NationalWatch

A federal court ruled Wednesday that President Donald Trump and his former lawyer, Alina Habba, are still on the hook for a $1 million penalty for filing a “frivolous” lawsuit against Hillary Clinton, former FBI director James Comey and others.

The ruling from the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals relates to a now-dismissed lawsuit filed by Trump relating to Russian collusion claims. Trump was first ordered to pay the $1 million in the case in 2023, but he and Habba appealed the ruling.

In addition to Clinton and Comey, their lawsuit also named Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., former FBI officials Peter Strzok and Lisa Page, and many more.

Trump and Habba, who now serves as U.S. attorney for New Jersey, will be forced to pay approximately $938,000 — split between the dozens of individuals named in the lawsuit.

TRUMP SCORES LEGAL WIN AS HE GETS LAWSUIT AGAINST IOWA POLLSTER, DES MOINES REGISTER MOVED TO STATE COURT

In the original lawsuit, Trump accused the high-profile figures of conspiring to tank his successful 2016 presidential campaign.

“Here we are confronted with a lawsuit that should never have been filed, which was completely frivolous, both factually and legally, and which was brought in bad faith for an improper purpose,” wrote Judge Donald Middlebrooks in his 2023 ruling, which was upheld Wednesday.

“Mr. Trump is a prolific and sophisticated litigant who is repeatedly using the courts to seek revenge on political adversaries. He is the mastermind of strategic abuse of the judicial process and he cannot be seen as a litigant blindly following the advice of a lawyer,” he added.

Two defendants in the case also claimed that Trump’s appeal itself was frivolous and sought additional sanctions for it, but the court disagreed.

Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment, but they did not immediately respond.

JAMES COMEY SEEKS TO DISMISS HIS CRIMINAL CASE, CITING ‘VINDICTIVE’ PROSECUTION

Wednesday’s ruling comes just days after a separate federal court dismissed false statements charges leveled against Comey. Judge Cameron Currie ruled that the charges were brought by an unqualified U.S. attorney. That U.S. attorney is Lindsay Halligan, who Trump appointed to the position just weeks prior.

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Currie, a Clinton appointee based in South Carolina, was brought in from out of state to preside over proceedings about the question of Halligan’s authority because it presented a conflict for the Virginia judges. Comey’s and James’ challenges to Halligan’s appointment were consolidated because of their similarity.

EXCLUSIVE: The Afghan national accused of shooting two National Guard members blocks from the White House worked with various United States government entities, including the CIA, as a member of a partner force in Afghanistan, Fox News Digital has learned.

Rahmanullah Lakanwal, 29, entered the United States on the heels of the disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan in August 2021 under the Biden administration. Lakanwal arrived in the U.S. a month later under “Operation Allies Welcome.”

TWO NATIONAL GUARD MEMBERS SHOT NEAR WHITE HOUSE, AFGHAN NATIONAL SUSPECT IN CUSTODY: ‘ACT OF EVIL’

Intelligence sources told Fox News Digital that Lakanwal had a prior relationship with various entities in the U.S. government, including the CIA, due to his work as a member of a partner force in Kandahar.

“In the wake of the disastrous Biden withdrawal from Afghanistan, the Biden administration justified bringing the alleged shooter to the United States in September 2021 due to his prior work with the U.S. government, including CIA, as a member of a partner force in Kandahar, which ended shortly following the chaotic evacuation,” CIA Director John Ratcliffe told Fox News Digital.

“The individual—and so many others—should have never been allowed to come here,” Ratcliffe continued. “Our citizens and service members deserve far better than to endure the ongoing fallout from the Biden administration’s catastrophic failures.” 

Ratcliffe added: “God bless our brave troops.”

Fox News Digital has learned that the FBI is taking the lead on the investigation.

2 NATIONAL GUARDSMEN CRITICALLY WOUNDED IN ‘TARGETED SHOOTING’ BLOCKS FROM WHITE HOUSE

Multiple high level intelligence sources told Fox News Digital that the shooting is being investigated as a possible act of international terrorism.

FBI officials confirmed the two West Virginia National Guardsmen remain in critical condition.

In an online address to the nation late Wednesday, President Donald Trump called the shooting a “savage attack” and described how one of the Guardsmen “was shot at point-blank range in a monstrous ambush-style attack just steps away from the White House.”

Trump added that the “heinous assault” was an “act of evil and act of hatred and an act of terror. It was a crime against our entire nation. It was a crime against humanity.”

“The hearts of all Americans tonight are with those two members of the West Virginia National Guard and their families,” he added. “The love of our entire country is pouring out for them, and we are lifting them up in our prayers as we are filled with anguish and grief for those who were shot, we’re also filled with righteous anger and ferocious resolve. As President of the United States, I am determined to ensure that the animal who perpetrated this atrocity pays the steepest possible price.”

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“This is a targeted shooting,” D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser explained during a news conference Wednesday afternoon following the shooting. “One individual appeared to target these guardsmen. That individual has been taken into custody.”

House Speaker Mike Johnson defended the U.S.–Israel alliance as a strategic necessity in the Middle East and said antisemitism must be “universally rejected.”

He made his comments as Republicans confront widening divisions over U.S. support for Israel and how the party should respond to rising antisemitism.

During an interview on “The Katie Miller Podcast,” in response to what Miller called a “schism” in the GOP over Israel, Johnson said he wished “everybody would acknowledge the importance of that relationship,” noting many Americans view support for Israel as rooted in “scripturally based, biblical reasons.”

“But even if you don’t accept that,” he continued, “you have to look at this objectively and say it’s really important to have that ally and partner in that corner of the world, and it’s the only stable democracy in the Middle East. It’s a tinderbox.

MIKE PENCE: NO PLACE FOR ANTISEMITISM IN AMERICA TODAY, TOMORROW OR EVER

“You can make all sorts of arguments of why this is a really important friendship and alliance. But the antisemitism stuff ought to be universally rejected and called out. And I’m very insistent about that,” Johnson told Miller. “We got to love everybody and certainly the Jewish people.”

A small but increasingly vocal number of House Republicans have begun to break with the party’s traditional pro-Israel stance, most notably Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., and Thomas Massie, R-Ky.

ISRAEL’S STRIKES IN QATAR TRIGGERS RARE US REBUKE, TESTS TRUMP’S GULF DIPLOMACY

Greene, who announced she will resign from Congress in January 2026, has been a vocal critic of U.S. policy toward Israel and called for cuts to military aid to Jerusalem.

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Massie has long opposed U.S. military aid to Israel and criticized the influence of pro-Israel lobbying groups, particularly AIPAC, on American foreign policy.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) under former-President Joe Biden promised to “swiftly and safely” resettle Afghan allies into the United States, but multiple sources have confirmed the D.C. National Guard shooter came in under that same Biden-era program in 2021.

Biden responded to the “targeted” attack in D.C. just before news broke of how the alleged shooter, 29-year-old Afghan national Rahmanullah Lakanwal, entered the United States under humanitarian parole via Operation Allies Welcome, per DHS and FBI sources, giving him permission to be in country legally. 

In 2021, amid the Afghan withdrawal debacle, Biden’s Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas promised to “swiftly and safely” resettle thousands of Afghan allies into the United States and confirmed that DHS had denied evacuees from entering the U.S. due to “derogatory” information obtained during the vetting process.

After the disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan that was followed by a Taliban takeover of the country, the Biden administration launched a large operation to support and resettle vulnerable Afghans, including those that had helped U.S. troops in the past. 

TWO NATIONAL GUARD MEMBERS SHOT NEAR WHITE HOUSE, AFGHAN NATIONAL SUSPECT IN CUSTODY: ‘TARGETED’

Due to the rushed nature of the evacuation, plus broader concerns over immigration and prole-release policies, fears arose over whom the country may have been letting in. 

