NationalWatch

Prominent far-left figures, including livestream influencer Hasan Piker, are rallying around a pro-China media outlet within the sprawling network bankrolled by communist tech tycoon Neville Roy Singham – casting recent congressional subpoenas as leading a “McCarthy-style” witch hunt against the left.

As Fox News Digital first reported Wednesday, the House Ways and Means Committee sent subpoenas to three nonprofits, including media outlet BreakThrough News, as part of a wider investigation into alleged malign foreign influence by China in U.S. politics. The three groups have received about $39 million from Singham, who left the U.S. several years ago to live in China.

The other two groups are the People’s Forum Inc., a New York-based activist and political-education hub, and Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research, a think tank that says its work is anchored in “national liberation Marxism.”

The committee said it is examining whether nonprofit laws adequately protect against foreign influence and whether Congress needs to strengthen them. It also accused the three groups of failing to produce “a single responsive document” following earlier requests for information.

HOUSE PANEL SUBPOENAS 3 LEFT-WING GROUPS IN PROBE OF $39M TIED TO MARXIST TYCOON NEVILLE SINGHAM

Piker, CodePink rally behind subpoenaed outlet

Hours after Fox News Digital reported the subpoenas, pro-communist influencers and organizations mounted a social media defense of BreakThrough News, echoing similar-phrased attacks on the congressional investigation.

Among them were Piker, a prominent Twitch streamer and political commentator, and Medea Benjamin, co-founder of CodePink, a pro-communist, pro-China nonprofit that has received Singham money.

Piker called the subpoenas “the McCarthy trials,” invoking the anti-communist Congressional investigations of the 1950s, led by Sen. Joe McCarthy.

“They will come for you,” Piker warned on X.

Responding to BreakThrough News host Rania Khalek appeal for support and donations, Benjamin called the move a “terrible attack on independent journalism,” adding, “We stand with you!!!”

Benjamin co-founded CodePink with Jodie Evans, who married Singham in 2017, the year he sold his technology company, ThoughtWorks, for an estimated $785 million. He has subsequently poured money into a network of pro-communist, pro-China organizations.

In March, Piker, Benjamin and Evans traveled to Cuba to rally support for the island nation’s communist government. Fox News Digital previously reported that the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control is investigating whether they violated U.S. sanctions restricting dealings with Cuba, according to sources familiar with the inquiry.

Their warnings about political repression come despite longstanding restrictions on dissent and independent media under the communist governments of Cuba and China.

The three organizations occupy different roles within the Singham network.

Breakthrough BT Media Inc., which runs BreakThrough News, is based at the People’s Forum W. 37th Street address in Manhattan. It serves as a propaganda arm of the network, producing media and protest coverage and “agitprop,” or agitation propaganda. It’s often the first on the scene of major hotspots, like Glam Doll Donuts in Minneapolis, where a local activist, Alex Pretti, was killed by U.S. immigration agents earlier this year.

The People’s Forum organizes demonstrations and political programming, often the first to arrive at protests, handing out pre-printed signs from an affiliated group, the Party for Socialism and Liberation. Tricontinental, led by Singham friend Vijay Prashad, supplies Marxist research and ideological material and hosts events like a “Global South” conference last November in Shanghai, where Singham spoke, expressing support for the “new world order” of the Chinese Communist Party and Chinese President Xi Jinping.

GOP LAWMAKERS URGE TREASURY TO PRESS AHEAD WITH PROBE OF HASAN PIKER OVER CUBA TRIP

As Fox News Digital first reported, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Jay Clayton from has separately launched a grand jury investigation into alleged wire fraud, bank fraud, money laundering and other financial improprieties by Singham in financing these organizations. Meanwhile, the State Department issued a report on Monday, naming People’s Forum and CodePink as “fellow travelers” in Cuba’s foreign influence campaign to sell communism.

The synchronized defense illustrates how organizations and personalities tied to the Singham network can rapidly mobilize around a common message, just as they’ve done in the past to oppose everything from data centers to President Donald Trump, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the war with Iran, Israel and the U.S. arrest of Venezuela strongman Nicholas Maduro.

Rather than addressing the committee’s allegations about foreign-linked funding, financial transparency and compliance with congressional document requests, many of the network’s most prominent voices characterized the investigation as political persecution, invoking themes of the “red scare,” “McCarthyism,” “censorship” and a broader “war on the left.”

Messaging and fundraising push spreads

The wider campaign began Wednesday evening with a coordinated petition and fundraising push, before spreading through the Singham-linked network overnight and into today.

At 5:40 p.m. on Wednesday, the People’s Forum launched the messaging counterattack, sharing a new petition and a fundraising appeal on the platform Give Lively LLC, requesting tax-deductible donations to finance its legal response and “mass organizing work.”

A few hours later, at 9:44 p.m, Khalek, the BreakThrough News host, urged her social media followers to “sign, share, donate” to the outlet’s new fundraising campaign on the GoFundMe platform and sign a petition, “Tell Congress: Drop the Witch Hunt Against BreakThrough News!”

The petition is hosted on Action Network, a big Democratic Party organizing platform. BreakThrough News said it sought “emergency funds to fight back.”

“We’re not going anywhere,” Khalek wrote on X. “We’re going to fight this assault on our journalism. The only rights we have are the ones we’re willing to defend.”

According to Breakthrough BT Media’s tax filings, Khalek received $101,449 in 2024 and $108,160 in 2023 for “consulting.”

Khalek hosts the outlet’s “Dispatches” program and co-hosts “The Freedom Side.” Fox News Digital previously reported that she promoted the Chinese government’s claimed “eradication of extreme poverty” during a 2021 program with Tings Chak, a China-based researcher at Tricontinental, linking the media output of one subpoenaed organization to the ideological work of another.

WATCH: How funding from Marxist tycoon Neville Roy Singham flows to organizations

SINGHAM-BACKED, PRO-CHINA GROUP DROPS HUGE SUM ON MANHATTAN HQ AS FEDS PROBE SHADOWY NETWORK

About an hour later, at 10:52 p.m, Hartzell Gray, a congressional candidate in Missouri supported by Democratic Socialists of America and CodePink’s Benjamin, declared: “Truth isn’t partisan. Journalism isn’t a crime.”

Soon after, at 11:45 p.m., Benjamin replied to Khalek, expressing her support, and at 11:51 p.m., Piker posted his condemnation of the subpoenas.

By 2:11 a.m. the next day, socialist congressional candidate Kshama Sawant, a former Seattle City councilwoman, shared Khalek’s message and told followers she had signed the petition supporting BreakThrough News. She described the subpoenas as a “shocking increase in repression of independent media and left activists.”

Later that morning, at 9:34 a.m., the campaign had spread to propagandists for the Islamic Republic of Iran. Seyed Mohammad Marandi, a University of Tehran professor and former adviser to Iran’s nuclear negotiating team, shared BreakThrough News’ response and declared: “The US is an intolerant and authoritarian regime.”

Marandi’s accusation comes against the backdrop of Iran’s own crackdown on dissent. A United Nations fact-finding mission said the Iranian government had intensified its repression in a “concerted effort to crush dissent,” while Reporters Without Borders ranked Iran 177th out of 180 countries for press freedom in 2026.

About an hour later, at 10:39 a.m, Craig Mokhiber, a former senior U.N. human-rights official who previously directed the New York office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, called the subpoenas an “outrageous attack” by the “US-Israel Axis.” He said they threatened freedom of opinion, expression and information.

Foreign-linked funding at heart of probe

At the heart of the committee’s inquiry is the network’s layered financial architecture.

The panel alleges that Singham’s money traveled through shell companies and donor-advised funds before reaching the three tax-exempt organizations. Such arrangements, the committee said, can move foreign-linked funding through layers of intermediaries that “by design, obscure the original source of the contribution.”

Fox News Digital previously documented $278 million flowing from Singham into six core nonprofits in a wider transnational network spanning media operations, activist organizations and ideological think tanks. The committee’s current investigation focuses on about $39 million it says reached BreakThrough News, the People’s Forum and Tricontinental.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

The committee requested records concerning foreign-linked funding and projects whose finances the groups managed. It also sought contracts involving foreign individuals or organizations, communications with Singham about the groups’ finances or operations, contacts with other foreign interests, information about foreign donors who contributed more than $5,000 and records of grants sent overseas.

By Thursday night, the counterpropaganda campaign went global with the World Socialist Website, a pro-communism platform, parroting the rhetoric of the Singham network and blasting the “anti-communist witchhunting” to its readers.

A newly-uncovered Biden White House memo from the administration’s final days revealed plans that could have expanded Temporary Protected Status (TPS) to more than 3 million noncitizens while acknowledging that previous court challenges had blocked many of President Donald Trump’s efforts to end the protections.

TPS is meant for foreign populations experiencing crises like political unrest or natural disasters, and while Trump has tried to end the “temporary” provisions for Haitians, Nepalese, Salvadorans and Sudanese people, lawsuits from pro-migrant advocates have halted most attempts.

“Stakeholders argue that granting TPS will potentially protect many vulnerable people from President-elect Trump’s planned mass deportations… They argue that these protections are likely to hold in court, and they are prepared to litigate efforts to terminate or slow down the implementation of TPS for specified nations by the Trump Administration,” read a section of the memo — acquired by Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo.

