NationalWatch

President Donald Trump suggested on Tuesday that the Department of Justice (DOJ) owes him money for past prosecutions against him. 

In the Oval Office, a reporter asked Trump if he was seeking compensation from the DOJ over past federal investigations into him and, if so, how much he was seeking. 

“Well, I guess they probably owe me a lot of money for that,” Trump said in response. “No, I get no salary. I gave up my salary. It’s a good salary. Not as much as these guys make, but that’s OK. It’s a lot of money, and I don’t, as you know, I didn’t take it in the first four years. I didn’t take it these four years either.”

“But as far as all of the litigation, everything that’s been involved, yeah, they probably owe me a lot of money,” the president added. “But if I get money from our country, I’ll do something nice with it. Like, give it to charity or give it to the White House while we restore the White House, and we’re doing a great job with the White House, as you know, the ballroom is under construction.” 

TRUMP ADMIN AGENCIES COORDINATING TO EXPOSE BIDEN ADMIN’S ‘PROLIFIC AND DANGEROUS’ WEAPONIZATION OF GOVERNMENT

The New York Times reported sources as saying Trump is seeking approximately $230 million in compensation from the Justice Department for investigations into him. 

Trump told reporters Tuesday that he was “not looking for money,” but that they “would have to ask the lawyers about that.” 

“We’ll see what happens,” Trump said. “We have numerous cases having to do with the fraud of the election, the 2020 election, and because of everything that we found out, I guess they owe me a lot of money. But I’m not looking for money. I’m looking for — really, I think it’s got to be, it’s got to be handled in a proper way… We don’t want it to happen again. We can never let what happened in the 2020 election happen again. We just can’t let that happen.” 

He was later pressed again about the exact dollar amount in the request and said, “I don’t know what the number is. I don’t even talk to them about it.”

Trump then remarked that the decision would have to come across his desk, saying that it would be “awfully strange to make a decision where I’m paying myself.”

However, the Times noted that the DOJ’s rules state that settlement claims against the department that exceed $4 million “must be approved by the Deputy Attorney General, or Associate Attorney General, as appropriate.”

It is unclear where the claims or negotiations with the DOJ stand. However, The Associated Press noted that the ties between Trump and those authorized to make a decision on the settlement could present problems. 

Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche served as one of Trump’s attorneys in the Mar-a-Lago case. Additionally, Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward represented Trump’s co-defendant, Walt Nauta, in the Mar-a-Lago case.

“In any circumstance, all officials at the Department of Justice follow the guidance of career ethics officials,” DOJ spokesperson Chad Gilmartin said in a statement to Fox News Digital.

TRUMP CELEBRATES WHITE HOUSE DEMOLITION AS NEW BALLROOM RISES: ‘MUSIC TO MY EARS’

The investigations include the FBI’s 2022 raid of Mar-a-Lago as part of the classified documents case and another probe looking into possible ties between Russia and Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign. According to the Times, the first claim was filed in late 2023 and was in relation to the Russia probe, while the second — which focused on the Mar-a-Lago raid — was filed in the summer of 2024.

The Times reported Tuesday that Trump had submitted complaints through an administrative claim process, noting that it is something that often precedes lawsuits. 

Despite the president saying that he would donate the funds, some Democrats painted the report as an example of Trump trying to enrich himself. 

Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., said on Wednesday morning that the president was looking “to line his own pockets, or he says now to give to a charity of his choice.” The senator added to the accusation, saying Trump was “focusing on getting $230 million that he doesn’t deserve back into his pocket instead of helping the American people get healthcare.”

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Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., who was in the middle of an hours-long speech, slammed Trump for “suing the government, then instructing his Department of Justice to settle the suit, thereby translating money into the president’s pocket out of the government.”

Merkley then remarked that “there is no limit to the self-serving” and called for his colleagues, particularly Republicans, to speak out against the president.

Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Vice President JD Vance declared Wednesday that, “these are days of destiny,” as he met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to build on the ceasefire agreement in the Gaza Strip.

“We have a very, very tough task ahead of us, which is to disarm Hamas but rebuild Gaza to make life better for the people in Gaza, but also to ensure that Hamas is no longer a threat to our friends in Israel,” Vance said in Jerusalem, speaking alongside Netanyahu.

“That’s not easy. I think the Prime Minster knows that as well as anybody. But it’s something that we’re committed to in the Trump administration,” Vance continued. “And I think that we’ve, even in the past 24 hours, had a lot of good conversations with our friends in the Israeli government, but also, frankly with our friends in the Arab world who are stepping up and volunteering to play a very positive role in this.”

“As the Prime Minister said, these are days of destiny, and we’re very excited to sit down and work together on the Gaza peace plan,” Vance added.

VANCE WARNS HAMAS AS GAZA PEACE PLAN’S CIVILIAN MILITARY COOPERATION CENTER OPENS

Netanyahu told reporters that Israel has an unmatched alliance and partnership with the U.S. that is generating opportunities for security and the expansion of peace in the Middle East.

Vance also met with Israeli President Isaac Herzog on Wednesday, telling reporters afterward, “We’re here to talk about how to ensure that the peace agreement that started about a week ago sticks, that we move into phase two, into phase three with success.”

JOHNSON, SCALISE DEMAND ANSWERS AFTER SUSPECTED HAMAS OPERATIVE DISCOVERED ON US SOIL

The peace deal included the release of hostages being held by Hamas.

“As the president said, there will be torments along the way. It will be difficult, but I feel very optimistic based on my conversation with our Israeli friends and also with our Gulf Arab friends, that it’s possible that we actually can make peace stick, and that we can create the kind of environment where our Gulf Arab friends and our Israeli friends can build a better Middle East for everybody,” Vance added. “So that is the goal of the administration. We think that it’s in the best interest of the United States. We also think that it’s in the best interest of everybody who lives here.”

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Herzog said, “I truly believe that the fact you’re here is another brick in building the future for peace.”

“We all are grateful to President Donald Trump for his steadfast insistence on moving forward. We must move forward,” Herzog continued. “We must offer hope for the region, for Israel, the Palestinians, our neighbors, and for the future of our children.”

FIRST ON FOX: Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., is looking to hold Democrats’ “feet to the fire” with new legislation seeking special funding for farmers and food assistance programs amid the government shutdown.

Hawley’s bills would reinstate federal funding for the Farm Service Agency as well as the federal SNAP food program. Democrats have so far refused to work with Republicans amid the government shutdown, now the second-longest in U.S. history.

“We need to start forcing Democrats to make some tough votes. We need to start holding their feet to the fire,” Hawley said in an interview with Fox News Digital. “I mean, do they really not want people to be able to eat? This situation is ridiculous.”

He says the farm bill is critical as the shutdown has landed squarely in harvest season for much of the country, including his home state of Missouri.

WHITE HOUSE SLAMS SCHUMER’S ‘DISGUSTING’ STATEMENT ON SHUTDOWN AS POLITICAL STANDOFF CONTINUES

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., has led Republicans in voting to fund the government eleven times since the shutdown began on Oct. 1, but Democrats have refused to cooperate, demanding extensive changes to the budget.

SENATE DEMS EMBOLDENED BY WEEKEND RALLIES BLOCK GOP PLAN TO END SHUTDOWN FOR 11TH TIME

President Donald Trump has taken executive action to secure funding for members of the military, but the vast majority of the government remains stalled.

“I have huge respect for what President Trump has done during this shutdown with shifting the funding pools available to him to help servicemembers and police. But even he is going to run out of tools soon,” Hawley said.

Trump, speaking to Hawley and other Senate Republicans at the White House on Tuesday, accused Democrats of “holding the entire federal government hostage.”

‘GOOFBALLS’ AND HOSTAGES: GOP SENATORS SAY SCHUMER’S SHUTDOWN TACTICS DESTROYING THE SENATE

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, R-N.Y., has remained obstinate, in his demands for an extension to expiring Obamacare subsidies. Though Senate Republicans have been open to holding a vote on the matter after the government reopens, Democrats want an ironclad guarantee that the subsidies will be extended well before their expiration at the end of this year.

