NationalWatch

Democratic New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani lost the endorsement of a longtime state party leader despite having the backing of New York Gov. Kathy Hochul.

New York State Democratic Committee (NYSDC) Chairman Jay Jacobs announced this week that he will not back Mamdani for mayor despite Democratic voters selecting the Democratic socialist as the party’s nominee. 

“Mr. Mamdani and I are in agreement that America’s greatest problem is the continued growth of income disparity in our nation,” Jacobs said in a statement to The Hill. “On how to address it — we fundamentally disagree.” 

EX-MAYOR DE BLASIO TOUTS SOCIALIST MAMDANI AS NEW YORK CITY’S ANSWER TO TRUMP POLICIES

The Hill reported that the NYSDC leader said that he disagreed with Mamdani’s stance on Israel. 

Mamdani has been a vocal critic of Israel’s actions throughout the war against Hamas terrorists in Gaza. His stance on the issue has become a major topic of the campaign cycle, particularly when he refused to condemn the phrase “globalize the intifada,” which some view as a call for violence against Jews. Mamdani has since distanced himself from the phrase, saying he would discourage his supporters from using it. 

While he would not back Mamdani for mayor, Jacobs dismissed “fearmongering” surrounding the self-described Democratic socialist’s campaign as “a gross over-reaction.”

MAMDANI APPEALS TO NON-DEMOCRATS WITH GENERAL ELECTION PUSH, VOWS GOVERNMENT CAN MEET VOTERS’ ‘MATERIAL NEEDS’

It remains unclear how the loss of Jacobs’ endorsement will affect Mamdani’s campaign.

However, it could have an impact on Jacobs’ position as a leader of the party. According to Politico, Jacobs said he would resign from his post if Hochul were to request it.

“If the governor should ever ask any state chair to resign, they should resign,” Jacobs told Politico.

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Hochul announced her endorsement of Mamdani in an opinion piece in The New York Times on Sept. 14. 

She shared the article on X and captioned the post, “New York City deserves a mayor who will stand up to Donald Trump and make life more affordable for New Yorkers. That’s [Zohran Mamdani].”

A recent Quinnipiac University survey showed Mamdani garnering 45% support among likely New York City voters. He was followed by former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo at 23%, Guardian Angels co-founder Curtis Sliwa at 15%, and New York City Mayor Eric Adams at 12%. Cuomo and Adams are running as independents, while Sliwa is running as a Republican.

Fox News Digital reached out to Jacobs, Mamdani and Hochul but did not immediately hear back.

The White House released an emotional video tribute to Charlie Kirk featuring excerpts from a speech his widow, Erika, gave in the wake of his assassination in which she declared, “You have no idea the fire that you have ignited.” 

“Charlie always said that when he was gone, he wanted to be remembered for his courage and for his faith,” Erika Kirk is heard saying as the video displayed scenes of memorials and vigils held for Kirk around the U.S. “Now and for all eternity, he will stand at his Savior’s side, wearing the glorious crown of a martyr.” 

“The evildoers responsible for my husband’s assassination have no idea what they have done,” she added. “They killed Charlie because he preached a message of patriotism, faith, and of God’s merciful love. They should all know this: If you thought that my husband’s mission was powerful before, you have no idea. You have no idea what you just have unleashed across this entire country, in this world. You have no idea.” 

The clip also features Erika Kirk vowing: “The movement my husband built will not die. It won’t. I refuse to let that happen.”  

‘SLEEPING GIANT’ LIKELY WOKE UP FOR TURNING POINT USA AFTER CHARLIE KIRK’S ASSASSINATION 

At one point, Kirk’s casket is shown being taken off Air Force Two after it arrived in Arizona following his assassination on Sept. 10 at Utah Valley University.  

In another portion, Kirk is seen walking alongside President Donald Trump. 

ERIKA KIRK BREAKS SILENCE AFTER HUSBAND CHARLIE’S ASSASSINATION WITH ADDRESS AT TURNING POINT USA HEADQUARTERS 

“I want you to remember that we did not earn this, this is God’s mercy on our country,” Kirk is heard saying himself near the end of the video. 

The clip concludes by showing a photo of Kirk with one of his children and him kissing his wife, Erika. 

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“The legacy of Charlie Kirk,” the White House wrote in a caption on X. 

Elon Musk resurfaced former Vice President and former Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris’ years-old call for President Donald Trump’s ban from social media as she claims “free speech” concerns over Jimmy Kimmel being pulled off the air.

Harris has weighed in on Disney’s decision to pull ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” off the air “indefinitely,” defending Kimmel and slamming what she calls an “outright abuse of power” by the Trump administration.

“What we are witnessing is an outright abuse of power. This administration is attacking critics and using fear as a weapon to silence anyone who would speak out. Media corporations — from television networks to newspapers — are capitulating to these threats,” Harris wrote on X about Kimmel’s suspension. “We cannot dare to be silent or complacent in the face of this frontal assault on free speech. We, the people, deserve better.”

Many X users, including Musk, the platform’s owner, were quick to point out Harris’ own past statements, some suggested they appeared to support censorship.

Musk resurfaced a 2019 tweet by Harris when Trump was serving his first time. Harris, a U.S. senator representing California at the time, was running for vice president when she made the post on X, now Twitter. 

“Look let’s be honest, @realDonaldTrump’s Twitter account should be suspended,” Harris wrote on Sept. 30, 2019. 

DISNEY’S JIMMY KIMMEL BENCHING PROMPTS CELEBRATION, BUT ALSO CAUTION, FROM CONSERVATIVES

Musk re-posted the message on Friday, adding a thinking face emoji. 

Kimmel’s show was pulled after he accused conservatives of reaching “new lows” in trying to pin a left-wing ideology on Tyler Robinson, who is accused of assassinating Charlie Kirk, even though prosecutors reaffirmed those ties in an indictment.

“We hit some new lows over the weekend with the MAGA gang desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them and doing everything they can to score political points from it,” Kimmel said, sparking outrage.

There have been several questions about the role the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) played in the suspension. Those questioning the move are on both sides of the aisle, with Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, warning conservatives that they “will regret” setting the precedent.

“What he is saying is Jimmy Kimmel was lying. That’s true, he was lying, and lying to the American people is not in the public interest,” Cruz said on an episode of his podcast. “He threatens explicitly — we’re going to cancel ABC News’ license. We’re going to take him off the air, so ABC cannot broadcast anymore … He threatens it.”

CRUZ WARNS CONSERVATIVES ‘WILL REGRET’ FCC CENSORSHIP PUSH AGAINST ABC, OTHER MEDIA OUTLETS

FCC Chairman Brendan Carr joined Fox News’ Sean Hannity on Sept. 17, the day the suspension was announced, and defended the move.

“Broadcasters are different than any other form of communication,” Carr said, pointing to affiliate groups like Nexstar and Sinclair that announced they would no longer carry “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” He argued that local stations acted appropriately, saying they were “standing up to serve the interests of their community.” 

“Over the years, the FCC walked away from enforcing that public interest obligation,” Carr said. “I don’t think we’re better off as a country for it.”

FCC CHAIR BRENDAN CARR DEFENDS ABC AFFILIATES PULLING JIMMY KIMMEL SHOW AFTER MONOLOGUE ABOUT CHARLIE KIRK

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told Fox News on Saturday that the decision to “fire Jimmy Kimmel and to cancel his show came from executives at ABC.”

“That has now been reported,” Leavitt said. “And I can assure you it did not come from the White House and there was no pressure given from the president of the United States.” 

The Biden-Harris administration has seen its share of censorship controversies, particularly in its interactions with social media companies during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

During a 2021 press conference, then-White House press secretary Jen Psaki said that the administration was “flagging problematic posts for Facebook that spread disinformation.”

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In August 2024, just ahead of the presidential election, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg admitted in a letter that the Biden-Harris administration pressured Facebook to censor Americans.

Zuckerberg made the admission in a letter to House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, more than a year after providing the committee with thousands of documents as part of its investigation into content moderation on online platforms.

