NationalWatch

Former President Donald Trump took flak from a number of conservatives on Tuesday after he attacked Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, as a “RINO,” or Republican in name only, and called for him to face a primary challenge.

“Has any smart and energetic Republican in the Great State of Texas decided to run in the Primary against RINO Congressman Chip Roy. For the right person, he is very beatable. If interested, let me know!!!” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social late Monday after Roy appeared in Iowa in support of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ presidential campaign.

Conservative politicians and commentators quickly jumped to Roy’s defense on social media, blasting Trump’s comments as “laughably insane” and “idiotic.”

NIKKI HALEY TAKES AIM AT GOP RIVAL FOR CAMPAIGNING WITH ‘ANTI-ISRAEL’ MEMBER OF CONGRESS

“While [Chip Roy] is fighting to do what Donald Trump promised to do — secure our southern border — the former president is on social media demanding a primary challenge to one of the most conservative members of Congress,” DeSantis wrote before noting that the filing deadline for candidates in Texas had already passed.

“I stand with Chip and am honored to have his support. The time for talking is over. We must stop the invasion, and I will get it done,” he added.

Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., a supporter of DeSantis’ campaign for president, also said he stood with Roy before calling Trump’s comments a “shortsighted effort to intimidate” him.

NEW POLL REVEALS AMERICA’S LEAST FAVORITE LEADER IN CONGRESS WITH SHOCKING SINGLE-DIGIT APPROVAL

“I support you for President, [Donald Trump]. But I’m 100% on board with [Chip Roy]. Chip is no RINO. He’s an American hero. He’s a constitutionalist. He’s a patriot. And most of all, he’s a good man who selflessly serves in Congress,” American Blockchain PAC CEO Jim Pfaff wrote.

Stephen Miller, a contributing editor at The Spectator, wrote, “Trump, who caved on bump stocks and Fauci is calling Chip Roy of Texas a RINO and to be primaried it’s just laughable at this point. It’s laughably insane. Run it back, guys.”

Conservative commentator John Cardillo called Trump’s attack on Roy an “idiotic lie,” and said anyone who didn’t call out the former president’s “stupidity” was a “cultist.”

FORMER TRUMP ADVISER KELLYANNE CONWAY LEADS CHARGE TO OVERHAUL GOP ABORTION STRATEGY, END DEMS’ 2024 ADVANTAGE

“This is so nuts as to be comical. If you think Chip Roy — Chip Roy — is a RINO, then words have no meaning,” Mark Krikorian, the executive director of the Center for Immigration Studies wrote.

Roy also posted his own response to Trump’s attack, simply posting a photo of the former president with Dr. Anthony Fauci, a figure often scorned by conservatives.

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Roy is currently running unopposed in the Republican primary for Texas’ 21st Congressional District, which he has represented since 2019.

When reached for comment, Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung told Fox News Digital, “Chip Roy made a blunder endorsing a moron like Ron DeSanctus, who is violently falling out of the sky like a wounded bird.”

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

President Biden has repeatedly called for wealthy individuals and corporations to cough up more money in taxes, even as Biden family members repeatedly failed to pay their own taxes.  

Fox News Digital reported Monday that Ashley Biden, the president’s daughter, owes over $5,000 in income taxes, according to a tax lien. She’s the latest in a string of Bidens who have faced such situations over the years.

“The scale is not anything like Hunter, but… Joe is constantly talking about how wealthy and connected people do not pay their fair share and can afford to pay more, and it just so happens that both of his living children did not pay their taxes,” Garrett Ziegler, the founder of nonprofit Marco Polo and former President Trump aide, told Fox News Digital. 

“This is just another example of the Bidens being careless,” he said. “You’d think that they would show a little bit more prudence when you’re the American first family to make sure you don’t have any tax liens on you, especially going into an election year.”

BIDEN’S DAUGHTER OWES THOUSANDS IN INCOME TAXES, LIEN DOCUMENTS SHOW

The Pennsylvania Department of Revenue in Philadelphia County notified Ashley Biden on Dec. 1st about her unpaid taxes. The lien listed the start date as Jan. 1, 2015, when Joe Biden was serving as the vice president in the Obama administration, and it ended on Jan. 1, 2021, just days before he entered office as president.

Hunter Biden, meanwhile, allegedly carried out a multiyear scheme to bypass paying $1.4 million in federal taxes while living an indulgent lifestyle that included spending significant sums on escorts and illegal drugs, according to his California indictment on nine tax-related charges. 

Special Counsel David Weiss said he “engaged in a four-year scheme to not pay at least $1.4 million in self-assessed federal taxes he owed for tax years 2016 through 2019, from in or about January 2017 through in or about October 15, 2020, and to evade the assessment of taxes for tax year 2018 when he filed false returns in or about February 2020,” which was in the middle of his dad’s presidential campaign.

Weiss added that, in “furtherance of that scheme,” Hunter Biden “subverted the payroll and tax withholding process of his own company, Owasco, PC by withdrawing millions” from the company “outside of the payroll and tax withholding process that it was designed to perform.”

Hunter Biden had allegedly “spent millions of dollars on an extravagant lifestyle rather than paying his tax bills,” and in 2018, “stopped paying his outstanding and overdue taxes for tax year 2015.” He faces up to 17 years in prison if convicted.

BIDEN ADMIN AGENCY QUIETLY LEANED ON SOROS AND OTHER BILLIONAIRE-BACKED GROUPS FOR KEY POLICY ROLES

However, Hunter and Ashley are not alone, as several other Biden family members have also faced tax issues. President Biden’s brother, James Biden, previously had at least five liens filed against him between 1995 and 2015, including one in the amount of $589,095, the Washington Free Beacon reported in 2020. 

President Biden’s other brother, Frank Biden, previously had at least three tax liens for unpaid income taxes. President Biden’s sister, Valerie Biden Owens, and her husband, John Owens, have faced at least five tax liens, including one in the amount of $229,749 in 1990, according to the Free Beacon. 

Despite his family’s tax issues, President Biden has repeatedly called on the rich to pay their fair share in taxes and vowed to go after “tax cheats.”

“Corporations need to pay their fair share in taxes,” Biden posted on social media in November 2019. “I’ll reverse Trump’s giveaway to the super-wealthy and corporations because it’s time we reward work, not just wealth.”

“As president, I’ll make sure giant corporations and the super-wealthy pay their fair share in taxes — and then invest that money in growing a stronger, more inclusive middle class,” he wrote weeks later in December 2019.

Biden has persisted in the calls throughout his presidency and, at one point, proposed doubling the number of Internal Revenue Service workers to target tax cheats.

“The president’s compliance proposals are designed to ameliorate existing inequities by focusing on high-end evasion,” the Treasury Department wrote in a report, according to Politico.

WHITE HOUSE SCRAMBLES TO DISTANCE ITSELF FROM ISLAMIC GROUP AFTER LEADER’S PRAISE FOR HAMAS’ OCT 7TH SLAUGHTER

“These unpaid taxes come at a cost to American households and compliant taxpayers as policymakers choose rising deficits, lower spending on necessary priorities, or further tax increases to compensate for the lost revenue.”

Biden has also said paying higher taxes is “patriotic” and has regularly singled out the rich.

“For too long we’ve had an economy that gives every break in the world to the folks who need it the least. It’s time to grow the economy from the bottom up,” Biden said months after entering office and calling on the rich to pay their “fair share” in taxes.

