NationalWatch

LAS VEGAS – After sweeping Nevada’s GOP presidential caucus, former President Donald Trump has his eyes on the next major contest on the 2024 Republican nominating calendar – South Carolina.

“Is there anyway we can call the election,” a buoyant Trump asked as he pointed to his large double-digit lead in the latest polls in South Carolina.

The Nevada caucus victory by the former president, who is the commanding front-runner for the GOP nomination as he makes his third straight White House run, was never in doubt. Trump was the only major candidate in a contest run by a friendly state party in which only registered Republicans could vote.

Trump’s convincing win in Nevada – where 26 delegates were at stake – came hours after he won a landslide victory in a presidential caucus run by the U.S. Virgin Islands GOP.

TRUMP HITS THE JACKPOT IN LAS VEGAS

And Thursday’s caucus in Nevada also came two days after he was a winner in Nevada’s state-run Republican presidential primary, even though he wasn’t on the ballot.-

Trump’s absence from the primary ballot wasn’t enough to provide a path to victory for Nikki Haley, the former president’s last remaining major rival for the 2024 Republican nomination.

The former two-term South Carolina governor who later served as U.N. ambassador in the Trump administration lost on Tuesday to a “none of these candidates” option by a more than two-to-one margin in a primary where no GOP convention delegates were at stake.

HALEY CHARGES NEVADA GOP CAUCUS ‘RIGGED’ FOR TRUMP

Voters casting ballots in the primary couldn’t write in Trump’s name, but they could vote for “none of these candidates.” And Trump supporters Fox News interviewed outside of polling stations said that is how they voted.

“So I’d like to congratulate none of the above,” Trump said on Thursday night s he mocked Haley. “I was one of them.”

Haley, who hadn’t campaigned in Nevada since October, downplayed this week’s primary and caucus in the Silver State, saying in a Fox News Digital interview in Los Angeles on Wednesday that they weren’t “anything we were looking at” and charging that the caucus was “rigged” for Trump.

Trump won a majority of the vote in the Jan. 15 Iowa caucuses, and he topped Haley by 11 points a week later in the New Hampshire primary, when the nomination battle turned into a two-candidate race.

Haley, facing calls from some Republicans to end her White House bid, told supporters in California this week that “I’m in this for the long haul.”

FIRST ON FOX: HALEY’S LEFT COAST FUNDRAISING HAUL

South Carolina’s primary is next up, on Feb. 24, and Trump’s returning to the state this weekend for the first time in two months.

The latest public opinion polls in the Palmetto State indicate Trump holds a very formidable double-digit lead. And the former president enjoys the backing of the state’s governor, nearly the entire congressional delegation, and scores of state lawmakers and local officials.

Veteran South Carolina based Republican consultant Dave Wilson pointed to Trump’ “groundswell” in the state and highlighted the former president’s “ground forces.”

Wilson also noted that “Nikki Haley is reintroducing herself to South Carolina” because “almost a million people have moved into the statae since she was governor.”

But pointing to her undefeated electoral record, Wilson said “never underestimate Nikki Haley. Never count Nikki Haley out.”

Haley, looking ahead, reiterated that “our focus is on South Carolina, Michigan, Super Tuesday.”

WHAT NIKKI HALEY TOLD FOX DIGITAL ABOUT WHAT SHE NEEDS TO DO TO KEEP RUNNING

Michigan holds its primary on Tuesday, Feb. 27, three days after the South Carolina Republican primary. Fifteen states, including the behemoths of California and Texas, hold contests a week later, on Super Tuesday.

Haley’s two campaign stops on Wednesday in California were her first to date in any of the Super Tuesday states. And the swing to the Golden State appears in part to be a marker for Haley as she pushes back against calls by some Republicans to drop out of the race and give up her uphill climb for the nomination. 

The trip also included a series of fundraisers. And as Fox News Digital first reported on Wednesday, Haley hauled in $1.7 million in fundraising during her two days in California.

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Haley told Fox News Digital that when it comes to campaign finances, “we have been smart.”

And she touted that you don’t end up being “the last one standing against Donald Trump if you don’t manage your money well. So yes, we are focused on making sure we have the resources.”

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

Former President Donald Trump can chalk up another victory in the race for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination.

The Virgin Islands Republican Party on Thursday announced that Trump has won the GOP caucus in the island territory.

Four delegates to the summer’s GOP presidential nominating convention were up for grabs in the Virgin Islands contest, which was open only to Republican voters. 

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“Word just came that we overwhelmingly won the Virgin Islands Caucus, ALL Delegates, with almost 75% of the Vote. I have just called to thank those involved,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform after the U.S. Virgin Islands GOP announced the results.

Trump and his last remaining major rival for the nomination – former U.N. ambassador and former two-term South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley – were on the ballot, as well as four other candidates who have dropped out of the 2024 race.

The caucus utilized ranked-choice voting. People casting a ballot ranked their choices, and if no candidate achieved a majority of the vote, the ranked choice process would have gone into effect.

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

The two candidates, who will go head-to-head in a special election next week in an attempt to fill the vacant House seat previously held by former Rep. George Santos, traded barbs during a debate when asked about a number of topics – including immigration and abortion.

Democrat Tom Suozzi, a former lawmaker in the House who unsuccessfully ran for governor of the Empire State twice, and Republican Mazi Pilip, a former Israel Defense Forces soldier and relative political newcomer serving as a Republican county legislator, met face to face on Long Island in the first and only debate in the special election for New York’s 3rd Congressional District.

Hosted by News 12 Long Island, the pre-taped debate featured a number of topics that are top of mind as voters weigh who to vote for in the contentious election.

Asked by a voter in the district who attended the debate what steps they would take to address the migrant crisis in New York City and the impact it’s having on those who live in the district, Pilip replied, “Before we even address the issue inside, we have to make sure first and foremost we need to secure the border. After that, then we have to come up with a plan. We have to know who’s here. We don’t even know who all those people are.”

DEMOCRAT SUOZZI RUNNING FOR GEORGE SANTOS SEAT TAKES HEAT FOR 2019 POST ON ICE AMID NEW YORK’S MIGRANT CRISIS

“So I can’t answer how we are gonna take of it before we can secure the border,” she added. “Once we secure the border, we have to review to see who those people are and what we should do with them.”

Responding to Pilip’s remarks on the topic, while not addressing the question specifically about how he would handle the immigration issue himself, Suozzi said, “Mrs. Pilip points out there’s a problem, there’s a problem, there’s a problem. She has no solutions. There’s a solution that’s been proposed in the United States Senate that would actually build more wall, would get more border agents, would deal with asylum seekers, would reform the laws to make it better, and would give money to the state of New York and the city of New York to deal with the migrant crisis that we currently have.”

“Right now, they wanna try and put more migrants over at Creedmoor,” he continued. “I’ve already registered my complaints with the city of New York, saying ‘don’t put anymore at that location.’ The reality is, I know how government works, I know how to get things done, I know who to talk to, how to stop things, and how to make things happen My opponent in this race is very good at pointing out the problems … except her opposition to this bipartisan deal will result in the border staying open for years and years and years, and more migrants coming to New York. She has no solutions whatsoever. … That’s not how you govern.”

The bipartisan “solution” referenced by Suozzi in the back and forth between the candidates appeared to be the supplemental spending agreement that included aid for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan as well as an ambitious border security and immigration package that failed to pass the Senate on Wednesday.

Snapping back at Suozzi’s comments, Pilip said, “It’s amazing you’re coming up with a solution. You created this issue. You were there. You were in charge of this problem, Tom. It’s amazing, you have to admit it.”

“You are saying you are about to go to fix it? I mean c’mon,” she added.

IDF VETERAN TURNED NY GOP PICK TO REPLACE GEORGE SANTOS VOWS TO TAKE ON ‘SQUAD,’ SLAMS SUOZZI AS FAKE MODERATE

Declaring him unfit to handle the issue, Pilip, who has consistently accused the former congressman of siding with President Biden and voting in lock-step with the progressive “squad” Democrats, claimed Suozzi “opened the border.”

“Tom Suozzi opened the border. Tom Suozzi funded the sanctuary city. Tom Suozzi kicked I.C.E. from Nassau County,” she said. “This is absolutely you; you have to own it.”

Suozzi called Pilip’s accusation “absurd” and suggested that he supports Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

“For you to suggest I’m a member of the squad is about as believable as you being a member of George Santos’s volleyball team,” Suozzi told Pilip.

Prior to his comments, Suozzi took heat from Pilip this week over a resurfaced social media post in which he shared a guide appearing to instruct migrants on how to deal with ICE agents in the event of raids promised by then-President Trump in 2019. Pilip told Fox News Digital that the post to Facebook at the time demonstrates that Suozzi “can’t run away from his record of supporting Joe Biden’s open borders, sanctuary cities, and lawlessness.”

On the topic of abortion, Pilip, who noted she was “pro-life” and the mother of seven children, said, “I’m not going to force my own beliefs to any woman, therefore I’m not going to support a national abortion ban.”

Pushing Pilip on the issue, Suozzi questioned Pilip about whether she would vote to codify Roe v. Wade and repeatedly asked her, “Are you pro-choice?”

Pilip did not respond directly to Suozzi’s questions on the issue and instead accused the New York Democrat of attempting to tell women what to think of their bodies and distorting her record on the issue.

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“How dare you lie like this,” Pilip said in response.

