NationalWatch

FBI Director Chris Wray reportedly accused an appointee of President Biden of possibly interfering in the process of moving the bureau’s headquarters to Maryland instead of Virginia. 

In an internal memo to FBI employees, Wray did not name the Biden senior political appointee at the General Services Administration other than saying she he had most recently worked for the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, which owns the parcel of land now slated for the FBI headquarters site in Greenbelt, Maryland, the Wall Street Journal reported. 

General Services Administration confirmed Wednesday that it had selected Greenbelt, a Washington, D.C., suburb, as the home for a new FBI facility to replace the crumbling J. Edgar Hoover Building, which is blocks away from the White House. Wray said his concerns “are not with the decision itself but with the process.”

“We have concerns about fairness and transparency in the process and GSA’s failure to adhere to its own site selection plan,” Wray wrote in an email to the workforce, according to the Journal. “We identified concerns about a potential conflict of interest involving the site selection authority and whether changes that individual made in the final stage of the process adhered to the site selection criteria.” The Associated Press said it also obtained a copy of Wray’s email, in which he said Congress may review the matter. 

The GSA, which manages the government’s real estate portfolio, said that Greenbelt site about 13 miles northeast of Washington was the cheapest one with the best access to public transit. But Wray asserted in his note that the choice came after a GSA executive overruled a board and picked land owned by a former employer.

MARYLAND SELECTED FOR NEW FBI HEADQUARTERS, DRAWING CRITICISM FROM VIRGINIA LEADERS

Maryland and Virginia had long been vying to land the FBI, and officials in Virginia, which is home to the FBI Academy, criticized the government’s decision.

Congress last year directed the administration to consider three sites for the new headquarters: Greenbelt and Landover in Maryland or Springfield, Virginia. 

A board that included representatives from the GSA and the FBI unanimously agreed on Springfield, Wray wrote. But in an “exceedingly rare” move, a senior GSA executive changed course and went with Greenbelt, the FBI director said. “The FBI observed that, at times, outside information was inserted into the process in a manner which appeared to disproportionately favor Greenbelt, and the justifications for the departures from the panel were varied and inconsistent,” Wray wrote.

A bi-partisan group of Virginia leaders, including Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin, as well as Democratic Virginia Sens. Mark Warner and Tim Kaine, issued a statement Thursday saying “We are deeply disturbed to learn that a political appointee at the General Services Administration overruled the unanimous recommendation of a three-person panel compromised of career experts from the GSA and the Federal Bureau of Investigation concluding that Springfield, Virginia is the site best suited for the new FBI headquarters.” 

FBI RECEIVED ‘CRIMINAL INFORMATION’ FROM OVER 40 CONFIDENTIAL SOURCES ON JOE BIDEN, HUNTER, JAMES: GRASSLEY

“We have repeatedly condemned political interference in the independent, agency-run site selection process for a new FBI headquarters. Any fair weighing of the criteria points to a selection of Virginia. It is clear that this process has been irrevocably undermined and tainted, and this decision must now be reversed,” the statement said. 

The land in Greenbelt is owned by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, which once employed the senior GSA executive, according to Wray’s note. 

“Despite our engagement with GSA over the last two months on these issues, our concerns about the process remain unresolved,” Wray wrote. “There are still a lot of open questions, and we’ve still got a long way to go.”

In response to the allegations, U.S. General Services Administrator Robin Carnahan condemned Wray’s claims as inaccurate. 

“GSA and FBI teams have spent countless hours working closely together over many months, so we’re disappointed that the FBI Director is now making inaccurate claims directed at our agency, our employees, and our site selection plan and process,” Carnahan wrote. “Any suggestion that there was inappropriate interference is unfounded. The choice of Greenbelt, Maryland, is fully consistent with the decision-making process as well as all laws, regulations, and ethical considerations. We stand behind the process, the decision, and all of the public servants who carefully followed the process and made a good decision on behalf of the FBI and the public.”

“At every step, the GSA team has worked to incorporate the FBI’s feedback and appropriately address their concerns, including conducting a legal review of each concern raised,” Carnahan wrote. “In the spirit of continued full transparency, we are releasing relevant information that has been exchanged between our organizations so that the public and the FBI workforce has an opportunity to review it in full. We remain committed to delivering a new headquarters for the FBI workforce that is worthy of their important mission.”

The FBI did not immediately return a Fox News Digital request for comment. 

The J. Edgar Hoover Building has been the FBI’s home for nearly 50 years. The building, named for the bureau’s first and longest-serving director, has given FBI employees easy access to Justice Department prosecutors across Pennsylvania Avenue. But the GSA started exploring new sites for the FBI in 2013 amid concerns the Hoover building failed to meet security requirements for the agency that’s grown significantly since President Gerald Ford first dedicated its headquarters, the Journal notes. 

The Trump administration stopped the effort to find the FBI a new home in 2017, sparking allegations the halt had to do with an effort to prop up a nearby hotel owned by the Trump family. But an inspector general report released in October said Trump did not improperly pressure the FBI to stay at Hoover, the Journal reported. 

WATCH: FBI DIRECTOR GOES SILENT WHEN ASKED IF COUNTRY ‘SAFER’ UNDER BIDEN

The Journal also notes how Maryland officials vying for the FBI headquarters to come to their state emphasized “economic and racial equity and what they described as a need for the Biden administration to deliver on promises to invest in historically underfunded communities.” The Greenbelt site ultimately selected is located in majority-Black Prince George’s County.

Youngkin, Warner and Kaine had advocated for the FBI to be moved to the Springfield location, which isn’t far from a slew of FBI operations at the Quantico Marine Base and other national-security agencies. Maryland’s elected leaders said in a joint statement Wednesday that their push to bring the FBI headquarters to their state was “never about politics” and the new facility would meet a “dire, longstanding need.” In turn, Virginia’s Warner contended there was “gross political interference in an established GSA process,” according to the AP. 

The Journal cited some current and former FBI employees as having argued that being closer to other national-security agencies in Northern Virginia would “help the bureau’s ability to function and make classified, face-to-face meetings more efficient.” 

White House principal deputy press secretary Olivia Dalton did not comment on whether Biden had any direct involvement in the final site decision, but defended the process.

“I can tell you it was a fair and transparent process,” Dalton told reporters on Air Force One as Biden traveled to Illinois on Thursday. “The 61 acres in Greenbelt is both the lowest cost to taxpayers, most transportation options for FBI workers, and we had the most assurances about the expeditious means with which a project could get underway.”

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Rep. Steny Hoyer, D-Md., said Wray has previously indicated he would prefer to stay in Washington, but experts say a suburban location is a better choice for the agency’s long-term security. “To say somehow this process was skewed is wrong,” Hoyer said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

A federal judge in Miami sided with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in the transgender athlete debate, upholding a ban on biological males competing with female sports teams. 

DeSantis, now running for president in 2024, signed the Fairness in Women’s Sports Act back in 2021, championing the legislation for empowering women and girls in Florida to continue to “compete on a level playing field” and ensuring “opportunities like college scholarships will be protected for female athletes for years to come.” 

Also known as SB 1028, DeSantis said the state law was based off “biology, not based off ideology.” 

In a 39-page decision dated Monday, U.S. District Judge Roy Altman, an appointee of former President Trump, determined that the law, which “separates public-school sports teams by biological sex,” does not violate the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution because it is “sex-based classifications are substantially related to the state’s important interest in promoting women’s athletics.”

WHITE HOUSE PUNTS ON ‘YES OR NO ANSWER’ TO TRANSGENDER ATHLETES PLAYING FEMALE SPORTS

A Broward County teen student, identified in court documents as D.N., had brought a lawsuit through the Washington, D.C.-based group Human Rights Campaign challenging the constitutionality of the law. Altman acknowledged on Monday that the plaintiff is “right to say that the statute treats transgender girls differently from both cisgender girls and transgender boys.” Under the law, the judge noted, “biological females (whether cis or trans) can play on both girls’ and boys’ sports teams.”

“Transgender girls, by contrast, considered male by birth, cannot play on girls’ sports teams,” Altman wrote. “But not all gender-based classifications violate the Equal Protection Clause.” 

The judge also rejected the student’s arguments that the law violated Title IX, a federal statute that prohibits sex-based discrimination on the part of educational institutions that receive federal aid, and Altman shot down D.N.’s claim with prejudice that the legislation violates the due process right to privacy.

Altman had tabled the lawsuit to wait for a ruling in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit regarding application of the state’s transgender bathroom law in St. John’s County, the Orlando Sun-Sentinel reported. That court ruled Title IX’s reference to “sex” does not include “gender identity.” 