“I’m a capitalist, but just pay your fair share,” Biden said at his State of the Union address this year.

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The White House, Frank Biden, Valerie Biden Owens and James Biden did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment. Ashley Biden did not respond to a previous request for comment. 

Fox News Digital’s Jamie Joseph and Aubrie Spady contributed to this report.

Welcome to Fox News’ Politics newsletter with the latest political news from Washington D.C. and updates from the 2024 campaign trail. 

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-Many senators have left town for the holidays

-Trump edges Biden again in new 2024 survey

-Georgia Gov. Kemp announces $1K year-end bonus for teachers

Holiday Rush

The besieged U.S. southern border saw a record number of migrant encounters in a single day on Monday, as thousands flooded into Eagle Pass, Texas, amid a broader surge in recent weeks that has left authorities overwhelmed.

There were over 12,600 migrant encounters on Monday, Customs and Border Protection sources told Fox. That does not include the thousands still waiting for processing in the Del Rio Sector on Monday evening after a surge of migrants into Eagle Pass. The number includes over 11,000 illegal immigrant apprehensions and over 1,600 encountered at ports of entry.

As of Tuesday morning, sources told Fox that agents are still processing and transporting more than 4,500 migrants at the busy crossing point, with more than 5,300 already in custody and facilities at 260% over capacity.

White House 

‘INCREASED COSTS’: Biden’s war on appliances faces major legal challenge …Read more

‘CLEAR MESSAGE’: Biden eco actions locking up land facing Supreme Court review …Read more

Capitol Hill 

WHY SO ‘SERIOUS’?: Vulnerable Dem senator promotes TikTok account after saying he had ‘serious concerns’ about CCP ties …Read more

OUT OF OFFICE: Most senators have left town as votes and border negotiations remain in the fray …Read more

Tales from the Campaign Trail

BORDER CRISIS: Biden campaign co-chair ‘afraid’ president will lose big because of illegal immigration surge …Read more

‘FREE-FOR-ALL’: Voters describe ‘chaotic’ crisis at southern border …Read more

NEW POLL: Trump edges Biden again in new 2024 survey, builds support with younger voters …Read more

AD WARS: Super PACs supporting Trump and Haley launch dueling ads in New Hampshire …Read more

FIRST ON FOX: Over 500 elected officials back DeSantis as he’s joined by top conservatives in final Iowa push …Read more

JOE ‘GRINCH’: GOP blames Biden for rising cost of holiday goods in new attack ad …Read more

‘MISLEADING’ VOTERS: Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds of Iowa charges that an ad from former President Donald Trump is “misleading” voters in her state …Read more

Across America

MERRY CHRISTMAS: Georgia Gov. Kemp announces $1K year-end bonus for teachers …Read more

‘ENDING A NIGHTMARE’: NY Gov. Kathy Hochul signs bill creating reparations commission despite concerns of ‘racial divisions’ …Read more

Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more on FoxNews.com.

FIRST ON FOX – A super PAC supporting Nikki Haley’s Republican presidential campaign on Tuesday launched a new ad in New Hampshire, which argues that former President Trump “knows Haley’s the only one who can beat him.”

The spot by Stand for America (SFA) Fund, which was shared first with Fox News, comes on the same day that the Trump-aligned super PAC Make America Great Again (MAGA) Inc. went up in New Hampshire with a competing commercial that blasts Haley over gas taxes.

The dueling ads in the state that holds the first primary and second overall contest in the 2024 GOP presidential nominating calendar come as Haley, a former two-term South Carolina governor who later served as ambassador to the United Nations in the Trump administration, continues to gain momentum with less than four weeks to go until the first votes in the Republican race.

However, Trump, who is making his third straight White House run, remains the commanding front-runner in the hunt for the Republican nomination.

FIRST ON FOX: HALEY SPOTLIGHTS NEED FOR ‘NEW CONSERVATIVE PRESIDENT’

“Of all the Republicans running for president, why is Donald Trump only attacking Nikki Haley? Because Trump knows Haley’s the only one who can beat him,” the narrator in the SFA spot claims.

The narrator emphasizes that “as governor, Nikki Haley cut taxes for small businesses by 40%, and now she’s pledging to eliminate the federal gas tax.”

HALEY’S MOMENTUM IN THE GOP PRESIDENTIAL RACE APPEARS TO BE PAYING OFF

“Want an 80-year-old name from the past or a new generation of conservative leadership,” the narrator says over pictures of 81-year-old President Biden and 77-year-old Trump. The ad then puts up a picture of the 51-year-old Haley with 49-year-old New Hampshire Republican Gov. Chris Sununu, who endorsed Haley last week.

SFA Fund tells Fox News they are spending seven figures to run their ad in New Hampshire.

Haley has enjoyed plenty of momentum in the polls in recent months, thanks in part to well-received performances in the first three GOP presidential primary debates. She leapfrogged over Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis for second place in New Hampshire.

She also aims to make a fight of it in Iowa, where the polls indicate DeSantis is a distant second behind Trump. Iowa’s Jan. 15 caucuses, which lead off the GOP nominating calendar, are followed eight days later by New Hampshire’s Jan. 23 primary. 

WHERE TRUMP, DESANTIS, HALEY AND THE REST OF GOP 2024 FIELD STAND IN NEW FOX NEWS POLL

Besides Sununu’s support, Haley was endorsed a couple of weeks ago by Americans for Prosperity Action, the political wing of the influential and deep-pocketed fiscally conservative network founded by the billionaire Koch Brothers. AFP Action has pledged to spend tens of millions of dollars and mobilize its formidable grassroots operation to boost Haley and help push the Republican Party past Trump.

Haley comes under attack in the MAGA Inc. ad, which repeatedly calls her “high tax Haley” and charges that as governor she “flipped,” breaking her pledge not to raise gas taxes.

MAGA Inc. spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt argued that “we won’t let another tax-and-spend politician try to fool the voters.”

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A statement from Haley’s campaign released on the eve of the MAGA Inc. spot said, “Nikki Haley never supported a stand-alone gas tax increase. In fact, then-Gov. Haley killed the gas tax hike pushed by the South Carolina legislature and industry groups.”

“Donald Trump’s false attack ad sends a loud and clear message: Nikki Haley is surging and Trump is scared,” said Haley campaign spokesperson Olivia Perez-Cubas emphasized in a statement.

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

GOP presidential candidate and former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley let loose on her opponent, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, this week for hitting the campaign trail in Iowa with a member of Congress who she called the “most anti-Israel Republican there is.”

DeSantis was joined at a Johnston, Iowa, town hall on Saturday by Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., who made headlines for a string of recent votes in the House of Representatives that saw him side with a number of Democrats, including the far-left “Squad,” against bills in support of Israel.

“Ron DeSantis – who says Ukraine’s a territorial dispute, and that this is Israel’s war, not America’s war – turns around and brings in a Republican into Iowa that is the most anti-Israel Republican there is,” Haley told a crowd of supporters at a campaign event near Des Moines, Iowa, on Sunday.

ANTI-ISRAEL PROTESTERS SHOW UP TO DEM CONGRESSMAN’S HOME IN MIDDLE OF NIGHT, BLARING CAR HORNS AND SCREAMING

“[Massie] voted with the ‘Squad’ against calling out antisemitism on college campuses, voted with the ‘Squad’ against hitting the presidents that were allowing it to happen, and voted with the ‘Squad,’ the only Republican, to turn around and ban the fact that we shouldn’t give $6 billion to Iran for five hostages. That’s who he brought to Iowa. So let him answer for that,” she said.

