NationalWatch

GREENEVILLE, S.C. – Presidential candidate Gov. Ron DeSantis, R-Fla., does not think that 2024 polling reflects the current state of the heated GOP race, shaking off recent surveys that show him in 3rd place.

A recent Suffolk University survey for USA Today and the Boston Globe suggested that while former President Donald Trump remains the front-runner in the race, former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley now leads DeSantis by 9 percentage points, 19% to 10%.

When asked about recent polling, DeSantis told Fox News Digital that he believes voters are still “on the fence.”

“I don’t think any of it matters,” DeSantis told reporters at a recent campaign event. “You’ve got to put yourself in a position to have the type of infrastructure needed to do well when the voting starts. But what’s going to happen is none of the polls are going to matter when people start voting. That’s what’s going to determine everything.”

TRUMP REMAINS COMMANDING FRONTRUNNER IN CRUCIAL FIRST PRIMARY, BUT HALEY KEEPS RISING: POLL

DeSantis also suggested that while Trump maintains a lead in most national surveys, he isn’t banking on the numbers to hold at the polls.

“I think at the end of the day, a majority of people have not made a decision,” the Florida governor told Fox News Digital exclusively during a visit to Greenville, South Carolina. “So if you’re polling someone, and you push them, well if they’re kind of on the fence and they know Trump more than anyone, they’re more likely to do that.”

“If you really pull down, half the electorate is up for grabs in these states, and we’re going to earn the votes in all of those states. We have the organization, we have the work ethic, and we have the message to be able to get it done,” he continued.

DESANTIS ENDORSED BY GROUP OF 60 BIPARTISAN LAW ENFOREMENT OFFICERS: ‘WILL BRING BACK LAW AND ORDER’

Eight Republicans, led by Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., recently voted with House Democrats to oust former Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Cali. — marking the first time in history a House speaker has been removed from the position.

“It’s not about personalities. I think with me, I’m willing to work with anybody,” DeSantis said when asked who he would prefer to be the elected as the next speaker of the House. “We’ve had enough of D.C. politicians trying to impose their will on us. It’s time we, the people, impose our will on them.”

While he didn’t endorse anyone for the position, DeSantis said that GOP Reps. Chip Roy, Thomas Massie, or Jim Jordan “could do a good job” as the next speaker.

The Florida governor also told Fox that if elected in 2024 his agenda would be to “unify around restoring the American dream.”

“It’s about leadership, and you got to be willing to go in there and do that,” DeSantis said. “Now, in terms of the overall agenda, we can unify around restoring the American dream, around fighting inflation, around energy dominance and independence to lower those gas prices, a strong border policy where we’re going to go after the cartels.”

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“We’re going to make sure that parents have rights in this country again. We’re going to make sure that crime is not infesting the streets of every major city like it is now. So this is an agenda to be able to usher in a revival of the American spirit and to reverse this country’s decline,” DeSantis said.

Fox News’ Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report.

The White House was silent this week when asked about resurfaced social media posts from one of the administration’s top communications officials.

The White House didn’t respond to requests for comment from Fox News Digital on Friday, asking whether it had any comment or response to past social media posts from Tyler Cherry, the Department of the Interior’s principal deputy communications director and senior spokesperson. Cherry has taken to X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, to blast law enforcement as white supremacy and boost “Russiagate.”

“Praying for #Baltimore, but praying even harder for an end to a capitalistic police state motivated by explicit and implicit racial biases,” Cherry posted in 2015 amid riots that were sparked following the death of Freddie Gray, a Black man, in police custody in Baltimore.

“Apt (sic.) time to recall that the modern day police system is a direct evolution of slave patrols and lynch mobs,” he stated in a separate post months later.

POLICE FIND FEMALE DESIGNER’S STOLEN CLOTHES IN EX-BIDEN OFFICIAL SAM BRINTON’S HOME

Cherry also added in another post that police were equivalent to “slave patrols” and voter identification laws are a modern version of poll taxes that were implemented to prevent Black people from voting in the late 1800s and early 1900s.

In November 2016, Cherry responded to former Fox News host Bill O’Reilly’s statement that “there is no substantial white power movement in this country.” In response, Cherry said “WRONG.”

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

He also said in 2017 that conservatives in the Republican Party were focused on “white grievance politics.”

“The Tea Party was never about the debt/deficit but about racism and white grievance politics,” he wrote on X.

And in 2018, Cherry called for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Homeland Security Department agency tasked with preventing cross-border crime and illegal immigration, to be abolished. 

Cherry also made multiple posts about the so-called Russia “scandal” during the Trump administration. After a multi-year investigation into whether former President Donald Trump and his associated conspired with Russia during the 2016 election, former Special Counsel Robert Mueller released a sprawling report in 2019 that largely acquitted the former president.

“At this point, how is everyone in the White House (Pence included) *not* complicit in the Russia scandal?,” Cherry said in May 2017.

SAM BRINTON’S LATEST ARREST INVOLVES ALLEGED THEFT OF TANZANIAN FASHION DESIGNER’S CLOTHES, LAWYER SAYS

At one point he noted that the “intensity of Russiagate is all-consuming,” but said it was important not to forget Trump “is letting a gay purge happen in #Chechnya.” At the time, police in Chechnya, Russia, were cracking down on men thought to be gay or bisexual, according to Human Rights Watch.

While it opted against commenting directly on Cherry’s statements on social media, the White House did respond to what it characterized as personal attacks on Cherry. 

“No one should be targeted simply for being themselves. It is cruel and unacceptable,” a White House spokesperson told The Advocate, an LGBT-focused news outlet, on Friday. “This is an administration that believes to our core in the principle that out of many we are one — and we are proud that the people who serve in it reflect those values as well.” 

“Tyler is an invaluable member of our team who continues to deliver for the Department of Interior and the American people.”

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Cherry, who has served at the Interior Department since early 2021, previously worked for President Biden’s presidential campaign, left-wing consulting firm SKDK, and Media Matters for America, a progressive publication.

Cherry did not respond to a request for comment.

Republicans bashed former Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton over her recent comments suggesting supporters of former President Donald Trump be “formally” deprogrammed.

Clinton took heat Friday after her comments during an interview the previous night with CNN during which she suggested the GOP base is lined with bigots.

Some Republicans didn’t mince words, including Tennessee GOP Sen. Marsha Blackburn.

HILLARY CLINTON FLOATS ‘FORMAL DEPROGRAMMING’ OF TRUMP SUPPORTERS, SUGGESTS GOP BASE IS MADE OF BIGOTS

“Hillary Clinton wants Trump supporters to be formally reeducated,” Blackburn wrote Friday on X, formerly Twitter.

“Does she know that this is America and not a Communist regime?”

Florida Rep. Byron Donalds, a Republican, pointed out that “7 years ago, Hillary Clinton infamously labeled half of our country ‘deplorable’ [and] ‘irredeemable.’

“Last night on CNN, she called Republicans ‘extremists,’ a ‘cult’ [and] called for the ‘formal [deprogramming]’ of Republicans across our country.’

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“This is unhinged behavior.”

Former GOP congressional candidate Karoline Leavitt tweeted that Trump “has said countless times that they are only coming after him, because he stands in their way from coming after you — and Hillary Clinton just confirmed that to be true.”

Discussing the recent upheaval on Capitol Hill, Clinton contrasted what she called the “sane” part of the GOP caucus that helped prevent a government shutdown and the “cult” wing devoted to Trump.