SUPREME COURT WEIGHS TRUMP EFFORT TO TERMINATE TEMPORARY PROTECTIONS FOR HAITIAN, SYRIAN MIGRANTS

“[P]rior federal litigation brought by advocates during the first Trump administration was successful in halting [its] efforts to terminate TPS, though that was due in large part to [its] failure to produce a factual record in support of termination, which is something that could be rectified,” the memo went on.

Schmitt said he obtained the memo from Archivist of the United States Edward Forst through his authority as chairman of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution.

BIRTH TOURISM COULD SOON CARRY A SEVERE NEW CONSEQUENCE FEW WOULD RISK: ‘EXISTENTIAL CRISIS’

“Biden tried to turn TPS into a 3.1-million-person deportation shield, protect Tren de Aragua members, and trap President Trump in years of litigation,” he said, adding the move directly betrayed the “will of the people” who ousted liberal Democrats from power the prior election.

“The most disturbing part, Biden’s ‘Senior Advisors’ recommended he create 2.1 million NEW TPS designees in the last few weeks of his presidency, despite admitting TPS applications take 6 months,” Schmitt added.

“Luckily, that never happened and we have been deporting Ecuadorians and Guatemalans.”

TRUMP’S ‘THIRD WORLD’ TRAVEL BAN COULD BECOME PERMANENT IF FIREBRAND REPUBLICAN LAWMAKER GETS HER WAY

Fox News Digital reached out to Biden, a former Biden official and Schmitt for additional comment.

Schmitt noted that one week after the January 2025 memo — which he said was erroneously dated “2024” — Biden extended TPS protections for nearly 1 million noncitizens, meaning its transmission still led to “a concrete, mass-migration action.”

Schmitt shared a clip of his recent floor remarks on a related topic, where he said the U.S. should not be a “get-rich-quick scheme for the third world” and that Americans don’t try to delay enforcement of squatters on their property in real-life.

The memo reminded Biden he gave TPS protections to Afghans, Cameroonians, Ethiopians, people from Burma, Lebanese, Ukrainians and Venezuelan nationals and repeatedly extended protections for Haitians.

“The previous Administration unsuccessfully attempted to terminate TPS designations for Sudan, Nicaragua, Haiti, El Salvador, Nepal, and Honduras. Courts issued preliminary injunctions blocking the Trump Administration’s actions,” it read. “Your administration took actions to resolve this litigation by either redesignating Haiti or rescinding the terminations.”

The memo noted that Trump had said during the 2024 campaign he intended to revoke TPS protections for Haitians and predicted his incoming administration would likely seek to rescind additional TPS designations.

A chart in the memo estimated potential new TPS eligibility for roughly 1.5 million Guatemalans, 600,000 Ecuadorians, 464,000 Nicaraguans, 455,000 Venezuelans, and smaller populations from Ukraine, Sudan, and Afghanistan — figures Schmitt said totaled more than 3.1 million people.

SIGN UP TO GET THE POLITICS NEWSLETTER

The memo said Biden’s “senior team” had also received requests for varying types of new TPS-related actions before Trump would take office from Sens. Michael Bennet, D-Colo., Catherine Cortez-Masto, D-Nev., Cory Booker, D-N.J., Richard Durbin, D-Ill., Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, Ben Ray Lujan, D-N.M., Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., and Alex Padilla, D-Calif.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

“In addition, some stakeholders are requesting that your Administration designate nationals from new countries, most notably Ecuador and Guatemala, for TPS,” it stated.

While the proposals outlined in the memo were never fully implemented, the document offers a rare glimpse into the immigration options Biden advisers presented as Trump prepared to return to the White House promising mass deportations.

The wheels are in motion for Republicans to take another swing at President Donald Trump’s top election priority, but in the Senate, the main focus is keeping the government open.

House Republicans advanced their framework for another party line budget reconciliation package that, among other funding priorities, includes a rough sketch to find a way to pass part of the SAVE America Act in the Senate.

But Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., is prioritizing another issue: preventing Senate Democrats from getting the opportunity to shut down the government ahead of the midterm elections in the fall.

JOHNSON DELIVERS BIG FOR TRUMP, BUT FRUSTRATION GROWS ACROSS RAZOR-THIN GOP MAJORITY

Thune plans to hold the House’s budget framework until the Senate can move a funding extension, known as a continuing resolution. Doing so, however, delays reconciliation, and in turn, trying to pass the SAVE America Act.

Negotiations on a continuing resolution between Republicans and Democrats are already underway in the Senate, but some in the GOP worry that Thune’s maneuver opens the door for betrayal.

“I support (Thune), I like him. I don’t agree with him on this,” Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., an appropriator, told Fox News Digital. “I’ve seen this vampire movie before. He wants to negotiate with the Democrats. I respect that, but right now, if you turn the other cheek to Chuck (Schumer), he’s just gonna stab me in the neck.”

Sen. Katie Britt, R-Ala., told Fox News Digital she understood Kennedy’s position, but that Republicans needed to strike on funding the government while the opportunity was there.

I “believe that, particularly in the last year, we’ve seen Democrats getting more and more comfortable with not doing their job and finding a pathway forward,” Britt said. “I do think we all have a duty and an obligation to try to find one here.”

HOUSE GOP VOTES TO PUNT GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN BATTLE TO AFTER NOVEMBER MIDTERMS

Kennedy also is unhappy with the slowdown in passing the SAVE America Act, a sentiment shared by his colleagues in the House.

House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., contended that the Senate could, and should, do both at the same time.

“Well, we all should be able to walk and chew gum at the same time,” Scalise told Fox News Digital before the vote Tuesday. “In fact, this week, we’re doing both. We’re passing the reconciliation bill that will move SAVE America, and we’re passing a continuing resolution to fund the government at current levels.”

The House did pass a continuing resolution earlier in the week, but the Senate is working on a plan that could score Democratic votes, which given the 60-vote filibuster threshold, is a necessity in the upper chamber.

House Appropriations Committee Chairman Tom Cole, R-Okla., told Fox News Digital he was largely open to whatever could help Republicans avoid a shutdown ahead of the all-important midterm elections.

“Obviously, we would consider anything they had,” Cole said. “A lot depends on what’s in it and whether or not, if we’d lost Republicans, are they going to replace them over here with Democrats? But no, I think the more talking about getting this done, the better off we are, the less chance of a shutdown.”

Thune also floated attaching the continuing resolution to the reconciliation bill sent over by the House as a means of bypassing the 60-vote threshold, which Rep. Andrew Clyde, R-Ga., called “problematic” because they are two separate aspects of government funding that are not traditionally paired.

REPUBLICAN SAYS TRUMP’S TOP ELECTION PRIORITY ‘DEAD’ IN SENATE AS GOP FRACTURES AHEAD OF MIDTERMS

“I would suggest that Leader Thune do exactly what the House is doing,” Clyde said. “Putting a continuing resolution on the budget reconciliation is problematic because you’ve got mandatory and discretionary funding mixed, literally for the entire Congress.”

But the SAVE America Act may not even survive the strict rules that allow Republicans to use reconciliation. It also might not have the 50 votes needed to pass, either.

Thune, when asked about the criticism of his plan and the concerns holding up the SAVE America Act, told Fox News Digital, “as I’ve said before, we gotta get to 50.”

“And I can’t count to 50 right now on a budget resolution,” Thune said. “But we’ll see. I mean, we’ll have those conversations at the conference. The priority is funding the government. And, so, to me, that’s the thing we’ve got to keep our eyes on.”

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

Republicans across the chambers agree on the latter point to find a way to keep the lights on and prevent yet another government shutdown.

But still, those not completely bought into Thune’s plan think that both issues can be completed.

“We need to do government funding, he’s right on that,” Rep. Michael Cloud, R-Texas, told Fox News Digital. “We should also make sure our elections are secure, we should support the military, and so I think the reconciliation bill should move forward as well. But you know what, the Senate’s the Senate, they’ll do what they want to do.”

Sen. Tina Smith, D-Minn., has endorsed Democratic Michigan U.S. Senate primary candidate Abdul El-Sayed, describing him as “a fighter.”

El-Sayed expressed his gratitude Thursday for the senator’s backing.

“Senator Tina Smith has been a fighter for working people in the US Senate,” he said in a statement. “She’s fought for and delivered on an economy that works for all of us. I hope to build on her leadership on women’s health and reproductive rights and access which has paved the way for the future I want for my daughters and every American. I’m deeply grateful for her support.”

TOP DEM HOPEFUL FLIPS SCRIPT AFTER YEARS IN SOCIALIST ORBIT WITH PUZZLING CLAIM

Sens. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., are some of the figures who have endorsed El-Sayed.

“In all due respect to Haley Stevens, everybody knows that this is not an election between her and Abdul,” Sanders said during an event last week in support of El-Sayed. “This is an election between Abdul and the billionaire class. That is what this election is about.”

The Senate hopeful is running against U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens, D-Mich., in the Aug. 4 Democratic primary contest.

WARREN DEFIES SCHUMER AS DEM CIVIL WAR EXPLODES OVER MUST-WIN SENATE RACE

Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., who announced last year that he would not seek re-election, is supporting Stevens to succeed him in the Senate seat.

“Over the last eighteen years, while serving the people of Michigan, I have been surrounded by many extremely talented and dedicated partners who work tirelessly for our state. Haley Stevens has been that partner in Congress,” Peters wrote in a statement. “Haley Stevens will be ready on day 1 to fight for Michigan, which is why I am excited to announce I am all in for Haley Stevens.”

Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., is also among those backing Stevens.