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

President Donald Trump’s administration on Friday asked the Supreme Court to permit enforcement of a passport policy requiring transgender and nonbinary applicants to list their sex as male or female according to their birth certificate.

Due to a lower court order, transgender and nonbinary people can receive passports with an “X” identification marker instead of male or female. The Justice Department has appealed that order, the Associated Press reported.

DEMOCRATIC STATES SUE TRUMP ADMIN OVER ENDING SEX CHANGE SURGERIES FOR MINORS

In its filing on Friday, Justice Department lawyers argued, “Private citizens cannot force the government to use inaccurate sex designations on identification documents that fail to reflect the person’s biological sex — especially not on identification documents that are government property and an exercise of the President’s constitutional and statutory power to communicate with foreign governments.”

On Jan. 20, President Trump signed an executive order directing the federal government to recognize only male or female designations based on “an individual’s immutable biological classification.” 

TRUMP WARNS CALIFORNIA OVER TRANSGENDER POLICIES AFTER ISSUE HITS HIGH SCHOOL VOLLEYBALL

The order instructed the State Department to issue official documents, including passports, in line with that standard.

A federal judge in Massachusetts later ruled the State Department must provide transgender and nonbinary applicants with passports reflecting the gender designation they select. 

TRUMP DEFENDS LABELING ANTIFA A ‘TERRORIST ORGANIZATION’ AS HE TARGETS LEFT-WING EXTREMISM

The 1st Circuit Court of Appeals declined to block that order while the case moves forward, prompting the administration to appeal to the Supreme Court.

For more than three decades before the Trump administration, the State Department permitted people to update the sex designation on their passports.

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In 2022, the Biden administration introduced the option for applicants to choose “X” as a gender-neutral designation and to select “M” or “F” to indicate male or female, according to Reuters.

Fox News’ Bill Mears and Shannon Bream contributed to this report.

President Donald Trump spent the bulk of the week in the U.K. where he inked a new tech deal, and closed out the week gearing up to attend the memorial service of conservative activist Charlie Kirk in Arizona. 

During the trip abroad, Trump and U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer unveiled a new $350 billion tech investment plan, which is expected to generate 15,000 jobs across the U.K. and up to 2,500 jobs in the U.S. 

Specific details of the “Tech Prosperity Deal” are sparse, but officials said that the plan will invest in the development of 12 advanced nuclear reactors and that energy will go toward supplying energy needs for the U.K. and the U.S. 

“It’s a blueprint to win this new era together. Shape it according to our shared values, and seize the incredible opportunities that are on offer,” Starmer said. “We have huge new investments from Nvidia N scale, Open AI, Google, Salesforce and many more backing cutting-edge British jobs for years to come.”

TRUMP HEADS TO UK FOR RARE SECOND STATE VISIT, THEN TO ARIZONA FOR CHARLIE KIRK’S FUNERAL

The plan will accumulate $50 billion in economic value and will deliver power to as many as 1.5 million homes, according to Trump. 

Trump also touted the close relationship between the U.S. and the U.K. during a state dinner at Windsor Castle with members of the U.K.’s royal family, including King Charles III. 

“His Majesty spoke eloquently about the bond which inspired Sir Winston Churchill — the bust is in the Oval Office right now — the beautiful bust of Winston Churchill, to coin the phrase ‘special relationship,’ but seen from American eyes, the word ‘special’ does not begin to do it justice,” Trump said Wednesday. “We’re joined by history and fate, by love and language and by transcendent ties of culture, tradition, ancestry and destiny.”

TRUMP EYES REMARKS AT CHARLIE KIRK MEMORIAL IN ARIZONA, BLAMES LEFT FOR SUSPECT’S RADICALIZATION

Trump arrived back in Washington later Thursday and will leave for Kirk’s memorial service Sunday at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. The venue holds 63,400 people and has the capacity for up to 73,000 for “mega-events,” according to its website.

Kirk, 31, was killed during a stop on his American Comeback Tour Sept. 10 at Utah Valley University. Kirk’s death has also raised questions about Trump’s own security, amid two assassination attempts on Trump’s life in 2024. 

A senior administration official confirmed to Fox News Digital Friday that federal law enforcement agencies like the Department of Homeland Security released a report Thursday cautioning that they are monitoring “several threats of unknown credibility” against Trump, Vice President JD Vance and others expected to attend Kirk’s memorial service. 

TRUMP’S SECURITY UNDER SCRUTINY AS SECRET SERVICE BRACES FOR KIRK MEMORIAL 

The assessment asserts that the memorial may be an attractive target for violent extremists or lone wolf actors due to the significant media coverage it’s expected to attract.

Meanwhile, Trump said he likely will share some remarks during the memorial service. 

“It’s going to be big,” Trump told reporters Monday. “I’m going to be at the stadium, and I guess I’ll say a few words. I don’t know, but I guess I will, but I knew him very well. He was an amazing guy. He was all about young people and getting them started.”

Fox News’ Caitlin McFall contributed to this report. 

The Army is expanding its use of artificial intelligence beyond drones — from wearable smart glasses that train mechanics in the field to automated defenses against swarms of cheap enemy aircraft — as leaders warn the counter-drone fight is now “problem 1A” for the nation.

Speaking to reporters this week, Army Secretary Dan Driscoll described a pilot program in which soldiers wearAI-enabled Ray-Ban glasses that record repair jobs and then use generative models to walk less-experienced troops through infantry squad vehicle maintenance. He said it reflects a new push to bring consumer technology into the force “a lot more quickly” than in the past. While Meta may have spent billions developing the glasses, the Army is testing them for about $400 a pair.

Gen. Randy George, the Army’s chief of staff, said the same approach applies to the Pentagon’s top emerging challenge: defending against drones.

“This is problem 1A that we’re facing as a country,” Driscoll said, stressing that counter-drone technology must be cheap, fast and automated. “If you think of a drone swarm … it is a nearly impossible idea for even human beings [to handle].”

AI ARMS RACE: US AND CHINA WEAPONIZE DRONES, CODE AND BIOTECH FOR THE NEXT GREAT WAR

That challenge has been underscored overseas, where advanced aircraft have been used to intercept relatively inexpensive drones. “If you’ve got a $5,000 drone, you want a $2,000 or $3,000 or $4,000 interceptor, and that’s what we’re focused on,” George said. 

Last week, Dutch F-35s and Polish F-16s deployed to take out dozens of Russian drones flying into Russian territory.

George added that the Army is testing proximity rounds and high-energy lasers, while the bigger hurdle is defending against drones in crowded civilian airspace.

As part of the Army’s “continuous transformation” initiative, George said 25 brigades will be overhauled in the next two years to make them more lethal, mobile and survivable in high-threat environments. The first armored brigade combat teams are set to rotate through the National Training Center in California this November, followed by a large-scale exercise in Hawaii.

George also pointed to armor modernization, saying the Army’s next-generation M1E3 tank — envisioned as a lighter, faster replacement for the Abrams — could reach units as early as next year. That would mark a major acceleration, since earlier projections suggested the vehicle would not field until the 2030s.

To pay for its modernization drive, Driscoll said the Army plans to cut $48 billion over five years from programs it no longer needs, reinvesting in drones, air defenses and long-range fires. 

PENTAGON UNVEILS $961B BUDGET REQUEST: FUND FOR GOLDEN DOME, MISSILES AND DRONES, FEWER F-35 JETS

The service also launched a $750 million “Fuse” fund to support small and mid-sized businesses and previewed new acquisition reforms to be detailed at next month’s AUSA conference. Modeled partly on the rapid iteration practices of commercial companies, the changes will co-locate soldiers, engineers and contractors to speed up design and fielding.

Officials also highlighted in-house efforts. George said the Army is now building its own drones at depots with all-American parts — including models already flying in Ukraine — to help replenish stockpiles. Driscoll said 3D printing is being tested as a way to overcome the “tyranny of distance” in the Indo-Pacific, allowing soldiers to fabricate parts in theater instead of waiting on long supply lines.