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Thune reiterated at the White House on Tuesday that Senate Republicans are united in their war of attrition strategy to continue putting the same bill on the floor again and again.

“I mean, they want $1.5 trillion in new spending. They want free healthcare for people who are noncitizens in this country. That is just a flat nonstarter. It doesn’t pass the Senate. It won’t pass the House. It won’t be signed into law by the president,” Thune said.

Read Hawely’s Fund Our Farmers Act below (App users click here)

Read Hawley’s Keep SNAP Funded Act below (App users click here)

Fox News’ Greg Norman contributed to this report.

The federal government is now in its longest full shutdown ever, and Congress is not giving any signs that an end is in sight.

A full government shutdown occurs when the end of the fiscal year comes on Sept. 30 with none of Congress’ 12 single-subject appropriations bills passed by the House and Senate.

While both the House and Senate have passed three separate appropriations bills each, they have yet to sync up and pass the same version of any spending measure.

That means that, for the most part, all agencies and programs that rely on discretionary funds appropriated by Congress every year are either paused or severely altered to meet their lack of budget.

BATTLEGROUND REPUBLICANS HOLD THE LINE AS JOHNSON PRESSURES DEMS ON SHUTDOWN

The current government shutdown, now 22 days old, is now also the second-longest in U.S. history in general.

Thousands of federal workers have been furloughed, and thousands more laid off. Meanwhile, employees deemed essential, like congressional staffers, are working without paychecks until the shutdown is over.

Active-duty military personnel who were expected to work without pay did get their money on Oct. 15, when the Trump administration reshuffled Pentagon funding meant for research and development. However, it’s not clear if the same can be done during the military’s next pay period on Oct. 30 if the shutdown continues.

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

A partial government shutdown lasted 35 days under President Donald Trump’s first term but saw several critical departments — including the Department of War, the Department of Education, and Department of Health and Human Services — funded.

The previous longest full shutdown occurred in fiscal year (FY)2014, under President Barack Obama.

“This is now the longest full shutdown in American history. And yet again, Senate Democrats voted for the 11th time — 12 times overall, when you count House and Senate Democrats — to prolong the pain and keep the government closed,” Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said during his press conference on Tuesday.

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 11 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.

The shutdown’s historic milestone has been a cause for frustration on both sides of the Senate.

“We have long since lost the plot — the purpose, you know, of the whole thing,” Sen. Jim Justice, R-W.Va., told Fox News Digital. “Now it’s a food fight, and we have forgotten that on the other side of the food fight there’s a name and there’s a family. And I said it just a few minutes ago, but what this place needs more than anything is a constant IV of common sense.”

As the shutdown continues, Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., extended an olive branch to Senate Democrats and offered a vote on the expiring subsidies, only after the government reopened, however. 

So far, Senate Democrats have not bitten on the proposal, largely due to a lack of trust in their Republican counterparts. 

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“I think we would operate much better if people trusted each other,” Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., said. 

Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., argued that Senate Democrats made a “strategic error” in shutting the government down. 

“Now they don’t have a graceful way out, and that’s a problem,” he said. 

Meanwhile, Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, didn’t want to predict if the shutdown would break other records but took a shot at House Republicans for being out of session for weeks. 

“I will just say it’s very hard to get out of a shutdown if the majority party has an unexpected month-long break,” he said.

Hunter Biden was furious with former President Barack Obama for leading then-President Joe Biden offstage with a guiding hand at a June 2024 fundraiser, according to a new book from ABC News’ Jonathan Karl.

An excerpt from the book, obtained by Axios, details how the younger Biden believed Obama had disrespected and embarrassed the president.

“I almost jumped up on the stage and said, ‘Don’t ever f–king do that to the president of the United States again — ever,” Hunter told Karl in an interview.

“The younger Biden insisted his dad was simply taking some time to acknowledge the crowd. ‘I knew that that was going to be a meme,’ Hunter recalled. ‘That really, really, really, really pissed me off,'” the book reads.

HUNTER BIDEN WAS INVOLVED IN PARDON TALKS TOWARD END OF FATHER’S TERM, SOURCE SAYS

The incident was one of many that contributed to criticism that Biden was too old to hold office, an opinion held by the vast majority of voters, according to polls from the time.

HUNTER BIDEN SAYS HE’S STARTED NEW JOB WITH CALIFORNIA NONPROFIT

The clip was just one of many in the latter months of Biden’s presidency that showed an ally, aide or family member stepping in to seemingly direct or guide Biden off a stage or during an event.

The Obama incident came just days after Biden had to be redirected by another world leader during a G7 event in Italy. The former president was arrayed with other world leaders as he appeared to wander a few steps away from the group.

FIRST LADY MELANIA TRUMP PUTS HUNTER BIDEN ON $1B NOTICE OVER ‘FALSE, DEFAMATORY’ EPSTEIN COMMENTS

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni then walked over to the president, touched his right arm and redirected him back to the group of world leaders.

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The White House at the time dismissed the clip for having an “artificially narrow frame” that only made it seem as though Biden was walking away from the crowd.

Fox News’ Emma Colton contributed to this report.

Colombia’s former defense minister Juan Carlos Pinzón warned that the once-close U.S.–Colombia alliance has “collapsed” under President Gustavo Petro, accusing the leftist leader of aligning with Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro and turning Colombia into a “narco-state.”

Pinzón, who is weighing a presidential run, told Fox News Digital he could “repair U.S.-Colombian relations in a week” and urged international oversight of Colombia’s May elections amid what he called growing cartel influence and political corruption.

“Petro has made himself an ally to [Venezuelan dictator Nicolás] Maduro’s regime, a narco-state, and a regime that is held mainly by the Cartel de los Soles,” Pinzón said. “He has justified the existence of drug trafficking in Colombia … he has aligned himself with the idea of something that he calls ‘Total Peace,’ which implies that he’s providing benefits to drug traffickers and terrorist organizations and in general terms to organized crime.”

Relations between Washington and Bogotá — historically one of the closest U.S. security partnerships in Latin America — have deteriorated sharply under Petro, who has sought warmer ties with Caracas while distancing Colombia from the U.S. and Western allies.

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

During his tenure as defense minister from 2011 to 2015 under President Juan Manuel Santos, Pinzón oversaw some of Colombia’s most aggressive operations against the FARC and other armed groups, helping drive coca production and kidnappings to historic lows. As ambassador to Washington from 2015 to 2017, he helped secure Colombia’s designation as a major non-NATO ally, expanding intelligence sharing and military training programs with the U.S. — partnerships he now says have been “dismantled” under Petro.

Under Petro’s “Total Peace” policy, the Colombian government negotiates directly with armed criminal groups in an effort to end decades of internal conflict and integrate fighters into civilian life. Critics, including Pinzón, say the initiative has legitimized cartels and weakened the country’s security forces.

“Homicide has gone up, terrorist actions have gone up, kidnappings have gone up, and the killing of police officers and military is increasing,” he said. “All this is very bad for my country. And this is why I’m so committed to fight this, to confront this.”

TRUMP ADMIN REVOKES COLOMBIAN PRESIDENT’S VISA OVER ALLEGED ‘RECKLESS AND INCENDIARY ACTIONS’

Pinzón, who previously served as both defense minister and ambassador to Washington, is positioning himself as a pro-U.S. alternative ahead of Colombia’s 2026 presidential race. “I might announce a decision in the coming weeks,” he said. “That’s something that I’m really considering.”

He also called for international election monitoring, warning that criminal networks could interfere in the vote. “If I were to ask something to the world today and to the international community — to the U.S., to the European Union, and even to countries in Asia — it’s that they make sure Colombian elections are not tainted by drug trafficking, illegal mining or terrorist hands,” Pinzón said.