Released Thursday, a Siena College poll conducted for Newsday from Feb. 3 to Feb. 6 showed Suozzi leading Pilip 48% to 44% among likely voters.

The special election is slated to take place on Feb. 13. Early voting began in the district on Feb. 3.

LAS VEGAS – It was never in doubt, and now it’s official.

Former President Donald Trump is projected to win Nevada’s Republican presidential caucus, according to the Associated Press.

The call on Thursday night came quickly after caucus precincts from across the Silver State began reporting results.

The former president, who’s the commanding front-runner for the 2024 nomination as he bids a third straight time for the White House, was the only major candidate on the ballot in a caucus run by the Nevada GOP. And he grabbed all 26 delegates to this summer’s nominating convention were at stake in the caucus.

HALEY CHARGES NEVADA GOP CAUCUS ‘RIGGED’ FOR TRUMP

Trump’s win in Nevada came hours after he grabbed roughly three-quarters of the vote for a landside victory in a presidential caucus run the the U.S. Virgin Islands GOP.

The former president also came up a winner on Tuesday, in Nevada’s state-run Republican presidential primary, even though he wasn’t on the ballot.

Trump’s absence from the primary ballot wasn’t enough to provide a path to victory for Nikki Haley – the former president’s last remaining major rival for the 2024 Republican nomination.

The former two-term South Carolina governor who later served as U.N. ambassador in the Trump administration lost on Tuesday to a “none of these candidates” option by a more than two-to-one margin in a primary where no GOP convention delegates were at stake.

Voters casting ballots in the primary couldn’t write in Trump’s name, but they could vote for “none of these candidates.” And Trump supporters Fox News interviewed outside of polling stations said that is how they voted.

The confusion over having two competing contests dates to 2021, when Democrats, who at the time controlled both Nevada’s governor’s office and the legislature, passed a law changing the presidential nominating contest from long-held caucuses to a state-run primary. 

WHAT NIKKI HALEY TOLD FOX DIGITAL ABOUT WHAT SHE NEEDS TO DO TO KEEP RUNNING

The Nevada GOP objected, but last year their legal bid to stop the primary from going forward was rejected. In a twist, the judge in the case allowed the state Republicans to hold their own caucuses. No delegates will be at stake in the Republican primary, while all 26 will be up for grabs in the GOP caucus.

The state GOP ruled that candidates who put their name on the state-run primary ballot could not take part in the caucuses. 

Haley and some of the other now-departed Republican presidential candidates viewed the Nevada GOP as too loyal to Trump and decided to skip a caucus they believed was tipped in favor of the former president.

Nevada GOP chair Michael McDonald and both of the state’s members of the Republican National Committee are supporting Trump.

HALEY, TRUMP, TRADE SHOTS OVER WHO’S STRONGER AGAINST BIDEN

Haley on Wednesday charged that “Nevada – it’s such a scam. They were supposed to have a primary. Trump rigged it so the GOP chairman – who’s been indicted – would go and create a caucus.”

“We knew that it was rigged from the start,” Haley argued in separate interviews with Fox News Digital and with FOX 11 Los Angeles while campaigning in southern California.

McDonald, responding, claimed that Haley “is not a real serious candidate.”

“The fact of the matter is she didn’t show up. She did not campaign in Nevada and neither did ‘none of the above’ and ‘none of the above’ won,” the Nevada GOP chair told Fox News Digital.

While the GOP presidential candidates had to choose either the caucus or primary ballot, registered Republicans in Nevada can vote in both contests.

Trump’s campaign worked to get the message out to supporters in Nevada that if they want to vote for the former president, they need to show up at the caucuses.

HALEY APPLIES FOR SECRET SERVICE PROTECTION ON THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL

“Your primary vote doesn’t mean anything. It’s your caucus vote,” Trump said at a rally in Las Vegas late last month. “So in your state, you have both the primary and you have a caucus. Don’t worry about the primary, just do the caucus thing.”

Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo, who is supporting Trump, told the Nevada Independent last month that he would vote for “none of these candidates” in the primary, and would caucus for Trump in the state GOP’s contest.

While her name was on the ballot, Haley ignored the Nevada primary.

Haley didn’t campaign in Nevada ahead of the primary and hasn’t been in the state since speaking in late October at the Republican Jewish Coalition’s annual leadership conference.

“We knew months ago that we weren’t going to spend a day or a dollar in Nevada, because it wasn’t worth it. And so we didn’t even count Nevada. That wasn’t anything we were looking at,” Haley emphasized on Wednesday.

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As the vote count continued on Tuesday night, the former president took to his Truth Social network to take aim at Haley.

“A bad night for Nikki Haley. Losing by almost 30 points in Nevada to “None of These Candidates.” Watch, she’ll soon claim Victory!” he argued.

Haley, looking ahead, reiterated that “our focus is on South Carolina, Michigan, Super Tuesday.”

South Carolina’s next up in the GOP presidential nominating calendar, with a primary on Feb. 24. Michigan holds its primary three days after the South Carolina. Fifteen states, including the behemoths of California and Texas, hold contests a week later, on Super Tuesday.

Haley’s two campaign stops on Wednesday in California were her first to date in any of the Super Tuesday states. And the swing to the Golden State appears in part to be a marker for Haley as she pushes back against calls by some Republicans to drop out of the race and give up her uphill climb for the nomination. 

The trip also included a series of fundraisers. And as Fox News Digital first reported on Wednesday, Haley hauled in $1.7 million in fundraising during her two days in California.

This week’s contests are just an appetizer for Nevada, which as a key general election battleground state will see plenty of campaign traffic this summer and autumn.

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

EXCLUSIVE: Republican Rep. Claudia Tenney is calling for the Cabinet to “explore” the use of the Constitution’s 25th Amendment to remove President Biden from office, following Special Counsel Robert Hur’s “alarming” report.

Hur did not recommend criminal charges against the president for mishandling classified documents. Those records included classified documents about military and foreign policy in Afghanistan, among other records related to national security and foreign policy which Hur said implicated “sensitive intelligence sources and methods.” 

BIDEN SAYS HIS MEMORY IS ‘FINE,’ HE IS ‘MOST QUALIFIED PERSON IN THIS COUNTRY’ TO BE PRESIDENT

Hur, though, described Biden as a “sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory.” Hur, throughout the more than 300-page report, said “it would be difficult to convince a jury that they should convict him” of a serious felony “that requires a mental state of willfulness,” and said he would be “well into his eighties.”

Fox News Digital obtained a letter Tenney, R-N.Y., sent to Attorney General Garland Thursday night, sharing her “grave concerns” following the report.

“After concluding that President Biden knowingly and willfully removed, mishandled, and disclosed classified documents repeatedly over a period of decades, Mr. Hur nevertheless recommended that charges not be brought against him,” Tenney wrote. “Special Counsel’s reasoning was alarming.”

Tenney added: “He recited numerous instances in which President Biden exhibited dramatically compromised mental faculties and concluded that a jury would be likely to perceive President Biden as a sympathetic and forgetful old man.”

Tenney said she “need not tell you that selective prosecution is morally, ethically, and legally prohibited.”

BIDEN ‘DID NOT REMEMBER WHEN HE WAS VICE PRESIDENT,’ WHEN HIS SON BEAU DIED, DURING SPECIAL COUNSEL INTERVIEWS

“We don’t prosecute or decline to prosecute people based on their personalities, or on the public’s anticipated perception of them,” Tenney wrote. “If Special Counsel finds that the evidence forms a reasonable basis to bring charges, he must do so.”

Tenney said the DOJ “cannot ethically bring charges against former President Trump because he has mental acuity and a forceful personality, and decline to bring charges against President Biden because of his cognitive decline.”

Tenney said Biden “needs to be charged, unless he is not mentally competent to stand trial.”

“Candidly, Special Counsel’s report makes a reasonable case that he is not,” Tenney said. 

“Being unable to remember what position he held, and when, is exceptionally concerning. Being unable to remember when one’s child died – even within a time frame of several years – is perhaps more a more damning reflection of his mental impairment.”

Tenney went on to say that Biden “most seemingly lacks the ability to execute his presidential responsibilities.”

“So it is incumbent upon you to explore proceedings to remove the President pursuant to the 25th Amendment to the United States Constitution,” Tenney wrote. “President Biden needs to be charged, or he needs to be removed.”

She added: “There is no middle ground.”

SPECIAL COUNSEL CALLS BIDEN ‘SYMPATHETIC, WELL-MEANING, ELDERLY MAN WITH A POOR MEMORY,’ BRINGS NO CHARGES

The 25th Amendment can be invoked by the Cabinet if the president becomes disabled to such a degree that he cannot fulfill his responsibilities.

Biden, on Thursday night, though, addressed the nation saying his memory is “fine” and defended his re-election campaign, saying he is the “most qualified person in this country to be president.”

“I’m well-meaning, and I’m an elderly man and I know what the hell I’m doing,” Biden said. “I’ve been president. I put this country back on its feet. I don’t need his recommendation.”

Biden added: “My memory is fine.”

During his address, Biden also fired back at Special Counsel Robert Hur for suggesting he did not remember when his son Beau died.

“How dare he raise that?” Biden said. “Frankly, when I was asked a question, I thought to myself, what’s that any of your damn business?”

“Let me tell you something…I swear, since the day he died, every single day…I wear the rosary he got from Our Lady—” Biden stopped, seemingly forgetting where the rosary was from.

