NationalWatch

Could a longtime deep blue state provide Republicans a path to winning back the Senate majority in November’s elections?

A new poll suggests the answer may be yes.

Former Republican Gov. Larry Hogan of Maryland holds double-digit leads over both of his potential Democratic rivals in his home state’s Senate race, a Washington Post/University of Maryland poll released on Wednesday indicates.

Hogan, whose surprise announcement last month that he would launch a Senate campaign rocked the campaign world, tops Democratic Rep. David Trone 49%-37% if the general election were held today, according to the survey.

MARYLAND SHOCKER: FORMER GOVERNOR MAKES SURPRISE CAMPAIGN ANNOUNCEMENT

And the poll indicates that Hogan leads the other major Democrat running for their party’s Senate nomination — Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks — by a 50%-36% margin.

TRUMP ENDORSEMENT BOOSTS MORENO TO VICTORY IN GOP SENATE PRIMARY IN OHIO

But the survey, which was conducted March 5-12, also indicates that by a 20-point margin, Maryland voters say they’d prefer if the Democrats retained control of the Senate.

In the race to succeed retiring Democratic Sen. Ben Cardin, the poll indicates Trone leads Alsobrooks 34%-27% in their party’s primary on May 14, with nearly 4 in 10 Democratic voters undecided.

SIX KEY SENATE SEATS REPUBLICANS AIM TO FLIP IN NOVEMBER 

Trone, the co-founder and co-owner, along with his brother, of the successful alcohol retailer Total Wine & More, has vastly outspent Alsobrooks to date in the Democratic Senate primary.

Hogan, a vocal GOP critic of former President Donald Trump, won election and re-election in 2014 and 2018 as governor in a state where Democrats outnumber Republicans by a roughly 2-to-1 margin.

Hogan, a successful business leader before entering politics, seriously mulled a run for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination and made numerous trips in 2022 to New Hampshire, the state that holds the first primary in the GOP nominating calendar.

But in March of last year, Hogan announced he wouldn’t seek his party’s presidential nomination.

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

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

But fast-forward two years, and Hogan is now running for the open seat in a state where it’s been nearly four decades since a Republican served in the Senate.

Hogan, who steered Maryland in a bipartisan way, left office with high approval and favorable ratings. And the new poll indicates he remains popular, with a 64%-23% favorable/unfavorable rating.

The survey also indicates that Trone and Alsobrooks are not well known among many Maryland voters.

Democrats currently control the U.S. Senate with a 51-49 majority, but Republicans are looking at a favorable Senate map this year, with Democrats defending 23 of the 34 seats up for grabs. 

Three of those seats are in red states that Trump carried in 2020 — Ohio, Montana and West Virginia, where Democrat Sen. Joe Manchin is not running for re-election.

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

Maine environmental regulators are set to decide whether the state will join a growing number of states adopting new standards designed to grow the use of electric vehicles.

The rules, which originated in California, would require an increasing percentage of new light-duty vehicles to be zero emission vehicles every year. The new standards would start with 51% in 2028 and grow to 82% by 2032.

The Maine Board of Environmental Protection is set to vote on the proposal Wednesday in a vote that has been anticipated for weeks. The proposal has encountered a mixed reception in Maine, where some have said it would speed up the already-growing adoption of electric vehicles.

TRUMP CAMPAIGN RESPONDS IN FORCE AFTER BIDEN CRACKS DOWN ON GAS CARS, VOWS ‘DAY ONE’ REVERSAL

“Consumers in Maine are already rapidly adopting electric vehicles,” said Sarah Krame, staff attorney with Sierra Club Environmental Law Program, in testimony. “Demand is so strong that lack of supply has been a major constraint on Maine residents looking to purchase EVs, with waitlists several months long for certain models.”

Opponents of the proposal, including prominent state Republicans, have described the move as wrong for the state’s economy and geography, and said it would heap costs onto consumers.

“Extremists seem to think that only 6% of consumers want EVs because the government hasn’t forced them to buy one. The truth is this plan isn’t feasible because of Maine’s geography and infrastructure,” said House Republican Leader Billy Bob Faulkingham late last year.

A dozen states have adopted the electric vehicle standards, and 17 states have adopted all or part of California’s low-emission and zero-emission vehicle regulations, according to the California Air Resources Board. The proposals have found support in Democratically-controlled states.

Meanwhile, sales of electric vehicles have begun to slow. The Biden administration announced new emissions standards on Wednesday that could boost the industry.

Transportation is a major contributor to Maine’s greenhouse gas emissions, and Democratic Gov. Janet Mills has made tackling climate change a major piece of her tenure.

The state received hundreds of comments about the electric vehicle proposal in advance of Wednesday’s meeting. The Alliance for Automotive Innovation, a trade group that represents car manufacturers, testified in support of the proposal.

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The proposal might still need to clear more hurdles, as state lawmakers are considering legislation that could allow them to ultimately make the final decision.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., grilled Hunter Biden ex-associate Tony Bobulinski about ‘exactly’ what crimes President Biden is guilty of committing in a heated exchange at an impeachment hearing on Wednesday.

“Is it your testimony today that you personally witnessed President Joe Biden commit a crime?” AOC asked while staring down Bobulinski. 

However, before Bobulinski could even answer, he was cut off by the animated progressive representative, repeating the same question to him. 

“How much time do I have to go through it?,” Bobulinski shot back, listing off a number of crimes and alleging the president committed a RICO violation and was involved in financial corruption regarding his business dealings with his son Hunter.

HUNTER BIDEN’S EX-BUSINESS PARTNER TONY BOBULINSKI SLAMS HIM FOR ‘RUNNING AWAY’ FROM HOUSE OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE

“What is the crime sir, specifically,” AOC demanded. 

“You asked me to answer the question. I answered the question. RICO, you’re obviously not familiar with. Corruption statutes. FARA,” Bobulinski replied.

“Excuse me, sir. Excuse me, sir. RICO is not a crime. It is a category,” AOC defiantly exclaimed.

“It’s a category of crimes that you are then charged under,” Bobulinski said before AOC began talking over him.

JOE BIDEN IS ‘THE BIG GUY,’ TONY BOBULINSKI SAID DURING ‘UNSHAKEABLE’ TESTIMONY AMID IMPEACHMENT INQUIRY

“It’s funny, in this committee room — everyone’s not here — there are over 18 lawyers that went to law school. I’ll leave it up to you guys to define the statute,” Bobulinski fired back before being cut off again.

AOC continued to talk over Bobulinski, exclaiming “I reclaim my time!”

She then went on to scold Republicans over the impeachment inquiry, accusing them of spending 15 months “lost in the desert” without proof that President Biden committed “a high crime or misdemeanor.”

TONY BOBULINSKI ATTORNEY ACCUSES OVERSIGHT DEMS OF ‘GASLIGHTING,’ FALSE SMEARS AGAINST HUNTER BIDEN ASSOCIATE

AOC’s claim that RICO is not a crime quickly became a hot topic on social media, with Republicans needling the congresswoman for her comment. 

“And, of course… AOC’s favorite network has her back after she completely and totally embarrassed herself by arguing that RICO is not a crime,” Fox News contributor Joe Concha wrote on X.

“AOC broken in Hunter Biden hearing. So broken in fact, she claims RICO isn’t a crime. Well… empty the jails! Oh and for the record, all the defendants in the Georgia case brought by Fani Willis falls under RICO. Ooops,” Rep. Wesley Hunt (R-Texas) wrote on X.

AOC SAYS TRUMP ‘WILLING TO SELL THE COUNTRY FOR A DOLLAR’ AS LAWMAKERS REACT TO POTENTIAL PROPERTY SEIZURES

RICO refers to the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, which targets dishonest business activities such as money laundering as well as organized crime.

Former President Donald Trump currently faces a RICO case in Georgia over the 2020 election. 

The Republican-led House Oversight Committee took to X to disprove AOC’s claim, writing, “(HINT: RICO is a federal law codified at 18 U.S.C. §§ 1961-68).”