DEMOCRATS’ CIVIL WAR HEADS TO MICHIGAN WHERE PROGRESSIVES FACE BIGGEST TEST YET IN HIGH-STAKES SENATE SHOWDOWN

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

Former Rep. Mike Rogers, who is backed by President Donald Trump, does not face any competition heading into the Michigan Republican U.S. Senate primary.

House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., is comparing the lack of a federal voter ID law to an identification requirement at one of America’s most well-known chain restaurants.

“If you want to go buy unlimited pasta at the Olive Garden, they said you have to show your ID,” Scalise told Fox News Digital in an interview earlier this week.

He also pointed out that the 2024 Democratic National Convention (DNC) required attendees to show ID in order to enter the venue.

SEN MARK WARNER CALLED OUT IN ABC INTERVIEW FOR INACCURATE VOTER ID CLAIMS

“Democrats are saying it somehow impedes people’s ability to participate, yet Democrats themselves wouldn’t even let you go to their convention without showing ID,” Scalise said. “I’m not against them having to require ID – but by the way, everybody understands it, and everybody gets it in polling. You know, if you’re Black, if you’re White, if you are Hispanic, if you’re Republican, or Democrat, or Independent, you understand that an ID makes sense because it protects your right to vote.”

He also listed boarding a plane and buying “a six-pack of beer” as situations where a photo ID was required as well.

“How about the franchise of American democracy? Let’s make sure you are who you say you are and illegals can’t vote in American elections,” Scalise said.

TRUMP INTERVENES AS HOUSE GOP REVOLT PUTS SAVE AMERICA ACT AT CENTER OF SPENDING SHOWDOWN

Republicans have emphasized polling showing broad support for voter ID requirements as their main argument against Democrats’ opposition to the Safeguarding American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) America Act, which was advanced by the House multiple times but has stalled in the Senate.

Democrats have argued the election integrity package is tantamount to voter suppression, claiming it would make it harder for married women who have changed their names to vote and make absentee voting more burdensome. Another provision in SAVE America that’s angering Democrats would allow the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) comprehensive access to states’ voter rolls.

But Republicans say that’s not true. The SAVE America Act, among other provisions, would mandate proof of citizenship in the voter registration process and implement a federal photo ID requirement to vote in U.S. elections.

WHITE HOUSE DISHES OUT NEW ELECTION SECURITY JAB OVER OLIVE GARDEN’S PASTA PASS ID POLICY

And Republicans have seized on a temporary promotion at the Italian-American restaurant chain Olive Garden as the latest example of the commonsense reasoning behind photo ID.

Earlier this month, the restaurant chain unveiled a “Never-ending pasta pass,” which would give 10,000 customers unlimited pasta for dine-in visits across 13 weeks, for the price of $100.

The Olive Garden website states that “Passholders must present a photo I.D. along with Pass at time of ordering” to ensure one pass is not being shared by multiple people.

House Administration Committee Chairman Bryan Steil, R-Wis., referenced the promotion during debate on a separate voter ID measure earlier this week, which Democrats also opposed.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

“The never ending pasta bowl is back at Olive Garden. I used to work at Olive Garden, so this hit close to home. But to safeguard the integrity of their pasta program, Olive Garden, as you may have seen, implemented photo ID requirements,” Steil said. “However, in jurisdictions across the country from Illinois and California or Minnesota, an individual can go to the polls on Election Day and cast a ballot without providing confirmation, without providing confirmation of their identity.”

That measure, which would require photo voter ID even when sending mail-in ballots, passed the House earlier this week with the help of just 13 Democrats.

The Trump administration fired a newly sworn-in U.S. attorney just 54 minutes into his tenure.

Now, in what is believed to be the first lawsuit of its kind, he is fighting back.

Roger Rogoff was appointed to serve as the U.S. attorney for the Western District of Washington last week after a panel of district court judges, among them Democratic and Republican appointees, unanimously decided that he should fill the vacant role. The Trump administration fired him just 54 minutes after he was sworn in, prompting Rogoff to file a lawsuit alleging that the Trump administration lacked the authority to remove him.

TRUMP ADMIN FIRES US ATTORNEY IN SEATTLE MINUTES AFTER HE WAS APPOINTED

The legal challenge sets up a novel test of presidential power over court-appointed U.S. attorneys, pitting the Trump administration’s claim of broad removal authority against a federal law Rogoff says allows him to serve until a Senate-confirmed successor takes office. The outcome could determine whether presidents may dismiss judicially selected prosecutors at will — and potentially leave key offices under temporary leadership without seeking Senate approval.

Rogoff argues that, while the law allows the Department of Justice to appoint an interim U.S. attorney for 120 days, after that period has expired, the local district court retains the right to appoint a replacement “until the vacancy is filled,” meaning that he can’t be fired until a permanent replacement is approved by the Senate.

Allowing the president to immediately remove any court-appointed U.S. attorney he opposed, according to Rogoff, would permit an administration to circumvent the Senate-confirmation process indefinitely.

“The district court did not coordinate with DOJ on this selection,” a spokesperson for the agency told Fox News Digital of the firing. “Consistent with other firings of this type, this is wholly within the President’s authority.”

TRUMP PICKS JAMES MCDONALD TO LEAD POWERFUL SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK AFTER JAY CLAYTON’S DEPARTURE

Rogoff’s firing was the latest in a string of dismissals — such as those in New Jersey, New York and Virginia — where the Trump administration has removed U.S. attorneys very early in their tenure. Rogoff is unique in that he is the first to challenge his removal in court.

U.S. attorneys serve as the federal government’s chief prosecutors in their districts, overseeing criminal prosecutions and representing the United States in civil cases. They also direct local U.S. attorney’s offices and coordinate federal law enforcement priorities.

“District court judges can appoint a temporary U.S. Attorney, and POTUS can fire them,” acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said on X shortly after the firing. “[Western District of Washington] judges abandoned the time-honored process of consultation with the administration so that the selected U.S. Attorney is qualified to serve in the administration.”

TRUMP DOJ FIRES PROSECUTORS TIED TO FACE ACT CASES AFTER REPORT ALLEGES BIAS AND MISCONDUCT

A large number of experienced federal attorneys, including many in U.S. attorneys’ offices, have departed the second Trump administration, often going to work for Democratic-run states and taking north of a decade of legal experience with them.

In his complaint, Rogoff points to administration statements indicating that court-appointed U.S. attorneys who lack the president’s support will be removed.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

Rogoff was appointed a King County Superior Court judge by Gov. Jay Inslee, D-Wash., in 2013 and worked in private practice after leaving the bench.

The White House referred Fox News Digital to the DOJ when reached for comment. Rogoff’s attorneys did not respond to a request for comment.

Secret Service is giving a behind-the-scenes glimpse inside the strategy to protect President Donald Trump and guests at Friday night’s rescheduled White House Correspondents Association (WHCA) Dinner.

The originally scheduled event in April was done before it even started after a crazed gunman bolted through a security check point, and was later accused of trying to assassinate the 47th president.

“Our agency grows and adapts from every event we secure, and we have engaged with WHCA to ensure attendees are given timely information in the unlikely event on an emergency during the event,” Anthony Guglielmi, Secret Service’s communications director, told Fox News Digital.

Guglielmi noted that Secret Service’s protection plan worked during the April 25 dinner when agents stopped Cole Allen of California after he alleged descended from the 10th floor of the Washington Hilton Hotel, where the dinner is historically held, and attempted to breach security barriers. He allegedly fired one shot from a shotgun before tripping and falling, after which he was quickly detained. One Secret Service agent was shot and sustained minor injuries.

FIRST ON FOX: WHITE HOUSE REVEALS WHO’S JOINING TRUMP AT CORRESPONDENTS’ DINNER — AND WHO CAN’T ATTEND

The rescheduled dinner is set for Friday night at the Waldorf Astoria on Pennsylvania Avenue, which is housed inside the Old Post Office Tower and was previously owned by the president and called the Trump International Hotel. It’s the first time in decades that the annual WHCA dinner is not being held at the Washington Hilton.

Those attending the dinner will enter the ballroom through a door separate from the main lobby and entrance of the hotel.

“Guests will see a visible police presence around the Waldorf Astoria hotel and there will be enhanced traffic closures due to proximity to major thoroughfares,” Guglielmi said. “All ticketed guests will go through airport-style magnetometer screening to enter the event.”

“Roads immediately around the hotel will be closed Friday evening, and specifics about closures will be communicated in the coming days.”

TRUMP URGES NEED FOR SECURE WHITE HOUSE BALLROOM AFTER DINNER SHOOTING, SAYS HOTEL SETTING ‘TOUGH’ TO PROTECT

Guglielmi added that exact arrival instructions will be communicated specifically to ticket holders, and that each ticket will be screened by event staff prior to Secret Service security.

Notably, the dinner is significantly scaled-back from the usual event, which typically hosts 4,000+ guests inside one of the largest ballroom in the District of Columbia — second only to the convention center Marriott Marquis. The Waldorf Astoria ballroom can host a maximum of 1,300 people for tight banquet seating.

At the dinner, Secret Service Police Officer Victor Gonzales, who was shot by the alleged gunman, will be awarded the President’s Award for Exceptional Service to the WHCA for his actions protecting Trump and event guests during the April attack.

“The WHCA is deeply grateful that law enforcement officials prevented the armed suspect from entering the ballroom,” said Weijia Jiang of CBS News, who as president of the association presided over the April dinner.

