NationalWatch

FIRST ON FOX: Shortly after announcing a strategy to go after deceptive direct-to-consumer advertising by the pharmaceutical industry, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and the Department of Health and Human Services released a parody video of a drug advertisement – a pointed way of emphasizing the fact that the United States is largely unique in allowing drug ads.

“Tired of endless drug ads promising quick fixes but leaving you sicker than you were before? That can change today. Ask your doctor about MAHA,” the parody commercial begins, referring to Kennedy’s “Make America Healthy Again” initiative. 

“MAHA may cause healthier living, fewer chronic diseases, and lower drug costs,” the video’s narrator continues. “Some Americans reported more time spent with family instead of at the pharmacy. Other side effects may include healthier children, a stronger nation, more transparency in healthcare, honest advertising, and accountability from Big Pharma.”

The drug advertisement parody comes after Kennedy and HHS laid out their plans to target direct-to-consumer drug advertising – something that isn’t widely allowed outside the United States – in a new children’s health strategy released earlier this month. 

JILLIAN MICHAELS HAMMERS NY TIMES FOR ‘BLATANT HIT PIECE’ PORTRAYING HER AS DANGEROUS CONSPIRACY THEORIST

The strategy said it will ramp up enforcement of current prescription drug advertising laws, with a priority on “egregious violations demonstrating harm from current practices.” The strategy noted these violations could include the dissemination of “risk information and quality of life through misleading and deceptive advertising on social media and digital platforms.”

The strategy to go after direct-to-consumer drug ads will also include inter-agency cooperation to explore the development of potential new industry guidelines that limit direct-to-consumer advertising for certain “unhealthy foods” to children. These efforts include “evaluating the use of misleading claims and imagery,” the MAHA children’s strategy stated. 

Kennedy said alongside the release of HHS’s parody advertisement that the Trump administration plans to begin holding the pharmaceutical industry accountable for not sharing full safety information in their drug ads on television, radio and beyond.

WHY TRUMP BROKE WITH RFK TO DEFEND THE IMPORTANCE OF VACCINES 

“No more hiding vital information in small print, or pushing it off to a website, or a 1-800 number,” Kennedy said in a video released in conjunction with the parody advertisement. He also noted that regulators have been letting pharmaceutical manufacturers avoid providing complete warnings in their marketing materials.

Kennedy said in the accompanying video that, in the past, regulators let companies mention a vague “major statement” of risk that required consumers to go elsewhere for important details about the drug. The secretary said this “loophole” opened the door to a “tsunami” of misleading advertisements.

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“Drug ads drove up prescription drug costs and distorted doctor-patient conversations. Patients saw glossy ads and often asked for new medications,” Kennedy continued. “Big Pharma’s marketing hooked the country on prescription drugs. We’re taking action to end that practice.”

Senate Republicans rammed through dozens of President Donald Trump’s nominees on Thursday in their first flex of the Senate’s new rules for confirmations.

Lawmakers voted along party lines to confirm 48 of Trump’s nominees, many being for undersecretary or assistant secretary positions in a variety of agencies throughout the federal government and ambassadorships.

Senate Republicans went “nuclear” last week to make the change after a last-minute deal with Democrats fell apart.

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

The change ushered in by the “nuclear option” allows for lawmakers to confirm an unlimited number of nominees in batches, also known as en bloc, with a simple majority vote in the upper chamber. However, the process is time-consuming, given that lawmakers must jump through procedural hoops and allow for 30 hours of debate.

“Why has not a single nominee been confirmed by voice vote or by unanimous consent? We know why,” Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso, R-Wyo., said on the Senate floor. “It’s Democrat obstruction.”

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

“The country has never seen anything like this,” he continued. “Senate Democrats are freezing the Senate floor, freezing the federal government and freezing our nation’s progress. This harms America’s safety. It hamstrings the agenda that Americans voted for.”

Among this batch of nominees were Kimberly Guilfoyle, who Trump tapped to be the U.S. ambassador to Greece, and Callista Gingrich, who was picked to be the U.S. ambassador to Switzerland.