George pointed to battlefield command as another area of change. The 4th Infantry Division is now testing command-and-control apps on ruggedized tablets — replacing the trucks and racks of radios that have long anchored Army command posts. 

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The move is designed to make headquarters smaller and harder to target, though outside experts have warned that relying on commercial-style devices could introduce new cyber vulnerabilities and durability issues in combat.

Driscoll also credited President Trump with backing the Army’s overhaul. “They’ve held the line every single time when we have made a hard decision,” he said. Still, he acknowledged that each of the $48 billion in cuts has defenders in Congress and industry.

Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, believes there are just four ways people end their time on Capitol Hill.

“You can die, you can lose, you can get indicted, or you can go out on top, and that’s door number four,” he told Fox News Digital. “And I think door number four looks attractive.”

And for McCaul, going out on top means ending a career of over two decades serving Texas’ 10th congressional district. He’s served two three-term stints as the top Republican on the committees on Foreign Affairs and Homeland Security, respectively – the maximum allowed time for members of the House GOP conference. He is not running again in the November midterms.

The Texas Republican, who will be 64 when he leaves Congress at the end of 2026, is still hoping to have an impact on the U.S. national security sphere when he’s gone.

HOUSE PASSES TRUMP-BACKED PLAN TO AVERT GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN

He told Fox News Digital that he’s expressed interest to the Trump administration about potentially serving as U.S. ambassador to Australia.

“Being ambassador to Australia, I think would be a very good fit for me – after AUKUS, do what I did there, AI, advanced weapons systems – stuff I’ve worked on could play well both as ambassador, but also on a board of directors of a company that does that,” McCaul said.

AUKUS refers to a trilateral security agreement between the U.S., U.K. and Australia, widely seen as a response to China’s encroachment in the Pacific.

McCaul was one of AUKUS’s lead champions in Congress both as Foreign Affairs Committee chair and co-chair of the Friends of Australia Caucus.

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

“I think I’d be good at it. I mean, I know all the players,” he said of a potential ambassadorship. “I know their issues. But in the meantime, these offers are coming in – I’ve got a year and a half still around. I’ll figure it out.”

He said of other post-Congress possibilities, “Most of the offers, they’re in the national security space.”

“I’ve had several offers in the intelligence space as well. So I’d still be in it. There are a couple of think tanks where you still get on television. I could still be a relevant voice on the issues I care about. And in a way, I can focus more about what I’m passionate on, and be a voice for that, rather than being bogged down with a lot of other stuff.”

He’s worked on a lot of those issues that he cares about over his 20-plus years in Congress, as well.

“It’s been an honor of a lifetime – chairing Homeland Security during one of the most dangerous times with the rise of the ISIS caliphate and all the external operations that we want to stop, establishing the cybersecurity agency. I did TSA PreCheck and Global Entry – those were fun things to work on. But then, as the chairman of Foreign Affairs, working on very big foreign policy issues like the fall of Afghanistan,” McCaul said. 

“Everything I’ve done with Ukraine after [Russian President Vladimir Putin] invaded – that emergency wartime supplemental bill was probably the highlight, because had we not passed that, I think Russia would be occupying Ukraine today, and they’d be in Moldova and Georgia and maybe threatening the Baltic States and Poland.”

The senior lawmaker has been a leading voice on foreign policy in a Republican Party that’s seen a growing isolationist streak – something McCaul said concerned him.

“I think it’s a very dangerous mentality. It didn’t work in 1939, and there are a lot of parallels to 1939 today. Now, I think burden sharing, that’s real. I think, you know, having NATO standing up – I think [President Donald Trump] is right about that. I think he wants other NATO countries to do secondary sanctions, and it should be a team effort,” he said.

“But I think there are certain people in the administration that are very much – the America First I agree with, but it’s not at the expense of abdicating our responsibility to lead the world. And I think that’s dangerous if that’s what they think America First is all about.”

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Asked if he had any regrets over his time in Congress, McCaul said he was proud of his work on Capitol Hill. 

“There was a time when, you know, there was a Senate possibility, but I wouldn’t trade what I have done for anything,” he said. “I feel very at peace with this, because I feel like I’m going out on top. I’ve chaired two major committees. I’ve been effective. There’s a good expression – I’ll miss the clowns, but I won’t miss the circus.”

Former Vice President Kamala Harris revealed in her upcoming book, “107 Days,” that then-President Joe Biden rattled her right before she went head-to-head with then-candidate Donald Trump on the debate stage.

Biden reportedly called Harris as she sat in a hotel room preparing for the only debate of her abbreviated campaign. He apparently wanted to wish her luck — and to scold her.

The then-president said, “My brother called. He’s been talking to a group of real power brokers in Philly,” according to an excerpt of the book in The Guardian. He then allegedly asked if Harris was familiar with several people related to the matter, which she was not.

KAMALA HARRIS COMPLAINS ABOUT ‘IMPOSSIBLE’ LACK OF SUPPORT FROM BIDEN’S COMMS TEAM, INNER CIRCLE

“His brother had told him that those guys were not going to support me because I’d been saying bad things about him. He wasn’t inclined to believe it, he claimed, but he thought I should know in case my team had been encouraging me to put daylight between the two of us,” Harris wrote in the book, according to an excerpt of the book in The Guardian.

Biden then went on to talk about his past debate performances, leaving Harris confused, “angry and disappointed,” according to The Guardian. She was upset that her boss had called before a critical moment in her political career and made “it all about himself.” Harris added that Biden was “distracting me with worry about hostile power-brokers in the biggest city of the most important state.”

Then-first gentleman Doug Emhoff apparently noticed his wife was in distress and advised her to “let it go” before facing off against Trump.

HARRIS TAPS DEM EMAILS LISTS TO MARKET NEW BOOK, SPARKING PARTY NEUTRALITY CONCERNS

While Harris avoided criticizing Biden during her campaign, she has used her upcoming book to shed light on the tensions between them as she took his place as the Democratic presidential nominee. Harris’ book is set to hit shelves on Sept. 23, but it has already sparked conversations about the 2024 election cycle.

In another section, Harris said while “it’s Joe and Jill’s decision” became a mantra ahead of the 2024 election cycle, she said it was “recklessness,” rather than “grace,” according to an excerpt released by The Atlantic.

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“‘It’s Joe and Jill’s decision.’ We all said that, like a mantra, as if we’d all been hypnotized. Was it grace, or was it recklessness? In retrospect, I think it was recklessness. The stakes were simply too high. This wasn’t a choice that should have been left to an individual’s ego, an individual’s ambition. It should have been more than a personal decision,” Harris wrote.

Harris also revealed in her book that then-Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg was her “first choice” as running mate, not Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz. However, she said it was “too big of a risk” because the campaign was “already asking a lot of America: to accept a woman, a Black woman, a Black woman married to a Jewish man.”

Fox News Digital’s Deirdre Heavey and Greg Norman contributed to this report.

Joni Ernst, chair of the Senate DOGE Committee, may lead one of the more hip caucuses in Congress – which has attracted young conservatives to policy debates – but no one has done that better than Charlie Kirk, she told Fox News Digital in an interview Thursday.

Ernst’s daughter, a West Point graduate, first broke the news of Kirk’s death to her during a Senate committee hearing.

“I was actually sitting in a Small Business Committee meeting and my daughter texted me that Charlie had been shot,” Ernst recalled. “I was trying to pay attention to the hearing while getting updates from her on what was happening.”

Her daughter, who had seen videos circulating online, told her, “There’s no way that Charlie is alive.” Ernst responded, “Pray, honey, because miracles happen. Unfortunately, this wasn’t what we prayed for.”

The senator said Kirk’s message resonated deeply with her family.

“They have followed Charlie Kirk and his message, and they’re always so excited that he is biblically founded, he believes in God’s word, and he has really drawn in a lot of young conservatives — people who felt they didn’t have a voice, especially after the four years under President Biden with all of his woke agenda,” she said.

Ernst, R-Iowa, said that her daughter and son-in-law admired Kirk’s willingness to debate opponents directly. “It made them more comfortable discussing difficult topics with friends and coworkers,” she said.