“That’s the way it used to be,” Clinton told CNN’s Christiane Amanpour Thursday. “I mean, we had very strong partisans in both parties in the past, and we had very bitter battles over all kinds of things … but there wasn’t this little tail of extremism, waving, you know, wagging the dog of the Republican Party as it is today. 

“And, sadly, so many of those extremists, those MAGA extremists take their marching orders from Donald Trump, who has no credibility left by any measure. He’s only in it for himself. He’s now defending himself in civil actions and criminal actions. And when do they break with him?

“Because at some point, you know, maybe there needs to be a formal deprogramming of the cult members, but something needs to happen.”

The former presidential hopeful predicted that “sadly” Trump will be the Republicans’ 2024 nominee, but she expressed confidence President Biden would defeat him. Clinton was then asked how she has “processed” the reality that the man who defeated her in 2016 is seeking the White House again despite his legal battles.

“It’s a classic tale of an authoritarian populist who really has a grip on the emotional, psychological needs and desires of a portion of the population,” Clinton said. “And the base of the Republican Party, for whatever combination of reasons — and it is psychological — sees in him someone who speaks for them, and they are determined that they will continue to vote for him, attend his rallies, wear his merchandise because, for whatever reason, he and his very negative, nasty form of politics resonates with them.

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“Maybe they don’t like migrants. Maybe they don’t like gay people or Black people or the woman who got the promotion at work they didn’t get, whatever the reason,” Clinton added.

“So, it is like a cult, and somebody has to break that momentum. And that’s why I believe Joe Biden will defeat them and hopefully then that will be the end and the fever will break. And then Republicans can try to get back to fighting about issues among themselves and electing people who are at least, you know, responsible and accountable.”

Fox News Digital’s Joseph Wulfsohn contributed reporting.

Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., on Friday denied that she had promised to support her fellow Californian Rep. Kevin McCarthy as he was ousted as speaker.

“Kevin McCarthy says that you essentially broke a promise to him to keep Democrats with him if there was a vote against him. Is that not true?” FOX 11 Los Angeles anchor Elex Michaelson asked Pelosi in a recent interview. 

Shaking her head, Pelosi said she had never promised to help McCarthy, R-Calif., remain as speaker.

“Not really. I had no promise to him,” Pelosi told FOX 11. “Our Democratic members made that decision.” 

GOP LAWMAKERS DENY REVENGE PLAY AGAINST PELOSI WITH OFFICE EVICTIONS AFTER MCCARTHY OUSTER

McCarthy lost the speaker’s gavel this week after a handful of hardliners in the Republican conference led by Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., forced a vote to vacate the chair. Eight Republicans and every Democrat voted together to remove McCarthy as House speaker. 

At a press conference after the vote, McCarthy blamed Democrats for his ouster, arguing they should have voted against the motion to vacate the chair for institutional reasons.

McCarthy claimed to have had a discussion with Pelosi in the days leading up to the vote and told reporters she had promised to support him.

But Pelosi said Democrats had numerous reasons to vote to oust McCarthy, citing the Republican-led impeachment inquiry into President Biden and McCarthy’s support for former President Donald Trump after the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol. 

NANCY PELOSI EVICTED FROM HER PRIVATE OFFICE IN THE CAPITOL BY INTERIM HOUSE SPEAKER

“If you don’t respect the institution then don’t expect us to bail you out,” she said.

McCarthy has since said he will not run for speaker again. On Friday, he denied reports that he will resign from Congress, saying, “I’m not resigning. I got a lot more work to do.” 

McCarthy was succeeded by Speaker Pro Tempore Patrick McHenry, R-N.C., a temporary replacement until the House votes on a permanent one next week. Among his first acts as speaker pro-tempore, McHenry evicted Pelosi from her private Capitol office in what was claimed to be an act of retaliation after McCarthy was ousted.

However, several GOP lawmakers told Fox News Digital that the evictions were not rooted in vengeance, but rather because the office is reserved for the immediately preceding speaker.

WHO IS PATRICK MCHENRY, SPEAKER PRO TEMPORE OF HOUSE FOLLOWING MCCARTHY’S OUSTER?

“This was a decision by Speaker Pelosi in getting removed because that is the office for the former speaker,” Louisiana GOP Rep. Garret Graves told Fox News Digital on Wednesday.

“She’s no longer the immediately preceding speaker so that was a decision she made by evicting Kevin McCarthy,” Graves continued. “That was her own decision.”

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House Freedom Caucus chairman Scott Perry, R-Pa., said the evictions were not done in revenge but that it seems to him “unfortunately that we have an unexpected recent vacancy in this with the speaker’s office and that speaker that’s been recently the speaker now has to have a place per the rules.”

“So that [place] needs to be reoccupied or occupied by somebody different,” Perry said. “That’s just the that’s just the flow of business here.”

Fox News’ Houston Keene contributed to this report.

Democrats in Congress and environmental groups are furious at the Biden administration over its move to waive dozens of federal laws to build miles of border wall in South Texas — just as the administration is claiming its hands are tied on the matter.

The agency posted an announcement this week on the U.S. Federal Register that outlines construction in Starr County in the Rio Grande Valley Sector, where the administration says there is “high illegal entry.” 

The agency said there have been over 245,000 migrant encounters in the sector this fiscal year.

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas says he is using his authority provided by Congress to waive 26 federal laws, including the Clean Air Act, Safe Drinking Water Act and Endangered Species Act.

MAYORKAS CITES ‘IMMEDIATE NEED’ TO WAIVE REGULATIONS, BUILD BORDER WALL IN TEXAS AS IMMIGRATION SURGES

“There is presently an acute and immediate need to construct physical barriers and roads in the vicinity of the border of the United States in order to prevent unlawful entries into the United States in the project areas pursuant to sections 102(a) and 102(b) of [the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996],” Mayorkas said.

The move sparked accusations that the administration was backing off its anti-wall stance. The administration had shut off most border wall construction at the beginning of 2021.

The administration quickly pointed out that the wall was itself funded by a Trump-era fiscal 2019 congressional appropriation and was announced in June. Mayorkas said in a statement Thursday “we have repeatedly asked Congress to rescind this money, but it has not done so, and we are compelled to follow the law.”

A DHS spokesperson noted that the construction includes detection technology, lighting and access roads, and that it has worked throughout the summer with stakeholders and federal agencies.

“This is not a policy decision. The construction project you’re reading about today was appropriated during the prior administration, in 2019, and the government is legally required to utilize these funds for their appropriated purpose,” the spokesperson said. 

“The administration repeatedly called on Congress to cancel or reappropriate remaining border barrier funding and instead fund smarter border security measures, like border technology and modernization of land ports of entry that are proven to be more effective at improving safety and security at the border.” 

But that did not satisfy some left-wing Democrats. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., rejected the explanation.

“The Biden administration was not required to expand construction of the border wall — and they certainly were not required to waive several environmental laws to expedite the building,” Ocasio-Cortez said. “The president needs to take responsibility for this decision and reverse course.”

BIDEN SAYS ‘NO,’ BORDER WALL DOESN’T WORK AFTER MAYORKAS CITED ‘IMMEDIATE’ NEED

She went on to say that walls “only serve to push migrants into more remote areas, increasing their chances of death. It is a cruel policy.”

“A border wall is a 14th century solution to a 21st century problem. It will not bolster border security in Starr County,” Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Texas, told the Associated Press. “I continue to stand against the wasteful spending of taxpayer dollars on an ineffective border wall.”

In the Senate, Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., said he thought that the U.S. would “stop resorting to Draconian and inhumane policies to address our challenges at the border” after the Trump administration.