Mayorkas said during a Sept. 2021 press conference that 120,000 people had been evacuated from Afghanistan since the beginning of the U.S. withdrawal, just months earlier. The Air Force Installation and Mission Support Center found that nearly 800 aircraft evacuated thousands of people over just a 17-day period in August 2021.

At the time, Mayorkas touted the robust biometric screening and vetting process in place — in both the U.S. and transit countries — in order to make sure every individual entering the country was properly screened. 

In response to a question at the time from Fox News’ Jake Gibson, Mayorkas confirmed that there already had been individuals flagged with “derogatory information” during the vetting process, but did not specify the number of people flagged.

Mayorkas assured that 400 U.S. Customs and Border Patrol employees and the Transportation Security Administration would be brought up to assist. Part of the effort included moving refugees from military bases designated by the Pentagon to house and vet refugees before they enter the United States.

Lakanwal, who entered the U.S. in September 2021 after America’s withdrawal from Afghanistan, had his permission to stay in the U.S. granted under Operation Allies Welcome, sources said. Authorities are investigating the shooting as a possible act of international terrorism. FBI officials confirmed two West Virginia National Guardsmen remain in critical condition after being shot in the head during an apparent targeted attack just a few blocks from the White House.

During comments Wednesday night, President Donald Trump called Biden “a disastrous president” and “the worst in the history of our country.”

WHITE HOUSE BLASTS MS NOW CORRESPONDENT’S ‘BEYOND SICK’ REACTION TO DC SHOOTING OF NATIONAL GUARDSMEN

He also ridiculed the former president for flying Lakanwal “on those infamous flights that everybody was talking about.”

“Nobody knew who was coming in, nobody knew anything about it,” Trump pointed out about the Afghan evacuation process under Biden. He also slammed broader parole and immigration policies under Biden, claiming Lakanwal’s “status was extended under legislation signed under President Biden. “

“This attack underscores the single greatest national security threat facing our nation,” Trump added, announcing that the government “must now reexamine every single alien who has entered our country under Biden.”

Trump also appeared to suggest the death penalty for Lakanwal, stating toward the end of his address that “we will bring the perpetrator of this barbaric attack to swift and certain justice – if the bullet’s going in the opposite direction – (unintelligible).”

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Meanwhile, former President Biden did respond to the tragic D.C. attack, but his comments came before news of how the shooter entered the United States.

“Jill and I are heartbroken that two members of the National Guard were shot outside the White House,” Biden posted on X, just before news broke that the shooter entered the country under his administration’s rapid resettlement program. 

“Violence of any kind is unacceptable, and we must all stand united against it. We are praying for the service members and their families.”

Fox News Digital Reached out to the Department of Homeland Security for comment on the news that Lakanwal came into the United States under the Biden-era program, but did not receive a response. Attempts to reach former DHS Secretary Mayorkas also were unsuccessful in time for publication.

Fox News’ Brooke Singman and Kelly Laco contributed to this report.

The Democratic Party hopeful in Tennessee’s upcoming special election, Aftyn Behn, is going viral due to a 2019 incident when she was working as a political organizer and was forcibly removed from Democrat Gov. Bill Lee’s office during an attempted sit-in. 

The 2019 incident came before Behn entered elected office in 2023 by winning a special election to take over the state’s District 51 seat. Prior to her entrance into the Tennessee state legislature, Behn worked as a political organizer for numerous far-left activist groups, such as “No Kings” protests co-organizer Indivisible, Enough Is Enough Tennessee and the Tennessee Justice Center. 

During her work with Enough Is Enough, which the conservative Capital Research Center says was established to target Tennessee lawmakers accused of sexual misconduct, Behn participated in a sit-in in Lee’s office, which resulted in a video recording of her skating past officers to get inside before they ran after her and yanked her out of the office. 

TENNESSEE CANDIDATE BLASTS DEM OPPONENT’S ‘UNACCEPTABLE’ TWEETS CALLING TO DISSOLVE NASHVILLE POLICE 

The sit-in was aimed at pressuring the governor to demand the resignation of a state representative who had been accused of, but not charged with, sexual assault allegations, according to News Channel 5 Nashville. 

Behn appears to be heard wailing in the video as she gets yanked out of the governor’s office after reportedly being told she could face arrest. A subsequent social media post by local news outlet The Tennessee Holler showed Behn on day two of the attempted sit-in, lying with a blanket and pillow in front of the governor’s office weeping.  

“HAPPENING NOW: Aftyn Behn Of Enough Is Enough Tennessee weeps after being roughly tossed out of Governor Bill Lee’s office by troopers,” the post says.

Fox News Digital reached out to the Behn campaign for comment on the viral video but did not receive a response. 

Republican National Committee spokesperson Delanie Bomar pointed out that Behn “is the same woman who says she hates Nashville and wants to burn down police stations,” arguing she is “wildly unfit for office, and this video is further proof of that.”

With the Tuesday special election for Tennessee’s 7th Congressional District looming, Behn has been the brunt of numerous attacks for her radical past.

‘FULL-BLOWN BATTLE’ BREWING IN DEM PARTY AS MAMDANI-STYLE CANDIDATES RISE IN KEY RACES

One of those attacks stemmed from past comments Behn made on a podcast, claiming she “hated” the city she is trying to represent, Nashville. 

Others include radical calls to “dissolve” police departments and previous justification for violent riots and burning down police stations. 

When pressed over the weekend about her anti-police positions in the past, Behn dodged the question three different times. She claimed the attacks on her comments about hating Nashville were “obviously taken out of context” and are just part of an attack campaign against her because Republicans are scared.

“I do not hate country music. I was conceived after a George Strait concert,” Behn quipped during an interview on the “Breaking Points with Krystal and Saagar” podcast. 

“It just shows — The New York Times reporter — that there’s a 48-page dossier of me, which includes clips,” she said. “I had a podcast back in the day called G.R.I.T.S. – Girls Raised In The South – and I was lamenting about, you know, the things that are wrong with our city. Obviously taken out of context, obviously hyperbolic, and I don’t feel that way at all.”

Behn added that she thinks the attack ultimately backfired, and shows her opponent is “digging deep.”

During the “Breaking Points” interview, Behn tried to dispel the criticism that she hates the district she is trying to represent by arguing that she has spent “the past decade” of her life “pouring blood, sweat and tears into my city and my state to make it better for working people.”

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However, that working-class campaign message also has been challenged by Behn’s past ahead of the special election. 

The state representative, for example, voted no in 2024 on a bill that would have resulted in a $400 million tax cut for certain Tennessee small businesses, including potential refunds of up to $1.5 billion. 

Among her other anti-tax cutting actions, Behn rallied against Republicans’ H.R. 1, the so-called “big, beautiful bill.” The bill, which extended President Donald Trump’s 2017 tax cuts, could have meant a nearly $4,000 increase for taxpayers in her district if it had not passed based on economic analyses. 

Lee called the move the “single largest tax cut” in the state’s history. 

Behn also voted against a statewide budget bill earlier in 2025 that would have added tens of millions to the state’s rainy day fund, which would have effectively padded the state’s coffers so that, in times of low revenue, taxes won’t need to be increased so much. 

That same budget bill would have also allocated millions for volunteer fire departments, senior centers, emergency medical services, teacher bonuses and other public safety funding.

A Democratic congresswoman and former Air Force captain who joined five other lawmakers in a viral video advising service members they could refuse illegal orders from a president shared a slew of voicemails backing her stance.

The video released by six Democrat lawmakers who are veterans drew sharp rebuke from President Donald Trump, who called them “traitors,” and War Secretary Pete Hegseth, who asked Navy Secretary John Phelan to formally review one senator’s comments in the clip.

