NationalWatch

Henry Kissinger, the German-born American diplomat, academic and presidential adviser who served as secretary of state for two presidents and left his stamp on U.S. foreign policy for decades died Wednesday at the age of 100.

A statement released by Kissinger Associates said Kissinger died Wednesday at his home in Connecticut.

Kissinger was both revered and controversial, praised by supporters as a brilliant strategist and condemned by critics as a master manipulator.

He pioneered the policy of détente with the Soviet Union, began a rapprochement with China and won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1973 for negotiating the Paris Peace Accords to end U.S. involvement in Vietnam.

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Some of his policies remain controversial, and journalist Seymour Hersh claimed in 2002, “The dark side of Henry Kissinger is very, very dark.”

Even his appearance seemed at odds with his social life. Portly, bespectacled and heavily accented, Kissinger was far from the idea of a Hollywood Adonis. Yet at various points before his second marriage, according to his biographer, Walter Isaacson, Kissinger dated actresses Jill St. John, Shirley MacLaine, Marlo Thomas, Candice Bergen and Liv Ullman.

“Power,” he once famously said, “is the ultimate aphrodisiac.”

KISSINGER SAYS IT WAS ‘GRAVE MISTAKE’ FOR GERMANY TO TAKE IN SO MANY MIGRANTS AMID PRO-HAMAS PROTESTS

He was also a man used to perennially being in charge. 

“There cannot be a crisis next week,” he was quoted as saying in The New York Times in 1969. “My schedule is already full.”

He maintained his global influence well after leaving public life, evidenced most recently by his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing in July. The Chinese leader greeted the former American diplomat who had celebrated his 100th birthday less than two months prior with deep respect.

“The Chinese people never forget their old friends, and Sino-U.S. relations will always be linked with the name of Henry Kissinger,” Xi said at the time.

Kissinger played a leading role in the normalization of diplomatic ties between the U.S. and China under presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford.

By 1980, he told Time magazine, “The longer I am out of office, the more infallible I appear to myself.”

Kissinger is survived by his wife, Nancy, whom he married in 1974, and two children, David and Elizabeth, from his first marriage.

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He was born Heinz Alfred Kissinger in Fürth, Bavaria, Germany, May 27, 1923, and, even as a child, was known for his intellect.

“Henry Kissinger grew up with that do mix of ego and insecurity that comes from being the smartest kid in the class,” Isaacson wrote.

“From really knowing that you’re more awesomely intelligent than anybody else but also being the guy who’d gotten beaten up because he was Jewish.”

Kissinger, his younger brother, Walter, and his parents fled the Nazis and arrived in New York in 1938 by way of London when Henry was 15.

After attending the City College of New York, he served in the U.S. military, becoming a U.S. citizen, then enrolling at Harvard, where he earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees and a Ph.D.

Kissinger then joined the Harvard faculty, where he became an expert in the field of international relations and an adviser to government agencies under presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson.

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In 1969, he was appointed national security adviser to Nixon.

As head of the National Security Council, Kissinger wielded unusual power for the office and had a significant hand in devising and executing U.S. foreign policy, largely circumventing then-Secretary of State William P. Rogers.

A staunch proponent of Realpolitik, Kissinger pushed for Nixon to employ a pragmatic strategy toward engagement with the Soviet Union and China.

More controversial, though, was his involvement in the Vietnam conflict, including the bombing of Cambodia and Laos. 

In 1973, Kissinger began secret talks with North and South Vietnam, negotiating the Paris Peace Accords to end direct U.S. military involvement in Vietnam and an end to the war.

Although the cease-fire was not lasting, Kissinger was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize that year, jointly with his North Vietnamese counterpart Le Duc Tho. Kissinger said he accepted the prize “with humility,” though the Vietnamese revolutionary declined to accept since the agreement failed to yield a lasting peace.

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In his book, “The Trial of Henry Kissinger,” late author Christopher Hitchens also charged Kissinger supported the September 1973 coup to oust Chilean Marxist President Salvador Allende, paving the way for the totalitarian regime of General Augusto Pinochet.

On Sept. 22, 1973, Nixon appointed Kissinger secretary of state, a role he maintained under Ford after Nixon resigned in 1974 in the aftermath of the Watergate scandal.
 

When Ford failed to win re-election in 1976, Kissinger left politics to return to academia at Georgetown University’s Center for Strategic and International Studies think tank.

He also founded his international consulting firm, Kissinger Associates, and served as a director on a number of boards for corporations and nonprofit organizations.

Kissinger also wrote several books on public policy and three memoirs.

In one, 1982’s “Years of Upheaval,” he described what he presumably considered his own role. 

“Statesman create; ordinary leaders consume,” he said. “The ordinary leader is satisfied with ameliorating the environment, not transforming it; a statesman must be a visionary and an educator.”

JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon on Wednesday urged Democrats to back GOP presidential hopeful Nikki Haley as an alternative to front-runner Donald Trump — the latest Wall Street backing for Haley which has drawn criticism from her primary rivals.

“If you’re a very liberal Democrat, I urge you to help Nikki Haley, too. Give them a choice on the Republican side that might be better than Trump,” Dimon said at the 2023 DealBook Summit, according to Politico.

Haley has been gaining significant ground in the GOP primary polls in recent weeks, although she and others remain well behind former President Trump. She has leapfrogged DeSantis for second place in New Hampshire and in her home state of South Carolina, which holds the first Southern contest. 

HALEY, BOLSTERED BY THE BACKING OF A MAJOR CONSERVATIVE GROUP, IS HAVING A MOMENT ON THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL 

And she’s drawn even with DeSantis in some of the latest polls in Iowa, whose caucuses kick off the GOP nominating calendar on Jan. 15.

Haley has been boosted by some major backing in recent weeks in addition to the support from Dimon. On Wednesday, she scored the endorsement of Americans for Prosperity Action, the political wing of the influential and deep-pocketed fiscally conservative network founded by the billionaire Koch Brothers.

AFP Action has pledged to spend tens of millions of dollars and mobilize its formidable grassroots operation to help push the Republican Party past Trump.

Earlier this month, The Wall Street Journal reported how major Wall Street backers are lining up to support her, with the outlet reporting that admirers include the CEO of Morgan Stanley and BlackRock’s Larry Fink.

“If she passes DeSantis, she’s the backup,” one financier told the outlet, arguing that with Trump’s court cases looming, “it’s not completely crazy that she could ultimately win.”

BIG BOOST: HALEY LANDS THE BACKING OF A CONSERVATIVE GRASSROOTS ARMY

But the support could be a double-edged sword for Haley in a primary atmosphere that is more skeptical of big business than in past primaries, with her rivals keen to use the endorsements from Wall Street and elsewhere as a way to attack her conservative credentials.

“Wondering why Wall Street execs, Blackrock, and the Koch Network are all supporting Nikki Haley?” the “DeSantis War Room” posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, linking to a video highlighting what it presented as liberal positions on immigration, fuel taxes and calls for restrictions on social media. 

“Jamie Dimon Urges Even Liberals to Back Nikki ‘Birdbrain’ Haley as Alternative to Trump,” Team Trump said on X.

