NationalWatch

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani was reportedly denied the opportunity to speak Friday during the funeral of Army Sgt. Angel Sarah Rampersad in Queens, one of three U.S. service members killed in Jordan during an Iranian attack on July 17.

Mamdani attended the service at a church in Ozone Park but did not deliver remarks honoring Rampersad.

According to the New York Post, Mamdani appeared to review prepared remarks on an iPad as other dignitaries spoke, but his name was never called.

A source familiar with the funeral told the New York Post that Rampersad’s family chose not to have Mamdani speak in an effort to avoid any “political distractions.”

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The mayor’s office later released his prepared remarks.

“It is often said that our fallen ‘gave their tomorrows for our today,'” Mamdani planned to say. “Sergeant Rampersad had tomorrows waiting for her: birthdays, ordinary mornings, evenings spent with her loved ones. But she gave every one of them up so that we could have ours — so that we could stand here today, safe and protected.”

TRUMP GIVES EMOTIONAL TRIBUTE TO FALLEN ARMY LT TYLER FEEHAN AFTER FLYING GRIEVING FAMILY ON AIR FORCE ONE

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, a Democrat, delivered remarks during the service.

“I feel after reading and admiring this woman from a distance, I feel like she could be one of my daughters,” Hochul said.

The Department of War said Rampersad, 28, of Ozone Park, New York, was killed in action during an enemy attack at Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan.

ARMY IDS 2 VICTIMS KILLED IN JORDAN AIR BASE ATTACK; TRUMP: IRAN WILL PAY ‘MANY TIMES OVER’

According to U.S. Central Command, Rampersad and two other U.S. service members were killed while CENTCOM and partner forces “defended against Iranian ballistic missile and drone attacks.”

The other two service members killed were identified as 1st Lt. Tyler James Feehan, 25, of Ewa Beach, Hawaii, and Pvt. Isabella Gonzales, 19, of Carrollton, Texas. They were deployed to Jordan in support of Operation Inherent Resolve, the international campaign against ISIS in Iraq and Syria.

Rampersad was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 57th Air Defense Artillery Regiment, 52d Air Defense Artillery Brigade, 10th Army Air and Missile Defense Command in Ansbach, Germany. She served as a 25U Signal Operations Support Specialist, according to the Department of War.

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Fox News Digital has reached out to Mamdani’s office for comment.

Fox News Digital’s Greg Norman-Diamond contributed to this report.

President Donald Trump dismissed speculation that Iran was behind a cyberattack targeting dozens of water systems in Minnesota, blaming instead the state’s “corrupt governor,” Tim Walz, and the state he runs.

“I just want to mention that we heard in Minnesota there was a cyberattack, and they blame it on Iran,” he said at the start of a Cabinet meeting Friday at Camp David, Maryland.

“I don’t think so. I think I blame it on Minnesota because they’re grossly incompetent,” Trump said. “There was a cyberattack of 30 water plants, and I would blame it on Minnesota and the governor, the corrupt governor of Minnesota. They like to say, oh, is Iran? Iran should be so lucky. Iran’s got bigger problems than worrying about Minnesota.”

Trump’s dismissal puts him at odds with a preliminary assessment reportedly shared by U.S. and state officials and comes days after federal agencies warned that Iranian-affiliated hackers were targeting the same kinds of systems. Iranian involvement and poor cybersecurity are not mutually exclusive: previous Iranian-linked attacks on U.S. water facilities exploited internet-connected equipment protected by default or nonexistent passwords.

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Waltz shot back in a post on X: “Trump knows exactly who is responsible for this attack, and knows that other states were hit too. This is what modern warfare looks like, and it further illustrates there’s no plan to win a war with Iran.”

Trump repeatedly has attacked 2024 vice presidential candidate Walz over widespread fraud in Minnesota’s state-administered social services programs.

Walz, the 2024 Democratic vice presidential nominee, abandoned his bid for a third term in January amid mounting scrutiny of his administration’s handling of the schemes. Walz has not been accused of participating in the fraud.

Minnesota IT Services said the “coordinated cyberattack targeted operational technology at more than 30 Minnesota community water systems” Sunday and Monday, but the Minnesota Department of Health is “not aware of any active requests from Minnesota cities to have their residents modify their drinking water usage.”

U.S. and state officials and others familiar with the incident told The New York Times that Iranian hackers were likely behind the cyberattack.

Minnesota IT Services said it has not determined yet whether a “specific actor” was responsible for the attack and the probe remains active.

The attacks disrupted automated operations in several communities.

Malicious software temporarily shut down controls for the well and water treatment plant in Braham, while Plymouth and South St. Paul shifted some operations to manual control. Officials reported no known threat to drinking water.

Federal agencies warned just days before the Minnesota attacks that Iranian-affiliated hackers were targeting the computerized controls used by water systems, power facilities and local governments. The agencies said the campaign had already disrupted operations at some facilities and caused financial losses. Investigators assessed that the hackers were seeking to cause disruption inside the U.S.

Iran has targeted American water infrastructure before.

In 2023, hackers affiliated with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps breached programmable controllers at several U.S. water and wastewater facilities, according to the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency.

The hackers generally exploited equipment that was exposed to the internet and still used default or nonexistent passwords. The affected utilities moved some operations offline, and no drinking water was compromised.

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In an earlier case, the Justice Department charged an Iranian hacker with repeatedly accessing the control system of a small dam in Rye, New York, in 2013. Prosecutors said the intrusion would have allowed him to operate the dam’s sluice gate remotely, but the gate had been manually disconnected for maintenance at the time.

Fox News Digital reached out to Walz’s office for comment.

Fox News’ Gregory Norman-Diamond contributed to this report.

Approximately one-third of Democrats and Democratic-leaning adults now identify as “democratic socialists,” a shocking CNN poll revealed, as once-fringe groups like the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) are now gaining huge influence on the national scene.

Polling data shared with Fox News Digital revealed that 34% of CNN poll respondents who lean Democrat said they think of themselves as democratic socialists. In total, 15% of all poll respondents said they identify as democratic socialists.

Democratic-aligned respondents who identify as democratic socialists were primarily young White Americans, according to CNN. The poll found that 59% of democratic socialist-identifying respondents were younger than 45, while 57% were White.

This comes as concern grows over the rising influence of socialism and the DSA on American politics.

SOCIALISTS CHEER ‘SHOCKWAVE’ PRIMARY NIGHT AS DSA-BACKED CANDIDATES WIN, ADVANCE ACROSS THE MAP

According to the poll, which was conducted by public opinion research firm SSRS in conjunction with CNN, Democrats identifying as democratic socialists are less likely to have a college degree and more likely to earn less than $100,000 a year.

Democratic socialists also signaled that they are more motivated to vote this year than other Democrats. CNN said that 66% of democratic socialists signaled they are “extremely motivated” to vote this year compared to 57% for other Democrats.

This comes as democratic socialists have notched significant victories at the ballot box in the last year.

WATCH: HOUSE DEMS DODGE QUESTIONS ON SOCIALIST AGENDA THAT THREATENS TO ABOLISH KEY INSTITUTIONS

In America’s largest city, New Yorkers elected a DSA-backed candidate, socialist Zohran Mamdani, as mayor, and in Seattle, voters also elected a self-identified socialist Democrat as mayor, Katie Wilson.

On the federal level, several DSA-backed candidates have recently won Democratic primaries for Congress in New York, Pennsylvania and Colorado. DSA-endorsed candidate Abdul El-Sayed favored to win the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate in Michigan.

Many have expressed concern about the DSA’s rising influence due in part to its platform calling for radical transformations to America’s governance system.

National Republican Congressional Committee spokesman Mike Marinella remarked to Fox News Digital that “Americans have every reason to be concerned when one of the most influential forces inside today’s Democrat Party is pushing to abolish ICE, defund the police, get rid of prisons, grant mass amnesty to illegal immigrants, eliminate the Senate, pack the Supreme Court, and raise taxes in every way possible.”

“Those aren’t mainstream ideas, and voters are seeing in real time how the Democrat Party is bending the knee to these radical socialist lunatics,” said Marinella.

The DSA recently rolled out an updated policy platform that includes eliminating the U.S. Senate and replacing the president and the Supreme Court with an executive branch and judiciary chosen by and subordinate to Congress.

Additionally, the updated platform includes mass amnesty for all immigrants and defunding the Department of War. DSA’s platform already called for an “immediate end to all deportations,” free migration between countries without restrictive immigration controls, and “extending full voting rights to people with criminal convictions and noncitizens.”

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The platform also advocates establishing a 32-hour work week “with no reduction in pay or benefits,” the passage of Medicare-for-all, canceling all student loan debt, the elimination of cash bail and universal rent control.

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Natalie Baldassarre, a spokesperson for the Republican National Committee, reacted to the poll by telling Fox News Digital that “the left’s embrace of these toxic policies and candidates will come back to haunt them in key races this November.”

“Socialism may be taking over the Democrat party, but the majority of Americans are nowhere close to adopting this extreme ideology,” she said, adding, “Americans overwhelmingly reject the Democrats’ radical socialist agenda.”

Fox News Digital reached out to the DSA and the Democratic National Committee for comment.

EXCLUSIVE: The Senate investigation into former Special Counsel Jack Smith’s “Arctic Frost” probe is widening, as Republican lawmakers question Verizon’s handling of subpoenas for senators’ phone records after the telecom giant failed to disclose one during an earlier congressional records search.