Rep. Chrissy Houlahan of Pennsylvania, who represents Chester County and Reading, shared a mashup of numerous messages praising her and her colleagues for “standing up” for military members at what the lawmakers involved said was a tenuous time to be serving the public.

DEM SENATOR WHO BASHED HEGSETH’S QUALIFICATIONS STANDS BY DOD SEC WHO OVERSAW BOTCHED AFGHAN WITHDRAWAL

Several callers were not constituents, including veterans from as far away as Fairbanks, Alaska. Others said they hailed from Philadelphia, Reading, West Chester, Phoenixville and Berwyn, Pennsylvania, along with Baltimore, Maryland; Carlsbad, California; and beyond.

They identified themselves by their military record as well, including Marine vets, infantry vets, a wounded warrior, a Gulf War vet and descendants of World War I, World War II, Vietnam and Korea.

“I am not a constituent,” one said. “I am a veteran.”

CALIFORNIA DEM TELLS HEGSETH HE’S AN ‘EMBARRASSMENT’ TO THE US, SHOULD ‘GET THE HELL OUT’ OF THE DOD

“Thank you for standing firmly with our service members,” another said.

“I just want to tell her I appreciate her comments, and they’re right,” a third caller said.

Addressing the video’s quotes directly, another veteran expressed gratitude that Houlahan was “letting them know it’s OK to question orders that seem wrong or illegal.”

JEFFRIES BECOMES HIGHEST-RANKING DEM TO CALL FOR HEGSETH TO RESIGN

“I’m with you. I’m behind you.”

“You have support and gratitude from citizens across the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Thank you. That’s all I can tell you. Thank you very much. You’re making the commonwealth very proud. I am so proud of all six of you for making that video,” several callers added in an edited, composite excerpt.

“I will continue to speak up for you because you continue to speak up to me,” another told Houlahan.

SEN. TILLIS OPENS UP ABOUT ROLE IN PETE HEGSETH’S CONFIRMATION AFTER HEGSETH’S EX-SISTER-IN-LAW’S ALLEGATIONS

In response, the White House said Democrats like Houlahan were unable to list any examples of unlawful orders given by Trump or the Pentagon when they were asked.

“Because there have been none,” said White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson.

“It should deeply concern all Americans that elected Democrats are publicly urging the military to openly defy the chain-of-command and the commander in chief’s lawful orders to subvert the will of the American people,” she said.

On Tuesday, Houlahan said the FBI reached out to the House and Senate sergeants-at-arms, who maintain order in the Capitol galleries, requesting interviews with lawmakers in the video.

“President Trump is using the FBI as a tool to intimidate and harass members of Congress,” Houlahan said.

“No amount of intimidation or harassment will ever stop us from doing our jobs and honoring our Constitution.”

REPUBLICAN MILITARY VETS IN CONGRESS ARE ON A MISSION TO GET HEGSETH CONFIRMED

“We will never be bullied. We will never give up the ship,” she said, quoting a line from the video spoken by Sen. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich.

The most prominent lawmaker in the video, Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., has since been subject to an impending investigation by the Pentagon, according to documents.

Kelly, a retired Navy combat pilot and astronaut, is in the distinct category of “retired” — requiring 20 years of service — rather than “former,” a status that allows the Pentagon to recall him for disciplinary action that could include loss of rank or other penalties.

FOX NEWS POLITICS NEWSLETTER: FORMER ARMY CAPTAIN WARNS DEMS’ ‘UNPATRIOTIC’ VIDEO COULD SPARK CHAOS

Hegseth branded Houlahan, Kelly and the others the “Seditious Six,” and his office released a statement saying that all “service members are reminded that they have a legal obligation under the UCMJ to obey lawful orders and that orders are presumed to be lawful.”

“A service member’s personal philosophy does not justify or excuse the disobedience of an otherwise lawful order,” the War Department said.

Houlahan spent two years on active duty in the Air Force from 1989-1991 and the rest of her career in the Reserves until separating in 2004.

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Her father was a Naval aviator and she was born at the Naval Air Station Patuxent base in St. Mary’s, Maryland.

Five of the six lawmakers in the video also reportedly received bomb threats to their offices since the release of the video.

Slotkin, Houlahan and Reps. Jason Crow, D-Colo., and Chris Deluzio, D-Pa., received threats to their Capitol Hill offices, while Rep. Maggie Goodlander, the wife of Obama National Security Adviser Jacob Sullivan, was subject to a bomb threat at her local office in Concord, New Hampshire, according to Newsweek.

President Donald Trump said Wednesday that he would not invite South Africa to the 2026 G-20 summit in Florida, citing alleged “horrific human rights abuses.”

“To put it more bluntly, they are killing white people and randomly allowing their farms to be taken from them,” Trump alleged in a Truth Social post. “At my direction, South Africa will NOT be receiving an invitation to the 2026 G-20, which will be hosted in the Great City of Miami, Florida next year,” he added.

TRUMP PICKS HIS MIAMI DORAL RESORT TO HOST 2026 G20 SUMMIT IN FLORIDA DURING NATION’S ANNIVERSARY YEAR

The Embassy of South Africa did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

Clayson Monyela, head of diplomacy for the Department of International Relations and Cooperation, dismissed the notion that South Africa could be shut out.

“South Africa is a founding member of the G-20. We don’t get invited to G-20 meetings and leaders summit. Those are gatherings of members. If other members allow this then the G-20 will die,” Monyela told Fox News Digital.

“Other countries have already told us that they too will boycott the U.S. G-20 if South Africa is excluded,” Monyela added.

If carried out, the move would break with more than two decades of precedent and mark the first time a member has been formally excluded from the gathering of the world’s major economies.

The G-20, which brings together major advanced and emerging economies and accounts for roughly 80% of global GDP and two-thirds of the world’s population, has historically operated on the principle of inclusion.

That tradition already was strained after the U.S. boycott of the 2025 meeting held in Johannesburg earlier in November.

The Trump administration argued that the country’s government had failed to address violence and discrimination it claimed was occurring in rural farming communities. Additionally, the U.S. objected to the meeting’s focus on climate and development issues rather than core economic priorities.

TRUMP ADMIN SLAMS SOUTH AFRICA FOR ‘WEAPONIZED’ G-20 PRESIDENCY AS SUMMIT IGNORES CHRISTIAN PERSECUTION

The boycott marked a notable break from past U.S. engagement, leaving the world’s largest economy missing from a key forum for global economic policymaking.

Trump also said in the same Truth Social post that he would halt U.S. payments to South Africa.

“South Africa has demonstrated to the world they are not a country worthy of membership anywhere and we are going to stop all payments and subsidies to them, effective immediately,” Trump wrote.

The White House and State Department did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for further details.

It remains unclear how the move will affect the country’s standing within the G-20 or broader U.S.–South Africa relations ahead of the 2026 summit in Florida.

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Relations between Trump and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa have steadily deteriorated in recent months.

In February, Trump suspended U.S. aid to South Africa, alleging discrimination against White farmers. Tensions escalated again in March when the State Department expelled the South African ambassador, labeling him “persona non grata.”

In May, the two leaders clashed in the Oval Office when Trump pressed Ramaphosa over allegations that White Afrikaners were being targeted and killed in South Africa. 

Ramaphosa pushed back, telling Trump he had seen no evidence to support those claims.

Paul Tilsley contributed to this report from Johannesburg, South Africa.