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Meanwhile, Dimon also addressed the possibility that Trump could be president, when asked if he’d support “anything but Trump.”

“I would never say. He might be the president, I have to live with that, too,” he said.

EXCLUSIVE: Americans’ confidence in the U.S. presidency has hit its lowest point ever under President Joe Biden’s administration, the annual Reagan National Defense Survey has found.

According to the survey, just 36% of American adults said they had either a “great deal” or “some” confidence in the presidency, while 17% said they had “a little,” and 47% said “not much at all.”

Those numbers continue a downward trend since the survey was first taken under former President Donald Trump’s administration in Nov. 2018, when 44% said they had a “great deal” or “some” confidence in the presidency. The number of those having not much confidence at all has held steady since then.

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The survey also found that just 38% held a favorable view of Biden and 59% an unfavorable view. Trump fared significantly better with a 47% favorable rating and 50% unfavorable rating.

Biden’s favorability has fallen sharply since Feb. 2021, just after his inauguration in January that year, when it stood at 53%.

When asked about the 2024 presidential election, 63% of likely Republican voters said they wanted to see Trump as the party’s nominee, followed by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis at 10%, former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley at 8%, entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy at 4% and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie at 1%. All other candidates received less than 1%.

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In a hypothetical 2024 matchup, Trump bested Biden 42% to 36%, with 9% saying they would support another candidate, and 9% saying they would not vote.

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The results come as part of the survey’s 6th year and 10th Reagan National Defense Forum. It included the participation of 2,506 U.S. adults surveyed from Oct. 27 to Nov. 5.

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

A former Deutsche Bank executive testified Wednesday that the bank viewed Donald Trump as a “whale” of a client, and sought to do additional business with him, while praising the Trump Organization for taking its properties from a “shell” into “fully operational” spaces.

Rosemary Vrablic, a former Deutsche Bank managing director, took the stand in the civil trial stemming from New York Attorney General Letitia James’ lawsuit against former President Trump, his family, and his businesses. James accused Trump of inflating his financial statements and deceiving banks.

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Former President Trump and his family have denied any wrongdoing. The former president has repeatedly said his assets were actually undervalued. Trump has repeatedly said his financial statements had disclaimers, requesting that the numbers be evaluated by the banks.

Trump’s defense team has sought to show that the bank actually sought additional business from Trump — which Vrablic testified to Wednesday.

The bank’s revenue from its business with Trump increased from approximately $13,000 in 2011 to a projected $6 million in 2013, according to a briefing document the bank prepared for then-co-chairman, Anshu Jain, before a lunch with Trump in early 2013.

The document revealed “key asks” for Jain to make during that lunch with Trump, including to “obtain more deposits and investment management assets” from Trump, as well as to “strategically discuss leveraging Mr. Trump’s personal and professional network within the real estate industry” in New York for the benefit of Deutsche Bank.

“It was a very, very nice, productive lunch,” Vrablic recalled on the stand.

The next year, her direct boss went to lunch with Trump to thank him and “ask whether we can work on other opportunities with them,” according to a document for that meeting.

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Vrablic also testified about Trump’s acquisition of the Old Post Office in Washington, D.C.

“It was an empty shell,” she said of the space before the Trump Organization came in. “[The Trumps] took it from a shell to a fully operational hotel and event space.”

Vrablic was also asked if Deutsche Bank ever turned Trump down for a loan.

Vrablic said they did — a loan for the Scotland golf course, Trump International Golf Links Aberdeen, but only because Trump was about to become president and the bank did not want to increase exposure, amid concerns that increased exposure could bring additional scrutiny and carry more risk for the bank.

During cross-examination, Vrablic said she never saw Trump’s statement of financial condition. She also testified that she expected her clients to present their financial information accurately. 

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James, a Democrat, sued Trump, his children, and the Trump Organization last year, alleging that he and his company misled banks and others about the value of his assets. James said the former president’s children — Donald Jr., Ivanka and Eric — and his associates and businesses committed “numerous acts of fraud and misrepresentation” on their financial statements.

James filed the lawsuit against Trump “under a consumer protection statute that denies the right to a jury,” a Trump spokesperson told Fox News Digital.

“There was never an option to choose a jury trial,” the spokesperson said. “It is unfortunate that a jury won’t be able to hear how absurd the merits of this case are and conclude no wrongdoing ever happened.”

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Judge Arthur Engoron, who is presiding over the trial, in September ruled that Trump and the Trump Organization committed fraud while building his real estate empire by deceiving banks, insurers and others by overvaluing his assets and exaggerating his net worth on paperwork used in making deals and securing financing.

Trump defense attorneys say they will likely move for a mistrial.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

President Biden traveled to a wind turbine factory operated by a foreign-owned green energy firm in central Colorado on Wednesday to tout his “Bidenomics” and climate agenda.

Biden delivered remarks at South Korea-based CS Wind’s site in Pueblo, Colorado, which is undergoing a $200 million expansion with the help of federal funding earmarked under the Inflation Reduction Act, Democrats’ $739 billion climate and tax package passed last year. The factory is the largest facility manufacturing wind towers, the part of wind turbines that carry the rotor and blades.

“When I took office, we set a goal to produce 100% carbon-free electricity by 2035,” Biden remarked during the ceremony. “Because of my commitment to a clean energy future made in America, clean energy companies started investing here in Colorado.”

“As I’ve said for a long time, when I think about climate, I mean it sincerely, I think jobs,” he continued. “It’s about, not only saving lives and saving the environment, but jobs.”

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The factory was first constructed in 2009 by Danish green energy company Vestas which sold the property to CS Wind in 2021. The South Korean company then announced in September 2022 that it would expand the plant, which produces wind towers exclusively for onshore projects, just weeks after Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act.

According to CS Wind, the Pueblo facility mainly serves the U.S. market. The company’s “core facility” is located in Vietnam and its second facility — which serves markets in Europe, Asia and Africa, and sells towers to some of the largest wind energy companies in the world — is located in China. Other facilities are located in Taiwan, Malaysia, Turkey and Portugal.

The company also purchased the Colorado factory two years after abandoning a facility in Ontario, Canada, which had employed hundreds of people and received millions of dollars in tax incentives. The closure came as a surprise to local officials and labor unions.

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“There’s no one working there,” Fred MacPherson, a business manager for Ironworkers Local 721, told local outlet Windsor Star in 2019. “We used to have 300 people working there and now there’s none.”

And CS Wind, which is publicly traded in South Korea, has seen its value plummet in recent months as the global wind energy industry has struggled under the weight of various economic factors in recent months. The company has shed a staggering 41% of its market value since mid-June, according to financial data.

Biden’s trip to promote CS Wind and his aggressive green energy agenda, meanwhile, was met with criticism from the West Slope Colorado Oil & Gas Association which represents independent fossil fuel producers in the area. 

“Our west slope families hear a lot from President Biden about recovery but we’re not feeling it,” Chelsie Miera, the West Slope Colorado Oil & Gas Association’s executive director, told Fox News Digital. “Inflation continues to keep costs high, challenging family budgets, while uncertainty looms over our national economy.”