Biden became visibly emotional, and declared: “I don’t need anyone—I don’t need anyone to remind me when he passed away or passed away.” 

Moments later, though, Biden transitioned to discuss the conflict in the Middle East. Biden referred to Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, the president of Egypt, as “the president of Mexico.”

TRUMP DEMANDS DOJ ‘IMMEDIATELY’ DROP CHARGES AGAINST HIM IN CLASSIFIED DOCS CASE AFTER BIDEN DECISION

But the president took a barrage of questions from the White House press corps, with some shouting and pressing him on whether he is fit to run for re-election. 

“I’m the most qualified person in this country to be President of the United States,” Biden said, adding that he has to “finish the job I started.” 

Meanwhile, Hur, in the report, said Biden, during his interview with the special counsel’s team, could not remember key details, such as when he was vice president. 

“In his interview with our office, Mr. Biden’s memory was worse,” the report states. “He did not remember when he was vice president, forgetting on the first day of the interview when his term ended (‘if it was 2013 — when did I stop being Vice President?’), and forgetting on the second day of the interview when his term began (‘in 2009, am I still Vice President?’).”

NO CHARGES FOR BIDEN AFTER SPECIAL COUNSEL PROBE INTO IMPROPER HANDLING OF CLASSIFIED DOCUMENTS

“He did not remember, even within several years, when his son Beau died,” the report continued. “And his memory appeared hazy when describing the Afghanistan debate that was once so important to him. Among other things, he mistakenly said he ‘had a real difference’ of opinion with General Karl Eikenberry, when, in fact, Eikenberry was an ally whom Mr. Biden cited approvingly in his Thanksgiving memo to President Obama.”

“In a case where the government must prove that Mr. Biden knew he had possession of the classified Afghanistan documents after the vice presidency and chose to keep those documents, knowing he was violating the law, we expect that at trial, his attorneys would emphasize these limitations in his recall,” the report said.

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As for Biden’s memory, prior to the release of the report, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre on Thursday defended Biden when asked about a gaffe in which the president said he spoke in 2021 with German Chancellor Helmut Kohl — who actually died four years earlier — arguing that misspeaking “happens to all of us, and it is common.” 

That gaffe was similar to the one Biden made on Sunday when he claimed he spoke with François Mitterrand, a French president who died in 1996, at the same G7 meeting.

President Biden addressed the nation Thursday night, saying his memory is “fine” and defended his re-election campaign, saying he is the “most qualified person in this country to be president.”

Biden’s address to the nation from the White House Thursday night comes just hours after Special Counsel Robert Hur released his report, which did not recommend criminal charges against the president for mishandling classified documents. Those records included classified documents about military and foreign policy in Afghanistan, among other records related to national security and foreign policy which Hur said implicated “sensitive intelligence sources and methods.” 

BIDEN ‘DID NOT REMEMBER WHEN HE WAS VICE PRESIDENT,’ WHEN HIS SON BEAU DIED, DURING SPECIAL COUNSEL INTERVIEWS

Hur, though, described Biden as a “sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory.” Hur, throughout the more than 300-page report, said “it would be difficult to convince a jury that they should convict him” of a serious felony “that requires a mental state of willfulness,” and said he would be “well into his eighties.” 

Biden, on Thursday night, said he agreed.

“I’m well-meaning, and I’m an elderly man and I know what the hell I’m doing,” Biden said. “I’ve been president. I put this country back on its feet. I don’t need his recommendation.”

Biden added: “My memory is fine.”

During his address, Biden also fired back at Special Counsel Robert Hur for suggesting he did not remember when his son Beau died.

“How dare he raise that?” Biden said. “Frankly, when I was asked a question, I thought to myself, what’s that any of your damn business?”

“Let me tell you something…I swear, since the day he died, every single day…I wear the rosary he got from Our Lady—” Biden stopped, seemingly forgetting where the rosary was from.

Biden became visibly emotional, and declared: “I don’t need anyone—I don’t need anyone to remind me when he passed away or passed away.” 

Moments later, though, Biden transitioned to discuss the conflict in the Middle East. Biden referred to Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, the president of Egypt, as “the president of Mexico.”

But the president took a barrage of questions from the White House press corps, with some shouting and pressing him on whether he is fit to run for re-election. 

SPECIAL COUNSEL CALLS BIDEN ‘SYMPATHETIC, WELL-MEANING, ELDERLY MAN WITH A POOR MEMORY,’ BRINGS NO CHARGES

“I’m the most qualified person in this country to be president of the United States,” Biden said, adding that he has to “finish the job I started.” 

Meanwhile, Hur, in the report, said Biden, during his interview with the special counsel’s team, could not remember key details, such as when he was vice president. 

“In his interview with our office, Mr. Biden’s memory was worse,” the report states. “He did not remember when he was vice president, forgetting on the first day of the interview when his term ended (‘if it was 2013 — when did I stop being Vice President?’), and forgetting on the second day of the interview when his term began (‘in 2009, am I still Vice President?’).”

“He did not remember, even within several years, when his son Beau died,” the report continued. “And his memory appeared hazy when describing the Afghanistan debate that was once so important to him. Among other things, he mistakenly said he ‘had a real difference’ of opinion with General Karl Eikenberry, when, in fact, Eikenberry was an ally whom Mr. Biden cited approvingly in his Thanksgiving memo to President Obama.”

“In a case where the government must prove that Mr. Biden knew he had possession of the classified Afghanistan documents after the vice presidency and chose to keep those documents, knowing he was violating the law, we expect that at trial, his attorneys would emphasize these limitations in his recall,” the report said.

As for Biden’s memory, prior to the release of the report, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre on Thursday defended Biden when asked about a gaffe in which the president said he spoke in 2021 with German Chancellor Helmut Kohl — who actually died four years earlier — arguing that misspeaking “happens to all of us, and it is common.” 

That gaffe was similar to the one Biden made on Sunday when he claimed he spoke with François Mitterrand, a French president who died in 1996, at the same G7 meeting.

But Hur also said his investigation “uncovered evidence that President Biden willfully retained and disclosed classified materials after his vice presidency when he was a private citizen.”

TRUMP DEMANDS DOJ ‘IMMEDIATELY’ DROP CHARGES AGAINST HIM IN CLASSIFIED DOCS CASE AFTER BIDEN DECISION

The materials included “marked classified documents about military and foreign policy in Afghanistan, and notebooks containing Mr. Biden’s handwritten entries about issues of national security and foreign policy implicating sensitive intelligence sources and methods.” 

Hur said FBI agents recovered the materials from “the garages, offices, and basement den in Mr. Biden’s Wilmington, Delaware home.”

But Biden fired back, citing sections in the report that stated he did not willfully retain the documents. Biden also said he was “especially pleased to see special counsel make clear the stark distinction in difference between this case and Mr. Trump’s case,” saying he cooperated and sat for a five hour-long interview. 

Trump, on the other hand, was charged out of Special Counsel Jack Smith’s investigation related to his retention of classified materials. Trump pleaded not guilty to all 37 felony charges out of Smith’s probe. The charges include willful retention of national defense information, conspiracy to obstruct justice and false statements.

Trump, the 2024 GOP front-runner, was then charged with an additional three counts as part of a superseding indictment out of Smith’s investigation — an additional count of willful retention of national defense information and two additional obstruction counts. Trump pleaded not guilty.

NO CHARGES FOR BIDEN AFTER SPECIAL COUNSEL PROBE INTO IMPROPER HANDLING OF CLASSIFIED DOCUMENTS

That trial is set to begin on May 20. 

“They should immediately drop the case against me,” Trump told Fox News Digital on Thursday. “I am covered by the Presidential Records Act — he wasn’t. He had many, many times more documents — totally unguarded. Mine were always surrounded by Secret Service and in locked rooms.” 

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“Deranged Jack Smith should drop the case immediately against us.” 

Trump added: “It is election interference…. I did absolutely nothing wrong.” 

Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley is reiterating her calls for President Biden to take a mental competency test, in the wake of a special counsel report that described the 81-year-old president’s memory as “hazy,” “fuzzy,” and “poor”

Haley, the last remaining major rival to former President Donald Trump in the race for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination, said in a statement Thursday that, “Joe Biden should take a mental competency test immediately, and it should be shared with the public.”

The former two-term South Carolina governor who later served as ambassador to the United Nations in the Trump administration, put out her statement after Special Counsel Robert Hur announced he wouldn’t prosecute Biden, despite finding that the president “willfully” retained classified information, posing “serious risks to national security.”

BIDEN LAYS BLAME FOR NOT BEING ABLE TO REMEMBER BASIC FACTS 

But Hur’s report was loaded with potentially more damaging material, as it noted that Biden couldn’t recall major milestones in his own life.

“He did not remember when he was vice president, forgetting on the first day of the interview when his term ended (‘if it was 2013 — when did I stop being Vice President?’), and forgetting on the second day of the interview when his term began (‘in 2009, am I still Vice President?’),” the report stated. “He did not remember, even within several years, when his son Beau died.”

NO CHARGES FOR BIDEN AFTER SPECIAL COUNSEL PROBE INTO IMPROPER HANDLING OF CLASSIFIED DOCUMENTS

Republicans for a couple of years have repeatedly questioned Biden’s mental competency, with those political attacks increasing since the president launched his re-election campaign for a second four-year term in the White House.