‘THAT IS A FRAUD’: GOV. DESANTIS CALLS OUT LIA THOMAS, BIOLOGICAL MEN COMPETING IN WOMEN’S SPORTS

The judge noted the Broward County student “argues that the ‘Defendants’ enforcement of the law would require Plaintiff to disclose sensitive medical information that would otherwise not be available, including to third parties, parents and other students who might file claims under this law.” “This potential injury — if we can call it that — is so speculative (and lies so far down a hypothetical chain of imaginary future events) that it cannot support D.N.’s Article III standing here,” Altman wrote.

The judge gave the teen, as well as the student’s parents signed on as co-plaintiffs, until Nov. 21 to file an amended complaint that demonstrating how “Title IX prohibits the state from treating D.N., as a biological male, differently than biological females.” Altman wrote that the student, who played on a girls’ soccer team in middle school but was prevented from joining the girls’ high school team due to the legislation, could refile the equal protection claim arguing for “discriminatory animus.”

In a public rebuke of DeSantis, who is named as the main defendant in the lawsuit, the Broward County School Board issued a statement when the law was first signed in June 2021, saying it “prides itself on being welcoming, affirming, and inclusive for all students, including all members of the LGBTQ+ community.” The school board proclaimed, “transgender youth are among the most misunderstood and marginalized within our schools and community.”

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The Human Rights Campaign told the Sun Sentinel its litigation team “is actively working with the plaintiffs on potential next steps.”

FIRST ON FOX: House Republicans from Texas’ congressional delegation are urging their Senate counterparts to push for stricter border security measures, implying they don’t believe the Senate GOP’s recent proposal to stem illegal immigration at the U.S.-Mexico border goes far enough.

The lawmakers sent a letter addressed to their Senate Republican colleagues on Thursday along with a 13-page “Texas Border Plan” put out late last year by Republicans representing the Lone Star State. It’s signed by all but one Texas Republican in the House.

“In May 2023, the House of Representatives embraced the Texas Border Plan in passing H.R. 2, the Secure the Border Act of 2023. H.R. 2 is by far the strongest border security legislation to ever pass Congress, but – to date – Chuck Schumer’s Senate has failed to act on this critical legislation,” the letter said.

“Of course, there are other ideas that could be added to aid the effort. However, the fundamentals of H.R. 2 represent the engine of policy reforms necessary to stop the disastrous flow to the border.” 

DHS TO OFFER WORK PERMITS, DEPORTATION PROTECTION TO OVER 470,000 VENEZUELANS AMID NEW BORDER SURGE

A Senate GOP working group rolled out a proposal to help solve the southern border crisis earlier this week. They are pushing for the plan to be attached to President Biden’s supplemental aid request for Ukraine and Israel in exchange for Republican support.

The plan includes elements that overlap with H.R. 2 – like resuming construction of former President Trump’s border wall and curbing the Biden administration’s ability to parole undocumented migrants – but Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, who is leading the Thursday letter, criticized it for falling short of the House bill.

“The [Senate GOP] talking about watered down border security & amnesty… hmmm… where have I heard that before?  Thanks, but no,” Roy wrote on X Wednesday.

MIGRANT NUMBERS SURGED IN AUGUST AS SOUTHERN BORDER CRISIS RAGES, SETTING NEW RECORD

House lawmakers’ letter also pointed out that a majority of the Senate Republican Conference voted for H.R. 2 before, when it was offered as an amendment to the June 2022 bill raising the debt ceiling. 

“Thus, we implore our Senate colleagues to embrace the critical policy changes included in H.R. 2 and the Texas Border Plan in any serious attempt to offer and negotiate solutions to this crisis,” they wrote.

“We urge you, our Senate Republican colleagues, to continue to fight for the policy changes in the Texas Border Plan and leverage every opportunity to ensure they pass the Senate.”

Senate Republicans’ plan has been hammered by both the left and the right, threatening to put the proposal even lower down the path of an uphill climb to get considered. 

GOP LAWMAKER RIPS BIDEN OFFICIAL OVER SPECIAL AGENTS REASSIGNED TO ‘MAKE SANDWICHES’ FOR ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS 

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., called the proposal “a total non-starter” during a Wednesday press conference.

“Making Ukraine funding conditional on the hard-right border policies that can’t ever pass Congress is a huge mistake by our Republican colleagues,” Schumer said, comparing the plan to H.R. 2.

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There’s likely enough appetite among Senate Republicans to pass a strong Ukraine aid bill, but its chances would be virtually nonexistent in the House without serious conservative concessions. 

Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., has already passed a decoupled Israel aid bill through the House, and signaled that border security measures would need to be attached to any Ukraine aid in his chamber.

The Republican presidential candidates, during Wednesday night’s debate in Miami, had a unified message for Israel amid its war with Hamas. 

“Finish the job,” urged Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. “Eliminate Hamas,” said former U.N. ambassador and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley. “Smoke those terrorists,” added entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy.

South Carolina Senator Tim Scott and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie also defended Israel’s right to self-defense after the Oct. 7 terrorist attacks. More than 1,400 Israelis, mostly civilians, were horrifically killed when Hamas infiltrated the country’s southern border and indiscriminately raped, tortured and murdered those they found there. Some 240 people were taken back to Gaza as hostages, according to Israeli officials. 

Moderator Lester Holt asked each candidate what they would tell Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu if they were in the White House now, as the civilian death toll rises while Israel conducts ground operations in Palestinian territory and pummels Gaza with airstrikes. 

GOP DEBATE: HALEY TAKES INCOMING FIRE AS PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES BATTLE FOR SECOND PLACE BEHIND TRUMP

“I would be telling Bibi, finish the job once and for all with these butchers, Hamas,” DeSantis replied. “They’re terrorists, they’re massacring innocent people. They would wipe every Jew off the globe if they could. He [Netanyahu] cannot live with that threat right by his country. Hamas should release every hostage, and they should unconditionally surrender.” 

Haley, citing her experience at the United Nations, said Iran was the mastermind behind the attacks on America’s ally Israel and U.S. forces stationed in the Middle East. Since Oct. 17, U.S. bases in Iraq and Syria have been attacked 42 times, according to the Pentagon. 

“There would be no Hamas without Iran,” she said. “There would be no Hezbollah without Iran. There would not be the Houthis without Iran and there wouldn’t be the Iranian militias in Syria and Iraq that are trying to hit our military men and women if it hadn’t been for Iran.” 

ISRAEL PUSHES DEEPER INTO GAZA CITY AS G7 CALLS FOR PAUSE IN FIGHTING: LIVE UPDATES

Haley emphasized that Iran is in an “unholy alliance” with Russia and China and called Israel the “tip of the spear” against Islamic terrorism in the Middle East. 

Scott, who tussled with Haley in the previous debate on Fox Business, echoed her concerns about Iran and accused President Biden and the previous Obama administration of “appeasement” in dealings with the regime in Tehran. Scott has been a vocal critic of the $6 billion in unfrozen assets the Biden administration released to Iran as part of a prisoner deal. 

“There is blood dripping from the hands of President Obama and President Biden,” Scott charged. He called on Biden to “strike in Iran” to stop further attacks on U.S. forces by Iran-backed proxies. 

2023 ELECTION FALLOUT – TRUMP’S 2024 RIVALS BLAME HIM  FOR THE GOP’S POOR SHOWING AT THE BALLOT BOX

Ramaswamy dropped rhetorical bombs on his rivals in his answer. After stating he would go “one step further” than Haley and DeSantis by urging Netanyahu to “smoke those terrorists on his Southern border,” he railed against the “neocon establishment” and called them both “Dick Cheney in three-inch heels.” 

It was a jab at Haley, the only woman on the stage, and DeSantis, who has been accused of wearing lifts in his cowboy boots.

Haley fired back saying her heels were actually five inches and “I don’t wear them unless you can run in them.” 

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Christie, meanwhile, was the only candidate to voice moderate criticism of Israel, pointing out that Israeli intelligence failed to detect and prevent the Oct. 7 attack. 

“They failed the people of the state of Israel,” he said. 

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

Fox News Digital’s Paul Steinhauser and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

FIRST ON FOX: A coalition of 18 House Republicans led by GOP Conference Chair Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., are pressing Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm over her agency’s invitation for foreign adversaries to inspect a sensitive U.S. nuclear testing site.

In a letter sent Thursday morning, Stefanik and the other Republicans blasted Granholm for recently offering China and Russia “unprecedented access” to the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Nevada National Security Site. Bloomberg reported in September that the DOE’s National Nuclear Security Administration invited Chinese and Russian officials to tour the site to prove the U.S. is upholding a three-decade moratorium against testing nuclear weapons.

