NationalWatch

Rep. Elise Stefanik will officially launch her long-anticipated campaign for New York governor on Friday, entering the 2026 race as a Republican challenger to Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul, multiple sources confirmed to Fox News on Thursday.

Stefanik, a top House Republican and one of former President Donald Trump’s closest allies, represents a conservative-leaning district in upstate New York and has been weighing a gubernatorial run for months.

“It will be very, very soon and people are very excited,” Stefanik said Thursday in an interview on Fox News’ “The Story with Martha MacCallum.”

“There’s been an outpouring of support from Republicans, Democrats, independents, all across our great state,” Stefanik touted. “Many Democrats who previously supported Kathy Hochul are lining up in support.”

STEFANIK WRITING NEW BOOK AMID GUBERNATORIAL RUN BUZZ

Stefanik, a member of the House Republican leadership, for months has repeatedly charged that Hochul is “the worst governor in America.”

And Stefanik has blasted Hochul over the governor’s endorsement earlier this autumn of Zohran Mamdani, who this week was elected mayor of New York City. 

REPUBLICANS AIM TO LINK VULERNABLE DEMOCRATS TO MAMDANI

“People are looking for strong, commonsense leadership to be a check on this radical insanity that we’re seeing play out in New York City with Zohran Mamdani as a tax-hiking, defund the police, antisemite socialist,” Stefanik said in her Fox News interview, again linking Hochul to the progressive mayor-elect.

Stefanik, who once criticized Trump, has since become one of his staunchest defenders in Congress.

After Trump’s White House victory last year, he briefly considered naming Stefanik U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, but ultimately backed off amid concerns that her departure would shrink the GOP’s razor-thin House majority.

It has been more than two decades since a Republican last won a New York gubernatorial race. The last was former Gov. George Pataki’s re-election in 2002.

COULD THIS TRUMP ALLY BREAK THE GOP’S 20-YEAR LOSING STREAK IN THIS KEY STATE?

Hochul, meanwhile, could face a tough re-election fight.

A former lieutenant governor, Hochul took office in 2021 after Democrat Andrew Cuomo resigned amid multiple scandals.

She defeated then-Rep. Lee Zeldin by just over six points in 2022 to win a full four-year term. But Zeldin’s showing was the best by a Republican gubernatorial nominee since Pataki won re-election to a third term in 2002.

Meanwhile, Trump, who lost New York by 23 points in the 2020 presidential election, trimmed his deficit by 10 points last November.

Hochul, a moderate Democrat from Buffalo, is facing a primary challenge from New York Lt. Gov. Antonio Delgado, in a very rare move by a lieutenant governor to primary challenge a sitting incumbent.

Stefanik is expected to hammer Hochul as she focuses her campaign on the issue of affordability.

“People are very concerned about affordability and I have a strong record of delivering for families,” she highlighted in her Fox News interview.

And she charged that Hochul had made New York “the most unaffordable state in the nation. We have the highest taxes, the highest energy prices, the highest utility prices, the highest grocery prices, and rent that continues to skyrocket.”

Democrats notched double-digit victories this week in New Jersey and Virginia, emphasizing affordability as a top issue. Stefanik said those results show Republicans must put forward a clear economic vision.

“You have to have a vision, and you have to put forth policies to make your state affordable again,” she said. “We are going to win the affordability message because her [Hochul] record is making it the most unaffordable state in the nation.”

But New York State Democratic Party Spokesperson Addison Dick charged that “Elise Stefanik is a rubber stamp in Washington for Trump’s deeply unpopular agenda that is raising costs, gutting health care, and defunding New York schools, hospitals, and police.”

And Democratic Governors Association spokesperson Kevin Donohoe charged that “from gutting health care to backing cost-raising tariffs, Stefanik’s record as Trump’s cheerleader in chief could not be more toxic with New York voters.”

Earlier this year, Republican Rep. Mike Lawler of New York seriously mulled a run for governor. But Lawler announced in July that he would seek re-election and forgo a gubernatorial run.

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Stefanik, however, has already begun assembling a seasoned campaign team that includes veteran Republican pollster Tony Fabrizio, who served as chief pollster for Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign.

But Stefanik may not have the Republican nomination to herself. 

Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, a Trump ally who was re-elected this week, may be eyeing a run for governor, GOP sources in New York confirmed to Fox News.

The Helena, Montana city commissioner candidate who made headlines for lobbing threats and wishing a painful cancer death on Sen. Tim Sheehy, R-Mont., in an expletive-filled voicemail, failed to crack the threshold of the top 2 candidates.

Haley McKnight made national headlines earlier this week after audio of her voicemail she left for the senator in July came to light. The voicemail came from over the summer, shortly after Sheehy voted with his Republican colleagues to pass the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, a sweeping tax and spending package from Republicans that angered many Democrats, including McKnight, following its passage. 

“Hi, this is Haley McKnight. I’m a constituent in Helena, Montana,” McKnight started off in her voicemail, a recording of which was obtained and verified by Fox News Digital. “I just wanted to let you know that you are the most insufferable kind of coward and thief. You just stripped away healthcare for 17 million Americans, and I hope you’re really proud of that. I hope that one day you get pancreatic cancer, and it spreads throughout your body so fast that they can’t even treat you for it.”

WHAT JAY JONES’ VICTORY MEANS FOR DEMOCRATS AND THE ‘NEW ERA OF VIOLENT RHETORIC,’ ACCORDING TO EXPERTS

The anger didn’t stop there, either. During the roughly minute-long voicemail that phone logs reportedly show came on the afternoon of July 1, McKnight launches into insults about Sheehy’s fertility and his children, before warning the senator not to “meet me on the streets.”

“I hope you die in the street like a dog,” McKnight continued. “One day, you’re going to live to regret this. I hope that your children never forgive you. I hope that you are infertile. I hope that you manage to never get a boner ever again.”

In an interview with Fox News Digital, McKnight questioned the timing of her voicemail’s release, but Sheehy’s office told a local news outlet it had not been aware of the threatening voicemail sent to them over the summer until just recently.

As the headlines documenting McKnight’s expletive-filled voicemail reverberated nationally, she was gearing up for a local election Tuesday night alongside all the nationally recognized races that took place that day, including the race for Virginia and New Jersey governor, which both saw Democratic Party victories. And it wasn’t just those two races – Democrats saw a blue wave Tuesday with victories in all the high-profile races, as well as most of the lesser-known ones too. 

VIRGINIA SLAMMED FOR ‘TRULY DEMONIC’ ELECTION THAT EXCUSED POLITICAL VIOLENCE TO SPITE TRUMP, CRITICS SAY 

But that blue wave wasn’t enough to carry local candidates like McKnight to victory. She garnered only 20% of the vote, falling in third among a field of four candidates. Those who beat McKnight to obtain the two city commissioner seats up for grabs were Melinda Reed and Ben Rigby. Reed obtained 36.5% of the vote, while Rigby garnered 31.2%. The candidate who came in fourth garnered 11.5% and write-ins got 0.52% of the vote. 

Speaking to Fox News earlier in the week about her voicemail, McKnight answered “no comment” when pressed if she stood by her rhetoric. She did note that her intention was not to threaten, or hurt, the senator, but added that she believed her rage was justifiable.

“I wanted to drive home the struggles that people that I know are going through because of his policies. I think people were kind of shocked at my specificity, but these are things that are affecting people in my community,” McKnight told Fox News Digital, adding that Sheehy was spending too much time blocking the release of “the Epstein files” as opposed to understanding the struggles Montanans are going through. 

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Fox News Digital reached out to McKnight to inquire about whether she thought her voicemail had any impact on the outcome of her election. Once again, McKnight replied, “No comment.”

The Trump administration said it has rescinded tens of thousands of nonimmigrant visas since January, pointing to criminal activity as the primary reason.

The State Department announced on Thursday that 80,000 visas have been revoked this year, noting that this is more than twice the number revoked last year.

More than 8,000 student visas were among those impacted.