As part of Operation Arctic Frost — the codename for the FBI’s Trump-election-interference probe with Smith placed at the helm — prosecutors subpoenaed Verizon and other phone carriers for toll records tied to members of Congress and other Republican figures. Several conservative entities were swept up in the probe, including the late Charlie Kirk.

Verizon later acknowledged omitting Smith’s subpoena from its congressional record search.

The dispute centers less on Verizon’s compliance with the subpoena than on what the company knew afterward, whether it should have notified Congress and why it failed to disclose the subpoena during an earlier records search.

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Smith’s investigation has faced increased scrutiny in recent months, and now Senate Judiciary Chairman Charles Grassley, R-Iowa — whose records were among those obtained — and a slew of his colleagues want to know what Verizon knew, when it knew it and whether the company should have notified affected members of Congress after turning over their phone records to Smith’s team.

“Jack Smith oversaw a sweeping and unprecedented investigation that swept-up records from hundreds of Republican entities, including the phone toll records and text messages from myself and dozens of my colleagues,” Grassley told Fox News Digital Friday.

Toll records are essentially the metadata of a telephone call — and exclude the contents of the conversation. They often include the phone numbers involved, date, time, duration and often the operative cell-tower location.

MAJOR PHONE CARRIERS REVEAL JACK SMITH’S SUBPOENAS FOR REPUBLICAN SENATORS’ RECORDS

“Congress deserves to know the full picture of how Smith carried out Arctic Frost so it never happens again.”

“As part of our investigation, we need to fully understand what Verizon knew about Smith’s subpoenas, when they became aware members were impacted and why the company didn’t inform members like they were supposed to,” he said.

In a Thursday letter to Verizon CEO Daniel Schulman, Grassley, Senate Investigations Subcommittee chairman Ron Johnson, R-Wis., and more than a dozen senators said they remain concerned not only by the alleged “abuse of power by federal government actors… but also with Verizon’s disclosures of (m)embers’ phone records pursuant to a May 25, 2023, subpoena (and) its failure to disclose this information to affected Members.”

JACK SMITH THRUST BACK INTO SPOTLIGHT AT BLANCHE HEARING OVER EXPOSED SENATORS’ MESSAGES’

Of the signatories, Sens. Bill Hagerty IV and Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., Rick Scott, R-Fla., Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., Mike Lee, R-Utah, Ted Cruz, R-Texas, Josh Hawley, R-Mo., John Cornyn, R-Texas, and Cindy Hyde-Smith, R-Miss., also had their phone toll records or text messages swept up by Smith.

Their inquiry noted he asked Verizon in October 2023 to identify Justice Department or other federal law enforcement requests involving Senate devices used by his staff dating back to 2016.

The senator wrote that the subpoena was not disclosed in Verizon’s initial response, and Grassley said Congress did not learn of it until Verizon acknowledged in 2025 that “human error” had caused its omission.

In its original October 2023 response to Grassley, Verizon wrote that it often limits retention of legal processes received to a period of four years, and attested it had no records to produce prior to October 2019.

“This raises questions as to whether Verizon discovered legal process from DOJ for Senate devices and lines, including the May 2023 Arctic Frost subpoena, in its search from October 1, 2019, to October 27, 2023, for responsive records to Chairman Grassley’s request,” Grassley wrote in his new letter.

Therefore, Grassley and 15 other senators are demanding Verizon brass explain when they first learned Smith’s subpoena sought phone records that included members of Congress and when they discovered it had provided “tolling data” connected to those members and transmitted it to Smith.

Fox News Digital reached out to Verizon for comment.

Grassley’s new letter suggests the October 2023 exchange may be the key to determining whether Verizon merely missed the subpoena or discovered it and failed to disclose it.

“On what date were Daniel Schulman, Vandana Venkatesh, Hans Vestberg, and Craig Silliman first informed about the May 25, 2023, subpoena?” they asked of Verizon’s front office.

The senators also asked that Verizon explain its “human error” revelation in more specificity and produce internal records from May 2023 to October 2025 that discuss whether the company believed it was obligated to notify the implicated members of Congress or the Senate Sergeant-at-Arms (SAA).

The “human error” explanation also left unanswered why Smith’s May 25, 2023, “Arctic Frost” subpoena was omitted from Verizon’s review of legal process involving SAA phone lines, even though the company acknowledged that two SAA numbers were included in the subpoena.

In 2025, documents provided to Grassley revealed Verizon complied with Smith while AT&T resisted the requests.

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However, both subpoenas were accompanied by gag orders signed by Obama-appointed District of Columbia federal Judge James Boasberg, a frequent foil of President Donald Trump’s. Boasberg directed Verizon and AT&T not to disclose the subpoenas to lawmakers for a period of one year.

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The DOJ has issued subpoenas for lawmakers’ information in the past, but former inspector general Michael Horowitz cautioned against it except in limited circumstances in a report published in 2025, saying that doing so “risks chilling Congress’s ability to conduct oversight of the executive branch.”

Grassley’s letter gives Verizon until Aug. 13 to explain when it knew senators’ records were involved, who inside the company was informed and why the May 2023 subpoena did not surface in its earlier response to Congress.

Senate Judiciary Committee Republicans have branded Smith’s “Arctic Frost” as “worse than Watergate.”

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

FIRST ON FOX: As the White House touts “collapsing” violent crime rates in the U.S., the Department of Homeland Security is pointing to the deportation of violent criminal illegal immigrants as the “common sense” reason.

A new analysis by the Council on Criminal Justice (CCJ) released this month reported that homicides will “likely” reach a “new historic low” in the U.S. as most crime rates continue to decline mid-year. CCJ reported that homicides in a sample group of large U.S. cities are down 18% from the previous year, which is on pace for the lowest level since 1900. Additionally, carjackings are down 47%; motor vehicle thefts are down 20%; robberies are down 17% and residential burglaries are down 13%.

The White House touted the report as evidencing “extraordinary progress” in “delivering on one of President Trump’s core promises to restore law and order.”

Assistant DHS Secretary Lauren Bis told Fox News Digital, “It is common sense. When you remove criminals from the country, crime rates fall.”

ICE LODGES DETAINER FOR ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT ACCUSED OF TRYING TO DISARM VIRGINIA POLICE OFFICER

The agency shared exclusively with Fox News Digital some of the “worst of the worst” criminal illegal immigrants who have been deported just in the last few weeks. Recent deportees include foreign nationals convicted of homicide, drug trafficking, aggravated assault, carjacking and other crimes, in addition to multiple with illegal re-entries into the country.

Among those deported was a member of the foreign terrorist organization Tren de Aragua, a Honduran national named Jared Adonay Cruz-Rivera, according to DHS. He was deported on July 18 following a previous conviction for robbery and an arrest on charges of drug possession.

DHS said that one deportee, Olegario Ramirez, a Mexican national and Paisas gang member, has a criminal history including convictions for homicide and illegal re-entry into the U.S. He was deported on July 27.

Another Mexican national deported the same day was Bulmaro Rendon-Ramos, a Surenos gang member, who had convictions for robbery, burglary and four counts of driving under the influence of liquor.

ICE ARRESTS ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT ILLINOIS TEACHER LINKED TO TREN DE ARAGUA MASS SHOOTING

Nammoun Khampanya, a Crips gang member from Laos, was deported on July 28 following convictions for cocaine possession, possession of a weapon, obstructing police and fraud.

A Cuban national, Omar Loaces Gonzalez, was deported on July 17. His criminal history includes convictions for vehicle theft and wire fraud.

Additionally, Haitian national Marc James Guerrier Pinard was deported on July 16 following his convictions for three counts of armed carjacking and an arrest on charges of burglary.

NEW YORK TIMES TORCHED FOR ‘FALSE’ REPORTING ON ICE INVESTIGATIONS, OUTLET FIRES BACK

Commenting on the deportations, Bis told Fox News Digital that “President Trump promised to make America safe again, and he has done just that.”

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“Crime has fallen to record lows under the Trump administration, including murders on pace to drop to the lowest level in 126 years. It’s no surprise that this drop in crime coincides with deportations of dangerous criminal illegal aliens,” she said.

Francesca Hong, the likely Democratic nominee for governor in Wisconsin backed by the Democratic Socialists of America, once argued that Americans should not celebrate Thanksgiving.

“Cancel Thanksgiving. Should have done this in 1621,” Hong wrote in a now-deleted post to X.

“If it takes a worldwide pandemic for us to realize we should stop celebrating colonialism and the original superspreader event that killed indigenous folx [sic] and women, so be it,” she added, referring to the spread of smallpox that killed many indigenous Americans.

WISCONSIN DEM SOCIALIST GUBERNATORIAL HOPEFUL DODGES WHETHER SHE STILL WANTS TO ‘ABOLISH POLICE’

The post, which was originally made in November 2020, sheds more light on Hong’s progressive thinking as she emerges as a frontrunner in the Wisconsin gubernatorial contest and drew mockery online.

“‘Folx,'” Stephen Miller, a conservative podcaster, posted to X, noting the term used to signal inclusivity of LGBTQ+ and other marginalized groups.

“Francesca Hong is all but certain to be the Democratic nominee for governor of Wisconsin. She also wants to ‘Cancel Thanksgiving,’ according to a since-deleted tweet. What is going on in Wisconsin??” another observer wrote.

Hong has leaned into her socialist record in her campaign, describing it as ensuring that “working-class people have their fair share.”

Hong shares policy positions with other notable progressives like New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani, another self-proclaimed socialist. Among other platform positions, Hong is championing race-based grants for social workers, publicly funded grocery stores and a state-run bank.

