NationalWatch

House Republicans on Thursday morning are set to hold their first impeachment inquiry public hearing, where they will present all evidence uncovered to date as part of their investigation into the Biden family’s business dealings while examining “the value” of the inquiry.

The House Oversight Committee, led by Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., will “examine the value of an impeachment inquiry and present evidence House Republicans have uncovered to date regarding President Joe Biden’s knowledge of and role in his family’s domestic and international business practices,” according to the panel. The hearing is to begin at 10 a.m.

HUNTER BIDEN RECEIVED $250K WIRES ORIGINATING IN BEIJING WITH BENEFICIARY ADDRESS LISTED AS JOE BIDEN’S HOME

Bruce Dubinsky, a forensic accountant with decades of experience in financial investigations and consulting – and who the committee says has testified in more than 80 trials, including trials that involved financial fraud – will testify, along with former Assistant Attorney General Eileen O’Connor, who served in the Department of Justice Tax Division.

Law professor and Fox News contributor Jonathan Turley, who testified in the Clinton and Trump impeachments, will also testify.

IRS OFFICIAL SAYS HE WAS FRUSTRATED DOJ DID NOT BRING CHARGES AGAINST HUNTER BIDEN FOR 2014, 2015 TAX YEARS

“Since January, House Committees on Oversight and Accountability, Judiciary, and Ways and Means have uncovered an overwhelming amount of evidence showing President Joe Biden abused his public office for his family’s financial gain,” Comer said this week. “Thousands of pages of financial records, emails, texts, testimony from credible IRS whistleblowers, and a transcribed interview with Biden family business associate Devon Archer all reveal that Joe Biden allowed his family to sell him as ‘the brand’ around the world to enrich the Biden family.”

The House of Representatives formally launched the impeachment inquiry this month – something Comer said Congress had a duty to do while stressing that Americans “demand and deserve answers, transparency and accountability” for Biden’s alleged corruption and “abuse of public office.”

Biden faces accusations that he was involved in foreign business deals set up by his son, Hunter Biden, who allegedly promised his father would use his public office to grant favors in exchange for payments.

JORDAN WANTS SPECIAL COUNSEL DAVID WEISS TO TESTIFY PUBLICLY NEXT MONTH BEFORE CONGRESS

The White House maintains that President Biden was “never in business with his son.”

White House officials, though, have blasted House Republicans for the impeachment inquiry, calling it an “evidence-free” probe and a “political stunt.” The White House is also slamming GOP lawmakers for holding the hearing just days before the government runs out of funding.

Congress is currently negotiating a continuing resolution to extend the current year’s funding, but without passing a deal by Sept. 30, they risk sending the government into a partial shutdown.

“Extreme House Republicans are already telegraphing their plans to try to distract from their own chaotic inability to govern and the impact of it on the country,” White House spokesperson Ian Sams told Fox News Digital.

WHITE HOUSE HAMMERS UPCOMING BIDEN IMPEACHMENT INQUIRY HEARING AS ‘EVIDENCE-FREE’ STUNT

“Staging a political stunt hearing in the waning days before they shut down the government reveals their true priorities: to them, baseless personal attacks on President Biden are more important than preventing a government shutdown and the pain it would inflict on American families,” Sams said.

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The hearing will be the first since House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., formalized an impeachment inquiry last week. McCarthy directed Comer and House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, along with Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith, R-Mo., to lead the investigation.

The hearing comes after Comer subpoenaed Hunter Biden’s financial records related to a specific bank account and received records of two wires originating from Beijing and linked to BHR Partners.

Fox News Digital first reported that Hunter Biden received the wire payments, which originated in Beijing, for more than $250,000 from Chinese business partners during the summer of 2019 — wires that listed the Delaware home of Joe Biden as the beneficiary address for the funds.

The White House declined to comment.

The U.S. Department of Justice ordered FBI and IRS investigators involved in the Hunter Biden probe to “remove any reference” to President Biden in a search warrant related to a Foreign Agents Registration Act probe, new documents released by the House Ways & Means Committee reveal.

Committee Chairman Jason Smith, R-Mo., led a vote Wednesday to release new documents provided by IRS whistleblowers Gary Shapley and Joseph Ziegler that “corroborate their initial testimony to the Committee and reinforce their credibility and their high esteem among colleagues.”

“The Biden Administration — including top officials at the Justice Department — lied to the American public and engaged in a cover-up that interfered with federal investigators and protected the Biden family, including President Biden himself,” the committee said.

One document released Wednesday was an August 2020 email sent by Assistant U.S. Attorney Lesley Wolf in which she ordered investigators to remove any reference to “Political Figure 1” from a search warrant. Subsequent documents released Wednesday revealed that President Biden is “Political Figure 1.”

“As a priority, someone needs to redraft attachment B,” Wolf writes in the email. “I am not sure what this is cut and pasted from but other than the attribution location, and identity stuff at the end, none of it is appropriate and within the scope of this warrant.” 

Wolf adds: “Please focus on FARA evidence only. There should be nothing about Political Figure 1 in here.” 

A document released Wednesday and reviewed by Fox News Digital states that “Political Figure 1” is “Former Vice President Joseph Robinette Biden Jr.”

“VP BIDEN is currently the Democratic Party Presidential candidate for the United States and served as the 47th officeholder for the position of the Office of the Vice President of the United States (VPOTUS) in the Barack Obama Administration from January 20, 2009 to January 20, 2017,” the document states. “He is the father of SUBJECT 1.”

“SUBJECT 1” is presumably Hunter Biden, the target of the investigation.

The Justice Department indirectly revealed that Hunter Biden is still under investigation for a potential violation of FARA during his first court appearance in July, in which his “sweetheart” plea deal collapsed.

When asked by federal Judge Maryellen Noreika of the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware whether the government could bring a charge against Hunter Biden related to FARA, the DOJ prosecutor replied, “Yes.”

Meanwhile, the committee said that documents also revealed that the Hunter Biden federal investigation was being “hampered and artificially slowed.” 

The committee said during a September 2022 interview with the president’s brother, James Biden, that investigators were “not allowed to ask if then-Vice President Biden was involved in Hunter Biden’s deal with CEFC China Energy,” or follow “normal investigative leads.”

The committee also said a May 2021 report from investigators detailed that they were “not allowed to follow investigative leads on potential campaign finance violations related to a wealthy Hollywood lawyer, Kevin Morris, who was enlisted to help the family, and who paid millions of dollars to help Hunter around the time that Joe Biden becomes president.” 

“Investigators wrote that ‘there may be campaign finance criminal violations. AUSA Wolf stated on the last prosecution team meeting that she did not want any of the agents to look into the allegation,’” the committee said Wednesday. 

Chairman Jason Smith said the new documents show a “clearer connection between Joe Biden, his public office, and Hunter Biden’s global influence peddling scheme that resulted in over $20 million in payments to the Biden family.” 

“In addition to then Vice-President Joe Biden attending lunches and speaking on the phone with his son’s business associates, the details released today paint a fuller picture of how Joe Biden’s vice presidential office was instrumental to the Biden Family’s business schemes,” Smith said.

Smith said that the evidence included in the documents shows “a pattern of Hunter Biden creating for-profit entities to shield at least $20 million from foreign sources from taxes and hide the trail of payments that led to members of the Biden family.”

A congressional aide told Fox News Digital on Tuesday that the Biden family and their associates collected more than $24 million in foreign payments between 2014 and 2019.

“The growing body of evidence further calls into question the Justice Department’s attempted sweetheart plea deal for Hunter Biden, and the reasons for appointing the architect of that plea deal as the special counsel for Hunter Biden’s case, in light of officials’ efforts to protect President Biden and his son,” Smith said. “This evidence makes clear Hunter Biden’s business was selling the Biden ‘brand’ and that access to the White House was his family’s most valuable asset — despite official claims otherwise.”

Smith, who is leading the House impeachment inquiry against President Biden alongside House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., and House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, said his committee will continue to take “appropriate steps” in its investigation, including sharing documents with committee Democrats ahead of their release.

“We have promised to go where the facts lead us, and that is exactly what we will do to get answers for the American people,” Smith said.

The documents come out as part of House Republicans’ formal impeachment inquiry investigation against President Biden. The House Oversight Committee is set to hold its first public hearing as part of the inquiry on Thursday at 10 a.m. ET.

Neither the White House nor the Justice Department immediately responded to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

FIRST ON FOX: Utah House Speaker Brad Wilson, a Republican, will announce Wednesday evening his candidacy for a seat in the U.S. Senate being vacated by GOP Sen. Mitt Romney.

Confirming the news to Fox News Digital, Wilson, who launched an exploratory committee in April to consider running for the seat, said a “number of factors” played into his decision to enter the race.