LABOR UNIONS SUE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION OVER SOCIAL MEDIA MONITORING OF VISA HOLDERS

The top reasons for these revocations were assault, theft, and driving under the influence, according to the State Department. These three crimes accounted for nearly half of the revoked visas this year.

The agency said it pulled more than 16,000 visas for DUIs, more than 12,000 for assault and more than 8,000 for theft.

“Promises made, promises kept,” the State Department wrote on X, adding that President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio “will always put the safety and interests of the American people first.”

TRUMP ADMINISTRATION TO VET LEGAL IMMIGRANT APPLICANTS FOR ‘ANTI-AMERICANISM’ AND ANTISEMITISM

The State Department may revoke a visa for reasons such as indicators of an overstay, criminal activity, a threat to public safety, engaging in any form of terrorist activity or providing support to a terrorist organization.

The administration has broadly defined support for terrorism to include criticism of U.S. support for Israel and the Jewish State’s military action, as well as support for Palestinians. The federal government has previously used this as a justification to cancel visas.

Since Trump returned to the White House in January, his administration has searched for online posts to target foreigners for the potential rescinding of their visas.

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On his first day back in office, Trump signed an executive order to ensure visa holders “do not bear hostile attitudes toward its citizens, culture, government, institutions, or founding principles, and do not advocate for, aid, or support designated foreign terrorists and other threats to our national security.”

Over the summer, the State Department said it would start asking applicants to make their social media accounts public for government monitoring and that interviews with applicants would determine who may pose a threat to national security.

President Donald Trump said more countries are lining up to join the Abraham Accords in an effort to normalize relations with Israel. 

Kazakhstan is expected to join the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Morocco, which had formalized relations with the Jewish state. 

On Thursday, Trump said he spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev of Kazakhstan.

NETANYAHU TO SKIP TRUMP’S MIDDLE EAST PEACE SUMMIT IN EGYPT AS NEW REGIONAL DYNAMICS TAKE SHAPE

“Kazakhstan is the first Country of my Second Term to join the Abraham Accords, the first of many,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “This is a major step forward in building bridges across the World. Today, more Nations are lining up to embrace Peace and Prosperity through my Abraham Accords.”

The Abraham Accords were first signed in 2020 in an effort to broker ties between Israel and its Arab neighbors. 

TEAM ISRAEL GYMNASTS SPEAK OUT AFTER BEING BARRED FROM WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS BY INDONESIAN GOVERNMENT

Trump signaled that more nations, including Syria, may be joining the Abraham Accords, with Saudi Arabia at the forefront of efforts to expand the historic Israel-Arab normalization pact.

Syria’s interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa is expected to meet with Trump at the White House next week, followed by Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin-Salman Nov. 18.

In January 2021, Sudan signed a U.S.-brokered Abraham Accords declaration, but those efforts have since been derailed by internal political unrest.

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“We will soon announce a Signing Ceremony to make it official, and there are many more Countries trying to join this club of STRENGTH,” Trump wrote. “So much more to come in uniting Countries for Stability and Growth — Real progress, real results. BLESSED ARE THE PEACEMAKERS!”

Senate Republicans blocked an attempt to end President Donald Trump’s ability to continue attacks against alleged drug boats in the Caribbean.

Senate Democrats, led by Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., forced a vote on a war powers resolution that would have halted the Trump administration’s strikes against alleged Venezuelan drug boats.

Kaine, along with senators Adam Schiff, D-Calif., and Rand Paul, R-Ky., introduced the resolution earlier this month after Trump signaled he would authorize strikes on Venezuelan soil. They argued that the strikes, and possible intervention on the ground, shouldn’t be able to continue without congressional authorization.

TRUMP UNLEASHES US MILITARY POWER ON CARTELS. IS A WIDER WAR LOOMING?

Despite the strikes on alleged drug boats giving members on both sides of the aisle heartburn, the push failed largely along party lines except for Paul and a defection by Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, who voted for a previous resolution to block Trump’s strikes in the Caribbean earlier this month.

Trump earlier this month acknowledged that he authorized the CIA operations in the region for two reasons; that Venezuela had “emptied their prisons into the United States of America” and that drugs were flowing in from the country.

“We have a lot of drugs coming in from Venezuela, and a lot of the Venezuelan drugs come in through the sea,” Trump said. “So, you get to see that, but we’re going to stop them by land also.”

SENATORS LOOK TO BLOCK TRUMP FROM ENGAGING IN ‘HOSTILITIES’ IN VENEZUELA

In their resolution, the trio contended that whether United States forces should be engaged in hostilities within or against Venezuela should be answered following a full briefing to Congress and the American public of the issues at stake, a public debate in Congress, and a congressional vote as contemplated by the Constitution.”

So far, the administration has carried out 16 strikes against vessels in the region that led to a death toll of 66 people.

Trump earlier this week ordered that the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford head to the Caribbean as part of his administration’s ongoing fight against drugs.

WHITE HOUSE RESPONDS TO REPORTS OF TRUMP PREPARING TO HIT MILITARY TARGETS INSIDE VENEZUELA

The failed vote also came after congressional leaders and chairs of the House and Senate Armed Services and Intelligence committees were briefed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth on Wednesday as part of a bid by the administration to clue lawmakers in on the rationale behind the strikes.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said after the briefing, “What we heard isn’t enough. We need a lot more answers.”

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Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chair James Risch, R-Idaho, said he was “fully satisfied” by the briefing, adding the administration has a “good legal justification for what they’re doing.”

“The president really ought to be congratulated for saving the lives of young American people,” Risch said.

The Supreme Court cleared the way for the State Department to require people to state their biological sex on new or renewed passports, a victory for the Trump administration as it aims to tighten policies involving transgender people.

The high court found in a 6-3 order temporarily greenlighting the policy that a lower court in Massachusetts had erred in blocking it. 

“Displaying passport holders’ sex at birth no more offends equal protection principles than displaying their country of birth—in both cases, the Government is merely attesting to a historical fact without subjecting anyone to differential treatment,” the majority wrote in the unsigned order.

TRUMP ADMIN ASKS SUPREME COURT TO ALLOW IT TO ENFORCE PASSPORT SEX DESIGNATION POLICY

The three liberal justices dissented. Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, a Biden appointee, blasted her Republican-appointed colleagues in a lengthy dissent for what she said had become a “routine” of siding with the Trump administration on the emergency docket.

The majority “fails to spill any ink considering the plaintiffs, opting instead to intervene in the Government’s favor without equitable justification, and in a manner that permits harm to be inflicted on the most vulnerable party,” Jackson wrote, adding that transgender people have been permitted to state their preferred gender on passports for more than three decades.

The class action lawsuit, brought by a dozen self-described transgender, nonbinary or intersex people on behalf of themselves and others in their situation, will continue to proceed through the lower courts.

The plaintiffs had argued in court papers that passports should “reflect the sex [people] live as and express, rather than the sex they were assigned at birth.”

SUPREME COURT REJECTS SOUTH CAROLINA’S BID TO ENFORCE TRANSGENDER BATHROOM BAN

Solicitor General John Sauer wrote on behalf of President Donald Trump that passports effectively communicate information to foreign governments and private citizens cannot force the president to communicate in a way that defies his foreign policy preferences and “scientific reality.”

The policy, which reversed the Biden administration’s allowance of an “X” gender option on passports, was implemented as part of a string of executive orders Trump issued when he took office aimed at requiring transgender people to identify as their biological sex in certain situations, including in gender-exclusive sports and in the military.

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Attorney General Pam Bondi celebrated that the high court had handed the Department of Justice roughly two-dozen wins this year on the emergency docket, sometimes referred to as a shadow or interim docket, where cases are fast-tracked so that the Supreme Court can potentially offer temporary resolutions until the merits of the cases are examined.

“Today’s stay allows the government to require citizens to list their biological sex on their passport,” Bondi said on social media. “In other words: there are two sexes, and our attorneys will continue fighting for that simple truth.”

