOUSE TO YANK 750,000 FRAUDSTERS OFF OBAMACARE, SAVE TAXPAYERS $2.2 BILLION, VANCE SAYS

“With this Historic Action, my Administration is taking the surplus funds that accumulated from the Obamacare ‘Premium Tax’ and issuing a one-time $500 REFUND to Americans who use the HealthCare.gov platform to purchase their health insurance, but who do not receive Taxpayer Subsidies to help pay for their Coverage. You have paid into this flawed System, and now you are finally getting something back,” the letter continues.

The 30 states don’t have their own Affordable Care Act (ACA) exchanges, and instead operate through the federal government’s exchange operated by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which charges a “user fee” for services. The Biden administration, according to the administration official who spoke with Fox News Digital, sat on a surplus of cash from the fee.

That cash is now being used for the refunds, and the fees have been significantly reduced.

The top three states for refunds are Texas, with 139,000 estimated to receive the checks; Florida, at 127,900; and Ohio at 65,700.

An estimated 58,200 will receive a $500 refund and letter in North Carolina and 55,100 in Michigan.

TRUMP ADMIN CRACKS DOWN ON ESTIMATED $10 BILLION IN OBAMACARE FRAUD, BOOTS MILLIONS FROM ROLLS

Thousands more will receive checks across Alaska, Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, Delaware, Hawaii, Iowa, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Mississippi, Montana, North Dakota, Nebraska, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Wisconsin, West Virginia and Wyoming.

The 20 states where residents will not receive a check all had their own state-run processes and did not rely on the federal exchange that the administration claims was responsible for overcharging on user fees.

Trump first announced the refunds in September and sought to build on other promises he gave to Americans for checks from initiatives like tariffs and DOGE cuts — neither of which have come to fruition.

The Obamacare refunds apply to Americans who did not receive premium assistance, also known as the premium tax credit, which was supposed to be issued to people who purchased a healthcare plan through the ACA, have an income between 100% and 400% over the poverty line and do not qualify for other government healthcare programs like Medicare and Medicaid.

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“President Trump is refunding these excess fees to Americans who do not receive premium assistance under the Unaffordable Care Act – and therefore paid the full cost of Biden’s premium tax – in the 30 states that use the federal exchange for the operations of their Obamacare markets,” the September announcement said.

Healthcare costs are, as always, a hot topic of debate heading into the contentious midterm elections, which will decide the fate of each party in both chambers of Congress and significantly impact whether Trump’s agenda will be unmitigated for his final two years in office.

During the Republicans’ unprecedented midterm convention in Dallas last month, Trump said in his remarks that he would issue $5,000 so-called “dividend checks” to every America adult if the GOP retained control of the House and Senate after November’s election.

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While far-left progressive candidates in high profile races — including Senate candidates Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan and Troy Jackson in Maine — pitch voters on universal healthcare and Medicare for all, the Trump administration has touted its successes in bringing down the cost of healthcare.

The administration official noted to Fox News Digital Trump’s negotiations with 26 pharmaceutical manufacturers to drop the cost of drugs to prices similar to other developed nations. The administration, they added, also expanded access to health savings accounts for millions of Americans on Obamacare through backing the Working Families Tax Cuts Act.

“And all at once, summer collapsed into fall…” – Oscar Wilde

Congress certainly collapsed into fall this year. It lacked the usual mayhem of an imminent government shutdown for the first time in years. The government is usually only funded through September 30, the end of the federal fiscal year. Lawmakers solved that fiscal riddle early.

So the beginning of fall in Congress is usually anything but enjoyable. Others are devouring cobbler, enjoying spiced pumpkin lattes and viewing leaves of amber. When a government shutdown looms, the infernality of summer continues to stew on Capitol Hill. Imagine simmering political temperatures mixed with boiling urban concrete and a soupçon of petrichor. That epitomizes the customary fall tension in the halls of Congress when lawmakers are on the precipice of a shutdown.

But this year is different.

TRUMP SIGNS GOVERNMENT FUNDING BILL, AVOIDING A SHUTDOWN AHEAD OF MIDTERMS

No shutdown. That’s a good thing, considering last year’s 43-day shutdown odyssey which crawled from October 1 into mid November. Everything is funded through December 11. So at least members and journalists can enjoy some of those autumnal fall trappings and dash to the pumpkin patch. That’s because we don’t know what’s going to await everyone for the next spending round in mid-December.

Lawmakers are recovering from the battle scars of last fall. So with the midterms approaching, no one wanted to return to the 2025 contretemps. The sides are willing to tussle over spending. But only after the midterms.

Does that mean a shutdown in December? Unclear.

If Democrats seize control of the House or Senate — or both — that could compel House and Senate Republicans to fund the government the way they want through the fall of 2027 right away. They won’t want an interim spending bill which punts things into early next year when Democrats may have power.

That said, if Democrats capture either the House or Senate, they will argue that the voters have spoken and it’s incumbent on them to decide how to spend taxpayer money next year. Under those scenarios, Democrats will push for a stopgap bill, hoping to tangle with President Trump in the early days of 2027.

The only thing which is known is that President Trump will in fact still be in office come January. This scenario could spark a shut down next year – if not December.

The reason? You still need 60 votes to clear a filibuster (and probably two) in the U.S. Senate. That means Republicans just can’t ram through whatever spending package they want. That may work in the House. And the GOP could even test the willingness of Reps. Jared Golden, D-Maine, and Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, D-Wash., to buck their party and assist passing a GOP-favored spending measure in the lame duck.

FETTERMAN STRONGLY SUPPORTS THE FILIBUSTER AS TRUMP URGES SENATE REPUBLICANS TO SCRAP IT

But in the Senate, Republicans will certainly need the cooperation of at least seven Democrats to help them hit the 60 vote threshold. Those Democrats won’t be anxious to assist unless they won the majority and think they can apply their stamp on federal spending in the first quarter of next year.

This is the same problem which vexed the Senate during the shutdown of 2025.

The House passed a partisan spending bill to re-up all current funding on an interim basis. But Senate Republicans could never break a filibuster to lug that spending package across the finish line. The same circumstances may be true in December.

So could the 120th Congress begin in January with a shutdown?

It’s happened before. In fact, under very similar circumstances.

Democrats flipped control of the House during the 2018 midterms – two years into President Trump’s first term. But the President and outgoing House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., balked at a bipartisan spending package the Senate cleared just before Christmas that year. So the government closed. There was no way to resuscitate the Senate-approved package. So the 116th Congress began with a shutdown. It ran a then-record 35 days.

A possible government shutdown over spending disputes frankly serves as a symptom for what could be ahead if voters flip either or both bodies of Congress. Democrats will convulse at spending plans made by Republicans and the President. Plus, House Democrats likely add several progressives and Democratic Socialists to their ranks in November in solidly blue districts. Granted, those left-wing politicians won’t take office until January. But House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., must court the support of candidates Melat Kiros in Colorado along with Darializa Avila Chevalier and Claire Valdez in New York to win the Speaker’s gavel. Any missteps by the Democratic brain trust in the lame duck could ignite an internecine firestorm – before Democrats potentially seize the majority in January.

Republicans could face their own issues, too.

SCHUMER PREACHES AFFORDABILITY IN DEM MIDTERM PITCH WHILE SABOTAGING GOP FIXES FOR SOARING COSTS

Some rank-and-file Republicans are ready to move on from House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA). Granted, it is said that Johnson is Speaker as long as President Trump wants him in the job. But what’s not clear is what happens if Republicans lose control of the House. Will the President and others support Johnson for Minority Leader? Does Johnson want that job? What happens to House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA) and House Minority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn.?

There are signals that House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, is interested in moving into leadership. Especially if the GOP loses the majority. Jordan is tight with President Trump. He lost a bid to become Speaker three years ago after Republicans unceremoniously ousted former Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif.

If Republicans lose the majority, it’s not clear that some Republicans will back Johnson for the top GOP job in the House – regardless of what President Trump says. Some House Republicans will blame the President if the party loses the House. Especially since they believe he’s responsible for the toxic political climate they face right now. It’s unknown if a Republican party out of power might begin pushing back against President Trump, frustrated by the economy, tariffs, the price of gasoline and the war in Iran. Most GOPers have shown a reluctance to break with the President so far. But that could change if voters hand Congressional Republicans their head in the midterms.