“One is just the overwhelming support we’ve had from everyone in the state — from elected officials to grassroots support. Just a lot of people encouraging us to run, whether it’s been support in terms of wanting to go out and knock doors or get supporters on board [with] financial support. I mean, that’s been overwhelming,” he said.

“At the end of the day, our country is not on the right path and we all know it. People feel like Utah is on the right path, and I feel like I’ve got a lot and a tremendous amount to offer in terms of being able to go back to Washington, D.C., as a conservative, as a conservative fighter and representing Utah’s values back in the U.S. Senate,” added Wilson, a businessman and graduate of Weber State University who has represented Utah’s 15th District in the state House since January 2011.

UTAH REPUBLICAN RAISES MORE THAN $2 MILLION AS HE EXPLORES ‘LIKELY’ BID TO TAKE ROMNEY’S SENATE SEAT

Wilson will formally announce his candidacy at 6 p.m. MT Wednesday at an event in Draper, Utah, where he will be joined by hundreds of grassroots activists, supporters, family and friends.

Describing his exploratory committee as a “great success,” Wilson said he and his team have “listened and learned from people from rural Utah to the urban parts of the state.”

Wilson said he believes residents in the Beehive State would “love to see Utah’s commonsense solutions and the way we manage government here taken back and used in D.C.”

RACE TO REPLACE MITT ROMNEY IN UTAH GAINS STEAM AS ANOTHER CANDIDATE JUMPS IN: HE ‘SOLD US OUT’

“They would really like to feel like they’re being represented to Washington, D.C., not having Washington, D.C. represented to them.,” he added. “They want someone that’s going to be back in Washington, D.C., in the fight, doing the hard work, but reflecting Utah’s values of integrity, of respect, of personal responsibility and of the conservative values that we have here in the state of Utah. And I think I fit that mold perfectly.”

Speaking to the issues he will work to address if elected, Wilson said, “The most important thing we need to do in this country is get ourselves back on the road to fiscal health and responsibility.

“We’ve got to get off the road of reckless spending, mandates, and growing socialism, which we’re seeing all across this country,” he added. “We’ve got to get back to being more responsible. We need to think about how we can actually reduce the tax burden on the middle class. And, also, one of the most important things we need to do is we need to get our energy policy back in place, where, instead of being energy dependent, back to where we have been, which is energy independent.”

Previewing Wednesday evening’s “exciting” event that’s slated to take place 20 miles south of Salt Lake City, Wilson said, “We’ve got a lot of people planning on coming. We’re really excited about it and excited to get our message out and explain to people how we’re going to get the country back on track.”

Wilson’s entry into what is expected to be a crowded field of candidates comes after a handful of other Republicans in the state announced their candidacy for the seat held by Romney.

Riverton Mayor Trent Staggs, who has picked up support from the Utah Fraternal Order of Police and gained notoriety in 2020 for his opposition to mask mandates during the coronavirus pandemic, announced in May he was entering the race.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE POLITICS COVERAGE

Rod Bird Jr., mayor of the small Utah town of Roosevelt and the founder of an oilfield supply company, announced his campaign last week. He has said he supports term limits and more limits on federal lobbying.

Wilson’s announcement also comes two weeks after Romney announced he would not be seeking a second term in the Senate.

In announcing his decision, Romney declared he’s not “retiring from the fight,” and he bashed both President Biden and former President Donald Trump while calling for “a new generation of leaders.”

“I have spent my last 25 years in public service of one kind or another. At the end of another term, I’d be in my mid-80s. Frankly, it’s time for a new generation of leaders. They’re the ones that need to make the decisions that will shape the world they will be living in,” Romney said in a statement obtained by Fox News Digital at the time.

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Romney was the GOP nominee in the 2012 presidential election but was defeated by former President Obama.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

FIRST ON FOX: The contentious 2024 Republican presidential primary is driving an uptick in “valuable” new donors to the GOP’s online fundraising platform WinRed, the platform told Fox News Digital.

WinRed, which launched in 2019 to compete with the Democratic Party’s fundraising platform ActBlue, has 1.4 million donors so far this year, and 532,000 — or 38% — are new donors, up three points from 35% during the 2022 election cycle, the platform told Fox News Digital.

The platform attributes the increase in new donors to the Republican National Committee’s strict threshold requirements for candidates to qualify for each debate.

TRUMP GAINING GROUND AMONG HISPANIC VOTERS, POLL SHOWS

“The numbers are clear that the RNC’s debate requirements are driving significant new donor acquisition,” WinRed told Fox News Digital. “This critical threshold is driving cultural change at campaigns, which is crucial for Republicans to surpass Democrats in online fundraising.

“WinRed seeks to educate the industry about the value of these donors so that we can continue to drive technological and cultural change at the campaign level and arm our candidates with the resources needed to win more elections.”

The RNC’s qualification thresholds have been raised for each debate. The candidates needed to hit 1% in polling and have 40,000 donors to qualify for the Fox News-hosted event in Milwaukee Aug. 23.

The candidates needed to hit 3% in the polls and 50,000 donors for Wednesday night’s second debate, a FOX Business-hosted showdown at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum in Simi Valley, California.

To participate in the third debate, each candidate must have a minimum of 70,000 unique donors and reach 4% support in two national polls, or reach 4% in one national poll and 4% in two statewide polls conducted in Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada or South Carolina, the four states that lead off the Republican presidential nominating calendar.

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

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Aside from individual candidates, a number of Republican committees utilize WinRed’s services, including the Republican National Committee, the National Republican Congressional Committee, the National Republican Senatorial Committee, the Republican State Leadership Committee, the Republican Governors Association and the Save America JFC.

However, WinRed said a whopping 88% of the 532,000 new donors this year came from presidential campaigns. 

Fox News’ Paul Steinhauser and Brandon Gillespie contributed to this report.

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

Who is Ron DeSantis?

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis will once again try to establish himself as the top challenger to former President Donald Trump and change the narrative after a series of setbacks the past few months, which triggered weeks of negative stories spotlighting his campaign’s overspending, staff layoffs, change of leadership and other setbacks.

“I know from the military, when you’re over the target, that’s when you’re taking flak. And if you look really in the last six to nine months, I’ve been more attacked than anybody else. Biden, Harris, the media, the left, other Republican candidates,” DeSantis said. “And there’s a reason for that, because people know that I’m the biggest threat. So we view it as positive feedback. We’ll be ready to do what we need to do to deliver our message, but we absolutely expect that, and we’ll be ready for it.”

SIGN UP NOW! WATCH THE FIRST GOP PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE ON FOXNEWS.COM

Asked whether his first debate strategy included punching back at rivals on the stage, DeSantis told Fox News, “Yes, that means defending ourselves but more importantly showing why we are the leader to get this country turned around.”

GOP REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE: LIVE UPDATES

Who is Nikki Haley?

Former South Carolina governor and UN Ambassador Nikki Haley announced in February that she would be running for president, seeking the Republican nomination for the 2024 election.
Born in Bamberg, South Carolina, Haley has long been viewed by political pundits as a potential GOP presidential contender.

Haley has crisscrossed the country the past two years through her political group Stand for America, helping fellow Republicans running in the 2022 elections. Her travels brought her numerous times to Iowa, New Hampshire, and Nevada, which hold the first, second and fourth contests in the Republican presidential nominating calendar. Haley’s home state of South Carolina votes third in the GOP primary schedule.

FIRST REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE AN ‘AWESOME OPPORTUNITY’ FOR CANDIDATES TO SCORE BREAKOUT MOMENTS

“America is not past our prime, it’s just that our politicians are past theirs,” Haley said in her first campaign speech, as the crowd chanted “USA” and “Nikki.”

Haley has called for years for the U.S. to be more aggressive in combating the threat from Beijing and in June called for a fundamental change in the U.S. outlook to the threat from the East.

In late July, Haley unveiled an extended plan to deal with the Chinese Communist Party. The plan includes a pledge to roll back Biden-era green energy mandates, which she says are a giveaway to Beijing.

While polls indicate Haley is an underdog compared to other candidates like former President Donald Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, Haley has a history of winning tough elections.
In 2004, she defeated the state’s longest-serving state House member in the GOP primary on her way to winning a state legislative seat. And six years later, she topped a congressman, the state’s lieutenant governor, and the attorney general in the Republican gubernatorial primary, ahead of her general election victory.

WISCONSIN IN THE SPOTLIGHT AHEAD OF 2024 ELECTION

Haley is the daughter of immigrants from India who grew up to become South Carolina’s first female governor and the nation’s first female governor of Asian American heritage.

Following her tenure as governor of the Palmetto State, Haley served in Trump’s administration as the U.S. Ambassador to the UN, leaving at the end of 2018 on good terms with the then-president.