The stances seem to have paid off as Hong has gained momentum in recent months, and, with under two weeks to go until the primary, looks poised to capture the Democratic nomination.

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Hong also started getting mocked Friday for a resurfaced 2019 post where she said, “I ate two bites of my kid’s cheeseburger at a Culver’s in black river falls and told him they ran out of ice cream. Mostly just wanted to leave bc I was on the verge of a anxiety attack…to (sic) many old white people who didn’t think we spoke english.”

“Omg English ***TOO **AN,” she replied.

“Bold choice for Democrats in Wisconsin running someone statewide who gets a panic attack at Culver’s at the sight of ‘old white people,’” Former White House Principal Deputy Communications Director Alex Pfeiffer wrote on X.

“The only way this post could be worse for someone running for office in Wisconsin is if she had complained that Culver’s uses too much butter,” Chuck Ross, an investigative reporter at the Washington Free Beacon, wrote on X.

“One of the democrats running for Governor of Wisconsin doesn’t know that Culver’s serves only fresh frozen custard. She thinks they serve ice cream. Disqualifying,” Brick Suit, an online MAGA personality, wrote on X.

The race was shaken up on Thursday when Mandela Barnes, the state’s former lieutenant governor, dropped out of the race. Barnes was considered a frontrunner in the race because of his proximity to outgoing Gov. Tony Evers and his name recognition.

His exit also coincides with rumblings that Barnes may have abused his position in the past to make sexual advances toward women in the workplace, an allegation currently under investigation by The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

With his departure, Hong and Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley were left as the two main contenders.

Hong has received backing from a number of nationally recognized progressives, including Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., and Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif. She has raised nearly $709,000 as of late June, according to state records.

SCHIFF-BACKED CANDIDATE ABRUPTLY ENDS GUBERNATORIAL CAMPAIGN AMID RUMBLINGS OF A DAMAGING REPORT

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By comparison, Crowley has secured $250,000 and enjoys the support of a number of local organizations and figures.

Gov. Evers has endorsed Crowley , citing his experience.The gubernatorial primary will take place Aug. 11.

Fox News Digital has reached out to Hong’s campaign for comment.

President Donald Trump said Friday that Americans should be prepared for the fighting with Iran to continue, predicting Tehran would eventually “peter out” as U.S. strikes steadily weaken its ability to retaliate.

Asked whether the back-and-forth attacks could continue until Iran was no longer capable of striking back, Trump said, “Yeah, sure, I think so. I’d be foolish to say no. You know, you always have to keep your guard up.”

“They’ll get weaker. They’ll get a little stronger, maybe. But they’ll get weaker, and then they peter out,” Trump said during a Cabinet meeting at Camp David, Maryland.

ARMY IDS 2 VICTIMS KILLED IN JORDAN AIR BASE ATTACK; TRUMP: IRAN WILL PAY ‘MANY TIMES OVER’

The remarks amounted to an acknowledgment that the five-month conflict could drag on, despite Trump’s claims that the U.S. has decimated Iran’s military and his optimism just days ago that renewed negotiations could produce a deal.

“I think we just want to win,” Trump said. “We’re doing very well. We’re trying to be nice — as nice as you can be in a situation like that — but they’re being decimated.”

“They have no navy. They have no air force. They have no anti-aircraft,” he added. “It doesn’t mean they don’t have any capability. They have some, but very little.”

The latest fighting also complicates the administration’s earlier declarations that it had eliminated Iran’s ability to project military power. 

The White House said in April that U.S. forces had achieved the objectives of Operation Epic Fury, including destroying Iran’s Navy and its ballistic missile and drone capabilities. Iran has nevertheless continued launching missiles and drones at U.S. bases and threatening commercial shipping.

TRUMP SAYS IRAN DEAL ‘LARGELY NEGOTIATED’ AS 84-DAY WAR NEARS POSSIBLE END

Trump also said he was “losing faith” in the prospect of reaching a deal with Iran, accusing Tehran of lying about its negotiations with the U.S.

“They do lie, and they do misrepresent,” Trump said. “All they do is make me angry.”

The renewed fighting has left no clear end to the conflict as the U.S. approaches the November midterm elections, placing greater political pressure on Trump to explain how and when the war will end.

Trump’s remarks came two days after the U.S. launched a heavy wave of strikes against Iranian military sites in response to missile attacks targeting American forces in the region. U.S. Central Command said the strikes hit dozens of Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps targets, including command centers, missile and drone facilities, coastal defenses and maritime capabilities.

The renewed exchange followed the collapse of an agreement Washington and Iran reached in June that was intended to end the fighting and restore commercial traffic through the Strait of Hormuz. Hostilities resumed in July after Iran attacked vessels transiting the strategically vital waterway.

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Trump’s pessimism marked a sharp shift from earlier in the week, when he said the United States was engaged in “very friendly negotiations” with Iran and saw “a good chance” of reaching an agreement. Iran denied that direct talks were taking place but acknowledged that mediators were relaying messages between the two sides.

Oman, Qatar, Pakistan and Egypt have sought to revive the June agreement that was intended to end the fighting and reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Those efforts have stalled over control of the critical waterway, sanctions relief and Iran’s nuclear program, while a new exchange of attacks has further dimmed the prospects of a deal.

America’s biggest obstacle in the technology race with China may not be Beijing, but growing resistance to new data centers and the power needed to run them, according to Palantir’s chief technology officer.

“The proximate issues are definitely going to be power and backlash against data centers,” Shyam Sankar said in an interview with Fox News Digital at Palantir’s American Builder Summit.

Sankar, whose company builds software for the Pentagon, intelligence agencies and major manufacturers, argued the U.S. risks slowing its own technological progress more than falling behind Beijing.

“The only threat to AI generating prosperity for America is suicide, not homicide.”

LEADING ECONOMIST WARNS OF RISE OF ‘GEN Z AFFORDABILITY SOCIALISM’

The U.S. and China are pouring billions into the race to dominate artificial intelligence, viewing the technology as central to economic growth, military power and geopolitical influence. Winning that race depends on an enormous buildout of data centers, power generation and transmission infrastructure to support increasingly capable systems. 

But those projects have drawn growing resistance from communities worried about electricity demand, water use and whether the benefits will outweigh the costs.

Companies have raced to build new data centers to support a wave of new computing infrastructure, fueling a nationwide expansion that also has sparked growing local opposition. The issue has spilled into the 2026 midterm campaigns, with candidates in battleground states such as Pennsylvania running ads focused on the economic and environmental effects of the projects.

Residents have raised concerns about electricity demand, water consumption, noise, traffic and whether utility customers will ultimately bear the cost of expanding the power grid. Some projects have been delayed or canceled, while lawmakers in several states have proposed restrictions or moratoriums on new facilities.

THE WAR ON DATA CENTERS JEOPARDIZES OUR ECONOMY AND NATIONAL SECURITY

Some developers have responded by pairing new data centers with dedicated power generation rather than relying entirely on the electric grid.

Sankar argues those debates risk slowing the industrial gains the technology can already deliver. He pointed to one submarine-parts manufacturer that cut production planning from two weeks to less than an hour, freeing enough capacity to add a third shift.

“There is no one on that shift who thinks, ‘Hey, I got my job because of AI,’ but that’s actually what happened,” he said.

The summit itself appeared designed to counter one of the AI industry’s biggest public relations challenges: fears that technology will replace jobs. Rather than showcasing increasingly capable AI models, Palantir filled the stage with factory workers, healthcare workers and military personnel demonstrating software they had built to solve problems in their own workplaces.

Sankar argued the AI industry has become overly focused on pursuing artificial general intelligence, or AGI, rather than deploying today’s AI systems across the economy.

Artificial general intelligence, or AGI, refers to a still-theoretical system capable of performing a broad range of intellectual tasks at or beyond human level, rather than excelling mainly at narrower tasks such as writing, coding or image analysis.

He compared the current moment to the early days of electricity, arguing that while technology already exists, businesses have yet to reorganize themselves around it.

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“The AI we have is powerful enough that it should have created more prosperity and value,” he said. “The only reason it hasn’t yet is not a failing of the technology, it’s a lack of our national will to push and invest in diffusing the technology through our economy.”

“We shouldn’t lose the plot in pining away for a machine god,” he added.

The summit brought together a cohort of Palantir’s American Tech Fellowship, where workers from industries including manufacturing, healthcare and defense demonstrated AI applications they had built for use in their jobs.

The demonstrations were intended to illustrate Sankar’s contention: that AI will make workers more productive than ever rather than replace them.

That runs against much of the public sentiment, where workers across industries have begun to wonder how long until their jobs will be done by a machine.

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“How many people have actually, at the front line, have experienced AI and how it’s changed their job versus how many people are imbibing the fear-mongering from the social media feed, which is partially a Chinese psyop as well.”

Massachusetts is poised to dramatically expand access to abortions access up to 24 weeks of pregnancy in a mad dash by Democrat lawmakers to pass the measure before the legislative session ends Friday.

The Prioritizing Patients’ Access to Care Act is on a fast track to clear the Massachusetts Legislature after passing the House 119-33 last week. It marks the latest effort by Democratic-led states to expand abortion protections after the Supreme Court’s 2022 Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision returned abortion policy to the states.

Supporters say the New England state bill removes barriers to medically necessary care, while opponents contend it would make Massachusetts one of the nation’s least restrictive states for abortions later in pregnancy.