“Instead, the Biden administration continues to take pages from Trump’s anti-immigrant playbook,” he said. “We should not repeat the mistakes of the past and provide any credibility to a boondoggle like a wall on our southern border. Walls don’t secure our borders, and walls don’t reflect our values as a nation.”

Menendez also took aim at an announcement form Thursday by the administration that the U.S. would start returning illegal immigrants directly to Venezuela.

“That is simply unacceptable. I will not remain silent as Venezuelan nationals who deserve our humanitarian protection remain in limbo while we wring our hands over semantics,” he said.

Environmental groups also criticized the waiving of federal laws for the project.

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“It’s disheartening to see President Biden stoop to this level, casting aside our nation’s bedrock environmental laws to build ineffective wildlife-killing border walls,” Laiken Jordahl, Southwest conservation advocate at the Center for Biological Diversity, said in a statement. 

“Starr County is home to some of the most spectacular and biologically important habitat left in Texas, and now bulldozers are preparing to rip right through it. This is a horrific step backwards for the borderlands.”

DHS officials have said they will continue to take steps to protect cultural and natural resources and will use “sound environmental practices.” Officials have also highlighted that the barrier will be movable to mitigate environmental impacts and maximize flexibility.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Presidential candidates competing for the coveted GOP nomination in 2024 have differing ideas of who should fill the currently vacant role of speaker of the House of Representatives.

Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., led a controversial ploy this to oust former Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Cali. — a position he earned in January after 15 rounds of voting. 

Given their slim majority and unanimous support from House Democrats, a small group of eight Republicans voting along with every Democrat on the floor were successful in removing McCarthy Tuesday.

Reps. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, Steve Scalise, R- La., Tom Emmer, R-Minn., and Kevin Hern, R-Okla., have all been floated as potential candidates, as the House scurries to quickly elect a new speaker in the coming days.

TRUMP ENDORSES JIM JORDAN FOR SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: ‘COMPLETE & TOTAL ENDORSEMENT’

After several members of Congress suggested former President Donald Trump be chosen to fill the role of Speaker of the House, he revealed he would be endorsing Jordan for the seat.

“Congressman Jim Jordan has been a STAR long before making his very successful journey to Washington, D.C., representing Ohio’s 4th Congressional District,” Trump posted on his TRUTH Social. “He will be a GREAT Speaker of the House, & has my Complete & Total Endorsement!”

GOP candidate for president and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis told reporters outside a campaign event this week that he had favorites for the next speaker of the House — but quipped that it isn’t a role he would wish on anybody.

DeSantis immediately weighed in on Tuesday’s drama in D.C., posting to X, formerly known as Twitter, that he “opposed McCarthy when it wasn’t cool”” and that “he’s really somebody that Donald Trump has backed and put into that position.”

HERE ARE THE 8 REPUBLICANS WHO SIDED WITH DEMS TO OUST SPEAKER MCCARTHY

The Florida governor suggested that GOP Reps. Chip Roy, Thomas Massie, and Jim Jordan “could do a good job.”

“I was deeply disappointed to see Gatez, and several other members of congress, partner with every single Democrat in the House of Representatives to fire the Republican speaker of the House,” former Vice President Mike Pence said on The Megyn Kelly Show. “It seems to me these eight republicans represent the chaos caucus.”

Pence did not name who he would like to see become the next speaker, but did suggest congress amend the House rules that only required one member to introduce a motion to vacate the speaker.

Gov. Tim Scott, R-S.C., also remained open.

“I look forward to working with whomever the next Republican Speaker is when I am President of the United States,” Scott told Fox News Digital. “The road to socialism runs right through a divided Republican Party – we have to get back to delivering for the American people. We need to focus on being the city on the hill. That starts with firing Joe Biden, and electing Republicans to secure the border, break the backs of teachers’ unions, and end Bidenomics.”

When asked who he believed should fill the role as Speaker, Vivek Ramaswamy said it would be “ideal” if Trump secured the role for a short period of time. 

“Jim Jordan is a strong choice. The ideal outcome would be for President Trump to take the position on an interim basis, shake things up, and then provide closure to this unusual ‘phase’ in the House and then turn it over to Jim Jordan from there,” Ramaswamy told Fox.

Former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley, Gov. Asa Hutchinson, and former Gov. Chris Christie did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

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The House is expected to hold a vote for the next speaker on Tuesday.

FIRST ON FOX: Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, sent a letter to President Biden on Friday urging him to halt the auctioning off of border wall materials next week.

Ernst’s letter comes just days after the Biden administration announced it would be bypassing dozens of federal laws to construct a border wall in South Texas, as thousands of migrant crossings persist in that region. 

“I am pleased you relented on your campaign promise that ‘there will not be another foot of wall constructed on [sic] my administration,'” she wrote. “While this acquiescence to commonsense is welcomed, I urge you to build the wall using some of the materials you have on-hand, rather than auctioning them off for pennies on the dollar.”

“If your administration is seeking to build more wall, I would encourage you to do so. In fact, I know somewhere you can get barrier materials on the cheap! Your own government is auctioning off materials—specifically purchased by the last administration to construct a border wall—starting at a bargain bid of $5 a lot,” she wrote.

BIDEN ADMINISTRATION FLIPS ON ‘BIGOTED’ BORDER WALL AFTER LONG HISTORY OF ATTACKS ON TRUMP PROPOSALS

However, Biden said he is not reversing course on his stance. On Thursday, he suggested the decision to build the wall was because money was already appropriated for the wall. 

“I tried to get them to reappropriate, to redirect that money, but they didn’t. They wouldn’t. And in the meantime, there’s nothing under the law other than they have to use the money for what it was appropriated,” Biden told reporters at the White House. 

“I can’t stop that,” he added.

JEAN-PIERRE CLAIMS BIDEN IS HELPLESS AGAINST OWN ADMIN’S BORDER WALL; PRESIDENT BELIEVES IT WON’T WORK

Biden also said, “No,” when asked by a reporter if a wall is effective in preventing illegal entries.

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, who initially expressed an “immediate need” for a wall, also clarified Thursday that its construction represented no change in the administration’s position.

“I want to address today’s reporting relating to a border wall and be absolutely clear,” he said in a statement. “There is no new Administration policy with respect to border walls. From day one, this Administration has made clear that a border wall is not the answer.”

BIDEN ADMINISTRATION ACCUSED OF HYPOCRISY FOR PROPOSING BORDER WALL AMID MIGRANT CRISIS

The funds Biden referenced were appropriated under former President Donald Trump, who made constructing a border wall a major point of his successful 2016 presidential campaign.

Reports of Biden quietly auctioning off border wall materials circulated after “square structural tubes” were captured in a storage yard in Arizona over the summer. The tubes were made available for auction on GovPlanet, an online auction platform operated by the publicly traded Canadian company Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers.

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In a statement to Fox News Digital, Ernst said: “We all know walls work, but seven million illegal border crossings later, the Biden administration is still being dragged kicking and screaming to address this crisis.” 

“For years, President Biden sent a clear message that he does not take border security seriously, but I have worked to hold him accountable for wasting taxpayer-funded border wall parts and to use them to actually secure our border. Now that he is finally building more of the wall, he must put these materials to use and end this crisis at our southern border, instead of auctioning off our already purchased materials for pennies on the dollar,” she said. 

Fox News’ Lawrence Richard contributed to this report. 

Iowa Democrats caved to the Democrat National Committee (DNC) on the party’s new presidential nominating calendar and will allow the state’s 2024 Democrat caucuses to move from one of the first contests in the nation, to an entirely vote-by-mail process with results released on March 5, or Super Tuesday.