‘WE WON’T COWER’: YOUNG CONSERVATIVES BUILD ON KIRK LEGACY WITH NATIONWIDE SPEAKING TOUR

“[Kirk was] really grounded and centered in speaking truth. So they appreciated that. They followed him on Instagram and different platforms.”

Ernst said she and her family were also drawn to Kirk by his lack of apprehension to civilly debate anyone – and led them to be comfortable discussing similar topics with friends and coworkers.

“Unfortunately, the tragedy is as we thought it would be, because she saw it unfold with all the postings that were out there.

“The reassurance that I have to her and her husband are that his voice will continue to be out there and folks like her, they’ll amplify it, too. So his mission will live on.”

Ernst’s DOGE work, simultaneously popularized by Elon Musk, helped bring young people into the conservative fold.

CELEBRATORY, DISMISSIVE REACTIONS TO CHARLIE KIRK’S DEATH PUTTING EDUCATORS UNDER SCRUTINY

The lawmaker noted she had been working on DOGE-type work before the term even came into being. After her first election to the Senate, Ernst put out a statement pledging to make Washington “squeal” – in terms of slashing so-called pork-barrel spending.

“Prior to that, I was a county auditor and then in the state Senate. I’ve always been engaged in oversight of budgets, but coming into the senate, I have my ‘Squeal’ work. It really didn’t take off until we had [Musk] and President Trump really promoting DOGE. And Charlie Kirk was the same,” she said.

Prior to Kirk, the late radio host Rush Limbaugh inspired a generation of so-called “Rush Babies” in the 1980s and 1990s — young conservatives who regularly tuned into his AM talk show and credited him with shaping their early political views.

“[Rush Babies] simply illustrate how minds are shaped, opinions are validated, and sometimes how long it can take,” Limbaugh said in 2006, expressing sentiments that echoed what has been said of Kirk: 

“I have always felt confident that what’s being built here is going to last a long, long time. You might lose an election here and there, obviously, but these kinds of roots, they’re deep, and they’re going to get even deeper.”

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While comparisons have been drawn between Limbaugh’s political magnetism and that of newer faces like Kirk, Ernst said the latter connected even more with young conservatives than the late commentator did.

“I love Rush, and no offense to Rush, but I think Charlie was even more so,” she said.

“He was really capturing that next generation and going to where they were — not just being on the radio or broadcast — but actually going out and meeting face-to-face with people that maybe saw very differently than he did, and being willing to take those slings and arrows and most literally on that final day.”

“I think it’s hard for young people to communicate face-to-face, as we saw in many of his debates,” she added, citing how some critics had a difficult time debating him because they were often busy on their phones or were not used to connecting person-to-person.

“I would say he’s even more so than Rush. And it’s just so unfortunate and tragic that his life was cut so short.”

Erik Seibert, the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, resigned on Friday after the White House gave him the option to step down or be fired, Fox News has learned.

Siebert’s perceived unwillingness to bring local charges against New York Attorney General Letitia James, one of Trump’s top political nemeses, was the main reason for his ouster, according to multiple sources.

Siebert, who had worked in the Eastern District of Virginia since 2010, had not yet been confirmed in the Senate and was on track to be.

NY AG’S OFFICE HIRES ATTORNEY THAT REPPED HUNTER BIDEN TO DEFEND LETITIA JAMES AGAINST FRAUD ACCUSATIONS

A housing and finance banker familiar with the investigation into James told Fox News the mortgage fraud case against her is viable and that she is under scrutiny for, in at least one instance, declaring an investment property she owns as her primary or secondary residence, which would give her better loan terms.

The Eastern District of Virginia is one of the most closely watched U.S. attorney’s offices in the country, known in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks for successfully prosecuting Zacarias Moussaoui, who is serving life in prison for his role in planning the attacks.

The court district has since been a go-to office for high-profile national security and counterterrorism cases.

ABC News first reported on the Trump administration’s plans to force Siebert out of his job.

Trump said later on Friday to reporters that he had withdrawn Siebert’s nomination; however, the president attributed it to the support Siebert had garnered from the two Democratic senators of Virginia. Sens. Tim Kaine and Mark Warner had approved Siebert’s nomination through the Senate’s blue slip tradition. U.S. attorney nominees typically require blue-slip approval from home state senators as part of the confirmation process.

“When I saw that he got approved by those two men [Kaine and Warner], I said, ‘Pull it because he can’t be any good,” Trump said, adding that he wanted Siebert “out.”

U.S. Pardon Attorney Ed Martin was given authority by Attorney General Pam Bondi to lead the investigation of James, a role that requires him to work in coordination with the Eastern District of Virginia’s U.S. attorney if he wants to bring charges in that jurisdiction.

Martin’s one-time nomination to be the U.S. attorney in Washington, D.C., was withdrawn this year amid concerns from certain Republicans about his lack of experience and other controversies surrounding his time as the temporary head of the office.

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In a letter to Martin last month, James’ attorney Abbe Lowell said he did not think Martin was “conducting a serious investigation or review of ‘mortgage fraud,’ and that, despite the lack of evidence or law, you will take whatever actions you have been directed to take to make good on President Trump’s and Attorney General Bondi’s calls for revenge for that reason alone.”

Fox News reached out to James’ attorney for comment. The White House, DOJ and Siebert declined to comment.

The Senate confirmed the last member of President Donald Trump’s Cabinet on Friday after months of delay from Senate Democrats.

Lawmakers confirmed Mike Waltz to be Trump’s ambassador to the United Nations on a bipartisan 47-45 vote. Sens. John Fetterman, D-Pa., Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., and Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., crossed the aisle to confirm him.

Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., was the lone Republican to vote against his confirmation. He also voted against Waltz’s advancing out of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

SENATE CONFIRMS DOZENS OF TRUMP NOMINEES IN FIRST TEST OF NEW NUCLEAR RULES

Waltz’s confirmation ends a nearly nine-month gap during which the U.S. was without a representative at the U.N., and it comes as the organization gears up for its General Assembly in New York City next week.

Waltz, a retired Army National Guard colonel and former Green Beret, previously served as a House Republican from Florida before being tapped to serve as Trump’s national security advisor.

However, he was dismissed from his position at the National Security Council following the “Signalgate” controversy after Waltz added a journalist to a group chat with Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, CIA Director John Ratcliffe, Vice President JD Vance and others as they discussed strikes in Yemen.

GOP TRIGGERS NUCLEAR OPTION IN SENATE TO BREAK DEM BLOCKADE OF TRUMP NOMINEES

Waltz took responsibility for the blunder and told Fox News’ Laura Ingraham at the time, “It’s embarrassing. We’re going to get to the bottom of it.”

Despite the hiccup, Trump tapped Waltz in May to be the U.S. ambassador to the U.N.

The move came after he subbed out Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., from the position. At the time, Trump cited concerns that losing her from the House would make it difficult to pass legislation, particularly his “big, beautiful bill,” given the GOP’s razor-thin majority in the lower chamber.

DEMS DIG IN AS GOP PREPARES TO GO NUCLEAR IN TRUMP NOMINEE RACE

Still, Waltz was scrutinized by Senate Democrats during his confirmation hearing in July, where lawmakers accused the former House Republican of an “amateurish” move for including a journalist into a sensitive conversation. Waltz pushed back that there was no classified information shared in the chat.

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During the hearing, Waltz advocated for reforms at the U.N. and argued that “we should have one place in the world where everyone can talk.”

“Where China, Russia, Europe, the developing world, can come together and resolve conflicts,” he said. “But after 80 years, it’s drifted from its core mission of peacemaking.”

Turning Point USA’s future could entail expanding the organization under the leadership of Erika Kirk, who was appointed to lead the conservative nonprofit following the assassination of her husband, Charlie Kirk, last week.

Alex Clark, host of the podcast “Culture Apothecary with Alex Clark” and a longtime TPUSA personality, explained that Kirk held a Zoom call on Wednesday with employees, noting that she has been an “absolute force” who wants to “10x the organization.”