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If enacted, the bill would remove current legal requirements limiting abortions after 24 weeks to four specific circumstances — protecting the patient’s life, physical health, mental health, or cases involving a lethal fetal anomaly or a grave fetal diagnosis.

Instead, the bill would allow licensed physicians to decide whether an abortion after 24 weeks is appropriate based on their own medical judgment. It would also prevent third-party medical reviewers from overruling decisions made by a patient and their doctor.

The proposal mirrors a law Maine enacted in 2023 that similarly allows late-term abortions based on a physician’s judgment.

“The goal of passing this legislation is simple. Medical decisions should be made by a patient and their doctor,” bill sponsor Rep. Lindsay N. Sabadosa, D-Northampton, said in a statement. “Massachusetts has one of the best health care systems in the country, and patients should be able to rely on their providers to deliver medically appropriate care without restrictions that can fail to account for the complexity of individual medical circumstances.”

“By removing those barriers, we can ensure that no one has to leave Massachusetts to receive the care they need.”

Supporters of the bill argue that existing statutory exceptions are too narrow to account for every serious pregnancy complication.

NEW JERSEY DEMOCRATS ADVANCE BILL CRIMINALIZING INTERFERENCE WITH ABORTION, TRANSGENDER HEALTHCARE

Claire Teylouni, interim co-executive director of Reproductive Equity Now, told the New York Times about a 2021 case in which a woman had to leave Massachusetts for an abortion after her fetus suffered a stroke at 33 weeks because providers did not believe the case fit within the state’s existing legal exceptions.

“She was shocked that she had to leave Massachusetts to get this care,” Teylouni told The New York Times. “Providers say they want to be able to use their professional expertise to make decisions — that’s how we treat almost every other area of health care.”

Opponents say the current law already includes broad exceptions and argue the bill would remove existing limits on abortions after 24 weeks.

“The current law that exists in Massachusetts allows abortion up until 24 weeks, and it already has exceptions,” Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America Communications Direct Kelsey Pritchard told Fox News Digital. “It has health and life exceptions for the mother, but it even has exceptions that allow for so-called fetal anomaly abortion, so if the baby has a life-limiting diagnosis, if the baby has a disability diagnosis, already in Massachusetts you can abort those babies seemingly at any point.

“And so what this new bill would do is allow abortion throughout the second and third trimesters if you have an abortionist who has a medical degree who can sign off on that for you, so essentially they’re opening the door to elective abortion at any point in pregnancy,” Pritchard said.

FIRST ON FOX: TRUMP DOJ REACHES SETTLEMENT WITH PRO-LIFE PROTESTER TARGETED BY BIDEN ADMIN

Pritchard also criticized the legislative process, saying Democratic leaders moved quickly to pass the measure before lawmakers adjourn.

“There’s really no justification for them to make their law this extreme,” she said. “It’s something that they’ve been doing in secret. They kind of tried to fly under the radar when they passed this bill in the House. And then they bypassed the full Senate committee process to fast-track this and get this done before their legislative session ends on July 31.”

Republicans in the legislature also questioned both the substance of the bill and how quickly it advanced.

Republican state Rep. Kelly Pease told WWLP that he was caught off guard by the proposal.

“I think most of our caucus was. It’s like, where did this come from?” Pease said. “I don’t see how I’m going to be in favor of a bill that allows babies over six months to be terminated when they’re probably viable outside the womb, unless there’s extenuating circumstances, and this kind of just takes away some of the safeguards that were in place before.”

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Massachusetts Democratic Gov. Maura Healey has made expanding abortion access one of the defining priorities of her administration.

Since taking office in 2023, she has called Massachusetts a “beacon of reproductive freedom” for abortion access in the post-Dobbs era, having directed state agencies to shield abortion providers and patients from out-of-state legal action and ordered the state to stockpile mifepristone after a federal court challenged the FDA’s approval of the abortion pill. She has not publicly weighed in on this bill.

Fox News Digital reached out to Healey for comment.

One of the most outspoken members of the “Squad” is plotting her return to Congress as a wave of socialist insurgency continues to batter establishment Democrats across the country.

Former Rep. Cori Bush, D-Mo., is running to get her old seat back representing Missouri’s 1st Congressional District after losing to incumbent Rep. Wesley Bell, D-Mo., in November 2024. It’s another battle in the wider civil war that’s taking place within the Democratic Party.

Missouri’s primary elections are this Tuesday, and Bush has spent weeks blasting Bell for his pro-Israel stance and accusing him of being tied too closely to Republicans.

In her latest ad released on Thursday, Bush accused Bell of not doing enough to help St. Louis recover from a May 2025 tornado and instead “jetting off to Israel with AIPAC.”

NEW YORK TIMES RAISES EYEBROWS BY REFERRING TO AIPAC AS ‘HARD-RIGHT’ PRO-ISRAEL GROUP

She posted on X alongside the ad, “When the disaster caused $1.6 billion in damages and took several lives, Wesley responded by hopping on a flight to Israel funded by Trump’s donors less than 90 days later.”

Earlier this month, she posted, “Wesley Bell is a former Republican campaign manager who is bought and paid for by AIPAC. On August 4th, we’re going back to DC, and we’ll do it with no corporate cash or AIPAC-funded trips.”

BERNIE SANDERS AIMS TO BLOCK SALE OF BOMBS AND BULLDOZERS TO ISRAEL, ACCUSING US ALLY OF ‘GENOCIDE’

When reached for comment on Bush’s criticism, Bell’s campaign pointed Fox News Digital to a recent debate between the two on St. Louis Public Radio, specifically Bell’s response to a question on the tornado.

“Once the tornado hit here, I got right to work. I was on the ground immediately, but also working with our delegation, which, you all know, is six Republicans and only myself and [Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, D-Mo.],” Bell said. “And so I got on the phone with each one of them. Sometimes that meant sitting in their offices as well, to explain to them how important it was for them to join me in making certain that St. Louis got the resources that folks here needed. So I’m proud of the fact that we were able to get over $200 million and counting in FEMA disaster relief, but we still got more to do.”

Bell’s campaign also shared an ad with Fox News Digital in which a constituent called Bush’s attacks on Bell “just politics” while defending his response to the tornado.

“Wesley Bell’s taken on Trump. He’s fighting for me and my neighbors,” the constituent said.

The issue of U.S.-Israel relations has been fueling an ever-growing fracture within the Democratic Party since Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on the Jewish nation-state.

The two-term progressive firebrand was one of Congress’ harshest critics of Israel and its operation in Gaza, well before it became a more mainstream position in the party. She had accused Israel’s government of waging a genocide on Palestinians and consistently voted against emergency funding for the Middle Eastern ally.

BERNIE SANDERS, DSA REVEAL DEMANDS FOR DEM PARTY AFTER SOCIALISTS SWEEP NEW YORK ELECTIONS

Bell is a more pragmatic Democrat who previously served as a county prosecutor.

Bush blamed her narrow 2024 loss to Bell on hundreds of thousands of dollars spent by pro-Israel groups, including those affiliated with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), from outside the district.

The rematch comes as candidates linked to the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) continue to shake up primaries across the country.

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DSA candidates are posing a challenge for more establishment Democrats in gubernatorial races like Wisconsin and a Senate race in Michigan, and have even successfully toppled House Democratic incumbents in New York and Colorado.

Bush is also a member of the DSA.

Conservatives lit up on Thursday night in response to a report claiming that Maine Democratic Senate candidate Troy Jackson, who recently replaced disgraced candidate Graham Platner on the ballot, fathered two children with his second cousin and high school sweetheart.

The report, from Maine Wire editor-in-chief Steve Robinson, found that Jackson shares two adult sons with a woman named Lana Pelletier, his second cousin with whom he shares the same great-grandparents.

The report pointed out that the relationship is not uncommon in northern rural Maine, where Jackson is from, and that it is not illegal, but many on social media reacted with shock and criticism.

“Can’t wait for Democrats to defend cousin marriage!,” Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., posted on X.

MAINE DEM IN HOT SEAT FOR CHAMPIONING POPULAR VOTE DESPITE CLINCHING SENATE BID WITHOUT IT

“If you thought Platner was a freak – meet Troy Jackson,” former White House press secretary Sean Spicer posted on X.

“🚨 WTF?! Maine’s new Democratic Senate candidate Troy Jackson is in a ROMANTIC RELATIONSHIP with his COUSIN, and has TWO CHILDREN with her. THIS is the guy the Democrat Party swapped Graham Platner out for🤣,” conservative influencer Nick Sortor posted on X.

“The Democrats are having a REALLY tough time finding candidates who aren’t total freaks😂,” Sortor added.

“Troy Jackson’s ‘partner’ is his second cousin, according to genealogical records found in Maine. Which means his kids are also his third cousins. Who said Democrats were anti-family?” Drew Berkemeyer, a writer for the Daily Wire, posted on X.

KAMALA HARRIS BACKS US SENATE CANDIDATE WHO REPLACED GRAHAM PLATNER: ‘I KNOW WHAT IT IS LIKE’

In a post on X, Independent Women’s Forum Senior Policy Analyst Inez Stepman wrote, “*Second* cousins seem like relevant information here. But it is funny that Dems keep selecting candidates who fit the vicious stereotypes they hold about rural or working-class people: beats women, hooks up with cousin, etc.”

“They live together and have kids together? So they’re basically married?” Washington Examiner senior columnist Tim Carney posted on X.

“Take it from Troy, he’s got that can’t eat, can’t sleep, reach for the stars, over the fence, World Series kind of cousin love,” National Republican Senatorial Committee Deputy Political Director Kaeley Gemmill posted on X.

