NationalWatch

The Trump administration’s Treasury Department on Friday sanctioned Colombian President Gustavo Francisco Petro, along with his wife, son and a close associate, accusing the group of being involved in the global illicit drug trade.

The action was taken under a Biden administration executive order targeting foreigners involved in the drug trade.

Petro joins a number of other world leaders under sanction by the Treasury, including Russian President Vladimir Putin, Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro and former president of Syria Bashar al-Assad.

TRUMP DOUBLES DOWN ON COLOMBIA CRACKDOWN, CALLS PETRO ‘LUNATIC,’ VOWS TO END ALL US PAYMENTS OVER DRUGS

“Since President Gustavo Petro came to power, cocaine production in Colombia has exploded to the highest rate in decades, flooding the United States and poisoning Americans,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent wrote in a news release. “President Petro has allowed drug cartels to flourish and refused to stop this activity.”

Petro responded to the announcement on X, calling the sanction “a complete paradox.”

“Indeed, Bernie Moreno’s threat has come true; my children, my wife, and I have been added to the OFAC list,” Petro wrote in a post. “My lawyer in my defense will be Dany Kovalik from the USA. Fighting drug trafficking for decades and effectively has brought me this measure from the government of the society we helped so much to curb their cocaine consumption. A complete paradox, but not a step back and never on our knees.”

The Treasury accused Petro, his wife Veronica, eldest son Nicolás, and Minister of Interior Armando Benedetti of being involved in narcotics trafficking and narcoterrorism, which it said is continuing to fuel violence, corruption and instability in Colombia, while also “posing significant challenges to regional and international security.”

“Colombia remains the world’s top producer and exporter of cocaine,” officials wrote in a statement. “Cocaine from Colombia is often purchased by Mexican cartels, who then smuggle it into the United States via the southern border. It is a scheduled substance that is a significant drug threat to the United States, despite Gustavo Petro’s recent, flippant comparison of the use of the drug to whiskey.”

Petro, a former guerrilla member, was elected to the Colombian presidency in 2022.

The department accused him of providing narco-terrorist organizations with benefits under the auspices of his “total peace” plan, among other policies, which officials said have led to record highs in coca cultivation and cocaine production.

The Treasury also alleged Petro has allied himself with Maduro, who is also under U.S. sanction, and the Cartel de Los Soles.

WITKOFF SCRAMBLES FOR PEACE DEAL WITH RUSSIA AS SANCTIONS LOOM TARGETING INDIA, CHINA

“Gustavo Petro’s erratic behavior has also driven Colombia further apart from its partners in additional ways,” officials wrote. “In 2024, he shared confidential information obtained via secure anti-money laundering communication channels, threatening the integrity of the international financial system and leading to the suspension of Colombia’s Financial Intelligence Unit from The Egmont Group.”

Petro’s son and political heir, Nicolás, was charged in 2023 with money laundering and illicit enrichment over allegations that he funneled money received from drug traffickers into his father’s “total peace” efforts and election campaign.

He later admitted to receiving dirty money from a person formerly involved in narcotics trafficking and son of a contractor on trial for financing paramilitaries, according to officials.

President Donald Trump determined Columbia was a major drug transit or major illicit drug producing country on Sept. 15, finding it is “failing demonstrably” to uphold its drug control responsibilities.

TRUMP AND PUTIN’S RELATIONSHIP TURNS SOUR AS PRESIDENT PUSHES FOR RESOLUTION WITH UKRAINE

Property and assets belonging to those sanctioned, that are in the U.S. or controlled by people in the U.S., are frozen and must be reported to OFAC. Entities owned 50% or more by those sanctioned are also frozen, and U.S. citizens are generally prohibited from related transactions.

Violations can result in civil or criminal penalties, with OFAC able to impose civil penalties on a strict liability basis.

Principal deputy spokesperson Tommy Pigott added Secretary of State Marco Rubio will not certify Colombia under the criteria of the Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 2024, as carried forward by the Full-Year Continuing Appropriations Act, 2025.

“The United States will not turn a blind eye to Petro’s appeasement and emboldening of narco-terrorists,” Pigott wrote in a statement. “We are committed to bringing terrorists and drug traffickers to justice and preventing deadly illegal drugs from entering our country. There must be no impunity for drug traffickers or acts of terrorism or violence by criminal armed groups.”

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“We remain steadfast in our support for Colombian security forces, its justice sector, and departmental and municipal officials, and we will continue to partner with them in our joint efforts to combat drug trafficking,” he added. “Today’s decision is not a reflection on these institutions but rather the failures and incompetence of Gustavo Petro and his inner circle.”

Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, reacted to the announcement on X, saying “FAFO,” an acronym which stands for f— around and find out.

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 accuses Cuomo of ‘Islamophobic rhetoric’ as contentious NYC mayoral race comes down to the wire

-Trump parachutes into key 2025 race as GOP aims to flip governor’s office in blue-leaning state

-Letitia James was arraigned in Virginia on federal bank fraud charges tied to 2020 home purchase

Zohran Mamdani lands long-waited key endorsement in New York City mayoral race

It took four months, but one of the top Democrats in New York State has finally endorsed New York City Democratic mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani.

With Election Day closing in, Minority Leader Rep. Hakeem Jeffries of New York, the top Democrat in the U.S. House, on Friday announced his support for Mamdani, the 33-year-old democratic socialist state lawmaker from the New York City borough of Queens, in a statement to the New York Times.

“Zohran Mamdani has relentlessly focused on addressing the affordability crisis and explicitly committed to being a mayor for all New Yorkers, including those who do not support his candidacy,” Jeffries said…READ MORE.
 

White House

STEER CLEAR: Trump’s beef import plan ignores the real problem squeezing American cattle ranchers

TROOP LIFELINE: Mystery Trump ally donates $130M to cover troops’ paychecks amid shutdown chaos

ONGOING COOPERATION: FIRST ON FOX: Qatari embassy official reveals Biden admin role in new Idaho training facility finalized under Trump

‘SHAMELESS’: Trump admin accuses Hillary Clinton of stealing White House furniture as former first lady slams ballroom plan

FIRST DAUGHTER FURY: Chelsea Clinton rips Trump’s ‘disregard for history’ with White House ballroom construction

‘HIT HARD’: Democrats, liberal media’s violent rhetoric against Trump, Republicans goes back over a decade

TAXPAYERS WIN: Rubio ditches conference travel, slashes nearly $100M in expenses from Biden State Department bloat

World Stage

‘A BOLD DECISION’: Trump and Kim Jong Un should make ‘bold decision’ to meet during his Asia trip, South Korean official says

Capitol Hill

BERNIE BREAKS RANKS: Sanders praises Trump, slams Biden on border: ‘You’ve got to have borders, period’

CAPITOL STALEMATE: Johnson shuts down House to pressure Schumer as government standstill nears one month

FEELING BLUE: ‘Stay tuned’: Jeffries repeatedly dodges Mamdani endorsement as self-imposed race deadline looms

Across America 

THE JOKER: Mamdani laughs off criticism that his tax hike proposals will compel New Yorkers to flee

THE THREE THREATENED: Dem staffer threatened to ‘put a knot’ on GOP lawmaker’s head, judge grants protection order

IN TROUBLE: Dems lagging in make or break outreach campaign that could decide New Jersey election, DNC leader warns

‘UNHINGED RHETORIC’: Dems urged to ‘stop siding with illegal aliens’ after activist rams agents in sanctuary city

CAMPAIGN DRAMA: Letitia James ‘wreaking havoc’ on New York in ways voters may not even realize: GOP challenger

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

The Department of War received an anonymous donation of $130 million Thursday to go toward paying U.S. troops during the government shutdown — but Congress may need to get involved for it to actually get in the hands of service members due to legal limitations.

“On October 23, 2025, the Department of War accepted an anonymous donation of $130 million under its general gift acceptance authority,” Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said in a statement to Fox News Digital Friday. “The donation was made on the condition that it be used to offset the cost of Service members’ salaries and benefits. We are grateful for this donor’s assistance after Democrats opted to withhold pay from troops.”

But it’s unclear how the Trump administration can legally use the funds to pay troops without Congress’ involvement.

While the government may accept general donations that go toward general funds available to the government, Congress is the one who must appropriate that money to go toward federal employees’ salaries, according to Romina Boccia, the director of budget and entitlement policy at the Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank in Washington.

WHITE HOUSE MAY ‘RUN OUT’ OF FUNDS TO PAY MILITARY IF SHUTDOWN CONTINUES, JOHNSON WARNS

“The department is welcome to acknowledge this donor’s intent but that does not change the legal restrictions on Congress needing to appropriate funds to pay military salaries,” Boccia said in a Friday email to Fox News Digital. 

Boccia said that the military is only permitted to accept private donations to support institutions like military schools, libraries, and museums, or to support service members or civilian employees who are wounded or killed in the line of duty.

Altering current restrictions would also require congressional intervention, she said.

TRUMP MOVE SPARES TROOPS’ PAY, BUT REPUBLICANS WARN SHUTDOWN RISKS REMAIN

“The only way to get around this restriction is if Congress decided to recategorize troop pay as mandatory or direct spending,” Boccia said.

Mandatory spending does not require annual approval from Congress and applies to programs like Social Security and Medicare, according to the Treasury.

Congress has the power of the purse, and Article I of the U.S. Constitution establishes that Congress is the branch of government with the authority to manage the federal budget.

