NationalWatch

Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. on Friday said he is “disturbed” by “the weaponization of government against” former President Donald Trump. 

He also vowed that if elected president, he would appoint a special counsel to investigate whether “prosecutorial discretion was abused for political ends” in cases related to the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. 

Kennedy on Friday issued a statement in an effort to “clarify his views on the events of January 6, 2021.”

TRUMP SAYS HE WILL FREE JAN. 6 RIOTERS ON FIRST DAY IF RE-ELECTED

“January 6 is one of the most polarizing topics on the political landscape. I am listening to people of diverse viewpoints on it in order to make sense of the event and what followed. I want to hear every side,” Kennedy said, adding that it is “quite clear that many of the January 6 protesters broke the law in what may have started as a protest but turned into a riot.” 

“Because it happened with the encouragement of President Trump, and in the context of his delusion that the election was stolen from him, many people see it not as a riot but as an insurrection,” he said. 

But Kennedy said that “reasonable people, including Trump opponents, tell me there is little evidence of a true insurrection.” 

“They observe that the protesters carried no weapons, had no plans or ability to seize the reins of government, and that Trump himself had urged them to protest ‘peacefully,’” Kennedy said. 

HOUSE JAN. 6 COMMITTEE DELETED MORE THAN 100 ENCRYPTED FILES DAYS BEFORE GOP TOOK MAJORITY: SOURCES

“Like many reasonable Americans, I am concerned about the possibility that political objectives motivated the vigor of the prosecution of the J6 defendants, their long sentences, and their harsh treatment,” he continued. “That would fit a disturbing pattern of the weaponization of government agencies — the DoJ, the IRS, the SEC, the FBI, etc. — against political opponents.” 

Kennedy said that though he opposes Trump “and all he stands for,” he is still “disturbed by the weaponization of government against him.” 

“As President, I will appoint a special counsel — an individual respected by all sides — to investigate whether prosecutorial discretion was abused for political ends in this case, and I will right any wrongs that we discover,” Kennedy said. “Without the impartial rule of law, there is no true democracy or moral governance.” 

Kennedy said that Jan. 6 is being used by both parties to “pour fuel on the fire of America’s divisions,” saying that Republicans and Democrats claim that in 2024 “a victory by their opponents means the end of democracy.” 

Biden has used Jan. 6 during campaign speeches and even his State of the Union address to illustrate why Trump should not be elected president again. 

“Instead of demonizing our opponents as apocalyptic threats to democracy, let’s focus on the issues and priorities of how they will govern, and defeat them at the ballot box rather than through legal maneuvers and dirty tricks,” Kennedy said. 

HOUSE INVESTIGATION INTO ‘WHAT REALLY HAPPENED ON JANUARY 6’ ENTERING ‘NEW PHASE’ WITH SPEAKER JOHNSON SUPPORT

Kennedy went on to blast both Trump and Biden for presiding as president during “the continued worsening of our national debt, chronic disease epidemic, government corruption, erosion of civil liberties, and foreign military entanglements.” 

“Maybe it is because the establishment parties differ very little on these key issues that they campaign on the demonization of their opponents and all who support them instead,” he said. 

Special Counsel Jack Smith has charged Trump with conspiracy to defraud the United States; conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding; obstruction of and attempt to obstruct an official proceeding; and conspiracy against rights. Those charges stemmed from Smith’s investigation into whether Trump was involved in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot and any alleged interference in the 2020 election result.

Trump has pleaded not guilty to all charges. 

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The U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments on April 25 on the issue of presidential immunity, and whether Trump is immune from prosecution in Smith’s case. 

More than 1,350 people have been charged in nearly all 50 states for crimes related to the breach of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, according to the Justice Department. 

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer will detail her rapid ascent in Democratic politics in a book out this summer, a move that will undoubtedly spark fresh speculation about her potential presidential ambitions.

“True Gretch” is scheduled for release July 9 and a book announcement provided to The Associated Press promises insights into Whitmer’s five-year tenure as Michigan’s governor. It will include a behind-the-scenes look at how she navigated the COVID-19 pandemic, became the target of a kidnapping plot and continually clashed with former President Donald Trump.

MICHIGAN GOP LAWMAKERS SLAM TAXPAYER-FUNDED RENT SUBSIDIES FOR MIGRANTS WITH PENDING ASYLUM APPLICATIONS

The book also will highlight her role in the 2022 midterm election, when Michigan voters enshrined abortion rights in the state’s constitution through a ballot initiative. Democrats that year also won full control of Michigan’s state government for the first time in four decades.

Whitmer, a co-chair in President Joe Biden’s reelection campaign, has emerged as one of the Democratic party’s top stars and is often named as a potential contender for the party’s presidential nomination in 2028.

“In this moment, our world is thirsty for compassion, empathy, big ideas, and the grit to get sh— done,” Whitmer said in the statement announcing her book. “I hope this book will help you find the good and use it to make a difference. I’ll be doing the same alongside you.”

An attorney turned state lawmaker, Whitmer was first elected governor in 2018 after running a campaign centered on a pledge to “fix the damn roads.”

Shortly into her first term, when the pandemic began, she implemented some of the nation’s most restrictive stay-at-home orders, which made her the ongoing target of right-wing vitriol. Thousands of people came to the state Capitol with guns in 2020 as Trump egged them on, tweeting “Liberate Michigan.” Whitmer became known as “that woman from Michigan,” a play on words Trump used to attack her in 2020.

Her bouts with Trump, which have continued with him calling Whitmer “radical” and a “terrible governor” this week during a Michigan visit, helped grow her national profile. She delivered the Democratic response to Trump’s State of the Union in 2020 and was considered as a potential vice president pick for Biden later that year.

Whitmer won reelection in 2022 by more than 10%. Her party also flipped the state House and Senate, which has allowed them to roll back decades of Republican policies and rapidly implement a Democratic agenda over the past 15 months.

Whitmer’s motto in politics, she writes in the book, is to “get sh— done.”

The book’s release unquestionably will fuel speculation Whitmer is angling for a higher office when her term-limited time as Michigan’s governor concludes at the end of 2026, although she previously has told the AP that she has “no interest in going to D.C.”

Both Simon & Schuster and the governor’s office declined to comment on the financial compensation she received for the book. A spokesperson for Simon & Schuster added “it is our policy not to comment on the financials of a book deal.”

Whitmer in December signed new financial disclosure laws that will require state officials, including the governor, to annually submit reports showing sources of income, properties owned and other assets valued over $1,000 and liabilities valued at more than $10,000. This year, disclosures are due April 15 and will cover the preceding calendar year.

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“State government must be open, transparent, and accountable to the people it serves,” Whitmer said in a statement at the time of the signing.

Whitmer will donate the net proceeds from the publishing of her book throughout the entirety of her term as governor to the Capital Region Community Foundation, a nonprofit that leads philanthropic solutions to help improve communities in mid-Michigan, according to the release.

Congressional Democrats are seeking to rename a federal prison in South Florida after former President Trump in response to a Republican effort to rename Washington, D.C.’s main international airport after the ex-commander-in-chief. 

Reps. Gerry Connolly of Virginia, Jared Moskowitz of Florida and John Garamendi of California, introduced a two-page measure Friday to redesignate the Miami Federal Correctional Institution — a low-security facility that male inmates — to the Donald J. Trump Federal Correctional Institution. 

The move is in response to legislation unveiled by Rep. Guy Reschenthaler, R-Pa., and is also backed by six other House Republicans, to rename Washington Dulles International Airport as Donald J. Trump International Airport.