Bobulinski has criticized the president’s son for “running away” from the American people after he declined to appear for the congressional hearing.

Bobulinski has also previously testified that President Biden “enabled” Hunter Biden to sell access to America’s “most dangerous adversaries,” including China and Russia. 

In his statement, Hunter Biden’s former business partner called for “truth and transparency” to prevail.

WALL STREET VETERAN MARTY DOLAN EXPLAINS WHY HE’S RUNNING TO UNSEAT AOC: ‘ENOUGH IS ENOUGH’

“Joe Biden and Hunter Biden, along with countless members of Congress, keep claiming that they are ‘fighting for our Democracy.’ Why don’t we as a nation agree to fight for the truth!” Bobulinski said. “Nearly three-quarters of the American people believe the country is headed in the wrong direction, and I can’t blame them. Truth and transparency would help expose the rot at the center of our political system and begin to fix what ails us.”

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President Biden has continued to ask Congress to close the impeachment investigation and denied allegations of any wrongdoing.

Fox News’ Brooke Singman, David Spunt and Lawrence Richard contributed to this report.

Two former business associates of Hunter Biden testified publicly on Capitol Hill on Wednesday as congressional Republicans pushed forward with their impeachment inquiry against President Biden, leading to several tense and revealing moments.

Tony Bobulinski, a U.S. Navy veteran who formerly served as Hunter Biden’s business partner, appeared publicly for the House Oversight Committee hearing. Jason Galanis, another Hunter Biden business associate who is serving a 14-year prison sentence, testified virtually from Federal Prison Camp, a minimum-security prison for male inmates in Montgomery, Alabama. 

Democrats invited Lev Parnas, who was sentenced to 20 months for violations connected to campaign finance, wire fraud and making false statements, to testify about his work with Rudy Giuliani on Ukraine.

GOP LAWMAKER SAYS REPUBLICANS ‘DON’T HAVE THE GUTS’ TO IMPEACH BIDEN

‘Blatant lies’: Bobulinski accuses Hunter Biden of lying under oath

Bobulinski said Wednesday that Hunter Biden lied under oath while speaking to lawmakers earlier this year about his father’s involvement in his business dealings.

Questioning Bobulinski, Rep. Jason Smith, R-Mo., said, “During his deposition, Hunter Biden repeatedly testified under oath that his father was not involved in his business in any capacity and that there wasn’t even a connection between his father and his businesses. Here is just one example, quote, ‘I just state for the record one more time, under oath and under penalty of perjury, my father has never been involved in my business. I have never asked my father to be involved in my business. My father has never benefited from my business, and I have never asked anyone or my father to do anything for the benefit of anyone I’ve ever done business for.’

“Yet the Ways and Means Committee released a WhatsApp message that was provided by the IRS whistleblowers showing that Hunter Biden wrote on July 30, 2017, quote, ‘I’m sitting here with my father, and we would like to understand why the commitment made has not been fulfilled. I’m sitting here waiting for the call with my father.’ Moreover, you testified that Hunter was not shy about his ability to get his father on the phone. And Devin Archer testified that there were multiple instances in which Hunter placed his dad on speaker phone.

“Mr. Bobulinski, was Hunter Biden telling the truth when he testified under oath that his father was never involved in any of his business dealings?” Smith asked.

Bobulinski responded, “No, he was not. Those are all blatant lies.”

Bobulinski claims President Biden’s son, brother committed ‘perjury’

During Wednesday’s hearing, Bobulinski said Hunter Biden and Jim Biden, the president’s brother, committed perjury.

Bobulinski, who claimed that Hunter Biden “lied throughout his testimony” in a transcribed interview to the House Oversight Committee in February, provided what he believed to be one example of Hunter Biden’s “perjury.”

Hunter Biden “lied to the committee on important details concerning his money demands and threats to [the] CEFC” in text messages on July 30 and July 31 in 2017, according to Bobulinski.

“He leveraged his father’s presence next to him in that infamous text to strong-arm CEFC to pay Hunter immediately,” Bobulinski said.

Additionally, Bobulinski claimed Wednesday that James Biden, the president’s brother, “also lied extensively throughout his transcribed interview on Feb. 21 and perjured himself.”

“An example of that, on page 100 of his transcript, Jim is asked specifically, ‘Do you recall having a meeting with Hunter Biden, Tony Bobulinski and Joe Biden?'”

“Jim’s response: ‘Absolutely not,'” Bobulinski added.

Later in the hearing, Bobulinski claimed James Biden admitted to him during a 2017 meeting that the Biden family was able to conduct its business despite the president’s high profile because of “plausible deniability.”

Committee Democrats, Republicans spar over which party’s witnesses are more credible

Democratic and Republican members sparred during Wednesday’s hearing over which party’s witnesses were more credible.

Democrat Eleanor Holmes Norton, who represents Washington, D.C., began by noting Galanis’ conviction for financial crimes, saying he is serving a lengthy sentence at a federal prison.

She was followed by ranking member Jamie Raskin, D-Md., who also noted Galanis’ convictions but also attacked Bobulinski for offering “a lot of rhetoric and a lot of hot air but absolutely no facts” that would warrant impeaching President Biden.

“Nobody on their side can even tell us what is the impeachable high crime and misdemeanor, which suggests that they are moving in the direction of criminal referrals, and they should start by looking at their own witnesses,” Raskin said.

Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., pushed back by reminding Norton and Raskin “the witness, Mr. Galanis, was partners with Hunter Biden.”

“That’s why he’s here. We have their partners. You could have invited partners, but you invited this guy,” Comer said, motioning toward Parnas, a former aide to Giuliani.

The members began speaking over each other before Comer moved on to Rep. Glenn Grothman, R-Wis., for his questioning.

Grothman began by noting that Parnas was also convicted of crimes and sentenced to federal prison.

FORMER HUNTER BIDEN ASSOCIATES TESTIFY PUBLICLY IN NEXT PHASE OF IMPEACHMENT INQUIRY

Bobulinski targets Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna, says he ‘begged’ him to look at phone evidence

Bobulinski said Wednesday he “begged” Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., and his staff to sit down with him to review the text message evidence he had on his Blackberry cellphone regarding the alleged wrongdoings by members of the Biden family.

Bobulinski’s comments came after Khanna refused to question him and spoke only to Parnas.

“If you noticed, Congressman Khanna scurried out of here very quickly, and I’m actually disgusted as I sit here that he didn’t address me based on the fact that I’m sitting here in front of the world trying to testify to the truth,” Bobulinski said shortly after Khanna’s time expired.

“I have messages I’m willing to produce to both the Democrats and the Republicans that Ro Khanna sent to me saying, ‘You have always demonstrated to me that you’re nothing but honest with the highest integrity individual,'” Bobulinski said. “I was begging for him to go CNN and tell the world in October 2020.”

“I have extensive emails with Congressman Ro Khanna in 2021 and 2022, where I begged him and his staff to sit down with me and look at my BlackBerry phones that the Democrats are so focused on, to hire forensics experts and go through all of the factual information I had,” he added. “So, the fact that he did not even address me and then scurried out of here is disgusting to me.”

In a statement to Fox News Digital about the matter, Khanna said, “I have reviewed extensive information presented to the committee on this matter. I have always respected Tony’s past service to our nation as I value anyone who wears the uniform, and I will continue to take my duty seriously on the committee and review all the evidence.”

Regarding Bobulinski’s claim that he had spoken to the California lawmaker about the evidence, a Khanna spokesperson told Fox, “Tony reached out a few times, and Rep. Khanna was always gracious because he respects Tony’s service, but made it clear that any evidence would have to be reviewed through committee procedure.”

Democrat taunts GOP committee chairs to hold Biden impeachment vote

Rep. Jared Moskowitz, D-Fla., challenged Comer and Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, to hold a vote on impeaching Biden during Wednesday’s hearing, claiming they would do so if they had truly found enough evidence he committed high crimes and misdemeanors.

