NationalWatch

In a letter to President Biden on Friday, Democratic Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs expressed her frustration and concern about the administration’s response to the southern border crisis and, in the process, demanded a hefty reimbursement. 

“Today, I sent a letter to President Biden calling on him to reassign National Guard members to assist in its reopening, as well as reimburse the $512,529,333 federal border inaction has cost us,” Hobbs posted on X.

In the letter, Hobbs told Biden that the reimbursements are for the federal government’s “failure to secure the Arizona border,” emphasizing that moving forward, the state Arizona will regularly seek reimbursement from the federal government.

DEM GOV KATIE HOBBS REQUESTED TWITTER CENSOR CRITICS OF TWEET COMPARING TRUMP SUPPORTERS TO NAZIS

On Monday, the Lukeville Port of Entry was closed at the federal government’s order, forcing all American and Mexican residents to drive several hours to the next closest port of entry in Nogales, Arizona.

“For far too long, Arizona has continued to bear the burden of federal inaction in managing our southern border,” Hobbs wrote in the letter. “The recent decision to close the Lukeville Port of Entry has led to an unmitigated humanitarian crisis in the area and has put Arizona’s safety and commerce at risk.”

In her letter, Hobbs urged Biden to “immediately” move 243 National Guard soldiers who are already assigned to the Tucson region to the Lukeville Port of Entry.

MIGRANT CRISIS SMASHING NEW RECORDS AMID FRESH SURGE AT SOUTHERN BORDER

“Further, to the extent it is necessary, I am requesting that additional National Guard members currently on federal active duty orders be reassigned to Arizona to assist U.S. Customs and Border Protection to reopen the Lukeville Port of Entry,” Hobbs said. 

Hobbs was set to travel to the state’s southern border with Mexico this weekend to visit the border crisis in Lukeville.

CONGRESS STALLS ON TACKLING BORDER SECURITY AS MIGRANTS STREAM IN WITH NO END IN SIGHT

Hobbs added that border security and keeping their communities safe was her top priority.

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“As long as I’m Governor, I will do everything I can to keep Arizonans safe — even when the federal government fails to act,” Hobbs said.

Gov. Hobbs’ office did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

Multiple candidates hoping to replace Joe Biden as president in next year’s presidential election pulled no punches Friday in response to the indictment of his son, Hunter, a day earlier.

The indictment, which was handed down Thursday by DOJ Special Counsel David Weiss in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, included nine charges alleging a “four-year scheme” when Hunter did not pay his federal income taxes from January 2017 to October 2020 while also filing false tax reports.

“The timing of the Hunter Biden tax indictment is one more sign that the deep state is planning to sideline Biden & pick a new puppet for 2024, all the while using this indictment as a perfect fig leaf to claim that the Trump prosecutions aren’t politically motivated. Kills two birds with one stone,” Republican entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy wrote in a post on X.

DEFIANT HUNTER BIDEN SAYS REPUBLICAN ‘MOTHERF—ERS’ ARE ‘TRYING TO KILL ME’

Former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley also a Republican, agreed in her own X post on the timing of the indictment, describing it as a sign of deeper issues within the DOJ.

“The fact that the Justice Department slow-walked the Hunter Biden case despite serious allegations & nearly gave him a slap-on-the-wrist plea deal a few months ago shows how damaged the Justice Dept. has become. We need to clean it out from top to bottom,” she wrote, referencing Hunter’s plea agreement on two federal tax charges and a gun charge that fell apart in July.

When asked about the indictment during a press gaggle in Iowa, Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said he didn’t trust the DOJ, and that he was unsure how it ultimately reached the point of the indictment when it did.

WATCH: BIDEN IGNORES REPORTERS WHEN PRESSED ON HUNTER’S NEW INDICTMENT

“Obviously, I think Hunter Biden has a lot of problems with criminal liability. I’ve been saying that for a long time. I wonder whether this is something where they’re going to be able to point to and say, see, you can’t say that they’re going after Trump because they’re even going after the president’s son, and that is totally apolitical,” he said. 

He said he expected Biden to eventually pardon Hunter and that the president’s son would never “actually face full justice.” He added that he was skeptical of the motivations behind the indictment.

Former Republican Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson took a different approach, telling Fox News Digital that Hunter “should be treated like everyone else” accused of a crime.

“We should stand back and let the case proceed without politics overhanging every court appearance. No one should rejoice in the President’s son being indicted, but I am a rule of law champion, and it seems our system of Justice is working even though it was almost derailed by a premature plea agreement that the Court rejected,” he said, also referencing Hunter’s failed plea agreement mentioned by Haley.

Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie’s campaign didn’t immediately respond to Fox’s request for comment on the indictment, but the Republican candidate did address the allegations of corrupt business dealings by Hunter and Joe Biden during an appearance on a New Hampshire radio show Friday morning.

“The relationship between Hunter and Joe – who knows what we’re going to find out? Is there a financial relationship between the two of them? I think there’s no doubt the father has provided support to the son. There’s no doubt about that,” Christie said. “I have no doubt knowing Joe Biden – I’ve known him for 40 years – that he would be supportive of his son’s business ventures.” 

FROM SEX CLUBS TO STRIPPERS: HERE ARE THE 5 MOST SALACIOUS DETAILS FROM THE HUNTER BIDEN INDICTMENT

Independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. declined to comment on Biden’s indictment.

Fox reached out to the campaigns of Democrat Minnesota Rep. Dean Phillips, Green Party candidate Dr. Jill Stein, independent candidate Cornel West, Democrat candidate Marianne Williamson, Biden and former President Donald Trump, and asked about the indictment, but did not immediately receive responses.

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Fox has also reached out to the DOJ for comment.

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

Stanford University on Friday issued a statement condemning calls for Jewish genocide after presidents of other Ivy League schools shocked the nation with their Congressional testimony regarding antisemitism on campus.

“In the context of the national discourse, Stanford unequivocally condemns calls for the genocide of Jews or any peoples,” the school posted on X. “That statement would clearly violate Stanford’s Fundamental Standard, the code of conduct for all students at the university.”

The statement comes as the presidents of Harvard University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and The University of Pennsylvania (UPenn) are reeling from backlash to their remarks before lawmakers earlier this week.

On Tuesday, the universities’ presidents were summoned to Capitol Hill to give testimony about rising antisemitism on their campuses before the House Education and Workforce Committee.

HOUSE REPS ANNOUNCE INVESTIGATION INTO HARVARD, MIT, UPENN AFTER ‘MORALLY BANKRUPT’ TESTIMONY ON ANTISEMITISM

During the hearing, Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., asked each president about the pro-Palestinian protests on their campus and whether antisemitic chants calling for the genocide of Jews at those demonstrations violated their school codes of conduct on bullying and harassment.

“If targeting individuals, not making public statements,” MIT President Sally Kornbluth said, denying that she heard calls for the genocide of Jews on campus. 

“But you’ve heard chants for intifada,” Stefanik said, a reference to the Arabic word “uprising” or “shaking off.” The term has been used to describe periods of Palestinian resistance against Israel, often in the form of terrorism.

The MIT leader replied that such incidents would be investigated as harassment if found to be “pervasive and severe.”