After a recent spat where Petro accused the U.S. of killing a Colombian fisherman in one of its seven Caribbean strikes targeting drug traffickers, Trump announced he would cut off all counter-narcotics aid to Colombia and hike tariffs on the nation. 

Pinzón urged Washington not to punish ordinary Colombians for Petro’s policies.

“It’s not regular Colombians who are doing this,” he said. “Most of us completely disagree with what is going on under Petro. We don’t want to see tariffs that can affect jobs and businesses in Colombia.”

While he praised Trump’s stance against narco-trafficking and corruption, Pinzón said he hopes the U.S. will avoid cutting counternarcotics aid, which he described as vital to Colombia’s military and police forces on the front lines of the drug war. “Our military and police are the real fighters against drugs,” he said. “They continue to sacrifice, they continue to confront terrorism and drug trafficking. If that support disappears, it’s the criminals who are going to benefit.”

Instead, Pinzón said Washington should focus on targeted financial sanctions—such as those imposed by the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC)—to hit specific traffickers, corrupt officials and their enablers rather than imposing measures that “hurt regular Colombians.” “We would prefer OFAC-style sanctions on the people committing crimes,” he said, “not policies that punish those who oppose Petro’s agenda.”

Looking ahead to potential ties with Washington, Pinzón said he could quickly rebuild the partnership through renewed security and intelligence cooperation, technology exchange, and educational programs.

TRUMP GOES ALL-OUT AGAINST COLOMBIA’S PETRO AFTER CLAIMS DRUG STRIKE KILLED FISHERMAN: WHAT WE KNOW

“I will just come to the U.S., speak openly and clearly with President Trump and the U.S. leadership, and speak on the need of creating a security agreement again on intelligence, on air mobility, on technology, on combating drug trade, but also on critical minerals and education,” he said. “We want more Colombians to come to U.S. schools and enhance their capabilities and come back to Colombia to create knowledge, wealth and prosperity. We’re going to be again the closest ally of the United States strategically in the region.”

If Colombia continues on its current course, Pinzón warned, it could destabilize the entire hemisphere. “Colombia is a stabilizer at the end,” he said. “If Colombia fails, the whole region will fail.”

Asked if he would seek U.S. backing, Pinzón said he values bipartisan support. “Everybody knows that I will have a very good relationship with the United States, certainly with the current administration, with President Trump,” he said.

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Pinzón also accused Petro of “abandoning” Colombian citizens during a diplomatic spat with Washington after refusing deportation flights from the U.S. because the migrants were shackled. He said he would cooperate on deportations and be open to broader agreements if asked.

“When Afghanistan fell, we offered the U.S. even to take care of some of the Afghanis if necessary,” Pinzón said. “When you have a strong relationship as the one we used to have between Colombia and the U.S., and we will have if I can get to the presidency, what we’re going to see is a lot of good coordination and a lot of good things for both the people of Colombia and the people of the United States.”

Fox News Digital reached out to the Colombian Embassy for comment but did not receive a response before publication.

EXCLUSIVE: Former Republican Sen. John E. Sununu of New Hampshire wants his old job back.

And on Wednesday, Sununu took a big first step towards returning to Capitol Hill as he announced his candidacy in the 2026 race to succeed retiring Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen in New England’s only swing state.

Sununu, in a campaign launch video shared first nationally with Fox News Digital, said that nowadays “Congress just seems loud, dysfunctional, even angry,” and that he wants to “return to the Senate to help calm the waters.”

Sununu is a former three-term representative who defeated then-Gov. Shaheen in New Hampshire’s 2002 Senate election. But the senator lost to Shaheen in their 2008 rematch. 

HEAD HERE FOR THE LATEST FOX NEWS REPORTING ON THE 2025 ELECTIONS

Shaheen announced earlier this year that she wouldn’t seek re-election in next year’s midterms and Republicans are working to flip the seat as they aim to not only defend but expand their Senate majority. 

Now, after nearly two decades in the private sector, Sununu is ready to return to the Senate campaign trail in New England’s only swing state.

“Maybe you’re surprised that I’m running for the Senate again,” Sununu says to the camera in his video. “I’m a bit surprised myself. Why would anyone subject themselves to everything going on there right now. Well, somebody has to step up and lower the temperature. Somebody has to get things done.”

THUNE SPEAKS WITH SUNUNU ABOUT SENATE BID TO FLIP BLUE SEAT RED

Sununu is a brand name in New Hampshire politics. The former senator’s father, John H. Sununu, is a former governor who later served as chief of staff in then-President George H.W. Bush’s White House. And one of his younger brothers is former Gov. Chris Sununu, who won election and re-election to four two-year terms steering the Granite State.

But Sununu won’t have a glide path to the GOP nomination.

Former ambassador and former Sen. Scott Brown, who was elected and served three years in the Senate in neighboring Massachusetts, and who, as the 2014 GOP Senate nominee in New Hampshire, narrowly lost to Shaheen during her first re-election, jumped into the race in late June.

“Our campaign will have the necessary resources for the long haul, and allow me to campaign the only way I know how: relentless hard work and a focus on retail politics that Granite State voters expect,” Brown said after Fox News first reported that he hauled in roughly $1.2 million in fundraising the past three months.

Brown has repeatedly taken aim at Sununu the past month over the former senator’s lack of past support for President Donald Trump, who holds immense clout over the GOP.

TOP POLITICAL HANDICAPPER REVEALS DEMOCRATS CHANCES OF WINNING BACK THE SENATE MAJORITY

Sununu served as national co-chair on the 2016 Republican presidential campaign of then-Ohio Gov. John Kasich, who declined to support Trump as the party’s nominee.

And Sununu, along with then-Gov. Chris Sununu, endorsed former ambassador and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley in the 2024 New Hampshire Republican presidential primary, as she battled Trump for the nomination. 

And on the eve of the first-in-the-nation presidential primary, the former senator wrote an opinion piece titled “Donald Trump is a loser,” that ran in the New Hampshire Union Leader, the state’s largest daily newspaper.

Brown endorsed Trump ahead of his 2016 New Hampshire primary victory, which launched him toward the GOP presidential nomination and ultimately the White House. Brown later served as U.S. ambassador to New Zealand during Trump’s first term.

“Anyone who thinks that a never Trump, corporate lobbyist who hasn’t won an election in a quarter century will resonate with today’s GOP primary voters is living in a different universe. While John was supporting John Kasich in 2016, I was campaigning with Donald Trump,” Brown charged in a statement to Fox News.

And pointing to Sununu’s past decade and a half in the private sector, Brown argued that “while John was fighting for special interests, I was serving in the first Trump administration. While John was wooing the DC establishment this summer, I have been working with grassroots activists across the Granite State. Senate seats are earned, not handed down.”

TRUMP NOT ON BALLOT BUT FRONT-AND-CENTER IN 2025 ELECTIONS

Trump, whose endorsement in Republican primaries is extremely influential, has remained neutral to date. 

But the president may be willing to overlook Sununu’s past jabs.

Earlier this year, when Chris Sununu flirted with a Senate bid after leaving office, Trump urged him to run.

The younger Sununu, who was Haley’s top supporter and surrogate in New Hampshire, repeatedly criticized Trump during the 2024 Republican presidential primaries.

Trump told reporters in April that he had met with the former governor in the Oval Office and that he’d “support him fully.”

“He’s been very nice to me over the last year or so,” Trump added. “I hope he runs. I think he’ll win that seat.” 

FIRST ON FOX: SCOTT BROWN SHOWCASES HEALTHY WARCHEST

And a national Republican strategist familiar with the Senate race in New Hampshire told Fox News Digital last month, “President Trump appreciates winners and understands that John E. Sununu puts this race on the map for Republicans.”

As Fox News reported, Sununu met last month with Senate Majority Leader John Thune and former Sen. Cory Gardner, who served as chair of the Senate Leadership Fund, which is the top super PAC supporting Senate Republicans. National Republicans view Sununu as the strongest candidate to win back the seat in New Hampshire.