Who is Vivek Ramaswamy?

Vivek Ramaswamy, a health care and tech sector entrepreneur, conservative commentator and author who has become a crusader in the culture wars, declared his candidacy in the Republican presidential primary in February.

Born in Cincinnati, Ramaswamy quickly made a name for himself on the campaign trail. Ramaswamy, who was dubbed “the CEO of Anti-Woke Inc.” in a New Yorker magazine profile last year, said earlier this year that his campaign is “about the unapologetic pursuit of excellence in our country. It means you believe in merit; that you get ahead in this country not on the color of your skin but on the content of your character and your contributions.”

AMERICA’S IN A ‘NATIONAL IDENTITY CRISIS,’ RAMASWAMY WARNS, SAYS HE WILL BRING ‘REVOLUTION’

In an interview with Fox News Digital in August, Ramaswamy said that he wants to answer “the question of what it means to be American in the year 2023.”

“I’m 37 years old. When you ask people my age and younger what it means to be American today, you get a blank stare,” he said.

Ramaswamy has called for a “total decoupling” from Communist China, which he argues is a greater threat to America today than the Soviet Union was during the Cold War because China makes the “shoes on our feet and the phones in our pockets.”

As the son of Indian migrants who legally came through America’s “front door,” Ramaswamy is a strong supporter of merit-based immigration and would not grant leniency for those who broke the law when entering the country.

NIKKI HALEY SWIPES RAMASWAMY, SCOTT ON CHINA AHEAD OF FIRST PRIMARY DEBATE: ‘PEOPLE WHO DON’T UNDERSTAND’

Other top priorities of his include “restoring free speech,” which would involve making political expression a civil right and banning Big Tech censorship executed at the behest of the government, and “dismantling” affirmative action and the “new climate religion,” which he calls a “cancer on the American soul.”

Who is Tim Scott?

South Carolina Republican Sen. Tim Scott announced in May that he would seek the GOP nomination for president.

Known for his fundraising prowess, Scott, the only Black Republican in the Senate, entered the White House race with his campaign coffers well stocked. Scott reported nearly $22 million cash on hand at the end of last year — funds left over from the senator’s convincing 25-point re-election victory in November in reliably red South Carolina.

A pair of Scott-aligned super PACs started 2023 with roughly $16 million in the bank, thanks to contributors from numerous Republican mega-donors including Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison.

TIM SCOTT RELISHES DEBATE ‘CONTRAST OPPORTUNITY’ TO PRESENT CONSERVATIVE ‘COMMONSENSE SOLUTIONS’

“Here’s a kid that grew up in North Charleston, South Carolina, mired in poverty, in a single parent household. To think about one day being the President of the United States just tells me that the evolution of the American soul continues to move toward that more perfect union,” Scott told Fox News in May.

Prior to his campaign announcement, Scott, who has served in the Senate since 2013 and was born in North Charleston, South Carolina, had been viewed by political pundits as a potential 2024 Republican presidential contender.

While the senator had repeatedly demurred when asked about a White House bid, he hinted last November at a possible future run during his re-election victory celebration by telling the story of how he took his grandfather to the polls in 2012, and that his grandfather proudly voted for him as well as for Democrat Barack Obama, the nation’s first Black president.

“I wish he had lived long enough to see perhaps another man of color elected President of the United States,” Scott said, before adding “but this time let it be a Republican.”

ND GOV DOUG BURGUM SUFFERS INJURY AHEAD OF GOP PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE, WILL DECIDE PARTICIPATION AFTER DOC VISIT

Who is Chris Christie?

Former two-term New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie officially launched his second White House bid in June, joining a crowded field of presidential hopefuls vying for the 2024 Republican nomination.

Declaring his candidacy during a town hall event at Saint Anselm College in Manchester, New Hampshire — the state with the first GOP presidential primary — Christie said: “I can’t guarantee you success in what I’m about to do. But I guarantee you that at the end of it, you will have no doubt in your mind who I am and what I stand for and whether I deserve it.”

In his speech, Christie railed against the division that he said has driven Americans into smaller groups, brought about by the likes of former Presidents Barack Obama and Donald Trump. He also touted America’s role throughout its history in “fighting evil” across the world.

Christie focused a portion of his campaign announcement speech on taking jabs at former President Donald Trump, describing him as a “leader who won’t admit any of his shortcomings” and referring to him as “Voldemort,” the infamous villain in the “Harry Potter” novels.

Born in Newark, New Jersey, Christie held the highest office in the state from 2010 to 2018 and was the deep-blue state’s last Republican governor. 

He first ran for president in the 2016 cycle. At the time, Christie placed all his chips in New Hampshire, but his campaign crashed and burned after a disappointing and distant sixth-place finish in New Hampshire, far behind Trump, who crushed the competition in the primary en route to winning the nomination and eventually the White House.

RAMASWAMY SAYS HE EMBRACES THE MEDIA HEAT AHEAD OF FIRST GOP DEBATE: ‘IT MAKES ME STRONGER AS A CANDIDATE’

Christie became the first among the other GOP 2016 contenders to endorse Trump, and for years he was a top outside adviser to the then-president and chaired Trump’s high-profile commission on opioids. However, the two had a falling out after Trump’s unsuccessful attempts to overturn his 2020 election loss to now-President Joe Biden. Over the past two years, Christie has become one of the most vocal Trump critics in the GOP.

Who is Mike Pence?

Former Vice President Mike Pence filed paperwork with the Federal Election Commission to launch his campaign for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination in early June.

Pence was serving as the governor of Indiana when then-presidential candidate Donald Trump named him his running mate in 2016. For four years, Pence served as the loyal vice president to Trump.

However, everything changed on Jan. 6, 2021, as demonstrators — including some chanting “hang Mike Pence” — stormed the U.S. Capitol aiming to upend congressional certification of President Biden’s Electoral College victory that was overseen by Pence.

In the more than two years since the end of the Trump administration, the former president and vice president have drifted further apart. Pence has repeatedly rebuked his former boss, calling him out by name while discussing Trump’s claim that Pence could have overturned the results of the 2020 presidential election.

Pence has described the 2021 protest at the Capitol as “tragic,” insisting that “it dishonored the millions of people who had supported our cause around the country.” He has emphasized that he did “the right thing” and performed his “duty under the Constitution.” He has also noted a number of times that he and Trump may never “see eye to eye on that day.”

X SUSPENDS DESANTIS PAC’S ACCOUNT HOURS BEFORE DEBATE

Trump loyalists will likely never forgive Pence, whom they view as a traitor for refusing to reject the 2020 election results.

In announcing his campaign, Pence became the first running mate in eight decades to run against his former boss, since Vice President John Nance Garner unsuccessfully challenged President Franklin Roosevelt in the 1940 election.

Born in Columbus, Indiana, Pence has touted the Trump-Pence administration’s policy successes in stump speeches but contrasts himself with the controversial former president in terms of tone and tenor.

“People around the country want us to see us restore a threshold of civility in our political debate,” Pence emphasized. “You can disagree without being disagreeable. People that know me know I take very strong stands. I’m conservative, but I’m not in a bad mood about it.”

He has stressed that “should we enter the fray in this campaign in the days ahead, we’re going to bring those principles, but we’re going to bring a commitment to civility that I think the American long to see.”

AT FIRST REPUBLICAN DEBATE, WATCH FOR THESE 6 KEY THINGS. THEY COULD MAKE BIDEN A ONE-TERM PRESIDENT

Pundits had long viewed Pence as a likely 2024 contender, as he spent the past two years crisscrossing the country to campaign and help raise money for Republicans running in the 2022 elections. Those travels took Pence multiple times to Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada — the first four states to vote in the Republican presidential nominating calendar — as he strengthened relationships in the early voting presidential primary and caucus states that usually precede the launch of a White House campaign.

Who is Doug Burgum?

Before becoming the 33rd governor of North Dakota, Doug Burgum established himself as a successful businessman in the software industry. 

Burgum, 67, steered his one-time small business, Great Plains Software, into a $1 billion software company. His business — and its North Dakota-based workers — were eventually acquired by Microsoft, and Burgum stayed on board as a senior vice president.

In 2016, the then first-time candidate and long shot convincingly topped a favored GOP establishment contender to secure the Republican nomination in North Dakota before going on to a landslide victory in the gubernatorial general election in the solidly red state. Burgum was overwhelmingly re-elected in 2020 to a second term as governor.

DEMOCRATS BLANKET MILWAUKEE WITH PRO-BIDEN MESSAGES AHEAD OF GOP PRIMARY DEBATE

“Governor Burgum is looking forward to sharing his focus on the economy, energy and national security at the August debate,” Burgum campaign spokesman Lance Trover said last month. “In less than 7 weeks, Governor Burgum has exceeded all the requirements for the debate. As a Governor and business leader Doug knows how to fix the economy, unleash American energy and win the Cold War with China.” 