“Our local oil and natural gas workers stand ready to recover, but this administration continues to block and stymie our production of some of the cleanest and most dense energy molecules in the world,” Miera added. “With two different wars happening in energy intense regions in the world, it’s time for the President to allow our West Slope hardworking women and men to be part of the solution producing clean, affordable and reliable natural gas for the good of our communities and the globe.”

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She noted that natural gas production on federal lands in Colorado declined nearly 20% between 2019 and 2022, while the Biden administration has not held a single lease sale in the Pueblo area since taking office. Miera said reducing oil and gas production burdens local counties with reduced revenues vital for schools, fire protection districts, libraries, water treatment facilities and other critical projects.

But the White House defended Biden’s trip, saying his Bidenomics agenda is ushering in significant investment in Colorado and nationwide. It also defended the president’s choice to tout a foreign company, saying the administration was reversing years of offshoring.

“Thanks to President Biden, businesses based in America and our partners are making historic investments here at home instead of offshoring jobs,” White House spokesperson Michael Kikukawa said in a statement to Fox News Digital. “They’re opening or expanding factories that employ American workers who are building American-made products — including the more than 800 jobs created in Colorado by CS Wind thanks to the Inflation Reduction Act.”

“Bidenomics is creating jobs for American workers, reversing the offshoring caused by MAGAnomics during the Trump administration,” he continued. “Unfortunately, self-identified MAGA Republicans like Congresswoman Boebert want to repeal the investments that are powering economic growth in their districts — sending these jobs back overseas while giving more wasteful tax cuts to rich special interests.”

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Overall, fossil fuels continue to represent by far the largest driver of the economy compared to other energy sources. Petroleum powers the vast majority of the transportation sector while natural gas and coal produced more than 60% of electricity generated in the U.S. last year. Just 10% of the nation’s electricity was generated by wind power.

A campaign official for Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy has joined Team Trump, Fox News Digital has confirmed. 

Brian Swensen, Ramaswamy’s New Hampshire-based political director, has taken a new job with the Trump campaign and is a close ally to Trump senior adviser Susie Wiles. 

Ramaswamy spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin told Fox News Digital that Swensen’s responsibilities, which have been “pretty much exclusive” to the campaign’s New Hampshire operation, have been absorbed in recent months by senior adviser Mike Biundo, a longtime GOP strategist and veteran of the Trump 2016 campaign who joined the Ramaswamy campaign earlier this year. 

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McLaughlin told Fox News Digital “We love Brian” and “wish him the best.” She also rejected the notion that Swensen’s exit indicates a “death knell” for the Ramaswamy campaign. 

“This is a positive move for all parties,” McLaughlin said. 

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Former President Trump maintains a commanding lead in the GOP primary in both national and state polls. The latest Fox News national poll released earlier this month showed him with a whopping 62% while Ramaswamy came in at 7% — behind Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ 14% and former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley’s 11%. 

Fox News’ Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report. 

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

A group of progressive protesters popped a massive balloon outside the Capitol on Tuesday depicting scandal-ridden Rep. George Santos, R-N.Y.

The 15-foot-tall balloon depicts Santos in a suit and in his bare feet with the words “full of lies” inscribed on a red tie.

The balloon was flown by members of MoveOn, a progressive nonprofit group that is calling for Santos to be expelled from Congress.

THIRD TIME THE CHARM: WILL GEORGE SANTOS SURVIVE THE LATEST MOVE TO OUST HIM FROM THE HOUSE?

About a dozen MoveOn members helped pop the balloon, with many of them also carrying red signs that read “Expel Santos” and “Expel Santos he’s full of lies.”

The protest came as a renewed effort to oust the embattled congressman is underway.

The House will likely vote in the coming days on a measure to expel Santos for his myriad of alleged misdeeds, including campaign finance abuses.

Santos has survived two other efforts to oust him from Congress in recent weeks but the third time may be the charm for lawmakers who believe Santos is unfit to serve.

THE HITCHHIKER’S GUIDE TO THE DEMOCRATS’ GAMBIT TO EXPEL SANTOS – OR EMBARRASS THE GOP

The House sidetracked two previous efforts to expel Santos – never directly casting a ballot on his worthiness to be a House member. 

Those who opposed the plan to expel Santos weren’t necessarily defending him. They noted that a court has never convicted Santos of alleged wrongdoing. 

Prior to Thanksgiving, the House Ethics Committee hadn’t completed its investigation into the conduct of Santos.

But the report has now been made public, finding Santos “used campaign funds for personal purposes” and “engaged in fraudulent conduct,” among other allegations.

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Article I, Section 5 of the Constitution grants each body of Congress the ultimate authority over who is sworn in, rules of proceedings, and how to discipline and “with the Concurrence of two-thirds, expel a Member.” 

The Santos balloon is similar in style to one that depicted former President Trump as a baby. That balloon was popped in London in 2019 and became a symbol of protesters’ disdain for the president as he visited British leaders.

Fox News’ Chad Pergram contributed to this report.

House Republicans are making a renewed effort at strengthening American election security just weeks before the 2024 races formally kick off. 

The Committee on House Administration is holding a meeting on Thursday to advance seven different bills that touch on elections at the federal, state and local level. 

“It’s just some commonsense reforms that we have an opportunity to put forward that strengthen the integrity of our elections,” committee Chairman Bryan Steil, R-Wis., told Fox News Digital on Tuesday. 

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Among the set of bills are measures to allow states to require proof of citizenship when someone registers to vote by mail, mandating the Department of Homeland Security and Social Security Administration communicate information to states to help them verify citizenship of people registered to vote, and a bill to repeal a Washington, D.C., law allowing non-citizens to vote in local elections, as well as others.

Democrats have broadly opposed GOP election security efforts, accusing Republicans of trying to make it harder to vote. But Steil said he believed the D.C. measure in particular should be a bipartisan push.

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“When we had a joint hearing with Oversight… we went back and forth, and when we explained what the D.C. law does, that it would allow, you know, foreign nationals working with foreign embassies in D.C. who have been here for 30 days to vote for mayor, even Democrats at the hearing said well… I could agree with you there,” he said.

“The idea that we’re going to allow non-citizens to vote in our nation’s capital for the mayor of Washington, D.C., sounds as ridiculous as it is.”

Steil said another of the bills, which would prohibit foreign nationals from making political contributions in elections or on ballot initiatives and public referendums, should be a “no brainer” for Democrats to support.

“There’s effectively what I view as a loophole in the law that bans foreign contributions to federal candidates… federal candidates, you can’t accept foreign money… But it’s not the case right now for ballot initiatives. And so we’re putting that in place to, again, strengthen the integrity of our elections, prevent foreign interference.”

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The Thursday committee meeting will be about a month and a half before the Jan. 15 Iowa caucus, when Republican voters will participate in the first contest of the 2024 presidential election. Democrats are holding their first primary in South Carolina in early February.

Steil had introduced those bills as part of a larger package called the American Confidence in Elections Act in July. He told Fox News Digital that his committee would now be advancing them as individual bills to give at least part of the package a greater chance of passing – and to get Democrats on the record. 