TRUMP SAYS HE WILL FREE JAN. 6 RIOTERS ON FIRST DAY IF RE-ELECTED

“When our Republican colleagues introduced their bill to rename Dulles after Donald Trump, I said the more fitting option would be to rename a federal prison,” Connolly said in a statement announcing his bill. “I see no reason to wait.”

“Donald Trump faces nearly 100 felony charges. He has been found liable of sexual abuse and, subsequently, for defaming the victim of that abuse,” he added. “He has been fined hundreds of millions of dollars in a civil fraud case. It is only right that the closest federal prison to Mar-a-Lago should bear his name.”

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

In a news release announcing his proposal, Reschenthaler cited Trump’s energy and economic record, border policies that resulted in historically low illegal immigration figures, and his stance against China and support of Israel. 

“In my lifetime, our nation has never been greater than under the leadership of President Donald J. Trump,” he said. “As millions of domestic and international travelers fly through the airport, there is no better symbol of freedom, prosperity, and strength than hearing ‘Welcome to Trump International Airport’ as they land on American soil.”

Moskowitz noted that “everyone knows President Trump loves to write his name in gold letters on all his buildings” but that “he’s never had his name on a federal building before.”

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Fox News Digital has reached out to Reschenthaler’s office and the Trump campaign for commitment. 

Trump faces dozens of criminal charges across four indictments, including election interference allegations in Georgia, a hush-money trial in New York in which he is accused of falsifying business records, and allegations in Florida that he allegedly mishandled classified documents. 

Former President Trump and his legal team have filed a motion requesting that Judge Juan Merchan be recused from the trial on hush money allegations due to his daughter’s Democrat-affiliated political work and his alleged “hostility” against the 2024 presumptive Republican presidential nominee. 

Trump’s lawyer Todd Blanche filed a 37-page motion filed Friday afternoon. The motion states that Merchan’s daughter, Loren Merchan, “has a direct financial interest in these proceedings by virtue of her ownership stake and leadership role at Authentic Campaigns, Inc.” 

NEW YORK JUDGE IN HUSH-MONEY TRIAL REJECTS TRUMP’S REQUEST FOR DELAY UNTIL AFTER SCOTUS RULES ON IMMUNITY

Blanche said that company “services exclusively Democrat clients” and is the “#21 ranked vendor in the country in connection with the 2024 election.

Merchan is presiding over the trial stemming from Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s investigation into alleged hush money payments ahead of the 2016 election.

“In 2019, Ms. Merchan made public statements during a podcast regarding a conversation with Your Honor that reflect bias against President Trump from both speakers in that exchange,” Blanche wrote Friday. “Consistent with that conversation, President Biden and Vice President Harris are long-term clients of Authentic and Ms. Merchan, along with many other politicians and entities who are actively campaigning and advocating against President Trump right now.” 

Trump’s attorney also said at least six of Authentic’s clients “used fundraising solicitations that referenced this case around the time of the Indictment, President Trump’s arraignment, or following the Court’s denial of President Trump’s recusal motion.” 

TRUMP BLASTS ‘BIDEN TRIALS,’ SAYS PRESIDENT IS WEAPONIZING DOJ TO ‘TRY TO KNOCK OUT’ HIS ‘POLITICAL OPPONENT’

“Authentic’s clients disbursed more than $18 million to the company between the return of the Indictment and the present,” Trump attorney wrote. “It is industry practice that Authentic would receive percentages based on funds raised and recipient engagement, and Ms. Merchan has had an ownership stake and leadership role in the company while this case is pending.” 

Blanche also alleged the judge has been hostile towards Trump, and blasted his move to impose a gag order over the presumptive Republican nominee. 

“Your Honor also recently issued and expanded a gag order that improperly restricts President Trump’s constitutionally protected campaign speech, which has the effect of shielding the Court and Ms. Merchan from legitimate public criticism based on the evidence discussed in this motion that is relevant to the 2024 election,” Blanche wrote. 

Blanche noted in his motion that as of April 2, 2024, the list of “featured clients” on Authentic’s website included campaigns associated with Democrat politicians and entities, including “President Biden, Vice President Harris, New York Governor Kathy Hochul, Congressman Schiff, Congressman Jeffries, Congressman Goldman, Congresswoman Underwood, and Congresswoman Lee. The website also features its work for the Democrat-backed “Senate Majority PAC,” and the Democrat-backed “House Majority PAC.” 

TRUMP HUSH-MONEY CASE ‘COULD NOT BE WORSE FOR OUR COUNTRY,’ JONATHAN TURLEY WARNS

Authentic is also “actively” promotes its connections to Trump’s opponents and rivals, including President Biden and Vice President Harris, Blanche wrote. 

“For example, in separate posts during the fall of 2023, Authentic wished each of them “Happy Birthday,” Blanche wrote in the motion. 

Blanche said Authentic’s activities create “an unacceptable appearance of impropriety.” Trump, since he was indicted in this case, has blasted it as election interference and a political witch hunt against him run by his political opponents. 

“For the reasons described above, President Trump respectfully submits that the Court must recuse itself as a matter of constitutional due process… and that recusal is also appropriate in light of appearances of impropriety,” Blanche wrote. 

The trial is set to begin in New York City on April 15 with jury selection. 

Bragg, last April, charged Trump with 34 counts of falsifying business records in the first degree. The charges are related to alleged hush-money payments made during the 2016 presidential campaign. 

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Bragg alleged that Trump “repeatedly and fraudulently falsified New York business records to conceal criminal conduct that hid damaging information from the voting public during the 2016 presidential election.”

Trump pleaded not guilty to all counts. 

The Central Intelligence Agency is denying whistleblower claims that it “stonewalled” an IRS interview with Hunter Biden’s “sugar brother” Kevin Morris, saying the agency “did not prevent or seek to prevent IRS or DOJ from conducting any such interview.” 

A whistleblower approached House Republicans last month claiming that the CIA blocked an interview with Morris conducted by the IRS as part of the federal investigation into Hunter Biden. 

WHISTLEBLOWER CLAIMS CIA ‘STONEWALLED’ IRS INTERVIEW WITH HUNTER BIDEN ‘SUGAR BROTHER’ KEVIN MORRIS: HOUSE GOP

According to the whistleblower, in August 2021, when IRS investigators on the Hunter Biden federal investigation were preparing to interview Morris, the CIA “intervened to stop the interview.” 

The whistleblower alleged that the CIA summoned two Justice Department officials to the CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia, for a briefing regarding Morris. 

The whistleblower claimed that Morris “could not be a witness in the investigation.” 

The allegations were laid out in a letter sent to CIA Director Bill Burns last month by House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, and Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky.

But the CIA this week said the allegation is “false.” 

“Without confirming or denying the existence of any associations or communications, CIA did not prevent or seek to prevent IRS or DOJ from conducting any such interview,” James Catella, the CIA’s director of the Office of Congressional Affairs, wrote in a letter to Jordan and Comer. “The allegation is false.” 

The CIA said that, as a general matter, and “without specific reference to the issue about which you have inquired, CIA facilitates the Department of Justice’s access to national security information in the context of investigations and prosecutions in a variety of circumstances.” 

‘SUGAR BROTHER’ KEVIN MORRIS LOANED HUNTER BIDEN $6.5M FOR DEBTS AND BACK TAXES, MORE THAN PREVIOUS ESTIMATE

“For example, CIA engages with DOJ to enable prosecutors to understand national security information that may arise in the course of an investigation and to assess their discovery obligations,” Catella wrote. 

“CIA cooperates with law enforcement partners and does not obstruct U.S. law enforcement investigations or prosecutions,” he continued. “To the extent your letter seeks information about any ongoing federal law enforcement investigation or prosecution, the Department of Justice is the responsible agency.” 

