NationalWatch

Nikki Haley says she’s staying in the presidential race at least until Super Tuesday, though most of the media now deem the primary over and done with.

While Donald Trump’s media detractors have found new lines of attack, they can’t deny that his big wins in Iowa and New Hampshire have practically given him a headlock on the nomination.

But the biggest roadblock in her path is her own home state.

AS TRUMP EASILY BEATS HALEY IN NEW HAMPSHIRE, SHE VOWS TO STAY IN THE RACE

How is it that a former two-term governor is trailing Trump by 20 to 30 points?

The Trump juggernaut seems close to unstoppable. This Saturday’s Democratic primary in South Carolina (bold prediction: Joe Biden will win) will draw any potential party-switchers away from the GOP contest. 

And the Republican Party, transformed by Trump, is much more conservative in her state than when Haley left office in 2017.

Even Haley, Trump’s former U.N. ambassador, isn’t predicting victory. She says she simply needs to do better than the 43 percent she won in New Hampshire’s open primary. That’s a tall order.

But there’s an even deeper reality hurting Haley, according to some digging in South Carolina by two veteran New York Times reporters. All this came out during her years as governor, but is new to a national audience.

There’s a reason, says the piece, that the governor, Henry McMaster, who had been her lieutenant governor, has endorsed Trump. And the House backbencher who she picked for senator, Tim Scott, has endorsed Trump. And the congresswoman whose career was threatened in 2022 until Haley endorsed her, Nancy Mace, has endorsed Trump.

Haley said last week that South Carolina lawmakers had “no love for me” because she tried to make state government more transparent and vetoed pork-barrel projects.

Longtime GOP consultant Chip Feikel told the paper “she was good on economic development but not great on cultivating relationships. She forgot who helped her get here.”

NEW HAMPSHIRE SHOWDOWN: WHY TRUMP IS CONNECTING WITH VOTERS AND HALEY AND DESANTIS HAVE NOT

Perhaps the classic case involved former governor Mark Sanford, whose tenure was ruined by the “Appalachian Trail” extramarital affair, who agreed to her request for a $400,000 ad blitz to salvage her campaign. 

“And then she cut me off,” Sanford told Politico. “This is systematic with Nikki: She cuts off people who have contributed to her success. It’s almost like there’s some weird psychological thing where she needs to pretend it’s self-made.”

Ouch.

There’s another way to look at this: “Haley and her supporters attribute the hard feelings she left in her wake to jealousy, sexism and the sense that a young woman of color had simply not waited her turn.”

But clearly, the accumulation of complaints reflects a pattern of burning bridges and alienating allies, even if it also depicts her as a fighter.

While Haley has sharpened her rhetoric against the former president, regularly calling him “unhinged,” she is still pulling her punches.

On Sunday’s “Meet the Press,” when host Kristen Welker asked whether the $83-million verdict in the E. Jean Carroll defamation case was “disqualifying,” Haley answered in process terms:

“I absolutely trust the jury. And I think that they made their decision based on the evidence. I just don’t think that should take him off the ballot.” 

On the third try, Welker asked: “Why give him a pass on this issue, where a jury has found him liable for sexual abuse?”

“I’m not giving him a pass on anything,” Haley said before pivoting to Trump’s supposed decline as a 77-year-old. Everyone supports juries. What she did not do was address the substance of the accusations, which Trump continues to vehemently deny.

Welker moved on: “He has mocked your birth name. He has suggested you’re not eligible to be president because your parents weren’t born here. Of course, you are eligible. You were born here…What do you make of him bringing back this birther playbook against you? Do you think it will work in South Carolina and win over voters there?”

“I mean, honestly, Kristen, I laugh every time I see one of his tweets, every time I see him throw a temper tantrum, because I know Donald Trump very well. When he feels insecure, he starts to rail. He starts to rant.” She completely ducked the question.

Welker, again: “Would you go so far as to call those attacks racist, Ambassador?”

“I think that’s for everybody else to decide.”

Haley has obviously made a calculated decision not to criticize Trump too harshly on personal matters. She undoubtedly believes that could turn off MAGA voters who might defect to her. But with less than a month to go before her home state primary, the try-not-to-offend-anyone strategy isn’t working.

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Footnote: Haley confirmed, as previously reported, that her house had been swatted–a false emergency call–while she was not at home. But she disclosed that she and her husband Michael, who’s away on military deployment, “take care of my parents. They are 87 and 90…And they were at home and with their caregiver. And so I will tell you that the last thing you want is to see multiple law enforcement officials with guns drawn pointing at my parents and thinking that something happened. It is an awful situation. It put the law enforcement officers in danger. It put my family in danger.”

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This is outrageous and unacceptable. The feds must step up efforts to trace those making these reckless calls and make sure they get significant jail time. 

Illinois’ election board on Tuesday overruled an objection to former President Trump’s eligibility to be on the state’s primary ballot.

The unanimous vote by the Illinois State Board of Elections, which is split evenly between Republicans and Democrats, comes after a recommendation that Trump be removed for inciting an insurrection. The board voted 8-0 that it did not have jurisdiction to determine whether Trump is constitutionally ineligible to appear on the ballot, reserving that power for the courts. Trump will remain on the ballot for the March 19 Republican primary. 

“Thank you to the Illinois State Board of Elections for ruling 8-0 in protecting the Citizens of our Country from the Radical Left Lunatics who are trying to destroy it,” Trump posted on Truth Social after the vote. “The VOTE was 8-0 in favor of keeping your favorite President (ME!), on the Ballot. I love Illinois. Make America Great Again!” 

The U.S. Supreme Court is set to hear arguments in a similar case from Colorado early next month. That state’s highest court found the 14th Amendment barred the Republican former president from the ballot over his role in the U.S. Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021, when his supporters stormed the building after he lost the 2020 election to Democrat Joe Biden.

HAWAII DEMOCRAT INTRODUCES BILL TO BAN TRUMP FROM BALLOT

After brief arguments last week, a hearing officer for the Illinois board said it should be up to the courts, rather than election officials, to decide Trump’s eligibility because of the complicated constitutional issues involved. But the opinion from Clark Erickson, a retired judge and a Republican, concluded that a “preponderance of the evidence” presented proved that Trump engaged in insurrection and should be barred from the ballot.

Five Illinois voters filed a petition arguing Trump is ineligible to be on the ballot under Section 3 of the 14th Amendment, a Civil War-era provision that prohibits anyone who took an oath to support the Constitution and then “engaged in insurrection or rebellion” from holding office.

MAINE OFFICIAL APPEALS HER REMOVAL OF TRUMP FROM VOTING BALLOTS TO STATE’S TOP COURT

Republican board member Catherine S. McCrory made a statement before her vote, clarifying her belief that an “insurrection” took place during the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol.

“There is no doubt in my mind that [Trump] manipulated, instigated, aided and abetted an insurrection on Jan. 6,” McCrory said. “However, having said that, it is not my place to rule on that today.”

Trump’s campaign has repeatedly categorized efforts to block him from the ballot as aiming to disenfranchise American voters.

REPUBLICAN EX-JUDGE ARGUED TRUMP ENGAGED IN INSURRECTION, SHOULD BE REMOVED FROM ILLINOIS PRIMARY BALLOT

Maine’s Secretary of State Shenna Bellows, appealed a judge’s ruling on Friday that put on hold her decision to remove Trump from the ballot until the Supreme Court rules on the Colorado case. Bellow, a Democrat, said she also wants to ensure Maine’s highest court has the opportunity to weigh in before ballots are counted in the March 5 primaries. 