The exchange took place after Moskowitz asked Bobulinski if he felt Biden had committed high crimes and misdemeanors and should be impeached.

“I believe with all the evidence he’s gathered, yes, he’s proven that Joe Biden has committed high crimes and misdemeanors,” Bobulinski said.

Moskowitz went on to ask Bobulinski if he felt Comer and Jordan had proven Biden committed high crimes and misdemeanors. “I know that he committed high crimes and misdemeanors. I was involved and saw them happen,” Bobulinski responded.

“My point is that the chairman has not yet moved for that. And, so, look, chairman, we got, like, 3½ minutes here. I mean, let’s just do the impeachment,” Moskowitz facetiously suggested. “I mean, why continue to waste millions of dollars of taxpayers’ money if we’re going to impeach because you believe you’ve shown he’s committed a high crime and misdemeanor?”

Moskowitz went on to mockingly motion for a vote, asking Jordan or Comer to second that vote, but neither did.

Jordan responded that the committees under GOP leadership don’t do “snap impeachments,” referencing the one Democrats undertook against President Donald Trump in 2019.

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In announcing the hearing earlier this month, Comer invited Hunter Biden to testify publicly, per the first son’s repeated requests. Through his attorney, Abbe Lowell, Hunter rejected the invitation.

Fox News’ Brandon Gillespie and Brooke Singman contributed to this report.

“F*** you Mayor Adams!”

Those are the defiant words of conservative artist and activist Scott LoBaido seconds before he was driven away in a police van after being cuffed for protesting new pizza-making rules in New York City.

Seconds earlier, LoBaido had hurled several pizza slices over a fence and into the grounds of New York City Hall to protest the new environmental rules which will require wood and coal-fired stoves to cut carbon emissions by 75%. 

The mandate requires affected pizzeria owners to install a filter, then hire an engineer to regularly inspect the carbon emissions.

NEW YORK CITY TAKING A SLICE OUT OF ICONIC PIZZA SHOPS WITH NEW GREEN RULE

LoBaido, a Staten Island resident and enthusiastic Donald Trump supporter, says that the rule is just the latest example of government overreach and will impose unnecessary costs on struggling pie-makers and bakers. He says that New York City Mayor Adams should be focused on more pressing issues like illegal immigration and migrant crime instead of targeting small business owners with Draconian rules.

“This invasion of illegal aliens that are beating the cops up, raping, killing and slaughtering,” LoBaido said to a small group of supporters and a media scrum that had assembled outside the location before his demonstration.

“He’s worried about pizza because he hates the small business owner. He hates you New Yorkers,” he added. 

LoBaido then compared the pizza-throwing act to that of the Boston Tea Party of 1773, where colonists in Massachusetts dumped 342 chests of tea imported by the British East India Company into the harbor at Griffin’s Wharf. The move was a demonstration aimed toward Britain for imposing taxes on colonists without them having representation in parliament.

“Those Bostonians loved their tea. They worshiped their tea. That’s all they had some of them and they sacrificed and threw it in the harbor,” LoBaido roared.

“And that’s what we’re doing here today. You gotta make sacrifices to make history, to make f***ing change. And that’s what us New Yorkers are here to do, we’re New Yorkers period.”

NEW YORK CITY TAKING A SLICE OUT OF ICONIC PIZZA SHOPS WITH NEW GREEN RULE

LoBaido and another man then grabbed several slices of pizzas from pie boxes stacked outside City Hall. 

As they walked to the fence with pie slices in hand, a group of police officers race after them – and once they hurled the pizzas into City Hall they were collared by NYPD officers. 

“How is he being arrested for littering, littering is a fine,” another man could be heard saying. “This mayor is corrupt… this is not an arrestable offense and you guys should be ashamed of yourselves for following his orders,” the man barks.

The pair were then put into an NYPD minivan.

Prior to the protest, LoBaido had said he was going to feed pigeons with the pizza. It is not illegal to feed pigeons, but a violation or summons may be issued for failing to clean up unsanitary conditions that result from the activity.

The NYPD tells Fox News Digital that the pair were not arrested or charged.

Some city businesses have already coughed up more than $600,000 for new smoke-eating systems in anticipation of the expected mandate, the New York Post reports. About 130 Big Apple businesses will be affected by the new rule, the publication reports.

LoBaido had been calling on pizzeria owners and bakeries throughout the city to join him in the protest to push back against the rule, but it appears few backed him up.

The New York City Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) rule, which will take effect April 27, applies to restaurants with cook stoves installed before May 2016. Advocates of the plan argue that carbon emissions from the ovens are helping cause the earth to warm. Fox News Digital reached out to the mayor’s office for a statement but did not immediately receive a response. 

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It is not the first time LoBaido has flung pies onto the grounds of City Hall, the painter carried out the same feat in June protesting the new rules. 

“They handcuffed me for f***ing throwing pizza and feeding the pigeons,” Lobaido told Fox News Digital after being released from custody Wednesday. “Last year, I did it, and they just gave me a summons. This year the mayor made sure that I got cuffed.”

“It’s ridiculous. And what is New York known for? Pizza and Bagels. It’s just it’s insane. It’s bulls***.”

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — New York lawmakers passed a bill Wednesday that would expand the state’s existing fracking ban by blocking natural gas drilling companies from using an extraction method that involves injecting huge amounts of liquid carbon dioxide into the ground.

The state Senate approved the legislation with some opposition from Republican lawmakers. It will now go to Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul, who is in the midst of state budget negotiations. The state Assembly passed the bill on March 12.

LINKS BETWEEN FRACKING, CANCER IN CHILDREN FOUND IN RECENT PENNSYLVANIA STUDY

New York already banned hydraulic fracturing, which involves using a water-based solution to extract natural gas. But some lawmakers were quick to draft the new legislation after a Texas company sought to lease land in New York for drilling last fall. They said the company, Southern Tier Solutions, is attempting to use a loophole in the existing law by drilling with carbon dioxide instead of water.

Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins told reporters during a news conference Wednesday that while she hasn’t yet discussed the legislation with the governor, she is hopeful that it will be signed into law.

“There’s a concern that if we don’t close this loophole sooner rather than later, it is going to essentially open up the proverbial gateway for further exploration, which is also going to be problematic,” Democratic state Sen. Lea Webb said ahead of the vote. Among thousands solicited by the company were many of Webb’s constituents in the Southern Tier, a region that runs along the border with Pennsylvania.

The region has been eyed by energy companies because of its richness in natural gas, which is trapped underground in large rock formations.

Hydraulic fracturing involves pumping vast amounts of water, sand and chemicals thousands of feet underground, under pressure that is intense enough to break layers of rock containing oil or natural gas deposits so that the fossil fuel can be extracted. Fracking, which is banned in a few states including Vermont and Maryland, can cause earthquakes and has raised concerns about groundwater contamination.

State Sen. Thomas O’Mara, a Republican who voted against the bill, said during floor deliberations that the move to expand the ban on fracking is premature.

“This utopian approach is a train wreck coming down the tracks,” he said.

Southern Tier Solutions says on its website that it wants to use carbon captured from power plants to extract natural gas from inside the Marcellus and Utica Shales, vast rock formations that extend for hundreds of miles.

Company officials and its president, Bryce P. Phillips, have not responded to email and phone requests from The Associated Press. But in past interviews, Phillips has claimed swapping water with liquid carbon dioxide could be more environmentally friendly.

Supporters of the bill and some lawmakers cited concerns that pipelines carrying carbon dioxide for extraction could rupture, leading to poor air quality and major health risks.

They pointed to a 2020 incident in the small town of Satartia, Mississippi, where a pipeline carrying compressed carbon dioxide ruptured, sending over 40 people to the hospital for treatment and prompting more than 300 to evacuate.

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Sandra Steingraber, a retired biologist and anti-fracking activist, applauded the bill’s passage. She argues that drilling of any kind — no matter what type of substance is used — is bad for the environment.