Morris loaned Hunter Biden approximately $6.5 million — over $1 million more than originally estimated and discussed — his attorney revealed in a letter earlier this year. 

Morris, who was subpoenaed to testify as part of the impeachment inquiry, testified that he loaned Hunter Biden at least $5 million and began paying his tax liability. Morris and his attorney were estimating during the interview, a source told Fox News, and promised to follow-up with exact figures loaned to the first son. The attorney followed up to note Morris had given an additional $1.6 million to Hunter Biden. 

KEVIN MORRIS GAVE ‘MASSIVE’ FINANCIAL SUPPORT TO HUNTER BIDEN, RAISING CAMPAIGN FINANCE CONCERNS: COMER

Morris, on Oct. 13, 2021, gave Hunter Biden a loan for approximately $1.4 million. According to the letter, Hunter Biden was to repay the loan, with $500,000 paid by Oct. 1, 2026 and the remaining $417,634 by Oct. 1, 2027, plus interest.

A few days later, Morris loaned Hunter Biden $2.6 million, with directions to repay the loan by Oct. 1, 2029. That loan, according to Morris’ lawyer, “was used to pay, among other debts, Mr. Biden’s tax debt to the IRS.”

On Oct. 17, 2022, Morris loaned Hunter Biden $640,355 to be repaid by Oct. 15, 2027. In December 2022, Morris loaned Hunter $685,813.99, to be repaid by Oct. 15, 2027.

A year later, Dec. 29, 2023, Morris loaned Hunter approximately $1.2 million to be repaid by Oct. 15, 2028, with all interest paid by October 2029.

Special Counsel David Weiss charged Hunter Biden with nine federal tax charges, which break down to three felonies and six misdemeanors for $1.4 million in owed taxes that have since been paid. 

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Weiss charged Hunter in December, alleging a “four-year scheme” in which the president’s son did not pay his federal income taxes from January 2017 to October 2020 while also filing false tax reports.

Hunter Biden pleaded not guilty to all charges.

Weiss also indicted the first son on federal gun charges in Delaware last year. Hunter Biden pleaded not guilty to those charges as well. His attorneys are attempting to have that case dismissed.

Big-money donors are beginning to coalesce around former President Donald Trump after he has become the presumptive GOP nominee as he attempts to close the cash-on-hand gap with President Biden, who recently set a high-dollar fundraising record.

This weekend at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, Trump will host an “Inaugural Leadership Dinner” that includes several Republican high-profile donors and signals the beginning of a major push to cut into Biden’s cash-on-hand lead.  

The event will be led by hedge-fund billionaire John Paulson and will be co-chaired by hedge fund tycoon Robert Mercer and his daughter Rebekah, oil tycoon Harold Hamm, hotelier Robert Bigelow and casino mogul Steve Wynn.

Bigelow and Hamm had previously funneled money to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in his ill-fated presidential run against Trump in the primary. Hamm previously donated to former U.N. ambassador Nikki Haley’s presidential campaign as well. 

TRUMP RAKES IN HEFTY MARCH FUNDRAISING HAUL AS CAMPAIGN AIMS TO CLOSE CASH GAP WITH BIDEN

Chicago Cubs co-owner Todd Ricketts and New York Jets co-owner Woody Johnson are also expected to be involved along with Wilbur Ross, Trump’s former secretary of commerce. 

The event tops out at the “Chairman Level,” which costs $824,600 and includes seating at the former president’s table. 

“Now that President Trump won the primaries, defeating all 10 contenders by a landslide, I think it’s time for Republicans to unite behind him,” Paulsen recently told Bloomberg. “For that reason, I’m hosting this inaugural event to galvanize the broad support there is for the president.”

The event comes after President Biden raised at least $26 million in a star-studded event with former Presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton. Many expect Trump’s fundraising haul to eclipse that record-setting figure and possibly raise around $43 million.

JOE BIDEN DOESN’T CARE IF HIS POLICIES HURT THE AVERAGE JOE

On April 10, Trump will hold a fundraising luncheon in the swing state of Georgia with former Georgia Republican Sens. David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler. Top GOP donors are expected to attend, including Home Depot co-founder Bernie Marcus, poultry industry executive Tommy Bagwell, beverage sector executive Don Leebern III and Buckhead advocate Bill White.

On that same day, Trump will be holding a fundraiser in Orlando, Florida, with attorney Dan Newlin.

“President Donald J. Trump has again created a fundraising juggernaut among Republicans. While he has been the presumptive nominee for the Republican Party for less than a month, the RNC and Trump campaign are one unified operation and focused on victory,” Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Whatley said in a statement this week.

“We’re raising funds and making strategic investments to get out the vote and protect the ballot. We are going to win BIG in just 31 weeks,” Whatley predicted.

Fox News Digital confirmed Trump and the RNC brought in $65.6 million in March and ended the month with $93.1 million in cash on hand. The figures include money raised by a number of fundraising committees.

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The Biden campaign reported raising $53 million in February, ending the month with $155 million on hand. 

While Trump trails with cash on hand, The New York Times reported in February that Trump leads Biden when it comes to small-dollar donors who gave less than $200.

Former First Lady Melania Trump is finally getting back on the campaign trail, according to reports.

Melania, wife of former President Donald Trump, will reportedly be attending a fundraiser for the Log Cabin Republicans later this month, multiple publications have reported.

The group is the most prominent pro-LGBT Republican advocacy group in the country. It would be Melania’s first public fundraising event in months. 

MELANIA JOINS TRUMP IN FLORIDA, TELLS REPORTERS TO ‘STAY TUNED’ FOR CAMPAIGN FUTURE

Fox News Digital reached out to Log Cabin Republicans and representatives for the Trump campaign for confirmation but did not receive a response.

The Log Cabin Republicans’ event will roll out the group’s “Road to Victory” — a voter-targeting program planned for swing states. 

Melania made her first public appearance of the 2024 election cycle last month when she briefly joined her husband to cast votes in Florida.

MELANIA ‘GOING TO BE OUT A LOT’ ON CAMPAIGN TRAIL, TRUMP SAYS

The pair were photographed outside the Morton and Barbara Mandel Recreation Center in Palm Beach before casting their votes in the sunshine state’s Republican primary election.

Reporters pressed Melania for information on her role in her husband’s 2024 campaign, to which she responded, “Stay tuned.”

Trump has previously expressed hesitancy to involve his family in his re-election campaign, citing the mental and emotional toll his first campaign and presidency brought.

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“It’s funny, she was a very successful model, very, very successful, and yet she was a private person. She’s going to be out a lot. Not because she likes doing it, but she likes the results,” he said during the interview. “She wants to see this country really succeed. She loves the country.”

Melania Trump has been largely absent from public life since the passing of her mother, Amalija Knavs, in January of this year.

Members of the ultra-conservative House Freedom Caucus and their allies are drawing lines in the sand ahead of what’s expected to be an intense inter-GOP battle over additional aid for Ukraine. 

The House of Representatives is expected to take up the issue of Ukraine and supplemental foreign aid the week after next, three sources told Fox News Digital. 

Freedom Caucus Chairman Bob Good, R-Va., called for any funding to Ukraine to be balanced out by spending cuts elsewhere and for it to be paired with U.S. border policy changes.

PUTIN ISSUES CHILLING WARNING AGAINST SENDING WESTERN TROOPS TO DEFEND UKRAINE

“We cannot continue to borrow and spend money we don’t have for wars overseas while failing to protect Americans from the Biden border invasion here at home,” Good told Fox News Digital earlier this week. “At a bare minimum, any package for military aid to Ukraine should be fully offset and must include H.R. 2 with performance metrics to secure our own border.”