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The timelines are tight as Super Tuesday approaches. The U.S. Supreme Court is hearing arguments in the Colorado case on Feb. 8, which likely means there would not be enough time to meet statutory deadlines for Bellows to reissue a ruling on Trump’s ballot status and for additional appeals to be filed before Election Day.

Lawsuits in Minnesota, Michigan, Arizona and Oregon aiming to block Trump from the 2024 ballot have already been dismissed on procedural grounds, Newsweek reported.

Fox News Digital’s Danielle Wallace and the Associated Press contributed to this report.

Mike Pompeo, former secretary of state in the Trump administration, blasted the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) as “truly evil” for its infiltration of American institutions during a House select committee hearing on Tuesday – and he went on to torch Chinese President Xi Jinping for never being held accountable for the COVID-19 pandemic unleashed on the world.

In a bipartisan show of support, Pompeo and Leon Panetta, former secretary of defense in the Obama administration, testified Tuesday before the House select committee hearing titled “Authoritarian Alignment: The CCP’s Support for America’s Adversaries.”

“We should never forget this information space on social media and how the Chinese Communist Party has communist-directed entities on every one of our children’s cellphones passing information that is deeply filtered, designed for our young people here to undermine their idea and their understanding of America and our foundational ideas,” Pompeo said. “This is the very Xi Jinping that unleashed a virus upon the world that killed millions of people, including over a million people in the United States. It gets seldom referenced.”

“It’s hard to imagine the staggering impact that COVID had on the world, and yet no one’s held Xi Jinping accountable, not for the leak from his lab, which happened,” Pompeo continued. “Not for the fact that once he was aware he had a leak from his lab, of a relatively lethal, relatively contagious virus, he foisted it upon the world. He made a decision to hide the data, hide the information, to off the researchers and to put thousands of people on airplanes and transit them across the world with the death and destruction and the economic harm that followed from that. This is the very same Xi Jinping that’s working here in the United States against us.”

Rep. Jim Banks, R-Ind., noted how Pompeo warned America’s governors not to get too entwined with the CCP.

“As Washington becomes more aware of the China threat, the CCP has targeted many of our states’ governors. This morning, the Washington Post published a story about the CCP’s ‘united front’ efforts [in] amping up their engagement with our nation’s mayors, including the mayor of Carmel, Indiana, in my state,” Banks said to Pompeo. “The former mayor, he just left office, who went on lavish trips to China and engaged at a high level with Chinese officials in their country. Why should our nation’s mayors stray away from these types of entanglements with the sister cities projects and other CCP united front efforts?”

BIDEN’S PENTAGON NOMINEE GRILLED ON SELLING OF BORDER WALL PARTS, CHINESE SPY BALLOON: ‘CAUGHT FLAT-FOOTED’

In Wisconsin, the home state of Chair Mike Gallagher, Pompeo said, “They have made a hard place for your state’s legislative body.”

“They are determined to propagate their efforts. They want to make friends so that when they are confronted, they can turn to their friends and say, ‘We’re not such bad guys after all,'” Pompeo said. “The Chinese Communist Party is truly evil, they will work at every level of government, they will work against our private sector as well. They’ll show up at PTA meetings, if that’s what it takes. This is an effort on every level of the Chinese Communist Party.”

“When the Chinese Communist Party shows up at your school and offers a free swing set, it is not because they care about the health of your children,” Pompeo added. “That’s maybe the simplest way to articulate sister cities programs and the Confucius Institutes. On all of these ‘united front’ efforts inside our country … they may show up and give you some temporary lift, but in the end, it is about them, not about us.”

Breaking with the bipartisan nature of the hearing, Rep. Jake Auchincloss, D-Mass., said Jan. 6, 2021, was Xi’s “best day in office” and demanded that Pompeo state under oath “that Joe Biden was duly elected in a free and fair election.”

In response, Pompeo said, “Well, so much for bipartisanship of this committee. Well done, sir, you have destroyed that.”

“Of course, President Biden is the duly elected president of the United States,” Pompeo said.

CHINA SEES POTENTIAL 2024 BIDEN-TRUMP REMATCH AS HAVING TO CHOOSE FROM 2 ‘BOWLS OF POISON’: EXPERT

“I wish Secretary Clinton would be so clear about her election as well,” he added.

Pompeo went on to say, “We did have a peaceful transition of power from the Trump administration to the Biden administration. I was present for that.”

“We’ll have partisan disagreements on many things,” Pompeo said. “It is a factual matter that the world was in less conflict three years ago than it is today. Secretary [Antony] Blinken said just yesterday that not since 1973 has the Middle East been so dangerous. I agree with him on that. It was safer three years ago because we established a deterrence model that was successful in preventing the invasion of Europe, the debacle in Afghanistan, and the good work that we did – you’ll recall that the Trump administration was actually the first administration to provide defense weapons systems to Ukraine when the Obama administration had concluded it could not or would not do so. These were things that kept the American people safe. It wasn’t partisan, it wasn’t political. It was good policy.”

Pompeo and Panetta, who both also served as CIA directors, describe themselves as good friends. They both also addressed the conflict in Ukraine.

“The only way to try to avoid war with China, the only way to deal with China, is from strength,” Panetta said. “Both China and Russia became more aggressive when they sensed weakness on the part of the U.S. And for that reason, we must take strong action to arm and train Taiwan to defend itself, to strengthen our force posture, to invest in the next generation of military technology, to bolster our alliances, and to maintain strong export controls on critical technologies.”

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“We lost deterrence in Ukraine,” Pompeo said later in the hearing. “We shouldn’t applaud ourselves for rallying NATO. That’s great, I’m glad the Europeans stood up. But we should remember, we did not conduct American foreign policy with the diplomatic excellence and the military power to actually convince Putin not to invade Ukraine. We have to win these things. It is insufficient to catch incoming missiles. You have to hold your adversary at risk.”

“My effort as secretary of state was to remind the world if we don’t hold the CCP at risk – if we simply play defense economically, diplomatically; we allow a spy balloon to travel over our country for five days and then hold a press conference announcing what brilliance it was to fire, shoot it down over South Carolina – Xi Jinping gets that he’s on offense, we’re on defense,” he added. “And that is not a good place for the United States to be.”

EXCLUSIVE – The Republican National Committee (RNC) appears to be coming quickly out of the gate when it comes to 2024 fundraising.

The RNC reports hauling in $12 million in January, which it highlights was over $2 million higher than any monthly fundraising total during 2023. 

The national party committee, which shared its figures first with Fox News on Tuesday, also noted that its digital grassroots and major donor fundraising hauls were higher in January than any other month over the past year.

The RNC also spotlighted that it is also on track to have a strong fundraising month in February, “dispelling mainstream media narratives and proving that we will have the necessary resources to strengthen our infrastructure and investments to win in the fall.”

RNC WINTER MEETING GETS UNDERWAY MINUS ANY FIREWORKS OVER TRUMP-HALEY PRIMARY SHOWDOWN

The national party committee faced a slew of stories last autumn – after its cash on hand dropped to just over $9 million – that questioned the RNC’s fundraising and overall finances.