Four-term Democratic Rep. Chris Pappas, who launched his Senate campaign in early April, is the clear frontrunner for his party’s nomination. 

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While New Hampshire has for over a century held the first-in-the-nation presidential primary, its state primary, which will be held next September, is one of the last-in-the-nation.

While Republicans have had success in state elections — they control the governor’s office and both chambers of the state legislature — the GOP hasn’t won a Senate election in New Hampshire since 2010.

FIRST ON FOX: A Senate Republican plans to launch a hearing to put political violence from the left under the microscope.

Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., plans to announce an upcoming hearing, dubbed “Politically Violent Attacks: A Threat to Our Constitutional Order,” to examine the origins of political violence and extremism that he argued stemmed largely from the Democratic side of the political spectrum.

Schmitt, who chairs the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, plans to hold the hearing on Oct. 28 and will examine the cross section of the First Amendment and political violence, specifically in the wake of the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.

VIOLENT SYMBOLISM, THREATS STEAL SHOW AT NATIONWIDE ‘NO KINGS’ PROTESTS

“The tragic assassination of Charlie Kirk shook the nation to its core, and it was the latest in a long list of examples of left-wing political violence,” Schmitt said. “Many of these attacks come while Americans are exercising constitutionally protected core political speech.”

Kirk’s death prompted a brief moment of reprieve from the typically volatile back-and-forth on Capitol Hill, with many lawmakers on both sides of the aisle calling for a toning down of political rhetoric.

However, as the government shutdown has continued, lawmakers are once again trading barbs as frustrations mount.

The recent “No Kings” rallies across the country renewed discussions among congressional Republicans about political violence among the left, which followed a recent roundtable held at the White House where President Donald Trump hosted independent journalists to share their experiences covering Antifa, a radical left-wing group that Trump recently designated a domestic terrorist organization.

CHARLIE KIRK KILLING PUTS RISE IN LEFT-WING TERROR IN SPOTLIGHT AS STUDY SHOWS VIOLENCE HITTING 30-YEAR HIGH

So far, the only confirmed witness for the hearing is conservative commentator and podcast host Michael Knowles, a friend of Kirk’s who recently headlined a Turning Point USA rally at the University of Minnesota.

Knowles himself is no stranger to protests turning violent. He hosted a speaking event focused on transgender ideology at the University of Pittsburgh in 2023 where protesters threw smoke bombs and a firework, which led to a police officer being injured.

During a recent speech at Harvard where he addressed the incident, Knowles said, “The left simply commits more violence.”

DEMS, GOP LAWMAKERS JOIN FORCES TO CONDEMN POLITICAL VIOLENCE AFTER CHARLIE KIRK SHOT

Knowles lauded Schmitt for holding the hearing in a statement to Fox News Digital, and said that it would serve as an important moment “to discuss how Congress can reassert order and hold to account the left-wing ideologues undermining our public square.”

“This recent uptick in left-wing violence is the culmination of years — really decades — of consistent assaults on their opponents,” he said. “A ‘free marketplace of ideas’ simply cannot exist when ideological bandits keep shooting up the marketplace.” 

Schmitt referenced both Kirk’s assassination and the University of Pittsburgh incident, along with protests that sprang up around the country following the death of George Floyd.

“The rise of political violence on the left is deeply disturbing and antithetical to American values, disturbs the free exercise of our constitutional rights and is a threat to our constitutional order,” he said.

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“Yet, instead of calling out the obvious, the powers that be continue to deny the reality that political violence comes predominantly from one side of the aisle,” he said. “As chairman of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, I look forward to getting the American people the answers they deserve about the realities of left-wing political violence.”   

A Department of Justice lawyer argued to an appeals court on Tuesday that a lower court’s decision to block activist Mahmoud Khalil’s detention and removal was “fundamentally flawed” and should be reversed.

DOJ lawyer Drew Ensign’s arguments came as he faced pointed questions during a hearing from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit in a turbulent months-long court case centered on noncitizens’ constitutional rights.

Ensign said the New Jersey district court that sided with Khalil did not have proper jurisdiction over Khalil’s case and that Khalil’s habeas corpus petition was not the right vehicle to challenge his detention and removal. Ensign said the immigration courts, which are under the purview of the DOJ, were the correct venue.

“Habeas is the path the petitioner has chosen, and the district court indulged that unlawful detour by issuing an indefensible injunction,” Ensign said. “This court should reverse.”

FEDERAL JUDGE SIDES WITH ANTI-ISRAEL RINGLEADER MAHMOUD KHALIL, HALTS TRUMP ADMINISTRATION’S DEPORTATION BID

Khalil, a Columbia University graduate who became a ringleader of campus protests against the Israeli government, has been fighting to stay in the United States since March, when the DOJ first accused him of violating immigration laws because of his advocacy for Palestine and perceived sympathy for Hamas terrorists.

Khalil, who is a lawful permanent resident, was arrested at the time and deemed removable by an immigration judge because of what the Trump administration said was speech that was at odds with the United States’ national security posture.

In June, Judge Michael Farbiarz, a Biden appointee based in New Jersey, blocked the immigration judge’s decision, saying Khalil’s First Amendment rights were violated, and the judge ordered Khalil released on bail.

ANTI-ISRAEL ACTIVIST MAHMOUD KHALIL CLAIMS OCT. 7 TERROR ATTACK WAS ‘DESPERATE ATTEMPT’ FOR GAZA TO BE HEARD

In a subsequent order, Farbiarz also took issue with an immigration judge’s new decision, which found Khalil was removable based on a newer allegation by the Trump administration that Khalil fabricated information on his green card application. Khalil’s lawyers are now separately challenging that claim.

Ensign, who has been arguing on behalf of the Trump administration in several controversial immigration lawsuits, accused Khalil’s lawyers of attempting to bypass immigration laws, which have established a process where immigration courts can make decisions about deportations and defendants can appeal those decisions.

Khalil’s lawyers are attempting to “circumvent the carefully designed and articulated scheme that Congress has created for judicial review,” Ensign said.

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One judge on the three-judge panel that heard the case on Tuesday said Khalil’s attorneys should not be faulted for filing a habeas corpus petition in New Jersey in March because they did not know their client’s true location at the time. Khalil’s arrest and detention took place over a whirlwind few days, where he was detained in New York, moved to New Jersey, then moved to Louisiana.

“The lawyers didn’t know,” the judge said. “They had to prepare for the worst. What else do they do, unless we’re creating a black hole of jurisdiction?”

The appellate court judges did not say when they would make a decision, but one could come at any time.

President Donald Trump said Tuesday that Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Senate Democrats are “holding the entire federal government hostage” during the shutdown, vowing, “We will not be extorted on this crazy plot of theirs.”

Trump, speaking during a lunch at the White House Rose Garden, said, “Chuck Schumer and the Senate Democrats need to vote for the clean, bipartisan CR and reopen our government. It’s got to be reopened right now.

“They are the obstructionists. And the reason they’re doing it is because we’re doing so well. We’re doing well all over the world.”

The president described Schumer as a politician who is in “deep trouble” and “losing in all of the polls.”

GOP BLAMES SCHUMER FOR SHUTDOWN TO APPEASE ‘MARXIST FLANK’ AMID AOC PRIMARY CHALLENGE BUZZ

“He’s even losing to AOC, plus three,” Trump said, referring to Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., and other members of the progressive “Squad.”

The government shutdown is now on its 21st day. 

“You can call it the Schumer shutdown or the Democrats shutdown,” Trump said Tuesday.

“You can call it whatever you want. And I will say this, that we have Darth Vader, you know, Darth Vader, right?” the president said in reference to Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought. “They call him Darth Vader. I call him a fine man, but he’s cutting Democrat priorities, and they’re never going to get them back.

WHITE HOUSE SLAMS SCHUMER’S ‘DISGUSTING’ STATEMENT ON SHUTDOWN AS POLITICAL STANDOFF CONTINUES

“Many of the things that they wanted are things that we don’t want. Things that are just so bad for our country, and we’re cutting those things out,” the president said.