The position has since been echoed by other members of the House GOP’s right flank. Rep. Andrew Clyde, R-Ga., told Fox News Digital on Friday, “Any lethal military assistance to Ukraine that fails to meet these critical requirements is a total nonstarter.”

“House Republicans were tasked with getting our country back on track — starting with cutting spending and securing the southern border,” Clyde explained. “Abandoning these priorities while advancing a pricey package to defend Ukraine’s borders would represent an utter betrayal of the American people.”

MCCONNELL PUTTING ‘MAIN PART OF MY FOCUS’ ON OPPOSING RUSSIA IN UKRAINE: ‘A WORLDWIDE PROBLEM FOR DEMOCRACIES’

And former Freedom Caucus Chair Scott Perry, R-Pa., told Fox News Digital, “We stand with Ukraine. Our priority, however, must be America… Our debt is $35 trillion next month; any foreign aid package must be heavily scrutinized.”

Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., similarly said on “Mornings With Maria” this week, “Now, if there are no offsets, if there are not concessions made to pay for this, more borrowing is not the answer. And that’s where [Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La.] is going to have to step up, use the leverage he has as speaker, to get concessions.”

And while the two concessions outlined by Good are likely not going to sway the most hard-line critics into supporting Ukraine aid, it’s a signal that they might not throw up many significant roadblocks or threaten Johnson’s gavel over its passage.

Freedom Caucus members and their allies have in the past forced House leadership to bypass regular procedural hurdles to put bills on the floor under suspension of the rules, in exchange for raising the threshold for passage to two-thirds rather than a simple majority. 

CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPEAN COUNTRIES MARK 20 YEARS IN NATO WITH FOCUS ON WAR IN UKRAINE

The issue has driven a wedge within the House Republican Conference, with a growing number of GOP lawmakers skeptical of the U.S.’ continued support for Ukraine as it continues to fight off Russia’s invasion. 

Johnson has floated multiple proposals this week that appear to be aimed at easing concerns from the right wing of his conference. He’s suggested aiding Ukraine in the form of a loan, a plan the speaker said is supported by former President Donald Trump, as well as weakening Russia’s energy-dominated economy by forcing the Biden administration to reverse a pause on liquefied natural gas (LNG) export permits.

Johnson also floated getting some of the funding by liquefying seized Russian assets, a bipartisan plan introduced in the House and Senate last year.

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But those proposals got a lukewarm reception at best from Ukraine funding skeptics.

“I don’t think the conservatives would consider it enough without border security,” one senior House GOP aide told Fox News Digital.

Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., wrote on X earlier this week, “There’s talk of ‘loaning’ the money & equipment to Ukraine. OK, why not loan the aid to Israel & Taiwan as well? Because they actually have the means to pay back the loan, that’s why. It’s a farce.”

Texas will continue to bus illegal immigrants pouring across its border to sanctuary cities “until we get a new president,” Texas Gov. Greg Abbott told a Manhattan crowd on Thursday – just hours after New York City Mayor Eric Adams criticized the Republican’s handling of the crisis and offered him a free stay at one of the Big Apple’s migrant shelters.

Abbott’s comments came during his keynote address at the New York Republican Party’s annual gala, at which the Lone Star State governor and other high-profile Republicans took aim at Adams and the Biden administration due to the continuing influx of illegal immigrants entering the U.S.

“The complaining by Mayor Adams is nothing short [of] stunning,” Abbott told those at the event, which was held just a few blocks away from a hotel that Adams’ administration transformed into an intake center for migrants. “What he has is a tiny fraction of what Texas gets every day.”

ADAMS TOUTS NYC’S ABILITY TO ‘MANAGE’ MIGRANT CRISIS, OFFERS ABBOTT FREE STAY AT SHELTER DURING TRIP

Abbott, explaining why he began bussing illegal immigrants who arrived in Texas to sanctuary cities around the nation, said he had decided to do so after several local officials in his state had expressed concern about the number of migrants being dropped off by federal authorities in their communities.

Initially, Abbott said he planned to bus the migrants only to Washington, D.C., because “neither Joe Biden nor the border czar [Vice President Kamala Harris] had actually been to the border to see the chaos and cost.”

“My thought process was, if they’re not going to come to the border, we’re going to take the border to them,” he said.

Abbott said he then decided to bus migrants to New York City after Adams criticized the governor’s handling of the issue.

“Quite literally out of nowhere, Eric Adams starts criticizing me for sending them to New York City,” Abbott said. “We made clear, by contacting his office, and said, ‘We’re not sending them to New York.’ We issued press releases to the press saying we’re not sending migrants to New York – that’s Joe Biden sending them to New York.”

But when Empire State officials refused to back off their claims, Abbott said he decided to turn rhetoric into reality.

“If I’m going to get the criticism, I want to get the credit,” he told the gala attendees. “And thus began the busing of illegal immigrants to the sanctuary city of New York City.”

Roughly 180,000 illegal immigrants have arrived in New York City since 2022, overwhelming city resources as officials struggle to find housing for them. It’s estimated that at least 107,000 have been bussed in from Texas.

“We are going to have to maintain this process until we get a new president next November who will secure the border of the United States of America,” Abbott said.

Bearing down on President Biden, Abbott said the administration’s policy decisions have led to “chaos” and created an “extraordinarily dangerous” situation in his state.

ILLEGAL MIGRANT DEPORTED 8 TIMES WITH 11 ARRESTS NOW CHARGED WITH MURDER IN OHIO: ‘OUR BORDER IS BROKEN’

“Texas is ground zero for the broken border policy imposed by Joe Biden,” he said. “You know, the chaos that we’ve seen across the entire country — it seems like it’s been going on for so long that we can so easily forget that it was just four years ago that we had the lowest illegal border crossings in 45 years.”

Abbott praised the actions taken by former President Donald Trump to curb illegal immigration – actions that were then undone by Biden’s team.

“All-time records have been set with regard to the number of people on the terrorist watch lists who’ve been apprehended,” he said. “What none of us know right now is how many terrorists on the watch list evaded detection.”

Abbott also spoke about Biden’s claim that he needs Congress to step in and mitigate the issue of illegal immigration, with the governor accusing the president either of “lying” or having “no idea what he’s talking about.”

“The executive branch has not only the authority but the requirement, the mandate by Congress, to deny illegal entry into the United States,” Abbott said. “Biden is not doing that. He’s aiding and abetting illegal entry into the United States.”

House GOP Chair Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., and Republican National Committee Chair Michael Whatley were among the many prominent Republicans who also attended the event.

“Joe Biden has turned every state into a border state,” Stefanik said Thursday evening. “President Trump and Republicans will run, and we will win, on securing our border, once and for all.”

Prior to Abbott’s arrival in the Big Apple, Adams slammed the Texas Republican for his handling of the migrant crisis and facetiously offered him a complimentary stay at a migrant shelter during his trip to the city.

“I’m going to offer him a stay in one of the HERRCs, so he can see what he has created and understand how we are treating people with the dignity and respect that he should have shown as well,” Adams said at a press conference on Thursday, referring to the humanitarian emergency response and relief centers that have served as temporary housing facilities for migrants who arrive in the city.

Adams also appeared to brag about the city’s handling of the migrants who have arrived there during the last two years.

“I’m not quite sure why he’s here and what he’s doing while here, but he’s going to see how you can manage the crisis with the coordination of not one child of families sleeping on the streets of the city of New York,” he said of Abbott. “When we coordinate together, we should not displace problems to local municipalities. That is not what executives do. It is unfortunate that he made the decision to do that.”

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Abbott said during a Thursday night appearance on Fox News Channel’s “Hannity” that Adams’ offer to let him sleep at a migrant shelter is “nothing more than a gimmick.”

New York City’s government has projected that it will spend at least $10.6 billion on migrants by summer 2025.