Massie, a self-described Libertarian, has opposed much of the legislation in support of Israel introduced following the horrific Oct. 7 attacks by Hamas terrorists that resulted in the deaths of more than 1,200 people, including babies. However, he has maintained that he is a supporter of Israel.

Last month, he voted against a resolution reaffirming the nation of Israel’s right to exist, joining Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., and Rep. Cori Bush, D-Mo., two members of the “Squad,” in opposing the legislation. In a post on X following the vote, he cited the language within the resolution for his decision.

NEW POLL REVEALS AMERICA’S LEAST FAVORITE LEADER IN CONGRESS WITH SHOCKING SINGLE-DIGIT APPROVAL

“I agree with the title ‘Reaffirming the State of Israel’s Right to Exist’ and much of the language, but I’m voting ‘No’ on the resolution because it equates anti-Zionism with antisemitism. Antisemitism is deplorable, but expanding it to include criticism of Israel is not helpful,” he wrote.

Massie also voted alongside 22 Democrats last month against a resolution condemning antisemitism on college campuses. He cited concerns over free speech as the reason for his vote.

“Free speech means protecting speech you don’t like, not just speech you do like. Also, who defines antisemitism?” he wrote in a post on X.

FORMER TRUMP ADVISER KELLYANNE CONWAY LEADS CHARGE TO OVERHAUL GOP ABORTION STRATEGY, END DEMS’ 2024 ADVANTAGE

Additionally, Massie voted against the No Funds for Iranian Terrorism Act, a bill to freeze funds associated with the Iran hostage deal and impose maximum sanctions on the nation.

“I’m voting against HR 5961 because there’s no legal or moral authority for us to freeze or steal assets of other countries we are not at war with. It’s also shortsighted for us to use our super-power status to force foreign banks to freeze assets of sovereign countries,” he wrote on X about his vote.

DeSantis responded to criticism of his appearance with Massie during a Monday campaign event by stating that he did not see eye-to-eye with the congressman on foreign relations issues and referred to him as “basically an isolationist.”

“He votes against anything having to do with foreign relations. I disagree with that,” DeSantis said. “But you know, my 80% friend is not my 20% enemy, and we’ve got to stop thinking that way, as Republicans.” 

When reached for comment, DeSantis campaign press secretary Bryan Griffin told Fox News Digital, “Nikki Haley is just trying to distract from her record of inviting Gaza refugees to the U.S. and supporting U.S. tax dollars going to the Gaza Strip.” 

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“Ron DeSantis has been the clearest, most consistent pro-Israel candidate in this race. He has unequivocally supported Israel in exterminating Hamas, passed the strongest anti-Iran legislation of any state in a special session in November, and jumped into action to bring Americans home from Israel who were stranded by Joe Biden,” he added.

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

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

A new national survey by the New York Times and Siena College is the latest to indicate former President Trump edging President Biden in an increasingly likely 2024 general election rematch.

Additionally, the survey suggests that the president is losing support among younger Americans – a key constituency for Democrats – due to his handling of the Israel-Palestinian war in Gaza.

According to the poll, which was released on Tuesday, Trump edges Biden 46%-44% among registered voters nationwide.

However, in a very early look at next November’s presidential election, Biden holds a razor-thin 47%-45% margin over Trump among those likely to vote in the 2024 contest.

BIDEN APPROVAL SINKS TO NEW ALL-TIME LOW IN NATIONAL POLL 

The 81-year-old Biden once held the upper hand over the 77-year-old Trump in 2024 rematch surveys, but Trump began enjoying an advantage over his successor in the White House in most polls starting in October.

The poll indicates that nearly three-quarters of voters ages 18-29 – a key part of the Democratic base that helped boost Biden to over then-President Trump in the 2020 election – disapprove of the way Biden is handling the conflict in Gaza.

HEAD HERE TO CHECK OUT THE LATEST FOX NEWS POLLING

Younger voters questioned in the survey say they would back Trump 49%-43% over the president. That is a dramatic switch from June, when a previous Siena College poll for the New York Times pointed to Biden holding a 10-point lead.

Among registered voters overall, by a 46%-38% margin, they said Trump would do a better job than Biden handling the Israel-Palestinian fighting.

The new survey also indicates Biden’s approval rating slipping to 37% support among registered voters.

The president stood at 34% approval in a Monmouth University poll released on Monday, an all-time low in Monmouth polling since Biden took over the White House nearly three years ago.

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Biden stood at 37% approval – an all-time low – in a Wall Street Journal survey released earlier this month. However, a new Fox News national poll released on Sunday indicated Biden’s approval rating at 43%.

The approval rating is a key indicator of a president’s performance, clout and popularity and is a closely watched metric, especially when an incumbent in the White House seeks a second term. 

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

FIRST ON FOX: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’s presidential campaign has now received the endorsements of over 500 elected officials across the United States as the governor campaigns this week in Iowa with several of those supporters including GOP Rep. Chip Roy.

As of Tuesday, the DeSantis campaign tells Fox News Digital that 543 current and former elected officials at the federal, state, and local levels have endorsed him for president as part of a list that shows the “significant strength of his momentum in early states.”

The DeSantis campaign published a map on its website outlining where all the more than 500 endorsements from elected officials came from which includes 97 elected officials in Iowa, 63 in New Hampshire, and 68 in South Carolina.

Rep. Roy, who will be joining DeSantis on the campaign trail in Iowa this week, told Fox News Digital he is looking forward to “barnstorming Iowa with Ron and Casey this week as they put in the hard work needed to win the Iowa Caucus.”

WATCH: DESANTIS’ TOP MOMENTS ON ISRAEL, IMMIGRATION, TRUMP AND HALEY AT CNN TOWN HALL: ‘AN EASY ANSWER’

 “I fully endorse Ron Desantis because it’s time for a new generation of leadership, and he is the candidate who will deliver for Americans,” Roy said. “Reining in reckless spending, securing our border, and ending the weaponization of  government once and for all.

In addition to Roy, DeSantis was joined by GOP Congressman Thomas Massie of Kentucky in Iowa for an event on Saturday and Oklahoma’s Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt is hitting the campaign trail for the Florida governor at events in Iowa on Wednesday and Thursday. 

DESANTIS ARGUES TRUMP ‘WILL SAY IT’S STOLEN, NO MATTER WHAT’ IF FORMER PRESIDENT LOSES IN IOWA OR NH

“Iowans will hear directly from these national leaders who’ve seen first-hand Ron DeSantis fight the tough battles against the left and deliver big wins for conservatives,” DeSantis communications director Andrew Romeo told Fox News Digital.

“They’ll make sure there is no doubt in the minds of Iowans that Ron DeSantis will deliver on his promises to stop the invasion at our southern border, restore our economy, and revive America.”

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DeSantis, who recently earned the coveted endorsements of Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds and evangelical leader Bob Vander Plaats, currently sits at 20% in Iowa, according to the Real Clear Politics average. Former President Donald Trump’s polling average is 52% and former ambassador Nikki Haley is at 15.8% rounding out the top 3. 

The former director of the Miami Young Republicans, who was allegedly captured on surveillance video breaching the Crypt of the U.S. Capitol, was arrested last week on charges in connection to the Jan. 6 riot, according to newly unsealed court documents Monday. 

