NationalWatch

Indiana can now enforce a law banning minors from seeking gender-transitioning treatments after a federal appeals court ruled to remove a temporary injunction issued by a judge last year, which kept the ban from going into effect last summer.

A three-judge panel from the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago handed down the decision on Tuesday. Two of the judges were appointed by presidents Reagan and Trump, while the third judge was appointed by President Biden.

The bill, which was signed by Republican Gov. Eric Holcomb on April 5, 2023, was set to become law on July 1, 2023, but was blocked by a judge a month prior following a lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana.

U.S. District Court Judge James Patrick Hanlon issued the injunction, which halted the parts of the law prohibiting minors from accessing hormone therapies and puberty blockers, and prohibiting Indiana doctors from communicating with out-of-state doctors about transgender-related treatments for minors. The law’s ban on gender-transitioning surgeries for minors was still allowed to take effect.

INDIANA GOV. HOLCOMB GREENLIGHTS TRANS PROCEDURE BAN FOR MINORS

On Tuesday, the ACLU of Indiana issued a written statement in response to the appeals court’s ruling, describing it as “heartbreaking” for transgender minors, their families and doctors.

“As we and our clients consider our next steps, we want all the transgender youth of Indiana to know this fight is far from over,” the statement read. “We will continue to challenge this law until it is permanently defeated and Indiana is made a safer place to raise every family.”

Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita did not share those sentiments and praised the court’s decision in a post on X, formerly Twitter, Tuesday evening.

“Our commonsense state law, banning dangerous and irreversible gender-transition procedures for minors, is now enforceable following the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeal’s newest order. We are proud to win this fight against the radicals who continue pushing this horrific practice on our children for ideological and financial reasons,” he wrote.

OHIO BANS ‘GENDER-AFFIRMING CARE’ FOR MINORS, RESTRICTS TRANSGENDER ATHLETES DESPITE GOP GOVERNOR VETO

The ACLU of Indiana filed the lawsuit last year on behalf of four minors undergoing gender-transitioning treatments and a doctor providing such care. The organization argued that the ban violates the Constitution’s equal protection guarantees and strips parents of the right to make medical decisions for their children.

The American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Medical Association, among other medical groups, claim minors can safely seek gender-transitioning treatments if they are being administered properly.

Representatives from the state’s only hospital-based gender health program at Riley Hospital for Children in Indianapolis told legislators last year that doctors do not perform or provide referrals for genital surgeries for minors, according to The Associated Press. The hospital was not involved in the lawsuit opposing the ban.

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Twenty-two other states have also enacted laws restricting or banning gender-transitioning treatments for minors. They are: Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah and West Virginia.

The bans are in limbo in some of those states as a federal court ruled Arkansas’ ban is unconstitutional and temporary injunctions were placed on the laws in Idaho and Montana.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Instead of trying to keep their seats in Congress, two North Carolina politicians are vying for a high-profile office closer to home: state attorney general.

The career path that Republican U.S. Rep. Dan Bishop and Democratic U.S. Rep. Jeff Jackson are trying to follow was once a rarity but has become more common across the country as the attorney general position has become more prominent — and taken a more partisan tone.

The North Carolina race is among the most closely watched of the 10 attorney general elections across the U.S. this November. Bishop is the only Republican running in the swing state, but Jackson faces two other Democrats in the March 5 primary.

STATE ATTORNEY GENERAL OFFICIALLY CALLS ON KAMALA HARRIS TO INVOKE 25TH AMENDMENT, REMOVE BIDEN FROM OFFICE

Differences between the candidates are stark. The attorney general has, among other things, a role in how to enforce state laws and whether to defend them when they’re challenged in court. And the North Carolina candidates couldn’t be more different in their approaches.

Jackson said he could, for example, follow the path taken by the Democratic incumbent and refuse to support a law adopted last year that bans most abortions after the first 12 weeks of pregnancy. “I see the job as standing up for people in defense of their fundamental rights,” Jackson said in an interview. “I’m prepared to stand up to the state legislature.”

Bishop, on the other hand, said he would defend the law and others — even if he disagreed with them — unless “it is unconstitutional beyond any reasonable argument.”

Their state is one of six where the incumbent won’t be on the ballot, including Oregon, Pennsylvania, Utah, Washington and West Virginia. Incumbents are expected to try to keep their jobs in Indiana, Missouri, Montana and Vermont.

Most of the states with elections are dominated by one party, but purple Pennsylvania has a crowded April primary ballot for both Republicans and Democrats.

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The attorney general job has been a springboard to higher office for so long that there’s a joke that “AG” stands for “aspiring governor.” Current North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein is running for governor, as are the top government lawyers in Washington and West Virginia. Former President Bill Clinton and current Vice President Kamala Harris have attorney general on their resumes, alongside a long list of governors and senators.

But over the past decade, a pipeline from Congress to attorney general has developed. Five sitting attorneys general — Maryland’s Anthony Brown, Minnesota’s Keith Ellison, Arkansas’ Tim Griffin, Idaho’s Raul Labrador and Indiana’s Todd Rokita — were all previously in Congress.

It’s a big change.

“You don’t have to go find 218 people to get a vote,” Ellison, a Democrat who was previously a six-term member of Congress, state lawmaker and director of a public interest law firm, said in an interview. “You say, ‘Here’s what we’re going to do, team.’”

Ellison said that his time in Congress helped him get to know the federal agencies he often interacts with now, but that his time as a trial lawyer was also important in preparing him for his current job.

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Duties vary by state but generally include roles as criminal prosecutor — representing the state in court and protecting consumers, with the latter often carried out through multi-state lawsuits against companies.

Attorneys general have in recent years been on the front line of lawsuits and settlements against drugmakers and others over the toll of prescription opioid painkillers; and most of them joined together last year to sue Facebook parent company Meta, claiming that features on its social media platforms are addictive.

It’s become more common over the past two decades, however, for attorneys general to join with colleagues only from their party to challenge federal government policy — mostly those put in place by presidents from the opposite party.

NEW YORK AG TAKES VICTORY LAP AFTER TRUMP FRAUD RULING: ‘JUSTICE HAS BEEN SERVED’

Bishop, a member of the conservative Freedom Caucus who joined Congress after winning a special election in 2019, said that with an often gridlocked Congress, presidents are using regulations to create policy — and overstepping their bounds.

“It’s often falling to AGs to protect fundamental rights and to stop regulatory overreach,” he said.

Bishop said he supports the effort by the Republican attorneys general of Missouri and Louisiana to bar the FBI and other government agencies from contacting social media platforms such as Facebook and X, formerly Twitter, to urge that content be removed. The U.S. Supreme Court is scheduled to hear arguments on the case on March 18.

There have also been partisan broadsides against businesses. Last year, 13 GOP attorneys general warned CEOs of the 100 biggest U.S. companies that there could be legal consequences for using race as a factor in hiring and employment practices. But that hasn’t led to litigation so far.

Meanwhile, during Donald Trump’s presidency, Democrats repeatedly sued over policies such as a ban on travel to the U.S. from several mostly Muslim countries and allowing more employers to opt out of providing birth control coverage by claiming religious or moral objections. Democratic attorneys general also defended former President Barack Obama’s health insurance overhaul in court when Trump’s administration wouldn’t.

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Jackson, a TikTok-savvy politician in his first term in Congress, decided to enter the race after redrawn congressional maps removed him from the district west of Charlotte he’s representing.

It would have taken him years to build up seniority to have significant power in the House. But the job he’s seeking now is different, he said: “You reach your full influence upon being elected to attorney general,” he said.

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Also on the primary ballot are Democrats Satana Deberry, a progressive district attorney, and Tim Dunn, a private-practice lawyer. Jackson has a major fundraising lead and the support of the Democrats in North Carolina’s congressional delegation.

James Tierney, a former attorney general in Maine, one of the seven states where attorneys general are appointed rather than elected, teaches about the office at Harvard Law School. He said people with the job need to be careful not to take only partisan action because it can weaken the office’s clout.

“If an AG acts like a congressman, they’re going to get treated like a congressman,” he said, “and they won’t get the deference from judges and the bar that an attorney general deserves.”

Indiana can now enforce a law banning minors from seeking gender-transitioning treatments after a federal appeals court ruled to remove a temporary injunction issued by a judge last year, which kept the ban from going into effect last summer.

A three-judge panel from the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago handed down the decision on Tuesday. Two of the judges were appointed by presidents Reagan and Trump, while the third judge was appointed by President Biden.

The bill, which was signed by Republican Gov. Eric Holcomb on April 5, 2023, was set to become law on July 1, 2023, but was blocked by a judge a month prior following a lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana.