FIRST ON FOX: Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., is launching a new video series with several Black House Republican lawmakers in which the men discuss race and politics in America.

The new series, “America’s Starting Five,” comes as Scott is being considered by former President Trump as a potential running mate in his race for the White House.

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Reps. Burgess Owens, R-Utah, Byron Donalds, R-Fla., John James, R-Mich., and Wesley Hunt, R-Texas, join Scott for the weekly video series. The episodes are billed as “a series dedicated to Black Republican voices.” 

The first episode features an informal roundtable conversation between Scott, Owens, Hunt and James as they react to infamous clips of President Biden discussing Black people.

The lawmakers laughed as a video rolled of Biden telling Black radio host Charlamagne tha God, “Well, I tell you what. If you have a problem figuring out whether you’re for me or Trump, then you ain’t Black.” His appearance on “The Breakfast Club” took place in the summer of 2020, just months ahead of the election. 

DEM ‘SQUAD’ MEMBERS FACE OUSTING BY GROUP OF THEIR OWN PARTY

“Here are four non-Black Black people,” Scott joked while gesturing to himself and his co-hosts. “An old white dude telling me I can’t be Black if I don’t vote for him.”

Hunt remarked, “I’ve been Black for a very long time.” Scott replied, “I’ve been Black longer than you, though.” 

The freshman congressman from Texas is 42. Scott is 58.

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“Leftists label Black conservatives as ‘oxymorons’ and ‘tokens,’ because we dare to think for ourselves and believe in secure borders, a strong economy, good schools, and safe communities,” Owens told Fox News Digital in a statement. “I am proud to stand with Sen. Scott and Congressmen Donalds, Hunt, and James in fighting these divisive narratives and returning our country to America’s values of faith, family, free market, and education.”

According to Scott’s team, the series has been in the works between the lawmakers’ teams and the Republican National Committee for several weeks and is part of a larger GOP effort to reach Black voters. The videos, which showcase the Republicans discussing current events and joking among each other, are meant to replicate the atmosphere of a casual meeting place among Black men. The designers of the series drew inspiration from the integral role that barbershops play in the Black community as welcoming spaces for social interactions among Black men.

Scott also put a focus on reaching Black voters in the lead up to his 2024 presidential campaign. Before officially launching his bid, Scott released a video in February 2023 that followed the senator to his lifelong barbershop in North Charleston, S.C. “Y’all know I’d be lost without my barber, Charles Swint, Jr.,” he said in a post with the video to X, formerly known as Twitter. “His family has been running the local Barber Shop since 1946 and his advice on faith and family is always close to my heart. No matter how long I’m away, it always feels like home.”

BIDEN HOLDS NARROW LEAD OVER TRUMP IN NEW POLL DESPITE CONCERNS HE’S ‘TOO OLD’ FOR SECOND TERM

Scott’s series centering around cultivating the Black Republican experience comes as Trump has made his consideration of the senator as his 2024 running mate known. Trump said in February, “I have a lot of good people. I have a lot of good ideas,” in response to a question about his potential vice president. He specifically named Scott and South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, a Republican, in an interview with Fox News’s Maria Bartiromo.

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“I watched him in the last week, defending me and sticking up for me and fighting for me. I said, ‘Man, you’re a much better person for me than you are for yourself,'” Trump remarked of Scott at the time.

Both Scott’s series and the speculation of his potential to be Trump’s running mate coincide with receding support for President Biden among Black voters. Republicans have been vocal about their hope to take advantage of the opportunity presented by Biden’s shortcomings with the Black community.

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

Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. disavows an email that spoke sympathetically of Jan. 6 protesters.

The fundraising message — sent on Thursday and titled “We Must Free Assange!” — made a passing comment in support of those sentenced for participation in the riot at the Capitol. 

“This is the reality that every American Citizen faces — from Ed Snowden, to Julian Assange to the J6 activists sitting in a Washington DC jail cell stripped of their Constitutional liberties,” the fundraising email read. “Please help our campaign call out the illiberal actions of our very own government.”

RFK JR.’S RUNNING MATE AN ‘UNKNOWN QUANTITY’ WITH ‘DEEP POCKETS’ AS GOP, DEMS FEAR SPOILER CAMPAIGN: EXPERTS

RFK’s campaign quickly blamed the message on a third-party vendor and said the email is not in line with Kennedy’s views.

“That statement was an error that does not reflect Mr. Kennedy’s views,” said Kennedy spokesperson Stefanie Spear. “It was inserted by a new marketing contractor and slipped through the normal approval process.”

She added, “The campaign has terminated its contract with this vendor.”

RFK JR. REAFFIRMS HE WOULD PARDON EDWARD SNOWDEN ON FIRST DAY OF HIS PRESIDENCY

The Kennedy campaign did not clarify which company was responsible for the email.

The treatment of whistleblowers Julian Assange and Edward Snowden has become a regular talking point for Kennedy after releasing a video petition this week.

Kennedy released the petition Monday, calling on President Biden to pardon Snowden, who in 2013 famously visited Hong Kong and exposed classified NSA documents that revealed the U.S. government was spying on its citizens. He was then charged with espionage and theft of government property.

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“Snowden performed a critical public service by revealing to Americans for the first time that our government had been spying on us, millions of law-abiding American citizens, in violation of numerous laws and of our fundamental right to privacy,” Kennedy said in a video attached to the petition.

The presidential hopeful has previously said he would pardon Snowden and Assange, an Australian publisher held in a maximum security London prison and fighting extradition to the U.S. on espionage charges for publishing classified military documents in 2010.

“It’s time that we return our government to the democratic and humanitarian ideals that we’ve always represented as a nation,” Kennedy Jr. said. “Let’s go back to championing free speech and celebrating truth-tellers and the whistleblowers who put their careers and their own freedom on the line to protect ours.”

Fox News Digital’s Landon Mion contributed to this report.

Like many Americans, Richard Bidon says he’d like to see the U.S. government “go back to its original design” — a system of checks and balances developed nearly 240 years ago to prevent any branch, especially the presidency, from becoming too powerful.

But that’s mainly when Republicans are in power.

Bidon, an 84-year-old Democrat who lives near Los Angeles, said if President Joe Biden is reelected, he doesn’t want him to have to get the approval of a possibly Republican-controlled Congress to enact policies to slow climate change. He wants presidents to have the power to change policy unilaterally — as long as they’re from the right party.

2024 POLLS ‘ARE NOT GOOD’ FOR PRESIDENT BIDEN: KARL ROVE

“When a Democrat’s in, I support” a strong presidency, Bidon said. “When Republicans are in, I don’t support it that much. It’s sort of a wishy-washy thing.”

A new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Opinion Research finds that Bidon’s view is common. Though Americans say don’t want a president to have too much power, that view shifts if the candidate of their party wins the presidency. It’s a view held by members of both parties, though it’s especially common among Republicans.

Overall, only about 2 in 10 Americans say it would be “a good thing” for the next president to be able to change policy without waiting on Congress or the courts. But nearly 6 in 10 Republicans say it would be good for a future President Donald Trump to take unilateral action, while about 4 in 10 Democrats say the same if Biden is reelected.

The sentiment comes amid escalating polarization and is a sign of the public’s willingness to push the boundaries of the political framework that has kept the U.S. a stable democracy for more than two centuries. In the poll, only 9% of Americans say the nation’s system of checks and balances is working extremely or very well. It also follows promises by Trump to “act as a dictator” on day one of a new administration to secure the border and expand oil and gas drilling.

Bob Connor, a former carpenter now on disability in Versailles, Missouri, wants that type of decisive action on the border. He’s given up hope on Congress taking action.