UPENN PRESIDENT TORCHED OVER ANTISEMITIC SPEAKERS, TEACHERS ALLOWED ON CAMPUS BUT NOT TRUMP ICE DIRECTOR

UPenn President Elizabeth Magill was then asked the same question. She told Congress that if the speech turned into conduct, it would be considered harassment.

She added that it was a “context-dependent” situation that would constitute bullying and harassment if it was “directed,” “pervasive” and “severe.”

Stefankik, stunned, repeatedly asked Magill if she would answer “yes” that calling for the genocide of Jews is harassment. 

“It can be harassment,” Magill admitted when pressed.

HARVARD, MIT AND UPENN PRESIDENTS PRESSED ON ‘RACE-BASED IDEOLOGY OF THE RADICAL LEFT’ AT ANTISEMITISM HEARING

Harvard President Claudine Gay answered next, saying the situation would depend on the “context” and if it targets specific individuals. 

These answers sparked public outrage and have led to calls for each university president to resign. Two of the presidents, Gay and Magill, subsequently released statements adding context and clarification to their testimony.

“There are some who have confused a right to free expression with the idea that Harvard will condone calls for violence against Jewish students. Let me be clear: Calls for violence or genocide against the Jewish community, or any religious or ethnic group are vile, they have no place at Harvard, and those who threaten our Jewish students will be held to account,” Gay said in a statement posted to Harvard’s X account.

Magill released a statement that put the blame on existing policies in the institution.

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“There was a moment during yesterday’s congressional hearing on antisemitism when I was asked if a call for the genocide of Jewish people on our campus would violate our policies. In that moment, I was focused on our University’s longstanding policies aligned with the U.S. Constitution, which say that speech alone is not punishable. I was not focused on, but I should have been, the irrefutable fact that a call for genocide of Jewish people is a call for some of the most terrible violence human beings can perpetrate.  It’s evil — plain and simple,” she said. 

“I want to be clear, a call for genocide of Jewish people is threatening… In my view, it would be harassment or intimidation… Penn must initiate a serious and careful look at our policies, and Provost Jackson and I will immediately convene a process to do so.” 

The House Committee on Education & the Workforce on Thursday announced an investigation into the three elite schools over “rampant antisemitism” after their “morally bankrupt” testimony. 

Fox News Digital’s Hannah Grossman, Danielle Wallace and Nikolaus Lanum contributed to this report.

There is a power play going on as Congress rushes to approve the renewal of a controversial foreign surveillance program (Known as FISA Section 702) before it expires at the end of the year.

FBI Director Christopher Wray testified before a Senate panel earlier this week that he had “never seen a time where all the threats or so many of the threats are all elevated, all at exactly the same time.” The intelligence community is very wary of FISA Section 702 going dark at the end of the year unless Congress renews it amid the current, volatile threat matrix.

However, conservatives have crowed for years that they will not reauthorize FISA without significant reforms. They are apoplectic about misuse of FISA during the 2016 campaign involving former President Trump. There is concern that the program currently sweeps up the communication of everyday Americans – thus violating their Fourth Amendment rights.

DEFENSE BILL SCORES BIG WINS FOR GOP ON DRAG SHOWS, DEI AND COVID VACCINES, INTERNAL HOUSE MEMO SAYS

Congressional leaders tucked into the annual defense policy bill a five-month renewal of FISA. The plan drew a rare, full-throated endorsement via a joint statement from Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY). However, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) got an earful from conservatives about including the interim renewal in the defense bill. The Senate is currently considering the defense bill.

Fox is told that the defense bill probably can’t make it out of the House Rules Committee because of concerns about FISA from arch conservatives. That means the House would probably need to approve the defense bill as a “suspension.” That’s where the House bypasses the Rules Committee and directly puts the measure on the floor. However, the tradeoff for bypassing the Rules Committee is that passage of the bill requires a two-thirds vote. It is believed that there is a wide, bipartisan swath of members who would vote to pass the defense bill.

So, that means FISA remains switched on after the new year – but without reforms conservatives demand.

MAJORITY OF AMERICANS SAY CHINA IS GREATEST NATIONAL SECURITY THREAT, UP 30 POINTS IN FIVE YEARS

However, the House Rules Committee plans to consider two competing proposals to reform FISA on Monday.. One is from House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Turner (R-OH). The other is from House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH). The Jordan plan enjoys broad, bipartisan support. The intelligence community prefers the Turner option – as does the Senate.

House Republicans will huddle in a special meeting Monday night to discuss both plans. The House will then put both the Turner and Jordan bills on the floor, via a “king of the hill” system. Thus, the bill with the most votes wins and is sent to the Senate. However, there is not enough time for the Senate to get its own bill done before the end of the year. The House and Senate would have to go to a conference committee and sort out the differences. Again, something akin to what Turner drafted is believed to be the preference of the Senate.

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So, there is time to hash this out between now and spring. And the FISA Section 702 program remains switched on into 2024 – so long as both bodies of Congress approve the annual defense bill.

However, the undercurrent is that conservatives keep demanding FISA reforms and may not be able to get them. And for now, they are taking this all out on the new Speaker of the House.

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.

Happening soon:

– Hunter Biden has been subpoenaed for a deposition in the House next week… 

– Trump to testify in the New York civil fraud trial on Monday…

INDICTED AGAIN

Hunter Biden was indicted on new federal criminal charges Thursday, the latest legal trouble for the president’s son. 

In some ways, the charges are far from a surprise. IRS whistleblowers Gary Shapley and Joseph Ziegler said the new charges against Hunter Biden are a “complete vindication” of their years-long investigation into the president’s son. 

Hunter is facing nine charges alleging a “four-year scheme” when he did not pay his federal income taxes from January 2017 to October 2020 while also filing false tax reports. If convicted, the president’s son could face up to 17 years in prison.

WHERE’S DADDY? President Biden walked away from questions about his son’s latest criminal charges. 

BUT… White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre answered a question about whether the president would pardon his son …Read more

MEANWHILE: Hunter recorded a podcast with vegan musician Moby, released Friday, where he said Republicans were ‘trying to kill’ him to take down the president …Read more

WHO IS HUNTER’S JUDGE?: Who is Mark C. Scarsi, the Trump-appointed judge assigned to Hunter Biden’s case? …Read more

SEX CLUBS, STRIPPERS: From sex clubs to strippers: Here are the 5 most salacious details from the Hunter Biden indictment …Read more

Capitol Hill

WHAT ABOUT BOB?: Santos set new precedent for expulsion. But indicted Sen. Menendez is hanging on …Read more

‘WOEFULLY INADEQUATE’: Rep. Jordan subpoenas Mayorkas for case files of illegal immigrants with murder, terror charge …Read more

ON THE WIRE: Judiciary Committee pushes DHS on docs related to cutting of border razor wire …Read more

RED TAPE: Top GOP lawmaker moves to reinstate Trump-era rule shredding government red tape …Read more

SHOUTING MATCH: Jamaal Bowman, GOP lawmaker clash over border crisis on CNN …Read more

White House

‘DECEPTIVE SALES PRACTICES’: Biden admin facing congressional probe for sending billions to solar company accused of scamming elderly …Read more