U.S. District Court Judge James Patrick Hanlon issued the injunction, which halted the parts of the law prohibiting minors from accessing hormone therapies and puberty blockers, and prohibiting Indiana doctors from communicating with out-of-state doctors about transgender-related treatments for minors. The law’s ban on gender-transitioning surgeries for minors was still allowed to take effect.

INDIANA GOV. HOLCOMB GREENLIGHTS TRANS PROCEDURE BAN FOR MINORS

On Tuesday, the ACLU of Indiana issued a written statement in response to the appeals court’s ruling, describing it as “heartbreaking” for transgender minors, their families and doctors.

“As we and our clients consider our next steps, we want all the transgender youth of Indiana to know this fight is far from over,” the statement read. “We will continue to challenge this law until it is permanently defeated and Indiana is made a safer place to raise every family.”

Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita did not share those sentiments and praised the court’s decision in a post on X, formerly Twitter, Tuesday evening.

“Our commonsense state law, banning dangerous and irreversible gender-transition procedures for minors, is now enforceable following the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeal’s newest order. We are proud to win this fight against the radicals who continue pushing this horrific practice on our children for ideological and financial reasons,” he wrote.

OHIO BANS ‘GENDER-AFFIRMING CARE’ FOR MINORS, RESTRICTS TRANSGENDER ATHLETES DESPITE GOP GOVERNOR VETO

The ACLU of Indiana filed the lawsuit last year on behalf of four minors undergoing gender-transitioning treatments and a doctor providing such care. The organization argued that the ban violates the Constitution’s equal protection guarantees and strips parents of the right to make medical decisions for their children.

The American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Medical Association, among other medical groups, claim minors can safely seek gender-transitioning treatments if they are being administered properly.

Representatives from the state’s only hospital-based gender health program at Riley Hospital for Children in Indianapolis told legislators last year that doctors do not perform or provide referrals for genital surgeries for minors, according to The Associated Press. The hospital was not involved in the lawsuit opposing the ban.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Twenty-two other states have also enacted laws restricting or banning gender-transitioning treatments for minors. They are: Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah and West Virginia.

The bans are in limbo in some of those states as a federal court ruled Arkansas’ ban is unconstitutional and temporary injunctions were placed on the laws in Idaho and Montana.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

President Biden was projected to win Michigan’s Democratic primary on Tuesday despite pushback from Arab-American voters opposed to his support for Israel’s war in Gaza, and the president said it would “take all of us coming together” to defend American freedom and democracy.

His easy win in Michigan, according to a projection from The Associated Press, marked his fourth primary victory in as many states as he seeks the Democratic nomination.

“I want to thank every Michigander who made their voice heard today,” Biden said in a statement. “Exercising the right to vote and participating in our democracy is what makes America great.”

The landslide victory comes despite a movement among the state’s Arab-American population to “Abandon Biden” and vote “uncommitted” on primary ballots in protest of his support of Israel’s war in Gaza. The effort was backed by U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., who said Tuesday she was proud to vote against Biden in the primary while calling for a cease-fire in Gaza, where Israeli forces and Hamas terrorists continue to fight following Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on the Jewish State.

BIDEN WINS MICHIGAN DESPITE PUSHBACK FROM ARAB-AMERICAN VOTERS

The president’s victory on Tuesday helped him inch closer to securing his party’s nomination and setting up a potential rematch with former President Trump, who defeated former U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley in the Republican primary.

“Four years ago, it was Michigan’s diverse coalition that came together to reject Donald Trump’s MAGA extremism and sent me and Kamala to the White House,” Biden said. “Because of Michiganders, we’ve been able to work hand in hand with Governor Whitmer and the incredible Democratic leaders in Michigan’s congressional delegation to deliver enormous progress.”

He continued: “I was proud to stand shoulder to shoulder with UAW workers last year as they led the fight for the wages and benefits they deserve. We took on Big Pharma and are lowering the cost of prescription drugs for nearly 2 million Michigan seniors. We’re investing in our world-class auto industry and are finally making big corporations pay their fair share after Trump rigged the economy for special interests and gave handouts to his wealthy friends. And we’re fixing our crumbling bridges and roads while creating thousands of good-paying, union jobs right here in Michigan after Trump shipped them overseas.”

RASHIDA TLAIB ‘PROUD’ TO NOT VOTE FOR BIDEN IN MICHIGAN DEMOCRATIC PRIMARY

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Biden said “for all of this progress, there is so much left to do” while criticizing Trump for “threatening to drag us even further into the past as he pursues revenge and retribution.”

“[Trump] proudly brags that he is the reason Roe v. Wade was overturned in this country,” Biden said. “Because of Donald Trump, women’s lives are at risk, doctors face the prospect of criminal penalties for doing their jobs, and families desperately trying to have children are having access to fertility treatments ripped away. Now, Donald Trump wants to ban abortion nationwide – including here in Michigan.”

“You’ve heard me say many times it’s never a good bet to bet against the United States of America,” the president said. “It’s never a good bet to bet against Michiganders either. This fight for our freedoms, for working families, and for Democracy is going to take all of us coming together. I know that we will.”

Fox News’ Michael Lee contributed to this report.

Hunter Biden will appear for his highly-anticipated and long-awaited deposition Wednesday on Capitol Hill as part of the impeachment inquiry against his father, President Biden.

The first son is expected to take questions from lawmakers and congressional investigators behind closed doors before the House Oversight and Judiciary committees.

The deposition is expected to begin at 10 a.m.

Hunter Biden’s expected testimony comes after his uncle, President Biden’s younger brother James Biden, testified last week as part of the impeachment inquiry. James Biden testified that President Biden “has never had any involvement or any direct or indirect financial interest” in his business ventures. 

BIDEN MET WITH CHAIRMAN OF CHINESE ENERGY FIRM HUNTER DID BUSINESS WITH IN 2017, EX-ASSOCIATE TESTIFIES

House Republicans have heard testimony from a number of the first son’s former business associates, like Tony Bobulinski, who testified before the committees earlier this month that Joe Biden was involved in the family’s business ventures. He also testified that he personally met with him. 

House Democrats and the White House have criticized the inquiry as baseless, but Republicans insist they have just scratched the surface of the investigation into Biden family businesses.

“The House Oversight, Judiciary, and Ways and Means Committees have unearthed a record of evidence revealing Joe Biden was ‘the brand’ his family sold to enrich the Bidens,” House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer, R-Ky, said in statement Tuesday. “Joe Biden knew of, participated in, and benefited from these schemes. Joe Biden attended dinners, spoke on speakerphone, showed up to meetings, and had coffee with his son’s foreign business associates. 

“In fact, we’ve documented how Joe Biden has met with nearly all of his son’s foreign business associates as they were collectively funneling millions to the Bidens. Our committees have the opportunity to depose Hunter Biden, a key witness in our impeachment inquiry of President Joe Biden, about this record of evidence. This deposition is not the conclusion of the impeachment inquiry. There are more subpoenas and witness interviews to come.” 

He added that the committee will continue to investigate to “determine whether articles of impeachment are warranted.”

Days before Bobulinski’s testimony, another former business associate, Rob Walker, testified that Joe Biden met with the chairman of the Chinese energy firm CEFC that his brother and son did business with. 

After Walker’s testimony, the House Oversight Committee said it was able to “now confirm Joe Biden met with nearly every foreign national who funneled money to his son.” 

Also last week, congressional investigators heard testimony from a former business associate of Hunter’s — Jason Galanis, who is serving a 14-year prison sentence. Galanis testified during a rare transcribed interview from an Alabama prison that Joe Biden was allegedly considering joining the board of a joint venture created by Hunter Biden and his business associates with ties to the Chinese Communist Party after he left the vice presidency.

Joe Biden’s involvement would bring “political access in the United States and around the world,” he claimed. 

JOE BIDEN ‘ENABLED’ FAMILY TO SELL ACCESS TO ‘DANGEROUS ADVERSARIES,’ TONY BOBULINSKI TESTIFIES

Hunter Biden was first subpoenaed to appear for a closed-door deposition in November. The deposition was slated for Dec. 13, but the first son defied the subpoena. Instead of appearing to testify, he held a press conference on Capitol Hill during which he defended himself and his father, saying the president “was not financially involved in my business.”

Ahead of his subpoenaed deposition, Hunter Biden had offered to testify in a public setting.

Comer and Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, rejected his request, noting that the first son would not have special treatment and pointing to the dozens of other witnesses who have appeared as compelled for their interviews and depositions. Comer and Jordan vowed to release the transcript of Hunter Biden’s deposition.