“The standalone legislation, I think, also gives us an opportunity to either, A, put the Dems on the record that they disagree with it, or B, pass it through the House and force the Senate to act on this, because these are issues that are overwhelmingly supported by the American population,” Steil said.

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However, he would not directly answer whether he believed voter fraud or election insecurity played a significant role in the 2020 and 2022 elections.

“I think we have an opportunity to enhance people’s confidence in the election,” Steil said instead. “So, I think what we see is people across the country don’t have a level of confidence that I think we could instill by further strengthening our elections. This is about building confidence, and you build confidence by enhancing election integrity.”

FIRST ON FOX: An Alabama football star who went on to play in the National Football League (NFL) is looking to earn support from voters in Alabama’s newly drawn 2nd Congressional District as he seeks election to the U.S. House.

Wallace Gilberry, a Republican, will formally announce his candidacy in the race Wednesday morning.

A native of Bay Minette, Alabama, Gilberry told Fox News Digital he’s looking to “fire” President Biden and push back against liberal Democrats’ hold on Black Americans as a voting bloc.

“I’m running because Joe Biden and the liberal politicians have let down my community and failed Alabama. Folks here at home are hurting and too many politicians don’t understand that – I see it every day,” he said. “My mission is simple: we’ve got to fire Joe Biden, beat back the liberals who have held down the Black community for too long, put the people of Alabama first, and help President Donald J. Trump Make America Great Again.”

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Alabama’s Second Congressional District, which previously covered southeast Alabama, now extends across the lower portion of the state from the Georgia line to the Mississippi line. Montgomery County and a northwest portion of Mobile County are included in the majority-Black district, which has a Black voting age population of nearly 50%.

Black voters remain a strong Democratic constituency in the Yellowhammer State, and the new district will favor Democrats as both parties battle for control of the House in 2024. However, Gilberry, an All-SEC standout at the University of Alabama who spent nine seasons in the NFL with various teams as a defensive end, believes he’s the candidate who’s got what it takes to defeat his challengers and come out on top.

“Out-of-touch, out-of-state Democrats wasted all kinds of time and money trying to buy themselves another seat in Congress because they take Black folks for granted and think we will all just vote Democrat. Problem for them is that Alabama can’t be bought,” he said. “A Black man is going to win this race – but it’ll be me, a conservative Republican who puts Alabama first.”

Recognizing the current state of the economy and financial issues that have plagued thousands of American families, Gilberry, one of five children who was raised by his great-grandmother and a single mom, said he’s focused on “lifting up” Alabamians and providing opportunities for minority children “that go beyond sports.”

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“My focus is on lifting up the people of Alabama. I’ve been blessed with incredible success, success that came from playing football. I’m running to have a platform to help create opportunities for young men who look like me that go beyond sports,” he said. “More jobs at local businesses, helping entrepreneurs thrive, keeping our communities safe. In order to do that we have to get rid of career politicians, get rid of Joe Biden, and elect people focused on putting the people of Alabama first.”

“I’m going to win this race by telling the truth and doing what’s right for Alabama, it’s pretty simple,” added Gilberry.

Gilberry, who spent nine seasons playing in the NFL before returning home to Alabama and reinvesting in his community, has seen his fair share of cultural and social issues on the national stage.

Highlighting two issues that have arisen in recent history, Gilberry slammed the attempted eradication of female sports, as well as the Black Lives Matter movement over its protest of kneeling during the national anthem.

“BLM has way more in common with the KKK than they do MLK,” Gilberry said. “While others were kneeling during the national anthem, my team was standing. We were united as a team, while others were focused on media attention and self-promotion – it was wrong then and it’s wrong now. I’ll always stand to honor those who keep us free.”

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“Allowing men to compete against women, that’s ‘abolishment’ of women’s sports, plain and simple. And we should never allow men into girls’ bathrooms and locker rooms. We have to protect women and girls; we can’t let a sex offender put on a wig and lipstick and say he’s a female,” he added.

Gilberry, who grew up a Democrat before establishing his own beliefs about the political system, joins a crowded field of nearly two dozen challengers. All in all, 13 Democrats and eight Republicans have qualified to run for the seat.

A state lawmaker who is helping lead the effort to impeach Philadelphia’s elected prosecutor on Tuesday became the newest candidate for Pennsylvania attorney general, an office that played a critical role in court defending Joe Biden’s 2020 victory in the presidential battleground.

Rep. Craig Williams, a Republican who represents part of suburban Philadelphia, has said for months that he planned to run for the state’s top law enforcement office in 2024.

Williams, a former federal prosecutor and former U.S. Marine Corps pilot and prosecutor, is the third Republican to declare his candidacy.

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In an announcement video, Williams says, “I’m running for attorney general because I know how to deal with violence. … I fought the bad guys on the battlefield and I beat them in the courtroom.”

Democrats are facing a five-way primary for an office that will be open after next year.

Williams is a second-term member of the state House who ran unsuccessfully for Congress in 2008, losing by 20 percentage points to then-U.S. Rep. Joe Sestak. He spent about a decade as a lawyer for Philadelphia-area electric and gas utility Peco Energy Co., an Exelon Corp. subsidiary, before running for the Legislature.

As a freshman lawmaker, he became one of two House Republicans tapped to lead the impeachment of Philadelphia’s progressive district attorney, Larry Krasner. The process is tied up in court, with Krasner challenging it as a political impeachment based on policy disagreements, not credible evidence of wrongdoing in office.

Williams, 58, born in Alabama, got his law degree at the University of Florida.

The attorney general’s office has a budget of about $140 million annually and plays a prominent role in arresting drug traffickers, fighting gun trafficking, defending state laws in court and protecting consumers from predatory practices.

The office also defended the integrity of Pennsylvania’s 2020 presidential election against repeated attempts to overturn it in state and federal courts by Donald Trump’s campaign and Republican allies.

The two other Republicans who have announced their candidacies are York County District Attorney Dave Sunday and former federal prosecutor Katayoun Copeland.

The Democrats running are Delaware County District Attorney Jack Stollsteimer, state Rep. Jared Solomon of Philadelphia, former state Auditor General Eugene DePasquale, former federal prosecutor Joe Kahn and Keir Bradford-Grey, the former head of Philadelphia’s and Montgomery County’s public defense lawyers.

No Republican has been elected attorney general since 2008.

Candidates must file paperwork by Feb. 13 to appear on the April 23 primary ballot.

The current officeholder, Michelle Henry, is filling the last two years of Gov. Josh Shapiro ‘s second term as attorney general and doesn’t plan to run for the office. Shapiro nominated Henry, his top deputy, in January when he was sworn in as governor.

A former adviser for the now-defunct presidential campaign of Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., is reportedly running a new effort in support of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in Iowa. 

Politico first reported that Blake Harris, who served most recently as senior political adviser to Scott, is expected to run the super PAC Fight Right. 

Scott dropped out of the 2024 presidential contest on Nov. 12. Last week, Fight Right kicked off a $980,000 television ad buy, concentrating on airing ads in Iowa targeting former United Nations ambassador and South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley who is polling narrowly behind DeSantis’s No. 2 position in the first caucus state. Former President Trump is still polling first – ahead of DeSantis by a double-digit margin. 