“I am leading my colleagues in demanding that President Biden revoke this misguided invitation to our adversaries in Beijing and Moscow that grants them unprecedented access and insight into our nuclear weapons,” Stefanik told Fox News Digital. “Inviting Communist China and Russia to have a front row seat for our sensitive nuclear weapons tests will give them invaluable information on how to defeat our nuclear capabilities and improve their own.”

“At a time when our adversaries are growing their nuclear stockpiles to undermine America’s leadership allowing them access to one of our nuclear test sites will only advance this pursuit and lead to our own destruction,” she continued.

NON-BINARY EX-BIDEN OFFICIAL SAM BRINTON WAS ON SECRET TAXPAYER-FUNDED TRIP AT TIME OF LUGGAGE THEFT

The National Nuclear Security Administration invited its Chinese and Russian counterparts to tour the Nevada site — where sensitive nuclear experimentation is conducted — during the latest International Atomic Energy Agency summit, according to Bloomberg. Corey Hinderstein, a senior National Nuclear Security Administration official, said China and Russia didn’t immediately respond to the invitation.

GOP REP CALLS FOR IMPEACHMENT INQUIRY INTO BIDEN ENERGY SECRETARY GRANHOLM: ‘SHE LIED, UNDER OATH’

The invitation came months after Russian President Vladimir Putin suspended his nation’s participation in the only remaining nuclear arms control pact with America. And last week Putin signed a law withdrawing Russia from its ratification of a global treaty banning nuclear weapons tests in a move quickly condemned by the State Department and which is evidence of deteriorating relations between the two sides.

Rep. Doug Lamborn, R-Colo., who was one of the co-signers of Stefanik’s letter to Granholm on Thursday, said allowing foreign adversaries to observe U.S. nuclear testing activities “allows them to derive our methods and procedures and this destroys deterrence.”

“As Chairman of the House Armed Services Strategic Forces Subcommittee, one of my priorities has been to strengthen and protect our nuclear arsenal,” he told Fox News Digital. “In the world today, nothing could jeopardize our national security more than losing this advantage. I was stunned to hear recent reports of Biden administration officials inviting citizens from our two greatest adversaries to observe U.S. nuclear weapons tests.”

“Russia and China should not have insider access to our testing. Both countries have had ample opportunity to be more open about their nuclear weapons development and deployments and refuse to do so. The amendment I introduced on this matter will halt the Biden administration’s latest lapse in judgment,” the Colorado lawmaker continued.

BIDEN ENERGY SECRETARY BLAMES ‘POOR JUDGMENT’ ON HER STAFF BLOCKING EV CHARGERS WITH GAS CARS

Late last month, Lamborn introduced a bill to block foreign nationals from witnessing U.S. nuclear weapons testing at national labs. The bill was attached to the Fiscal Year 2024 Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies Appropriations Act which the House passed on Oct. 26.

The letter Thursday also comes as China continues to expand its own nuclear capabilities and armament. Stefanik, Lamborn and the other GOP lawmakers noted the Department of Defense has warned China’s nuclear expansion is exceeding previous U.S. projections.

“The PRC is now projected to have over 1,000 warheads by the end of this decade,” General Anthony Cotton, the commander of the U.S. Strategic Command, told lawmakers during an Armed Services Committee hearing in March.

In their letter, the Republicans told Granholm that China now has no reason to halt the aggressive expansion of its nuclear development “if they are given this access while offering nothing in return.” They further noted that China has refused to engage in discussions on its nuclear expansion and DOE’s actions threaten to “embolden their efforts to continue growing their arsenal.”

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“The notion of granting America’s adversaries’ access to our military sites — and enabling them to gain information about U.S. nuclear capabilities — is deeply alarming and fundamentally absurd,” Rep. Rob Wittman, R-Va., another letter co-signer, told Fox News Digital. 

“I am proud to join my colleagues in demanding the Biden administration explain why they are inviting Russian and Chinese Communist Party officials to access our most sensitive laboratories and testing facilities.” 

In addition to Stefanik, Lamborn and Wittman, fellow GOP Reps. Joe Wilson, James Moylan, Bill Posey, Pat Fallon, Chris Smith, Ashley Hinson, Carlos Gimenez, Scott DesJarlais, John Moolenaar, Lance Gooden, Brett Guthrie, Dale Strong, Julia Letlow, Robert Aderholt and Brad Wenstrup also co-signed the letter.

The DOE didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Former President Donald Trump blasted his GOP opponents who took to the stage for the third 2024 debate Wednesday as “not watchable.” 

“Our nation is in very serious trouble, and it’s time for the Republican establishment to stop wasting time and resources trying to push weak and ineffective RINOs and never-Trumpers that nobody wants and nobody’s going to vote for,” Trump said at a rally in Hialeah, Florida, Wednesday held to compete with the third Republican debate hosted by NBC News in Miami.

“They’re not watchable you know, the last debate was the lowest rated debate in the history of politics. So therefore, do you think we did the right thing by not participating?” Trump said, evoking cheers. “Somebody, said, oh, one of the dumber ones, ‘he doesn’t have the courage to stand up.’ Well, listen, I’m standing in front of tens of thousands of people right now, and it’s on television. That’s a hell of a lot harder to than a debate. That’s a hell of a lot harder.” 

Trump, who had also opted out of the first and second GOP debates of the 2024 cycle hosted by Fox News and Fox Business, respectively, told supporters “2024 is our final battle.”

IVANKA TRUMP TESTIFIES SHE WAS NOT INVOLVED IN DISCUSSIONS ABOUT HER FATHER’S FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

“This race is not just about beating crooked Joe, it’s about defeating the entire rotten, corrupt and tyrannical establishment,” Trump told the crowd Wednesday night. “This election will decide whether power in America belongs to them forever or whether it belongs to you. The men and women who make this country great, who make this country run. 2024 is our final battle. Stand with me and the fight. We will finish the job that we started so brilliantly seven years ago.” 

The former president and current GOP front-runner also took swipes at President Biden’s repeated public falls and stumbles, also said the globe has never been closer to World War III. 

“You know, I would say standing up here in this beautiful podium, you know, a podium where these stairs are not obvious enough, Biden could never get off now. But think of it. Here’s a guy who can’t find or figure out a way to get off a stage with about five sets of stairs,” Trump said. “He can’t put two sentences together, and he’s in charge of our nuclear talks.”

GOP DEBATE: HALEY TAKES INCOMING FIRE AS PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES BATTLE FOR 2ND PLACE BEHIND TRUMP

“This is the closest we’ve ever been to World War III,” Trump said. “This is the closest. And I hope that one’s wrong. And that’s not a prediction, because I would never make that prediction. It’s too horrible a thing to say. But we have never been closer to World War III and only for one reason. We have incompetent people talking on our behalf.”

“When you deal with China, President Xi and North Korea, Kim Jong Un and Russia, Putin you deal with all these people,” Trump continued. “The press hates when I say they’re smart. He said they were smart. Well, what am I supposed to say? They’re stupid people? Kim Jong Un leads 1.4 billion people. And there’s no doubt about who the boss is. And they want me to say he’s not an intelligent man. They get very personal when I say that because they’re fake news.” 

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Trump also talked about leading battleground states in recent polling. Addressing recent pro-Palestinian demonstrations and Antisemitic incidents at major U.S. universities in the wake of the Israel-Hamas war, told supporters on Wednesday “you can’t afford to have a president who wants to be politically correct” and vowed he would “quickly cancel the student visas of all Hamas sympathizers on college campuses, which have been infested with radicalism like never before college campuses.” 

Ivanka Trump testified Wednesday that she was not involved in the creation of or discussions regarding her father’s statements of financial condition, which have fallen at the center of the non-jury civil trial against her family and the Trump Organization.

Ivanka Trump, who was an executive vice president at the Trump Organization, took the stand in the case stemming from New York Attorney General Letitia James’ lawsuit.

TRUMP DEMANDS JURY, SAYS NEW YORK AG HAS ‘NO CASE’ IN HEATED TESTIMONY

The former president’s daughter testified about discussions regarding the Trump Organization’s vision on certain projects, like The Plaza Hotel and its plan to renovate a historic post office into a Washington, D.C., hotel. But said she did not remember discussing former President Trump’s financial statements. 

“I don’t recall, with specificity, any discussion over financial statements,” Ivanka Trump said Wednesday. 

She also testified that she had no role in general accounting deficiencies. 

As for the statements, Ivanka Trump testified that those “were not things that I was privy to.”