But after he defied the subpoena, the committees in January passed resolutions to hold the first son in contempt of Congress for defying the congressional subpoena. Before those resolutions were able to be considered by the House Rules Committee and the full House, Hunter Biden’s attorneys offered to discuss scheduling a new deposition for the first son — something House Republicans were willing to do.

HUNTER BIDEN DEPOSITION SCHEDULED FOR NEXT MONTH AFTER RISK OF BEING HELD IN CONTEMPT OF CONGRESS

The president’s son’s deposition comes after years of congressional investigations into his business dealings, beginning in September 2019 in the Senate. That investigation was led by senators Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and Ron Johnson, R-Wis.

Hunter Biden’s business dealings and foreign relationships came under heightened scrutiny in the fall of 2019 during the first impeachment of former President Trump.

Trump was impeached after a July 2019 phone call in which he pressed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to launch investigations into the Biden family’s actions and business dealings in Ukraine, specifically Hunter Biden’s ventures with Ukrainian natural gas firm Burisma Holdings and Joe Biden’s successful effort to have former Ukrainian Prosecutor General Viktor Shokin ousted.

FLASHBACK: GRASSLEY, JOHNSON SHARE HUNTER BIDEN’S CHINA-LINKED BANK RECORDS WITH US ATTORNEY LEADING CRIMINAL PROBE

Hunter Biden was quietly under federal investigation, beginning in 2018, at the time of the call, a probe prompted by suspicious foreign transactions.

Trump’s request was regarded by Democrats as a quid pro quo because millions in U.S. military aid to Ukraine had been frozen. Democrats also said Trump was meddling in the 2020 presidential election by asking a foreign leader to look into a Democratic political opponent.

Republicans had been investigating Hunter Biden’s business dealings, specifically with regard to Burisma Holdings. House Republicans, who were in the minority at the time, made several requests to subpoena Hunter Biden for testimony and documents related to the impeachment of Trump and his business dealings that fell at the center of the proceedings.

FLASHBACK: GOP-LED COMMITTEES RELEASE INTERIM REPORT ON HUNTER BIDEN, BURISMA PROBE

Biden has acknowledged that when he was vice president he successfully pressured Ukraine to fire Shokin. At the time, Shokin was investigating Burisma Holdings, and Hunter had a highly lucrative role on the board, receiving thousands of dollars per month. The vice president threatened to withhold $1 billion of critical U.S. aid at the time if Shokin was not fired.

“I said, ‘You’re not getting the billion.’ … I looked at them and said, ‘I’m leaving in six hours. If the prosecutor is not fired, you’re not getting the money,’” Biden recalled telling then-Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko. Biden recalled the conversation during an event for the Council on Foreign Relations in 2018.

“Well, son of a b—-, he got fired,” Biden said during the event. “And they put in place someone who was solid at the time.”

Biden allies maintain he pushed for Shokin’s firing when he was vice president due to concerns the Ukrainian prosecutor went easy on corruption, and they say that his firing, at the time, was the policy position of the U.S. and international community.

FLASHBACK: HUNTER BIDEN ‘TAX AFFAIRS’ UNDER FEDERAL INVESTIGATION; LINKS TO CHINA FUNDS EMERGE, SOURCES SAY

Now, as part of the impeachment inquiry, Republicans are investigating any involvement Joe Biden had in his son’s business dealings.

Last year, the federal investigation into Hunter Biden that began in 2018 also came under heightened scrutiny when two IRS whistleblowers claimed politics were influencing prosecutorial decisions throughout the years-long probe.

Those allegations sparked congressional investigations and, ultimately, the impeachment inquiry. They also put pressure on Attorney General Merrick Garland to give then-U.S. Attorney for the District of Delaware David Weiss special counsel authority.

WEISS SAYS HE ‘WASN’T GRANTED’ SPECIAL ATTORNEY AUTHORITY IN HUNTER BIDEN PROBE DESPITE REQUEST: TRANSCRIPT

Special counsel Weiss indicted the first son on federal gun charges in Delaware last year. Hunter Biden pleaded not guilty to those charges. His attorneys are attempting to have that case dismissed.

Also last year, Weiss charged Biden with nine federal tax charges, which break down to three felonies and six misdemeanors for $1.4 million in owed taxes that have since been paid.

Weiss charged Hunter Biden in December, alleging a “four-year scheme” in which the president’s son did not pay his federal income taxes from January 2017 to October 2020 while also filing false tax reports.

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Hunter Biden pleaded not guilty to all charges.

His attorneys are also seeking to have that case dismissed.

Several national polls in recent weeks suggest that President Biden is suffering from an enthusiasm gap when it comes to how excited his Democratic base and voters in general are to support him in November.

A Monmouth University poll conducted earlier this month showed that only 32% of registered voters feel at least somewhat enthusiastic about Biden’s candidacy and that number stands at just 62% among Democrats. 

The same number of registered voters, 32%, say they are at least somewhat confident in Biden’s physical and mental ability to be president.

The same poll shows that confidence in Biden’s abilities among Democrats has dropped significantly to 72% after standing at 91% in 2020. 

BIDEN APPROVAL PLUMMETS TO NEAR CARTER LEVEL: GALLUP

The Monmouth poll also shows Biden with a meager 39% approval rating and that he is under water on several issues with voters, including jobs, immigration and foreign policy.

The weak approval rating is backed up by other polls as evidenced by the Real Clear Politics average showing that his approval rating has been under 50% since August 2021. 

According to Gallup, Biden is significantly losing support from key demographics, including young voters, Black voters and Hispanic voters.

Gallup explained that most of the decline in Black voters referring to themselves as Democrats has been in the last few years.

POLL SHOWS BIDEN’S LEAD OVER TRUMP SHRINKING IN 2024 MATCHUP AS CONCERNS OVER PHYSICAL FITNESS GROW

“Most of the decline has been recent, with the net-Democratic ID for this group falling 19 points from a 66-point advantage in 2020,” Gallup said. “At that time, 77% of Black adults favored the Democrats and 11% the Republicans, so the 2023 findings represent an 11-point decrease in Democratic affiliation since 2020 and an eight-point increase in Republican affiliation.”

Mainstream news outlets have taken notice of the enthusiasm numbers, including the New York Times editorial board, which wrote earlier this month that Biden “needs to do more to show the public that he is fully capable of holding office until age 86.”

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Also in February, prominent election handicapper Nate Silver warned that Biden is “losing now and there’s no plan to fix the problems other than hoping that the polls are wrong.”

The Biden campaign pointed Fox News Digital to “several indicators of enthusiasm” they have seen in favor of the president.

“In the Nevada primary, we saw higher turnout than 2008 – despite that being a far more competitive election,” Biden campaign spokesperson Lauren Hitt said. “The email from the First Lady after the Hur report was our best performing email since the launch.”

Hitt also pointed to Biden winning “more votes in NH as a write in candidate than Obama did in ‘12” and highlighted that Obama was on the ballot and Biden wasn’t.

“January was our best grassroots fundraising month ever, we doubled the number of small-dollar donors from December,” Hitt added. “We brought in over $1M in donations following President Biden’s speech marking the anniversary of the January 6th insurrection.”

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

President Biden plans to visit the southern border in Brownsville, Texas, this week, though apprehensions in the sector are some of the lowest across the border, according to recent data.

On Monday, Border Patrol agents apprehended 4,752 illegal immigrants along the southern border from California through Texas, according to a chart provided to Fox News by a U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) source.

Some places saw triple-digit numbers, including Eagle Pass Station in the Del Rio Sector, which reported 511 apprehensions; Ajo Station in the Tucson Sector, which reported 481 apprehensions; and Santa Teresa Station in the El Paso Sector, which reported 473 apprehensions.

In fact, 15 of the 35 border stations reported triple-digit numbers, while the rest of the stations reported apprehensions on Monday in the double digits.

BIDEN, TRUMP TO MAKE US-MEXICO BORDER STOPS THURSDAY AS MIGRANT CRISIS ROILS ELECTION

Of the remaining 20, the Brownsville Station in the Rio Grande Valley Sector reported 12 apprehensions on Monday.

The illegal immigrant activity in Brownsville is nearly nonexistent.

Still, Biden is expected to travel to the area on Thursday to meet with U.S. Border Patrol agents, law enforcement and local leaders.

The same day, former President Trump is to travel to Eagle Pass, Texas.

7.2M ILLEGALS ENTERED US UNDER BIDEN ADMIN, AN AMOUNT GREATER THAN POPULATION OF 36 STATES

The two cities are about 325 miles apart.

