NationalWatch

House Republicans are teeing up a pair of bills this week to put Democrats on the record about where they stand on their party’s socialist insurgency.

The House Rules Committee just advanced a resolution to condemn socialism during its Monday meeting, with no Democrats voting in favor of moving it forward. Democrats, in fact, criticized the resolution as a waste of time.

Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass., called the bill “nonsense” and argued it did little to better the lives of Americans.

“So you’re concerned about rising gas, or are you concerned about grocery prices? You know, don’t worry. Republicans in Congress are passing another non-binding resolution condemning socialism,” McGovern said.

HOUSE REPUBLICAN AIMS TO PUT DEMOCRATS ON THE RECORD OVER DSA WITH RESOLUTION CONDEMNING SOCIALISM

Tensions erupted at one point as Rep. Joe Neguse, D-Colo., clashed with Committee on House Administration Chairman Bryan Steil, R-Wis., over the definition of socialism.

Neguse had attempted to press Steil on whether he would see President Donald Trump trying to take a “20% stake” in Kroger grocery stores as socialism, to which Steil replied he would “want to see the details.”

“Oh, you’d want to see the details,” Neguse yelled as the two men spoke over each other. “You said if the government owns grocery stores, that would be socialist. But if, of course, Donald Trump were to announce an equity stake in a grocery store, well, ‘I’d have to really see the details,’ because we all know the play.”

Steil said he would be open to seeing such a proposal if it had a national security imperative, but stated repeatedly that Neguse was posing a hypothetical.

At one point, Rules Committee Chairwoman Virginia Foxx, R-N.C., chided Neguse for interrupting Steil.

Steil shot back at one point, “Some folks on your side of the aisle would like to have government-run grocery stores. I think that’s nuts.”

“And if the president of the United States announced that the United States government was taking an…equity stake in grocery stores?” Neguse pressed.

After more back-and-forth, Steil said, “I think there would need to be a national security rationale for the action. I don’t see any in your hypothetical. I don’t see a national security focus.”

Neguse called it a “helpful answer,” to which Steil quipped, “It’s a hypotherical. So we’re entering silly season.”

A House-wide test known as a “rule vote” on the resolution will take place on Tuesday afternoon, followed finally by a vote on the resolution itself on Tuesday evening, according to a provisional schedule obtained by Fox News Digital.

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It’s not uncommon for Democrats on the House Rules Committee to oppose GOP-led measures. But the move is especially stark as Republicans seize on the left’s inter-party civil war that has dominated the midterm election cycle.

Republicans are capitalizing on that civil war with another measure expected for a vote on Wednesday afternoon, according to that provisional schedule. That vote will be on a constitutional amendment to cap the number of Supreme Court justices at nine.

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Several top progressives, including former Vice President Kamala Harris and Sens. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Ed Markey, D-Mass., have called for expanding the Supreme Court to up to 13 seats.

House GOP leaders have opted to fast-track that legislation past the House Rules Committee. In exchange, however, it will need two-thirds of the chamber to pass as opposed to a simple majority.

CARVILLE UNLOADS ON DSA SOCIALISTS: ‘DON’T USE OUR GOD—- NAME’

“It’s time for the Democrats to pick a side. Stop playing the middle. Be proud of who you are. You were elected to lead, so lead. Have an opinion. We intend to put you on record,” House GOP Conference Chair Lisa McClain, R-Mich., told Fox News Digital.

“Do you want to pack the Supreme Court or not? It’s really simple. It’s a yes or no vote. It’s no bigger than that. Two — do you believe in socialism? If you do, you should say it loud and say it proud. I personally don’t believe in socialism. I like the fact that we have a democracy, that we have a republic, that we have a free society. And I’m proud to put myself on record.”

Meanwhile the top Democrat, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., side-stepped a question on whether he supports the anti-socialism resolution on Monday.

“I haven’t taken a look at that resolution, although it’s my understanding that the resolution elevates the so-called SAVE America Act, which is just the ‘Suppress the Vote Act.’ And I’m not clear how many Democrats are actually gonna support a resolution whose focus is on trying to rig the midterm election by elevating this voter suppression legislation that Donald Trump has been trying to jam down the road to the American people for the last year,” he told reporters.

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In addition to condemning socialism, the resolution also hails Republican-led election security bills as “common-sense election integrity measures, including proof of citizenship, photo identification, and database checks.”

It calls for the “enforcement” of the Safeguarding American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act, which has passed the House but has not been taken up in the Senate.

Democrats have largely panned that legislation as attempts at voter suppression.

Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon, D-Pa., said the bill was a bid to “silence political opponents.”

“Let’s scare people with yet another boogeyman and not do anything about it. Not really solve problems, just try to scare people,” Scanlon said.

Meanwhile, Rep. Nick Langworthy, R-N.Y., pointed out that Democratic socialists were already in power in his own state and warned it could spread elsewhere.

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“I’ve seen firsthand the alarming rise of socialism…families in western New York have watched one-party rule in Albany pile on more taxes, more mandates, more government control, while hardworking taxpayers are left to foot the bill,” Langworthy said. “And now downstate, we’ve watched the socialist left move more from the activist fringe into positions of real, serious political power. And anyone thinks that these ideas are going to stay confined in New York City is sadly mistaken.”

As the AI boom drives an unprecedented hunt for electricity, two states are taking sharply different approaches to assuage fears that Big Tech’s massive energy needs will raise Americans’ utility bills.

New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill’s approach is to set statewide ground rules before large data centers connect to the grid. Under legislation she signed in July, the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities must create a separate rate structure for large data centers and ensure that the costs of new substations, transmission lines or other grid upgrades built mainly for the data center, are not added to other customers’ bills.

The law also requires large data centers to commit to paying for at least 85% of the electricity capacity they request for a 10-year period, in case they scale back their power use or close, and it directs regulators to encourage data centers to bring clean generation or energy storage online, use power more efficiently and reduce their electricity demand during emergencies.

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Sherrill has paired those ratepayer protections with new disclosure and local-planning measures. A separate law she signed this week requires operators to report their energy and water use to the state twice a year. Sherrill’s administration says the reporting and new municipal guidance will give officials a clearer picture of data centers’ demands and help communities assess local impacts and negotiate with developers.

Meanwhile, Indiana is taking a different approach. Rather than impose statewide rules for every large data center, state regulators approved a deal negotiated by Indiana Michigan Power (I&M), the Fort Wayne-based utility serving customers in Indiana and Michigan, along with consumer advocates and major technology companies.

The deal grew out of a wave of huge planned projects in I&M’s service area. Amazon Web Services (AWS) announced an $11 billion data-center campus near New Carlisle, Indiana, in 2024, while Google announced a $2 billion project in Fort Wayne. I&M and state officials then had to determine who would cover the cost of the additional power and grid infrastructure needed to serve those projects.

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According to I&M, the 2025 agreement requires new large customers, including data centers, to make long-term financial commitments to pay for the electric service they request, even if their future demand falls short of expectations. With those commitments in place, I&M says it can turn the new demand into a benefit for existing customers. The utility is now asking regulators to cut base rates by $59 million in 2027, saying revenue from large customers, including data centers, makes the reduction possible.

If the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission approves the plan, I&M says an Indiana household using 1,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity a month would save about $100 a year. The utility is also proposing to freeze all rates on customers’ monthly bills for three years, with a decision expected in June 2027 and any savings beginning that summer.

Daniel Turner, executive director of the energy advocacy group Power The Future, said Indiana’s approach was better than New Jersey’s more prescriptive framework, but argued neither state had gone far enough to ensure the AI buildout adds power to the grid rather than simply consuming it.

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“Indiana’s approach is definitely the better of the two,” Turner told Fox News Digital. “At least Indiana is saying, ‘Hey, we don’t know where this is going, but we’re not going to put in all of the guardrails yet to stop progress from happening. Let’s work together and figure out what the solution is.’”

Turner said he would make new power generation part of the deal from the start. New Jersey’s law encourages data centers to bring clean generation or energy storage online, but Turner said facilities should be built alongside the generation needed to run them and add capacity to the broader grid.

“Every data center should be built in conjunction with the necessary power-generating facility to power it and give back to the grid,” he said.

Turner posited that data centers have become a political football, with officials too often choosing sweeping restrictions or open-ended delays instead of working with utilities, developers and local communities on plans that protect ratepayers while adding needed power.

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“The solutions to data centers are not complicated issues to solve,” he said. “They just require political will.”

The Trump administration has already sought to turn that argument into a national model. In March, the White House announced a Ratepayer Protection Pledge signed by major technology companies, including Amazon, Google, Meta, Microsoft, OpenAI, Oracle and xAI, which the administration says commits the companies to cover the cost of additional electricity generation needed for AI data centers rather than pass it along to families.

Turner noted the stakes of the data-center debate extend well beyond local utility bills, arguing that the United States cannot afford to fall behind China in the race to build and control artificial intelligence.

