NationalWatch

Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., who led the effort to oust former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, has joined in a chorus of Republicans supporting the new House speaker nominee, Rep. Mike Johnson, R-La.

After Republicans spent most of Tuesday behind closed doors selecting Johnson as the new GOP speaker candidate, Gaetz praised him as a “good godly man who’s going to advance Republicans.” The Florida Republican also told a group of reporters that his colleague is the “best possible candidate” as the GOP looks to finally elect a speaker after McCarthy was voted out of the position three weeks ago.

One issue in particular that attracted conference members to Johnson was his support for single subject appropriations bills, or spending bills that fund one department or initiative at a time rather than a spending package that can force members to support some spending levels they would be uncomfortable with otherwise supporting, Gaetz said.

“He talks about single subject spending bills being the organizing principle in the House of Representatives. That is what I’ve been fighting for since January,” Gaetz said of Johnson. “It is the reason Kevin McCarthy was vacated and despite the swamps, best efforts, we got a good godly man who’s going to advance Republicans.”

REPUBLICANS EXUDE OPTIMISM AS FOURTH SPEAKER CANDIDATE HEADS TO THE HOUSE FLOOR

A majority of Republicans backed Johnson, who received 128 votes in the final round of votes, with Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., getting 29, sources confirmed to Fox News Digital. Other candidates, including McCarthy, received votes.

Johnson said he was “honored” to have the support of his colleagues and exhibit “servant leadership” in Congress.

“We’re going to serve the people of this country. We’re going to restore their faith in this Congress, in this institution of government,” Johnson said.

He added, “We’re going to govern well. We’re going to do what’s right by the people, and believe people are going to reward that next year.”

House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., won multiple rounds of voting earlier in the day to become the party’s nominee but ultimately withdrew his candidacy in the face of staunch opposition from within the conference, as well as former President Trump.

Speaking with reporters Tuesday, Gaetz said there were efforts within the committee to try and prevent Johnson from winning the nomination, but his supporters ultimately succeeded in getting him across the finish line.

HOUSE VOTES TO REMOVE KEVIN MCCARTHY AS SPEAKER IN HISTORIC FIRST

“Well, Kevin McCarthy did everything we could to scuttle Mike Johnson without announcing his candidacy, and he had, like, 40 people vote to try to create a balance against anybody getting to 217 but we scoped him out,” Gaetz said. “We have votes for Mike Johnson across the board. And from some of these conservative members of our conference to some of our freight liners. There was enthusiastic support for this transformation.”

The Floridian said he had “nothing bad to say about those other candidates” but that the consensus process — which “sometimes it takes a little longer” — ultimately “demands consensus.”

“This process clearly demanded consensus, and it led to the best possible candidate,” Gaetz said.

Gaetz’s praise for Johnson echoes that of some of his Republican colleagues, who are hopeful this latest nominee — the fourth after Rep. Steve Scalise, R.-La., Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, and Emmer — will become the next House speaker.

HOUSE REPUBLICANS VOTE TO REMOVE JIM JORDAN AS SPEAKER NOMINEE

Scalise released a statement Tuesday calling Johnson “honest, hardworking, and principled.”

“He is a great man and will make a great speaker. I look forward to continuing to work with my good friend to get this country back on track and deliver results for American families who deserve better from Washington,” Scalise said.

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Rep. Ben Cline, R-Va., told Fox News Digital, “All the different factions came together, and we’re confident that the members who weren’t here will recognize the unity that we have [and] importance of the mission ahead.”

Rep. Russell Fry, R-SC, told Fox News that he felt “great” with Johnson as the nominee.

“Mike Johnson was the consensus pick, he’s a great guy, he’s well trusted,” he said. “And I think overwhelmingly tonight the conference is ready to stand behind him on the floor tomorrow, and he is going to lead us over the next year and a half as we continue our work as the House Republican majority. “

Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart, R-Fla., agreed, saying Republicans “are unified.” 

“Oh, yeah, absolutely,” Diaz-Balart said when asked about supporting Johnson. “I think we are, we are unified. I think we are confident and we’re unified. You know, democracy is sometimes sloppy. “

A vote for Johnson’s speakership is expected on Wednesday afternoon, however, both Scalise and Emmer dropped their candidacy before receiving a full floor vote.

Rep. Patrick McHenry, R-NC, has remained the speaker pro tempore, overseeing only minimal House protocols, since McCarthy’s exit.

Fox News’ Kelly Phares, Elizabeth Elkind and Houston Keene contributed to this report.

House Republicans were jubilant when they coalesced around a new speaker nominee after a day of marathon-closed door meetings on Tuesday.

GOP Conference Vice Chair Mike Johnson, R-La., became speaker-designate on Tuesday evening, the fourth Republican nominee in three weeks.

But House GOP lawmakers insisted that their conference is finally on the same page and ready to unite under Johnson’s leadership — teeing up a House-wide vote Wednesday just after noon.

“My wife…and I were talking, and I said, if we can get somebody like a Mike Johnson, we would be very fortunate,” Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., told reporters after the vote.

WHY JORDAN COULDN’T GRAB THE SPEAKER GAVEL AFTER THREE FAILED BALLOTS

“I think he would be an excellent choice because… he’s very cerebral,” Burchett said. “And he’s kind of a goober… but I dig that about him. There’s an old saying in east Tennessee, ‘He’s cleaner than a hound’s tooth.'” 

Burchett was one of eight House Republicans who voted to oust ex-House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., three weeks ago Tuesday. He said Johnson “brings something to the table that’s lacking in Washington.”

Rep. Michael Cloud, R-Texas, one of the original 20 lawmakers to oppose McCarthy’s speakership bid in January, called Johnson a “capable” and “good man.”

HOUSE REPUBLICANS VOTE TO REMOVE JIM JORDAN AS SPEAKER NOMINEE

“I think it was important to make sure that we got the right person for the American people,” he told Fox News Digital.

Johnson also scored the support of leadership like Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., the No. 2 House Republican who was tapped as McCarthy’s original replacement — before dropping out of the race due to mounting opposition. 

“Mike is honest, hardworking, and principled — he is a great man and will make a great speaker. I look forward to continuing to work with my good friend to get this country back on track and deliver results for American families who deserve better from Washington,” Scalise said in a statement.

House Republicans had gathered earlier in the day for a speaker election where Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., came out on top. But opposition, including from former President Donald Trump, forced him to drop out hours later.

HOUSE VOTES TO REMOVE KEVIN MCCARTHY AS SPEAKER IN HISTORIC FIRST

GOP lawmakers hastily scheduled another candidate forum where Johnson emerged on top after previously coming in second to Emmer. 

A subsequent roll call vote where members were called upon by name to say whether they would support Johnson on the floor saw no one vote against him, and just a few lawmakers voting “present.” Johnson vowed to uphold conservative values in a press conference after the vote, in which all the House Republicans present flanked him and jubilantly cheered.

However, multiple lawmakers estimated that about 19 members were missing — a significant factor in the Wednesday vote. 

Rep. John Rutherford, R-Fla., who opposed House Republicans’ second speaker-designate, Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, said “I don’t think so” when asked if the absences will pose a problem for Johnson.

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And Rep. Ben Cline, R-Va., told Fox News Digital, “All the different factions came together, and we’re confident that the members who weren’t here will recognize the unity that we have [and] importance of the mission ahead.”

CONCORD, N.H. – Former President Donald Trump remains the commanding front-runner for the 2024 Republican nomination, but vocal GOP Trump critic Gov. Chris Sununu argues the race in the first primary state of New Hampshire is “wide open.”

Sununu, who’s repeatedly said he’ll make an endorsement in the Republican race later this year, has been teaming up with a number of the White House hopefuls on the campaign trail in New Hampshire, which holds the first primary and second overall contest in the GOP presidential nominating calendar.

On Tuesday, Sununu met up with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, and for the first time spent an entire day campaigning with a Republican presidential candidate.