Welcome to the Fox News Politics newsletter, with the latest updates on the Trump administration, Capitol Hill and more Fox News politics content. Here’s what’s happening…

–Noem greenlit deportation flights after judge’s emergency order, DOJ reveals — fueling contempt fight

-Universities, school districts nationwide call for ‘decolonizing’ Thanksgiving: ‘Day of mourning’

-Judge dismisses 2020 election interference case against Trump, granting Georgia’s request

US envoy gave Russian aide tips on how to sell Ukraine deal to Trump: report

U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff gave a senior Kremlin official tips on how to sell a Ukraine peace deal to President Donald Trump, a report said.

Witkoff spoke by phone to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s top foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov on Oct. 14, advising him on how Putin should bring up the topic with the U.S. president, according to Bloomberg.

“We put a 20-point Trump plan together that was 20 points for peace, and I’m thinking maybe we do the same thing with you,” Witkoff was quoted by Bloomberg as saying, in reference to the Trump administration’s Gaza peace deal…READ MORE.
 

White House

NEXT IN LINE: Bessent wraps up Fed chair interviews as Trump’s decision expected before Christmas

TRADE RIFF: Trump’s record tariff haul meets Supreme Court review as White House braces for a ruling

LEGAL LOSS: Appeals court upholds $1 million penalty against Trump over ‘frivolous’ Clinton, Comey lawsuit

World Stage

‘DANGEROUS’: Muslim groups, other leaders demand Abbott rescind CAIR’s ‘terrorist’ designation: ‘Defamatory’

 

Capitol Hill

‘REALLY IMPORTANT’: Mike Johnson: US-Israel alliance is ‘really important’ for multiple reasons, antisemitism ‘must be called out’

Across America 

TEACHER’S PLOT: DHS brass slam Virginia Beach principal accused in ‘chilling’ plot to lure, ambush ICE agents

PAST HAUNTS RACE: Texas Democrat — a Latin Grammy winner and party recruit — caught defacing Trump’s Hollywood star

NEW PLAYBOOK: Former Democratic presidential candidate talks about the future of his party after off-year election success

FEELIN THE PINCH: Weakening incomes add new strain to households already hit by high prices

VIDEO SUPPORT: “Unlawful orders” Dem sounds off after slew of vets leave voicemails defending her against ‘treason’

Get the latest updates on the Trump administration and Congress, exclusive interviews and more on FoxNews.com.

Lawmakers from across the political spectrum began expressing support amid news that two West Virginia National Guard members were shot blocks away from the White House Wednesday afternoon.

After news of the shooting, members of the West Virginia delegation were quick to respond, as was President Donald Trump, who referred to the suspected shooter as an “animal.”

“The animal that shot the two National Guardsmen, with both being critically wounded, and now in two separate hospitals, is also severely wounded, but regardless, will pay a very steep price,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform as details of the shooting emerged. “God bless our Great National Guard, and all of our Military and Law Enforcement. These are truly Great People. I, as President of the United States, and everyone associated with the Office of the Presidency, am with you!”

SHOOTING OF TWO NATIONAL GUARDSMEN IN DC ‘ABSOLUTELY REPREHENSIBLE,’ FORMER FBI AGENT FUMES

West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey, a Republican, said he and his wife were “devastated” to hear the news. 

FBI Director Kash Patel said the two West Virginia National Guardsmen remain in critical condition, correcting an earlier report from Morrisey that the pair had died.

Both of West Virginia’s two Republican Senators also chimed in, offering thoughts and prayers but did not shed any additional details. Additionally, Democrats from the state expressed messages of support as well. 

“Tonight, our hearts are heavy for the two members of the West Virginia National Guard shot in Washington, D.C.,” West Virginia Democratic Party Chairman, Del. Mike Pushkin, D-Kanawha, told Fox News. “This cowardly and tragic act of violence should never happen in this country and our hearts grieve for the families who are dealing with this senseless tragedy. This tragedy transcends party lines. Two families will now have to spend Thanksgiving in agony for their loved ones, who did nothing wrong and answered their call of duty. We honor these soldiers’ service, sacrifice, and courage. We hope and pray for the best. These young men, and their brothers and sisters in uniform represent the very best of us and the very best of West Virginia.”

Democrats outside West Virginia spoke up as well, including some of the party’s top national leaders, such as Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who slammed “political violence” in his response, despite no confirmed reports about a motive.

VANCE SAYS HE IS PRAYING FOR NATIONAL GUARD TROOPS SHOT IN DC

“There must be zero tolerance for violence — of any kind — against the brave men and women in uniform who selflessly serve our communities and our country,” Newsom said amid news of the shooting. “The shooting of National Guard members in Washington, D.C. is horrific and unacceptable. Jen and I are praying for the service members, their families, and the entire National Guard community.”

Metropolitan Police Department Executive Assistant Chief Jeffery Carroll said Wednesday that the lone gunman allegedly “came around the corner” in an “ambush” style attack and opened fire on the two National Guardsmen. Other members of the National Guard nearby reportedly heard the gunfire and intervened, ultimately restraining the suspect after he had been shot, Carroll said.

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It remains unclear who fired the shot that wounded the suspect, and the individual has not yet been identified.

Fox News Digital’s Alexandra Koch contributed to this report. 

A coalition of 21 Democratic attorneys general sued the Trump administration Wednesday to block new U.S. Department of Agriculture guidance that they argue illegally lists thousands of immigrants — including refugees and asylum seekers — as being “permanently” ineligible for anti-hunger benefits.

The lawsuit, filed by the attorneys general Wednesday in Eugene, Oregon, seeks to block the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s new, more narrow eligibility criteria for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, which the agency published in a memo late last month. 

They argued that the new USDA guidance, intended to comply with a provision under the GOP-led Big Beautiful Bill tax and spending legislation, goes beyond what lawmakers intended by incorrectly classifying certain individuals — including refugees and asylum seekers who have been granted lawful permanent resident status in the U.S. — as “permanently ineligible” for SNAP. 

Rather, they said, the guidance “threatens to destabilize SNAP nationwide,” and risks jeopardizing food access for families who “have done everything right.”

TRUMP, STATES BACK IN COURT OVER SNAP AS BENEFITS REMAIN IN LEGAL LIMBO

The attorneys general said Wednesday that the new USDA guidance in question makes clear that “refugees, asylees, humanitarian parolees, individuals whose deportation has been withheld, and other humanitarian entrants become eligible for SNAP once they obtain their green cards and meet standard program requirements.”

California Attorney General Rob Bonta told reporters on a call Wednesday that the USDA guidance “blatantly misapplies the agency’s own regulations” for SNAP, the nation’s largest anti-hunger program that provides food aid to some 40 million Americans each month. 

While it is unclear how many individuals in each state would be affected, the attorneys general estimated the number would be well into the thousands, including more than 30,000 residents in New York alone.

The new guidance “misclassifies entire groups of lawfully present immigrants as ‘not eligible’ when the law says they are eligible once they become lawful permanent residents,” Bonta said Wednesday, describing the guidance as reading “like someone took notes from the Grinch.” 

STATES SUE TRUMP ADMIN OVER BILLIONS IN LOOMING CUTS TO SNAP, FOOD STAMPS

The lawsuit asks a federal judge in Oregon to grant emergency relief and issue an order blocking the USDA guidance. It also warned that the patchwork system of benefits created as a result of the guidance “threatens to destabilize SNAP nationwide,” and risks financial harm, including penalties issued to states who do not comply with the guidance.

The new USDA memo “attempts to rewrite those rules, ignoring Congress and threatening to cut off food assistance for people who are fully eligible under the law,” the attorneys general said Wednesday.

States also took aim at the USDA’s decision to publish the narrower guidance on Oct. 31, four months after the spending bill was signed into law. 

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States had just one day to comply with the narrower guidance, they noted on the call. 

The guidance “imposes these errors on states with virtually zero time to implement them,” Bonta said.