BLAME GAME: Hunter Biden’s attorney claims indictments would not have been brought if he was not related to the president …Read more

‘UNREALISTIC GREEN AGENDA’: Republicans unleash effort forcing Biden admin to hold oil and gas lease sales …Read more

Tales from the Campaign Trail

REAL WINNER: 2024 Showdown: Is the real winner of the four GOP presidential primary debates the guy who didn’t show up? …Read more

‘SPECTACULAR VICTORY’: Indiana county judge strikes down ‘unconstitutional’ voting law in favor of GOP Senate hopeful …Read more

NO GOOD OPTIONS: Charles Barkley insults Trump supporters as ‘nutty’ on CNN, also says Biden is ‘too old’ …Read more

Across America

CONFRONTING ‘RUNAWAY ANTISEMITISM’: Jewish student group flies ‘Harvard Hates Jews’ airplane banner around Ivy League campus …Read more

RECORD-BREAKING SURGE: Migrant crisis smashing new records amid fresh border surge …Read more

‘RADICAL GREEN AGENDA’: UN climate summit serving gourmet burgers, BBQ as it calls for Americans to stop eating meat …Read more

‘SEVERE REVENUE DECLINE’: California faces ‘severe revenue decline,’ record $68 billion budget deficit as mass exodus continues …Read more

‘IGNORING JEWISH SUFFERING IS EVIL’: Rabbi resigns from Harvard’s antisemitism board following school president’s ‘painfully inadequate testimony’ …Read more

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

Hunter Biden held nothing back during a recent podcast appearance, blasting his critics as “motherf—ers,” and casting himself as a victim while claiming Republicans were trying to kill him in order to destroy his dad’s presidency.

The podcast episode of Moby Pod was published Friday, and was recorded in Hunter’s art studio in San Francisco. The more than an hour-long discussion eventually turned to Biden’s recovery from drug addiction and how he openly shared details of his struggles in his memoir, “Beautiful Things.”

Podcast co-host Lindsay Hicks told Biden there was “real beauty” in how “vulnerable” he was in the memoir by sharing many intimate details of his addiction. She noted that others may read it and feel that they don’t have to be ashamed of their secrets.

WATCH: BIDEN IGNORES REPORTERS WHEN PRESSED ON HUNTER’S NEW INDICTMENT

“That’s the one thing — one of the reasons why I’m going to survive this — and I’m going to survive it clean and sober — is because I am not going to let these motherf—-ers use me as just another example of why people in recovery are never going to be okay, never to be trusted, they’re all degenerates. I’m just not going to let that happen. I’m just not going to let it happen,” Biden said.

He went on to agree with the hosts’ opinion that people targeting Hunter, specifically Republicans, were addicted to inflicting their own hurt on other people.

“I absolutely am positive of that. If you can’t look at some of these people like Marjorie Taylor Greene or Paul Gosar and see someone that have been bullied, that are just absolutely suffering— They’re suffering people. And that doesn’t excuse the things that they have done to others and to me, but you see people that are in anguish. They’re not healthy people,” Biden said.

FROM SEX CLUBS TO STRIPPERS: HERE ARE THE 5 MOST SALACIOUS DETAILS FROM THE HUNTER BIDEN INDICTMENT

He claimed that those going after him were trying to end his life with the ultimate goal of hurting his father, President Biden.

“They are trying to destroy a presidency. And so, it’s not about me. In their most base way, what they’re trying to do is they’re trying to kill me, knowing that it will be a pain greater than my father could be able to handle. And so, therefore, destroying a presidency in that way,” he said.

“These people are just sad, very, very sick people, that have most likely just faced traumas in their lives that they have decided they’re going to turn into an evil that they decided they’re going to inflict on the rest of the world,” he added.

HUNTER’S EX-BUSINESS ASSOCIATE BLASTS BIDEN’S NEW CLAIM ABOUT SON’S BUSINESS DEALINGS: ‘COMPLETELY MALARKEY’

Biden went on to blame former President Donald Trump for the “underlying sickness” facing the country, claiming he “gave voice” to feelings of rage, and making it okay to express that.

He later dismissed the idea of the “Biden Crime Family,” arguing that any claims of corruption within his family were refuted by the decades his family had been in the public light.

“Think about this, okay? My dad has been a senator since I was two years old. He has released decades-worth of his tax returns. He has lived in the public light. We have lived in the public light. We have gone through four presidential campaigns. My entire life has been before the public. It took until, oh, low and behold, Donald Trump figured out that somehow this is a criminal enterprise,” he joked.

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Biden was indicted Thursday in California on nine federal charges related to allegedly failing to pay taxes over a period of four years. 

A federal appeals court has upheld key parts of a federal judge’s gag order limiting what Donald Trump can say about his ongoing prosecution by the Special Counsel for alleged Jan. 6 election interference.

In response, former President Donald Trump’s legal team issued the following statement.

“We agree with the district court that some aspects of Mr. Trump’s public statements pose a significant and imminent threat to the fair and orderly adjudication of the ongoing criminal proceeding, warranting a speech-constraining protective order. The district court’s order, however, sweeps in more protected speech than is necessary. For that reason, we affirm the district court’s order in part and vacate it in part. Specifically, the Order is affirmed to the extent it prohibits all parties and their counsel from making or directing others to make public statements about known or reasonably foreseeable witnesses concerning their potential participation in the investigation or in this criminal proceeding,” Trump’s team stated.

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This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

Mark C. Scarsi, a Trump-appointed judge, is presiding over Hunter Biden’s most recent federal indictment on tax evasion charges. He currently serves as the U.S. district judge for the Central District of California. 

Scarsi was selected at random to oversee the case against Biden, which includes nine new charges alleging a “four-year scheme,” when he did not pay his federal income taxes from January 2017 to October 2020 while also filing false tax reports.

HUNTER BIDEN FACES NEW INDICTMENT IN CALIFORNIA

The charges break down to three felonies and six misdemeanors centered around $1.4 million in owed taxes that were since paid.

Scarsi was confirmed by the Senate in 2020 after being nominated by former President Trump. 

He spent most of his career on civil litigation “with an emphasis on intellectual property,” according to his bio on California’s district court website, and has represented Fortune 100 companies such as Apple and Google. 

FROM SEX CLUBS TO STRIPPERS: HERE ARE THE 5 MOST SALACIOUS DETAILS FROM THE HUNTER BIDEN INDICTMENT

Earlier this year, Scarsi sentenced a California construction owner to two years in prison after failing to report more than $4.8 million in income over a five-year span and failure to pay nearly $2 million in taxes. 

In March, Scarsi sentenced a man to 10 years in prison for scamming eight romantic partners, as well as nine businesses and laundering funds. 

In Ocober, he ruled that the owner of an Orange County real estate finance business would spend more than five years in prison for “fraudulently obtaining” nearly $6.2 million from an investor by making false promises that shares of his private company were on the verge of going public. 

HERE’S WHAT’S IN HUNTER BIDEN’S NEW CALIFORNIA INDICTMENT

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Last year, he also sentenced a Los Angeles-based actor to 20 years in prison and ordered him to pay over $230,000 in restitution to his victims after he pleaded guilty to scamming $650 million from film investors. 