The DNC rules panel on Friday approved the plan Iowa Democrats released earlier in the day that would see what has been the country’s first presidential contest since 1972 move to a months-long process where voters have from mid-January until March to mail-in their presidential preference card.

Registration to receive a card will begin on November 1, and they will start being mailed out on January 12. Democratic voters have until February 19 to request a card, and must have them mailed by March 5.

FORMER SPECIAL FORCES SOLDIER GETS ANOTHER BIG NAME ENDORSEMENT IN RACE TO FLIP SWING HOUSE SEAT FROM DEMS

But Iowa Democrat’s representative to the DNC panel said that the changes were only for 2024. 

“We intend to be first in 2028,” said Scott Brennan told the DNC committee, the Des Moines Register reported. “So we’re here to support the president in 2024, and by releasing the results on March 5, that’s what we’re doing. But all bets are off for 2028.”

Iowa’s decision to comply with the DNC comes as the the party’s fight continues with the crucial early voting state of New Hampshire over an effort to dramatically refigure the 2024 presidential nominating calendar. The Granite State’s governor, Republican Chris Sununu, vowed it “will not back down” on its effort to keep its primary the first in the nation.

The DNC overwhelmingly voted in early February to dramatically alter the top of its presidential nominating calendar for the 2024 election cycle, bumping Iowa and New Hampshire from their longtime leadoff positions in favor of South Carolina in order to better reflect Black and Hispanic voters in the early primary contests.

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

TRUMP CAMPAIGN CALLS OUT ‘CROOKED JOE BIDEN’ AFTER ADMIN STRESSES ‘IMMEDIATE NEED’ FOR BORDER WALL

But both Iowa and New Hampshire balked at the changes.

The DNC’s Rules and Bylaws Committee voted last month to grant New Hampshire — which for a century has held the first primary in the race for the White House — a third extension to give the state more time to come into compliance with the national party committee’s new schedule.

The move by the panel came after New Hampshire Secretary of State Dave Scanlan announced that his state’s presidential primary filing period would start on Oct. 11, leading to a contest that will likely be held in late January — ahead of South Carolina — and putting the Granite State on a collision course with the DNC.

POTENTIAL NAIL-BITER RACE IN DEEP-RED STATE HEATS UP AS DEM NOMINEE ACCUSES GOP GOVERNOR, FAMILY OF CORRUPTION

The extension unanimously granted by the DNC panel on Thursday would last until Oct. 14. 

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However, New Hampshire is likely to eventually be found in non-compliance and penalized, with the state all but certain to hold an unsanctioned primary that would probably keep President Biden from putting his name on the ballot.

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

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials made the case to the Department of Homeland Security to go forward with a border wall project in South Texas that is now causing a political headache for the administration — warning that funding was going to lapse and the project would benefit an area plagued by drugs and violence.

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas announced this week that he was using his authority to waive 26 federal laws to go forward with the construction of barriers and roads in Starr County, citing an “acute and immediate need” in order to prevent illegal entries in the Rio Grande Valley Sector.

The construction is funded by the fiscal year 2019 DHS appropriations bill, which specifically funded wall projects in the RGV Sector and which DHS is required to use for its appropriated purpose. The announcement was made in June. 

MAYORKAS CITES ‘IMMEDIATE NEED’ TO WAIVE REGULATIONS, BUILD BORDER WALL IN TEXAS AS IMMIGRATION SURGES

The funding was due to lapse at the end of the fiscal year, sources told Fox News, and CBP officials made the case that building the wall was critical in order to not lose the funding to build in this specific area because it is a high traffic area for migrants drugs and violence. Law enforcement has even recovered explosive devices in the area.

Officials were also keen on the project because it also includes technology including ground sensors that are needed for Border Patrol agents to detect migrants. DHS has highlighted that it includes lighting, access roads and other technology that the administration does generally support.

Separately, a press release in June outlining the initial project highlighted additional fence-replacement projects in Arizona and California, but it is unclear if those will require the same waiver moves as they are repair projects rather than new construction.

BIDEN SAYS ‘NO,’ BORDER WALL DOESN’T WORK, AFTER MAYORKAS CITED ‘IMMEDIATE’ NEED

The administration has taken heat over the construction, both from Democrats and Republicans, for allegedly changing course from their initial position in 2021, where the administration firmly opposed wall construction and moved to end Trump-era construction.

DHS officials and President Biden have furiously denied that there is a change in policy afoot, arguing that their hands were tied by the 2019 appropriation.

“I was told I had no choice,” Biden said Friday.

Mayorkas said Thursday “we have repeatedly asked Congress to rescind this money, but it has not done so, and we are compelled to follow the law.”

A DHS spokesperson noted that the construction includes detection technology, lighting and access roads, and that it has worked throughout the summer with stakeholders and federal agencies.

“This is not a policy decision. The construction project you’re reading about today was appropriated during the prior administration, in 2019, and the government is legally required to utilize these funds for their appropriated purpose,” the spokesperson said Thursday. “The Administration repeatedly called on Congress to cancel or reappropriate remaining border barrier funding and instead fund smarter border security measures, like border technology and modernization of land ports of entry, that are proven to be more effective at improving safety and security at the border.” 

But that has been questioned by lawmakers and former officials. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-NY, said the administration “was not required to expand construction of the border wall — and they certainly were not required to waive several environmental laws to expedite the building.” 

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Former DHS Secretary Chad Wolf also dismissed the idea that Mayorkas was forced into the decision.

“You don’t waive 26 environmental laws to build the wall immediately if you don’t believe in it,” he said. “This is the Biden Admin trying to have it both ways.” 

President Biden appeared to stumble Friday when asked by a reporter about his administration’s resumption of border wall construction in Texas, telling a reporter that “we tried to ask the Congress to consider changing the law,” one day after saying that he had merely tried to “redirect” money for the project. 

Biden and his administration have been facing scrutiny after the Department of Homeland Security posted an announcement this week in the Federal Register that outlined construction of a border wall in the Rio Grande Valley Sector of Texas, where the administration says there is “high illegal entry.” The funds for the project, White House officials say, were appropriated in 2019 during the Trump administration. When asked by a reporter what he had specifically tried to do to get funds reappropriated, particularly when Democrats controlled both the House and Senate earlier in his term, the president did not provide detail.

“Oh, the wall thing?” he asked. “I was told that I had no choice, that I, you know, Congress passes legislation to build something, whether it’s an aircraft carrier or wall or provide for a tax cut,” Biden said Friday when asked by a reporter about what he had done to try to reappropriate funds for the border wall. “I can’t say, ‘I don’t like it, I’m not going to do it.’ If this hadn’t been vetoed, it’s the law.” 

When reminded that the previous day he had said that he had tried to reappropriate funds, Biden stated that he had asked Congress to make the change.

JEAN-PIERRE CLAIMS BIDEN IS HELPLESS AGAINST ADMINISTRATION’S OWN BORDER WALL; PRESIDENT BELIEVES IT WON’T WORK 

“We tried to ask the Congress to consider changing the law, to reappropriate it . . . use it for other purposes,” Biden continued. “Give me more border agents, give me more technical capabilities to detect fentanyl and the like. That’s what I want to do.” 

MAYORKAS BACKTRACKS ON TEXAS BORDER WALL HOURS AFTER DHS CITES ‘IMMEDIATE NEED’ 

When asked for clarification on what Biden meant by “changing the law,” the White House did not provide a direct answer but referred Fox News Digital to a June 2021 White House fact sheet outlining how the administration wanted to redirect border wall funds. 

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White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said during her briefing Thursday that Biden does not agree with wall construction, but cannot change it. 