One ad compares Haley to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

EXPERTS WEIGH IN ON WHETHER DESANTIS’ IOWA STRATEGY WILL BE ENOUGH TO TOPPLE TRUMP: ‘HAIL MARY’

Politico also reported about alleged infighting at the DeSantis-aligned super PAC Never Back Down regarding how to best prevent Haley from gaining ground before the Jan. 15 caucuses after the Florida governor already spent most of the summer focusing campaign efforts on Iowa. 

Never Back Down transferred $1 million to Fight Right before its first ad buy, a source told the outlet, and DeSantis met personally in Palm Beach, Florida, on Monday with potential donors for Fight Right. With primary voting set to begin in less than two months, the two political action committees are slated to work alongside each other and share the “same objective,” the source said.

In a Monday memo first reported by ABC News, DeSantis campaign manager James Uthmeier told potential donors that he “welcomes the independent efforts” of Fight Right, which was formed this month, and which he said will focus on providing “welcome air support” for the governor. Never Back Down, which Uthmeier deemed “the largest Iowa turnout machine in history,” will focus on groundwork for DeSantis. 

HALEY, DESANTIS OR TRUMP? WHO WILL TOP-DOLLAR DONORS BACKING TIM SCOTT SUPPORT NEXT IN 2024 GOP RACE

Meanwhile, Haley’s presidential campaign on Tuesday received a key endorsement from Americans for Prosperity, the political arm of the powerful Koch network, which has been building a network of paid conservative activists and volunteers in key states for several years, according to the Associated Press. 

Back in the spring, the Koch network began running ads across Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina — the first three states on the GOP’s presidential primary calendar — focusing on questions about Trump’s electability in next fall’s general election against President Biden. Still, Trump remains the overwhelming front-runner in the race.

Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung dismissed Americans for Prosperity as “the political arm of the China-first, America-last movement.”

In a statement, DeSantis spokesperson Andrew Romeo likened the Koch endorsement to a contribution to the Trump campaign.

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“Congratulations to Donald Trump on securing the Koch endorsement. Like clockwork, the pro-open borders, pro-jail break bill establishment is lining up behind a moderate who has no mathematical pathway of defeating the former president,” Romeo wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. “Every dollar spent on Nikki Haley’s candidacy should be reported as an in-kind to the Trump campaign. No one has a stronger record of beating the establishment than Ron DeSantis, and this time will be no different.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

EXCLUSIVE: The Biden administration quietly granted a request from an energy firm developing an offshore wind project off the coast of Massachusetts to waive development fees designed to safeguard taxpayers, according to internal documents reviewed by Fox News Digital.

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) informed Vineyard Wind that it had waived a financial assurance for decommissioning costs fee in a June 15, 2021, letter obtained by watchdog group Protect the Public’s Trust (PPT). Federal statute mandates that developers pay that fee prior to construction on their lease, a potentially hefty fee designed to guarantee federal property is returned to its original state after a lessee departs its lease.

“At the same time the Department of the Interior was looking at forcing greater and more expensive bonding requirements on holders of long-standing oil and gas leases, they were relaxing these requirements on the nation’s first utility-scale offshore wind energy producer, one that just coincidentally happened to be a client of their incoming #2,” PPT Director Michael Chamberlain told Fox News Digital.

“If you want to talk about bad optics, I don’t see how they could be any worse than right here,” he said. “For an administration touting itself as the most ethical in history, this represents yet another incident in which Secretary Haaland’s Interior appears to have a tough time living up to that standard.”

BIDEN’S WAR ON OIL DRILLING THREATENS TO KILL HIS OWN GREEN ENERGY GOALS: ‘A LOT OF UNCERTAINTY’

Chamberlain noted that former Deputy Interior Secretary Tommy Beadreau, the second-highest ranked official at the Department of the Interior (DOI) which houses BOEM, had, according to his 2021 financial disclosure form, previously represented Vineyard Wind on legal matters while serving as a partner at the firm Latham & Watkins. 

Just one week after BOEM approved Vineyard Wind’s request to waive the development fee, Beaudreau departed Latham & Watkins and was sworn in at DOI. In an email to Fox News Digital, Beadreau, who left DOI in late October for another firm, said he wasn’t involved in the request to waive the fee and that a question about his past role posing a conflict of interest was therefore not applicable.

BIDEN ADMIN IS RUSHING TO INDUSTRIALIZE US OCEANS TO STOP CLIMATE CHANGE: ‘ENVIRONMENTAL WRECKING BALL’

According to the documents obtained by PPT, BOEM said Vineyard Wind wouldn’t be required to pay the development fee until 15 years after the project enters operations under its 20-year power purchase agreements. The documents indicate that Vineyard Wind first submitted the request in December 2017, but that the Trump administration rejected it, forcing the developer to resubmit it in March 2021.

In its June 2021 letter to Vineyard Wind, BOEM explained it would waive the fee because the project included risk reduction factors including insurance policies to cover any catastrophic event that damages operations, use of proven wind turbine technology, and the use of power purchase agreements “with guaranteed electricity sales prices that, coupled with the consistent supply of wind energy, ensure a predictable income over the life of the project.”

The letter also stated that the “regulatory departure”  would reduce Vineyard Wind’s financial assurance burden, enabling the developer to invest freed-up capital in construction and enabling the project to enter operations sooner. In addition, it explained the fee was waived also because it “promotes the production and transmission of energy from a source other than oil and gas.”

And Meredith Lilley, an energy program specialist at BOEM, acknowledged in an internal email at the time, also obtained by PPT, that waiving the fee by August 2021 was vital to ensure Vineyard Wind could “secure financing and achieve financial close.”

The 800-megawatt Massachusetts project — a joint venture between Danish energy developer Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners and New England utility services company Avangrid — was first proposed years ago, but was fast-tracked once President Biden entered office. In May 2021, the DOI formally approved the project, marking the first utility-scale offshore wind farm to receive federal approval.

Then, in July 2021, BOEM approved Vineyard Wind’s construction and operations plan and, four months later, DOI Secretary Deb Haaland joined then-Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker and other officials for the commemorative groundbreaking of the project in Barnstable, Massachusetts. 

APPEALS COURT FORCES BIDEN ADMIN TO HOLD OFFSHORE OIL LEASE SALE WITHOUT ECO RESTRICTIONS

“Vineyard Wind 1 represents a historic milestone for advancing our nation’s clean energy production. This project and others across the country will create robust and sustainable economies that lift up communities and support good-paying jobs, while also ensuring future generations have a livable planet,” Haaland said during the ceremony on Nov. 18, 2021.

“The Interior Department is committed to responsibly accelerating our nation’s transition to a clean energy future, and doing so in coordination with our partners, stakeholders, Tribes and ocean users to avoid and reduce potential impacts as much as we can,” she continued.

Since BOEM’s approval of Vineyard Wind, it has green-lit five other utility-scale offshore wind farms as part of Biden’s goal of deploying 30 gigawatts of offshore wind energy capacity by 2030. However, one of those projects, the offshore New Jersey project Ocean Wind 1, was axed by its developer in October due to various economic factors.