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

-Mamdani slammed for jetting to ‘luxury resort’ for Puerto Rico conference during shutdown

-Nancy Pelosi will not seek re-election, ending decades-long House career

–Neighboring states invite disaffected NY, NJ, VA voters to move after Dems’ election sweep

Turbulence ahead: Charts show how the shutdown is disrupting America’s airports

The nation’s air travel system is buckling under the weight of the longest federal government shutdown in U.S. history, raising fears of major disruptions ahead of the busy Thanksgiving holiday.

Since the shutdown began on Oct. 1, flight delays and cancellations have surged, snarling operations at airports across the country.

Major hubs along the East Coast — including Newark, Washington, D.C., and Boston — reported some of the highest numbers of delayed flights, while large airports in Chicago, Dallas–Fort Worth, Los Angeles and Atlanta also experienced significant disruptions…READ MORE.
 

White House

NO FREE RIDES: Trump State Department orders global visa crackdown under revived ‘public charge’ rule

KEY RULING: Appeals court orders judge to reconsider whether to move Trump case to the federal system

ESCALATING INQUIRY: DOJ actively preparing to issue grand jury subpoenas relating to John Brennan investigation: sources

World Stage

PACIFIC SHOWDOWN: High stakes on the high seas as US, China test limits of military power

ATOMIC ARMS RACE: Russia drawing up plans to conduct nuclear tests after Trump announcement

MISSED OPPORTUNITY: Top Democrat backs U.S. intel on narco-trafficking strikes, faults Biden for ‘not going far enough’ on Maduro

Capitol Hill

FISCAL FIASCO: GOP lawmaker warns of possible food, medicine shortages as flights grounded

GAME ON: House GOP probe targets Soros-linked groups over alleged Antifa funding ties

‘REALLY CRITICAL’: House Dem deflects on whether election is a warning to Democrats, demands party ‘stand strong’

PUNISHING POLITICS: New MAMDANI Act would block federal funds to NYC after socialist’s inauguration

‘A LITTLE CREEPY’: Senate hearing gets heated over shutdown after ‘stalking’ accusation flies

‘SUCH IS LIFE’: Elizabeth Warren called out for trying to blame Trump for ‘Monday Night Football’ blackout

Across America 

CAPITOL RETURN: Former House Democrat targets Trump in bid for political comeback

CAMPUS DEBATE: ‘Free speech isn’t optional’: Next generation of legal thinkers push back on campus conformity

GOLDEN GATE OPENS: Battle for the House: GOP gets boost in bid to flip swing district after Democrat bows out

COURT STEPS IN: Federal judge says ICE detainees ‘shouldn’t be sleeping next to overflowing toilets’ at Chicago-area facility

‘NO COMMENT’: Top Mamdani transition leader was heavily influenced by Soros network during Biden admin

DEMOCRACY CHECK: More than 500,000 Californians demand voting overhaul, back ‘straightforward’ ID law

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

The Trump Department of Homeland Security flipped the script on a liberal California media outlet that reported immigration agents “drove off” with a U.S. citizen detainee’s toddler in the backseat.

The Los Angeles Times reported that while carrying out an immigration enforcement operation at a Home Depot in the Cypress Park neighborhood, Border Patrol officials detained a 32-year-old U.S. citizen named Dennis Quinonez, who had a one-year-old child in the backseat of his car.

The outlet reported that “after two agents climbed into his car — along with their weapons — they drove off with the child as onlookers protested.”

The article noted that a DHS spokesperson said Quinonez “allegedly ‘exited his vehicle wielding a hammer and threw rocks at law enforcement while he had a child in his car.’”

ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS ARRESTED AFTER RAMMING BORDER PATROL IN CHICAGO AMID VIOLENT CLASH WITH PROTESTERS

The outlet also noted that the spokesperson said Quinonez “was arrested for assault and during his arrest a pistol was found in his car, that is reported stolen out of the state of New York” and that he “has an active warrant for property damage.”

Quinonez has been charged with unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition by a person previously convicted of domestic violence, as noted by the outlet.

Despite this, the outlet quoted an immigration activist who said, “The fact that they were getting into that car, heavily armed, with masks on their face, they put that toddler in extreme danger.”

The activist said, “It should shock everyone’s conscience that we have masked armed men behaving like that with a U.S. citizen father and a toddler who were just going to run an errand at Home Depot on a random Tuesday.”

Deeper in the outlet’s coverage of the incident, it reported that the “agents decided to drive Quinonez and his daughter separately to another location, where agents determined that the handgun was loaded with five rounds of ammunition.”

DHS CALLS OUT NBC AFFILIATE FOR HIDING ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT CRIME HISTORY IN ARREST STORY

An LA Times reporter took to X to post about the incident, writing, “During a Border Patrol operation outside a Cypress Park Home Depot yesterday, agents detained a U.S. citizen they accused of assault. The agents drove off with his one-year-old daughter in the backseat. She’s since been reunited with her family.”

The reporter added that “Maria Avalos, the child’s grandmother, said the agents ‘shouldn’t have driven off’ with her granddaughter” and that “‘When they got into the car, taking my granddaughter, I said, ‘Why are they taking her, are they really ICE, are they kidnapping her or what?’”

This post prompted DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin to issue a sharp retort.

“Oh ffs sake, Brittny. This U.S. citizen left his own child unattended in a car and proceeded to attack law enforcement as the[y] were conducting an operation—he exited his car wielding a hammer and threw rocks at law enforcement as he abandoned his child,” she wrote.

MAN STRUCK, KILLED ON FREEWAY WHILE FLEEING IMMIGRATION AGENTS DURING HOME DEPOT RAID

McLaughlin added that given the facts that Quinonez was arrested for assault, a pistol was found in his car during the arrest, the car was reported stolen out of New York, and he had an active warrant for property damage, “law enforcement rightly looked over the child until they were in the safe custody of a guardian.”

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In response, a spokesperson for the LA Times told Fox News Digital, “We stand by this story,” adding that “all the information that DHS cited is prominently reported in the story.”

The ongoing government shutdown that has grounded, delayed and canceled passenger flights has also wreaked havoc on cargo flights, prompting alarm about the communities that especially rely on imported goods. 

As the U.S. Secretary of Transportation announced further reductions to flight volumes on Thursday, that concern is front of mind for Rep. Nicholas Begich, R-Alaska.

“This is very concerning for Alaska. Many of our rural communities and small villages aren’t connected to any type of road system and rely on air travel for basic living essentials,” Begich said.

FLIGHT DELAYS WORSEN AS UNPAID AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLERS FEEL GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN PAIN

“Right now, some of our coastal communities are already struggling to get groceries and basic supplies because extreme weather has limited marine transportation. If aviation capacity continues to be disrupted, those challenges will only worsen,” he said.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced Thursday that he expected U.S. flight capacity to fall by 10% over the next few days at 40 of the country’s busiest airports, compounding an already-existing slowdown across the country. 

Many air traffic controllers and TSA agents have been asked to work without pay for over a month during the government shutdown, prompting a growing number to call out or find alternative sources of revenue. According to FlightAware, an online flight tracking service, air travel in the U.S. had reported 2,992 delays and 56 flight cancellations by 1:30 p.m. ET on Thursday afternoon. 

“This is data-based,” Duffy said. “This is about: where’s the pressure? How do we alleviate the pressure.”

SEAN DUFFY WARNS OF RECORD STRAIN ON AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLERS AHEAD OF FIRST MISSED PAYCHECK

Although cargo and shipping flights are not uniquely impacted by the shutdown, they also won’t receive preferential treatment on the runway. According to pilots familiar with how planes communicate with air traffic control, shipping flights compete with commercial travelers for space and manpower. That can vary from airport to airport. The Bureau of Transportation Statistics reported that the U.S. shipped 17,611 ton-miles through the air last year — a metric that benchmarks the volume of goods moving through airports. The U.S. shipped 1,643 ton-miles in October 2024.

In Alaska, shipping plays a larger role. Begich noted that it’s a key state for the nation’s transportation of goods.

“Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport is the second-largest cargo hub in the United States, connecting goods across the world while keeping communities in our state supplied with food, medicine and everyday necessities. Any disruption to the operation at Ted Stevens will have severe impacts throughout Alaska and have a domino effect on other cargo operations across the U.S.,” Begich said.

On Thursday, U.S. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries demanded a deeper look at the disruptions caused by the shortage of air traffic controllers and called on Republicans to return to the Capitol to address the issue. 

WHITE HOUSE SAYS ‘THANK A DEMOCRAT’ FOR WEEKEND AIRPORT DELAYS AS GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN DRAGS ON

“We need a full and complete briefing so we can understand from the administration what the current status is,” Jeffries said. 

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Democrats led by Jeffries and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., have rejected a short-term spending bill 14 times, demanding lawmakers first address an expiring healthcare subsidies program.

The shutdown became the longest in history earlier this week.

Former Democratic Rep. Tom Malinowski is taking aim at President Donald Trump as he launches a bid to return to Congress.

Malinowski, a former two-term congressman who previously served as a diplomat and State Department official in President Barack Obama’s administration, on Thursday declared his candidacy for the soon-to-be vacant seat in New Jersey’s 11th Congressional District.

The seat is currently held by Democratic Rep. Mikie Sherrill, who convincingly won Tuesday’s gubernatorial election in New Jersey. Sherrill will be inaugurated as the Garden State’s next governor on Jan. 20, which will trigger a special election to fill her congressional seat.

DEMOCRAT MIKIE SHERRILL WINS NEW JERSEY GOVERNOR RACE, KEEPS STATE BLUE AGAINST REPUBLICAN CHALLENGE

“I’m running to deliver again what New Jerseyans need — better and lower cost health care, housing, and transportation — and to take on Trump’s corruption, abuse of power, and attacks on democracy. I will be ready for the fight from day one,” Malinowski said in his campaign launch video.

HEAD HERE FOR FOX NEWS ELECTION COVERAGE

And he added that “I’m running for Congress again to pick up where my friend left off, to repeal these mindless tariffs that are raising prices for every New Jerseyan.”

Malinowski was first elected to Congress in 2018, in the neighboring 7th District, which is a top swing seat. He flipped the seat from red to blue by topping incumbent GOP Rep. Leonard Lance.

Two years later, Malinowski narrowly won re-election over New Jersey Senate Republican leader Thomas Kean Jr. But in 2022, he lost a rematch with Kean by nearly two points.

Malinowski joins a growing field of Democrats aiming to succeed Sherrill in the northern New Jersey-based 11th District.

Sherrill flipped the district in her 2018 victory, and won re-election by 6 points two years later. But she comfortably won re-election in 2022 and last year by double digits.

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Asked by Fox News Digital on Tuesday about the timing of when she would resign her seat and when, after she takes over as governor, she would call for a special congressional election, Sherrill said, “We’ll be in touch with the leadership of the House to make sure that we’re doing that as smoothly as possible for the people of New Jersey.”

Justice Department officials in Miami and Washington, D.C., are actively preparing to issue several grand jury subpoenas relating to an investigation into former CIA Director John Brennan, Fox News has learned.

U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida Jason Reding Quiñones is supervising the probe, Fox News is told.

Fox News reached out to the Justice Department, but sources there declined to comment. 

COMEY INDICTED FOR ALLEGED FALSE STATEMENT, OBSTRUCTION OF CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDING

Fox News first reported that Brennan and former FBI Director James Comey were under investigation as of early July 2025. Thursday’s development intensifies that investigation. Comey is fighting his case in court with a trial set for January.

Brennan has not been indicted, and it’s unclear if a grand jury would indict him, but evidence will be presented in South Florida. 

HOUSE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE REFERS FORMER CIA DIRECTOR JOHN BRENNAN TO JUSTICE DEPARTMENT FOR PROSECUTION

Last month, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, referred Brennan to the DOJ, saying that the former CIA chief “willfully and intentionally” made false statements to Congress. 

Jordan accused Brennan of lying in his 2023 Judiciary Committee testimony by denying that the CIA used the Steele dossier in prepping the 2017 Intelligence Community Assessment (ICA) on Russian election interference, and falsely claiming the CIA opposed including the dossier.

The Steele dossier was a series of reports detailing President Donald Trump’s alleged ties to Russia. It was compiled and delivered to the FBI in 2016 by former British intelligence agent Christopher Steele.

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

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., sharply diverged from his Senate counterpart on Thursday as the upper chamber continues to negotiate a way out of the government shutdown.

Johnson said he would not commit to holding a vote on extending COVID-19 pandemic-era enhanced Obamacare subsidies, which are set to expire at the end of this year without congressional action.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., however, had been floating a vote on such an extension in exchange for Democrats voting to end the shutdown — which is now in its 37th day.

“Leader Thune has bent over backwards. He’s offered them a vote. You know what they told him in response? ‘No, we need you to guarantee the outcome of that vote.’ Well, that’s ridiculous,” Johnson said when asked about holding such a vote by a guaranteed date in the House if the deal succeeds in breaking the logjam.

MEET THE 3 SENATORS WHO BROKE WITH DEMOCRATS TO SUPPORT A BILL TO KEEP GOVERNMENT OPEN

When pressed again on a vote, he said, “No, because we did our job, and I’m not part of the negotiation.”

“The House did its job on Sept. 19. I’m not promising anybody anything. I’m going to let this process play out,” Johnson said.

The issue of enhanced Obamacare subsidies has been a matter of debate within the GOP, with some Republicans in more moderate districts calling for at least a year-long extension to give lawmakers time to create a new healthcare deal in its place.

But House conservatives are rejecting any such extension out of hand. Fox News Digital first reported that leaders of the 189-member Republican Study Committee issued an official position earlier Thursday demanding the credits not be extended.

It’s been a key ask for Democrats, however, that such an extension be paired with any federal funding bill before they agree to help end the shutdown.

Senate Democrats are huddling on Thursday afternoon to discuss what they could and could not accept out of a deal to end the government shutdown.

There are a dozen in the caucus who have been meeting to find a way out of the shutdown, but following Democrats’ Tuesday night election sweep, many in their caucus feel emboldened that their shutdown strategy is working and don’t want to let up yet.

Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., said he believed Tuesday’s election was “having an impact” on the caucus.

“It would be very strange for the American people to weigh in, in support of Democrats, standing up and fighting for them, and then within days, for us to surrender without having achieved any of the things that we’ve been fighting for,” Sen. Chris Murphy said.

SENATE DEMOCRATS EYE EXIT FROM RECORD-BREAKING SHUTDOWN AS PRESSURE INTENSIFIES

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The majority of the caucus demands a guarantee on a deal rather than the promise of a process, given that a proposal to extend the expiring subsidies from Democrats without major reforms to the program would likely fail in the Republican-controlled chamber.

But Thune has remained adamant that he can’t promise anything more than a vote and can’t predict an outcome.

“I made this very clear to them, I can’t guarantee them an outcome,” Thune said. “I can guarantee them a process, and they can litigate the issue, get the vote on the floor, and presumably they have some way of getting a vote in the House at some point, but I can’t speak for the House.”

FIRST ON FOX: A House GOP lawmaker is proposing to block federal funds from New York City for as long as Zohran Mamdani is mayor.

New legislation led by Rep. Buddy Carter, R-Ga., is called the Moving American Money Distant from Anti-National Interests Act, or the “MAMDANI Act” for short.

The two-page bill text stated that “notwithstanding any other provision of law, during any period in which Zohran Mamdani is mayor of New York, New York” that “any unobligated Federal funds available” for the city “are hereby rescinded” and that “no Federal funds may be obligated or expended for any purpose to New York, New York.”

VAN JONES CALLS OUT ZOHRAN MAMDANI FOR ‘CHARACTER SWITCH’ DURING INTENSE VICTORY SPEECH

The 34-year-old socialist won the New York City mayoral race on Tuesday, defeating former Gov. Andrew Cuomo running as an independent and Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa.