We haven’t even raised the question about the future of Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. – although the New York Democrat insists he isn’t going anywhere. But questions would emerge if Democrats don’t flip the Senate, considering that progressives and younger activists want to move on from the 75-year-old Schumer.

The same with Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D. President Trump and Thune have never been close. If Republicans lose the Senate, would the President use that as a reason to call for the removal of the South Dakota Republican?

All of this will color those question about spending bills, maybe renewing FISA – or even getting the House to sync up with the Senate on the college sports bill during the lame duck Congress.

Summer collapsed into fall. Capitol Hill was bereft of the usual autumnal mayhem.

So go pick out some pumpkins. Sip a cinnamon spice latte. Prepare for trick or treating. Fall is here.

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But that autumn Congressional bedlam is only delayed. It will hit Capitol Hill after the election.

Users digging into President Donald Trump’s new AI-powered America.gov discovered a series of hidden features embedded across the federal platform, including a “Minecraft”-inspired response and a search bar that transforms into a hot dog.

The Trump administration unveiled the revamped America.gov on Tuesday, consolidating information from more than 29,000 government websites into a single AI- powered search platform.

Some of the site’s more unusual features quickly began circulating on social media, with users posting screenshots of AI responses and hidden interactive elements.

Users who entered “Play Minecraft,” for example, were met with a lengthy, surreal response appearing to be modeled by the video game’s “End Poem,” swapping its original language for references to government bureaucracy, privacy and federal programs.

TRUMP TO USHER IN ‘GOLDEN AGE’ OF AMERICAN TECH WITH DC BASH SHOWCASING POWERFUL NEW TOOL

The “End Poem” is text written by Julian Gough that shows up as rolling credits when a user completes the video game.

“This constituent dreamed of sunlight and trees. Of fire and water. It dreamed it created a small business. And it dreamed it destroyed a password. It dreamed it hunted a job, and was hunted by a recertification. It dreamed of shelter that would take a voucher,” the response read in part when tested by Fox News Digital Wednesday. “Hah, the original interface. A million years old, and it still works.

By Thursday, however, Fox News Digital could no longer trigger the response using the same prompt.

“America.gov will continue to be updated to provide Americans the most accurate and reliable federal information and resources,” a White House official told Fox News Digital Wednesday when asked about the unusual responses.

National Design Studio (NDS) developers indicated that hidden surprises, such as a hot dog, were intentionally built into America.gov.

“We put Easter eggs all over https://America.gov Enjoy finding them,” wrote NDS team member Adam Bhaloo.

STATE DEPARTMENT CONSIDERS SHARING PASSPORT RECORDS FOR VOTER CITIZENSHIP CHECKS

In another scenario, typing “hotdog” transformed the chatbot’s input bar into a frankfurter when tested by Fox News Digital Thursday.

“29,000 agencies. One glizzy,” wrote one user who tested it out.

“Apparently @POTUS loves hotdog. type hotdog in https://america.gov and you will see hotdog mode lol,” said another user.

“I went to https://america.gov and asked it ‘Is a hotdog considered a sandwich?’ and as I typed the word hotdog, the prompt turned into an actual hotdog,” wrote one person.

TRUMP ANNOUNCES NEW ‘AI FORCE,’ VOWS TO PROTECT INDUSTRY AS AI CZAR ANNOUNCEMENT NEARS

If users type in Lincoln Memorial, Washington Monument, Jefferson Memorial, Statue of Liberty or Gateway Arch, the logo on the top left changes from an American flag to the monument prompted.

Along with the logo change, the AI-powered platform sends visitation instructions.

The website is expected to eventually let users complete government forms and track their progress through America.gov, with the administration planning to integrate additional federal services into the platform.

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U.S. Chief Design Officer Joe Gebbia, who helped create America.gov, said Tuesday that by 2027, citizens will be able to use the site to complete government forms and track the status of various applications.

“Very soon, all she’ll have to do is ask America.gov and it’ll fill out the forms, track the progress and send her a new Social Security card, passport and insurance card in the mail,” Trump said.

“Whether you’re a scout leader who wants to reserve a campsite at a national park, a senior citizen trying to choose a Medicare plan, or an American veteran trying to get the benefits that you’ve earned and so justly deserve, America.gov will be there to help,” Trump added.

Fox News Digital reached out to NDS and the White House for additional comment.

The battle for control of Congress is entering its final sprint, with Republicans and Democrats just over a month away from learning who will wield power for the final two years of President Donald Trump’s presidency.

House Democrats lead House Republicans in the most recent Fox News Power Rankings, with the left projected to win 215 seats in the lower chamber compared to 201 for the GOP. But 19 seats are still ranked as toss-ups, meaning the final majority is still anyone’s to claim.

One issue that’s given Republicans a glimmer of hope in an otherwise bleak cycle is the far-left insurgency that’s gripped the Democratic Party. Several key victories by socialist candidates could threaten to push the party further left than most Americans are, a warning that GOP candidates across the country have shared.

FOX NEWS POWER RANKINGS: DEMOCRATS LEAD IN THE HOUSE, BUT REDISTRICTING KEEPS THE GOP IN THE GAME

Below is a list of 10 House districts currently held by Democrats where Republicans could see key victories that help them retain control.

Alabama’s 2nd Congressional District

Rep. Shomari Figures, D-Ala., is running for re-election in a congressional district that’s been redrawn to significantly favor Republicans.

SUPREME COURT ALLOWS ALABAMA GOP-BACKED CONGRESSIONAL MAP FOR MIDTERMS

A 2023 Supreme Court decision ordered Alabama to create a second Black opportunity district ahead of the 2024 election, meaning Black voters there would have meaningful sway in the general election. The resulting boundaries helped Figures win his seat, which was previously held by Rep. Barry Moore, R-Ala., who ran in a neighboring district that cycle.

But the Supreme Court’s ruling in Louisiana v. Callais earlier this year significantly curbed the Voting Rights Act’s enforcement of racial considerations in congressional maps, paving the way for southern states to alter district boundaries that were drawn to give minorities more representation.

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

That hit Figures particularly hard. The new district would have voted for President Donald Trump by roughly 14% in 2024, according to 270ToWin. Both Fox News Power Rankings and the nonpartisan Cook Political Report (CPR) rate it as “likely Republican.”

Florida’s 9th Congressional District

Florida lawmakers also altered their state’s map ahead of November, aimed at giving Republicans a slight edge in the already-red state.

Rep. Darren Soto, D-Fla., who is running for a sixth term representing his district, was one of the Democrats whose seat was hit the hardest.

His newly redrawn district voted for Trump by nearly 18%, 270ToWin’s analysis states.

REDISTRICTING GIVES REPUBLICANS AN EDGE, BUT AFFORDABILITY WILL DECIDE THE MIDTERMS

Fox News Power Rankings rates it as “lean Republican” while CPR ranks the seat as a “likely” Republican pickup.

Florida’s 14th Congressional District

The Tampa-area House seat held by Rep. Kathy Castor, D-Fla., was also among the blue seats redrawn by the Sunshine State’s government to make it more competitive for Republicans.

The longtime moderate Democrat has served in Congress since 2007 and represented her current district since 2013.

She’s facing off against a former Florida state lawmaker, Republican Mike Beltran, who also has name recognition in the area.

Under its new lines, which remove more Democrat-leaning places around the city of St. Petersburg in favor of more rural and suburban areas in the south and east, Trump would have won the district by 10.5% in 2024, according to 270ToWin.

Both Fox News Power Rankings and CPR rate it a “toss-up,” meaning it’s anyone’s game.

Florida’s 22nd Congressional District

Republicans redrew Florida’s 22nd Congressional District in a way that could have pitted incumbent Reps. Jared Moskowitz, D-Fla., and Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla., against each other in a likely expensive and bruising primary.

But both opted to run in other districts, leaving the seat currently occupied by retiring Rep. Lois Frankel, D-Fla., as a potential opportunity for both parties.

Under Florida’s new map, 270ToWin projects Trump would have won the district by roughly 10% in 2024.

Democrat Pia Dandiya, a political newcomer, is running against Republican businessman and Marine Casey Askar.

Both Fox News and CPR rank the district a “toss-up.”

Florida’s 25th Congressional District

Rep. Jared Moskowitz, D-Fla., is running in Florida’s 25th Congressional District after the GOP’s aforementioned redistricting play, a seat that on paper was amended to give Republicans a slight edge.