Since the assassination, the group has received more than 62,000 new requests for high school and college chapters.

‘SLEEPING GIANT’ LIKELY WOKE UP FOR TURNING POINT USA AFTER CHARLIE KIRK’S ASSASSINATION

“I’m excited because Charlie had said on his show at one point that Erika was actually more conservative than he was, so I can’t wait to see what that means,” Clark told Fox News Digital in a phone interview on Thursday.

“I think that’s kind of a poetic justice that will be done to the left, because, obviously, they were excited that they took out Charlie, and they thought that everything would die with him. And that’s just clearly not even close to the reality of the situation.”

The election of Kirk as CEO and chair of the board was announced on Thursday.

“In prior discussions, Charlie expressed to multiple executives that this is what he wanted in the event of his death,” the organization posted on X.

Clark noted that preserving the mission of the group is critical during this time.

TURNING POINT USA ELECTS ERIKA KIRK AS NEW CEO, CHAIR OF THE BOARD FOLLOWING CHARLIE KIRK’S ASSASSINATION

“Erica is very sharp, and she already knows who is circling us that is an opportunist, and she is going to protect the integrity and legacy of Turning Point USA with everything that she has,” she said.

“So, for employees that work here, for donors, people that want to be involved, nobody should be afraid of what made Turning Point so special and so successful, that any of that would slip away. I think that she’s going to have the perfect ingredients to add to our success recipe to make it even better.”

Clark noted that the tragedy has brought people within the organization closer together.

ERIKA KIRK’S FIRST SPEECH SINCE HUSBAND’S ASSASSINATION SPARKS MASSIVE TPUSA CHAPTER SURGE NATIONWIDE

“I think the overall mood is like, ‘We want justice,’ and we are closer as a staff than ever before. I mean, it’s the new normal to see somebody that you’ve never really spoken to in the office and get them a hug and just say, ‘I love you, thank you for being here,’” she said.

Kirk’s celebration of life service is scheduled for Sunday at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, where President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance are among the list of speakers.  

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When asked about the political next steps following the shooting of Kirk, she said, “Every election is ours to lose for the foreseeable future here.”

“Charlie was very adamant that the next election is JD Vance’s and that we’re going to be playing a critical role in helping him with that,” Clark said, noting the role of TPUSA’s sister organization, Turning Point Action.

Prosecutors on Friday presented their final witness in the federal trial of Ryan Routh, accused of attempting to assassinate President Donald Trump at his West Palm Beach golf club on Sept. 15, 2024.

FBI Supervisory Special Agent Kimberly McGreevy testified about financial records, phone data, license plate readers and surveillance evidence that traced Routh’s movements from Hawaii to Florida ahead of the assassination attempt.

McGreevy read aloud a handwritten note Routh allegedly left in a box at Lazaro Plata’s home in Greensboro, North Carolina. The note began: “Dear World, .. This was an assassination attempt on Donald Trump, but I am so sorry I failed you… it’s up to you now to complete the job.” The letter also mentioned a $150,000 reward. McGreevy testified that bank transfers showed Routh had the money to pay that sum.

PROSECUTORS TO REST CASE IN TRUMP ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT TRIAL, DEFENSE PREPS WITNESSES

Jurors were shown evidence of accounts shared by Routh, his daughter Sara, and his son Adam, including a March 15, 2024 deposit of $162,000 into Sara’s account followed the same day by a $160,000 transfer to another account in her name. McGreevy also displayed alleged Venmo transactions moving money from Sara’s accounts to Ryan Routh.

Prosecutors introduced phone records showing web searches about Trump’s campaign schedule, rally tickets, golf courses, and personal whereabouts. McGreevy said the phones also showed searches for “how many bullets does an SKS rifle hold?” on Sept. 4, 2024, and hundreds of firearm images. One text exchange presented to jurors was between Routh and a contact named Vladmir. After an aerial image was sent, the exchange read:

Vladimir: “Palm Beach, yours?”

Routh: “Trump’s plane. He gets on and off every day.”

EXPLOSIVES EXPERT DETAILS DEVICES AS TRUMP ASSASSINATION TRIAL NEARS CLOSE

McGreevy testified that Routh’s “home base” between Aug. 14 and Sept. 15, 2024 was the Marathon truck stop in South Bay, Florida. Receipts showed he paid cash for overnight parking there, according to McGreevy.

Body cam footage from a welfare check at the truck stop showed Routh wearing madras-print shorts, later found in his Xterra and seen in airport surveillance when Routh watched Trump’s plane lift off on Sept. 7.

Jurors were also shown license plate reader data placing Routh’s black Nissan Xterra in the Palm Beach area on multiple occasions, including March 29, March 30, March 31, and April 3, 2024. McGreevy said one plate was registered to Sara Routh, another to a different car, and one was unassigned.

FBI PHONE EXTRACTIONS, DNA TESTIMONY HEADLINE DAY 7 OF RYAN ROUTH TRIAL

Prosecutors also presented a photo taken on one of Routh’s burner phones that showed a map of the 14th hole at Trump’s golf course with multiple pins dropped — and Routh visible in the reflection. They compared it with another photo showing the SKS rifle propped in a tree at the same hole. Nearby, investigators found a 56-ounce Sunny Delight bottle that matched a receipt recovered from Routh’s vehicle.

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Inside the courtroom, Routh entered smiling and wore a blue suit coat, white shirt and red striped tie, according to Fox News reporters inside the courtroom. His daughter, Sara, was the only family member present, taking notes. Routh also took notes, occasionally leaned back with one leg propped up and grinned when testimony alleged he paid for hardware supplies in cash.

The trial is set to continue next week, with the defense expected to begin calling its own witnesses after the government rests its case this afternoon.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., on Friday opposed a resolution honoring the life and legacy of Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk, who was assassinated Sept. 10 during a speaking engagement at Utah Valley University.

In a speech on the House floor, Ocasio-Cortez claimed the resolution was introduced on a “purely partisan basis, instead of uniting Congress.”

After condemning Kirk’s murder, she noted the resolution “brings great pain to the millions of Americans who endured segregation, Jim Crow and the legacy of bigotry today” and tore into the late 31-year-old’s ideology.

“We should be clear about who Charlie Kirk was, a man who believed that the Civil Rights Act that granted Black Americans the right to vote was a mistake, who, after the violent attack on Paul Pelosi, claimed that ‘some amazing patriot’ should bail out his brutal assailant and accused Jews of controlling ‘not just the colleges – it’s the nonprofits, it’s the movies, it’s Hollywood, it’s all of it,'” Ocasio-Cortez said. 

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

“His rhetoric and beliefs were ignorant, uneducated and sought to disenfranchise millions of Americans — far from the ‘working tirelessly to promote unity’ as asserted by the majority in this resolution.”

The resolution described Kirk as a “devoted Christian,” “dedicated husband” and a “loving father” of two, explaining his founding of Turning Point USA and commending his personification of the First Amendment.

It resolved the House of Representatives to condemn Kirk’s assassination and all forms of political violence; commended law enforcement for catching Kirk’s alleged killer; extended condolences to Kirk’s family; honored Kirk’s life, leadership and legacy; and called upon all Americans — regardless of race, party affiliation or creed — to “reject political violence, recommit to respectful debate, uphold American values, and respect one another as fellow Americans.”

‘FEARLESS’ TOUR TAKES CHARLIE KIRK’S FREE SPEECH MISSION TO COLLEGES NATIONWIDE

In addition to Ocasio-Cortez, 57 other Democrats voted against the resolution, including Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, Rashida Tlaib of Michigan and Maxine Waters of California. 

However, 95 Democrats voted to adopt the resolution, including Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., Whip Katherine Clark, D-Mass., and Caucus Chairman Pete Aguilar, D-Calif.

Here is a breakdown of public comments Kirk made regarding the topics Ocasio-Cortez mentioned in her dissent.