TRUMP INSTRUCTS PENTAGON TO ENSURE TROOPS ARE PAID DESPITE GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN

President Donald Trump announced Thursday that a “friend” of his sent the government a $130 million check to go toward paying U.S. service members as their paychecks are on hold due to the budget stalemate.

“He called us the other day and said, ‘I’d like to contribute any shortfall you have because of the Democrat shutdown. I’d like to contribute personally, because I love the military and I love the country,'” Trump said Thursday.

It’s unclear who the donor is, and Trump said he would not identify the individual unless he received permission to do so, noting he didn’t believe the individual wanted any recognition.

The White House referred Fox News Digital to the Department of War and the Department of the Treasury when asked for additional details.

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The Treasury Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.

Trump previously signed an order allowing active-duty troops to receive their paycheck earlier in October by funneling unused Pentagon funds originally allocated for research and development. However, Republicans have said the solution is only temporary. 

Sen. Bernie Sanders praised President Donald Trump’s immigration policy during a recent appearance on The Tim Dillon Show, saying Trump “did a better job” securing the border than President Biden and urging Democrats to return to enforcement-focused policy.

“So long as we have nation-states, you’ve got to have borders,” Sanders said. “If you don’t have any borders, then you don’t have a nation.” 

He added pointedly, “Trump did a better job. I don’t like Trump, you know, but we should have a secure border and it ain’t that hard to do. Biden didn’t do it.”

The remarks, aired in the podcast episode on Wednesday and now circulating widely on X and YouTube, mark one of the Vermont independent’s sharpest breaks with his party.

BERNIE SANDERS SAYS TRUMP’S NOT STUPID TO REALIZE ‘SYSTEM IS BROKEN,’ EVEN AS HE MAKES IT WORSE

“Biden didn’t do it,” he added, faulting several administrations for failing to enforce the law.

The clip drew immediate attention from across the political spectrum, with the Republican National Committee’s research arm posting it within hours to X.

Sanders, who ran for president twice on a populist economic platform, has previously broken with his party on immigration enforcement, warning during the 2020 campaign about the risks of “open borders” rhetoric. He said the U.S. has the “technology and manpower” to secure the border but that leaders of both parties have failed to do so.

“I’m not going to sit here and tell you that overall [Biden] did a good job — it was not,” Sanders said.

BROADCAST BIAS: ON UPSIDE-DOWN TV NETWORKS, ICE AND THE NATIONAL GUARD ARE THE DANGEROUS LAW-BREAKERS

U.S. Customs and Border Protection logged 2.47 million migrant encounters in fiscal year 2023, an all-time high, up from about 458,000 in Trump’s final year.

The senator made the remarks as he promoted his new book, “Fight Oligarchy,” and fielded Dillon’s pointed questions about what the Democrat Party’s platform should be.

Sanders’ tone marks a sharp shift from his 2020 campaign, when he dismissed talk of a “border crisis” and accused Trump of “demonizing immigrants.”

During a March 2020 Fox News town hall, Sanders said he “would not close the borders” even amid the COVID-19 pandemic, calling border shutdowns “xenophobic.”

In January 2019, as Trump in his first term as president made a prime-time case that a border crisis required urgent action, Sanders downplayed the situation, saying at the time “we don’t need to create artificial crises” at the border.

Given that history, Sanders’ new tone represents a striking reversal. By saying “it ain’t that hard” to secure the border and urging Democrats to “have a border,” the Vermont independent is echoing long-standing conservative arguments.

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Fox News Digital has reached out to Sanders’ office for additional comment.

It took four months, but one of the top Democrats in New York State has finally endorsed New York City Democratic mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani.

With Election Day closing in, Minority Leader Rep. Hakeem Jeffries of New York, the top Democrat in the U.S. House, on Friday announced his support for Mamdani, the 33-year-old democratic socialist state lawmaker from the New York City borough of Queens, in a statement to the New York Times.

“Zohran Mamdani has relentlessly focused on addressing the affordability crisis and explicitly committed to being a mayor for all New Yorkers, including those who do not support his candidacy,” Jeffries said.

Jeffries added: “In that spirit, I support him and the entire citywide Democratic ticket in the general election.”

Jeffries, whose congressional district covers much of neighboring Brooklyn, becomes the second major New York State Democrat to back Mamdani, following a late September endorsement from Gov. Kathy Hochul.

MAMDANI LANDS CRUCIAL ENDORSEMENT IN NYC MAYORAL SHOWDOWN

The endorsement from Jeffries comes the day before early voting begins in New York City on Saturday.

The top two Democrats in the New York State legislature backed Mamdani days after the governor announced her support.

The endorsements from Jeffries and Hochul may put intense pressure on longtime Democratic Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York, who is the top Democrat in the Senate, to also back Mamdani in an election that is a little over a week away. 

Mamdani shocked the political world in June with his convincing win over former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and nine other candidates to capture the Democratic Party’s mayoral nomination in the nation’s most populous city.

The Ugandan-born Mamdani, if elected, would become the first Muslim and first millennial mayor of the nation’s most populous city. He is the clear frontrunner in the latest public opinion polls in the mayoral race in the Democrat-dominated city.

Mamdani is sitting on large double-digit leads over Cuomo in the latest New York City public opinion polls.  

TRUMP REVEALS NEW NICKNAME FOR MAMDANI

Guardian Angels co-founder Curtis Sliwa, who for a second straight election is the Republican mayoral nominee in the Democrat-dominated city, is a distant third in the polls. 

New York’s current mayor, the embattled incumbent Eric Adams, had decided to run as an independent but announced late last month that he would no longer pursue the office amid anemic polling. President Donald Trump’s advisors had floated administration roles for both mayoral hopefuls.

This week, Adams endorsed Cuomo, even though the two had repeatedly clashed earlier this year on the campaign trail.

POLL POSITION: JUST HOW LARGE IS MAMDANI’S LEAD IN THE NYC MAYORAL RACE?

Mamdani surged to the Democratic primary victory thanks to an energetic campaign that put a major focus on affordability and New York City’s high cost of living. It was fueled by a massive grassroots army of supporters and backing from top national progressive champions, including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York and Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont.

Mamdani made smart use of social media platforms, including TikTok, as he engaged low-propensity voters. He proposed eliminating fares to ride New York City’s vast bus system, making CUNY (City University of New York) “tuition-free,” freezing rents on municipal housing, offering “free childcare” for children up to age 5 and setting up government-run grocery stores.

Mamdani has been heavily criticized by his rivals for his far-left platform, as well as his verbal attacks on Israel, his past critical comments about the New York City Police Department (NYPD), and his proposal to shift certain responsibilities away from the NYPD and focus on social services and community-based programs. 

Trump, a native New Yorker who now calls Florida home, has derided Mamdani ever since his primary victory as a “communist” and earlier this month came up with a new derogatory nickname.

“I call him my little communist. He’s my little communist mayor,” Trump said during an extended Fox News interview on “Fox and Friends.”

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Republicans have worked overtime the past three months to anchor the mayoral nominee to vulnerable congressional Democrats up for re-election in next year’s midterms.

“‘Leader’ Hakeem Jeffries just bent the knee to the socialist left, and now the only place he’s leading his party is down a cold, dark tunnel toward electoral humiliation. Every single Democrat owns the socialist agenda and is now a willing accomplice in their own party’s collapse,” National Republican Congressional Committee national press secretary Mike Marinella told Fox News Digital in a statement.

Jefries met with Mamdani for the first time in July, with a second meeting last month. While Jeffries praised Mamdani’s affordability emphasis on the campaign trail, neither meeting resulted in an endorsement.

Most House Democrats, including many progressives, have given Jeffries plenty of latitude and have declined to criticize his lack of an endorsement.

Among the exceptions is Ocasio-Cortez, who said earlier this summer that “we use our primaries to settle our differences, and once we have a nominee, we rally behind that nominee,”

Sen. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland, a former House Democrat, similarly chastised congressional leaders for failing to rally around Mamdani.

While Jeffries joins Hochul in endorsing Mamdani, New York State Democratic Party chair Jay Jacobs said that he — as an individual — wouldn’t endorse his party’s mayoral nominee.

And Democratic Rep. Tom Suozzi, whose suburban swing congressional district includes a small portion of Queens, has previously announced that he wouldn’t support Mamdani.

Rumors of the Friday endorsement earned immediate criticism from Republicans suggesting that Jeffries is succumbing to pressure from his far-left base to endorse Mamdani despite his socialist policies that will certainly become a target during next year’s midterms.

“Hakeem is bending the knee!!!,” Maureen O’Toole, National Republican Congressional Committee Eastern Regional Press Secretary, posted on X. 

New York Attorney General Letitia James was arraigned at a federal court in Norfolk, Virginia, Friday, where she pleaded not guilty to two felony charges of bank fraud and making false statements to a financial institution.

The charges against James stem from her 2020 purchase of a home in Norfolk, Virginia. Prosecutors allege that James misled a bank about the nature of the residence in order to obtain more favorable loan conditions.

The indictment states that James misrepresented the financial institution in claiming it would be her secondary residence, and instead rented it out to a family. 

According to the indictment, the lower interest rate would allow James to save nearly $19,000 over the course of the 30-year loan.

LETITIA JAMES TO BE ARRAIGNED IN VIRGINIA ON FEDERAL BANK FRAUD CHARGES TIED TO 2020 HOME PURCHASE

James entered the not guilty plea herself to U.S. District Judge Jamar K. Walker. 