For months, Americans have voiced frustration over the stubbornly high cost of living.

But economists say a more troubling shift is emerging: consumers are increasingly reporting that their incomes aren’t keeping up with the financial pressures they face.

AS THE HOLIDAYS APPROACH, THANKSGIVING BECOMES TRUMP’S ECONOMIC TEST

Joanne Hsu, director and chief economist of the University of Michigan’s Surveys of Consumers, says the change is showing up more clearly in recent readings.

“Consumers have been expressing frustration from high prices consistently for the past several years; what makes this season different is that consumers are also increasingly mentioning weakening incomes as well,” Hsu told Fox News Digital.

“This year, they are reporting pressures on their pocketbooks from multiple sources,” she added.

That sense of mounting pressure is backed up by recent analysis. 

According to the Bank of America Institute, inflation has risen faster than middle- and lower-income households’ after-tax wages since January 2025.

As a result, nearly one in four U.S. households is now living paycheck to paycheck, a number that has grown during the past year.

NEARLY 1 IN 4 AMERICAN HOUSEHOLDS LIVING PAYCHECK TO PAYCHECK, REPORT REVEALS

What that means is that the erosion of purchasing power is pushing more Americans to the edge of their budgets, making it harder to keep up, let alone get ahead.

That growing strain presents a political challenge for President Donald Trump, who returned to the White House on promises of greater affordability. He is now confronting voter doubts about whether he can deliver.

A Fox News national survey shows 76% of voters now rate the economy negatively, up sharply from 67% in July and 70% at the end of former President Joe Biden‘s term.

Trump’s economic approval has also slipped to a new low, and his overall job approval has climbed to record levels of disapproval, even among voters who have historically backed him.

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For now, the daily reality for many Americans remains the same: prices feel too high, paychecks feel too thin and confidence in the future is fragile. 

How quickly that changes and whether voters give Trump credit for it may determine the tone of the country’s economic and political debate in the months ahead.

The Democrats enjoyed a series of wins across the country in the off-year election, taking governors’ races and key positions in several state and local elections. 

Despite the successes, the party’s future still appears unclear, as more centrist candidates won in Virginia and New Jersey, while more leftist candidates scored victories in places like New York City.

Jason Palmer, a former Democratic presidential primary candidate and co-founder of TOGETHER!, argued the future of the party is “very much up for debate” — but not for long. He said he believes things will be clear within the next year and predicts the 2025 victories could lead to Democrats using split messaging, meaning candidates and platforms would be chosen based on their potential voters.

“I think what’s going to end up happening is that the Democrats are going to become a bigger tent and take in different candidates in different regions based on the politics of those regions,” Palmer told Fox News Digital. “So, you’ll see people that are more like Beshear in Kentucky across the Midwest, you’ll some people more like Mamdani all throughout Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, etc., but the Democratic Party will have different messages for different parts of the country in the 2026 election.”

‘FULL-BLOWN BATTLE’ BREWING IN DEM PARTY AS MAMDANI-STYLE CANDIDATES RISE IN KEY RACES

The former presidential candidate, who ran in the 2024 election cycle, said that his party is making a mistake in its messaging on billionaires and business.

“Well, personally, I think they’re going too far anti-billionaire in their approach. America is a country where people can make of themselves what they want, and most of the people that are billionaires in America did not inherit their wealth,” Palmer said.

“Business building is a core part of what makes America great, and I don’t think the Democratic Party should be bashing business builders. I think we should be pro-entrepreneurship and pro-mission-driven entrepreneurship, especially,” he added.

While Palmer discussed the possibility of split messaging, he believes there is one issue that both Democrats and Republicans can get behind: conscious capitalism. He sees public benefit corporations (PBC) as the way of the future as young people search for meaning.

“I think conscious capitalism is where our economy is ultimately going,” he said. “More and more young people want to work at purpose-driven companies, and they’re okay with them being for-profit companies.”

MEET THE NEW ‘SQUAD’: THE NEXT GENERATION OF TRUMP-ERA PROGRESSIVE CONGRESSIONAL CANDIDATES

When asked about what is driving young people’s need to find meaning through their work, Palmer said that he believes purpose-driven work has come to replace religion for many. While he himself is a Quaker, Palmer said he sees young people pulling away from organized religion and towards something else.

“I think a lot of people are trying to get their purpose through work, and there are a lot of companies that provide that purpose and that family feeling, basically,” Palmer said.

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In order to implement conscious capitalism as actual policy, Palmer suggested a two-step taxation process in Washington, D.C. This would allow corporations that have mission-driven principles and release impact metrics to pay a lower rate than companies that go completely for-profit.

With less than a year to go before the 2026 midterms, Palmer’s message to Democrats is to “look for younger candidates to run in purple districts all across the country.” He also shared that he plans to release a list of young candidates who he is endorsing. He said the people on his list are in their 20s and 30s and have entrepreneurial backgrounds and believe in “conscious capitalism.”

Nearly a decade before launching his run for Congress, Tejano musician Bobby Pulido filmed himself defacing President Donald Trump’s Hollywood Walk of Fame star — a stunt that’s resurfacing as the award-winning singer seeks a U.S. House seat in South Texas.

The video, originally posted to Instagram, depicts Pulido urinating on Trump’s plaque with the caption, “when you gotta go, you gotta go.”

TEXAS REP JASMINE CROCKETT WEIGHS SENATE BID AFTER REDISTRICTING THREATENS HOUSE SEAT

Although Pulido has marketed himself as a bipartisan candidate, this isn’t the first time he has made provocative acts of protest against the president — and Republicans.

Pulido is best known for Tejano, or Mexican–Spanish folk-style, songs like “Desvelado” and “Se Murió de Amor,” and received five nominations for a Latin Grammy Award, winning Best Tejano Album in 2025 and 2022. 

He announced in 2024 he would forgo his longtime music career to pursue elected office. 

Pulido has filed to run for Congress in Texas’ 15th district, challenging Rep. Monica De La Cruz, R-Texas. A two-term incumbent, she last won election to the district in 2024 in a 57.1% to 42.9% victory over Democratic nominee Michelle Vallejo. 

TEXAS DEMOCRAT BLASTED FOR ‘BLOODY TRUMP’ COSTUME, VIOLENT RHETORIC AFTER DEADLY ICE SHOOTING

“You may know me as Bobby Pulido the singer,” Pulido said in his campaign launch video. “I am José Roberto Pulido Jr., the son of (a) migrant farmworker and 100% South Texas Tejano. Let me tell you. I won’t stand by and watch the South Texas that raised me be torn down and divided.” 

“I’m not team red or team blue. South Texas, I’m team you. I’ve spent decades using my voice to bring people together. Now I’ll use it to fight for the place we call home,” Pulido said. 

Democrats had heavily recruited Pulido to run, according to reporting from Politico. 

His third-quarter campaign filings with the Federal Election Commission, show that Pulido has raised $306,000 this cycle.

Since announcing his bid, Pulido has scrubbed his social media of his more combative mentions of Trump, including the incident with Trump’s star of fame.

Univision, a Spanish-speaking outlet, originally covered the video but has since removed the story from its page. The story can still be viewed through snapshots of the website’s history.

Although his act of crude public display stands out, Pulido has also posted other notable instances of disparity with Republicans. 

DEM SENATE HOPEFUL CALLS FOR CIVILITY, DESPITE PAST WARNING OF ‘RADICALIZED WHITE MEN’

Pulido made headlines earlier in 2025 when he dressed up in a bloody costume of Trump, drawing criticisms from fellow Democrats.

In a post to X in 2016, Pulido also put up a picture of Texas’ voting results, describing portions of the state as “Blue = smart” and “Red = neck.” Two years later, Pulido posted a screenshot of a text sent to his son, reminding him to vote for a then-Democratic candidate for Senate.