“He doesn’t believe the border wall is effective,” she said.

“We are complying by the law. DHS is complying by the law,” Jean-Pierre added. “But that appropriation came from fiscal year 2019 under the last administration, Republican leadership. And that’s what you’re seeing now.” 

Fox News’ Timothy H.J. Nerozzi and Louis Casiano contributed to this report. 

Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy told Fox News on Friday he is not considering resigning his congressional seat after being ousted from the speakership earlier this week.

Speaking with Fox’s Bret Baier following a Politico report that he was weighing a congressional exit, McCarthy flatly said he was not leaving.

Politico had cited “two people familiar with matter” in its reporting that McCarthy would stay in his seat at least until a new speaker was chosen next week “in order to help the party steady itself after a seismic shakeup.”

MATT GAETZ USES MCCARTHY OUSTER, BOOS FROM COLLEAGUES TO LAUNCH CAMPAIGN FUNDRAISING PUSH

McCarthy narrowly lost a 216-210 vote on Tuesday to remove him as House speaker after Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., introduced a motion to vacate the role. Gaetz had threatened to do so following a breakdown between Republican factions over efforts to prevent a government shutdown the previous week.

McCarthy was succeeded to Speaker Pro Tempore Patrick McHenry, R-N.C., a temporary replacement until the House votes on a permanent one next week.

Three names have emerged as viable replacements for McCarthy, including House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, and Rep. Kevin Hern, R-Okla.

WHAT DOES MCCARTHY’S REMOVAL MEAN FOR BIDEN INVESTIGATIONS, DAILY FUNCTIONING OF THE HOUSE? EXPERTS WEIGH IN

Former President Donald Trump was floated as a replacement, and told Fox News Digital on Thursday that he was open to temporarily accepting the role in order to help bridge divides between members of the party. He later threw his support behind Jordan.

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The White House mocked “dysfunction-engulfed House Republicans” Friday as they work to select a new speaker of the House, while praising President Biden for focusing on the economy and the American people.

The House of Representatives, in a historic first on Tuesday, voted to remove Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., as speaker of the House, after Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., introduced a motion to vacate.

McCarthy’s removal came just days after a continuing resolution was agreed upon to continue funding the government, despite weeks of GOP infighting over Ukraine aid. The government was set to run out of funding on Sept. 30, but Congress managed to come to an agreement in the 11th hour.

TRUMP ENDORSES JIM JORDAN FOR SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: ‘COMPLETE & TOTAL ENDORSEMENT’

Now, the House Republican Conference is considering who should serve as the next House speaker, with Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, and House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., the top options.

Over at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, though, White House officials are mocking House Republicans for being unable to “get their act together.” 

HOUSE REPUBLICANS MOVE ‘FULL STEAM AHEAD’ ON IMPEACHMENT INQUIRY EVEN AMID SPEAKER UNCERTAINTY

In a memo Friday, White House Deputy Press Secretary and Senior Communications Adviser Andrew Bates touted President Biden’s work in extending his “record of historic job gains powering the United States economy.”

“But while the President leads by putting hardworking families first and growing our economy with solid and tested plans, House Republicans are threatening to raise costs and kill jobs as their conference devolves into chaotic bickering and they insist on radical MAGAnomics policies,” Bates wrote.

“Less than one week ago, the House GOP attempted to singlehandedly shut down the American government unless they could make severe cuts to small businesses, manufacturing, law enforcement, and border security, while raising health care and housing costs,” he wrote.

JORDAN GAINS SUPPORT FROM TOP REPUBLICANS FOR SPEAKER TO ‘UNITE’ MODERATES, CONSERVATIVES

Bates added: “When the government remained open, for the good of all Americans, they turned on each other and made the only chamber of Congress they control dysfunctional.”

“Now, nearly a week since they unseated the Speaker of the House, congressional Republicans still can’t get their act together,” he continued.

Bates warned that in the next government funding debate, Republicans could “again try to force painful cuts for the middle class onto the country, even though they support deficit-hiking tax welfare for rich special interests at the same time.”

“This is a choice that boils down to economic growth and progress versus divisive infighting and losing out to countries like China,” he wrote, while touting “Bidenomics” for “fulfilling the long-sought return of manufacturing to the United States — including in a multitude of red states — producing historic job growth, and lowering prescription drug and energy costs.”

TRUMP WOULD ACCEPT HOUSE SPEAKERSHIP FOR A ‘SHORT PERIOD’ WHILE REPUBLICANS DECIDE ON A PERMANENT REPLACEMENT

“MAGAnomics represents dysfunction as House Republicans fall over each other and point fingers as they try to sell the middle class out to giant corporations and the wealthy,” he wrote.

The Bates memo comes after White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre on Tuesday, following the vote to remove McCarthy, said President Biden hopes Republicans “quickly” elect a speaker. 

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“President Biden has demonstrated that he is always eager to work with both parties in Congress in good faith on behalf of the American people,” she said. “Because the urgent challenges facing our nation will not wait, he hopes the House will quickly elect a speaker.” 

She added: “Once the House has met their responsibility to elect a speaker, he looks forward to working together with them and with the Senate to address the American peoples’ priorities.” 

On Tuesday, House Republicans are set to meet for a candidate forum, to consider their options. They are expected to vote on a House speaker on Wednesday. 

The House Republican conference will be meeting Monday at 6 p.m. amid the fight for the speaker’s gavel, Fox News Digital has learned.

Two House GOP aides familiar with the meeting confirmed that the Republican members will be convening on Columbus Day, a federal holiday.

Republican members will likely discuss their conference’s replacement for former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., after his ousting Tuesday.

TRUMP ENDORSES JIM JORDAN FOR SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: ‘COMPLETE & TOTAL ENDORSEMENT’

The meeting comes amid the fight for the speakership that is seeing House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., and House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, jockey for the gavel.

Republican Study Committee Chairman Kevin Hern, R-Okla., is also circling around the speaker race but has not formally entered the fray.

The House GOP conference is largely splitting between Scalise and Jordan, with the latter scoring a speaker endorsement from former President Trump.

However, Trump’s endorsement does not necessarily mean a Jordan speakership is on the docket — both Scalise and the House Judiciary chairman need 218 votes to ascend to the speakership.

Meanwhile, Scalise — a fundraising powerhouse — is seeing support from a long list of Republicans in his bid for the gavel.

The speaker fight will likely be a loud one, especially following McCarthy’s ouster via a motion to vacate led by Florida GOP Rep. Matt Gaetz.

‘SHELL SHOCKED’ KEVIN MCCARTHY WILL NOT RUN FOR HOUSE SPEAKER AGAIN FOLLOWING REMOVAL

Trump gave Jordan his “complete [and] total endorsement” for speaker of the House, saying he is “respected by all.”

“Congressman Jim Jordan has been a STAR long before making his very successful journey to Washington, D.C., representing Ohio’s 4th Congressional District.,” Trump posted on his Truth Social overnight. “Respected by all, he is now Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee.”

“As President, I had the honor of presenting Jim with our Country’s highest civilian award, The Presidential Medal of Freedom,” Trump continued. “So much is learned from sports, and Jim was a master!”

Trump, praising Jordan’s wrestling record, said that “while attending Graham High School, he won State Championships all four years, a rarity, and compiled an amazing 156-1 record. At the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Jim became a two-time NCAA Division l Wrestling Champion.”

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“He won his 1985-86 NCAA Championship Matches in his weight class,” Trump posted. “Jim has a masters degree in Education from Ohio State University & a Law Degree from Capital University.”