TRUMP NOMINEES PILE UP AS GOP WEIGHS RULE SHIFT ONCE FLOATED BY DEMOCRATS

Republicans argued that the change would benefit both parties now and in the future and viewed the change as an option of last resort to break through Senate Democrats’ blockade of Trump’s picks.

Typically, subcabinet-level nominees, particularly ones with bipartisan support out of committee, are sped through the Senate by either unanimous consent or through a voice vote — two fast-track procedural moves in the upper chamber. All the nominees in this first round made it out of committee on a bipartisan basis.

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However, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and his caucus wouldn’t allow either to be used and caused a backlog of nominees to lower level positions in the Trump administration to pile up. As of Thursday, the list had swollen to 173.

The only one of Trump’s nominees that easily moved through the chamber was Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who was confirmed in January on a near unanimous vote. 

This story discusses suicide. If you or someone you know is having thoughts of suicide, please contact the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988 or 1-800-273-TALK (8255).

EXCLUSIVE: A top conservative watchdog is suing the federal health care bureaucracy alleging they are stonewalling results of a study started under the Obama administration looking into the effects of transgender therapy pharmaceuticals on youth.

Oversight Project president Mike Howell told Fox News Digital in a Wednesday interview that administering puberty blockers and other nascent drugs to teens is akin to “modern-day Tuskegee experiments” and that the National Institutes of Health and the study’s proctor should not be allowed to keep their results secret.

In 2014, NIH awarded a grant to children’s hospitals that led to a study helmed by a Los Angeles pediatrician to discern the long-term effects of puberty blockers on pediatric transgender people, Howell explained, citing his organization’s lawsuit.

In 2024, Rep. Lisa McClain, R-Mich., wrote to the Biden-led NIH questioning why “principal investigator” Dr. Johanna Olson-Kennedy was “withholding publication” of the $9.7 million study’s findings.

LEGAL GROUP SUES FDA OVER PUBERTY BLOCKER RECORDS, CITING BIDEN-ERA COVER-UP

“In light of the NIH grantee’s unwillingness to release the research project’s findings, we ask that you provide documents and information to assist the Committee’s oversight of this matter,” McClain wrote, citing her role as chair of a House Oversight subcommittee.

One year later, Howell’s group sought the files through a public request in July, and sued this week, claiming officials ignored them. 

Both McClain, in her letter, and Howell, in his interview, raised concerns over Olson-Kennedy’s remarks about critics potentially weaponizing results from the NIH-funded study.

“NIH is responsible for overseeing its extramural research projects to ensure supported researchers practice transparency, exemplify scientific integrity, and are proper stewards of taxpayer funds,” McClain wrote to the Biden NIH.

Howell said he wants the NIH, under the Trump administration, to make the results public, citing troubling hints from Olson-Kennedy in a New York Times article that quoted her saying about one-quarter of participants reported some type of depression.

FEDERAL COURT REJECTS CHALLENGE TO OKLAHOMA LAW BANNING GENDER TRANSITION TREATMENT FOR MINORS

“In light of the recent spate of transgender ideology-inspired violent extremism and domestic terrorism, Including some of the shootings at schools and churches and most recently, Charlie Kirk, the Oversight Project and I want to know what the government knows about the psychological conditions of this new and coveted population of transgender children who are now growing into adults,” Howell said.

“It seems to me, in light of recent disclosures, including the America First Legal v. FDA [suit] that the government was well aware that these types of therapies, surgeries and cultural celebration and praising of this class of people was dangerous and led to increases in suicide rates, depression and other psychological conditions which all too often are manifesting in violent tendencies.”

In 2024, America First Legal – founded by Trump confidant Stephen Miller – sued for the release of any FDA records on off-label uses for puberty blockers and “cross-sex hormones.”

Howell said there is public interest in the study’s publication because it may “map out” why or whether the government has been aware of the “massive, growing problem” but declined to publicize for “politically-correct reasons.”

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

While NIH declined comment to Fox News Digital citing ongoing litigation, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., has been very critical of the types of drugs the Oversight Project is also concerned about.