Biden is expected to use his trip to talk about the importance of passing the Senate’s bipartisan border security agreement, according to a White House official, who added that the president will “reiterate his calls for Congressional Republicans to stop playing politics and to provide the funding needed for additional U.S. Border Patrol agents, more asylum officers, fentanyl detection technology and more.”

In January 2023, Biden visited the border in El Paso, Texas, getting what was considered a watered-down version of the border crisis.

BORDER PATROL UNION RIPS BIDEN OVER BORDER CRISIS: ‘YOU OWN THIS CATASTROPHIC DISASTER’

The number of illegal immigrants that were crossing into the U.S. from Mexico in El Paso appeared to have plummeted at the time, and the Central Processing Center, which was previously overwhelmed with immigrants, was no longer at its capacity of about 1,000 migrants, and the migrant camps suddenly vanished, CBP sources said.

According to a Fox News analysis published last week, nearly 7.3 million migrants are known to have illegally crossed the southwest border since Biden took office. 

That number is greater than the population of 36 individual states. It comes from U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), which has already reported 961,537 border encounters in the current fiscal year, which runs from October through September. If the current pace of illegal immigration does not slow down, fiscal 2024 will break last year’s record of 2,475,669 southwest border encounters — a number that by itself exceeds the population of New Mexico, a border state.

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The total number of southwest land border encounters since Biden assumed office in 2021 is 7,298,486, CBP data shows.

White House officials did not immediately respond to inquiries from Fox News Digital.

Danielle Wallace and Bradford Betz of Fox News Digital contributed to this report.

Sen. J.D. Vance, R-Ohio, is weighing in on what is expected to be one of the most closely watched Senate races this year, making a not-so-surprising endorsement of who he’d like to see join him and his colleagues in winning control of Congress’ upper chamber for Republicans.

“Kari Lake is a battle-tested warrior who will secure the border and advocate for policies that put the American people first,” Vance told the Daily Caller, who first reported his plans to endorse the former Arizona gubernatorial candidate and television anchor next week.

“Kari is running against a far-left Democrat who has been a rubber stamp for all of Joe Biden’s destructive policies that have gutted the middle class. I am proud to endorse Kari as the next U.S. Senator for Arizona,” he added, referencing Phoenix area Rep. Ruben Gallego, the likely Democrat nominee.

DEMS THRUST KARI LAKE, MCCAIN FEUD INTO SPOTLIGHT AS CRUCIAL SENATE BATTLE HEATS UP: ‘NO PEACE, B—-!’

Lake told the outlet she was “humbled” to receive the endorsement, which comes just two weeks after she got the official backing of the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC), the official campaign arm for Senate Republicans, which rarely endorses candidates before a primary takes place.

The conservative firebrand is also being backed by former President Donald Trump, Sens. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., Roger Marshall, R-Kan., Tom Cotton, R-Ark., and Reps. Jim Banks, R-Ind., and Burgess Owens, R-Utah.

Barrasso, a member of Republican Senate leadership, is expected to join Lake for campaign stops in Arizona this week.

DEMOCRAT IN CRUCIAL SENATE RACE UNDER FIRE FOR PAST AMNESTY, SANCTUARY CITY ‘SUPPORT’ AS BORDER CRISIS SPIRALS

The race is widely seen as one of the best flip opportunities for Republicans, alongside West Virginia, Ohio, Montana and Nevada. Democrats currently hold a 51-49 majority with the support of incumbent independent Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema and her fellow independent Sens. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Angus King, I-Maine.

In recent cycles, races in the state have been decided within tight margins, including in 2022 when incumbent Democrat Sen. Mark Kelly defeated Republican businessman Blake Masters by less than 5%, a 2020 special election when Kelly defeated appointed Republican Sen. Martha McSally by less than 3%, and in 2018 when Sinema defeated McSally by just over 2%.

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Lake’s only major opponent in the Republican primary is Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb, and, should she become the nominee, will likely face Phoenix-area Democrat Rep. Ruben Gallego in the general election.

Early polling of a hypothetical matchup between Lake and Gallego suggests a tight race, even when including Sinema, who has not yet said whether she will run for re-election after announcing her departure from the Democrat Party in Dec. 2022.

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

Former President Trump will win the Michigan Republican Primary Tuesday night, winning yet another early contest and additional delegates — bringing him one step closer to being able to formally secure the GOP nomination.

The Associated Press projected Trump will win the primary shortly after polls closed Tuesday night. 

With the Michigan win, Trump has claimed victory in every primary and caucus of the 2024 GOP presidential primary cycle. 

Trump, who will likely secure the GOP nomination by next week after the Super Tuesday primary contests, dominated the Iowa caucuses, left New Hampshire with a commanding victory, swept caucuses in Nevada and the U.S. Virgin Islands, won South Carolina with a “bigger win” than he anticipated.

MICHIGAN PRIMARY PUTS MAJOR BATTLEGROUND STATE IN PLAY FOR 2024

Trump needs 1,215 delegates to formally secure the nomination. 

Both Republican and Democratic voters in Michigan hit the polls Tuesday to cast their ballots in the state-run primaries.

Republican voters on Tuesday had their choice from Trump, the clear frontrunner, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley — the only two GOP candidates in the race — and others who have since dropped out, including former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, businessman Vivek Ramaswamy, and former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson.

JAMES CARVILLE FRETS OVER ‘UNCOMMITTED’ PROTEST VOTE AGAINST BIDEN IN MICHIGAN: ‘HUGE PROBLEM’

There are 16 delegates at stake.

Trump called into the Michigan GOP Watch Party Tuesday night shortly after the race was called in his favor. 

“I just want to thank everybody. This was a great day,” Trump said, pointing to the state’s autoworkers, saying Democrats “destroyed the autowork business,” but vowed to “bring it all back into Michigan” if elected. 

“I just want to thank everybody…the numbers are far greater than we even anticipated,” he said, adding that he will “be doing a lot of campaigning over the next couple of months.” 

“I can tell you this November cannot come fast enough,” Trump said. “We have the worst president in history–the most incompetent and the most corrupt president, and we can’t let this continue.” 

“So that day, November 5th, and January 20th is when we take over,” Trump said, referring to Election Day and Inauguration Day. “We’re going to make America great again, greater than ever before.” 

Democratic voters also had their chance to vote in the primary, casting ballots for President Biden or his Democratic challengers, Rep. Dean Phillips and Marianne Williamson. Those voters also had the option to cast an “uncommitted” vote.

A Lubbock, Texas, federal judge ruled Tuesday that lawmakers unconstitutionally passed the $1.7 trillion government funding bill in 2022 when they did so under a pandemic-era rule allowing members of the U.S. House of Representatives to vote on the matter by proxy instead of in person.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, a Republican, requested the courts block a provision of the funding bill that gave pregnant workers stronger legal protections.

U.S. District Judge Wesley Hendrix reviewed the request and issued a “limited” ruling on one of two provisions Paxton sought to have blocked.

Hendrix, appointed by former President Trump, ruled the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act was wrongfully passed, blocking the law from being enforced against the state as an employer.

TEXAS AG KEN PAXTON SAYS STATE WON’T COMPLY WITH BIDEN ADMINISTRATION ORDER TO REOPEN PARK TO FEDERAL AGENTS

The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, enacted in December 2022, requires employers to provide reasonable accommodations for pregnant workers.

In his ruling, Hendrix noted that his injunction is only applicable to state government employees.

Paxton filed a lawsuit last year, arguing the federal spending package was unconstitutionally passed because over half of the House of Representatives were not physically present to provide a quorum, yet they still voted by proxy.

EAGLE PASS MAYOR SAYS SHOWDOWN BETWEEN TEXAS, FEDS OVER BORDER CONTROL IS ‘FRUSTRATING,’ A ‘CONSTANT STRUGGLE’

In May 2020, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat, helped get a rule in place allowing lawmakers to vote by proxy in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

When Republicans took control of the House in 2022, they ditched the proxy rule after challenging it in court unsuccessfully.

Hendrix said in a 120-page ruling that for over 200 years leading up to the voting proxy rule’s adoption, Congress understood that the majority of members of the House or Senate were required to be physically present to have a quorum to pass legislation, as stipulated under the Constitution’s quorum clause.

TEXAS AG PAXTON SUES NGO AIDING MIGRANTS, ACCUSES IT OF ENCOURAGING ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION

“Supreme Court precedent has long held that the Quorum Clause requires presence, and the Clause’s text distinguishes those absent members from the quorum and provides a mechanism for obtaining a physical quorum by compelling absent members to attend,” he wrote.