Asked in an interview with Fox News Digital if his full day with DeSantis was any kind of signal, Sununu emphasized that “it’s a signal that Ron’s making a commitment to New Hampshire.”

DESANTIS, HALEY, TRADE FIRE OVER WHO WAS MORE CHINA-FRIENDLY 

While Trump remains the commanding front-runner in the race for the GOP nomination, DeSantis for months had second place in the polls to himself, ahead of the rest of the field of Republican White House contenders.

But former ambassador to the United Nations and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley has leapfrogged DeSantis to stand in second place in some of the most recent polls in New Hampshire and in her home state, which holds the first southern contest and votes fourth in the Republican schedule.

FED UP WITH BIDEN, SUNUNU MOVES TO BEEF UP BORDER SECURITY

Joining DeSantis in taking questions reporters at the Red Arrow Diner in Londonderry — their first stop on Tuesday — Sununu said “I think there’s three or four candidates that are clearly surging ahead.”

Later, joining DeSantis in a Fox News interview in Concord, Sununu reiterated that “the race is wide open. I think that’s the most important message.”

Pointing to Granite State voters (who are known to be late deciders) the governor said “folks won’t make their decision who they’re voting for till maybe late December, early January. So still plenty of time to actually earn those votes.”

While he’s concentrated much of his time the past two months in Iowa, which leads off the GOP nominating calendar, DeSantis on Tuesday returned to New Hampshire for the second straight week.

“We are going to be in New Hampshire and in Iowa nonstop between now and the caucuses and the primary. I think you got to show up. I think you got to earn the vote,” DeSantis emphasized.

And taking aim at Trump — who’s holding a much more limited campaign schedule — DeSantis stressed “nobody is entitled to this. You’re not going to see me out there wedded to the teleprompter. I’m going to go out there and let it rip. I’m going to take all the questions and we’re going to shake the hands and we’re going to earn this thing the way you need to.”

Sununu’s teamed up many of DeSantis’ rivals on the campaign trail, including Haley, former Vice President Mike Pence, Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum.

Scott, who last week returned to New Hampshire to file to place his name on the state’s GOP presidential primary ballot, on Monday told staffers that moving forward he’d concentrate nearly all of this campaign time in Iowa.

Sununu wouldn’t say if Scott’s move knocked him out of contention to earn an endorsement. 

And while he said “every candidate has to decide what’s best for their campaign,” Sununu added, “I believe that every candidate’s campaign is going to do better really splitting their time between Iowa and New Hampshire. Two different types of voters but you have to connect with those voters. You’ve got to earn your time there.”

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“You can’t just do well in Iowa and then think it’s going to translate to success here in New Hampshire,” Sununu added. “It doesn’t really work that way.”

Sununu’s repeatedly downplayed the significance of his eventual endorsement, telling Fox News that “I’m never a big believer that endorsements matter as much as the press think they do.”

But the presidential contenders continue to praise Sununu, and have made no secret that they’d be thrilled to land Sununu’s backing

“Chris Sununu and I have been friends for 12 years. I have enormous respect for him as a person and as a governor… he’s done a really great job here for eight years,” Christie told reporters last week as he filed in New Hampshire. “I would love to have him on my team. I make no secret about that.”

Sununu, who flirted for months with a White House run of his own before announcing in June that he wouldn’t seek the presidency, told Fox News earlier this month that “I’m not going to wait too long. My sense is November. Early December. Just like most voters, I’m going to start narrowing this thing down and then when I go, I’ll go.”

On Tuesday, when asked again about his timetable, the governor said “when the mood hits me.”

Adding that he’s not coy, he said “when I know everyone else will know.”

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

CONCORD, N.H. – Republican presidential candidate Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida is spotlighting his opposition to President Biden’s humanitarian aid to Palestinians in Gaza.

“They were wrong on the humanitarian aid to Hamas because Hamas is going to use that for terrorism,” DeSantis said on Tuesday in an interview with Fox News Digital when asked about the $100 million in humanitarian assistance for Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank.

The president, in announcing the aid last week, said the funding would help support “over a million displaced and conflict-affected people with clean water, food, hygiene support, medical care, and other essential needs. The United States provides humanitarian assistance through trusted partners, including U.N. agencies and international NGOs.”

After Hamas militants launched a horrific sneak assault on Israel two and a half weeks ago – in which more than 1,400 Israelis were killed in the worst attack on the Jewish state in a half century – Israel responded with relentless airstrikes on the Gaza Strip that have left nearly 5,000 people dead.

CLICK HERE FOR LIVE FOX NEWS UPDATES ON THE ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR 

The top contenders for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination – including former President Donald Trump, who’s the commanding frontrunner, DeSantis, former U.N. ambassador and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, and Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina – have all been calling out Biden for what they charge is backdoor assistance to Hamas, which aims to wipe out Israel.

“No U.S. tax dollars to the Gaza Strip. Hamas is holding American hostages and Biden wants to fund them?” DeSantis charged last week.

On Tuesday, DeSantis reiterated “you shouldn’t be doing that” regarding the aid, “knowing that Hamas rules the streets.”

2024 DIVIDE: GOP PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES SPAR OVER MIDEAST CONFLICT

Pointing to the over 200 Israelis and some Americans held hostage by Hamas in Gaza, DeSantis said “it’s doubly problematic when they still are holding all these people hostages. So wait a minute. How is it humanitarian to be holding these people hostages? That should have been a precondition before they even discussed anything else.”

“The president has a responsibility to look after Americans, and that includes Americans overseas. And in this case, you need to be engaged in that,” DeSantis said. “Most of what will go on will be things that are not going to be publicized. There’s going to be a lot of things that are going to rely on intelligence. I’d work closely with the Israelis, but I think we both have common interests in this to be able to recover all those hostages.”

DesSantis was interviewed during his latest campaign swing in New Hampshire, the state that holds the first primary and second overall contest in the GOP nominating calendar.

Haley has also spotlighted her opposition to the humanitarian aid, noting how easily the assistance could fall into the hands of Hamas.

“Nikki opposes taxpayer dollars for Gaza just like she did when she helped eliminate it at the U.N. The money is too easily diverted to Hamas and is not a good use of tax dollars. Arab countries should step up if they want to help Palestinians as much as they claim,” Haley’s campaign told Fox News.

And in an interview Monday on the Fox News Channel, Haley reiterated “no more money to countries that hate America.”

HEAD HERE FOR LIVE FOX NEWS CHANNEL COVERAGE OF THE ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR

During her tenure as ambassador to the U.N., Haley slashed U.S. funding to Palestinians in Gaza by defunding the U.N. Relief and Works Agency. The aid was later restored under the Biden administration.

“I stopped all U.S. taxpayer money going to the Palestinian refugees when I was at the United Nations. This is something that I always said – the Arab countries, it was their responsibility, not the American taxpayer’s responsibility,” Haley said in an interview last week on Fox News’ “Hannity.”

Scott told Fox News in a statement that “there should not be a single U.S. dollar that risks ending up in the hands of Hamas. The terrorist organization brutally murdered innocent Israelis and dozens of Americans.”

And Scott vowed to take steps “to ensure no future taxpayer dollars make their way into the hands of Hamas.”

Trump has slammed the aid as “totally inappropriate.”

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The White House has said the aid will be distributed through the United Nations and non-government organizations. But Hamas has a long track record of seizing assistance funneled through the U.N. or relief agencies.

While the Republican presidential contenders are mostly on the same page in criticizing the Biden administration over the humanitarian aid, they’ve traded blows on other aspects of the Israel-Hamas war.

Most notable is the verbal fireworks between DeSantis and Haley and their campaigns and allied super PACs over whether the U.S. should accept any Palestinian refugees fleeing the fighting.