“Joe Biden can’t remember major events in his life, like when he was vice president or when his son died,” Haley emphasized in her statement. “That is sad, but it will be even sadder if we have a person in the White House who is not mentally up to the most important job in the world.”

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As she launched her presidential campaign a year ago, Haley called for mandatory mental competency tests for politicians over 75 years of age.

Such tests would include both Biden and the 77-year-old Trump. And Haley and her campaign in recent weeks have spotlighted a number of verbal gaffes made by the former president.

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

Democratic presidential candidate Dean Phillips reacted to the release of Special Counsel Robert Hur’s report related to President Biden’s handling of classified documents by saying that it “affirms” his belief that Biden is not fit to be president.

“It’s another sad day for America and particularly for President Biden and his family,” Phillips told Fox News Digital. “While President Biden ‘willfully retained and disclosed classified materials’ the Special Counsel elected not to prosecute him because a jury would likely not convict a ‘well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory.'”

Phillips continued, “The Report simply affirms what most Americans already know, that the President cannot continue to serve as our Commander-in-Chief beyond his term ending January 20, 2025. Already facing the lowest approval numbers in modern history and losing in each of the key battleground states, this Report has all but handed the 2024 election to Donald Trump if Joe Biden is the Democratic nominee – and I invite fellow Democrats to face the truth.”

Hur announced on Thursday he will not recommend criminal charges against President Biden for mishandling classified documents, according to his report after a months-long investigation into the president’s alleged improper retention of classified records. 

BIDEN CONSIDERED RESIGNING VICE PRESIDENCY ‘IN PROTEST’ OVER OBAMA’S AFGHANISTAN POLICY: HUR REPORT

Although the report stated that the special counsel “uncovered evidence that President Biden willfully retained and disclosed classified materials after his vice presidency when he was a private citizen”, the report said it would be “difficult” to secure a conviction based on Biden’s mental state. 

“We have also considered that, at trial, Mr. Biden would likely present himself to a jury, as he did during our interview of him, as a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory,” Hur wrote in the report. “Based on our direct interactions with and observations of him, he is someone from whom many jurors will want to identify reasonable doubt. It would be difficult to convince a jury that they should convict him—by then a former president well into his eighties—of a serious felony that requires a mental state of willfulness.”

BIDEN, WHITE HOUSE BLAME ISRAEL WAR FOR FORGETTING BASIC FACTS DURING SPECIAL COUNSEL INTERVIEWS

The report also outlined instances where Biden had a difficult time remembering key details and events including when he served as vice-president and the exact date his son, Beau, died. 

Several Republican lawmakers agreed with Rep. Phillips and concluded that the report is an example of Biden not having the mental fortitude to be president at 81 years of age.

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“New Biden defense for otherwise criminal conduct: he’s an old man incapable of remembering who he is, where he is, or what he’s done,” GOP Sen. Josh Hawley posted on X.

“Biden doesn’t remember his time as VP?,” Hawley wrote in another post. “But somehow he’s qualified to be President for another 4 years?”

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital. 

“Bottom line is, a special counsel in my case decided against moving forward any charges, and this matter is now closed,” Biden said on Thursday after the report was released. “I’ll continue to do what I’ve always done — stay focused on my job like you do, of my job of being president.”

Fox News Digital’s Brooke Singman contributed to this report
 

Democrats and Republicans alike caved to election year politics and refused to compromise on the recently revealed and defeated bipartisan border security bill, said a Texas border mayor who believed the failed legislation would “stop the bleeding.”

“I think either party, their actions are because it’s an election year,” McAllen Mayor Javier Villalobos told Fox News. “The American people, our Border Patrol, they’re exhausted. They’re tired of this.”

WATCH MORE FOX NEWS DIGITAL ORIGINALS HERE 

Lawmakers are “just kicking the ball and trying to do whatever they can, but for the purposes of politics, not for the purpose of benefiting the American people,” he added. 

A long-awaited bipartisan border security deal aimed at stemming the historic flow of migrants crossing the southern border was released Sunday night, but quickly faced fierce opposition from Republicans in both chambers. The deal collapsed, however, after a key vote on the bill failed 49-50, with all but four Republicans opposing.

IMMIGRATION HAWKS WARN CONGRESS THAT SENATE DEAL WILL HANDCUFF FUTURE ADMINISTRATIONS ON SECURING BORDER

President Biden, whose administration has overseen record numbers of migrant encounters at the southern border, blamed former President Trump for sabotaging the bill and threatening lawmakers with retribution if they backed the legislation. Trump, for his part, used his influence over Republicans up for re-election to urge them to reject the border deal. 

HOUSE MEMBER SAYS ‘EULOGY HAS ALREADY BEEN READ’ ON BORDER BILL AS BIDEN BLAMES TRUMP FOR STALEMATE

But Villalobos blamed both men for failing to enact real change alongside lawmakers.

‘HE’S DELUSIONAL’: BIDEN’S BORDER COMMENTS SPARK STIFF REBUKE ON CAPITOL HILL FROM SOME LAWMAKERS

“I don’t trust many people at all anymore,” Villalobos said. “At the time that President Trump was there, [Republicans] had the majority and nothing occurred. Now you have Biden. Nothing is occurring until very close to the election.”

Among Republicans’ many criticisms of the $118 billion spending package, House GOP leaders said the bill incentivized more illegal immigration and didn’t include aggressive enough measures to secure the border. House Speaker Mike Johnson repeatedly called the bill “dead on arrival” after the Senate bill was released. 

CONGRESSIONAL LAWMAKERS ACROSS THE AISLE REACT TO NEWLY-RELEASED BORDER DEAL:

The bill provided $20 billion for immigration enforcement, including hiring Border Patrol agents and officers to evaluate asylum claims, along with $650 million for border wall construction and reinforcement. It also gave Biden and the Department of Homeland Security authority to close the border if migrant encounters hit 5,000 over a seven-day average or 8,500 in one day. 

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“We finally had a bill that at least would kind of stop the bleeding,” Villalobos said. “But unfortunately … nothing’s going to happen because of the election.”

“Take care of the American people first and set politics aside,” Villalobos added. “We know we have issues. Let’s take care of them. Probably after this next election we can solve it.”

Ramiro Vargas contributed to the accompanying video.

Republicans are claiming President Biden is unfit for office and that his Department of Justice is operating on a double standard over a new report on his handling of classified documents. 

Republicans slammed the report by Special Counsel Robert Hur, released on Thursday, which “uncovered evidence that President Biden willfully retained and disclosed classified materials after his vice presidency when he was a private citizen.” 

GOP lawmakers seized on Hur’s descriptions of Biden’s fragility and advanced age, including an instance when he had trouble recalling the year of his son’s death, as well as Hur’s decision not to charge Biden.

“Special Counsel Hur said Biden is a ‘well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory.’ His present mental and physical condition should preclude him from being the President of the United States,” Rep. Greg Murphy, R-N.C., wrote on X.

SPECIAL COUNSEL CALLS BIDEN ‘SYMPATHETIC, WELL-MEANING, ELDERLY MAN WITH A POOR MEMORY,’ BRINGS NO CHARGES

House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, accused the federal government of operating on a double-standard of justice over Biden’s lack of recommended charges.

“Today’s report from Robert Hur tells us two things: There’s a double standard of justice in this country. And Joe Biden isn’t fit for office,” Jordan said.

Rep. Lance Gooden, R-Texas, similarly wrote on X, “The Special Counsel found Biden had ‘uncovered evidence that Biden willfully retained and disclosed classified materials after he was VP when he was a private citizen.’ But will not charge him! The deep state protects their own.”

Meanwhile, Biden ally Rep. Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, pointed out the distinction that Special Counsel Robert Hur made between the parallel investigations into Biden and former President Donald Trump’s handling of classified documents.

“MAGA Republicans will no doubt now call to investigate the investigators—it’s their favorite move—but the Hur report effectively ends the discussion. President Biden cooperated fully with the Special Counsel and redacted no portion of the Special Counsel’s report. Unlike Trump, President Biden has nothing to hide,” Nadler said. “If Trump had cooperated with the Department of Justice—instead of lying to investigators, again and again—he might have avoided at least some of the 91 criminal charges currently pending against him.”

NO CHARGES FOR BIDEN AFTER SPECIAL COUNSEL PROBE INTO IMPROPER HANDLING OF CLASSIFIED DOCUMENTS

Republican Senators quickly blasted the DOJ for the purported double standard between Biden’s special counsel ruling compared to special counsel Jack Smith’s probe into President Donald Trump. Trump pleaded not guilty to all 37 felony charges out of Smith’s probe.

“The special counsel report confirms that Biden ‘willfully retained and disclosed classified materials’ for years before he entered the White House,” Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., posted to X on Thursday. “Meanwhile, Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home was raided by the FBI and he’s facing a weaponized DOJ. A clear two-tiered system of justice.”

Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., told Fox News Digital in an interview Thursday that the report “is gonna really fuel concerns that there’s two tiers of justice.”

“Joe Biden literally had classified documents in an unlocked garage that Hunter Biden, who’s probably compromised, was living in,” he said. “So I think that, you know, without getting the specific facts of the case that certainly I think the public would tell that you’ve got two tiers of justice here, which is very concerning.”

COMER DEMANDS ANSWERS ON WHETHER BIDEN CLASSIFIED RECORDS MENTION COUNTRIES RELATED TO FAMILY BUSINESS DEALS

Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., wrote on X: “President Biden mishandled classified documents for years, storing them in the garage of his Delaware home, and yet, no charges are expected. Tennesseans and Americans are fed up with the two tiers of justice that has become the status quo of this administration.”