Paxton said Congress acted “egregiously” when it passed the $1.7 trillion funding bill.

“Congress acted egregiously by passing the largest spending bill in U.S. history with fewer than half the members of the House bothering to do their jobs, show up and vote in person,” Paxton said. “Former Speaker Nancy Pelosi abused proxy voting under the pretext of COVID-19 to pass this law, then Biden signed it, knowing they violated the Constitution. This was a stunning violation of the rule of law. I am relieved the court upheld the Constitution.”

The Department of Justice did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s requests for comment.

Reuters reported that Texas Public Policy Foundation lawyer Matthew Miller said the ruling “correctly” concluded a physical quorum was required to vote.

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Hendrix also found in his ruling that Texas did not have standing to challenge $20 million appropriated in the bill to fund a pilot program providing case management and other services to noncitizens during immigration removal proceedings.

Reuters contributed to this report.

President Biden secured another Democratic Primary victory in Michigan despite late pushback from Arab-American voters upset over the president’s support for Israel’s war in Gaza.

Biden won Michigan easily Tuesday, according to a projection from the Associated Press, claiming his fourth primary victory as he inches closer to securing the Democratic nomination. There were 117 pledged delegates up for grabs in the battleground state.

The landslide victory comes despite a movement among the state’s Arab-American population to “Abandon Biden” and vote “uncommitted” on primary ballots in protest of Biden’s support of Israel’s war in Gaza.

RASHIDA TLAIB ‘PROUD’ TO NOT VOTE FOR BIDEN IN MICHIGAN DEMOCRATIC PRIMARY

The protest was supported by Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., who said Tuesday that she was “proud” to vote against the president in the primary election while calling for a “ceasefire” of hostilities in Gaza.

“Hi everyone, it’s Rashida. I was proud today to walk in and pull a Democratic ballot and vote uncommitted. We must protect our democracy, we must make sure that our government is about us, about the people,” Tlaib said in a video message shared by Listen To Michigan, a group supporting the protests against Biden in the primary. “When 74% of Democrats in Michigan support a ceasefire yet President Biden is not hearing us, this is the way we can use our democracy to say listen.”

Nevertheless, Biden emerged victorious again in his bid to represent the Democratic Party for another presidential election, setting up a potential rematch with former President Donald Trump.

NATO MEMBERS BRACE FOR TRUMP WIN AS RECORD NUMBER OF MEMBERS MOVE TO MEET SPENDING PLEDGES

Michigan promises to be a key swing state in that potential rematch, having voted for Trump in 2016 by under one percentage point before flipping to Biden in 2020 by less than three percent.

The president, who has yet to lose a state in this year’s primary, will now shift his focus to “Super Tuesday,” when voters in 14 states and American Samoa will head to the polls to vote for their preferred presidential candidate.

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The results continue to lead to an all-but-certain rematch in 2024, with Biden expected to easily win the Democratic nomination and faceoff with Trump, who has a commanding lead in the GOP primary.

Sen. Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said on Tuesday he supports a full impeachment trial for Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas over his handling of the border crisis.

“I think that would be the best way to go forward,” McConnell told reporters after the weekly Senate GOP leadership press conference.

Top GOP leader behind McConnell, Republican Whip Sen. John Thune, also called for a full impeachment trial, while more GOP lawmakers argue Democrats are attempting to short circuit a trial. 

“The House of Representatives has determined that Secretary Mayorkas has committed impeachable offenses. That issue will come before the United States Senate. I believe the Senate needs to hold a trial,” Thune announced. 

CONGRESS LIKELY TO PUNT GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN DEADLINES AGAIN, SOURCES SAY

“I’m going to make the argument — and I’m sure the Democrats will try to dismiss it — that we ought to be having a trial, conducting a trial of the United States Senate to determine whether these are impeachable offenses,” he went on.

Senate conservatives have been putting pressure on Republican leadership to push forward with a trial as it’s unclear whether the Democrat-controlled Senate will move forward with the House’s articles. 

Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., is one of the lawmakers pushing for a full trial. He told Fox News Digital Tuesday that “we have got to make sure we have a real trial and get to real facts about what’s going on here.”

“So if he thinks he’s done such a great job come and explain it. But what they want to do is they want to short circuit this,” he said. 

TRUMP MOVES CLOSER TO LOCKING UP GOP PRESIDENTIAL NOMINATION WITH 20-POINT WIN IN SOUTH CAROLINA

Scott, alongside nearly a dozen Senate Republicans, signed a letter led by Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, last week urging McConnell “ensure that the Senate conducts a proper trial, and that every senator, Republican and Democratic, adjudicates this matter when the Senate returns.”

“According to multiple briefings by your staff, Majority Leader Schumer and Senate Democrats intend to dispense with the articles of impeachment by simply tabling both individually,” Lee wrote. “This is an action rarely contemplated and never taken by the U.S. Senate in the history of our Republic.”

Meanwhile, Sen. Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., didn’t give clarity on Tuesday about whether a trial would be scheduled. After the House voted to impeach Mayorkas earlier this month, Schumer assured a trial would proceed this week. That now appears to be unlikely as a partial government shutdown looms. 

HOUSE VOTES TO IMPEACH DHS SECRETARY MAYORKAS OVER BORDER CRISIS

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“Look, as I’ve said, the impeachment of Mayorkas is absurd. There’s not one drop of evidence that leads to any kind of charge of impeachment, and we’re going to handle it in the best way possible,” Schumer told reporters on Tuesday.

There is also growing frustration among the 11 House impeachment managers about when they will present their articles to the Senate in the case of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. 

House managers serve as “prosecutors” and argue the impeachment case before the Senate. 

One impeachment manager told Fox they had been given “no clear guidance” about the roles they might play or when the House may even transmit the articles to the Senate. 

Fox News’ Chad Pergram contributed to this report. 

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre on Tuesday said President Biden has no plans to issue executive action during his scheduled visit to the border later this week, reiterating the administration’s stance that legislation is the best solution to address the border crisis. 

Asked by a reporter whether the president had anything planned during his scheduled visit Thursday to Brownsville, Texas, Jean-Pierre said the White House had nothing to announce. 

“We’ve spoken to executive [action] many times. We think the bottom line is the way to deal with the challenge that we see at the border, what we see with this immigration, a broken immigration system that has been broken for decades, is if Republicans have moved forward with the bipartisan deal that came out of the Senate.” 

The Biden administration has repeatedly slammed Republicans for backing out of the bipartisan border deal earlier this month, after Trump came out in opposition to the plan to tighten asylum restrictions and create daily limits on border crossings. 

REP. KATIE PORTER SAYS MURDER OF GEORGIA STUDENT BY ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT ‘SHOULDN’T SHAPE’ IMMIGRATION POLICY

Jean-Pierre later reiterated the White House’s position that executive action would not amount to what bipartisan legislation could achieve if enacted into law. 

“What [the bipartisan legislation] would have done is been the toughest but also the fairest deal with providing resources,” Jean-Pierre said.

Biden and former President Donald Trump are both scheduled to make dueling trips to the U.S.-Mexico border in Texas on Thursday. Biden will travel to Brownsville, Texas, in the Rio Grande Valley, an area that often sees large numbers of border crossings. 

Trump, meanwhile, will go to Eagle Pass, Texas, about 325 miles away from Brownsville, another hot spot. 

Brandon Judd, the president of the National Border Patrol Council which endorsed the bipartisan border deal, is expected to join Trump at the border. Jean-Pierre declined to comment on why Judd was not invited to meet with Biden. 

Tuesday’s press conference came after congressional leaders held what was described as an “intense” meeting in the Oval Office with Biden about a legislative logjam that has major ramifications not just for the U.S. but for the world as Ukraine struggles to repel Russia’s invasion with weapons and ammunition starting to run short.

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Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-LA, who rejected a U.S. Mexico border security compromise that was eventually stripped from the final product, signaled no change in his position on Ukraine aid. He said the Senate’s package “does nothing” to secure the U.S.-Mexico border, the GOP’s demand in return for helping Ukraine.

“The first priority of the country is our border, and making it secure,” Johnson said.

Former law firm partner and divorce attorney Terrance Bradley testified under oath Tuesday regarding what he knew about Georgia prosecutor Fani Willis and special prosector Nathan Wade’s personal relationship. Bradley took the stand after Judge Scott McAfee determined Bradley couldn’t claim attorney-client privilege.

Bradley, when pressed under oath, said he couldn’t recall several details and timelines about conversations he had with former client Nathan Wade about Wade’s romantic relationship with Fani Willis. 