She is being represented in the case by defense attorney Abbe Lowell, and by Andrew Bosse, a former assistant U.S. attorney based in Norfolk who formerly headed up the office’s criminal division. 

James’ arraignment is the latest in a string of prosecutions brought against the president’s perceived political foes, despite objections from career prosecutors — some of whom have since been fired or resigned.

James, a Democrat, has long-drawn Trump’s ire after she campaigned for attorney general in 2016 largely on vows to investigate Trump’s actions and businesses.

She also successfully secured a $450 million civil fraud case against him last year, though an appeals court later tossed the financial penalty portion of the case. 

“This is nothing more than a continuation of the president’s desperate weaponization of our justice system,” James said in a statement after she was indicted. 

DOJ SEEKS REMOVAL OF COMEY’S DEFENSE LAWYER, CITING CONFLICT OF INTEREST

“These charges are baseless, and the president’s own public statements make clear that his only goal is political retribution at any cost,” she added.

Her indictment, like the indictment of former FBI Director James Comey, was presented to a grand jury by former White House aide Lindsey Halligan, whom President Donald Trump installed as the acting U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia last month. 

Trump, in September, said he would install Halligan as the top prosecutor for the Eastern District of Virginia, replacing interim attorney Erik Siebert, who resigned under pressure to indict both Comey and James.

“No one is above the law. The charges as alleged in this case represent intentional, criminal acts and tremendous breaches of the public’s trust,” Halligan said in a statement. “The facts and the law in this case are clear, and we will continue following them to ensure that justice is served.”

After the arraignment, it is likely that she will file a motion to dismiss her case for vindictive and selective prosecution, following similar steps taken by Comey’s legal team in Alexandria earlier this week. 

She will also file a motion to dismiss her case based on what her lawyers will argue was the unlawful appointment of Halligan in securing her indictment. 

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Lowell, her attorney, has described the case against her as “improper political retribution,” and vowed they would “fight these charges in every process allowed in the law.”

The Justice Department did not immediately respond to Fox News’s request for comment on the case, or whether Halligan or Keller would be joined by any other federal prosecutors in the Eastern District of Virginia.  

Speaking to reporters outside the court on Friday, James said the Justice Department is being used as a tool of “revenge,” and a “vehicle of retribution.”

“But my faith is strong,” she told the group that had massed outside the courthouse in Norfolk, Virginia, hours earlier. “I have a belief in the justice system.”

“Never cow down or break or bend. So there is no fear today,” she said. “I will not be deterred.”

Judge Walker set a trial date for Jan. 26, 2026, and ordered parties to appear back in court for motions hearings in early December.

FIRST ON FOX: The State Department has spent nearly $100 million less on travel this year than last amid a wider effort to trim budgets, according to documents exclusively obtained by Fox News Digital.

From January to September 2024, the Biden administration State Department spent $306 million on foreign and domestic travel. At the same point this year, the department under President Donald Trump spent $212 million, according to documents seen by Fox News Digital.

Some $37 million in cuts was focused on domestic travel, largely driven by a decrease in conference attendance, which made up nearly $7 million of the cuts.

Site visits and consultations within the U.S. also decreased by around $14 million and domestic special mission travel was down around $5.5 million.

CHIEF JUSTICE ROBERTS SIDES WITH TRUMP TO TEMPORARILY FREEZE $5B IN FOREIGN AID SPENDING

Overseas travel decreased from $206 million from January-September 2024 to $149 million.

Site visits and consultations overseas were down around $12.5 million and travel for training was down around $15 million.

“The Trump Administration has consistently been on the side of the American people and the American taxpayer, and these numbers prove that,” principal deputy spokesperson Tommy Piggot said.

“We believe in real diplomacy, not meetings for the sake of meetings.”

STATE DEPARTMENT BLASTS DEMS OVER SHUTDOWN, SAYS NATIONAL SECURITY AT RISK AMID SENATE BATTLE

This travel-spending decline comes amid a broader effort by the Trump administration to shrink the department’s footprint and reduce overseas commitments. In April 2025, the Office of Management and Budget wrote a memo recommending the combined budget of the State Department and USAID be cut nearly in half in the upcoming fiscal year.

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The plan would reduce the budget from about $55 billion to $28.4 billion, slash funding for humanitarian assistance and global health programs by more than 50%, and potentially shut down or significantly scale back dozens of U.S. missions abroad.

And as of July, the department had initiated layoffs of over 1,300 domestic staff.

The Democrat Party is not doing enough outreach with Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) voters and could risk the party’s gubernatorial election in the deep blue state of New Jersey — home to one of the nation’s largest Asian American populations, a Democratic National Committee (DNC) official warned. 

“We lost ground with many of our communities,” DNC Vice Chair Shasti Conrad told Fox Digital of the Democrat Party following its 2024 election losses. “The Asian American community was one of them. Where we found that … more votes that did go towards Donald Trump, not overall, but in terms of a change from, you know, 2020 to 2024 there was a dip in the support for Democrats.”

“I’ve certainly seen there’s been a greater play from the Republican Party to reach Asian American voters, particularly in these last several years,” Conrad added. “And, you know, while there’s also been a lot of anti-Asian rhetoric and anti-Asian hate that has come from the Republican Party, there’s also been a real sort of tapping into fears around the economy, around the impact of taxes on the Asian American community, and that there have been more Republicans that have actually, you know, gone to Asian community spaces.” 

The year 2025 is an off-season election year, with only Virginia and New Jersey holding gubernatorial elections, and New York City holding a highly-anticipated mayoral race. 

MAGA STAR JOINS CIATTARELLI ON CAMPAIGN TRAIL IN NEW JERSEY AS REPUBLICANS AIM TO FLIP GOVERNOR’S OFFICE

New Jersey is a longtime Democrat stronghold, previously voting for a Republican presidential candidate during former President George H.W. Bush’s 1988 election. Trump, however, made inroads with New Jersey voters in the 2024 election, sparking renewed enthusiasm among Republicans to flip the state red. 

New Jersey voted to elect former Vice President Kamala Harris as president in the 2024 race, but post-election data showed Trump and the GOP flipped five counties red. All in, Trump cut his 2020 loss from 16 points to six in 2024. 

Democratic Rep. Mikie Sherrill was elected the party’s nominee for governor and will face off against Republican Jack Ciattarelli at the polls Nov. 4. 

FORTNIGHT TO ELECTION DAY: 5 KEY 2025 RACES TO WATCH

New Jersey has a massive Asian American population at just more than one million people in a state of roughly 9.5 million total residents. The 2024 voting data shows there were 584,236 eligible Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) voters in the state. 

Conrad, who is also the chair of the Washington State Democratic Party, told Fox Digital that the lack of outreach to the voting bloc could hurt the Democrat Party’s efforts to retain the governorship. She said she reminds party members that “there are a million Asian Americans in New Jersey” and that “we as Democrats, have not invested as much as we could have into the community at our own peril.”

AAPI voters “are the fastest growing demographic in this country, and we are growing in states that we need to win in,” she added. “We are growing in the South. We’re a growing population in North Carolina, in Georgia, in Texas.” 

On the national stage, 57% of Asian voters backed Harris in 2024, but Trump also improved his margins with the voting bloc compared to 2020. Trump saw one-in-four Asian votes cast in his favor in 2024 compared to earning 30% of the Asian vote in 2020, according to Pew data. 

The DNC leader said the party needs to meet AAPI voters in their community, whether it be at temples and churches or Asian-owned businesses, and hear their concerns directly. 

The voting bloc brings a multitude of cultural backgrounds and, subsequently, is a very nuanced group. Conrad noted the diversity of the group when listing off common top voting concerns among AAPI voters, including the economy and immigration — most notably how it relates to H-1B visas. 

Conrad said Republicans have met with Asian voters at their churches and businesses and at other cultural events in recent history, with the party increasingly throwing its support behind Asian candidates, as well. 

“They’ve just have done more,” Conrad said about the GOP. “And they’ve also been running more Asian candidates, which is …. sometimes it’s confusing to voters, in particular the Asian American community, where there’s a lot of pride in having leadership that, you know, that is from the community.” 

She called on Democrats to include Asian voters in their common campaign platforms focused on Black, Latino, rural and young voters. 

CRIME AND IMMIGRATION DIVIDE NEW JERSEY VOTERS AFTER EXPLOSIVE CIATTARELLI-SHERRILL DEBATE

“When we’re talking the importance of really building that coalition, we have to continue to say and include Asian Americans in that as well,” she said. “And I think sometimes we get left off, as you know, not even considered or thought about or remembered as a really important community to engage with.” 

Sherrill campaign spokesperson Sam Chan told Fox News Digital when asked about their AAPI outreach that “throughout the campaign, Mikie has partnered directly with Asian communities, and shared her vision to lower costs, bolster support for small businesses, and ensure people have the opportunity to achieve the American dream here in New Jersey.”

“As governor, Mikie will work to ensure Trenton serves everyone,” Chan continued. “Mikie will work to make it easier to start and grow a small business and lower costs, ensure our schools are fully funded, and stand up for our constitutional rights and uphold the law. Mikie’s Save You Time and Money Agenda will help business owners launch and expand their ventures, while her State of Emergency on Utility Costs will end the rate hikes and reduce electric bills.” 

Chan also took a shot at Trump in the remarks, saying Ciattarelli “cheers along Trump as he attacks our communities, rips away billions from our schools and transit system, and jacks up prices with his unaffordable tariffs, Mikie is running to fight for all New Jerseyans.”