“They took care of this really fast because they recognized how harmful it was,” she said of the lawmakers’ response. “It’s all risk and no reward for New York state pursuing this plan.”

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Democrats on Capitol Hill don’t have much sympathy for former President Trump as he struggles to come up with a $464 million appeal bond due in less than a week.

“He’s broke, and he’s willing to sell the country for a dollar in order to make whatever he needs for himself,” New York Democrat Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez told Fox News Wednesday.

LEGAL EXPERTS WEIGH IN ON TRUMP’S OPTIONS AFTER FAILURE TO SECURE $464M APPEAL BOND: ‘UNCHARTED TERRITORY’

A New York Appeals Court judge late last month denied the 2024 GOP front-runner’s request to delay payment of the $464 million owed as a result of Attorney General Letitia James’ civil fraud lawsuit.

Trump has until Monday to secure an appeal bond. If he doesn’t, James previously warned that she would move to seize his assets. Those could include prominent New York City properties like Trump Tower and 40 Wall Street.

“A jury of his peers has decided on this case,” said Rep. Jahana Hayes, although there was no jury involved in the trial.

“It’s not in the hands of Congress,” Hayes, a Connecticut Democrat, added. “So I think that people should obey the law.” 

LAWMAKERS REACT TO POTENTIAL TRUMP PROPERTY SEIZURES:

WATCH MORE FOX NEWS DIGITAL ORIGINALS HERE

“If he didn’t want to get his property seized, if he didn’t want to be fined, he shouldn’t have committed crimes,” Rep. Sean Casten, a Democrat from Illinois, said of the civil case.

Trump’s attorneys said in a court filing this week that obtaining a bond “of this enormous magnitude” is “unprecedented for a private company” and a “practical impossibility.”

“It seems very punitive, directed in a political way, and it’s something that seems overwhelming,” Rep. John Moolenaar said.

“I don’t know anyone that could put up that kind of money,” the Michigan Republican added.

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Rep. Michael Cloud said that although he had not read all the details of the former president’s case, the potential seizures rang alarm bells.

“We are seeing a [Department of Justice] that is weaponized, in many ways, against the American people, President Trump being a key target of that,” the Texas Republican said.

To hear more from lawmakers, click here.

ATLANTA (AP) — Georgia lawmakers have made it harder for workers at companies getting state economic incentives to unionize, in what could be a violation of federal law.

The state House voted 96 to 78 Wednesday for Senate Bill 362, which would bar companies that accept state incentives from recognizing unions without a formal secret-ballot election. The measure, which has been backed by Gov. Brian Kemp, now goes to the Republican governor for his signature.

LAKEN RILEY’S ‘HEARTBROKEN’ FATHER ASKS GEORGIA GOVERNOR TO ‘DECLARE AN INVASION’ OF ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS

The bill would block unions from winning recognition directly from a company — without the additional step of a secret ballot — after signing up a majority of workers, in what is usually known as a card check.

The proposal comes as Georgia is giving billions in economic incentives to electric vehicle manufacturers and other companies.

Union leaders and Democrats argue the bill violates 1935’s National Labor Relations Act, which governs union organizing.

“If this bill passes, there will be a lawsuit and it will cost Georgia taxpayers millions of dollars and the state will lose,” state Rep. Saira Draper, an Atlanta Democrat, said on the House floor Wednesday.

The National Labor Relations Board, the federal agency overseeing union affairs, has declined to comment.

Democrats say the bill is really about making it harder for unions to organize and for companies to accept them. Other Democrats took to the House floor to argue that the bill would harm Georgia businesses by making workers from other states reluctant to move here.

“Why would we do anything to be anti-labor when we need to attract more workers from any source available?” asked Rep. Gregg Kennard of Lawrenceville.

Republicans denied that the bill is anti-labor, saying it aims to protect workers’ privacy. Some, including Kemp, argue that the secret ballot protects workers from being bullied into joining unions.

“Nothing in this bill stops a union from being formed,” said Rep. Soo Hong of Lawrenceville. “We are ensuring that when the state invests state resources to drive job creation that hardworking Georgians who hold those jobs have the agency to determine whether to be represented by a labor union.”

Only 4.4% of Georgia workers are union members, the eighth-lowest rate among states.

Georgia’s bill is modeled after a law passed in Tennessee last year, but there could be similar legislation offered in many other states. The conservative American Legislative Exchange Council is promoting the idea. The national push could also be a response to a decision by the Democratic-controlled NLRB last year that made it easier for unions to organize by card check.

Governors in other Southern states traditionally hostile to organized labor have been speaking out against unions, after the United Auto Workers vowed a fresh push to organize nonunion auto factories after multiple failed attempts.

Alabama Republican Gov. Kay Ivey said her state’s economic success is “under attack.” Henry McMaster, South Carolina’s Republican governor, told lawmakers in the nation’s least unionized state last month that organized labor is such a threat that he would fight unions ” all the way to the gates of hell.”

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Kemp proclaimed his support for the bill in a January speech to the Georgia Chamber of Commerce, echoing the chamber’s own agenda. He said the move would protect workers’ “right to opportunity” from President Joe Biden’s pro-union agenda and outside forces “who want nothing more than to see the free market brought to a screeching halt.”

Alabama and South Carolina are among five states that have passed state constitutional amendments guaranteeing access to secret union ballots. Indiana, like Tennessee, has passed a state law.

EXCLUSIVE: Former President Trump raised more than $20 million in February — an increase from December and January — bringing his cash-on-hand to nearly $42 million at the end of last month, Fox News Digital has learned. 

The presumptive GOP nominee’s campaign and his Trump Save America Joint Fundraising Committee brought in $20.33 million last month.

LOCKING IT UP: TRUMP CLINCHES 2024 REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL NOMINATION DURING TUESDAY’S PRIMARIES

The fundraising haul represents a massive increase from prior months. In January, Trump brought in $13.875 million. In December, Trump raked in nearly $10.5 million. 

At the end of February, Trump had a combined $41.9 million cash-on-hand. 

NEW POLL REVEALS AMERICANS TRUST DONALD TRUMP OVER BIDEN TO LEAD THE US AS PRESIDENT

“Americans know that they were better off with President Trump four years ago than with Crooked Joe Biden and his disastrous policies,” Trump campaign communications director Steven Cheung told Fox News Digital. “We need a return to America First policies that successfully kept our country safe and supercharged the economy for all Americans.” 

Trump officially became the presumptive Republican presidential nominee earlier this month after victories in Georgia, Mississippi and Washington state primaries.

President Biden also clinched his party’s nomination earlier this month. 

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The November contest between Biden and Trump is the first rematch in a White House race since 1956, when Republican President Dwight D. Eisenhower defeated former Democratic Gov. Adlai Stevenson of Illinois when they faced off a second time.

The latest Fox News Poll from earlier this month gave Trump a lead over Biden in a head-to-head match up. 

Meanwhile, a separate new ABC/Ipsos poll found that more respondents trust Trump, 36%, over Biden, who received 33%. About 30% of respondents said they would trust neither candidate.

FIRST ON FOX: The House Republican Study Committee (RSC), which is tasked with guiding GOP policy on key issues, issued its lengthy 2025 budget proposal, which has a special emphasis on shoring up domestic energy production.

The RSC’s budget, titled, “Fiscal Sanity to Save America,” includes sweeping energy policies that the group said would help unleash America’s “vast reserves of energy and mineral resources.” Pursuing such policies, they said, would reduce inflation, promote job creation, and decrease dependence on foreign oil, while assisting allies seeking to reduce reliance on adversaries for energy needs.

“The future of our nation is dependent on our ability to strengthen our domestic energy supply,” RSC Chairman Kevin Hern, R-Okla., said in a statement to Fox News Digital. “The Biden administration has dismantled and destroyed all the progress we made under President Trump.”

“Our budget attacks the Biden agenda head-on, unleashing American energy production to lower costs for Americans and end our dependence on foreign adversaries.”