Meanwhile, the Biden administration has taken aim at the oil and gas industry. Despite waiving development fees associated with green energy production, the DOI unveiled a plan in July to revise bonding requirements, royalty rates and minimum bids for onshore fossil fuel leasing, an action that will raise costs for developers.

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“Amidst a global energy crisis, this action from the Department of the Interior is yet another attempt to add even more barriers to future energy production, increases uncertainty for producers and may further discourage oil and natural gas investment,” Holly Hopkins, the vice president of upstream policy at the American Petroleum Institute, said in a statement at the time.

“This is a concerning approach from an administration that has repeatedly acted to restrict essential energy development.”

BOEM and Vineyard Wind didn’t respond to requests for comment.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., likely doesn’t have the votes to pass President Biden’s $106 billion national security supplemental package as is, Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., told Fox News Digital in an interview Tuesday evening. 

Senate Republicans have been rallying behind adding stricter border security provisions in the package, such as more border patrol agents and tougher asylum processing standards. But Democrats have signaled they’re not interested in changing border policies.  

“There’s going to have to be significant border security,” Scott, a member of the Homeland Security Committee, said. “The border is a clear and present danger to the security of every American, and I think every Republican and hopefully some Democrats understand that.” 

The question, Scott said, revolves around whether Republicans will opt for straightforward modifications, expecting Biden to adhere to the law, or whether Ukraine aid could be contingent upon a decrease in border crossings.

SCHUMER TO SEND BIDEN’S $106 BILLION SUPPLEMENTAL PACKAGE REQUEST TO SENATE FLOOR AS EARLY AS NEXT WEEK

“We will have to have something that is really tied to really reducing the number of people crossing the border, and this can’t be a small reduction. We need to reduce it the way Trump was able to reduce it,” Scott said. “The only way we’re going to get a result is if we will not give Ukraine money unless it’s completely tied on a month-to-month basis to a reduction in number of people crossing the border. That’s the only way it’s going to work, and I believe that’s where everybody’s going to be.”

BIDEN ADMIN URGES MAJOR FUNDING INCREASES FOR AID TO UKRAINE, ISRAEL AND GAZA CIVILIANS 

Schumer would need nine Republicans to vote alongside Democrats for the package to make it out of the Senate. Scott said no one is objecting to stronger border measures among the GOP. The package could get a vote as early as next week. 

Democrats in the upper chamber have a 51-49 majority, and any legislation will need at least 60 votes to advance. Any agreement will need to pass the GOP-controlled House before it makes it to Biden’s desk.

Schumer will bring the Biden administration’s $106 billion national security funding request to the floor for a vote as early as next week, Schumer said in a Dear Colleague letter Sunday night. 

The White House’s supplemental request, which was sent to Congress in October, includes $61.4 billion for Ukraine, $14.3 billion for Israel (with $10.6 billion allocated for military aid), $13.6 billion for some border security provisions and significant investments in Indo-Pacific security assistance totaling around $7.4 billion. Additionally, there’s $9 billion earmarked for humanitarian aid in Ukraine, Israel and Gaza.

The supplemental request only proposes more money to speed up processing of migrants but no policy reforms. 

In a press conference Tuesday, Schumer deflected blame and said “a handful of Republicans have dangerously tried to link Ukraine aid” to border security.

Negotiations between Democratic and Republican senators continued over the Thanksgiving recess, and Schumer told reporters, “Republicans are making it difficult” for a bipartisan aid bill. 

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Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., have both signaled the GOP will pass more Ukraine funding if a deal is struck for tighter immigration laws.  

Fox News Digital has reached out to Schumer’s office and the White House for comment.

DERRY, N.H. – In front of a standing room only crowd on a chilly late autumn evening in the state that holds the first primary in the Republican presidential nominating calendar, Nikki Haley was making her case.

The former South Carolina governor who later served as ambassador to the United Nations in former President Donald Trump’s administration was arguing that she’s more electable than her former boss in a 2024 general election matchup against President Biden.

“If you look at the national polls and you look at electability, you see that Trump is pretty much even with Biden. On a good day, he might be two points up. In every poll, we beat Biden by 10 to 13 points,” Haley claimed at her Tuesday evening town hall at the historic opera house in Derry, New Hampshire.

Electability was a factor in the decision by Americans for Prosperity Action, the political wing of the influential and deep-pocketed fiscally conservative network founded by the billionaire Koch Brothers, to endorse Haley. 

BIG BOOST: HALEY LANDS THE BACKING OF A CONSERVATIVE GRASSROOTS ARMY

The announcement Tuesday morning by the AFP Action, which has pledged to spend tens of millions of dollars and mobilize its formidable grassroots operation to help push the Republican Party past Trump, was a setback to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. 

Haley’s enjoyed momentum in the polls in recent months, thanks in part to well-received performances in the first three GOP presidential primary debates. 

THE FINAL COUNTDOWN: TRUMP HOLDS COMMANDING LEAD WITH 50 DAYS TO GO UNTIL IOWA CAUCUSES 

She has leapfrogged DeSantis for second place in New Hampshire and in her home state, which holds the first southern contest. And she’s pulled even with DeSantis in some of the latest polls in Iowa, whose caucuses kick off the GOP nominating calendar on Jan. 15.

But Haley and DeSantis remain far behind Trump, who continues to hold a commanding lead over the rest of the field as the former president makes his third straight White House run.

The AFP Action endorsement should help Haley, whose lean campaign lacks the grassroots outreach and organizational strength that DeSantis can count on courtesy of the DeSantis-aligned super PAC Never Back Down.

The endorsement by AFP Action Haley comes with the group’s powerful direct-mail and field operations, as well as a major ad blitz in the early voting states.

“Organizationally speaking – it’s significant. This is muscle. This is political dollars and door knocking. It will help,” Republican consultant Matthew Bartlett, who splits his time between New Hampshire and the nation’s capital, told Fox News.

GAME ON IN IOWA AS DESANTIS AND HALEY BATTLE FOR SECOND PLACE BEHIND TRUMP

Haley, addressing the crowd, asked “how many of you are here to hear me for the first time?” 

A lot of folks in the audience raised their hands.

“There’s a lot of new people coming out and seeing Nikki,” longtime GOP strategist Rick Wiley, who’s steering Haley’s operation in New Hampshire, told Fox News. Wiley said it was a sign that Haley’s message is resonating.

“You can see the volunteers grabbing their information,” Wiley said as he pointed to the crowd of first-time attendees. “We have RSVP’s and we’re going to put them to work.”

Haley arrived in New Hampshire after drawing roughly 2,500 people to a campaign event Monday evening in her home state. 

While the audience of some 325 on Tuesday evening didn’t compare to the South Carolina gathering, it was one of her largest crowds to date in the Granite State.

Among those attending was Republican state Sen. William Gannon, who endorsed Haley earlier this autumn.

Referencing the crowd, Gannon emphasized “they like Nikki. She’s warm. She’s personable. We have candidates who could possibly win a primary. These people know that she can win next November.” 

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Also in the audience were two former U.S. senators.

“She’s been a chief executive. She knows what kind of legislation is necessary to get an economy going. She’s a fiscal conservative,” former Sen. John E. Sununu told Fox News. “I think if she can convey those concepts of letting people make decisions for themselves, getting the country moving forward and not looking back, then I think she’s going to do well in New Hampshire.”