Also in 2022, he sentenced a former lawyer to more than three years for scamming clients, leading them to believe he won cases by forging judges’ signatures. 

Scarsi was born in 1964 in Syracuse, New York. He studied computer science at Syracuse University and earned both his bachelor’s and master’s degree. In 1996, he earned his law degree from Georgetown University Law Center. 

In addition to his career in California, he also worked at two New York district courts in 2010. 

Fox News’ Houston Keene contributed to this report. 

FIRST ON FOX: Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee on Friday subpoenaed Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas for case files of illegal immigrants charged with serious crimes including murder and terrorism.

In a cover letter, obtained by Fox News Digital, Chairman Jim Jordan says that the committee has been seeking the alien files (A-files) of 14 illegal immigrants “charged with serious crimes, such as theft, brutal assault, murder, and terrorism-related charges.”

“The Committee has followed up on its requests – the vast majority of which have remained outstanding for months on end – regularly and on numerous occasions,” Jordan says.

TOP HOUSE GOP COMMITTEE RENEWS DEMAND FOR DOCS FROM DHS ON TEXAS BORDER WIRE CUTTING 

However, he says that there have only been partial summaries of two A-files produced, with only limited productions. Since then, the committee wrote to DHS in November seeking the outstanding 14 documents, but says it has not received anything.

“Your response without compulsory process has, to date, been woefully inadequate,” Jordan says.

Jordan says the Supreme Court has recognized that Congress has broad power to conduct oversight and the committee has jurisdiction to conduct oversight of matters relating to federal immigration law.

“These potential legislative reforms could include, among other proposals, legislation to enhance the vetting of aliens to ensure criminal aliens are not released into American communities and proposals to end mass catch-and-release. The information the Committee has requested is necessary to inform such potential reforms and to understand DHS’s current application of the immigration laws,” he says.

“Accordingly, and in light of your disregard of our earlier voluntary requests, please find attached a subpoena for the requested documents and information,” he says. Mayorkas is required by the subpoena to produce the documents to the committee on Jan. 8.

MIGRANT CRISIS SMASHING NEW RECORDS AMID FRESH SURGE AT SOUTHERN BORDER

The subpoena marks the latest escalation of efforts by House Republicans to investigate the ongoing crisis at the southern border, where new records have been set for migrant traffic. Republicans have hammered the administration, and specifically Mayorkas, over the crisis — which they say has been caused by the policies of the administration.

Specifically, they point to an increase in “catch-and-release,” reduced interior enforcement, the ending of border wall construction, and other rollbacks of Trump-era policies. House Republicans have introduced and passed their own legislation that would restart border wall construction and limit asylum and the use of parole.

The Biden administration, meanwhile, has said it is dealing with a hemisphere-wide crisis and is working within a “broken” system that needs additional funding and comprehensive immigration reform from Congress.

TEXAS AG PAXTON SUES BIDEN ADMIN OVER CUTTING OF RAZOR WIRE AT SOUTHERN BORDER: ‘THIS IS ILLEGAL’ 

The White House has requested over $14 billion in supplemental border funding, but it is currently being negotiated in Congress as Republicans are seeking limits to the use of humanitarian parole by the administration and stricter standards for initial asylum screenings. Democrats have balked at that idea, with some saying it would need to be accompanied by amnesty for some illegal immigrants already in the U.S.

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President Biden this week said that he is open to “significant compromises,” while Mayorkas has said  that some GOP proposals were worthy of consideration while others were not.

The subpoena comes just hours after Judiciary Committee Republicans also pushed for more information on a migrant surge in Texas in Sept. 20, and the cutting of razor wire set up by the state of Texas by federal officials.

 

An Indiana county judge ruled Thursday a contested state law that stipulates voting requirements for candidates’ party affiliation is unconstitutional, dealing a win to a U.S. Senate hopeful who is seeking to run as a Republican in the primary.

The Marion County judge granted the injunction sought by John Rust, former chair of the egg supplier Rose Acre Farms who is running to replace Sen. Mike Braun. Rust filed a lawsuit in September against Secretary of State Diego Morales, the Indiana Election Commission and Jackson County Republican Party Chair Amanda Lowery to challenge the law and ensure the possibility of his place on the ballot.

The law in question says a candidate’s past two primary elections must be cast with the party the candidate is affiliated with or a county party chair must approve the candidacy. In court documents, Rust argued that this statute “should be struck down as being unconstitutionally vague and overly broad.”

ANOTHER REPUBLICAN LAWMAKER RETIRES FROM INDIANA LEGISLATURE

“It is a spectacular victory for the voters of Indiana,” Rust said when reached by phone Thursday evening.

It was not immediately clear if the secretary of state will appeal the decision. The Associated Press sent an email to its office and left messages with its attorneys Thursday.

Rust voted as a Republican in the 2016 primary but as a Democrat in 2012. He did not vote in the 2020 Republican primary due to the pandemic and the lack of competitive Republican races in Jackson County, the lawsuit said. Rust said his Democratic votes were for people he personally knew.

Lowery, the county’s Republican Party chair, said in a July meeting with Rust that she would not certify him, according to the lawsuit. Rust has said Lowery later cited his primary voting record.

FORMER REPUBLICAN INDIANA AG CURTIS HILL ENTERS 2024 PRIMARY RACE TO REPLACE OUTGOING GOP GOV HOLCOMB

When reached by phone, Lowery said she believes party chairs from both parties will be disappointed by the ruling, and questioned how candidacy can be determined without the primary record. She expects the ruling to be appealed.

In a November hearing, Rust said the law keeps legitimate candidates who have recently moved to Indiana or have switched political identifications from running for office.

In his ruling, Marion County Superior Court Judge Patrick J. Dietrick said the law “unduly burdens Hoosiers’ long recognized right to freely associate with the political party of one’s choosing and to cast one’s vote effectively.” He also ordered the defendants to pay Rust’s attorney fees.

Rust still faces an uphill challenge for the GOP nomination. U.S. Rep. Jim Banks has received the endorsement of the Indiana Republican Party and former President Donald Trump. Rust must also fulfill a signature quota for the nomination.

Casting himself as a conservative gay man with an “outsider’s voice” to Washington D.C., Rust is the former chair of his family business Rose Acre Farms in southern Indiana. Rose Acre Farms identifies itself as the second-largest egg producer in the U.S.

SELF-DESCRIBED ‘GAY CONSERVATIVE’ EGG FARMER CHALLENGES JIM BANKS IN INDIANA GOP SENATE PRIMARY

The company was one of four major egg producers in the country accused of fixing the price of eggs in the 2000s. A jury in an Illinois federal court recently ruled the producers conspired to limit the domestic supply of eggs to increase prices between 2004-2008 and ordered the companies to pay $17.7 million in damages.

The ruling inflamed the Senate race. Rep. Banks has accused Rust of being a “conman pretending to be a Republican.” Rose Acre Farms has denied any wrongdoing and Rust has said the verdict will be appealed.

Sen. Mike Braun is vacating the seat in his bid for governor.

FIRST ON FOX: A top House Republican is moving to force a Trump administration-era policy back into the federal government, calling it a “simple way” to rein in President Biden’s progressive regulatory actions. 