His victory was not a surprise to election watchers; New York City has not elected a Republican mayor since Michael Bloomberg won a second term in 2005.

While Carter’s bill is not likely to be taken up in the House, it’s a symbol of how the GOP has been hyper-focused on Mamdani’s win, with Republican leaders in the House positioning him as the new leader of the Democratic Party.

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A House Republican campaign operative signaled to Fox News Digital on Wednesday that the GOP would seek to tie vulnerable Democrats across the country to Mamdani and his far-left platforms.

Carter, who is running for U.S. Senate in Georgia, said taxpayer dollars from his state “should not be wasted on programs that will bankrupt the financial capital of the world.”

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“If New Yorkers want communism, we should let them have their wish and not artificially prop them up with our successful capitalist system,” Carter said. “Any New Yorker with common sense is welcome to move to the great, FREE state of Georgia.”

Historically, New York State has sent more taxpayer dollars to the federal government than it takes in federal dollars.

FIRST ON FOX: More than 500,000 California voters have signed a petition to amend the state’s constitution to enforce voter ID laws for all elections, leaders of a coalition called Californians for Voter ID told Fox News Digital. 

“We had a dog that voted in the last couple elections in Costa Mesa,” Republican California state Sen. Tony Strickland told Fox News Digital in a Wednesday phone interview about California’s persistent voter integrity concerns. “We don’t clean up our voter rolls. There are so many times where people move, college kids go out of state, or people move and they don’t clean up the voter rolls. And we mail out to everybody, and so you have a lot of live ballots with ballot harvesting.”

“Our initiative will now clean up the voter rolls throughout the state,” he added. 

Strickland, who represents a district that includes portions of Orange and Los Angeles counties along the Southern California coast, is helping lead the charge to collect more than one million petition signatures from California voters in order to force the issue on the ballot for the 2026 election. The signature collection kicked off Oct. 1, meaning the group collected support from more than half-a-million voters in a one-month span. 

CALIFORNIA REPUBLICANS LAUNCH VOTER ID BALLOT PUSH, NEED 875K SIGNATURES BY DEADLINE

The Californians for Voter ID initiative specifically would amend California’s constitution and require voters to present government-issued IDs before casting a ballot in all future elections in the state. 

California voters would be required to present a government-issued ID before voting in-person, or provide the last four-digits of a government ID if voting by mail. Election officials, under the initiative, would be required to verify a voter’s citizenship to ensure only legal residents register to vote or receive ballots. 

Democrats historically have opposed voter ID laws over claims it disenfranchises minority voters, while conservatives argue it will ensure only legal residents are able to cast ballots and further bolster voter integrity. Thirty-six states have voter ID laws already on the books, though such laws vary and have some exceptions.  

Californians for Voter ID leaders, however, say the issue is not a partisan one, but an effort to protect democracy for all Americans. 

The lead strategist for the effort, Ryan Erwin, told Fox News Digital that recent polling shows 70% of Californians across the political spectrum support elections requiring IDs to vote, while underscoring the outpouring of support that has led to more than 500,000 signatures already secured. 

“We are on pace to qualify for the ballot faster than any measure in the history of California,” Erwin said. “Voter ID is a commonsense way to build trust in the election process by requiring election officials to use government data to verify citizenship and voter eligibility, while also requiring identification for every vote counted.” 

OBAMA ENDORSES NEWSOM CALIFORNIA REDISTRICTING PROP 50

“Californians of all political stripes are eager to improve trust in the system by eliminating abuse and errors while protecting every eligible vote,” he continued. “The volunteer effort is overperforming, we have signatures from all 58 counties, and are on pace to qualify well ahead of our goal.”

The group needs a total of 874,641 in order to land the initiative on the 2026 ballot in the Golden State, but is aiming to secure 1.2 million signatures to ensure the support is certified by county officials who will go through the data before it is permitted to land on the ballot. Organizers have until March to secure the needed signatures before potentially getting on the ballot — with Strickland reporting he’s confident they will get the needed support. 

“You have to be a citizen in order to register to vote,” Strickland said of the nuts and bolts of the amendment itself, calling it “very straightforward.” 

“You have seven forms of documentation, you get to choose what form of documentation that you use in terms of the last four digits of whatever the documentation is,” he said. “When you go to the polls, you show your ID, and if you mail in your ballot, you show that proof of the documentation of the last four digits that you choose.” 

“The other part of this initiative is we have a mandatory audit (to) all 58 counties of their election rules after every election,” he added. 

Strickland is no stranger to voter ID efforts in the deep blue state, including championing a voter ID ballot initiative in Huntington Beach, California, in 2024, when he served on the city council. Voters approved the amendment forcing voters to show their ID when casting ballots in local elections, but the California Court of Appeals struck down the law in November. 

If the statewide voter ID effort is approved by voters on the ballot in 2026, local lawmakers will be compelled to comply with voter ID laws set forth in the initiative. 

TRUMP SAYS HE WILL REQUIRE VOTER ID WITH EXECUTIVE ORDER

Strickland said the massive amount of support the initiative already has received is on par with a 1978 initiative, Proposition 13, “when the legislature was out of touch with the people, the people rose up” and passed the ballot measure that fundamentally changed how property taxes were assessed and limited in California. 

Strickland also compared it to the successful recall of former Democratic Gov. Gray Davis in 2003 — California’s first and only successful recall of a governor. Strickland was the first legislator to endorse Davis’ recall as energy and economic woes rocked the state. 

“Speaking around the state of California, I would equate what’s going on today with voter ID and voter integrity to those two movements in California,” he said. 

The California state senator also praised California Republican Assemblyman Carl DeMaio and his group, Reform California, for their ongoing efforts championing voter ID laws in the state, describing DeMaio’s work as “relentless.” Strickland and DeMaio are joint authors of the voter ID push and have teamed up to meet with voters at various events to rally support, including a recent event in Santa Barbara, where the people couldn’t get through the door because it was so packed, he said. 

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California’s voting laws have fallen under the Trump administration’s critical eye just this week, with White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt posting to X Tuesday that the Golden State has the “WORST laws for securing elections in the entire nation.” 

President Donald Trump said Tuesday that California is facing a “very serious legal and criminal review” over claims the state’s special election to redraw congressional district lines was mired in corruption. Voters passed the measure to redistrict on Tuesday, with Gov. Gavin Newsom celebrating 

“California doesn’t require voters to show photo ID before casting a ballot – despite nearly 90% of Americans supporting photo ID laws,” Leavitt posted in a lengthy message detailing issues she sees with the state’s election process. “California uses universal mail-in-balloting, which we know is extremely vulnerable to fraud and abuse. In the 2024 election alone, California mailed nearly 10 million mail-in ballots that were never returned.”

The Heritage Foundation keeps a database compiling cases of known voter fraud — namely cases that have led to criminal convictions — and found California has at least 68 cases of voter fraud since 2001. The examples include individuals who fraudulently used absentee ballots for duplicate votes, non-resident voting and fraudulent voter registration. 

The database shows other states, such as Illinois and Texas, have more instances of confirmed voting fraud, at more than 100 cases each, while other states such as Nebraska have seen only at least three instances of confirmed voter fraud in recent years. 

Newsom has countered the claims, arguing California’s elections are fair and secure while slamming Trump over his remarks. 

“He also announced today, right when polls were opening, that this election was rigged. Of course, those are familiar words. It’s exactly what Donald Trump said after Jan. 6, that day of love, where he tried to light democracy on fire, he tried to wreck this country,” Newsom said Tuesday after polling showed the state passed Proposition 50 to redistrict. 

“I hope it’s dawning on people the sobriety of this moment,” Newsom continued. “What’s at stake. Tonight, as I said, is an extraordinary moment for our party, but again, it’s an extraordinary moment affirming those principles. Our Founding Fathers did not live and die to see the kind of vandalism to this republic and our democracy that Donald Trump is trying to perpetuate.” 