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

• Committees on Wisconsin’s Republican-controlled Legislature have advanced multiple proposed amendments that would enshrine election reform measures into the state’s constitution.
• The amendments would ban both private election funding and noncitizen voting in local elections, as well as further enshrine voter ID requirements into state law.
• The Wisconsin Constitution can only be amended if said amendment passes in two consecutive legislative sessions. Democratic Gov. Tony Evers does not have the power to veto a constitutional amendment.

Republicans who control the Wisconsin Legislature have advanced a series of constitutional amendments that would outlaw private funding for elections ahead of the 2024 presidential contest, bar municipalities from allowing non-U.S. citizens to vote in local elections and enshrine existing voter photo ID requirements in the state constitution.

The proposals debated Tuesday at a joint hearing of the Senate and Assembly elections committees stem from false claims made by former President Donald Trump and his supporters that widespread voter fraud tipped the 2020 presidential election in favor of President Joe Biden.

Constitutional amendments must be passed in two consecutive sessions of the state Legislature before being ratified by voters in a statewide election. The governor cannot veto a constitutional amendment.

EX-WISCONSIN SUPREME COURT JUSTICE FIGHTS SUBPOENA OVER PROTASIEWICZ IMPEACHMENT ADVICE

Democratic Gov. Tony Evers has previously vetoed more than a dozen Republican-backed elections proposals, including a 2021 bill to outlaw private elections grants.

The Legislature approved the amendments requiring voters to be U.S. citizens and outlawing private elections grants in its last session. The voter ID amendment is a new proposal this year, which means the soonest it could be put on the ballot for voter approval is 2025.

Assembly Majority Leader Tyler August said Tuesday that he hopes to put the amendment outlawing election grants before voters in the statewide April 2024 election and put the citizenship requirements on the November 2024 ballot.

Conservatives were outraged in 2020 by a nonprofit that distributed hundreds of millions of dollars in grants, mostly funded by Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, to local election offices. Opponents termed the money “Zuckerbucks” and claimed it was an attempt by the billionaire to tip the vote in favor of Democrats, although there was no evidence to support that. Since 2020, GOP lawmakers in at least 20 states have outlawed private elections grants.

There has also been a recent push for states to specifically make clear that only U.S. citizens can vote in state and local elections. Some cities and towns across the country have allowed noncitizens to vote in local elections. Federal law already requires U.S. citizenship to vote in national elections and no state constitutions explicitly allow noncitizens to vote in state or local elections.

The Wisconsin Constitution guarantees that every U.S. citizen age 18 and over is a qualified elector. But it does not specifically say that only U.S. citizens are qualified to vote in state or local elections.

“I don’t think anyone in this room believes noncitizens are going to gain the right to vote in the state of Wisconsin anytime soon,” said Jamie Lynn Crofts, policy director for Wisconsin Voices. “It should be up to people at the local level to decide if noncitizens should be able to vote in their local elections.”

The photo ID amendment would enshrine the state’s current photo ID law, enacted in 2011, in the state constitution. The Legislature could still pass exceptions to the requirement.

WISCONSIN ALLOCATES $402M TO COMBAT PFAS, OTHER WATER POLLUTANTS

The move to make photo ID a constitutional requirement comes after the Wisconsin Supreme Court flipped to liberal control. There is no current legal challenge to the state’s voter ID requirement, which is one of the strictest in the country. But other election-related lawsuits challenging restrictions on absentee voting and ballot drop boxes could be taken up by the state Supreme Court.

Republican supporters at Tuesday’s hearing said the voter ID law is designed to ensure that only qualified voters cast ballots. But opponents say voter ID requirements make it more difficult for people to vote, particularly those with disabilities, the elderly and people who don’t have driver’s licenses.

Under current law, and the proposed amendment, voters must provide one of a list of approved photo IDs in order to cast their ballot. Acceptable IDs include a Wisconsin driver’s license, U.S. passport, tribal ID, U.S. military ID or student ID. Absentee voters must provide a photocopy of their ID when requesting a ballot.

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Voters who do not have one of the required photo IDs can vote a provisional ballot and then return by the deadline with the identification to have the ballot counted. The ability to cast a provisional ballot does not change under the proposed amendment.

As they battle to be the top alternative to former President Donald Trump in the 2024 Republican presidential nomination race, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and former United Nations Ambassador and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley are increasingly trading fire.

The latest flash point is China.

In a Fox News Digital interview on Tuesday, DeSantis charged that Haley “rolled out the red carpet for China” during her tenure as South Carolina governor.

Haley’s campaign fired back, claiming DeSantis has “aggressively recruited Chinese companies to Florida.”

DESANTIS, HALEY, TARGET BIDEN OVER HUMANITARIAN AID TO PALESTINIANS

While Trump remains the commanding front-runner in the race for the GOP nomination, DeSantis for months had second place in the polls to himself, ahead of Haley and the rest of the field of Republican White House contenders.

But Haley’s seen her poll position rise the past two months and has leapfrogged DeSantis to stand in second place in some of the most recent polls in New Hampshire — which holds the first primary and second overall contest in the GOP nominating calendar — and in her home state of South Carolina, which holds the first southern contest.

Over the past week, the candidates, their campaigns and allied super PACs have traded fire over whether the U.S. should accept any Palestinian refugees who flee the fighting in Gaza between Israel and Hamas.

Now comes new fireworks over China, which has increasingly become a prime target for Republicans as relations have dramatically worsened between Washington and Beijing.

TRUMP MAY NOT BE THE ONLY REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE TO SKIP THE NEXT GOP PRIMARY DEBATE

The DeSantis-aligned super PAC Never Back Down went up with a new spot — backed by a seven-figure ad buy — that criticized Haley for bringing Chinese businesses to the Palmetto State while she was governor.

“Nikki Haley: questionable judgment, dangerous on China,” the narrator of the ads says under pictures of Haley and Chinese leader Xi Jinping.

While noting that his campaign wasn’t responsible for the commercial, DeSantis said that “it’s very jarring to see her in her own words talk about how … she wants to roll out the red carpet for the CCP (Chinese Communist Party).”

DeSantis added, “I did the opposite in Florida. We banned the CCP from purchasing land in Florida. We didn’t give them any free land. So, that’s an honest difference of policy.”

He asked, “[W]ho do you trust to lead — somebody that’s actually stood up to China or somebody that rolled out the red carpet for China?”

On the campaign trail this year, Haley’s repeatedly stated that China is the “No. 1 biggest national security threat.” And earlier this year, she released a comprehensive plan to combat China.

Haley also spotlighted that she would rescind federal funding for universities that accept money from China, take back land in the U.S. that China’s already purchased, and end “all normal trade relations with” China until it stops flooding the U.S. with fentanyl.

The Haley-aligned super PAC Stand for America has also spotlighted the candidate’s China stance in a series of ads.

The Haley campaign in a statement to Fox News said the attacks are “more lies and hypocrisy from desperate and losing Ron DeSantis, who aggressively recruited Chinese companies to Florida, including a sanctioned Chinese military manufacturer. Nikki Haley took on the Chinese at the UN and she will as president.”

Never Back Down chief operating officer Kristin Davison, responding, told Fox News that “Nikki Haley can’t defend her disastrous record on China, so she’s lying about Ron DeSantis. She has no evidence to support these wildly false claims.”

DeSantis was interviewed as he campaigned Tuesday in New Hampshire.

Speaking with reporters after mingling with the breakfast crowd at the Red Arrow Diner in Londonderry, DeSantis once again targeted Trump.

“What Donald Trump does now, he is wedded to the teleprompter,” DeSantis said. “This is a different Donald Trump than 2015 and ’16 – lost the zip on his fastball, has a sense of entitlement, all this stuff; doesn’t think he has to go through and earn it like other candidates. And that’s just not going fly in Iowa and New Hampshire.”

Responding, Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung said in a statement to Fox News that “Ron DeSantis is operating with a little league brain in a major league world. It’s not surprising to see him go full-blown Never Trump and anti-MAGA because that’s who he is deep down inside.”