Redistricting shifted the seat from one that ex-Vice President Kamala Harris won by single digits to one that Trump would have won by nearly 10 points.

Moskowitz has long touted his bipartisan work in Congress and as Florida’s emergency management director under Gov. Ron DeSantis, giving Democrats some confidence that he could overcome the political shift in Republicans’ favor.

Fox News’ latest projections have the seat leaning Democrat, while CPR ranks it a “toss-up.”

Louisiana’s 6th Congressional District

Rep. Cleo Fields, D-La., is retiring at the end of this year, making his seat another open race.

But the same 2023 and 2026 Supreme Court decisions that affected Figures in Alabama are at play in the Bayou State this year.

After the most recent decision rolling back the Voting Rights Act, Republicans were able to redraw the 6th district in a way that diluted the Black population, who primarily voted Democrat in 2024, to factor in more red-leaning areas.

Because of the Supreme Court’s ruling earlier this year, Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry signed legislation delaying the state’s House primary races to Nov. 3 and the general election to Dec. 12.

Both Fox News’ and CPR’s rankings project the seat to fall into Republican hands.

Maine’s 2nd Congressional District

The retirement of moderate Rep. Jared Golden, D-Maine, has opened up a rare opportunity for a GOP pickup in the American Northeast.

Golden, who is known for frequently breaking from his own party on key issues like immigration and tariffs, represents a district that Trump won by 9% in 2024, according to 270ToWin.

Republicans have a particularly strong candidate in that open race, former Gov. Paul LePage.

Fox News rates the district a “toss-up,” while CPR projects it as a likely Republican victory.

North Carolina’s 1st Congressional District

Perennial battleground Rep. Don Davis, D-N.C., is facing one of his toughest re-election battles yet thanks to North Carolina also joining the nationwide redistricting fight ahead of November.

Like Golden, Davis also won a district that went to Trump over Harris in 2024.

But under the state’s new maps, Trump’s margin of victory in that state widened considerably — and with it, Republicans’ chances of winning.

Davis is facing Republican Laurie Buckhout, who he defeated in 2024 by less than 2%.

Fox News rates the district a “toss-up,” while CPR’s rankings say it leans slightly for Republicans.

Texas’ 35th Congressional District

Lone Star State Republicans kicked off the nationwide redistricting fight ahead of the 2026 midterms with a map that was redrawn to win the GOP up to five more seats in November.

Among those is a district currently represented by Congressional Progressive Caucus Chair Greg Casar, D-Texas.

But Casar is now running in the nearby 37th Congressional District, leaving the 35th a wide-open race that both parties see opportunity in.

Under the new boundaries, Trump would have won the district by roughly 10%, according to 270ToWin.

A GOP victory there, however, will depend heavily on its considerable Hispanic population shifting to the right again this year.

Both Fox News and CPR project the district leaning slightly in favor of Republicans.

Ohio’s 9th Congressional District

Rep. Marcy Kaptur, D-Ohio, is also running a tougher race this year thanks to her state’s new congressional map.

Kaptur’s battleground district was shifted slightly to include more Republican-leaning areas, making an already difficult re-election bid even more of an uphill battle.

Trump would have won the district by 10.5% under its new lines, according to 270ToWin.

But Kaptur has survived several attempts at redistricting by Republicans since her first victory in 1982. She is the longest-serving woman in congressional history and the longest currently-serving House member from Ohio.

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Both Fox News and CPR rated the district a “toss-up” in November.

Fox News’ Remy Numa contributed to this report.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio abruptly ended talks and ordered the Iranian delegation to leave the U.S. after negotiations stalled, yet again, with no clear sign of a breakthrough more than seven months into the conflict.

And now, President Donald Trump is directly warning Iran it’s “possible” he will go harder with strikes in the Middle East after the midterm elections in November and revealed the U.S. military has significantly rebuilt its arsenal in recent months.

The latest messaging from the White House and State Department signals an increasingly strained diplomatic track, after days of negotiations failed to close the gap between Washington and Tehran over the terms of ending the war.

IRAN ‘MISCALCULATING’ BY BETTING ON MIDTERMS AFTER 3-HOUR TALKS, TRUMP OFFICIALS WARN

Asked in an interview with Time whether he would “ramp up bombing after the midterms,” Trump replied: “Possible.”

Further pressed on whether such an escalation was under consideration, the president declined to discuss potential targets but said the U.S. had spent months rebuilding its arsenal.

“We have a lot of weapons. You know, we’ve been stocking up for the last six months,” Trump said.

Trump also used the word “possible” when asked whether he “might annihilate Iran.”

After little progress in weekend meetings involving Iranian officials and Qatari mediators, Rubio told Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and his delegation on Monday that they needed to leave New York, a U.S. official confirmed to Fox News Digital after Axios first reported it.

Rubio concluded the Iranians had “overstayed their welcome” after the high-level U.N. meetings had ended. Araghchi had remained in New York for indirect talks seeking to end the blockade of oil and shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, ending the conflict overall and restarting negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program.

TRUMP, IRANIAN PRESIDENT CONVERGE ON NYC FOR ‘DRAMATIC’ UN SHOWDOWN AS TEHRAN FACES TIGHT RESTRICTIONS

Trump said in his speech to the United Nation’s General Assembly last week that he would continue to make sure Iran is not able to obtain nuclear weapons.

Araghchi and his team departed early Tuesday. Iran disputed the U.S. account, saying the delegation’s Monday night departure had already been scheduled and communicated to the State Department on Sept. 17.

The order to leave amounted to an unusually sharp diplomatic rebuke at a moment when mediators are still trying to keep negotiations alive.

The latest talks have centered on a seven-day confidence-building proposal aimed at reopening the Strait of Hormuz and reviving the June framework that briefly halted the fighting. Qatar has been shuttling messages between Washington and Tehran, with the two sides still divided largely over the sequencing of concessions — including when Iran would reopen the strait, what nuclear steps Tehran would take and what economic relief the U.S. would provide in return.

Trump rejected Iran’s latest proposal over the weekend, later saying Tehran’s offer to reopen the strait was “not good enough. Nearly.” He also denied reports that he had offered sanctions relief or the release of frozen Iranian funds in exchange for movement on the nuclear issue.

Despite the diplomatic stalemate, oil flows through the region have been recovering. Estimates cited by major banks put recent Middle East exports close to pre-war levels, helping ease some of the supply fears that sent crude prices sharply higher earlier in the conflict.

But the lack of a deal is still putting pressure on energy markets. Brent crude settled above $103 a barrel Wednesday, while U.S. crude closed above $90, with oil posting steep September gains as traders weighed stalled U.S.-Iran talks against the recovery in regional supply.

Americans are still feeling that pressure at the pump. The national average for regular gasoline was about $4.43 a gallon Wednesday, compared with roughly $3.15 a year earlier, while diesel stood above $6.40 a gallon.

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The Strait of Hormuz remains central to both the negotiations and the economic stakes. Before the war, roughly one-fifth of global crude oil and liquefied natural gas supplies passed through the waterway, making even partial disruption a major driver of global energy prices.

The Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate in Maine, Troy Jackson, apologized for remarks in which he said he believed Jewish residents of Maine were rejecting the term “genocide” to describe Israel’s war in Gaza because of the Jewish persecution during the Holocaust.

In comments to Jewish Insider, Jackson said he had misspoken, stating that he apologized “for the pain that caused.”

“I believe what’s happening in Gaza is genocide, and I also understand that word carries particular weight for many Jewish families given the Holocaust — the genocide of six million Jews. In trying to acknowledge that, I misspoke and made a generalization about Jewish Mainers’ views that doesn’t reflect what I mean to say,” Jackson said in a statement.

AFTER DEMOCRATS’ SHAKE-UP, COLLINS FACES TOSS-UP AGAINST PLATNER REPLACEMENT IN MUST-WIN SENATE RACE

Jackson’s remarks sparked immediate backlash Tuesday on social media.

“This statement cannot be real. It must be a dark dark dark parody,” Dan Senor, the co-author of “The Genius of Israel,” wrote on X.

“Completely out of the closet,” Fox News host Mark Levin wrote on X.

“Dude could get a matching tattoo,” Fox News political analyst Guy Benson wrote on X, referring to Graham Platner’s Nazi tattoo.