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“When you tell Americans why we have to win the AI race, look at what China did with the Wuhan flu and how they tried to lie about that,” Turner said. “Now imagine they can do that with every single piece of intellectual property on every platform in real time. That alone should scare the crap out of Americans.”

The Supreme Court has again sided with the Trump administration, allowing construction on the White House ballroom project to continue while the case continues to be litigated in the lower courts.

The court split 5-4 in granting the emergency request. The decision replaces a temporary order Chief Justice John Roberts issued just hours before a lower-court ruling blocking the work was set to take effect. The underlying litigation will continue in the lower courts, but court documents indicate key parts of the project could be completed within months, potentially outpacing the legal process.

Roberts issued a strongly worded dissent from the latest order, declaring that construction of the ballroom is “likely unlawful” and warning that allowing the project to proceed risks infringing on Congress’ constitutional powers.

“The President ordered the demolition of the East Wing of the White House to make way for a new, privately funded state ballroom in its place,” Roberts wrote. “Construction of the ballroom has proceeded apace for the better part of a year.”

TRUMP’S WHITE HOUSE BALLROOM FOES FACE ‘VERY TOUGH ARGUMENT’ AT SUPREME COURT, LEGAL EXPERTS SAY

“That construction is likely unlawful,” he wrote.

Roberts pointed to federal law that prohibits the construction of any “building or structure” on federal government parkland in Washington, D.C., without express authorization from Congress.

APPEALS COURT SAYS FEDERAL JUDGE MUST RECONSIDER BLOCKING WH BALLROOM, WEIGH NATIONAL SECURITY CONCERNS

The chief justice argued that the ballroom falls squarely within that restriction because it is being built on President’s Park, federal land that encompasses the White House and surrounding grounds.

“The ballroom is a building or structure being erected on federal park grounds—President’s Park—in the District of Columbia,” Roberts wrote. “Yet Congress has not passed any law resembling ‘express authority’ for the Executive’s construction of it.”

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The Supreme Court’s decision allows construction to continue while the underlying legal challenge plays out, but it does not settle the ultimate question of whether the ballroom project is lawful.

The case remains in litigation in the lower courts, meaning Roberts’ assertion that the construction is “likely unlawful” represents his view in dissent rather than a final determination by the Supreme Court.

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Roberts also took issue with the court’s treatment of Alison Hoagland, who originally challenged the project, arguing that both the historic nature of the White House and her interest in its preservation deserved greater weight.

“The White House is not just any building, and—when it comes to historic preservation—Hoagland is not just any person,” Roberts wrote.

REPUBLICANS QUESTION TRUMP’S ‘PRIVATELY FUNDED’ BALLROOM AFTER REPORT POINTS TO TAXPAYER BURDEN

“In failing to appreciate as much, the Court misconceives the plaintiff’s injury, allowing the Executive’s likely infringement of the Legislature’s power of the purse and authority to regulate federal property in the District of Columbia to continue,” he wrote.

“Today’s decision is no victory for the separation of powers.”

Roberts closed his dissent by invoking former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and issuing a pointed warning about how decisions involving the White House are made.

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“Winston Churchill once remarked that ‘[w]e shape our buildings, and afterwards our buildings shape us,’” Roberts wrote.

“All the more reason to ensure that those responsible follow the rules in deciding what to tear down and what to build up at the People’s House.”

“I respectfully dissent,” he wrote.

In addition to Roberts, Justices Sotomayor, Kagan and Jackson also dissented.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Vice President JD Vance urged Michigan Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed during a rally on Monday to focus on substantive policy issues instead of attacking his wife.

“I actually think that the people of Michigan think it’s kind of weird when you talk about another guy’s wife,” Vance said at a metro Detroit rally organized by MAGA Inc., a super PAC aligned with the president.

“I think the people of Michigan would like you to talk about the public policy ideas …I think the people of Michigan would like you to talk about how you’re going to protect auto workers when you’re supporting every single policy that has undercut the wages and jobs of Michigan auto workers your entire life in public service.”

EL-SAYED UNDER FIRE ONLINE AFTER TAKING AIM AT USHA VANCE, FEMALE TRUMP AIDE IN WEEKEND SOCIAL MEDIA POSTS

“But whatever you want to talk about, Abdul, keep my wife’s name the hell out of your mouth because she’s way out of your league,” the vice president added.

Vance’s quip was in response to El-Sayed saying “do we think JD is taking Usha with him back in time to meet Papaw, or no” after the vice president suggested that Sharia law would have been an alien concept to his grandfather. 

Critics said the post appeared to take aim at Usha Vance’s Indian heritage. El-Sayed later said his point was that Vance seemed to be suggesting some people are “more American” than others because their families have been in the country longer, noting that Vance’s own in-laws are immigrants.

“If you’re a rural White American living in Michigan, just remember El-Sayed believes you’re a racist,” conservative commentator Ryan Girdusky said in response to the Democratic hopeful’s statement.

SECOND LADY USHA VANCE FIRES BACK AT POINTED JAB FROM DEMOCRATIC SENATE NOMINEE ABDUL EL-SAYED

Earlier in his speech, Vance accused El-Sayed of undercutting his support for working people by taking liberal positions on immigration issues.

“We’re here to talk about protecting Michigan truck drivers, but also protecting the safety of every single person who drives on the road with a semi truck, which is all of us,” Vance said. “Here’s the crazy thing. Just a few years ago, Abdul El-Sayed said that we need to make sure that illegal aliens have driver’s licenses in this country. He would love to undercut the wages of American truckers.”

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In 2018, El-Sayed expressed support for allowing illegal immigrants to obtain standard driver’s licenses, though he did not specifically push for those in the country illegally to receive the commercial driver’s licenses necessary to operate long-haul trucks.

While Vance and El-Sayed differ in their approaches to immigration, the two both agree, in principle, that tariffs should be used to benefit American industry.

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The El-Sayed campaign did not respond to a request for comment when reached by Fox News Digital on Monday.

The contradictions are piling up around New York City Democratic Socialists of America co-chair Gustavo Gordillo, whose claims about his working-class credentials — from being a “union electrician” to his housing and family story — have increasingly collided with public records and other evidence.

Gordillo has repeatedly invoked his family’s immigrant success story while explaining his support for socialism.

“My parents came here, they had nothing,” Gordillo told the New York Times in a profile piece earlier this month. “Their first jobs were in fast food and cleaning houses. They built success in this country. And they’re absolutely the exception.”

According to Gordillo, he advances the cause of socialism because he believes it can “build a world” where his parents’ success story is “not exceptional.”

LUXURY TRAVEL, SHOPPING, SIX-FIGURE INCOME: BATTLEGROUND DEMS RIPPED FOR ‘PHONY’ WORKING-CLASS NARRATIVE

A 2021 obituary for Gordillo’s paternal grandfather, however, raises questions about the family history behind that account.

Manuel Gordillo, Gordillo’s grandfather, immigrated from Peru to the United States to practice medicine in 1958. After settling in the United States, Manuel met his future wife in St. Louis, and the couple later had Gordillo’s father, Gustavo.

The obituary also notes that Gordillo’s grandfather built a successful life as a psychiatrist in Ohio, at one point serving as the president of the Ohio Psychiatric Association, casting doubt on the socialist’s claim that his parents grew up in poverty.

“My dad, his first job in the United States was working at Wendy’s, my mom’s first job was a house cleaner, and they did make a living for themselves, and they had success,” Gordillo told Fox News in July.

Gordillo and the New York City Democratic Socialists of America did not respond to requests for comment when reached by Fox News Digital on Monday.

The questions surrounding Gordillo’s account of his family history come after discrepancies emerged over how he has described his occupation and living arrangements.

DEMOCRATIC SOCIALIST HEADED FOR $142K LEGISLATURE SALARY BEGS FOR RENT HANDOUT, DELETES POST AFTER BACKLASH

The 38-year-old socialist, for example, told the New York Times that he was renting a modest apartment in the Crown Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn only for it to be revealed that he was actually living in a $1.4 million townhouse owned by his father in a trendier part of the borough.

“Not only did DSA co-chair Gustavo Gordillo’s parents buy him this rowhouse, they converted it from a two family and renovated it into a luxury single-family home for him,” New York City Councilwoman Vickie Paladino said on X. “Exactly the kind of ‘greed’ the DSA rails against on a daily basis, and reducing valuable housing inventory by one more unit, which is supposedly something the DSA cares very deeply about.”

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Also undercutting Gordillo’s working-class image is his continued self-identification as a “union electrician” despite the fact that he hasn’t been a member of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers since March, when he was fired for not showing up to his apprenticeship.

“After learning of Mr. Gordillo’s prolonged absence from and failure to participate in required work and classes, the trustees of the Joint Apprentice Training Committee terminated Mr. Gordillo from the program,” the IBEW said in a statement.

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Even with the IBEW publicly stating that Gordillo is not a member of their organization, the socialist leader still identifies himself as a “union electrician” on social media.