“Officer Gonzales played a significant role when he ran toward danger so that thousands of others could make it home safely. His courage stemmed from a dedication to service, which we are looking forward to honoring this week.”

WHCD SHOOTING SUSPECT PLANNED TO TARGET TRUMP OFFICIALS, MANIFESTO REVEALS

According to a court filing in the proceedings against Allen, the alleged gunman boarded an Amtrak train on April 21 after purchasing a one-way ticket from Los Angeles to the nation’s capital, stopping in Chicago to change trains. While he rode, prosecutors say he “kept a running note on his phone of his observations and thoughts during his cross-country train journey.”

His musings along the way, in tandem with what he wrote in a later manifesto, paint a picture of an unfocused person whose thoughts were “scattered,” as one former FBI behavioral analyst said, despite the gravity of the situation.

While he traveled through the U.S. southwest on the first leg of his trip, Allen made a note: “[t]he southwest desert in spring Distant wind turbines looming like snowy mountains across the hazy NM desert.”

Of Chicago, where he would switch trains and board a second train to his final destination, Allen wrote that, “Chicago is cool; kinda like an Iowa small town was scaled up to LA size.” Of the sliver of southwestern Pennsylvania through which he would pass, he wrote that the “woods are awesome (look like vast fairy lands filled with tiny trickling creeks in spring apparently.”

Allen arrived in Washington, D.C. early in the afternoon on Friday, April 24. He spent about 30 hours in the city before initiating his alleged attack.

Surveillance video from the Washington Hilton hotel, also released by the Department of Justice, showed Allen apparently pacing through hallways, once entering the hotel’s fitness center and taking a look around before hastily exiting.

Minutes before the attack, a pre-scheduled email from Allen was sent to his family and friends, explaining his actions, according to authorities.

He allegedly acknowledged that his mission would likely severely harm him at the least, but never stated that he was willing to die for his cause. His motivations were political, and he painted himself as a savior of the oppressed. He apologized profusely to family, friends and everyone he had come in contact with on his cross-country trek. He noted that there were certain people he hoped wouldn’t be caught in the crossfire, and described himself as “friendly.”

Allen remains in federal custody in Washington, D.C., while awaiting trial on four charges.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

Those charges are attempting to assassinate the President of the United States, discharge of a firearm during a crime of violence, transporting a firearm across state lines and assaulting a federal officer with a deadly weapon.

Fox News’ Jake Gibson contributed to this report.

The fight over President Donald Trump’s SAVE America Act has moved from squabbles within the GOP to the top Senate Republican and White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt publicly sniping at one another.

Leavitt suggested Thursday that Trump’s patience was wearing thin with Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., over his flagship election security legislation.

“His patience is running out. He wants to see as much of the Save America [Act] passed as possible by the August recess,” Leavitt said of the heavy-handed president. “He knows that’s what the American people want to see passed.

REPUBLICAN SAYS TRUMP’S TOP ELECTION PRIORITY ‘DEAD’ IN SENATE AS GOP FRACTURES AHEAD OF MIDTERMS

“And I would just add, you know, the American people … elected overwhelmingly Republicans to lead not just this White House, but also the House and the Senate,” she continued. “The House did its job. The Senate needs to do its job, too.”

But in the Senate, the political reality looks much different than Leavitt’s assertion that Republicans in the upper chamber weren’t doing enough. Still, Thune has become the dartboard for conservatives, online and at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., to throw their frustrations over the SAVE America Act at.

The SAVE America Act is universally despised by Senate Democrats, who argue it would disenfranchise millions of Americans from voting. Thune would need Democrats to pass the bill, compared to the House, where Republicans can ram through legislation without Democratic help.

TRUMP’S VOTER ID BILL CATCHES UNLIKELY BREAK AS MCCONNELL REMAINS SIDELINED

Further compounding the issue is the fact that not every Republican is on board with the legislation.

And even though House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and Trump are hoping that Thune and Republicans can pass a version of the SAVE America Act through the party-line budget reconciliation process, which requires 50 votes to work, there’s no guarantee that the support is there.

“Well, maybe she or somebody else ought to get on the phone and get the votes, right? It’s 50 around here,” Thune said. “So, instead of, you know, pointing the finger at Republicans, they might think about going after the people who are stopping it on the floor, which is the Democrats. And if there are Republicans that they think are gettable, get on the phone. Let’s get them to yes.”

GOP CIVIL WAR ERUPTS OVER TRUMP’S LATEST AGENDA PUSH AS KEY REPUBLICANS THREATEN TO SINK MEGABILL

In the Senate, Republicans are growing increasingly frustrated with the expectations surrounding the bill that aren’t feasible given the math problem bogging the legislation down in the upper chamber.

Thune is considering using the reconciliation process to keep the government open, too, in the event that Democrats renege in ongoing negotiations to craft a short-term funding deal as the typical government funding process struggles to move forward.

Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., one of the most vocal opponents of the SAVE America Act, said Republicans should turn to reconciliation to fund the government and that some were “being dishonest to the American people to say that we need SAVE Act passed because there’s no way on God’s green Earth it can be implemented by the election.”

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

When asked about Leavitt’s comments against Thune, Tillis dug in.

“I have 1,000% confidence in Thune, and anybody in the White House who thinks he’s not a good leader isn’t qualified for their job,” he said.

President Donald Trump will return to the stage Friday to deliver remarks at a rescheduled White House Correspondents’ Association dinner at the Waldorf Astoria, just months after gunfire abruptly ended the organization’s annual banquet.

“In April, President Trump promised to finish the job and plan another WHCA Dinner, and on Friday, he will deliver on that promise. We look forward to a great and fun evening celebrating 250 years of American greatness and a free press,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told Fox News Digital.

Trump attended the original dinner in April during the nation’s 250th-anniversary year. He skipped the event throughout his first term amid repeated clashes with the press. This month’s dinner is expected to be a night of unity with a more intimate guest list after the April dinner devolved into chaos.

“This dinner will not only be an opportunity to carry out our program. It will be a statement that violence has no place in American life and a free press will not be intimidated into silence. As you have all demonstrated, courage and community can and should rise above,” Weijia Jiang, president of The White House Correspondents’ Association (WHCA), said when the new date was announced.

WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENTS’ ASSOCIATION PRESIDENT ANNOUNCES EVENT BEING RESCHEDULED AFTER SHOOTING

The annual dinner has historically been held at the Washington Hilton. Chaos, however, broke out at this year’s banquet when an armed suspect, Cole Allen, stormed the event in what authorities say was an attempt to assassinate the president.

The incident prompted Secret Service agents to rush the president and first lady from the room as guests scrambled for cover, abruptly ending the dinner.

The WHCA will honor U.S. Secret Service Officer Victor Gonzales during Friday’s dinner in recognition of his actions in helping stop an armed suspect from entering the ballroom, WHCA announced in a press release Tuesday.

HOW DID SUSPECTED GUNMAN GET WEAPONS INTO CORRESPONDENTS’ DINNER? EX-DETECTIVE QUESTIONS SECURITY FAILURES

Gonzales was at a security checkpoint when Cole tried to burst through the Washington Hilton.

“The WHCA is deeply grateful that law enforcement officials prevented the armed suspect from entering the ballroom,” said Jiang.

“Officer Gonzales played a significant role when he ran toward danger so that thousands of others could make it home safely. His courage stemmed from a dedication to service, which we are looking forward to honoring this week,” she added.

While first lady Melania Trump, Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio will not be in attendance due to prior commitments, many Cabinet officials will be present.

FBI Director Kash Patel, Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick are among those attending.

Mentalist Oz Pearlman will return as entertainment for the guests.

TONY DOKOUPIL CLASHES WITH MARK WARNER AFTER THE SENATOR RIPPED CBS FOR AIRING TRUMP SPEECH ‘AS NEWS’

The April dinner drew dozens of anti-war protesters outside the Washington Hilton as the conflict with Iran dominated headlines, and similar demonstrations could greet attendees Friday as U.S. military operations continue.

The event also comes as Trump has used a string of high-profile speeches to highlight his administration’s priorities, including a primetime address last week on election security.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

Speaking after the April dinner was cut short, Trump said he hoped the event would be held again and previewed a less combative tone for his eventual remarks. He said he had been prepared to “really rip” the press but decided that delivering such a speech after the shooting would have been inappropriate.

“I think I’m going to be probably very nice. I’ll be very boring the next time. But we’re going to have a great event,” Trump said.

The Trump administration is moving to deport an unnamed illegal immigrant suspected of terrorism through the long-dormant Alien Terrorist Removal Court (ATRC), which has never heard a single case.

The Justice Department filed its first-ever application for a removal order with the court on July 15, marking the first attempt in the court’s nearly 30-year history to invoke a little-known law allowing the government to deport noncitizens suspected of terrorism through a specialized judicial process that relies on sealed classified evidence. If successful, the administration could revive what legal scholars have called a “zombie” court as a powerful new tool for removing suspected terrorists.

“This Department of Justice will use every tool available to bring alien terrorists to justice and remove them from the United States, including by use of this court established by Congress in 1996,” a Justice Department spokesperson said in a statement to Fox News Digital.

The move also comes months after Chief U.S. District Judge James Boasberg in Washington, D.C., pointed to the long-dormant Alien Terrorist Removal Court as an alternative for handling terrorism-related deportation cases while questioning the Trump administration’s use of the Alien Enemies Act.