“Jackson should not be within 10’points of [Sen. Susan Collins] when the totals post, just as Collins blew out the polls six years ago. Jackson is dull and ill-informed —cliche volcano, mostly spewing out of DSA-rewrites,” Fox News contributor and conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt wrote on X.

“Well, that’s a s—ty thing to say,” former GOP congressman and anti-Trump personality Joe Walsh wrote on X.

“Bro what,” GOP consultant Matt Whitlock wrote on X.

Jackson’s apology attempts to salvage political damage from his broad remarks about the Jewish community as he wages a nationally watched Senate race in a bid to unseat incumbent Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, which is a highly competitive race. It also underscores the challenge Democrats face as they look to condemn what they see as humanitarian concerns in Israel’s war in Gaza while, at the same time, expressing sensitivity to the antisemitism Jewish communities still face elsewhere in the world.

Jackson, a former gubernatorial candidate who received the backing of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) earlier this year, became the party nominee to replace former candidate Graham Platner. Platner abandoned his Senate campaign after news of past aggressive behavior towards women and an allegation of sexual assault sparked concerns among top party leaders. For his own part, Platner denied any wrongdoing.

But since securing the nomination at a Maine Democratic convention in late July, Jackson has sought to continue many of Platner’s progressive policy items, such as passing Medicare for All, increasing taxes on the country’s top earners and abolishing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

He has also continued Platner’s position on Israel.

MEET THE FAR-LEFT INSURGENTS WAGING WAR ON THE DEMOCRATIC ESTABLISHMENT IN 2026 MIDTERMS

Like many other progressives that align with the DSA, Jackson has listed ending U.S. aid to Israel among those other top priorities and, in his interview earlier this week, reiterated that stance in an interview on Tuesday with local media before making his comment about the Jewish community in Maine.

He was asked what he sees as the greatest foreign policy challenge facing the United States.

Jackson began answering by reiterating his cautious posture towards the U.S.-Israel relationship and his hesitancy to write a “blank check” in support of Benjamin Netanyahu’s government — someone Jackson maintains is a war criminal. He also remarked that, despite what he saw as clear evidence, some voters wouldn’t frame the conflict in those terms.

“It’s unfortunate that there are people here in Maine that don’t like to use that term only because they’re Jewish and what that means to them with the Holocaust. It fits that description. It is. It’s an unbelievable thing that’s happened there that people that are innocent are being murdered, and it is a genocide,” Jackson said.

SUSAN COLLINS DEFIES BLUE-STATE HEADWINDS IN CRUCIAL SENATE BATTLE AS NEW POLL REVEALS STRIKING SPLIT

Jackson’s campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital on questions about whether he had faced pressure from other Democrats to issue an apology.

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Having secured the nomination, Jackson will face off against Collins in the Nov. 3 general election.

A teenage girl’s tragic death, allegedly at the hands of an illegal immigrant who was previously deported from the U.S., has now become a political flashpoint in her hometown.

Sheridan Gorman’s grieving parents made their heartbreaking plea for change directly to the two candidates running to represent their district in suburban New York during an electoral debate earlier this week. They asked Democrat Cait Conley and incumbent Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., whether they supported ending New York State’s law barring local law enforcement from cooperating with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

The 18-year-old Loyola University student was shot and killed while walking with friends late at night near her Chicago college campus in March of this year. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has said the accused, Jose Medina, is a Venezuelan national who came to the U.S. illegally in May 2023 and was released by the prior administration.

He was arrested for shoplifting in Chicago the next month but released again, DHS said. Both Chicago and Illinois are sanctuary jurisdictions, meaning law enforcement there are also barred from cooperating with ICE.

GRIEVING PARENTS OF SLAIN STUDENT SHERIDAN GORMAN SPEAK OUT: ‘WE CAN’T LET THIS HAPPEN TO ANOTHER FAMILY’

Gorman’s killing fast became a rallying cry for supporters of President Donald Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigration.

Lawler, who is fighting an uphill battle for a third term representing New York’s 17th Congressional District, has also argued it is an example of what could happen more often if Democrats win control on Capitol Hill.

“Look, I’ve been very clear there should be reforms of ICE. They should wear body cameras. They should not wear masks. They should wear uniforms. They shouldn’t be going into places like the Home Depot parking lot. They should be very targeted in what they are doing. And states like New York should be cooperating with them to deport criminal illegal aliens,” Lawler told Fox News Digital on Wednesday. “So look, I think the challenge here will be if Democrats win, they will do everything they can to return to the Biden-era of lax immigration policy, lax enforcement, and try to cut off the resources of ICE and [Border Patrol], and I, for one, just will not support that.”

DEM CANDIDATE CLEARS CROWDED FIELD TO FACE TRUMP-BACKED INCUMBENT IN NY

His district could be one of the few that decides control of the House for the latter half of President Trump’s final term.

Gorman’s parents tearfully said during his debate against Conley this week, “The man charged with her murder was here illegally and had previously been arrested for a crime and released under Chicago’s sanctuary policies. A simple five-second phone call between local and federal law enforcement would have saved her life.”

Conley responded to them first, “My heart absolutely breaks, and what happened to Sheridan is inexcusable. Government failed her. And for that, we have to make sure that that doesn’t happen again.”

WATCH: ANGEL MOM TURNS TABLES ON SANCTUARY POLITICIANS WITH BASIC QUESTION ABOUT THEIR PRIORITIES

“Immigration enforcement is essential,” she said, though added, “What is happening under this administration, unfortunately, is not a focus on violent criminals, but what we’re seeing is them rolling up people like grandmas and nurses, people in our communities.”

Lawler then accused Conley of dodging the question, adding, “She does support Kathy Hochul’s new law, and she would not support federal legislation to end sanctuary policies. Let me be very clear: I stand with you. I am against Kathy Hochul’s disastrous new law, and I support any legislation that will end sanctuary jurisdictions in this country.”

DHS BOSS REVEALS OVAL OFFICE PLAN TO ‘WITHHOLD FUNDING’ FROM SANCTUARY CITIES AFTER AGGRESSIVE NEW YORK BUST

It came weeks after the Gormans took the stage alongside Lawler at the GOP’s 2026 midterm convention in Dallas, Texas.

“The Gormans have more courage than any Democrat member of Congress who voted against protecting our citizens from criminal illegals,” Lawler said in introducing them. “They are not running for office, but their story — Sheridan’s story — is the direct result of bad policy. Policies we cannot afford to get back to every again.”

OUTGOING HOUSE DEMOCRAT BACKS INCUMBENT REPUBLICAN LAWMAKER FOR RE-ELECTION

The teenager’s story again popped up in new ads released by Lawler’s campaign on Wednesday.

In one of the spots, Gorman’s mother tearfully tells the viewer, “He just shot her. Just shot her. Hunted her down. I thought I knew what sanctuary city policies are, I didn’t.”

SHERIDAN GORMAN’S MOM SCORCHES DEM LAWMAKERS SHE SAYS REFUSED TO HEAR FAMILIES OF SLAIN AMERICANS

“The sanctuary policies being pushed by Kathy Hochul and Democrats killed our daughter,” her father said. “I couldn’t protect her from these policies.”

Her mother added, “But Mike Lawler can.”

Illegal immigration was one of the top issues in 2024, and Republicans are trying to harness the same backlash from voters who opposed the Biden administration’s more lax border policies.

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Fox News Digital reached out to Conley’s campaign and to House Democrats’ elections arm for a response.

EXCLUSIVE: A pro-life group has released a new report calling on the Trump administration to take action against mail-order abortion drugs, arguing that it can enforce a 19th-century federal law to crack down on abortion pill shipments.

In the report obtained by Fox News Digital, the Restoration of America Foundation (ROAF) said Democrat-led states’ shield laws — adopted to protect providers in blue states from being prosecuted by GOP state governments — allow providers to ship, or are being used by providers to ship, the abortion pill mifepristone into red states “with no in-person exam or verification of who takes them or whether they take them willingly.”

ROAF attributed the growth in mail-order abortions in part to FDA policy changes that suspended the in-person dispensing requirement during the COVID-19 pandemic before making the change permanent, allowing abortion drugs to be prescribed through telehealth and mailed to patients.

BLUE STATE SHIELD LAWS ALLOWED 330K ABORTION PILLS TO BE SENT TO ABORTION BAN STATES, PRO-LIFE GROUP FINDS

The report said nearly 15,000 medication abortions each month were provided under blue state shield laws by June 2025. It also said that by the end of 2024, about 15% of all U.S. abortions were through medication mailed to women in states with abortion restrictions.