AOC CLAIM: Charlie Kirk was “a man who believed that the Civil Rights Act that granted Black Americans the right to vote was a ‘mistake'”

During a Feb. 2, 2024, podcast episode with “Fearless” host Jason Whitlock, Kirk acknowledged his ideas about the Civil Rights Act and its role in American society were “provocative,” thanking Whitlock for the opportunity to further explain.

“It’s an awful provocative conversation I started. I stand by it, and I appreciate the opportunity. I mean this sincerely, Jason — to explain it. There’s even some people on the right that have been just throwing insults, and they would never have me on the show to explain it.”

Kirk went on to say he extensively researched what the Civil Rights Act was, what it tried to accomplish, how it was sold to the American people at the time and how it is perceived now by the modern academic consensus.

“At the time, of course, there were legislative priorities that needed to be done by the federal government to stop bitter segregation — I’ve always held that,” Kirk said. “The American people thought they were getting minor legislative adjustments to say that segregation based on race is evil and wrong. In reality, what they got was the birthing of a permanent deep state of bureaucrats that were looking for racism where it didn’t exist, eventually with affirmative action, quotas and hiring practices expanded beyond race into LGBTQ-type issues. 

“What the Civil Rights era really birthed was this idea that it’s the federal government’s job not just to say that discrimination is wrong, but to actively go against any sort of disparate outcome and try to even the score under the guise of equity.”

ANTI-TRUMP VOICES PRAISE CHARLIE KIRK’S LEGACY AFTER ASSASSINATION, SAY HE WAS DOING POLITICS ‘THE RIGHT WAY’

Kirk went on to discuss Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I have a dream” speech, saying he “100% bought into” the need for equality, but adding he believed the Civil Rights Act was expanded further than the initial intention.

“At the time, a majority of Americans wanted to see an end to desegregation,” he said. “They didn’t want to see new segregation put forward in eventually anti-White hiring practices, affirmative action or the entire federal bureaucracy having racial hiring quotas.

“Eventually, you look around and you have the left defending Black-only dormitories at hundreds of universities across the country, Black-only graduation ceremonies. … You look back to the Civil Rights Act and you say maybe we overreached and built something we didn’t intend, a federal Leviathan in the form of anti-racism.”

WATCH: CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE FULL PODCAST EPISODE

AOC CLAIM: After Paul Pelosi’s violent assault, Charlie Kirk claimed ‘some amazing patriot’ should bail out his brutal assailant

In an Oct. 31, 2022, episode of “The Charlie Kirk Show,” titled “A Naked Smear of MAGA,” Kirk discussed the Oct. 28, 2022, attack against Nancy Pelosi’s husband, saying directly, “I’m not qualifying it, I think it’s awful.”

David DePape, a Canadian citizen living in the U.S., was sentenced to life in prison in 2024 after attacking Paul Pelosi with a hammer, causing two head wounds and injuries to his right arm and hand.

DePape, who Kirk described in the episode as someone who was “not sane,” admitted to devising a plot to hold then-Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi hostage and “break her kneecaps” if she did not admit to allegedly telling “lies” about the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential campaign. She was not home at the time of the attack.

Kirk’s comments about “bailing out” DePape were in relation to the concept of disparity within cashless bail policies.

Under cashless bail policies, a suspect who is arrested for a crime is released before a trial without having to pay bail or bond. The fees were put in place to ensure suspects do not flee and incentivize them to make scheduled court appearances.

While many liberal jurisdictions have enacted the policies, critics claim cashless bail puts the public at risk and enables repeat offenders.

“I’m not qualifying [the attack], I think it’s awful,” Kirk said. “It’s not right. But why is it that, in Chicago, you’re able to commit murder and be out the next day? Why is it that you’re able to trespass, second-degree murder, arson, threaten a public official, [and receive] cashless bail? This happens all over San Francisco, but if you go after the Pelosis … you’re [not] let out immediately. Got it.”

CHARLIE KIRK PAINTED AS ‘CONTROVERSIAL,’ ‘PROVOCATIVE’ IN MEDIA’S ASSASSINATION COVERAGE

Kirk went on to question why DePape was still incarcerated in San Francisco, a Democratic stronghold that had cashless bail policies in place at the time of Paul Pelosi’s attack.

Just a few months prior to the assault, San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins announced her office established a policy that would seek cash bail in certain misdemeanor cases, claiming bail “unfairly penalizes those with less financial means and disproportionately affects defendants of color.”

“Why is the conservative movement to blame for gay, schizophrenic nudists that are hemp jewelry makers, breaking into somebody’s home?” Kirk said while discussing DePape’s ideology. “Why are we to blame for that exactly, and why is he still in jail. Why has he not been bailed out? By the way, if some amazing patriot out there in San Francisco or the Bay Area wants to really be a midterm hero, someone should go and bail this guy out. I bet his bail is like 30[,000] or 40,000 bucks. Bail him out and then go ask him some questions.”

WATCH: CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE FULL EPISODE

Kirk went on to wish Paul Pelosi a quick recovery and condemned the attack a second time.

“So, look, I wish him the best. I wish him a speedy recovery,” Kirk said. “No one should have to encounter that sort of violence.”

AOC CLAIM: Charlie Kirk “accused Jews of controlling ‘not just the colleges – it’s the nonprofits, it’s the movies, it’s Hollywood, it’s all of it.'”

In an Oct. 26, 2024, episode of the “The Charlie Kirk Show” podcast, Kirk claimed Jewish donors have been the No. 1 funding mechanism of radical, open-border neoliberal quasi-Marxist policies, cultural institutions and nonprofits.

“This is a beast created by secular Jews,” Kirk said. “Now it’s coming for Jews, and they’re like, ‘What on Earth happened?’ It’s not just the colleges. It’s the nonprofits, it’s the movies, it’s Hollywood, it’s all of it.”

Kirk, a longtime supporter of Israel, later argued in a Nov. 16, 2023, episode of “The Charlie Kirk Show,” titled “Elon Musk Smashes the Digital Narratives,” that some Jewish organizations and donors, including the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), helped fund “anti-White” or “cultural Marxist” ideas aligned with the Black Lives Matter movement or Diversity and Equity Inclusion (DEI).

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He noted he does not believe all Jewish people are anti-White, specifying that he did “not like generalizations.”

“I don’t like generalizations,” Kirk said in the episode. “Not every Jewish person believes that. But it is true the Anti-Defamation League was part and parcel with Black Lives Matter. It is true that some of the largest financiers of left-wing anti-White causes have been Jewish Americans. They went all in on woke, and it wasn’t just ADL. It was some of the top Jewish organizations in the country that have done that. In fact, we have seen this with the recent retreat of Jewish donations that are no longer going to be administered to colleges.”

Kirk added that, after the October episode, critics labeled him antisemitic, clarifying he was “glad that Jewish Americans are reconsidering their financing of cultural Marxism, and people misunderstood it intentionally and slandered us as being antisemites.”

While “Cultural Marxism” has been used as an antisemitic phrase, commentators have been known to use it without antisemitic intent.

Rep. Mikie Sherrill, D-N.J., the far-left Democratic nominee for governor, called Charlie Kirk a Christian nationalist who wanted to roll back the rights of women and Black people after the passage of a House resolution honoring the conservative activist.

The House adopted a resolution to honor Kirk’s “life and legacy” Friday, just over a week after he was shot and killed during a college campus speaking event in Utah. The measure got bipartisan support in a 310-58 vote, with both Democrats and Republicans condemning political violence after Kirk’s assassination.

The vote divided Democrats, however, with 95 lawmakers, including Sherrill, voting to adopt the resolution, 58 voting against it and 22 not voting at all.

LAWMAKER WHO TIED KIRK TO ‘DOMESTIC TERRORISM’ FACING EXPULSION CALLS AMID POLITICIAN BLOWBACK NATIONWIDE

“I take my oath to the Constitution seriously. I believe in free speech and that the First Amendment wouldn’t be necessary if it were only meant to cover language we agreed with,” Sherrill said in a statement. “It is meant to protect people like Charlie Kirk who present vile dissenting views. But it is also meant to protect teachers, doctors and TV comedians who may express views the president doesn’t like.