Fox News’ Paul Steinhauser, Adam Shaw, Andrew Miller, Brandon Gillespie and Kyle Morris contributed reporting.

Welcome to a special edition of Fox News’ politics newsletter, where we talk about the second GOP presidential primary debate. Here’s a glimpse at what we’re covering:

• How to sign up to stream the debate online
• Where the debate is taking place
• What the candidates need to do
• Who the moderators are

HOW TO WATCH: The next Republican presidential primary debate takes place tonight at 9pm ET. Sign up now to stream the debate online.

SHOWDOWN AT REAGAN LIBRARY: Seven presidential hopefuls will take the stage Wednesday night at the Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California. Follow along with Fox News’ live updates blog all day today for the latest debate news.

PROVING GROUND: What do candidates need to do to stand out from the crowd? Longtime Republican strategists David Kochel and Dave Carney give their thoughts and predictions:

• Ron DeSantis “needs to broaden the appeal… [and] draw a distinction between himself and Trump.”
• Nikki Haley may take verbal attacks from others on the stage. She got a spike after the first debate, but “what do you do with that momentum? Is it a flash in the pan or can you repeat that performance and have an upward trajectory in the race?” Kochel said.
• There’s “going to be a lot of pressure on someone like Tim Scott, who disappeared a bit in the first debate, to step up and do better.”
• Mike Pence: “if I were him, I would be touting myself as the Reagan conservative in the traditional sense and take off after populism,” Kochel said.
• Vivek Ramaswamy was a punching bag in the first debate, but now he has to prove that he’s presidential — and that no one else attempts to take the Trump heir-apparent track, Carney said.
• Chris Christie wanted to debate Trump — but Trump won’t be there. “My guess is he’ll probably throw more haymakers at Ramaswamy because he’s [the] most Trump-like person on the stage,” Kochel said.
• Doug Burgum, the least well-known candidate on the stage and the last to qualify for the second debate, has to find a way to stand out, said Carney.

SIDELINED: Asa Hutchinson is the only candidate from the first debate who failed to qualify for the second contest. But he’s pushing forward with his campaign. 

“I understand that the [Republican National Committee] and the media are trying to reduce the number of candidates, but I measure success based on the response I receive in early primary states like Iowa and New Hampshire,” Hutchinson wrote this week in a statement on X, formerly Twitter.

MEET THE MODERATORS: Fox News’ Dana Perino, FOX Business’ Stuart Varney, and UNIVISION’s Ilia Calderón will moderate Wednesday’s GOP debate. Perino and Varney discussed their debate prep on Fox News this week …Read more

ANTHEM PREVIEW: By day, Mary Millben was a staffer in George W. Bush’s White House, but at night she would sing – at Christmas parties and White House events. Tonight, she’ll open the debate by singing the national anthem minutes before the debate kicks off.

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

EXCLUSIVE: The White House says the continuing resolution being contemplated by House Republicans to continue funding the government would eliminate 800 border agents and trigger “a windfall for drug cartels.” 

Congress is currently negotiating a continuing resolution to extend the current year’s funding, but without passing a deal by Sept. 30, it risks sending the government into a partial shutdown. 

HERE’S WHAT’S IN THE HOUSE REPUBLICAN BORDER BILL TIED TO GOV’T FUNDING FIGHT

Fox News Digital obtained a memo from White House deputy press secretary and senior communications adviser Andrew Bates titled: “Extreme House Republicans threaten to shut down the government unless their extreme agenda is followed.”

Bates starts the memo by referencing a series of sanctions the Biden Administration imposed against individuals and entities for their role in drug trafficking.

“While President Biden is focused on holding drug traffickers accountable and disrupting the flow of illicit drugs, House Republicans are proposing an extreme continuing resolution that would eliminate 800 CBP agents and officers, allowing 50,000 pounds of cocaine, more than 300 pounds of fentanyl, more than 700 pounds of heroin, and more than 6,000 pounds of methamphetamine to enter our country,” Bates wrote.

Bates wrote that Republicans have been pushing “this radical, dangerous agenda for months.”

But House Republicans have been attempting to include in a CR the “Secure the Border Act” — H.R. 2 — in different versions of continuing resolutions to keep the government open past Sept. 30. The GOP bill includes significant border security measures.

The White House says that the House GOP CR would include roughly an 8% cut for most non-defense spending across the government from current spending levels and that this would force certain cuts at the Department of Homeland Security that would adversely affect border security.

“Every year of this administration, President Biden has fought for unprecedented funding to secure our border and repair the broken system he inherited from his predecessor,” Bates wrote, in a swipe at former President Trump. “And every year, House Republicans have voted to stop President Biden from gaining those resources.” 

Bates said Biden recently called for $4 billion in his supplemental funding request to address the “immediate needs” of the Department of Homeland Security to “safely and humanely manage the Southwest border.”

“But House Republicans aren’t acting on it,” Bates wrote, adding that an “Extreme House Republican Shutdown would impose enormous costs on the Border Patrol agents whose positions they want to eliminate, including forcing thousands of law enforcement officers to work without getting paid.”

HERE’S HOW HOUSE REPUBLICANS ARE TRYING TO FORCE BIDEN’S HAND ON BORDER SECURITY 

Republicans note that millions of illegal immigrants have been crossing the border under the Biden administration, a vast increase from the numbers crossing when Trump handed over power.

The GOP bill would restart construction of the wall at the southern border; include a mandate for 22,000 minimum Border Patrol agents; allow for additional retention bonuses for agents;  restrict funding for processing of illegal immigrants into the U.S., and for non-governmental organizations to provide services.

Bates referenced the last government shutdown, citing a report that said border patrol agents were working without pay and federal immigration proceedings and thousands of hearings had been canceled.

“The bipartisan budget deal that both parties in both chambers of Congress and President Biden agreed to invests in our national security, including at the border. Everyone else who made that bipartisan agreement – including Senate Republicans – is honoring their word,” Bates wrote.

The White House memo comes after House Republicans passed a procedural hurdle on government funding on Tuesday night after a week of infighting among GOP lawmakers.

Lawmakers voted 216 to 212 late Wednesday to advance four appropriations bills, teeing them up for debate and final vote sometime this week. 

HOUSE FINALLY PASSES KEY SPENDING HURDLE AFTER WEEK OF GOP INFIGHTING

Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., after the bills were passed, said lawmakers would likely vote on a continuing resolution Friday after working to advance the four spending bills.

But the House GOP’s current CR proposal — which would cut government spending by about 8% from this year’s enacted funding levels for 30 days and includes measures from Republicans’ border security bill — has been labeled a non-starter in the Democratically-held Senate.

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The Republican immigration measure would also restrict the use of the CBP One app, which has been expanded by the Biden administration to allow migrants to make appointments to be paroled into the U.S. Separately, it would also authorize an additional $110 million in grants to law enforcement agencies in border states to increase border security and increase drone flights at the border.

The bill would also require the DHS Secretary to submit a report on whether Mexican drug cartels meet the criteria for being designated as a foreign terrorist organization, and would re-establish the Remain-in-Mexico policy, which was used by the Trump administration to keep migrants in Mexico outside of the U.S. until their hearing took place at a courtroom at the border.

The House and Senate are also still far apart on their 12 individual appropriations bills to fund the government for the next fiscal year.

Fox News’ Adam Shaw and Elizabeth Elkind contributed to this report. 

A secretive network of the nation’s wealthiest Democrat donors has moved to undercut attempts to get a third-party presidential challenger on the 2024 ballot in an effort to aid President Biden.

The Democracy Alliance, the left’s premiere big-money donor club, recently held private discussions with left-wing organizations to prevent likely donors from contributing money to No Labels, a bi-partisan organization pushing for an independent presidential candidate, Politico reported. 

“No Labels has no chance of winning the 2024 election. But it has a very real chance of tipping that election to Donald Trump and catapulting our country into MAGA authoritarianism,” Democracy Alliance President Pamela Shifman told Politico. “They want to splinter the coalition of voters who banded together to defeat Donald Trump in 2020.”

SOROS-BACKED GROUP PARTNERS ON ‘ABOLITION SCHOOL’ TO TRAIN ACTIVISTS TO ERADICATE POLICE, PRISONS

According to the publication, the Democracy Alliance held a Zoom call last week with progressive groups MoveOn and Third Way, where they zeroed in on No Labels and presented data showing how it is not realistic for a third-party candidate to win the election. 

The meeting’s goal, Politico said, was to “sound the alarm” for Democratic donors and fundraisers, so they could move to stop other contributors they know from giving to No Labels to prevent a situation that they believe will benefit the Republican presidential candidate and hurt President Biden’s re-election efforts.