DeSantis also pointed to Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the environmental activist, high-profile vaccine skeptic and scion of the Kennedy political dynasty, who this month dropped his Democrat primary challenge against President Biden to launch an independent White house run.

DeSantis has repeatedly argued that Trump ceded control to Dr. Anthony Fauci, the longtime top federal infectious disease expert.

“RFK Jr. will be a vessel for anti-lockdown and anti-Fauci voters if Trump is the nominee. If I’m the nominee, they all go to me because I stood up against Fauci. I’m going to clean out [the] CDC and all those. It’s a big part of my platform. With Trump, though, he created Fauci. He elevated Fauci,” DeSantis said in his latest attack on Trump over the then-president’s management of the coronavirus pandemic.

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Speaking with Fox News, DeSantis added that “there are millions of voters out there who want to see accountability for the federal government’s COVID policies. I represent a vessel to do that. I’ve pledged to do that. Donald Trump will not do that. He said he did everything right. He doesn’t think there’s a need to go back and do any of that.”

Looking ahead to the 2024 election, DeSantis said that “those voters, those anti-lockdown voters, those anti Fauci voters, they’re going to want a vehicle. And I think that RFK is going to be able to peel those voters away from Trump.”

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

CONCORD, N.H. – President Biden is breaking with 100 years of tradition with the news that he won’t file to place his name on New Hampshire’s Democratic presidential primary ballot.

The Biden 2024 re-election campaign announced on Tuesday that the president will pass on filing, due to the pledge by the Democratic National Committee to discipline candidates who compete in unsanctioned primaries like the one New Hampshire is planning to hold next year.

“While the president wishes to participate in the Primary, he is obligated as a Democratic candidate for President to comply with the Delegate Selection Rules for the 2024 Democratic National Convention promulgated by the Democratic National Committee,” Biden 2024 campaign manager Julie Chávez Rodríguez wrote in a letter to longtime New Hampshire Democratic Party chair Ray Buckley.

“In accordance with this guidance, Biden for President will refrain from submitting a Declaration of Candidacy for the Primary ahead of Friday’s candidate filing deadline for the Primary,” Rodriguez explained.

WILL DEAN PHILLIPS LAUNCH A DEMOCRATIC PRIMARY CHALLENGE AGAINST BIDEN FRIDAY IN NEW HAMPSHIRE?

New Hampshire has held the first presidential primary in both major political parties’ nominating calenders for a century, and Iowa’s held the lead-off caucuses for the Democrats and Republicans for half a century.

But Democrats for years have knocked both Iowa and New Hampshire as unrepresentative of the party as a whole, for being largely White with few major urban areas. Nevada and South Carolina, which in recent cycles have voted third and fourth on the calendar, are much more diverse than either Iowa or New Hampshire. Nevada and South Carolina were added to the Democratic calendar nearly two decades ago to increase the diversity of the early states electorate.

While Republicans aren’t making major changes to their schedule, the DNC earlier this year overwhelmingly approved a calendar proposed by President Biden to move South Carolina to the lead position, with a Feb. 3, 2024, primary. New Hampshire and Nevada are scheduled to hold primaries three days later, with Iowa entirely losing its early state position. The president and supporters of the plan have argued that the plan would empower minority voters, whom Democrats have long relied on but have at times taken for granted.

But New Hampshire has a nearly half-century-old law that mandates that it hold the first presidential primary, a week ahead of any similar contest.

To comply with the DNC, New Hampshire needed to scrap its state law protecting its first-in-the-nation primary status and expand access to early voting. However, with Republicans in control of New Hampshire’s governor’s office and both houses of the state legislature, state Democrats repeatedly argued that is a non-starter.

While he’s yet to set the date of the primary, New Hampshire Secretary of State Dave Scanlan said recently that the contest would likely be held in late January.

That would make New Hampshire non-compliant, and the state could lose half of its delegates to next summer’s Democratic presidential nominating convention, under DNC penalties passed last year.

While top Democrats in the Granite State are expected to lead a write-in campaign for Biden in the primary, the president’s decision to skip putting his name on the ballot could lead to a protest vote in New Hampshire.

While the president’s the commanding front-runner for his party’s nomination, polls indicate Biden has faced plenty of concerns from Democrats over his age and physical and mental stamina.

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The president is already facing a long-shot primary challenge from best-selling author spiritual adviser Marianne Williamson, who is making her second straight White House run.

Biden was also facing an uphill primary challenge from environmental lawyer and high-profile vaccine critic Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who is a scion of arguably the nation’s most famous family political dynasty.

But Kennedy announced at a campaign event in Philadelphia earlier this month that he would now seek the White House as an independent candidate. 

Rep. Dean Phillips of Minnesota, who’s seriously mulling a primary challenge against Biden, may head to New Hampshire on Friday to file and launch a 2024 Democratic presidential campaign.

Buckley, responding to the Biden campaign’s announcement, took to twitter on Tuesday evening to write, “The reality is that Joe Biden will win the NH FITN Primary in January, win renomination in Chicago and will be re-elected next November. NH voters know and trust Joe Biden that’s why he is leading Trump in NH by double digits.” 

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

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What’s happening:

– Third GOP speaker nominee drops out of race after three weeks without House leader. Get the latest updates on the House speaker race from Fox News’ live blog

– House returns Tuesday evening to select another nominee for House speaker…

– US officials say at least 33 Americans have been killed in the Israel-Hamas war. Follow Fox News for the latest updates on the conflict. 

Emmer goes down

The third House Republican to win his party’s nomination for speaker withdrew Tuesday hours after winning the title. Rep. Tom Emmer withdrew his name from the speaker race before calling a House floor vote. 

Republicans remain divided about who should lead the party since Rep. Kevin McCarthy’s historic ousting three weeks ago. Emmer dropped out shortly after former President Trump called him a “globalist RINO.”

HOUSE OF CHAOS: Republicans agree on needing speaker this week, divided on if they’ll get one …Read more

Quote of the day: 

“So the consensus is unless it changes, you stay here all night until we pick somebody”

-Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C. on the Tuesday evening GOP conference meeting to find a speaker

FIVE PRINCIPLES: GOP speaker candidates calls on all contenders to follow these principles …Read more

DONALDS CLAPS BACK: Donalds fires back at AOC’s jab at his ‘experience’ …Read more

Israel-Hamas war rages on

OBAMA’S WARNING: Ex-president says Israeli military action ‘could ultimately backfire’ if one thing not considered …Read more

‘ANTISEMITIC ACTIVITY’: GOP debuts resolution censuring Rashida Tlaib amid Israel crisis …Read more

POPE-ENDORSED PLAN: Biden claims Pope Francis ‘on the same page’, as US on Israel-Gaza war; Pontiff calls for peace …Read more

‘I CANNOT UNCRITICALLY ACCEPT’: Squad member continues suggesting Israel behind Gaza hospital explosion …Read more

GRAVE CONCERNS ON GAZA: Democrat Sen. Peter Welch warns against a ground invasion of Gaza …Read more

‘RESENT THOSE COMMENTS’: New York Democrat hits back at Ilhan Omar over Israel …Read more

‘LOST ME FOREVER’: Former DSA member trashes org for support of Palestinian resistance …Read more

‘LEAVE THEM ON THE FRINGE’: ADL CEO leaves no doubt about disgust for anti-Israel ‘Squad’ …Read more

WHY THE WAIT?: Why the NYT waited to correct their botched Gaza reporting …Read more

Campaign trail

ALL TIED UP: New poll shows independent candidates threaten Trump, Biden presidential hopes …Read more

‘MENTALLY UNSTABLE’: New biography details tense exchange between Romney, 2024 GOP candidate …Read more

GAINS IN CAROLINA: GOP set to gain 3 seats in North Carolina’s Senate …Read more

BACKING OUT: Ramaswamy expresses support for US decreasing role on world stage …Read more

ELLIS TAKES DEAL: Former Trump attorney pleads guilty in Georgia election interference case …Read more

Worth the read

‘DESIGNED’ TO FAIL: Cruz says Biden funding request won’t help border crisis …Read more

TROJAN HORSE: China is rapidly expanding influence in US via green energy industry: report …Read more

‘COERCIVE INFLUENCE’: Gallagher warns university presidents to be ‘clear-eyed’ on China threat to campuses …Read more

‘CALAMITOUS’: US birth rate fell by 22% since 2007 …Read more

BOARDING PASS: TSA flub lands lawmaker in cuffs …Read more

‘TIME FOR ACTION’: Conservative group warns House GOP to push on border security …Read more

Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more on FoxNews.com.