“From what I’ve seen, the Republicans are trying to get some stuff done, the Democrats are trying to get some other stuff done — they’re not mixing in the middle,” said Connor, 56. “We’re not getting anywhere.”

He blames the influx of migrants on Biden unilaterally revoking some of Trump’s own unilateral border security policies when he took office.

“I’m not a Trump fanatic, but what he’s saying has to get done is right,” Connor said.

Joe Titus, a 69-year-old Democrat from Austin, Texas, believes Republicans have destroyed Congress’ ability to act in its traditional legislative role and says Biden will have to step into the gap.

“There’s this so-called ‘majority’ in Congress, and they’re a bunch of whack-jobs,” Titus, a retired Air Force mechanic, said of the GOP-controlled House of Representatives. “It’s not the way this thing was set up.”

The current Congress is setting dubious records as the least productive one in the country’s history, with fewer than three dozen bills sent to Biden’s desk last year. At Trump’s urging, House Republicans have stalled aid to Ukraine and a bipartisan immigration bill.

Titus said that in general he opposes expanded presidential power but would support Biden funding more immigration judges and sending additional aid to Ukraine on his own.

“There’s certain things that it seems to me the public wants and the other party is blocking,” Titus said.

The presidency has steadily gained power in recent years as congressional deadlocks have become more common. Increasingly, the nation’s chief executive is moving to resolve issues through administrative policy or executive orders. The U.S. Supreme Court is poised to rule later this year on a case that could significantly weaken the ability of federal agencies — and thus a presidential administration — to issue regulations.

Meanwhile, conservatives are planning a takeover of the federal bureaucracy should they win the White House in November, a move that could increase the administration’s ability to make sweeping policy changes on its own.

The AP-NORC poll found that voters’ views of which institutions have too much power were colored by their own partisanship. Only 16% of Democrats, whose party currently controls the White House, say the presidency has too much power while nearly half of Republicans believe it does. In contrast, about 6 in 10 Democrats say the U.S. Supreme Court, with its 6-3 conservative majority, has too much power.

With Congress evenly divided between the two parties — the GOP has a narrow House majority, Democrats a narrow Senate one — Americans have similar views on its power regardless of party. About 4 in 10 from both major parties say it has too much power.

“I think Congress had too much power when the presidency and Congress were both ruled by Democrats, but now that Republicans are in the majority there’s an equal balance,” said John V. Mohr, a 62-year-old housecleaner in Wilmington, North Carolina.

In contrast, he complained that Biden is “sitting there writing executive orders left and right,” including his proclamation marking Transgender Day of Visibility, which fell on Easter Sunday this year.

The abstract idea of a president with nearly unchecked power remains unpopular.

Steven Otney, a retired trucker in Rock Hill, South Carolina, said major policies should be approved by Congress and gain approval from the courts. But he also said it depends on the topic. He wants to see prompt action on certain issues by the next president if he’s Trump.

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“Some things need to be done immediately, like that border wall being finished,” said Otney, a Republican.

He said it’s just common sense.

“If Trump got in there and said ‘I want to bomb Iran,’ no, that’s crazy,” Otney said. “Within reason, not stupid stuff either way. Something to help the American people, not hurt us.”

An internal memo showing panic within the Democratic Party over its “nonpartisan” voter registration efforts potentially helping former President Trump is drawing criticism from those who say the registration efforts were a “partisan scam” from the start.

Democrats across the country have become increasingly concerned over the amount of support Trump is pulling from usually reliable demographics and donors have been bickering over an internal memo casting doubt on whether the party should continue using nonprofits to register unregistered voters over fears it could help Trump, the Washington Post reported this week. 

“Indeed, if we were to blindly register nonvoters and get them on the rolls, we would be distinctly aiding Trump’s quest for a personal dictatorship,” the memo explained, casting doubt on the longstanding Democrat voter registration push that typically has resulted in favorable results in previous elections.

The memo argues that Democrats should focus their registration efforts only in “specific, heavily pro-Biden populations” and the Washington Post explained that “the rise in Trump support among nonregistered voters has run up against a long-held Democratic policy priority of growing the voter rolls.”

DEM CAMPAIGN CALL REVEALS PANIC MODE OVER RFK JR.’S WHITE HOUSE BID, SCRAMBLE TO SAVE BIDEN RE-ELECTION HOPES

Some political analysts claimed the Washington Post article shows that some Democrat registration efforts that are labeled non-partisan are in fact working solely to register Democrats.

“Left-wing strategists accidentally said the quiet part out loud: their ‘non-partisan’ left-wing voter registration efforts have always been highly partisan operations designed to help Democrats,” Jason Snead, executive director of Honest Elections Project, told Fox News Digital.

“This admission raises grave questions about other programs the left also claims are ‘non-partisan,’ including President Biden’s executive order using taxpayers’ money to mobilize liberal voters. The press should take note of and remember this rare moment of honesty from the left the next time they cry ‘voter suppression.'”

“Democrats donors are now getting memos telling them to stop funding voter registration nonprofits because unregistered voters lean towards Trump,” investigative researcher Parker Thayer posted on X in response to the report.

“It’s all a partisan scam,” he added.

The memo comes as recent polling data suggests Biden is hemorrhaging support from key demographics that historically have been registered by Democrats and then voted for Democrats.

Gallup polling this year showed that Democrats currently hold the lowest lead they have had with Black voters over Republicans they have ever had dating back to when the polling began in 1999 and their 12-point advantage over Republicans with Hispanic voters is the lowest since 2011. 

Polling also shows that young adults are supporting Democrats at their lowest level in almost two decades.

NEW HAMPSHIRE VOTERS FRUSTRATED WITH BIDEN, DNC FOR SKIPPING STATE: ‘WON’T GIVE US THE TIME OF DAY’

“By 2010, young adults were the only age category giving the Democrats an edge, and their Democratic orientation remained strong until it fell to just eight points in 2023, the slimmest since 2005,” Gallup explained.

In 2016, Gallup polling showed roughly 51% of non-registered voters identified as Democrat or lean Democrat compared to 31% who identified as Republican or lean Republican. Over the last year, that number for Democrats has sunk to 42% while the Republican number grew to 40%, WaPo reported.

Some Democrats pushed back in the WaPo story on the idea that registration efforts need to be re-tooled due to Trump’s strong polling numbers with reliable Democratic voters.

“If you’d ask me what keeps me up at night, it’s not that young people of color are going to defect to the Republican camp. My worst case scenario is that memos like this create a disinvestment — and that makes our job very hard,” Maria Teresa Kumar, president and CEO of Voto Latino, said, adding that the memo shows “implicit bias that the mainstream folks have internalized” and that it “does a disservice because it’s trying to pit communities against each other in ways that are not helpful.”

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“From a nonpartisan perspective, we should help close the turnout gap, which means if Latinos, Blacks and Asian Americans are registered at lower rates, then we need to increase registration,” Biden pollster Matt Barreto told the Washington Post. 

“The unregistered people of color are still leaning Democratic. They might need more of a push. But they are not leaning in the opposite direction.”

A leading Democrat in the race to represent Maryland in the Senate never committed to a debate against his primary opponent at a previously scheduled event later this month.

The April 23 debate between Rep. David Trone, D-Md. — who is running against Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks to become Maryland’s next U.S. Senator — was canceled Tuesday after the Trone campaign “refused to commit,” according to the debate host, NBC’s Baltimore affiliate.

The announcement from NBC’s WBAL-TV came after it had partnered with NBC Washington, “Meet the Press” and Maryland Public Television to bring voters in Maryland a televised debate between the two Democratic candidates in the race ahead of the May 14 primary election.

The Trone campaign defended its decision in a statement, saying the congressman had already committed to “a dozen public forums and a televised debate.”