Barbara Balmaseda, 23, of Miami Lakes, Florida, is charged in a criminal complaint filed in the District of Columbia with a felony offense of obstruction of an official proceeding and misdemeanor offenses of entering and remaining in a restricted building or grounds, disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds, disorderly conduct in a Capitol building or grounds, and parading, demonstrating, or picketing in a Capitol building, the Justice Department announced. 

According to the Miami New Times, Balmaseda, a Florida International University (FIU) student and South Florida GOP strategist, previously interned for U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., between 2018 and 2019 and worked as an organizer for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ 2018 gubernatorial campaign. 

She was arrested on Thursday in Miami Lakes and made her initial appearance in the Southern District of Florida. Balmaseda’s attorney, Aubrey Webb, deemed the 23-year-old’s arrest by a task force of “FBI, Marshals, ATF and Metro-Dade Police” as a “waste of law enforcement resources” for what amounts to “essentially trespassing charges,” according to Politico. 

SUPREME COURT TAKES CHALLENGE TO JAN. 6 CHARGE THAT COULD HAVE IMPLICATIONS FOR TRUMP

“Maybe if the FBI spent less time and resources focusing on J6 trespassers with no criminal history, they might be able to make an arrest of the suspect who left pipe bombs at the DNC and RNC offices on Capitol Hill on January 5, 2021, who currently remains at large,” Webb said in a statement. “We hope, of course, they will rein in the DOJ’s politically-motivated prosecution of January 6 demonstrators.” The attorney further stated that Balmaseda is “relieved this process will finally move toward a final resolution,” stressing that she is not charged with violence or destruction of property.

Last week, the Supreme Court notably agreed to hear a case involving three Jan. 6 defendants disputing an obstruction charge that could have implications for one of former President Trump’s criminal cases. Over 300 people have been charged by the Justice Department with obstructing an official proceeding in connection with the Jan. 6 riot.

The new complaint takes issue with how Balmaseda and former Proud Boys member Gabriel Garcia, who once sat on the Miami-Dade Republican Party Executive Committee, exchanged hundreds of texts and images from August 2020 through January 2021 and snapped a selfie together leaving the steps of the Capitol on January 6. Garcia was found guilty in November on felony charges of obstruction of an official proceeding and interference with law enforcement during a civil disorder in connection to the riot. His sentencing is scheduled for Mar. 28, 2024.

Meanwhile, court documents allege Balmaseda traveled from Florida to Washington, D.C., to protest the result of the 2020 presidential election. Prior to her arrival in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 5, 2021, Balmaseda exchanged messages with several associates in which she participated in communications reflecting her belief that the 2020 presidential election had been stolen and her knowledge about the certification process scheduled to take place on Jan. 6, 2021, prosecutors say.

On January 6, court documents say Balmaseda was photographed in Black Lives Matter Plaza – the two-block area in front of the White House renamed by D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser during the 2020 George Floyd protests and riots. Shortly after, at about 2:00 p.m., Balmaseda approached the Capitol building with another individual and was in position to see the crowd of rioters climbing the scaffolding on the west side of the Capitol and plumes of smoke that billowed into the air, federal prosecutors alleged. 

By this time, rioters had overwhelmed officers on the west front, bypassed the officer lines, and gained access to the northwest stairs of the Capitol. Around 2:09 p.m., rioters pushed past officers on the middle landing of the stairs and surged toward the Capitol building.

JUDGE PAUSES JAN. 6 CASE AGAINST TRUMP AMID FORMER PRESIDENT’S APPEAL TO DISMISS

Eventually, U.S. Capitol Police closed-circuit television (CCTV) captured Balmaseda entering the Capitol building via the Senate Wing door at approximately 2:16 p.m., just four minutes after rioters initially breached the building. According to the allegations, when Balmaseda entered the building, broken glass was scattered on the ground, and an alarm blared near the doorway. 

After entering the Capitol, Balmaseda made her way toward the Crypt and pushed her way to the front of a crowd of rioters who were confronting a police line, federal prosecutors say. The mob eventually overran the police line and proceeded into the Crypt. 

Balmaseda moved forward, joined a crowd of rioters, and headed towards an area known as the “OAP Corridor,” where another line of officers initially blocked a hallway. The complaint says officers eventually backed away, and the rioters, including Balmaseda, continued to move forward.

The Justice Department says Balmaseda then made her way back to the Crypt and eventually entered the Rotunda, where she took photographs and exited the area at approximately 2:53 p.m., Balmaseda returned to the Rotunda and stood nearby as a group of rioters attempted to push through an officer line. At approximately 3:11 p.m., law enforcement officers received additional support in the Rotunda and were able to corral rioters, Balmaseda included, towards the nearest exit, the Rotunda doors. 

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In the 35 months since Jan. 6, 2021, more than 1,230 individuals have been charged in nearly all 50 states for crimes related to the breach of the U.S. Capitol, including more than 440 individuals charged with assaulting or impeding law enforcement, a felony, the DOJ notes.

The investigation remains ongoing.

FIRST ON FOX: A group of dozens of House and Senate Republicans filed a legal brief Monday to urge the Supreme Court to take up two cases related to President Biden’s authority to lock up public lands from resource development and other uses. 

In the brief first obtained by Fox News Digital, the lawmakers — led by Rep. Cliff Bentz, R-Ore., and joined by House Natural Resources Committee Chair Bruce Westerman, R-Ark., Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash., and 26 other lawmakers including three senators — argued that the president’s use of the 1906 Antiquities Act is an example of federal overreach and violates the U.S. Constitution.

The lawmakers specifically asked the high court to hear both American Forest Resource Council v. United States of America and Murphy Company v. Biden, two cases challenging the expansion of the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument in southwest Oregon. Plaintiffs have argued that the monument expansion was both illegal and caused significant economic damage, particularly to the timber industry.

“We urge the Supreme Court to hear these cases and send a clear message that the President cannot simply bypass Congress and rewrite our nation’s land laws with the stroke of a pen,” Bentz said in a statement. “This is about upholding the Constitution, protecting our rural communities, and ensuring responsible management of our public lands.”

BIDEN ADMIN CREATES PATHWAY WITH ECO GROUPS TO SHUTTER ENERGY SOURCE SERVING MILLIONS OF AMERICANS

The Antiquities Act, designed as a federal conservation tool, grants the president broad authority to establish national monuments on existing federal lands. Since taking office in 2021, Biden has established five such monuments in Colorado, Nevada, Texas, Mississippi and Arizona, which have faced opposition from industry, lawmakers and garnered legal challenges.

Invoking the Antiquities Act and establishing a national monument effectively blocks the designated lands from normal uses. Under separate legislation passed in the 1970s, Congress established the so-called “multiple-use” and sustained yield mandate, requiring the Bureau of Land Management to open the lands it manages to various uses including energy development like drilling, grazing, recreation and mining.

DEM, GOP SENATORS TEAM UP TO FORTIFY DOMESTIC GREEN ENERGY, DEFENSE SUPPLIES DOMINATED BY CHINA

“For far too long the executive branch has abused the Antiquities Act to cut off millions of acres of public lands, an action that greatly impacts rural communities across the country and ignores Congress’ directive on how those lands must be responsibly managed,” Westerman said Tuesday.

“The president does not have the constitutional authority to lock away our federal land and waters, especially without any local input,” he said. “I urge the Supreme Court to take up these two critical cases and set the record straight on the executive branch’s authority when it comes to regulating our federal lands and waters.”

The Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument – which involves the two cases that Republicans are asking the Supreme Court to consider – was designated in 2000 by former President Clinton then expanded in early 2017 by former President Obama. Environmentalists for years have defended the designation and expansion, saying it protects wildlife and plant species in the area.

But while the two cases are focused on that monument, they have much wider ramifications for future use of the Antiquities Act and national monuments created by Biden over the last two years, according to plaintiffs.

BIDEN ADMIN SEEKS TO LOCK UP CRITICAL MINERALS WITH ECO PROTECTIONS AMID GREEN ENERGY PUSH

Biden’s designation of the Avi Kwa Ame National Monument in Nevada and Baaj Nwaavjo I’tah Kukveni National Monument in Arizona, for example, have faced opposition that included legal challenges from state governments as well as mining, livestock and agriculture groups.

“Whether you’re living in southwest Oregon near the illegal expansion of the monument, in Utah where numerous presidential proclamations have placed massive areas off-limits in recent years, or in Washington, D.C., where concerns about the protection of our democracy and constitutional processes are top of mind, this case and its outcome are critical to the future management of our federal lands,” American Forest Resource Council (AFRC) President Travis Joseph said last month.

In 2019, after the AFRC sued the federal government over the designation of Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument, a lower court ruled in favor of the group and said the executive branch lacked authority to override the will of Congress which, in separate legislation, defined sustained-yield timber harvest as the dominant use of public land in Oregon.

Then in July, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals reversed that decision. Months earlier, in April, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals came to a similar conclusion in Murphy Company v. Biden, the second case that Republicans asked the Supreme Court to review.

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“This lawsuit attempted to rob Oregonians and all Americans of a biological treasure that deserves permanent protection,” Kristen Boyles, an attorney with eco group Earthjustice, said after the appellate court ruling on July 18. “Appeals courts in D.C. and Seattle have now upheld monument expansion, rejecting every single one of the timber industry’s arguments.”

Voters are increasingly worried about border security, and candidates on the campaign trail are listening to these concerns.

A common question that voters raised at many campaign stops throughout Iowa was: “How do you plan on closing the southern border?”

Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis have pledged that securing the border would be the No. 1 priority if elected to the White House.

At a town hall on Sunday in Altoona, Iowa, Haley fed her stump speech to Iowans, revealing how she feels about the current U.S.-Mexico border.

FOX NEWS POLL: MAJORITIES SUPPORT MEASURES TO STRENGTHEN BORDER SECURITY AS ISSUE INCREASES IN IMPORTANCE

“I truly have run out of things to say about the border. This is a dereliction of duty. It’s horrific to see what’s happening on the southern border and the northern border,” said Haley. “Securing the border is job No. 1, priority No. 1.”

The same day, one hour east of Haley, DeSantis gave a similar message on his border stance to a room full of voters in Oskaloosa, Iowa.

“We’re pretty busy on day one because there’s a lot that we need to do. One, we’re going to declare the border to be a national emergency,” said DeSantis.

Voters continue to mention the border as a top priority. A new Fox News poll shows that 8 in 10 voters are calling immigration/border security either an emergency or a major problem.

Donna Cox of Cleveland says securing the border is the top issue she cares about when deciding who to vote for in the GOP primary.

EX-ICE CHIEF THOMAS HOMAN EYES ‘HISTORIC’ DEPORTATION IF TRUMP’S REELECTED: ‘NO ONE’S OFF THE TABLE’

“My No. 1 priority in this next election is border security. It’s not just Latin America that’s coming across. It’s the Middle East. It’s China. I think that we’re a ticking time bomb,” said Cox.

When asked about the current situation at the southern border, she described it as “chaotic, uncontrolled, open, free-for-all, dangerous.”

“David” of Oskaloosa agreed. He called on the government to stop the flow of migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border.

“The worst it’s ever been, the border is wide open. It’s a train wreck,” he said.

Iowa voters have just under one month to weigh their options for Republican candidates ahead of the first-in-the-nation caucus. The latest NBC News/Des Moines Register/Mediacom poll showed DeSantis at 19% and Haley at 16% in Iowa. Both are trailing far behind front-runner former President Trump, who sits comfortably at 51% in the poll.

During a press conference in Corydon, Iowa, DeSantis said that the effects of the southern border crisis are felt in every state.

“Even in a rural community far away from the southern border, you’re seeing the effects of that, not just in terms of the narcotics and the drugs but also in terms of some of the problems that flow from that,” said DeSantis.

During a sheriff’s ride-along with Fox News, the Sunshine State governor talked about these effects. Wayne County Sheriff’s Deputy Garrett Abel led the ride-along and drove by one of many drug houses in Iowa that he has busted, sparking conversations about drug abuse in the country.

“For young people with drugs now, if there’s fentanyl laced [in] these drugs, I mean, it can be all she wrote,” said DeSantis during the ride-along. “They can get poisoned to death just on one use of drugs. The stakes are a lot higher than they were in the past.”

TOP CONSERVATIVES JOINING DESANTIS ON IOWA CAMPAIGN TRAIL AHEAD OF CAUCUSES: ‘WILL GET THE JOB DONE’

John Heckelsmiller from Ottumwa, Iowa, said he sees the ramifications of the southern border first-hand in Iowa.

“We’ve got influx of migrants in Ottumwa, and it’s evident everywhere you go that there’s people coming into this country that maybe shouldn’t be here because they didn’t enter legally,” said Heckelsmiller.

When asked by reporters for a specific timeline for building a border wall as president, DeSantis stated his plan to do so but didn’t provide specifics.

“My job is to get it done and I will get it done, and it has not gotten done, and we will do it, and we’ll start on day one and we won’t stop until it’s done,” he said.

Cox says that while she supports DeSantis, it’s important to her that whoever ends up in the White House addresses border security.

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“Day one, anybody who takes this office has to attack the border,” said Cox.

Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, made a personal TikTok account just months after sharing “serious” national security and privacy concerns about the Chinese-owned platform.

The electorally vulnerable Democrat launched his TikTok account on Saturday, but in March, he suggested that the platform could potentially jeopardize the privacy of Ohioans.

“We must protect Ohioans’ personal information from the Chinese Communist Party,” Brown told WTOL 11 when asked about his stance on the platform. “I have serious concerns with this company’s ties to the Chinese government and will continue to work with members of both parties to look at how we can best protect Ohioans’ privacy and our national security.”

Despite acknowledging the company’s ties to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and a potential privacy threat to its users, the senator encouraged Twitter (the platform now named X) users to “follow along with me” on his new social media page.

HARRIS DODGES MULTIPLE QUESTIONS ON TIKTOK REGULATION, BRINGS UP RUSSIAN INTERFERENCE

“This is Sherrod Brown. I’m now on TikTok. I look forward to getting to know all of you,” Brown said in a clip posted to then-Twitter before talking about standing up to “special interest groups.”

EXCLUSIVE: JEWISH EMPLOYEES AT TIKTOK SHARE DETAILS OF HOSTILE, ANTISEMITIC WORK ENVIRONMENT

The three-term U.S. senator already posted several videos to his TikTok page since its launch, including one campaign-related clip of Brown filing a petition for reelection.

When asked whether he still has “serious concerns” about the platform, Brown’s team made no mention of the TikTok account.