Defense attorney Ashleigh Merchant at one point referenced text messages between her and Bradley in which she had asked Bradley if he thought their relationship started before Willis hired Wade in 2021. Bradley responded “absolutely” in the text exchange. 

But in court Tuesday, Bradley claimed he was “speculating” in those comments. 

FANI WILLIS’ TESTIMONY WAS ‘BELLIGERENT’ AND COULD DAMAGE HER CREDIBILITY, FORMER PROSECUTOR SAYS

Attorney Richard Rice later asked Bradley if he makes a habit of passing on “lies about your friends.” 

“Do you tell lies about your friends? About a case of national importance?” Rice asked. 

“I could have had, I don’t know,” Bradley responded. 

Bradely said he couldn’t recall key details or specific information over two dozen times in the roughly two-hour testimony in Fulton County Superior Court Tuesday. He also claimed he had only ever discussed Wade’s relationship with Willis once with Wade.

FULTON COUNTY DA FANI WILLIS ACCUSED OF LYING ABOUT TIMING OF AFFAIR WITH TRUMP PROSECUTOR

Bradley earlier this month avoided answering certain questions, citing attorney-client privilege. Judge McAfee said he would hold an “in-camera” meeting with Bradley to determine if his privilege assertions are accurate. He said it appeared Bradley may have been misusing his attorney-client privilege. 

Bradley is the former law firm partner to Nathan Wade, who is accused of having an affair that financially benefited Willis after she hired him to help prosecute the election interference case against former president Donald Trump. 

On Tuesday, Bradley said he hadn’t spoken to Wade in two years after having been friends for over 10 years.  

Bradley had refused to answer some of the questions asked by defense counsel about what he knew about Wade and Wills’ relationship and when he knew, citing attorney-client privilege. Bradley, for a brief time, was Wade’s lawyer during Wade’s divorce.

Judge McAfee determined after the in-camera meeting that Bradley’s testimony was not covered by privilege, leading to Tuesday’s testimony, which is likely the last installment of evidentiary hearings before both sides present final arguments Friday. 

Lawyers for Trump and his co-defendants who are accusing Willis of having had an “improper” affair with Wade will try to connect evidence that Willis and Wade lied about when their relationship began and should therefore be disqualified from the case. 

Earlier this month, Willis’ father, John C. Floyd III, took the stand and confirmed what Willis testified to on Thursday — that her father taught her to keep large amounts of cash on hand at all times. She claimed it was from these funds that she reimbursed Wade for luxury trips, which is why she had no record of the payments.

He also said he did not meet Wade until 2023, and that he was unaware his daughter had a romantic relationship with Wade until about seven weeks ago, when allegations of Willis’ impropriety were first made in court filings. 

During their romantic relationship, which ended last summer, Wade and Willis vacationed to wine country in California, the Caribbean and other destinations. 

Michael Roman, a GOP political operative and co-defendant in the Trump case, first alleged that Willis had a conflict of interest in the case because she benefited financially from hiring her lover. Four co-defendants have made similar accusations. 

The crux of the defense’s case is whether it can prove with a money trail that Willis has a conflict of interest in the case against Trump and should be disqualified. 

GEORGIA DA FANI WILLIS WILL NOT TESTIFY FOR SECOND DAY ON ‘IMPROPER’ AFFAIR WITH NATHAN WADE

Willis testified Thursday that she reimbursed Wade for her share of vacation expenses in cash, but she and Wade testified there were no receipts for those transactions.

The defense, led by Ashleigh Merchant, is also trying to prove Willis and Wade were romantically involved prior to Wade’s employment in the DA’s office.

Both Willis and Wade insisted that their relationship started in 2022, after Wade was hired. But they contradicted testimony from Robin Yeartie, a former “good friend” of Willis and past employee at the DA’s office. 

Yeartie said she had “no doubt” Willis and Wade’s relationship started in 2019, after the two met at a conference. 

Yeartie testified to observing Willis and Wade “hugging” and “kissing” and showing “affection” prior to November 2021 and that she had no doubt that the two were in a “romantic” relationship starting in 2019 and lasting until she and Willis last spoke in 2022. 

Willis dismissed Yeartie’s testimony and said she no longer considers Yeartie a friend. 

The highlight of the two-day proceeding was Willis’ own — and unexpected — testimony Thursday, which was described by one expert as “belligerent.”

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She verbally sparred with lawyers for hours, at one point prompting the judge to threaten to strike her testimony. She also raised eyebrows for appearing to be wearing her dress backward. She did not return to the witness stand Friday. 

Judge McAfee said at the start of the proceedings earlier this month that it’s “clear that disqualification can occur if evidence is produced demonstrating an actual conflict or the appearance of one.”

Michigan’s presidential primary was the first time that communities in the state had the ability to count absentee ballots days before the Tuesday election.

Absentee voting is a popular way to participate in Michigan since eligibility rules were greatly eased in 2018. But it took another change in law in 2023 to give local clerks more time to handle the flood of envelopes.

MICHIGAN PRIMARY PUTS MAJOR BATTLEGROUND STATE IN PLAY FOR 2024

Many cities and townships now can run absentee ballots through tabulator machines starting eight days before the election. No results could be publicly released, however, until after 8 p.m. Tuesday.

“That took a lot of the burden off Election Day tabulation of absentee ballots,” said Michael Siegrist, the clerk in Wayne County’s Canton Township. “Michigan had been held hostage by antiquated laws and procedures.”

He said 10,000 of Canton’s 11,000 absentee ballots were processed by Tuesday morning.

More than 1.2 million absentee ballots were issued to Michigan voters, according to the secretary of state.

In the 2020 general election, more than 3 million absentee ballots were cast in the state, overwhelming some communities, which couldn’t open envelopes until election eve. Then-President Donald Trump and his allies falsely said delays in finalizing results were evidence of fraud.

“When it takes a while for results to come in, there’s a vacuum,” Siegrist said. “Sometimes misinformation or disinformation fills that vacuum. That’s what we saw in the 2020 election.”

In Warren, a Detroit suburb, election workers were sworn in Tuesday before handling thousands of absentee ballots.

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“Our absentee counting board workers are well-trained and work very hard to process each and every ballot received,” said Sonja Buffa, the city clerk.

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

What’s Happening? 

– Biden calls for ceasefire over ice cream

– Squad member Tlaib proposes paying homeless people $1400/month

– Poll reveals what Americans think of the border crisis

Michigan’s Muslims

Michigan holds presidential primaries Tuesday, and for once there’s more drama on the Democratic side than the GOP. 

A campaign to vote “uncommitted” on the Democratic Party’s ballot has been gathering steam, fueled by anger over President Biden’s support for Israel in its war against Hamas.

Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich. — the first Palestinian-American elected to the U.S. House — has urged Michigan Democrats to vote “uncommitted” in protest of Biden’s Israel policy.

Democratic strategist James Carville said Monday that the Michigan protest vote against Biden is a “huge problem” for the party. But how much Biden will be embarrassed by the vote in the Michigan primary today remains to be seen.

“I think we just kinda have to wait until they count the ballots tonight and see what it does and make a determination,” Carville told CNN this week. “But regardless of what happens, this Gaza thing is really tearing the Democratic Party, I don’t want to say tearing apart, but it certainly, there are certainly divisions within the party, and a lot of people just don‘t like this,” he said during the media appearance. 

Follow results from Michigan’s presidential primaries at the Fox News election center

White House

BRAIN FREEZE: Biden on ice cream outing with Seth Meyers says he hopes for Gaza ceasefire by ‘end of the weekend’ …Read more

‘BLOOD MONEY’: Scathing details reveal why Biden appears ‘silent’ on China’s role in fentanyl crisis: book …Read more

BEEF WITH BIDEN: Biden under bipartisan fire for lifting ban on Paraguayan beef imports …Read more

Capitol Hill

BIG SPENDING: Squad member Tlaib proposes paying some homeless people $1,400 per month for 3 years …Read more

‘UGLY RECORD’: Sen Hawley warns consulting firms against working with China to ‘undermine America’ …Read more

‘CONTEMPT OF CONGRESS’: McCaul makes harshest threat yet accusing Biden official of stonewalling Afghanistan probe …Read more

BLOCKBUSTER WEEK: Congress has Hunter’s testimony, impeachment chaos and more — all with a shutdown looming …Read more

Tales from the Campaign Trail

‘UP THERE WITH CHLAMYDIA’: Sen. Kennedy compares Biden’s polling numbers to an STD after failure of ‘Bidenomics’ …Read more

MICHIGAN VOTES: Republicans, Democrats in major battleground state to cast votes in party primaries …Read more

‘I’LL BRING THE HEAT’: Pro-Trump House candidate takes flamethrower to ‘Biden’s agenda’ in fiery new ad …Read more

COMING OUT SWINGING: GOP becoming ‘playpen’ for Trump, Nikki Haley claims …Read more

‘NO PEACE’: Dems thrust Kari Lake, McCain feud into spotlight as crucial Senate battle heats up …Read more

Across America

‘REAL ISSUE’: Ex-Obama aides worry about Biden’s age, say he appears ‘frail’ …Read more

TARGETING TRUMP: NY AG taunts former president about interest he owes on civil fraud judgment …Read more

FLAG BAN: Tennessee House passes bill that would largely ban LGBTQ flags in public school classrooms …Read more

‘PURVEYOR OF CCP PROPAGANDA’: Controversial Chinese official celebrates Lunar New Year parade alongside top New York Dems …Read more

‘CRITICAL THREAT’: Poll shows how Americans view border crisis …Read more

SMEARED BY AI: Google AI caught inventing fake reviews attacking book on Big Tech’s political bias …Read more

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

Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more on FoxNews.com.