The bill introduced by Rep. Mike Gallagher, R-Wis., would codify a government policy active under former President Donald Trump, which forced federal agencies to identify two regulations to be cut for every new one enacted.

The legislation, expected Friday, is named “The 2 for 1 Act.”  

RNC CHAIR MCDANIEL DEFENDS THE INCREDIBLE SHRINKING GOP 2024 FIELD

“The Biden administration rules by regulation and finds new ways each day to make life harder for American farmers and small businesses,” Gallagher told Fox News Digital in a statement.

“Restoring the Trump administration’s common-sense principle of repealing two regulations for every new regulation created is a simple way to rein in the regulatory state, cut red tape and make it easier for Americans to earn a living.”

TRUMP CAMPAIGN PREVIEWS ‘EXTREMELY AGRESSIVE’ PUSH IN IOWA 

In addition to requiring proposals for new regulatory cuts, the bill would direct the White House Office of Management and Budget to project how much a new rule would cost the private sector.

The cost of implementing a new rule must be offset by the two proposed cuts.

The original policy was enacted with an executive order signed by Trump in January 2017, just days after he took office.

It was rescinded by President Biden his first day in the White House.

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

Biden further empowered regulators in May with an executive order that, among other things, raised the threshold for review of rules based on economic impact. 

Previously, a new rule was slated for review by the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs if its projected annual economic impact was at least $100 million. Biden’s executive order raised that threshold to at least $200 million.

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More than 750 new regulations have been finalized since Biden took office, according to the American Action Forum. 

According to the group’s projection, those regulations cost a total of roughly $437 billion.

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The four Republican presidential primary debates of 2023 are in the books.

Whether there will be another showdown before the Jan. 15 Iowa caucuses remains to be seen.

The big winner from the four prime-time clashes appears to be the candidate who skipped out on all four debates and came out relatively unscathed.

That candidate is former President Donald Trump, who, in his third straight White House run, is the commanding frontrunner in the GOP nomination race with the Iowa caucuses, which kick off the 2024 GOP presidential nominating calendar, and the New Hampshire primary fast approaching.

TRUMP ONCE AGAIN OFF THE HOOK DESPITE THIS CANDIDATE’S BEST EFFORTS 

“They did not change the fact that former President Trump will likely be the nominee and will likely win Iowa and New Hampshire by large margins,” said Jimmy Centers, a longtime Iowa-based Republican strategist and communicator who served on multiple presidential campaigns.

Dave Kochel, another veteran of numerous GOP presidential campaigns with decades of experience in Iowa, emphasized the debates have been “the semifinals.” 

He said Trump’s had “a bye week” and that he’s already “going into the finals.”

RNC CHAIR MCDANIEL DEFENDS THE INCREDIBLE SHRINKING GOP 2024 FIELD

Trump made history earlier this year as the first former or current president to be indicted for a crime, but his four indictments — including those in federal court in Washington, D.C., and in Fulton County Court in Georgia on charges he tried to overturn his 2020 presidential election loss — have only fueled his support among Republican voters.

Wednesday’s debate — with just four candidates on the stage — was the smallest to date but delivered some of the biggest fireworks.

Much of the verbal crossfire at the showdown at the University of Alabama was directed at Nikki Haley, the former ambassador to the United Nations and former South Carolina governor who has enjoyed plenty of momentum this autumn.

Despite the best efforts of former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who repeatedly chastised his rivals for failing to verbally confront Trump, the former president once again emerged with relatively few bruises.

TRUMP CAMPAIGN PREVIEWS ‘EXTREMELY AGRESSIVE’ PUSH IN IOWA 

“We’re 17 minutes into this debate. … We’ve had these three acting as if the race is between the four of us,” Christie said as he pointed to Haley, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy.

Christie said it was “ridiculous” his debate rivals wouldn’t discuss Trump. 

“I’m in this race because the truth needs to be spoken,” Christie said. “He is unfit to be president.”

Christie’s jabs at Trump drew boos a couple times during the debate, including in his closing comments when he predicted Trump would be convicted and would be unable to vote for himself. 

“If we deny reality as a party, we’re gonna have four more years of Joe Biden,” Christie warned.

But Christie’s scolding of his rivals mostly fell on deaf ears. They mostly avoided direct criticism of Trump even when the moderators asked a series of questions regarding the former president.

“None of them on that stage tonight talked about his conduct. They acted as if this trial that’s coming up in March isn’t even going to happen. That’s why I said tonight, ‘Can we stop pretending that four of us are the only people in this race?'” Christie told reporters in the spin room after the debate.

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

At one point during the debate, Christie and DeSantis engaged in a heated exchange as Christie pushed DeSantis to answer whether he thought the 77-year-old former president was fit for office.

While DeSantis reiterated that “we should not nominate someone who is almost 80 years old,” he wouldn’t go any further. It was the latest example of the reluctance of the major candidates other than Christie to lay into Trump as they try to succeed the former president.

Asked about his confrontation with the former New Jersey governor, DeSantis said Thursday on “Fox and Friends” that when it comes to taking on Trump, Christie “was trying to go in a much different direction.”

Karoline Leavitt, a former Trump White House press official and former GOP congressional candidate who’s a top spokesperson for the Trump-aligned MAGA Inc. super PAC, argued the debates have been “pointless” and “the biggest waste of time and money and energy that we’ve ever seen.”

“Our message consistently — and it continues to get more worthy every day — is that it’s so beyond time for them to do what’s best, realize that they don’t have a practical pathway to the nomination … and they should be unifying around the president,” Leavitt told Fox News Digital. “That’s been our message for a long time, and I think it’s just become more and more apparent with every single one of these debates.”

While the debates haven’t changed the dynamic at the top of the race, they’ve made an impact.

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Haley has risen in the polls in recent months, thanks in part to well-received performances in the first three debates. She has leapfrogged DeSantis for second place in New Hampshire and her home state, which holds the first southern contest. And she’s aiming to make a fight of it in Iowa, where she is pulling even with DeSantis in some of the latest polls.

Her rising status was evident Wednesday night, as she came under repeated and withering attacks from DeSantis and Ramaswamy. 

Even Christie, who defended Haley from Ramaswamy’s degrading attacks, highlighted his policy differences with his fellow former Republican governor.

Centers, who served as a top communicator for current Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds and former Gov. Terry Branstad, said the debates “have changed things in the sense that here in Iowa and New Hampshire Nikki Haley has positioned herself to come in second place and become the clear alternative to former President Trump.

“Absent these debates, we would not be having the conversation we’re having today about Nikki Haley. We’d be talking about Gov. DeSantis still being the alternative to former President Trump.”

Looking ahead, the immediate question is whether the Republican National Committee will continue to host nominating debates, with the next two expected to be held next month in Iowa and New Hampshire ahead of the caucuses and primary. The RNC could potentially bow out and decide to allow state parties to team up with media organizations to run any future debates.

Sources with knowledge of the national party committee’s thinking told Fox News the RNC was not expected to make any decision on upcoming debates until after Wednesday’s showdown.