“Sherrod has a strong record holding the Chinese Communist Party accountable and will continue working with both parties to protect Ohioans’ privacy and our national security,” Rachel Petri, campaign manager of Friends of Sherrod Brown, told Fox News Digital.

Brown is running for a fourth term in a state won by former President Trump in both 2016 and 2020 in one of the Democrats’ most vulnerable races of the 2024 cycle as they seek to hold or expand their slim Senate majority.

Members of Congress have supported a ban on TikTok amid growing concerns over its ties to the CCP, with some states enforcing bans on the use of the app on government devices.

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In March, the House Energy and Commerce Committee grilled TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew over the platform’s ties to the CCP and allegations that the data of American users is compromised by China and being used to spy on American account holders.

BETTENDORF, Iowa – EXCLUSIVE – Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds of Iowa charges that former President Trump is “misleading” voters in her state.

“It’s misleading and it’s not fair to Iowans,” the governor said Monday night in an interview with Fox News Digital while referring to an ad the Trump campaign is running in the Hawkeye State that spotlights years-old clips of Reynolds praising the former president.

Reynolds endorsed Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in the race for the White House last month, and the two teamed up again in Bettendorf, Iowa, with four weeks to go until the state’s caucuses kick off the GOP presidential nominating calendar.

While Reynolds supported Trump during his 2016 and 2020 presidential campaigns, their relationship soured this past summer when the former president blasted Reynolds for staying neutral in the Republican nomination race – following a long-standing tradition of Iowa governors.

DESANTIS TURNS UP THE VOLUME ON TRUMP 

“He was upset with me because I was going to stay neutral at the beginning of the campaign for the first-in-the-nation caucus, which I did for seven months,” Reynolds said in her Fox News interview and in comments to the crowd minutes earlier.

Trump’s attacks on Reynolds intensified after she endorsed DeSantis.

“It’s not going to make any difference, because the only endorsement that matters is the Trump endorsement,” the former president claimed at a campaign event in Ankeny, Iowa, earlier this month.

Reynolds noted that after she backed DeSantis, Trump said her “endorsement didn’t mean anything” and called it “worthless,” adding that she was “the worst governor in the country.”

DESANTIS STOPS IN ALL 99 OF IOWA’S COUNTIES — BUT WILL IT HELP HIM CLOSE THE GAP WITH TRUMP? 

“That’s on one hand, and now we look at another hand – he’s using me in a commercial that dates back to 2016 and again [is] misleading Iowans as if I was endorsing him and going back and forth,” the governor added. “In 2016 and 2020 I supported President Trump. I endorsed him. I helped him in the state of Iowa. It’s a different day. It’s a different time.”

Pointing to Hawkeye State voters, Reynolds said “it’s OK for Iowans to say ‘thank you for what you did’ and move on. We need somebody that can win. We need somebody that can follow through on what they said they were going to do.”

Asked for a response, Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung asked Fox News, “is she saying that she lied to voters all those years?”

Trump remains the commanding front-runner in the race for the Republican nomination as he makes his third straight White House run.

He made history earlier this year as the first former or current president to be indicted for a crime with his four indictments, including in federal court in Washington, D.C., and in Fulton County court in Georgia on charges he tried to overturn the 2020 presidential election. The former president’s legal difficulties have only boosted his support among Republican primary voters.

TRUMP HOLDS A MASSIVE LEAD IN THE POLLS WITH FIVE WEEKS TO GO UNTIL THE IOWA CAUCUSES 

Trump holds an extremely formidable double-digit lead over DeSantis and the rest of the remaining field of 2024 nomination rivals in the latest polls in Iowa, but Reynolds remains optimistic.

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Asked about the polls, she told Fox News “it can change.”

“The energy, the momentum, is with [DeSantis]. Iowans break late. So we’ve got a lot of time left,” she emphasized. “We’re going work hard to get him across the finish line.”

Fox News’ Clare O’Connor contributed to this report

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

EXCLUSIVE: Rep. Andy Barr is endorsing former President Trump, telling Fox News Digital that Americans “must rally behind” him to ensure “strong leadership both at home and abroad.” 

Barr, R-Ky., told Fox News Digital on Monday about his endorsement.

“I can not sit idly by while Joe Biden and his disastrous policies continue to erode what makes America the greatest country in the world,” Barr said. “Since Biden took office, we have seen record-high illegal immigration at the Southern Border, 40-year high inflation, and threateningly weak foreign policy that has invited aggression from our adversaries.”

TRUMP PICKS UP MORE SENATE GOP ENDORSEMENTS

However, Barr said, “despite all of this, Democrats and the ‘mainstream media’ are doing everything they can to ensure Joe Biden remains president.”

“Donald Trump is the only candidate who can defeat Joe Biden and reinstate an America First agenda,” he said.

TRUMP HOLDS MASSIVE LEAD IN IOWA 5 WEEKS FROM CAUCUSES THAT KICK OFF GOP RACE: POLL 

Barr, reflecting on the Trump administration, said Americans “paid less at the pump and the grocery store.”

“American families’ incomes rose, and their small businesses flourished,” he said, adding that none of those developments were “coincidences.”

“They were a direct product of Trump’s low-tax, pro-economic growth policies,” he told Fox News Digital, saying Biden’s policies have “resulted in the opposite.” 

“As Kentuckians and Americans, we must rally behind a leader who understands the importance of strong leadership, both at home and abroad,” he said. “That is why, to protect our country and ensure prosperity, I am endorsing Donald J. Trump for President of the United States.” 

FOX NEWS POLL: TRUMP’S LEAD IN GOP PRIMARY WIDENS

Trump is dominating the 2024 Republican primary field. A new Fox News poll released over the weekend also showed that if the election were held today, Trump would beat President Biden by four points in a head-to-head match-up. 

Meanwhile, a source close to Barr told Fox News Digital that should a Senate seat become open for 2026, the congressman could be “a serious contender.”

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“Barr is a prolific fundraiser and a skilled legislator who would be a formidable ally for the America First agenda in the Senate,” the source told Fox News Digital.

That source said Barr’s early endorsement of Trump “could preview a closer working relationship” between Barr and Trump in the coming years.

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

A group of anti-Israel protesters descended on the home of Rep. Shri Thanedar, D-Mich., over the weekend blowing car horns and screaming as they sought to punish him for what they claimed was his “silence” on the deaths of Palestinians in Gaza amid Israel’s war with Hamas.

“This is my home at 3 AM,” Thanedar wrote in a post on X, including a video that showed cars lined in the street outside his home, an individual waving a cloth-like material, and others screaming through megaphones. The video appeared to be posted by a supporter of the protesters.

“You are complicit in the bombing of Gaza… Your silence is violence. Your silence is abhorrent, and we will not let you sleep!” one protester can be heard screaming.

NEW POLL REVEALS AMERICA’S LEAST FAVORITE LEADER IN CONGRESS WITH SHOCKING SINGLE-DIGIT APPROVAL

“There will be a price to pay,” the protester added before becoming largely inaudible.

Another protester in the video is shown holding a sign that read, “20,000 GAZANS DEAD! WAKE THE F–K UP SHRI!!!”

Thanedar has taken staunchly supportive approach to Israel following the horrific attack perpetrated by Hamas terrorists on Oct. 7, and even ended his relationship with the Democratic Socialists of America over its response to the deaths of more than 1,200 people on that day.