“Today I’m calling on every Senate Democrat to stop the madness, to let our country get back.

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“In the greatest moment in the history of our country, in terms of wealth, in terms of job creation and in terms of investment coming in, these guys go on strike. It’s really a shame. So, I’m asking them to be smart. It’s not working. They’re getting killed in the polls,” Trump said. “The public understands what they’re doing. They’re doing the wrong thing.”

Trump also said Republicans “have to win the midterms,” and “we’re going to end up with a communist mayor in New York,” a reference to democratic socialist mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani.

In a letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi Tuesday, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, referred former CIA Director John Brennan to the Justice Department for allegedly making 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.

COMEY INDICTED FOR ALLEGED FALSE STATEMENT, OBSTRUCTION OF CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDING

In Jordan’s letter, he alleged subsequent investigations “confirmed that the Clinton campaign and the DNC paid Steele via the law firm Perkins Coie and opposition research firm Fusion GPS to provide derogatory information about Trump’s purported ties to Russia, which resulted in the discredited dossier.”

In July 2025, the Trump administration declassified documents which appear to show Brennan approved the decision to include the dossier, despite objections from senior CIA officials.

CHRISTOPHER WRAY REFERRED TO DOJ OVER CLAIMS HE MISLED LAWMAKERS ON CATHOLIC MEMO, CHINA PROBES

During a transcribed interview on May 11, 2023, Brennan stated that “the CIA was not involved at all with the [Steele] dossier.”

Yet, according to the declassified documents, the decision to incorporate information from the dossier in the ICA “was jointly made by the Directors of CIA and FBI.”

“Brennan’s assertion that the CIA was not ‘involved at all’ with the Steele dossier cannot be reconciled with the facts,” Jordan wrote in the letter. “As the newly declassified documents show, a CIA officer drafted the annex containing a summary of the dossier; Brennan made the ultimate decision, along with then-FBI Director James Comey, to include information from the dossier in the ICA; and, as discussed further below, Brennan overruled senior CIA officers who objected to the inclusion of the dossier material.”

JAMES CLAPPER, JOHN BRENNAN HIT BACK AT TRUMP ALLEGATIONS ABOUT RUSSIA PROBE AS ‘PATENTLY FALSE’

While past the five-year statute of limitations on criminal prosecution, Jordan also accused Brennan of providing false testimony during a House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (HPSCI) hearing in 2017 — a move Jordan said “indicates a pattern of Brennan’s willingness to lie to Congress about the Steele dossier.”

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“The HPSCI report and the CIA memorandum confirm not only that the Steele dossier was used as a basis for the ICA, but that Brennan insisted on its inclusion,” Jordan wrote. “This stands in stark contrast with Brennan’s testimony to HPSCI that the dossier was not used in drafting the ICA. … Brennan’s testimony before the Committee on May 11, 2023, was a brazen attempt to knowingly and willfully testify falsely and fictitiously to material facts.”

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates

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…

-Winsome Sears responds to JMU fan telling her to ‘go back to Haiti’ after weekend of leftist invective

-DOJ argues judge’s decision blocking Mahmoud Khalil’s removal was ‘indefensible’

–Charlie Kirk assassination sparks Senate hearing on ‘left-wing political violence,’ Schmitt vows action

Science Rules: Bill Nye, Buttigieg to boost Spanberger in key VA city as Jones scandal looms over Dem ticket

Former PBS host and ex-Boeing engineer Bill Nye “The Science Guy” will join former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg to headline a rally with Virginia Democratic gubernatorial candidate Abigail Spanberger on Tuesday in the hometown of their party’s forefather.

Spanberger will rally with Buttigieg and Nye in Charlottesville – the city that birthed President Thomas Jefferson – while across town at the college founded by America’s third president, GOP lieutenant gubernatorial candidate John Reid will headline a public “Dome Room” forum hosted by pollster Larry Sabato’s University of Virginia Center for Politics.

Spanberger’s rally occurs as she tries to separate herself from scandal-plagued attorney general candidate Jay Jones…READ MORE.

White House

‘CRAZY PLOT’: Trump says Schumer, Senate Democrats holding government ‘hostage’ with shutdown: ‘We will not be extorted’

HILLARY’S TANTRUM: Hillary Clinton fires up voters against Trump’s White House ballroom construction: ‘It’s your house’

SPEAKING HER MIND: Karine Jean-Pierre reveals she never thought Kamala Harris would win

DRUG WAR DISPUTE: San Francisco mayor rejects Trump’s National Guard deployment plan over drug dealer arrest authority

World Stage

GUNBOAT DIPLOMACY: US military buildup in the Caribbean sees bombers, Marines and warships converge near Venezuela
 

CYBER CLASH: China accuses NSA of cyberattack on national timekeeping system

MEASURE OF SECURITY: Vance warns Hamas as Gaza peace plan’s Civilian Military Cooperation Center opens

INFLUENTIAL: Dem senator says Melania Trump is America’s ‘secret weapon’ against Putin’s ‘war criminality’

Capitol Hill

MONEY TRAIL: National Dems bankroll campaign of ‘Fake Independent’ Senate candidate from Midwestern state

LIAR EXPOSED: House Judiciary Committee refers former CIA Director John Brennan to the Justice Department for prosecution

SENATE FLIP-FLOP: Fetterman calls out Dems’ flip: ‘We ran on killing the filibuster, and now we love it’

FISCAL FRICTION: Republicans push to renew Obamacare subsidies while rejecting Democrats’ shutdown tie-in

LINKED BY LOYALTY: Blackburn says Trump support was ‘common thread’ among lawmakers reportedly targeted by Jack Smith

Across America 

RULES FOR THEE: Jay Jones murder texts latest case of Democrats circling the scandal wagons

HONOR CODE BROKEN: ‘She lied’: Mikie Sherrill classmate says involvement in cheating scandal deeper than she claims

POLITICAL KRYPTONITE: New Jersey Dems snub endorsing socialist candidate Mamdani as gubernatorial election looms

OFF THE JOB?: Dem Rep Mikie Sherrill skips 145 House votes as NJ governor’s race heats up

‘I SAID NO’: Defiant Sliwa says ‘I am not dropping out’ of NYC mayor race: ‘Under no circumstance’

‘DISOBEY’: Portland city council member calls on National Guard troops to defy deployment orders

AUSTIN ATROCITY: Illegal immigrants arrested after woman found shot to death in Texas woods, 1 wanted by Mexican feds: police

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

Paul Ingrassia withdrew his nomination to lead a government watchdog agency on Tuesday after his inflammatory rhetoric came to a head this week in a report about race-fueled text messages he purportedly sent.

Ingrassia’s decision to remove himself from consideration to head the Office of Special Counsel came two days before the Senate Committee on Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs was set to consider his nomination.

“I will be withdrawing myself from Thursday’s HSGAC hearing to lead the Office of Special Counsel because unfortunately I do not have enough Republican votes at this time,” Ingrassia wrote on social media.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., quashed all hope of Ingrassia’s confirmation on Monday, saying, “He’s not going to pass.” When asked on Tuesday if it would be a mistake for Ingrassia to appear for his hearing, Thune laughed and said, “Yeah.”

KEY TRUMP NOMINEES STALLED BY SENATE DEMS PUTS PRESSURE ON GOP LEADERS

Ingrassia, 30, said in a group chat, according to Politico, that he sometimes had a “Nazi streak” in him, and he used the term “moulignon,” an Italian slur for Black people, to call for doing away with Martin Luther King Jr. Day and Black History Month.

The leaked chat was only the latest controversy as Ingrassia has floated around the administration serving in two different roles.

In July, Ingrassia faced a formal complaint from a lower-ranking female colleague who alleged, according to Politico, that when they arrived at a hotel for a work trip in Orlando, she found she did not have a room and was informed by Ingrassia that she would be sharing one with him. The woman, who did end up sharing a room with him, later retracted the complaint and Ingrassia also disputed it.