For Strickland, he championed that the voter ID initiative will move ahead with the help of grassroots efforts and a little “homework.” 

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“I’m going to speak to two groups today, and I give them homework assignments, just saying, ‘Please take those packets. We’re planning to go get 50 signatures, go get 100.’ And I use a sports analogy. I say, in baseball, if you hit two times out of every 10, you’re barely making the major leagues. You’re probably going down the minor leagues. But if you get three hits every 10, you’re an all-star. And I’m asking everybody to get that extra hit in life,” Strickland said. 

The battle for control of the House is set to kick into high gear with the 2025 elections in the rearview mirror, and both sides are optimistic about their chances after Tuesday night.

Democrats are flying high after their victories in key elections in Virginia, California and New Jersey, celebrating those wins as a decisive rejection of President Donald Trump’s administration. But Republicans are still confident in their chances of keeping the House next year and are poised to use the far-left’s success in New York City as a nationwide political cudgel.

“Yesterday was a big night for America and a big night for the Democratic Party, as candidates across the country, up and down the ballot, decisively defeated MAGA Republicans in an extraordinary rejection of the extremism that the American people have been experiencing since Day 1 of Donald Trump’s presidency,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., said at a press conference Wednesday.

A memo circulated by the Jeffries-aligned House Majority PAC and obtained by Fox News Digital exuded confidence: “With less than one year until Election Day, Democrats remain poised to take back the House in 2026 and elect Leader Hakeem Jeffries as the next Speaker.”

KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM THE 2025 ELECTIONS

But Jeffries’ counterpart, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., had a very different interpretation.

“There’s no surprises. What happened last night was blue states and blue cities voted blue. We all saw that coming, and no one should read too much into last night’s election results. Off-year elections are not indicative of what’s to come,” Johnson said at his own news conference. “I think that when we go into next year in the midterms, we’re very bullish about the outcome. We have an extraordinary record to run on.”

A House GOP campaign operative who spoke with Fox News Digital was also confident about Republicans’ ability to keep the majority next November, arguing the key lies in voter turnout.

THE RESULTS ARE IN: 2025’S BIGGEST WINNER AND LOSERS FROM THE OFF-YEAR ELECTIONS

“I think we actually had a good turnout night. They just had a monster one,” the GOP operative said of New Jersey, where Rep. Mikie Sherrill, D-N.J., defeated Republican Jack Ciattarelli.

“They had midterm turnout in an off-year [governor] race. And so I think it comes down to us continuing to do the work to show that we need people to show up when the president is not on the ballot.”

They also dismissed Democrats’ inroads with Hispanic and Latino voters in New Jersey as recoverable for the GOP.

“I think it goes back to, across-the-board, getting our voters to show up,” the GOP operative said. “With Hispanic voters specifically, keep putting in the work, and we can’t take them for granted … it’s felt like, in some of those races, that they were not making the attempt to talk to them on our side.”

On the other side, an operative familiar with House Democrat campaigns said they’re taking lessons from a renewed surge of enthusiasm by two groups — Hispanic voters and women.

And while acknowledging the groups were not monolithic, the Democratic operative said most Americans were all focused on the same issue: cost of living.

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“I think it’s just like a very helpful reminder to double down on the issues that people care about most. Poll after poll, public and private, is telling you that Americans in any district care most about the cost of living and rising costs and being able to afford things,” they said. “I think those are the solutions that people want to hear, and we should be proactive in speaking to them.”

The Democratic operative argued that issue drove the successes of Sherrill and former Rep. Abigail Spanberger, D-Va., who defeated GOP Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears in Virginia and became a main facet of House Democrats’ most contentious campaigns.

Another issue being viewed in opposing lights by both sides is the victory of socialist Zohran Mamdani in the New York City mayoral race.

“The biggest takeaway I have is that not a day should go by when a Republican candidate, a member on the trail, a member of leadership, whoever, whatever branch they’re in, whether state, local, federal, House, Senate, governors, whatever, should talk about Zohran Mamdani,” the GOP operative said. “I think he is the party now, frankly.”

The Democratic source said, “We just kind of saw a proof point that it’s not effective, because they were trying this in races across the country here, and it didn’t work.”

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They pointed to Republicans’ attempts to tie Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., to vulnerable Democrats nationally after her upset victory in 2018.

“It just doesn’t work,” they said. “Somebody in the Virginia Beach area of the country does not give a s— about who the mayor of New York City is. They care about the cost of living.”

The Federalist Society’s National Lawyers Convention kicks off this week in Washington, D.C., where this year’s theme, “New Frontiers,” espouses everything from technological advances and the rise of AI to young people at the forefront of the conservative legal movement — hoping to underscore the importance of open debate, free speech and earnest engagement across the political aisle.

The event will spotlight law students from universities across the country, who are standing up for free speech and viewpoint diversity amid what they say is a rise in “cancel culture,” censorship issues and incidents of campus unrest that have prompted a crackdown on event speakers, or led to ostracization by peers or professors.

The students, who head up their local Federalist Society chapters at law schools across the U.S., face very different obstacles in advocating for free speech and open debate, though some more subtle than others.

As the next generation of lawyers prepares to join hundreds of fellow law students, future peers, and judges in D.C. for Thursday’s conference, each told Fox News Digital that they see the same challenge ahead for young conservatives: not just defending free speech, but redefining it — in an academic environment they say too often punishes dissent instead of encouraging open discussion.

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Each of the students cited different attempts to intimidate speech or detract from attempts to engage with others in good faith that they’ve encountered — part of a broader pattern playing out at campuses nationwide. 

Last month, administrators for New York University Law School canceled a pro-Israel legal scholar, Ilya Shapiro, from speaking at an event hosted by the Federalist Society chapter on Oct. 7.

Administrators had originally suggested that the group postpone the event date, citing concerns of protest and anticipated unrest. The students resisted and insisted on keeping the date, saying instead that relocating or postponing would amount to “giving in to the heckler’s veto.”

Public backlash ensued, and eventually administrators agreed to allow Shapiro to speak at the event as planned.

The unrest has only intensified in recent years, and the students cited instances of attempts to intimidate them or ostracize members, ranging from the subtle to overt. 

At the University of Michigan, students gathered outside a Federalist Society event “taking notes of who was coming and going,” said Matthew Holmes, president of the chapter at the University of Michigan School of Law.

‘UNPRECEDENTED’ ANTISEMITISM PANEL TACKLES SURGING NATIONAL ISSUE

“There are groups that tell their members, ‘If you go there, you’re not welcome at ours,'” he added.

Other incidents have targeted Jewish speakers and conservative viewpoints, prompting some to call it a growing culture of intolerance.

“We’re entering a new legal frontier,” said Jordan Holmes, a law student at the University of Texas at Austin, in a nod to this year’s convention theme.

“From AI to the courts, everything’s changing,” said Holmes, who heads up the university’s Federalist Society chapter. “But if people stop talking to each other, that’s when violence starts. We can’t let that happen.”

David Huang, who leads the Federalist Society chapter at Yale, echoed much of the same. Each of the law students separately spoke about the impact of Charlie Kirk’s assassination. Kirk was killed while speaking onstage at a university in Utah. His death sent shockwaves across the U.S., and especially on college campuses nationwide, where administrators and students alike cited increased fears of an uptick in violence.

Federalist Society presidents and other young conservatives interviewed after Kirk’s death cited concerns for their own safety and fears of a broader chilling effect if they avoid hosting controversial speakers or events that invite spirited debate.

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“I think that’s something that struck us all deeply,” Huang said of Kirk’s death, and the environment on campus.  “The threat of political violence — especially against conservatives in law school, and college campuses — it’s something that’s very troubling to have in the back of your mind.”

But, he added, those fears were quickly put to rest by an event that the Yale Federalist Society chapter hosted just one day later, focused on the contentious topic of birthright citizenship. “It was one of our most controversial events of the semester,” Huang said. “I was worried. I asked for more security, but things went well, and we actually had the highest attendance we’ve had in years.”