EXCLUSIVE: NEW YORK WOMAN WHO WISHED ‘EVERY DAY WERE OCT. 7’ CHARGED WITH FUNDING PALESTINIAN TERROR GROUP

“In fact, Congress has an answer for us, doesn’t it? Because they created the Alien Terrorist Removal Court,” Boasberg said during a March hearing. “So if there’s a national security concern with having these hearings, whether via habeas or otherwise, you can always go to the ATRC, which would be a first, but that’s what it’s there for, right?”

Boasberg made the comments while presiding over litigation challenging the administration’s use of the Alien Enemies Act to deport alleged members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua. He temporarily blocked the administration from using the wartime law for those removals while the courts determine whether Trump’s use of the statute is lawful. Boasberg also ordered deportation flights already in the air to return, setting off a high-profile legal battle between the administration and the judiciary.

Hans von Spakovsky, a senior legal fellow at Advancing American Freedom, told Fox News Digital that it was about time the Justice Department took advantage of this special court.

“I think it is a sign of negligence, frankly, of prior presidents that they did not use this special court, this special procedure that was specifically set up by Congress, so that they could quickly get aliens — aliens who were either terrorists or supported terrorist activities — out of the U.S.” von Spakovsky said.

BIDEN JUDGE OVERRULED ON KEY TRUMP IMMIGRATION POLICY

The one-page sealed application contained virtually no information, leaving out the person’s identity, the alleged conduct, and the specific section of the anti-terrorism law the Justice Department cited.

After hearing arguments from Justice Department officials, ATRC Chief Judge Joan N. Erickson, appointed by President George W. Bush, requested additional information before proceedings could continue.

“The Court had questions about the nexus that the government alleges between the actions of the respondent and the specific sections and subsections it invokes with respect to those actions,” Erickson wrote.

“The answers persuaded the Court that the Government could benefit from the opportunity for more thoughtful consideration,” Erickson continued.

Erickson gave the Justice Department until Wednesday to respond with additional documentation.

Congress created the ATRC through the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act, signed into law by President Bill Clinton in 1996.

“From now on we can quickly expel foreigners who dare to come to America and support terrorist activities,” Clinton said at the bill’s signing.

The court is made up of five federal district judges who serve five-year terms. It handles terrorism-related deportation cases where the government says its evidence cannot be made public because it would threaten national security. In those cases, the government provides the respondent with an unclassified summary instead of the classified evidence itself.

DC APPEALS COURT ORDERS JUDGE BOASBERG TO HALT TRUMP CONTEMPT PROBE OVER DEPORTATION FLIGHTS

At the time of the law’s passage, then Sen. Joe Biden, D-Del., blasted the law.

“You and me, Judge—me, the prosecutor; you, the judge—let’s deport him in a secret hearing, using secret evidence,” Biden said. “We know you did it, and we can’t tell you how we know. Now I think that is about as un-American as it gets.”

According to the 9/11 Commission staff report, DOJ attorneys considered 50 cases by 1998 and another 50 over the next two years, but every one was rejected. Some terrorism-related cases moved forward through the regular immigration court system instead.

SIGN UP TO GET THE POLITICS NEWSLETTER

The Justice Department’s case before the ATRC comes as the Trump administration has repeatedly faced resistance from federal judges, who have blocked, delayed or narrowed key parts of its immigration enforcement agenda.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

Von Spakovsky said the Justice Department’s use of the ATRC could not only streamline terrorism-related deportation cases but also reduce interference from what he described as “rogue” liberal judges.

“I think this court is a much stronger tool the Justice Department can use, and it’s going to make it much tougher for what I consider to be rogue judges to interfere with, and hopefully prevent, the removal of immigrants,” von Spakovsky said.

Despite American export controls designed to cut Huawei off from the world’s most advanced semiconductor technology, China’s largest technology company is poised to post a 60% jump in chip revenue this year — a far cry from the death blow the Biden administration had hoped the restrictions would deliver.

Following export controls implemented in 2023, China directed its state agencies to purchase hardware, chips, mobile devices and software from Huawei while also pouring over $1 billion in government grants into the company.

Now, three years later, Huawei is expected to close 2026 with about $12 billion in chip revenue — a massive jump from $7.5 billion in 2025, according to analysts.

The result is fueling debate over whether U.S. export controls have inadvertently made Huawei stronger—or whether they have successfully slowed China’s push to compete in advanced semiconductors.

STEPHEN MOORE: GOVERNMENT CONTROL OF CHIP SALES HAS A SHOCKING DOWNSIDE

To some, like Jensen Huang, CEO of Nvidia, the world’s largest semiconductor engineering company, there’s reason to still believe Huawei should merit respect.

“Huawei is the single most formidable technology company in China,” Huang told the Financial Times earlier this year.

“They’ve conquered every market they’ve engaged in,” he added.

The U.S. originally placed restrictions on Huawei in 2019, blacklisting its devices from government use.

The Biden administration continued to tighten restrictions in the next few years.

In 2022, it banned sales and imports from the company and, a few months later, halted export licenses to Huawei entirely, citing national security interests. In 2024, the U.S. pressed for many of its allies to follow suit. The Trump administration has continued those efforts in 2025, blocking dozens of Chinese groups from accessing semiconductors and other pieces of technology.

The compounding moves created a de facto ban on the company.

“The export controls announced in the two rules today restrict the PRC’s ability to obtain advanced computing chips, develop and maintain supercomputers, and manufacture advanced semiconductors,” the U.S. Department of Commerce wrote in a statement at the time.

“These items and capabilities are used by the [People’s Republic of China] to produce advanced military systems including weapons of mass destruction; improve the speed and accuracy of its military decision-making, planning, and logistics, as well as of its autonomous military systems; and commit human rights abuses.”

But by then, China had already begun laying the groundwork for using Huawei as a way to step away from reliance on the U.S.

CHINA IS BUILDING AN AI WAR MACHINE. WASHINGTON MUST WAKE UP BEFORE IT’S TOO LATE

Huawei’s annual reports indicate that the company’s government grants skyrocketed during the same period. From 2.5 billion yuan in 2021, worth roughly $403 million, the company received 6.5 billion yuan in 2022 and then 7.3 billion in 2023.

Notably, government investment dipped in 2025, to 3.9 billion yuan.

Even so, the investments have coincided with an important milestone by 2026: the emergence of the Ascend 910B chip — a jump in China’s cutting-edge technology designed to compete with Nvidia’s chips.

The company believes it can go further. In May, Huawei announced that it would adopt new strategies to push the boundaries of existing technology. Instead of trying to make parts inside chips increasingly smaller — a key focus for the rest of the industry — Huawei believes it has found a way to make electrical signals move faster and take more efficient shortcuts, a principle called “Tau scaling law.”

He Tingbo, a Huawei executive, seemed to believe it could reverse the company’s isolation.

“No single company can independently find all the answers along the path of semiconductor evolution. With the τ Scaling Law, we look forward to working closely with scientists, engineers, and industry partners around the world to drive the sustainable development of the semiconductor and electronics industries.”

While debates remain about just how effective Ascend 910B really is as a challenger and some of the other breakthroughs Huawei has promised, some lawmakers argue that the export controls have succeeded in one key area: forcing China to offshore at least some of its production.

Rep. John Moolenaar, R-Mich., said he believed the move had forced China to rely more on Taiwan.

“Huawei’s only path to meeting China’s internal demand has been to illegally procure chips from Taiwan — a humiliation the CCP would prefer to avoid at all costs,” Moolenaar wrote in a letter to Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, referring to a shell company China had used that China had used to get around restrictions.

AMERICA IS FIGHTING YESTERDAY’S AI WAR. TOMORROW’S WAR IS ON THE WAY

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

“While Huawei struggles to cheat its way toward meeting domestic AI-chip demand, the United States has accumulated roughly 75 percent of the world’s AI computing power.”

Representatives for Huawei did not respond to requests for comment from Fox News Digital.

Former congressman and former South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford, a GOP critic of President Donald Trump, launched a Senate bid Thursday, becoming the latest high-profile Republican running for the seat of the late Sen. Lindsey Graham and joins a crowded field against Trump’s endorsed candidate.

“We’re at a tipping point, and that’s why I’ve decided to run for the U.S. Senate,” Sanford said in a launch video. “I’d ask that you look at my record in Congress and as governor in watching out for your family’s future.”

Sen. Darline Graham, who was appointed last week to fill the remainder of her late brother’s term, announced Monday in an interview on Fox News’ “Hannity” she’s running for a full six-year term in the Senate. Graham’s announcement came three days after she met with Trump at the White House, where the president gave her his “complete and total endorsement” as he encouraged her to run.

But Trump’s backing of the late senator’s sister isn’t stopping other well-known South Carolina Republicans from jumping into the contest.

WHO’S UP AND WHO’S DOWN: CHECK OUT THE FOX NEWS POWER RANKINGS ON THE MIDTERM ELECTIONS

Republican Rep. Ralph Norman, who unsuccessfully campaigned this year for the GOP gubernatorial nomination in the race to succeed term-limited South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster, announced his intention to run this past weekend.

Two-term GOP Rep. Russell Fry followed Monday. And businessman Mark Lynch, who lost to Lindsey Graham by nearly 30 points in last month’s GOP Senate primary, also announced he’d take another shot at the Republican nomination.

The special Republican Senate primary will be held Aug. 11. If no candidate tops 50%, a runoff election will be held among the top two voter-getters on Aug. 25.