FIRST ON FOX: The Small Business Administration is bringing a celebrity panel to Washington next month to judge five entrepreneurs competing for a share of a $1 million prize pool, Fox News Digital has exclusively learned.

“As our nation marks its 250th anniversary, the SBA is celebrating America’s legacy of free enterprise through the Million Dollar Pitch Competition—a historic live event showcasing the essential contributions of America’s small businesses,” SBA Administrator Kelly Loeffler told Fox News Digital.

Entrepreneurs from across the nation submitted their ideas earlier this year, leaving five finalists to participate in a live pitch competition in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 18.

Rapper Nicki Minaj, entrepreneur and private equity fund manager Grant Cardone, co-founder of Airbnb and U.S. Chief Design Office Joe Gebbia will judge the final competition. Award-winning actor Dean Cain will host the event, Fox News Digital has exclusively learned.

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The competition is another example of the Trump administration’s efforts to spotlight American ingenuity and partner with the private sector to support innovation and small-business growth, Fox News Digital learned.

“Their participation brings invaluable real-world perspective as our five exceptional finalists compete for a share of $1 million in growth capital. I look forward to joining them next month as we recognize the innovators and job creators who power American strength,” Loeffler added.

The participants were evaluated based on categories of strengthening American competitiveness, examples of small businesses “punching above its weight,” economic impact and quality jobs and business fundamentals and execution readiness.

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The five finalists are defense technology company Compotech, Inc. in Brewer, ME, metalworking machinery manufacturer Winton Machine in Suwanee, GA, plastic mold manufacturing company Plas-Tech Tooling in Garner, IA, pressure vessel manufacturer Red River in Gillette, WY, and machinery manufacturing firm VetPowered LLC in San Diego, CA.

No finalist will go empty-handed with the first-place winner scoring $400,000, second place winning $250,000, third place gets $150,000 and fourth place will take home $125,000, leaving fifth place with $75,000.

The competition also echoes the format of Trump’s hit early-2000s reality show, “The Apprentice,” which put aspiring business leaders through a series of challenges for a chance to work for his company.

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The successful show aired for 14 seasons with Trump as host.

Michigan U.S. Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed shares nearly two dozen donors with former Republican congressional candidate Dan Bilzerian, whose campaign included antisemitic attacks against Rep. Randy Fine, R-Fla.

El-Sayed and Bilzerian are on opposite sides of the political spectrum, but both have criticized U.S. support for Israel and called on the United States to cease all aid to the Jewish state.

Bilzerian has supported the Trump administration’s mass deportation efforts, while El-Sayed has called for abolishing ICE. Bilzerian has called for lower taxes and less regulation, while El-Sayed has called for higher taxes on the wealthy and Medicare for All.

The two candidates’ shared donors have contributed more than $61,000 to their campaigns, according to FEC filings for both campaigns. The shared donors gave $23,144.12 to Bilzerian’s campaign and approximately $38,626.20 to El-Sayed’s campaign, the Washington Free Beacon first reported. 

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Bilzerian lost to Fine in the primary, and his campaign tactics and advertisements drew sharp criticism from Republican leaders. His attacks against Fine, who is Jewish, included a 2½-minute AI-generated campaign ad calling Fine a “fat Jew” as well as other antisemitic remarks.

“Jewish supremacy is the greatest threat to the world today,” Bilzerian told Fox News Digital in response to a request for comment.

Meanwhile, El-Sayed, who has routinely accused Israel of committing “genocide” against the Palestinian people, has drawn criticism for his associations with social media influencer Hasan Piker, who said the terrorist group Hamas was “a thousand times better than the fascist settler colonial apartheid state,” referring to Israel.

Donors to both El-Sayed and Bilzerian include prominent critics of Israel, such as Georgia attorney Ibrahim Awad of Awad Law Firm. He contributed $12,651.88 through a joint fundraising committee supporting Bilzerian’s campaign on April 25, 2026. It is unclear how much of that contribution was attributed to Awad. Fox News Digital reached out to Awad for comment.

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A little more than a month earlier, Awad donated $7,000 to El-Sayed’s campaign.

Awad, whose mother was born in Gaza, has been a vocal critic of Israel and has accused the Jewish state of committing a Holocaust in Gaza that may be worse than the Holocaust during World War II.

“It’s a Holocaust,” Awad shared during an appearance on the “Sumud Podcast” hosted by Dr. Ed Hasan. “Like, it’s present day. There are so many ways that it’s even worse than [the] World War II Holocaust because it’s happening in real time right in front of us.”

Awad appeared on the podcast in August 2025, when he decried Zionism as a “toxic way of thinking.”

“That’s the poisonous sin, right? The toxicity of Zionism,” Awad said. “It’s all rooted in this supremacy. Racism is rooted in this supremacy. Slavery is rooted in this supremacy.”

He said he distinguishes Judaism from Zionism but argued that Palestinians should not be responsible for explaining that distinction.

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“The onus is on the oppressor,” Awad said. “I mean, about whether you’re coming in, and you’re saying, ‘Hey, Israel is a Jewish state,’ and that same Jewish state is coming in and spray-painting the walls with the Star of David, and then I have to now, as the victim whose home was stolen, say, ‘Oh no, it’s not that you’re a bad Jew. It’s that you’re just a Zionist settler.’

“Nonetheless, we take the high ground, and we distinguish, and we say, ‘No, this is Zionism, right? This is Jewish supremacy. That is antithetical to Judaism, right? But that’s what it is,'” Awad continued.

Awad also rejected the characterization of the Palestinian resistance as “terrorism.”

Meanwhile, Hussein “Sam” Mahrouq, a Texas resident and owner of Enterprises International, which is the parent company of AutoMax and Dollar Rent-A-Car, donated $3,500 to El-Sayed’s campaign from May 2025 to April 2026.

He also contributed more than $1,000 through a joint fundraising committee supporting Bilzerian. Mahrouq has donated to other candidates critical of Israel, including Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., and former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga.

He also donated $400,000 to American Priorities PAC, which was created this year to counter the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, the New York Post reported.

Mahrouq shared during an appearance on the podcast “Bigger than Business” that he is the child of Palestinian refugees.

In a statement, Mahrouq did not directly answer Fox News Digital’s question about whether El-Sayed and Bilzerian’s stances on Israel factored into his decision to donate.

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“I have made contributions and donations to many different candidates, organizations, community initiatives and charitable projects over the years,” Mahrouq said. “A contribution should not be interpreted as an endorsement of every position taken by a candidate or organization.”

Muhi Khwaja, co-founder of the American Muslim Community Foundation, donated $625 to El-Sayed’s campaign and $26.68 to Bilzerian’s campaign.

Khwaja described a visit to Gaza in a November 2023 essay and advocated for building support for Palestinians beyond the Arab world.

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“The Israel-Hamas war has made one thing clear: The philanthropic world can no longer turn a blind eye to the collective punishment facing Palestinians,” Khwaja wrote. “As a student of philanthropy, I believe in the love of humankind. As a Muslim, I believe in compassion for all. My Jewish friends and colleagues believe in Tikkun olam — repairing the world. But Israel’s actions in Gaza are doing the opposite.”

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Fox News Digital reached out to El-Sayed’s campaign and Khwaja for comment. Awad was also contacted for comment.

Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed spent this past weekend trying to mend fences with Jewish Democrats in Michigan, but his Republican rival calls El-Sayed’s comments a “sham apology.”

El-Sayed, in an appearance Saturday before the Michigan Democrats’ Jewish Caucus, and in an answer to a question from Fox News Digital, apologized for comments he made after a March attack on a suburban Detroit synagogue. But he pushed back when asked to repudiate controversial comments from incendiary left-wing streamer Hasan Piker, who is a strong supporter of his campaign.

A vocal critic of Israel who describes its military actions against Hamas in Gaza as “genocide,” El-Sayed is facing off against former Rep. Mike Rogers, the Republican nominee in the Great Lakes battleground state, for a crucial open Senate seat the Democrats must hold in the midterm elections as they aim to win back control of the chamber.

El-Sayed’s narrow primary victory over more moderate Rep. Haley Stevens in what was a divisive intraparty showdown was arguably the biggest victory to date for the left in its battle against the establishment for the ideological future of the Democratic Party. El-Sayed appeared this past weekend at the state party’s nominating convention in Lansing, Michigan in an effort to unify Democrats in the wake of the primary battle.

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Fox News Digital asked El-Sayed about a recent controversy stemming from comments he made in response to an attack on a Michigan synagogue, when federal investigators say a gunman inspired and radicalized by Hezbollah crashed into the place of worship seeking to kill as many Jewish people as he could. The alleged attacker was a Lebanese-born man who a week earlier had lost relatives in an Israeli airstrike in Lebanon.

“Hurt people, hurt people,” El-Sayed said in response to the attack. He was criticized by members of his own party, including Michigan Secretary of State Dana Nessel, who discussed the comments in a recent interview with The Atlantic, and declined to attend this past weekend’s convention partly over concerns of antisemitism in the Democratic Party.