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

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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What’s happening:

-Senator Tuberville stands down on blocking military promotions

-White House interns mocked for making demands of President Biden

-Who are the winners and losers of the fourth GOP debate

A Knock Down, Drag Out Fight

The fourth Republican presidential debate saw no shortage of fireworks, including plenty of name-calling and personal jabs among the participating candidates. Here are some of the top five moments…

1. Ramaswamy calls Haley ‘fascist’

2. Haley and DeSantis continue their months-long spat on China 

3. Ramaswamy holds up a sheet of paper accusing Haley of corruption – Christie calls him an “obnoxious blowhard”

4. Haley grilled by debate opponents, social media over record on trans issues

5. Christie lays into DeSantis on question about former President Donald Trump’s age

Capitol Hill

ALARM TRIGGERED: House censures ‘Squad’ Democrat for pulling fire alarm …Read more

CHRISTMAS JOE: GOP lawmaker skewers the Bidens in festive public Xmas display …Read more

SILENT SCHUMER: Chuck Schumer won’t say if he’ll take up bill freezing $6 billion to Iran …Read more

ADOPTION RULES: GOP lawmaker unveils bill to stop Biden admin from discriminating against adoptive parents’ LGBTQ views …Read more

THAT’S FISHY: House panel to probe WH talks with eco groups seeking to tear down power source …Read more

BLOW TO BIDEN: GOP lawmakers block Biden security aid to Ukraine, press for more border funding …Read more

‘CHANGE THE GAME PLAN’: Tuberville shifts course after releasing holds on military promotions …Read more

White House

‘COMPLETE MALARKEY’: Hunter’s ex-business associate blasts Biden’s new claim about son’s business dealings …Read more

‘YOU’RE INTERNS’: White House interns mocked for demand letter to Biden, Harris …Read more

‘PHONING IT IN’: Federal govt workers continue remote work despite Biden pledge …Read more

Tales from the Campaign Trail

FLOODGATES OPEN: Another Republican jumps into crowded race to fill Ken Buck’s seat …Read more

TURNING HEADS: Ramaswamy turned heads with these controversial statements in debate …Read more

‘WASN’T EVEN CLOSE’: Who were the winners and losers in the fourth Republican presidential debate? …Read more

TAKING NOTES: Ramaswamy sparks social media firestorm over sign attacking Haley during debate …Read more

‘WEAPONIZATION OF JUSTICE’: Trump visits Manhattan court to blast NYAG case, praises appellate ruling in his favor …Read more

Across America

RECORD LOW: NYC Mayor Adams’ approval rating drops below 30% amid migrant crisis …Read more

MURDER CONVICT NABBED: ICE arrests Romanian fugitive with murder conviction …Read more

‘ALWAYS CONSEQUENCES’: Soros donated over $1M to group that previously bailed out Texas rampage murderer …Read more

National Security Council spokesman John Kirby evaded a reporter’s question on Thursday when asked about President Biden’s decision to unlist Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen as a terrorist group.

During the daily White House press briefing, Fox News reporter Jacqui Heinrich asked Kirby whether Biden holds any “regret” for delisting the Houthis as a foreign terrorist organization, and whether the administration is reconsidering the move. 

“I’ve already said that we are going to review that decision. We are,” Kirby replied, although he gave no time frame for the review. 

“I don’t have a date certain for you or any outcome to brief, Jacqui, but we said we’re already gonna take a look and review that decision,” he added.

US WARSHIP SHOOTS DOWN 3 HOUTHI DRONES TARGETING COMMERCIAL VESSELS IN RED SEA: CENTCOM

Several of the president’s Republican critics in Congress have urged the Biden administration to consider reclassifying the Houthis as a foreign terrorist organization (FTO). The Trump administration applied the designation to the group as one of its final acts, but Biden reversed that decision as one of its first acts upon taking office.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken at the time argued that the administration removed the designation over concerns that it might have “a devastating impact on Yemenis’ access to basic commodities like food and fuel.”

However, since the Israel-Hamas war started on Oct. 7, the Houthis are one of several Iran-backed proxy groups who have harassed Israeli and U.S. forces stationed in the Middle East.

Earlier in November, a group of Republican lawmakers led by Sen. Steve Dains, R-Mont., introduced legislation that would force the administration to redesignate the Houthis as a terrorist organization. 

PENTAGON CONFIRMS 74TH ATTACK ON US TROOPS IN MIDDLE EAST SINCE OCT. 17

The Standing Against Houthi Aggression Act would allow the U.S. to enact several measures and sanctions against the group, including disruption of financial support networks.

The designation makes it unlawful for a person in the U.S. or subject to U.S. jurisdiction to knowingly provide material support or resources to an FTO, and members of an FTO are inadmissible and – under certain conditions — subject to removal from the U.S. 

The legislation came in response to the attacks on U.S. forces. 

In the most recent incident, three commercial vessels came under attack in international waters on Sunday. The Houthis took credit for the attack, claiming it launched multiple unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) at two Israeli vessels. Israel denied any link to the ships.

CASUALTIES, KIDNAPPED AND MORE NUMBERS SINCE HAMAS’ ATTACK ON ISRAEL

A U.S. Navy destroyer, the Carney, shot down three drones as it answered distress calls from the vessels, which the U.S. military said were connected to 14 separate nations.

“These attacks represent a direct threat to international commerce and maritime security. They have jeopardized the lives of international crews representing multiple countries around the world,” U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said. “We also have every reason to believe that these attacks, while launched by the Houthis in Yemen, are fully enabled by Iran.”

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U.S. forces in the Middle East have been attacked at least 75 times since the middle of last month. The Pentagon does not count attacks on U.S. warships at sea in this number.

Fox News Digital’s Peter Aitken, Danielle Wallace, Andrea Vacchiano, Lucas Tomlinson and Liz Friden contributed to this report.

Former Democratic Nashville Mayor Megan Barry on Wednesday announced a U.S. House bid to unseat Rep. Mark Green, R-Tenn., seeking a political comeback more than five years after she faced now-dismissed criminal charges linked to her having an extramarital affair with her city-employed bodyguard. 

In her announcement video, she cited several reasons for trying to return to elected office: a spate of mass shootings at schools, including earlier this year at a Nashville Christian elementary school, which was carried out by a transgender activist and former student; Tennessee’s abortion ban; the closure of rural hospitals; and the opioid epidemic.

“Today, I’m announcing my campaign for Congress because working families have been ignored for far too long,” Barry said in a video posted on her campaign website. “We need an economy and a government that works for everyone. If I can save even one other parent from burying a child, it will be worth every effort.”

Barry, elected in 2015 as the first female mayor of Nashville, resigned from that office in 2018 after pleading guilty to felony theft for cheating the city out of thousands of dollars to carry on a nearly two-year affair with her then-police bodyguard, Sgt. Rob Forrest. She agreed to reimburse the city for $11,000 in unlawful expenses. After completing three years of unsupervised probation, the charge was expunged from her record in 2021, according to The Tennessean. 

NASHVILLE POLICE SAY 7 ON ADMIN ASSIGNMENT AFTER PURPORTED LEAK OF CHRISTIAN SCHOOL SHOOTER’S MANIFESTO

In the video, Barry said she had “made mistakes,” but she took responsibility and worked through them with her husband.

“I don’t think anybody should be defined by their worst moments,” Barry said. “It’s what you do next that counts.”