FIRST ON FOX: Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., spoke to Fox News Digital about his presidential campaign’s shift of resources to the state of Iowa, and why he believes his campaign is well positioned to make inroads with the evangelical base in the Hawkeye State.

“Iowa chooses presidents and the entire road to the White House starts in Iowa,” Scott told Fox News Digital on Tuesday. “I wanted to make sure I anchored myself in a place where I believe our message is resonating. We’re seeing a positive response, which has aligned with my faith-filled message. Personal experience seems to match with the Iowa voters, so it’s just been a really good experience so far, and I look forward to seeing it translate into votes.”

The interview with Scott came a day after his campaign announced he was going “all in” on Iowa and has shifted ad buys from New Hampshire to Iowa, along with staff and nearly all of his other resources.

Scott told Fox News Digital that Iowa is a state “rich in faith” that understands that the “miracle of America is not a miracle, it’s driven by faith.”

2024 GOP CANDIDATE FACED WRATH OF ROMNEY AFTER ENDORSING TRUMP, BOOK SAYS: ‘DIMINISHES YOU MORALLY’

“Our Founding Fathers should be celebrated for founding a country on ideals, the ideal of religious liberty, religious freedom, and a Judeo-Christian principle,” Scott said. “And so having the same perspective and worldview and understanding that the importance of the policy positions that we take or what we’re doing is undergirded by the way we do it. And here in Iowa, I see that that message continues to resonate, and it’s just been a really good alignment.“

The Real Clear Politics average of polling in Iowa shows Scott at 6%, behind former President Donald Trump, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy. 

CHER SAYS SHE’LL LEAVE US IF TRUMP RETAKES WHITE HOUSE IN 2024: ‘I ALMOST GOT AN ULCER THE LAST TIME’

Scott told Fox News Digital that his focus on Iowa won’t be “attacking” other candidates, but rather on providing a contrast on where he stands on certain issues.

One of those issues is abortion, where Scott said he has “been working on getting the rest of the Republican presidential candidates to join me in a 15-week national limit.” He acknowledged that DeSantis pledged support for that position at the last GOP debate, but pointed out that Haley did not. 

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Scott also explained his stance that the U.S. should not accept refugees from Gaza and said, “Other candidates decided that was a good idea, but backtracked when the polls changed.”

Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., has dropped out of the race for speaker hours after being named House Republicans’ nominee. 

Emmer won a majority of the GOP Conference on Tuesday morning after five rounds of voting, against six other potential candidates. 

But it quickly became clear that he did not have enough support to outright win a House-wide vote. With Republicans’ razor-thin majority, a GOP speaker-designate can only lose four members of their own party to win the gavel without Democratic support. 

MEET TOM EMMER, THE GOP MAJORITY WHIP AND NOMINEE FOR HOUSE SPEAKER

At least 25 Republicans said they would not support Emmer in a House floor vote after he won the title.

More GOP lawmakers indicated after the roll call that the conference needed to move on to a new nominee. 

“This morning I voted for Rep. Donalds for speaker. Followed by Rep Johnson. Rep Emmer does not have votes to be speaker and I will be unable to support him on the floor,” Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., wrote on social media platform X. 

WHY JORDAN COULDN’T GRAB THE SPEAKER GAVEL AFTER THREE FAILED BALLOTS

Rep. Matt Rosendale, R-Mont., called on GOP Conference Vice Chair Mike Johnson, R-La., and Republican Study Committee Chair Kevin Hern, R-Okla., to jump back into the race. Both lost to Emmer earlier in the day. 

“This morning, the Republican Conference met to elect a Speaker. I supported Kevin Hern until he was eliminated from the ballot, at which time I supported Mike Johnson,” Rosendale said on X. “Tom Emmer has secured the nomination but no longer has a path to secure 217 votes. It’s time to get back in the room and give Kevin Hern and Mike Johnson an opportunity to get to 217!”

HOUSE REPUBLICANS VOTE TO REMOVE JIM JORDAN AS SPEAKER NOMINEE

Meanwhile, former President Donald Trump exerted external pressure against Emmer.

“I have many wonderful friends wanting to be Speaker of the House, and some are truly great Warriors,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social app. “RINO Tom Emmer, who I do not know well, is not one of them.”

Emmer is the third speaker-designate House Republicans have had in as many weeks. Congress has been paralyzed since eight GOP lawmakers voted with all Democrats to oust ex-Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., the first time in history the House deposed its own leader.

Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., and Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio – two of the highest-profile House Republicans after McCarthy – were both forced out of the race because they were unable to win over the 217 Republicans needed for victory.

Former President Trump on Tuesday blasted House Majority Leader Tom Emmer as a “globalist RINO,” warning that electing him speaker of the House “would be a tragic mistake.” 

Emmer won the Republican nomination to be the next speaker of the House on Tuesday. Emmer is the third nominee since the ouster of former Speaker Kevin McCarthy earlier this month.

MEET TOM EMMER, THE GOP MAJORITY WHIP AND NOMINEE FOR HOUSE SPEAKER

But even as he secured the majority of votes in the House Republican Conference meeting Tuesday, Trump, the 2024 Republican presidential frontrunner, slammed his nomination, and urged Republicans not to vote for him on the House floor.

“I have many wonderful friends wanting to be Speaker of the House, and some are truly great Warriors,” Trump posted on his Truth Social Tuesday.

Trump endorsed Jordan, R-Ohio, to serve as speaker of the House earlier this month.

“RINO Tom Emmer, who I do not know well, is not one of them,” Trump said. “He never respected the Power of a Trump Endorsement, or the breadth and scope of MAGA—MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”

A “RINO” stands for “Republican In Name Only.” 

Trump said Emmer “fought me all the way, and actually spent more time defending Ilhan Omar, than he did me.”

“He is totally out-of-touch with Republican Voters,” Trump said. “I believe he has now learned his lesson, because he is saying that he is Pro-Trump all the way, but who can ever be sure? Has he only changed because that’s what it takes to win?”

WHY JORDAN COULDN’T GRAB THE SPEAKER GAVEL AFTER THREE FAILED BALLOTS

Trump warned that the Republican Party “cannot take that chance, because that’s not where the America First Voters are.” 

“Voting for a Globalist RINO like Tom Emmer would be a tragic mistake!” Trump posted.

Trump’s comments come as Emmer’s team has been seeking to portray the majority whip as in-line with Trump. Reports say Emmer keeps an autographed photo of himself with the former president in his office. 

Emmer reportedly spoke to Trump over the phone this weekend, as he announced his bid for speaker, but so did several of his opponents. 

Emmer had led voting Tuesday morning amid multiple votes within the House GOP conference on secret ballots to determine who would be their nominee to pick up the gavel. On the fifth vote, Emmer secured a majority and became the nominee.

Emmer is only able to afford four defections from fellow Republicans when the vote eventually goes to the House floor.

Emmer is the third nominee chosen by the House Republican Conference since McCarthy, R-Calif., was historically voted out of his role.

Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., on Oct. 3, led a motion to vacate. All House Democrats and eight House Republicans, led by Gaetz, voted to remove McCarthy as speaker— a first in U.S. history.

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Since then, House Republicans tried to elect Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., and Jordan, but neither were able to secure votes on the House floor, facing significant Republican opposition.

House Republicans also sought to empower Speaker Pro-tempore Patrick McHenry last week, but the effort also failed. 