But longtime RNC chair Ronna McDaniel emphasized in a statement that “we’re 10 months out from Election Day, and the RNC is not only raising the necessary resources, but we’re continuing our strategic investments in battlegrounds across the country to take back the Senate and White House, and grow our majority in the House in the fall.”

NIKKI HALEY COURTS GOP DONORS FROM WALL STREET TO MAIN STREET 

“While Democrats have no ground game nor any issues to run on, Republicans are firing on all cylinders to get-out-the-vote and grow our Party to Beat Biden,” McDaniel argued.

The RNC didn’t share its latest cash on hand figures, as the filing of its fundraising report wasn’t due until the end of business on Wednesday.

The Democratic National Committee (DNC), which has yet to release its January fundraising, enjoys a joint fundraising agreement with President Biden’s re-election campaign. And the DNC outpaced the RNC for much of the past year. But Republicans note that even with an incumbent president in the White House, the DNC is barely outraising the RNC in direct fundraising cycle-to-date. 

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The RNC, touting its strategic investments, notes that it has hired political and election integrity directors and support staff in 15 battleground states, including important House and Senate states such as New York, California, and Montana. It also highlights that its invested in recent years in community centers in states including California, New York and Texas.

And the RNC also spotlights its Bank Your Vote Initiative – an early in-person voting and ballot harvesting push to improve the GOP’s vote totals heading into Election Day in November.

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

Fulton County, Georgia, special prosecutor Nathan Wade, who brought election interference charges against former President Trump, has reached a temporary divorce settlement with his estranged wife. 

The settlement prompted the cancelation of a public hearing Wednesday in which Wade was expected to be asked about his alleged “improper” relationship with his boss, District Attorney Fani Willis, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported. 

Cobb County Superior Court Judge Henry Thompson on Tuesday signed an order approving the temporary settlement. He noted that both Nathan and Joycelyn Wade agreed that the terms and conditions would not be filed with the court.

FULTON COUNTY PROSECUTOR, FANI WILLIS ROMANTIC PARTNER, MET WITH BIDEN WHITE HOUSE TWICE BEFORE CHARGING TRUMP

“All of the issues we pled for temporary support and attorneys fees have been resolved by this agreement,” said Andrea Hastings, one of Joycelyn Wade’s attorneys, the newspaper reported. “The case is not resolved on a final basis. We still have a lot of work to do to be able to resolve this case through either a final settlement or a trial.”

The couple were married 26 years, but have been involved in a contentious split. Last week, filings in Wade’s divorce case were unsealed, revealing that his wife’s attorneys sought to depose Willis to answer questions about their alleged affair. 

Wade is accused of having an improper romantic relationship with Willis in which he allegedly paid for lavish trips for the pair. 

The affair allegations were revealed this month, when the lawyer for Trump codefendant, Michael Roman, accused Willis and Wade of engaging in an improper relationship and mishandling public money in a separate court filing.

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Wade has been paid nearly $654,000 in legal fees since January 2022, according to county records. 

Joycelyn Wade’s attorneys have argued Willis’ deposition is needed to determine whether her husband has spent the funds on Willis. 

Willis has argued that any alleged affair is irrelevant to the Trump case. 

Fox News Digital’s Chris Pandolfo contributed to this report. 

Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Texas, was criticized after standing up for Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on Tuesday, saying on social media that impeachment should not be used for revenge.

The House Homeland Security Committee met Tuesday to advance two articles of impeachment against Mayorkas, accusing him of refusing to follow immigration law and of breaching the public’s trust. A vote is expected to take place later in the day, and will likely fall on party lines, moving the articles to a House vote at a future date.

While Republican committee members continued their assault against Mayorkas, Jackson Lee turned to social media to express her stance on the matter.

“Impeachment is not meant as a tool to be used for revenge. #RevengeImpeachment,” Jackson Lee posted to X.

MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE PREDICTS MAYORKAS IMPEACHMENT ARTICLES WILL PASS HOUSE WITHOUT ANY DEM SUPPORT

The tweet was in response to a video of her during the impeachment hearing, where she said they were “being fooled” in regards to the accusations against Mayorkas.

“Today, we are being fooled that work is being done against an individual for treason, bribery or other high crimes and misdemeanors. The American people understand that that is not the actions that we are here for today,” Jackson Lee said. “Revenge, vengefulness is why we are here. Otherwise, they would understand that Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas is an individual whose family fled the Nazis and then Cuba before arriving here in the U.S.

“He is the first immigrant to serve as head of the Department of Homeland Security, and yet, this committee seeks to suggest that he is violating the Constitution, when in essence, his freedom is based upon our Constitution,” she added.

WHITE HOUSE DEMANDS SPEAKER JOHNSON GIVE BIDEN ‘AUTHORITY AND FUNDING’ TO ‘SECURE THE BORDER’

Jackson Lee faced harsh criticism for her comments from some people, though, including Aaron Ray Hermes, a Texas Republican candidate gunning for the congresswoman’s seat.

“Oh so wanting to protect the country is just ‘revenge’ now?” Hermes tweeted. “Then why did you impeach Trump for making a perfectly valid phone call in 2019? Keep lying and we’ll keep showing up with receipts. Can’t wait to take your seat.”

Others attempted to remind Jackson Lee that the Democratic Party used impeachment as revenge against former President Trump.

MIGRANT CRISIS BROKE NEW RECORD IN DECEMBER WITH 302K ENCOUNTERS, OFFICIALS CONFIRM 

“Did you post this comment when you all did the revenge impeachment of Trump,” one user wrote, while another posted, “Haha! Says the Impeachment Democratic Party.”

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Still, House Democrats, including Jackson Lee, have backed Mayorkas on the matter of impeachment, and on Monday, they released a lengthy report that accused the Republican majority of abusing the impeachment process and running a “sham” process while sabotaging Mayorkas’ efforts to manage the border crisis.

Fox News Digital’s Adam Shaw contributed to this report.

It’s a lucrative day for Nikki Haley in New York City.

The former two-term South Carolina governor who later served as U.N. ambassador in former President Trump’s administration expects to raise $1.5 million at a trio of top-dollar New York City fundraisers on Tuesday, according to her campaign.

The fundraisers are the first of roughly 10 over the next two weeks that will take Haley to donor-rich environments of South Florida, California and Texas. The campaign told Fox News that the three finance events Wednesday in Palm Beach and Miami were expected to bring in over $1 million.

The fundraisers come amid a surge in small-dollar grassroots donations for Haley after she grabbed 43% of the vote in her 11-point loss last week in the New Hampshire primary to Trump, the commanding front-runner for the Republican nomination.

HALEY GRASSROOTS FUNDRAISING SOARS, BUT MAJOR DONOR WANTS TO SEE ‘PATH TO VICTORY’

Haley’s campaign said they raked in $4 million in the days after the New Hampshire primary, which turned into a two-candidate contest between Trump and Haley after Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis suspended his campaign days ahead of the primary.

Tuesday’s high-profile fundraiser is being co-hosted by Wall Street billionaires Leonard Stern, Cliff Asness, Stanley Druckenmiller, Ken Langone and Henry Kravis. Contributions – limited by federal law – were expected to range from $3,300 up to $16,600 per person.

HALEY RAKES IN CAMPAIGN CASH AFTER TRUMP WARNS TOP DOLLAR DONORS

Haley faces a steep uphill climb for the nomination, and internal polls suggest Trump enjoys a formidable double-digit lead over her in South Carolina, which holds the next GOP primary on Feb. 24.