El-Sayed told Fox News Digital his comments “might have been misconstrued to be justifying something I did not intend to justify,” but then offered an apology.

“To anybody who feels like my comments may have been hurtful, I’m really sorry. That was not my intention. We condemned that terrorist attack. We condemned it outright,” El-Sayed added. “What I was trying to do was offer context for why it happened, but it wasn’t the time for context and you don’t ever want to trample somebody’s pain.”

El-Sayed is an epidemiologist and former Wayne County Health Department director who, if elected in November, would make history as the nation’s first Muslim senator. He has argued against unconditional U.S. military aid to Israel, as have other progressive politicians. And El-Sayed has repeatedly declined to directly answer whether Israel has the right to exist.

He said his message to Jewish voters in Michigan is, “We may not agree on everything when it comes to foreign policy… I’m not going to stop fighting for Palestinian self-determination… but that does not mean that I will not stand up… for safety for all communities and I believe in the safety and dignity of Jewish kids like I believe in the safety and dignity of my own kids.”

Before taking questions from reporters, El-Sayed met in Lansing with the state’s Democratic Jewish Caucus.

“He just had a very good meeting with us,” Daniel Rivkin, a convention delegate and member of the caucus, told Fox News Digital, as he referred to El-Sayed. “We’re having real conversations.”

CHECK OUT THE LATEST FOX NEWS POLL IN MICHIGAN’S BLOCKBUSTER SENATE RACE

But hours earlier, some Jewish leaders in Michigan went public with an open letter urging Jewish Democrats and independents in the state to sign their names in support of Rogers, who is making a second straight run for the Senate after falling just 20,000 votes short in 2024.

“Many of us have been fiercely supportive of Democratic candidates and principles. All of us have felt threatened and alienated by the politics and allies embraced by Abdul El-Sayed, which has included demonization of Jews, equivocation on terrorism, exclusion of Jewish Americans from public life, and expression of implacable hatred of the world’s only Jewish nation,” the letter stated.

Rogers, in a statement highlighting the letter, claimed that “Abdul El-Sayed fans the flames of antisemitism. We’re fighting to extinguish it.”

In an interview Monday morning on Fox News’ “Fox and Friends,” Rogers said, “We’ve had so many Democrat Jewish people here in the state of Michigan ring up our phone and say, “I can’t do this. I’m for you.”

WHAT THE LATEST FOX NEWS POWER RANKINGS IN THE MIDTERM RACES SHOW

Referring to El-Sayed, Rogers said, “When someone says you might have been offended by what I said, that’s not an apology.”

And he claimed that El-Sayed “has a long history of antisemitic and inflammatory comments.”

But El-Sayed has repeatedly pushed back, saying, “My commitment to Jewish safety is the same as my commitment to the safety of my own kids. We have a responsibility to take on antisemitism in all of its forms, wherever we see it.”

Making El-Sayed’s mission to make peace with Jewish Democrats and independents more difficult is the backing he receives from Piker.

Piker recently featured on his stream an image of state Sen. Jeremy Moss, the Democratic nominee in Michigan’s 11th Congressional District. Moss, who is Jewish, has said that people are sharing a fake audio clip of him claiming that his entire reason for running for Congress is to make sure that America continues to support Israel.

“If Jews in America keep putting this idea out there that they are singularly invested in Israel, eventually someone is going to come around and take action, not against the state of Israel, mind you, but against American Jews,” Piker warned.

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Piker, who endorsed El-Sayed for the Democratic nomination and appeared at some of the candidate’s campaign events including a primary night party in Detroit, has repeatedly stood by his numerous past comments critical of Israel over its ongoing war against Hamas in Gaza.

El-Sayed, who over the past week appeared to try and distance himself from Piker, responded to the firestorm by saying, “I want to be crystal clear, nobody speaks for this campaign besides me and my campaign spokespeople.”

On Saturday, El-Sayed was peppered with questions from reporters about Piker.

“We’re in the state of Michigan. If you want to make this race about a streamer in California, I just think you’re missing the boat,” El-Sayed told reporters. “This is about affordability in Michigan. This is about seeing a doctor in Michigan. This is about Donald Trump’s disastrous policies in Michigan. That’s what I’m focused on right now.”

As the questions about Piker continued, El-Sayed repeatedly characterized him as “a streamer from California” who is irrelevant to his race in Michigan. “This is not a serious conversation.”

THESE 12 MIDTERM RACES WILL DECIDE WHICH PARTY CONTROLS THE SENATE

Besides his numerous antisemitic comments, Piker is known for saying “America deserved 9/11,” praising Mao Zedong and Communist China, and arguing that capitalists should be murdered in the streets.

The Democrats’ discord over Israel comes as most GOP leaders continue to showcase their support for Israeli leaders. As the Republican Jewish Coalition’s annual leadership summit got underway Sunday evening in Las Vegas, El-Sayed and the far-left drew boos from the audience of high-powered GOP activists and donors.

Meanwhile, there’s no letup in the battle between the left and the center for the future of the Democratic Party.

Rahm Emanuel, a former ambassador, congressman, Chicago mayor and former White House chief of staff to then-President Barack Obama, took aim at the socialist push taking aim at the party’s establishment.

“The Democratic Party is not open to being taken over,” Emanuel, who’s seriously mulling a 2028 White House run, told Fox News’ Shannon Bream on “Fox News Sunday.”

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“I don’t consider the Democratic Socialists are part of the Democratic Party. About four weeks ago, they had a convention in Chicago. Separate party. They believe in defunding police, letting prisoners out of prison, opening borders, eliminating the Pentagon. If you’re so confident people want that, I’ll see you in November. Put it on the ballot. Let’s go. Run as a separate party,” Emanuel emphasized.

Democratic Party leaders, when asked about the party’s current ideological warfare, often point to Democrats as a “big tent” party.

But veteran Democratic strategist Julian Epstein criticizes such responses and jabs at his party for failing to call out the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA).

“They’ve taken cover behind the empty ‘Big Tent” lie as radical DSA members and allies, like Michigan’s Abdul El-Sayed and Colorado’s Melat Kiros, triumph in Democratic primaries,” Epstein wrote in an opinion piece last week in the New York Post.

Epstein, who served as chief counsel for the Democratic minority on the House Judiciary Committee during the 1998 impeachment proceeds against then-President Bill Clinton and who later served on Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign, argued, “Moderates should unite and shed the Big Tent delusion — because they have nothing to lose but their chains.”

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With the House of Representatives back in session, a resolution “condemning socialism in all its forms” could see a vote later this week.

Rep. Jeff Crank, R-Colo., introduced a measure Thursday condemning socialism in all its forms, telling Fox News Digital he wanted to use the vote to force moderate House Democrats to take a more public stance against the DSA.

Fox News’ James Cirrone contributed to this report

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FIRST ON FOX: A federal grand jury issued a subpoena to former FBI Director James Comey’s longtime friend and advisor on Monday as part of a new investigation into Comey allegedly leaking classified information to the media.

The subpoena targets former Comey adviser Daniel Richman and indicates that the Justice Department has launched a fresh investigation into the leak of classified information to the New York Times. The issue was also investigated under President Donald Trump’s first term, but was cut off when former President Joe Biden entered office.

The new investigation is in addition to the one centered on Comey’s alleged threats against Trump.

This is a developing story. Check back soon for updates.

In central Washington, a farming town of roughly 8,100 people has become an unlikely showcase for America’s data-center boom.

Quincy, long known for potato fields, apple orchards and food-processing plants, has spent two decades attracting some of the world’s largest technology companies. Microsoft began building data centers there around 20 years ago, drawn by affordable land, the region’s cool climate and abundant hydropower from the Columbia River.

Now the town is becoming central to Microsoft’s response to a backlash against the facilities powering cloud computing and artificial intelligence. The company this year cited Quincy as proof that data centers can bring tangible benefits to the communities that host them, as residents elsewhere raise alarms over electricity prices, water use and limited local job creation.

ONE OF THE WORLD’S HOTTEST INDUSTRIES IS SPARKING A BLUE-COLLAR JOBS BOOM

The economic gains are visible in Quincy.

KUOW reported that years of data-center tax revenue have helped support a state-of-the-art high school and hospital.

The city recently opened a new aquatic center, complete with a six-lane lap pool, lazy river and waterslides, and is planning a separate indoor sports complex.

Data centers are not an employment engine on their own. A single facility can operate with 50 employees or fewer, KUOW reported. But Quincy has enough facilities that the sector has become a meaningful employer in aggregate, while also supporting construction, service businesses and the city’s broader tax base.

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Microsoft says its new national approach will ask local utilities to set rates high enough to cover data-center energy use and grid upgrades without raising prices for residents. The company also says future facilities will use closed-loop cooling systems that recycle water rather than drawing from local supplies.