This is the second-longest period the House has ever gone without a speaker. It lacked a speaker for two months in late 1855 and early 1856.

Former Trump attorney Jenna Ellis has pleaded guilty to intentionally interfering in the election process in the state of Georgia.

On Tuesday, Ellis’ attorneys informed Judge Scott McAfee that Ellis intended to plead guilty to aiding and abetting false statements in writing, and both were present in a courtroom hearing where a teary-eyed Ellis, 38, read from a prepared typed statement admitting her fault.

“As an attorney who is also a Christian, I take my responsibilities as a lawyer very seriously and I endeavor to be a person of sound moral and ethical character in all my dealings,” Ellis said in the courtroom. “In the wake of the 2020 presidential election, I believed that challenging the results on behalf of President Trump should be pursued in a just and legal way.”

“I endeavored to represent my client to the best of my ability,” she continued, saying she worked closely with other lawyers who provided her with information that she then told the media. “What I did not do, but I should, was make sure the facts that the other lawyers alleged to be true were in fact true. In the frenetic pace of attempting to raise challenges to the election in several states, including Georgia, I failed to do my due diligence.”

BILL MAHER ASSERTS BIDEN WON FAIRLY, TRUMP ADVISER JENNA ELLIS PUSHES BACK: ‘WE DON’T KNOW THAT’

She was charged with one charge of aiding and abetting false statements in writing. It carries a minimum of one year in prison.

As part of the plea deal, Ellis will have to serve five years probation and pay $5,000 in restitution to the Georgia Secretary of State within 30 days.

She will also have to complete 100 hours of community service, write an apology letter to voters in the state of Georgia and testify truthfully in future hearings regarding ongoing cases.

NEW POLL: TIGHT RACE BETWEEN TRUMP, BIDEN WITH RFK, CORNEL WEST INDEPENDENT BIDS THREATENING BOTH CANDIDACIES

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Ellis is also not allowed to post anything on social media about her case until the conclusion of all cases about election inference.

In lieu of ongoing cases, she must fully cooperate with prosecutors in interviews and evidentiary hearings as well as assisting in pre-trial matters.

She also asked the court to be tried as a first-time offender.

Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, one of three likely 2024 White House hopefuls to join the upcoming GOP debate stage next month, reportedly said that the notion of the United States “reevaluating” its United Nations member or potentially pulling out of NATO is “reasonable.” 

Ramaswamy made the remarks to Politico in Iowa. 

He was asked to reply to a recent Rolling Stones article claiming former President Donald Trump had been talked out of backing out of NATO during his first term and was now considering – if he gets elected again – of ensuring the United States only maintains a “standby” position in the transatlantic military alliance formed after World War II. 

“It’s a reasonable idea that I have considered,” Ramaswamy told Politico, considering the idea but falling short of committing to doing so if elected. 

HALEY AND RAMASWAMY’S WAR OF WORDS HEATS UP WITH FRESH VOLLEYS OVER ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR

“I am also open to reevaluating U.S. involvement in the UN,” he reportedly added without elaborating. 

Ramaswamy has frequently butted heads with GOP presidential rival Nikki Haley, Trump’s former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations and more of a traditionalist on foreign policy. 

NIKKI HALEY WARNS BIDEN TO ‘BE SMART’ FOLLOWING HAMAS’ RELEASE OF 2 AMERICAN HOSTAGES; ‘DON’T FALL FOR IT’

The two, as well as Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, will take to the third GOP presidential debate stage in Miami on Nov. 8. It’s unlikely Trump, who skipped the first two, will participate. 

Sources told Rolling Stone that, if elected, Trump does not want to fill his next administratio with “NATO lovers.” The debate comes amid the Israel-Hamas war, as Ramaswamy has urged members of Congress to vote against President Biden’s proposed $106 billion aid package to the Jewish state and Ukraine. 

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“The U.S. should be clear with Israel that further U.S. support is contingent on Israel identifying clear objectives for success in Gaza and a coherent plan for what comes after toppling Hamas even if Israel is successful in doing so,” Ramaswamy told Politico on Saturday. “As of now, these critical questions remain unanswered.” 

Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, privately lambasted Republican presidential candidate Chris Christie after his 2016 endorsement of former President Donald Trump, according to a new biography of Romney released Tuesday.

In an early 2016 email described as “curt,” Romney told Christie that he was “stunned” the latter had endorsed Trump, according to the biography “Romney: A Reckoning,” an advance copy of which was shared with Fox News Digital. The book, which details the tense back-and-forth in addition to other insights from Romney’s lengthy political career, was released Tuesday and authored by journalist McKay Coppins.

“If you ever want to have a rational conversation about all of this, I am always happy to do so,” Christie finally wrote in response after Romney sent him multiple messages over the course of several weeks regarding his Trump endorsement, according to the book.

“He is unequivocally mentally unstable, and he is racist, bigoted, misogynistic, xenophobic, vulgar and prone to violence,” Romney said, per the book. “There is simply no rational argument that could lead me to vote for someone with those characteristics. I believe your endorsement of him severely diminishes you morally — though probably not politically — and that you must withdraw that support to preserve your integrity and character.”

TRUMP AS HOUSE SPEAKER WOULD BE ‘DUCK-BILLED PLATYPUS’ OF POLITICS

On Feb. 26, 2016, Christie announced he would endorse Trump, who had emerged at the time as a front-runner to win the GOP presidential nomination. In a surprise news conference, Christie stood with Trump and stated he was “happy to be on the Trump team,” adding that he looked forward to working with him.

Christie, who formerly served as governor of New Jersey, dropped out of the Republican primary weeks prior to the endorsement on Feb. 10, 2016. He dropped out after failing to win a significant portion of votes during the Iowa caucus and New Hampshire primary.

POLL SHOWS TRUMP AND BIDEN NECK-AND-NECK IN 2024 ELECTION, BUT INDEPENDENT BIDS COULD CHANGE THE RACE

Meanwhile, Christie launched a second bid for president in June and has spent a considerable amount of effort attacking Trump.

“He’s completely full of cr–, and he makes it up as he goes along,” Christie said of Trump last week.

The former New Jersey governor has also called Trump “Donald Duck” for avoiding the first two Republican debates of the 2024 election cycle.

Coppins’ biography of Romney sheds additional light on how the Utah Republican, who unsuccessfully ran for president in 2012, continued to vigorously oppose Trump during the 2016 election. And it also details the moments leading up to, and following, Romney’s highly publicized meeting with Trump after the election.

“You know, it’s going to be hard for you to be seen as a credible [Cabinet] candidate here with all the negative things you’ve said about Donald Trump,” former Vice President Mike Pence told Romney after the November 2016 meeting, according to the book. “So, it would be really helpful if you went out to the media after this meeting … and just said you were wrong, and that what you’ve learned has given you much more confidence in him being president.”

“There’s no way I can do that,” Romney responded to Pence.

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Weeks later, Romney dined with Trump and told reporters afterward that Trump’s actions following the election gave him “increasing hope that President-elect Trump is the very man who can lead us to” a better future.

Romney was ultimately not selected for a Cabinet position following the meetings, something he later reflected was a blessing in disguise.

Romney and Christie didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

EXCLUSIVE: House China Committee Chairman Mike Gallagher warned top universities of efforts by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to spread its “coercive influence” on campuses across the nation as it works to strengthen its international position while “eroding” the U.S.’

Gallagher, R-Wis., on Monday addressed dozens of university presidents at the annual meeting of the Association of American Universities, urging the leaders of the institutions to be “clear-eyed” about the threat posed by the CCP to their universities.

The event was closed to the press, but Fox News Digital obtained a copy of Gallagher’s prepared remarks.

“For decades, the Chinese Communist Party has exploited the very openness at the heart of American society, and our higher education system in particular, twisting this strength to the Party’s own advantage,” Gallagher said, adding that the CCP’s goal is “not mutual benefit.”