He added: “He is STRONG on Crime, Borders, our Military/Vets, & 2nd Amendment. Jim, his wife, Polly, & family are outstanding – He will be a GREAT Speaker of the House, & has my Complete & Total Endorsement!”

Fox News Digital’s Brooke Singman contributed reporting.

Some Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee are touting chairman Jim Jordan’s leadership on efforts to secure the besieged southern border — just as the migrant crisis is hitting new records, and Jordan could soon be the next speaker of the House.

The committee has been central in the House’s push to force the Biden administration to take what Republicans see as a stronger stance against border security and illegal immigration.

Judiciary was one of the main committees involved in the Secure the Border Act, the signature Republicans border security and asylum overhaul which passed the chamber this year and which Republicans pushed hard to include in a continuing resolution last week. 

TRUMP ENDORSES JIM JORDAN FOR SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: ‘COMPLETE & TOTAL ENDORSEMENT’ 

While it has failed to pick up Democratic support, it represents a sweeping and detailed blueprint of how GOP lawmakers want to reform the asylum system and crack down on illegal immigration at the border, with measures from E-Verify to limits on parole to border wall funding and Border Patrol agent hiring.

Now, days after former Speaker Kevin McCarthy was ousted by a motion to vacate, Jordan has put his hat in the ring to replace him — and his supporters are pointing to the committee’s work under his leadership. Rep. Tom Tiffany, R-Wis., who is backing Jordan for speaker and is on the Judiciary’s immigration subcommittee, stressed Jordan’s credentials on the border to Fox News Digital. 

“House Republicans passed the strongest border security bill in history to end the failed policy of catch-and-release, finish the border wall, reinstate Remain in Mexico, and block taxpayer financing of the open-border NGOs that are actively facilitating this invasion,” he said. “This effort was spearheaded by the House Judiciary Committee.” 

“There’s no stronger person on border issues than Jim Jordan,” he added.

Rep. Jeff Van Drew, R-N.J., who is also on both the Judiciary Committee and the immigration subcommittee, said he was specifically supporting Jordan in part due to his leadership on border security.

MIGRANT NUMBERS HIT HIGHEST EVER RECORDED IN 1 MONTH: SOURCES

“That’s one of the reasons I’m supporting Jim Jordan for speaker. I think he’ll be a great speaker and particularly on this issue,” he said.

Meanwhile, a source familiar with the committee’s operations pointed Fox News Digital to the work of the committee under Jordan — including the first field hearing on the crisis in Yuma, Arizona, along with eight committee and subcommittee hearings, 10 transcribed interviews and more than 50 letters to DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas pushing for information related to policy.

The committee also released a detailed report into the murder of Kayla Hamilton, which it called a “case for immigration enforcement and border security.”

Jordan has also picked up the support of other Republicans who are hawkish on the border. Homeland Security Committee Chair Mark Green and Rep. Jim Banks, R-Ind., are among those backing Jordan. On Friday, he received the backing of former President Trump, who declared Jordan “STRONG on Crime, Borders, our Military/Vets, & 2nd Amendment.”

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Despite the drama over the speaker’s chair, the committee is keeping going, with a transcribed interview with an ICE official due to take place next week. Officials in multiple committees have emphasized that their efforts to secure the border will not be affected.

“The work that we do is essential. We cannot stop and we will not stop on the immigration,” Van Drew said. “We’re going to keep pushing hard because it is literally about the future of the republic.”

Van Drew also pointed to the grillings, both in letters and in hearings, that Mayorkas has received.

“I think we’ve gone hard at him. I’ve questioned him hard. And certainly, again, the chairman has really pushed hard on this issue.”

Van Drew said it was an issue that Republicans needed to keep pushing on, given the severity of the crisis at the border. Sources told Fox News last week that there were more than 260,000 migrant encounters at the border in September — marking a new record.

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“They’re doing catch and release, but some of them don’t even go through that process. Some of them are just getting in and without a doubt, documented, we have people who are part of the drug cartels and…they are now moving into the United States, establishing businesses in the United States and changing our entire fabric of our country. It is truly frightening.” 

Van Drew emphasized he believes both Jordan and Majority Whip Steve Scalise — also in the running for speaker — are “great people” but that he was backing Jordan.  

“I think this time and this place, just for that one issue alone — because we are in just the worst of times here and we’re in a crisis situation for real. And that’s why I believe we need Jim Jordan.”

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez,  D-N.Y., demanded that President Biden “reverse course” on constructing a wall at the U.S. border with Mexico, saying a “wall does nothing” and represents a “cruel policy.”

“The Biden administration was not required to expand construction of the border wall — and they certainly were not required to waive several environmental laws to expedite the building,” Ocasio-Cortez wrote on X. “The President needs to take responsibility for this decision and reverse course.”

She added, “A wall does nothing to deter people who are fleeing poverty and violence from coming to the United States. Walls only serve to push migrants into more remote areas, increasing their chances of death. It is a cruel policy.”

Ocasio-Cortez said the president should instead “more seriously” examine the “root of migration,” and “should stop contributing to the destabilization that drives migration.”

BIDEN ADMINISTRATION ACCUSED OF HYPOCRISY FOR PROPOSING BORDER WALL AMID MIGRANT CRISIS

The “Squad” member added that the U.S. should “finally invest in meaningful immigration reform.”

The lawmaker’s comments come as the Biden administration announced earlier this week that it would be waiving dozens of federal laws in order to construct a border wall in South Texas.

On Thursday, Biden suggested the decision to build the wall was out of his hands.

“Money was appropriated for the border wall,” Biden told reporters at the White House. “I tried to get them to reappropriate, to redirect that money, but they didn’t. They wouldn’t. And in the meantime, there’s nothing under the law other than they have to use the money for what it was appropriated.”

“I can’t stop that,” he added.

AOC DEFENDS JAMAAL BOWMAN PULLING FIRE ALARM IN ‘MOMENT OF PANIC,’ BLASTS GOP FOR ‘PROTECTING’ GEORGE SANTOS

When a reporter asked if Biden believes a border wall is effective in reducing illegal immigration, the president said, “No.”

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, who initially expressed an “immediate need” for a wall, also clarified Thursday that its construction represented no change in the administration’s position.

“I want to address today’s reporting relating to a border wall and be absolutely clear,” he said in a statement. “There is no new Administration policy with respect to border walls. From day one, this Administration has made clear that a border wall is not the answer.”

The funds Biden referenced were appropriated under former President Trump, who made constructing a border wall a major point of his successful 2016 presidential campaign.

Ocasio-Cortez, who was first elected to Congress representing New York’s 14th Congressional District in the 2018 midterms, has been a vocal critic of Trump and the construction of a border wall.  

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She most recently won re-election in Nov. 2022, trouncing Republican candidate Tina Forte with over 70% of the vote.

Fox News Digital reached out to Ocasio-Cortez’s congressional office for additional comment, but they did not immediately respond.

Former President Trump gave Rep. Jim Jordan his “complete & total endorsement” for speaker of the House, saying he is “respected by all.”

“Congressman Jim Jordan has been a STAR long before making his very successful journey to Washington, D.C., representing Ohio’s 4th Congressional District.,” Trump posted on his TRUTH Social overnight. “Respected by all, he is now Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee.”

JORDAN GAINS SUPPORT FROM TOP REPUBLICANS FOR SPEAKER TO ‘UNITE’ MODERATES, CONSERVATIVES

“As President, I had the honor of presenting Jim with our Country’s highest civilian award, The Presidential Medal of Freedom,” Trump continued. “So much is learned from sports, and Jim was a master!”