Ivanka Trump left her role as EVP at the Trump Organization in 2017. She testified that move was due to her father’s election as president of the United States. Ivanka Trump served as a senior advisor to the president.

During her time at the White House, Ivanka Trump focused on the education and economic empowerment of women and their families as well as job creation and economic growth through workforce development, skills training and entrepreneurship.

The former president’s daughter was originally listed as a defendant in James’ lawsuit, in which she alleged Trump defrauded banks and inflated the value of his assets with the help of his children.

TRUMP, JUDGE ENGORON TRADE JABS DURING FORMER PRESIDENT’S TESTIMONY IN CIVIL TRIAL STEMMING FROM NYAG LAWSUIT

A New York Appeals Court, over the summer, dismissed Ivanka Trump as a defendant. That ruling also limited the statute of limitations.

Her court appearance came after her attorneys filed a notice of appeal last week to reverse to the decision to require her to testify. Their request was denied.

Her brothers Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, both executive vice presidents of the Trump Organization, also testified during the trial that they had no involvement in the creation of financial statements, and said the Trump family did nothing wrong.

Former President Trump has denied any wrongdoing and 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.

New York State attorneys rested their case at the conclusion of Ivanka Trump’s testimony Wednesday afternoon.

“Ivanka Trump was cordial. She was disciplined, she was controlled. And she was very courteous,” James said in a press conference Wednesday, but claimed that “based on the evidence, the documentary evidence, she clearly was involved in negotiating and securing loans, favorable loans for the benefit of the Trump Organization.”

Both the state and the defense are expected to present motions on Thursday. The defense will begin presenting their case on Monday.

Ivanka Trump’s testimony came after her father, former President Trump took questions on the stand for hours on Monday — an unprecedented proceeding.

TRUMP UNLOADS ON JUDGE, NYAG FOR TARGETING HIM ‘FOR POLITICAL REASONS’ DURING UNPRECEDENTED TESTIMONY

The former president demanded a jury Monday and called the civil trial against him and his businesses a “disgrace,” while maintaining that James has “no case.” 

Trump described his forced testimony as “election interference” while maintaining that his net worth is “far greater” than financial statements during testimony Monday.

“I think this case is a disgrace,” he said, adding that people are being “murdered” in New York as James is “watching this case.”

“It’s a disgrace. It is election interference because you want to keep me in court all day long,” Trump said while on the stand after testifying for more than five hours. “And Judge… I want a jury,” Trump told Judge Arthur Engoron.

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.

NEW YORK APPEALS COURT NARROWS NYAG CASE, DISMISSES IVANKA TRUMP AS A DEFENDANT, CUTS STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS

“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.”

One of Trump’s attorneys, at the end of the former president’s testimony, said that in “33 years,” they have “never had a witness testify better.”

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“An absolutely brilliant performance by President Trump. He’s not backing down. He’s told everyone the facts,” the Trump attorney said. “Now that the American people know what’s going on, maybe something will change.”

Engoron 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 Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has rolled out a new gender pronoun policy that one Heritage Foundation expert and former HHS official says violates employee rights and will result in firings for “misgendering.”

“HHS and the federal government is requiring its employees to speak falsehoods,” Roger Severino, the Heritage Foundation’s vice president for domestic policy and the former head of civil rights at HHS during the Trump administration, told Fox News Digital. 

Severino first broke the story on X, formerly Twitter, last week. He wrote that HHS “imposed a transgender pronoun mandate on its employees who will now be forced to deny biological realities with their own words or face firing” and he included a screenshot of an email sent to employees at the department. 

Severino told Fox News Digital that the First Amendment protects federal employees from being required to speak falsehoods, being compelled to adopt a state-approved ideology, and requiring people to deny their own faith.

PARENTS ‘BAFFLED’ AFTER SCHOOL ASKS STUDENTS TO CHOOSE FROM DOZENS OF PRONOUNS: ‘VERY CONFUSED AND UPSET’

“These policies would require all of those things,” said Severino, a Harvard Law School graduate.

“All employees should be addressed [by] the names and pronouns they use to describe themselves,” the email to HHS employees stated as part of its push for “Gender Identity and Non-Discrimination Guidance” that it says protects “employee rights and protections related to gender identity.”

Severino says the push began with two White House executive orders, one in January 2021 and one in June 2022, that were framed as ways to combat “gender discrimination” on the base of “gender identity.”

“All applicants and employees should be addressed by the names and pronouns they use to describe themselves. Using correct names and pronouns helps foster workplaces free of discrimination and harassment,” the U.S. Office of Personnel Management guidance states.

“This practice also creates an inclusive work environment where all applicants and employees are treated with dignity. The isolated and inadvertent use of an incorrect name or pronoun will generally not constitute unlawful harassment, but, as the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has explained, continued intentional use of an incorrect name or pronoun (or both) could, in certain circumstances, contribute to an unlawful hostile work environment.”

In an unlisted YouTube video linked in the email to HHS employees last week that features Assistant HHS Secretary Rachel Levine, who identifies as transgender, says “who you know yourself to be is valid.”

Severino explained to Fox News Digital that the “Orwellian” policy means that “misgendering” someone would qualify as violating anti-discrimination law which “gets you fired.” 

The video also states that employees “can wear clothing” and “use restrooms” based on what gender they identify as. 

CNN PUBLISHES ‘GUIDE TO NEOPRONOUNS,’ EMBRACES GENDERLESS PRONOUNS LIKE ‘LEAF, LEAFSELF, SUN, STAR’

“Men who identify as female have the right to get naked in front of female colleagues in the locker room,” Severino said about how this rule relates to HHS locker rooms and bathrooms. 

“It used to be that if you allowed a man to get naked in front of a woman in the workplace that is instantly a violation of civil rights law,” Severino said. “That’s the quintessential hostile work environment, subjecting women to that. Now, the policy says to the women who may be uncomfortable with that situation, they’re the ones who have to leave.”

Severino, who said it was “breathtaking” the Biden administration would unveil this policy, said that there are “strong arguments” that employees have legal recourse against policies like this and can “exercise their rights.”

“Governments cannot compel speech and certainly cannot compel false speech,” Severino said, citing West Virginia vs. Barnette in which even though children being told to say the pledge of allegiance during World War II was a good thing, the Supreme Court ruled that parents and students have a right to dissent from that view.

“We protect the right of political dissent and here it’s a pledge of allegiance to the Rainbow flag that’s been essentially required,” Severino said.

Severino also said that employees have a “right to their faith” and “your boss cannot force you to deny your faith as a condition of working there.”

He told Fox News Digital that policies that force employees to deny gender reality or go against their beliefs absolutely have a negative effect on morale and production and that current government employees have told him as much. 

“They are faced with a horrible dilemma,” Severino said. “Do they hope that they can fly under the radar and try to avoid the issue and keep a low profile and perhaps hide their faith so they can keep their job, or do they stand up and say this policy is wrong and fight for their rights? And then see a gigantic target on their back after that.”

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Fox News Digital reached out to HHS and the White House for comment but did not receive a response.

MIAMI – Nikki Haley gave as good as she got at the third Republican presidential primary debate – on a slimmed down stage during a showdown full of insults intertwined with serious policy discussions.

In a sign of the former United Nations ambassador and former South Carolina governor’s ascendancy in the 2024 GOP nomination race, Haley was repeatedly in the spotlight during the two-hour debate held in Miami, Florida, just a few miles from where former President Donald Trump – the commanding Republican front-runner – was simultaneously holding a rally.

Three of her rivals teed off on Haley, but it was biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy who fired the most shots.

It appeared to get real ugly and quite personal between the two candidates as Ramaswamy took aim at Haley’s pledge to ban the short-form video hosting service TikTok – which is a subsidiary of a Chinese owned company – over national security concerns.

2023 ELECTION FALLOUT – TRUMP’S 2024 RIVALS BLAME HIM  FOR THE GOP’S POOR SHOWING AT THE BALLOT BOX

“She made fun of me for actually joining TikTok while her own daughter was actually using the app for a long time,” Ramaswamy argued. “So you might want to take care of your family first before preaching to anyone else.”

Haley quickly snapped back.

“Leave my daughter out of your voice,” she told Ramaswamy.

As some in the audience booed Ramaswamy – who’s tussled with Haley repeatedly in recent months – she charged “you’re just scum.”

Haley entered Wednesday’s debate on a roll – thanks to well-received performances at the first two showdowns that helped to propel her into battle with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in the race to become Trump’s main rival.

TRUMP SHOWCASES ENDORSEMENT FROM GOP RISING STAR

The debate started with Trump in the cross-hairs, as the former president skipped his third straight showdown with his rivals.