Quincy already has such a system. Microsoft and the city partnered on a $31 million water-reuse utility that treats and recirculates cooling water. The EPA says the project reduces the company’s reliance on potable groundwater and saves an estimated 138 million gallons of water a year.

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Still, Quincy is not without skeptics.

Former Mayor Patty Martin, according to KUOW, has warned that the town must look beyond its immediate economic gains and consider its long-term water and electricity needs, pointing to population growth, electric vehicles and changing snowpack as added pressures on the region.

Quincy’s boom shows what data centers can bring to a small town and the questions communities must answer before they arrive.

EXCLUSIVE – Newly unclassified Pentagon images show suspected drug-smuggling boats at sea, including vessels loaded with apparent narcotics.

The images come as the department warned traffickers that the U.S. will continue hunting down those who threaten Americans, nearly a year after the Trump administration began striking suspected drug-trafficking vessels.

“Nearly one year after the first strike, the message to narco-terrorists remains unchanged: if you traffic deadly illicit narcotics and threaten the American people, we hunt you down, we will find you, and we will kill you,” Pentagon press secretary Kingsley Wilson said in a statement provided to Fox News Digital.

The photos, dated Oct. 27, Oct. 29 and Dec. 4, 2025, show the boats speeding through open water under U.S. military surveillance.

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Wilson said Operation Southern Spear has disrupted trafficking networks, forced traffickers to adapt their methods and removed “dangerous narcoterrorists.”

US MILITARY CONDUCTS MORE DEADLY STRIKES AGAINST VESSELS OF ALLEGED ‘NARCO-TERRORISTS’

“Operation Southern Spear has disrupted trafficking networks, forced trafficker adaptations, removed dangerous narcoterrorists, and demonstrated that the United States will use every lawful tool available to defend our Homeland and protect our communities,” Wilson said.

The Pentagon told Fox News Digital the operation has carried out 67 strikes, including the first strike on Sept. 2, 2025.

US KILLS TWO ‘NARCO-TERRORISTS’ IN STRIKE 2 MONTHS SINCE LAST ANNOUNCED ANTI-‘NARCO-TRAFFICKING’ ATTACK

One of the most recent strikes came Aug. 25, when U.S. Southern Command said four alleged drug smugglers were killed aboard a fast boat operating along known trafficking routes in the Caribbean.

“Confirmed intelligence revealed the vessel’s active involvement in narco-trafficking,” SOUTHCOM wrote in a post on X, saying the operation was carried out by Joint Task Force Western Hemisphere under the direction of Gen. Francis L. Donovan.

US MILITARY KILLS THREE ‘NARCO-TERRORISTS’ IN LATEST LETHAL STRIKE ON VESSEL IN THE EASTERN PACIFIC

“Joint Task Force Western Hemisphere continues executing precise, lethal operations against the cartels,” Donovan said in a statement quoted in the post. “We will hunt, disrupt, and defeat these narco-terrorist networks.”

“SOUTHCOM is resolved to neutralizing cartel terror and violence throughout the region and into the U.S. homeland,” he added.

US MILITARY CONDUCTS STRIKE ON ANOTHER VESSEL CARRYING ALLEGED NARCO-TRAFFICKERS, KILLING 2

Days before the Caribbean strike, the U.S. military said two people were killed in a strike on a vessel in the Eastern Pacific. That was the first reported strike in more than two months. A video posted to X showed what appeared to be a moving boat before a flash filled the screen.

Since the first strike last September, the Trump administration has targeted suspected cartel vessels in the Atlantic and Pacific that it says were carrying narcotics.

PRESIDENT TRUMP’S DRUG CONTROL STRATEGY SETS THE PATH TO END THE DRUG CRISIS FOR GOOD

Trump has described the fight as an “armed conflict” with cartels in Latin America and has argued the attacks are necessary to stop drugs from reaching American communities and fueling fatal overdoses.

The administration is also pursuing agreements with allied nations that could extend its campaign onto land in multiple Latin American countries.

War Secretary Pete Hegseth said during a visit to Panama this month that Colombia, Guatemala and Honduras had agreed to allow the U.S. to conduct joint operations against criminal groups on their soil, though Guatemala denied an agreement had been reached. Ecuador began similar missions with the U.S. in March.

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Reuters, The Associated Press and Fox News Digital’s Eric Mack contributed to this report.

FIRST ON FOX: The Trump administration is launching “Project Watershed 250” Monday, Fox News Digital exclusively learned, deploying American artificial intelligence and cybersecurity tools to protect Texas water systems from cyberattacks in a pilot the administration plans to scale nationwide.

“Project Watershed 250 is another example of President Trump putting American families and communities first. President Trump is relentless in his work to secure our critical infrastructure against our most determined adversaries,” National Cyber Director Sean Cairncross told Fox News Digital. “President Trump has cemented America’s leadership in AI security and innovation and is now bringing those exquisite tools to local communities and utilities in Texas and ultimately, across the nation through the launch of Project Watershed 250 – a scalable cyber water pilot program.”

The Trump administration is bringing federal, state and private-sector cyber defenses together in a six-month Texas pilot aimed at finding vulnerabilities in water systems before adversaries can exploit them — while testing whether the model can be expanded across the country.

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The program will connect Texas water utilities with U.S. cybersecurity companies to test their existing defenses and strengthen vulnerable systems using private-sector cyber and artificial intelligence tools, a White House official told Fox News Digital.

The program will use “red-teaming” to stress-test water utilities’ networks, identify weaknesses hackers could exploit and then strengthen those systems with cybersecurity tools, according to a White House official.

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Dragos CEO Robert Lee said that U.S. water infrastructure faces active, documented threats, particularly at small utilities that often lack strong cybersecurity defenses. Lee said Watershed 250 will help get technology, training and support to those vulnerable systems before an attack occurs.

“There is nothing more important to Texans than clean, reliable drinking water. Project Watershed 250 puts federal, state, and private-sector cyber defenses behind our utilities at no cost. The White House, the Texas Cyber Command, and industry now work from the same playbook,” said Texas Governor Greg Abbott.

A White House official, however, said the program is not in response to recent cyberattacks that targeted more than 30 Minnesota water systems, though the incidents underscored vulnerabilities in local infrastructure.

“However, these recent attacks have reiterated the need for this modernization and focus on water systems,” said the White House official. “Critical Infrastructure protection has long been a priority for ONCD and President Trump and this effort has been in the works since last year.”

IRANIAN HACKERS ATTACKED OUR WATER SYSTEMS. HERE ARE 5 THINGS OUR LEADERS NEED TO DO NOW

The Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency will serve as federal partners in the effort, while Texas Cyber Command will work alongside the White House with local governments and tech companies such as Microsoft, Reflection AI, Palo Alto Networks and Dragos Inc.

“Few things matter more than the safety of the water Americans drink, and this is a powerful example of how open-weight AI models, built in the U.S. and running on a utility’s own systems, can help keep communities safe,” said Reflection AI Head of Corporate Affairs Becky Sosnov.

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“Microsoft applauds the Administration’s leadership in strengthening the cybersecurity of America’s water infrastructure and is proud to support the Project Watershed 250 effort in partnership with the Office of the National Cyber Director, the State of Texas, and Texas Cyber Command,” said Microsoft US Public Sector president Chris Barry. “By bringing together Microsoft’s cybersecurity expertise, threat intelligence, and AI-powered security capabilities, we aim to help water utilities strengthen their resilience against evolving cyber threats and develop scalable approaches that can enhance the security of water systems nationwide.”

The push comes as the Trump administration races to build out U.S. data centers to fuel the AI boom, putting more attention on the water and power needed to keep them running.

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The pilot program builds on Trump’s June executive order on Promoting Advanced Artificial Intelligence Innovation and Security and his Cyber Strategy for America released in March.

Maine’s state auditor Matt Dunlap, who is now pursuing a bid to represent Maine’s 2nd Congressional District as a Democrat, released a report earlier this year sounding the alarm that the state’s internal watchdog for its MaineCare program had a serious gap in utilization control.

“[The Program Integrity Unit] could not provide documentation of the methodology used to identify projects and post-payment reviews performed in relation to surveillance of all Medicaid services provided under the State plan,” the report reads, referring to the “PIU,” the program’s watchdog.

The report’s release, which comes after revelations of healthcare fraud in Maine from federal investigators and a local whistleblower, puts renewed focus on Dunlap’s tenure as auditor and raises questions about Maine’s past systems to detect fraud amid one of the country’s most competitive congressional races.

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In order to ensure that state programs are complying with federal requirements, the PIU, the watchdog, selects a set number of cases for review, picking those cases based on “data analytics.” The report didn’t expand on those analytics — but noted a key weakness. In addition to being unable to provide documentation of why those cases had been chosen for review, the process also didn’t take into account possible misuse — by patients or by the companies that bill MaineCare.

In the report’s words, the PIU, the watchdog group, “does not document consideration of misutilization practices of beneficiaries or providers … [and] may not provide adequate monitoring of all Medicaid services, resulting in potential noncompliance with Federal regulations.”