“Don’t forget to go vote for Beto (O’Rourke) if you want to keep your inheritance,” Pulido said, adding a winking emoji to his text. 

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Pulido’s campaign did not respond to a request for comment. 

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem in March greenlit the Trump administration’s decision to proceed with deporting more than 200 Venezuelan migrants to El Salvador despite an emergency court order, the Justice Department said Tuesday — news that injects fresh friction into a high-profile, politically fraught immigration fight.

Noem’s role in the Alien Enemies Act removals was detailed publicly for the first time in a disclosure Tuesday night to U.S. District Judge James Boasberg, as part of a newly revived contempt inquiry. 

According to the declaration, senior Justice Department officials relayed the emergency court order, and a subsequent oral order to Noem, who decided that the migrants that had already been removed from the U.S. could be transferred to the custody of El Salvador. 

Boasberg said last week he plans to move quickly in determining whether Trump officials willfully defied his March 15 emergency order, which sought to block the Trump administration from immediately using the 18th-century Alien Enemies Act to deport Venezuelan nationals. The flights proceeded, however, and the migrants arrived in El Salvador hours later.

TRUMP ADMINISTRATION ASKS SUPREME COURT TO REVIEW EL SALVADOR DEPORTATION FLIGHT CASE

The Justice Department’s newly submitted declaration provides new insight into the government’s actions nine months earlier, including Noem’s involvement, and several other administration officials named in the document. 

It could be used by plaintiffs in a request to compel witness testimony, though the administration is all but certain to try to head off those efforts

According to the new filing, two senior Justice Department officials — Todd Blanche and Emil Bove — provided DHS with legal advice that evening regarding the deportation flights that had already left the U.S. when Boasberg issued his emergency order. They also relayed Boasberg’s oral order that all flights be “immediately” returned to U.S. soil, according to the filing.

“After receiving that legal advice, Secretary Noem directed that the AEA detainees who had been removed from the United States before the Court’s order could be transferred to the custody of El Salvador,” the Justice Department said. 

“That decision was lawful and was consistent with a reasonable interpretation of the Court’s order,” they added.

The Justice Department also argued that Boasberg’s subsequent oral order in March, requiring all flights “immediately” be returned to the U.S., was nonbinding.

“Accordingly, the government maintains that its actions did not violate the Court’s order — certainly not with the clarity required for criminal contempt — and no further proceedings are warranted or appropriate,” they wrote.

TRUMP FOE BOASBERG ORDERS DOJ TO DETAIL STATUS OF CECOT MIGRANTS SENT TO VENEZUELA

Hours earlier, lawyers representing the class of deported Venezuelan migrants urged Boasberg to order testimony from nine senior Trump officials who are alleged to have been involved in the decision-making process.

The list includes then-Justice Department officials Emil Bove, who has since been confirmed as a federal judge for the Third Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, and Erez Reuveni, a longtime DOJ attorney and whistleblower, who said this year that Bove had suggested that Justice Department officials ignore any court orders that tried to block the Alien Enemies Act flights from taking off. Bove has denied the allegation. 

It is unclear how the new information will be used by plaintiffs or to what degree the revelations could complicate next steps in the contempt proceedings.

Any efforts to compel Noem or Blanche to testify would almost certainly spark fierce objection from senior Trump officials, who have made clear they do not believe the court should be considering the issue at all. 

Boasberg, for his part, appeared unfazed. He said at a motions hearing last week that he plans to move quickly on the contempt inquiry and ordered parties to submit proposed witness lists and deadlines to consider the issue.

“I intend to proceed just like I did in April, seven months ago,” Boasberg said Wednesday.

Boasberg said last week he hopes to include witness testimony from Erez Reuveni, and from Drew Ensign, the Justice Department deputy assistant attorney general.

WHO IS JAMES BOASBERG, THE US JUDGE AT THE CENTER OF TRUMP’S DEPORTATION EFFORTS?

The fresh action on the contempt issue is almost certain to spark the ire of some Republicans in Congress and from Trump himself, who has repeatedly excoriated Boasberg as an “activist judge” for his role in the Alien Enemies Act case and resulting inquiry.

Republicans in Congress have taken umbrage at Boasberg’s approval of certain subpoena requests from Jack Smith during his special counsel investigation, and comments he made during a closed-door conference of judges earlier this year, which prompted the Trump administration to file a complaint to the superior court judge.

Plaintiffs on Tuesday floated the notion of beginning live witness testimony in the first week of December, in a nod to Boasberg’s stated intention to move expeditiously on the contempt question.

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“This has been sitting for a long time,” Boasberg said last week, “and I believe justice requires me to move promptly on this.”

In response to the stated objections from the Justice Department lawyer, Tiberius Davis, Boasberg said he “certainly intends to determine what happened” when the Venezuelan migrants were flown into Salvadoran custody.

The government, he added, “can assist me to whatever degree it wishes.”

The Justice Department declined to respond to Fox News’s request for comment on the witness list submitted by plaintiffs, and what steps the administration might take to head off their testimonies.

The state of Georgia moved to drop all remaining charges in the 2020 election interference case against President Donald Trump and his co-defendants. 

“The political persecution of President Trump by disqualified DA Fani Willis is finally over. This case should never have been brought. A fair and impartial prosecutor has put an end to this lawfare,” Trump’s lead Georgia defense counsel Steve Sadow said.

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

Fox News’ Samantha Daigle and David Lewkowict contributed to this report

As families across the U.S. gather on Thanksgiving to celebrate one of the nation’s most cherished national holidays, some educators and schools are lamenting the day, pushing back on its “colonial” roots, and incorporating diversity, equality and inclusion DEI into the holiday.

At the University of California, Davis, the California History-Social Science Project, which describes itself as “Resources & professional learning for K-12 history-social science,” hosted a Zoom event called “Decolonizing Thanksgiving in the Classroom.”

“We will discuss reframing classroom practices and rituals about Thanksgiving,” the event description explained. “Centering perspectives from Turtle Island (a name for North America used by some indigenous people) will help us decolonize Thanksgiving and spark new conversations about how to authentically make meaning of this holiday with our students.”

Earlier this month, Washington University in St. Louis, an institution that has long been criticized over its DEI policies, put out a press release promoting an event that “highlights and honors the way different cultures recognize and understand Thanksgiving, both as part of their history and as a tradition brought into the present day.”

CLICK HERE FOR MORE CAMPUS RADICALS COAST TO COAST

The event was described as a way to “actively contribute to inclusive and equitable practices that influence individual and systemic change.”

On Tuesday, Massachusetts Institute of Technology students are invited to the “4th annual Thanksgiving Myth-busting” event that is aimed at “continuing our exploration of the narratives justifying land grabs via colonialism” and includes a viewing of the TV show “Buffy the Vampire Slayer.”

Part of that effort, according to the invitation, includes students traveling in rental cars to the National Indigenous Day of Mourning (NDOM) rally in Plymouth, Massachusetts, at the location of the Mayflower’s landing.

In a statement, an MIT spokesperson told Fox News Digital the school is closed on Thursday and Friday in honor of Thanksgiving. 

“In the same way that individuals are free at MIT to express their views, they are free to observe holidays as they wish, pray as they choose, share their ideas about holidays, and, yes, watch Buffy the Vampire Slayer if that’s what they freely choose to do,” the spokesperson said, adding that “the views expressed by an individual are their own and do not reflect those of MIT or the wider community on campus.”

At the University of Massachusetts, the school referred to Thursday as a “Day of Mourning” in an announcement on its Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility website. 