“He should explain why he didn’t have Mexico pay for the border wall. He should explain why he racked up so much debt. He should explain why he didn’t drain the swamp,” DeSantis emphasized as he jabbed at Trump.

And Haley spotlighted that the former president “put us $8 trillion in debt, and our kids are never gonna forgive us for that.”

And when it comes to dealing with Russia’s war against Ukraine, she argued that her former boss is getting “weak in the knees.”

But Haley and DeSantis soon took aim at each other, fueling their burgeoning rivalry, with each accusing the other of being too friendly to China during their tenures as governors.

And Haley once again accused DeSantis of banning fracking in Florida, which he once again denied.

On the policy front, Haley reiterated her support for entitlement reforms. And on the combustible issue of abortion – on the day after abortion fueled Republican defeats in key ballot box contests across the country in the 2023 off-year elections – Haley noted “as much as I’m pro-life, I don’t judge anyone for being pro-choice. And I don’t want them to judge me for being pro-life.”

Haley and Sen. Tim Scott – a fellow South Carolinian – argued over the feasibility of passing a 15-week federal abortion ban.

“No Republican president is going to ban abortions,” she reiterated, as she spotlighted that the GOP doesn’t have the 60 votes needed in the Senate to pass such a bill.

Later, in the post-debate spin room, Scott said in a Fox News Digital interview that “you should be willing to fight for what you believe in. Our party should be the party of life. A 15-week limit is plenty of time for people to make a decision about what they want to do.”

DeSantis made news during the debate by clearly saying the nearly two-year old conflict between Russia and Ukraine needs to come to an end.

“We need to bring this war to an end,” DeSantis. said. “The U.S. needs to focus more on other priorities, including the southern border…We need the Europeans to step up and do their fair share, and we need to get serious about this threat this country faces, which is the Chinese Communist Party.”

Ramaswamy spent much of the debate throwing bombs, mostly at Haley.

He described Haley, the only woman on the stage, as “Dick Cheney in three-inch heels.”

She fired back saying her heels are actually five inches and are “for ammunition.”

In his opening answer, Ramaswamy also attacked the debate moderators. And pointing to Tuesday’s dismal performance by the GOP at the ballot box, he charged that “we’ve become a party of losers. He then demanded the resignation of Republican National Committee chair Ronna McDaniel.

Asked by Fox News about the jab from Ramaswamy, McDaniel said after the debate that “everybody’s gotta get headlines. Right. I’m going to focus on beating Joe Biden. I am very proud of the RNC and our staff and the work that we’ve done to win back the House.”

The fifth contender on the debate stage, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, mostly kept his spotlight on policy, from the wars in Europe and the Middle East to economic matters and abortion.

But Christie, a vocal GOP critic of Trump, also took aim at the former president, who embroiled in four trials, including two for trying to overturn his 2020 election defeat.

“Anybody who is going to be spending the next year and a half of their life focusing on keeping themselves out of jail and courtrooms cannot lead this party or this country,” Christie charged.

Trump, at his rally 10 miles away, once again tried to steal the spotlight.

“Nobody’s talking about it,” the former president told his supporters as he dismissed the debate. “Everybody’s watching us.”

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Nicole Schlinger, a longtime Iowa based conservative strategist, told Fox News that Haley “came in with a reputation of being the strongest debater on the stage. Nothing tonight changed that.”

She offered that “DeSantis seemed to have more swagger tonight, and I think that’s directly correlated to [Iowa] Governor Kim Reynolds endorsement this week.”

But DeSantis didn’t reference the endorsement during the debate.

Pointing to Ramaswamy, Schlinger said that “Vivek was provocative as always.” But she added that “ultimately I don’t think going after Nikki Haley’s daughter will do him any favors.”

And she called the debate a draw, arguing that “I doubt anyone’s mind was changed.”

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

The Minnesota Supreme Court announced Wednesday that it has dismissed a lawsuit and will allow former President Donald Trump to stay on the primary ballot.

The court dismissed the lawsuit which it stated was seeking an end to Trump’s candidacy under a rarely-used constitutional provision that forbids those who “engaged in insurrection” from holding office.

With this ruling, the Minnesota Supreme Court has refused to become the first in history to use Section 3 of the 14th Amendment to prevent someone from running for the presidency. 

By ruling that state law allows parties to put who ever they want on the primary ballot, the Minnesota Supreme court dodged the question of the lawsuit — does Trump’s alleged role in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol disqualify him from the presidency?

FLORIDA CFO SUGGESTS PUBLIC FUNDING FOR TRUMP’S LEGAL DEFENSE TO FIGHT ‘LIBERAL PROSECUTORS’

“There is no state statute that prohibits a major political party from placing on the presidential nomination primary ballot, or sending delegates to the national convention supporting, a candidate who is ineligible to hold office,” Chief Justice Natalie Hudson stated. 

However, the court left the possibility open that plaintiffs could again try to knock Trump off the general election ballot in November. 

TRUMP DEMANDS JURY, SAYS NEW YORK AG HAS ‘NO CASE’ IN HEATED TESTIMONY

Officials say the Minnesota challenge was filed by the liberal group Free Speech For People, which said it will continue its campaign to end Trump’s presidential bid.

The ruling is also the first from a series of lawsuits filed by Free Speech For People and a second liberal group that are seeking to use Section 3 to end Trump’s candidacy in the Republican presidential primary.

REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE SUSPENDS CAMPAIGN, ENDORSES DONALD TRUMP

“Ridiculous 14th Amendment lawsuit just thrown out by Minnesota Supreme Court.” He added, “Congratulations to all who fought this HOAX!” Trump posted on his social media platform, Truth Social, following the ruling.

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Many legal experts expect the issue to eventually reach the U.S. Supreme Court, which has never ruled on Section 3.

Vice President Kamala Harris on Wednesday told reporters that she and President Biden “have a lot of work to do” in order to win re-election, but added that she was “confident” ahead of 2024.

Harris made the comments outside the White House just one day after a solid performance by Democrats in races across the country, while the president and vice president face underwater polling.

“It was a good night. And the president and I obviously have a lot of work to do to earn our re-election. But I am confident we’re going to win,” she said.

SUPPORT FOR BIDEN CRUMBLING AS UNFAVORABLE POLL NUMBERS CONTINUE TO ROLL IN

Harris did not answer follow-up questions from reporters outside the White House.

A new poll released earlier this week showed former President Donald Trump holding sizable leads over Biden and Harris in five of the six most important battleground states, including by a whopping 10 points in Nevada, six points in Georgia, five points in both Arizona and Michigan and four points in Pennsylvania. Biden’s sole lead was in Wisconsin, where polls showed him beating Trump by two points.

The polling attributed Biden’s poor showing to a devastating lack of confidence due to his age. Voters said they trusted Trump to better hand the economy, foreign policy and immigration.

Another poll released over the weekend also pointed to Trump edging Biden in a likely 2024 showdown.

NEW POLL SHOWS RFK JR. BEATING TRUMP AND BIDEN AMONG YOUNG AMERICANS IN SWING STATES

Despite Biden and Harris’ poor polling, Democrats won significant victories on Tuesday, including in deep-red Kentucky, where incumbent Democrat Gov. Andy Beshear handily defeated Republican state Attorney General Daniel Cameron, who has been considered a rising star within the GOP.

Democrats also claimed majorities in both houses of the Virginia state legislature.

Harris described the victories as evidence the American people were pushing back on Republicans’ abortion policies.

MEDIA IN TIZZY AFTER POLL SHOWS TRUMP LEADS BIDEN IN KEY STATES: ‘THE HISSY FITS ARE ALREADY INCREDIBLE’

“Last night I think the American people made clear that they are prepared to stand for freedom and for the individual freedoms and the promise of freedom in America, and by extension it was a good night for democracy,” she said. 

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“I think that if you look at from the midterms to last night, from California to Kansas, Ohio to Virginia, the voters said, ‘Look, the government should not be telling a woman what to do with her body,’” she added.

Fox News’ Anders Hagstrom and 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.

Republicans on Long Island, New York, scored a historic victory on Tuesday night, solidifying gains they have made in the area and providing a small bright spot in an otherwise disappointing night nationwide.

Republican Ed Romaine defeated Democrat Dave Calone on Tuesday to become the first Republican to win the Suffolk County executive position in 20 years.

Romaine won with 56% of the vote by a margin of 26,000 votes, The Associated Press projected.

Romaine’s victory gives Republicans commanding control on the eastern part of Long Island, where the GOP occupies all the countywide seats in Nassau and Suffolk counties as well as all four congressional seats.