WHAT DARLINE GRAHAM TOLD FOX NEWS’ SEAN HANNITY

Sanford, who served three terms in the U.S. House in the 1990s, won election as South Carolina governor in 2002 and was re-elected four years later. A rising conservative star in the GOP, he grabbed national attention and derailed his political career with an extramarital affair in 2009. But Sanford made a political comeback, winning election to his old seat in Congress in 2012 and serving three terms.

He briefly launched a long-shot and unsuccessful presidential nomination challenge against Trump in the 2020 primaries.

Known as a fiscally conservative budget hawk, Sanford pointed to the nation’s debt as a key motivator behind his decision to launch a Senate campaign.

“Our country is at a financial tipping point, and I can’t sit on the sidelines while Washington adds a trillion dollars to the debt every 100 days,” Sanford explained. “I’m worried for our children because, for the first time, America is borrowing from the future faster than we’re building it.”

Unlike Sanford, Fry and Norman, who are both Trump allies in the House, are highlighting their support for the president.

“South Carolina doesn’t need just another senator. It needs President Trump’s strongest ally in the United States Senate. Make no mistake: I will be President Trump’s favorite U.S. Senator, and you will have a MAGA fighter you can count on,” Fry wrote in a social media post as he announced his Senate run.

DEMOCRACY ’26: STAY UP TO DATE WITH THE FOX NEWS ELECTION HUB

Fry described himself as a “MAGA warrior” in an accompanying video, which included pictures of him smiling alongside Trump.

Norman emphasized that he’s “running to represent the people of South Carolina in the U.S. Senate because we need a fighter who will stand with President Trump and carry on Lindsey Graham’s legacy!”

And pointing to Trump’s top legislative priority, he noted, “I want to get the SAVE America Act passed in the Senate!”

Republican Sens. Mike Lee of Utah and Rick Scott of Florida, conservatives and staunch Trump allies in the chamber, both cited Norman’s support for Trump’s election reform bill as they went against the president and endorsed the congressman. Norman is also being backed by the political arm of the powerful conservative group Turning Point USA.

Norman also landed the backing of Rep. Nancy Mace of South Carolina. The endorsement by Mace, first reported by Fox News Digital, came after the retiring congresswoman, who unsuccessfully ran for governor, announced on Monday she wouldn’t run for the Senate.

Besides the president’s powerful endorsement, Graham does have the backing of heavy hitters in Congress, including Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso, R-Wyo., who said, “Darline Graham is an excellent senator. She’ll continue to be an excellent senator, and she has my full support.”

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., however, is staying out of the race for now.

Thune said Graham is a “strong candidate,” and though she lacked elected experience, he noted she was “very accomplished in her own life.”

SIGN UP TO GET THE POLITICS NEWSLETTER

“She has a right, like everybody else, to get in that race,” Thune said.

Backed by Trump’s endorsement and enjoying plenty of name recognition thanks to her well-known last name, pundits view Darline Graham as a frontrunner in the three-week sprint to the Republican primary. And the winner of the GOP nomination will be considered the clear favorite against Democratic nominee Annie Andrews in the general election in the solidly red southeastern state.

Trump’s endorsements aren’t infallible, but his track record so far this cycle, albeit a couple of setbacks, is impressive.

Veteran Republican strategist and communicator Ryan Williams noted that “the Trump endorsement is a major boost for any candidacy, but it doesn’t necessarily give you a lock on the seat.”

“Senate seats in South Carolina do not come up very often, and politics is all about timing. You’ve got to seize the opportunity when it presents itself,” Williams told Fox News Digital. “If you’re an aspiring House member in South Carolina, this is your time to run, regardless of whom the president is supporting.”

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

And Williams, referring to Norman and Fry, noted, “There’s no downside for running. They’re going to run as Trump Republicans, and they’re going to flatter the president on the campaign trail.”

That’s likely not the case for Sanford, who didn’t mention Trump in his social media post or his accompanying campaign launch video.

Fox News’ Liz Elkind contributed to this story.

After flipping a Democrat-leaning state senate district in 2020, Carrie Buck is setting her sights on a bigger target this election cycle: Nevada’s first congressional district, an urban Las-Vegas-based district stretching east to the Arizona border.

But it will not be easy to oust Congresswoman Dina Titus, an 8-term veteran with strong ties to organized labor, the tourism industry and the business community.

Recently, Buck sat down with Fox News Digital at Freedom Fest in Las Vegas to discuss her swing district appeal, her background as a teacher and principal and why she believes her take on kitchen table economics will enable her to pull off an upset come election day.

MINIVAN MOM PUTS DEM INCUMBENT ON NOTICE IN TOP GOP TARGET DISTRICT: ‘SHE HAS DONE NOTHING FOR US’

First and foremost, Buck is no stranger to challenging Democrats on their own turf.

“Well, in 2020, I flipped a blue district to Republican, and it represents 20% of this [NV-1] district. So, I know I can flip the entire district. People are just tired of my Democrat opponent, and they’re ready for change.”

Buck cites her three decades of experience in the Nevada education system as critical to understanding the electorate.

“Well, the past 30 years, I’ve served in the school system here in Nevada. I was a teacher. … I taught adult ESL, I taught children for years. Then I became a principal of one of the lowest performing schools in the state and moved it to a national Title I school. I won the Milken Award in that time. 

“And, so, I’ve been breathing life into children and families for years. When I knock on doors, when I’m out in the community, people are like, ‘Dr. Buck, you were my principal.’ And, so, I think a lot of people know that I’m going to really deliver for Nevadans in D.C.”

Housing affordability is a signature issue for Buck.

She pledges to “ensure that Nevadans have access to lower-cost housing” while also “driving down interest rates so that people can buy whatever house that they want to.”

TOP GOP TARGET DINA TITUS FENDS OFF HOUSE PRIMARY CHALLENGERS

Buck also argues that the immigration crisis during the Biden administration was a key driver on the housing affordability issue.

“I think also what impacted housing is the immigration policies of the Biden years, where they allowed all these people into our country and that drove up [the cost of] all of our low-income housing. 

“It depleted it. And, so, now that we’re seeing people end up getting deported and going back to their original country, I know that it’s definitely driving down prices here.”

Buck promises that taking a hard line on the national debt will be a top priority.

“Spending is definitely out of control when we look at the waste of taxpayer dollars, waste, fraud and abuse. When we’ve seen some of these cases from across the nation, it really is a red alert. We need to make sure that we root that out. 

“I just actually saw the vice president is heading up this task force, and they’re finding lots of fraud. … We can’t just release taxpayer dollars. So, reining in the waste, fraud and abuse and making sure that [government spending] goes to the seniors and the children and the veterans who need it.”

Buck is a strong supporter of pathways to citizenship for immigrants, but also maintains a hard line on issues of border security and illegal immigration.

“There is a pathway to citizenship, and I think we need to get people signed up. I’ve been part of a movement to ensure that people have access to get citizenship. And that’s the way, the legal way.

“But coming here illegally, you are breaking laws. Those people need to be deported. We’ve seen so many victims of crimes by illegal immigrants, and that has to stop. We need to make sure that we have safe communities. I’m a wife of a law enforcement officer and know how important our safe communities and our men and women are working out there in law enforcement.”

Water issues remain an enormous concern west of the Mississippi, particularly in Nevada. Buck argues that California could and should play a large role in ensuring Nevadans access to water.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

“For too long, Nevada has been the conservationist. … Our citizens conserve so much water. … All it would take is California to build a basin and hold their rainwater and not release it into the Pacific. 

“But they’re very selfish neighbors. … We need to make sure that our federal government can maybe step in and build these reservoirs to hold water.”

Smithsonian staff played a pivotal role in developing what one expert referred to as a “revolting” DEI training guide despite the taxpayer-funded institution previously walking back and apologizing for a similar chart on “whiteness,” a series of House hearings this week revealed.

Mike Gonzalez, a DEI and identity politics expert at the Heritage Foundation, testified that, years after the Smithsonian apologized for its controversial “whiteness” chart, the National Museum of American History continued advancing similar concepts through a training guide known as the “Museums as Sites for Social Action” (MASS) toolkit. 

Similar to the chart, Gonzalez said the toolkit describes objectivity, individualism, perfectionism and several other concepts as characteristics of White supremacy.

WATCH: ‘SHOCKING’ BEN FRANKLIN SMEAR LEAVES SMITHSONIAN CHIEF WITH ‘NO REGRETS’

In addition to staff members co-authoring the toolkit, Gonzalez said museum leadership kept “indoctrinating staff” for years by holding staff reading groups to study its materials.

“[The] museum kept surreptitiously indoctrinating staff with this trash for three years after the museum apologized for using it, which shows the promises of reform are written in sand,” he said in one of the hearings this week. 

“This is their own words. The leadership of the Smithsonian says constantly that it wants to use the museum to transform America, for societal transformation. They see history itself as a tool, an instrument to change society.”

In 2020, the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture removed and apologized for a chart that described “objective, rational linear thinking” as an aspect of “whiteness” or “white dominant culture,” saying, “We erred in including the chart. We have removed it, and we apologize,” The Miami Herald reported.

In a viral moment from one of the hearings this week, Rep. Brandon Gill, R-Texas, confronted Smithsonian National Museum of American History Director Anthea Hartig about a passage in the Museums as Sites for Social Action (MASS Action) toolkit used by the museum that asserts objectivity is part of White supremacy. 