In response to a section of the Hur report which described Biden’s memory “to have significant limitations,” including his time in office as Vice President in the Obama administration, Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., said “Biden doesn’t remember his time as VP? But somehow he’s qualified to be President for another 4 years?”

The National Senatorial Republican Committee, the upper chamber’s prominent campaign fundraising group, said: “Joe Biden is unfit to be president.”

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Hur had decided not to charge Biden despite finding he “willfully retained and disclosed classified materials.” In his report, Hur, who was not in charge of Trump’s classified documents case, wrote of the former president: “Most notably, after being given multiple chances to return classified documents and avoid prosecution, Mr. Trump allegedly did the opposite.”

EXCLUSIVE: Former President Trump told Fox News Digital that “deranged” Special Counsel Jack Smith needs to “immediately” drop all charges against him in his classified records case following the decision not to bring charges against President Biden for his retention of sensitive national security documents.

Trump spoke exclusively to Fox News Digital after Special Counsel Robert Hur’s report was made public. Hur did not recommend criminal charges against Biden for mishandling and retaining classified documents — and stated that he wouldn’t bring charges against Biden even if he were not in the Oval Office. 

Those records included classified documents about military and foreign policy in Afghanistan, among other records related to national security and foreign policy which Hur said implicated “sensitive intelligence sources and methods.” 

NO CHARGES FOR BIDEN AFTER SPECIAL COUNSEL PROBE INTO IMPROPER HANDLING OF CLASSIFIED DOCUMENTS

Trump, on the other hand, was charged out of Special Counsel Jack Smith’s investigation related to his retention of classified materials. Trump pleaded not guilty to all 37 felony charges out of Smith’s probe. The charges include willful retention of national defense information, conspiracy to obstruct justice and false statements.

Trump, the 2024 GOP front-runner, was then charged with an additional three counts as part of a superseding indictment out of Smith’s investigation — an additional count of willful retention of national defense information and two additional obstruction counts. Trump pleaded not guilty.

That trial is set to begin on May 20, 2024. 

“They should immediately drop the case against me,” Trump told Fox News Digital. “I am covered by the Presidential Records Act — he wasn’t. He had many, many times more documents — totally unguarded. Mine were always surrounded by Secret Service and in locked rooms.” 

Hur, in his report, revealed damning photos of classified national security documents stored unsecurely in Biden’s garage, basement and offices at his Wilmington, Delaware, home. 

Trump said Biden’s case is “100 times more severe.”

Hur, in his report, described Biden as “a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory.” 

When asked about that description, Trump told Fox News Digital that Biden does “have a poor memory,” but that “he had to have a poor memory in order to get out of this mess.” 

“This is 100 times more severe. This is two standards of justice and it has to end in our country,” Trump told Fox News Digital. “Deranged Jack Smith should drop the case immediately against us.” 

Trump added: “It is election interference…. I did absolutely nothing wrong.” 

Trump’s Mar-a-Lago property in Palm Beach, Florida, was raided by the FBI in August 2022. Federal agents seized documents and records dating back to Trump’s presidency. 

Garland, on Nov. 18, 2022, appointed Smith to serve as special counsel to investigate whether Trump was improperly retaining classified records at Mar-a-Lago.

When Smith was appointed to investigate Trump, Garland and top DOJ officials were simultaneously conducting an internal review of President Biden’s mishandling of classified records. That review, and the discovery of classified records at Biden’s office, was not disclosed to the public until January.

Republicans and allies of former President Trump were outraged, blasting the Justice Department for a double standard. 

Special Counsel Robert Hur will not recommend criminal charges against President Biden for mishandling classified documents, according to his report after a months-long investigation into the president’s alleged improper retention of classified records. 

Hur has been investigating Biden’s improper retention of classified records since last year. Those records included classified documents about military and foreign policy in Afghanistan, among other records related to national security and foreign policy which Hur said implicated “sensitive intelligence sources and methods.” 

“We conclude that no criminal charges are warranted in this matter,” the report states. “We would reach the same conclusion even if the Department of Justice policy did not foreclose criminal charges against a sitting president.”

The special counsel also described Biden as “a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory.” 

“We have also considered that, at trial, Mr. Biden would likely present himself to a jury, as he did during our interview of him, as a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory,” Hur wrote in the report. “Based on our direct interactions with and observations of him, he is someone from whom many jurors will want to identify reasonable doubt. It would be difficult to convince a jury that they should convict him—by then a former president well into his eighties—of a serious felony that requires a mental state of willfulness.”

GARLAND SAYS SPECIAL COUNSEL PROBING BIDEN CLASSIFIED RECORDS HAS SUBMITTED REPORT, UNDER WHITE HOUSE REVIEW

But Hur said his investigation “uncovered evidence that President Biden willfully retained and disclosed classified materials after his vice presidency when he was a private citizen.”

The materials included “marked classified documents about military and foreign policy in Afghanistan, and notebooks containing Mr. Biden’s handwritten entries about issues of national security and foreign policy implicating sensitive intelligence sources and methods.” 

Hur said FBI agents recovered the materials from “the garages, offices, and basement den in Mr. Biden’s Wilimington, Delaware home.” 

But Hur said that the evidence “does not establish Mr. Biden’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.” :

“Prosecution of Mr. Biden is also unwarranted based on our consideration of the aggravating and mitigating factors set forth in the Department of Justice’s Principles of Federal Prosecution,” the report states. “For these reasons, we decline prosecution of Mr. Biden.”

The White House was given the opportunity to review the report for privilege after Hur initially submitted his report on Feb. 5, and did not seek any redaction to the report. The report was transmitted to Congress Thursday afternoon. 

Damning photos were included in the report — photos that the Biden campaign reportedly feared could have a negative impact on his 2024 re-election bid. 

Classified records were first found inside the Washington, D.C., offices of the Penn Biden Center think tank on Nov. 2, 2022, but only disclosed to the public in early January 2023.

BIDEN CAMP REPORTEDLY FEARS PHOTOS FROM SPECIAL COUNSEL CLASSIFIED DOCS PROBE COULD DEVASTATE REELECTION BID

A second stash of classified documents was also found inside the garage of the president’s home in Wilmington in December, but revealed to the public earlier this month, prompting Attorney General Merrick Garland to appoint former U.S. Attorney Rob Hur to serve as special counsel.

Days later, additional classified documents were found in the president’s home in Delaware. The FBI conducted a more than 12-hour search of Biden’s Delaware home Friday, seizing additional classified records.

Biden has defended the storing of classified documents in the past.

“By the way, my Corvette is in a locked garage, so it’s not like they’re sitting out on the street,” he once said.

But Garland, on Nov. 18, 2022, appointed former DOJ official Jack Smith to serve as special counsel to investigate whether Trump was improperly retaining classified records at Mar-a-Lago.

When Smith was appointed to investigate Trump, Garland and top DOJ officials were simultaneously conducting an internal review of President Biden’s mishandling of classified records. That review, and the discovery of classified records at Biden’s office, was not disclosed to the public until January.

BIDEN INTERVIEWED BY SPECIAL COUNSEL ABOUT CLASSIFIED DOCUMENTS

Republicans and allies of former President Trump were outraged, blasting the Justice Department for a double standard.

Trump pleaded not guilty to all 37 felony charges out of Smith’s probe. The charges include willful retention of national defense information, conspiracy to obstruct justice and false statements.

Trump, the 2024 GOP front-runner, was then charged with an additional three counts as part of a superseding indictment out of Smith’s investigation – an additional count of willful retention of national defense information and two additional obstruction counts. Trump pleaded not guilty.

That trial is set to begin on May 20, 2024. 

Biden’s aides told Axios earlier this week that they are fearful former President Trump’s campaign could use the photos against the Democrat incumbent ahead of their likely 2024 rematch.

COMER DEMANDS ANSWERS ON WHETHER BIDEN CLASSIFIED RECORDS MENTION COUNTRIES RELATED TO FAMILY BUSINESS DEALS

Anthony Coley, a former senior adviser to Garland, accused the Biden team of slow-walking discovery in the president’s classified records case, versus the handling of the Trump probe.

“Against the backdrop of former President Trump’s indictment on charges of willful and deliberate retention of classified documents, the Biden team’s drip, drip, drip of information made the discoveries seem even worse,” he wrote in an op-ed.

Before Hur’s findings were released, reports suggested the Biden campaign was concerned about potentially embarrassing photos included in Hur’s expected report that could be released as soon as this week.

The campaign was concerned that the images would show how Biden stored classified materials. The classified documents were carried over from Biden’s time as former President Obama’s vice president.

Hur interviewed Biden at the White House – an interview that lasted two days. The White House said the president’s interview with Hur was “voluntary.”

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Last year, House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, who is co-leading the impeachment inquiry against President Biden, began investigating whether the sensitive, classified documents Biden retained involved specific countries or individuals that had financial dealings with Biden family members or their related companies. 

Comer questioned why Biden would have kept certain classified materials and asked Hur to provide his committee with a list of the countries named in any documents with classification markings recovered from Penn Biden Center, Biden’s residence, including the garage, in Wilmington, Delaware, or elsewhere; and a list of all individuals named in those documents with classification markings; and all documents found with classified markings.

It is unclear if Hur cooperated with Comer’s request. 