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“It’s truly hysterical how Democrats can’t seem to find one normal dude to run for office,” conservative commentator Greg Price posted on X.

The Republican account on X also posted, “Wellness check on Maine Democrats.”

In a statement to Fox News Digital, the Jackson campaign said, “Susan Collins will do anything to distract from the fact that she votes with Trump 96% of the time and has sold out working people in Maine. Personal attacks on Troy’s family are shameful and desperate.”

Jackson, a former state senator who ran unsuccessfully in the Democratic Maine gubernatorial primary this year, was tapped as the U.S. Senate nominee at the Maine Democratic Party’s U.S. Senate Nominating Convention earlier this month.

Graham Platner, who won the 2026 Maine Democratic U.S. Senate primary last month, dropped out of the race earlier this month in the face of a rape allegation, though he had asserted, “Any accusation of non-consensual behavior is categorically false.”

The general election, where Jackson will square off against incumbent Republican Sen. Susan Collins, will be on Nov. 3, as Republicans attempt to hold on to their 53-47 majority in the Senate.

Fox News Digital’s Alex Nitzberg contributed to this report.

President Donald Trump said Friday during a Cabinet meeting that scenes of migrants flooding into Spain’s enclave of Ceuta from Morocco looked like a “catastrophe,” but that the U.S. could see worse in the future if Democrats regain power.

“You know, I saw Spain yesterday, and I watched the catastrophe that took place. It looks like an invasion of a country by hundreds of thousands of people. And that same thing is going to happen to us if the Republicans don’t get elected,” Trump said Friday at Camp David. “Except worse, much bigger, much easier to get into. Despite the fact that we have built thousands of miles of wall, which I said we were going to do. But if we didn’t have that, forget it. But we have the safest border in the world. If we’re not in office, our country will be invaded at levels that made Spain look small time.”

“And when I watched it, I said, boy, I said, ‘I’m going to say it because I knew you were going to be at Camp David.’ And I say, ‘That’s going to be a talking point for the midterms, because when you look at what happened to Spain, they don’t know what to do.’ And it’s happening again today,” the president continued. “They’re coming in by the tens of thousands. It’s just invading the country. And what that is weak law, bad management, but very liberal law. They passed a couple of laws and people read, you know, people are smart. They read from other countries, and they swam that 3-mile swim or however they got in.”

“But nobody’s seen anything like it. That will look good compared to what’s going to happen to the United States,” Trump also said. “The biggest thing, the worst thing that Biden did is allowing 25 million people into our country, because many of those people are criminals. They’re murderers,” Trump also said. “A lot of them are gone now. We got them out. But they allowed people to come into this country that you can’t allow to come into a country.”

WHITE HOUSE BLASTS SPANISH GOVERNMENT AS THOUSANDS OF MIGRANTS SURGE FROM MOROCCO, EMERGENCY REQUEST DENIED

Trump made similar comments to Fox News’ Jacqui Heinrich earlier Friday morning.

“It’s terrible. Remember that picture. That’s going to be us in three years if the wrong side gets in,” Trump said.

“If the Democrats get in, you will not live a very good life,” he warned.

U.S. border security has remained a key plank of the president’s campaign and policy focus throughout his political career.

An English translation of a Friday Spanish-language post on X from Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said, “The Government will guarantee the safety of the residents of Ceuta, intensifying the presence of the Security Forces and Corps on the city’s streets.” The post also included a video of him delivering remarks in Spanish.

FIREBRAND REP UNLOADS ON SOCIALIST PRIME MINISTER AS ‘HORDES OF MILITARY AGED MEN’ SWARM EUROPEAN COUNTRY

Ceuta, which is located along the northwestern African coast and borders Morocco, is not attached to mainland Spain.

“Additionally, we will deploy a physical containment barrier in the sea to facilitate repatriation at the border, in compliance with the Supreme Court ruling. We will expedite the repatriation files of the migrants who arrived irregularly. And we will maintain cooperation with the Moroccan authorities to continue fighting against the mafias that traffic in human beings,” the prime minister’s post added.

Around 60,000 migrants had ventured from Morocco to Ceuta over the past 24 hours, Cueta President Juan Jesús Vivas said on Friday.

At least 41 migrants lost their lives.

SPAIN DEPLOYS MILITARY AFTER THOUSANDS OF MIGRANTS OVERWHELM BORDER ENCLAVE, AT LEAST 18 DEAD

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Spain’s interior ministry issued its own figures not long after Vivas spoke, estimating that some 50,000 individuals came from Morocco since Thursday, adding that half had already gone back to Morocco.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

A Smithsonian exhibit designed to commemorate America’s 250th birthday displays numerous objects linked to key points in the nation’s history, though it provides relatively little representation of Christianity or conservatism despite ample coverage for LGBT rights and racial justice movements, among other liberal causes, a Fox News Digital review of the exhibit’s online catalog found.

In Pursuit of Life, Liberty & Happiness is an exhibit curated by the Smithsonian Institution with the aim of displaying 250 objects that help to tell the story of America from the 1700s to the present. Among these objects are historically significant items, such as a compass from the 1806 Lewis and Clark expedition, a dress belonging to Dolly Madison, Abraham Lincoln’s hat and the desk the Declaration of Independence was written on.

Also included in the exhibit, according to an online catalog published by the Smithsonian, are a number of objects with clear ties to modern liberal politics, such as a pink “p-ssy hat” worn by a participant of the 2017 Women’s March, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s gavel, monarch butterfly wings worn by an illegal immigrant activist and a typewriter belonging to liberal writer Maya Angelou.

Next to Angelou’s typewriter is a picture of a 1970s drag queen “wearing an off-the-shoulder shimmery gown,” according to a visual description of the exhibit published by the Smithsonian.

TRUMP ORDERS SIGNS OUTSIDE SMITHSONIAN MUSEUM AMID ROW OVER ITS DEPICTION OF AMERICAN HISTORY

The exhibit’s selections are drawing scrutiny as President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans challenge the Smithsonian’s portrayal of American history around the nation’s 250th anniversary.

Fox News Digital reviewed the Smithsonian’s online catalog and grouped objects according to the movements, causes and institutions identified in the museum’s descriptions, finding seven tied to conservative movements, compared with nearly two dozen tied to causes including LGBT rights, abortion access, racial justice, organized labor and Democratic politics.

The apparent domination of liberal causes in an exhibit designed to celebrate the contributions of all Americans to the nation’s history could further inflame conservative criticisms of the museum.

While the exhibit examines how left-of-center individuals and movements shaped American history, conservatives have less representation.

Just seven items representing conservative movements — a MAGA hat, a Tea Party placard, a pro-life sign, a dress worn by Melania Trump, a sign opposing the feminist-backed Equal Rights Amendment, a Ronald Reagan campaign T-shirt and a National Rifle Association button — are presented by the Smithsonian, according to its online catalog.

By comparison, the same catalog shows that liberal causes — such as LGBT rights, farm-worker rights, abortion access, racial justice, environmentalism, labor unions and the Democratic Party — collectively have nearly two dozen items representing them.

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Among those, the Smithsonian chose four total items representing the gay rights movement, for example. 

That wasn’t far behind the six it curated to represent Christianity, including items from churches and a Bible, per its catalog. Christianity historically was America’s dominant faith, influencing nearly all aspects of life, though it has declined in prominence in recent decades.

Even the items representing Christianity, however, include undertones of racial justice. 

A pew from a Black Presbyterian church, for example, is accompanied by a description of its pastor’s racial activism. The one Bible on display as part of the exhibit, meanwhile, discusses the owner’s anti-slavery sentiments.

Other religions, such as Judaism, with a Seder plate and a Hanukkah lamp, and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day saints, colloquially known as Mormons, with a plate depicting one of their temples, received representation as well.

Among the LGBT artifacts displayed by the Smithsonian is a red tie that belonged to the late lesbian activist Carmen Vázquez. A description for the item notes that she described it as her “seduction necktie.”

“Vázquez was born in Puerto Rico and grew up in New York City. After College, she lived in San Francisco for many years, honing her political understanding of immigrant rights and women’s and public health,” the online exhibit description continues. “Her endless energy for LGBTQ+ rights and justice for all, and her work, writing, and speeches ensured the safety and capacity to thrive of countless people across the United States.”

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The online catalog also shows that nearly two-dozen items displayed at the exhibit are related to recent waves of Asian and Latino immigration. Earlier migrant groups such as the Irish, French and Italians, received just one entry each.

One display dedicated to recent immigrants is a soccer ball donated by the founder of the Fugees soccer team for refugee children in Clarkston, Georgia, describing how the group “overcame anti-immigrant backlash.”

The Smithsonian did not respond to a request for comment when reached by Fox News Digital. However, comments made by the National Museum of American History’s director provide some insight as to why curators made the decisions they did when selecting items for the exhibit.

“How do you structure a commemoration, celebration and time for reflection?” Anthea Hartig, the museum’s director, told British newspaper The Guardian. “What we landed on were those moments where individuals or communities had fought for recognition and advocated for their own sense of identity and self in their role in creating and becoming a part of the United States. But we also wanted to do the playful.”

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Beyond items of political or ideological significance, the exhibit also makes an effort to showcase historical changes to domestic life, technology and pop culture through the display of everyday objects.

Various household appliances from different points in American history, props from the Star Wars movies, currency spanning hundreds of years, instruments belonging to famous musicians, technological advancements in areas such as video games and telecommunications and sports paraphernalia, like hockey gloves worn during the 1980 “miracle on ice” Olympic match against the Soviet Union, are all on display.