“The Democracy Alliance is wrapping itself in the flag of protecting democracy, but they are in fact subverting it by trying to keep No Labels off the ballot,” former Democrat Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon, director of ballot integrity at No Labels, told Fox News Digital.

“People talk a lot about voting as a right protected in our Constitution,” Nixon said. “But so is getting on the ballot. Anyone is allowed to compete for the support of American voters, and no one should be standing in the way of that.”

ALEX SOROS’ ACCESS TO BIDEN’S WHITE HOUSE CONTINUES AS HE’S NOW VISITED AT LEAST 20 TIMES, RECORDS SHOW

The Democracy Alliance, founded in 2005, is a covert group of wealthy Democrat donors that helps drive the progressive agenda and counts George Soros as a known member. Since its inception, the club has been instrumental in moving enormous sums to left-wing causes and organizations and propping up its pipelines and infrastructure.

The deep-pocketed coalition typically holds two conferences each year to map out its upcoming agenda. The gatherings include powerful politicians and representatives from liberal activist groups that drive the causes they fund on the national and state levels.

In December, Vice President Kamala Harris appeared at an event hosted by the shadowy donor group to speak ahead of their four-day conference. 

Harris’s appearance, however, was not her first encounter with the alliance. In 2017, then-Sen. Harris recorded a “special videotaped message” for attendees introducing “A talk with George Soros” at their retreat in Carlsbad, California, the Washington Free Beacon reported. In 2021, Harris prerecorded remarks for its fall virtual summit.

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Democracy Alliance members must donate hundreds of thousands of dollars annually to groups vetted and approved by the coalition. 

The alliance has supported over 150 organizations, ranging from the more well-known Media Matters for America, Center for American Progress, and Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington to the Center for Popular Democracy and the Center for Community Change.

The Democracy Alliance did not respond to a request for comment.

As Congress moves closer to a potential government shutdown, Republicans in the House are pushing to include in any spending deal a sweeping border security legislation that was passed in the chamber earlier this year.

Republicans in the chamber have been attempting to include the “Secure the Border Act” — H.R. 2 — in different versions of continuing resolutions to keep the government open past Sept. 30.

Over the weekend, Republicans on the House Rules Committee added a provision to the Department of Homeland Security appropriations bill that, if passed, would prevent it from being considered by the Senate until the bill was signed into law by President Biden.

HERE’S HOW HOUSE REPUBLICANS ARE TRYING TO FORCE BIDEN’S HAND ON BORDER SECURITY 

The bill was passed by the House in May, but has so far received little interest from Democrats. A Senate version was introduced this month by Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas.

Border Security

The bill includes significant border security measures, while also making deep changes to the asylum system as well as the use of parole to allow migrants to enter the U.S.

Significantly, it would restart construction of the wall at the southern border, with hundreds of miles being built — restarting a project that was ended by the Biden administration. It would also invest in technology at both the northern and southern borders. 

Additional border security measures include a mandate for 22,000 minimum Border Patrol agents, but specifically ruling out those dedicated only to processing. It would also allow for additional retention bonuses for agents. It would also restrict funding for processing of illegal immigrants into the U.S., and for non-governmental organizations to provide services.

The bill would also restrict the use of the CBP One app, which has been expanded by the Biden administration to allow migrants to make appointments to be paroled into the U.S. H.R. 2 would reduce the usage of the app back to commercial purposes only. 

Separately, it would also authorize an additional $110 million in grants to law enforcement agencies in border states to increase border security, and increase drone flights at the border.

It would also require the DHS Secretary to submit a report on whether Mexican drug cartels meet the criteria for being designated as a foreign terrorist organization.

Immigration enforcement and asylum

When it comes to the asylum and immigration enforcement, the legislation is broad. It would overhaul asylum eligibility, including by tightening the “credible fear” standard by which migrants seeking asylum are initially judged and changing rules related to how unaccompanied children are dealt with at the border. It would also expand the type of crimes that makes someone ineligible for asylum.

It would also re-establish the Remain-in-Mexico policy, which was used by the Trump administration to keep migrants in Mexico outside of the U.S. until their hearing took place at a courtroom at the border.

HOUSE DESCENDS INTO CHAOS AS GOP REBELS AGAIN SINK KEY DEFENSE VOTE A SECOND TIME THIS WEEK

Crucially, it would also drastically limit the ability of DHS to parole migrants into the interior, a response to what Republicans have said is an abuse of parole at the border — which is set by Congress to be used on a case-by-case basis for urgent humanitarian reasons or significant public benefit.

It would expand penalties for visa overstayers, increasing penalties to between $500 and $1,000 and doubling it for repeat offenders.

The bill would also mandate employers use E-Verify, a web-based system to confirm that employers are legally allowed to work, although one version of a proposed continuing resolution specifically removed this language. Finally, the bill would also require the State Department to negotiate asylum agreements with certain countries in the region, regarding the return of migrants. 

However, the White House has previously threatened to veto the legislation if it were to make it to President Biden’s desk.

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“The bill would cut off nearly all access to humanitarian protections in ways that are inconsistent with our Nation’s values and international obligations. In addition, the bill would make processing less efficient by prohibiting the use of the CBP One mobile application to process noncitizens and restricting DHS’s parole authority, such that successful programs, like ‘Uniting for Ukraine,’ would be prohibited,” the White House said in a statement in May. “The bill would also reduce authorized funding for essential programs including the Shelter and Services Program that provides a critical source of funds for state and local governments and reduces pressure at the border. 

“While we welcome Congress’ engagement on meaningful steps to address immigration and the challenges at the border, this bill would make things worse, not better. Because this bill does very little to actually increase border security while doing a great deal to trample on the Nation’s core values and international obligations, it should be rejected,” the statement said.

Fox News’ Liz Elkind contributed to this report.

Virginia Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin said Tuesday he appreciates ongoing speculation that he may make a late entry into the 2024 GOP presidential primary race, but that his attention remains on helping Republicans win elections for the commonwealth’s general assembly.

In an interview at the Washington Economic Club in Washington, D.C., Youngkin told historian, businessman and philanthropist David Rubenstein where he stood on his presidential ambitions, a 15-week abortion ban, parents’ insolvent in schools, bringing the Washington Commanders to Virginia and other hot-button topics, according to Fox 5 DC.

When Youngkin was asked about the “elephant in the room,” which was the possibility he launches a campaign for the White House, the governor said he was “humbled” by the continued speculation about his potential candidacy for president but that he is continuing to focus exclusively on Virginia’s state elections that will determine party control of its general assembly.

“It is really exciting to see that there are folks not just in Virginia but outside Virginia both in the United States and around the world who are really excited about what we are doing in Virginia,” Youngkin said.

GLENN YOUNGKIN CONTINUES TO KEEP SPECULATION ON POSSIBLE 2024 RUN ALIVE

The governor also addressed the possibility of the Commanders’ new NFL stadium coming to Virginia, stating that he believes that the Commonwealth is still in the running to land the Commanders new stadium. 

Last week, the House Oversight Committee voted to turn RFK Stadium over to D.C. to take the lead on redevelopment efforts. Youngkin, however, says Virginia remains undeterred and will continue its pursue of the professional football team.

“My job as governor is to represent taxpayers and if we can represent taxpayers, well that’s a negotiation I’d look forward to having,” Youngkin said. “I’ve been very clear I’d like to engage for the opportunity for the Commanders to come to Virginia.” 

Youngkin dodged a question about if he would be willing to join the 2024 presidential election as former President Trump’s vice-presidential running mate if an offer presented itself, but the governor did address President Biden’s record as commander-in-chief, questioning Biden’s ability to fix the economy and handle a presidential schedule.

VIRGINIA GOV. YOUNGKIN DOESN’T RULE OUT 2024 PRESIDENTIAL RUN: ‘WE’RE FOCUSED ON 2023′

The second Republican presidential debate will be held Wednesday on Fox Business. 

The participants for Wednesday’s debate will be Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, former Vice President Mike Pence and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum.

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Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, who was at the first GOP debate in August, did not meet the higher threshold for the second debate.

Trump, who reached the necessary donor and polling thresholds, did not sign the Republican National Committee’s pledge required to participate in the debate. He has said he does not need to debate given his commanding lead in the polls. The former president is instead planning to deliver a speech in Detroit to striking autoworkers.

Republican New Jersey Rep. Jeff Van Drew is “seriously considering” a challenge to Democrat Sen. Bob Menendez, who is running for re-election next year despite being indicted last week on federal bribery and corruption charges.

Fox News Digital confirmed late Tuesday that Van Drew, a former Democrat, is looking at a potential run, but in the meantime “is focused on the issues before Congress.”