But Haley remains optimistic she can close the gap in her home state.

“We had 1,500 people in Greenville, 1,000 people in Charleston, 800 in Conway,” Haley said in a “Fox and Friends” interview on Tuesday morning as she pointed to rallies in her home state over the past couple of days. “I’ve got a 76% approval rating there. They know I was a good governor. Now we’re going to show them I’m going to be a good president.”

Despite the tough odds she faces, major Republican donors continue to write checks to Haley.

“There’s definitely an appetite,” a Republican strategist with strong ties to the GOP donor class told Fox News. “It’s another example of the wealthy donors who invest with their heart and their emotions and not with their business sense and their head.”

REPUBLICAN PARTY LEADERS MEET AMID TRUMP-HALEY PRIMARY BATTLE

The strategist, who asked to remain anonymous to speak more freely, said, “This is a manifestation of the broader issues with the Republican Party. This is about the elites versus the grassroots. Trump has never been a candidate of the elites. He’s been successful at getting major financial support from them, but he’s not their preferred candidate. He’s the preferred candidate of the working-class, grassroots Republicans, not the big-money elites.”

Last week, a day after the New Hampshire primary, Trump warned GOP donors to stop contributing to Haley.

“Anybody that makes a ‘Contribution’ to Birdbrain, from this moment forth, will be permanently barred from the MAGA camp. We don’t want them, and will not accept them, because we Put America First, and ALWAYS WILL!” Trump warned on his Truth Social platform.

“Birdbrain” is a derogatory nickname Trump repeatedly uses to refer to Haley.

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Haley quickly capitalized on Trump’s threat, and her campaign said it raised more than $1 million in the ensuing 24 hours.

The campaign told Fox News it sold more than 15,000 shirts that say “barred permanently” after adding them to a campaign store for $25 following Trump’s warning to donors.

“Despite Trump’s unhinged threat to permanently ban anyone who donates to Nikki’s campaign, we’ve seen a surge of support,” a campaign spokesperson said. “We’re energizing the 50% of Republican primary voters who don’t want Trump and are rallying behind Nikki.”

The strategist with ties to the donor class told Fox News, “I don’t think anybody’s intimidated by Trump’s bluster. I think everybody realizes that if they do support Nikki, Trump’s going to need all hands on deck and somehow, miraculously, they’ll be welcomed back with open arms with their checkbooks if they’re so inclined when this is all over.”

While Haley crisscrosses the country to meet with top contributors, her campaign manager, Betsy Ankney, is expected to make the case this week with a network of Republican mega-donors known as the American Opportunity Alliance.

Also invited to the gathering is Susie Wiles, a top adviser on the Trump campaign.

The former president, who has had a stormy relationship over the years with some in the GOP donor class, has been making a concerted effort this cycle to mend fences and court top-dollar contributors.

“I think they’re running a much more sophisticated campaign this year than ever before,” a major GOP bundler who asked to remain anonymous told Fox News. “And so, as part of that, they’re looking to consolidate Republican support, both politically and financially.”

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

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

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What’s Happening? 

– Biden family money man testifies at closed-door House hearing

– Speaker Johnson facing rebellion from moderate Republicans

– Supreme Court Justice speaks out on job frustrations

MAYORKAS MAD

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on Tuesday took aim at what he called “baseless” and “false” allegations leveled against him by House Republicans who are preparing a vote to advance articles of impeachment against him.

“I assure you that your false accusations do not rattle me and do not divert me from the law enforcement and broader public service mission to which I have devoted most of my career and to which I remain devoted,” Mayorkas said in a lengthy letter to House Homeland Security Committee Chair Mark Green.

The committee is meeting to advance two articles of impeachment against Mayorkas, accusing him of refusing to follow immigration law and of breaching public trust. A vote is expected later in the day, likely along party lines, moving the articles to a House vote at a future date.

President Biden has expressed frustration at the turn of events. On the border, he said that he’s done all that he can do, but needs more authority. “… just give me the power,” Biden said.

White House

BIDEN’S SHARP TURN: Admin sounds alarm on Middle East months after declaring it ‘quieter’ than it’s been in decades …Read more

GIVING UP?: Biden claims ‘I’ve done all I can do’ to secure border …Read more

Capitol Hill

‘LODGED BASELESS COMPLAINTS’: Cori Bush blames DOJ investigation on ‘right wing’ groups …Read more

‘HATRED OF JEWS’: GOP lawmaker calls out Biden for funneling money to pro-Hamas group, puts forward bill to stop it …Read more

‘ILL-ADVISED’: Thune slams Biden admin’s abortion policy, says SecDef should handle approvals …Read more

MANCHIN’S WIFE: Sen. Joe Manchin’s wife hospitalized after car crash in Alabama …Read more

SEEING RED: Speaker Johnson facing rebellion threat from new group of angry Republicans …Read more

Tales from the Campaign Trail

‘NOT NORMAL’: James Carville doubles down on warning media, Biden campaign against normalizing Trump …Read more

HISTORIC AD BUY: Biden super PAC targeting battleground states with biggest advertising spending purchase in US history …Read more

MONEY MATTERS: Hispanic community leader raises big bucks in quest to flip Democrat-held border congressional seat …Read more

TRUMP IN ILLINOIS: Illinois Elections Board punts Trump eligibility question …Read more

FIREWORKS AVERTED: RNC preps major meeting after scuffle over naming Trump presumptive nominee …Read more

Across America

LOCKDOWN: Georgia DA Fani Willis’ alleged lover asks for protective order in divorce case …Read more

RULES FOR THEE: ‘Defund’ cheerleader accused of stealing taxpayers’ $$ to pay husband’s private security firm …Read more

GASSED: Ohio attorney general advocates for nitrogen gas executions …Read more

‘I LIVE IN FRUSTRATION’: Sotomayor speaks out about sitting on Supreme Court …Read more

‘THE RIGHT TIME’: Journalist ‘surprised’ Justice Sotomayor hasn’t ‘retired’ from Supreme Court …Read more

‘IT’S YOURS!’: E. Jean Carroll invites MSNBC host on luxury shopping spree with ‘Trump’s money’ …Read more

‘ANOTHER F—ING WAR’: WATCH: MSNBC host caught on hot mic uttering curse word about Biden …Read more

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

FIRST ON FOX – Nikki Haley’s campaign says they’ve received an over 200% increase in email traffic from supporters asking the candidate to stay in the race following former president Donald Trump’s primary victory in New Hampshire. 

A campaign spokesperson told Fox News Digital that, prior to New Hampshire, they were getting an average of 300-350 emails per day to info@nikkihaley.com, a generic email address for the Haley campaign. 

Last Wednesday, that number increased to thousands daily, between a roughly 185% to 233% increase, depending on the day. 

In the last six days, the campaign has received more than 6,000 emails total with messages supporting the former South Carolina governor and saying things like, “You’re the real Republicans’ only chance to be a normal political leader!” and “please do not quit!” 

RNC AVERTS FIREWORKS AT MAJOR MEETING AFTER SCRAPPING RESOLUTION TO NAME TRUMP THE PRESUMPTIVE GOP NOMINEE

“Our campaign has been overwhelmed by the outpouring of grassroots support from across the country,” Haley campaign spokesperson AnnMarie Graham-Barnes told Fox News Digital in a statement.