Ingrassia has publicly defended social media influencer and self-described “misogynist” Andrew Tate, and previously worked at a law firm that said he was on Tate’s legal team before his July 2024 admission to the New York bar. Tate and his brother face U.K. charges of rape, actual bodily harm, human trafficking and controlling prostitution for gain, filed by the Crown Prosecution Service in May 2025. They deny the allegations.

Ingrassia was first hired as a White House liaison at the Department of Justice, where he was briefly put in charge of hiring Trump loyalists at the department. But he abruptly left and took a job at the Department of Homeland Security instead.

President Donald Trump nominated Ingrassia in May to lead the Office of Special Counsel, an independent agency (unaffiliated with the DOJ) that vets workplace complaints from federal employees.

TRUMP EXPLOITS LOOPHOLES TO KEEP ALINA HABBA IN US ATTORNEY ROLE, TRIGGERING COURT CLASH

“Paul is a highly respected attorney, writer, and Constitutional Scholar, who has done a tremendous job serving as my White House Liaison for Homeland Security,” Trump wrote on Truth Social at the time.

Ingrassia rejected Politico’s characterization of the text messages, saying through his lawyer that even if they were real, “they clearly read as self-deprecating and satirical humor making fun of the fact that liberals outlandishly and routinely call MAGA supporters ‘Nazis.’”

Ingrassia has been scrutinized time and again for controversial writings, and pressure had been building on Trump to yank his nomination.

In a since deleted X post days after Hamas’ terrorist attack on Israel, Ingrassia called the Palestine-Israel conflict a “psyop.”

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A coalition of Jewish organizations was among those who called for Ingrassia’s nomination to be withdrawn.

“Mr. Ingrassia’s public statements and associations with people who espouse antisemitic, racist, and misogynistic views, raise serious questions about his ability to carry out these responsibilities with the integrity, impartiality, and commitment required of the office,” the coalition wrote.

A White House official confirmed to Fox News Digital that Ingrassia was no longer the nominee.

Alex Miller contributed to this report.

President Donald Trump‘s privately funded $200 million White House ballroom is the latest “bold, necessary addition” to the executive residence, officials said, describing the East Wing construction as a continuation of presidential upgrades dating back more than a century.

Photos of the East Wing façade being demolished went viral Monday, prompting criticism online and a swift rebuttal from the White House, which wrote that “unhinged leftists and their Fake News allies are clutching their pearls over President Donald J. Trump’s visionary addition of a grand, privately funded ballroom … a bold, necessary addition that echoes the storied history of improvements and additions from commanders-in-chief to keep the executive residence a beacon of American excellence.”

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt echoed the president’s message Tuesday on “Jesse Watters Primetime,” saying, “I believe there’s a lot of fake outrage right now.

HILLARY CLINTON FIRES UP VOTERS AGAINST TRUMP’S WHITE HOUSE BALLROOM CONSTRUCTION: ‘NOT HIS HOUSE”

“Nearly every single president who’s lived in this beautiful White House behind me has made modernizations and renovations of their own,” Leavitt added. “In fact, presidents for decades — in modern times — have joked about how they wished they had a larger event space here at the White House, something that could hold hundreds more people than the current East Room and State Dining Room. 

“President Obama even complained that, during his tenure, he had to hold a state dinner on the South Lawn and rent a very expensive tent.”

In an article shared Tuesday, the administration listed more than a dozen examples of leaders “renovating, expanding and modernizing” the property to “meet the needs of the present day,” from Theodore Roosevelt’s West Wing in 1902 to Barack Obama’s Kitchen Garden in 2009.

Trump first confirmed the ballroom project Monday on Truth Social, writing, “I am pleased to announce that ground has been broken … to build the new, big, beautiful White House Ballroom. Completely separate from the White House itself, the East Wing is being fully modernized … and will be more beautiful than ever when it is complete!”

“For more than 150 years, every President has dreamt about having a Ballroom … I am honored to be the first President to finally get this much-needed project underway — with zero cost to the American Taxpayer!” he continued, crediting “many generous Patriots, Great American Companies, and yours truly” for funding the build. “This Ballroom will be happily used for Generations to come!”

The White House’s Rapid Response 47 account also shared a detailed thread on X Tuesday showing how past presidents “have been renovating, expanding, and modernizing the White House to meet the needs of the current day.”

TRUMP BREAKS GROUND ON MASSIVE WHITE HOUSE BALLROOM PROJECT WITH PRIVATE FUNDING FROM ‘PATRIOTS’

Trump elaborated Tuesday, calling the federal government “this big for nothing.” 

“We’re building a world-class ballroom,” he said. “You probably hear the beautiful sound of construction to the back here. That’s music to my ears. People don’t like it. I love it. When I hear that sound, it reminds me of money. In this case, a lack of money, because I’m paying for it.”

Trump also noted that the East Room, currently the largest indoor event space, is little more than “a cocktail area” that holds about 88 people.

During a Diwali event at the White House Tuesday night, Trump again referenced the project and his decision not to accept a salary, quipping that “they probably owe me a lot of money” for everything he’s put into the building.

“If I get money from our country, I’ll do something nice with it. Like give it to charity or give it to the White House,” he said. “We restore the White House, and we’re doing a great job. The ballroom is under construction. They’ve been trying to get it for 150 years.”

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The ballroom project is the latest in Trump’s improvements to the property, which include an overhaul of the Rose Garden and the Palm Room.

The White House did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

Fox News Digital’s Greg Wehner contributed to this report.

FIRST ON FOX: A group of House Republicans is raising concerns about the potential effects of the U.S. importing Argentinian beef after President Donald Trump floated the idea earlier this week.

Rep. Julie Fedorchak, R-N.D., is leading seven other House GOP lawmakers in a letter to the president on Tuesday evening, warning the potential plan has rattled the multibillion-dollar American ranching industry.

“America’s cattle producers are among the most resilient and hardworking in the nation,” the Republicans wrote. “Collectively, the cattle industry supports thousands of jobs across our districts and contributes $112 billion to rural economies nationwide.”

“In recent days, we have heard strong concerns from producers regarding reports that the U.S. may import beef from Argentina.”

HOUSE PASSES TRUMP-BACKED PLAN TO AVERT GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN

The House Republicans acknowledged the “importance of strong trade relationships and diverse markets” but added that beef producers in their districts “are seeking clarity on how this decision will be made, what safety and inspection standards will apply, and how this policy aligns with your administration’s commitment to strengthening American agriculture.”

Trump suggested Sunday that buying beef from Argentina could help lower prices for Americans at home, amid a wider promise to lower costs for U.S. citizens.

“One of the things we’re thinking about doing is beef from Argentina,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One.

He later elaborated in his conversation with reporters, “We would buy some beef from Argentina. If we do that, that will bring our beef prices down.”

“Our groceries are down, our energy prices are down. I think we’re going to have $2 gasoline pretty soon. We’re getting close and everything’s down. The one thing that’s kept up is beef,” Trump said.

He added that it would not be “that much” but argued it would help Argentina, a U.S. ally, as well.

58 HOUSE DEMS VOTE AGAINST RESOLUTION HONORING ‘LIFE AND LEGACY’ OF CHARLIE KIRK

But the House Republicans questioned whether imported beef would be held to the same food safety and animal health requirements as that of the U.S., which they called “the gold standard.”

“Any import policy must hold foreign suppliers to those same rigorous standards. Introducing beef from countries with inconsistent safety or inspection records could undermine the confidence that U.S. ranchers have worked decades to earn,” the lawmakers warned.

“We respectfully request additional information on this matter and urge your administration to ensure that any future decisions are made with full transparency, sound science, and a firm commitment to the U.S. cattle industry. America’s producers can compete with anyone in the world. If given an opportunity, they will continue to respond quickly to the market demand for more quality American beef in our grocery stores.”