Fox News Digital also spoke with Parul Khemka, a New Jersey Democrat running for re-election on the Livingston Board of Education, who said the Sherrill campaign has increasingly attended cultural events, including a Diwali celebration.

“Even within Bergen County, there’s a big east Asian population, so she’s tapped into that as well. It’s just, New Jersey is a little bit funky. You’d think that it’s one party, one thing … But different counties have their own different attributes, so you have to figure it out as you go along.”

Sherrill, she added, was involved in cultural events in her congressional district, which includes portions of Essex, Morris, and Passaic Counties in North Jersey, and that her office has historically been approachable. 

TRUMP NOT ON BALLOT, BUT PRESIDENT FRONT AND CENTER IN 2025 ELECTIONS

Khemka said that top priorities for the AAPI community commonly include education, immigration and visas, and the economy and affordability, while also noting the massive voting bloc is nuanced and diverse. She said AAPI voters have always leaned more to the left, from her view, but that voters moved more to the right as Trump campaigned on getting the economy back on track following spiraling inflation. 

Democrats, Kehmka said, are positioned to better appeal to AAPI voters as they understand the nuances of the voters’ political concerns as opposed to broad issues.  

“The Democratic Party obviously does a little bit better than the Republican Party to understand these nuanced issues, and they do not paint everybody in the same brush,” she said, adding that the AAPI community in New Jersey could make or break Democrats retaining the governor’s mansion. 

The Sherrill campaign, for example, has deployed multilingual phone banking and canvassing programs in towns with high levels of Asian voters, with Sherrill, herself, also meeting with voters in their communities. 

Conrad said that the Sherrill campaign has built more inroads with AAPI voters in recent months, pointing to outreach events over the weekend that included DNC chair Ken Martin also traveling to the Garden State to rally support for the ticket. 

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“We did an AAPI oriented canvas. And then … DNC Chair Ken Martin hosted an AAPI roundtable to meet with AAPI leaders and to show that engagement. I have heard, even just in a month’s time, I had heard a big change from the community about feeling like they were, you know, being engaged more directly by the Sherrill campaign, and we’re feeling better about it,” Conrad said. 

“I do think that that work is happening,” she added, praising efforts by the DNC’s AAPI caucus, specifically South Asians for America, rallying Democrat support ahead of New Jersey’s and Virginia’s high-stakes elections. 

The New Jersey gubernatorial election is slated for Nov. 4. 

Fox News Digital reached out to Ciattarelli’s campaign Thursday for comment on AAPI outreach and has yet to receive a reply. 

While President Donald Trump‘s proposal to import more beef from Argentina is billed by the administration as a way to bring down prices for American consumers, critics say it misses the real issue driving costs at the grocery store: corporate concentration in the U.S. meatpacking industry.

Four corporations — Tyson, JBS, Cargill and National Beef — anchor the U.S. beef supply chain, with pricing power that reaches from pasture to plate. As a result, the gap between what producers are paid for cattle and what consumers spend on beef has remained wide, a reflection, economists say, of how market power is distributed along the supply chain. 

Fox News Digital reached out to all four companies for comment but did not receive a response as of publication.

TRUMP ADMIN EYES ARGENTINE BEEF IMPORTS AS DOMESTIC PRICES SOAR TO RECORD HIGHS

The frustration extends beyond farm country – Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., says the dominance of multinational meatpackers is hurting both producers and consumers.

“Four corporations control 85% of the meat sold in the United States. One of these corporations is Chinese-owned and one is Brazilian-owned. American farmers are being squeezed and American consumers are being gouged,” Massie told Fox News Digital.

Massie, who raises cattle on his Kentucky ranch, warned that expanding beef imports from Argentina would only worsen those structural problems.

“Flooding the market with Argentinian beef is not the answer to these problems. An America First solution to rising beef prices is to pass my PRIME Act, which would empower American farmers to sell directly to consumers without interference from global corporate middlemen,” Massie said.

Under current federal law, beef processed at small, state-inspected facilities can’t be sold across state lines, even if it meets the same health standards as federally inspected meat. Massie’s PRIME Act would remove that barrier, a change supporters say would let local ranchers reach more consumers and compete with the big packers.

GOP LAWMAKERS WARN TRUMP’S ARGENTINA BEEF PROPOSAL COULD RATTLE US RANCHERS

Economists agree the beef market is highly consolidated, but say the forces shaping prices go well beyond any one trade deal.

Glynn Tonsor, a professor of agricultural economics at Kansas State University, told Fox News Digital that strong consumer demand continues to drive beef prices higher, regardless of supply fluctuations.

“There’s nothing that forces me or you or anybody else when we go into the grocery store to pay more for beef. People are choosing to,” he said. “The consumer desire for beef is strong and, regardless of the supply-side situation, that has the effect of pulling prices up.”

He also noted that the large-scale structure of the U.S. meatpacking industry, often criticized by ranchers and lawmakers, has economic benefits for consumers.

“I would argue that those economies of scale benefit consumers,” Tonsor said. “The ability to operate at a cheaper cost per head and, ultimately, per pound produced gives us the ability to offer beef and every other item we’re talking about at a cheaper price. Anything we do that loses those economies of scale actually hurts consumers in the form of higher prices.”

FROM CATTLE TO CRUDE: HOW TRUMP’S TARIFFS ARE RATTLING THE LONE STAR STATE

Derrell Peel, a professor of agricultural economics at Oklahoma State University, said that even if U.S. imports from Argentina increase, the impact on overall prices would be negligible.

“Most of what we import is lean, processed beef trimmings used for ground beef,” said Peel, who specializes in livestock marketing. “We’re not talking about the kind of beef that affects steak prices. Even if we doubled imports, it would be such a small share of the total supply that we wouldn’t detect any real impact.”

Peel added that there’s no quick way to ease pressure on cattle prices, since it takes roughly two years to bring animals to market and several years to rebuild herds.

“The fact of the matter is there’s really nothing anybody can do to change this very quickly,” he said. “We’re in a tight supply situation that took several years to develop, and it’ll take several years to get out of it.”

BEEF PRICES HIT RECORD HIGHS AS NATIONWIDE CATTLE INVENTORY DROPS TO LOWEST LEVEL IN 70 YEARS

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Meanwhile, the White House defended the plan, saying it’s aimed at balancing relief for consumers with long-term support for U.S. cattle producers.

“The president loves our ranchers, and he also loves American consumers, and he wants to do right by both,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Wednesday.

Leavitt said Trump’s immediate goal is to lower beef prices by increasing supply through additional imports, while a separate, long-term plan will focus on strengthening the domestic cattle industry.

She pointed to a three-part plan announced by Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, which includes expanding grazing access, easing regulations for new ranchers, cutting inspection costs and improving “Product of USA” labeling to ensure consumers know when they’re buying American-made beef.

Fox News Digital sat down with New York Republican attorney general candidate Michael Henry, who made his case on why the Democrat currently holding that office, Letitia James, needs to go and why his campaign has the message to do that.

“Two things,” Henry told Fox News Digital when asked what voters in New York tell him they are most concerned about. “Crime and affordability.”

Henry explained that New Yorkers are “fed up” with the cost of living in the state and may not realize that many of the regulatory policies that affect affordability are handled by the attorney general’s office. 

“It’s really put a hamper on economic growth in the State of New York, how her and her bureau chiefs, deputy bureau chief, and the attorneys in the office, who all serve under the discretion of the attorney general, have really crippled the New York State economy,” Henry said. 

LETITIA JAMES UP AGAINST ‘BY THE BOOK’ PROSECUTOR ‘WHO MEANS BUSINESS,’ FORMER KENTUCKY AG CAMERON SAYS

Henry expressed concern specifically about energy costs and what he called a “far-left agenda” that James has been implementing. 

“We see a Democrat governor in Josh Shapiro, who’s encouraging New York energy companies to work in Pennsylvania right across the line, where you could literally throw a rock and hit a truck on the Pennsylvania border. But then the 100 years worth of energy under our feet in the southern tier of New York State, which would not only revive the economy, but the people in places like Manhattan would see probably about a 60% cost of energy go down,” Henry said.

“And Letitia James has been wreaking havoc on the daily lives of New Yorkers, and in many instances they just don’t even realize it, and this is something I’ve been trying to shine a light on, letting them know how much damage she’s doing to them and their ability to just be able to afford to live here.”

ANDERSON COOPER SAYS IT WAS ‘NOT A GREAT LOOK’ FOR LETITIA JAMES TO THREATEN TO SUE TRUMP AFTER HER ELECTION

Henry ran unsuccessfully against James in 2020, but his 45% of the vote was one of the best showings for a Republican in the state in decades.

Henry told Fox News Digital he lives a comfortable life as an attorney and didn’t plan on running again, but when he looked around and surveyed the situation he felt compelled to do so. 

“You travel to upstate New York, you see these wind fans that don’t work, you see solar panels that break in the winter, yet we’re not allowed to use all options when it comes to energy development,” Henry said. 

“Three thousand correctional officers, which is a huge employer in upstate New York, were fired by Letitia James and Kathy Hochul, three thousand families that relied on that income to take care of things like tuition or put food on the table, and they were blocked from going into other civil servant employment. You just see the war on agriculture, war on dairy farmers. There’s a 62-county drug crisis that’s been exacerbated, and if you had told me in 2022, all these issues would have happened or been this bad, I never would have believed you.”

Ultimately, Henry believes that New Yorkers need an “outsider” candidate who has “no fear of Letitia James at all.”