FORMER TRUMP ADVISER KELLYANNE CONWAY LEADS CHARGE TO OVERHAUL GOP ABORTION STRATEGY, END DEMS’ 2024 ADVANTAGE

“After the brutal terrorist attacks on Israel, which included the indiscriminate murder, rape, and kidnapping of innocent men, women, and children, I can no longer associate with an organization unwilling to call out terrorism in all forms,” Thanedar posted on X at the time.

He has also expressed his strong support for Israel on his campaign website, including vowing to “defend Israel’s right to exist and to thrive.”

“In this time of great international uncertainty, it is now more important than ever before to reaffirm as a people, and as a nation, our unequivocal support for the state of Israel, the lone Democracy in the Middle East and one of our closest, and strongest, allies across the globe,” he wrote.

BIDEN SCRAMBLES TO WIN OVER SWING STATE BLACK VOTERS AS SUPPORT FROM THE TRADITIONALLY BLUE BLOC FALTERS

Earlier this month, Thanedar condemned what he said was the hacking of his X account that resulted in the posting of a now-deleted antisemitic message.

“I can no longer stay silent on the genocide taking place in Palestine. Israel has paid off politicians for far too long. I know this means I’ll lose AIPAC financial support but I don’t need it. We need to come together to #FreePalestine from the terrorist state of Israel,” the post read.

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After deleting the post, Thanedar posted a message supportive of Israel, including that funding for the nation “should not be contingent on specific conditions.”

Former President Donald Trump is leading President Biden among young voters by a 13-point margin, according to the latest Fox News Poll.

Forty-one percent of respondents under 30 said they’d vote for Trump, 77, in the 2024 general election while 28% said they’d vote for Biden, 81. Those under 45 years old also favored Trump, with 41% saying they’d vote for Trump versus 31% who’d cast their vote for Biden.

Trump is also more popular among women voters at 41% to 34% for Biden, according to the poll, which interviewed 1,007 registered voters randomly selected between Dec. 10 and Dec. 13.

FOX NEWS POLL: TRUMP’S LEAD IN GOP PRIMARY WIDENS

The polling results come as the Trump campaign is targeting young voters and widening its support among GOP voters. On Saturday, Trump made a stop at the University of New Hampshire and railed against Biden’s economy and the migrant crisis at the southern border.

According to a USA Today report that interviewed Republican and Democrat college students outside the rally, some young voters agreed that Biden’s handling of the economy and foreign affairs were critical issues heading into the 2024 election.

Trump keeps gaining ground in the Republican presidential nomination contest as fewer than one third of GOP primary voters now back all his rivals combined, the survey also found.

Trump’s support stands at 69% in the primary race. That’s up seven points since November and 26 points since February.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis receives 12% support (down 1 point since November), former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley gets 9% (-1), businessman Vivek Ramaswamy at 5% (-2), former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie at 2% (-1) and former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson with 1% (steady).

TRUMP GETS OVATION, HIGH-GIVES FANS UPON UFC 296 ARRIVAL FOR ‘BIGGEST FAN’ COLBY COVINGTON’S FIGHT

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In hypothetical general election matchups against Biden, Haley is ahead by six points, Trump is up by four (though neither advantage is statistically significant) while DeSantis and Biden are tied. As recently as August, Biden was narrowly ahead of all three of them.

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The Fox News Poll, conducted under the joint direction of Beacon Research (D) and Shaw & Company Research (R), has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3 percentage points for all registered voters, and plus or minus 4.5 points for Democrat primary voters and 5 points for Republican primary voters.

Fox News’ Dana Blanton contributed to this report.

A new Monmouth University poll released Monday has revealed Americans’ least favorite leader in Congress, but all maintain underwater approval ratings.

According to the poll, just 6% of adults say they approve of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell’s, R-Ky., job performance, with a whopping 60% saying they disapprove. 34% had no opinion.

McConnell was the only congressional leader with a net negative approval rating from within his own party, and fell far behind his Democrat and Republican colleagues on how they are viewed by the American public. Just 10% of Republicans said they approved of McConnell’s job performance, with 41% disapproving and 49% having no opinion.

BIDEN APPROVAL RATING SINKS TO ALL-TIME LOW IN NEW NATIONAL POLL

McConnell’s approval rating was down from 12% in July, with 50% disapproving and 37% having no opinion.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., received a 21% approval rating, with 41% saying they disapproved and 38% having no opinion. Within his own party, however, Schumer received a 48% approval rating, compared to 18% who disapproved and 34% who had no opinion.

FORMER TRUMP ADVISER KELLYANNE CONWAY LEADS CHARGE TO OVERHAUL GOP ABORTION STRATEGY, END DEMS’ 2024 ADVANTAGE

On the House side, 17% said they approved of Speaker Mike Johnson’s, R-La., job performance with 31% disapproving and 51% with no opinion.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., fared slightly better with a 21% approval rating, 22% disapproving and 56% having no opinion.

Overall, just 17% said they approved of Congress’ job performance, and 77% said they disapproved.

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

Welcome to Fox News’ Politics newsletter with the latest political news from Washington D.C. and updates from the 2024 campaign trail. 

Subscribe now to get Fox News Politics newsletter in your inbox.

What’s happening:

-U.S. Capitol Police investigate Senate sex tape

-Ashley Biden issued a tax lien for unpaid taxes in 2015

-Nikki Haley media blitzes Iowa and New Hampshire

Fender Bender

The driver of a car that smashed into a parked SUV that was part of President Biden’s motorcade near his campaign headquarters in Wilmington, Delaware, has been charged with DUI, police said Monday morning.

The crash happened Sunday evening when the sedan hit a U.S. Secret Service vehicle being used to close off intersections as Biden was walking from the campaign office to his waiting armored SUV. 

After the crash, a visibly stunned Biden was ushered into his waiting vehicle, where First Lady Jill Biden was already seated, before being driven swiftly back to their home without further incident. Neither the president nor the first lady were harmed. 

White House

BIDEN TAXES: Ashley Biden issued a tax lien for unpaid taxes, court docs show …Read more

Capitol Hill

SENATE SEX TAPE: US Capitol Police ‘taking it seriously,’ source says …Read more

GET ‘TOUGHER’: Hispanic House Democrat calls for Biden to crack down on border crisis …Read more

NO DEAL: Border security provisions unlikely to advance in the Senate this week …Read more

AI ARMS RACE: Top Republican warns US rivals are advancing in AI, quantum computing …Read more

Tales from the Campaign Trail

NEW GENERATION: Haley spotlights need for ‘new conservative president’ in ad blitz in Iowa and New Hampshire …Read more

‘STRONG LEADERSHIP’: Trump lands endorsement from GOP Rep. Andy Barr …Read more

Across America

‘EXTREMELY DISTURBING’: CCP-tied group quietly dropping millions of dollars into US-based climate initiatives …Read more

HONORING ‘AMERICAN HERO’: Justice Sandra Day O’Connor lying in repose at Supreme Court …Read more

SUSPENDED: Florida GOP takes action against chairman, demands resignation amid rape allegation …Read more

‘FIND REAL SOLUTIONS’: Newsom’s mayoral 10-year pledge to end homelessness in San Fran turns 20 …Read more

Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more on FoxNews.com.

Only one-third of Americans gave President Biden a thumbs up on the job he is doing in the White House, according to a new national public opinion survey.

The president stands at 34% approval in a Monmouth University poll released on Monday, with 61% giving Biden a thumbs down on his job performance.

The president’s approval is at an all-time low in Monmouth polling since Biden took over the White House nearly three years ago.