“The political establishment is trying to coronate Donald Trump, but Nikki has never listened to the establishment. She listens to Americans, and their message is clear: Nikki is the last one standing between the Trump-Biden rematch that 70 percent of people don’t want to see,” she added. 

One person from Minnesota wrote, “I’m a center-right Republican, like 80% of my friends and although many of us like Trump’s policy, he’s too polarizing and will NOT garner very many, if any, center-left votes. I don’t want a few states selecting my presidential candidate.”

Another, identified as Elly B, who grew up in a “blue state” but is “presently living in a red one,” wrote, “On behalf of many, many members of my Jewish and non-Jewish community of family and friends, we hope that you will keep campaigning and running for President. You are the right person for the job due to your well-honed management skills, your youthful vigor and your ability to understand the needs of our country and the world as we end the first quarter of the 21st century.”

HALEY BLASTS RNC FOR RUSHING TO TRUMP AS NOMINEE, CALLS ON AMERICANS TO ‘REMEMBER WHAT NORMAL FELT LIKE’

Monica L., who said she “stood all day in the cold on election day” in New Hampshire said, “I will never vote for a democrat, so please, please stay in the race if you can.” 

Cooper C. from California said he was a “longtime Independent” but re-registered as a Republican to cast his vote for Haley. 

NIKKI HALEY RAISES $4 MILLION OVER ‘UNHINGED’ TRUMP COMMENTS LEVELED AT HER: ‘WE HAD A LITTLE FUN’

Josh D., identified as a registered Independent in North Carolina who leans Republican, wrote, “Regular people do not want Trump or Biden. Please keep fighting!”

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The former U.N. ambassador and last remaining major rival to Trump won 43% of the vote in the New Hampshire primary. 

Haley’s vowing to continue her uphill fight at least until Super Tuesday in early March. The next major contest on the GOP calendar is Haley’s home state, which holds a primary on Feb. 24.

Since October, the Biden administration has sent about $121 million in taxpayer funds to UNRWA, the U.N. agency under scrutiny for its alleged ties to Hamas, the State Department said Tuesday.

A remaining $300,000 in appropriated funds for this fiscal year was supposed to be delivered to the humanitarian relief organization in the next few weeks. But the U.S. froze those funds over allegations that some UNRWA members participated in the Oct. 7 Hamas terrorist attack on Israel, according to State Department spokesman Matthew Miller. 

“That funding has been suspended,” Miller told reporters at the State Department daily press briefing. He added that it’s “impossible” to say how much more the U.S. could provide to UNRWA this fiscal year if the funds are unfrozen because the government is operating under a continuing resolution. 

AUSTRIA SUSPENDS PAYMENTS TO UNRWA AMID ISRAELI ALLEGATIONS UN WORKERS HELPED, CELEBRATED HAMAS

“We don’t know how much overall funding will be available for this fiscal year, and that would impact how much that we would be able to provide UNRWA,” Miller said. “Historically, we have typically provided somewhere between $300 and $400 million a year in funding.” 

The Biden administration has sent hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars to UNRWA, reversing former President Donald Trump’s decision to cut funding to the group. Biden officials say the funds provide humanitarian aid to the Palestinian people, while critics say the group is “effectively a branch of Hamas.”

TRUMP ADMIN CUT FUNDING TO UN AGENCY NOW ACCUSED OF PARTICIPATING IN HAMAS ATTACK ‘FOR REASON’: REP. MCCAUL

UNRWA’s ties to Hamas have come into focus in recent weeks after Israel provided the Biden administration with a new dossier containing information about how some 13 agency staffers allegedly assisted or supported the Hamas terror attacks on Oct. 7.

The Biden administration announced last week it has temporarily paused “additional” funding to UNRWA in response to the dossier. Germany, Italy, Australia, Finland, Netherlands and Switzerland have also joined the boycott following the accusations, which have already resulted in the termination of multiple staffers.

WHITE HOUSE DEFENDS UNRWA AMID TERRORIST ALLEGATIONS: ‘DON’T IMPUGN THE WHOLE AGENCY’

Miller said the next expected payment to UNRWA would happen over the summer and that the amount would depend on how much money Congress approves for the agency in Biden’s $106 billion supplemental package request.

Despite the terrorism allegations, the White House has defended UNRWA, insisting that the entire agency should not be judged by the purported actions of 13 people.

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“We very much support the work that UNRWA does, we think it’s critical,” Miller said. “There is no other humanitarian player in Gaza who can provide food, medicine at the scale that UNRWA does. 

“We want to see that work continued, which is why it is so important that the United Nations take this matter seriously, that they investigate it, that there is accountability for anyone who is found to engage in wrongdoing, and that they take whatever other measures are appropriate to ensure that this sort of thing cannot happen again,” he said.

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

What could have ended up being an intra-party fist fight fizzled out.

It’s unlikely that Republican National Committee members huddling for their annual winter meeting this week in Las Vegas will see political fireworks over the party’s divisive presidential primary battle.

The RNC tells Fox News that they’re aiming for a “productive week” with the goal of “delivering a turn-key infrastructure for our eventual nominee.”

And as the RNC gathers for sessions that had long been advertised as closed to the press, a draft resolution that would have declared former President Donald Trump as the party’s presumptive 2024 nominee was quickly pulled late last week after it was introduced by Trump supporters on the committee.

CONTROVERSIAL TRUMP RESOLUTION WITHDRAWN AHEAD OF RNC MEETING

Trump remains the commanding frontrunner for the GOP nomination as he makes his third straight White House run. The former president scored double-digit victories the past two weeks in the Iowa caucuses and New Hampshire primary, the first two contests in the Republican nominating calendar.

But former U.N. ambassador and former two-term South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley – the last remaining major rival to Trump – won 43% of the vote in last week’s New Hampshire primary. Haley’s vowing to continue her uphill fight at least until Super Tuesday in early March. The next major contest in the GOP calendar is Haley’s home state, which holds a primary on Feb. 24.

RNC CHAIR MCDANIEL SAYS IN FOX NEWS INTERVIEW ‘WE NEED TO UNITE’ AROUND TRUMP

The resolution was introduced by veteran RNC committee member from Maryland David Bossie, a longtime ally of the former president who served as a top official on Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign.

Even though Trump continues to hold immense sway over the GOP, there was both public and private opposition to the draft resolution among some of the RNC’s 168 committee members. Among those speaking out publicly was committee member Bill Palatucci from New Jersey.

“A silly resolution to say he is the presumptive nominee, insulting to millions of primary voters who wait for the opportunity to get involved in presidential politics every four years,” the Trump critic close to former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie told Fox News Digital last Thursday.

“Another example of Trump’s authoritarian streak. ‘We don’t need Super Tuesday or any other primaries, I’ll just have it handed to me,’” he added.

Likely sensing the poor optics, Trump hours later knocked down the resolution.

“While they have far more votes than necessary to do it, I feel, for the sake of PARTY UNITY, that they should NOT go forward with this plan,” the former president posted on his social media platform Truth Social. 

While the scrapped resolution was never added to the winter meeting’s agenda, it’s clear there will be friction this week about the effort to bring the nomination battle to an early conclusion.

A committee member who asked to remain anonymous to speak more freely told Fox News on Tuesday, on the eve of the RNC meeting, that “a lot of people will be quiet on it. You’re not supposed to speak up. At this point, you know it’s going to be Trump. You are just supposed to take it.”