Special Counsel Jack Smith’s prosecutors said that former President Trump’s handling of classified documents is not “remotely” similar to how President Biden also handled sensitive national security information as laid out in dueling Special Counsel Rob Hur’s report released this month. 

The 12-page filing Monday countering Trump’s motion to dismiss the indictment “based on selective and vindictive prosecution” serves as Smith’s first response to the blistering Hur report. 

“The defendants have not identified anyone who has engaged in a remotely similar suite of willful and deceitful criminal conduct and not been prosecuted. Nor could they. Indeed, the comparators on which they rely are readily distinguishable,” Assistant Special Counsel David Harbach wrote.

Harbach said the “primary comparator” of Trump and co-defendants, body man and valet Walt Nauta and Mar-a-Lago property manager Carlos de Oliveira, is President Biden, whose conduct is described in the recently issued Hur report on the investigation of classified documents recovered from Biden’s primary resident in Delaware and the Penn Biden Center.

“But as the Hur Report itself recognizes, ‘several material distinctions between Mr. Trump’s case and Mr. Biden’s are clear,’” Harbach wrote. “Most notably, Trump, unlike Biden, is alleged to have engaged in extensive and repeated efforts to obstruct justice and thwart the return of documents bearing classification markings. And the evidence concerning the two men’s intent – whether they knowingly possessed and willfully retained such documents – is also starkly different, as reflected in the Hur Report’s conclusion that ‘the evidence falls short of establishing Mr. Biden’s willful retention of the classified Afghanistan documents beyond a reasonable doubt.’”

NO CHARGES FOR BIDEN AFTER SPECIAL COUNSEL PROBE INTO IMPROPER HANDLING OF CLASSIFIED DOCUMENTS

Hur’s report, which concluded that no criminal charges were warranted, surmised that at trial, Biden “would likely present himself to a jury, as he did during our interview of him, as a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory.” The special counsel, therefore, asserted that it would be difficult to convince a jury that they should convict him, “by then a former president well into his eighties-of a serious felony that requires a mental state of willfulness.” It also cited how Biden mixed up the date of the death of his son, Beau. 

The White House and Biden allies have deemed the details from the Hur report on Biden’s age and mental fitness as “gratuitous” political attacks.

Although, as Harbach laid out Monday, many government officials have possessed classified documents after the end of their terms in office – often inadvertently, sometimes negligently, and very occasionally willfully – as well as a “very small number of cases in which former government officials who have been found in possession of classified documents have briefly resisted the government’s lawful efforts to recover them,” the special counsel’s team considers Trump’s actions unique.

SPECIAL COUNSEL HUR TO TESTIFY PUBLICLY ON DAMNING REPORT THAT REVEALED BIDEN’S MEMORY, AGE ISSUES: REPORT

“There has never been a case in American history in which a former official has engaged in conduct remotely similar to Trump’s,” Harbach wrote. 

“He intentionally took possession of a vast trove of some of the nation’s most sensitive documents – documents so sensitive that they were presented to the President – and stored them in unsecured locations at his heavily trafficked social club,” he wrote. “When the National Archives and Records Administration (“NARA”) initially sought their return (before learning that they contained classified national defense information), Trump delayed, obfuscated, and dissembled. Faced with the possibility of legal action, he ostensibly agreed to comply with NARA’s requests but in fact engaged in additional deception, returning only a fraction of the documents in his possession while claiming that his production was complete.”

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Harbach goes on to highlight how, when presented with a grand jury subpoena demanding the return of the remaining documents bearing classification markings, “Trump attempted to enlist his own attorney in the corrupt endeavor, suggesting that he falsely tell the FBI and grand jury that Trump did not have any documents, and suggesting that his attorney hide or destroy documents rather than produce them to the government.” The prosecutor said Trump enlisted Nauta “in a scheme to deceive the attorney by moving boxes to conceal his (Trump’s) continued possession of classified documents” and continued a pattern of “obstructive conduct” by allegedly seeking to have some security camera footage deleted.

READ THE JACK SMITH FILING – APP USERS, CLICK HERE:

Trump has said the security camera footage in fact was never deleted, dismissing the assertion as “prosecutorial fiction.”

House Republicans have subpoenaed Special Counsel Robert Hur for the transcript and any recordings of President Biden’s interview from the investigation into the president’s mishandling of classified documents.

Republicans leading the impeachment inquiry — House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer, House Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan and House Ways & Means Committee Chair Jason Smith — requested the materials related to Biden’s October 2023 interview be turned over to Congress earlier this month and set a deadline of Feb. 19. That deadline was not met, but the Justice Department said it was “working to gather and process” responsive documents. 

HOUSE REPUBLICANS DEMAND TRANSCRIPT OF BIDEN’S INTERVIEW WITH SPECIAL COUNSEL AS PART OF IMPEACHMENT INQUIRY

The subpoena, reviewed by Fox News Digital, compels the Justice Department to produce all documents and communications, including audio and video recordings, related to Hur’s interview of Biden. 

The subpoena also covers all documents and communications, including audio and video recordings, related to Hur’s interview of the ghost writer of Biden’s memoir, Mark Zwonitzer; documents identified as “A9” and “A10” in the Appendix A of Hur’s report, which relate to then-Vice President Joe Biden’s Dec. 11, 2015 call with Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk; and all communications between or among representatives of the Department of Justice, including the Office of Special Counsel, the Executive Office of the President, and President Biden’s personal counsel referring or relating to Hur’s report.  

BIDEN, NOT SPECIAL COUNSEL HUR, BROUGHT UP SON’S DEATH IN QUESTIONING

Fox News Digital obtained a letter the Republicans sent to Attorney General Merrick Garland on Tuesday, notifying the department of the subpoena, and taking issue with the fact that the DOJ, earlier this month, “offered no timeframe by which it expected to make any productions or, indeed, any commitment that it would produce all of the material requested.” 

“The Oversight and Judiciary Committees, in coordination with the Ways and Means Committee, are investigating whether sufficient grounds exist to draft articles of impeachment against President Biden for consideration by the full House,” they wrote. “The Committees are concerned that President Biden may have retained sensitive documents related to specific countries involving his family’s foreign business dealings.” 

SPECIAL COUNSEL ROBERT HUR TO TESTIFY PUBLICLY AT HOUSE HEARING ON BIDEN CLASSIFIED RECORDS PROBE

The Republicans are also seeking information on “whether the White House or President Biden’s personal attorneys placed any limitations or scoping restrictions during the interviews with Special Counsel Hur or Mr. Mark Zwonitzer precluding or addressing any potential statements directly linking President Biden to troublesome foreign payments.”

“Additionally, the Judiciary Committee requires these materials for its ongoing oversight of the Department’s commitment to impartial justice and its handling of the investigation and prosecution of President Biden’s presumptive opponent, President Donald J. Trump, in the November 2024 presidential election,” the letter states. “The documents requested are directly relevant to both the impeachment inquiry and the Judiciary Committee’s legislative oversight of the Department.” 

DOJ DEFENDS SPECIAL COUNSEL REPORT ON BIDEN’S MEMORY: ‘CONSISTENT WITH LEGAL REQUIREMENT,’ NOT ‘GRATUITOUS’

Hur, who released his report to the public earlier this month after months of investigating, did not recommend criminal charges against Biden for mishandling and retaining classified documents and stated that he wouldn’t bring charges against Biden even if he were not in the Oval Office.

Those records included classified documents about military and foreign policy in Afghanistan and other countries, among other records related to national security and foreign policy, which Hur said implicated “sensitive intelligence sources and methods.”