BIDEN FINALIZES CRACKDOWN ON GAS CARS, FORCING MORE THAN HALF OF NEW CAR SALES TO BE ELECTRIC BY 2030

The budget proposal includes a multipronged approach to energy, rolling back environmental regulations, promoting greater oil and gas production, curbing executive agency regulatory powers, cutting so-called “wasteful” programs, reversing some of the Biden administration’s climate policies, nullifying vehicle emission rules, and boosting mining production.

Overall, the RSC budget endorses dozens of bills that would help achieve its energy production and regulatory goals. 

BIDEN ADMIN FUNNELS $1 BILLION FOR CLIMATE PROGRAMS AT BORDERS AMID ONGOING MIGRANT CRISIS

For example, it includes the American Energy First Act, put forth by Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., which would reform the onshore and offshore energy leasing and permitting processes to reduce delays. It also endorses the Energy Permitting Certainty Act and Utah Republican Rep. Blake Moore’s Promoting Energy Independence and Transparency Act, both of which streamline energy project permitting.

Other bills included in the budget would restore the Keystone XL pipeline’s permits, support continued operation of the Line 5 pipeline in Michigan, block the creation of the carbon tax and allow states to develop on federal lands within their borders.

“President Biden’s energy policies represent a direct assault on America’s energy independence, crippling our economy, inflating energy costs, and undermining the livelihoods of hardworking American families,” Rep. Ben Cline, R– Va., the RSC’s Budget and Spending Task Force chair, told Fox News Digital. 

“Our budget has commonsense solutions that bolster American energy independence and support American workers, not restrictions that make us dependent on foreign adversaries.”

GOP LEADERS CONFRONT BIDEN’S NEW CLIMATE CZAR ON KEY SECURITY RISKS LURKING IN GREEN AGENDA

In addition to policies boosting energy production and promoting pipeline projects, the RSC budget includes a wide range of bills that would further prevent the president from declaring a national “climate emergency,” prevent federal bans on natural gas stoves, repeal green energy subsidies in the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act, and reform the current federal critical mineral permitting process.

The budget finally lists a series of clean energy and climate loan programs that the Biden administration has created, which the RSC would seek to defund. And the budget would also curb funding for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

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“The Biden Administration is working to implement the most radical environmental agenda in the history of the country,” the RSC budget states. “These regulations will cost jobs, reduce wages and force middle-class Americans to pay higher prices for energy.

“This budget would significantly reduce the EPA’s funding, rolls back the regulatory excess of the Biden Administration, and returns the agency to its much more limited original purpose,” it adds. “This will save the taxpayers billions of dollars per year while significantly reducing wage-lowering regulations.”

While the RSC budget provides a conservative counter to President Joe Biden’s recently-unveiled budget, it remains unclear the extent to which its proposed policies will be adopted in future spending packages.

Former Trump officials are joining together to form a non-profit that aims to shine a light on what its founders say are dangerous policies in place in Europe that are “infiltrating” into the U.S. — including censorship and illegal immigration.

The EU-US Forum is being set up by Matt Mowers, a former senior White House advisor at the State Department, and Josh Grogan — a former director of the White House Domestic Policy Council.

The forum aims to focus on EU policies that it fears are spreading socialism across the globe and into the U.S. It will focus on five areas of policy: business and corporate taxation, environmental regulation and policy, the “erosion of meritocracy,” political censorship and immigration policy.

TRUMP SAYS US WILL 100% STAY IN NATO IF ALLIANCE TREATS AMERICA ‘FAIRLY’ 

“Thanks to the European Union’s left-wing dangerous agenda, Europe has become a hotbed for illegal immigration, the home to mass censorship of free speech, and a case study for the failures of socialism,” Mowers, who will serve as Founding Board Member, said in a statement. 

“The EU-US Forum was formed to expose the radical policies originating in Brussels and stop them from infiltrating into the United States. The future of America and the world is hanging in the balance and there is no time to waste,” he said.

Policies that the group believes have been fueled by the EU include Medicare for all, the banning of gas-powered cars and “mass censorship of free speech.” The group says it will use “rigorous” research and publica awareness campaigns to expose the threat of the “extreme liberal agenda” being pushed by the EU.

NATO MEMBERS BRACE FOR TRUMP WIN AS RECORD NUMBER OF MEMBERS MOVE TO MEET SPENDING PLEDGES

An accompanying video of the non-profit’s launch points to Democratic primary politicians pledging to give government health care coverage to illegal immigrants, and moves by states to ban gas-powered cars. It highlights reports of struggles European countries are having related to those issues.

Grogan said that there needs to be a watchdog to hold Brussels accountable “and keep their radical ideas away from the U.S.”

“I look forward to working with my colleagues at the EU-US Forum to fight back against the EU’s leftward shift so we can protect freedom and economic prosperity for future generations on both sides of the Atlantic,” he said.

Under the Trump administration, the U.S. was more Eurosceptic than prior administrations, with former President Trump very supportive of the United Kingdom’s efforts to leave the EU in the wake of the 2016 Brexit vote. That vote was widely seen as part of a populist wave sweeping through the West that also resulted in his own election. 

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The Biden administration has since moved to draw closer ties to the bloc. In October, President Biden said his administration is “committed to revitalizing the partnership between the EU and the United States.” 

“And over the last two years, we made good on that commitment, I think,” he said.

A special election in California to replace former Speaker Kevin McCarthy in the House ended in a runoff Tuesday, meaning there will be another two months of vacancy in the heavily Republican-leaning district as the GOP holds onto a razor-thin majority in the lower chamber of Congress. 

State Assemblyman Vince Fong, a former McCarthy aide endorsed by both McCarthy and former President Trump, failed to reach the 50% threshold on Tuesday, meaning he, Republican Tulare County Sheriff Mike Boudreaux,, and Democrat Marisa Wood will compete in a May 21 runoff election in California’s 20th Congressional District. 

Fong received 42% of votes compared to Boudreaux’s 24%, with 98% of votes counted, The Associated Press reported. 

The district, which cuts through the Central Valley farm belt, including parts of Bakersfield and Fresno, is the most strongly Republican House seat in heavily Democratic California. Trump largely carried CA-20 in 2020 and McCarthy represented the district from 2007 until his resignation in late 2023. 

TRUMP ENDORSES EX-KEVIN MCCARTHY AIDE VINCE FONG TO FILL VACANT SEAT AS HIS FORMER AIDES BACK FONG’S OPPONENT

Because of Trump’s involvement, the race will be watched as a bellwether for the former president’s viability as he heads toward a likely rematch against President Biden in November.

McCarthy’s dramatic fall in the House – he is the only speaker in history to be voted out of the job – left behind a messy race to succeed him that has included an ongoing lawsuit and exposed rivalries within the GOP. With nine names on the ballot, it appeared unlikely any candidate would surpass that threshold to claim the seat outright.

In California’s jungle primary system, the top two vote-getters advance to the general election. 

In the recent March 5 primary for the full 20th District term that begins in January, Fong and Boudreaux had already advanced to the November election in that contest. Tuesday’s special election was meant to determine who will serve out the rest of McCarthy’s term that ends at the start of next year. 

MCCARTHY EXIT UNDERSCORES HOUSE GOP’S PERILOUSLY SLIM MAJORITY

Republicans occupy only 11 of the state’s 52 House seats, with the one held by McCarthy currently vacant since he resigned. 

His resignation came after McCarthy was historically booted from the speakership after a motion brought by Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla. 

Eight House Republicans broke party lines in voting to oust McCarthy. 

Trump endorsed Fong in February, calling him “a true Republican.” Boudreaux’s supporters include Ric Grenell, a former acting director of national intelligence in the Trump administration, and Republican state Sen. Shannon Grove of Bakersfield, Fong’s home turf.

Fong and Boudreaux occupy much of the same policy terrain, and both are Trump-supporting conservatives.