President Donald Trump unleashed more fury on a Senate Republican he worked to oust who is standing in the way of his personal lawyer becoming the next attorney general.

Trump unloaded on Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, over acting Attorney General Todd Blanche’s stalled nomination Friday morning, a day after threatening to withdraw Blanche’s nomination from the Senate.

He accused Cornyn of previously having no issue with the nearly $2 billion anti-weaponization fund, one of the issues that he and Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., are trying to kill, before Trump endorsed Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in their grueling primary showdown.

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“John Cornyn never had a problem with the so-called ‘Fund,’ which will not benefit me, but rather the great American Patriots who were hunted down like dogs and whose lives were unfairly and illegally destroyed by the Crooked Joe Biden Administration, until after I decided to Endorse and Support his Republican Primary opponent in Texas, who easily won the Nomination for the United States Senate,” Trump said on Truth Social.

Fox News Digital did not immediately receive comment from Cornyn’s office in response to Trump’s remarks.

Cornyn and Tillis are both pushing the Department of Justice (DOJ) and administration to provide explicit, written proposals to permanently nix and rewrite the anti-weaponization fund and Trump’s audit immunity, respectively, that were borne from his settlement deal with the IRS, which Blanche rolled out earlier this year.

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The Texas Republican, in particular, wants changes to Trump’s audit immunity spelled out in the deal, and has so far not had his demands met as paper continues to flow back and forth between the lawmakers and administration.

But the lawmakers contend that there’s a force above Blanche that is thwarting the process and further slowing down his confirmation.

“I thought we were pretty close to landing the plane last night, but this morning there’s been some more complications,” Cornyn told reporters on Thursday. “I think if this were just between me and Todd Blanche, we would have worked this out. But apparently he’s getting some pushback from higher-ups at the White House. I don’t know who, but this doesn’t need to be this hard.”

WATCH: GOP HOLDOUT REJECTS TRUMP THREAT AS AG NOMINEE STANDOFF EXPLODES

Trump appeared unwilling to part with the fund, which has been condemned by Republicans and Democrats over concerns that it would dole out taxpayer dollars to rioters who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

“I will always feel that these victims of government abuse should be paid back for what they were forced to endure, their lives have been ruined,” Trump said. “Millions of people agree with me, as was proven in my landslide Presidential win, where this was a major subject of debate, and so did John Cornyn, until he lost his Election to an opponent that I Endorsed. Todd Blanche, a good man, should be immediately approved as U.S. Attorney General.”

Both Cornyn and Tillis met with Blanche toward the end of the day Thursday to continue hashing out a path forward.

Meanwhile, Trump threatened to yank Blanche’s nomination from the Senate over the impasse after Senate Judiciary Chair Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, postponed his confirmation hearing scheduled for Thursday.

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His plan would be to wait until both Cornyn and Tillis are out of office next year. But, there’s no guarantee that the Senate would be more welcoming to Blanche after the midterm elections this November.

And Tillis and Cornyn aren’t the only Republicans with reservations about Blanche — Sens. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, and John Curtis, R-Utah, are both on the fence on whether to support him on a full floor vote in the Senate.

Given universal Democratic opposition, their resistance could sink his chances.

Americans for Public Trust, a government transparency advocacy group, is releasing a new database that tracks more than $5 billion in foreign spending, bankrolling politically active nonprofits in the U.S.

The tool, the first of its kind, aims to provide a searchable database that catalogs 523 groups and 12,090 records of foreign contributions to nonprofit organizations that, under current law, aren’t required to disclose the names of their donors, stemming from provisions passed under the Tax Reform Act of 1969. The database also reinforces the cautionary warnings from some lawmakers that those contributions are having an outsized influence on American discourse.

At a hearing on the matter earlier this year, House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith, R-Mo., blasted the privileges that nonprofits enjoy that he believes are being abused.

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“It is clear the status quo is unacceptable. Tax-exempt status is a privilege, not a right. It exists to support legitimate charitable and educational work that strengthens our communities, not to serve as cover for foreign propaganda, election interference, or activities that undermine our national interest,” Smith said in a press release.

Fox News Digital is not aware of evidence that the Department of Justice is investigating or considering charges against groups in the database with any criminal behavior.

But Caitlin Sutherland, executive director for Americans for Public Trust, thinks maybe that should change — that the law itself should change.

“That’s exactly the problem. It should be illegal for foreign influence to permeate our political system and right now it’s not. Our database is designed to give them the information they need to address these loopholes and close them once and for all,” Sutherland said.

The tool allows users to search specific organizations and their contributions. It also provides a timeline of when the contributions were injected into the American scene — some as recent as the past election cycle, others stretching back to 2007.

When asked why some form of similar tool hasn’t existed until now, Sutherland said the idea of nonprofits has disguised the amount of money coming in.

“The term nonprofit, it conjures up an image of putting soup in a homeless person’s bowl, vaccinating orphans. The term nonprofit does not necessarily mean helping the needy. In the United States, nonprofits have really, really morphed into these huge entities. That are engaging in lobbying and public policy,” Sutherland said.

“The nonprofits of today are not what we have seen in decades past.”

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Sutherland also explained that because of a wide-ranging definition for what qualifies as a nonprofit, organizations have a wide latitude about what they want to do with that money.

“Foreign money can pay for get-out-the-vote drives. It can be spent on ballot harvesting. It can be spent on ballot issue campaigns, protests that are emerging across the country,” Sutherland said.

Smith, the chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, believes the database may soon shed light on the relationships between the groups.

“This database confirms what the Ways and Means Committee has been exposing for months: foreign money is flowing into America’s tax-exempt sector through shell funds and intermediaries designed to hide where it actually came from to influence American policymaking and our public discourse. The size and scope of the problem that Americans for Public Trust has identified is concerning, further underscoring the need to pass our legislation and close these loopholes once and for all,” Smith said.

Under current law, nonprofits aren’t required to disclose the source of their donations.

Supporters of the current policy framework argue that donors could receive harassment for their contributions if they were made public. That’s the position of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), a state-level think tank that advocates for free markets, limited government and federalism.

“Donor disclosure and donor privacy are very important issues. Unfortunately, instead of a focus on government transparency and individual privacy, many advocates of donor disclosure are actually attempting to pass laws that would require the disclosure of personal information—like names and home addresses of Americans—in order to intimidate these donors from contributing to the causes they care about most,” the group states on its website.

“The First Amendment protects freedom of speech and association, yet many donor disclosure bills are designed to intimidate people from associating with organizations and ideas that the government may not like.”

Even so, Sutherland believes voters shouldn’t have to scrape through what reporting does exist to get a sense of where foreign dollars are going. She explained that getting that documentation is especially difficult because of varying legal standards for international contributions.

“That means that we are beholden to the laws of other countries that may not necessarily have to report money out here in the United States; a list of groups that are receiving money, whereas foreign charities don’t necessarily have to publish the same information,” Sutherland said.

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“There is no central European registry for foreign charities, so we’ve really put together a piecemeal collection of information relying on the foreign charities’ annual reports as well as their grant databases. We think that it should be simple,” she added.

Aubrie Spady and Cameron Cawthorne contributed to this report

An Army veteran and trucking company executive who attended President Donald Trump’s Wednesday announcement about a new initiative called “Freedom Haulers” at the White House praised the new plan to provide a boost to the industry.

“I came down here to support the cause of getting into an industry that is always in need,” said Tom Jacques, the director of Department of Transportation (DOT) compliance at Waste Management. Jacques is also the chairman of the board of directors for the Pennsylvania Motor Trucking Association.

Jacques, whose biography says he enlisted in the Army and joined the 3rd U.S. Infantry as an escort to the President, called the plan “wonderful.”

TRUMP TAPS VETERANS TO FIX ILLEGAL ALIEN TRUCKING PROBLEM PLAGUING US ROADWAYS

“It’s wonderful to get skilled workers who are disciplined [and] dedicated into an industry that requires discipline and dedication,” Jacques told Fox News Digital at the White House. “You don’t get behind the wheel of a tractor-trailer — 80,000 pounds — without understanding the need to be disciplined and to be safe. So it’s nice to have that, to tap into a large workforce as they transition out of the military and into the next career field.”

Under the initiative, qualified veterans with heavy-vehicle experience gained during military service can apply to waive the CDL road-skills test, allowing them to avoid duplicating training they received in the military.

Certain veterans in participating states — 34 of them so far — may also qualify for a waiver of the written knowledge test. Veterans without military truck-driving experience will be eligible for expedited training that administration officials said could be completed in several weeks.

TRUMP PROMOTES FREEDOM HAULERS INITIATIVE TO FAST-TRACK MILITARY VETERANS INTO TRUCKING JOBS

“Data shows that truck drivers who are veterans account for 42% fewer accidents. Think of that, 42%,” Trump said at the event. “And that number, they say, is their very minimal number, even as they drive double the number of miles of non-veteran drivers.”

Jacques said the trucking industry is always in need of new drivers, and discussed the important role that truckers play in the everyday lives of Americans.

“If you take a look at the trucking industry, the behind the scenes, that’s what gets the commodities where they’re at,” he said.

He also noted that during COVID-19, when non-essential workers were furloughed and much of America worked from home, truckers didn’t have that option. Americans depended upon their work in order to have access to necessities, otherwise the country could have “shut down,” he said.