Fox News’ David Spunt and Jake Gibson contributed to this report. 

Rep. Cory Mills, R-Fla., is introducing a new bill that would stop taxpayer dollars from funding state or local offices where unlawful or unethical activities are taking place.

The new legislation is called the Against Federal Funds for Allowing Inappropriate Relationships Act, or AFFAIR Act, a swipe at Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, who is facing allegations of an inappapropriate relationship with a prosecutor she hired.

Mills’ bill, which was first shared with the Washington Examiner, aims to prohibit federal funding to the office of “any state or local chief prosecutor if any individual in such office has been convicted for engaging in corruption or any other unlawful activity.”

Mills called out Willis in a statement to the news outlet over her alleged inappropriate romantic relationship with special prosecutor Nathan Wade, whom she hired to assist her investigation into former President Trump over charges related to pressuring Georgia officials to overturn his 2020 election loss.  

MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE HITS TRUMP DA FANI WILLIS WITH ETHICS COMPLAINT

“Not only was Fani Willis’ relationship with Nathan Wade extremely inappropriate and creates concerns around a conflict of interest, but it also potentially shows violations of bias against political opposition, and lawfare for election interference,” Mills said in the statement. “Under no circumstance should federal funds be sent to a state or local office if there is unlawful and unethical activity taking place.”

“I’m proud to introduce the AFFAIR Act to ensure American taxpayer dollars will not be misappropriated or weaponized due to unlawful and unethical activities,” the statement continued. 

EMBATTLED DA FANI WILLIS FACES 4TH ACCUSATION TO DISQUALIFY HER FROM THE TRUMP CASE

Republicans have suggested that Willis was hiding her relationship with Wade and going on lavish vacations paid for with the money Wade earned working the case.

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On Friday, Willis admitted to having a “personal relationship” with Wade in court documents, but she denied any impropriety or reason to step aside from the Trump case.

Fox News’ Elizabeth Elkind and Brianna Herlihy contributed to this report.

A Republican Party civil war nearly broke out over the Montana Senate race before House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., decided to step back from the GOP primary there, Fox News Digital has learned.

Three sources told Fox News Digital that Johnson planned to endorse Rep. Matt Rosendale, R-Mont., for Senate but reversed course after blowback from fellow Republicans.

“Johnson planned to endorse Rosendale, but after receiving extreme blowback from Trump allies on the Hill, he decided to withdraw and not do it,” the source said. “He told at least one senator, at least one congressman…that he was no longer planning to endorse after the blowback.”

A second source indicated that those two lawmakers were Rep. Ryan Zinke, R-Mont., and Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont. 

Zinke told Fox News Digital, “I can confirm that upon further reflection, the speaker is not endorsing Rosendale for Senate. I am confident that his decision was based on the reality that Rosendale is the weaker candidate by far against [Democratic Sen. Jon Tester].”

JOHNSON CAUGHT BETWEEN WARRING HOUSE GOP FACTIONS: ‘DRIFTING TOWARD MOB RULE’

Daines chairs the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC), the Senate GOP’s campaign arm tasked with retaking the majority in the November elections. That includes a pickup opportunity that Republicans see in unseating Daines’ fellow Montanan, Tester.

Both he and Zinke have backed former Navy SEAL Tim Sheehy, who has also been endorsed by Montana’s governor and other top GOP officials. 

Rosendale, a member of the ultra-conservative House Freedom Caucus, has not entered the race but is expected to do so.

SCHUMER-ALIGNED GROUP THAT MEDDLED IN GOP PRIMARY HIT WITH COMPLAINT ALLEGING FEC VIOLATIONS

The second source said Zinke and Daines were “p—ed” about Johnson’s intention to endorse Rosendale, which was first reported by Punchbowl. That source also said it was Rosendale who reached out to the speaker to ask for his backing.

A third source, who is familiar with Zinke’s thinking, told Fox News Digital, “The speaker called Zinke last night. It was a good conversation. Zinke supports the speaker’s decision to not get involved.”

The endorsement would have been an unusual step for Johnson, who has publicly tried to downplay the appearance of intraparty division since taking the speaker’s gavel in October.

Johnson’s campaign told Fox News Digital, “The Speaker has committed to sending a contribution to Congressman Rosendale, as he has for other House colleagues and friends, but he has not made any endorsements in Senate races. He is singularly focused on growing the House majority.”

GOP CANDIDATE COMPARED DEPORTING ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS TO NAZIS, ‘NOT OPPOSED’ TO FAST-TRACKING DACA CITIZENSHIP

Montana is seen as critical to the GOP’s chances of retaking the Senate next year. Tester, who has been in office since 2007, has survived several close races in an increasingly red state.

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Former President Trump won the state by roughly 16% over President Biden in 2020. He has not endorsed anyone in the Montana Senate race.

Fox News Digital reached out to Rosendale’s campaign but did not immediately hear back. A spokesperson for Daines’ Senate office referred Fox News Digital to the NRSC. 

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., is hitting Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis with an ethics complaint on Thursday morning, accusing the Georgia official of misusing public funds and lying about it.

Greene, a top ally of former President Trump, accused Willis of flaunting public disclosure rules and suggested that she was doing so in order to hide her relationship with special prosecutor Nathan Wade.

Willis hired Wade to assist her investigation into the former president over charges related to pressuring Georgia officials to overturn his 2020 election loss. 

TRUMP PROSECUTOR FANI WILLIS’ WHITE HOUSE MEETINGS WARRANT ‘VERY DEEP INVESTIGATION,’ EX-PROSECUTOR SAYS

Greene’s four-page complaint to the State Ethics Commission accused Willis of having “allegedly paid her secret boyfriend a significantly higher hourly rate than another one of her special prosecutors who actually has significant RICO experience.”

She said Wade took an income of nearly $700,000 and used it for the pair to go on “a luxury Caribbean cruise, a trip to Napa, and other lavish trips.”

Greene argued that Willis, as a public official, is required by state law to regularly disclose her finances. She accused Willis of not doing so in 2019, 2021 and 2022. Willis’ 2020 filing is public, however.

FANI WILLIS, WHO ‘RELISHED IN’ DONALD TRUMP PROSECUTION, SHOULD BE REMOVED FROM CASE FOR ILLICIT AFFAIR: EXPERTS

“This pattern of behavior suggests that Fani Willis’ repeated failure to file such disclosures is intentional, or at least a wanton disregard for her duties and the law,” the congresswoman wrote. “On information and belief, Fani Willis received compensation for travel from her secret boyfriend and special prosecutor, Nathan Wade, to vacation on a luxury Caribbean cruise and a visit to Napa Valley.”

Greene continued, “These disclosures would have allowed the public to discover her inappropriate relationship with her secret boyfriend and special prosecutor Nathan Wade, which has illegally tainted her already spurious prosecution against former President Trump and 18 co-defendants.”

Willis had admitted to having a “personal relationship” with Wade in court documents earlier this month, but she denied any impropriety or reason to step aside from the Trump case.

GEORGIA DA FANI WILLIS’ ALLEGED LOVER ASKS FOR PROTECTIVE ORDER IN DIVORCE CASE

Willis claimed that while she and Wade “have been professional associates and friends since 2019,” “there was no personal relationship” between her and Wade in November 2021, at the time of Wade’s appointment.

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She also argued in court documents that Michael Roman, one of Trump’s 18 co-defendants who made the accusations of impropriety, and his lawyers “offer no support for their insistence that the exercise of any prosecutorial discretion (i.e., any charging decision or plea recommendation) in this case was impacted by any personal relationship.”

Fox News Digital reached out to the Fulton County government for comment on Greene’s ethics complaint.

It comes after Greene filed an ethics complaint against Wade last month.

Former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley dropped a parody video reading “mean tweets” posted online about her campaign, including messages from GOP opponent former President Donald Trump.

In a parody video, similar to that of the popular “Celebrities Read Mean Tweets” late night segment, Haley attempts to quash online hate by reading it aloud.

From “everybody hates you” to “I’m genuinely terrified of Nikki Haley,” a video obtained by Fox News Digital shows the former South Carolina Governor laughing off negative messages she receives online.

Haley then took the opportunity to read messages out loud from her Republican opponent, whom she has exchanged fire with online throughout her campaign.

HALEY SAYS ‘WE DIDN’T EVEN COUNT’ NEVADA AFTER LOSING PRIMARY WITHOUT TRUMP ON BALLOT: CALLS CAUCUS ‘RIGGED’

“Nikki Birdbrain Haley is losing big in the polls against Crooked Joe,” the post from Trump read, to which Haley responded “Where? I haven’t seen it.”

TRUMP CHALLENGES BIDEN TO A DEBATE ‘IMMEDIATELY’ AHEAD OF NOVEMBER

Another online message from Trump claimed Haley is “weak” on the border issue, to which she asked “why did you let 3 million illegals come into the country under your watch?”

Haley’s campaign said that the Republican candidate is silencing out the haters because “Americans are tired of the endless chaos and division.”

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“Politics isn’t personal for Nikki Haley like it is for Donald Trump. While Trump and his allies are obsessed with vengeance and name-calling, Nikki knows Americans are tired of the endless chaos and division,” Olivia Perez-Cubas, Haley national spokesperson, wrote in a press release shared with Fox News Digital. “Nikki’s not focused on petty grievances. She’s focused on making this country normal again – and she’s having fun along the way.”