Trump, praising Jordan’s wrestling record, said that “while attending Graham High School, he won State Championships all four years, a rarity, and compiled an amazing 156-1 record. At the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Jim became a two-time NCAA Division l Wrestling Champion.”

“He won his 1985-86 NCAA Championship Matches in his weight class,” Trump posted. “Jim has a masters degree in Education from Ohio State University & a Law Degree from Capital University.”

He added: “He is STRONG on Crime, Borders, our Military/Vets, & 2nd Amendment. Jim, his wife, Polly, & family are outstanding – He will be a GREAT Speaker of the House, & has my Complete & Total Endorsement!”

Jordan, the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, announced his bid for speaker of the House on Wednesday after Rep. Kevin McCarthy’s historic ouster, following a successful motion to vacate.

House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., also announced his bid for speaker of the House.

Trump’s comments come just hours after he told Fox News Digital that if Republicans cannot rally enough support for Jordan or Scalise, he would accept the speakership himself for a “short period.” 

TRUMP WOULD ACCEPT HOUSE SPEAKERSHIP FOR A ‘SHORT PERIOD’ WHILE REPUBLICANS DECIDE ON A PERMANENT REPLACEMENT

“I have been asked to speak as a unifier because I have so many friends in Congress,” Trump told Fox News Digital. “If they don’t get the vote, they have asked me if I would consider taking the speakership until they get somebody longer-term, because I am running for president.” 

HOUSE REPUBLICANS MOVE ‘FULL STEAM AHEAD’ ON IMPEACHMENT INQUIRY EVEN AMID SPEAKER UNCERTAINTY

“They have asked me if I would take it for a short period of time for the party, until they come to a conclusion — I’m not doing it because I want to — I will do it if necessary, should they not be able to make their decision,” Trump said.

Trump did not specify who had asked him, although a number of GOP lawmakers have said he is their preference for speaker.

Trump stressed that if Republicans cannot come to a consensus, he would take the speakership for a short “30, 60, or 90-day period.” 

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“I would only do it for the party,” he said, stressing that his focus is on his presidential campaign. 

Jordan has gained support across the Republican conference — including from top House committee chairmen.

“Jordan’s efforts have shown that he can unite moderates and conservatives across the conference to get the 218 votes needed to become speaker,” a congressional source told Fox News Digital.

Supporters of Chris Christie’s 2024 Republican presidential campaign who are courting New Hampshire Democrats to cast a ballot in support of the former New Jersey governor and against former President Donald Trump in the state’s upcoming lead-off primary are out of time.

Two political groups backing Christie’s second White House run have been sending mailers to registered Democrats in the state that holds the first primary and second overall contest in the GOP presidential nominating calendar. And they’ve been running targeted digital ads.

They’re wooing Democrats by highlighting that Christie is the only Republican presidential candidate “willing to take Trump on” and urging them to “make sure” the former president “never sees the inside of the Oval Office again.”

But the deadline for New Hampshire voters to change their registration ahead of next year’s presidential primary is Friday.

TRUMP REPORTS LARGE FUNDRAISING HAUL THE PAST THREE MONTHS 

The mailers by the Christie aligned super PAC Tell It Like It Is and the digital spots by the until now under the radar nonprofit policy organization American Leadership Today explain that Democrats can “switch parties by October 6 and VOTE in the Republican Primary. It’s easy to switch your party affiliation back after!”

CHRISTIE VOWS TO ‘CONFRONT’ TRUMP IF FORMER PRESIDENT DOESN’T DEBATE

The narrator in the digital ad warns that “in New Hampshire on a cold January night, democracy will be on the ballot.”

American Leadership Today has also been sending text messages and direct mail to Democrats in New Hampshire with the same message.

Seven years ago, Christie placed all his chips in his first bid for president on New Hampshire. However, his campaign crashed and burned after a disappointing sixth-place finish in New Hampshire, far behind Trump, who crushed the competition in the primary, boosting him towards the Republican nomination and eventually the White House. 

Christie became the first among the other GOP 2016 contenders to endorse Trump and for years was a top outside adviser to the then-president and chaired Trump’s high-profile commission on opioids. However, the two had a falling out after Trump’s unsuccessful attempts to overturn his 2020 election loss to President Biden. In the past two and a half years, Christie has become one of the harshest Trump critics in the Republican Party.

LATEST FUNDRAISING REPORTS COULD BE DEATH KNELL FOR SOME GOP PRESIDENTIAL LONG-SHOTS

Christie — who is considered one of the best communicators in the GOP and was known during his tenure as Garden State governor for the kind of in-your-face politics that Trump has also mastered — has repeatedly touted that he’s got the debate chops to target Trump.

The former president remains the commanding front-runner for the Republican nomination as he makes his third straight White House run, even as he’s juggling an historic four criminal indictments, including two for attempting to overturn the 2020 election results.

But with Trump not taking the stage in the initial GOP presidential nomination debates, Christie has pledged to “confront” Trump elsewhere on the campaign trail to make sure that the former president is not the Republican Party’s 2024 standard-bearer.

As he runs for the White House a second time, Christie is once again concentrating his efforts in New Hampshire. He’s seen his poll numbers rise in Granite State over the summer, but he and the rest of the field of contenders remain far behind Trump in the latest surveys.

TRUMP’S THE COMMANDING FRONT-RUNNER, BUT CHECK OUT WHO’S ON THE RISE IN THE LATEST POLL IN NEW HAMPSHIRE

This week’s mailers and digital ads are the latest evidence that Christie is banking on support from independents and Democrats who loathe Trump and are deeply concerned about the prospects of the former president returning to the White House.

A spokesperson for American Leadership Today said in a statement that the group’s “goal is spreading awareness about available choices through a multi-faceted campaign and expanding voter participation in the Granite State’s proud First In The Nation primary process.”

Christie, during a stop in New Hampshire last month at a town hall in North Hampton, offered that he was “uncomfortable with the idea of asking people to change their party. Because I think that’s something that’s very personal for them to decide.”

But he urged eligible voters “should go out and vote and vote for the person that they think will make a difference.”

Asked about the mailers and digital ads, which were first spotted by WMUR-TV political director Adam Sexton, Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung took aim at Christie.

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“Of course Chris Christie is begging Democrats to support him. Chris Christie is a stone cold loser who spends every day on the cable news casting couch auditioning for a contributor contract whenever his joke of a campaign ends up in flames,” Cheung said in a statement.

With a likely uncompetitive Democratic presidential primary in New Hampshire, there’s the belief that the state’s large pool of independent, or undeclared, voters will cast ballots in the GOP contest. 

“What we’ve seen in the polling is that Trump’s support has remained solid among Republican primary voters. So if you can’t have Trump’s number decline, you have to find new voters. And those new voters could be undeclared or independents, but they could also be Democrats who decide to switch to undeclared and potentially take a ballot in the Republican presidential primary,” New Hampshire Institute of Politics executive director Neil Levesque told Fox News.

But he noted that “it’s a difficult thing to convince somebody to change their registration, which entails physically going to their town hall to make that change, in an effort to vote against a candidate.”

“Who knows — it could make a difference in a tight election. But in the past we haven’t seen that it’s really been a factor,” Levesque said.

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

President Biden, speaking after his administration announced border wall construction in Texas, said at the White House on Thursday that he tried to “redirect” the money for the project, and denied that the border wall worked.

“I’ll answer one question on the border wall, the border wall where money was appropriated for the border wall. I tried to get them to reappropriate, to redirect that money,” Biden said. “They didn’t. They wouldn’t. And in the meantime, there’s nothing under the law other than they have to use the money for what it was appropriated. I can’t stop that.” 