Dunlap’s 2026 report also acknowledged that this particular reporting issue hadn’t been caught before, noting that it had a “prior year findings: none” designation.

When asked about the weakness and whether this was really the first time it had surfaced in an audit, Dunlap’s campaign stressed that the report only narrowly applied to that particular weakness and that Dunlap had recieved praise — even from local Republicans — on his work identifying other liabilities.

“As Auditor, Matt Dunlap has flagged many issues that date back to the LePage administration. He has been praised by local press and Republican leaders alike for his work to recommend ways to safeguard taxpayer dollars. Paul LePage should answer why his team didn’t implement the recommendations of his own Auditors from when he was governor,” Harry Burke, a spokesperson for the Dunlap campaign said in a comment to Fox News Digital, referring to the Republican nominee in the race, a former governor of Maine who served from 2011 to 2019.

The campaign also observed that, Dunlap himself, as an auditor, has little power to implement changes he flags as problematic. Decisions to remedy issues within Maine’s programs lie within the departments themselves, although auditors can recommend specific changes.

“The auditor’s job is to be a fire alarm: identify the problems so that state agencies can act. For example, last year, his recommendations led to the arrest and prosecution of a procurement fraudster saving taxpayer dollars,” Burke added.

Despite his campaign’s pushback, Dunlap has received backlash from Republicans for failing to stop fraud schemes that have caught national attention.

TRUMP TASK FORCE IS TACKLING $250 BILLION IN GOVERNMENT FRAUD. IT’S JUST GETTING STARTED

Dunlap first came into the role in 2021 despite lacking the credentials to become an auditor. After being installed, he had to resign after twice failing the needed tests to become a certified auditor. Even so, Dunlap returned to the role in November 2022 after passing the requisite exams.

That track record has become a focal point for Republicans in the congressional race after the U.S. Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General revealed in January that the state had paid out at least $45.6 million in improper Medicaid payments for autism services.

The findings only furthered concerns raised by a whistleblower in December.

Christopher Bernardini, a former employee of Gateway Community Services, said his company had been defrauding Maine’s Medicaid program. According to Bernardini, the health services contractor had routinely filed false records about client visits, billing the state for services that Gateway had never provided.

The compounding stories of fraud have captured the attention of figures like JD Vance, who highlighted them in a visit to the state on Monday.

“How did Maine become one of the main capitals of defrauding the American taxpayer?’” Vance asked at a campaign event.

“One of the answers is somehow you guys hired an auditor who is not actually an auditor and failed the auditor exam. Well, call it old-fashioned common sense, but if you want somebody managing your money, maybe they ought to actually meet the constitutional requirements to do the job,” Vance said.

Vance argued Dunlap’s track record should be disqualifying.

“And for Matt Dunlap, if you’ve got a guy who cannot protect your tax dollars from fraudsters, who has turned your state into one of the fraud capitals of the United States of America, maybe you should be saying to Matt Dunlap, ‘You’re fired, not promoted to the United States Congress,’” Vance said.

Previous years of reporting before Dunlap’s time as auditor also cast doubt on the office’s aggressiveness in uncovering fraud, hinting that the office’s zeal has declined under his watch.

Notably, in the six years before Dunlap took over the reins in 2022, the state had identified that it had almost too many active fraud investigations.

“Cases opened because of potential fraud, abuse, or questionable practices need improved supervisory review,” several reports state.

Audits going back to 2016 noted that the office had routinely taken on more cases than its resources and its staffing would allow for, leading to a lack of monitoring of individual cases.

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Since Dunlap returned to the role in 2022, the auditor’s office has not resurfaced that concern.

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Having secured his party’s nomination in the state’s primaries earlier this year, Dunlap heads to the general election on Nov. 3, where he faces off against the Republican nominee, former Gov. Paul LePage.

Progressives seeking a seat in the Senate are taking a decades-old page from their Republican counterparts, using faith as a political tool to build connections with voters.

Three progressive Democratic candidates running for the Senate, Florida state Rep. Angie Nixon, Abdul El-Sayed and Texas state Rep. James Talarico, share a penchant for bucking the Democratic establishment in their meteoric rise this midterm cycle.

They have also incorporated their religions and faiths into their campaigns and messaging to voters, showing shades of the “Moral Majority” coalition that formed during the late 1970s in the GOP when former President Ronald Reagan was running as Republicans sought to tie policy to Christianity.

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Nixon, who scored a major upset against Alexander Vindman, a major figure during President Donald Trump’s first impeachment trial who was backed by the Democratic establishment in Washington, D.C., has become a prime target for the GOP because of her connection to the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA).

During a sermon last week at the Saint Paul AME Church of Jacksonville, Fla., Nixon, who will face Sen. Ashley Moody, R-Fla., in November, contended that her “radical” positions were akin to those of Jesus Christ.

“They are trying, y’all. They are trying … to label me as this extremist, this radical. But, you know, Jesus was a radical,” Nixon said.

EL-SAYED MAKES JESUS COMPARISON WHEN PRESSED ON SOCIALIST VIEWS: ‘RADICAL IN HIS TIME, TOO’

“And Jesus fought for — I mean, he pushed for the same things that I’m fighting for today, right? Right now, we’re literally in a civil rights moment,” she continued. “Whether or not people wanna believe it or not, but we are.”

She joined the DSA in June, prompting immediate backlash from the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC), the Senate GOP’s campaign arm, which tied her to socialism, despite her denial that she’s a Democratic socialist.

Nixon isn’t the only one of the three to make the same comparison.

El-Sayed, during an appearance on the Progressive Christians Podcast that aired in May, similarly invoked Christ when asked about his policy positions. El-Sayed, who is Muslim and running in Michigan’s toss-up race against former Rep. Mike Rogers, was asked about the similarities between his faith and Christianity and why they were being targeted as radical.

“Well, you know, Jesus, peace and blessings be upon him, was considered radical in his time, too,” El-Sayed said.

JAMES TALARICO ADMITS PAST COMMENTS ‘MISSED THE MARK’ WHEN CONFRONTED ON CLAIMS LIKE GOD IS ‘NON-BINARY’

“And there is a radical nature to being willing to stand forthright in a time of corruption, and I think it’s important for all of us to realize that popularity and zeitgeist don’t make truth. And we live in a time where people are trying to normalize corruption,” he continued.

Of the three, Talarico, who is running in the toss-up race against Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, has displayed his faith the most. He has been taking seminary classes to become a Presbyterian minister, and has blended Christianity with his policy platform since launching his candidacy last year.

And like the others, Republicans have pounced on his use of faith as a point of attack, particularly in his defense of transgender children.

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In pushing back against the Texas GOP’s newly signed anti-trans bill in 2021, Talarico argued Texas Republicans were trying to justify the measure “in the name of God’s law.”

“The first two lines of the Bible, the first two lines in Genesis, use two different Hebrew words to describe God. One is the masculine Hebrew noun for divinity,” Talarico said. “The second is the feminine Hebrew noun for spirit. God is both masculine and feminine, and everything in between.”

“God is non-binary,” he said.

President Donald Trump declared last week that the United States had removed or detonated all mines in international waters in the Strait of Hormuz.

Now, the commander of U.S. Central Command has offered the clearest public account yet of the high-stakes operation behind that declaration: a months-long effort in which U.S. forces quietly cleared Iranian sea mines from established international shipping lanes used by commercial vessels.

Other threats still stand between the cleared lanes and a return to normal activity in one of the world’s most important waterways. The latest maritime guidance still classifies the Strait at a “SEVERE” threat level. Recent attacks have struck tankers near Oman, and oil flows remain far below prewar levels.

“We have successfully cleared sea mines in the Strait’s international shipping lanes that were laid months ago by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps,” CENTCOM commander Adm. Brad Cooper said in a video update.

TRUMP SAYS IRAN’S NAVY ‘OBLITERATED’ AS US ENFORCES HORMUZ BLOCKADE — BUT KEY THREAT REMAINS

“Internationally recognized transit routes in the Strait are free of Iranian sea mines thanks to the incredible work of the U.S. military,” Cooper said.

Cooper identified the cleared area as the Strait’s Traffic Separation Scheme, the long-standing system of opposing lanes that guides commercial vessels through the narrow waterway between Iran and Oman.

“Our forces meticulously and quietly cleared them of sea mine threats using a combination of Navy divers, Navy SEALs and U.S. air power from the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps,” Cooper said.

The operation was carried out as the Navy was in the middle of a major transition in how it handles mine warfare.

The service had retired its four Bahrain-based mine countermeasure ships the previous year as newer unmanned systems were still being fielded. In April, defense analyst Bryan Clark told Fox News Digital the Navy was at a “nadir” in its mine-sweeping capacity.

At the time, retired Vice Adm. Kevin Donegan, who previously commanded the Navy’s 5th Fleet, said newer technology was increasingly being used to locate and neutralize mines, including unmanned systems that map the seabed and identify potential threats before explosive ordnance teams move in.