Van Drew was first elected as a Democrat representing New Jersey’s 2nd Congressional District in 2018, but left the party and became a Republican in Dec. 2019, citing the first impeachment of former President Donald as the final straw after he had been mulling a switch for a while.

GOP, DEMS TEAM UP TO RIP ‘DELUSIONAL’ SINEMA OVER ‘PLAN’ TO SWIPE THEIR VOTERS IN INDEPENDENT RE-ELECTION BID

Fox has reached out to the Menendez campaign for comment.

Prosecutors in the Southern District of New York unsealed the indictment on Friday, charging Menendez, his wife Nadine, and New Jersey businessmen Wael Hana, Jose Uribe and Fred Daibes with participating in a years-long bribery scheme. 

At a press conference Monday, Menendez asserted he will be exonerated and will remain New Jersey’s senior senator. 

LEGAL EXPERTS WEIGH IN ON MENENDEZ INDICTMENT, SUGGEST ‘MONSTER’ CHARGES POINT TO LIKELY CONVICTION

However, he has faced numerous calls from his own party to resign his seat over the indictment, including from Sens. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, Peter Welch, D-Vt., John Fetterman, D-Pa., Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., Jon Tester, D-Mont., Tammy Baldwin, D-Wisc., Bob Casey, D-Pa., and Cory Booker, D-N.J., House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., and Rep. Andy Kim, D-N.J.

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Since 2018, as alleged by federal prosecutors, the three businessmen collectively paid hundreds of thousands of dollars of bribes, including cash, gold, a Mercedes-Benz, and other things of value in exchange for Menendez agreeing to use his power and influence to protect and enrich them and to benefit the government of Egypt. 

Fox News’ Chris Pandolfo contributed to this report.

Former President Donald Trump is gaining momentum among Hispanic voters, according to a recent Univision poll, which claims to be the largest Hispanic bipartisan primary public polling of the 2024 election cycle so far.

Among Hispanic Republicans, Trump maintains a strong lead, with 50% responding they would vote for him in the GOP primary, the poll found. Meanwhile, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis follows in second place with 12%, and pharmaceutical businessman Vivek Ramaswamy trails behind at 9%.

Despite four federal indictments, Trump is dominating among Hispanic voters and stands at 36%, a four-point increase from when he left office in January 2021, as per a previous Univision News poll.

Overall, the poll garnered 1,400 registered voters and 759 Republican respondents, making it one of the largest samples of Hispanic voters so far in the election cycle.

FOX NEWS POWER RANKINGS: THE FRONTRUNNER AND CONTENDERS IN THE 2024 GOP PRIMARY FIELD

“This first of its kind national poll demonstrates the wants and needs across the Hispanic community, and particularly an in-depth insight into the Republican Primary Hispanic Voter. This poll provides an opportunity to understand the complex and varied sentiments within the community across the country,” García-Rios, Director of Polling and Data at Univision Noticias, said Monday in a statement.

Nevertheless, if a presidential election were held today between incumbent President Biden and Trump, 58% of Hispanics would vote for Biden, while 31% would support Trump.

While Trump maintains popularity within Hispanic Republicans, the broader Hispanic voter base has not shifted towards the right, pollsters noted.

A majority of Hispanic voters in the poll — more than 50% — regardless of party affiliation were deeply concerned about the economy, but believe Democrats can better address the issues.

FOX NEWS POLL: MAJORITY THINKS TRUMP DID SOMETHING ILLEGAL, YET SAY INVESTIGATIONS POLITICALLY MOTIVATED

Worries about day-to-day expenses such as healthcare costs and housing prices are prominent, at 27% and 25%, respectively.

However, the largest share of voters feel that neither party offers a satisfactory solution to pressing economic issues.

Behind economic issues, a growing number of Hispanic voters believe mass shootings and gun control policies ranked as the number two most important issues facing the country.

TRUMP INDICTMENT REACTION FROM RIVALS RANGE FROM OFFER OF LEGAL ASSISTANCE TO CALL TO DROP OUT OF RACE

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Border security remains a complex issue for Hispanic voters, but Republicans have a slight edge, with 41% of voters trusting them compared to 40% who trust Democrats to get the migrant crisis under control. Both Hispanic Democrats and Republicans largely agree on the need for increased border security.

Meanwhile, Trump is currently leading President Biden by 10 points among voters, according to a new poll by The Washington Post and ABC. The poll found that if the 2024 presidential election were held today, Trump would win 52% to 42% over Biden. Respondents also held a poor view of Biden’s handling of the economy and the U.S.-Mexico border, in addition to his age.

Biden’s approval rating sits at 37%, according to the poll, while 56% of respondents actively disapprove of his presidency.

Fox News’ Anders Hagstrom contributed to this report. 

Republicans and Democrats in the swing state of Arizona found themselves on the same team this week after a report that Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, I-Ariz., had formulated a “path to victory” for a potential independent reelection bid that would involve her swiping enough votes from each of the party’s candidates to come out on top.

According to the NBC News report published Monday, Sinema, a former Democrat, and her team have been putting together a campaign strategy to do just that while also pitching donors and potential supporters on her chances of winning the race as an independent.

The report included a two-page document outlining what it said was her 34% favorability rating among Republicans and that she “will win” a majority of independent voters, “at least a third” of Republican voters and “a percentage” of Democrat voters if each of the parties nominate “extremists.”

“Election year Sinema looks a lot different than the real Sinema,” former Republican Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake told Fox News Digital in response to the report.

KARI LAKE BOOSTS NATIONAL PROFILE AS TOP TRUMP SURROGATE, GOP CAMPAIGNER AHEAD OF LIKELY SENATE RUN

Lake, who sources have said is likely to jump into the Senate race next month, added that Sinema is “a rubber stamp for Joe Biden’s disastrous policies, which have left Arizona on the brink of destruction. Arizonans will not send someone with a record of voting with Biden almost 100 percent of the time back to the senate. We can’t be fooled that easy.”

Rick Gorka, a spokesperson for Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb, the only major Republican in the race so far, told Fox that “Sinema and her team are delusional and need to spend more time in the clean air of Arizona than in D.C. if they think she has any pathway to victory.”

“The fact is she has been a failure and Arizonans have paid the price … literally. The border is a mess and New York has received more funding to deal with illegal immigration than Arizona. If she runs, she will lose and Sheriff Mark Lamb is the right candidate to retire Sinema next year,” Gorka added.

VETERAN AIR FORCE PILOT SEEKING TO OUST VULNERABLE DEM SENATOR SAYS NATION MUST ABANDON ‘WRONG LEADERS’

Hannah Goss, a spokesperson for Democrat front-runner Rep. Ruben Gallego’s campaign, told Fox, “Only one person is traveling the state and talking directly to Arizonans about creating good paying jobs, cutting the cost of prescription drugs, and taking care of our veterans, and that’s Ruben Gallego.” 

“He’s laser focused on fighting for everyday Arizonans — and that’s why he’s going to win this race, just as the data suggests,” she said.

The data referenced by Goss refers to polls consistently showing Sinema would lose to both the Democrat and Republican in a hypothetical three-way race, with Gallego coming out on top. However, the polls show a large portion of voters still undecided on who they would support.

One Republican operative in Arizona sought to dispel the notion that Sinema would be able to draw the significant number of GOP voters her team claimed in the report, telling Fox she was “in no way” the moderate she’s portrayed herself to be during her time in the Senate as a Democrat and since leaving the party last December.

RACE TO REPLACE MITT ROMNEY IN UTAH GAINS STEAM AS ANOTHER CANDIDATE JUMPS IN: HE ‘SOLD US OUT’

The operative pointed to the high percentage of Sinema’s votes in the Senate being in line with President Biden and Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., according to various vote tracking sites, as well as her votes to increase the nation’s debt limit and her vote against a bill that would have required doctors to save a baby who survived an abortion.

That approach has been echoed by the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC), which is focusing on the seat as one of its top targets to flip for the GOP in 2024. However, the organization sees her as a bigger threat to Democrats in the race.

“Kyrsten Sinema has been a stalwart advocate for Joe Biden’s agenda by supporting his American Rescue Plan and his signature climate change bill, the Inflation Reduction Act. If Sinema runs, we expect Arizona Democrats to support her in droves because of this unwavering commitment to Joe Biden’s most important policy priorities,” NRSC spokesperson Tate Mitchell said in a statement.

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Fox has reached out to Sinema’s team for comment.

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

A judge ruled Tuesday that Donald Trump and his company committed fraud while building his real estate empire, after New York Attorney General Letitia James accused the former president of overvaluing his assets. 

Judge Arthur Engoron ruled Tuesday that the former president and his company deceived banks, insurers and others by massively overvaluing his assets and exaggerating his net worth on paperwork used in making deals and securing financing.