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Henry explained, “Look, let’s be honest, she wakes up every day focused on three things: targeting the president of the United States, weaponizing her office against political opponents, and ignoring the issues that matter most to hardworking families,” Henry said. “And she’s forgotten that the New York state attorney general is the people’s lawyer, and it’s not the enforcer for the Democrat National Committee.”

On the crime front, Henry hit James for “not cooperating with local law enforcement,” particularly sheriffs in Republican areas, and said New Yorkers are “fed up” on the crime issue.

James will be in court Friday morning after being charged with mortgage fraud, which she has dismissed as political, but Henry pushed back on that narrative.

“People have seen her awkwardly stumble through these press conferences off the cuff, and now we’ve seen her ethical issues, where apparently she’s not only multiple times signed documents saying she’s married to her father, she doesn’t even know what state she lives in, apparently.”

“And Letitia James can’t have it both ways. She can’t say I’ve been trained by the best and then have these discrepancies on numerous occasions in her mortgage applications. It’s either that she knew what she was doing or she lacks the basic reading comprehension skills of a middle schooner, because I could walk into a middle school and put a mortgage application on any child’s desk, and they would say to me, I’m not married to my daddy,” Henry added. “So she cannot have it both ways, and she’s going to be held accountable this time, and we’re seeing it on a daily basis.”

New York Attorney General Letitia James will appear in federal court in Norfolk, Virginia, Friday morning to be arraigned on a two-count indictment stemming from statements she allegedly made about the nature of a second home she purchased in 2020.

James’s arraignment is the latest in a string of prosecutions brought against the president’s perceived political foes, despite objections from career prosecutors — some of whom have since been fired or resigned.

James was indicted on two federal counts of bank fraud and making false statements to a financial institution. 

The indictment stems from her 2020 purchase of a home in Norfolk, Virginia, where prosecutors allege that she misled a bank about the nature of the residence in order to obtain more favorable loan conditions.

James, for her part, has vehemently denied wrongdoing, and is expected to plead not guilty.

DOJ SEEKS REMOVAL OF COMEY’S DEFENSE LAWYER, CITING CONFLICT OF INTEREST

“This is nothing more than a continuation of the president’s desperate weaponization of our justice system,” James said in a statement after she was indicted. 

“These charges are baseless, and the president’s own public statements make clear that his only goal is political retribution at any cost,” she added.

Her indictment, like the indictment of FBI director James Comey, was presented to a grand jury by former White House aide Lindsey Halligan, whom Trump installed as the acting U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia last month. 

Trump, in September, said he would install Halligan as the top prosecutor for the Eastern District of Virginia, replacing interim attorney Erik Siebert, who resigned under pressure to indict both Comey and James.

FBI AGENTS SUE TRUMP DOJ TO BLOCK ANY PUBLIC IDENTIFICATION OF EMPLOYEES WHO WORKED ON JAN. 6 INVESTIGATIONS

James’s indictment, like Comey’s, has touched off intense backlash and concerns of weaponization within the Justice Department’s ranks during Trump’s second presidential term. 

Both cases have both sparked the resignations or firings of several career officials in the Eastern District of Virginia, including in the Norfolk office, where two assistant U.S. attorneys were fired for reportedly voicing opposition to bringing James’s case.

Halligan will be joined in court Friday by a Missouri-based federal prosecutor, Roger Keller, according to court filings. 

James’s defense attorney, Abbe Lowell, told the court they have retained the services of Andrew Bosse, a former assistant U.S. attorney based in Norfolk who formerly headed up the office’s criminal division. 

The case against James comes after she successfully brought a civil fraud case against President Donald Trump last year.

After the arraignment, it is likely that she will file a motion to dismiss her case for vindictive and selective prosecution, following similar steps taken by Comey’s legal team in Alexandria earlier this week. 

Lowell, her attorney, has described the case against her as “improper political retribution,” and vowed they would “fight these charges in every process allowed in the law.”

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The Justice Department did not immediately respond to Fox News’s request for comment on the case, or whether Halligan or Keller would be joined by any other federal prosecutors in the Eastern District of Virginia.  

BELLEVILLE, N.J. – As the competitive and combustible race for New Jersey governor barrels towards a possible photo finish, both major party nominees are playing up the positives.

“Our polling’s looking good. I think we’re feeling really good right now,” Democratic nominee Rep. Mikie Sherrill touted as she spoke with Fox News Digital after headlining a major party gathering this week in this northern New Jersey township.

But with a week and a half to go until Election Day, the latest public opinion polls in one of only two races for governor in the nation this year suggest that Republican nominee Jack Ciattarelli is narrowing the gap with Sherrill in one of only two races for governor this year across the country.

“I think we’re in a great position,” Ciattarelli said in a Fox News interview after a diner stop in Linden, N.J. 

MAGA STARS HIT THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL IN CRUCIAL GUBERNATORIAL SHOWDOWN

In a state where registered Democrats still outnumber Republicans despite a GOP surge in registration this decade, four public opinion polls released over the past two weeks — from Fox News, Quinnipiac University, Fairleigh Dickinson University and Rutgers-Eagleton — indicated Ciattarelli tightening the margins with Sherrill in the race to succeed the term-limited Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy. Other public and internal surveys suggest a margin of error contest.

BATTLE FOR GOVERNOR IN THIS CLOSELY WATCHED RACE MAY BE HEADED FOR A PHOTO FINISH

“As you know, many of these polls have a dead heat. And that’s in a state in which Republicans typically under poll because we are the minority party,” Ciattarelli said. “And when you have the endorsement of Democratic mayors across the state, it says people want change. That’s exactly what we’re going to deliver when we win this race.”

Ciattarelli, who has crisscrossed the campaign trail in the Garden State this summer and autumn, has drawn energetic crowds at his stops during the closing stretch of the campaign. And with early voting about to get underway, he’s urging his supporters to cast their ballots.

“Early voting starts this Saturday. We turn out, we win. Let’s finish strong,” he urged.

FIVE KEY RACES TO WATCH WITH TWO WEEKS UNTIL ELECTION DAY

President Donald Trump will hold a tele-rally with Ciattarelli ahead of Election Day. And also helping him make sure low propensity Trump supporters vote during an off-election year when the president isn’t on the ballot have been some top MAGA stars, including Ohio gubernatorial candidate and former White House contender Vivek Ramaswamy and Rep. Byron Donalds, the top candidate for Florida governor next year.

“Jack’s been running a great campaign. I’ve been watching it from down in the Sunshine State. But it’s about winning. We got to help everybody get across the line,” Donalds told Fox News.

Former Rahway, N.J. GOP chair Patrick Cassio, who was at the Ciattarelli-Donalds diner stop in Linden, told Fox News that “a lot of Trump voters do not vote for anybody else, so getting guys out that they like will get them out to vote.”

And he noted that “four years ago, 400,000 Republicans didn’t vote. So, think about that. He [Ciattarelli] picks up half of that, he wins. The math is pretty simple.”

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Ciattarelli, who’s making his third straight run for Garden State governor, and who nearly upset Murphy four years ago, says things are different this time around.

“Because of the closeness of that race in ’21, people are paying closer attention this time around,” Ciattarelli said.

But Sherrill criticized her Republican rival as a “kind of a perennial candidate.”

THE POLITICAL BOMB TRUMP EXPLODED IN THE NEW JERSEY SHOWDOWN FOR GOVERNOR

Sherrill, a U.S. Naval Academy graduate who flew helicopters during her military service and who was first elected to Congress in 2018, is also enjoying plenty of company on the campaign trail. Last weekend she was joined by Govs. Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan and Wes Moore of Maryland — who are considered potential 2028 White House contenders. And former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, two more potential presidential candidates, are on deck.

And Sherrill’s campaign announced this week that the most popular Democrat in the country — former President Barack Obama — will headline a rally with her in Newark on Nov. 1, the final weekend before Election Day.

While Sherrill has faced criticism by Republicans and some political pundits for a lack of energy on the campaign trail, she pointed to her get-out-the-vote operation.

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“We’re seeing great returns on the vote by mails. We’ll start early voting the 25th, which we’re really excited about. We’re seeing a ton of energy on the ground,” she told Fox News.

And Sherrill touted that her campaign has “the biggest volunteer field program that anyone in New Jersey has ever run… We are getting the right doors, and I’m really excited about what we’re gonna see.”

Millions of Americans who rely on federal food benefits could be among the next casualties of the ongoing government shutdown. 

Approximately 42 million people in the U.S. who use the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) are in danger of not receiving aid come Nov. 1, when the program’s funds are expected to run dry, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) warned state agencies in a memo obtained by Fox News Digital on Thursday.

More than two dozen states have alerted residents to possible lapses in funding. Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin declared a state of emergency over SNAP benefits on Thursday.

“It requires about $8 billion each month to fund SNAP benefits nationwide. When there’s no funding it impacts not just pockets of people, but it’s going to impact people all around the country,” said Rev. Eugene Cho, president and CEO of Bread for the World, a nonprofit hunger advocacy group that works with local partners to educate recipients about access to food.

BATTLEGROUND REPUBLICANS HOLD THE LINE AS JOHNSON PRESSURES DEMS ON SHUTDOWN

Cho explained to Fox News Digital that some states will feel the drying up government funding more than others.

“Yes, funding comes from the federal government, but the administration of it happens through local states,” he said. “And so, when it comes to SNAP, states are on a little bit of a different rhythm in terms of how they’re conveying the reduction or the elimination of SNAP benefits. It is playing out a little bit differently from state to state.” 