“There’s no shortage of positions for truck drivers,” said Jacques. “It’s an aging workforce. It’s something that people need to understand that we’ve got to be continually replenishing that workforce, and [it’s] a great opportunity getting our veterans … into a good, highly-paying job right out of the service. It’s going to be really nice to see more service members behind the wheel.”

OUT OF CONTROL, UNQUALIFIED ILLEGAL ALIEN TRUCKERS ENDANGERING KIDS ON US ROADS, INSIDER WARNS: ‘JUST MADNESS’

That truckers are paid well is a fact not lost on Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, who also spoke at Wednesday’s event.

“These are great paying jobs. They’re anywhere from $80 to $100,000 plus a year,” he said. “And it’s important because you have men and women who drove big rigs in the military who would then get out and have to go through a months-long training for their skills and their knowledge test to drive this vehicle over here.”

The initiative has another component — getting illegal alien truck drivers off the roads.

“For many years, American highways and roadways have been terrorized by unqualified illegal aliens dangerously driving big rigs,” Trump said, pointing out that many illegal alien drivers can’t speak English or read the road signs. “You have to have a talent for it, and these people don’t have that. They’re driving big rigs, semi trucks and tractor trailers, all because radical left maniacs at the state level have issued them commercial driver’s licenses, even though they’re not entitled to have them.”

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He said that last year alone, at least 30 Americans were killed at the hands of illegal alien truck drivers, and that 24,000 illegal aliens drivers have already been taken off the streets.

“So to end this, very simply, the radical left wants more jobs for illegal aliens and more migrants in 18-wheelers, Trump said. “And the Trump administration wants safer roads and more jobs for the American veteran.”

Fox News Digital’s Brittany Miller contributed to this report.

For months, President Donald Trump has fixated on one legislative priority. Now, its repeated failure may be costing Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., the president’s support.

Trump has badgered Republicans to pass the SAVE America Act, his missing legislative crown jewel, turning support for the bill into a loyalty test.

Thune has become the target for those irritated that the bill hasn’t moved in the Senate. For months, Trump largely spared him from criticism over the bill’s stalled progress. That appears to have changed.

The hairline fractures in their relationship stem from Thune doing what few Republicans are willing to do: tell Trump no.

GOP RIFT GROWS AS THUNE HITS BRAKES ON TRUMP’S ELECTION BILL TO AVERT SHUTDOWN

“Well, that’s too bad for him,” Trump said when asked about Thune not having the votes to move the SAVE America Act. “I mean, that’s too bad for him and too bad for the Republican Party.”

“He’s got the votes,” he continued. “He should get it done. He should be able to get it done.”

And, though he’s backed him before, Trump appeared to waver in his support of Thune when asked if he was the right man for the job.

“Well, we’re going to find out, and I’ll let you know,” Trump said.

TRUMP THREATENS TO YANK HIS OWN AG NOMINEE AS GOP REVOLT GROWS

On his way to and from the Senate floor, Thune was pressed on Trump’s comments. When asked about Trump wavering on him as the leader of the Senate GOP, Thune signaled it wasn’t up to him.

“I don’t know what you say on that,” he said. “That’s a decision made by my colleagues.”

He also pushed back on the president’s assertion that Republicans could pass the SAVE America Act.

“That must be a different form of math,” Thune said.

Thune has repeatedly argued Republicans simply don’t have the votes to pass the SAVE America Act, a position that has increasingly put him at odds with Trump. A bloc of Republicans has never supported the legislation, while Senate Democrats overwhelmingly oppose it, leaving Thune without the votes.

TRUMP DEMANDS THUNE KEEP SENATE IN SESSION UNTIL SAVE AMERICA ACT PASSES

“I think it’s wrong to blame Thune for this — Senator Thune,” Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., told Fox News Digital. “This is not his fault.”

Still, Thune has moved major legislation backed by the president and has the Senate on a record pace for nominee confirmations, all while dealing with vulnerable Republicans taking tough political votes and Democrats who are bound to kneecap Trump’s agenda at every turn.

“I hope that the next Congress, the people with the election certificates as U.S. senators who actually make that decision, show some independence and courage,” Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., told Fox News Digital. “And recognize that Thune has helped navigate an almost impossible scenario to navigate with this president.”

The legislation has been tested several times in a variety of forms, and has never gotten the needed votes to pass. And Thune has said the votes aren’t there to nuke the filibuster, which Trump has pushed for throughout his second term.

Even as Trump publicly questions Thune, the Senate GOP leader intends to seek another term as the top Republican.

Leadership is elected internally by Senate Republicans, not by the president. Thune came out of a crowded field to replace Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., battling Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, and Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., to get the top spot in the Senate GOP.

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And his colleagues, so far, have his back.

Scott, who ran against Thune, told Fox News Digital that he had no intention of running for the top gig in the Senate again. He also noted that even though he wanted it, it’s a difficult profession to take on.

“John’s a smart guy,” Scott said. “He is working really hard. So I think he shouldn’t — you know, it’s tough to be the leader.”

“We’ve got a lot of issues we haven’t addressed, so it’s hard,” he continued. “I assumed it was gonna be hard.”

New Jersey Democratic Gov. Mikie Sherrill’s recent announcement of 6,600 ineligible voters found on the state’s rolls is only the latest in a decades-long string of cases involving noncitizens registered to vote in U.S. elections, records show.

Sherrill said that the ineligible voters were registered due to a “serious software error” in New Jersey’s Motor Vehicle System. Her announcement came within a week of a major address from President Donald Trump in which he warned that digital election interference posed a “cyber threat aimed at the very heart of our democracy.”

While New Jersey is the latest documented failure, it is not an isolated anomaly. New Jersey’s error adds to a 25-year record of state reviews, software failures and prosecutions that found noncitizens on voter rolls and, in some documented cases, casting ballots. Experts say the episodes establish a recurring vulnerability. However, due to the lack of a national standard for identifying and reporting errors, reviews are sporadic and use different methods, making it impossible to determine how widespread the problem truly is.

“It’s a major vulnerability,” Jason Snead, executive director of the conservative think tank the Honest Elections Project, told Fox News Digital. “And we have seen just within the last couple of years many states that have checked their voter rolls and found non-citizens on them … So, this is a big problem.”

NEW JERSEY REMOVES 6,600 PEOPLE FROM VOTER ROLLS WHO WERE ELIGIBLE TO CAST A BALLOT FOR 2024 ELECTION

According to New Jersey’s preliminary findings, fewer than 400 individuals who were improperly registered ended up voting. Sherrill said they lived all across the state and mostly lacked a party affiliation, though there were some registered as Democrats or Republicans.

Fox News Digital reached out to the New Jersey Secretary of State Division of Elections, state Attorney General Dale Caldwell and the chairs of several key legislative elections oversight committees for clarification on which elections the 400 ineligible voters participated in and to request details on the state’s auditing protocols. Fox News Digital did not receive a response from any of the state officials mentioned above.

Snead explained that though states are required by law to ensure their voter rolls are up to date and accurate, there is no uniform federal requirement for a state to disclose its findings. He said that this has led to differences across states in how the law is enforced and how errors are reported.

“There are federal requirements to maintain clean and accurate voter rolls. And of course, it is a federal crime for a noncitizen to register and to vote, but there’s no requirement that a state report how many non-citizens that they have found up to the federal government. That’s entirely a state law question,” he explained.

He argued that problems involving noncitizen voting are greater in blue states due to policies he said make it easier to cheat.

LEAVITT RIPS BLUE STATE’S EXPLOSIVE NONCITIZEN VOTER-ROLL ADMISSION: ‘NOT A COINCIDENCE’

“When you look at the policies that are pushed in blue states by the left, things like automatic voter registration, giving drivers licenses to illegal aliens, banning voter identification laws, no proof of citizenship to vote on and on and, this is the inevitable outcome of all of those policies,” said Snead, adding, “This is not the first time that we’ve seen a state with automatic voter registration add potential non-citizens to the rolls.”

After the president’s speech, Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin released a statement announcing that preliminary DHS reviews of state records found “as many as” 250,000 noncitizens registered to vote in four states: 35,152 in New Jersey, 190,832 in California, 15,903 in Nevada and 14,576 in Pennsylvania.

Fox News Digital reached out to DHS for clarification on its preliminary findings. However, DHS did not answer Fox News Digital’s questions and instead sent a statement from Mullin reiterating the number.

In the statement, Mullin emphasized to Fox News Digital that “this shouldn’t be a red or blue state issue: ONLY Americans should elect American leaders.” He added that “we’ve put these governors on notice. States must work with us to ensure free, fair, and honest elections.”

Charles Stewart III, a professor of political science specializing in elections at MIT, explained that the controlling federal law governing voter registration, the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA), is “silent on the issue of noncitizens on the roll.”

He told Fox News Digital that because “this was not an issue in the early 1990s … one of the ambiguities right now and controversies is over precisely what sort of obligations states have to audit their rolls for noncitizens.”

“This is really at the crux of the matter and two of President Trump’s executive orders. It’s the crux of the matter in the Save America Act. It is the crux to the matter in the current efforts, well, back to the executive orders and a lot of the lawsuits. And the states are pointing out, when being pressed by the federal government, that yes, it is illegal for noncitizens to vote, for sure, and states should have an obligation to make sure noncitizens are not registering, but there is no federal law that compels states to do investigations, nor is there a federal law to compel them to report.

Meanwhile, states that have published review results have reported concerning findings. Besides New Jersey, state reviews conducted since 2020 have found evidence of significant numbers of noncitizens registered to vote in Louisiana, Iowa, Michigan, Ohio and Illinois, a Fox News Digital review found.