But the committee member added: “I’ve got no qualms with Bossie bringing up that resolution. He’s an RNC member. That’s his candidate. He’s trying to help his candidate. I get it.”

The RNC, in a statement, made it clear that longtime chair Ronna McDaniel was not behind the introduction of the resolution.

“Resolutions, such as this one, are brought forward by members of the RNC. Chairwoman McDaniel doesn’t offer resolutions,” spokesperson Keith Schipper told Fox News last week.

But a couple of days earlier, McDaniel made headlines during a Fox News Channel interview in New Hampshire hours after Trump’s primary victory.

“I’m looking at the math and the path going forward, and I don’t see it for Nikki Haley,” McDaniel told anchors Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum.

“I think she’s run a great campaign, but I do think there is a message that’s coming out from the voters, which is very clear,” McDaniel added.

She urged that “we need to unite around our eventual nominee, which is going to be Donald Trump, and we need to make sure we beat Joe Biden.”

When asked by MacCallum if she was suggesting that Haley needed to suspend her campaign, McDaniel would only say that Haley and her team needed to “reflect” about the upcoming contests in Nevada and South Carolina and to consider “what’s the most important thing going forward.”

McDaniel’s comments didn’t appear to be sitting well with some national party committee members.

“The RNC has to be neutral,” one committee member who asked to remain anonymous to speak more freely told Fox News.

“We have a one-on-one competitive race. Is there a favorite? Well, sure there is. But it’s a competitive race. Two states have gone. We’re a long way from anybody having 1,215 delegates to wrap this thing up,” the RNC member said. “So for her to hint that Nikki needs to get of the race is beyond obnoxious and it’s certainly not neutral.”

And Palatucci argued on Tuesday that McDaniel’s “never been neutral.”

But another RNC member, who also asked for anonymity, told Fox News “I think Ronna has broad support on the committee and that was demonstrated when she was re-elected a year ago. It doesn’t mean that everybody agrees with everything that she does… but she’s the chair.”

Haley said in an NBC News interview on Sunday that the RNC was “clearly not” being an honest broker in the nomination race. 

“If you’re gonna go in and basically tell the American people that you’re gonna go and decide who the nominee is after only two states have voted?” she emphasized, as she noted that it takes 1,215 delegates to secure the nomination, the vast majority of which have yet to be allocated.

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The RNC says the national party committee, pointing to this week’s meeting, said it’s “focused on delivering a turn-key infrastructure for our eventual nominee, which is why we’ve posted field staff in 15 states and engaged in 77 lawsuits to protect commonsense election integrity laws.”

And RNC national press secretary Anna Kelly added that “we look forward to a productive week in Las Vegas as we prepare to beat Biden and win up and down the ballot in November.”

Meanwhile, McDaniel, in a Fox News Digital interview last week, highlighted the benefits of the GOP nomination race coming to an early conclusion.

“Obviously, it’s helpful from an organizational standpoint, from a fundraising standpoint,” McDaniel said. “The Democrats have the White House. They’re using the power of Joe Biden having the White House to raise a huge amount of money and the sooner we can merge our operations and be focused on him and not on each other is always good for the party.”

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

President Biden claimed Tuesday “I’ve done all I can do” to secure the U.S. border, as Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas is facing an impeachment push by House Republicans over his perceived failure to handle the immigration crisis. 

Biden made the comment while speaking to reporters as he was leaving the White House, saying “I’ve done all I can do, just give me the power.” 

“I asked them the very day I got into office,” Biden continued. “Give me the Border Patrol. Give me the judges. Give me the people who can stop this.” 

The Biden administration has said it has been expanding “lawful pathways” for migrants while increasing consequences for illegal entry into the U.S. since the ending of Title 42 expulsions in May last year. It has pointed to more than 500,000 removals since May, as well as increased cooperation with Mexico to crack down on human smugglers and fentanyl trafficking. 

MAYORKAS LASHES OUT AT ‘BASELESS’ GOP ALLEGATIONS AHEAD OF KEY IMPEACHMENT VOTE 

The administration also says it has been increasing removal flights — including directly to Venezuela. However, it has stressed that it needs more funding and comprehensive immigration reform to fix what it says is a “broken” system. 

House Speaker Mike Johnson shared a video on X of Biden making the remark and said Biden’s comments were “simply untrue” and “He’s either lying or misinformed.” 

“Here are just a few of the authorities at his disposal – if only he would use them: Presidential Authority to Restrict Entry 212(f), Expedited Removal 235(b)(1), Discretionary Detention Authority 236(a), Mandatory Detention 236(c). No more excuses,” Johnson added. 

The White House requested $14 billion in funding for the border as part of its supplemental funding request to Congress, which also includes aid to Ukraine and Israel. The request is being negotiated in Congress after Republicans demanded more limits on asylum and migrant releases into the interior.

Biden has urged Congress to pass the deal, but House Republicans and some conservatives in the Senate have said the reported proposals do not go far enough.

TEXAS GOV. ABBOTT CLAIMS BIDEN IS IN VIOLATION OF FEDERAL LAW AS BORDER SURGE CONTINUES 

National Border Patrol Council President Brandon Judd, when asked on “The Faulkner Focus” Tuesday if Biden was doing everything he could, argued “absolutely not.” 

“In fact, I’m very sick of hearing all of his rhetoric. He doesn’t give evidence,” Judd said. “The evidence is incontrovertible [about] what is going on right now. Secretary Mayorkas is complicit in allowing these individuals to violate our laws. Congress would be derelict if they did not hold him accountable.  

“When you look at the total number of people that cross our borders illegally and have been released into the United States, the story that doesn’t get told enough is what happens to those people that get released into the United States,” Judd added. “They are never leaving, ICE doesn’t go after them, ICE doesn’t deport them.” 

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Migrant numbers officially hit 302,000 in December, a new record, after 2.4 million encounters in FY23. Republicans have said that large releases into the interior and a rolling back of Trump-era policies have fueled the crisis and have accused Mayorkas of a “dereliction of duty” in his handling of it.  

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on Tuesday took aim at what he called “baseless” and “false” allegations leveled against him by House Republicans ahead of a key vote on impeachment articles in the House Homeland Security Committee.

“I assure you that your false accusations do not rattle me and do not divert me from the law enforcement and broader public service mission to which I have devoted most of my career and to which I remain devoted,” Mayorkas said in a lengthy letter to House Homeland Security Committee Chair Mark Green.

The committee is meeting to advance two articles of impeachment against Mayorkas, accusing him of refusing to follow immigration law and of breaching public trust. A vote is expected later in the day, likely along party lines, moving the articles to a House vote at a future date.

Mayorkas’ letter comes after Republicans have traded barbs with Democrats and the administration over the impeachment push against the Biden cabinet secretary, who Republicans have accused of a “dereliction of duty” in his handling of the ongoing and historic crisis at the southern border. Migrant numbers officially hit 302,000 in December, a new record, after 2.4 million encounters in FY23. Republicans have said that large releases into the interior and a rolling back of Trump-era policies have fueled the crisis.

MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE PREDICTS MAYORKAS IMPEACHMENT ARTICLES WILL PASS HOUSE WITHOUT ANY DEM SUPPORT

Green’s majority began investigating Mayorkas’ handling of the border crisis last year and this month have held hearings on the impeachment articles that were sent by the House last year. Those articles accuse Mayorkas of having “repeatedly violated laws enacted by Congress regarding immigration and border security” and of having “made false statements to Congress” that the border is secure, and closed and that DHS is in operational control of the border.