Kennedy has called puberty blockers for minors “castration drugs,” and suggested young people cannot be considered prescient enough to make such life-changing medical decisions.

“Minors cannot drive, vote, join the army, get a tattoo, smoke, or drink, because we know that children do not fully understand the consequences of decisions with life-long ramifications,” he wrote on social media.

“The more I learn, the more troubled I have become about giving puberty blockers to youth,” Kennedy said in May 2024.

As secretary, Kennedy urged doctors to reconsider child sex-change operations in a formal letter obtained by the Daily Caller in May.

“HHS expects you promptly to make the necessary updates to your treatment protocols and training for care for children and adolescents with gender dysphoria to protect them from these harmful interventions,” it read.

Neal Cornett, a lead attorney in the case, told Fox News Digital he would also like to see any internal NIH reports on the physiological effects of related drugs Lupron and Supprelin.

“Imagine that you’re 14 years old – you take some kind of puberty blocker – you’re basically stunted, your bones aren’t growing, you have osteoporosis at the age of 15… that’s going to do a psychological number on you,” Cornett said.

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Howell said there is an absolute connection, if allegations bear out, between the Tuskegee Experiments of the mid-20th century on African Americans and studies testing out puberty blockers on 21st century children.

“When I first read [of the study] – I was reminded of Tuskegee Experiments on African Americans [where the uniformed U.S. Public Health Service] gave them drugs… to test out treatments there; horrific events,” he said.

Fox News Digital also reached out to the Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles, which was listed as the affiliate medical center for Olson-Kennedy. A number listed for Olson-Kennedy’s California practice was disconnected.

She told the Times in October 2024 she intended then to publish the data but blamed delays on funding cuts — a claim the NIH denied, the paper reported.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., accused President Donald Trump of exploiting the death of conservative activist Charlie Kirk in order to go after critics.

Schumer’s charge came as Senate Democrats teed up legislation called the “No Political Enemies Act,” which would prohibit Trump and his administration from weaponizing government agencies. It comes in the wake of late-night TV host Jimmy Kimmel’s sidelining by ABC over comments he made related to Kirk.

The top Senate Democrat said freedom of speech is “one of the great hallmarks of our country” but that the Trump administration “is trying to snuff it out.”

HOUSE DEM WARNS BOTH SIDES ON ‘ROAD TO RUIN’ AS POLITICAL DIVIDE DEEPENS OVER KIRK ASSASSINATION

“Those who break the law, of course, resort to any source of violence ought to be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” Schumer said. “But using the tragic death of Charlie Kirk as an excuse to supercharge the political witch hunt against critics is abhorrent, obnoxious and as un-American as it gets.”

“To attack civil society, whether it’s Jimmy Kimmel, civil society organizations or the Trump administration’s perceived political enemies, its crusade is unending,” he continued. “And this is one of the saddest parts of all, because of congressional Republicans’ obeisance to Trump, it’s unchecked because they are scared to stand up to Trump.”

BONDI ‘HATE SPEECH’ REMARKS SPARK TORRENT OF CRITICISM FROM CONSERVATIVES

Democrats’ legislation would prevent the administration from using agencies like the Justice Department, FBI and the IRS from going after people for criticizing the government, according to a one-page description of the bill.

It would also hold officials accountable for using their office to go after critics, ensure courts quickly dismiss “abusive actions,” and provide due process for U.S. nonprofits that the government tries to “label as criminal or terrorist organizations.”

FOLLOWING KIRK’S ASSASSINATION, LAWMAKERS REACT TO LETHAL POLITICAL CLIMATE: ‘VIOLENT WORDS PRECEDE VIOLENT ACTIONS’

Their legislative push also comes after Attorney General Pam Bondi said earlier this week that the administration would “go after you if you are targeting anyone with hate speech.”

Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., called her comments “bone chilling.”

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“The shooting of Charlie Kirk was a national tragedy,” he said. “It should have been a line in the sand, an opportunity for President Trump to bring this country together to do whatever is necessary to stamp out political violence that’s targeted both Republicans and Democrats, political violence that emanates from both right-wing and left-wing radicalization.”