ROAF also cited an insurance claims analysis that the organization said found serious adverse health events following 10.9% of drug-induced abortions from 2017 through 2023, roughly 22 times the rate reported on the FDA-approved label for the abortion pill regimen. The group said the rate reached 11.2% in 2023 as the drugs were used more broadly.

According to the report, ROAF estimated that mail-order drugs were “directly responsible” for more than 300,000 abortions in 2025 alone.

This comes just ahead of the 110th anniversary of Planned Parenthood in the U.S., as the nation’s largest abortion provider will be commemorating its Oct. 16, 1916, founding later this month.

The ROAF report is urging Attorney General Todd Blanche to enforce the Comstock Act, an 1873 law criminalizing sending certain abortion-related materials that the pro-life group argues should be used by the Trump administration to stop shield laws from protecting mail-order medication abortions.

“As we come up with this anniversary for Planned Parenthood, we think it’s a good moment to release this paper. We really want to talk about the Comstock Act and the impact it could have on abortions going forward in this country,” ROAF CEO Doug Truax told Fox News Digital.

“The Comstock Act says it’s illegal to put these drugs in the mail, so we’re just asking them to enforce the law,” he continued.

After the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, which returned the power to make abortion laws to the states, the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel under the Biden administration in December 2022 issued an opinion that concluded that the Comstock Act does not prohibit mailing mifepristone or misoprostol when the sender lacks intent that the recipient use the drugs unlawfully.

The Biden administration’s Office of Legal Counsel concluded in a December 2022 opinion that the Comstock Act does not prohibit mailing mifepristone or misoprostol when the sender lacks the intent that the drugs be used unlawfully.

But Blanche said during his confirmation hearings over the summer that he would review how the DOJ interprets the Comstock Act. ROAF says the department should withdraw the Biden administration’s opinion, investigate providers and organizations involved in mailing the drugs and enforce the 150-year-old federal law, which the group argues would effectively ban the mailing of abortion drugs nationwide.

PRO-LIFE GROUP FINDS BIDEN-ERA FDA POLICY IS DRIVING 500 ABORTIONS PER DAY, SAYS TRUMP HAS POWER TO END IT

“We are asking the administration to take a step back and say, okay, when Roe was the law of the land, Comstock was unenforceable. But since Roe is out, Comstock is back on the table, and it is valid law, and it is illegal to put abortion drugs in the mail. You have thousands of people in basically blue states mailing a ton of pills around this country … it’s resulting in the amount of deaths that we’re talking about here. So this is an illegal action that they’re taking. We just want you to enforce Comstock, and it will save hundreds of thousands of lives going forward,” Truax said.

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“It’s a great way to get momentum back on our side in the pro-life community, which, frankly, I think the president and all conservatives around the country would appreciate now, as we head into November 3, and then, especially as we head into the next election cycle,” he added.

FIRST ON FOX: The Federal Aviation Administration broke its all-time record for air traffic controller hiring this year, bringing on 2,235 trainees as the agency works to reverse years of staffing shortages across the nation.

The FAA surpassed its fiscal year 2026 goal of hiring 2,200 air traffic controller trainees, marking the most hired in a single fiscal year in agency history, the Department of Transportation told Fox News Digital exclusively.

The agency also reached its highest certified controller staffing level in a decade, with 11,027 certified professional controllers as of Sept. 30, up from 10,694 at the end of fiscal year 2025, according to the DOT.

CBP TOUTS HISTORIC MILESTONE, PUSHES FOR EVEN LARGER WORKFORCE: ‘WE AREN’T STOPPING HERE’

“We’re recruiting, hiring, and training more air traffic controllers than ever before—and the numbers show it,” Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy told Fox News Digital.

“Thanks to President Trump, we’ve shaved months off the hiring pipeline, dramatically expanded our collegiate training programs, and inspired thousands of young gamers to pursue this exciting career,” Duffy said. “This is an important milestone, but not the finish line as we work to reverse decades of staffing shortages.”

The record comes less than five months after the FAA unveiled an aggressive three-year workforce plan aimed at rebuilding a controller workforce strained by staffing shortages, mandatory overtime and lengthy training timelines.

FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford had offered a stark assessment of the problem during congressional testimony last December, warning lawmakers that the agency would “never” reach adequate staffing under its previous structure.

REAGAN NATIONAL AIRPORT MAKES DRASTIC CHANGE FOLLOWING DEADLY 2025 MIDAIR COLLISION

“We’ll never catch up,” Bedford said. “The system is designed to be chronically understaffed.”

The FAA’s 2026-2028 Air Traffic Controller Workforce Plan, first reported by Fox News Digital in May, called for hiring 2,200 controller trainees in fiscal year 2026, 2,300 in fiscal year 2027 and 2,400 in fiscal year 2028.

The agency finished the fiscal year 35 trainees above its first benchmark.

The latest numbers also show growth among controllers who have completed training and become fully certified.

The FAA entered fiscal year 2026 with 10,694 certified professional controllers and ended it with 11,027, a net increase of 333. The agency’s workforce plan identifies 12,563 certified professional controllers as the staffing target needed to meet forecast demand.

That leaves the FAA 1,536 certified controllers below its target as it enters fiscal year 2027.

WHEN AIRLINE PILOTS SAY THERE ARE SAFETY ISSUES, WE NEED POLICYMAKERS TO LISTEN AND ACT

The DOT told Fox News Digital it does not have an exact timeframe for reaching that benchmark, but said the administration is “supercharging” hiring and expanding its Enhanced Air Traffic Collegiate Training Initiative.

The record follows another major hiring year in fiscal 2025, when the FAA brought on 2,028 controller trainees, its highest total since 2008.

The administration has moved to accelerate the hiring and training pipeline as the FAA contends with retirements and other workforce losses.

The FAA said in its May workforce plan that roughly 4,000 controllers were in the training pipeline at the time, including approximately 1,000 previously certified controllers training at new facilities.

Becoming a fully certified controller can take more than two years for a new hire, depending on the complexity of the facility where they are assigned.

The administration has also worked to retain experienced controllers while accelerating the pipeline for new ones. Nearly 400 retirement-eligible controllers were retained through a new bonus structure, while DOT says changes to the hiring process have shaved more than five months off the time it takes to bring on new recruits.

The FAA has also expanded its Enhanced Air Traffic Collegiate Training Initiative, allowing qualified graduates of participating college programs to bypass the FAA Academy and report directly to facilities for on-the-job training.

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The hiring surge comes as the Trump administration undertakes a broader overhaul of the nation’s air traffic control system, backed by $12.5 billion for upgrades including telecommunications infrastructure, new radios and radars, and electronic flight strips. The FAA is also expanding simulator-based training and exploring artificial intelligence and machine learning tools to better manage air traffic demand.

The record-setting year marks the first step in the FAA’s three-year hiring push. The agency is targeting another 2,300 controller trainees in fiscal year 2027 and 2,400 in fiscal year 2028.

“This is an important milestone,” he said, “but not the finish line.”

FIRST ON FOX — A former senior federal prosecutor who served in the Biden administration has been hit with a criminal investigation referral asking the Justice Department to look into whether she misled federal agents about her role in an investigation, Fox News Digital has learned.

Jina Choi joined the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of California in late 2023, shortly after which Biden-appointed U.S. Attorney Ismail Ramsey tapped her to lead its Corporate and Securities Fraud Section, which handles major corporate and securities cases across the Bay Area, including Silicon Valley.

Before joining the office, however, Choi had represented IRL, a social-media startup co-founded by Abraham Shafi. The company was built around organizing and connecting people through events. IRL shut down in 2023 after a board-directed investigation concluded that 95% of its users were likely bots, a finding Shafi disputed. Shafi was later indicted in 2025 on federal fraud and obstruction charges.

The referral represents an unusually aggressive challenge to the conduct of a former prosecutor involved in the broader matter.

FEDERAL JUDGE REFERS PHILADELPHIA DA LARRY KRASNER TO DOJ FOR POSSIBLE CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION

Cully Stimson, acting director of the Heritage Foundation’s Legal Policy Center and himself a former federal prosecutor, told Fox News Digital that, while it is common for defense teams to attack prosecutors, resorting to a criminal investigation referral is rare.