Earlier this year, Louisiana Secretary of State said that using the federal Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) database, which was rolled out by the Trump administration last year, the state identified 403 noncitizens on its voter rolls, 83 of whom had voted in elections, American Press reported.

In 2025, an audit by the Iowa secretary of state confirmed that 277 noncitizens were registered to vote and that 35 successfully voted in the 2024 election while five attempted to vote but were rejected.

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The same year, the Michigan Department of State published its findings from a review of the 2024 election, which it said proved that “credible cases of noncitizens casting a ballot in Michigan elections are extremely rare.” The review found that 15 people, who it said “appear to be non-U.S. citizens,” cast a ballot in the election. Additionally, the department identified a Chinese national who allegedly voted illegally.

The Ohio Secretary of State’s Office announced in 2024 and 2021 that it had identified 597 and 117 apparent noncitizen voter registrations, respectively, and referred the cases for further investigation.

According to findings cited in Illinois legislation and testimony by secretary of state officials before the general assembly, a programming error in the state’s automatic voter registration system allowed the records of 574 people who identified themselves as noncitizens to be transmitted to election officials between 2018 and 2019.

Further, officials in Pennsylvania, Texas, Maryland, Colorado, Florida and North Carolina have also reported cases of noncitizens being registered to vote as far back as 2000.

In testimony given to the Pennsylvania House State Government Committee in 2017, then elections commissioner Jonathan Marks revealed that the state had found 1,160 records of apparent noncitizens who self-reported and canceled. Marks said that a deeper analysis of the years 2000 through 2017 found 544 ballots were cast by the identified registrants.

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In Texas, authorities discovered a resident alien named Rosa Ortega registered in 2002 and voted five times from 2004 through 2014, according to Attorney General Ken Paxton.

In another case, a Ghanaian national named Michael Nana Baako registered to vote in Maryland, swearing that he was a U.S. citizen in 2005 and subsequently voted in 10 federal elections between 2006 and 2018, according to the DOJ.

A 2012 report by the Colorado Department of State revealed that the state identified 3,903 registered voters whose citizenship status was “in question.” An additional 430 Colorado voters were found to have identified themselves as ineligible to vote because of citizenship requirements.

The report noted that in Colorado “no proof is required to validate the status indicated on a registration form.” It said that individuals can register to vote at a driver’s license office, state public assistance office, county office, private voter registration drive, or even online, none of which verify citizenship.

Three reviews conducted by the Florida Department of State for the years between 2013 and 2017 identified 821 noncitizen registrations and 126 people with voting histories.

Meanwhile, a 2017 state audit in North Carolina concluded that 41 legal-status noncitizens cast ballots.

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Fox News Digital also reached out to the Justice Department to ask how many individuals the agency has charged with noncitizen voting or unlawful voter registration since 2000. However, a spokesperson for the DOJ did not offer specifics. Instead, the spokesperson sent Fox News Digital a statement assuring that the department’s Civil Rights Division “is investigating and will keep pressing states to clean their rolls” and is “prosecuting cases where the law and evidence support it.”

The DOJ spokesperson reiterated that “it is illegal for any noncitizen to vote in a federal election” and that “every unlawful vote dilutes the voice of American citizens.”

“Whether or not a case is prosecutable doesn’t change the fact that the wrongful vote happened — DHS found over 250,000 likely noncitizens on voter rolls nationwide, and New Jersey’s own Governor confirmed 400 noncitizens voted there,” the spokesperson said.

“The fact of the matter is that election after election after election after election happened and no one did anything about it,” remarked Gene Hamilton, president of America First Legal.

He pointed to a letter sent by the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division to election officials in all 50 states which he said, “reminded them of their obligations and the possibility of legal consequences for not taking action.”

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Since President Donald Trump’s return to office, the Civil Rights Division has filed lawsuits against 30 states and the District of Columbia seeking to compel the production of full voter registration lists under the NVRA, according to the Brennan Center for Justice.

“There are ways to fix it,” said Hamilton. “It’s just a matter of desire.”

FIRST ON FOX: The Trump administration on Wednesday took another step in its sweeping campaign to eliminate DEI policies from the federal government, removing decades-old hiring guidelines that officials say encouraged race-conscious employment decisions in favor of a renewed emphasis on merit-based hiring.

The U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) issued a final interim rule on Thursday that removes references to the 1978 Uniform Guidelines on Employee Selection Procedures, which govern employee selection standards, citing a recent Justice Department legal opinion that found the guidelines unconstitutional in the way they encouraged race-conscious decision-making.

The move affects how federal agencies approach hiring by eliminating references to long-standing guidance centered on “disparate impact,” the idea that hiring practices that could produce unequal outcomes among racial groups can be legally problematic even absent intentional discrimination.

Administration officials argue those guidelines pressured employers to focus on racial outcomes rather than qualifications, while supporters of the guidelines contend they help guard against subtle forms of discrimination.

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“Federal hiring should be based on merit, qualifications, and the ability to perform the job,” OPM Director Scott Kupor said in a statement to Fox News Digital.

“This rule ensures OPM’s regulations reflect legal guidance while preserving the rigorous, job-related standards that help agencies recruit and hire the most qualified workforce in service to the American people.”

The rule took effect immediately after it was published in the Federal Register on Thursday but will remain open for public comment for 60 days before OPM decides whether to make it permanent.

COAST GUARD ENDING RACE-BASED ADMISSIONS FOR OFFICER COMMISSIONING PROGRAM UNDER TRUMP DEI CRACKDOWN

OPM serves as the federal government’s human resources agency, setting hiring, personnel and workforce policies for roughly 2 million civilian federal employees across executive branch agencies. It oversees the rules governing how federal agencies recruit, hire, promote and manage their workforces.

This move serves as the latest example of the administration moving beyond simply shutting down DEI offices or ending diversity training and now targeting the legal and regulatory framework that critics argue enabled DEI policies in the first place.

KEY TRUMP AGENCY PUTS TOP UNIVERSITIES IN CROSSHAIRS OVER ALLEGED RACE-BASED DORM PROGRAMS

Since the beginning of President Donald Trump’s second term, the administration has highlighted hundreds of colleges that have rolled back DEI initiatives, along with policy changes involving transgender athletic participation, parental rights, race-conscious programs and merit-based admissions.

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They also dismantled federal DEI programs, terminated DEI-related grants and contracts, cut ties with companies embracing DEI policies, required federal contractors to comply with the administration’s requirements, and warned schools they could lose federal funding over certain DEI practices.

Despite a career-long commitment to combating racial disparities in housing and touting the importance of living among Black people, former Vice President Kamala Harris’ new California mansion is situated in a neighborhood with virtually no racial diversity.

Harris’ new 4,000-square-foot property, which reports indicate she acquired for $8.15 million, is located in the exclusive seaside community of Point Dume and includes ocean views, multiple wine fridges, private golf greens and enough parking to accommodate five vehicles.

Point Dume is situated entirely within Census tract 8004.08, which the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey estimated was just 0.2% Black and roughly 94% White as of 2019.

Harris’ choice of neighborhood may surprise longtime observers given past comments she has made about the importance of living among other Black Americans.

KAMALA HARRIS IS THE ‘FAIRLY OBVIOUS’ 2028 PRESIDENTIAL FRONTRUNNER, DEMOCRATIC INSIDERS SAY

“When you’re at (a historically Black college or university), and especially one with the size and with the history of Howard University — and also in the context of also being in D.C., which was known forever as being ‘Chocolate City’ — it just becomes about you understanding that there is a whole world of people who are like you,” Harris told a Washington Post reporter in 2019, reflecting on her experience growing up in primarily White social circles then attending a historically Black college in a predominantly African American city.

“It was more, for me, about the numerosity than it was the diversity, I grew up in a community where there were many representations of diversity,” she added. “Going to Howard, there were so many (Black people)! And they’re all in your age group, in your phase of life.”

Now, however, Harris has chosen to put roots down in a community that at least one group has accused of trying to keep their beaches closed off to minorities.

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“Despite the veneer of a laid back community of surfers who are one with nature, there are barriers to access that keep most BIPOC people away,” a pair of non-White surfers wrote in a 2025 review of Harris’s new neighborhood.

Harris spent a sizable portion of her career working to tear down similar barriers.

HARRIS STOPS IN KEY PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARY STATE AFTER LEAVING DOOR WIDE OPEN TO 2028 RUN

In 2012, as California’s attorney general, for instance, she joined a Supreme Court brief arguing that the Fair Housing Act can be enforced when policies have a “disparate impact” across different racial groups, even if the policies themselves are racially neutral.

As a presidential candidate, she proposed $100 billion in assistance for families in historically redlined communities and as vice president she promoted the Biden administration’s efforts to combat racial bias in home appraisals.

During Harris’ 2020 presidential campaign, she faced questions about the authenticity of her African American identity due to her Indian and Jamaican heritage and upbringing in affluent, primarily White areas. The attacks resurfaced in 2024, when then-candidate Donald Trump accused Harris of using her Black identity for political gain.

Harris caught flak during the 2024 campaign for identifying with Oakland, California, even though she spent most of her childhood growing up in Berkeley, California, which was significantly less racially diverse. As a teenager, she moved to Montreal, another predominantly White city, with her mother.

Doug Emhoff, Harris’ husband, is also White.

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Harris has returned to the headlines in recent weeks amid speculation that she may make a third run for the presidency in 2028.

A representative for the former vice president did not respond to a request for comment when reached by Fox News Digital Wednesday.