“But Trump and his lieutenants are choosing a different path,” he continued. “They are choosing to exploit this tragedy, to weaponize the federal government to destroy Donald Trump’s political opposition.”

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

FIRST ON FOX – Two Virginia boys who were suspended after complaining about a transgender classmate in their locker room have won emergency relief in federal court.

Earlier this year, the Loudoun County Public Schools district in Northern Virginia launched a Title IX sexual harassment investigation into two high-school-aged boys after they were videotaped by a biological female who identified as transgender inside the boys’ locker room. The video caught them outwardly complaining to each other about the fact that there was a girl using their facilities.

That moment resulted in a Title IX investigation launched by the Northern Virginia school district into the two boys, which ultimately found the pair responsible for sexual harassment, a mark that will be placed on their permanent records, and suspended them for 10 days. 

The boys’ parents and their legal representatives appealed the district’s Title IX ruling, but the appeal was denied. The parents then took their case to federal court. Within days of the federal court filing, a judge subsequently granted the parents and their boys emergency relief, blocking the district’s disciplinary repercussions once again while the case moves forward.

PARENTS: VIRGINIA BOYS SUSPENDED AFTER QUESTIONING TRANSGENDER LOCKER ROOM POLICY WERE IGNORED BY SCHOOL

“We are very pleased with the Court’s decision and we look forward to fighting on behalf of our clients,” said Ian Prior, senior counselor at the Trump-aligned legal group America First Legal (AFL). AFL joined the Founding Freedoms Law Center in the case after it went into federal court. 

One of the boys and their families moved out of state, but the other still goes to school within the Loudoun County Public Schools system. Amid the earlier Title IX appeal by the boys’ families and their legal counsel, the suspension was previously stalled, but it resumed after the district’s denial of their appeal last week. However, the suspension has now been placed on hold again, following the court’s order for emergency relief. 

Judge Leonie Brinkema, from the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, said in her order that there was enough evidence showing that keeping the one boy suspended for the first 10 days of school could cause “irreparable harm.”

VIRGINIA SCHOOL DISTRICT VOTES TO KEEP GENDER BATHROOM POLICY, DEFYING DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION DIRECTIVE

“For a court to issue a temporary restraining order, a plaintiff ‘must establish that he is likely to succeed on the merits, that he is likely to suffer irreparable harm in the absence of preliminary relief, that the balance of equities tips in his favor, and that an injunction is in the public interest,'” the judge wrote in her order. “The loss of 10 days of in-person school early in the school year could have serious negative effects on [the plaintiff], and it appears from the record before the Court that [the plaintiff] has not had contact with the complaining student or continued communicating about that student. Therefore, the Court finds that the balance of equities tips in [the plaintiff’s] favor, given that [the plaintiff] is likely to suffer irreparable harm in the absence of a temporary restraining order … The Court also finds that the public interest is best served by ensuring high school students remain in school and receive adequate process before being suspended.”

Brinkema added in her ruling that she is “not certain” that the plaintiffs will succeed on the merits of their argument, but she did concede that the allegations put forward by the parents and their legal counsel were “troubling.”

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The lawsuit from AFL and the Founding Freedoms Law Center on behalf of the boys and their parents is demanding that the “false Title IX charge” against both of the boys for sexual harassment be dropped from their records, an immediate termination of the boys’ suspension, and compensation for “severe emotional, reputational, and educational harm.”

“This isn’t just about our sons — it’s about every child in Loudoun County. If the district can weaponize Title IX in this way, no family is safe,” Seth Wolfe, the father of one of the boys said. “No parent should have to fear their child will be branded a ‘sexual harasser’ simply for standing up for their privacy.”

The Loudoun County Public Schools district did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital. 

President Donald Trump said Thursday he’s been “let down” by his relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin. 

“The one that I thought would be easiest would be because of my relationship with President Putin,” Trump said during a joint press conference in London with United Kingdom Prime Minister Keir Starmer. “But he’s let me down. He’s really let me down. Was going to be Russia and Ukraine. But we’ll see how that turns out.”