She is running in one of three congressional districts that carved up Nashville during Republican-led redistricting last year. 

Due to line-drawing efforts by Republican state lawmakers that favor their own party, the GOP last year won another seat that previously centered on Nashville and was long held by Democrats. Barry is running as a Democrat, campaign spokesperson Brian Córdova confirmed to the Associated Press. 

“I look at the total dysfunction in Congress and its failure to make any kind of difference in the lives of our families,” Barry said. “It’s outrageous. We don’t have to tolerate it.”

Barry’s announcement also focuses on the death of her only child, Max, who died in July 2017 after an overdose of a combination of drugs, including opioids. Since leaving office, Barry has widely shared her son’s story in an effort to combat shame and stigma surrounding substance abuse disorders.

NASHVILLE KILLER AUDREY HALE SLEPT WITH JOURNALS ON SCHOOL SHOOTINGS UNDER BED, COURT DOCS REVEAL

Barry will try to make inroads in a district that extends out of Nashville and into 13 Republican-favoring counties. Last year, Green won his third term in Congress over a Democratic opponent by nearly 22 percentage points. Voters in that district favored former President Trump over President Biden by 15 percentage points in 2020.

Tennessee’s congressional map is facing a federal lawsuit, but that case isn’t scheduled to go to trial until April 2025.

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After Barry’s announcement, Green’s team said that he is “honored to serve and looks forward to continuing to fight for our values and principles,” mentioning securing the border, health care and “constitutional rights.” “From three tours in combat, to the emergency room, to public service, Congressman Green has always put his fellow American before himself,” Green’s chief of staff, Stephen Siao, said in a written statement.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

Lawyers for former President Donald Trump have asked for a pause while they challenge the ruling that he is not immune from prosecution in an effort to delay the federal trial relating to charges of trying to overturn the 2020 election. 

Trump’s lawyers filed a notice of appeal Thursday, indicating that they will challenge U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan’s decision rejecting Trump’s bid to derail the case headed to trial in Washington, D.C., in March. 

The one-page filing was accompanied by a request from the Trump team to put the case on pause so the appeals court can take up the matter.

“The filing of President Trump’s notice of appeal has deprived this Court of jurisdiction over this case in its entirety pending resolution of the appeal,” Trump’s lawyers wrote. “Therefore, a stay of all further proceedings is mandatory and automatic.”

TRUMP VISITS MANHATTAN COURT TO BLAST NYAG CASE, PRAISES APPELLATE RULING IN HIS FAVOR

The case charges Trump with conspiring to overturn the will of voters in a desperate move to cling to power after he lost the 2020 presidential election to Democrat Joe Biden. It is the first of four criminal cases Trump is facing that are scheduled to go to trial, though it is possible the appeal of the immunity issue could delay the case.

Trump’s legal team is working to get the trial postponed until after the 2024 election is decided, or until after the Republican Party holds its nominating convention in July.

BILL BURR BASHES JIMMY KIMMEL, ‘YOU IDIOT LIBERALS’ FOR MAKING TRUMP A MARTYR: ‘HE’S COMING BACK’

Trump’s lawyers have stated that he cannot face criminal charges because the actions spelled out in the indictment fell within his duties as president.

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Trump and his family have denied any wrongdoing and have claimed that the former president has repeatedly said his assets were actually undervalued.

A Democrat representing a swing House district announced Thursday she would not be running for re-election in 2024 because the race is “rigged” against her.

In a statement announcing her decision, Rep. Kathy Manning, who represents North Carolina’s 6th Congressional District, accused the Republican-led state legislature of passing “flagrantly gerrymandered Congressional districts” to reduce the number of Democrats representing those districts.

“I would love nothing more than to continue representing our community in Congress. Unfortunately, the egregiously gerrymandered maps do not make this race competitive, and I cannot in good conscience ask people to invest their time, resources and efforts in a campaign that is rigged against us,” Manning said.

NAME-CALLING, PERSONAL JABS ROUND OUT TOP 5 MOMENTS FROM THE FIERY REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE IN ALABAMA

She added that she would reconsider her decision not to run if pending lawsuits force the state legislature to redraw the districts.

Manning called the district boundaries “shameful,” and claimed Republicans knew they couldn’t “win under fair districts.” She specifically cited how the Democratic stronghold of Greensboro, North Carolina was split between three different districts that include more rural areas in the new map.

“As a Greensboro resident of forty years, I am disgusted by the callous disregard of Republican leaders for the citizens of my district. Politicians should not choose their voters; voters should choose their representatives,” she said.

WHO WERE THE WINNERS AND LOSERS IN THE FOURTH REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE? PUNDITS NAME THEIR PICKS

“It is a true privilege to represent my community in Congress. I am deeply grateful for all the constituents who have placed their trust in me, shared their concerns and triumphs, and welcomed me into their homes, businesses, and places of worship,” she added.

A lawsuit seeking to strike down the new map, which was approved in October, was filed in federal court on Monday, arguing it weakens minority voting power and violates the U.S. Constitution.

The lawsuit specifically challenges four districts where the plaintiffs argue the state legislature minimized the voting strength of minorities, thereby strengthening “the state’s white majority,” and are asking for a new map to be drawn.

HERE ARE THE TOP MOMENTS FROM TRUMP’S ‘HANNITY’ TOWN HALL

Should the map remain in place, Republicans will be in a good position to win 10 of the 14 congressional districts in North Carolina. The districts are currently split between the two parties at seven apiece.

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The additional three-seat flip would also boost Republicans’ narrow majority in the House of Representatives, which stands at 221-213. There is one vacancy following the expulsion of former Rep. George Santos, R-N.Y., last week.

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

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

A new book reveals that Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., squared off with Planned Parenthood in a dispute that eventually left her “floored” as she faced resistance on eliminating the Hyde Amendment, a top liberal priority.

“The Squad: AOC and the Hope of a Political Revolution” by The Intercept’s Ryan Grim, which was released on Tuesday, provides an insider account of the progressive movement, specifically the “Squad.” One chapter describes a series of events beginning in spring 2019 where presidential candidate Joe Biden was facing “intense backlash” from his party for defending the Hyde Amendment, barring federal money for paying for abortions, and Ocasio-Cortez noted that the amendment was still in the Democrat appropriations bill.

“Let’s take it out,” Ocasio-Cortez is said to have told her colleagues, since the Hyde Amendment was widely opposed by most Democrats and it “seemed like an easy one,” according to Grim’s book, with some Democrats thinking it was left in the bill by mistake.

AOC CLAIMS WOMEN WILL FACE DOCTOR EXAMS IF BIOLOGICAL MEN BARRED FROM FEMALE SPORTS

Ocasio-Cortez soon learned that it wasn’t a mistake, and she was reportedly told by fellow Democrats, including Rep. Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut, that Senate Republicans and President Trump would never go along with a bill that stripped the Hyde Amendment so she should drop the idea.

That’s when Ocasio-Cortez is said to have approached Planned Parenthood and, much to her chagrin, her former aide Dan Riffle was met with resistance. 