When asked by a reporter if he believes a border wall works, Biden said “no.”

White House communications director Ben LaBolt later wrote on X, formerly Twitter, that the “funds for ~20 miles of border reinforcements were appropriated in 2019 before [Biden] took office.”

MAYORKAS CITES ‘IMMEDIATE NEED’ TO WAIVE REGULATIONS, BUILD BORDER WALL IN TEXAS AS IMMIGRATION SURGES

“He called on Congress to reappropriate the funds for smarter, more effective enforcement uses. Congress failed to do so,” LeBolt added. “Rule of law requires the project be completed in 2023.”

Fox News Digital on Wednesday reported that Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas is citing an “acute and immediate need” to waive dozens of federal laws to build a border wall in South Texas where illegal migration has surged.

It’s a sharp contrast to dismissals of the use of such barriers in the early days of the administration.

The agency posted an announcement on the U.S. Federal Register that outlines construction in Starr County in the Rio Grande Valley Sector, where the administration says there is “high illegal entry.” The agency says there have been over 245,000 migrant encounters in the sector this fiscal year.

Mayorkas said he is using his authority provided by Congress to waive 26 federal laws, including the Clean Air Act, Safe Drinking Water Act and Endangered Species Act.

BIDEN ADMINISTRATION ACCUSED OF HYPOCRISY FOR PROPOSING BORDER WALL AMID MIGRANT CRISIS

“There is presently an acute and immediate need to construct physical barriers and roads in the vicinity of the border of the United States in order to prevent unlawful entries into the United States in the project areas pursuant to sections 102(a) and 102(b) of [the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996],” Mayorkas said.

The administration had put a halt to new border wall construction in early 2021, after Biden had promised as a presidential candidate that there would “not be another foot of wall constructed on my administration.” The administration said wall construction under the Trump administration was “just one example of the prior administration’s misplaced priorities and failure to manage migration in a safe, orderly and humane way.”

However, the construction is funded by the fiscal year 2019 Department of Homeland Security appropriations bill, which specifically funded wall projects in the Rio Grande Valley Sector and which DHS is required to use for its appropriated purpose.

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The announcement comes as the Biden administration is facing a fresh surge in illegal immigration, leading to record-high numbers at the southern border and intense political criticism from both Republicans and Democrats. Customs and Border Protection sources told Fox News last week there were more than 260,000 encounters in September, which would be the highest monthly total on record.

Sen. Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., snapped back at Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., online Thursday afternoon as calls for former President Donald Trump to become the next speaker of the House echo among some GOP lawmakers.

“No thanks, we’re good,” Schumer said on X, formerly known as Twitter, in response to the congresswoman. “We’ve seen a Trump rally at the Capitol already.”

Schumer’s post was a dig at Trump, who has been accused as the main perpetrator for the Capitol riots on Jan. 6, 2021.

GOP LAWMAKERS FLOAT TRUMP FOR HOUSE SPEAKER AFTER MCCARTHY’S OUSTING

Greene originally posted, “If Trump becomes Speaker of the House, the House chamber will be like a Trump rally everyday!!”

She added, “It would be the House of MAGA!!!”

Republican lawmakers floated the former president as the next speaker just hours after Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., was ousted Tuesday. Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., introduced the motion to vacate Monday night over McCarthy’s purported failure to uphold promises he made when he was voted in after 15 rounds of votes that lasted days in January.

Rep. Troy Nehls, R-Texas, said in a statement Tuesday afternoon his first order of business when the House reconvenes “will be to nominate Donald J. Trump for Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives.”

MATT GAETZ INTRODUCES MOTION TO VACATE AGAINST HOUSE SPEAKER KEVIN MCCARTHY

“President Trump, the greatest President of my lifetime, has a proven record of putting America First and will make the House great again,” Nehls said.

Rep. Greg Steube, R-Fla., followed suit in a post on X on Tuesday evening: “@realDonaldTrump for Speaker.”

The next speaker does not have to be a sitting member in the House, but every speaker in U.S. history has been.

HOUSE DEMOCRAT LEADERS SAY THEY WILL VOTE TO OUST SPEAKER MCCARTHY

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It’s not the first time Trump has been floated as a nominee for speakership. In January, as McCarthy struggled to garner enough votes to secure his speakership, Gaetz cast a ballot for Trump.

McCarthy angered hardliners over the weekend when he passed a short-term spending bill known as a continuing resolution to keep the government open for 45 days to avert a government shutdown and give lawmakers more time to cobble together 12 individual spending bills.

So far, Reps. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, and Steve Scalise, R-La., have announced bids for the speakership.

EXCLUSIVE: Former President Donald Trump told Fox News Digital that he would accept a short-term role as speaker of the House of Representatives to serve as a “unifier” for the Republican Party until lawmakers reach a decision on who should take on the post.

Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., was removed as speaker of the House on Tuesday after Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., introduced a measure against him known as a motion to vacate, accusing him of breaking promises he made to win the speaker’s gavel in January.

GAETZ ‘OPEN-MINDED’ ON RULES CHANGE TO ELIMINATE MOTION TO VACATE, WOULD SUPPORT JORDAN OR SCALISE AS SPEAKER

“I have been asked to speak as a unifier because I have so many friends in Congress,” Trump told Fox News Digital. “If they don’t get the vote, they have asked me if I would consider taking the speakership until they get somebody longer-term, because I am running for president.” 

“They have asked me if I would take it for a short period of time for the party, until they come to a conclusion — I’m not doing it because I want to — I will do it if necessary, should they not be able to make their decision,” Trump said.

Trump did not specify who had asked him, although a number of GOP lawmakers have said he is their preference for speaker.

Since McCarthy’s ouster, both House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, and House Majority Whip Steve Scalise, R-La., have announced bids to run for speaker.

Trump stressed that if Republicans cannot come to a consensus, he would take the speakership for a short “30, 60, or 90-day period.” 

“I would only do it for the party,” he said, stressing that his focus is on his presidential campaign. 

Back in January, as the House considered who should become the speaker after Republicans took the majority of the chamber, Gaetz opted not to vote for McCarthy or Rep. Byron Donalds of Florida, who was floated as an option, but voted instead for Trump.

FLASHBACK: MATT GAETZ VOTES FOR TRUMP AS HOUSE SPEAKER IN SLIGHT TO MCCARTHY

When Gaetz’s name was called during the seventh round of voting, he responded: “Donald John Trump.” 

Meanwhile, Trump told Fox News Digital that he will visit Washington, D.C., on Tuesday and plans to be on Capitol Hill to speak with members of the House Republican Conference as they consider who will become the next speaker. 

As for whom he would support for speaker, the former president did not comment. 

HOUSE VOTES TO REMOVE KEVIN MCCARTHY AS SPEAKER IN HISTORIC FIRST

A source familiar, though, told Fox News Digital that Trump is very close to Jordan and has always had a great relationship with him. The source said Trump also has a great relationship with Scalise. 

Trump is leading the 2024 Republican presidential primary field by a massive margin.

The most recent Fox News poll shows 60% of Republican primary voters supporting Trump for the GOP nomination, up from 53% in the last survey in August. 

HOUSE REPUBLICANS MOVE ‘FULL STEAM AHEAD’ ON IMPEACHMENT INQUIRY EVEN AMID SPEAKER UNCERTAINTY

The only other candidates to receive double-digit support in that poll are Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis at 13% and businessman Vivek Ramaswamy at 11%.

Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley sits at 5%, with former Vice President Mike Pence and South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott at 3% each. Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie is polling at 2%, with the remaining GOP candidates receiving less than 1%.