“There’s this sentiment that attendance equals endorsement,” said Holmes.

He said of Kirk, “I think one of his best quotes is, ‘When people stop talking, that’s when violence starts.’ And I see a lot of people that are just unwilling to engage, that they don’t even see the opposition’s ideas of worthy of legitimacy, worthy of acknowledgment.”

At the end of the day, Holmes said, “this idea that I can’t even talk to you because your ideas are so repulsive — that just can’t last if we’re going to have a democratic republic.”

“I think other FedSoc presidents are reporting similar things happening, as people are realizing the importance of channeling our disagreements — into debates, into events, into speech — as opposed to violence.”

To be sure, students say these efforts still have a ways to go.

Still, they struck an optimistic tone about the future. Lamb noted her dean’s leadership and Texas’s political climate, while Holmes pointed to new civil discourse funding at the University of Michigan aimed at bringing students from across the ideological spectrum together for structured, earnest dialogue.

“[What’s] so unique about the Federalist Society and its community is that people aren’t cynical towards looking towards the future,” Lamb said. “They’re energized. And in a world that so often tells young people to find something to be outraged about, it’s really refreshing to be around folks and students, attorneys, who are genuinely eager to think deeply about where the law is going and where we should go next.”

“Just this last week, we brought the Attorney General of Tennessee, Jonathan Scrametti, who had just won a landmark Supreme Court case regarding gender transition, surgeries, and chemicals for children,” Huang said. 

“People hung up posters, brought them to events, saying Fed Soc invites child killers, and you know, people are well within their rights to express that disagreement — but that kind of irresponsible rhetoric is the sort of thing that raises the temperature in the national political sphere,” he continued.

“And I think we’re all too well aware of the consequences that can follow. How I’d prefer people to express their disagreement is simple,” Huang said. “Come, show up to the event and ask hard questions.”

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That was echoed by each of the students, who will each be participating in this year’s conference in public-facing ways. 

The Federalist Society’s student division and rotating student chapter president will host a live event at this year’s conference where they interview judges about a passion, hobby, or interest — and its relation to the law. Holmes and Caroline Martin, the head of the Federalist Society’s chapter at the University of North Carolina School of Law, will host this year’s sit-downs. 

The hope, organizers said, is to help personalize judges beyond their day jobs, and drive home the fact that they are people, underneath the strict courtroom procedures and heavy black robes. 

“Come to the events, have your ideas challenged,” Holmes said of the Federalist Society chapters nationwide. “Feel free to push back. We really, really want to scrutinize ideas. Because when we do that, that’s when we draw the best conclusions.”

Eric Trump called his father live on stage during a Turning Point USA event on the campus of Auburn University in Alabama. President Donald Trump then told a packed arena, “We love Charlie” and, “He’s looking down on us right now.”

The president’s son, who was co-hosting the event with his wife, Lara Trump, drew cheers on Wednesday night when he asked those in attendance, “By the way, should we see what he is doing right now? Should we try calling him?”

“Hello? Hello?” Donald Trump was heard saying on the call as Eric Trump held his phone up to a microphone, drawing a raucous applause.

“So we have the most beautiful crowd of people, thousands and thousands of people at Auburn University. They are incredibly enthusiastic, and they absolutely adore this country, they adore God, and they adore you,” Eric Trump said.

ERIKA KIRK RECALLS LAST MOMENTS WITH CHARLIE BEFORE HIS ‘HORROR MOVIE’ MURDER, ADDRESSES ASSASSINATION VIDEO

“Well, I want to just say hello to everybody, I hope Erika is doing a good job and Lara is doing a good job. And Auburn is a special place, I’ve been there many times,” Donald Trump responded.

“I just want to pay my respects to Charlie and Erika — these are two incredible people. And Erika, I’ve spoken to her often, she is just a spectacular person, and she is going to start where Charlie left off, and we should never allow this to happen,” the president also said, referencing the Sept. 10 assassination of Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University.

TURNING POINT MONTANA STATE EVENT FEATURING RAMASWAMY, GIANFORTE DRAWS THOUSANDS

“One of the greatest people we have ever known and was so responsible for our win. And we love Charlie, he’s looking down on us right now, all of us and Erika, you just, you are there some place, and you just take care of yourself. We are with you all the way, and we are with the great people that my son and Lara are speaking to, and I love you all,” the president continued.

“As President of the United States, I love you all and our country is doing great,” Donald Trump added.

Turning Point USA said on its website that each stop of the “This is the Turning Point” tour “is a chance to honor Charlie’s mission and keep the fight alive.

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“We know he wouldn’t want us to surrender or be coerced into silence. Free speech is only free if we use our voices,” the organization said.

Democrats in Virginia elected an attorney general who privately fantasized about murdering his political opponents, raising questions from experts who spoke to Fox News Digital about whether the Democratic Party is serious about condemning political violence.

“The moral rot infecting the Democrat Party is here to stay and voters just proved it,” Mehek Cooke, a GOP political consultant and commentator, told Fox News Digital after Jay Jones won the race for Virginia attorney general.

Jones defeated incumbent Republican Jason Miyares despite a campaign plagued with scandal after it was revealed he fantasized in 2022 text messages about shooting former Virginia House Speaker Todd Gilbert in the head while also suggesting that harm should come to that Republican’s young “fascist” children. 

“Jay Jones called for the death of political opponents and their children, yet instead of rejecting that extremism, Democrat voters rewarded it,” Cooke said.

INSIDE JAY JONES AND THE DEMOCRATS’ LATE SURGE TO UPSET WINS ACROSS VIRGINIA, FROM THE SUBURBS TO THE SHORE

Julian Epstein, a longtime Democratic operative, attorney, and former chief counsel to the House Judiciary Committee, told Fox News Digital the “near unanimous rationalizations” from Democrats is driven by a “moral relativism that is a race to the bottom for any civilization.”

Epstein explained, “The collective shoulder shrug about a candidate who fantasizes about the assassination of his opponents and the death of his opponent’s children is of the same piece with the new era of violent rhetoric from the left and the data showing that nearly half of young progressives think that political violence can be justified. To look the other way on this because of political expedience is to lose the plot as to why one is in the public square in the first place.”

Ultimately, Cooke told Fox News Digital, the election of Jones in Virginia will help Republicans going forward. 

TRUMP APPEARS TO JAB DEFEATED REPUBLICANS, SAYING IT’S ‘EASY’ TO WIN ELECTIONS ‘WHEN YOU TALK ABOUT THE FACTS’

“These reckless choices by the Left, including the election of Jay Jones, will only electrify the Republican base heading into the midterms and beyond,” Cooke said. 

Kentucky GOP Rep. Andy Barr, running for U.S. Senate next year, echoed the sentiment that Republicans look better to voters overall than Democrats after Tuesday night. 

“The Democrat Party just elected a Socialist to run the financial capital of the world and a Leftist Attorney General who wished for Republican leaders and their children to be killed,” Barr said. “Meanwhile, one year after the greatest political comeback in history, President Trump is Making America Great Again. Our golden age will continue as the Democrat Party disgraces itself.”

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Fox News Digital reached out to the Jones campaign for comment.

News that Jones had sent the controversial texts, first reported by National Review, sparked a firestorm in early October, with many pundits believing the Jones campaign would be doomed for promoting political violence in a climate still reeling from the assassination of Charlie Kirk.

However, Democrats in Virginia remained behind Jones as gubernatorial candidate Abigail Spanberger and prominent elected Democrats in the state refused to call on him to step down after he apologized for the texts.

“At the end of the day, this election has never been about me or my opponent,” Jones said in his victory speech. “It has always been about every single one of us and the future of Virginia.”

Vice President JD Vance said that Republicans need to direct their focus to the “home front” and work to make life more affordable for Americans, following the GOP losses in several key elections Tuesday.

Republicans’ ability to do so will be a key factor in how Americans show up and vote in the 2026 midterm races, according to Vance. 