In addition to Fedorchak, the letter is also signed by Reps. Michelle Fischbach, R-Minn., Troy Downing, R-Mont., Gabe Evans, R-Colo., Dusty Johnson, R-S.D., Derek Schmidt, R-Kan., Jeff Hurd, R-Colo., and Republican Study Committee Chair August Pfluger, R-Texas.

White House spokesman Kush Desai told Fox News Digital in response, “The Trump administration remains committed to addressing the needs and concerns of American cattle producers and safeguarding their interests at home and abroad. That’s why the administration has secured billions in new export opportunities for American agricultural products in our historic trade deals with the UK, Japan, the EU, and others.”

“It’s also why the administration is focused on reversing a prolonged decrease in the supply of live cattle by growing American cattle herds with robust action to deliver disaster relief to cattle country, support new ranchers, and reduce risk for cattle producers,” Desai said.

Trump’s proposal has stirred some anxiety among some Republicans whose constituencies depend on cattle ranching.

Sen. Deb Fischer, R-Neb., posted on X Tuesday, “If the goal is addressing beef prices at the grocery store, this isn’t the way.”

“The U.S. has safe, reliable beef, and it is the one bright spot in our struggling ag economy. Nebraska’s ranchers cannot afford to have the rug pulled out from under them when they’re just getting ahead or simply breaking even,” Fischer wrote.

Meanwhile, Fox News Digital was told that Rep. Harriet Hageman, R-Wyo., also raised significant concerns about what importing beef from Argentina could do to the U.S. cattle ranching industry during a call with fellow House Republicans on Tuesday.

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But some Republican responses were more muted. Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., told reporters that Trump “definitely identified a problem” regarding a shortage of cattle in the U.S. He added, “I understand what he’s trying to get done. I think there’s more ways to implement it.”

Fedorchak herself told Fox News Digital, “We’ve all received a number of questions and calls from our constituents over the last few days, so we are asking for clarity on the administration’s long-term plans. Our farmers and ranchers stand ready to deliver on the president’s America-First agenda. North Dakotans take great pride in producing the safest, highest-quality beef in the world — and we should be building on that success.”

President Donald Trump said Tuesday that he believes New York City could soon elect a “communist” mayor and signaled he’d prefer a Democrat to take the reins at City Hall over a far-left candidate.

Asked during a White House press gaggle whether he’d urge Republican Curtis Sliwa to drop out of the race, Trump didn’t endorse anyone, but made clear his concern about current polling with just two weeks to go until Election Day.

“Well, I looked at the polls and looks like we’re going to have a communist as the mayor of New York,” Trump said. “It’ll be very interesting. But here’s the good news. He’s got to go through the White House, everything goes through the White House. At least this White House, it does.”

Trump appeared to suggest that if Sliwa exited the race, former Gov. Andrew Cuomo might close the gap with Democratic socialist nominee Zohran Mamdani, but wasn’t confident it would change the outcome.

BILL ACKMAN JUMPS INTO NYC MAYORAL FIGHT, SAYS SLIWA MUST DROP OR ‘WE ARE TOAST’

“If he [Sliwa] dropped out, he’s not going to win. And not looking too good for Cuomo either,” Trump said. “Maybe if he dropped out, Cuomo would have a little bit of a chance. But not much. Because it looks like the lead is—it’s not a great lead, but it’s big enough that he should be able to win.”

Pressed on whether he’d be willing to meet with Mamdani if elected, Trump said he would.

“Yeah, I’ll speak to him,” the president said. “I think I have an obligation to speak to him.”

FOX NEWS POLL: MAMDANI MAINTAINS SIGNIFICANT LEAD IN NYC MAYORAL RACE

Still, Trump lamented what he sees as the city’s decline under progressive leadership.

“I love New York. I’ve always loved New York. I just can’t believe a thing like this is happening,” he said. “I left New York, and we had a mayor, [Bill] de Blasio, who was a disaster… New York was a hot city. And now it’s — it’s sad to see what’s happening, frankly.”

“With the communist in charge… look, you just go back a thousand years. I mean, it’s been done many times, a thousand years. It’s never worked once. So it’s not going to work now.”

Mamdani, a state assemblyman and longtime Democratic Socialist of America (DSA) member, has embraced calls to legalize prostitution and tax the wealthy. 

His campaign has drawn endorsements from Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., and other national progressives like Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt.

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The city’s mayoral election is Nov. 4.

The Cuomo, Mamdani and Sliwa campaigns did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

Hezbollah’s growing foothold in Latin America has found its epicenter in Venezuela, where U.S. lawmakers and former counterterror officials say the Maduro regime has turned the country into a safe haven for one of the world’s most dangerous terrorist groups — giving it access to drug trafficking routes, forged documents and a gateway to the Western Hemisphere.

At a Senate Caucus on International Counternarcotics Control hearing this week, both Republican and Democratic senators warned that Hezbollah’s integration into Latin America’s criminal underworld — once concentrated in Colombia and the tri-border region — has now taken root under Venezuela’s protection.

Witnesses described an illicit web of narcotics, money laundering, and passport-for-terrorist schemes that have flourished with state sponsorship, turning Venezuela into what one expert called the “most important facilitator for Hezbollah in Latin America.”

“Venezuela is a willing safe haven for what remains the most lethal, dangerous foreign terrorist organization to the United States,” said Marshall Billingslea, a former senior Treasury official.

US BOLSTERS MILITARY PRESENCE IN CARIBBEAN NEAR VENEZUELA AMID TRUMP’S EFFORTS TO HALT DRUG TRAFFICKING

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., and Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, both warned that Hezbollah’s 50-year presence in Latin America now poses a hemispheric threat requiring coordinated U.S. action.

Sales urged more Latin American nations — especially Brazil and Mexico — to designate Hezbollah in its entirety as a terrorist organization.

The bipartisan tone, rare in today’s Congress, underscored what lawmakers called a clear and present danger: a sanctioned regime in America’s backyard providing cover to a global terror group.

“Venezuela has become a key enabler of Hezbollah’s malign activity in our region,” Sales testified.

“This is not just about the Middle East anymore,” Cornyn added. “It’s about a terrorist organization embedding itself in the Western Hemisphere under the protection of a hostile regime.”

Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, went a step further, predicting that the United States will move to end Nicolás Maduro’s rule altogether.

“I think we’re going to free Venezuela,” Moreno said. “That will be one of President Trump’s many, many legacies. It’s long past due, and I think his days are numbered.” Moreno added that he “would be surprised if [Maduro is] still in Venezuela by the end of this year,” signaling growing confidence that Washington could soon pursue regime change in Caracas after seven strikes on alleged narco-traffickers on the seas.

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

Billingslea and Cornyn pointed to evidence that Venezuelan officials issued passports to Hezbollah operatives, including former vice president Tareck El Aissami accused of helping militants travel freely across the region.

According to Billingslea, more than 10,000 passports were issued to individuals from Syria, Lebanon, and Iran under the former Venezuelan vice president — some with known Hezbollah or Hamas ties.

The system, witnesses said, allowed operatives to disguise identities, launder funds, and even move into the U.S. under false papers.

Ambassador Nathan Sales, the former counterterrorism coordinator at the State Department, detailed how Hezbollah’s operations have become embedded in the regional drug trade — including the trafficking of so-called “black cocaine,” compressed into charcoal-like briquettes to avoid detection.

“Hezbollah traffics narcotics through criminal networks active in the tri-border area… It’s particularly involved in the sale of black cocaine,” Sales said.

He and others warned that as sanctions squeeze Iran and Hezbollah’s financial channels in the Middle East, the group is relying more heavily on Latin American drug profits to sustain itself.

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Dr. Matthew Levitt of the Washington Institute said Venezuela has effectively joined what he called the “axis of evasion” — a global sanctions-defying network linking Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea.

“Venezuela plays an important part in this illicit network as it reaches the Western Hemisphere,” Levitt said, describing its role in gold smuggling, oil-for-cash deals, and financial cover for Iran and Hezbollah.