“Charlie Kirk was advocating for a Christian nationalist government and to roll back the rights of women and Black people. This flies in the face of every value I hold dear and that I fight for,” she added. “But the Constitution protects free speech, even for those I vehemently oppose.”

In addition, the lawmaker said President Donald Trump continues to “define hypocrisy.”

“On one hand, he denounced Kirk’s politically motivated killing, while on the other hand, he is instigating a witch hunt worthy of Joseph McCarthy to shut down the free speech rights of anyone who disagrees with Kirk’s racist, anti-American views,” she said.

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

While condemning Kirk’s murder, she said she will continue to “condemn political violence, racism, attacks on women and the hypocrisy coming from Trump and his acolytes.”

Sherrill has been criticized by Republicans for embracing Zohran Mamdani, a socialist who is the Democratic nominee for the 2025 New York City mayoral election.

“It’s not that hard to disavow socialism, and Mikie Sherrill’s official comments saying she shares the goals of socialist Zohran Mamdani is not only absurd, but it is disqualifying. Period. Full stop,” Republican Governors Association Communications Director Courtney Alexander said in June. 

“It should alarm New Jerseyans that Mikie Sherrill, in her words, wants to ‘throw out the old playbook’ and ‘share his voters’ goal.’

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“Just a few of Mamdani’s top agenda items include defunding the police, ending cooperation with ICE and government-run grocery stores,” he added. “New York City’s failures have always become New Jersey’s problems, and Mikie Sherrill’s new embrace of socialist Zohran Mamdani is a terrifying risk New Jerseyans cannot afford.”

Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, in his podcast “Verdict with Ted Cruz” on Friday cautioned those advocating for Federal Communication Commission (FCC) action against adversaries, noting if a censorship precedent is set, “every conservative in America … will regret it.”

ABC suspended late-night host Jimmy Kimmel “indefinitely” after he said the alleged assassin of Turning Point USA co-founder Charlie Kirk was a fellow MAGA supporter.

Kimmel failed to set the record straight after the indictment against suspect Tyler Robinson was made public on Tuesday, prompting a response from Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chair Brendan Carr, who told Fox News’ Sean Hannity the agency plans to reinvigorate enforcement of the public interest obligation.

DAVID MARCUS: FCC ISN’T ‘GOING AFTER’ ABC, IT’S PROTECTING PUBLIC AIRWAVES

The FCC grants broadcast licenses on the condition that stations serve the “public interest, convenience, and necessity.” 

Though the First Amendment protects free speech, the agency can revoke or deny license renewal if there is misrepresentation, fraud or lack of character or candor.

In Cruz’s podcast on Friday, he questioned Carr’s decision to crack down on stations accused of misrepresentation or false statements, claiming “what he said there is dangerous as hell.”

“What he is saying is Jimmy Kimmel was lying. That’s true, he was lying, and lying to the American people is not in the public interest,” Cruz said. “He threatens explicitly—we’re going to cancel ABC News’ license. We’re going to take him off the air, so ABC cannot broadcast anymore. … He threatens it.”

ABC INSIDER HOPES LIBERALS TAKE THIS LESSON AWAY FROM JIMMY KIMMEL SAGA

Cruz compared Carr’s wording to something “right out of Goodfellas.”

“Jimmy Kimmel has mocked me so many times,” he said. “The corporate media—they are dishonest. They are liars. I hate what Jimmy Kimmel said. I am thrilled that he was fired. But let me tell you, if the government gets in the business of saying ‘we don’t like what you, the media, have said, we’re going to ban you from the airwaves’ … that will end up bad for conservatives.”

He added it may be “attractive” to conservatives to feel that they have the governmental power to ban the media, but going down that road, would hurt them when a Democrat takes back the White House.

“The next Democrat FCC—they will silence us,” Cruz said. “They will use this power, and they will use it ruthlessly, and that is dangerous. … They’ve defined anything counter to the leftist narrative as misinformation.”

Cruz argued that if a station commits slander related to Kirk or his family, there is already a remedy.

He suggested suing stations for defamation and “let[ting] the process play out.”

“I think it is unbelievably dangerous for [the] government to put itself in the position of saying, ‘We’re going to decide what speech we like and what we don’t, and we’re going to threaten to take you off-air if we don’t like what you’re saying,” Cruz said. “It might feel good right now to threaten Jimmy Kimmel, but when it is used to silence every conservative in America, we will regret it. 

“So again, I like Brendan Carr, but we should not be in this business. We should denounce it. It’s fine to say what Jimmy Kimmel said was deplorable. It was disgraceful, and he should be off-air, but we shouldn’t be threatening government power to force him off-air. That’s a real mistake.”

FCC CHAIR BRENDAN CARR DEFENDS ABC AFFILIATES PULLING JIMMY KIMMEL SHOW AFTER MONOLOGUE MOCKING CHARLIE KIRK

During a news conference in the White House Oval Office on Friday, President Donald Trump said he did not agree with Cruz’s assertion, describing Carr as “courageous.”

“I think Brendan Carr is an incredible American patriot with courage,” Trump said. “I remember in the old days, networks would want to get re-licensed, it was always a big deal. They had to show honesty and integrity. … I think Brendan Carr doesn’t like to see the airwaves be used illegally and incorrectly—and purposely, horribly. [He] doesn’t like to see a person that won the election in a landslide get 97% bad publicity before the election. I mean, it’s amazing that I won the election … The people have given the networks no credibility.”

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During the Biden administration, a nonprofit called the Media and Democracy Project filed a 2023 petition with the FCC asking that the license renewal of a Fox-owned local station in Philadelphia be denied, citing Fox’s election-related coverage.

The FCC, under then-Chair Jessica Rosenworcel, rejected the petition on Jan. 16, four days before Trump assumed office for his second term, noting it would be “fundamentally at odds with the First Amendment” for the government to deny renewals based on protected speech and content, according to court documents.

Cruz’s office did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

Fox News Digital’s Jasmine Baehr contributed to this report.

The Ohio Conference of Teamsters has endorsed Vivek Ramaswamy for governor, in a shift from past support of Democrats, his campaign confirmed to Fox News Digital. 

The biotech entrepreneur and former 2024 presidential candidate has already earned a handful of union endorsements for the 2026 gubernatorial election, according to the Ohio Dispatch. 

His campaign said he had already been endorsed by the Ohio State Association of Plumbers and Pipefitters, the Central Midwest Regional Council of Carpenters, the Cleveland Building & Construction Trades Council and the Northwest Ohio Building & Construction Trades Council. 

Interestingly, the Ohio State Association of Plumbers and Pipefitters and the Central Midwest Regional Council of Carpenters have both endorsed Democratic Senate candidate Sherrod Brown.

RAMASWAMY PLEDGES ‘RULE OF LAW’ REVIVAL AFTER VIRAL CINCINNATI MOB ATTACK 

He has also been endorsed by President Donald Trump and the Ohio Republican Party. 

The Ohio Conference of Teamsters, which represents more than 50,000 workers in the state, had previously supported former Ohio Rep. Tim Ryan, who has yet to decide if he’s entering the governor’s race. 

Ramaswamy’s campaign told Fox News Digital earlier this month that nearly $220,000 of the contributions raised in his first months as a candidate came from individuals who previously gave to Ryan.

SCOOP: RAMASWAMY PLEDGES TO SPEND AT LEAST $30M OF HIS MONEY IN OHIO’S RACE FOR GOVERNOR

 “The Teamsters are proud to endorse Vivek Ramaswamy for Governor of Ohio. Our members want a leader who will fight for good-paying jobs and strengthen the future for Ohio’s working families,” Patrick J. Darrow, president of the Ohio Conference of Teamsters, said. “Vivek has demonstrated a commitment to listening to labor and partnering with us to deliver real results, and we look forward to working with him.”

Ramaswamy said he was “deeply grateful” for the endorsement. 

“This isn’t about left vs. right, it’s about up vs. down,” he continued. “We are building a movement that restores dignity to work, rewards those who keep our economy moving, and ensures every Ohioan has a fair shot at the American Dream. Together, we will make Ohio the best place in America to work, raise a family, and pursue a better life for the next generation.”

