NationalWatch

House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, made his pitch for the speaker’s gavel to the pragmatic Main Street Caucus on Thursday afternoon.

That group is a critical one for Jordan to please in order to win the top spot. The business-minded caucus boasts a significant number of moderates, in addition to its conservative members. 

Those moderates, particularly from districts won by President Biden in 2020, may be wary of supporting a lawmaker who previously led the hardline-right House Freedom Caucus.

“I think there’s still some hesitation from New Yorkers… particularly those who are in Biden districts, because Jim Jordan has just been so pro-Trump,” one source familiar with the meeting told Fox News Digital afterward. “You’ve got the moderates that are in Biden districts that may not feel comfortable.”

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

However, two Main Street Caucus members, both from majority-Republican districts, told Fox News Digital after the meeting that Jordan made a strong case for himself.

Rep. Carlos Gimenez, R-Fla., who had been voicing concerns about the one-member threshold motion to vacate, said Jordan broached his and others’ issues on the matter effectively. 

HERE ARE 4 OF THE LIKELY CONTENDERS TO REPLACE MCCARTHY AS SPEAKER

The one-member motion to vacate rule allowed Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., to call for former Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s ouster on Monday. Gaetz and seven other Republicans joined House Democrats in booting McCarthy, R-Calif., from leadership on Tuesday — leaving a power vacuum in his wake.

“He understands that we need to change the rule. I think he wants to change it in the right way. And he may be the one person that can change that rule,” Gimenez told Fox News Digital. “I trust Jim Jordan… I have no problem considering him for speaker.”

Gimenez said Main Street Caucus Republicans “made clear to him” in the meeting that changing the motion to vacate rule “was our number one priority.”

“He’s a Freedom Caucus member. And, and so you know, I had some caution there, but I’ve gotten to know Jim Jordan,” he said. “I think he’s smart. I also think one thing about Jim Jordan — I think he’s a very honorable person. A man of his word.”

Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, R-N.Y., told Fox News Digital she also was impressed by Jordan and suggested he could serve as a bridge between moderates and conservatives.

HOUSE VOTES TO REMOVE KEVIN MCCARTHY AS SPEAKER IN HISTORIC FIRST

“Jim Jordan made a good presentation. Probably one of his strengths is that… he’s probably most likely to be able to bring everyone together because of his relationships with both the Freedom Caucus and moderates, and the conservatives in between,” she said.

Malliotakis said among the topics discussed were avoiding a possible government shutdown and how to navigate working with Democrats in both the House and Senate, as well as changing the motion to vacate rule.

Neither Malliotakis nor Gimenez has decided on whom to support. 

CLICK TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

In addition to Jordan, Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., has also thrown his hat in the ring. Republican Study Committee Chair Kevin Hern, R-Okla., is also considering a run for speaker.

Malliotakis said both Jordan and Scalise were “gifted communicators,” speculating that they will likely end up being the two frontrunners for the job.

Scalise is due to speak with the Main Street Caucus on Friday morning, Fox News Digital has learned. He’s also speaking with the Western Caucus and the House GOP freshman class.

FIRST ON FOX: Former President Trump is voluntarily dismissing his lawsuit against his former attorney Michael Cohen, but vowed to refile against him once he has “prevailed” in the “witch hunts against him,” Fox News Digital has learned.

Trump sued Cohen for $500 million in April, alleging a breach of attorney-client relationship, unjust enrichment, and more.

But Trump attorneys on Thursday night filed a motion “voluntarily dismissing this action without prejudice.”

TRUMP SUES FORMER ATTORNEY MICHAEL COHEN FOR $500 MILLION

“Given that President Trump is required to sit for deposition in a civil matter on Columbus Day, when he is scheduled to be in the Great State of New Hampshire, and while the President is fighting against the meritless claims that have been lodged against him in New York, Washington D.C., Florida, and Georgia, as well as continuing his winning campaign, where he is leading the Republicans by 60 points and Crooked Joe Biden by 11 points, to serve as our next President of the United States, President Trump has decided to temporarily pause his meritorious claims against Michael Cohen,” the Trump spokesperson said.

The lawsuit will be refiled against Cohen at a later date, the spokesperson said.

“Once President Trump has prevailed in dealing with the witch hunts against him, he will continue to pursue his claims against Michael Cohen, who rightfully deserves to, and will be held accountable for his unlawful words and actions just as the Southern District of New York held him accountable for numerous non-Trump related acts and crimes, making Cohen a very ‘proud’ felon,” the spokesperson said.

Trump’s legal team in April filed the more-than 30-page federal lawsuit in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, alleging Cohen breached his attorney-client relationship by “spreading falsehoods” about Trump that were “likely to be embarrassing or detrimental, and partook in other misconduct,” while also breaching contractual terms of a confidentiality agreement he signed as a condition of employment with Trump.

The lawsuit alleged that Cohen spread falsehoods about Trump “with malicious intent and to wholly self-serving ends.” 

The lawsuit detailed Cohen’s “myriad of public statements, including the publication of two books, a podcast series, and innumerable mainstream media appearances,” while ignoring “cease and desist” orders.

FLASHBACK: LYNNE PATTON, TRUMP OFFICIAL AT COHEN HEARING, CLAIMED HE ONLY ‘TURNED’ WHEN MUELLER THREATENED WIFE

Cohen, in 2018, pleaded guilty to arranging the hush money payments — among other federal charges — ahead of the 2016 presidential election to adult film actress Stormy Daniels and ex-Playboy model Karen McDougal, but maintains that Trump directed them.

Cohen also pleaded guilty to making false statements to a financial institution, making false statements to Congress and tax evasion. He was sentenced to three years in prison.

Cohen did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment. 

The move comes after Trump, the current 2024 Republican frontrunner, was indicted four times this year and faces a civil fraud trial as well. 

Trump was first charged in March out of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s years-long investigation related to hush-money payments made during the 2016 presidential campaign.

Trump pleaded not guilty to all 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in the first degree in New York.

Those charges from Bragg came amid Special Counsel Jack Smith’s investigation into Trump’s alleged improper retention of classified records from his presidency at his Mar-a-Lago home in Palm Beach, Florida.

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

Trump pleaded not guilty to all 37 felony charges out of that probe. The charges include willful retention of national defense information, conspiracy to obstruct justice and false statements.

That trial is expected to begin in May 2024. 

In July, Trump was charged with an additional three counts as part of a superseding indictment out of Smith’s investigation — an additional count of willful retention of national defense information and two additional obstruction counts.

Smith was also investigating whether Trump was involved in the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021, and any alleged interference in the 2020 election result.

On Aug. 1, Trump was indicted on four federal charges out of Smith’s Jan. 6 probe.

Trump pleaded not guilty to all charges, which included conspiracy to defraud the United States; conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding; obstruction of and attempt to obstruct an official proceeding; and conspiracy against rights.

CLICK TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

That trial is expected to begin in March 2024 — the day before the Super Tuesday primary elections. 

Trump was also charged out of Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis’ investigation with one count of violation of the Georgia RICO Act, three counts of criminal solicitation, six counts of criminal conspiracy, one count of filing false documents and two counts of making false statements.

Trump has pleaded not guilty to all counts.

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on Thursday backtracked from Biden administration statements made this week that cited the need to waive dozens of federal laws to build a border wall in South Texas.

“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.”

BORDER WALL EMERGES AS FLASHPOINT BETWEEN GOP, BIDEN ADMIN AS MIGRANT NUMBERS RISE AGAIN

“That remains our position and our position has never wavered,” he added. “The language in the Federal Register notice is being taken out of context and it does not signify any change in policy whatsoever.”

The remarks by Mayorkas came a day after DHS posted an announcement in 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 more than 245,000 migrant encounters in the sector this fiscal year.

In the Federal Register announcement, 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.

“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.

Upon taking office, President Biden halted new border wall construction as part of a promise he made on the presidential campaign trail. 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.”

The Federal Register announcement comes as the Biden administration faces a fresh surge of illegal migration, resulting in record-high numbers of migrant encounters at the southern border. The influx has caused an intense political divide amid 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.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Republicans have blamed the surge on the rollback of Trump-era border policies and the halting of border wall construction. Biden has also been criticized for suing Texas over floating barriers on the Rio Grande.

“President Trump is always right,” the Trump campaign previously said in a statement to Fox News Digital. “That’s why he built close to 500 miles of powerful new wall on the border, and it would have been finished by now. Instead, Crooked Joe Biden turned our country into one giant sanctuary for dangerous criminal aliens.”

Fox News Digital’s Adam Shaw contributed to this report.

Rep. Jim Jordan is gaining broad support from top Republicans to serve as speaker of the House, with members telling Fox News Digital that he can “unite” moderates and conservatives across the GOP conference.

Jordan, R-Ohio, announced his bid for the speakership on Wednesday, after lawmakers voted to oust Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., from the post for the first time in the history of the House of Representatives.

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

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

Jordan, who serves as the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee and is co-leading the House impeachment inquiry against President Biden, has garnered 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.

House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Turner, R-Ohio, a moderate Republican, told Fox News Digital that he would proudly support Jordan for the role of House speaker.

“I am proud to support Jim Jordan as our next speaker of the House because of his leadership skills, professionalism, and the fact that he will be able to unite our conference,” Turner said.

House Homeland Security Chairman Mark Green, R-Tenn., also threw his support behind Jordan, along with other lawmakers including Reps. Thomas Massie, R-Ky.; Darrell Issa, R-Calif.; Mike Carey, R-Ohio; Mary Miller, R-Ill.; Warren Davidson, R-Ohio; Jeff Van Drew, R-N.J.; Ralph Norman, R-S.C.; Alex Mooney, R-W.Va.; Lauren Boebert, R-Colo.; Byron Donalds, R-Fla.; Scott Fitzgerald, R-Wis.; Troy Balderson, R-Ohio; Harriet Hagemen, R-Wyo.; and Max Miller, R-Ohio.

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

“We need a conservative fighter to stand up strong to the Biden White House and Democrats and I can’t think of anyone better than Jim Jordan,” Rep. Jim Banks, R-Ind., told Fox News Digital.

Rep. Jeff Duncan, R-S.C., also threw his support behind Jordan, calling him a “proven conservative fighter” who “can right the ship and return the House to a path toward conservative principles like promoting limited government, fighting reckless spending, and holding the Biden administration accountable.”

And on the other side of the aisle, even Rep. Ted Lieu, D-Calif., said that Democrats are “ready to work with any Republican speaker as long as they don’t break their word, that they want to help the American people,” and said that would include working with Jordan, if he was elected speaker of the House.

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

As for Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., he told Fox News Digital that both Jordan and Scalise “would represent a monumental step forward for the conference.” 

“I’d be honored to vote for either of these men on the floor,” Gaetz said. “In conference, I’ll make a decision based on spending and whether they are willing to liberate us on these continuing resolutions.” 

House Republicans are hosting a candidate forum on Tuesday, and former President Donald Trump has said he plans to attend. 

Trump, the current frontrunner of the 2024 Republican presidential primary, has not yet commented on who he would support for speaker. However, a source familiar told Fox News Digital that the former president 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. 

HOUSE VOTES TO REMOVE KEVIN MCCARTHY AS SPEAKER IN HISTORIC FIRST

In an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital on Thursday afternoon, Trump said that if Republicans cannot rally enough support for Jordan or Scalise, he would accept the speakership himself for a “short period.” 

“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.

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

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

“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 Donalds, who was floated as an option, and voted instead for Trump.

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

A former longtime aide to embattled Rep. George Santos, R-N.Y., pled guilty to a federal conspiracy charge Thursday and faces up to four years in prison for submitting false campaign finance reports.

While accepting the plea deal at a Long Island federal courthouse, Nancy Marks, who served as campaign treasurer for Santos’ congressional bids in 2020 and 2022, said she and Santos falsely reported that he had loaned his campaign $500,000, despite not having the money to do so, and that the fake loan was to give the impression his campaign was well-funded in order to attract more donors.

Marks also admitted to giving the Federal Elections Commission a list of fake donors who had not actually given to the campaign, doing so without their permission.

EMBATTLED GOP REP. GEORGE SANTOS, EX-CAMPAIGN AIDE SEEM TO BE DISCUSSING PLEA DEALS WITH FEDERAL PROSECUTORS

According to the Associated Press, the court’s discussion surrounding the plea agreement, which comes with a recommendation Marks serve between 3 1/2 years to 4 years in prison, did not include a requirement for her to cooperate in the case against Santos.

The congressman was indicted in May on federal charges that he embezzled money from his campaign, lied in financial disclosures submitted to Congress and received unemployment funds when he wasn’t eligible.

Following her acceptance of the plea deal, Marks’ attorney told reporters outside the courthouse that Santos “mentally seduced” her.

WATCH: TRUMP LAYS INTO ‘CORRUPT’ NEW YORK AG LETITIA JAMES FOR BEING ‘STUCK’ OFF CAMPAIGN TRAIL AT FRAUD TRIAL

“There’s a manipulation involved that had to do with her family and the death of her husband,” the attorney said. “There were lies told.” He later indicated Marks would be willing to testify against Santos if asked to do so.

Marks resigned from her position as Santos’ treasurer in January after revelations he had lied about his life story and experience. The congressman later became treasurer of his own campaign.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre clarified that President Biden does not actually want the border wall expedited by his administration.

Jean-Pierre, speaking to the press Thursday, said Biden is opposed to the border wall demanded by his Department of Homeland Security and immigration officials.

“This is a law that we are complying with. We have asked Congress multiple times to reappropriate [funding for the wall]. This is not the way that we believe is going to be effective here.

“We believe in modernizing the system, not actually building a wall. The president said himself he does not think this is effective.

BIDEN SAYS A WALL WON’T STEM TIDE OF MIGRANTS, BUT HIS ADMIN JUST ADMITTED THEY NEED ONE

“We think there are other ways to do that, whether it’s smarter, more effective border security measures — like border technology — we believe that works when you modernize that and also land ports of entry. We believe that’s what works to deal with border security.”

Through a series of conflicting internal statements, the Biden administration has been put in an awkward position of actively waiving federal laws to begin construction of barriers on the southern border at the same time its official stance is ostensibly opposed to the project on ethical grounds and questioning its effectiveness.

At the press conference Thursday, Jean-Pierre seemed to attribute the construction of the border wall to former President Donald Trump’s administration.

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

“[Biden] has been very clear about this. He doesn’t believe the border wall is effective. And that has not changed. That has not changed. We are complying by the law. DHS is complying by the law,” the press secretary said. “But that appropriation came from fiscal year 2019 under the last administration, Republican leadership. And that’s what you’re seeing now.”

Fox News Digital reported Wednesday 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, forcing Biden to characterize himself as effectively helpless in the face of his own administration and cabinet as they actively work against his stated values with his tacit permission.

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

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

“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.”

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP 

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.

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 (CBP) sources told Fox News last week there were more than 260,000 encounters in September, which would be the highest monthly total on record.

Fox News Digital’s Greg Normand and Adam Shaw contributed to this report.

Former President Trump is expected to come to Capitol Hill next week as the House of Representatives prepare to elect a new speaker, following the ouster of Rep. Kevin McCarthy, Fox News Digital has learned. 

Two sources familiar told Fox News Digital that the former president and 2024 GOP frontrunner is planning to come to speak with members of the House Republican conference next Tuesday as they consider who will become the next speaker of the House. Another source told Fox News Digital that the details are still being ironed out. 

Another source told Fox News Digital that the plans to travel to Washington D.C. on Tuesday will not impact the former president’s campaign stop in New Hampshire on Monday. That visit will be his first visit back to the lead-off presidential primary state in two months.

McCarthy, R-Calif., was removed as speaker of the House 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.

Lawmakers voted to oust McCarthy Tuesday from the speakership for the first time in the history of the House of Representatives.

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

It is unclear, at this point, who Trump would throw his support behind. 

“Both of these men would represent a monumental step forward for the Republican conference,” Gaetz told Fox News Digital during an interview Thursday. “I don’t believe there is a single conservative in the country who would not believe we are in a better position with either of them.”

Gaetz told Fox News Digital he would be “honored to vote for either of these men on the floor.”

“In conference, I’ll make a decision based on spending,” Gaetz said, referring to the House GOP conference meeting next week. “And whether they’re willing to liberate us on these continuing resolutions.”

Meanwhile, as Jordan gains support for speaker of the House within the GOP conference, questions are swirling on who could take his post as chairman of the House Judiciary Committee — which is jointly leading the impeachment inquiry against President Biden, alongside the House Oversight and Ways & Means Committees — if he is elected.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP 

Capitol Hill sources said Gaetz may have ambitions for the post himself, but when asked, the congressman offered his support to a colleague instead.

“The best person to take the Judiciary Committee if Jordan became speaker would be Mike Johnson,” Gaetz told Fox News Digital. “Because he’s a better lawyer than I am.”

Democrat West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin called for a state of emergency at the southern border after the Biden administration resumed construction on the border wall.

Manchin said a state of emergency is needed at the southern border on Thursday after President Biden’s Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced it would resume construction on the border wall started by former President Donald Trump.

DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas announced the move late Wednesday as the House’s speaker fight takes center stage in the media, saying there is an “acute and immediate need” for the wall.

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

“Far-left Democrats in Washington have to come to grips with the fact that we have to shut down the border,” Manchin told Fox News Digital. “Similar to President Trump, the Biden administration should call a national emergency on the border because this crisis is impacting every corner of our country.”

“We must work together to create an immigration policy that gives people the chance to come here legally as well as strengthens our border security with additional Border Patrol agents, new technology and a border wall,” Manchin continued.

In a Thursday “Morning Joe” interview, Manchin said there needs to be a wall along areas of the southern border that are being hit hard by the droves of illegal immigrants surging into America.

Noting that Mayorkas is “good people” who he works with, the West Virginia senator said the Biden administration needs to declare a state of emergency at the southern border “and shut it down tight.”

“The administration, the president has to say, ‘Enough is enough.’ And what Trump did, he basically declared a state of emergency,” Manchin said.

“You have to build the wall. There’s areas we need the wall, and there’s areas where we need technology,” the senator continued.

The wall’s construction is a broken promise for Biden, who railed against Trump’s signature issue during the 2020 campaign and halted construction after taking the presidency.

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. 

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 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.

“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.”

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

However, 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.

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) announced plans for up to 20 miles of wall in the RGV Sector in June. The administration previously made moves to close gaps and replace gates and says such projects prioritize the completion of activities and projects to address life, safety and operational risks – including the safety of individuals, Border Patrol agents and migrants.

Fox News Digital’s Adam Shaw contributed reporting.

A new survey shows that the presidential race between former President Trump and President Biden is thin, but Biden faces a deficit in terms of registered voters and the election will rest heavily on who mobilizes the most voters.

A new Marquette Law School national survey shows Trump with 51% of the vote compared to Biden at 48% among registered voters but reflects that Biden has a 51% to 49% advantage with people who are “likely” to vote. 

“The difference in advantage shows how the outcome of the election may be determined by the success of respective efforts to mobilize voters over the coming 13 months,” the survey states.

The poll, taken between September 18 and 25, 2023, shows that registered voters who are “very” or “somewhat” enthusiastic about the 2024 election favor Trump by a margin of 54% to 46%.

TRUMP RUNS AWAY WITH DOUBLE-DIGIT LEAD OVER BIDEN, NEW GENERAL ELECTION POLL FINDS

The survey also polled voters on a matchup between Biden and Florida’s Governor Ron DeSantis, and the latter topped the president 51% to 48% among registered voters.

With likely voters, Biden leads 51% to 48%.

NO LONGER ‘ANY DISPUTE’ BIDEN ‘LIED’ ABOUT NEVER TALKING BUSINESS WITH HUNTER: GOP LAWMAKER

In terms of “reluctant” voters, Biden holds a lead of 51% to 47%.

The poll shows that 12% of voters will choose someone else besides Biden or Trump and 4% won’t vote.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

“Registered voters view Trump as better able to handle the economy, immigration, inflation, creating jobs, and foreign relations, while Biden is seen as better at handling Medicare and Social Security, abortion policy, and climate change,” the survey says.

“A significant share say there is no difference or that neither candidate would be good on each issue.”

The survey was conducted among 1,007 adults nationwide, with a margin of error of plus or minus 4.1 percentage points.

Cornell West is no longer running for the White House as a Green Party presidential candidate.

The outspoken progressive university scholar announced on Friday that he’s now seeking the presidency as an independent candidate.

“People are hungry for change. They want good policies over partisan politics. We need to break the grip of the duopoly and give power to the people. I’m running as an Independent candidate for President of the United States to end the iron grip of the ruling class and ensure true democracy!” West said Friday in a social media posting.

And the West campaign, in a statement, said that “as Dr. West’s campaign for president grows, he believes the best way to challenge the entrenched system is by focusing 100% on the people, not on the intricacies of internal party dynamics.”

CORNELL WEST SAYS DEMOCRATIC PARTY ‘BEYOND REDEMPTION’

West, who was a surrogate for progressive firebrand Sen. Bernie Sanders’ 2016 and 2020 Democratic presidential campaigns, started his 2024 bid for the presidency on the People’s Party ticket. 

But concerns of the People’s Party ballot access led to West switching to the Green Party, which is already on the ballot in nearly 20 states across the country.

SPECULATION OF A NO LABELS INDEPENDENT PRESIDENTIAL TICKET SOARS

West’s decision to now run as an independent complicates his ability to get on the ballot, as his team will have to gather a long list of signatures in each of the 50 states.

Democrats have deep concerns over West’s White House bid, even though his fundraising has been paltry.

Their concerns center on West’s ability to appeal to certain elements of the Democratic base that are crucial to President Biden’s 2024 re-election. And in an election that will likely once again be extremely competitive in key states across the country, Democrats worry a vote for West could boost former President Donald Trump, the commanding frontrunner for the Republican nomination.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

The 70-year-old West, who’s authored 20 books, has repeatedly dismissed talk that he could be a spoiler by helping Trump regain the presidency.

In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, West called warnings that he could play a role in re-electing Trump “a plausible argument.” But he added that “it’s not a persuasive one for me.”

West may soon have company running as an independent. Environmental lawyer and high-profile vaccine skeptic Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., a scion of the famous Kennedy political dynasty, is expected to drop his long-shot bid for the 2024 Democratic presidential nomination and run as an independent candidate.

And the centrist group No Labels is also seriously mulling fielding a 2024 independent “unity” ticket in the presidential race.

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

• On Wednesday, Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed more than a dozen bills into law.
• One law, which will take effect in January, will raise the state’s minimum sick days from three to five as some workers can’t afford to skip a day’s pay. 
• While supporters say the new sick day legislation can help curb the spread of illnesses and boost productivity, critics argue that small businesses cannot absorb the costs that come with raising sick days. 

Workers in California will soon receive a minimum of five days of paid sick leave annually, instead of three, under a new law Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Wednesday.

The law, which takes effect in January, also increases the amount of sick leave workers can carry over into the following year. Newsom said it demonstrates that prioritizing the health and well-being of workers “is of the utmost importance for California’s future.”

“Too many folks are still having to choose between skipping a day’s pay and taking care of themselves or their family members when they get sick,” Newsom said in a statement announcing his action.

It was one of more than a dozen bills the Democratic governor signed Wednesday. He has until mid-October to act on all the legislation sent to him this year. He can sign, veto or let bills become law without his signature.

THIS MAJOR US CITY RETHINKS ITS LIBERAL HOMELESS POLICY

Beyond preventing workers from choosing between taking a day off or getting paid, proponents of the sick day legislation argue it will help curb the spread of diseases and make sure employees can be productive at work. But the California Chamber of Commerce, which represents businesses across the state, said it will be burdensome for small businesses.

“Far too many small employers simply cannot absorb this new cost, especially when viewed in context of all of California’s other leaves and paid benefits, and they will have to reduce jobs, cut wages, or raise consumer prices to deal with this mandate,” Jennifer Barrera, the group’s president, said in a statement.

The law was among several major labor initiatives in the Legislature this year, including proposals to raise the wages of health care workers and allow legislative staffers to unionize. Newsom already signed a law to raise the minimum wage for fast food workers to $20 an hour. But he vetoed a bill Saturday that would have given unemployment benefits to striking workers, saying the fund the state would use is approaching nearly $20 billion in debt.

The United Food and Commercial Workers Western States Council, which supported the sick day legislation, said the law will help prevent the spread of deadly diseases.

“Five paid sick days is a step in the right direction and workers will be less likely forced to risk their livelihoods to do the right thing and stay home when they’re sick because of this bill,” Andrea Zinder, president of the group’s Local 324 chapter, said in a statement.

Newsom also signed a law Wednesday to ban local government from manually counting ballots in most cases, a direct response to a rural Northern California county’s plan to stop using machines to count votes.

Shasta County’s board of supervisors, controlled by a conservative majority, voted earlier this year to end its contract with Dominion Voting Systems, a company that has been subject to unfounded allegations of fraud pushed by former Republican President Donald Trump and his allies. County leaders said there was a loss of public confidence in the company’s machines.

CALIFORNIA GOV. NEWSOM VETOES BILL TO EXTEND UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS TO STRIKING WORKERS

At the time, local leaders did not have a plan for how the county would conduct future elections for its 111,000 registered voters. The county had been preparing to count ballots by hand for its next election on Nov. 7, 2023, to fill seats on the school board and fire district board and decide the fate of two ballot measures.

The new law, which takes effect immediately, halts Shasta County officials’ plans. The only exceptions under the law are for regularly scheduled elections with fewer than 1,000 eligible registered voters and special elections where there are fewer than 5,000 eligible voters.

Assemblymember Gail Pellerin, a Democrat from Santa Cruz who authored the law and is a former local elections official, said the law creates necessary guardrails around elections. The law also requires local government use state-certified voting machines.

The legislation “ensures that no California voter will be disenfranchised by the actions and decisions of ill-informed political actors,” she said in a statement.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP 

The legislation has divided the rural county. Shasta County Clerk Cathy Darling Allen, a Democrat, called the law a “commonsense protection for all California voters.”

Despite the county getting rid of its Dominion voting machines, local leaders gave her permission to purchase equipment needed to comply with federal laws for voters with disabilities. The system that was purchased, made by Hart InterCivic, includes scanners capable of tabulating votes electronically. The equipment will be used to tabulate votes in upcoming elections, Darling Allen said.

Shasta County Board of Supervisors chair Patrick Henry Jones told The Associated Press in September the county would sue to block the law, adding that state officials “cannot guarantee that these machines haven’t been manipulated.” Jones didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on Newsom signing the bill into law.

While hand counts of ballots occur in parts of the United States, this typically happens in small jurisdictions with small numbers of registered voters. Hand counts, however, are commonly used as part of post-election tests to check that machines are counting ballots correctly, but only a small portion of the ballots are counted manually.

FIRST ON FOX: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is being endorsed by 60 Florida bipartisan law enforcement officers on Thursday, a larger number than he received during his 2022 gubernatorial race. 

At an event in Tampa, Florida on Thursday afternoon, the campaign is set to announce that 60 law enforcement officers in Florida, both Republican and Democrat, are backing DeSantis in his 2024 presidential race. 

“The endorsements come as DeSantis has been recognized in early nominating states for his actions as governor to back the blue and sign strong anti-crime laws, resulting in a 50-year low crime rate in Florida,” the campaign said in a press release.

In the press release, the campaign touts DeSantis’s record as governor supporting law enforcement including enacting “numerous laws” backing the police and a signing bonus of up to $5,000 for new officers that the campaign says has brought officers from across the country to the Sunshine State. 

RON DESANTIS HAULS IN $15 MILLION IN PAST THREE MONTHS, MOVES PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN STAFF TO IOWA

“Ron DeSantis has been unwavering in his support for law enforcement, which is why I am proud to endorse him today to be the next president of the United States,” Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd, one of the officers to endorse DeSantis, said in the press release. 

“Our nation needs a leader who will bring back law and order to our communities. The people in the major metropolitan areas deserve to be safe, too. As President of the United States, he will fight to curtail runaway violent crime.”

DESANTIS CAMPAIGN BLASTS BIDEN OVER REPORT CHILD WAS RAPED IN HOME HOUSING 11 ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS: ‘NO EXCUSES’

DeSantis was endorsed by 59 sheriffs during his 2022 gubernatorial campaign after they dubbed him the “Law and Order” governor, the campaign said.

“Ron DeSantis doesn’t just talk about backing the blue, he has delivered results for law enforcement officers and their families, from pay raises and bonuses to ensuring they have what they need to do their job and being very clear that he is on the side of law and order,” Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey said in the press release. 

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP 

“Crime has gotten out of control in this country, but not in Florida,” the release continued. “America desperately needs Ron DeSantis to go into the White House on Day One and replace Joe Biden’s soft-on-crime policies with his agenda to back the blue and protect our communities.”

In June, DeSantis earned the endorsement of the Florida Police Benevolent Association President, the largest police union in the state. 

“For the over 30,000 men and women in the Florida Police Benevolent Association, the choice for us could not be clearer,” the association’s president, John Kazanjian, said in a statement. 

“Governor Ron DeSantis and his administration have made Florida a law-and-order state, by investing in and supporting the thousands of law enforcement officers, who serve on the front lines in keeping our communities safe and secure.”

The head of the House Homeland Security Committee says Republican efforts to secure the southern border are “certainly not going to stop now” despite the ongoing chaos in the GOP caucus over the removal of Kevin McCarthy as speaker.

Chairman Mark Green, R-Tenn., in a statement to Fox News Digital, noted the passage of the Secure the Border Act – known as H.R. 2 – earlier this year as well as the escalating crisis at the border.

“The fight to secure our border didn’t stop when the House passed H.R. 2, and it’s certainly not going to stop now,” Green wrote. “Things have only gotten worse at the Southwest border, as monthly encounters have continued to rise since June – and they’re only going to continue to spiral, given the host of mass-parole and other catch-and-release programs Secretary [Alejandro] Mayorkas has put in place.”

HOUSE HOMELAND SECURITY GOP REPORT ACCUSES MAYORKAS OF CEDING BORDER CONTROL TO CARTELS

McCarthy was removed from his speakership by a narrow vote on Tuesday, with eight Republicans joining all Democrats in voting in favor of the motion to vacate that was introduced late Monday by Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla.

MIGRANT NUMBERS HIT HIGHEST EVER RECORDED IN 1 MONTH: SOURCES

The ouster of McCarthy has led to speculation that the chaos could hurt the Republican agenda in the chamber as lawmakers prepare to elect a new speaker. In the Senate, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., warned that the chaos makes it “harder to talk about the failed Biden presidency and address our broken southern border.” Rep. Carlos Gimenez, R-Fla., accused the Republicans who voted to remove McCarthy of hurting efforts to secure the southern border.

Green, however, noted the DHS appropriations bill that was passed last week, which he said “injects accountability into DHS, and rejects Secretary Mayorkas’ request for funding that would actually make the crisis worse by further funding CBP’s mass process-and-release operation.”

He also reaffirmed the committee’s commitment to investigating Mayorkas for what it has called a “dereliction of duty.” The committee launched an investigation into Mayorkas’ handling of the crisis and recently released a report that accused him of having ceded control of the border to Mexican cartels.

NEW YORK GOV HOCHUL WANTS TO ‘LIMIT’ WHO CROSSES BORDER, SAYS IT’S ‘TOO OPEN RIGHT NOW’ 

“The House Committee on Homeland Security will continue to expose Secretary Mayorkas’ dereliction of duty, and work to hold him accountable for his failed policies and misrepresentations to Congress,” Green said. “House Republicans have the right solutions on border security, and we’re going to see them through.”

Republicans have hammered the administration on the ongoing crisis at the southern border, blaming the historic numbers on the Biden administration’s policies – including its rolling back of Trump-era policies.

The administration has said that Congress needs to provide more funding and pass legislation to fix the “broken” system within which it says it is working. It has also said that the situation has been improved by its policies to expand lawful migration pathways while implementing “consequences” for illegal entry since the ending of the Title 42 public health order in May.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP 

But the crisis only appears to be escalating in recent months. Customs and Border Protection sources told Fox News last week that there were more than 260,000 encounters in September, which would be the highest monthly total on record.

The carjacking of Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Texas, was just the latest act of violence committed against those who work on Capitol Hill, joining a string of incidents involving other lawmakers and staff members in recent years.

Cuellar, a moderate Democrat in the House who was carjacked by three armed attackers while parking his car Monday night, told reporters Tuesday the robbery happened in Washington’s Navy Yard neighborhood, an area where other lawmakers live, less than two miles south of the Capitol building.

“Three guys came out of nowhere, and they pointed guns at me,” Cuellar said, explaining they did not harm him and were only after his car. “I looked at one with a gun and another with a gun out the one behind me. So, they said they wanted my car, and I said, ‘Sure.’”

The incident involving Cuellar is part of an increasingly concerning string of violence that’s not only committed against residents of D.C. but Capitol Hill employees and other members of Congress.

REP. HENRY CUELLER SHARES FIRST PUBLIC COMMENTS SINCE ARMED DC CARJACKING: ‘SUPPORT LAW ENFORCEMENT’

In June, an unidentified congressional staffer for Minnesota GOP Rep. Brad Finstad was attacked at gunpoint near his home in D.C. after returning from the Congressional Baseball Game.

Finstad detailed the assault by the armed gunman in a statement following the attack and noted the staffer would be “able to make a full recovery” and that the “extent of his physical injuries was minor.”

“In Washington, D.C. and cities across the country, anti-police, soft-on-crime policies have created lawless societies that endanger the public and empower criminal behavior,” Finstad wrote at the time.

Similarly, Kentucky GOP Sen. Rand Paul announced in March a member of his staff was “brutally attacked” by a perpetrator with a knife on the streets of Washington, D.C.

“This past weekend a member of my staff was brutally attacked in broad daylight in Washington, D.C.,” Paul said in a statement at the time. “I ask you to join Kelley and me in praying for a speedy and complete recovery and thanking the first responders, hospital staff and police for their diligent actions.

“We are relieved to hear the suspect has been arrested. At this time, we would ask for privacy, so everyone can focus on healing and recovery.”

REPUBLICAN CONGRESSIONAL STAFFER ATTACKED AT GUNPOINT, LAWMAKER SAYS

Paul’s office did not confirm the identity of the staff member who was attacked. However, a press release issued by the Metropolitan Police Department after the attack noted the victim was an adult male who had “life-threatening injuries.”

The statement also announced the arrest of a suspect, 42-year-old Glynn Neal, “in reference to an Assault with Intent to Kill (Knife) offense,” and that the incident occurred on the 1300 block of H Street, NE, less than 1½ miles from the Capitol.

Paul was attacked by a neighbor and sustained serious injuries in 2017. He broke six ribs, including three displaced fractures, and his recovery was complicated by fluid and blood around the lungs and recurrent pneumonia.

Paul and his wife were also previously attacked by a mob as the pair made their way to a hotel after Donald Trump’s 2020 Republican National Convention acceptance speech at the White House. One man was charged with assaulting a police officer near Paul at the time, but the charge was later dropped.

Rep. Angie Craig, D-Minn., also became the victim of a crime in February when she was assaulted in the elevator at her Washington, D.C., apartment building.

Kendrid Khalil Hamlin pleaded guilty in June to charges of assaulting a member of Congress and assaulting law enforcement officers. He was accused of assaulting two police officers as they were trying to arrest him for the attack.

Craig was getting coffee in the apartment’s lobby when she noticed a man pacing. He got into the elevator with her and said he needed to use the bathroom and that he was going to enter her apartment, a U.S. Capitol Police special agent wrote in court papers.

BLUE CITY’S RAMPANT VIOLENCE LED THIS FORMER DC RESIDENT TO FLEE THE CRIME-RIDDEN CAPITAL

When she said he couldn’t go into her apartment, he punched her in the face and grabbed her neck before she threw a hot cup of coffee at him, prosecutors said. 

Nick Coe, Craig’s chief of staff, said the lawmaker called 911 after the incident as the attacker fled and that there was no evidence the attack was politically motivated.

A number of other serious crimes committed against lawmakers have taken place in recent years.

James T. Hodgkinson, a far-left former volunteer on Sen. Bernie Sanders’, I-Vt., presidential campaign, opened fire on a group of Republican lawmakers in June 2017 as they practiced for the annual Congressional Baseball Game. Rep. Steve Scalise, R-La., was shot and critically injured during the attack, requiring surgeries to save his life. 

SEN. RAND PAUL AWARDED OVER $580G AFTER HE WAS ATTACKED BY NEIGHBOR

The nation’s capital has grappled with a crime surge in recent years, hitting nearly a two-decade high of 226 homicides in 2021, according to Metropolitan Police Department data. Homicides dropped in 2022 but still surpassed 200, and acting D.C. Police Chief Pamela Smith announced the city had reached its 200th murder this year after a teenager was shot and killed Tuesday, putting the city on pace to have among the worst annual body counts since the 1990s.

Overall D.C. crime decreased between 2021 and 2022, but certain offenses remained higher than pre-pandemic levels. In 2023, total violent crime is on the rise again, up nearly 40% from last year, according to police data. Property crime is also surging, with motor vehicle thefts increasing 106% and robberies up 65%.

Amid the crime surge, federal prosecutors in the nation’s capital declined to prosecute 67% of people arrested last fiscal year in cases that typically would have been tried in D.C. Superior Court, The Washington Post reported in March. That number nearly doubled since 2015, but new data is expected soon as fiscal year 2023 comes to a close.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

In March, Congress stepped in for the first time in nearly three decades to overturn a D.C. criminal code that was criticized for being soft on crime and aimed to reduce penalties for crimes like carjackings and burglaries. 

The city council later passed an emergency public safety bill in July, which increased penalties for certain offenses, including firing guns in public and carjackings, in response to the surging violence. The bill also helps judges to keep violent crime suspects in custody while awaiting trial.

Fox News’ Megan Myers, Louis Casiano, Brandon Gillespie and Lawrence Richard contributed to this report.

As eight Republican rebels voted alongside House Democrats to oust Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., from his post as speaker Tuesday afternoon, a majority of the House’s most conservative members in the House Freedom Caucus voted to keep him. 

While several members in the House Freedom Caucus voted to oust McCarthy, including Bob Good, R-Va.; Ken Buck, R-Colo.; Matt Rosendale, R-Mont.; and Rep. Eli Craine, R-Ariz., a majority of its members voted in favor of keeping McCarthy at the helm of the House GOP. 

Caucus members Lauren Boebert, R-Colo.; Chip Roy, R-Texas; Jim Jordan, R-Ohio; Ben Cline, R-Va.; Paul Gosar, R-Ariz.; and Andrew Clyde, R-Ga., among others, voted in favor of keeping McCarthy — despite several members feuding with him over government spending last week.

In a statement to Fox News Digital, Boebert said her vote against the motion to vacate wasn’t in support of the speaker but “rather the timing of this measure.”

MATT GAETZ INTRODUCES MOTION TO VACATE AGAINST HOUSE SPEAKER KEVIN MCCARTHY

“Hence, ‘no for now,’” she said. “Seeing as legislative days were added to pass the remaining eight appropriations bills to properly fund the federal government, I didn’t want to spend valuable time on a long, protracted speaker fight where most expected Kevin McCarthy to go round after round as he did in January.

“Now that Rep. McCarthy has been vacated and will not run for speaker again, we finally have a chance to elect a trustworthy speaker who can unify this conference, uphold the agreement [and] rules package that I helped to negotiate in January and pave the way for twelve appropriations bills that will significantly slash government spending.”

While Jordan also voted against the motion to vacate, he announced his bid for speakership Wednesday, making him the first GOP lawmaker to throw his hat in. 

GAETZ TAKES VICTORY LAP AFTER HISTORIC VOTE TO BOOT MCCARTHY FROM HOUSE SPEAKERSHIP

“Secure the border. Get spending under control. Fix the institution. Unify the party,” Jordan posted on X, formerly Twitter, Wednesday. 

Roy, who also voted to keep McCarthy, said on X Tuesday his “position has been and remains that the status quo of massive spending, open borders, funding proxy wars, and weaponized government is unacceptable.

“That said, I am voting against this motion because I disagree with the tactical play call. I do not believe that you pull the coach at the beginning of the fourth quarter, which is where we currently stand. I remain focused on laying out the possible paths to secure wins “

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

Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., introduced a measure against McCarthy known as a motion to vacate Monday night, accusing him of breaking promises he made to win the speaker’s gavel in January.

“We’re concerned about the future of the conservative agenda in the house; I would say that the conservative agenda was being paralyzed by Speaker McCarthy,” Gaetz told reporters after Tuesday’s historic vote to oust McCarthy.

“We didn’t even send in a subpoena to Hunter Biden, our oversight was lackluster, our spending priorities were misaligned,” he added. “The top line budget was going to lead to more inflation, more debt, more challenges — so the best way to advance the conservative agenda is to move forward with a new speaker.”

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Democrats signaled early on Tuesday they would not be inclined to help McCarthy. 

“Democrats are ready to find bipartisan common ground,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., said before the vote. “Our extreme colleagues have shown no willingness to do the same. They must find a way to end the House Republican civil war.”

In January, it took 15 rounds of voting until McCarthy was elected.

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.

Fox News’ Liz Elkind contributed to this report. 

• Millions of dollars continue to flow into a hotly-contested race for an open seat on the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.
• Democrat Dan McCaffery and Republican Carolyn Carluccio are sharpening their attacks on abortion rights and ethics questions in their bids to replace the late Chief Justice Max Baer.
• Total spending in the race has surpassed $4.5 million, with much more likely to follow.

Spending in the campaign for an open Pennsylvania state Supreme Court seat is picking up, with millions of dollars flowing into the race as the sides sharpen their attacks over questions about ethics and abortion rights.

The race between Democrat Dan McCaffery and Republican Carolyn Carluccio won’t change the partisan balance on the seven-seat high court, but it could narrow the Democratic majority to a one-vote margin, 4-3, should Carluccio win.

Total reported spending has passed $4.5 million, with millions more likely before the Nov. 7 election. Much of the campaign cash is from trial lawyers, labor unions and a billionaire who is considered one of the GOP’s top national donors.

MCCORMICK LANDS MAJOR ENDORSEMENT THAT COULD PREVENT ANOTHER CHAOTIC SENATE PRIMARY IN PENNSYLVANIA

That money is underwriting attack ads.

In one flier, a pro-Carluccio group tried to tie McCaffery to a nearly decade-old email scandal that resulted in McCaffery’s brother, a one-time state Supreme Court justice, stepping down from the court.

“Can we really trust Dan McCaffery on our court?” the flier said. It’s sponsored by the Commonwealth Leaders Fund, a group that is a conduit for campaign donations from Jeffrey Yass, a securities trading billionaire who spends millions to support school choice, anti-tax and anti-regulation groups.

The Philadelphia Inquirer reported at the time that then-Justice Seamus McCaffery had sent two lewd emails in early 2014 to Dan McCaffery, who was then a Philadelphia judge.

Dan McCaffery responded to ask Seamus to send such messages to his personal email account, the Inquirer reported.

Carluccio, in turn, is the target of TV ads by Planned Parenthood’s national political arm and a pro-McCaffery group called Pennsylvanians for Judicial Fairness that say she is a threat to abortion rights in Pennsylvania.

Carluccio, a Montgomery County judge, is endorsed by a pair of anti-abortion groups, the Pennsylvania Pro-Life Federation and Pro-Life Coalition of Pennsylvania. One has said it did so after she represented herself as “pro-life.”

Publicly, she has avoided the topic.

“It has fascinated me that my opponents have made this entire race about abortion and the reality is, it has nothing to do with this race,” Carluccio told a conservative radio host last week. “The law is very set in Pennsylvania.”

The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision last year to overturn Roe v. Wade and end nearly a half-century of federal abortion protections left the question to states. In Pennsylvania, the law allows an abortion up to the Roe v. Wade standard of 24 weeks, with exceptions for rape, incest and to protect the life of the mother.

McCaffery, who sits on the statewide appellate Superior Court, has been blunt about his positions and warned that electing Carluccio and other Republican judges will undo the gains that Democrats have fought for, including voting, labor and abortion rights.

“We cannot allow those gains to be stripped away,” McCaffery told an online gathering of the Democratic Committee of Lower Merion and Narberth last week. Those are rights that “we Democrats have fought for the last 60 years. I’m unapologetic about it. We elect judges in Pennsylvania, the voters have a right to know what we are and what we stand for.”

In recent years, Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court has been pivotal in major voting rights and election-related cases, including rejecting GOP-drawn congressional districts as unconstitutionally gerrymandered and rejecting a Republican effort to overturn the 2020 presidential election won by Democrat Joe Biden in a bid to keep then-President Donald Trump in power.

Carluccio has reported spending more than $2.8 million, including contributions of good and services, with $600,000 still in the bank through Sept. 18.

Of that spending, more than $2.1 million was spent on fliers and TV ads by Commonwealth Leaders Fund.

PENNSYLVANIA GOV. SHAPIRO NONCOMMITTAL ON FUTURE OF CARBON PRICING PLAN

McCaffery has reported spending about $900,000 including contributions of good and services, with $1.2 million in the bank.

Labor unions have given more than $630,000 to McCaffery’s campaign, while trial lawyers’ groups have given more than $1 million.

On top of that, Planned Parenthood and Pennsylvanians for Judicial Fairness have spent hundreds of thousands more, with more spending coming.

The ACLU said it will spend more than $1 million in the race, and the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee said it will spend hundreds of thousands of dollars.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Democrats hold a 4-2 majority on the court, which has an open seat following the death last fall of Chief Justice Max Baer, a Democrat.

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

Subscribe now to get Fox News Politics newsletter in your inbox.

What’s happening… 

– Trump attends third day of his civil fraud trial in Manhattan…

– One of interim House Speaker Patrick McHenry’s first acts was to evict Rep. Nancy Pelosi from her private Capitol office…

– The House is in recess for the rest of the week, but despite the lack of House speaker, committees can continue their work, experts tell Fox News Digital…

– When asked if he had any advice for the next House speaker, President Biden said: “That’s above my pay grade.”

SPEAKERLESS HOUSE

WHAT HATH GAETZ WROUGHT? Given numerous challenges, Rep. Matt Gaetz defended his decision to begin removing McCarthy becuase “the best way to advance the conservative agenda is to move forward with a new speaker” …Read more

But McCarthy angrily went after Rep. Matt Gaetz and the seven others who voted to oust him, saying they were not acting like conservatives …Read more

Meanwhile, a majority of the ultra-conservative House Freedom Caucus members voted to keep McCarthy …Read more

Following House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s historic ouster and shocking announcement that he won’t seek that gavel again, several names have been floated as potential replacements. 

Two Republicans have announced they’re interested in the speakership: Rep. Steve Scalise and Rep. Jim Jordan. Scalise has the support of Rep. Tom Emmer, McCarthy’s longtime number 2 in the GOP leadership. Jordan has been leading the House’s investigation into Hunter Biden’s business dealings and has support from many conservative-minded Republicans.

Both Jordan and Emmer could get support from conservative hardliners like Gaetz, who introduced the motion to vacate McCarthy on Monday. But they’re not the only people who could have a shot at the speakership …Read more

‘SOLE FOCUS’: Trump finally responds to calls for him to replace McCarthy as speaker …Read more

White House Watch

UNTENABLE: Liberal governor blasts Biden’s border policies …Read more

TIME TO GO: A DNC member says Biden’s agenda would be better served without Biden …Read more

BLAMING BIDEN: Critics are blasting the administration after an 11-year-old girl was reportedly tied up and assaulted in a home housing migrant men …Read more

Campaign trail

CRUCIAL STATE Haley jumps to second place behind commanding front-runner Trump in NH poll …Read more

WHO’S NEXT? Campaign deadline could force multiple presidential candidates to quit …Read more

RULED: The judge in Trump’s business fraud trial donates exclusively to Dems …Read more

EXCLUSIVE: Former President Trump said the Biden administration is only citing the “immediate need” to build a border wall because President Biden is watching the United States be “invaded” by illegal migrants, warning that “terrorists” are “already” inside the country.

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on Wednesday said there was an “acute and immediate need” to waive dozens of federal laws in order to build a border wall in south Texas where illegal migration has surged. DHS justified the move due to “high illegal entry” — more than 245,000 migrant encounters have been recorded in the Rio Grande Valley Sector this year.

In an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital shortly after the DHS announcement, the former president — who leads the 2024 Republican primary field by a massive margin — blamed Biden for halting construction of the border wall and causing the crisis at the southern border.

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

“Biden sees our country is being invaded,” Trump said. “What is he going to do about the 15 million people from prisons, from mental institutions, insane asylums, and terrorists that have already come into our country?”

The number of people arrested in FY 2023 between ports of entry by Border Patrol at the southern border who are on the FBI’s terror watchlist hit a new record this year, with 151 arrests in FY 23, compared to 98 in FY 2022 and 15 in FY 21. At the ports of entry at the northern and southern border, there have been 505 people encountered by Customs and Border Protection’s Office of Field Operations. 

The watch list, officially called the Terrorist Screening Dataset (TSDS) is the government’s database that “contains sensitive information on terrorist identities.” The watch list originated to house information on known or suspected terrorists, but “has evolved over the last decade to include additional individuals who represent a potential threat to the United States, including known affiliates of watchlisted individuals,” CBP says.

TEXAS AUTHORITIES NAB PREVIOUSLY DEPORTED MS-13 GANG MEMBER ON INTERNATIONAL WATCHLIST 

While the number is relatively small, compared to the millions of migrants encountered at the borders in recent years, Republicans and former border officials have raised concern about the numbers of those on the terror watch list who are getting past Border Patrol agents. There were at least 599,000 illegal immigrants who escaped Border Patrol custody in FY 2022, after more than 390,000 in FY 2021.

“What has happened to our country?” Trump said, adding that the Biden administration needs to “go back to Trump policies.”

“He has to reinstate Remain in Mexico and Title 42,” Trump said. “He has to do all of the other things that we were doing.”

A Trump campaign spokesperson told Fox News Digital Wednesday night that “President Trump is always right.” 

“That’s why he built close to 500 miles of powerful new wall on the border and it would have been finished by now,” the spokesperson said. “Instead, Crooked Joe Biden turned our country into one giant sanctuary for dangerous criminal aliens.”

FBI TERROR WATCHLIST ARRESTS, ENCOUNTERS AT SOUTHERN BORDER FOR FY 23 HITS ALL-TIME RECORD

The comments come after Department of Homeland Security posted an announcement Wednesday night on the U.S. Federal Register which outlines construction in Starr County in the Rio Grande Valley Sector. 

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.

“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.

A Customs and Border Protection spokesperson told Fox News Digital Wednesday that the project is “consistent with DHS’s plan to fulfill the requirements of President Biden’s Proclamation, which ended the diversion of funds for border wall from military projects or other sources while calling for the expenditure of any funds Congress appropriated for barrier construction consistent with their appropriated purpose.” 

TRUMP SAYS HE WILL CARRY OUT THE ‘LARGEST DOMESTIC DEPORTATION OPERATION IN AMERICAN HISTORY’ IF ELECTED

The construction is funded by the FY 2019 DHS appropriations bill, which specifically funded wall projects in the RGV Sector and which DHS is required to use for its appropriated purpose. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) announced plans for up to 20 miles of wall in the RGV Sector in June. The administration previously made moves to close gaps and replace gates, and says that such projects prioritize the completion of activities and projects to address life, safety and operational risks — including the safety of individuals, Border Patrol agents and migrants.

A CBP spokesperson confirmed to Fox News Digital that the waiver is for barrier projects announced in June, and that it will cover approximately 17 miles in Starr County. The spokesperson said that the project is consistent with DHS’ plan to fulfill President Biden’s Jan 20, 2021 proclamation which “ended the diversion of funds for border wall from military projects or other sources while calling for the expenditure of any funds Congress appropriated for barrier construction consistent with their appropriated purpose.”

“CBP remains committed to protecting the nation’s cultural and natural resources and will implement sound environmental practices as part of the project covered by this waiver,” the spokesperson said.

The administration had put a halt to new border wall construction in early 2021, after then-candidate Biden had promised there would “not be another foot of wall constructed on my administration.” The administration said that 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.”

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP 

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 (CBP) sources told Fox News last week that there were more than 260,000 encounters in September — which would be the highest monthly total on record.

Meanwhile, Trump last month vowed, if re-elected, to carry out “the largest domestic deportation operation in American history,” and promised to begin a second term by “immediately” terminating “every Open Borders policy of the Biden Administration.”

Former President Donald Trump appears to be further cementing his commanding front-runner status in the race for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination, thanks to another large quarterly fundraising haul.

Trump’s presidential campaign announced on Wednesday evening that it raked in a whopping $45.5 million during the July-September third quarter of 2023 fundraising.

The former president’s political team also reported over $37.5 million in their campaign coffers as of the end of last month.

Trump’s fundraising the past three months is up from the roughly $35 million he brought in during the April-June second quarter of fundraising, which nearly doubled his haul from the first quarter of the year.

THIS IS WHAT RON DESANTIS RAISED THE PAST THREE MONTHS FOR HIS PREISDENTIAL CAMPAIGN

“The Q3 numbers are even more impressive considering the Summer months are usually when most campaigns experience lagging fundraising support. President Trump and his campaign have completely shattered that notion,” the campaign touted in an email release.

With three and a half months to go until the Iowa caucuses kick off the 2024 GOP presidential nominating calendar, Trump is leagues ahead of his large field of challengers in the latest national polling and crucial early state surveys.

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

Trump’s lead expanded over the spring and summer as he made history as the first former or current president in American history to be indicted for a crime. Trump’s four indictments — including in federal court in Washington D.C. and in Fulton County court in Georgia on charges he tried to overturn his 2020 presidential election loss — have only fueled his support among Republican voters in both polling and fundraising.

Earlier on Wednesday, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ campaign reported a $15 million fundraising haul the past three months. But DeSantis figures were down from the $20 million he brought in during the second quarter of fundraising.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Trump’s campaign, in their release, took aim at DeSantis for what they described as an “exponential drop” in the governor’s fundraising. 

Fundraising, along with polling, is a key metric in determining a candidate’s strength and grassroots appeal. Fundraising dollars can be used to build up candidate’s campaign structure, grassroots outreach, and get out the vote efforts, and to pay for travel and ads.

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

EXCLUSIVE: Former President Donald Trump’s campaign took aim at President Biden late Wednesday after his administration admitted there was an “immediate need” for a wall at the U.S. border with Mexico.

“President Trump is always right. That’s why he built close to 500 miles of powerful new wall on the border, and it would have been finished by now. Instead, Crooked Joe Biden turned our country into one giant sanctuary for dangerous criminal aliens,” a Trump campaign spokesperson told Fox News Digital.

DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas cited an “acute and immediate need” to waive dozens of federal laws in order to build a border wall in south Texas where illegal migration has surged, a sharp contrast from the dismissals of the use of such barriers in the early days of the administration.

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

The agency posted an announcement on the U.S. Federal Registry which 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 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.

Trump first promised in June 2015 that he would build a wall at the U.S. southern border, and attempted to do so throughout his presidency despite frequent roadblocks from Democrats in Congress. 

WATCH: TRUMP LAYS INTO ‘CORRUPT’ NEW YORK AG LETITIA JAMES FOR BEING ‘STUCK’ OFF CAMPAIGN TRAIL AT FRAUD TRIAL

Upon taking office in Jan. 2021, Biden signed an executive order that directed a pause in border wall construction. He had promised during his presidential campaign that there would be “not another foot of wall constructed during my administration.” 

The administration said that 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.”

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 (CBP) sources told Fox News last week that there were more than 260,000 encounters in September — which would be the highest monthly total on record.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Fox has reached out to the White House for comment.