“The CCP’s goal is to leverage technological advances, spread its coercive influence, and enmesh dependencies to strengthen its international position while eroding ours,” he said. “The question — as I see it — is how do we respond in a way that preserves our free and open society — including our higher education system with all its natural strengths — while maintaining our moral, intellectual and financial integrity?”

UNIVERSITIES, NON-PROFITS FORCED TO DIVEST FROM CHINA OR LOSE TAX-EXEMPT STATUS UNDER NEW GOP BILL

Gallagher said that universities need to better protect their students from CCP “harassment and attacks,” while adding that Congress should take steps to prohibit the operation of any student group that receives funding or direction from “adversarial governments like China’s,” which he said “seeks to repress students on American campuses.”

“The Chinese Communist Party cannot be allowed to compromise academic freedom, undermine our values, or expand their Orwellian police state to U.S. soil. But that’s exactly what the CCP is doing,” he explained, telling university leaders that he has met with “dozens of students” from China across the nation who have shared with him “story after story of being harassed, followed, and physically attacked for simple offenses like hanging posters or organizing panels — anything at all that strays from the CCP party line.”

“Most students spoke to us under the condition of anonymity because they fear reprisal from the Chinese Communist Party against them and their families in China,” he said. “For a comment about Taiwan or a rally for Hong Kong, their relatives in China are terrorized by police.”

TRUMP ROLLS OUT 2024 TRADE POLICY THAT WOULD ‘TAX CHINA TO BUILD UP AMERICA,’ REWARD US PRODUCERS

Gallagher said “many students never return home, afraid of what awaits.”

“Among those who do, some are detained,” he said. “They are surveilled on U.S. campuses, electronically tracked, reported back to Chinese Security Services.”

He added: “This is a reality in America today, on campuses across the country. We must decide: Will America remain a haven from persecution or become a hunting ground for authoritarians?”

Gallagher also pointed to Chinese Students and Scholars Associations (CSSA), which he said are “a bigger problem” than Confucius Institutes. 

Gallagher said there are 150 CSSA chapters across the U.S. The groups were created in the aftermath of Tiananmen, when Chinese students “played a key role in organizing demonstrations, these groups ostensibly exist to support the unique needs and communities of Chinese students studying abroad.”

“In practice, they often double as a mechanism for the Party to restrain the free speech and liberty of the same students they are supposed to serve,” Gallagher warned, noting that many CSSAs “officially describe themselves as under the ‘guidance’ or ‘leadership’ of the (Chinese) embassy.”

Meanwhile, Gallagher also urged universities to rethink how they collaborate with researchers and institutions that are affiliated with the CCP or the People’s Liberation Army (PLA). He said Congress should also take steps to restrict Department of Defense-funded research collaborations with institutions affiliated with the PLA.

“We can’t allow tax-advantaged entities like endowments, foundations and retirement plans to fund Chinese military technologies that may be targeting American service members as we speak,” he said.

Gallagher also warned endowment managers about their “fiduciary obligations.”

“And we’re not just concerned about intellectual capital and endowment capital going to China. We also want to make sure we understand the money coming in from China and what it buys,” he explained, adding that Congress needs to ensure that laws are enforced that require universities to disclose any foreign money.

BIDEN PROPOSES TIGHTER NATIONAL SECURITY RULES AROUND MILITARY BASES AFTER CHINESE REAL ESTATE PURCHASES

Since 2013, American universities reported receiving more than $1 billion in donations, but Gallagher said that figure is “likely a vast understatement as universities routinely fail to report foreign money, and the PRC increasingly uses American 501c(3)s to avoid detection.”

Gallagher said universities need to restrict outbound capital investment into China and be transparent about their foreign investments. He also said Congress needs to prohibit tax-advantaged entities like endowments, foundations and retirement plans to fund Chinese military technologies, and enforce Section 117 of the Higher Education Act, which requires universities to disclose foreign money.

“U.S. universities must be transparent about financial ties with adversary regimes,” he warned.

It is unclear, at this point, which universities attended Gallagher’s remarks, but according to the Association of American Universities, there are 71 institutions involved in the organization.

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Those universities include Boston University, New York University, University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, University of Minnesota, Tufts University, Brandeis University, Northwestern University, George Washington University, Brown University, Princeton University, University of Pennsylvania, Carnegie Mellon University, Columbia University, Stanford University, Johns Hopkins University, Duke University, Cornell University, Harvard University, Yale University and more.

Gallagher chairs the House Permanent Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party. The committee was created by former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., to address the threat posed by Beijing, which national security officials from both Republican and Democrat administrations have warned is the greatest threat to the U.S.

Former President Trump and President Biden are tied in a hypothetical 2024 matchup but are both facing potential threats to their candidacies from independent presidential bids, a new poll has found.

According to the Suffolk University/USA Today poll released Monday, 37% of registered voters said they would support Biden and 36% said they would support Trump. However, independent presidential candidates Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. and Cornel West also garnered significant support — 13% and 4% respectively.

The support for Kennedy came largely from independent voters (23%), but he also drew large chunks of support from Republicans (9%) and Democrats (7%). West did the same with Democrats (6%) and independents (5%), as well as 2% of Republicans.

REPUBLICANS ANNOUNCE ‘RECORD-BREAKING’ FUNDRAISING HAUL IN EFFORT TO GROW HOUSE MAJORITY IN 2024

When asked who would be their second choice for president, a plurality of voters (36%) said they were undecided, but Kennedy garnered the most of any candidate at 26%. He was followed by West at 16%, Trump at 6% and Biden at 5%.

A large portion of voters also expressed interest in a potential No Labels bipartisan presidential ticket with 26% saying they would seriously consider voting for it and 41% saying they would not. Others (23%) said it would depend on which candidates made up the ticket, and 9% were undecided.

A strong majority said they either disapproved (15%) or strongly disapproved (41%) of Biden’s job performance. Just 27% said they approved and 13% that they strongly approved.

POLL SHOWS TRUMP AND BIDEN NECK-AND-NECK IN 2024 ELECTION, BUT INDEPENDENT BIDS COULD CHANGE THE RACE

Vice President Kamala Harris got similar negative ratings when voters were asked about her favorability. Most said they viewed her unfavorably (53%) rather than favorably (33%), and 12% were undecided.

Voters’ views of the Senate fared slightly better than of the House of Representatives, with 36% holding a favorable view of the former, and 24% of the latter. 42% held an unfavorable view of the Senate, but 54% held an unfavorable view of the House. 22% were undecided toward both.

Concerning confidence that government officials in Congress and the White House could handle that challenges facing the nation, a meager 4% had a lot of confidence and 32% had some confidence. An overwhelming number of voters said they had either very little confidence (34%) or none at all (27%).

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A whopping 71% said they felt the country was on the wrong track while just 17% said it was heading in the right direction. 12% were undecided.

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

Donald Trump is running for president again in 2024.

But there was a brief period earlier this month when the former president was also running for speaker.

Only one person has ever served as both House speaker and president. But certainly not at the same time. James Polk was elected House speaker by his colleagues from 1835 to 1839 while he was a congressman from Tennessee. Later, from 1845 to 1849, Polk served as president.

It was always doubtful Trump would ever become speaker of the House. It was a mathematical impossibility for the former president to win the speakership on the House floor. But amid an astonishing leadership vacuum atop the legislative branch of the United States, it should come as no surprise that some Republicans – and even former President Trump himself – were shopping him as a potential successor to former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif.

HOUSE SPEAKER ‘CHAOS’ COULD BENEFIT DEMS AS RACE STRETCHES INTO NEW WEEK

Rep. Greg Stuebe, R-Fla., advocated for a Trump speakership early on.

Rep. Troy Nehls, R-Texas, quickly announced that he would “nominate Donald J. Trump for speaker of the House” just after the House stripped McCarthy of his gavel earlier this month. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., also pushed Trump for the job.