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Former Ohio Department of Health Director Dr. Amy Acton is currently the leading Democrat in the governor’s race.

A man who pleaded guilty to attempting to kill Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh in 2022 is now using a female name and pronouns, according to a court document filed Friday. 

Nicholas Roske, who is set to be sentenced next month, is using the name Sophie Roske and a “Ms.” title for the first time in a court filing in a case that has stretched for three years.

The court filing was a routine request in anticipation of Roske’s sentencing, which is set for Oct. 3. But the filing referenced Roske by the name “Sophia,” while a footnote revealed that Nicholas remains Roske’s legal first name.

“Out of respect for Ms. Roske, the balance of this pleading and counsel’s in-court argument will refer to her as Sophie and use female pronouns,” the footnote stated.

FEDERAL JUDGE RELEASES WOMAN ACCUSED OF THREATENING TO KILL TRUMP

It is unclear if Roske is undergoing any treatments to become transgender. Fox News Digital reached out to the defendant’s defense team for comment.

Roske arrived at Kavanaugh’s house on June 8, 2022, with a pistol, ammunition, a knife, a crowbar and tactical gear. Roske eventually called 9-1-1 and turned himself in after receiving a call from his sister and observing U.S. marshals in front of the justice’s house.

The incident occurred just two weeks before the Supreme Court handed down its landmark decision overturning Roe v. Wade, an expected decision that had drawn protesters to the Supreme Court building and conservative justices’ houses for weeks leading up to it.

The Department of Justice is seeking a 30-year sentence. In a sentencing memorandum, prosecutors referenced “mental health issues” the defendant has had for about a decade that included thoughts of violently murdering his sister. He has received treatment for the issues, specifics of which were not included in the memorandum.

DOCTOR WHO BLEW WHISTLE ON TRANSGENDER MEDICINE MOCKS LIBERAL JUSTICES’ ‘INSANE’ DISSENT IN LANDMARK CASE

“While the defendant has mental health issues, those issues do not detract from the gravity of the defendant’s crime: the defendant researched and targeted multiple members of the judiciary, and intended to alter the composition of the Supreme Court for ideological reasons,” prosecutors wrote.

The revelation of the gender label switch comes as the DOJ has internally discussed concerns with transgender people owning guns and as conservative activist Charlie Kirk’s alleged assassin Tyler Robinson was discovered to have been in a romantic relationship with a transgender person. While the investigation remains open and authorities are still developing an understanding of the motive, authorities have said Robinson felt Kirk spread hate, which drove him to carry out the killing.

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The Bureau of Prisons spokesperson said in a statement to Fox News it could not confirm details about any gender-related treatments Roske may have received.

“For privacy, safety, and security reasons, the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) does not comment on the conditions of confinement for any incarcerated individual, including health information status or treatments,” the spokesperson said.

A viral video showing an Illinois Democratic congressional candidate being shoved to the ground during an anti-ICE protest in suburban Chicago has sparked online debate, with people on the left expressing outrage towards ICE, and conservatives place blame squarely on the protesters disrupting law enforcement operations.

Kat Abughazaleh, an activist, former reporter, and now Democratic candidate for Congress, posted the video to her X account on Friday, saying, “This is what it looks like when ICE violates our First Amendment rights.”

The video showed armed, masked federal officials forcibly removing Abughazaleh, who is also wearing a mask, from the front of an ICE vehicle that she appeared to be blocking.

Other agents can be seen directing Abughazaleh and a group of protesters to get out of the way of the vehicle. One agent pushes Abughazaleh, who, despite resisting, flops onto the street.

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Another angle of the incident shows Abughazaleh immediately getting back up and charging the agents, who again push her back. Other protesters can be heard taunting the agents and shouting expletives.

In another X post, Abughazaleh wrote, “What ICE just did to me was a violent abuse of power — and it’s still nothing compared to what they’re doing to immigrant communities.”

Speaking with a reporter after the incident, Abughazaleh said, “We have no weapons. We have signs and chants and songs, and they are treating us like it’s a war zone.”

She said the vehicle she was attempting to block contained another protester who was arrested earlier in the morning.

“ICE came in and tried to drive the car through us. They almost ran someone over. We did not move, we stood strong, and that’s when they brought out the pepper balls. That’s when they brought out the tear gas,” she said.

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In response, Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin accused Abughazaleh of seeking attention for her campaign by attempting to “obstruct justice.”  

McLaughlin told Fox News Digital, “This fame-hungry, cable TV candidate is so desperate for her 15-minutes of fame that she will go so far as to put our law enforcement at risk and obstruct justice.”

Others on social media condemned Abughazaleh for attempting to interfere in a law enforcement operation.

Conservative commentator Greg Price posted that it was Abughazaleh’s actions that resulted in her being “tossed to the ground.”

“Impeding a federal ICE operation is a crime,” he wrote.

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Another commentator, Paul Szypula, suggested that the government “arrest her immediately and prosecute her for her numerous federal crimes,” saying, “Make a legal example out of this maniac.”

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Local outlet ABC 7 reported that three protesters were arrested on Friday in Broadview, Illinois, after federal officials clashed with a group of protesters blocking ICE vehicles from entering and exiting the facility. The outlet reported that at one point, federal officials deployed riot control smoke to push back the crowds.

The outlet said protesters plan to continue the protests weekly as the Trump administration ramps up its “Operation Midway Blitz” to crack down on illegal immigrant crime in the Chicago area.

A spokesperson for ICE also commented on the incident, telling Fox News Digital, “Once an activist, always an activist.”

“Kat Abughazaleh’s irresponsible behavior inciting violence and encouraging lawlessness puts a selfish publicity stunt over the safety of officers, facility employees and detainees,” said the spokesperson. 

Fox News Digital reached out to Abughazaleh’s campaign for comment, but did not immediately receive a response.

President Donald Trump on Friday credited the late Charlie Kirk while announcing a deal with Chinese President Xi Jinping to keep TikTok available in the U.S.

Speaking with reporters in the Oval Office on Friday, Trump shared that he had a successful phone call with Jinping on Friday morning in which he reached a deal to keep the social media platform available to American users by divesting some of its ownership to U.S. business leaders.

He said that Chinese leaders, American youth and even conservative leaders wanted to keep the platform available in the U.S.

“The TikTok deal is well on its way,” he said.

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He noted the platform’s popularity among American youth and emphasized that Kirk encouraged its use to engage with young people.

“Charlie was very much in favor of TikTok; he liked TikTok,” he added. “He said, you know, ‘you should use it.’”

Trump credited Kirk for leveraging social media platforms like TikTok to get “massive numbers of youth” out to vote for him and Republicans in 2024.

“If you take a look at my numbers, no Republican has ever done anything like it. We got massive numbers of youth, and by the way, helped very much by Charlie Kirk,” he said, adding, “It probably had a pretty big effect on the election because we won the election by a lot.”

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This comes as Trump has repeatedly delayed implementing a law passed by Congress in 2024 to ban TikTok in the U.S. unless it divests its ownership of U.S. operations from China to America.

Following his negotiations with Jinping, Trump said TikTok’s U.S. operations will be “controlled by very powerful and very substantial American people, all American.”

“It’s a great deal for our country. It’s a great deal for all of the young people in the country and for people generally,” he said.

Trump acknowledged his initial opposition to TikTok, saying, “I wasn’t a fan of TikTok, and then I got to use it, and I became a fan, and it helped me win the election in a landslide.”

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“I had a great call with President Xi and, as you know, we approved the TikTok deal, and we’re in the process. We have some great investors, some of the biggest in the world, American investors, great people, and we look forward to getting that deal closed,” he said.  

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Pressed on whether the deal is fully approved, Trump answered, “I think so. And when you say fully approved, I don’t know what that means, we have to get it signed, I guess. I guess it could be a formality. I found his word to be very good.”

“They wanted to see it,” he said of China, “and I can tell you, the young people in our country wanted to see it stay open very badly.”