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Hur did not recommend any charges against the president but did describe him as a “sympathetic, well-meaning elderly man with a poor memory” — a description that has raised significant concerns for Biden’s 2024 re-election campaign.

Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., said she was “proud” to cast a protest vote against President Biden in Michigan’s Democratic primary on Tuesday.

Tlaib’s comments were shared in a video by Listen To Michigan, a group dedicated to getting Democrats in the Great Lakes State to vote “uncommitted” in the primary election. 

Biden’s stance on Israel’s war in Gaza has earned him fierce backlash from Arab American and Muslim community leaders, particularly in Michigan, which is home to one of the largest Muslim communities in the U.S.

“Hi everyone, it’s Rashida. I was proud today to walk in and pull a Democratic ballot and vote uncommitted. We must protect our democracy, we must make sure that our government is about us, about the people,” Tlaib said. “When 74% of Democrats in Michigan support a ceasefire yet President Biden is not hearing us, this is the way we can use our democracy to say listen.”

TRUMP SAYS SOUTH CAROLINA IS ‘BIGGER WIN THAN WE ANTICIPATED,’ LOOKS FORWARD TO SAYING ‘JOE, YOU’RE FIRED’

“Listen to the families right now that have been directly impacted, but also listen to majority of Americans that are saying enough. No more wars, no more using our dollars to fund a genocide. No more. So please, take your family members, use our democratic process to speak up about your core values, where you want to see our country go.”

Tlaib said it was the first time her 18-year-old son had voted in an election.

Progressive-led campaigns and lawmakers have hammered Biden’s re-election campaign over the U.S.’s handling of the Middle East conflict.

In addition to Listen To Michigan, a group called Abandon Biden has been pushing voters to actively oppose the president for his failure to call for a permanent cease-fire in Gaza. 

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Abandon Biden is specifically targeting voters in swing states, which could prove critical in the 2024 race that is likely to pit Biden against his old political foe, former President Trump.

Tlaib has been among Biden’s most vocal left-wing critics in Congress in the wake of Oct. 7, when Hamas militants launched a surprise invasion in southern Israel, killing over 1,000 people and taking dozens more hostage.

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Israel has responded with heavy bombardment and a ground invasion of the Gaza Strip. The Hamas-run Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and fighters, has said nearly 30,000 Palestinians have been killed in the resulting conflict.

Tlaib, the only Palestinian-American in Congress, has spent the last day urging Michiganders on social media to also protest Biden in the Democratic primary.

She wrote in one post on her Instagram Story, “We attend marches and protests all the time! We can stand at a polling station for EVERY CHILD KILLED in Gaza. Don’t stay home. Help the uncommitted campaign.”

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Fox News Digital reached out to Tlaib’s campaign to ask whether she would similarly oppose Biden in the general election if he did not call for a permanent cease-fire. 

Biden’s campaign did not immediately return a request for comment.

There are blockbuster weeks on Capitol Hill, and then there are weeks like this one. 

Hunter Biden is testifying. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is explaining. A partial government shutdown is looming.

“Congress hasn’t even finished our deadlines from the previous fiscal year. I mean, Oct. 1 was the deadline,” fumed Rep. Warren Davidson, R-Ohio, on FOX Business. “Before I was in Congress, I was in manufacturing. And if you were making bad parts, you would at least stop making bad parts.”

Davidson observed that Congress continues to even make “bad parts, and we’re not even in session.” 

Some conservatives say they are okay with a shutdown starting this weekend. They believe a shutdown would at least harness some spending.

“A government shutdown is not ideal. But it’s not the worst thing,” said the House Freedom Caucus Chairman Rep. Bob Good, R-Va. “The only leverage we have, when we have one branch, is to be willing to say no. To be willing to walk away.”

BURNING DOWN THE HOUSE: FEBRUARY HAS BEEN AN UNMITIGATED DISASTER FOR REPUBLICANS

Conservatives are begging House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., to abandon a government spending pact he crafted with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and others in early January. The accord did not fund the government — hence the funding problem lawmakers face this weekend. That agreement simply established the size of the money pie for fiscal year 2024. Leaders agreed that Congress would spend a grand total of $1.59 trillion for fiscal year 2024. But on what? And how? Those issues remain unresolved. That is why lawmakers have toiled over for nearly two months now – trying to slice $1.59 trillion into 12 separate appropriations bills. It was thought there may be an agreement over the weekend. However, matters imploded. 

Johnson told Fox News Tuesday that he is working to prevent the government spending from lapsing. 

“We’re gonna prevent the shutdown. We’re working on it,” Johnson said.

“The problem is that Speaker Johnson is indecisive. He’s weak. He’s inexperienced and he does not have the votes. Not only because it’s a tight majority. But also because there is a far right group of House Republicans who are blocking him everywhere he wants to go,” said Tom Kahn, a distinguished fellow at American University and former House Budget Committee staff director. “I think he’s afraid to make decisions because he’s afraid to lose his job. He saw what happened to his predecessor, (former House Speaker) Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif.”

So, conservatives are now pushing an interim spending bill — something which was anathema to many on the right just a few months ago. They used to demand that Congress pass spending bills “by the book.” One by one. Now, conservatives are okay with a stopgap plan, known as a continuing resolution (CR). Federal spending climbs year after year. A CR simply renews all the old funding — without an increase. This gambit maintains the old spending levels. It is not a cut, but there is no new funding. Thus, to conservatives, it saves money.

“This is why I support a continuing resolution, which actually is going to force a 1% cut. $100 billion savings and maybe stabilize this inflation issue” said Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., on Fox.

Democrats — and some Republicans — find this thinking outrageous.

“It’s very disappointing to see that the House has been so unwilling to compromise and work together,” said Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H. “We’ve just had obstacles every step of the way.”

However, most lawmakers are resigned to believing a CR may be the only way to avoid a shutdown. 

“Things are pretty uncertain right now,” said Sen. John Cornyn, R-Tex. “I think we’re heading toward a CR for some uncertain duration.”

The deadline is Friday night at 11:59:59 p.m. ET. 

“It’s going to be hard enough to meet that 72-hour requirement by Friday,” said Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin, D-Ill. “So I don’t know if a CR is possible.” 

Here is what is at stake. A partial shutdown stalls transportation and housing programs. It suspends money for agriculture and military construction. A government closure holds up energy and water projects.

However, a full shutdown for the entire federal government could hit at the end of the day on March 8. 

Top bipartisan Senate leaders are trying to avert a shutdown. 

“The margin for error on any of these is razor thin. And unfortunately, the temptation to choose chaos and disorder instead of cooperation will be strong for some here in the Capitol,” said Schumer. 

Schumer secured backup from Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. 

“Once more, a shutdown this week is entirely, avoidable,” said McConnell. “Shutting down the government is harmful to the country. And it never produces positive outcomes – on policy or politics.” 

However, not all lawmakers are focused on government spending.

Hunter Biden testifies behind closed doors on Wednesday before House investigators. Austin will explain to livid lawmakers on Thursday as to why he failed to inform the president or other Pentagon officials about his medical leave. Then, we’re on to a partial government shutdown Friday. 

This is just an average winter in Congress these days.

GROWING FRUSTRATION AMONG MAYORKAS IMPEACHMENT MANAGERS ABOUT NOT STARTING A TRIAL

What about an impeachment trial for Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas? The House impeached Mayorkas on Feb. 13. No one really knows the timing of a Senate trial. Eleven House members will serve as “impeachment managers” to prosecute the case before the Senate. But as to their roles and when a Senate trial might begin? The new uniform pants in Major League Baseball are more transparent. 

Several of the managers expressed frustration at the dearth of information about what roles they might play in an impeachment trial. One told Fox they had “no clear guidance” from the GOP brass as to what to expect. 

In late 2019 and early 2020, Democratic House impeachment managers held “mock trial” sessions and engaged in parliamentary calisthenics behind closed doors to prepare for the first impeachment trial of former President Trump. The Mayorkas managers have held no such sessions. That was why at least one impeachment manager worried that the Senate might demand the trial begin right away. That could make the House members appear foolish and amateurish. 

However, a senior House Republican leadership aide said that the brass had briefed all managers — adding they would be “fully prepared” when a trial starts.

It was thought that the Senate may begin its trial as early as Wednesday, but Fox is told not to expect a trial this week. In fact, the impeachment trial may be on hiatus — until lawmakers figure out how to fund the government. 

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So this week is a blockbuster as it is. 

But imagine what it would have been like had there also been the impeachment trial of Mayorkas — the first impeachment trial of a cabinet secretary since the 1870s.