Americans questioned in the survey gave the president particularly low marks for his handling of immigration (26%) and inflation (28%).

HEAD HERE TO CHECK OUT THE LATEST FOX NEWS POLLING

“The Biden administration keeps touting their infrastructure investments and a host of positive economic indicators. Those data points may be factual, but most Americans are still smarting from higher prices caused by post-pandemic inflation. This seems to be what’s driving public opinion,” Patrick Murray, director of the Monmouth University Polling Institute, highlighted. “There is political danger in pushing a message that basically tells people their take on their own situation is wrong.”

Murray spotlighted that “there is certainly an element of partisanship in how people frame their own financial situation, which is based in part on who occupies the White House. But even a good chunk of Biden’s Democratic base wish he’d start paying more attention to their top priorities than he is now.”

THESE SIX BATTLEGROUND STATES COULD COST BIDEN THE WHITE HOUSE IN 2024

The approval rating is a key indicator of a president’s performance, clout and popularity and is a closely watched metric, especially when an incumbent in the White House seeks a second term. The 81-year-old Biden is running for re-election in 2024.

The release of the Monmouth poll comes two weeks after the president stood at 37% approval – an all-time low – in a Wall Street Journal survey. However, a new Fox News national poll released on Sunday indicated Biden’s approval rating at 43%.

Biden’s approval rating hovered in the low to mid 50s during his first six months in the White House. However, the president’s numbers started sagging in August 2021 in the wake of Biden’s much-criticized handling of the turbulent U.S. exit from Afghanistan and following a surge in COVID-19 cases that summer, mainly among unvaccinated people.

BIDEN REPORTEDLY UPSET BY SINKING POLL NUMBERS

The plunge in the president’s approval was also fueled by soaring inflation – which started spiking in the summer of 2021 and remains to date a major pocketbook concern with Americans – and the surge of migrants trying to cross into the U.S. along the southern border with Mexico. 

Biden stands far below where his three most recent two-term predecessors – former Presidents Clinton, George W. Bush and Obama – stood at this point in their presidencies, as they successfully ran for re-election. The only recent president whose approval ratings were nearly as negative as Biden’s current numbers was his most recent predecessor, former President Trump, who was defeated by Biden in the 2020 election.

Biden once held the upper hand over Trump in 2024 rematch surveys, but Trump began enjoying an advantage over his successor in the White House in most polls starting in October.

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On Sunday, as he was leaving his re-election campaign headquarters in Wilmington, Delaware, the president was asked by reporters why he was down to Trump in the latest surveys.

“You’re reading the wrong polls,” Biden replied.

The Monmouth University poll was conducted Nov. 30-Dec 4, with 803 adult Americans questioned by telephone. The survey’s overall sampling error is plus or minus 4.8 percentage points.

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

A House Democrat in the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) is breaking from the group to call for “tougher” border security measures after the ongoing migrant crisis forced U.S. officials to suspend railway operations between Texas and Mexico in two cities.

The statement by Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Texas, whose district is anchored in Laredo, stands in stark contrast with the CHC’s position on the current border negotiations between Republicans and the White House. 

Cuellar said rail operations were being stopped in Eagle Pass and El Paso on Monday morning so Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) could “redirect personnel to process migrants.”

“The crisis at our border is seriously affecting legitimate trade,” Cuellar wrote the evening prior. “This year alone, vehicle and rail operations have been suspended at multiple ports of entry due to an overwhelming number of migrants, worsening delays for truck drivers transporting goods and costing our economy millions.”

THOUSANDS OF MIGRANTS WAIT A FEW HOURS FROM EAGLE PASS, TEXAS TO CATCH TRAINS HEADED FOR SOUTHERN BORDER

He finished, “Our border communities desperately need more federal resources, and we need tougher measures at the border. We must secure the border now.”

CBP accused smugglers of using freight trains to bring people into the U.S. illegally in a statement on Sunday night announcing the planned closures for Monday at 8 a.m. local time.

MIGRANT ENCOUNTERS HIT DAILY RECORD AT SOUTHERN BORDER, AS WASHINGTON STRUGGLES TO AGREE ON SOLUTIONS 

“CBP is continuing to surge all available resources to safely process migrants in response to increased levels of migrant encounters at the Southwest Border, fueled by smugglers peddling disinformation to prey on vulnerable individuals,” the statement said.

“After observing a recent resurgence of smuggling organizations moving migrants through Mexico via freight trains, CBP is taking additional actions to surge personnel and address this concerning development, including in partnership with Mexican authorities.”

It comes amid intense negotiations between Republicans and Democrats in both the White House and Senate over President Biden’s $110 billion supplemental aid package for Israel, Ukraine and other causes. 

5,000 ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS RELEASED EVERY DAY INTO US, ADMIN OFFICIALS PRIVATELY TELL LAWMAKERS

Republicans have made clear they would not consider Biden’s request unless it was tied to stricter border security and asylum measures.

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The Congressional Hispanic Caucus, which is all-Democrat, released a statement last week urging Biden to show restraint in what he is willing to commit to in managing the border crisis.

“We are deeply concerned that the President would consider advancing Trump-era immigration policies that Democrats fought so hard against – and that he himself campaigned against – in exchange for aid to our allies that Republicans already support,” they said. “Caving to demands for these permanent damaging policy changes as a ‘price to be paid’ for an unrelated one-time spending package would send a dangerous precedent.”

Christian Ziegler, the chair of the Republican Party of Florida, was suspended during an emergency meeting Sunday and demanded to resign. 

The moves add to calls by Gov. Ron DeSantis and other politicians for him to step down while police investigate a rape accusation against him.

Ziegler is accused of raping a woman with whom he and his wife, Moms for Liberty co-founder Bridget Ziegler, had a prior consensual sexual relationship, according to police records.

“Ziegler on soap box trying to defend himself, not working,” Lee County GOP Chairman Michael Thomason posted to the social media platform X. Thomason posted a series of tweets during the closed-door meeting, with the final being a picture of a document titled “motion to suspend authority.”

SCHOOL BOARD VOTES TO OUST ‘MOMS FOR LIBERTY’ CO-FOUNDER AMID FLORIDA GOP SEX SCANDAL

The party’s executive committee will hold a second vote in the future on whether to remove Ziegler permanently.

The Sarasota Police Department is investigating an incident that was reported on Oct. 4, but allegedly occurred inside a woman’s home on Oct. 2. Police documents say the Zieglers and the woman had planned a sexual encounter that day, but Bridget Ziegler was unable to make it. The accuser says Christian Ziegler arrived anyway and assaulted her.

While Bridget Ziegler is not accused of any crime, the accusation against her husband has caused turmoil for her. The Sarasota School Board member was asked to resign following a vote on Tuesday. She refused, according to the Associated Press. 

FLORIDA GOP CHAIRMAN CHRISTIAN ZIEGLER CLAIMS INNOCENCE, WILL NOT RESIGN OVER RAPE ALLEGATION

Christian Ziegler has denied the rape allegation, and said the encounter with the woman was consensual.  

Sarasota police did not immediately respond to a request for an update on the investigation, including whether Christian Ziegler has been charged with a crime. As of Dec. 13, he had not. 

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In addition to DeSantis, Republican Senators Rick Scott and Marco Rubio, U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz and Florida’s Republican House and Senate leaders have all called for Christian Ziegler’s resignation. 

The Florida Democratic Party called on Christian Ziegler to step down in November. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report.