“The National Day of Mourning is an annual demonstration, held on the fourth Thursday in November, that aims to educate the public about Native Americans in the United States, notably the Wampanoag and other tribes of the Eastern United States; dispel myths surrounding the Thanksgiving story in the United States; and raise awareness toward historical and ongoing struggles facing Native American tribes,” the announcement says.

UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA SITE WARNS OF A ‘WHITENESS PANDEMIC,’ URGES WHITE PARENTS TO ‘RE-EDUCATE’

Earlier this month, the University of Maryland School of Public Policy hosted a talk called “Harvesting the Truth: Colonial Disruptions of Indigenous Food Systems & the Myths of Thanksgiving.”

Students attending Albuquerque Public Schools in New Mexico were sent a November Indigenous Education update explaining that “many native people do not celebrate” Thanksgiving because it is a “reminder of the genocide of millions of Native people, the appropriation of Native lands, and the erasure of Indigenous cultures.”

The school district also referred to Thanksgiving as a time of “mourning” for some.

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The Berkeley Unified School District in California also used the term “mourning” in its “Rethinking Thanksgiving Teaching Guide” while asking the community to consider the “painful legacy” and “nuanced perspectives” of the day. 

Paul Runko, senior director of Strategic Initiatives at Defending Education, told Fox News Digital, “Thanksgiving is meant to bring people together, not to divide students or cast blame over heritage. It is an opportunity for students, parents, and teachers to celebrate America, build unity in their communities, and share a meal with family and friends.”

“236 years ago, President George Washington urged Americans to set aside a day to give thanks for the blessings and abundance of our nation. Presidents throughout our history have continued that tradition, reminding us each Thanksgiving to pause and reflect with gratitude.” 

Democrats, energized by their convincing victories earlier this month in the 2025 elections, are betting those results foreshadow a House flip in next year’s midterm showdowns.

The party out of power needs a net gain of just three seats to grab back the majority from the Republicans, who’ve controlled the House for nearly three years. And the party in power, which nowadays is clearly the Republicans, traditionally faces political headwinds in the midterm elections.

At stake: the success of President Donald Trump‘s second-term agenda.

“We’ll take back the House in 2026,” Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee chair Rep. Suzan DelBene of Washington state told Fox News Digital.

DEMOCRATS, REPUBLICANS, GO ALL IN ON FINAL CONGRESSIONAL ELECTION SHOWDOWN OF THE YEAR

But for Republicans, aiming to protect their fragile majority, the magic number is also three.

“The only number I’m concerned about is three. We have three Republicans in seats Kamala Harris carried,” said Rep. Richard Hudson of North Carolina, chair of the National Republican Congressional Committee. He pointed to districts carried during the 2024 presidential election by then-Vice President Kamala Harris.

HOUSE GOP CAMPAIGN CHAIR WANTS TRUMP ‘OUT THERE ON THE TRAIL’ IN MIDTERM BATTLE FOR MAJORITY

And Hudson, in a Fox News Digital interview, highlighted that Democrats have “13 sitting in seats Donald Trump won. They’ve got 21 more sitting in seats that Donald Trump barely lost. So there, there are only a few seats up for grabs this time, most of them are Democrat seats.”

The most recent national polls indicate Democrats with the upper hand in the 2026 battle for the House majority.

But DelBene cautioned, “We take nothing for granted.”

And Hudson was optimistic that Republicans would “grow our House majority.”

High prices and out-of-control cost of living were key issues that boosted Trump and Republicans in the 2024 elections, as they won back the White House and Senate majority and kept control of the House.

But what a difference a year makes.

Democrats, with an across-the-board focus on affordability, overperformed at the polls as they enjoyed sweeping ballot box success earlier this month. Democrats scored double-digit gubernatorial wins in blue-leaning but competitive New Jersey and Virginia, and convincing victories in high-profile showdowns in battlegrounds Georgia and Pennsylvania and left-tilting New York City and California.

“It was clear that when folks are talking about the biggest issues affecting their communities, and right now, affordability, with the rising costs people have seen as a result of the policies put in place by this administration and Republicans in Congress, they rejected that,” DelBene said as she pointed to the 2025 election results.

DEMOCRATS DOUBLE-DOWN ON THIS KEY ISSUE 

“Absolutely, we saw that in governor’s races like Virginia and New Jersey, but [also] in races across the country,” she added.

The most recent Fox News national poll was another warning sign for Trump and the GOP.

Three-quarters of voters questioned in the survey viewed the economy negatively, and large numbers of respondents, including Republicans, said their costs for groceries, utilities, healthcare and housing have gone up this year.

The poll indicated that voters blame the president, with nearly twice as many pointing fingers at Trump than former President Joe Biden, when asked who is responsible for the current economy.

Only 38% of those questioned gave the president a thumbs-up to how he’s handling the economy. And Trump’s overall approval rating, at 41%, was the lowest of his second term in office in Fox News polling.

“Affordability is still the number one issue for families. Housing, food, health care, child care, energy costs all going up directly as a result of policies put in place by Republicans in Congress and Donald Trump. And they promised to lower costs on day one,” DelBene said.

SETTING THE STAGE: WHAT THE 2025 ELECTIONS SIGNAL FOR NEXT YEAR’S MIDTERM SHOWDOWNS

Pointing to last year’s elections, she said, “That was their big message. They were going to lower costs. It has been a big broken promise, and people are feeling that and and that’s had a big impact and will continue. People want folks who are going to stand up to them for them, not just be blindly loyal to the president.”

Hudson, asked about the political impact of the cost of living, took aim at the former president.

“There are challenges out there with the economy, because Biden broke it, and House Republicans, working with President Trump, are going to fix it, and we’re working very hard to do that,” he said.

“Certainly, we could always improve the way we communicate with our voters about it,” he added. “But we are laser-focused on the issues that matter to them. You know, it’s the cost of things, it’s the security in their neighborhood, it’s a secure border. We are very focused on that, and we’ve delivered a lot of things that are going to make their lives better.”

DEMOCRATS SEE MANDATE AFTER 2025 WINS — REPUBLICANS SAY IT’S A MIRAGE

And looking ahead to next year, he added, “Come tax season, a lot of families are going to be really happy to see they’ve got a lot more take-home pay, and that’s because of Donald Trump and House Republicans.”

The DCCC, in its messaging, has tied vulnerable House Republicans to Trump.

DelBene argued that it’s “Republican policies that are hurting American families, the tariffs that Donald Trump has put in place that have raised costs for families across the country, their ongoing work to gut healthcare across this country.”

And she charged that the “policies that they have prioritized have been favoring the wealthy and the well-connected, tax breaks for the wealthy and the well-connected, but hurting working families across the country. People are feeling that, and we’re going to continue to call that out.”

Hudson called the 2025 elections a “wake-up call” for GOP voters and that he wants Trump “out there on the trail” in next year’s midterms.

Plenty of Republicans have downplayed the Democrats’ high-profile victories, noting they largely took place in blue-leaning states.

Hudson noted the top elections took place in “Democrat states,” but added, “I think our big takeaway as Republicans is the Democrats were energized. They turned out at record levels. Republicans turned out in normal levels.”

“I think there’s a wake-up call there to conservatives and Republicans who are happy with the direction of the country. They’re glad President Trump’s back in the White House. But if they want to keep this momentum going, they’ve got to show up and vote,” he said.

Many of Trump’s MAGA supporters are considered low-propensity voters, who head to the polls only when Trump is on the ballot. But Trump won’t be on the ballot in the 2026 midterms.

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Hudson, who noted that “House Republicans are very closely aligned with President Trump, and we’re supporting his agenda,” said that “we want him out there on the trail, campaigning with our candidates. I think he brings a lot of energy.”