Cooper’s account now shows U.S. forces relied on a broader combination of Navy divers, SEALs and air power to clear the international shipping lanes. CENTCOM has not disclosed the precise role each capability played.

“The circumstances were challenging and dangerous to say the least, but we got the job done,” Cooper said. “Bottom line, today international shipping lanes are open and momentum is building.”

Donegan, who was not involved in the current operation, said mine-clearance operations begin with surface and subsurface vessels, including unmanned systems, locating and identifying possible mines. Once mines are identified, autonomous systems, specially trained Navy divers and SEALs can destroy or neutralize them.

Different sections of a waterway can be at different stages of the process at the same time, Donegan said, with forces neutralizing mines in one area while detection and identification continue elsewhere.

Throughout the operation, the Navy continues scanning the waterway to ensure it has not missed any mines, he said.

Donegan said the Navy uses a sophisticated detection model before declaring a waterway clear.

“In simplest terms they have to conduct enough sweeps of the lanes to drive the probability of detection of mines to virtually 100% in the model,” he said.

Donegan said the calculation takes into account factors including the detection systems and their effectiveness, characteristics of the waterway and the type of seabed.

WHITE HOUSE SILENT ON IRAN-OMAN HORMUZ PLAN TEHRAN SAYS WOULD BAN US WARSHIPS

The Navy has also spent years preparing for such an operation. Donegan said elements of large-scale mine clearance in the Strait have been practiced through recurring NAVCENT mine-countermeasure exercises dating to 2012, along with regular Navy training.

Cooper said U.S. forces have assisted nearly 1,500 commercial vessels through the Strait in recent months by providing coordinated protection. Those ships carried nearly 750 million barrels of crude oil bound for global energy markets, he said.

The CENTCOM commander said the military is pursuing two missions at once: enforcing a naval blockade on Iran and protecting commercial passage through the Strait. He said that since the blockade resumed in mid-July, U.S. forces have turned around 75 vessels attempting to run it and disabled three that failed to comply with directions.

Cooper did not say how many mines U.S. forces found or destroyed.

Axios reported Thursday, citing U.S. officials, that American forces swept more than 200 mine-like objects from the main shipping lane. Of those objects, 11 were actual mines, and only a few had been properly deployed.

The figures illustrate the painstaking identification process Donegan described: Forces must investigate possible threats before determining which objects are actually mines.

CENTCOM has not provided further details on the systems used during the operation or how individual mines were neutralized. A defense official told Fox News Digital that the military would not discuss operational specifics for security reasons.

The broader maritime-security picture has yet to catch up with CENTCOM’s declaration.

The latest Joint Maritime Information Center advisory, issued through the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations office on Aug. 25, keeps the Strait of Hormuz at a “SEVERE” threat level and says deliberate hostile action remains highly likely.

The advisory says mine-danger areas remain active and warns of a continued risk from drifting or uncharted mines in and near the Traffic Separation Scheme. It says clearance and mine-surveying operations continue throughout the Strait and that commercial traffic is expected to remain below prewar levels.

The assessment predates Cooper’s video update. No public advisory downgrading the threat level or lifting the underlying warnings had been issued as of Friday.

Donegan said the possibility of drifting mines does not disappear entirely after a route has been cleared.

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“In the Gulf there is always the danger of drifting mines that are not fixed, that are left over from this conflict or previous ones in the region,” Donegan said. “That threat from those in the Gulf has historically been very low especially due to currents in that area that make it unlikely that drifting mines stay in the lane and contact a commercial vessel.”

Commercial crews are also still confronting attacks.

UKMTO reported that tankers near Oman were struck by unknown projectiles on Aug. 24 and Aug. 25, setting off fires that crews later extinguished. All crew members were reported safe in both incidents. The public alerts did not identify the vessels or attribute the strikes.

Oil flows through the Strait stood at about 5 million barrels per day Monday, down from more than 20 million before the war, according to Reuters, which cited provisional Vortexa tracking data.

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The recovery remains uneven. Reuters reported Friday that seven commodity vessels transited the Strait on Thursday, down from 17 the day before and below the 10-day average of 15 vessels, based on preliminary shipping data.

Iran and Oman separately announced this week that they were discussing a temporary joint navigation corridor and a joint mine-clearance project. Their statements did not specify whether that work would cover the same Traffic Separation Scheme CENTCOM says U.S. forces have cleared.

Cooper’s announcement provides the most detailed official account yet of the operation behind Trump’s declaration and marks a significant step toward restoring commercial passage through the Strait.

The U.S. military says the recognized commercial lanes are open and protected. But the latest maritime risk guidance, continued attacks and sharply reduced traffic show that the broader Strait remains dangerous and disrupted.

Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy on Sunday teased an upcoming announcement about the Trump administration’s fraud crackdown.

In a post on X, Duffy said there would be “unprecedented fraud crackdown” announcement on Monday.

“TOMORROW: UNPRECEDENTED FRAUD CRACKDOWN,” the secretary wrote.

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In the post, he also tagged Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, the Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Department of Justice and the White House Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, suggesting a multi-department effort targeting fraud.

Duffy did not disclose details of the announcement, including when or where it will take place, what type of fraud will be discussed or whether any arrests have been made.

The announcement comes amid the administration’s broader crackdown on fraud. Trump established the White House Task Force to Eliminate Fraud in March to coordinate efforts involving federal benefit programs.

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The DOJ has also created a National Fraud Enforcement Division to investigate and prosecute the theft or fraudulent misuse of taxpayer dollars.

Duffy’s Department of Transportation has worked with DHS in recent months to crack down on alleged fraud and safety violations in the commercial trucking industry, including improperly issued commercial driver’s licenses, fraudulent driving schools and unvetted foreign drivers.

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The agencies announced a joint investigation in July into about 75 commercial driving schools suspected of fraud, including allegedly falsifying training records and improperly certifying drivers. The two departments have also conducted roadside enforcement operations targeting unqualified foreign commercial drivers.

Federal prosecutors have launched a rare special grand jury probe into D.C. public schools, zeroing in on truancy, graduation rates and attendance records.

The investigation, which was first reported by The Washington Post, is examining the supervision and oversight of young people in the nation’s capital, according to people familiar with the matter.

This is about “safeguarding youth in the District,” a law enforcement official told Fox News.

Teachers and other personnel at several D.C. Public Schools campuses have been contacted in recent days about student absences, graduation practices and the way attendance is documented, the Washington Post reported. At least one person has already testified before the panel, while others are expected to appear in the coming days, according to the outlet.

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The use of a special grand jury is unusual. Fox News is told a judge must approve the creation of such a panel, which can conduct a sweeping investigation and issue a detailed report on its findings even if prosecutors ultimately file no criminal charges.

A spokesperson for U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro’s office told the Washington Post it could neither confirm nor deny an investigation.

The office of D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser said its focus remains on the new school year.

“Our focus remains on welcoming students and families back for a strong start to the new school year, and that is what we want our principals and teachers focused on as well,” the mayor’s office told the Washington Post. “We make all school data public and will continue to do so.”

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The Washington Post reported that senior prosecutor Steven Vandervelden, one of Pirro’s top allies in the U.S. attorney’s office, is overseeing the inquiry.

Pirro has repeatedly linked school truancy to youth crime and disruptive teen gatherings in the District. At a May news conference, she said authorities could take action when teens repeatedly break curfew or skip school.

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“We’re coming for you, and we’re coming for your parents,” Pirro said.

She also said her office wanted school records involving students accused of chronic truancy and curfew violations, according to the Washington Post. The outlet reported that the city did not voluntarily turn over those records.

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The new probe comes years after D.C. schools were rocked by a graduation scandal centered on Ballou High School. A 2018 city investigation found the school had awarded diplomas to students who failed to satisfy attendance rules or had improperly completed makeup coursework.

While the scandal initially centered on Ballou High School, it eventually spread to several D.C. high schools. The investigation found that about one-third of D.C. students who graduated in 2017 had not actually met the requirements for a diploma, according to the Washington Post. District officials later said they tightened enforcement of attendance standards.

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Absenteeism, however, has persisted. During the 2023-24 school year, nearly 16,000 D.C. Public Schools students, roughly one-third of K-12 enrollment, were considered truant after missing at least two weeks of classes without an excuse, the Washington Post reported last year.

The special grand jury’s work is unfolding as D.C.’s school system, which serves more than 50,000 students, begins a new academic year.

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Fox News Digital has reached out to the Office of the State Superintendent of Education for comment.

California could soon formally recognize two of Islam’s most important holy days under legislation that would give state workers greater flexibility to take them off and allow public schools to close in observance of the holidays.

The measure, which overwhelmingly passed the state Assembly and is awaiting Senate action, would recognize Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha in state law and could soon head to Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom’s desk.

Assembly Bill 2017, introduced by Democratic San Francisco Assemblymember Matt Haney, passed the Assembly 64-1 in late May. It must clear the Senate before the legislative session ends Monday to reach Newsom.