The longer the shutdown goes on, the less funding also becomes available for the Women, Infants and Children (WIC) nutrition program, which helps nearly 7 million vulnerable pregnant women and children under age 5.

SCREAMING MATCH ERUPTS BETWEEN HAKEEM JEFFRIES, MIKE LAWLER AS GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN CHAOS CONTINUES

It could pose a political headache for Democrats who have resisted agreeing to Republicans’ federal funding plan for over a month, demanding significant concessions on healthcare in exchange for their support.

“We are approaching an inflection point for Senate Democrats. Continue to hold out for healthcare for illegals or reopen the government so mothers, babies, and the most vulnerable among us can receive timely WIC and SNAP allotments,” a USDA spokesperson told Fox News Digital.

The House passed a seven-week extension of FY2025 funding largely along partisan lines on Sept. 19. The measure, a continuing resolution (CR), is aimed at giving lawmakers more time to strike a longer-term deal for FY2026.

But in the Senate, where several more Democrats are needed to break a filibuster than have been voting for it, progress has stalled, with the legislation having failed 12 times already.

Democrats are demanding that any spending plan be paired with an extension of enhanced Obamacare subsidies that are set to expire at the end of 2025.

They have also called for Republicans to repeal the Medicaid cuts made in their One Big, Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) earlier this year.

“Millions of American families are about to lose access to food assistance because Democrats are openly admitting to being afraid of their far-left base and refuse to reopen the government,” House Agriculture Committee Chair Glenn Thompson, R-Pa., told Fox News Digital.

Thompson’s panel has jurisdiction over SNAP in the House.

“We need to reopen the government, so we can put Americans first by making sure families can put food on the table and our farmers are supported,” he said.

Democrats could also be faced with the political quagmire of having previously railed against Republicans moving to expand SNAP work requirements in the OBBBA, to now be blamed by the right for federal food benefits drying up.

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The Trump administration does have some power to move existing funding around to help cover shortages during the shutdown. The White House moved research and development funding at the Pentagon to cover active duty military paychecks on Oct. 15 and reallocated some $300 million from tariff revenues for WIC earlier this month.

But any such fix would be temporary, as the two aforementioned adjustments have been.

When reached for comment about the administration’s SNAP warning, the top Democrat on the House Agriculture Committee told Fox News Digital that USDA needed to tap into the government’s emergency SNAP reserves.

“It’s time the administration do right by seniors, children and veterans and utilize the SNAP contingency fund to ensure benefits can be provided for November,” ranking member Rep. Angie Craig, D-Minn., said.

The SNAP contingency fund currently has some $5 billion — not enough for an entire month’s worth of service.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., told reporters Thursday that he believed the White House would tap into that funding.

“As has been the case in prior government shutdowns, the money can be found by the administration if they chose to do so. In fact, there’s about $5 billion available in a contingency fund for emergency circumstances just like this,” Jeffries said. “But the administration refuses to agree to use it. Why? Because they want to starve the American people as part of their continuing effort to visit cruelty on everyday Americans.”

Two federal judges admitted that members of their staff used artificial intelligence to prepare court orders over the summer that contained errors.

The admissions, which came from U.S. District Judge Julien Xavier Neals in New Jersey and U.S. District Judge Henry Wingate in Mississippi, came in response to an inquiry by Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, who chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Grassley described the recent court orders as “error-ridden.”

In letters released by Grassley’s office on Thursday, the judges said the rulings in the cases, which were not connected, did not go through their chambers’ usual review processes before they were released.

TRUMP ADMIN UNVEILS GROUNDBREAKING TOOL ‘SUPERCHARGING’ GOV’T EFFICIENCY TO ‘WIN THE RACE’ FOR AI DOMINANCE

The judges both said they have since adopted measures to improve how rulings are reviewed before they are posted.

Neals said in his letter that a June 30 draft decision in a securities lawsuit “was released in error – human error – and withdrawn as soon as it was brought to the attention of my chambers.”

The judge said a law school intern used OpenAI’s ChatGPT to perform legal research without authorization or disclosure that he also said was contrary to the chamber’s policy and relevant law school policy.

“My chamber’s policy prohibits the use of GenAI in the legal research for, or drafting of, opinions or orders,” Neals wrote. “In the past, my policy was communicated verbally to chamber’s staff, including interns. That is no longer the case. I now have a written unequivocal policy that applies to all law clerks and interns.”

FEDERAL JUDGE FINES, REPRIMANDS LAWYER WHO USED AI TO DRAFT COURT FILINGS

Wingate said in his letter that a law clerk used Perplexity “as a foundational drafting assistant to synthesize publicly available information on the docket,” adding that releasing the July 20 draft decision “was a lapse in human oversight.”

“This was a mistake. I have taken steps in my chambers to ensure this mistake will not happen again,” the judge wrote.

Wingate had removed and replaced the original order in the civil rights lawsuit, declining at the time to give an explanation but saying it contained “clerical errors.”

Grassley had requested that the judges explain whether AI was used in the decisions after lawyers in the respective cases raised concerns about factual inaccuracies and other serious errors.

APPARENT AI MISTAKES FORCE TWO JUDGES TO RETRACT SEPARATE RULINGS

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“Honesty is always the best policy. I commend Judges Wingate and Neals for acknowledging their mistakes and I’m glad to hear they’re working to make sure this doesn’t happen again,” Grassley said in a statement.

“Each federal judge, and the judiciary as an institution, has an obligation to ensure the use of generative AI does not violate litigants’ rights or prevent fair treatment under the law,” the senator continued. “The judicial branch needs to develop more decisive, meaningful and permanent AI policies and guidelines. We can’t allow laziness, apathy or overreliance on artificial assistance to upend the Judiciary’s commitment to integrity and factual accuracy. As always, my oversight will continue.”

Lawyers have also faced scrutiny from judges across the country over accusations of AI misuse in court filings. In response, judges have issued fines or other sanctions in several cases over the past few years.

Reuters contributed to this report.

President Donald Trump called off his meeting in Budapest, Hungary, with Russian President Vladimir Putin because he didn’t see enough progress toward peace — although a future summit hasn’t been ruled out, according to the White House. 

While Trump and Putin spoke over the phone Oct. 16, plans for the meeting were scrapped after Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s call with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov Tuesday.

Trump “feels as though, unfortunately, from the Russian side as of late, he has not seen enough interest in enough action in terms of moving the ball forward toward peace,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters Thursday. “And so a meeting between these two leaders is not completely off the table. I think the president and the entire administration hopes that one day that can happen again, but we want to make sure that there’s a tangible positive outcome out of that meeting, and that it’s a good use of the president’s time.” 

WITKOFF SCRAMBLES FOR PEACE DEAL WITH RUSSIA AS SANCTIONS LOOM TARGETING INDIA, CHINA

Trump also has signaled in recent days that his patience has worn thin with Russia, and his administration slapped stringent sanctions on Russia’s two largest oil companies Wednesday. 

Specifically, the sanctions freeze all U.S.-linked assets from the two companies and bar U.S. citizens from engaging in any business with them. 

In response, Putin called the sanctions an “unfriendly act,” and warned that global oil prices could increase as a result. However, he also said that the sanctions would not majorly impact Moscow’s economy. 

While Trump routinely has said in recent months that he has pleasant conversations with Putin, he’s also voiced frustration at the lack of progress made as he’s sought to mediate an end to the conflict. Trump also said Tuesday that he didn’t want to have a “wasted meeting” with Putin in Hungary. 

TRUMP AND PUTIN’S RELATIONSHIP TURNS SOUR AS PRESIDENT PUSHES FOR RESOLUTION WITH UKRAINE

“The president wants to see action, not just talk,” Leavitt said. “And I think the president is extremely motivated by the success of his peace deal in the Middle East to get things done, and he wants this war to come to an end. He’s been saying it now for nine months, being in office, and he’s grown increasingly frustrated with the lack of progress from both sides of this war.” 

Trump met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy Friday, and NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte Wednesday to address ongoing negotiations to end the conflict. 

On Wednesday, Trump told reporters the meeting with Putin “didn’t feel right,” and explained why he wasn’t interested in arming Ukraine with Tomahawk missiles like he’d previously suggested he might. 

TRUMP DEMANDS NATO ALLIES HALT RUSSIAN OIL PURCHASES BEFORE NEW US SANCTIONS

“There is a tremendous learning curve with the Tomahawk. It’s a very powerful weapon, very accurate weapon,” Trump said Wednesday. “And maybe that’s what makes it so complex. But it will take a year. It takes a year of intense training to learn how to use it, and we know how to use it. And we’re not going to be teaching other people. It will be just too far out into the future.”

Meanwhile, Trump has voiced skepticism recently about whether Ukraine can win against Russia.

“They could still win it. I don’t think they will, but they could still win it,” Trump told reporters Monday.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

President Donald Trump is “not interested” in making peace with Colombian President Gustavo Petro, the White House said Thursday, as tensions between Washington and Bogotá continue to escalate.

“I don’t think we’re seeing de-escalation from the unhinged leader of Colombia right now,” press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters during a White House briefing when asked what Petro could do to reduce tensions.

“I don’t think the president, frankly, is interested in that at this point,” Leavitt added.

Relations between the two countries have sharply deteriorated after Petro accused the U.S. of killing innocent fishermen during strikes targeting narco-traffickers in the Caribbean.