“AOC’s staff reached out to natural allies on the issue, Planned Parenthood, and NARAL, Pro-Choice America the biggest pro-choice players on the Hill,” Grim wrote. “Publicly, they were strident opponents of the Hyde Amendment and had lambasted Biden for his support of it. Riffle first spoke with Jacqueline Ayers, the top lobbyist for Planned Parenthood, and was surprised to learn that the organization did not want Democrats to try and remove the Hyde Amendment. Planned Parenthood’s reasoning was similar to DeLauro’s: we don’t have the votes in the Senate so we’ll lose.”

AOC’S LIFE ‘TRANSFORMED’ FOR THE BETTER AFTER PELOSI’S SPEAKER STEPDOWN, UPCOMING BOOK REVEALS

Riffle, according to the book, was told that Planned Parenthood would have to “score” the vote and push Democrats to oppose it if the Hyde Amendment were in it, since that was a stated goal of theirs, and that would force them to give Democrats a bad score, which could hurt their re-election chances.

“But Riffle argued, ‘Isn’t it your mission to repeal Hyde and protect abortion rights?’” the book details. “‘Yes,’ she told him. ‘But we can’t do that if Democrats lose the majority so protecting them is the first order of business.’”

REPUBLICANS CAN WIN ON ABORTION IF PRO-LIFERS TELL THEIR STORIES

After being told by NARAL that they agreed with Planned Parenthood, Riffle relented but said he did not agree with the strategy and was “discouraged” by it.

Shortly afterward, Biden reversed his position on the Hyde Amendment in an Atlanta speech. 

“Ocasio-Cortez was floored,” Grim wrote. “How was Joe Biden to the left of Planned Parenthood and NARAL on abortion rights? It made no sense.”

“They’re one-daying us,” former top AOC aide Ariel Eckblad said, according to Grim.

Grim wrote that AOC continued to “push” the abortion rights group, and they reached out to her directly to set up a meeting with women of color who support abortion, hoping that they could “sway” her. 

“At the last minute, AOC didn’t show up, sending an aide instead,” Grim wrote. “She was still intent on repeal.”

Grim wrote that AOC eventually worked with fellow squad member Ayanna Pressley to introduce an amendment that ultimately failed to make waves.

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“Ocasio-Cortez spoke to Pressley, who was the chair of a caucus dedicated to promoting abortion rights, and agreed to cede the issue to her,” Grim wrote. “Pressley ended up writing an amendment that, for procedural reasons, was expected not to get through the rules committee. That would allow opponents of Hyde to make a run at it without forcing a vote or even a debate on the floor.”

“As expected, the Pressley amendment was rejected before it could get to the floor. A Planned Parenthood official followed up by complaining to Ocasio-Cortez’s office that Riffle had been too gruff on the phone.”

Fox News Digital reached out to Ocasio-Cortez’s office and Planned Parenthood but did not immediately receive a response. 

Republicans and Democrats remain at loggerheads over solutions to the ongoing migrant crisis, leading to gridlock over a supplemental spending bill – even as President Biden says he is open to “significant compromises” on the matter.

Senate Republicans, as well as Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., blocked a Democratic emergency spending measure on Wednesday that would have provided funding for Israel, Ukraine and the border but did not include border security measures sought by Republicans in the House and Senate. Republicans cited the lack of inclusion of additional border policy changes, specifically limits on asylum and humanitarian parole, as the reason for their no votes.

The White House made its $110 billion supplemental funding request in October and included $14 billion for border security – including money for shelter and services, more hiring of officials, transportation, and resources for an expansion of expedited removal. The Democratic proposal on Wednesday included many of those measures.

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

Republicans, however, have called for sweeping changes to the border, including heightened “credible fear” standards for asylum seekers and limits on the administration’s use of parole to release migrants by the tens of thousands each month into the interior. Some conservatives have called for the inclusion of the entirety of the House GOP’s signature border legislation, which would also reinstate Remain-in-Mexico and restart the border wall, and have warned they will torpedo a spending bill if it does not include it.

A Senate working group put forward proposals largely drawn from that bill, but they were soon shot down both by the White House and Senate Democratic leadership as a “non-starter.”

Some Senate Democrats, meanwhile, have said they would only accept policy changes if accompanied by amnesty for illegal immigrants already in the U.S. – something that would almost certainly be rejected by Republicans, and would be anathema to the Republican base. 

Other Democrats are reportedly open to raising the “credible fear” standard but have ruled out changes to parole, which is being used to bring in tens of thousands of migrants each month via the CBP One app at the border, as well as by the Cuban, Haitian, Nicaraguan and Venezuelan (CHNV) program. It has also been used to bring in Afghans and Ukrainians in the last year via separate parole programs. 

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., told reporters on Thursday that the asylum standards, specifically the “credible fear” initial screening, was key.

“You’ve got to change the asylum system,” he said, arguing that migrants were being drawn to the border by the knowledge that, in many cases, they’ll be released into the U.S. with a court date years in the future.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., was clear that anything without border policy changes would not get Republican support.

REPUBLICANS CLOSE RANKS, DEMAND DEMS FACE BORDER CRISIS AS BIDEN UKRAINE PLAN HANGS IN BALANCE

“Fixing a badly broken asylum and parole system isn’t ‘hijacking’ the supplemental. It’s strengthening it,” he said on Wednesday evening. “Securing our southern border isn’t extraneous to our national security. It’s essential. I know some of our Democratic colleagues understand this.”

Meanwhile, the administration has repeatedly said it is open to negotiations and compromises but has also said there are limits to what it is willing to accept on anything that would limit asylum and parole.

President Biden on Wednesday said he was willing to make “significant compromises” on the border, including policy changes.

 “I am willing to make significant compromises on the border. We need to fix the broken border system,” he said.

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas was more cautious, suggesting officials would not agree to anything that would damage the United States’ “international obligations.”

“We’ve presented proposals that address the situation, that provide real practical solutions and also do not do violence to our fundamental values,” he said on CNN. “We are a country of refugees. We do have asylum laws. We do have refugee laws. We abide by our international obligations that are long-standing,” he said. “And so that is my response to that.” 

“Some of the [Republican] proposals are reasonable and worthy of discussion. Others are, frankly, not,” he said.

The administration has repeatedly said it is pursuing a policy of expanding “lawful pathways” while increasing “consequences” for illegal entry, but needs more funding and comprehensive immigration reform from Congress. Republicans have blamed the crisis on the policies of the administration, and say more border security, limits on releases into the interior, and a return to Trump-era policies are needed.

Meanwhile, some Democrats accused Republicans of not being flexible enough.

“They have to figure out whether they want to negotiate or whether they want to make take-it-or-leave-it demands,” Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., said.

However, as Washington tries to find any sort of agreement, the border remains in chaos. Tuesday set a daily record for migrant encounters, exceeding 12,000 encounters. 

As of Wednesday morning, the agency has over 22,000 migrants in custody, with several major Border Patrol sectors running heavily over capacity, sources told Fox News.

Fiscal Year 23 hit a new record of 2.4 million migrant encounters, with September hitting the highest monthly total ever recorded, at over 260,000 encounters. October saw slightly fewer, with over 240,000 encounters, but that was still a record for October.

Fox News’ Bill Melugin, Griff Jenkins and The Associated Press contributed to this report.