ELECTION 2023: 3 KEY TAKEAWAYS ON ABORTION, TRUMP AND BIDEN

“This is a political earthquake,” former Sen. Al D’Amato, R-N.Y., told the New York Post.

Romaine told his supporters on Tuesday night that they have “given me a large mandate tonight and I plan to use that mandate to move this county forward.”

The Republican victory builds on the “red wave” that has swept across Long Island in recent years, which political analysts have attributed to spiking crime and the liberal push to defund police.

YOUNGKIN FALLS SHORT IN HIS MISSION TO WIN TOTAL GOP CONTROL OF VIRGINIA STATE LEGISLATURE

Former Rep. Lee Zeldin, R-N.Y., often credited with being a key catalyst of New York’s “red wave,” called Romaine’s victory an “enormous flip” in a social media post.

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“For the third year in a row, [Republicans] in New York had a great night, defeating incumbents and winning upset elections across the state,” New York GOP Chairman Ed Cox said in a statement, adding that Long Island has become a “Republican bastion.”

EXCLUSIVE – Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy is launching a $1 million ad buy in the critical states of Iowa and New Hampshire, calling out politicians on both sides of the aisle he says are “leading us into World War III.”

“Corrupt politicians have spent trillions, killed millions and made billions for themselves in Iraq and Afghanistan. Now, they’re leading us into World War III. That ends on my watch,” Ramaswamy tells voters in the ad. 

Shown in flashed images on a giant screen behind him are President Biden, GOP rivals Ron DeSantis and Nikki Haley and former President George W. Bush and former Vice President Dick Cheney.

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

Ramaswamy pledged in the ad that “as your next president, my sole duty is to you, the citizens of our nation, not another. I’ll keep us out of World War III, I’ll declare independence from Communist China and I’ll use our own military to protect our own borders, not somebody else’s.”

The video, which Ramaswamy shared on social media Wednesday ahead of the third Republican debate, is part of his campaign’s $11 million ad blitz. 

RAMASWAMY SUGGESTS ‘BIG STICK’ DIPLOMACY IN ISRAEL OR RISK IRAQ-STYLE QUAGMIRE

“There is a real divide between America First conservatives and the neoconservatives. Everyone else on the debate stage tonight supported the Iraq War and giving a blank check to Zelenskyy, even if they now want to pretend otherwise,” Ramaswamy told Fox News Digital. “The truth is a DeSantis or Haley administration will march us right into World War III, and we are going to highlight that fact early and often.”

On Tuesday, the biotech entrepreneur unveiled his “No to Neocons” pledge he says “every prospective political appointee must commit to and sign” before taking a job in a Ramaswamy administration. 

The pledge requires officials to commit that “avoiding WW3 is a vital national objective,” “war is never a preference, only a necessity” and “the sole duty of U.S. policymakers is to U.S. citizens.”

RAMASWAMY CONSIDERING ‘REEVALUATING’ US UNITED NATIONS MEMBERSHIP, SCALING BACK NATO INVOLVEMENT: REPORT

Ramaswamy has been outspoken in cautioning the U.S. from entering into a World War III, particularly after the Oct. 7 terrorist attack against Israel by the terrorist group Hamas. He has also been vocal about limiting U.S. involvement in the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, putting him at odds with fellow Republicans.

He is one of five presidential hopefuls who will participate in the third Republican debate in Miami. The other candidates who qualified and agreed to appear on the debate stage are DeSantis, the Florida governor; Haley, the former U.N. ambassador and former South Carolina governor; former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie; and South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott. 

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At the two previous debates, Ramaswamy had fiery clashes on foreign policy with Haley and former Vice President Mike Pence, who has since suspended his presidential campaign. 

Ramaswamy is placing fourth in national Republican polls, according to the RealClearPolitics average, behind Haley, DeSantis and former President Trump, who maintains a commanding lead in the GOP field. 

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

One of the largest pro-life groups in the United States released a memo outlining why it believes a constitutional amendment enshrining abortion access into the Ohio constitution passed Tuesday night in a state Donald Trump carried by eight points in 2020.

“In Ohio, pro-abortion forces spent a staggering $66.7 million, outspending pro-life forces by a 2:1 margin to fuel a campaign centered on lies and deception to muscle through a constitutional amendment designed to allow unlimited, unregulated abortion,” Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, said in a memo released Wednesday.

“The staggering sum spent by pro-abortion forces and the tens of millions of ‘in-kind’ contributions made by the media overwhelmed the ability of the pro-life movement and Governor DeWine to communicate the facts to the voters. In the closing weeks, pro-abortion forces outspent pro-life forces $19 million to $7.7 million on television, nearly a 3:1 advantage.”

In addition to being outspent and outblitzed on media channels, Dannenfelser wrote that pro-choice groups misleadingly framed Ohio Issue 1 as a situation where “women would be left to die” despite “clear language in Ohio’s law allowing for life-saving care.”

OHIO VOTERS APPROVE AMENDMENT ENSHRINING ABORTION ACCESS INTO STATE CONSTITUTION

“Further, the ballot language deceived voters into thinking the amendment allows for limits on abortion after the point of viability,” Dannenfelser wrote. “In reality, the vague ‘health’ exception in its language is a major loophole that allows for late-term abortion without limit and allows the abortionist to determine viability.”

Ohioans voted in favor of Issue 1 Tuesday night by a margin of 13 points, after a contentious campaign between pro-life groups who argued the measure went “too far” and even further than Roe v. Wade, while pro-choice activists said the measure was necessary to codify abortion access into law after Roe’s reversal by the Supreme Court.

OVER 100 OHIO BLACK PASTORS SIGN LETTER OPPOSING MEASURE ENSHRINING ABORTION IN CONSTITUTION: ‘MORAL ISSUE’

“The future is bright, and tonight we can celebrate this win for bodily autonomy and reproductive rights,” Lauren Blauvelt, co-chair of Ohioans United for Reproductive Rights, which led support for the amendment, told a jubilant crowd of supporters.

Dannenfelser explained in her memo that the media “provided no fact-checking on the gaping lies told by the abortion lobby,” including “claims that parental rights would be protected despite the ballot language making no distinction between adults and children in guaranteeing a right to abortion.”

Tuesday’s ballot measure was seen by many as a signal for how abortion activists across the country would attempt to codify abortion into state constitutions nationwide, and Dannenfelser pointed out that “pro-abortion forces are already organizing major ballot initiatives across more states in 2024.”

FIREBOMBED PRO-LIFE MEDICAL NETWORK SUES ALLEGED VANDALS USING SAME LAW THAT PROTECTS ABORTION CLINICS

“Pro-life and GOP forces must begin preparing for these fights now, most urgently raising the funds necessary to cut through the abortion lobby’s lies and deception, aided significantly by their allies in the media,” Dannenfelser said. “Under this threat, GOP leaders in these states must step up to aid these efforts, the same way Governor Mike DeWine and Senator JD Vance did during the final stretch in Ohio.”

Dannenfelser’s letter also touched on GOP losses in Virginia, where Democrats focused on the abortion issue in their successful push to prevent Republicans from taking control of the legislature.

“While the GOP had a strong counter to Democratic attacks on abortion — focusing on a 15-week limit at a point when babies in the womb can feel pain, with exceptions, contrasted with Democrats’ no-limit position — they spent a relatively paltry amount ($2.2 million) driving their message on TV,” Dannenfelser said. “While this is an improvement over the 2022 midterms when the GOP had no clearly defined position and was outspent 35:1 on abortion-focused advertising, it is still a significant gap that clearly made a difference in the outcome.”

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Looking ahead to 2024, Dannenfelser said the GOP has to “lean in” and “define the issue,” explaining that it is “long past due for the GOP to define where it stands on the issue nationally.”

“It should not be difficult: The GOP must align itself with the national consensus that already exists, which is limiting late-term abortion when the child can feel excruciating pain,” Dannenfelser said, adding that “the GOP should contrast this stance of clarity and compassion with the Democrats, who do not support a single limit on abortion, celebrate abortion, and have long moved past the ‘pro-choice’ position.”

Associated Press contributed to this report

Welcome to Fox News’ Politics newsletter with the latest political news from Washington D.C. and updates from the 2024 campaign trail. 

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What’s happening:

– FIRST ON FOX: House panel subpoenas Hunter Biden and other Biden family members over business dealings …

– Israel pushes deeper into Gaza targeting Hamas as refugees flee: Fox News live updates

– Dueling events: Trump holds Florida rally Wednesday night as other GOP candidates participate in third primary debate…

LAST NIGHT’S ELECTIONS

On the whole, Democrats walked away from Tuesday’s elections with major wins. Mississippi incumbent Republican Gov. Tate Reeves survived a challenge from a Democratic rival, but Trump-backed Daniel Cameron in Kentucky failed to defeat incumbent Democrat Gov. Andy Beshear in the deep-blue state. And in Virginia, Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s attempts to increase GOP power in the state legislature fell short – Republicans lost control of the House of Delegates and Democrats kept control of the state Senate.