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“David has already participated in or committed to more than a dozen public forums and a televised debate. We look forward to continuing to campaign in every county in Maryland to talk about the issues that matter with the people who matter most: Marylanders,” Trone’s campaign said in a statement to the outlet.

A Trone campaign spokesperson told Fox News Digital that details of a separate televised debate between the congressman and Alsobrooks will be announced Thursday evening.

Citing a “source close to the congressman’s campaign,” the Washington Times reported that Trone had to forgo the debate as “scheduling concerns, including the recent Baltimore bridge collapse and the House schedule, rendered him unable to accommodate the debate.”

However, the House is scheduled for recess during the week of April 23.

The Senate campaign for Alsobrooks, who accepted WBAL-TV’s invitation to debate, also weighed in on the matter following Trone’s refusal to engage in the debate. 

“Angela is committed to ensuring voters across Maryland have the opportunity to see the choice they have on the ballot in May,” Alsobrooks campaign manager Sheila O’Connell said in a statement. “Angela continues to gain momentum as we approach the primary, earning key endorsements and growing her grassroots movement in Maryland. Voters know she’ll best represent us in the Senate.”

Trone, a leading candidate in the crowded Democratic primary field of ten candidates, has represented Maryland’s 6th Congressional District in the House since 2019.

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During his 2022 re-election campaign to the House, Trone blasted his Republican challenger, state Del. Neil Parrot, for his objection to a virtual forum conducted by Zoom, saying he was “disappointed” by the decision.

“The League of Women Voters candidate debate has always played an important role in our congressional race, and I’m disappointed Delegate Parrott deprived the voters of this opportunity to hear from us,” Trone said in a statement at the time, according to one local outlet.

The decision by Trone not to participate in the April 23 debate comes less than two weeks after the congressman uttered a racial slur during a House Budget Committee hearing.

Trone uttered the disparaging term for Black people while speaking during the hearing about tax policy with Shalanda Young, the director of the Office of Budget and Management, who was testifying before the committee.

“So this Republican jigaboo that — it’s the tax rate that’s stopping business investment, it’s just completely faulty by people who have never run a business,” he said at the time. “They’ve never been there. They don’t have a clue what they’re talking about.”

Trone later admitted to Fox News Digital he had used the term, but said he misspoke while meaning to use a different word.

“Today while attempting to use the word ‘bugaboo’ in a hearing, I used a phrase that is offensive. That word has a long, dark terrible history. It should never be used any time, anywhere, in any conversation,” Trone said at the time. “I recognize that as a White man, I have privilege. And as an elected official, I have a responsibility for the words I use — especially in the heat of the moment. Regardless of what I meant to say, I shouldn’t have used that language.”

The winner of the Democratic Senate primary election will likely head to a general election matchup against former Maryland Republican Gov. Larry Hogan, who entered the race in February.

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Hogan, a popular critic of former President Donald Trump, is the leading GOP candidate among his primary challengers.

The federal judge presiding over former President Trump’s classified records case has denied his motion to dismiss the charges based on the Presidential Records Act. 

U.S. District Court Judge Aileen Cannon, last month, also dismissed Trump’s motion to dismiss charges of retaining classified documents on the grounds of “unconstitutional vagueness.” 

In a filing Thursday, Cannon denied the former president’s motion to dismiss, saying that the charges against Trump “make no reference to the Presidential Records Act, nor do they rely on that statute for purposes of stating an offense.” 

Cannon said the Presidential Records Act “does not provide a pre-trial basis to dismiss” the case, saying “all of which state cognizable offenses.” 

TRUMP FLORIDA JUDGE CANNON DENIES TRUMP DISMISSAL ON ‘UNCONSTITUTIONAL VAGUENESS’

But Cannon said that the court’s order “should not be misconstrued as declaring a final definition on any essential element or asserted defense in this case.” 

“Nor should it be interpreted as anything other than what it was: a genuine attempt, in the context of the upcoming trial, to better understand the parties’ competing positions and the questions to be submitted to the jury in this complex case of first impression,” Cannon wrote. 

Cannon said parties are “free to avail itself of whatever appellate options it sees fit to invoke, as permitted by law.” 

Separately, she indicated she would stay on the case, despite a filing from Smith hinting he would go over her head if she didn’t rule sooner on Trump’s motion. 

Trump was charged out of Smith’s investigation into his retention of classified materials. Trump pleaded not guilty to all 37 felony charges from Smith’s probe, including willful retention of national defense information, conspiracy to obstruct justice, and false statements.

Trump was also charged with an additional three counts as part of a superseding indictment out of the investigation — an additional count of willful retention of national defense information and two additional obstruction counts. 

Trump pleaded not guilty. 

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates. 

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s Office used former President Trump’s defense team’s own words in arguing against their push to have Judge Juan Merchan recused from the hush-money case amid new allegations that Merchan’s daughter is financially benefiting as a result of the case through her work as a Democratic political consultant. 

Trump’s lawyers, Todd Blanche and Susan Necheles, argued in a pre-trial motion on Monday that Merchan’s daughter, Loren Merchan, works as an executive and partner at Authentic Campaigns, Inc., and financially benefits from the case and upcoming trial against Trump that her father oversees.  

Despite the new information coming to light, Bragg’s assistant district attorneys asserted in a letter of their own filed on Tuesday that Trump has “identified no changed circumstances” that warrant revisiting the court’s prior order on August 11, 2023, denying the defendant’s earlier motion for recusal. 

Merchan on Wednesday also separately denied Trump’s request to have the upcoming trial delayed until the Supreme Court rules on his presidential immunity.

The assistant district attorneys rejected Trump’s argument that “Authentic has used social media to market its connections to President Biden and Vice President Harris while deriding President Trump.” 

“Even assuming that this claim is true, it merely reiterates defendant’s earlier argument based on Authentic’s client list,” Bragg’s office wrote. “This Court and the Advisory Committee on Judicial Ethics have already determined that such a claim provides no basis for recusal.”

NEW YORK JUDGE IN HUSH-MONEY TRIAL REJECTS TRUMP’S REQUEST FOR DELAY UNTIL AFTER SCOTUS RULES ON IMMUNITY

In August 2023, the court said that Trump had presented only “speculative and hypothetical scenarios,” but the former president’s lawyers argued Monday that those scenarios “have come to pass” as Trump has advanced since then to become the presumptive GOP nominee for president in 2024. 

“Authentic and Your Honor’s daughter are making money by supporting the creation and dissemination of campaign advocacy for President Trump’s opponent, political rivals, and the Democrat party,” Trump’s defense said. “It can no longer be ignored that Authentic’s commercial interests are benefitted by developments in this case that harm President Trump’s penal interests and divert his efforts from running his leading campaign for the presidency by requiring him to prepare and sit for trial during the general election.” 

Citing filings with the Federal Election Commission, Trump’s attorneys argued that “Authentic has received millions of dollars in disbursements from entities associated with President Trump’s political rivals since the Indictment was returned” and “some of those funds were paid to Authentic by entities associated with legislators and PACs that have used email and/or social media to solicit contributions specifically based on this case.” Thus, they claimed, “there is strong evidence that Authentic has used this case to make money” and “those benefits and the ongoing financial interest cannot be ignored.” 

HOUSE GOP CHAIR DEMANDS TRUMP HUSH-MONEY JUDGE RECUSE HIMSELF AFTER LATEST GAG ORDER, CLAIMS ‘JUDICIAL BIAS’

But Bragg’s team cited that language in pushing back on Tuesday, writing, “defendant’s own careful wording reveals the multiple attenuated factual leaps here that undercut any direct connection between Authentic and this case: Authentic has received money from ‘entities’; those entities are ‘associated with’ politicians; and those politicians have raised money based on this case.” 