The referral, sent on Tuesday by a lawyer Shafi retained separately from his defense, turns on whether Choi remained involved in the IRL investigation after joining the U.S. Attorney’s Office despite being screened from the matter because of her prior representation of the company. The Justice Department generally has no obligation to respond to referrals like this.

Prosecutors said Choi was walled off from the federal investigation involving IRL and Shafi. But Shafi’s lawyer now alleges that internal communications and an FBI interview report show she remained involved in the matter and later understated that involvement to federal agents.

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The FBI declined to comment when reached by Fox News Digital.

In the criminal referral sent to the Justice Department on Tuesday, Shafi’s lawyer asked federal authorities to investigate whether Choi made false statements about her role in the investigation into IRL.

The federal investigation into IRL predated Choi’s arrival at the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Prosecutors have said she was screened from the matter because of her prior representation of the company.

Shafi’s defense claims to have obtained internal emails sent by Choi as well as FBI interview memoranda recounting a conversation she had with federal agents from the prosecution. Shafi’s lawyer argues the documents contradict Choi’s account to agents.

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While Choi’s communications are quoted or described in public court filings, the government filed the underlying email exhibits under seal or as sealed exhibit slipsheets. As a result, the public cannot independently inspect the original documents or assess their full context.

Choi worked for IRL as outside counsel before joining the U.S. Attorney’s Office, according to court filings. During this time, Shafi’s defense alleged in its motion to dismiss the case against him that Choi attempted to get federal authorities to target Shafi to shield other stakeholders at the firm. The government denied this characterization, acknowledging that she advocated that the firm itself not be targeted, but disputing that she wanted the government to go after Shafi.

The tech founder’s defense argues that Choi’s prior representation of IRL created a conflict of interest. Prosecutors have said she was walled off from the investigation because of that prior relationship. As of publishing, no ruling has been made finding that Choi operated under a conflict of interest that warrants dismissal.

Shafi’s lawyer argues that documents they obtained tell a different story.

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The FBI, which was investigating the Shafi case, interviewed Choi in July and questioned her about her role in the IRL investigation, according to the referral. Choi allegedly told agents that she did “not have any kind of role in the investigation.”

An internal message purportedly obtained by the defense, however, quotes her as saying, “I talked to [her predecessor]] and I wanted to see if it would be ok to add [him] to the IRL team to help move it along.”

In other instances, documents obtained by the defense allegedly show that she inquired about the name of the FBI agent working on the IRL case and that she sent press coverage of the case against Shafi to other prosecutors.

At one point during her FBI interview, Shafi’s lawyer claims Choi said that she was not aware “who was assigned to the case team.”

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According to the criminal investigation referral, Choi “admitted keeping a written case tracker on which ‘the SHAFI investigation was listed.’” The defense claims that the U.S. Attorney’s Office refused to turn over the case tracker by describing it as a “privileged and internal work product.”

Shafi was charged with wire fraud, securities fraud and obstruction a few months after Choi left the U.S. Attorney’s Office. The charges stem from allegations that he misled investors by misrepresenting user growth on his platform. Prosecutors allege that he used paid advertising to attract people to IRL, then passed off the resulting growth as organic while raising about $170 million from investors.

He also stands accused of misusing investors’ funds for clothing, home furnishings, travel, hotels and wedding-related costs. The founder’s lawyer argues that Choi’s alleged false statements to federal agents, coupled with her prior representation of IRL, taint the charges against Shafi.

JACK SMITH DOUBLES DOWN AGAINST GOP ACCUSATIONS HE LIED UNDER OATH

Shafi’s defense has a strong incentive to prove that Choi acted improperly, as doing so could seriously derail the prosecution of their client.

“Here, the defense’s allegations are troubling if true, because if their allegations end up being true, there was spillage,” Stimson told Fox News Digital. “And that would mean some other members of that office are therefore conflicted, and it could result in the entire office being conflicted if a judge found that the taint was so bad that it permeated the whole office.”

Stimson also said that, in his experience, individual U.S. Attorneys’ Offices generally operate with significant independence on casework, cautioning against attributing Choi’s alleged conduct to the Biden administration more broadly.

As of publishing, Choi has not been charged with any crime or disciplined for any professional misconduct in connection with the Shafi prosecution.

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Choi did not respond to a request for comment when reached by Fox News Digital.

FIRST ON FOX: The escalating battle over what children should be taught in public schools continues to drive America’s culture wars, and a new report ranks every state on some of the most contentious issues affecting today’s classrooms.

Red states dominated the ranking, which measures all 50 states and Washington, D.C., on issues spanning parental rights, diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), gender and sexuality, teacher and union policies, and foreign influence, according to Defending Education’s first-ever Rankings on Integrity in State Education, released Thursday.

Tennessee claimed the top spot, followed by Alabama, Florida, North Carolina and Iowa, while Washington, D.C. ranked last, followed by Rhode Island, California, Oregon, and Illinois.

The rankings do not account for test scores or graduation rates. Instead, the report said it is designed to show how states are approaching hot-button issues as parents demand greater transparency in their children’s education.

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“For the first time, parents have a single resource to see how their state handles the issues they’ve voiced concerns about over the last five years, empowering them to evaluate local schools and hold leaders accountable at the ballot box,” Paul Runko, senior director of strategic initiatives at Defending Education, said in a statement to Fox News Digital.

Of the report’s five categories, the parental rights category ended in a four-way tie, with North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and West Virginia earning the top spot. Each was awarded points for policies that give parents more say over student gender transitions, sex education instruction and whether their children participate in those lessons.

Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina and South Carolina, all red states, received perfect scores on teacher policies. According to the report, laws governing teacher unions, strikes and collective bargaining, along with work authorization requirements, were key factors in the scoring.

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Iowa, Missouri and West Virginia topped the report’s DEI category after receiving high marks for laws restricting DEI initiatives and other policies related to restorative justice, teacher diversity and antisemitism.

Another major flashpoint in education has been a growing conversation on gender identity and transgender athletes competing in women’s sports. The report examined state policies blocking LGBTQ-specific curriculum, restricting transgender athlete participation, and state nondiscrimination and anti-bullying laws related to gender identity, finding Alabama, Florida and Indiana tied for the highest scores.

But the report went further than policies shaping the classroom. Seven red states received perfect scores for laws limiting Chinese government influence in education, including Confucius Institutes, China-backed language and cultural education centers. Alabama, Florida, Indiana, North Carolina, Ohio, Tennessee and Texas aced the category.

In another statement to Fox News Digital, Dr. Terry Stoops, director of government affairs at Defending Education, congratulated the frontrunners.

EXCLUSIVE: HOUSE COMMITTEE PROBES CHICAGO PUBLIC SCHOOLS OVER HIDING ‘GENDER AFFIRMATION’ FROM PARENTS

“If your state is at the top of Defending Education’s rankings, congratulations!” he said. “You live in a state with public school policies that prioritize sound academics over shameless antics.”

Stoops also blamed elected leaders for the lowest-scoring states, accusing them of having “sacrificed educational excellence at the altar of social justice.”

“For parents in bottom-feeder states who value rigor over ridiculousness, the choice is either fight or flight,” he said.

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Despite more blue states embracing DEI and social justice policies, the report said it wants parents to have a clearer picture of where their state stands on education and how those policies could impact their children and future generations.

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani unveiled a multimillion-dollar strategy to combat antisemitism, drawing criticism from prominent Jewish leaders who described the announcement as an attempt to deflect attention from the mayor’s own rhetoric while avoiding one of the defining sources of modern anti-Jewish hostility: the demonization of Israel and Zionism.

Mamdani announced what his administration called the nation’s first municipal strategy dedicated to combating antisemitism, declaring that Jewish New Yorkers “should feel cherished and celebrated in the most Jewish city in America.”

The mayor cited New York Police Department statistics showing that although Jewish residents constitute approximately 12% of the city’s population, antisemitic incidents account for more than half of its confirmed hate crimes.

EXCLUSIVE: ISRAELI PRESIDENT HERZOG BLASTS MAMDANI, PRAISES TRUMP, SOUNDS ALARM ON IRAN

“This is not only unacceptable, it’s something we all have an obligation to change,” Mamdani said. “And City Hall will lead the way.”

His administration said it is increasing hate crime prevention funding by $26 million, an increase of more than 800% from the previous year. The plan includes $6.4 million for community organizations working to prevent hate violence and would restart an interagency security and infrastructure initiative disbanded in 2024.