“These articles lay out a clear, compelling, and irrefutable case for Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas’ impeachment,” Green said this week. “He has willfully and systemically refused to comply with immigration laws enacted by Congress. He has breached the public trust by knowingly making false statements to Congress and the American people, and obstructing congressional oversight of his department. These facts are beyond dispute, and the results of his lawless behavior have been disastrous for our country.”

Green accused Mayorkas of having  “completely disregarded the separation of powers, a bedrock of our constitutional republic.”

“Congress has a duty to see that the executive branch implements and enforces the laws we have passed. Yet Secretary Mayorkas has repeatedly refused to do so. His lawless behavior was exactly what the Framers gave us the impeachment power to remedy. It is time we take this affront to a coequal branch of government, to the Constitution, and to the American people seriously,” he said in a statement this week.

The administration and House Democrats have instead blamed the crisis on a “broken” system in need of reform and funding from Congress, which they accuse Republicans of having failed to provide, amid a Hemisphere-wide crisis.

In his letter, Mayorkas declared that “problems with our broken and outdated immigration system are not new” 

“Our immigration laws last received an overhaul in 1996. Our immigration laws were simply not built for 21st century migration patterns,” Mayorkas said.

He pointed to stats including half a million removals since May, and daily removals nearly double what they were compared to from 2014-2019. He also says that the apprehension rate has been 78%, the same as the prior administration, and there have been a significant increase in removal flights within the Western Hemisphere.

He also points to increased Border Patrol hiring, an anti-smuggling campaign, and an intensified anti-fentanyl effort that has seen more seizures of the deadly drug which kills tens of thousands of Americans each year.

“Instead you claim that we have failed to enforce our immigration laws. That is false,” he said.

He also pushed back on the criticism his department has faced over an alleged lack of responsiveness to oversight queries from Congress, claiming instead that he has been responsive to Congress with testimony, witnesses and documents.

“The allegations are baseless and inaccurate,” he says.

MIGRANT CRISIS BROKE NEW RECORD IN DECEMBER WITH 302K ENCOUNTERS, OFFICIALS CONFIRM 

House Democrats have also backed Mayorkas on the matter. On Monday, they released a lengthy report accusing the Republican majority of abusing the impeachment process and running a “sham” process, while sabotaging Mayorkas’ efforts to handle the border crisis.

“What is glaringly missing from these articles is any real charge or even a shred of evidence of high crimes or misdemeanors – the Constitutional standard for impeachment. That should come as no surprise because Republicans’ so-called ‘investigation’ of Secretary Mayorkas has been a remarkably fact-free affair. They are abusing Congress’ impeachment power to appease their MAGA members, score political points, and deflect Americans’ attention from their do-nothing Congress,” Ranking Member Bennie Thompson said in a statement.

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“Republicans don’t actually want to work towards bipartisan solutions to fix the border – in fact, they have repeatedly sabotaged the Secretary’s efforts to secure the border and denied DHS’ funding requests. Secretary Mayorkas is upholding the law and honoring the public trust as he has throughout his more than 30 years of service to our Nation. The House must reject this sham resolution.”

Fox News’ Chad Pergram, Elizabeth Elkind and Tyler Olson contributed to this report.
 

The major super PAC supporting President Biden’s re-election effort is poised to make what it says is the single largest political ad purchase in American history on Tuesday.

The organization, Future Forward, is reserving $250 million across the country, with $140 million going to television and another $110 million to digital and streaming platforms, the New York Times reported. The massive expenditure targets major battleground states, and the ads will run from August through Election Day.

Specifically, the ads will run in Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

The purchase represents a huge increase over Future Forward’s spending in Biden’s 2020 presidential campaign, when it spent just $151 million.

BIDEN ADMINISTRATION IS ‘GRASPING AT STRAWS’ BY ‘DEPLOYING KAMALA HARRIS’: CAROLINE DOWNEY

The content of the ads has yet to be determined, but Biden and Democrats appear to be operating on the assumption that former President Trump will be the Republican nominee.

AS HALEY TRIES TO STOP TRUMP, MANY PUNDITS DOWNPLAY HIS IOWA LANDSLIDE

Ads from Future Forward in 2023 focused on Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act as well as Latino issues in Arizona, Nevada and Pennsylvania, according to Politico.

News of the ad spending comes just as Biden’s campaign leaked its 2024 strategy to the New York Times. Unsurprisingly, the plan calls for targeting Trump above all else, using social media as the primary tool.

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Biden’s chances of re-election remain up in the air, with many swing state polls showing Trump in the lead. Biden had taken severe hits thanks to his age, inflation, the ongoing border crisis and growing instability abroad.

FIRST ON FOX: A Republican congressman has introduced legislation that would permanently ban the United States from funding UNRWA, a United Nations agency that has funneled hundreds of millions in aid meant to help Palestinians in Gaza but has come under fire for its ties to Hamas.

New Jersey GOP Congressman Chris Smith has introduced a bill, known as the ‘‘Stop Support for 5 United Nations Relief and Works Agency Act of 2024’’, that would cut off U.S. funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East.

The United States may not make any voluntary or 9 involuntary contributions to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East 2 (referred to in this Act as ‘‘UNRWA’’), to any successor or related entity, or to the regular budget of the United Nations for the support of UNRWA or a successor entity,”  the bill states.

The Biden administration has sent hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars to UNRWA, reversing a Trump decision to cut funding to the group, which it says is an effort to provide humanitarian aid while critics say the group is “effectively a branch of Hamas.”

UN CALLS ON COUNTRIES TO RESUME UNRWA FUNDING DESPITE REPORT EMPLOYEES PARTICIPATED IN OCT 7 MASSACRE

Those ties to Hamas have come into focus in recent weeks after Israel  provided the Biden administration with a new dossier containing information about how staffers for a United Nations agency assisted or supported the Hamas terror attacks on Oct. 7.

The Biden administration announced last week it has temporarily paused “additional” funding to UNRWA in response to the dossier. Germany, Italy, Australia, Finland, Netherlands and Switzerland have also joined the boycott following the accusations, which have already resulted in the termination of multiple staffers.

On Monday, White House national security spokesman John Kirby urged the public not to write off UNRWA’s humanitarian efforts as a whole.

“But you’ve got 13,000 UNRWA employees,” Kirby said. “You have 13,000 of them in Gaza alone, and as I said last week, let’s not impugn the good work of a whole agency because of the potential bad actions here by a small number.”

ISRAELI FOREIGN MINISTRY CALLS FOR UNRWA COMMISSIONER TO RESIGN AMID ALLEGATIONS ITS WORKERS ASSISTED HAMAS

UNRWA has faced scrutiny in recent years even before the Hamas attack from critics who say the group has not done enough to prevent aid from reaching the hands of Hamas terrorists. UNRWA locations have reportedly housed Hamas activities and spread Hamas propaganda in schools. 

UN Watch reported earlier this year that UNRWA schools were complicit in teaching children to hate Jewish people and glorify terrorism. UN Watch reported that UNRWA has acknowledged that teachers “mistakenly” produced and distributed inciting material but promised in 2021 that it no longer circulates such material.

UNRWA acknowledged in 2014, and condemned, Hamas missiles that were found at one of its schools in Gaza twice in one week. 