Pointing to “a lot of folks who don’t vote when he’s not on the ballot,” Hudson said, “I don’t need all of them to show up, but I need some of them. And so having President Trump out there will be a big benefit for us.”

U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff gave a senior Kremlin official tips on how to sell a Ukraine peace deal to President Donald Trump, a report said.

Witkoff spoke by phone to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s top foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov on Oct. 14, advising him on how Putin should bring up the topic with the U.S. president, according to Bloomberg.

“We put a 20-point Trump plan together that was 20 points for peace, and I’m thinking maybe we do the same thing with you,” Witkoff was quoted by Bloomberg as saying, in reference to the Trump administration’s Gaza peace deal.

During the phone call, which lasted about five minutes, Witkoff said he had a deep respect for Putin and that he had informed Trump that he believed Russia has always wanted a peace deal for Ukraine, Bloomberg reported.

TRUMP TOUTS ‘TREMENDOUS PROGRESS’ BUT SAYS HE’LL MEET PUTIN AND ZELENSKYY ‘ONLY WHEN’ PEACE DEAL IS FINAL

Witkoff mentioned that Zelenskyy was visiting the White House in mid-October and that Putin could speak to Trump ahead of that meeting, the report added.

“Zelenskyy is coming to the White House on Friday,” Witkoff said, according to a recording of the phone call obtained by Bloomberg. “I will go to that because they want me there, but I think, if possible, we have the call with your boss before that Friday meeting.”

Witkoff suggested that Putin congratulate Trump on the Gaza peace deal and say that Russia backed it and that he respects Trump as a man of peace, Bloomberg reported.

“Here’s what I think would be amazing,” Witkoff reportedly added. “Maybe he says to President Trump: you know, Steve and Yuri discussed a very similar 20-point plan to peace and that could be something that we think might move the needle a little bit. We’re open to those sorts of things.”

Bloomberg also reported that Ushakov said Putin “will congratulate” Trump and say “Mr. Trump is a real peace man.”

UKRAINE AGREES TO PEACE DEAL, US OFFICIAL SAYS

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

“This story proves one thing: Special Envoy Witkoff talks to officials in both Russia and Ukraine nearly every day to achieve peace, which is exactly what President Trump appointed him to do,” White House communications director Steven Cheung told Bloomberg.

On Tuesday, Ukraine agreed to the peace deal that would see an end to the war with Russia, a U.S. official told Fox News.

Some minor details of the agreement are still to be sorted out, the official said.

Lt. Col. Jeff Tolbert, a spokesman for U.S. Army Secretary Dan Driscoll, had told Fox News that Driscoll and his team met with Russian officials in Abu Dhabi on Monday and Tuesday to discuss the framework for a Ukraine peace deal.

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A U.S. official told Fox News that the Ukrainian delegation was also in Abu Dhabi and was in contact with Driscoll and his team.

Fox News’ Ashley Carnahan and Jennifer Griffin contributed to this report.

The Department of Justice threw its support behind Texas on Monday, arguing the new map the state’s Republican-led legislature approved was not an unconstitutional racial gerrymander.

Solicitor General John Sauer, who represents the Trump administration, wrote in an amicus brief that a lower court’s decision to block the map through the 2026 midterms was wrong and that the Supreme Court should intervene and reverse the decision.

“This is not a close case,” Sauer wrote.

TEXAS FILES EMERGENCY SUPREME COURT PETITION AFTER TRUMP-BACKED CONGRESSIONAL MAP BLOCKED BY FEDERAL JUDGES

Sauer said the lower court misunderstood what drove the Texas legislature to shift five districts in favor of Republicans. He said the move was not based on race, which could violate federal voting laws and the Constitution.

“There is overwhelming evidence — both direct and circumstantial — of partisan objectives, and any inference that the State inexplicably chose to use racial means is implausible,” Sauer wrote.

Sauer also defended a letter Civil Rights Division head Harmeet Dhillon wrote to Texas this year demanding that it address “coalition districts” that favor Democrats, which the challengers to the map have seized on as evidence of race-based motives. Days after the letter, Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, added redistricting to the legislature’s agenda, leading to a stunning boycott in which state Democrats temporarily fled the state.

The lower court “misinterpreted the letter’s meaning; and more importantly, the court misunderstood the letter’s significance to the legislature’s adoption of the 2025 map,” Sauer said.

The plaintiffs in the case, who include numerous voting and immigrant rights groups, argued that Dhillon’s letter demanded dismantling the coalition districts and packing Black and Latino voters into other districts.

“The DOJ letter, riddled with legal and factual errors, incorrectly asserted that these districts were ‘unconstitutional coalition districts’ that Texas was required to ‘rectify’ by changing their racial makeup,” the plaintiffs’ attorneys wrote.

REAGAN-APPOINTED JUDGE TORCHES COLLEAGUES IN TEXAS MAP FIGHT

Texas’ mid-cycle redistricting dispute is one of several that have cropped up across the country as President Donald Trump stares down the possibility of losing an acquiescent Republican-led House in 2026. California voted in favor of an eleventh-hour ballot measure that would cancel out the five Republican gains in Texas. Utah’s map has changed in favor of Democrats, Virginia has taken steps to redraw its map and Louisiana’s is pending before the Supreme Court.

The DOJ recently sued Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, over California’s redistricting efforts, arguing that unlike in Texas, those were unconstitutionally race-based.

Texas has asked the Supreme Court to pause the three-judge panel’s ruling in the Western District of Texas that found 2-1 last week that race was too much of a factor in its redraw. 

“This summer, the Texas Legislature did what legislatures do: politics,” Texas’ attorneys argued in their request, disputing all notions that the redistricting process used race as a factor.

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In a lengthy and wild tirade, Judge Jerry Brown, a Reagan appointee and the lone dissenter, called the three-judge panel’s decision the “most blatant exercise of judicial activism” he had ever seen and a work of “fiction.”

Justice Samuel Alito has administratively paused the panel’s ruling, but the Supreme Court could now make a more lasting decision on the map at any time. Texas lawyers have also argued the high court should block the panel’s decision because it interfered with the 2026 midterms, for which candidates were already filing to run based on the new map.

As Americans around the nation prepare to celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday, the Department of Homeland Security posted a video on social media that features a montage of Republican lawmakers expressing their gratitude for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement workers.

Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa noted that with Thanksgiving approaching, she wanted to provide her “heartfelt thanks to the great men and women of ICE.”

“This Thanksgiving, I thank you for your service, and for deporting the illegal invaders who’ve flooded our communities,” Rep. Andy Ogles of Tennessee said.

DHS SAYS FOUR HOUSE DEMOCRATS ‘CHOSE TO STAND WITH CRIMINAL ILLEGAL ALIENS’ AFTER VISITING ICE DETAINEE

The DHS post on X that features the video reads, “This Thanksgiving, we’re grateful to the dedicated men and women of @ICEgov who are working through the holiday to keep our communities safe. From the halls of Congress, thank you for your continued service and commitment.”

The video, which also includes House Speaker Mike Johnson and various other Republicans, comes as President Donald Trump’s administration has been conducting an illegal immigration crackdown around the country.

WAR ON BADGES: HOUSE GOP TARGETS ANTI-POLICE RHETORIC AMID ICE ATTACKS

The Department of Homeland Security has noted a spike in reported assaults against ICE this year compared to last year.

SANCTUARY POLITICIANS’ RHETORIC LED TO 1,150% SURGE IN VIOLENCE AGAINST ICE AGENTS: DHS

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“From January 21, 2024, through November 21, 2024, there were only 19 reported assaults against ICE law enforcement, while in the same timeframe in 2025 there were 238 reported assaults. This is a 1,153% increase in assaults,” a DHS release noted.