The city also pledged $2 million for the Queens Holocaust Memorial Garden and $2.5 million for the Brooklyn Center for New Jewish Culture, alongside expanded education, reporting resources and security support for Jewish institutions.

The way that money would be distributed also drew scrutiny. Rabbi Chaim Steinmetz, senior rabbi of Congregation Kehilath Jeshurun on Manhattan’s Upper East Side, said that only $1 million is dedicated specifically to security while millions more would be directed through community initiatives.

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“All of this money is pure pork barrel politics,” Steinmetz told Fox News Digital. “Outside of a million dollars in security, it is all being spent on community initiatives that will reward his supporters.”

The Jewish leaders who spoke with Fox News Digital welcomed the security investments but argued that physical protection alone cannot address an environment in which Jews increasingly feel pressured to distance themselves from Israel.

From Manhattan’s East Side to its West Side, three prominent rabbis shared another concern: Not one had been contacted by the mayor or his administration while the strategy was being developed, despite collectively leading some of the borough’s largest Jewish congregations.

Those concerns raise basic questions about how the strategy was constructed: which Jewish leaders and institutions helped shape it, how did the administration decide where the funding would go, and how were organizations selected to receive it? Fox News Digital asked those questions, along with Steinmetz’s criticism of the funding process, to the mayor’s office but had not received a response at the time of publication.

The mayor’s strategy acknowledges rising antisemitism since Oct. 7 and expands Holocaust education, but does not directly address the hostility Jewish students have experienced on college campuses or examine when anti-Israel activism crosses into antisemitic harassment and intimidation. The three rabbis interviewed by Fox News Digital identified that omission as a significant weakness in the city’s strategy.

Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch, senior rabbi of Stephen Wise Free Synagogue in Manhattan and president of the New York Board of Rabbis, said the plan omits what he considers the central driver of contemporary antisemitism.

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

“If the purpose here is to combat and reduce antisemitism, the plan omits the central driver of contemporary antisemitism, which is an obsessive loathing of Israel,” Hirsch told Fox News Digital.

That hostility, he said, is directed “not only” toward the state of Israel but toward “the Zionist idea, the right of Israel to exist, the right of the Jewish people to self-determination in the land of Israel.”

“To write a 30-page report and never mention the state of Israel, let alone address the vicious anti-Zionism, partially fomented by the mayor himself, is evading the issue,” Hirsch said. “It’s not dealing head-on with the issue itself.”

ANTISEMITIC VIOLENCE REACHES DEADLIEST LEVEL SINCE 1994, NEW GLOBAL REPORT FINDS

Hirsch welcomed the additional security funding, while emphasizing that Jewish institutions must routinely absorb expenses other communities do not face.

“The security obligations in every Jewish institution in the city are, in effect, an additional surtax on New York Jews that nobody else pays,” he said. “And so any funds for security are welcome.”

He also supported educational initiatives and Holocaust museum visits but said the city must teach more than the history of Jewish persecution.

“What I would like to see is a focus in New York public schools on the nexus, the connection between anti-Zionism and antisemitism,” Hirsch said.

“One of the key lessons from the Holocaust,” he added, is that “Jewish self-determination and Jewish empowerment are the answer to Jewish powerlessness that gave rise to centuries of antisemitism that culminated in genocide.”

Steinmetz also said the mayor is using the strategy to avoid examining the consequences of his own language.

“Rather than taking responsibility for combating antisemitism, Mamdani is using this plan to deflect attention from himself,” Steinmetz said. “His rhetoric has been reckless.”

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Steinmetz said statistics measuring physical crimes capture only part of what Jewish New Yorkers experience.

“Far more common is the nasty look and whispered insult,” he said. “You cannot talk about a trip to Israel at the water cooler. Jews feel like they have to hide parts of themselves to be accepted.”

The mayor has long been an outspoken critic of the Israeli government and has faced scrutiny from Jewish leaders over his descriptions of Israel, Zionism and organizations that support the Jewish state. Critics argue that separating antisemitism from anti-Zionist rhetoric ignores how Jewish identity is experienced by much of the city’s Jewish population.

Rabbi Yosie Levine of The Jewish Center on Manhattan’s Upper West Side thanked the mayor for recognizing the severity of the problem but called for a corresponding change in his language.

“I want to thank the mayor for his commitment to combat antisemitism,” Levine told Fox News Digital. “Acknowledging the problem is an important first step.”

ISRAELI MEDICS TRAIN US SYNAGOGUES HOW TO RESPOND TO ATTACKS, AS HIGH HOLIDAYS APPROACH

“At the same time, we would welcome an equally clear commitment to stop using rhetoric that vilifies Jewish leaders and the Jewish state,” Levine continued.

“When you turn Zionism into an accusation, you turn Zionists into the accused.”

A spokesperson for the Jewish Federations of North America, referred Fox News Digital to a joint statement issued by UJA Federation of New York and the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York.

While the organizations recognized “positive elements” in the plan, including increased security funding and the expansion of established programs, they warned that it “fails to address a central issue that the mayor himself has perpetuated: rhetoric that demonizes and delegitimizes Israel inevitably leads to the targeting of Jewish New Yorkers.”

“Those who truly seek to address antisemitism must unequivocally reject such rhetoric and help ensure that Jewish New Yorkers are never made to feel suspect, excluded or unsafe in their own city,” the statement continued.

Mamdani said the administration’s efforts would ultimately benefit every community because “our safety is bound up together.”

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“Fundamentally, what is lacking is even an acknowledgment that obsessive loathing of Israel is generating much of this antisemitism,” Hirsch said. “It would have been much more mature and, frankly, much more useful to lay out that fact.”

“Simply to omit it and avoid it is a wasted opportunity,” he concluded. “I’m disappointed in the mayor, and he should have done better.”

FIRST ON FOX: A top Republican senator whose phone toll records were secretly subpoenaed during Jack Smith’s investigation of President Donald Trump sued the former special counsel in his personal capacity Wednesday, arguing he was never lawfully empowered to wield the authority behind the Arctic Frost investigation.

The lawsuit, Senator Marsha Blackburn v. John L. Smith, argues the prosecutor lacked lawful authority to serve as special counsel and violated the lawmaker’s rights by obtaining the records. Blackburn is asking a federal court to declare Smith’s appointment unconstitutional, order the records destroyed and award $1 in nominal damages.

The case therefore seeks to test not only Smith’s tactics, but the legitimacy of the authority he claims to have exercised as special counsel appointed by then-Attorney General Merrick Garland during the Biden administration.

“This lawsuit is solely about holding Mr. Smith accountable and ensuring that our nation’s justice system can never again be weaponized against the American people,” Blackburn, R-Tenn., told Fox News Digital.

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“Through his Arctic Frost witch-hunt that targeted conservatives across America and even the president of the United States, Jack Smith perpetrated one of the worst abuses of government power in our nation’s history,” she said.

Blackburn’s suit argues that Smith lacked lawful authority to hold the office he purported to exercise, while separately seeking to impose personal liability on him for the way that purported authority was used against her.

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The case opens a new legal front against Smith one day after his contentious Senate Judiciary Committee testimony, during which he acknowledged approving subpoenas for members of Congress despite understanding that nondisclosure orders prevented them from challenging the seizures under the Constitution’s Speech or Debate Clause.

Smith is a longtime prosecutor who most recently served as special counsel overseeing the Justice Department’s investigations into President Donald Trump. Earlier in his career, he prosecuted cases before the International Criminal Court and led the DOJ’s Public Integrity Section, which brought bribery charges against former Virginia Republican Gov. Robert F. McDonnell in a case where the Supreme Court later unanimously vacated the conviction.

Arctic Frost was the codename for the FBI investigation into Trump’s handling of classified documents and alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election before the probe was handed over to Smith by then-Attorney General Merrick Garland.

Blackburn and her data were swept up in the probe after Smith’s team subpoenaed toll records from her and several other Republicans—a move that sparked outrage at Tuesday’s Senate Judiciary Committee hearing over whether obtaining the records without notification violated the Constitution.

In May 2023, Smith’s office issued a grand-jury subpoena seeking Verizon toll records, while a separate nondisclosure order barred the company from notifying affected customers—including Blackburn—that its information had been turned over.