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There is, however, an insider-outsider aspect to the race: Fong is McCarthy’s handpicked choice and a product of his political operation, while the sheriff is not.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

The Biden administration and the state of Texas on Wednesday are making oral arguments in a high-profile case over the state’s anti-illegal immigration law — hours after it was briefly blocked by the Supreme Court.

The oral arguments over the law, known as Senate Bill 4, were set to begin at 11 a.m. ET. The law, signed by Gov. Greg Abbott in December, allows police to arrest those suspected of entering the U.S. illegally. It adds “improper border entry” as a new criminal offense and state judges would be allowed to order deportations to Mexico.

The Biden administration sued over the law, which it said crossed into federal authority on matters related to immigration enforcement. It marks the most significant effort by a state to challenge federal enforcement since an Arizona law in 2012 — which was eventually struck down by the Supreme Court.

MEXICO SLAMS TEXAS OVER IMMIGRATION LAW, WON’T ACCEPT REPATRIATIONS FROM STATE AFTER SCOTUS RULING

“Its efforts, through SB 4, intrude on the federal government’s exclusive authority to regulate the entry and removal of noncitizens, frustrate the United States’ immigration operations and proceedings, and interfere with U.S. foreign relations,” the Department of Justice said in its January lawsuit.

Texas, however, has said that the law is necessary due to a void in immigration enforcement by the Biden administration amid a historic and ongoing crisis at the southern border, where Texas has been on the front line.

GOVERNOR WHO CLASHED WITH OBAMA OVER ATTEMPTED ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION CRACKDOWN REACTS TO SCOTUS TEXAS RULING 

“The President of the United States has a constitutional duty to enforce federal laws protecting States, including laws already on the books that mandate the detention of illegal immigrants,” Abbott argued last month. “Texas has the right to defend itself because of President Biden’s ongoing failure to fulfill his duty to protect our state from the invasion at our southern border.” 

The Fifth Circuit of Appeals had blocked the law from going into effect. The Supreme Court on Tuesday evening, not ruling on the merits of the case, allowed the law to go into effect and kicked it back to the Fifth Circuit.

Hours later, the Fifth Circuit again put the law on hold, ahead of oral arguments on the merits of the case on Wednesday.

SUPREME COURT OKS LAW LETTING TEXAS POLICE ARREST MIGRANTS SUSPECTED OF ILLEGALLY CROSSING BORDER

The battle over the law is the latest legal feud between Texas and the administration over how to handle the crisis at the border. The two sides have also fought in the courts over the construction of razor wire by Texas and the establishment of buoys in the Rio Grande. 

In January, Texas seized Shelby Park — a key area of Eagle Pass for migrant crossings — and refused to allow federal officials into the area. 

The Supreme Court ruling on Tuesday brought an immediate protest from Mexico as well, which said it would not accept any attempt to return migrants by state authorities.

“Mexico recognizes the importance of a uniform migration policy and the bilateral efforts with the United States to ensure that migration is safe, orderly and respectful of human rights, and is not affected by state or local legislative decisions. In this regard, Mexico will not accept, under any circumstances, repatriations by the State of Texas,” Mexico’s Foreign Ministry said.

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It comes as the crisis at the border is set to be a top election issue in the upcoming general election in November. Both President Biden and former President Donald Trump visited Texas last month and made their respective pitches.

Trump has called for mass deportations and has expressed his support for Gov. Abbott’s efforts to secure the border. Biden has urged Congress to pass a bipartisan border funding bill hashed out in the Senate, arguing that his administration needs reforms and more funding in order to be able to secure the border.

Fox News Digital’s Louis Casiano contributed to this report. 

President Biden will reportedly call on his former running mate Barack Obama and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to make the argument that he’s made health care more affordable and should be re-elected.

Obama and Pelosi will join Biden for a virtual rally with activists on Saturday to commemorate the 14th anniversary of the signing of the Affordable Care Act, aka Obamcare, Politico reported. The event is intended to showcase what Biden advisers see as one of the president’s strongest arguments for re-election, the report said.

“The Affordable Care Act is so significant for both of them,” Jen O’Malley Dillon, chair of Biden’s reelection campaign, told Politico. “It really shows what it means to have leaders fighting for you and doing things people thought were impossible.”

VULNERABLE DEM SENATOR BREAKS SILENCE ON BIDEN ADMIN PROVIDING VETERAN MEDICAL RESOURCES TO ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS

According to Politico, the Obamacare anniversary event will include a digital ad blitz in swing states Biden will campaign heavily in, including, Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, New Hampshire, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

The Biden campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Biden boasted about lowering health care costs in his State of the Union address and swiped at his presumptive 2024 rival, former President Donald Trump, for unsuccessfully attempting to repeal the Affordable Care Act when he was in office.

HEALTH CARE OR HOUSING? MORE STATES ARE USING MEDICAID FUNDS TO HELP THE HOMELESS

“Folks, Obamacare, known as the Affordable Care Act is still a very big deal. Over one hundred million of you can no longer be denied health insurance because of pre-existing conditions,” Biden said in his address to a joint session of Congress. 

“But my predecessor and many in this chamber want to take that protection away by repealing the Affordable Care Act. I won’t let that happen!” 

BIDEN, CLINTON, OBAMA TO APPEAR AT LAVISH FUNDRAISER WITH STEPHEN COLBERT

The president mentioned how he signed laws that capped prescription drug costs for seniors on Medicare and enacted tax credits to reduce the cost of health care premiums. 

Saturday’s appearance with Obama comes as Biden is scheduled to reunite with his predecessor and former President Bill Clinton for a swanky New York City fundraiser hosted by Stephen Colbert.

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The fundraiser is scheduled for March 28 in New York City and the cheapest tickets cost around $250, according to NBC News. Photos with all three presidents will cost $100,000 and those in attendance who donate $250,000 or $500,000 will be allowed to attend separate functions with the Democratic trio. 

Colbert, a staunch Democratic Party supporter who’s anchored “The Late Show” since 2015, is expected to host a conversation with all three presidents as over 3,000 people are set to attend. The event could bring in over $10 million for the Biden campaign.

Fox News Digital’s Hanna Panreck contributed to this report.

EXCLUSIVE: WESTLAKE, OHIO – Moments after delivering his victory speech in the GOP Ohio Senate primary on Tuesday night, businessman Bernie Moreno touted the importance of former President Trump’s endorsement and his plans for both his general election campaign and potential agenda as a U.S. senator.

“Let’s just say this, an endorsement from President Donald J. Trump is the most powerful endorsement in modern political history,” Moreno told Fox News Digital during an interview following his victory speech. “There’s never been anything like it before, probably won’t be anything like it afterwards, so I was incredibly honored.”

“It was probably decisive because at the end of the day, he’s the ultimate good housekeeping seal of approval. People like President Trump in Ohio for a very good reason. When he was president, we had world stability, we had low interest rates with good wages going up. So things were objectively good when President Trump was in office, and they’re really bad under President Biden.”

When asked whether his victory was a “test” on Trump’s clout with the GOP, Moreno said his primary win was a “victory for the America First agenda.”

TRUMP-BACKED BERNIE MORENO WINS CONTENTIOUS OHIO GOP SENATE PRIMARY

“I think what I’ve heard all over Ohio is that what people expect from their leaders is to put America first,” Moreno said. “That should be the job description by the way. That shouldn’t even be an issue for one candidate versus another and they’re also sick of career politicians. They’re sick of people who do this for a living.”

Trump endorsed Moreno in December, which immediately boosted him in the polls and assisted in his campaign message against Republican State Sen. Matt Dolan, who was endorsed by Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine and former Sen. Rob Portman, both considered to be top members of Ohio’s Republican old guard or establishment.

Moreno, who earned a commanding victory on Tuesday night and looked to be on track to win every county in the state, told Fox News he expects his matchup with Brown is going to get “nasty.”