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The bill would let state employees use existing paid holiday credits to take time off for Eid. Public schools and community colleges could also close for the holidays.

“California is home to one of the largest and most vibrant Muslim communities in the country, and their traditions deserve recognition and respect,” Haney said in a news release about the bill in March. “No student should have to choose between celebrating one of the holiest days of their faith and showing up to school, and no worker should feel they have to sacrifice their religious observance.”

Haney also said the bill is also about treating Muslim Californians equally.

“AB 2017 is about making sure Muslim Californians are seen, valued, and treated with the same dignity as every other community in our state,” he said.

Eid al-Fitr, or the “Festival of Breaking the Fast,” marks the end of Ramadan, the Islamic holy month when Muslims fast from dawn to sunset. Eid al-Adha, or the “Festival of Sacrifice,” commemorates the willingness of the Prophet Ibrahim (Abraham) to sacrifice his son in obedience to God.

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Supporters say the bill would make it easier for Muslim workers and students to take part in Eid prayers and spend the holidays with their families.

“For decades, Muslim families across the state have had to navigate an unfair balancing act between their faith and their academic or professional obligations,” Oussama Mokeddem, legislative and government affairs director for the Council on American-Islamic Relations’ (CAIR) California chapter, said in a statement in July. “AB 2017 is a meaningful step toward ensuring Muslim students can celebrate Eid with the same dignity, respect, and accommodation afforded to other faith communities.”

Hala Hijazi, founder of the Muslim Impact Council, recalled missing Eid with her family earlier in her career while working for the city of San Francisco.

“It was really painful to not be with my family,” Hijazi told the Sacramento Bee. She said her family would go to lunch after Eid al-Fitr services and give gifts to the children.

The California Family Council, a conservative Christian advocacy group, opposes the bill’s school provisions, while saying it supports allowing students to take time off for religious holidays.

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The group objects to language allowing schools to hold exercises “acknowledging and celebrating the meaning and importance” of Eid. It also criticized a provision allowing the State Board of Education to develop a model curriculum guide for those exercises.

“No California statute authorizes public schools to hold exercises celebrating the meaning of Christmas, Easter, or Good Friday,” the group said in a May statement, arguing Christian and Jewish holidays have not received comparable treatment. “The asymmetry is written into the law.”

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If signed into law, Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha would join other holidays California has recognized, including Lunar New Year and Diwali.

California would not be the first state to recognize the Eid holidays. Washington was the first, according to the Sacramento Bee. Hijazi told the newspaper that California’s proposal would go further by allowing state workers to use paid holiday credits, while Washington allows unpaid time off.

Jewish Canadians facing rising antisemitism might have President Donald Trump’s support for an expedited legal pathway into the United States.

Trump shared a report on the plan Sunday with his millions of followers on Truth Social, amplifying the appeal as Christian lawmakers and religious leaders press his administration to act because of a “disproportionate” amount of antisemitic incidents north of the U.S. border.

The National Association of Christian Lawmakers (NACL) founder and President Jason Rapert told Fox News Digital from Israel on Sunday morning that he wants Trump to press Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney directly on the perceived “roadblocks” set up against the “quick recognition of the plight” of thousands of Jewish Canadians fearing for their safety.

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“We will find out” if Canada is getting in the way of the more than 2,000 Jewish Canadians who have expressed interest in relocating, Rapert said.

“Trump should ask Carney right now,” he added. “Canada should be embarrassed and ashamed of these perceived roadblocks. And we’re trying to rally leaders to take a stand.”

The comments come after the NACL and its partners asked Trump to direct the State Department and Department of Homeland Security to create “lawful, secure, and appropriately expedited pathways” for Jewish Canadians and their immediate family members who face persecution or can credibly demonstrate fears for their safety because they are Jewish.

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“For generations, America has served as a refuge for people fleeing religious persecution,” the group wrote in a letter Thursday to Trump. “We urge you to ensure that, consistent with federal law and the security interests of the United States, that door remains open to our Jewish brothers and sisters in Canada who need it today.”

Rapert and former U.S. ambassador-at-large for International Religious Freedom Sam Brownback signed the letter along with more than 50 state legislators, religious leaders and other civic figures, sending it to Trump, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and congressional leaders.

“Recent data demonstrate that Jewish Canadians are being targeted at a grossly disproportionate rate, while community-based reporting reflects thousands of antisemitic incidents across Canada,” Rapert wrote. “These numbers represent more than statistics. They represent families who increasingly question whether they can safely send their children to Jewish schools, worship openly, display their faith publicly, or continue building their lives in communities where they no longer feel secure.”

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Canada, which recently had a broadcaster reject the use of the word “terrorism” with regard to 9/11 coverage, has reported nearly 7,000 antisemitic incidents in a country of roughly 41 million people.

By comparison, the U.S. has more than 342 million people and has reported fewer than 6,300, Rapert noted.

“It’s definitely a problem” by greater proportions in Canada, and “it’s eerie to hear,” he told Fox News Digital after a Sunday visit to the Ghetto Fighters’ House Museum in northern Israel along with a delegation of U.S. lawmakers, where he spoke with a 91-year-old Holocaust survivor.

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Rapert said the NACL was alerted of the concerns of the Jewish Canadians fearing their inability to emigrate to the U.S. from a piece in the National Post by Canadian/American Jewish community leader Michael Sachs, who is currently the Senior Director of the Jewish Federation of Tulsa, Okla.

Jewish Canadians have expressed interest in relocating because of safety concerns, harassment, vandalism, intimidation, threats and violence against Jewish schools, synagogues, businesses, institutions and families following the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terror attacks on Israel, according to Sachs.

Now, amid Trump’s frustration with Canada and Carney, Rapert sees the urgency for a proposal that would use existing refugee, humanitarian and visa authorities to help facilitate movement.

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Carney has himself acknowledged a severe rise in antisemitism in Canada, saying his country has failed to adequately protect its Jewish community.

“Canada’s civic compact is failing Jewish Canadians,” Carney told an audience at Toronto’s Holy Blossom Temple in June, saying the country’s antisemitism crisis is “specific, severe and demands a targeted response.”

Carney said antisemitism in Canada had surged to levels not seen since the aftermath of World War II. More than two-thirds of religion-motivated hate crimes recorded in the previous year targeted Jewish Canadians, he said, despite Jews making up only about 1% of the country’s population.

The prime minister pointed to bullets fired at Jewish schools, firebombings at synagogues, attacks on community centers and Jewish-owned businesses and the targeting of Jewish students on university campuses.

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The NACL letter urged the administration to coordinate with state and local governments, Jewish organizations, churches, nonprofits and employers willing to help families establish new lives in the United States.

“Antisemitism is a moral evil, and Christians must be willing to stand with our Jewish friends when they face hatred and persecution,” Rapert said. “We are asking President Trump and his administration to consider what lawful steps America can take to help Jewish Canadian families who are genuinely concerned for their safety.”

Oklahoma has emerged as one potential destination. Jewish and Christian leaders in Tulsa have offered to help receive Canadian Jewish families, while Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt has told Trump his state would welcome Jewish families who legally enter the United States, according to the letter.

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“They bring talent, faith, family values, entrepreneurship, and a sincere desire to contribute to the Nation that offers them safety and religious liberty,” the letter said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

President Donald Trump’s new oil agreement with Venezuela could give the United States access to a 65 billion-barrel crude-oil prize — an energy-security win, even if drivers are unlikely to see benefits quickly.

The deal announced Friday would give the U.S. a stake in 17 Venezuelan oil fields holding an estimated 65 billion barrels of crude, according to Venezuela’s government.

Venezuela controls more than 300 billion barrels of crude reserves, roughly 20% of the world’s total. It is the largest oil stockpile on the planet, exceeding even Saudi Arabia’s.

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Yet Venezuela has long struggled to turn that oil wealth into steady production. Political instability and deteriorating infrastructure have left the country producing only about 1% of the world’s oil despite holding an estimated 17% of global reserves.

For Trump, the potential benefit goes beyond the deal’s headline number.

Venezuela produces heavy crude, the type many Gulf Coast refineries were designed to process. Much U.S. production is lighter shale crude, while Gulf Coast refiners have historically relied on heavier imports from Canada, Mexico and Venezuela.

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A steadier Venezuelan supply could support Gulf Coast refineries, diversify U.S. oil imports and provide a buffer against future supply disruptions. It could also help replenish the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, which remains well below its 714 million-barrel authorized capacity.

That prospect has taken on added importance as the war with Iran disrupts oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz. The average U.S. price for regular gasoline stood at about $4.07 a gallon Sunday, according to AAA, compared with roughly $3.19 a year earlier.

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For Trump, the deal is a bet that long-term access to Venezuelan heavy crude can strengthen U.S. energy security and eventually ease costs for Americans.

Whether it translates into relief at the pump will depend on how quickly Venezuela can turn its vast reserves into market-ready barrels.