Trump blamed Cameron’s loss on a supposed link to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. But Trump’s GOP rivals were quick to point fingers at the former president for Republican losses …Read more

Despite facing low poll numbers and concerns over the president’s health, the Biden administration sees the 2023 elections as a great sign headed into 2024 …Read more

REMEMBER NOVEMBER: Top Takeaways from Election Day 2023 …Read more

END OF THE ROAD: Trucker who famously ousted longtime New Jersey Democrat loses bid for second term …Read more

WHITE HOUSE BLUES: Dems say Youngkin can’t win a presidential bid after Tuesday’s elections …Read more

PORN PROBLEM: Virginia lawmaker caught in sex scandal narrowly loses to Republican challenger …Read more

SIGNIFICANT VICTORIES: Who were the biggest winners on Election Day 2023? …Read more

MAJOR BLOW: Democrats shatter GOP hopes with big win in deep-red Kentucky …Read more

HE’S BACK: Tate Reeves wins second term as Mississippi governor …Read more

ABORTION FOR OHIO: State Trump carried by 8 approves controversial constitutional abortion amendment …Read more

TOUGH NIGHT: Virginia GOP falters in bid to win control of state legislature …Read more

Capitol Hill

TLAIB FALLOUT: Omar, Tlaib call on congressional leaders to condemn ‘anti-Palestinian hate’ …Read more

‘ONE COUNT’: Rep. Smith demands answers on DOJ’s charging decisions of IRS leaker …Read more

TLAIB CENSURED: 22 Democrats join Republicans to censure Rashida Tlaib …Read more

Campaign Trail

IVANKA TAKES THE STAND: Ivanka Trump to testify in New York civil fraud trial …Read more

YOUTH VOTE: RFK Jr beating Trump, Biden among key age group in swing states …Read more

BAD NEWS BIDEN: Yet another poll shows Trump besting Biden in 2024 …Read more

Around the Country

RUNNING LOW: Millions of Americans facing winter heat shortfalls if fossil fuel shutdown proceeds: top US regulator …Read more

HEAR THEM ROAR: Locals scold Biden officials over plan to release grizzly bears near their communities in heated town hall …Read more

STEPPING DOWN: Top Pentagon UFO investigator to step down by end of the year: report …Read more

Prominent Democrats told Fox News Digital that Virginia GOP Governor Glenn Youngkin “lost the electability argument” for a White House run after Tuesday’s lackluster elections for Republicans.

Virginia Republicans saw a tough election night on Tuesday with the Democrats taking over the state House of Delegates and maintaining control of the state Senate.

Youngkin is a popular governor among the denizens of the Old Dominion, and the governor’s name has been floated as a potential late-entry GOP presidential candidate.

YOUNGKIN FALLS SHORT IN HIS MISSION TO WIN TOTAL GOP CONTROL OF VIRGINIA STATE LEGISLATURE

However, according to prominent Democrats, last night’s state elections in Virginia did little to help any presidential aspirations he may have.

Stanley Greenberg, the CEO of Greenberg Research, told Fox News Digital that while he doesn’t “have any special knowledge of Youngkin and Virginia,” he thinks “the races are being shaped by intense views on [former President] Trump and abortion.”

Greenberg said that in his firm’s polling, “about 55 percent of the party are the Trump loyalists (including the Evangelical loyalists).”

“I just don’t see what part of the Republican Party he motivates and builds a base,” Greenberg said of Youngkin.

“He doesn’t give them the red meat,” he continued. “There is opportunity for someone who can speak to moderate Republicans and Haley is doing better there. There are also the Cheney conservatives, but they are critical of Trump.”

“He has just lost the electability argument,” Greenberg added.

Democratic rainmaker and Fox News contributor Robert Wolf said that his Republican friends were looking to Youngkin for “rescue” in the presidential race but that after Tuesday’s elections, that support may migrate to GOP presidential candidate Nikki Haley if she does well at Wednesday’s debate.

“With the nervousness of former President Trump as a candidate and the downfall of Governor DeSantis as the heir apparent for the GOP, I’ve had many conversations with my Republican friends that they were all waiting for the day after November 7th Virginia state races when Governor Youngkin would come to the party’s rescue,” Wolf said.

“Well, once again Democrats outperformed as they have in nearly every election since 2020, and voters rebuked Youngkin’s harsh views on women’s reproductive rights,” he continued.

“Now, unfortunately for my GOP friends, you won’t hear much about the Virginia Governor as the savior, and if Nikki Haley has a good debate tonight, it wouldn’t surprise me to see a wave of support move her way,” Wolf added.

Fox News contributor and former Tennessee Democrat Rep. Harold Ford said politics “is intensely and predictably local, and last night the most local and intense political issue was women’s health rights in the name of access to legal and safe abortions.”

“Governors Youngkin and Beshear know that,” Ford said. “And, so do the opponents in Ohio to a constitutional right to abortion.”

Democratic strategist and Fox News contributor Jessica Tarlov said she thinks “it’s pretty clear that his decision to go hard about an abortion ban was a mistake and that [Youngkin’s] secret sauce to winning was pinned to the times — VA voters rejected fearmongering politics.”

“I didn’t think he was going to run anyway, but now he clearly doesn’t have the sheen he did before,” Tarlov continued. “And that’s a good thing. Republicans are extreme, even in the most moderate packages.”

Youngkin senior advisor Dave Rexrode tweeted on Tuesday that the governor’s team is “still monitoring a couple key races and will fully assess where things stand in the morning.”

“We had hoped for a stronger outcome this evening but are proud of the effort all of our candidates put in to these extremely competitive districts,” Rexrode continued.

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Youngkin’s name has been floated as a potential late entrant into the GOP presidential contest amid a robust primary election with Trump as the frontrunner.

It is unclear if Youngkin will throw his hat into the ring for the White House, but the Virginia governor has batted away questions on a potential bid during the state election.

Fox News Digital has reached out to Youngkin’s office for comment.

It was another big night for Democrats on Tuesday.

One year after a surge in turnout helped the Democrats deflate talk of a red wave in the 2022 midterms, the party once again enjoyed major success on Election Day 2023.

The Democrats appeared to get a big boost for a party coping with continued concerns over the economy and a plethora of international crises, from Europe to the Mideast to Asia.

Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear cruised to victory in his re-election bid in red-state Kentucky, while Democrats won total control of the state legislature in Virginia, expanded their legislative majorities in New Jersey, won a state Supreme Court seat in battleground Pennsylvania and passed an Ohio referendum that enshrined abortion rights in the state’s constitution. 

For President Biden — who faces increasing doubts about his ability to win re-election next year after a slew of devastating polls in recent days showing him losing to former President Donald Trump in a 2024 rematch — the ballot box victories are seen as a much-needed booster shot.

TOP TAKEAWAYS FROM ELECTION NIGHT 2023 AND WHAT THEY SAY ABOUT THE 2024 SHOWDOWNS

“Across the country tonight, democracy won and MAGA lost. Voters vote. Polls don’t. Now let’s go win next year,” the president urged in a fundraising social media post and text on Tuesday night.

The president’s re-election campaign argued that “in hundreds of races since Donald Trump’s conservative Supreme Court appointments overturned Roe v. Wade, we’ve seen Americans overwhelmingly side with President Biden and Democrats’ vision for this country. That same choice will be before voters again next November, and we are confident the American people will send President Biden and Vice President Harris back to the White House to keep working for them.”

TRUMP EDGES BIDEN IN ANOTHER 2024 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION POLL

Veteran strategist and Democratic National Committee member Maria Cardona argued that Biden came out ahead, despite not being on the ballot himself. 

“I absolutely think it was a big night for Joe Biden because the president is the head of the Democratic Party,” Cardona said. “He is the one who’s pushing the Democratic agenda… which is making this contrast that is enabling Democrats to win up and down the ballot all across the country.”

Seasoned Democratic operative Joe Caizzo told Fox News that “what Tuesday night showed is voters across the country are overwhelmingly rejecting radicalism.”

But Caiazzo, a veteran of Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders’ 2016 and 2020 presidential campaigns, acknowledged: “Make no bones about it, Democrats have some work to do before next year’s elections.”

Pointing to Biden’s underwater standing in the surveys, Caiazzo said that “part of the reason why the president’s poll numbers haven’t been phenomenal is because he’s governing. He’s not perpetually on the campaign trail.”