In response, Hartig said the museum did not develop the toolkit and asserted, ‘We’re not promoting any ideology.”

SIGN UP TO GET THE POLITICS NEWSLETTER

Gonzalez, however, pointed out that the toolkit was co-authored by half a dozen current and former Smithsonian employees, including an NMAH employee, and references Smithsonian materials.

“This is what Marxists do. I think that people who want to truly transform the country seize the cultural institutions in order to mold how people think,” he said.

“But wait, there’s more.”

‘THE VIEW’ CO-HOST WHINES SMITHSONIAN HEARINGS ARE ABOUT TRUMP ADMINISTRATION NOT WANTING TO PAY REPARATIONS

He pointed to a 2022 Excellence in DEAI Report co-authored by Smithsonian Secretary Lonnie Bunch that praises the MASS Action toolkit as a good resource for the dissemination of formal DEI training.

The report states that “one major aspect of the work that takes time is shifting leaders and museum professionals away from white-dominant characteristics of perfection, risk aversion, and conflict avoidance to move toward action.”

Addressing the lawmakers present during the hearing, Gonzalez said, “Does anyone in this committee believe that perfection is a White characteristic? The man who runs the museum apparently does.”

WATCH: BRANDON GILL CORNERS LAW SCHOOL GATEKEEPER WITH DEI QUESTION SHE WON’T ANSWER

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

“Lonnie Bunch himself agrees with this racist nonsense.

“Once again, I call on Congress to do its duty and take back the Smithsonian from a rogue leadership that now uses it as their own plaything for dangerous ideological games,” he continued. “This Insanity has gone on long enough.”

Fox News Digital reached out to the Smithsonian Institution and the National Museum of American History for comment.

EXCLUSIVE: High-level Trump administration officials, including chief of staff Susie Wiles, met Thursday morning at the White House with key defense industry stakeholders, and White House officials laid out their vision for the House of Representatives’ current budget reconciliation package related to crucial funding for the Iran war.

Wiles, Department of War and Office of Management and Budget (OMB) leaders and leaders from 17 top defense contractors including Raytheon, BAE Systems, Honeywell, Northrop Grumman, Lockheed Martin, Palantir and others, were in attendance for the meeting, according to a Trump administration official. 

The Trump administration representatives laid out their vision for what is being called “Reconciliation 3.0.”

The purpose of the meeting was to ensure that all the companies were aligned on the importance of this reconciliation package being passed, which, according to the administration official, they were.

REPORTER’S NOTEBOOK: HOUSE’S FINAL SPRINT PUTS SAVE AMERICA ACT AND IRAN FUNDING IN PLAY

The budget reconciliation process allows the party in power in Congress to pass sweeping fiscal policy legislation while completely sidelining the other side — in this case, Democrats.

It does so by bypassing the Senate filibuster — which needs 60 votes to overcome — allowing the upper chamber to line up with the House’s own simple majority threshold.

Reconciliation 3.0 includes $73 billion for Pentagon and intelligence funding, which is largely tied to replenishing U.S. weapons caches for the Iran war.

GOP’S $95B DEFENSE PACKAGE SURVIVES CRITICAL HURDLE AMID FISCAL HAWK REVOLT

While Wiles and the other Trump administration leaders articulated their vision for the third reconciliation bill, the entire room bought in and committed to their plan, the source told Fox News Digital.

Further, the defense company leaders spoke favorably about the White House’s approach and said they were working hard to advocate for lawmakers on the Hill to pass the House budget resolution before the imminent August recess.

The House has passed a framework with cash targets for relevant committees, but now those committees need to provide details about how that money will be spent. The main players are the House Armed Services Committees and the House Intelligence Committee.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

The president has vigorously advocated to get the deal done.

“I am asking all House Republicans to VOTE YES this week on the Budget Resolution, which is an important first step towards getting a Budget Bill,” he said Monday on TRUTH Social.

As Congress debates the SAVE America Act, which would require photo identification to vote in federal elections, the latest Fox News national survey shows broad support for that measure.

In a July 16 primetime speech, President Donald Trump urged Americans to contact lawmakers to support the legislation, saying it would address election system vulnerabilities. 

The act passed the U.S. House of Representatives in February and is stalled in the Senate. The survey was conducted after his remarks (July 17–20, 2026).

The new poll, released Thursday, finds roughly eight in 10 registered voters favor requiring photo identification to register to vote (83%) and to cast a ballot (77%). Support for requiring photo ID to vote has remained consistently high, between 77% to 85%, in Fox News polling since 2011.

FOX NEWS POLL: VOTERS WANT MAJOR CHANGE AMID ECONOMIC AND POLITICAL DISCONTENT

“It’s a testament to gridlock and partisan polarization that no one seems capable of crafting a legislative compromise that can win passage of a bill featuring policies where large majorities support them,” says Republican pollster Daron Shaw, who conducts the Fox News Poll with Democrat Chris Anderson.

Backing for voter ID spans the political spectrum, though intensity varies. Nearly all Republicans think it should be mandatory (96% to register, 95% to vote), as do roughly eight in 10 independents (83%, 77%). 

Democrats are a bit less supportive, with 72% backing photo ID to register and 62% to vote. Outside party lines, most groups favor photo ID, including Hispanic voters (85% to register, 76% to vote) and voters under age 30 (82%, 75%).

Looking toward the fall midterms, most are broadly confident eligible voters will be able to vote (76%), though fewer feel sure ineligible voters will be prevented from doing so (61%). Confidence in eligible ballot access is high across party lines, while Republicans are less certain than Democrats and independents about ineligible voting.

FOX NEWS POLL: AN EARLY LOOK AT THE GEORGIA SENATE RACE

Nearly two-thirds (64%) favor universal mail-in voting, holding steady since September 2025. Partisan divisions persist, as nearly nine in 10 Democrats and seven in 10 independents support mail-in voting, while about six in 10 Republicans oppose it.

Despite majority backing, views are divided on the accuracy of mail-in ballots. A narrow 51% majority is confident they will be counted accurately, while 48% disagree. Two-thirds of Democrats trust the accuracy of the count, while roughly six in 10 Republicans and independents think it’s unlikely.

Most also favor counting ballots postmarked by Election Day, even if they arrive later. Seven in 10 support the practice, including large majorities of Democrats (88%) and independents (74%), while closer to half of Republicans oppose (53%).

In June, the Supreme Court upheld a Mississippi law permitting late mail-in ballots to be counted if postmarked by Election Day.

Regardless of voting method, more express confidence that votes will be counted accurately in their state (64%) than at the national level (53%). Democrats trust both, while more Republicans and independents are assured by state tallies. In addition, by a 2-to-1 margin, more voters think state governments (68%) rather than the federal government (31%) should have election authority, a view shared across all major political groups.

Overall, six in 10 are confident the final vote count will be fair and accurate, even if completing the tally takes several days after Election Day. Roughly seven in 10 Democrats are confident, while more than half of Republicans are not. Independents are divided (52% confident, 47% not).

CLICK HERE FOR CROSSTABS AND TOPLINE

Conducted July 17-20, 2026, under the direction of Beacon Research (D) and Shaw & Company Research (R), this Fox News survey includes interviews with a sample of 1,003 registered voters randomly selected from a national voter file. Respondents spoke with live interviewers on landlines (70) and cellphones (681) or completed the survey online after receiving a text (252). Results based on the full sample have a margin of sampling error of ±3 percentage points. 

The survey includes an oversample of 200 voters aged 18-29, bringing the sample size for that subgroup to 350 (±5). Sampling error for results among subgroups is higher. In addition to sampling error, question wording and order can influence results. Weights are generally applied to age, race, education, and area variables to ensure the demographics are representative of the registered voter population. Sources for developing weight targets include the most recent American Community Survey, Fox News Voter Analysis and voter file data.

An Associated Press social media post about transgender aid workers in Nepal turning to sex work after losing their jobs due to U.S. foreign aid cuts sparked a wave of conservative backlash, with critics arguing the video made the case for defunding USAID rather than saving it.

The AP post said that in Nepal, where “a conservative culture leaves openly transgender people with few legal job options,” around 100 LGBTQ aid workers left jobless by U.S. funding cuts had turned to sex work to survive. An accompanying video focused on Rubi Lama, a former HIV outreach worker who said USAID-funded programs had provided free condoms, lubricant and HIV-prevention medication before the cuts.

“When USAID funding was there, condoms were free, lubricant was also distributed … for free,” Lama said in the video, adding that HIV treatments, including PrEP, were also available without cost. “But, now it is gone.”

TRUMP ADMINISTRATION TOUTS MORE THAN $1B IN UN BUDGET CUTS AS REFORM PUSH GAINS MOMENTUM

The framing quickly drew criticism from conservatives who said the story raised the opposite question: why American taxpayers were funding those programs in the first place.

Rep. Brandon Gill, R-Texas, was among the conservatives who argued the AP report made the opposite point from the one intended.

“Our tax dollars no longer fund employment for transgender Nepalese sex workers,” Gill wrote on X. “Thank you for reminding us why defunding USAID was long overdue.”

“Wow very grateful that my tax dollars are no longer funding a bunch of random trannies in Asia,” mocked Daily Wire host Matt Walsh “Is that the point you were trying to make or did you expect us to be somehow sad about this?”