Sununu, the son of former New Hampshire Gov. John H. Sununu and the older brother to current Gov. Chris Sununu, said he remains neutral in the GOP presidential nomination race, but is considering endorsing and helping support a candidate.

“Like every other voter in New Hampshire, I’m excited about the primary,” he said.

Former Sen. Gordon Humphrey told Fox News that he’s “leaning towards Nikki Haley. I think she’s far and away the best of all the candidates.”

Humphrey, a vocal anti-Trump Republican turned independent, pointed to what he described as Haley’s “heavyweight experience” as a governor and in foreign policy and national security through her tenure as ambassador to the United Nations.

“She’s well-spoken. She has personality and charisma, sparkle, energy, dynamism,” he touted.

While she’s riding a political wave, Haley remains far behind Trump.

But Bartlett emphasized “what is important – on a cold night like this, opening up the doors. Doing an old-fashioned town hall. Taking questions. Introducing yourself to voters. She is doing everything right…She’s got some granite heels, and we’re going to see how far they can climb the mountain here.”

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

FIRST ON FOX – Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy is taking the “GOP establishment” in Iowa to task, specifically calling out Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds over support of the CO2 pipeline he argues negatively impacts farmers in the Hawkeye State. 

In an announcement obtained by Fox News Digital, Ramaswamy teased a policy speech he’s set to give Friday in Des Moines regarding CO2 pipelines being implemented he says as part of the “climate change agenda,” knocking Republicans who are onboard with it.  

“The GOP establishment does NOT approve of this message & it’s pathetic I’m the only candidate with the stones to say it,” Ramaswamy’s statement began. “The climate change agenda is a hoax & it’s hurting farmers in Iowa. Here’s how: the U.S. government enacted crony subsidies to reward those who build CO2 pipelines across the Midwest to bury CO2 in the ground in North Dakota (which is senseless for many reasons, including the fact that crops require CO2).”

RAMASWAMY LAUNCHES $1 MILLION AD BUY IN EARLY PRIMARY STATES BLASTING POLITICIANS ‘LEADING US INTO WORLD WAR III’

“Here’s the bigger problem: most farmers don’t want the CO2 pipeline on their land. There are real hazards & many farmers don’t want to sell their land either. But the GOP Establishment in Iowa has enacted eminent domain to *seize* these farmers’ land which is a gross violation of their property rights,” Ramaswamy wrote.

He continued, “Every political consultant tells you to stay away from the CO2 pipeline issue, because it makes the likes of @GovKimReynolds look horrible for supporting it. Well, I refuse to be controlled. We’ll go deep on this on Friday at 12pm in Des Moines, with the Free Soil Coalition.”

RAMASWAMY CLASHES WITH CNN ANCHOR PRESSING HIM ON TRUMP’S ‘VERMIN’ COMMENTS: ‘GIVE ME A BREAK!’

The biotech entrepreneur went on to predict that “soon you will see the other presidential candidates who have tiptoed around this issue reluctantly adopt my stance including even the one whom @GovKimReynolds endorsed.”

“You can bookmark that prediction & take it to the bank,” Ramaswamy added. 

The candidate Reynolds endorsed is Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. 

Gov. Reynolds’ office did not immediately respond to Fox News’ request for comment.

RAMASWAMY UNVEILS ‘NO TO NEOCONS’ PLEDGE HIS APPOINTEES WILL HAVE TO SIGN IF ELECTED

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Ramaswamy is hoping to defy expectations in the first primary contest in the nation. According to the RealClearPolitics average of polls in Iowa, Ramaswamy is trailing at 5% behind former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley at 14.3%, DeSantis at 17.3% and former President Trump, who maintains a commanding lead at 47% among Iowan primary voters. 

In the most recent Fox News national poll earlier this month, Ramaswamy received 7%, Haley got 11%, DeSantis got 14% while Trump held a whopping 62% support among Republicans. 

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

President Biden’s campaign board members former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and Democrat North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper called former President Trump’s call to replace Obamacare an “assault.”

Pelosi and Cooper, respectively the chair and a member of the Biden campaign’s National Advisory Board, spoke to the press on a Tuesday conference call regarding Trump’s pledge to repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA) if elected president in 2024.

Pelosi began by calling the former president’s comment a “dire threat to the health and well-being of America’s families.”

TRUMP BLASTS AMERICAN LEADERS AS NO US CITIZENS ARE AMONG HAMAS HOSTAGES RECENTLY RELEASED

“This weekend, the former president reminded us that he is hellbent on destroying the Affordable Care Act. In doing so, he’s making an assault on the financial and health security of America’s families,” Pelsoi said.

Pelosi repeated claims that Trump’s calls to repeal Obamacare — officially known as the ACA — were an “assault” and that the leading 2024 GOP contender is “coming for your health care”

“When he says he’s going after our health care, believe him,” the Democrat said, suggesting that under President Biden’s leadership, “healthcare is more affordable and accessible than ever before.”

In a continued pointed conversation around the former president, Cooper added that “Donald Trump is great at reading the room full of conspiracy theorists, but clueless in reading the room of everyday Americans who need health insurance.”

The Democrats made more claims on behalf of Biden’s re-election efforts, suggesting that if elected, Trump would “hurt millions of Americans” and we need to “preserve our democracy.”

“Donald Trump is clearly speaking in autocratic tones, and he has a lot of followers who prefer an autocracy over a democracy as long as their guy’s in power,” Cooper continued.

Over the weekend on TruthSocial, Trump said he was heavily looking at “alternatives” to Obamacare — the white whale from his first administration.

“The cost of Obamacare is out of control, plus, it’s not good Healthcare. I’m seriously looking at alternatives,” Trump wrote.

IF MANCHIN RUNS FOR PRESIDENT, WILL HE BE A SPOILER AND THROW THE ELECTION TO TRUMP?

“We had a couple of Republican Senators who campaigned for 6 years against it, and then raised their hands not to terminate it,” he continued, referencing the late Senator John McCain, R-Ari., who blocked Trump’s repeal efforts in 2017. “It was a low point for the Republican Party, but we should never give up!”

Trump’s post comes as he aims to take back the White House from Biden in the 2024 presidential election.

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The former president is the front-runner in the GOP field that has been whittling its numbers down after several debates.

Still, for Trump to get his rematch with Biden, he will have to go through several high-profile Republicans, including his former protégé Governor Ron DeSantis, R-Fla., and his former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley.

Fox News Digital’s Aubrie Spady contributed reporting.

Jewish groups are suing the University of California Regents, President Michael Drake and other school officials for what they assert is the “longstanding, unchecked spread of anti-Semitism” on UC Berkeley’s campus.

In a 36-page complaint filed Tuesday, the Brandeis Center and the Jewish Americans for Fairness in Education (JAFE) allege “inaction” by UC Berkeley and Berkeley Law has allowed antisemitism to grow on campus. The groups say since the Oct. 7 terrorist attack on Israel, antisemitism on campus “has erupted in on-campus displays of hatred, harassment, and physical violence against Jews.” 