“It’s going to be very nasty for one reason, Sherrod Brown can’t run on anything other than nastiness,” Moreno said. “He has no record. This guy is an abject failure. He has not done anything for Ohio. His policies have crushed working-class Americans, so he has no choice. He has to distract from a record of total failure and disaster. His adherence to Joe Biden, his bending the knee to Elizabeth Warren, he has to answer to that.”

VULNERABLE DEM SENATOR FLIP-FLOPS ON SUPPLYING ENERGY TO CHINA IN MIDDLE OF RE-ELECTION CAMPAIGN

“So what he’ll do is change the subject and, of course, pick out God knows what about me. I look forward to a race about issues. If we make this race about issues, he loses probably 70-30. But of course he’s going to have a lot of money. He knows how to raise money from all kinds of special interest groups. He knows how to beat up people all over the nation for five bucks or 10 bucks that he sells them a bill of goods. So it’s going to be a very nasty race. I’m prepared for it.”

Shortly after Moreno’s victory, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee posted on X that Ohio Republicans chose a “far-right anti-abortion multi-millionaire” who is “only looking out for himself.”

“Did they say Hispanic immigrant Bernie Moreno with a compelling life story sacrifices everything to save America?” Moreno joked when asked about that statement from the DSCC.

PENCE DECLINES TO ENDORSE TRUMP, WON’T BACK BIDEN

“Did they point out I would be the first Hispanic elected statewide or the first South American born Senator? None of that?”

Brown quickly reacted to Moreno’s victory on social media.

“The choice ahead of Ohio is clear: Bernie Moreno has spent his career and campaign putting himself first, and would do the same if elected,” Brown posted on X after Moreno’s victory. “I’ll always work for Ohio.”

Moreno’s race will be one of the most closely watched in November, with many believing that Ohio is one of the strongest opportunities Republicans have to help take back control of the U.S. Senate.

If Moreno is able to defeat Brown, he shared with Fox News Digital what his “Day One” plans are in Washington, D.C.

“Day one in the U.S. Senate we’re going to pick a majority leader because we’re going to have the majority,” Moreno said. “That’s going to be somebody who presents a vision for the Republican Party, somebody who works hand-in-glove with President Trump to get the agenda completed.”

“And then, of course, we have to secure our border, we can’t have a country without a border, so we have to make it clear that we want immigrants that add to America, not to lower our wages, and we have to have zero tolerance for illegal immigration, and we’re going to put that in place.”

Moreno went on to say that “energy dominance” will be a top priority from the start.

“Not energy independence,” Moreno said. “Energy dominance. “That’s mining for coal, drilling for oil and extracting natural gas, and we have to build nuclear power plants in this country again, so that we have the low cost of energy that allows us to bring manufacturing back.“

“Those are the things we’re going to do pretty much in the first 100 days, and then we’re going to get rid of the Department of Education. Its stranglehold on our kids, it’s what’s causing this indoctrination, and we also have to reform our three letter agencies.”

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Moreno told Fox News he looks forward to working with Republican senators like JD Vance, Rand Paul,  Mike Lee, Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio.

“We are going to have a great group of conservatives that actually get this agenda forward. We’re going to show America what life is like under a conservative government, which means more freedom and liberty, less government.”

Democrats control the U.S. Senate with a 51-49 majority, but Republicans are looking at a favorable Senate map in 2024, with Democrats defending 23 of the 34 seats up for grabs. Three of those seats are in red states that Trump carried in 2020 — Ohio, Montana and West Virginia, where Democrat Sen. Joe Manchin is not running for re-election.

Former President Trump suggested Tuesday that he would support a ban on abortions at around 15 weeks of pregnancy, touting the time period as a uniting factor for the nation. 

“We’re going to come up with a time — and maybe we could bring the country together on that issue,” Trump said while calling into the “Sid & Friends in the Morning” radio show on WABC.

“The number of weeks now, people are agreeing on 15. And I’m thinking in terms of that. And it’ll come out to something that’s very reasonable. But people are really, even hardliners are agreeing, seems to be, 15 weeks seems to be a number that people are agreeing at,” he reasoned. 

PRO-LIFE VOTERS REVEAL HOW THEY REALLY FEEL ABOUT TRUMP’S STANCE ON ABORTION

It was the first time Trump has given a specific limit on the controversial procedure.

He also criticized Democrats for not endorsing a ban that would limit abortions in states that still allow the procedure. He also seemed to suggest reluctance to a federal ban.

“Everybody agrees — you’ve heard this for years — all the legal scholars on both sides agree: It’s a state issue. It shouldn’t be a federal issue, it’s a state issue,” he said.

Reports previously claim Trump has discussed having a ban on abortions after 16 weeks of pregnancy with three exceptions: rape, incest and the life of the mother. 

Trump was vocally pro-life throughout his presidency and has taken credit for his part in overturning Roe v. Wade by appointing three U.S. Supreme Court justices who voted to overturn Roe v. Wade. 

However, he drew backlash after telling NBC News’ Kristen Welker on “Meet the Press” in September that Gov. Ron DeSantis’ six-week ban on abortion was “a terrible thing and a terrible mistake.

While he has not officially announced his recommendation for abortion, his stance on the issue illustrates the changing attitudes and strategies among Republicans.

“If the Republicans spoke about it correctly, it never hurt me from the standpoint of elections. It hurt a lot of Republicans,” Trump told host Howard Kurtz on “MediaBuzz” on Sunday. “But I tell people, No. 1, you have to go with your heart. You have to go with your heart. But beyond that, you also have to get elected, and if you don’t have the three exceptions, I think it’s very, very hard to get elected.”

KAMALA HARRIS TORN APART BY PRO-LIFERS FOR HISTORIC TRIP TO ABORTION CLINIC: ‘NORMALIZATION OF EVIL’

Since the overturning of Roe v. Wade, abortion access has again become a foremost issue for the Democratic Party, with President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris focusing a large portion of their 2024 platform on abortion. 

Harris became the first sitting vice president to visit an abortion facility after touring a Minnesota Planned Parenthood clinic on Thursday. She said her trip to the clinic was meant in part to draw attention to women who travel from other states to Minnesota to obtain an abortion.

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President Biden also made abortion and reproductive rights a cornerstone of his 2024 State of the Union address. 

While Democrats are leaning in, President Trump criticized their “radical” stance and urged Republicans to be more comfortable engaging the issue in the run-up to November.

“The Democrats are the radicals on this issue because it’s OK to have an abortion in seven, eight, nine months and even after birth,” Trump told Kurtz. 

Fox News’ Aubrie Spady, Joe Schoffstall, Jamie Joseph and Thomas Phippen, as well as The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Former First Lady Melania Trump appeared alongside her husband for the first time in months on Tuesday.

Melania joined former President Donald Trump on the Florida campaign trail this week — her first appearance of the 2024 election cycle.

The pair were photographed outside the Morton and Barbara Mandel Recreation Center in Palm Beach before casting their votes in the sunshine state’s Republican primary election.

DONALD TRUMP DEFENDS KATE MIDDLETON OVER PICTURE EDITING SCANDAL: ‘EVERYBODY DOCTORS’

Reporters pressed Melania for information on her role in her husband’s 2024 campaign, to which she responded, “Stay tuned.”

Trump has previously expressed hesitancy to involve his family in his re-election campaign, citing the mental and emotional toll his first campaign and presidency brought on the family.

He did confirm his intention to bring Melania with him on the campaign trail back in February during an interview with Fox News’s Laura Ingraham.

TRUMP TELLS SUPREME COURT A DENIAL OF IMMUNITY WOULD ‘INCAPACITATE EVERY FUTURE PRESIDENT,’ IN BRIEF

“It’s funny, she was a very successful model, very, very successful, and yet she was a private person. She’s going to be out a lot. Not because she likes doing it, but she likes the results,” he said during the interview. “She wants to see this country really succeed. She loves the country.”

“You know, a lot of first ladies would go out — they want to be everywhere. They get angry at their husband because he’s not introducing them,” Trump continued at the time. “If I didn’t introduce Melania, she’d be very happy about it. She’s just a different kind of a person.”