Former first son Hunter Biden is claiming that his father only pardoned him because Donald Trump reclaimed the presidency in November 2024 — and “would not have” done so under “normal circumstances” while the appeals process played out.

HUNTER BIDEN WAS INVOLVED IN PARDON TALKS TOWARD END OF FATHER’S TERM, SOURCE SAYS

“Donald Trump went and changed everything,” Hunter said in an interview released Monday on journalist Tommy Christopher’s Substack platform.

“And I don’t think that I need to make much of an argument about why it changed everything.”

The 55-year-old — who pleaded guilty last year to evading $1.4 million in back taxes to the IRS and was convicted on felony gun charges — declined to mention that he had apparently been present for discussions on pardons during Joe Biden’s final months in the White House.

HUNTER BIDEN SAYS HE’S STARTED NEW JOB WITH CALIFORNIA NONPROFIT

“I’ve said this before,” Hunter went on.

“My dad would not have pardoned me if President Trump had not won, and the reason that he would not have pardoned me is because I was certain that in a normal circumstance of the appeals [I would have won].”

The Biden scion added that Trump was planning a “revenge tour” against his father, which would have made himself the “easiest target to just to intimidate and to not just impact me, but impact my entire family into, into silence in a way that at least he is not — it’s not as easy for him to do [with] me being pardoned.”

FIRST LADY MELANIA TRUMP PUTS HUNTER BIDEN ON $1B NOTICE OVER ‘FALSE, DEFAMATORY’ EPSTEIN COMMENTS

“I realize how privileged I am,” Hunter went on.

“I realize how lucky I am; I realize that I got something that almost no one would have gotten.

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“But I’m incredibly grateful for it and I have to say that I don’t think that it requires me to make much of a detailed argument for why it was the right thing to do, at least from my dad, from his perspective.”

Ex-White House chief of staff Jeff Zients spilled last month that Hunter “was involved” in clemency talks and even “attended a few meetings,” a source with knowledge of the Biden official’s testimony to the House Oversight Committee told The Post.

FIRST ON FOX: A conservative watchdog group has released a video that it says raises concerns that administrators at the University of Utah are continuing to push diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), possibly at odds with a relatively new state anti-DEI law. 

“No, no comment,” University of Utah education coordinator Lucas Alvarez told Accuracy in Media when asked about an allegation he was pushing DEI in violation of a 2024 law aimed at curbing DEI practices inside state universities.

Accuracy in Media President Adam Guillette then showed Alvarez video of him explaining the current DEI practices at the university. 

“We’re still, I think, figuring out as we go, like, HB261,” Alvarez said in the video. “It’s complicated, I mean, like, the programs that we’re doing, I think technically we’re still allowed to do them, but they have to be marketed in a certain way.”

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When pressed by Guillette on what he meant by changing “marketing,” Alvarez once again said no comment.

Alvarez was also pressed about another comment he made on video suggesting DEI was still a focus at the university, explaining that his department has been “meeting with a lot of campus partners” to do the “strategic work” of being in “compliance” but pointing out that these partners have “academic freedom.”

“I think what he was referring to was the professors have academic freedom to do research and speak from their expertise in the field that they’ve studied,” LeiLoni McLaughlin, the university’s director of the Center for Community & Cultural Engagement, told Guillette when asked what Alvarez meant.

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“He kind of suggested that they shifted things over to the professors though,” Guillette said, prompting McLaughlin to explain she thinks that was a “false statement.”

McLaughlin was then asked by Guillette what Alvarez meant by changing the “marketing.”

“I think with the legislative changes, every university has had to shift,” McLaughlin said.

“Shift their actions or just shift how they market what they are doing,” Guillette responded.

“Both,” McLaughlin answered. 

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A University of Utah spokesperson told Fox News Digital in a statement, “I reject the assertion that the university is hiding diversity work with rebranding and remarketing.”

“The changes required under HB 261 transformed how we support student success, recruit faculty, celebrate events and create a sense of belonging on our campus.”

The spokesperson added that Alvarez is “not a spokesperson for the University of Utah.”

“His comments do not reflect the position of the institution,” the spokesperson continued. “The comments of LeiLoni McLaughlin, director of our Center for Cultural and Community Engagement…were much more aligned with university leaders.”

The spokesperson also pointed to an interview that she said showed the Black Student Union was “extensively mourning the loss of their center and identity-based resources” due to the school following the new law. 

The school has previously outlined measures taken to conform with the law, including closing identity-based resource centers, transferring DEI employees to other jobs on campus, and prohibiting diversity statements in hiring. 

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“This isn’t about one or two bad apples — it’s about a broken system,” Guillette told Fox News Digital about his video footage, filmed in October 2024 and May of this year. 

“Utah needs a Kansas-style DEI ban with a reporting mechanism and actual legal consequences. And more importantly, America’s university system needs to be fundamentally reshaped with a focus on education rather than activism.”

Republicans across the country, along with President Donald Trump’s administration, have scored major victories pushing back on DEI in favor of meritocracy standards, but experts have warned that universities and organizations will be hostile toward the idea of giving up those methods and will instead attempt to rebrand them under different banners.

“At first, they just pushed back on, tried to defend DEI itself, but when that became so obvious that what DEI really was anti-White, anti-Asian, sometimes anti-Jewish discrimination in hiring and promotion, they abandoned that,” Consumers’ Research Executive Director Will Hild told Fox News Digital earlier this year. “Now what they’re trying to do is simply change the terminology that has become so toxic to their brand. So we’re seeing a lot of companies move from having departments of DEI, for example, to ‘departments of belonging’ or ‘departments of inclusivity.’”

Hid added, “It is the exact same toxic nonsense under a new wrapper, and they’re just hoping to extend the grift, because a lot of these people — I would say most of the people — working in DEI are useless.”

The top congressional Democrats want a meeting with President Donald Trump as the government shutdown stretches on.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said that both he and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., reached out to Trump on Tuesday to set up a confab with the president.

The top Senate Democrat said the duo “urged” Trump to meet with them, and that they were open to setting up “an appointment with him any time, any place.”

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“Hakeem and I reached out to the president today and urged him to sit down and negotiate with us to resolve the healthcare crisis, address it and end the Trump shutdown,” Schumer said. “He should sit — the things get worse every day for the American people. He should sit down with us, negotiate in a serious way before he goes away.”

Congressional Democrats, particularly Schumer and his Democratic caucus, have remained steadfast in their demands for an extension to expiring Obamacare subsidies. Though Senate Republicans have been open to holding a vote on the matter after the government reopens, Democrats want an ironclad guarantee that the subsidies will be extended well before their expiration at the end of this year.

Should Trump relent to their request, it would mark the first meeting among the trio since Schumer, Jeffries, Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., and House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., met in the Oval Office a day before the shutdown began.

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Lawmakers left that meeting with no agreement to avert the shutdown, which has now dragged on for 21 days.

Senate Democrats have also blocked Thune and Republicans’ attempts to reopen the government 11 times. Another vote on the House-passed continuing resolution, which would reopen the government until Nov. 21, is expected on Wednesday.

And like the many attempts before, that latest effort is expected to fail.

Meanwhile, Senate Republicans met with Trump for lunch at the White House Tuesday afternoon.

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Speaking to reporters afterward, Thune reiterated that Senate Republicans were united in their war of attrition strategy to continue putting the same bill on the floor again and again. He noted that Trump would likely agree to meet with Schumer and Jeffries, but only after Senate Democrats unlocked the votes needed to reopen the government.

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“We have negotiated. I don’t know what there is to negotiate. This is about opening up the government,” Thune said. “We have offered them several off-ramps. Now, the Democrats want something that’s totally untenable. I mean, they want $1.5 trillion in new spending. They want free healthcare for people who are noncitizens in this country. That is just a flat nonstarter. It doesn’t pass the Senate. It won’t pass the House. It won’t be signed into law by the president.”

Fox News Digital reached out to Jeffries’ and the White House for comment but did not immediately hear back.