The groups argue courts must now intervene to protect the civil rights of Jewish students and faculty and end “anti-Semitic discrimination and harassment.” 

University of California officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment. 

UC BERKELEY TAKES FIRE AFTER EXTRA CREDIT OFFERED IN CLASS FOR ATTENDING PRO-PALESTINIAN STUDENT ‘WALKOUT’

The lawsuit points to several examples of Jewish students being harassed by pro-Palestinian protesters at UC Berkeley. During one rally, a Jewish undergrad draped in an Israeli flag was allegedly assaulted by two protesters “who struck him in the head with a metal water bottle,” the Brandeis Center said in a news release. 

The group also cited examples of pro-Palestinian rallies that honored Hamas terrorists who brutally massacred more than 1,200 Israelis Oct. 7 as “martyrs” and featured chants such as “intifada” and “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,” which are seen as calls for the elimination of Israel. 

READ THE COMPLAINT BELOW. APP USERS: CLICK HERE

But the focus of the complaint is a 2022 pledge by 23 student organizations to boycott pro-Israel speakers because of their “support of Zionism” and “the apartheid state of Israel.” The Brandeis Center argues the ban violates federal law and university policies by denying Jewish law students networking opportunities afforded to other groups and discriminates against them in other ways.

“The antisemitism Berkeley’s Jewish students find themselves embroiled in today did not start on Oct. 7,” said Kenneth L. Marcus, former U.S. assistant secretary of education for the Bush and Trump administrations. He’s the founder and chairman of the Brandeis Center and a graduate of UC Berkeley’s law school. 

“It is a direct result of Berkeley’s leadership repeatedly turning a blind eye to unfettered Jew hatred.” 

US DEPT OF EDUCATION OPENS INVESTIGATION OF HARVARD OVER ANTISEMITISM ON CAMPUS

“The school is quick to address other types of hatred, but why not antisemitism?” he continued. “Berkeley, once a beacon of free speech, civil rights and equal treatment of persons regardless of race, religion, ethnicity, national origin, gender and sexual preference, is heading down a very different and dangerous path from the one I proudly attended as a Jewish law student.”

The Jewish groups are asking a court to require the University of California sytem to enforce its policies and prohibit discrimination against Jewish students, faculty and invited speakers. They reject arguments voiced by university leaders that punishing anti-Israel speech and actions would be “viewpoint discrimination,” arguing that “Zionist” speakers are being excluded “because of who they are,” not what they say. 

“Making Jews renounce that core component of their identity to participate in a student organization is no different than asking members of the LGBTQ community to remain ‘in the closet’ as the cost of membership — a cost that is not imposed on other students who are free to participate fully in those organizations without disavowing or hiding their identities,” said Rachel Lerman, vice chair and general counsel at the Brandeis Center and also a graduate of UC Berkeley Law School.

The lawsuit comes during a wave of antisemitism on college campuses following the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war. High-profile incidents of discrimination against Jews and violent speech by pro-Palestinian activists have led the Biden administration to investigate alleged civil rights violations at the nation’s top schools. 

NY OFFICIAL DEMANDS RESIGNATION OF COLLEGE PRESIDENT WHO CLAIMED ‘COMPLEX HISTORY’ AFTER HAMAS TERROR ATTACK

The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) is opening an investigation into Harvard University, for example, to probe whether Harvard “failed to respond to alleged harassment of students based on their national origin (shared Jewish ancestry and/or Israeli) in a manner consistent with the requirements of Title VI,” according to a letter from the OCR Boston Office dated Tuesday. 

The investigation came in response to a complaint about a first-year Israeli student at Harvard Business School who was reportedly shoved and accosted by pro-Palestinian protesters during a “die in” demonstration in October at the Massachusetts campus to protest Israel’s retaliatory strikes against the Gaza Strip.

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The investigation was revealed the same day it was announced college presidents from Harvard, MIT and the University of Pennsylvania will testify on Capitol Hill about rampant antisemitism on their campuses that followed Hamas’ Oct. 7 terror attacks.

The Department of Education reached a settlement with the University of Vermont in April over a complaint brought by the Brandeis Center that the school failed to respond adequately to antisemitic harassment of Jewish students. The department is investigating four other Brandeis Center complaints at SUNY New Paltz, the University of Southern California (USC), Brooklyn College and the University of Illinois, the group said. 

The complaint was filed in the U. S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

Fox News Digital’s Danielle Wallace contributed to this report.

Former President Carter, 99, is to honor his late wife Rosalynn Carter during a memorial service in Atlanta on Tuesday attended by all living U.S. first ladies and multiple presidents. 

Tuesday’s tribute at Glenn Memorial Church at Emory University is expected to begin at 1 p.m. 

It falls on the second of a three-day schedule of public events celebrating the former first lady and global humanitarian who died Nov. 19 at home in Plains, Georgia, at the age of 96. Tributes began Monday in the Carters’ native Sumter County and continued in Atlanta as she lay in repose at The Jimmy Carter Presidential Center.

President Biden and first lady Jill Biden, longtime friends of the Carters, lead the list of dignitaries joining the widowed former president in Atlanta. Former President Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, along with former first ladies Melania Trump, Michelle Obama and Laura Bush, will pay their respects, as will Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp and his wife Marty Kemp. Former Presidents Trump, Obama and Bush were invited but will not attend, according to The Associated Press. 

County music stars Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood, family friends of the Carters, will perform at the invitation-only tribute service, according to The Carter Center.  

TRIBUTES TO FORMER FIRST LADY ROSALYNN CARTER POUR IN ON NEWS OF HER DEATH

Former President Carter’s participation in the events had been a day-by-day issue; he is 10 months into home hospice care. 

The Carter Center confirmed his plans to attend the Tuesday service. It will be his first public appearance since September, when he and Rosalynn Carter rode together in the Plains Peanut Festival parade, visible only through open windows in a Secret Service vehicle. Carter, who was with his wife during her final hours, did not appear publicly during any part of a public motorcade and wreath-laying ceremony Monday at Rosalynn Carter’s alma mater, Georgia Southwestern State University in Americus.

“Rosalynn was my equal partner in everything I ever accomplished,” Carter said in a statement after his wife’s passing. “She gave me wise guidance and encouragement when I needed it. As long as Rosalynn was in the world, I always knew somebody loved and supported me.”

JIMMY CARTER AND WIFE ARE IN ‘FINAL CHAPTER’ OF LIVES, GRANDSON SAYS

The Carters married in 1946; their 77-plus years together makes them the longest-married presidential couple in U.S. history.

“My grandmother, in addition to being a partner to my grandfather, was a force on her own,” Jason Carter, who will be among the speakers Tuesday, told the AP. 

Rosalynn Carter has been praised for a half-century of advocacy for better mental health care in America and reducing the stigma attached to mental illness. She brought attention to the tens of millions of people who work as unpaid caregivers in U.S. households, and she gained new acclaim for how integral she was to her husband’s political rise and in his terms as Georgia’s governor and the 39th president.

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Jason Carter, himself a former state senator and one-time Democratic nominee for governor, called her “the best politician in the family,” a distinction former President Carter never disputed.

“My wife is much more political,” the former president told the AP in 2021.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.