Months of U.S.-led peace negotiations — including an Alaska summit between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin — have not led to breakthroughs in ending the war in Ukraine. 

“War is a different thing,” Trump said. “Things happen that are very opposite of what you thought. You thought you’re going to have an easy time or a hard time, and it turns out to be the reverse.”

TRUMP AND ZELENSKYY TO MET AS POLAND PRESSURES NATO ON NO FLY ZONE OVER UKRAINE

Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy may meet on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) next week, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Wednesday. Putin will not be in attendance — Russia will be represented by Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. 

Trump said of Putin: “He’s killing many people, and he’s losing more people that he’s, you know, than he’s killing. I mean, frankly, the Russian soldiers are being killed at a higher rate than the Ukrainian soldiers, but, yeah, he’s let me down. I don’t like to see — it’s death.”

The president then mused that the war “doesn’t affect the United States.”

To Starmer, he said, “Of course, you are a lot closer to the scene than we are. We have a whole ocean separating us. But I will say this. It’s millions of people have died in that war. Millions of souls. And they’re not American soldiers, mostly soldiers. As you know, the soldiers are being killed at levels nobody’s seen since the Second World War, but they’re being, they’re being killed. And I feel I have an obligation to get it settled for that reason.”

Meanwhile, Ukraine expects $3.5 billion in U.S. weapons to soon funnel in to fund its war effort, Zelenskyy said Wednesday.

“We will definitely have Patriot and HIMARS missiles,” he said during a press conference on Wednesday.

“We have received more than $2 billion from our partners specifically for the PURL program. We will get additional funds in October. I think we will reach about $3.5–3.6 billion,” the president added. That funding came from Ukraine’s allies in Europe.

The U.S. approved the first new weapons packages for Ukraine this week. Undersecretary of Defense for Policy Elbridge Colby signed off on two $500 million packages under the PURL program, Reuters first reported. 

“The Department of War has facilitated this first sale of weapons in line with President Trump’s America First priorities and efforts to bring this brutal war, which was brought on by Joe Biden’s incompetence, to an end,” a senior administration official told Fox News Digital, confirming the sale. 

The Prioritized Ukraine Requirements List, or PURL, was created to streamline Ukraine’s access to advanced weapons by pooling allied contributions into U.S.-managed procurement. Instead of sending cash directly to Kyiv, partners commit funds that Washington uses to acquire systems from American defense firms.

Germany, Poland, the UK, and other NATO members are believed to be leading contributors, though the exact breakdown hasn’t been made public.

TRUMP’S NATO DEAL TO ARM UKRAINE WINS OVER GOP SKEPTICS

Trump’s decision to rely on NATO allies’ money rather than seek additional congressional appropriations marks a sharp shift in U.S. policy, allowing him to sustain Ukraine’s arsenal while deflecting criticism from lawmakers wary of more taxpayer-funded aid.

In July the Pentagon halted weapons shipments to Ukraine, which had been approved under the Biden administration, citing strains on the U.S.’s own munitions stockpiles. Secretary Pete Hegseth ordered a review of U.S. stockpiles after years of depletion for the war in Ukraine, as well as operations against the Houthis in the Middle East and assistance to Israel for its war in Gaza.

The renewed weapons flow also underscores strains on the U.S. defense industrial base. The Pentagon is racing to double monthly artillery shell output, but leaders admit replenishment will take years amid competing demands from Ukraine, Israel, and operations in the Middle East.

PENTAGON HALTS SOME WEAPONS SHIPMENTS TO UKRAINE OVER CONCERNS ABOUT US STOCKPILES

 Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George has warned that using multimillion-dollar interceptors against cheap drones is unsustainable, urging industry to innovate toward lower-cost defenses. The imbalance between high-end U.S. systems and Russia’s mass use of inexpensive drones and artillery is now one of the war’s defining strategic challenges.

The Army’s goal is to double the monthly output of 150mm rounds by leveraging advanced automation.