SOCIALIST-BACKED MICHIGAN SENATE HOPEFUL CALLS AMERICAN POLITICS A ‘DISEASE’ AFTER PROFESSING LOVE FOR US

The backlash comes after President Donald Trump, immediately upon returning to office, ordered a 90-day pause on new foreign development assistance obligations and disbursements while his administration reviewed whether programs aligned with his foreign policy.

USAID later told partners to pause new funding obligations and issue stop-work orders or suspensions for existing awards, while critics have said the review led to major disruptions, staff reductions and the cancellation of critical foreign-assistance awards.

But Federalist editor-in-chief Mollie Hemingway argued the AP post exposed misplaced priorities, particularly among the media, saying the outlet presented U.S. tax dollars flowing to a “trans Nepalese job protection program” as though it was a good use of public money.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

“The AP announces that your hard-earned tax dollars were flowing to a trans Nepalese job protection program as if that was an even remotely good use of your money,” Hemingway wrote in a post on X. “AP is sick Democrat propaganda.”

“How dare Elon cut USAID funds to the Nepalese trans sex worker community,” quipped Republican activist Jack Posobiec.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced on Thursday a new visa restriction policy targeting foreign nationals responsible for or complicit in cybercrime and cyber-enabled crime.

“This policy targets individuals responsible for, or complicit in, cybercrime and cyber-enabled crime, such as those involved in cyberscams, and sextortion,” Rubio said in a statement.

Certain immediate family members of people covered by the policy may also be subject to the State Department’s new visa restrictions, according to Rubio.

TRUMP LAUNCHES GOLD EAGLE TO HUNT CYBER FLAWS WITH AI

President Donald Trump signed an executive order earlier this year titled “Combatting Cybercrime, Fraud, and Predatory Schemes Against American Citizens” directs federal agencies to develop measures against foreign scam centers, transnational criminal organizations and cyber-enabled financial fraud.

The administration, Rubio said, “is taking action to counter an unprecedented threat from online investment scams.”

WHAT A SCAMMER SEES THE MOMENT THEY GOOGLE YOUR NAME

“Often orchestrated by Chinese transnational criminal organizations, scammers have defrauded U.S. citizens of at least $10 billion in 2024 alone while fueling corruption, money laundering, and human trafficking,” the secretary said.

“American children also have been specifically targeted by offenders operating overseas for sextortion scams, devastating families and futures,” he continued.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

Rubio said the administration is “deploying every tool at our disposal—sanctions, prosecutions, asset seizures, extradition requests, and international law enforcement cooperation—to dismantle criminal scam networks and impose costs on those who enable them.”

“By restricting visa issuance to those who are responsible for or complicit in these criminal enterprises, we are sending a clear message: The United States will go after those who prey on our citizens,” he said.

A U.S. Secret Service (USSS) agent assigned to Vice President JD Vance’s security detail is being investigated over allegations of leaking sensitive information.

“A member of the Vice Presidential Protective Division is the subject of an administrative investigation, and potential criminal inquiry, involving allegations of compromising operational and information security,” Secret Service Chief of Communications Anthony Guglielmi said in a statement to Fox News.

The agency would not comment on the specifics of the case, Guglielmi said, but noted that “any conduct that potentially threatens the safety of a protectee will not be tolerated.”

TRUMP SAYS HE’S IRAN’S ‘NO. 1’ TARGET AS RENEWED CONFLICT RAISES ASSASSINATION FEARS

The probe came a week after an MS Now report detailed alleged frustrations within Vance’s security detail over last-minute personal and family travel requests.

One day after the story was published, MS Now reported Vance’s office canceled a helicopter flight scheduled for his son’s golf lesson. The Trump administration said the proposed use of Marine Two — the call sign for the helicopter carrying the vice president — was for operational reasons.

“Compared to a motorcade, it drastically decreased the burden on local law enforcement and eliminated the inconvenience of road closures and disruptions to motorists along the long driving route,” the administration wrote in a statement to Fox News.

USHA VANCE MOCKS NEW YORK TIMES FOR DRAWING ‘POLITICAL SIGNIFICANCE’ FROM HER PREGNANCY FASHION

The MS Now report noted that current and former Secret Service agents pointed out that prior vice presidents “eschewed using such expensive government perks for the convenience of their children’s schedule.”

Agents said the “off-the-record” (OTR) trips sometimes force them to cancel personal plans and require them to construct security plans in a hurry.

“The detail is tired of them not giving notice on things and making everything an OTR,” a person familiar with the detail’s frustration told the news outlet. “[Vance] thinks he can still move around like a U.S. senator.”

A Vance spokesperson told Fox News the family is grateful to the Secret Service.

IRAN-BACKED PROXIES SABOTAGING LEBANON PEACE AS JD VANCE LEADS US DELEGATION TO SWITZERLAND, HERZOG SAYS

“While protecting a vice president with a large policy portfolio and a young and growing family presents a unique challenge, agents of the Secret Service do so with excellence every day,” the spokesperson said.

Meanwhile, USSS Deputy Director Matthew Quinn said that all special agents understand the commitment required to serve on a protective detail.

“Our agents work tirelessly to ensure protectees’ safety and security, while also preserving normalcy to the extent possible,” Quinn told Fox News. “We are committed to supporting our personnel, which requires around-the-clock dedication and discipline. This is a job that requires absolute dedication and discipline. There is no room for compromise.”

The frustration among agents reportedly led some to create custom coins and stickers mocking the frequency of Vance’s last-minute travel, referencing the vice president’s Secret Service code name, “Bobcat.”

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

Some coins reportedly read, “Bobcat OTR Survivors Club.”

The Trump administration acknowledged that last-minute trips can arise unexpectedly.

“Most past presidents and vice presidents have not had young children, and therefore the detail has not been presented with this nature of protective mandate,” the administration told Fox News.

“The Vice President is also a very active and involved Vice President, more so than recent officeholders,” the statement continued. “His unprecedented diplomatic role, for example, while critically important, has added new demands for a detail used to operating with lead times that are impossible in high-stakes diplomacy.”

During a 2019 interview following a visit to border enforcement, James Talarico, candidate for U.S. Senate in Texas, said he gauged the suitability of immigration detention facilities based on how he would treat his own family.

“I think I was struck by the conditions these folks were being held in,” Talarico said.

“When I first walked in, I looked at one of the security monitors and saw these things strewn around the floor, and I realized they were human beings being held in these tiny rooms. The standard I use is: would I allow my child, my parent, my grandparent to be held in one of these facilities? And the answer, after my visit, was a resounding no,” Talarico said.

His resurfaced comments continue to raise questions about his views on border policy as he looks to flip a Republican-held Senate seat in Texas.

PROGRESSIVE TALARICO KNIFES BIDEN’S OPEN BORDER, TRIES MODERATING STANCE ON KEY ISSUES IN TEXAS SENATE RACE

During his campaign, Talarico has drawn scrutiny for walking a tightrope between traditionally Democratic criticisms on President Donald Trump’s border enforcement measures and appearing too soft on border policy.

Like progressives in the party, Talarico has called on lawmakers to abolish Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), has characterized voter ID requirements as a method to rig elections and, in the past, even criticized President Barack Obama’s record on immigration.

In one 2019 remark, Talarico famously called Obama the “deporter-in-chief.”

His past comments have left some observers believing his record makes the case for him.

“There is a very concerning pattern with James Talarico siding with pedophiles, criminal illegal aliens and cartels while slandering the brave men and women of law enforcement who keep Texans safe,” Zach Kraft, a spokesperson for the Republican National Committee (RNC), said in a statement, referring to detentions highlighted by the Department of Homeland Security.

ICE ARRESTS 15 ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS WITH CONVICTIONS INCLUDING HOMICIDE, RAPE AND CHILD SEX CRIMES OVER WEEKEND

“Talarico is a true radical and fully committed to defunding the police, knocking down President Trump’s border wall and welcoming millions of illegal aliens into America,” Kraft added.

At the same time, Talarico has voiced concern about the government’s effective use of resources on the border and whether its investments are being reflected in its detention operations.

He raised the issue in the 2019 interview.

“How are we spending close to a billion dollars every year on border security when these border patrol agents told us firsthand they didn’t have the resources, basic logistical items that would help the situation better for them and for the people being held?” Talarico said.

Talarico argued that poor standards don’t speak to individual facility needs but rather reflect broader problems with immigration enforcement.

“This is not a matter of some bad apples at a Border Patrol station. This is a systemic problem that even the Border Patrol agents identified as something morally wrong and something that needed to be solved,” Talarico said in an interview.

“I believe this is a statewide problem; this is a stain on all of our reputations. It violates a lot of the values we have as Texans.”

Texas spent roughly $800 million on border security in 2019, according to the state’s legislative budget board.

TALARICO MAKES STUNNING CLAIM ABOUT WHY HE THINKS TEXAS ELECTIONS AREN’T ‘FREE AND FAIR’

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

When pressed for more details about Talarico’s ideal detainment conditions a reality, his campaign pointed to his border security plan he recently unveiled.

“James supports stronger border security and safe, secure, and humane detention facilities. He’s the only candidate in this race to unveil a border security agenda endorsed by Republicans and Democrats that will add more border patrol agents and improve technology at the border to better detect threats. For too long, both parties have failed our border communities by grandstanding on the issue instead of finding real solutions. James is running for Senate to keep our country safe by deporting criminals instead of locking up moms, babies and small business owners who have been contributing to our economy for decades,” a campaign spokesperson said.

Having secured the Democratic nomination, Talarico will face Republican nominee Ken Paxton in the Nov. 3 general election.