“I think it’s idiotic to overreact to a couple of elections in blue states, but a few thoughts,” Vance said in a Wednesday social media post. 

“We need to focus on the home front,” Vance said. “The president has done a lot that has already paid off in lower interest rates and lower inflation, but we inherited a disaster from Joe Biden and Rome wasn’t built in a day. We’re going to keep on working to make a decent life affordable in this country, and that’s the metric by which we’ll ultimately be judged in 2026 and beyond.”

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In October, the Bureau of Labor Statistics announced that the consumer price index (CPI), used to assess how much goods like groceries or rent cost, increased 0.3% from August to September. Additionally, it increased to 3% on a year-over-year basis from 2.9% in August, marking the highest headline CPI reading since January when it also reached 3%.

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Meanwhile, Republicans lost several high-profile races Tuesday — including gubernatorial races where former Democratic Rep. Abigail Spanberger won the Virginia governor’s race over Republican challenger Winsome Earle-Sears, and New Jersey Democratic Rep. Mikie Sherrill won New Jersey’s governor’s race over Republican Jack Ciattarelli. 

Likewise, New York City elected democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani as mayor of the city, beating former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who ran as an Independent, and Republican Curtis Sliwa. 

In all races, affordability and the economy were top priorities for voters, with Mamdani backing policies including rent freezes and city-run grocery stores to cut food prices.

For example, Fox News Voter Poll data found that New Jersey voters reported the state’s high taxes and the economy ranked as their top two issues. Additionally, the poll data found that half of voters in Virginia said that the economy was their top priority. 

Likewise, New York City voters ranked affordability at their top concerns, the Fox News Voter Poll data found. 

Ken Martin, the chair of the Democratic National Committee, said that the party can accommodate moderate Democrats like Sherrill and Spanberger, as well as progressives like Mamdani. While they don’t have to agree on everything, what they do agree on is trying to make life more affordable for Americans, he said. 

“There’s a lot of different ideas on how to accomplish our goals, but we’re unified around those goals,” Martin told Fox News Digital ahead of the elections. “We’re unified around making sure that people’s lives are more affordable and that we can create an economy that works for everyone in this country.” 

WHAT THE RESULTS OF THE 2025 ELECTIONS MAY MEAN FOR DEMOCRATS AND REPUBLICANS

According to President Donald Trump, the government shutdown that started Oct. 1 due to a lapse in funding was a culprit for GOP losses in Tuesday’s races. 

“I think if you read the pollsters, the shutdown was a big factor,” Trump said Wednesday during a breakfast meeting with Senate Republicans. “Negative for the Republicans, and that was a big factor.” 

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Fox News’ Eric Revell, Paul Steinhauser and Emma Colton contributed to this report.

Jewish organizations are speaking out as self-identified democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani prepares to take the reins of America’s most populous city.

The UJA-Federation of New York, JCRC-NY, ADL New York/New Jersey, AJC New York and the New York Board of Rabbis issued a joint statement after Mamdani’s victory in the high-stakes race.

“New Yorkers have spoken, electing Zohran Mamdani as the next Mayor of New York City. We recognize that voters are animated by a range of issues, but we cannot ignore that the Mayor-elect holds core beliefs fundamentally at odds with our community’s deepest convictions and most cherished values,” the statement said.

SOCIALIST SHOCK WAVE: ZOHRAN MAMDANI STUNS NYC AS VOTERS HAND POWER TO DEMOCRATS’ FAR-LEFT FLANK

“We call on Mayor-elect Mamdani and all elected officials to govern with humility, inclusivity, and a deep respect for the diversity of views and experiences that define our city.

“Our agenda remains clear. We will hold all elected officials, including Mayor-elect Mamdani, fully accountable for ensuring that New York remains a place where Jewish life and support for Israel are protected and can thrive.”

Anti-Defamation League (ADL) CEO Jonathan Greenblatt told Fox News Digital that, “[The] ADL has the backs of all Jewish New Yorkers at this time of record antisemitism in our country and in New York City in particular. Today we are launching a new initiative featuring a tip line for antisemitic incidents and a ‘Mamdani Monitor’ to track policies and appointments, expanding our existing work to protect Jews everywhere. Like with every other elected official, we will judge the mayor-elect on what he does to keep Jewish New Yorkers safe.”

In 2023, the UJA-Federation of New York released a study showing that the Big Apple was home to nearly 1 million Jewish people. At the time, Brooklyn was the borough with the most Jews, with 462,000 calling it home, according to the UJA-Federation of New York. Brooklyn was followed by Manhattan, which was home to 277,000 Jews, then Queens with 150,000, Staten Island with 38,000 and the Bronx with 33,000.

Mamdani has faced criticism from the Jewish community over his refusal to condemn the phrase “globalize the intifada” and his stance on Israel, including his vow to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu if he entered the city while Mamdani was mayor.

Following Mamdani’s victory, Minister for Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism Amichai Chikli wrote in an op-ed for Fox News that “the city that once stood as the world’s beacon of liberty has handed the keys of power to a Hamas sympathizer.”

“It is almost unthinkable that New York — the proud and historic center of Jewish life — could become the American city where Jews no longer feel at home or safe,” Chikli added.

ANTISEMITISM WATCHDOG ISSUES SCATHING ‘ALARM BELL’ REPORT ON MAMDANI AS NYC ELECTION NEARS

Shortly before the election, the Institute for the Study of Global Antisemitism and Policy (ISGAP) released a report highlighting its concerns about Mamdani.

“It is incumbent on voters to understand the ideological context that Zohran Mamdani comes from and espouses,” Charles Asher Small, founding director of the Institute for the Study of Global Antisemitism and Policy (ISGAP), said in an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital.

The phrase “globalize the intifada” is seen by many Jews as a call to violence in reference to the first and second intifadas in Israel, both of which were intense yearslong periods of terror attacks. The phrase became a common chant as anti-Israel agitators used it at demonstrations during the Israel-Hamas war. 

In its report, ISGAP slammed Mamdani for his refusal to condemn the phrase and his attempt “to distance himself from the slogan by describing it as merely an expression of support for Palestine.”

ISGAP also objected to Mamdani’s characterization of Israel’s actions in Gaza following the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks as a “genocide.”

AJC CEO Ted Deutch also commented on the matter in a post-election email to supporters of his organization.

“The Mayor-elect’s refusal to condemn ‘globalize the intifada’ and use of the term ‘genocide’ when describing Israel’s defensive war against Hamas is chilling,” Deutch wrote. “The intifadas weren’t abstract political movements — they were waves of terror that slaughtered innocent Jews on buses, in pizza shops, and at nightclubs. When protesters chant this phrase, they’re calling for that violence to spread worldwide. And to call Israel’s self-defensive military operation a ‘genocide’ is not only factually and legally inaccurate, it provides fuel for extremist actors to turn to violence.”

On Tuesday, President Donald Trump took to Truth Social to scold potential Jewish Mamdani voters.

“Any Jewish person that votes for Zohran Mamdani, a proven and self-professed JEW HATER, is a stupid person!!!” Trump said in a Truth Social post Tuesday.

MAMDANI RIPPED BY RIVALS FOR UNPOPULAR STANCE DURING FIERY NYC DEBATE: ‘YOU WON’T SUPPORT ISRAEL’

Despite criticism, Mamdani has made statements claiming he would protect Jewish New Yorkers from antisemitism. During the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the Jewish year, Mamdani wrote on X that he would do “everything in my power to protect Jewish New Yorkers.” The comment was made in response to an attack at a synagogue in England.

He also said during the election that it “pains” him when people call him an antisemite.

“And it pains me to be called an antisemite. It pains me to be painted as if I am somehow in opposition to the very Jewish New Yorkers that I know and love and are such a key part of this city,” Mamdani told reporters during his campaign.

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Fox News Digital reached out to Mamdani’s campaign, the UJA-Federation of New York, the JCRC-NY, ADL New York/New Jersey and the New York Board of Rabbis.

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