“This daisy chain of innuendos is a far cry from evidence that this Court has ‘a direct, personal, substantial or pecuniary interest in reaching a particular conclusion,’” the assistant district attorneys wrote. “There is simply nothing new here that would alter this Court’s prior conclusion that nothing about this proceeding will directly benefit Authentic or this Court’s family member, let alone this Court.” 

Trump’s team also criticized the court for making “extrajudicial comments about the case” despite Merchan issuing a gag order and subsequent extension that prevent the presumptive Republican nominee “from engaging in protected campaign speech.” 

Namely, Trump’s team took issue with the court using the Office of Court Administration to issue a statement relating to an X account used at some point by Merchan’s daughter. 

“As public scrutiny on these issues increased, the account in question appears to have been closed to the public. So too has Authentic’s X account, thereby limiting President Trump’s ability to investigate these issues,” they wrote. 

They cited the Associated Press having quoted a court spokesperson stating that Merchan’s daughter no longer owned an X account that appeared to have recently shared a photo of the former Republican president behind bars. Hitting back, Bragg’s office wrote, “To the extent defendant intends to seek recusal based on the cited article, such a request would be a frivolous and vexatious effort to further waste the Court’s time.” 

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The prosecution said that Trump “fails to note that—aside from acknowledging ‘intense’ preparation the article reports that ‘Merchan wouldn’t talk about the case’” and “does not report that the Court was talking about this case when the Court reportedly said ‘There’s no agenda here. We want to follow the law.’” 

Bragg’s team added that “even if the Court did have this case in mind, expressing a broad commitment to impartiality is very obviously not a prohibited ‘comment about a pending or impending proceeding,’ and is not a basis for recusal.”

President Biden led former President Donald Trump by just two points in a new poll of Pennsylvania registered voters, despite the enduring belief of many that he is too old to serve as chief executive for another term. 

Biden pulled ahead of Trump in a new Franklin & Marshall Poll released on Thursday, winning with Pennsylvania voters 42% to 40%. 

Pennsylvania is one of the critical battleground states that is expected to help determine the outcome of the 2024 presidential election. The state was notably won by Trump in 2016 but then swung back to Democrats to help Biden win in 2020. Biden took the state in the last election by less than two points. 

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Illustrating the close race, a separate survey from The Wall Street Journal showed Trump ahead of Biden in six of the seven key battleground states, including Pennsylvania. Trump also defeated his opponent in Michigan, Arizona, Georgia, Nevada and North Carolina.

While he managed to surpass Trump in the Franklin & Marshall poll, Biden still faced a significant portion of Pennsylvanians who say he is “too old,” at 81, to carry out a second term. By the end of a potential second term, Biden would be 86. 

VULNERABLE NEVADA DEMOCRAT TOUTS BIPARTISANSHIP DESPITE VOTING WITH BIDEN 99% OF TIME

Four in 10 registered voters in Pennsylvania agreed Biden’s age was too advanced to serve a second term. This number has remained steady in Franklin & Marshall’s surveying since October 2023. An additional 40% said age is an issue for both of the candidates’ abilities to serve another term. 

Only 6% of respondents said Trump is “too old.” The former president is 77. 

“With just 35% job approval, Joe Biden is floundering in his home state of Pennsylvania,” said Trump campaign spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt in a statement to Fox News Digital, referencing the approval rating reported by the poll. 

MAYORKAS IMPEACHMENT TRIAL POISED TO PRESSURE THESE VULNERABLE SENATE DEMS

“Between higher gas prices, surging crime, and failed Democrat policies crushing families at every corner, it’s no wonder that Pennsylvanians across the commonwealth are increasingly rejecting the failed Biden agenda and supporting President Trump,” she added. 

While voters said Trump was a better choice to handle the economy over Biden, the president managed to sustain his advantage over Trump on questions of trustworthiness and character. 

The survey also showed Biden’s margin expanding in a one-on-one match-up with Trump. In such a scenario, Biden garnered 48% to Trump’s 38%, extending his two-point lead to 10. According to the poll, the change in Biden’s margin when third-party candidates are included is “because support for the president declines among registered Democrats as more of them opt for a third-party candidate.”

Democratic National Committee spokesperson Matt Corridoni told Fox News Digital that the poll was “more proof” that Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. is being set up “to be a spoiler in this race.”

BIDEN ADMINISTRATION RULE MAKES FIRING FEDERAL WORKERS HARDER AS TRUMP PROMISES ‘DEEP STATE’ REVAMP

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Despite Biden’s increased odds in a two-man race, it’s unlikely that such a race would play out in the Keystone State. Several prominent people have launched campaigns for the White House in 2024, including Kennedy, as an independent; Jill Stein on the Green Party’s ticket; and Cornel West as an independent. 

Kennedy’s campaign website lists its effort to achieve ballot access in Pennsylvania as “in progress” with months until the state’s August filing deadline. 

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

• Kristin Lyerly, an obstetrician and gynecologist from De Pere, Wisconsin, is running to represent the state’s eighth congressional district.
• Lyerly joins two Republicans — state Sen. Andre Jacque and former state Sen. Roger Roth — in her bid for the seat currently held by Republican Rep. Mike Gallagher. Pro-Trump political consultant Alex Bruesewitz is also expected to join the race in the near future.
• The district, which stretches from the Door Peninsula to the Menominee Reservation, encompasses the cities of Green Bay and Appleton. Republicans generally win it comfortably.

A doctor who performs abortions became the first Democratic candidate in Wisconsin’s 8th Congressional District on Thursday, entering the race for the open seat created after the surprise retirement of Republican Rep. Mike Gallagher.

Kristin Lyerly, an obstetrician and gynecologist, launched her candidacy two weeks before Gallagher plans to step down. Because of the timing of his resignation, there will be no special election.

For now, Lyerly is unopposed in the Democratic primary to be decided Aug. 13. Democrats fielded no candidate in the 2022 election.

GOP WISCONSIN LAWMAKER ANNOUNCES RUN FOR MIKE GALLAGHER’S HOUSE SEAT

Two Republicans, state Sen. Andre Jacque and former state Sen. Roger Roth, are running and a third is expected to get in the race next week. Republican consultant Alex Bruesewitz planned to make an announcement Monday. Bruesewitz, 26, was born in Wisconsin but currently lives in Florida. He would have to move back to Wisconsin to run for the seat.

Lyerly made clear that she would make abortion a central issue in the race.

Lyerly was one of the plaintiffs in a Wisconsin lawsuit that succeeded in keeping abortions legal after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022. She performed abortions across Wisconsin, but temporarily moved her practice to Minnesota after the Supreme Court’s ruling.

“As an OB/GYN, I have been attacked first hand by MAGA extremists targeting a woman’s right to make her own health choices,” Lyerly said in a statement. “I will work tirelessly to ensure that every woman in our state has access to reproductive care, including safe and legal abortions, essential services like maternity care, and mental health support.”

Gallagher was elected four times to serve northeast Wisconsin. His early departure leaves Republicans with a 217-213 majority in the House, meaning they cannot afford to lose more than one vote on a party-line vote.

Gallagher found himself at odds with former President Donald Trump and his supporters. He also angered fellow Republicans last month by refusing to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.

Jacque, Roth and Bruesewitz are all Trump supporters and oppose abortion.

The district is solidly Republican, but Democrats have vowed to make it competitive.

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Trump won the district by 16 points in 2020, even though he lost the state by less than a point to President Joe Biden. Gallagher won re-election three times by no fewer than 25 points. The district includes the cities of Appleton and Green Bay, Door County and covers mostly rural areas north through Marinette.