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Melania Trump has been largely absent from public life since the passing of her mother, Amalija Knavs in January of this year.

Former President Trump is a man on a mission — to win back the White House in November — and he doesn’t have time for Republicans who are standing in his way, he suggested in Florida on Tuesday.

The Republican presumptive nominee spoke with a group of reporters after he cast his ballot in the Florida primary election, which he later won. During the gaggle, Trump was asked about his former running mate and vice president, Mike Pence, and whether Pence’s decision not to endorse him against President Biden bothered him.

“Oh, I couldn’t care less,” Trump told the press corps. “I couldn’t care less. We need patriots. We need strong people in our country. Our country is going downhill very fast, very rapidly.”

He added: “Millions of people coming across the border, coming from jails, from prisons, coming from mental institutions and insane asylum terrorists. We need strong people in this country. We don’t need weak people.”

PENCE DECLINES TO ENDORSE TRUMP, WON’T BACK BIDEN

Pence, who briefly ran for president in the 2024 cycle, and Trump have had an embattled relationship since the 2020 presidential election and the former vice president announced as recently as last week that he would not endorse his former running mate.

“It should come as no surprise that I will not be endorsing Donald Trump this year,” Pence said on “The Story.”

“I’m incredibly proud of the record of our administration. It was a conservative record that made America more prosperous, more secure and saw conservatives appointed to our courts in a more peaceful world,” he added. “What I’m going to spend the rest of this year on is talking about what we should be for. And that is the broad mainstream conservative agenda that’s defined our party and always made America strong and prosperous and free.”

Trump, the only Republican still in the presidential primary after Nikki Haley suspended her campaign earlier this month, was declared the winner in the Florida primary election late Tuesday evening.

The comments were similar to Ohio Republican Bernie Moreno, who also won his primary contest to be his party’s nominee for U.S. Senate on Tuesday, when he urged Republicans to rally behind Trump — whether they disagreed with his personal antics or not.

“I am so sick of Republicans that will say ‘I support President Trump’s policies, but I don’t like the man,'” Moreno said, drawing some reaction from the crowd. “This is a good man. This is a great American.”

TRUMP REVEALS ‘VERY FIRST ACTIONS’ HE’LL TAKE AS PRESIDENT DURING OHIO RALLY, HAMMERS BIDEN’S BORDER POLICIES

He continued: “This man wakes up every day fighting for us, fighting for this country. He loves this country like no other leader in this nation has ever loved this country.”

Moreno, who Trump endorsed in the contest, triumphed over Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose and state Sen. Matt Dolan in the Republican primary on Tuesday. He will face third-term U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, a Democrat, in November.

Since the Republican primary for the presidency has become a one-man race, Trump Republicans are urging others in the party to support the former president as the GOP looks to win back the White House and a majority in the U.S. Senate.

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Republicans are undoubtedly hoping to set aside their differences in an effort to win as Biden remains historically unpopular, immigration across the U.S.-Mexico border continues to set all-time high crossing records and as Americans are forced to continue paying higher prices due to crippling inflation.

Trump-endorsed businessman Bernie Moreno moved on in the Ohio GOP Senate primary on Tuesday night, setting up a match-up with entrenched Democrat incumbent Sen. Sherrod Brown in a race that is expected to focus on Brown’s support of President Biden and Democrat concerns over the MAGA agenda.  

Moreno defeated his two Republican opponents on Tuesday after campaigning on his status as a political outsider and former President Trump’s endorsement in a state that Trump carried by 8 points in 2020 and that political experts believe is one of the GOP’s best opportunities to inch closer to taking back control of the U.S. Senate.

In the days leading up to the election, Moreno, Trump, and their allies signaled they would focus their attacks on the perception that Brown is a “moderate” and argue that he is in fact a rubber stamp for Biden.

“Ohio needs to defeat your horrendous radical left, Democrat Senator Sherrod Brown, who pretends he’s my best friend,” Trump told Moreno supporters at a Dayton area rally over the weekend.  “He pretends he’s my best friend until he gets in, and then he goes radical left all the time. You know, if you listen to his commercials, he sounds like he’s running with Trump. He’s not.”

TRUMP REVEALS ‘VERY FIRST ACTIONS’ HE’LL TAKE AS PRESIDENT DURING OHIO RALLY, HAMMERS BIDEN’S BORDER POLICIES

While Brown is expected to attempt to thread the needle between being a Democrat and running in a now dependably red state, he carries a record of voting with Biden nearly 100% of the time.

Moreno has already signaled he plans to focus on Biden’s low approval numbers and polling that shows dissatisfaction with the economy.  

“He’s never been up against somebody who was well-resourced,” Moreno recently told “Sunday Night in America with Trey Gowdy.” “He’s never been up against somebody who had an actual contrast between him and the candidate and, most importantly, he’s never been up where he’s at the top of the ticket versus President Trump.”

VULNERABLE DEM SENATOR FLIP-FLOPS ON SUPPLYING ENERGY TO CHINA IN MIDDLE OF RE-ELECTION CAMPAIGN

“So Sherrod Brown has got to overcome his attachment to Biden, his terrible record. People are going to vote with [their] pocketbook in November, and this is going to be the time we finally retire him.”

On Tuesday night following his victory, Moreno took direct aim at Brown referring to him as a “commie” and rejecting the idea that he has fought for the middle-class during his tenure.

“Think about it, this guy been in office since Richard Nixon was president,” Moreno said. “This guy’s been in elected office, never had a job in the private sector, and what does he do? He says he advocates for working-class Americans.”

“So let’s dissect that for a second,” Moreno continued. “Under Sherrod Brown’s watch, China has gone from a $4 billion trade deficit to a $235 billion a year trade deficit with America. The middle class in this country has shrank under his watch, we’ve lost factory after factory under his watch. We are now, with his leadership, so called, of the Senate Banking Committee, we’ve seen a absolute obliteration of local and small and regional banks. That’s all happening under Sherrod Brown’s watch.”

Brown is expected to position himself as a candidate who works across the aisle, hammer Moreno on his attachment to President Trump, and continue the Democrat strategy of labeling Republicans as extremists on abortion. 

“I watched three rich guys, three millionaires, who have spent already combined more than $25 million to shall we say win this Senate seat, no mention of the cost of prescription drugs, no mention of manufacturing jobs, the dignity of  work, no mention of pensions or veterans, no mention of really how to secure the border,” Brown said.

“The one substantive thing that they did say is they all stand with a national abortion ban even though Ohio voters…by 13 points said they want reproductive rights for Ohioans. So, the debate didn’t really surprise me but didn’t really deal with issues that affect Ohioans every day.”

TRUMP PROMOTES ABORTION COMPROMISE AS DEMOCRATS PUSH ISSUE IN 2024 RACE

Brown has criticized Moreno and his GOP opponents on abortion several times on social media during the primary campaign.

“Bernie Moreno thinks women need help with their baby strollers, not access to abortion,” Brown posted on X responding to a comment from Moreno arguing that he is “pro-mom” and “pro-family” when it comes to abortion.

Abortion has been a hot button issue in the Buckeye State over the past year leading up to a November election where Ohioans overwhelmingly voted to enshrine abortion access into the state’s Constitution.

Moreno will transition from a primary race where he made the case he was the most conservative candidate on abortion to a general election race where abortion access has proven to be popular with voters.

Brown lost three suburban counties in 2018 including Butler County, Delaware County, and Licking County. The abortion access referendum won in all three of those continues last November. In Clermont County and Warren County, where the abortion vote narrowly lost, the vote outperformed Brown’s 2018 percentage by double digits.

Trump carried all five of those counties in 2020.

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Ohio is one of 3 states that the Cook Political Report ranks as a “toss up” as Republicans attempt to take back control of the Senate in November.

Democrats currently control the U.S. Senate with a 51-49 majority, but Republicans are looking at a very favorable Senate map in 2024, with Democrats defending 23 of the 34 seats up for grabs.