While the records did not reveal the contents of conversations, they showed whom Blackburn communicated with, when and for how long, according to the complaint. The lawsuit alleges that Smith’s office obtained a court-approved nondisclosure order without informing the judge that the subpoena sought records belonging to a sitting U.S. senator.

JACK SMITH’S TRUMP PROBE SWEPT UP FOX NEWS, OTHER MEDIA COMMUNICATIONS AS INVESTIGATION WENT BEYOND LAWMAKERS

More broadly, Smith’s team issued 197 subpoenas to 34 individuals and 163 businesses seeking information involving at least 430 Republican individuals and entities, according to Senate Judiciary Committee records.

Tuesday’s hearing also began with a scathing rebuke from Chairman Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, who accused Smith’s prosecutors of sweeping up communications between journalists at Fox News and other media organizations and sources connected to the first Trump administration.

For his part, Smith repeatedly hit back at allegations of corrupt or partisan prosecution, saying at one point his “investigation developed proof beyond a reasonable doubt that President Trump engaged in serious crimes against our nation.”

Blackburn’s suit is being brought by the nonpartisan New Civil Liberties Alliance (NCLA) on her behalf, and the Tennessee senator thanked the group for its partnership.

JACK SMITH’S SENATE PHONE RECORDS PROBE TURNS TO VERIZON’S HANDLING OF SUBPOENAS

Blackburn’s attorneys argue that Smith exercised special counsel powers without lawful constitutional or statutory authorization. Separately, the complaint names Smith in his personal capacity and seeks to hold him liable for alleged violations of Blackburn’s constitutional and civil rights arising from the subpoena and nondisclosure order.

“Jack Smith was illegally named Special Counsel in November of 2022, with Attorney General Merrick Garland handing a private citizen the sweeping powers of a special counsel,” NCLA said in a statement obtained by Fox News Digital.

“Then-President Biden did not nominate Smith, nor did the Senate confirm Smith as either Special Counsel or in any other position. And no statute authorized his appointment.”

“NCLA’s complaint asks the court to declare Smith’s appointment unlawful under the Constitution’s Appointments Clause and to hold Smith accountable, in his personal capacity, for his gross abuses of power.”

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The suit alleges the subpoena violated Blackburn’s constitutional and civil rights and that the nondisclosure order prevented her from challenging the demand under the Constitution’s Speech or Debate Clause.

“This lawsuit is not only about the faux authority granted to Smith through an unconstitutional appointment. It is also about ensuring that the Department of Justice—the very body responsible for enforcing federal law on behalf of our nation—acts only within its constitutional bounds,” NCLA counsel L. Margaret Harker said in a statement.

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The lawsuit seeks a declaration that Smith’s appointment was unconstitutional, the return and destruction of Blackburn’s phone records, and $1 in nominal damages. NCLA says the limited damages request reflects Blackburn’s stated goal of obtaining judicial accountability for what the complaint alleges were constitutional violations committed while Smith exercised special counsel powers.

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Fox News Digital reached out to Smith’s counsel for comment.

After spending years railing against fraud, Utah Republican state Rep. Trevor Lee has resigned after being charged with fraud himself.

The Utah Attorney General’s Office filed criminal charges against Lee on Monday, accusing him of forging documents and engaging in fraud in order to obtain a home loan. Prior to the charges, Lee had pushed legislation aimed at combating unemployment fraud and publicly praised efforts to expose the sweeping fraud scandals that have rocked Minnesota in recent years.

In one video obtained by prosecutors, the CEO of a Utah water company “stated that Lee had requested cash advances totaling $93,000 to show increased income to assist in purchasing his home, and that Lee said he would make (the CEO) ‘whole’ by securing (his) company a government contract with Hill Air Force Base,” according to the charging document.

SWING-STATE’S FRAUD RECKONING RAISES MINNESOTA-STYLE ALARM AS WILD SCHEMES EXPOSED

Another company claimed that Lee improperly used an offer letter from them to make it seem as if his income was higher than it was.

“Lee devised a scheme to obtain a $1 million home loan by false pretenses. To execute it, he communicated fraudulent documents to Kind Lending through the mortgage process — a forged Enevive employment contract, a loan application overstating his Enevive income, and a Blue Logic offer letter he knew misrepresented his employment,” prosecutors wrote.

Investigators say Lee admitted during an interview that he personally forged the Enevive CEO’s signature on the employment contract to obtain the loan and knew the offer letter did not reflect income the company could actually pay him.

EXCLUSIVE: NICK SHIRLEY FIRES BACK AT MINNESOTA CRITICS: ‘NUMBERS DON’T LIE, AND CONVICTIONS DON’T LIE’

Lee’s social media feed is full of positive references to Nick Shirley, a content creator who attracted national attention after releasing videos alleging fraud involving Somali-run childcare centers and other publicly funded programs in Minnesota.

“Nick is going to stop a Gavin Newsom presidency single handily (sic.),” Lee said in one post. In another post, Lee offered Shirley assistance after he was charged a fee for filming at the Utah state capital building.

“Keep up the good work Nick,” Lee said in his most recent post directed at the YouTuber, dated July 11.

In addition to the praise of Shirley, Lee also introduced pieces of legislation designed to crack down on unemployment assistance fraud in 2023 and 2024.

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Lee resigned from the legislature shortly after the charges were filed.

“Due to personal circumstances that require my attention, I no longer feel I can give my constituents the time, attention and service they deserve,” he said. “I will always be grateful for the people I have met, the relationships I have built and the opportunity I have had to serve the people of Utah.”

Even if the fraud charges hadn’t come, Lee’s time in the legislature was approaching an end as he had lost his GOP primary election in June.

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Lee did not respond to a request for comment when reached by Fox News Digital on Wednesday.

The political right celebrated after a White House X account posted a graph showing that legal immigration to the U.S. from nations with Muslim majority populations has all but halted.

The account highlighted a 96 percent cut in legal immigration from majority-Muslim countries since 2024 and attached a graph from the Cato Institute, a notoriously pro-immigration think tank.

The graph showed a drastic decline in quarterly admissions of immigrants from those countries beginning in January 2025, when President Donald Trump officially took office. It also declined in late 2024, the last year of former President Joe Biden’s tenure in office.

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At its peak, immigration from Muslim-majority nations was over 22,000 people per month between July and October of 2024, according to the graph. But by the beginning of January of this year, that number had dropped to almost zero.

Online, the political right cheered the drastic shift.

“Absolutely incredible victory for the American people, thanks to POTUS,” Rep. Brandon Gill, R-Texas, said.

“These are the wins we need to continue to deliver on,” said Brandon Herrera, the GOP nominee for Congress in Texas’ 23rd District.

“4 percent to go! Thank you, President Trump,” said Rep. Randy Fine, R-Fla.

“Let’s pump up those rookie numbers for every category of immigrant,” columnist Kurt Schlichter said.

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Some turned the graph into a referendum on the results of Republican leadership, and urged conservatives to vote during the 2026 midterm elections despite concerns about cost-of-living, the Iran war, and other issues for which Trump has been knocked by members of his own party.

“I voted for this—and will again,” said user David Harrison.

“The next time you get the urge to ‘punish the GOP.’ Remember that Democrats will reverse this overnight,” said Turning Point Action’s Ben Larrabee.

“People screaming that Trump and the GOP aren’t doing anything about this problem [are] hardest hit, like squarely between the eyes,” online personality James Lindsay said of the graph.

JONATHAN TURLEY: SUPREME COURT HANDS TRUMP A BORDER VICTORY LIBERALS CAN’T SPIN

“Vote like Western Civilization depends on it, because it does,” said Turning Point USA spokesman Andrew Kolvet.

Not everyone was thrilled with the decline in legal immigration from this demographic, though, including David J. Bier, who is the director of immigration studies at Cato and who took credit for the research behind the graph.

“Thanks for citing my work. You are violating the law and harming Americans while making the country less safe, less free, and less prosperous,” he said in reply.

Despite Bier’s claim, no court has decided that Trump’s move to reduce immigration from Muslim-majority countries is “illegal,” though there have been challenges in district courts.

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During his first term in office, Trump faced a challenge to his proposed travel restrictions from Muslim-majority countries. The policy was enjoined by the federal district court for the District of Hawaii, and upheld by two federal appellate courts. However, the Supreme Court ultimately decided in Hawaii vs. Trump that Trump’s policy was legal.