Fox News Digital reached out to the Trump campaign.

Sen. Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., found himself in the spotlight this week as Republicans buzzed against his handling of the much-anticipated border bill appended to the national security supplemental package that included aid for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan.

The bill was defeated in a 50-49 vote and needed 60 votes to pass.

McConnell, once an optimistic proponent of the border deal negotiated between senators James Lankford, R-Okla, Krysten Sinema, I-Ariz., and Chris Murphy, D-Conn., and Biden officials, reversed course and announced the bill had no path forward after most of the GOP caucus argued the legislation was “hardly” a border security bill at all. 

The leader took the brunt of the blame this week for the doomed bill, which was endorsed by the Border Patrol union, but appeared unfazed by critics like senators Rick Scott, R-Fla., JD Vance, R-Ohio, Mike Lee, R-Utah, Ted Cruz, R-Texas and others who railed against McConnell’s handling of the controversial aid package Tuesday afternoon. 

SENATE TANKS IMMIGRATION, FOREIGN AID SPENDING PACKAGE AFTER GOP BACKLASH AGAINST BORDER PROVISIONS

“Mitch McConnell is good at taking the heat,” one Senate aide told Fox News Digital in response to the criticism. 

Cruz, one of 10 GOP senators who voted against McConnell’s re-election as Senate minority leader in 2022, went as far as calling for McConnell to step down. 

After tanking the combined border and foreign aid bill, the Senate voted Wednesday night to begin work on a “clean” supplemental package with standalone aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, priced at $95 billion. Senators will reconvene Thursday at noon for another procedural vote on the national security package without the border security provisions.

Republicans are vowing to add what they call “real” border provisions to the package before they agree to aide for Ukraine, one senator told Fox News Digital Wednesday. 

SENATE RELEASES LONG-AWAITED BORDER LEGISLATION, MAJOR ASYLUM CHANGES

Meanwhile, McConnell, one of the Senate’s most supportive lawmakers of continued aid to the Eastern European nation, has been urging Congress to pass the supplemental since funding for Ukraine ran out last year. Hawkish GOP senators critical of funding Ukraine’s military have been divided on that issue, too. 

Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., told Fox News Digital in an interview Wednesday evening his frustrations with GOP leadership “started quite some time ago,” but the border negotiations were the nail in the coffin.

His frustrations intensified “specifically on this border bill, when we started entering secret negotiations,” Johnson said. Despite his discontent with McConnell’s handling of it, he mostly blamed President Biden for not using his authority to shut down the border, a point Senate Republicans have repeatedly argued this week. 

Biden has said he needs Congress to act first.  

“So, we can’t give up this fight,” Johnson added. “We can’t just say ‘Oh, sorry, Mitch’s strategy utterly failed. Let’s move on.’ No, that’s not acceptable.

“The discussion at lunch was to get enough Republicans to deny cloture on this, so that we can offer pretty simple measures that would actually force the president to secure the border to at least expose the fact that he has the power to do so — so that we don’t get blamed if he decides not to do so.”

IMMIGRATION HAWKS WARN CONGRESS THAT SENATE DEAL WILL HANDCUFF FUTURE ADMINISTRATIONS ON SECURING BORDER

Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., who called for McConnell to step down in September, also threw jabs at the leader on X Wednesday following the standalone supplemental package. 

“So let’s see, now McConnell & Co. want us to give Ukraine $8 BILLION to pay the salaries of government bureaucrats — in Ukraine! — with no real oversight or accountability,” Hawley wrote of the clean supplemental package released Wednesday.   

Lee also wrote on X, “The Law Firm Schumer & McConnell … has had a long, successful run at the game it plays—writing bills in secret, then ramming them through quickly, under artificial time constraints contrived by The Firm™️.”

“This time it didn’t work,” he wrote. “I hope it never works again.”

Republicans argued for the reinstatement of Trump-era policies, asserting that President Biden’s administration could address the border crisis with existing measures rather than requiring additional authority or legislation. Meanwhile, Democrats rejected the bill because they said it would have made it harder for migrants to receive asylum. Even if the bill did pass in the Senate, the GOP-led House considered it dead on arrival. 

McConnell has also worked closely with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., to maintain bipartisan lawmaking the last two years, and both have been calling for Republicans to act on Ukraine. GOP senators have quipped they want McConnell to “listen to his members.”

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“Republicans have to realize when they vote as a minority to drag us into this, the majority of the caucus doesn’t want it,” Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., told Fox News Digital in an interview this week. “It really adds to discord and strife and really makes many of us wonder about our leadership just dragging us into Democrat deals that are all the Democrats and a handful of Republicans. Just doesn’t seem like a very unifying way to run our caucus.”

In response, McConnell said he “followed the instructions of my conference who were insisting that we tackle this in October.” 

“I mean, it’s actually our side that wanted to tackle the border issue,” McConnell said this week.

McConnell said last year amid health complications he plans to complete his two-year term as leader and his full six-year term in office. 

Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla. – in a twist some colleagues wondered was a joke – said Wednesday that he endorses former Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., as Republican National Committee Chair. 

Gaetz, who spearheaded McCarthy’s ouster from the House Speaker position last October, backed McCarthy as a potential replacement for RNC Chair Ronna McDaniel amid reports she will step down. 

“I fully endorse Kevin McCarthy for RNC Chair. Kevin is well organized and a very high-revenue fundraiser. He will also be well-liked by the RNC Committee. The RNC Chair doesn’t make any policy decisions, set any agenda, or negotiate against Democrats, ever. Kevin would be terrific,” Gaetz wrote on Tuesday. 

He replied to The Calvin Coolidge Project, which cited sources in claiming McCarthy was being considered as a “dark horse candidate” to replace McDaniel due to his fundraising abilities.

REPUBLICAN VYING FOR MCCARTHY’S SEAT VOWS PLAN ON BORDER ‘CHAOS’ DRIVING EXODUS: ‘CALIFORNIA FOR CALIFORNIANS’

Asked by Politico about the post, Gaetz repeatedly told the outlet on Wednesday, “The tweet speaks for itself.” 

Earlier this week, former President Trump met with McDaniel at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida. After the meeting, Trump posted on his Truth Social that McDaniel was a “friend” but that he would be urging changes at the RNC after the South Carolina GOP presidential primary. 

“My initial thought was Matt sure knows how to troll,” Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., told Politico regarding Gaetz’ endorsement of McCarthy. “I thought it was tongue in cheek.”

“I noted a twinge of sarcasm in that comment,” Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., also remarked. 

Regardless of Gaetz’ intentions, other House Republicans from Florida agreed McCarthy’s record on fundraising would make him a great RNC Chair.

“That’s a tip of the hat to Gaetz to get somebody with new energy, new perspective and a proven track record of being just a massive fundraiser,” Rep. Aaron Bean, R-Fla., told Politico, acknowledging McCarthy’s fundraising support helped get him elected. “If you’re looking for somebody to build a majority, I think Kevin McCarthy would be the guy.”

TRUMP RECOMMENDS NORTH CAROLINA GOP CHAIR WHATLEY TO REPLACE MCDANIEL AT RNC: SOURCE

Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart, R-Fla., said McCarthy “did a heck of a job as Speaker.” 

“That’s fascinating,” Diaz-Balart added of Gaetz’ endorsement of McCarthy. “That is fascinating.”

If McDaniel does resign, her replacement would need approval from the 168 RNC committee members.

Two sources, though, told Fox News Digital that no decisions will formally be made at the RNC until after the Feb. 24 South Carolina primary. But those sources said McDaniel is also focused on ensuring the upcoming merger between the RNC and the campaign operation of the presumptive Republican presidential nominee goes smoothly.

McCarthy, who represented the same California district from 2007 until his resignation in 2023, was the first House speaker to be voted out of the position in U.S. history. He left Congress in late December, just two months after being booted from his House speakership position after Gaetz orchestrated the rare vote on the obscure “motion to vacate.” 

Though McCarthy maintained support from most Republicans in the House, eight GOP detractors ultimately ushered in his ouster in October, mainly taking issue with McCarthy for choosing to work with Democrats to temporarily delay a federal government shutdown. 

At the start of last year, Republicans held only a fragile margin in the chamber after a predicted “red wave” failed to materialize in the 2022 elections. 

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McCarthy endured a days-long floor fight in January 2023 that eventually resulted in his ascension to the House’s top job at a time when deep divisions within the GOP raised serious questions about the party’s ability to govern following Trump leaving office. 

Fox News’ Brooke Singman contributed to this report.

LAS VEGAS – He wasn’t on the ballot, but Donald Trump came up a winner in Nevada’s state-run Republican presidential primary.

On Thursday, the former president’s name will be listed in the Nevada GOP’s caucus, where he’s expected to land an outright victory.

Trump’s absence from the primary ballot wasn’t enough to provide a path to victory for Nikki Haley  – the former president’s last remaining major rival for the 2024 Republican nomination.

The former two-term South Carolina governor who later served as U.N. ambassador in the Trump administration lost on Tuesday to a “none of these candidates” option by a more than two-to-one margin in a primary where no GOP convention delegates were at stake.

HALEY CHARGES NEVADA GOP CAUCUS ‘RIGGED’ FOR TRUMP

Voters casting ballots in the primary couldn’t write in Trump’s name, but they could vote for “none of these candidates.” And Trump supporters Fox News interviewed outside of polling stations said that is how they voted.