“I support President Trump because he has a four-year proven record as president,” said Greene, noting she would nominate Trump in the House Republican Conference. “We’re talking about an interim speakership. And I think President Trump is exactly the right outsider for this.” 

Let’s establish a couple of facts:

The House has never had a non-member serve as the speaker of the House. But the Constitution and House rules allow for the possibility of non-lawmakers to serve as speaker.

MEET TOM EMMER, THE GOP MAJORITY WHIP RUNNING FOR HOUSE SPEAKER WITH MCCARTHY’S ENDORSEMENT

“(These are) unprecedented times and the Constitution allows it. This just not just an ordinary person that we would be bringing in as speaker,” added Greene about Trump. 

So someone who is NOT a lawmaker could certainly serve as House speaker. But specifically, what about former President Trump?

Trump is facing trial on multiple felony indictments in various jurisdictions. House Rule XXIII states that members indicted for a crime “which a sentence of two or more years’ imprisonment may be imposed… should step aside from any party caucus or leadership position.”

Note that it says “should.” And the House rule alludes to “caucus” or conference leadership slots. One might be able to argue that doesn’t pertain to the speaker. That’s because the entire House elects the speaker. But Fox is told the “spirit” of the rule applies to the speaker, too. Both the Republicans and Democrats also have internal rules that bar those under felony indictments from serving in leadership posts. 

This is one of the reasons why Republicans altered their rules in 2004 to protect then-House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Texas, prior to an indictment on alleged campaign finance violations. But after encountering public blowback, the GOP dropped the rule change. DeLay faced indictment and stepped away from leadership. DeLay was convicted in 2010 but cleared on appeal in 2013.

Regardless, this House “rule” or “guidance” is not self-executing. And if a speaker faced a felony indictment, we’re now well-versed in the mechanisms to remove him or her: move to vacate the chair on the floor. 

So, that means former President Trump could serve, regardless of his legal woes. 

And so the former president floated his name for speaker shortly after the House showed McCarthy the door. 

POLL SHOWS TRUMP AND BIDEN NECK-AND-NECK IN 2024 ELECTION, BUT INDEPENDENT BIDS COULD CHANGE THE RACE

“All I can say is we’ll do whatever is best for the country and for the Republican Party,” Trump said.

Democrats relished the potential chaos. 

“I think Donald Trump is good about inserting himself in any news cycle,” mused Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif. “It isn’t going to aid House Republicans.”

Fox even confirmed that Trump planned at one point to attend the House GOP’s “candidate forum” for House speakers – even though he’s not a member of the House nor a member of the House Republican Conference.

“I dare them to keep him out,” warned Greene. “I will nominate him in the conference and President Trump can attend.”

Greene could certainly have nominated the former president. But such a nomination doesn’t guarantee an audience with House Republicans behind closed doors. In fact, a senior House GOP leadership source quickly told Fox that Trump would not be permitted to attend the meeting.

But, like most things in this mid-Congress speaker’s race, everything changed within a few hours.

After Trump suggested he could fill the speaker’s void, the former president endorsed House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, for the job. Of course, Jordan finally crashed and burned in his bid for speaker after three failed votes on the floor. Jordan bled support on each ballot.

Some political observers wondered if Jordan’s defeat demonstrated a diminishment of support for Trump, considering his sway over House Republicans. Jordan’s spectacular flame-out was a rejection of the pro-MAGA wing of the party and an embarrassment for the former president.

Nehls was beside himself last week after Jordan lost on the floor and Republicans voted by secret ballot to nix the Ohio Republican as their nominee for speaker.

NEW YORK JUDGE FINES TRUMP $5K FOR VIOLATING PARTIAL GAG ORDER IN CIVIL FRAUD TRIAL

“I don’t think the Lord Jesus Himself could get to 217 (votes) with this conference,” groused Nehls. “So I’m going to start recommending Donald J. Trump as our speaker for 100 days. We could bring him for 100 days. I think it would be fantastic. I think it would show unity.”

But that’s the issue with Trump as a possible speaker.

He could be speaker – but not an actual member of the House.

He could be speaker – but could not vote on the House floor.

He could be speaker – but not a member and thus potentially exempt from House rules that instruct lawmakers not to serve in leadership positions if they face serious criminal charges.

In short, a hypothetical Trump speakership would be the “duck-billed platypus” of politics.

The duck-billed platypus is a mammal. But its classification defies many scientific norms.

The creature has a bill. It features webbed feet and spews venom. Those characteristics aren’t consistent with mammals. That led some 18th-century scientists to question whether the duck-billed platypus was really a reptile – or even some sort of species in transition.

Mammals, ranging from humans to elephants, give birth to their young. The duck-billed platypus lays eggs.

It’s hard to figure out.

And so would a non-member serving as House speaker.

Trump isn’t the only non-member commanding roll call votes for speaker.

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Former House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, and former Reps. Lee Zeldin, R-N.Y., and Candice Miller, R-Mich., have also commanded votes on the floor in recent weeks.

But a Trump speakership? It’s unlikely to happen. But like the duckbilled platypus, would be difficult to categorize in political taxonomy.

Rapper 50 Cent sent social media ablaze over the weekend with a post blasting President Biden for taking another beach vacation in Delaware as chaos continued to unfold in the war between Israel and Hamas.

“Hey Joe get the f— up, we in trouble man!” 50 Cent posted on Instagram over the weekend with a screenshot from an article titled, “Biden hits the beach with Middle East, Congress in Chaos.”

In a follow-up post that screenshots an article with a headline saying, “50 Cent flames Biden,” the rapper wrote, “We got some real s— going on out here Joe. What’s the plan to get a tan and chill come on now.”

The post drew immediate reaction from conservatives on social media who agreed with the rapper.

50 CENT SAYS ‘TOLD YOU LA WAS FINISHED’ AFTER VIRAL FLASH MOB SMASH-AND-GRAB AT NORDSTROM

“Rapper [50 Cent] doubles down on his criticism of Joe Biden,” Students for Trump founder Ryan Fournier posted on X. “People are waking up!”

“Rapper 50 Cent calls out Joe Biden for sleeping on the beach while our country and world suffers because of his failures,” Alex Bruesewitz, a Trump influencer and CEO of X Strategies LLC, posted on X.

50 CENT SAYS LOS ANGELES IS ‘FINISHED’ AFTER ZERO BAIL POLICY REINSTATEMENT: ‘WATCH HOW BAD IT GETS’

“50 Cent has a question for Joe Biden and it is what we are all thinking,” the social media team for Twitchy.com posted on X.

“[50 Cent] speaking truth,” Make America Great Again spokesperson Karoline Leavitt posted on X.

Fox News Digital reached out to 50 Cent’s representatives but did not receive a response.

White House deputy spokesperson Andrew Bates pushed back against 50 Cent’s criticism, saying, “As has been the case for the better part of a century, Presidents can execute the full range of their duties from anywhere in the world – whether it’s a war zone in Israel or 100 miles from the White House in Delaware.”

Bates went on to tell Fox News Digital that Biden “works long hours every day” and that he spoke with several world leaders about his “support for Israel’s right to defend itself and push for aid to innocent Palestinians,” including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, President Emmanuel Macron, Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.

“And he delivered more security assistance to Israel, a second shipment of aid to Palestinian civilians, and made progress toward passage of his supplemental to protect our national security, increase border funding, and grow our economy,” Bates continued. “Meanwhile, House Republicans were on recess bickering with each other.”

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Biden was at his beach home in Delaware over the weekend as chaos continued to unfold in the war between Israel and Hamas and House Republicans failed to confirm a speaker to replace Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif.

“Americans are still being held hostage by Hamas terrorists – and Joe Biden is at the beach,” a social media account belonging to the Republican National Committee posted on X.

Biden has faced consistent criticism from conservatives for the amount of time he has spent in Delaware. The New York Post reported in August that he had spent 40% of his presidency on personal overnight trips away from the White House, which put him on pace to become “America’s most idle commander in chief.”