NEW YORK APPEALS COURT NARROWS NYAG CASE, DISMISSES IVANKA TRUMP AS A DEFENDANT, CUTS STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS

Engoron ordered that some of Trump’s business licenses be rescinded as punishment, making it difficult or impossible for them to do business in New York. The judge said he would continue to have an independent monitor oversee the Trump Organization’s operations.

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

The ruling comes out of James’ lawsuit, in which she alleged Trump “inflated his net worth by billions of dollars” and said his children helped him to do so.

When Trump was president, James sued his administration dozens of times, challenging policies on the environment, immigration, education, health care and other issues.

Trump sued James in November and claimed she abused her position as attorney general to “recklessly injure” him, his family and his businesses.  Trump alleged James was pursuing “a relentless, pernicious, public, and unapologetic crusade” against him “with the stated goal of destroying him personally, financially, and politically.”

NEW YORK AG SUES TRUMP OVER FRAUD ALLEGATIONS

In January, Trump voluntarily dismissed that lawsuit.

Trump was deposed as part of the lawsuit in April for the second time. During that deposition, the former president and 2024 GOP frontrunner, answered questions. The first deposition took place in August, but Trump invoked his Fifth Amendment rights.

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Trump has denied any wrongdoing and has said the investigation is politically motivated and a “witch hunt.”

The Texas law dubbed the “Drag Ban” that restricted “sexually oriented performances” in the presence of a child or on public property was ruled unconstitutional on Tuesday by a federal judge, who issued a permanent injunction barring state officials from enforcing it.

Senate Bill 12 was signed by Republican Gov. Greg Abbott in June and was set to go into effect Sep. 1 but was blocked after being challenged by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), which filed a lawsuit against the law last month.

In his ruling, U.S. District Judge David Hittner said the law was “an unconstitutional restriction on speech,” and that it “violates the First Amendment as incorporated to Texas by the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution.”

TRUMP CAMPAIGN WALKS BACK CLAIM FORMER PRESIDENT PURCHASED GLOCK AMID QUESTIONS ABOUT LEGALITY

The ruling further ordered Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and other state officials to not enforce the law.

According to one of the definitions in the law, a “sexually oriented performance” means a visual performance that features “a male performer exhibiting as a female, or a female performer exhibiting as a male, who uses clothing, makeup, or other similar physical markers and who sings, lip syncs, dances, or otherwise performs before an audience” and “appeals to the prurient interest in sex.”

Critics have referred to the law as a “drag ban,” though its author and supporters claim it was proposed and signed into law to protect children.

WATCH: REPORTERS PILE ON FRUSTRATED KARINE JEAN-PIERRE OVER BIDEN PLAN TO JOIN UAW PICKET

The ACLU filed its lawsuit in U.S. District Court in the Southern District of Texas in Houston, and claimed the law “unconstitutionally singles out drag performances as a disfavored form of expression.” It also asserted that several terms are not defined or are written in a way that targets protected expression.

Drag was described in the lawsuit as an “art form” that is “inherently expressive,” and has no set standard. “As with any art form, there is nothing inherently sexual or obscene about drag,” the lawsuit read. “Drag can be performed for any age level and in any venue, since drag artists tailor their performances to their audience.”

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Fox News Digital has reached out to Paxton’s office for comment.

Fox News’ Greg Wehner contributed to this report.

President Biden nearly took a tumble down the stairs while exiting Air Force Once on Tuesday, hours after it was exposed that his campaign team was making efforts to prevent the president from taking a spill in public during the election season.

The 80-year-old president had just landed in Detroit, Michigan, when he disembarked from the jumbo jet at Detroit Metro Airport.

Around the eighth step, Biden was seen slipping before quickly correcting his balance and continuing down the steps.

BIDEN’S 2024 TEAM IS ON A MISSION TO STOP HIM FROM TRIPPING AMID STRUGGLE WITH ‘SIGNIFICANT SPINAL ARTHRITIS’

Earlier this year, the White House physician diagnosed Biden with “significant spinal arthritis,” and since then he has had multiple tripping incidents that get many people questioning his age and whether he is fit to serve as president.

To prevent another embarrassing fall, Axios reported Tuesday, Biden’s team is making a conscious effort to have him wear tennis shoes and limit stair climbs.

HOUSE REPUBLICANS ANNOUNCE FIRST BIDEN IMPEACHMENT INQUIRY HEARING TO BE HELD THIS WEEK

He is also undergoing physical therapy with specialist Drew Contreras, who worked with President Barack Obama. Contreras has recommended several exercises to improve the president’s balance, the outlet reported.

Observers noted when Biden began wearing sneakers in public this summer after his nasty fall at the Air Force Academy in June. He also began boarding Air Force One via shorter stairs to a lower level, another move aimed at preventing falls.

WATCH: KARINE JEAN-PIERRE DODGES WHEN PRESSED ON BIDEN’S SOUR APPROVAL RATING, AGE, MENTAL FITNESS

A fall in public during the election season could have crippling effects on Biden’s campaign, as he is already scrutinized heavily for his age.

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

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Another poll from the Washington Post and ABC News this week found that 3 out of 5 Democrats would prefer someone else be the party’s 2024 nominee.

Fox News Digital’s Anders Hagstrom contributed to this report.

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

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

SECOND DEBATE: Before you dive into today’s newsletter, be sure to first sign up to watch the next Republican presidential primary debate here.

What’s happening:

• President Biden briefly joined the UAW strike picket line before in Michigan before departing to attend a California fundraiser… 
• The House aims to hold a procedural vote Tuesday evening to move forward on an interim spending bill… 
• The federal government will enter a partial shutdown around midnight Saturday unless Congress passes a budget… 
• The stage for the second GOP presidential debate is set. Opening statements begin 9 p.m. ET Wednesday…

LOSING HIS LUSTER: Calls for Sen. Bob Menendez’s resignation are growing at a rapid pace following his latest corruption charges. Democrats in the House and Senate — including many from Menendez’s home state of New Jersey — believe it’s time for the twice-indicted politician to step down.

But Menendez has resisted the pressure so far, claiming the latest bribery allegations are part of a “smear campaign” against him. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has not called for Menendez’s resignation — but over a dozen other Democrats in the Senate say he needs to step down …Read more

The Justice Department’s indictment accuses Menendez of accepting bribes in the form of gold bars, wads of cash, mortgage payments and luxury car loans in exchange for aiding the Egyptian government and attempting to influence criminal prosecutions …Read more

White House

‘SERIOUS MATTER’: White House so far has declined to ask Menendez to resign …Read more

BEFORE THE FALL: The White House takes steps to prevent the president from tripping again …Read more

ELECTRIC CHARGE: Republicans scrutinize Biden’s energy secretary for an incident during her tour of EV charging stations that prompted a call to police …Read more

BECOMING THE HUNTER: Hunter Biden sues former Trump fixer Rudy Giuliani, and his attorneys make a stunning claim about his ‘laptop’ …Read more

Capitol Hill

SON’S RUN: Sen. Menendez’s son announced his House re-election bid soon after his father’s corruption indictment …Read more 

OUT TO LUNCH: Republicans push back at Biden admin’s attempts to tie school meal funding to LGBTQ+ programming …Read more

‘HOSTAGE’ NEGOTIATOR: House Republicans say the GOP holdouts against McCarthy have no alternative speaker in mind …Read more

Campaign Trail

‘WRONG LEADERS’: Air Force veteran challenging vulnerable Senate Democrat lays out why he’s running …Read more

OFF TO THE RACES: The Pennsylvania Senate race is heating up with a big name Republican entering the field …Read more

ALT-LEFT: House Democrat still concerned about Biden leading the 2024 ticket, won’t rule out himself as an alternative …Read more

3RD-PARTY MELTDOWN: White House finds the potential for third party spoilers ‘pretty f—ing concerning,’ according to some Biden allies …Read more

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FIRST ON FOX: An Indiana Republican congressman running for Senate secured a major endorsement from a former Cabinet secretary.

Fox News Digital has learned that former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is endorsing Indiana Republican Rep. Jim Banks for Senate.

Banks is running to replace outgoing Senator Mike Braun, R-Ind., who is running for the Hoosier State governorship.

JIM BANKS ACCUSES EGG TYCOON RIVAL IN INDIANA GOP SENATE PRIMARY OF TRYING TO ‘SCREW’ FAMILIES

“Jim Banks is the America-first leader we need in the United States Senate,” Pompeo said in a statement obtained by Fox News Digital. “Jim served our nation in Afghanistan, served Indiana in the State Senate, and fought unabashedly for a strong America in Congress.”

Pompeo said Banks’ “conservative record is clear, and now more than ever, we need fighters like him who won’t back down on securing our border, strengthening our military, and pushing back against Biden’s woke agenda.”