“UNRWA strongly and unequivocally condemns the group or groups responsible for this flagrant violation of the inviolability of its premises under international law,” the group said at the time.

HOUSE COMMITTEE TO LAUNCH INVESTIGATION INTO UN AGENCY FOR ALLEGED ‘TROUBLING CONNECTION’ TO HAMAS

The New York Post reported this week that roughly 10% of UNRWA staffers have links to Hamas.

“The United Nations—and UNRWA especially—is unquestionably the world’s foremost legitimizer of antisemitism, including in its most virulent and violent forms,” Rep. Smith, the Chair of the House Global Human Rights and International Organizations, told Fox News Digital in a statement.

“UNRWA—which provides education in hatred of Jews through their textbooks, curricula, summer camps, and official media—has contributed to the perversity we saw performed by Hamas during its October 7 terror attack,” Smith added. 

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“We need a comprehensive, fact-based approach to UNRWA that stops all funding and conditions future funding on a complete head-to-toe reform and restructuring of UNRWA.”

Smith is set to host a joint subcommittee hearing on Tuesday at 2 p.m. with the goal of “examining the mission and failures” of UNRWA.

“The monstrous and genocidal atrocities we have seen pouring out of Gaza since October 7 are antisemitic hate crimes—the logical consequence of the unbridled antisemitism fomented and enabled by UNRWA,” Smith said.

Fox News Digital reached out to UNRWA and the White House for comment but did not receive a response.

FIRST ON FOX: Former Vice President Mike Pence’s nonprofit political advocacy group sent a memo to Congress on Monday urging lawmakers to “hold the Biden administration” accountable for “slow-rolling” Israel’s war efforts.

The memo from Advancing American Freedom (AAF), titled “Biden Doesn’t Seem to Want Israel to Win” and obtained by Fox News Digital, outlines concerns that the Biden administration is undermining Israel’s efforts in the conflict with Hamas and criticizes Biden’s stance on calling for a cease-fire, pushing for a two-state solution and allegedly considering withholding military aid. 

“Israel is fighting to ensure its existence. Meanwhile, the Biden administration is actively undermining Israel,” the topline reads. 

A section of the memo labeled “Underminin’ Biden” accused the administration of “actively hindering Israel’s military strategy.”

The memo defines Israel’s mission to achieve “absolute victory” through first destroying Hamas and any other immediate existential threats; bringing the hostages home alive; and restoring regional stability and peace in the Middle East.

ISRAEL TO BAN REBUILDING OF ISRAELI SETTLEMENTS IN GAZA FOLLOWING CONCERNS FROM BIDEN ADMIN

However, President Biden has hindered the nation’s goal and has empowered Iran, the memo alleges, driven by the rollback of the Trump-Pence “maximum pressure” strategy as seen by more than a dozen White House staffers anonymously calling for a cease-fire in Gaza. 

“The war should end when her military goals are achieved, and not a moment sooner,” Pence said in a statement included in the memo. 

The memo comes after three American soldiers were killed and dozens of others were injured in a drone strike in northeast Jordan near the Syrian border. Most, if not all, of those injured and killed were Army soldiers at a base known as Tower 22, which has been in support of the counter-ISIS mission for years, the official said.  

ISRAELI FOREIGN MINISTRY CALLS FOR UNRWA COMMISSIONER TO RESIGN AMID ALLEGATIONS ITS WORKERS ASSISTED HAMAS

The president, as well as Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin, blamed Iran-backed militias for Sunday’s attack. A coalition of Iran-backed militant groups calling themselves the “Islamic Resistance in Iraq” claimed responsibility. 

Later Sunday, Biden said the U.S. “had a tough day in the Middle East,” and vowed, “We shall respond.” 

The service members’ deaths marked a major escalation of tensions in the region after months of strikes by militia groups on American forces in the region in the wake of the Israel-Hamas war. 

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The U.S. in recent months has struck targets in Iraq, Syria and Yemen to respond to attacks on American forces in the region and to deter Iran-backed Houthi rebels from continuing to threaten commercial shipping in the Red Sea.

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

Fox News’ Danielle Wallace, Liz Friden and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Federal prosecutors on Monday charged a Michigan man who threatened to execute President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, called for the killing of federal agents and judges, and suggested that a bomb would be dropped on Washington, D.C.

Russell Douglas Warren, 48, was charged in the Eastern District of Michigan after a series of posts last week on X, formerly Twitter, included threats to kill public officials and bomb government buildings, The Detroit News reported. The X account that made the posts has 22 followers and was still active as of Tuesday.

The account features dozens of nearly identical threats aimed at a variety of targets, including current and former politicians, current and former judges and magistrates, government buildings and the military.

One post from the account threatened to drop a bomb on the nation’s capital. He also threatened bombs against specific government agencies, including the National Security Agency, the Internal Revenue Service, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Department of Homeland Security.

IRANIAN, 2 CANADIANS CHARGED IN MARYLAND MURDER-FOR-HIRE PLOT: ‘ERASE HIS HEAD FROM HIS TORSO’

“A complete evacuation of Washington D.C. must begin immediately. We’re gonna drop a mother f–king bomb on it,” he wrote in one post.

“FBI Headquarters shall be BOMBED,” one post from Friday reads. “All Employees of the FBI have been CONDEMNED. Shoot to kill,” another post read.

Warren also said Biden and Harris had been condemned and should be taken to prison and executed by hanging.

“Take Him to the Prisons to await Execution. He shall be Hanged,” he wrote, targeting the president.

Similar posts were made targeting Harris, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and other administration officials.

Threats of execution were also made against Republicans and Democrats who ran for president this election cycle, including Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley, former Vice President Mike Pence, South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, author Marianne Williamson and lawyer Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

SOUTH DAKOTA JURY FINDS 2 GUILTY OF KIDNAPPING, CARJACKING FBI EMPLOYEE

“Ron Desantis is CONDEMNED. Death by Milestone,” Warren wrote.

Warren also threatened the use of nuclear weapons against Mt. Rushmore, the Statue of Liberty, all national parks and Disney theme parks.

The account’s bio reads, “Donald Trump is Not going to save us. Our last chance for a political solution died with John F Kennedy.”

Including this case, there have been 12 people charged with federal crimes involving threats to a public official this year and charges have been filed against 579 people since 2013, according to an investigation by National Counterterrorism Innovation, Technology, and Education Center researchers Pete Simi of Chapman University and Seamus Hughes of the University of Nebraska at Omaha.

Warren is charged with one count of threats against the president and successors to the presidency, a felony that carries a maximum sentence of five years in federal prison. He was ordered to be temporarily held without bond until a detention hearing Friday in federal court in Bay City.

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An investigation was opened Saturday after the U.S. Secret Service and FBI learned about the threats posted to the X account.

Agents obtained subscriber information from X Corp. pinpointing the IP address being used by the account to connect to the internet since late last week. The IP address was found to be owned by cable company Charter Communications, which told investigators Warren was the subscriber using that IP address, according to the criminal complaint obtained by The Detroit News.

The first name matched a post from Thursday that said, “My name is Russ. After having a stroke, I was hospitalized in a nursing home. Unable to make my own medical decisions, I was forced to get vaccinated multiple times. I understand that I am dying. I understand that Donald Trump killed me.”

Warren has a criminal history, according to the court filing, and was convicted of assault with a dangerous weapon in 2022.