“I think the president has delivered for working families,” he said.

Caiazzo predicted that “once the campaign heats up and that argument is actually delivered to voters, it will be crystal clear that he’s followed through.”

THIS POLL FUELED FEAR AMONG SOME DEMOCRATS OVER BIDEN’S 2024 CHANCES 

But Biden wasn’t a fixture on the 2023 campaign trail, and Beshear secured re-election after keeping himself at arm’s length from the president and national Democrats.

Recent polls indicate that Biden faces rising concerns from Democrats over his age and that many Americans, including plenty of Democrats, do not want the president to seek a second term in the White House. Several top Democrats have suggested that the 80-year-old president should drop out of the 2024 race and pass the baton to a new generation.

Despite Tuesday’s setbacks for the GOP, Republicans see hope for their party in 2024 with Biden as the Democratic standard-bearer.

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Longtime Republican consultant David Kochel, a veteran of numerous presidential campaigns, pointed to Biden’s polling woes and argued that “the best news for Republicans” in the wake of the dismal 2023 election results “is that Joe Biden remains the standard-bearer in 2024 and that’s a bad, bad thing for Democrats.”

Seasoned Republican communicator and strategist Ryan Williams said that “midterm and off-year elections tend to be about issues more than personalities. Presidential years are about the candidates. Joe Biden has fundamental issues with his re-election campaign — mainly his age — that are completely separate from issues like abortion that motivated Democratic voters to get out and win this week.”

Williams, who served on a handful of GOP White House campaigns, noted that in 2024, Biden is “on the ballot and will win or lose based on how people feel about him more than on certain issues.”

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

MIAMI, Fla. – A dismal night for Republicans on Election Day 2023 is giving some of former President Donald Trump’s rivals fresh ammunition to target the commanding front-runner for the 2024 GOP nomination.

The disappointing results — which included Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear winning re-election in red-state Kentucky, Democrats winning total control of the state legislature in Virginia and expanding their legislative majorities in New Jersey, winning a state Supreme Court seat in battleground Pennsylvania, and the convincing victory in Ohio of a referendum that enshrined abortion rights in the state’s constitution — follow similar results in the 2022 midterm elections, when an expected red wave never materialized.

“Last night was a sweeping loss for republicans. It was eerily similar to last November, when the anticipated ‘red wave’ never came,” James Uthmeier, who manages Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ presidential campaign, said in a social media post.

TOP TAKEAWAYS FROM ELECTION NIGHT 2023 AND WHAT THEY SAY ABOUT THE 2024 SHOWDOWNS

The comment was a clear dig at Trump, who was heavily criticized by many in the GOP following last year’s midterms, as a bunch of high-profile Trump backed candidates went down to defeat, arguably costing Republicans control of the Senate, a larger House majority, and control of a handful of governorships.

Pointing to DeSantis’ convincingly gubernatorial re-election victory last year, Uthmeier emphasized “@RonDeSantis won by 20 points and turned the swing state of Florida solid red. We need a new leader that can win again for America.”

YOUNGKIN FALLS FAR SHORT IN HIS MISSION FOR TOTAL GOP CONTROL IN VIRGINIA

The campaign of former ambassador and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley — who’s battling DeSantis for a distant second place to Trump in the primary fight — argued in a memo Wednesday that “Trump is a loser.”

“Republicans suffered big losses in the 2022 midterms, the pattern continues one year later. Whether it’s a purple state like Virginia, a leaning red state like Ohio, or a deep red state like Kentucky, the election results last night were bad for Republicans,” the memo states.

TRUMP TO LAND BIG ENDORSEMENT AT RALLY TO COUNTERPROGRAM THIRD GOP PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE 

Haley’s campaign argued that “we all know that Donald Trump struggles against Joe Biden in 2024, while Nikki Haley easily defeats Biden. In fact, Haley is the only candidate to lead Biden outside of the margin of error in a recent CNN poll.”

Another Trump rival, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, specifically blasted the former president of the defeat of Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron, who lost to Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear on Tuesday.

Cameron, a protégé of longtime Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, attributed his victory earlier this year in the state’s Republican gubernatorial primary to Trump’s backing. He said at the time that “the Trump culture of winning is alive and well in Kentucky.” Cameron also highlighted the former president in his ads.

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“Daniel Cameron was a rising star of the Republican Party until he decided to throw his lot in with Donald Trump. I mean, let’s face it, Donald Trump is political and electoral poison down ballot,” said Christie, a one-time Trump ally who’s become a very vocal critic of the former president.

“Daniel Cameron made a huge mistake by embracing Donald Trump and selling his soul to him, that’s what he did and the voters of Kentucky, a very red state,” Christie said.

Responding to Christie’s jabs, the Trump campaign argued that “Cameron was never able to shake the perception of being a McConnell acolyte, which depressed Republican turnout.”

And they noted that “Kentucky has elected only 3 Republican Governors since the end of World War 2.”

The attacks against Trump come hours before DeSantis, Haley, and Christie join Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina and biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy on the stage in Miami, Florida at the third Republican presidential primary debate.

Trump is skipping the third GOP primary debate in a row and instead will hold a competing rally just a few miles away, in Hialeah, Florida.

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

A former spokesperson for First Lady Jill Biden exploded at President Biden’s team on Tuesday over his crumbling poll numbers, calling it “inexcusable” while warning Biden needs to revamp his team. 

In a three-part social media thread, Michael LaRosa, a communications and political strategist who served as press secretary for Jill Biden between January 2021 and August 2022, lashed out at Biden’s team following the release of a CNN poll that showed Trump with higher favorability ratings, among other barometers. 

“New CNN Poll: Trump has higher favorables+Biden has higher unfavorable,” LaRosa wrote on X. “This is inexcusable for man universally known for his character+intregity. It’s a result of failing to respond to smears, lies, conspiracies, and disinfo for months allowing a void of info to be filled.”

AMERICANS OVERWHELMINGLY OPPOSE BIDEN’S HANDLING OF THE ECONOMY, POLL FINDS

“Shameful that POTUS’s team has allowed this narrative to congeal over the past two years,” LaRosa continued in the second part, which he has since deleted. “The only people who can help change the people around [President Biden] is [Jill Biden]. It’s up to her. These are the same people who got him 4th in Iowa, 5th in [New Hampshire], and a distant 2nd to a socialist in [Nevada].”

LaRosa then called for an overhaul of Biden’s team.

“I’ve been a squeaky wheel for months arguing this is the wrong approach to GOP attacks on Biden’s integrity, reputation, + family,” he wrote. “Poll after poll validates everything I’ve been saying+writing for months. Changing his team now will look like he actually cares+sees same [numbers] we do.”

LaRosa was referencing a CNN poll published Tuesday showing both Trump and Biden struggling on the favorability front, but Trump is performing better in the category.

CNN PANELISTS SOUND ALARM ON ‘REALLY SCARY’ POLL SHOWING BIDEN TRAILING TRUMP IN KEY STATES

According to the poll, 38 percent of respondents view Trump favorably, while 56 percent view him unfavorably. Biden, by comparison, was viewed favorably by 36 percent, while 59 percent see him in a negative light. 

The poll also showed Trump with a slight edge over Biden one year out from the 2024 elections. Among the registered voters polled, Trump leads Biden 49 percent to 45 percent. 

The CNN poll is the latest in a series from multiple outlets showing Trump performing better than Biden well before the election, including in key battleground states.

The former MSNBC producer, who is a frequent guest on CNN, isn’t the only media personality who has slammed Biden’s team. MSNBC’s ‘Morning Joe” co-host Mika Brzezinski lashed out at his staffers over the summer for failing to prevent situations where he falls or looks lost on stage. 

Her monologue was in reference to Biden’s public fall in June during a commencement ceremony at the U.S. Air Force Academy. The White House said that Biden had tripped over a sandbag on the stage and was “doing 100% fine” afterward.

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“Yeah, I think his staff needs to own his age. I’m just going to be honest, I don’t think they do a good job helping out the president… Like, I’m just saying, if you are managing a president’s schedule, and you are managing a president getting on stage and getting off stage, and doing – getting on planes and getting off plane– and yes, he’s 80, you need to be there for him, and you need to make a pathway. And you sure as hell better make sure he doesn’t fall on a sandbag,” Brzezinski said.

When asked by Fox News Digital about the posts on X, formerly known as Twitter, a White House official said, “Hope he’s okay.”

The Biden campaign did not immediately respond to a Fox News Digital request for comment.

Fox News’ Lindsay Kornick contributed reporting.