“It is an honor to have Secretary Pompeo’s support in our campaign to bring our Hoosier conservative values to the United States Senate,” Banks said.

“I am grateful for his hard and important work to champion our conservative, America-first values on the world stage during the Trump Administration and beyond,” he continued.

“I hope to fight for these same principles in the Senate and am grateful for his support,” Banks added.

Banks has been the favorite in the race for months, having snagged endorsements from a litany of local, state and federal Republicans.

Earlier this month, Banks told Fox News Digital that he would “welcome competition” in the race, but did not hesitate to cut deep into his new opponent’s perceived flaws — including an ongoing lawsuit over accusations of price gouging and coordinating to maximize profits. 

John Rust, chairman of Rose Acre Farms and a sixth-generation Indiana egg farmer, recently announced a long-shot bid for the spot being vacated by current Sen. Mike Braun, R-Ind., who is running for governor. 

Banks accused his primary challenger for Indiana’s open Senate seat of trying “to screw” Indiana families during the height of inflation.

“This fella has a lot of obstacles overcome to actually get on the ballot. But if he does, we’ll have a spirited race and talk about the differences between my proven conservative track record and his lifetime of voting for Democrats,” Banks said in an interview at the National Republican Senatorial Committee. 

“I find that to be just disgusting that this guy, and his family, would be a part of a scheme to screw people in Indiana who are trying to put food on the table, and they made it even harder on them during COVID to do that,” Banks said. “His business is being sued for it. I’m going to make sure that a guy like that never goes anywhere near the United States Senate.”

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Rust, who spoke with Fox News Digital last month, said at the time he was a lifelong conservative who only voted for Democrats when he “knew people personally” who were running in left-wing primaries.

But Banks is still considered the favorite for the deep-red state’s Senate seat. He told Fox News Digital that Indianans want a senator who’s committed to restoring Trump administration policies on China, the border and the economy, among other issues. 

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

Fox News Digital’s Elizabeth Elkind contributed reporting.

Tech billionaire Elon Musk said on Tuesday he will visit the southern border in Eagle Pass, Texas, in the coming days as the ongoing migrant crisis is escalating and seeing new record numbers.

Musk, who owns Tesla, SpaceX and X, has shown significant interest in the ongoing crisis and has been posting about it frequently on X — formerly known as Twitter.

In a post early Tuesday morning, he said that he had spoken to Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-Texas, about the crisis and how it was a “serious issue.”

ELON MUSK ACCUSES MEDIA OF IGNORING BORDER CRISIS BECAUSE THEY WERE ‘INSTRUCTED NOT TO COVER IT’

“They are being overwhelmed by unprecedented numbers – just hit an all-time high and still growing!” he said.

“Am going to visit Eagle Pass later this week to see what’s going on for myself.”

It comes as migrant numbers have surged after a brief lull in the early summer. Numbers rocketed in July and August, with the more than 230,000 encounters at the border, marking the highest August on record.

Those numbers look set to be even higher in September, with scenes this month of thousands of mostly single adult Venezuelan male migrants flooding into Eagle Pass. The crisis caused border authorities to shut down bridges and surge resources to the area in an effort to cope.

Customs and Border Protection sources told Fox News on Monday that there were approximately 11,000 migrant encounters at the southern border, exceeding the record highs seen in the days before the Title 42 public health order ended in May and making it the single highest day in recent memory.

In Eagles Pass alone, there were more than 4,000 encounters over the weekend.

Musk has been sounding the alarm over the crisis, and recently scolded “media NPCs” who are “instructed not to cover it.”

MIGRANT NUMBERS SURGED IN AUGUST AS SOUTHERN BORDER CRISIS RAGES, SETTING NEW RECORD 

In response to a report on how New York City is being overwhelmed by migrants who have surged into the sanctuary city, Musk described it as a “severe crisis.” He has also taken aim at the Biden administration over its handling of the crisis.

“Strange that there is almost no legacy media coverage of this. About 2 million people – from every country on Earth – are entering through the US southern border every year,” he said on X last week. “The number is rising rapidly, yet no preventive action is taken by the current administration.”

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His criticism ties into those being made by Republicans, who have put the blame for the crisis on the Biden administration — specifically for rolling back Trump-era policies, reducing interior enforcement and increasing releases of migrants into the U.S.

The Biden administration has said it is dealing with a Hemisphere-wide challenge, and that its strategy of increasing “consequences” for illegal entry while expanding what it says are “lawful migration pathways” are working — but that it needs more funding and comprehensive immigration reform from Congress to fix a “broken” system.

Fox News’ Griff Jenkins and Bill Melugin contributed to this report. 

Hunter Biden on Tuesday filed a lawsuit against Rudy Giuliani alleging the former President Trump lawyer violated his privacy rights by illegally disseminating content from Biden’s infamous laptop.

The complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California states Giuliani is “primarily responsible” for the “total annihilation” of Biden’s digital privacy. It also names Robert Costello, a former federal prosecutor who previously represented Giuliani, as a defendant, Fox News has confirmed. 

“For the past many months and even years, Defendants have dedicated an extraordinary amount of time and energy toward looking for, hacking into, tampering with, manipulating, copying, disseminating, and generally obsessing over data that they were given that was taken or stolen from Plaintiff’s devices or storage platforms, including what Defendants claim to have obtained from Plaintiff’s alleged ‘laptop’ computer,” Biden’s attorneys wrote in the complaint, claiming that the data was not even from a “laptop,” but from an “external drive.”

The contents of this “external drive” include pictures, videos, emails and other data that since their initial publication by the New York Post in 2020, have paced Biden in legal jeopardy and caused political problems for this father, President Biden.

NEWSOM’S LONGTIME TIES TO HUNTER BIDEN EMERGE AFTER HE JUSTIFIES HIS BUISNESS DEALS: ‘HERE’S MY DIRECT EMAIL’

Giuliani and Costello have openly acknowledged that they obtained copies of files from a hard drive device that Biden allegedly left at a Delaware computer repair shop in 2019. Giuliani provided that information to the Post in October 2020, which published a story based on Hunter Biden’s emails that implicated President Biden in a business deal with a Ukrainian company that had hired Hunter on its board. 

House Republicans have launched an impeachment inquiry into President Biden based on claims that he used his position, then as vice president, to deter Ukrainian prosecutors from investigating the company that his son worked for. GOP lawmakers further allege, based on their follow-up investigations, that the president was involved in several business deals arranged by his son Hunter. 

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The president has repeatedly denied any involvement in his son’s business dealings.

BOB MENENDEZ ENLISTS HUNTER BIDEN’S DEFENSE ATTORNEY IN BRIBERY CASE

Hunter Biden’s attorneys previously issued cease-and-desist letters to Giuliani and others who obtained and disseminated the laptop’s contents.

The lawsuit seeks a court order to prevent Giuliani and others from accessing, tampering with, manipulating or copying Biden’s data and have them return the “device/hard drive” to Biden, along with any backup files, cloud files or copies of the same data.

Neither attorneys for Hunter Biden nor a representative for Giuliani immediately responded to a request for comment. 

The lawsuit filed Tuesday is the latest effort from Biden and his lawyers to hit back after leaks of the information catapulted his sordid private life onto the front page of many conservative media outlets.

HUNTER BIDEN SUES FORMER WH AIDE FOR ALTERING, PUBLISHING ‘PORNOGRAPHIC’ PHOTOS FROM THE LAPTOP HE DENIES IS HIS

Earlier this month, the president’s son sued former President Trump aide Garrett Ziegler, alleging that Ziegler and his company spread “tens of thousands of emails, thousands of photos, and dozens of videos and recordings” that were considered “pornographic” from the device.

In March, Biden initiated a countersuit asserting that the Wilmington, Delaware, computer repair shop owner, John Paul Mac Isaac, had unlawfully disseminated Biden’s personal information, and leveled six invasion of privacy charges against him. Mac Isaac first filed a lawsuit against the president’s son — as well as CNN, Politico, and Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif.— in October 2022 for defamation.

According to Mac Isaac, Biden did not return for the laptop within three months after dropping it off, and he could not be reached. He then alerted the FBI after seeing emails illustrating information about then-Vice President Joe Biden’s purported foreign business dealings and videos of Biden taking drugs and performing sex acts with prostitutes.

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Before federal agents picked up the device, Mac Isaac made a copy of its hard drive and gave it to Giuliani the following year.

Biden was expected to plead guilty in July to two misdemeanor tax counts of willful failure to pay federal income tax as part of a plea deal to avoid jail time on a felony gun charge. Instead, he pleaded not guilty to two misdemeanor tax charges and one felony gun charge last month.

Fox News’ Jamie Joseph contributed to this report.