While Trump, the commanding front-runner for the 2024 GOP nomination as he makes his third straight White House run, wasn’t on the primary ballot, he’ll be the only major candidate listed in Thursday’s caucus, where 26 delegates are up for grabs.

The confusion over having two competing contests dates to 2021, when Democrats, who at the time controlled both Nevada’s governor’s office and the legislature, passed a law changing the presidential nominating contest from long-held caucuses to a state-run primary. 

WHAT NIKKI HALEY TOLD FOX DIGITAL ABOUT WHAT SHE NEEDS TO DO TO KEEP RUNNING

The Nevada GOP objected, but last year their legal bid to stop the primary from going forward was rejected. In a twist, the judge in the case allowed the state Republicans to hold their own caucuses. No delegates will be at stake in the Republican primary, while all 26 will be up for grabs in the GOP caucus.

The state GOP ruled that candidates who put their name on the state-run primary ballot could not take part in the caucuses. 

Haley and some of the other now-departed Republican presidential candidates viewed the Nevada GOP as too loyal to Trump and decided to skip a caucus they believed was tipped in favor of the former president.

Nevada GOP chair Michael McDonald and both of the state’s members of the Republican National Committee are supporting Trump.

HALEY, TRUMP, TRADE SHOTS OVER WHO’S STRONGER AGAINST BIDEN

Haley on Wednesday charged that “Nevada – it’s such a scam. They were supposed to have a primary. Trump rigged it so the GOP chairman – who’s been indicted – would go and create a caucus.”

“We knew that it was rigged from the start,” Haley argued in an interview with Fox 11 Los Angeles while campaigning in southern California.

McDonald, responding, claimed that Haley “is not a real serious candidate.”

“The fact of the matter is she didn’t show up. She did not campaign in Nevada and neither did ‘none of the above’ and ‘none of the above’ won,” the Nevada GOP chair told Fox News Digital.

While the GOP presidential candidates had to choose either the caucus or primary ballot, registered Republicans in Nevada can vote in both contests.

Trump’s campaign has been working to get the message out to supporters in Nevada that if they want to vote for the former president, they need to show up at the caucuses.

HALEY APPLIES FOR SECRET SERVICE PROTECTION ON THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL

“Your primary vote doesn’t mean anything. It’s your caucus vote,” Trump said at a rally in Las Vegas late last month. “So in your state, you have both the primary and you have a caucus. Don’t worry about the primary, just do the caucus thing.”

Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo, who is supporting Trump, told the Nevada Independent last month that he would vote for “none of these candidates” in the primary, and would caucus for Trump in the state GOP’s contest on Thursday.

While her name was on the ballot, Haley ignored the Nevada primary.

Haley didn’t campaign in Nevada ahead of the primary and hasn’t been in the state since speaking in late October at the Republican Jewish Coalition’s annual leadership conference.

“We knew months ago that we weren’t going to spend a day or a dollar in Nevada, because it wasn’t worth it. And so we didn’t even count Nevada. That wasn’t anything we were looking at,” Haley emphasized on Wednesday.

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As the vote count continued on Tuesday night, the former president took to his Truth Social network to take aim at Haley.

“A bad night for Nikki Haley. Losing by almost 30 points in Nevada to “None of These Candidates.” Watch, she’ll soon claim Victory!” he argued.

Haley, looking ahead, reiterated that “our focus is on South Carolina, Michigan, Super Tuesday.”

South Carolina’s next up in the GOP presidential nominating calendar, with a primary on Feb. 24. Michigan holds its primary three days after the South Carolina. Fifteen states, including the behemoths of California and Texas, hold contests a week later, on Super Tuesday.

Haley’s two campaign stops on Wednesday in California were her first to date in any of the Super Tuesday states. And the swing to the Golden State appears in part to be a marker for Haley as she pushes back against calls by some Republicans to drop out of the race and give up her uphill climb for the nomination. 

The trip also included a series of fundraisers. And as Fox News Digital first reported on Wednesday, Haley hauled in $1.7 million in fundraising during her two days in California.

Trump, meanwhile, is scheduled back in Las Vegas on Thursday, for a caucus celebration.

This week’s contests are just an appetizer for Nevada, which as a key general election battleground state will see plenty of campaign traffic this summer and autumn.

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

FIRST ON FOX: A coalition of 22 Republican state attorneys general are warning President Biden that his recent moratorium on liquefied natural gas (LNG) export projects is unlawful.

The top state officials, led by Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach, penned a letter to Biden and Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm, listing a series of federal statutes the administration’s recent actions allegedly violate and urging the pair to immediately reverse course. The AGs further argued that the policy pausing LNG exports would harm national security and have negative economic impacts.

“Instead of addressing America’s real energy challenges, your administration has decided to double down on a reckless environmental agenda through this TikTok-inspired ‘pause,’” they wrote in the letter. “But this surprise freeze is (1) unlawful, (2) harmful to our economy, and (3) detrimental to our national security.  It emboldens and empowers Iran and Russia, while further hampering our ability to protect ourselves.”

“Although your administration has put this country in a difficult situation through this LNG ‘pause,’ you still have time to change course. Your administration does not have to recklessly continue down an unlawful path that harms our economic and national security interests,” Kobach and the other attorney general continued. “You can and must reverse course by immediately ending this ‘pause.'”

TIKTOK ACTIVIST SAYS HE ADVISED WHITE HOUSE ON BIDEN’S NEW NATURAL GAS MORATORIUM

Late last month, Biden ordered the Department of Energy (DOE) to pause pending permits for LNG export facilities while federal officials conduct a rigorous environmental review assessing the projects’ carbon emissions, which could take more than a year to complete. The action represents a major victory for activists who have loudly called for such a move, even threatening to hold large protests over the issue.

The president said the pause on LNG permitting was a part of his sweeping climate agenda, adding the action “sees the climate crisis for what it is: the existential threat of our time.” He also took aim at “MAGA Republicans” for willfully denying the “urgency of the climate crisis.”

MORE THAN 150 REPUBLICANS TAKE AIM AT BIDEN’S MORATORIUM ON NATURAL GAS EXPORTS

However, in their letter, the attorneys general argue DOE fails to identify under which authority it is pausing LNG exports. The agency, they write, “literally has no power to act — including under its regulations — unless and until Congress authorizes it to do so by statute,” adding that DOE instead justified its actions by pointing to a climate-focused executive order Biden issued.

The attorneys general further argue that DOE cannot rely on the 1938 Natural Gas Act, which requires the agency to approve applications to export LNG to non-Free Trade Agreement countries unless such exportation is not “consistent with the public interest.”

“Here, you have signaled every intention to deny a sweeping category of exports based on allusions to environmental harms,” they added in the letter. “Your administration and its allies appear to be “seizing on regulatory loopholes and prejudging the outcomes of complicated policy analysis.”

“Agency predetermination is bad enough, but it’s doubly wrong when it conflicts with Congress’s express purpose in enacting the statute.”

In addition, they say DOE’s moratorium may give rise to liability under the Administrative Procedure Act “for unreasonable delay.” That 1946 law mandates federal agencies provide sufficient reasoning for rules and regulations they implement.

REPUBLICANS PROBE CCP-TIED NONPROFIT FUNNELING MONEY TO US ECO GROUPS

Under the Administrative Procedure Act, federal agencies are prohibited from creating an “unreasonable delay” when fulfilling a congressional requirement. Since DOE is indefinitely pausing LNG export permits, which it is required to issue under the Natural Gas Act, the attorneys general said the agency’s actions amount to such an unreasonable delay.

They also said LNG export terminals must already go through an environmental review when they are approved by the independent Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). LNG export projects must first survive FERC’s lengthy approval process before they are even ripe for DOE approval.

The attorneys general also argued that, beyond “unreasonable delay,” DOE’s moratorium fails to stay “within the bounds of reasoned decision-making” as required by federal statute. And the agency never opened the decision up for a public comment period before implementing it, another potential statutory violation.

“The Biden Admin’s hatred of American energy has reached a new extreme,” Kobach told Fox News Digital in a statement. “This moratorium on liquefied natural gas exports is both illegal and irrational. This natural gas policy is going to blow up in the Administration’s face.”

“The people of Louisiana are proud to power this nation. Joe Biden’s latest assault on LNG exports threatens thousands of jobs and billions of dollars in infrastructure investment in our state,” added Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill. “It also creates international instability and hurts developing democracies worldwide. I won’t allow this president to hold our people and our economy hostage.”

FORMER CIA DIRECTOR LEON PANETTA WARNS CHINA MAY USE MICHIGAN EV PLANT FOR ESPIONAGE

In their letter, the attorneys general echoed energy industry associations and Republican lawmakers, saying that the DOE’s moratorium weakens national security and emboldens Russia and other adversaries who are large producers of natural gas. 

In December 2023, more than 87% of U.S. LNG exports went to Europe, U.K. or Asian markets. In the aftermath of Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, energy experts argued LNG exports would be critical for helping American allies to wean off Russian gas.

And the industry has cited research indicating that LNG exports could add as much as $73 billion to the U.S. economy by 2040, create 453,000 American jobs and increase U.S. purchasing power by $30 billion.

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“We hoped that your administration would have considered this and the economic and national security implications before announcing the pause, but this does not appear to be the case,” the letter concluded.

“This decision harms our national security and will cost lives. We urge your administration to stop making decisions based on the whims of social media influencers and treat this matter seriously by reversing this reckless decision.”

Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment.