NationalWatch

FIRST ON FOX: A coalition of 13 Senate Republicans is warning that a top Biden administration official overseeing aggressive fuel efficiency regulations is illegally serving in the position, nullifying recent actions her agency has taken.

In a letter Wednesday to President Biden, the GOP senators, led by Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, the ranking member of the Senate Commerce Committee, said National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) Acting Administrator Ann Carlson must be immediately removed from her position. Earlier this year, Carlson failed to clear Senate confirmation to permanently lead NHTSA.

“In circumvention of the Senate’s constitutional responsibility to provide advice and consent on presidential nominations, you appointed Ms. Carlson to lead the agency after her nomination to be NHTSA administrator failed in the face of significant Senate opposition due to her extreme policy views, radical environmentalist record, and lack of vehicle safety experience,” the letter stated. 

“Ms. Carlson’s appointment as acting administrator not only violates the Federal Vacancies Reform Act (Vacancies Act) but also renders the agency’s actions while she has held herself out as acting administrator invalid,” Cruz and the other Republicans added. “We urge you to immediately replace Ms. Carlson as acting administrator and name a new nominee as soon as possible.”

STUDY CASTS DOUBT ON ELECTRIC VEHICLES’ CLIMATE, COST BENEFITS: ‘WON’T ACHIEVE THE GOALS INTENDED’

Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, the ranking member of the Senate Commerce Committee, speaks during a hearing March 8, 2022. (Eric Lee/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

In January 2021, the Biden-Harris transition team hired Carlson, then an environmental law professor at UCLA, to serve as NHTSA’s chief counsel. While the position didn’t require Senate confirmation, Carlson has overseen key agency initiatives, like the modification of fuel economy standards, and has served as acting administrator since September.

In February, Biden nominated Carlson to be the administrator of NHTSA, and the White House subsequently transmitted the nomination to the Senate Commerce Committee a month later. However, Carlson’s nomination faced stiff opposition led by Cruz and fellow Commerce Committee Republicans who pointed to her history of environmental activism and desire to transform NHTSA into a climate-focused agency.

BIDEN NOMINEE WANTS TO HIJACK LITTLE-KNOWN AGENCY TO RAM THROUGH CLIMATE AGENDA

On May 30, the White House announced her nomination had been withdrawn. Carlson, though, has continued serving as NHTSA’s acting administrator, and the White House has yet to nominate a replacement, making her the agency’s chief for the foreseeable future.

“To comply with the law, you should immediately correct your violation of the law by removing Ms. Carlson from her so-called acting administrator position,” Cruz and the 12 other Republicans wrote to Biden. “After doing so, you should nominate a serious and well-qualified person to be NHTSA administrator.”

President Biden nominated Ann Carlson to lead the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in February 2023. The White House then withdrew the nomination after stiff opposition. (Ting Shen/Bloomberg via Getty Images | National Highway Traffic Safety Administration)

The letter cited the Federal Vacancies Reform Act that prohibits “any person who has been nominated to fill any vacant office from performing that office’s duties in an acting capacity.” The purpose of the provision, which has been upheld by the Supreme Court, is to prevent the White House from doing an “end run around the Senate’s constitutional advice and consent authority,” the Republicans continued.

They added that Carlson cannot serve as acting administrator under the Vacancies Act both because of her failed nomination and because she did not serve in the position of first assistant to former NHTSA Administrator Steven Cliff for more than 90 days before he resigned in September 2022.

As a result of Carlson improperly leading the agency, the Republicans said actions taken during her tenure are, therefore, invalid.

BIDEN NOMINEE COORDINATED DARK MONEY CLIMATE NUISANCE LAWSUITS INVOLVING LEONARDO DICAPRIO

Sen. Ted Cruz and President Biden  (Getty Images)

Notably, in late July, NHTSA proposed its most aggressive ever fuel economy standards that experts warned would substantially increase car prices and force electric vehicle purchases. Carlson said at the time the regulations would help “reduce harmful emissions.”

“These standards run contrary to the law, diminish consumer choice, impose higher costs on American families, and undermine our national and energy security all while benefiting China,” the letter stated. “Because Ms. Carlson cannot legally serve as the acting administrator, these proposed standards are invalid and cannot be ratified by a subsequent Senate-confirmed NHTSA administrator.”

In a statement to Fox News Digital, Cruz noted that Democrats’ policies at the federal and state level pushing electric vehicles have created chaos in the auto industry.

He also argued the ongoing autoworker strikes demonstrate how electric vehicle mandates have harmed the industry. Last week, the United Auto Workers (UAW) unleashed their first-ever simultaneous strike against all three of the largest U.S. automakers — Ford, General Motors and Stellantis — over wages, a modified work week and pension benefits.

A Tesla electric vehicle charges in Charlotte, N.C., in 2019. Under Carlson’s leadership, NHTSA unveiled aggressive fuel efficiency standards expected to drive more electric vehicle purchases. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton)

“Biden’s EV mandates and subsidies may have been inspired by radical politicians in deep blue states, but they’ve been put into practice by unaccountable bureaucrats like Ann Carlson,” Cruz told Fox News Digital. “With the current strike, it has become increasingly obvious that the left’s full-fledged assault on popular gas-powered cars and trucks is causing chaos in the auto sector — and it’s no wonder workers are concerned about long-term job security.

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“President Biden and Green New Deal absolutists like Ann Carlson own this strike,” he continued. “President Biden’s illegal appointment of Ann Carlson, who was effectively rejected by the Senate due to concerns about her extreme agenda and radical record, will only yield more mandates, higher costs for families and a less vibrant economy.”

Every Republican member of the Senate Commerce Committee signed the letter to Biden Wednesday.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said at the United Nations in New York City on Tuesday that it is “essential” to preserve the freedom of the press and that Wikileaks founder Julian Assange should not be prosecuted for informing the public.

“It is essential to preserve the freedom of the press. A journalist like Julian Assange cannot be punished for informing society in a transparent and legitimate way,” Lula said.

The president’s comments come a day before a cross-party delegation of Australian politicians meet in Washington, D.C., with U.S. officials, members of Congress and civil rights groups. The group is bringing a letter signed by more than 60 members of parliament calling on the U.S. to drop the prosecution against Assange, who is fighting against extradition to the U.S., where could be sentenced to as many as 175 years in an American maximum security prison.

U.S. President Joe Biden will host Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in late October. Albanese has repeatedly called on the U.S. in recent months to end the prosecution of the Australian journalist.

DELEGATION OF AUSTRALIAN LAWMAKERS WILL VISIT US TO PUSH FOR JULIAN ASSANGE’S RELEASE: ‘POWERFUL MESSAGE’

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva speaks during the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) at the United Nations headquarters on September 19, 2023, in New York City. (Getty)

Assange is facing 17 charges for receiving, possessing and communicating classified information to the public under the espionage act and one charge alleging a conspiracy to commit computer intrusion. The charges stem from the 2010 publication of cables U.S. Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning leaked to Wikileaks that detailed war crimes committed by the U.S. government in the Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, detention camp, Iraq and Afghanistan. The materials also expose instances of the CIA engaging in torture and rendition.

Wikileaks’ “Collateral Murder” video showing the U.S. military gunning down civilians in Iraq, including two Reuters journalists, was also published 13 years ago.

“Our fight is against disinformation and cybercrime,” Lula said on Tuesday. “Acts and platforms should not abolish the labor laws we fight so hard for.”

Assange has been held at London’s high-security Belmarsh Prison since he was removed from the Ecuadorian Embassy on April 11, 2019, for breaching bail conditions. He had sought asylum at the embassy in London to avoid being sent to Sweden over allegations he raped two women because Sweden would not provide assurances it would protect him from extradition to the U.S. The investigations into the sexual assault allegations were eventually dropped.

AUSTRALIAN PRIME MINISTER SAYS GOVERNMENT STANDS FIRM AGAINST US PROSECUTION OF JULIAN ASSANGE

Julian Assange is facing 17 charges for receiving, possessing and communicating classified information to the public under the espionage act and one charge alleging a conspiracy to commit computer intrusion. (AP)

In May, Lula denounced the lack of concerted efforts to free Assange, calling it an “embarrassment” that a journalist who “denounced trickery by one state against another is arrested, condemned to die in jail, and we do nothing to free him.”

“It’s a crazy thing,” Lula told reporters at the time. “We talk about freedom of expression; the guy is in prison because he denounced wrongdoing. And the press doesn’t do anything in defense of this journalist. I can’t understand it.”

The Obama administration decided not to indict Assange after Wikileaks published the cables in 2010 because it would have had to also indict journalists from major news outlets who published the materials. Former President Obama also commuted Manning’s 35-year sentence, for violations of the Espionage Act and other offenses, to seven years. 

However, former President Trump’s Justice Department later moved to indict Assange under the Espionage Act, and the Biden administration has continued to pursue his prosecution.

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of Brazil addresses the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) at U.N. headquarters on September 19, 2023, in New York City. (Getty)

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“I think there must be a movement of world press in his defense. Not in regard to his person, but to defend the right to denounce,” Lula told reporters in May. “The guy didn’t denounce anything vulgar. He denounced that a state was spying on others, and that became a crime against the journalist. The press, which defends freedom of the press, does nothing to free this citizen. It’s sad, but it’s true.”

Last year, the editors and publishers of U.S. and European news outlets that worked with Assange on the publication of excerpts from more than 250,000 documents he obtained in the Cablegate leak — The Guardian, The New York Times, Le Monde, Der Spiegel and El País  — wrote an open letter calling for the U.S. to drop the charges against Assange.

And in April, Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., led a letter to the Justice Department signed by some of her congressional colleagues demanding Assange’s freedom.

Former President Donald Trump is facing increased scrutiny for calling Florida’s six-week abortion ban “a terrible thing,” with more big names joining the chorus of those condemning him.

“It’s never a ‘terrible thing’ to protect innocent life. I’m proud of the fetal heartbeat bill the Iowa legislature passed and I signed in 2018 and again earlier this year,” Republican Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds wrote in a Wednesday post on X.

She was joined shortly after by Republican Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, who wrote in his own X post, “There’s nothing ‘terrible’ about standing up for life. In addition to passing the heartbeat bill, Georgia has proudly protected and valued life through implementing adoption and foster care reforms, and combatting (sic) human trafficking – and will continue to do so as long as I’m governor.”

TRUMP BLASTED ONLINE AFTER ATTACK ON DESANTIS’ ABORTION BAN: ‘A TERRIBLE THING’

Trump made the comments during an interview on MSNBC’s “Meet the Press” over the weekend, when he was pressed on his abortion stance. In his response, he said he would work with Democrats to pass abortion legislation before taking aim at Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ support for the six-week ban, officially called the Heartbeat Protection Act.

“I mean, ‘DeSanctus’ [DeSantis] is willing to sign a five-week and six-week ban,” Trump said. “I think what he did is a terrible thing and a terrible mistake.”

The comments sparked widespread backlash from conservatives, who took to social media to blast the former president, and question his comments considering his previously expressed pro-life stances.

DESANTIS WARNS PRO-LIFE VOTERS TRUMP WILL ‘SELL YOU OUT’ AFTER EX-PRESIDENT’S CRITIQUE OF 6-WEEK ABORTION BAN

Republican Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, former President Donald Trump and Republican Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds. (Getty Images)

DeSantis also weighed in, warning pro-life voters Trump will “sell you out” following the comments.

“Anytime he did a deal with Democrats, whether it was on budget, whether it was on the criminal justice ‘First Step Act,’ they ended up taking him to the cleaners, and so, I think if he’s going into this thing, he’s gonna make the Democrats happy with respect to the right to life. I think all pro-lifers should know that he’s preparing to sell you out,” DeSantis said. 

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Fox News’ Houston Keene and Danielle Wallace contributed to this report.

Republican presidential candidate and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis warned pro-life Americans that former President Trump will “sell you out” after the current 2024 GOP frontrunner’s recent critique of six-week abortion bans. 

In an interview on Radio Iowa Monday, DeSantis reacted to Trump’s appearance on NBC’s “Meet the Press” Sunday, the first network news interview the former president has given since leaving office. While DeSantis said Trump deserves credit for his accomplishments on court appointments, the Abraham Accords, deregulation and other topics, the Florida governor vying for the White House took issue with Trump’s promise of securing a deal between Democrats and Republicans on the number of weeks into pregnancy that is best for restricting abortion. 

“Anytime he did a deal with Democrats, whether it was on budget, whether it was on the criminal justice ‘First Step Act,’ they ended up taking him to the cleaners, and so, I think if he’s going into this thing, he’s gonna make the Democrats happy with respect to the right to life. I think all pro-lifers should know that he’s preparing to sell you out,” DeSantis said. 

“Protecting babies with heartbeats is not terrible. Donald Trump may think it’s terrible. I think protecting babies with heartbeats is noble and just, and I’m proud to have signed the heartbeat bill in Florida, and I know Iowa has similar legislation,” DeSantis told Radio Iowa Monday. 

TRUMP BLASTED ONLINE AFTER ATTACK ON DESANTIS’ ABORTION BAN: ‘A TERRIBLE THING’

Former President Trump, left, and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis butt heads on the abortion issue. (Getty Images)

Trump told NBC’s Kristen Walker that he believed DeSantis’ decision to sign a six-week abortion ban was a “terrible thing and a terrible mistake.” 

“But at the same time, Democrats won’t be able to go out in six months, seven months, eight months and allow an abortion,” Trump added. 

Former President Trump addresses the Concerned Women for America Legislative Action Committee on Sept. 15, 2023 in Washington, D.C. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)

While state law in Florida currently prohibits most abortions after 15 weeks, DeSantis, in April, signed the Heartbeat Protection Act, which aims to restrict abortions after six weeks gestation, with exceptions including women who are victims of rape, incest and human trafficking, or whose baby has a devastating diagnosis of a fatal fetal abnormality. 

A court ruling this fall could determine whether the law will take effect, as activists on both sides raise petitions to amend the state constitution in their favor. 

“I don’t know how you can even make the claim that you’re somehow pro-life if you’re criticizing states for enacting pro-life protections for babies that have heartbeats,” DeSantis said Monday. “I thought him saying that those bills were terrible I think was a terrible statement, and I think it’s a window into how he’s changing as he’s running this campaign, and I think he’s changing in a way that’s not consistent with the values with the people in Iowa.” 

TRUMP ALLEGES PELOSI TURNED DOWN 10,000 SOLDIERS AHEAD OF CAPITOL RIOT: ‘SHE’S RESPONSIBLE FOR JAN 6’

During the NBC interview, Trump was pressed on whether he would support a 15-week federal ban on abortion, but the former president declined to specify a number of weeks. Trump instead credited himself for the Supreme Court’s overturn of Roe V. Wade, which he says gave pro-life Americans bargaining power for the first time in over half a century. 

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis waves during the Family Research Council and FRC Action annual Pray Vote Stand Summit in Washington, D.C., on Friday, Sept. 15, 2023. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

“For 52 years, people, including Democrats, wanted it to go back to states,” Trump said. “I did something that nobody thought was possible. And Roe v Wade was terminated. It was put back to the states. Now, people – pro-lifers have the right to negotiate. For the first time. They had no rights at all because the radical people on this are really the people, the Democrats, that say after five months, six months, seven months, eight months, nine months, and even after birth you’re allowed to terminate the baby. ” 

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DeSantis, by contrast, said the pro-life movement was not prepared for the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization last year, arguing conservatives need to be prepared moving forward as the “left is going to try to put something on the ballot in Florida to overturn the heartbeat bill.” 

Fears over President Biden’s old age are rampant within the Democratic Party, and one lawmaker revealed exactly what the “nightmare scenario” is for the party in the 2024 election cycle.

The Washington Post interviewed dozens of Democratic officials and politicians on the state and federal levels regarding Biden’s re-election bid. While they did not oppose his candidacy or name-drop other potential options, they were nevertheless nervous about putting forward an 80-year-old.

One lawmaker, who the Post says spoke on condition of anonymity, painted a particularly worrying picture for the party.

“The worst-case scenario is we get past the nominating process with President Biden as the nominee, and then he’s no longer able to continue on as the nominee,” the lawmaker said. “That’s the nightmare scenario for Democrats.”

WATCH: BIDEN CONFUSES UKRAINE WITH RUSSIA, ZELENSKYY WITH PUTIN DURING GAFFE-FILLED TRIP TO LITHUANIA

Fears over President Biden’s old age are rampant within the Democratic Party, and one lawmaker revealed exactly what the “nightmare scenario” is for the party in the 2024 election cycle. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

Biden would be 82 by the time he entered office if he wins re-election in 2024, and a mid-campaign health issue would devastate Democrats’ hopes of taking the White House.

KAMALA HARRIS TAKEN ABACK BY CBS HOST ASKING ABOUT TRUMP’S RE-ELECTION HOPES: ‘DON’T UNDERSTAND THE QUESTION’

Washington Post Columnist David Ignatius, one of Biden’s longtime favored voices in media, publicly urged the president to step aside.

“I don’t think Biden and Vice President Harris should run for re-election,” he wrote last week.

Biden would be 82 by the time he entered office if he wins re-election in 2024, and a mid-campaign health issue would devastate Democrats’ hopes of taking the White House. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

“It’s painful to say that, given my admiration for much of what they have accomplished. But if he and Harris campaign together in 2024, I think Biden risks undoing his greatest achievement – which was stopping [former President] Trump.”

Meanwhile, a recent poll showed the consensus among American voters is clear: They believe Biden is too old to run again.

BERNIE SANDERS PUSHING CAMPAIGN CASH TO WIFE AND STEPSON’S NONPROFIT RAISES ‘LEGITIMATE CONCERN’: WATCHDOG

An August poll from The Associated Press/NORC found that even 69% of Democrats say Biden is too old to effectively lead in another four-year term at the White House. When including independents and Republicans, that number jumps to 77%.

While Democratic leaders are worrying the consensus among American voters is clear: They believe Biden is too old to run again. (Julia Nikhinson/For The Washington Post via Getty Images)

Biden is the oldest candidate to run for president in U.S. history, followed closely by former President Donald Trump, 77.

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Trump does not face the same scrutiny about his age, however, with fewer than half of Americans saying he is too old to hold office, according to the AP poll.

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

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THE RUNDOWN: The Senate won’t enforce its dress code as one Democratic member frequently walks the halls in shorts… President Biden called for “new approaches” to global crises in a speech at the United Nations General Assembly… House Republicans canceled a vote on government funding deal… border crossings spike in September… House GOP schedules first Biden impeachment inquiry hearing for Sept. 28

Top Stories

‘STUNT’ MEN: The White House hammered Republicans the Biden administration says is showing their “true priorities” by scheduling the first Biden impeachment hearing inquiries for Sept. 29, two days before some government funding will run out (unless Congress can reach a budget deal for the next fiscal year). 

“Staging a political stunt hearing in the waning days before they shut down the government reveals their true priorities: to them, baseless personal attacks on President Biden are more important than preventing a government shutdown and the pain it would inflict on American families,” White House spokesperson Ian Sams told Fox News Digital’s Brooke Singman on Tuesday …Read more

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has spoken on impeaching President Biden. (Shawn Thew/EPA/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has been upfront that the impeachment inquiry is meant to answer lingering, unanswered questions about the president’s involvement in his son Hunter Biden’s business dealings, and rejects the claims that there is no evidence of wrongdoing.  

“I can give you chapter verse in detail… and yet they just claim that there’s no evidence at all,” McCarthy said on Fox News’ “Hannity” last week.

FACTIONS WITHIN FACTIONS: With an impending partial government shutdown less than two weeks away, conservative House members say some Republicans are toying with the idea of voting with Democrats for a “clean” continuing resolution (CR) — funding the government at levels set by the previous Democrat-controlled Congress. 

Rep. Byron Donalds (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)

Florida Rep. Byron Donalds, a member of the Freedom Caucus (who is also considering running for governor), had measure to fund the government for 30 days with an 8% cut to spending, but a procedural vote on that measure was canceled Tuesday. Another option in the works from moderate Problem Solvers Caucus would reduce spending while adding border security measures …Read more

White House Watch

GOALPOST SHIFT: The White House’s denials of Biden’s involvement with Hunter’s business dealings continues to change …Read more

NOTHING TO SEE: Top Democrat governor defended Hunter Biden profiting from his family’s influence as ‘hardly unique’ …Read more

THAT’S RICH: Top COVID doc Anthony Fauci and his wife saw their net worth balloon in recent years …Read more

Capitol Hill

SENATE ‘SLOB’: Pennsylvania Democrat Sen. John Fetterman defended his casual attire against those who say dressing ‘like a slob’ is a bad thing for the U.S. Capitol …Read more

S (Alex Wong / Getty Images)

LOST AND FOUND: Jokes abound on Capitol Hill after an F-35 jet went missing …Read more

2024 Campaign Trail

THE STRUGGLERS: Longshot GOP presidential hopefuls have less than a week to qualify for the second primary debate, but they don’t want to be counted out just yet …Read more

‘SELL YOU OUT’: Trump’s opposition to bans on abortion after 6 weeks of pregnancy used as ammunition against GOP presidential frontrunner …Read more

TICKING CLOCK: Democrats nervous about Biden being at an age where ‘death is imminent’ sound off …Read more

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

FIRST ON FOX: Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.’s presidential campaign walked back his promise to ban hydraulic fracturing, also known as fracking, as part of his plan to combat plastic pollution.

In a statement to Fox News Digital, the campaign said Kennedy, if elected president, would implement a “phase out” of fracking which would be achieved by ending taxpayer-funded subsidies for the industry and allowing the free market to work. The statement appears to soften Kennedy’s social media post last week, when he vowed to “ban” fracking to “fix the plastics pollution crisis.”

“Mr. Kennedy recognizes that an immediate and total ban on fracking would devastate the US economy, and is therefore unrealistic,” the campaign told Fox News Digital. “He favors a gradual phase-out of the practice, starting with the removal of subsidies and a moratorium on new exploration.”

“He believes that fracking, at least in most locations, will no longer be viable when the practice does not receive direct or indirect subsidies, and instead is exposed to the free market,” the statement continued. “Existing productive oil and gas fields will only be phased out as suitable alternatives are available, so that people and the economy can transition smoothly to new technologies.”

BIDEN ADMIN UNLEASHES 50-YEAR MINING, OIL DRILLING BAN ACROSS THOUSANDS OF ACRES IN NEW MEXICO

Democratic presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. speaks at The Centre Theater on June 5 in Philadelphia. (Lisa Lake/Getty Images for SiriusXM)

The campaign added that Kennedy, who is running for the Democratic presidential nomination, has worked on fracking issues for years. It noted that Kennedy served in 2014 on a New York fracking committee assembled by former Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo which concluded fracking was too expensive to compete in a free market without subsidies. 

Further, Kennedy has led litigation against fracking in Pennsylvania and, according to his campaign, has been witness to the “devastation fracking waste has caused to families and communities.”

The walk-back, meanwhile, comes after Kennedy was heavily criticized over the weekend for his promise to ban fracking.

BIDEN ADMIN REVERSES TRUMP-ERA ACTION MAKING IT EASIER TO BUILD FOSSIL FUEL PIPELINES

“I told all of you that this guy is anti-freedom,” energy expert Alex Epstein said in response to Kennedy’s post. “Banning fracking would immediately plunge the US into a depression. And [Kennedy] would do it to ‘solve’ an amorphous ‘plastics crisis.'”

“I know some conservatives who like RFK Jr but this is 100 percent disqualifying,” added Isaac Orr, a policy fellow focusing on energy issues at the Center of the American Experiment. “We rightly criticize Biden for limiting oil and gas production but even he hasn’t been this vocal about banning fracking.”

A shale gas well drilling site is pictured in St. Mary’s, Pennsylvania, on March 12, 2020. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic, File)

According to the Energy Information Administration, an estimated 2.8 billion barrels, the equivalent of 7.8 million barrels per day, of crude oil were produced directly from tight-oil resources in 2022. The drilling method of fracking is required to reach such tight-oil resources buried deep within subterranean reservoirs.

Overall, roughly 67% of all domestically-produced crude oil — which is the basis of petroleum products — is derived from tight-oil resources, the data showed.

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In addition, fracking has led to a boon in natural gas production in the U.S. over the last decade. Monthly dry shale gas production, as a result, has skyrocketed from about 5 billion cubic feet per day to more than 80 billion cubic feet a day.

“A ban on hydraulic fracturing — a practice that has been used for over 50 years in the United States and other countries — would result in the loss of millions of jobs, price spikes at the gasoline pump and higher electricity costs for all Americans,” former Energy Secretary Dan Brouillette wrote in a 2021 report on fracking. 

“Such a ban would eliminate the United States’ status as the top oil and gas producing country and return us to being a net importer of oil and gas by 2025,” Brouillette continued. “It would weaken America’s geopolitical standing and negatively impact our national security.”

Florida Republican Rep. Byron Donalds is considering a run to be the Sunshine State’s next governor in 2026.

A source close to Donalds confirmed to Fox News Digital he is considering a run for the Florida governorship.

Donalds told Fox News Digital that he is focused on getting former President Trump back into office before moving onto “that other stuff.”

NO CLEAR SPENDING DEAL AS CONGRESS INCHES CLOSER TO GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN

A source close to Florida GOP Rep. Byron Donalds confirmed to Fox News Digital he is considering a run for governor of Florida. (Fox News Photo/Joshua Comins)

“I’m committed to making Biden a one-term president,” Donalds told Fox News Digital. “We’ll focus on that other stuff after President Trump gets inaugurated.”

Donalds told reporters he was considering a run on Tuesday as he spearheads the continuing resolution in the House to avoid a government shutdown.

The congressman has also said he would join Trump as his running mate if asked by the former president.

Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., speaks during the Moms for Liberty Joyful Warriors national summit at the Philadelphia Marriott Downtown on June 30, 2023, in Philadelphia. (Photo by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)

Additionally, Donalds’ potential run comes as rumors swirl about a potential governor’s run from fellow Florida Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz.

Gaetz on Tuesday, however, shot down the rumors of a gubernatorial run, saying he is more focused on supporting Trump’s 2024 White House campaign.

GOP SENATOR LATEST REPUBLICAN TO THROW HAT BEHIND TRUMP FOR PRESIDENT

Rep. Byron Donalds said he is focused on getting former President Trump back into office before moving onto “that other stuff.” (Fox News Photo/Joshua Comins)

“I ran into dozens of former colleagues from my days in the state legislature,” Gaetz told Axios. “They encouraged me relentlessly to consider returning to Florida. I wasn’t focused on any of that talk, though.”

A potential Donalds candidacy would come in 2026, when current Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is ineligible to run under the state’s constitution.

The House must pass Donalds’ continuing resolution to prevent a government shutdown before the end of September.

House Republicans reached a consensus — save some holdouts — for the funding measure over the weekend, but the holdouts are threatening to derail the measure.

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has scoffed at the threats against his speakership, telling Rep. Matt Gaetz to “file a f—ing motion” to remove him from his post during a House GOP conference meeting last Thursday. (AP )

Gaetz is one of those holdouts, who has been threatening a mutiny against House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., to oust him from the speakership.

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However, McCarthy has scoffed at the threats against his speakership, telling Gaetz to “file a f—ing motion” to remove him from his post during a House GOP conference meeting last Thursday.

The resolution would continue funding through the end of October as the lower chamber finishes putting together appropriations bills before the Sept. 30 deadline.

President Biden on Tuesday said the United Nations General Assembly meets “at an inflection point in history,” and called for strengthened alliances while stressing that “no nation can meet the challenges of today alone.”

Biden, delivering his annual speech to leaders of the UN in New York City on Tuesday, addressed the United States’ continued support for Ukraine against Russia’s “naked aggression,” the importance of denuclearization of the Korean peninsula and efforts to block Iran from nuclear proliferation; the competition between the United States and China; the climate crisis and more. 

Biden, upon taking the podium, stressed the importance of strengthened alliances and “standing together.” 

U.S. President Joe Biden speaks during the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) at the United Nations headquarters on September 19, 2023 in New York City. ( Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)

“My fellow leaders, we gather once more at an inflection point in history,” Biden said, calling for “new approaches to our shared challenges.”

OUTRAGE AS IRAN PRESIDENT PREPARES TO ADDRESS UN: ‘WANTS TO KILL AMERICAN CITIZENS’

“The United States seeks a more secure, more prosperous, more equitable world for all people,” Biden said. “We know our future is bound to yours.” 

He added: “No nation can meet the challenges of today alone.” 

Early in his address, the president discussed the United States’ continued support for expanding the United Nations Security Council; the importance of developing a joint strategy to ensure artificial intelligence technologies are safe; and ways to strengthen security in the Indo-Pacific. 

But the president issued a warning about emerging technologies, like artificial intelligence, saying they “hold enormous potential and peril.” 

“We need to be sure they are used as tools of opportunity, not as weapons of oppression,” the president said. “Together with leaders around the world, the United States is working to strengthen rules and policies so AI technologies are safe before they’re released to the public. To make sure we govern this technology, not the other way around, having it govern us.”

Biden said he is “committed to working through this institution and other international bodies and directly with leaders around the world, including our competitors, to ensure harness the power of artificial intelligence for good, while protecting our citizens from its most profound risk.” 

“It’s going to take all of us. I’ve been working on this for a while,” he said. 

Biden recently visited Vietnam earlier this month during a tour of Southeast Asia, where China was a major topic of discussion (SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images)

Shifting to China, a global leader in emerging technologies, Biden said the United States seeks to “responsibly manage the competition between our countries, so that it does not tip into conflict.” 

“I want to be clear and consistent,” Biden said. “I’ve said we are de-risking, not decoupling, with China.” 

“We will push back on aggression and intimidation and defend the rules of the road from freedom of navigation to overflight to a level economic playing field and help safeguard security and prosperity for decades,” Biden said, while maintaining the United States’ position to “stand ready to work together with China on issues where progress hinges on our common efforts.” 

BIDEN ON VIETNAM TRIP: ‘I DON’T WANT TO CONTAIN CHINA’

Biden was referring to the climate crisis, which he said his administration has treated as an “existential threat from the moment we took office.” 

“Not only for us, but for the world,” Biden said. 

The president pointed to “record-breaking heatwaves in the United States and China; wildfires ravaging North America and Southern Europe; a fifth year of drought in the Horn of Africa; tragic flooding in Libya that has killed thousands of people.” 

“Taken together these snapshots tell an urgent story of what awaits us if we fail to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels and begin to climate-proof our world,” Biden said. 

The president then shifted to the issue of nuclear proliferation, stressing the United States’ continued efforts to work to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula, as North Korea further develops its own nuclear weapons program. 

The president also stressed that his administration is “steadfast in our commitment that Iran must never acquire a nuclear weapon.” 

The Biden administration had engaged in negotiations to revive the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), also known as the Iran nuclear deal. Former President Donald Trump’s administration withdrew from the deal in 2018.

President Biden went on to highlight the core pillars of the United Nations charter, and said the gathering of the United Nations Assembly, for a second year in a row, is “darkened by the shadow of war.” Biden was referring to Russia’s “illegal war of conquest brought without provocation” against Ukraine. 

US President Joe Biden has promised Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky American support for Ukraine’s defense against Russia’s invasion. (SUSAN WALSH/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

“Like every nation in the world, the United States wants this war to end,” Biden said. “No nation wants this war to end more than Ukraine. And we strongly support Ukraine in its efforts to bring about a diplomatic resolution that delivers just and lasting peace.”

But Biden again stressed that “Russia alone bares responsibility for this war,” and said the Kremlin “has the power to end this war immediately.” 

“Russia believes that the world will grow weary and allow it to brutalize Ukraine without consequence,” Biden said. “But I ask you this: If we abandon the core principles of the UN Charter to appease an aggressor, can any member state feel confident that they are protected? If we allow Ukraine to be carved up, is the independence of any nation secure? 

“The answer is no. We must stand up to this naked aggression today to deter other would-be aggressors tomorrow.” 

Biden stressed that the United States and its allies and partners will “continue to stand with the brave people of Ukraine as they defend their sovereignty and territorial integrity – and their freedom.” 

The Biden administration has sent more than $100 billion in military and humanitarian aid to Ukraine since Russia invaded the country in February 2022. 

Meanwhile, the president went on to highlight the importance of upholding “equal and unalienable rights of all,” and said the U.S. and its allies “cannot turn away from abuses.” 

The president listed the need to continue to work to ensure young women and girls are “equal in society” and that “LGBTQI+ people are not prosecuted or target with violence because of who they are.”  

“These rights are part of our shared humanity,” he said. “When they are absent anywhere, the loss is felt everywhere.” 

The president closed his address by reminding world leaders that they stand at “an inflection point in history.” 

“We’re going to be judged by whether we live up to the promises we made to ourselves, to each other, to the most vulnerable, and all those who inherit the world,” Biden said. “The road ahead is long and difficult but if we preserve, persevere and prevail, and show what’s possible.” 

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He added: “Let’s do this work together. Let’s bend the arc of history for the good of the world because its in our power to do it.” 

“We will not retreat from the values that make us strong. We will defend democracy. We are working to show how democracy can deliver in ways that matter in people’s lives,” Biden said. 

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

LACONIA, N.H. – North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum vows that his Republican White House campaign will not be sidetracked if he falls short in his bid to qualify for next week’s second GOP presidential nomination debate.

“We’re going to keep charging forward,” Burgum told Fox News Digital.

However, Burgum’s campaign and an allied super PAC are making major investments this week in trying to boost the national ID of a politician who is far from a household name outside his native North Dakota in an attempt to make the stage.

Burgum has just under a week to qualify for the second debate, a FOX Business and Univision hosted showdown Wednesday, Sept. 27, at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California.

HERE ARE THE CANDIDATES WHO’VE SECURED A SPOT ON THE STAGE AT THE SECOND GOP PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE

Also aiming to qualify is former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, who along with Burgum took the stage last month at the first GOP presidential nominating debate.

“We made the last debate. It surprised everybody. People had counted us out. So don’t count us out in this next debate,” Hutchinson emphasized in a Fox News Digital interview.

The Republican National Committee — which is organizing the GOP presidential primary debates — raised the thresholds the candidates need to reach to make the stage at the second showdown.

DANA PERINO, STUART VARNEY TO CO-MODERATE SECOND GOP PRIMARY DEBATE HOSTED BY FOX BUSINESS

To participate in the second debate, each candidate must have a minimum of 50,000 unique donors to their campaign or exploratory committee, including 200 donors in 20 or more states. The candidates must also reach 3% support in two national polls or reach 3% in one national poll and 3% in two polls conducted in Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada or South Carolina, the four states that lead off the Republican presidential nominating calendar.

Additionally, candidates are also required to sign a pledge in which they agree to support the eventual Republican presidential nominee. They must agree not to participate in any non-RNC sanctioned debates for the rest of the 2024 election cycle and agree to data-sharing with the national party committee.

GOP presidential candidates onstage at FISERV Forum in Milwaukee Aug. 23, 2023 for the first Republican presidential nomination debate. (Fox News)

So far, according to a Fox News count, six of the eight candidates who took part in last month’s first GOP presidential nomination debate have already reached the RNC’s criteria.

They are former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former ambassador and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, former Vice President Mike Pence, biotech entrepreneur and political commentator Vivek Ramaswamy, and Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina.

Former President Trump, who has reached the donor and polling thresholds, did not sign the RNC’s pledge. Pointing to his large lead over his rivals for the nomination, he did not attend the first debate and is not expected to show up for the second showdown.

WITH FOUR MONTHS UNTIL THE FIRST VOTES FOR THE GOP PRESIDENTIAL NOMINATION, THINGS HEAT UP IN THE FIRST CAUCUS STATE

Burgum, who has already hit the donor threshold for the second debate, says he has met the polling threshold in two of the early states but has yet to reach 3% in a national survey.

He and rest of the candidates trying to qualify have until 9 p.m. ET Monday — 48 hours before the debate — to reach the RNC’s thresholds.

Speaking with reporters after greeting the lunchtime crowd at the 405 Pub and Grill in Laconia, New Hampshire, on Monday with Republican Gov. Chris Sununu, Burgum took aim at what he charged was a “goofy clubhouse rule.”

North Dakota Gov.Doug Burgum, a 2024 Republican presidential candidate, speaks with customers at the 405 Pub and Grill in Laconia, New Hampshire, on Sept 18, 2023. (Fox News – Steinhauser)

“It shouldn’t be the political polls, it shouldn’t be the pundits, it shouldn’t be party leaders that decide who gets to be on the ballot. It should be the voters who decide who moves forward. And Iowa and New Hampshire have done a fantastic job of thinning the field,” Burgum argued as he answered a question from Fox News.

He pledged that he would be on the ballot in Iowa and New Hampshire regardless of whether he made the second debate stage. “We’re going to be here because the voters of these two states decide who goes forward,” he said.

Burgum’s campaign on Monday announced that they have launched a new national voter contact program which potentially could boost his support in the polls in the coming days.

“The direct text video-to-voter program hyper-targets highly persuadable Republicans and conservative-leaning independents likely to vote in the Republican presidential primary with a tested video message most likely to move numbers,” the Burgum campaign highlighted in a release.

The move from the North Dakota governor’s presidential campaign comes as the Burgum aligned Best of America super PAC shelled out another $2 million to an existing $6 million national ad buy to try and boost the candidate’s poll numbers. 

These are the candidates who have met certain RNC requirements for the second Republican presidential debate. (Fox News)

Looking toward next week’s showdown, Hutchinson emphasized that it is “very important because a lot’s happened since the last debate.”

Hutchinson, who has yet to reach the polling and donor thresholds, told Fox News during an interview in Newton, Iowa on Saturday at the Jasper County GOP annual trap shoot that “we’re looking forward to being on the debate stage. We look to increasing those numbers.”

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Among those still trying to qualify for the second debate — who did not make the stage at the first debate — are 2022 Michigan gubernatorial candidate, businessman and quality control expert Perry Johnson, former CIA agent and former Rep. Will Hurd of Texas, and Larry Elder, a former nationally syndicated radio host who was a candidate in California’s 2021 gubernatorial recall election.

Hurd, who has said he will not sign the RNC’s pledge due to his vocal criticism and opposition to Trump, told Fox News earlier this month that “we’re working hard to meet those requirements.”

When asked if he would drop out of the race if he does not qualify for next week’s debate, Hurd said “my focus right now is to hit those requirements to be on that second debate stage, and then we’ll go from there.”

Fox News’ Remy Numa and Kirill Clark contributed to this report.

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

California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom defended President Biden’s ability to serve in office amid growing concerns from Democrats that the president is too old to run for re-election.

In an interview with CNN, Newsom acknowledged that voters “have every right to be concerned” about Biden’s age (80) but insisted he was not concerned.

“I want a seasoned pro that knows how to get things done,” Newsom said. “I’m a little old-fashioned. I want a guy who produces results, and the results are in: It’s been a master class.” 

Newsom’s remarks came in response to a question about a recent CBS News/YouGov survey, which found that only one-third of American voters think Biden will remain in office through a second term. Were the president to win re-election and finish another term, he would be 86-years-old when he leaves office.

DEMOCRAT CONCERNS ABOUT BIDEN’S AGE, HARRIS’ POLL NUMBERS MOUNTING IN RECENT WEEKS: ‘PAINFUL TO SAY’

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (not pictured), Gavin Newsom and Darren Walker (not pictured) have a conversation during the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) meeting at the Hilton Midtown on September 18, 2023 in New York City. In a recent interview with CNN, Newsom said President Biden is a “seasoned pro” who is not too old to be president. (John Nacion/WireImage)

The popular and staunch progressive California governor, who declined to challenge Biden for the 2024 Democratic presidential nomination, argued that the president’s record demonstrates he is not too old to lead the country.

“There’s simply no administration in my lifetime that’s been more effective producing more substantive results,” said the 55-year-old Newsom, who has lived through the Nixon, Carter, Ford, Reagan, Clinton, both Bush, Obama and Trump presidencies. 

He pointed to several bipartisan wins for the Biden White House, including deals on infrastructure, gun control, raising the debt ceiling and the CHIPS and Science Act, which incentivized companies to build and manufacture semiconductors in the U.S.

“I mean this, I couldn’t imagine three years ago that this president could accomplish so much in such a short period of time. I mean that,” Newsom emphasized.

BIDEN BLUNDERS: PRESIDENT STUMBLES HIS WAY THROUGH GAFFE-FILLED WINTER

President Joe Biden speaks in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington, DC, US, on Friday, Sept. 15, 2023. Biden, 80, would be 86 were he to leave office at the end of a second term as president.  (Chris Kleponis/CNP/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

While Newsom and others, including former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and Vice President Kamala Harris, have defended Biden’s age, other Democrats have expressed hesitancy to the Biden-Harris 2024 ticket.

“I don’t think Biden and Vice President Harris should run for re-election,” Washington Post columnist David Ignatius, a favorite scribe of the liberal establishment, wrote last week, pointing to the fact that Biden would be 82 at the start of a second term.

“It’s painful to say that, given my admiration for much of what they have accomplished. But if he and Harris campaign together in 2024, I think Biden risks undoing his greatest achievement — which was stopping [former President] Trump.” 

Rep. Dean Phillips, a Democrat from Minnesota, told NBC News recently that he believes “there are other candidates who have a far better chance and don’t have the actuarial risk that the president has.”

DESANTIS SAYS TRUMP’S AGE, LIKE BIDEN’S, ‘LEGITIMATE CONCERN’ IN 2024 ELECTION

Vice President Kamala Harris gives remarks, alongside President Joe Biden, at an event celebrating the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act on the South Lawn of the White House on Sept. 13, 2022 in Washington, D.C. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

“Why does everyone have blinders on? Why are we essentially being led to this cliff without knowing what’s on the other side?” Phillps said. 

And former Democratic National Committee Chair Donna Brazile recently admitted she’s “not sleeping at night thinking all is well” and said Democrats should be concerned with making the case for Biden to continue in office.

Amid these concerns, the White House has repeatedly defended Biden’s age and mental acuity when asked by reporters.

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“Look, here’s what I know,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told Fox News’ Peter Doocy last week in response to a question about polling showing voter concerns over Biden’s age. “Here’s what I can speak to. I can speak to that – a president who has wisdom. I can speak to a president who has experience. I can speak to a president who has done historic – has taken historic action and has delivered in historic pieces of legislation. And that’s important.”

In an Associated Press poll this summer, 77% said Biden is too old to be effective for four more years, with 89% of Republicans taking that position along with 69% of Democrats.

Fox News’ Andrew Mark Miller contributed to this report.

The Department of Energy (DOE) quietly promoted a top adviser to Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm to a senior role overseeing home appliance regulations after he failed to clear Senate confirmation.

The DOE announced last week that Jeff Marootian was appointed to be the principal deputy assistant secretary of the agency’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE). The appointment came days after the White House withdrew his name from consideration to lead EERE as the office’s assistant secretary.

While Marootian’s nomination failed after Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Chairman Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., opposed him over the Biden administration’s crackdown on natural gas-powered stovetops, his appointment last week makes him the effective chief of the DOE’s EERE office. 

President Biden has yet to nominate another person to be Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, meaning Marootian, whose new position doesn’t require Senate confirmation, is the most senior official in the EERE office. The office is tasked with issuing and implementing energy efficiency regulations such as those affecting gas stoves and other home appliances.

BIDEN ADMIN BEGINS ENFORCING NATIONWIDE LIGHTBULB BANS, IGNITING BACKLASH FROM GOP: ‘LIBERAL FANTASIES’

Jeff Marootian, President Biden’s former pick for Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy at the Department of Energy, testifies during a Senate confirmation hearing in November. (Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee)

“Jeff Marootian is an unelected, unaccountable, and unconfirmed bureaucrat who is carrying out President Biden’s orders to attack affordable household appliances,” Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member John Barrasso, R-Wyo., told Fox News Digital in a statement. 

“These rules are making life more expensive for all Americans by denying them the products they need. Biden and Marootian are coming after appliances in every room of our home – from gas stoves in our kitchen to water heaters in our basement,” he continued. “The administration should put forward a new nominee who will work to lower costs and give consumers choice.”

Barrasso opposed Marootian’s nomination last year, arguing he was more qualified for a Transportation Department role.

EXPERTS WARN BIDEN ADMIN’S WATER HEATER CRACKDOWN WILL HIKE PRICES, REDUCE CONSUMER CHOICE

Marootian was first nominated to take the helm at the EERE office in July 2022 after serving as special assistant to Biden and, prior to that role, director of the Washington, D.C., Department of Transportation. The position has been vacant since Daniel Simmons, who led the office throughout the Trump administration, departed the DOE in early 2021.

Granholm then hired Marootian as her senior adviser for energy efficiency and renewable energy in September 2022. His confirmation hearing before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee took place in November, and he was reported out of committee in December, but his nomination stalled at the end of session, forcing Biden to renominate him in January.

Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm previously said Marootian would be a “natural fit to lead the Department’s largest applied energy office.” (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

Manchin then unexpectedly came out in opposition to Marootian’s nomination in May, putting Marootian’s chances of receiving Senate confirmation in jeopardy. Though the White House stood by Marootian at first, it ultimately withdrew his nomination earlier this month.

“While I supported Mr. Marootian’s nomination in December, since then the office he’s been nominated to lead has proposed stove efficiency rules that I’ve raised concerns about,” Manchin told Fox News Digital on May 17. “While I appreciate that these rules would only apply to new stoves, my view is that it’s part of a broader, administration-wide effort to eliminate fossil fuels. For that reason, I’m not comfortable moving forward with Mr. Marootian at this time.”

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Since Marootian was hired to advise Granholm on energy efficiency and since his nomination was returned to the White House, the DOE has pursued a number of energy efficiency regulations impacting household appliances including gas stovetops, ovens, clothes washers, refrigerators, air conditioners and dishwashers which consumer advocates have criticized as regulatory overreach. 

“It’s just spreading to more and more appliances. It seems that almost everything that plugs in or fires up around the house is either subject to a pending regulation or soon will be,” Ben Lieberman, a senior fellow at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, previously told Fox News Digital.

“Consumers aren’t going to like any of it,” he added. “These rules are almost always bad for consumers for the simple reason that they restrict consumer choice.”

The trolling of former Vice President Mike Pence by Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramswamy’s campaign was called out by X on Monday after the social media giant added a “community note” to the latter’s claim that the former was “copying” one of his “revolutionary ideas.”

“Hey [Mike Pence]. You get an ‘F’ for copying [Vivek Ramaswamy’s] homework. While imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, it’s not cool to rip off his revolutionary ideas and pawn them off as your own. Don’t blame you. Vivek is super smart. [Harvard] and [Yale Law School] degrees,” the Ramaswamy campaign’s war room wrote over the weekend in response to Pence vowing to “shut down the Department of Education.”

However, the X note pointed to former President Ronald Reagan as the one who originally called for the shutting down of the Education Department during his 1982 State of the Union speech. According to the Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania, cited by X in its note, Reagan said he believed “decisions about education should be made at the local level and that the federal government should play only a minor role in the nation’s schools.”

FORMER SPECIAL FORCES SOLDIER LAUNCHES CAMPAIGN IN VIRGINIA TO FLIP SWING HOUSE SEAT FROM DEMOCRATS

In its post roasting Pence, the Ramaswamy campaign pointed to a separate X post by Ramaswamy from Feb. 28 with a promise to shut down the Education Department, well before Pence began pushing the policy as part of his own presidential campaign, which he didn’t launch until June.

Pence made the policy promise just days after Ramaswamy had given a speech to the America First Policy Institute detailing his own plan for shutting down the Education Department in what his campaign told Fox News Digital was given with “unprecedented detail.”

EX-DHS AGENT WHO INSPIRED ‘SOUND OF FREEDOM’ ‘SERIOUSLY CONSIDERING’ RUN FOR ROMNEY’S SENATE SEAT

Former Vice President Mike Pence and Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy. (Getty Images)

A spokesperson for the Ramaswamy campaign told Fox that Republican calls to end federal agencies, such as the Education Department, weren’t new, but that the level of detail Ramaswamy has been offering on the campaign trail was something that was so far unseen.

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Fox has reached out to the Pence campaign for comment.

Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., attacked a journalist who defended how he dresses, baffling social media users.

The senator took a shot at Nate Silver, the founder of the data news site FiveThirtyEight, after Silver posted a message on X, formerly known as Twitter, defending Fetterman against people who criticize him over his outfits, which regularly consists of hoodies and gym shorts.

“Starting a new political party for people who don’t give a s— either about how John Fetterman dresses or what Lauren Boebert does in a theater,” Silver wrote.

Fetterman, however, responded to the message by insulting him. “I dress like you predict,” Fetterman said to Silver, who is an election and political statistician.

FETTERMAN BLASTED BY CONSERVATIVES AFTER SENATE DROPS DRESS CODE: ‘STOP LOWERING THE BAR!’

Former President Barack Obama, left, supported John Fetterman in Pennsylvania’s hotly contested U.S. Senate race. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

Fetterman’s insult confused social media users, given Silver’s message supported the Democrat.

“So Fetterman’s handlers decided to insult a guy who defended him by admitting that their boss dresses like s—???” Greg Price wrote.

“John Fetterman finds it hilarious that he’s turned the senate into a coddling daycare for an emotionally stunted man-child with severely arrested development,” former President Donald Trump senior adviser Stephen Miller said. 

“In which [John Fetterman] attacks [Nate Silver] for arguing that the controversy over his wardrobe is driven by partisans,” Mediaite staff writer Isaac Schorr wrote. “Oh, and in which he ‘dunks’ on him by asserting that Silver’s work is as shoddy as his attire? Bizarre all the way around.”

JOHN FETTERMAN DARES REPUBLICANS TO IMPEACH BIDEN: ‘YOU JUST GOTTA CALL THEIR BULLS–T’

The U.S. Senate recently dropped its dress code requirement, sparking criticism from many conservatives both online and in Congress who suggested the move was made to appease Fetterman.

Fox News Digital on Sunday confirmed that the Senate will no longer enforce a dress code for members of Congress’ upper chamber. Senators will now be allowed to wear whatever they want, but others entering the chamber must comply with the dress code: coats and ties for men and business attire for women. 

Conservatives also responded on X criticizing Fetterman, who has regularly worn casual attire in the building and found a workaround to the legislative body’s dress code rules by voting from the doorway of the Democrat cloakroom or the side entrance, making sure his vote is recorded before leaving.

Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. John Fetterman, Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate, speaks in Philadelphia on Sept. 24, 2022. (The Associated Press)

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“The Senate no longer enforcing a dress code for Senators to appease Fetterman is disgraceful,” Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., posted on X. “Dress code is one of society’s standards that set etiquette and respect for our institutions. Stop lowering the bar!”

“If my interns can put on a suit so can a U.S. Senator,” Rep. Ryan Zinke, R-Mont., wrote.

Fox News Digital’s Andrew Mark Miller contributed to this report.

EXCLUSIVE: The race to replace retiring Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, is gaining steam as another candidate has tossed his hat into the fold, the first since the senator said last week he wouldn’t run for re-election.

Speaking with Fox News Digital, Roosevelt, Utah Mayor Rod Bird, Jr., a Republican, ripped Romney’s tenure in office, arguing the senator didn’t do what he said he would do when first elected in 2018.

“When Romney ran, he campaigned on conservative values and gave a lot of people in our state hope,” Bird said “Many believed he would fight for us, but in many ways he sold us out and didn’t keep his word.”

ROMNEY ANNOUNCES HE WON’T SEEK RE-ELECTION IN 2024, BASHES TRUMP AND BIDEN

Roosevelt, Utah Mayor Rod Bird, Jr. and Republican Utah Sen. Mitt Romney. (Getty Images, Rod Bird, Jr.)

Bird — who has served as Roosevelt’s mayor since 2018 — says he hopes to run a campaign based on the “spirit of small-town values” and “principles of individualism, limited government, and freedom.”

“We have a lot of career politicians in Washington serving their own agenda,” he said. “[Romney] was quick to march with radical groups like Black Lives Matter, when he should have been walking down Main Street and talking with small businesses and working families struggling across our state.” 

“My campaign won’t be about him or personalities, it will be about standing up for our God-given, constitutional freedoms and fighting for working families, small businesses, and everyday people who are struggling due to Joe Biden’s failed policies.”

ROMNEY USES BIDEN’S OWN WORDS AGAINST HIM, CALLS FOR PRESIDENT TO JOIN HIM IN RETIREMENT: ‘TIME TO TRANSITION’

Roosevelt, Utah Mayor and Republican Senate candidate Rod Bird, Jr. (Rod Bird, Jr.)

Bird said he grew up in extreme poverty, and that his family even had to live in a 10×20 foot shed after their home was lost in a fire. Since then, he has built the oil and gas supply company Paragon Oilfield Products, which made him a multi-millionaire. 

As Roosevelt’s mayor, Bird has made a name for himself as a staunch opponent of government mandates related to the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as pushing to lower taxes for its citizens.

“I grew up with the belief that in America you truly can come from nothing and make what you want of your life,” he told Fox. “I still wear boots and jeans to work every day. I’m someone that understands the struggles of everyday Utahns because I’ve lived them.”

FORMER SPECIAL FORCES SOLDIER LAUNCHES CAMPAIGN IN VIRGINIA TO FLIP SWING HOUSE SEAT FROM DEMOCRATS

In announcing his candidacy in the race, Staggs became the first person to publicly pose a challenge to Romney, who has angered many voters within his own party for his reasoning and support for certain policies and bills. (Trent Staggs)

Romney’s retirement has launched a frenzy of Republicans looking to fill the seat with a more conservative candidate. Utah House Speaker Brad Wilson and Riverton Mayor Trent Staggs have signaled they were launching primary challenges against Romney earlier this year, but Staggs is the only other candidate to have officially launched a campaign for the seat.

Tim Ballard, the former Department of Homeland Security agent who inspired the hit film “Sound of Freedom” said Friday he was “very seriously considering” a run for the seat.

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Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, joked Monday that she would “wear a bikini” on the floor of the Senate following Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s, D-N.Y., directive that the body would no longer enforce a dress code for its members.

Her comments were first reported by an NBC News reporter, but were confirmed by Fox News Digital. Collins made the comments while slamming the dress code directive, arguing it “debases the institution,” which still requires others entering the chamber to comply with the dress code, including coats and ties for men, and business attire for women.

“Obviously, I’m not going to wear a bikini,” Collins said. “But the fact is, as I understand it, I could!”

SINEMA JOINS GOP SENATORS ON BILL TO REVERSE BIDEN ADMIN’S CRACKDOWN ON SCHOOL HUNTING, ARCHERY CLASSES

From right, Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, Chair Patty Murray, D-Wash., and Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., conduct the Senate Appropriations Committee markup of the “Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2024,” and the “Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2024,” in Dirksen Building on Thursday, June 22, 2023. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

Fox News Digital confirmed the dress code changes on Sunday after Schumer secretly sent the directive to the Senate’s sergeant at arms.

The change will allow Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., to continue wearing his trademark hoodies and gym shorts he is often seen wearing around Capitol Hill after returning from a six-week hospitalization for depression earlier this year.

He had previously found a workaround to the legislative body’s dress code rules by voting from the doorway of the Democrat cloakroom or the side entrance, making sure his vote is recorded before ducking out.

GOP SENATOR LATEST REPUBLICAN TO THROW HAT BEHIND TRUMP FOR PRESIDENT

Sen. John Fetterman (D-Penn.) arrives for the “AI Insight Forum” at the Russell Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill on September 13, 2023, in Washington, DC. (Nathan Howard/Getty Images)

Fetterman was blasted by conservatives following the change, with some suggesting the move was made to appease him. 

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Fox News’ Chad Pergram, Timothy H.J. Nerozzi and Andrew Mark Miller contributed to this report.

The Biden administration proposed to block of thousands of acres from future oil drilling or mining in northern New Mexico in an effort to protect Native American lands.

According to the Department of the Interior (DOI), the proposal would ban new mining claims and oil and gas development across more than 4,200 acres in Sandoval County, New Mexico, located north of Albuquerque. If finalized and implemented, the action would remain in place for up to 50 years.

“Today we’re responding to call from Tribes, elected leaders, and community members who want to see these public lands protected,” Interior Secretary Deb Haaland said in a statement. “We look forward to hearing more from the public to inform decisions about how activities, like gravel mining, may impact these lands, including the important cultural and natural resources.”

“We recognize the importance of the Placitas area, both for Tribal Nations and for the local community who visit and recreate in this area,” added Melanie Barnes, the state director of the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) New Mexico office.

BIDEN ADMIN REVERSES TRUMP-ERA ACTION MAKING IT EASIER TO BUILD FOSSIL FUEL PIPELINES

Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, speaks during a news conference on July 22, 2021, in Denver.  (AP Photo/David Zalubowski, File)

In its proposal, the BLM stated that the action was designed to “protect, preserve, and promote the scenic integrity, cultural importance, recreational values, and wildlife habitat connectivity” in the region. 

The DOI said the Pueblo tribes of San Felipe and Santa Ana have previously advocated for protections in the area which contains archeological resources from hundreds of years ago. The area is also popular for hiking, camping, sightseeing and hunting.  

HOUSE DEMS CROSS PARTY LINES, DEMAND BIDEN ADMIN EXPAND OIL DRILLING

In 2019, Haaland, who at the time served in Congress and as vice chair of the House Natural Resources Committee, introduced the Buffalo Tract Protection Act which would mimic the actions taken Monday. At the time, Haaland said residents and tribal citizens in the region bear the brunt of pollution produced from the area’s many mines.

The Biden administration asserted that the region in New Mexico is home to various archeological resources linked to tribes. (iStock )

Earlier this year, Sen. Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., and Rep. Melanie Stansbury, D-N.M., reintroduced the legislation. The pair have also repeatedly called on the DOI to take action blocking mineral development in Sandoval County.

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“It is time we put an end to this years-long debate and withdraw these parcels from future mineral development,” Heinrich said during a March event in Albuquerque alongside Stansbury.

Using information available from the BLM, the Congressional Budget Office issued a report on the Buffalo Tract Protection Act in August concluding that the area impacted by the mineral ban has high potential for sand and gravel extraction and minimal potential for development of other minerals. Sand and gravel extraction is key for various infrastructure projects like roads.

The report projected the land withdrawal would result in a decrease of $2 million in federal revenue.

Former President Donald Trump sparked backlash from conservatives after he criticized the six-week abortion ban of his Republican opponent, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.

During an interview on MSNBC’s “Meet the Press” over the weekend, Trump was pressed on his abortion stance as voters turn their attention toward the 2024 presidential election.

Trump, the frontrunner of the GOP primary, said that he would work with Democrats to pass abortion legislation before taking aim at his presidential race rival DeSantis’ six-week ban in the Sunshine State.

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Former President Donald Trump blasted Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ six-week abortion ban, calling the policy “a terrible thing.” (Sean Rayford/Getty Images)

“I think they’re all going to like me, I think both sides are going to like me,” Trump said. “…What’s going to happen is: you’re going to come up with a number of weeks or months, you’re going to come up with a number that’s going to make people happy.”

“Because 92 percent of the Democrats don’t want to see abortion after a certain period of time,” the former president added.

Trump was pressed on whether he would sign a 15-week federal abortion ban if it came across his desk.

“Well, people are starting to think of 15 weeks, that seems to be a number that people are talking about right now,” he responded, being asked again if he would sign it.

Trump, the frontrunner of the GOP primary, said that he would work with Democrats to pass abortion legislation before taking aim at his presidential race rival DeSantis’ six-week ban in the Sunshine State. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

“I would sit down with both sides and I’d negotiate something, and we’ll end up with peace on that issue for the first time in 52 years,” the former president said. “I’m not going to say I would or I wouldn’t.”

“I mean, ‘DeSanctus’ [DeSantis] is willing to sign a five-week and six-week ban,” Trump said in response to whether he would support that level of ban and if he thought it goes too far.

“I think what he did is a terrible thing and a terrible mistake,” the former president responded.

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

Trump’s comments come as he seeks a third candidacy for the Oval Office against his former protégé DeSantis and a multitude of GOP and Democratic presidential hopefuls. (Fox News)

Users online blasted Trump over his comments, with conservatives saying the abortion issue may hurt him going into 2024.

“Huh. That’s odd. I remember being in the crowd when Trump spoke at the March for Life,” pro-life activist Nicholas Sandmann tweeted.

“I commended the President for an amazing speech. He said: ‘We cannot know what our citizens yet unborn will achieve. The dreams they will imagine. The masterpieces they will create…” he continued.

“Pathetic and unacceptable. Trump is actively attacking the very pro-life laws made possible by Roe’s overturning,” pro-life activist Lila Rose wrote.

“Heartbeat Laws have saved thousands of babies. But Trump wants to compromise on babies’ lives so pro-abort Dems ‘like him,’” she continued. “Trump should not be the GOP nominee.”

“Trump should fire whatever idiot advisor told him to go squishy on abortion. Dumb move. Abortion zealots are never gonna vote Trump just because he’s willing to ‘compromise.’ And innocent babies will be killed in the process,” “The Liz Wheeler Show” host Liz Wheeler posted. “Lose lose. Trump isn’t a centrist. His best move is and always will be to stay based and savage. Hate to see this garbage from him.”

SBA Pro-Life America President Marjorie Dannenfelser responded to Trump’s comments by saying, “We thank Gov. Ron DeSantis for following the science and the will of the people by signing the Heartbeat Protection Act into law”

The former president’s comments come as he seeks a third candidacy for the Oval Office against his onetime protégé DeSantis and a multitude of GOP and Democratic presidential hopefuls.

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DeSantis has been fighting to close the gap with Trump from his number two position in the GOP primary as former Vice President Mike Pence competes for the GOP presidential nomination as well.

Former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy are also fighting for the GOP nod and met DeSantis on the debate stage last month.