TRUMP DOUBLES DOWN ON COLOMBIA CRACKDOWN, CALLS PETRO ‘LUNATIC,’ VOWS TO END ALL US PAYMENTS OVER DRUGS

Following Petro’s accusation, Trump announced plans to cut off all counter-narcotics aid to Colombia and impose new tariffs on the country.

Trump lashed out at his South American counterpart, calling him a “thug” who is “making a lot of drugs.”

“They’re doing very poorly, Colombia. They make cocaine. They have cocaine factories … and he better watch it or we’ll take very serious action against him and his country,” Trump said. “What he has led his country into is a death trap.”

ALLIANCE WITH US ‘DISMANTLED’ BY LEFTIST PETRO REGIME, COLOMBIA’S FORMER DEFENSE MINISTER SAYS

Petro fired back, threatening to sue Trump in U.S. court.

“From the slanders that have been cast against me in the territory of the United States by high-ranking officials, I will defend myself judicially with American lawyers in the American justice system,” Petro wrote on X. “I will always stand against genocides and murders by those in power in the Caribbean.”

“When our help is required to fight against drug trafficking, American society will have it. We will fight against the drug traffickers with the states that want our help,” he added.

Petro has sought closer ties with Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro while distancing Colombia — a major non-NATO ally — from the United States.

Meanwhile, the U.S. has conducted eight strikes on vessels believed to be transporting narcotics from Latin America. The world is now watching to see whether Trump will follow through on threats to strike Venezuelan soil — or even target Maduro himself, directly or indirectly.

Trump confirmed that he had authorized the CIA to conduct covert operations inside Venezuela and also warned Colombia could face similar consequences.

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“Petro, a low rated and very unpopular leader, with a fresh mouth toward America, better close up these killing fields immediately,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, “or the United States will close them up for him, and it won’t be done nicely.”

In a statement to Fox News Digital, the Colombian Embassy in Washington sought to ease tensions, saying the U.S. representative in Bogotá recently met with Petro and that “both sides agreed to continue dialogue in a spirit of cooperation and mutual respect. The meeting reaffirmed the shared commitment towards efforts against illicit drug trafficking, grounded in accuracy, coordination, and security.”

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters Thursday that California issued a commercial driver’s license (CDL) to an illegal immigrant truck driver charged in a fatal DUI crash that killed three people.

“I can confirm that California gave this individual a license, and it is something that the Department of Transportation has already looked into,” Leavitt said. “I know Secretary Duffy, who’s doing a phenomenal job, has spoken on this many times in the crackdown that the Department of Transportation is taking on these licenses that are wrongfully being issued to people who clearly do not deserve to uphold these positions.”

Leavitt said the individual first entered the U.S. illegally in 2022 “and was released into our country by the previous administration.” 

She added that the Department of Transportation (DOT) was cracking down on the issuing of CDLs amid a “disturbing pattern” of them being given to illegal immigrants.

ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT TRUCKER ACCUSED IN FATAL CALIFORNIA CRASH RELEASED BY BIDEN ADMIN AFTER 2022 BORDER CROSSING

Jashanpreet Singh, a 21-year-old illegal immigrant from India, was accused of driving while intoxicated and causing a crash that left three people dead. He has since been arrested on suspicion of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated after allegedly plowing his big rig into slow-moving traffic on the I-10 Freeway in San Bernardino County.

Multiple federal law enforcement sources told Fox News that Singh was first encountered by Border Patrol agents in California’s El Centro Sector in March 2022 and released into the interior of the country pending an immigration hearing. 

Police say Singh never hit the brakes before slamming into the traffic jam, citing toxicology tests that confirmed impairment.

“This is a tragic situation,” a spokeswoman for Gov. Gavin Newsom said to Fox News Digital. “And as with every tragedy over the last ten months, Secretary Noem has ordered Secretary Duffy to look for every opportunity to manipulate the facts to score cheap political points, but the FEDERAL government needs to look within before they cast blame outside.”

“The FEDERAL government approved and renewed this individual’s FEDERAL employment authorization multiple times – which allowed him to obtain a commercial driver’s license in accordance with FEDERAL law,” she added.

The Biden administration approved Singh’s work permit. Illegal immigrants can apply for work authorization 180 days after making their asylum claim. Singh was caught and released at the border in March 2022. He has been in asylum proceedings ever since. Additionally, acquiring a work permit would not require California to issue an individual a CDL, nor would it give an individual the right to one.

ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT TRUCKER ACCUSED OF KILLING THREE PEOPLE FAILED ENGLISH, ROAD TEST SIGNS: DOT

The incident comes just months after a similar fatal crash involving an illegal immigrant truck driver.

On Aug. 12, Harjinder Singh allegedly made an illegal U-turn in an unauthorized area on the Florida Turnpike, colliding with a minivan and killing three people. He was arrested in California, where he fled after the deadly crash, and was extradited to Florida.

Singh crossed into the U.S. illegally in 2018 through the southern border and was able to obtain a CDL in California. The first Trump administration rejected his request for work authorization in September 2020, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) assistant secretary Tricia McLaughlin said.

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On Oct. 15, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced that the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) would withhold over $40 million from California after a probe revealed that the state failed to comply with English Language Proficiency standards.

In response to a video of the incident, Duffy said, “This is exactly why USDOT has withheld $40 MILLION from California for failure to comply with our rules to protect drivers. We cannot allow our roads to be a dangerous place!”

Fox News Digital reached out to DOT for comment.

EXCLUSIVE: Former Special Counsel Jack Smith is requesting to testify in open, public hearings before the House and Senate Judiciary Committees, Fox News Digital has learned.

Fox News Digital exclusively obtained a letter Smith’s attorneys sent to House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan and Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley Thursday afternoon, after both panels signaled interest in testimony from the former special counsel.

EXCLUSIVE: JACK SMITH TRACKED PRIVATE COMMUNICATIONS, CALLS OF NEARLY A DOZEN GOP SENATORS DURING J6 PROBE, FBI SAYS

“Given the many mischaracterizations of Mr. Smith’s investigation into President Trump’s alleged mishandling of classified documents and role in attempting to overturn the results of the 2020 election, Mr. Smith respectfully requests the opportunity to testify in open hearings before the House and Senate Judiciary Committees,” Smith attorneys Lanny Breuer and Peter Koski wrote.

“During the investigation of President Trump, Mr. Smith steadfastly adhered to established legal standards and Department of Justice guidelines, consistent with his approach throughout his career as a dedicated public servant,” they wrote.

“He is prepared to answer questions about the Special Counsel’s investigation and prosecution, but requires assurance from the Department of Justice that he will not be punished for doing so,” they continued. “To that end, Mr. Smith needs guidance from the Department of Justice regarding federal grand jury secrecy requirements and authorization on the matters he may speak to regarding, among other things, Volume II of the Final Report of the Special Counsel, which is not publicly available.”

Smith’s attorneys also noted that in order to provide “full and accurate answers to your questions, Mr. Smith requires access to the Special Counsel files, which he no longer has the ability to access.”

JACK SMITH DEFENDS SUBPOENAING REPUBLICAN SENATORS’ PHONE RECORDS: ‘ENTIRELY PROPER’

“With the guidance and access described above, Mr. Smith is available to testify in an open hearing at your earliest convenience,” they wrote.

A source familiar told Fox News Digital that Smith’s attorneys are planning to officially seek guidance from the Department of Justice on the matter.

The letter from Smith’s attorneys comes after Jordan, R-Ohio, requested Smith appear for a closed-door transcribed interview and provide all records from his work related to President Donald Trump.

The letter also comes after Grassley, R-Iowa, and nearly two dozen Senate Republicans demanded that the Department of Justice and FBI release documents on Smith’s decision to subpoena telecommunications companies for phone records of a number of Senate Republicans during his probe into Jan. 6, 2021.

Fox News Digital exclusively reported earlier in October that Smith tracked the private communications and phone calls of GOP Sens. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee, Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, Josh Hawley of Missouri, Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming, Bill Hagerty of Tennessee, Dan Sullivan of Alaska, Tommy Tuberville of Alabama and GOP Rep. Mike Kelly of Pennsylvania as part of his “Arctic Frost” investigation.

An official said the records were collected in 2023 by Smith and his team after subpoenaing major telephone providers. 

An FBI official told Fox News Digital that Smith and his team tracking the senators were able to see which phone numbers they called, the location the phone call originated and the location where it was received.

A source said the calls were likely in reference to the vote to certify the 2020 election. 

Smith, though, called his decision to subpoena several Republican lawmakers’ phone records “entirely proper” and consistent with Justice Department policy.

“As described by various Senators, the toll data collection was narrowly tailored and limited to the four days from January 4, 2021 to January 7, 2021, with a focus on telephonic activity during the period immediately surrounding the January 6 riots at the U.S. Capitol,” Smith’s lawyers wrote Tuesday to Grassley. 

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Smith was appointed special counsel by Attorney General Merrick Garland in November 2022.

Smith, after months of investigating, charged Trump in the U.S. District Court for Washington, D.C., in his 2020 election case, but after Trump was elected president, Smith sought to dismiss the case. Judge Tanya Chutkan granted that request. 

Smith’s case cost taxpayers more than $50 million. 

“Jack Smith certainly has a lot of answering to do, but first, Congress needs to have all the facts at its disposal,” Grassley told Fox News Digital Thursday. “Hearings should follow once the investigative foundation has been firmly set, which is why I’m actively working with the DOJ and FBI to collect all relevant records that Mr. Smith has had years to become familiar with.”

Fox News Digital reached out to Jordan for comment and has yet to receive a reply. 

Fox News’ Ashley Oliver contributed to this report. 

Virginia Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears lambasted Virginia Democrats after they signaled a plan to suddenly call the legislature back in a last-minute special session to address potential redistricting before the election.

Virginia’s state redistricting commission is statutorily charged with crafting new congressional maps after every decennial census, but state Democrats appear poised to try to do an end-round around that process, potentially via the constitutional amendment process.

“In a desperate political stunt, Democrats in the Virginia General Assembly are calling for a special session to drag Lieutenant Governor Winsome Earle-Sears off the campaign trail,” the Earle-Sears campaign said in a statement to Fox News Digital.

NEW POLL IN KEY SHOWDOWN FOR VIRGINIA GOVERNOR INDICATES SINGLE-DIGIT RACE

As lieutenant governor, Earle-Sears is the presiding officer over the otherwise Democratic-majority state Senate.

“The same politicians who marched in ‘No Kings’ protests are now trying to crown themselves as the rulers of Virginia politics, abusing their offices to rig the calendar because they can’t win on ideas,” the campaign said.

Earle-Sears spokesperson Peyton Vogel said the activity is “what panic looks like” for a party that is out of fresh ideas and is relying on such “stunts,” and suggested Democratic challenger Abigail Spanberger – a former congresswoman – was in some way involved in the plan.

“[S]he’s leading the charge on cheap political stunts to slow down Winsome Earle-Sears’ momentum. It’s pathetic. Voters see through it. They know Winsome Earle-Sears is a Marine, a mom, and a fighter for Virginia every day — while Abigail Spanberger is a career politician using Washington-style dirty tricks to protect her power and her friends,” Vogel said.

EARLE-SEARS COMES OUT SWINGING IN HEATED DEBATE AS SPANBERGER DODGES JAY JONES QUESTIONS

A Suffolk University poll released Thursday showed Earle-Sears trailing Spanberger by about eight percentage points, while her downballot-mates John Reid and Jason Miyares were either tied or just ahead of their Democratic opponents.

Democrats are hoping to expand their two-seat majority in the House of Delegates, targeting several districts in the suburbs and exurbs of Hampton Roads and Washington, D.C., where Republicans sit on a statistical knife’s edge. No state Senate seats are up until 2027. The upper chamber also has a two-seat Democratic majority.

House Speaker Don Scott Jr., D-Portsmouth, and Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell, D-Mount Vernon, did not respond to requests for comment. However, Surovell told the New York Times that plans to reconvene the legislature in Richmond next week are intended to counter President Donald Trump’s push to pressure Republican-led states on redistricting.

Those states, like Texas, see their efforts as blunting California Democrats’ likely-successful shoehorning of a mid-decade redistricting plan through Sacramento.

VIRGINIA VOTERS SUE TO BOOT DEMOCRAT OFF BALLOT IN DISTRICT THAT COULD DECIDE STATE HOUSE MAJORITY

“We are coming back to address actions by the Trump administration,” Surovell told the Times.

On the federal level, Democrats hold six of the 11 House seats in Virginia. Some of those held by Republicans are often considered “swing” seats that volley back and forth regularly – like that of Rep. Jennifer Kiggans in Cape Charles and Hampton Roads.

Loudoun County – once reliably Republican – has trended far to the left in the past decade, and there is no longer any Republican congressperson within about 50 miles of Washington.

Rep. Yevgeny “Eugene” Vindman, D-Va., twin brother of Alexander Vindman, holds a once-swing district in Prince William County and the D.C. exurbs that has been another long-term loss for the GOP.

WINSOME EARLE-SEARS REBUKES SPANBERGER PLAN TO UNDO VIRGINIA’S ICE PACT: ‘THIS IS NOT HARD’

By contrast, Rep. Morgan Griffith’s, R-Va., district in the far southwestern end of Virginia is solidly Republican. The way neighboring Rep. Ben Cline’s district is drawn – hugging Interstate 81 and the Blue Ridge Mountains – also remains so.

But Cline’s district could be one targeted by Democrats’ redraw – as slicing up the slender district and the top of Republican John McGuire’s confines and affixing the pieces to the increasingly blue center of the state could create several new seats designed in Democrats’ favor.

Toying with the shapes of other districts like Vindman’s along I-95 and Republican Rep. Rob Wittman in the Northern Neck could also bear fruit for Democrats.

Democrats were the ones to primarily spearhead the original constitutional amendment in 2020 that birthed the commission they now want to circumvent, as it had been introduced by then-Sen. George Barker of Fairfax. Some Republicans were listed as co-signers for the resolution as well.

SPANBERGER DEFENDS ABORTION AD CRITICIZING SEARS AFTER BERNIE WARNS AGAINST HIGHLIGHTING ISSUE

The amendment was later approved by about two-thirds of Virginia voters, according to reports.

If they go the constitutional amendment route, passage before November’s election would count as one session, so Democrats – betting on holding or increasing their numbers in the legislature – would have to pass it once more in the 2026 session before it made the ballot after passage.

Whether Earle-Sears or Spanberger wins, the governor is constitutionally precluded from intervening in the process.

Working through the regular legislative process would, by contrast, allow a governor to intervene; with the outgoing Youngkin primed to veto their initial attempt.

Pennsylvania Republicans led by 2022 gubernatorial nominee Doug Mastriano enlisted the same process to circumvent then-Gov. Tom Wolf and end his onerous coronavirus lockdown orders, so the process has seen recent success.

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The Virginia amendment would not likely create a new map, but instead authorize a new process to commence redistricting outside the current system with the decennial commission.

Fox News Digital reached out to Spanberger for comment on Earle-Sears’ claim.

Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, on Thursday released an April 2022 Justice Department memo showing then-Attorney General Merrick Garland, then-Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco, and then-FBI Director Christopher Wray personally approved an FBI investigation into alleged efforts by Trump campaign associates to obstruct Congress’ certification of the 2020 election.

Grassley posted the four-page memorandum on X, saying it proves top Biden administration officials “personally approved” the case — which he referred to as “Arctic Frost” — and that it “unleashed unchecked government power at the highest levels.”

The Iowa Republican added, “My oversight will continue.”

The April 2022 memo, signed by Garland, Monaco, and Wray, authorized the FBI’s Washington Field Office to open what the bureau designated a “Sensitive Investigative Matter.” The document details the FBI’s request to examine whether individuals connected to Donald Trump’s 2020 campaign conspired to obstruct Congress’ certification of the Electoral College on Jan. 6, 2021.

TOP GOP SENATOR DEMANDS PROBE INTO WHETHER JACK SMITH ‘UNLAWFULLY’ TRIED TO INFLUENCE 2024 ELECTION

“Following the 2020 Presidential and Vice Presidential election, in an apparent effort to obstruct Congress’s certification of Electoral College, fraudulent certificates of electors’ votes were submitted to the Archivist of the United States, purporting to represent the actual elector votes from the states of Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, and Wisconsin,” the executive summary reads. “Open source reporting and public statements made by individuals closely associated with Donald J. Trump, Inc. (Trump Campaign) present an articulable factual basis indicating the existence of a federal crime, and thus the FBI seeks to open a full investigation.

“Because this investigation involves a SIM as set forth in the Department of Justice memorandum dated February 5, 2020, entitled ‘Additional Requirements for Opening of Certain Sensitive Investigations’ (DOJ Memo), your authorization is required before WFO may initiate this full investigation,” the document continued.

Monaco wrote at the bottom of the document, “Merrick- I recommend you approve,” before initialing and dating it 4/5/22. Garland ultimately signed off on the investigation on the same day.

DEM REP DEFENDS DOJ OBTAINING GOP SENATOR CALL RECORDS IN 2023: ‘YOU WEREN’T SURVEILLED’

The authorization came more than a year after the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot and months before now-former Special Counsel Jack Smith was appointed to oversee related investigations. The memo appears to document an early stage of the Justice Department’s examination of the so-called “fake electors” effort that became a focus of Smith’s probe.

In 2023, Smith subpoenaed phone records belonging to eight Republican senators and one House member, covering a four-day period — Jan. 4 to Jan. 7, 2021 — to examine call activity around the Capitol riot. The subpoenas did not seek call content but instead listed numbers, dates and durations.

The targeted senators included Republican Sens. Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee, Josh Hawley of Missouri and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina.

FBI FIRES AGENTS, DISMANTLES CORRUPTION SQUAD AFTER PROBE UNVEILS MONITORING OF GOP SENATORS, PATEL SAYS

In addition to the eight senators, Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, told Fox News’ Sean Hannity Tuesday that he recently discovered Smith also attempted to subpoena his toll records but that his phone company, AT&T, did not hand them over.

Smith said the records were narrowly tailored and “entirely proper,” adding they were meant to support his investigation into Trump’s alleged efforts to subvert the 2020 election results.

His lawyers wrote to Grassley, saying the subpoenas complied with Justice Department policy and were routine.

Republicans have broadly claimed they were inappropriately spied on and compared Arctic Frost to the Watergate scandal. Smith’s lawyers emphasized the normalcy of seeking phone records and said public officials are not immune from investigation.

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Smith’s attorneys also disputed accusations from FBI Director Kash Patel that the subpoenas were hidden, noting the requests were referenced in a footnote of Smith’s final report and shared with Trump’s defense team in discovery.

Fox News Digital’s Ashley Oliver contributed to this report.