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Gen. George said the service branch is also looking at new ways companies can produce munitions “that get us back to the cost curve,” meaning cost-equivalent or cheaper than the incoming weapons they are shooting down. “What we don’t want to do is shoot $3 million missiles at $50,000 drones or $10,000 drones.”

President Donald Trump claimed that late night television host Jimmy Kimmel’s program is being yanked off the air because Kimmel lacks talent.

“Well Jimmy Kimmel was fired ’cause he had bad ratings more than anything else and he said a horrible thing about a great gentleman known as Charlie Kirk. And Jimmy Kimmel is not a talented person, he had very bad ratings and they shoulda fired him a long time ago,” Trump asserted during a press conference alongside United Kingdom Prime Minister Keir Starmer in England.

“He was fired for lack of talent,” Trump said of Kimmel.

DISNEY SAYS JIMMY KIMMEL’S SHOW WILL BE PREEMPTED INDEFINITELY FOLLOWING CHARLIE KIRK ASSASSINATION COMMENTS

As Fox News Digital has previously reported, a Disney spokesperson said “Jimmy Kimmel Live will be preempted indefinitely.”

This is a breaking news story. Check back for updates.

A federal judge on Thursday blocked the Trump administration from deporting hundreds of Guatemalan minors to their home country after the government walked back claims that it intended to reunite the youths with their parents.

Judge Timothy Kelly, who issued the order, signaled his skepticism of the removals in a hearing last week, noting declarations from minors who said they feared facing violence or neglect if they were returned to Guatemala.

“It goes without saying that makes that irreparable harm,” Kelly said of their possible removals.

Kelly, a Trump appointee, also raised a report from the Guatemalan attorney general’s office, which plaintiffs submitted to the court. The report was compiled in response to Health and Human Services’ Office of Refugee Resettlement notifying the Guatemalan government that it planned to return more than 600 minors to Guatemala. No parents had requested the return of their children, the report said. Welch said she had no evidence to contradict the report.

BIDEN JUDGE HALTS ‘SURPRISING’ ILLEGAL ALIEN MINOR REPATRIATION PLAN AFTER ADVOCACY GROUPS SUE

“I don’t have anything specific that I can refer to contest the Guatemalan AG’s report,” Welch said, though she also said that some children have signaled they are interested in returning home.

The judge’s order arose from a lawsuit brought against the Trump administration after federal authorities woke up 70 minors, aged 10 to 17, in the middle of the night over Labor Day weekend while they were in HHS custody and transferred them to a plane bound for Guatemala. 

Attorneys for some of the minors secured an emergency restraining order from Judge Sparkle Sooknanan that prevented their imminent deportation. Kelly’s order effectively extends that order indefinitely.

The Trump administration could appeal the decision. Fox News Digital reached out to the Department of Homeland Security for comment.

The minors’ attorneys argued their clients were at imminent risk of removal despite some having pending asylum cases or other legal claims that had not fully been vetted by the courts.

LAWYERS CHALLENGE DEPORTATION OF HUNDREDS OF MINORS TO GUATEMALA

Sooknanan initially addressed the lawsuit over Labor Day weekend, but Kelly has since taken the case over.

Trump administration officials, including a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson, had excoriated Sooknanan when he issued her order, claiming the judge was blocking children from returning to their parents.

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“Judge Sparkle [Sooknanan] is blocking flights to *reunify* Guatemalan children with their families,” DHS spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin wrote on social media at the time. “Now these children have to go to shelters. This is disgusting and immoral.”

The minors’ attorneys argued in court papers that trafficking and immigration laws “prevent unaccompanied children from being whisked off under cover of darkness at the whim of any government.” The minors in question are currently in Health and Human Services custody and have no legal guardians in the United States, the attorneys have said.

FIRST ON FOX: More than a dozen state attorneys general sent a letter to public university and college presidents in their respective states Thursday warning them against invoking the assassination of Charlie Kirk to chill conservative free speech, or face investigations and potential lawsuits, Fox News Digital exclusively learned. 

“Unfortunately, we have heard troubling reports that some university officials are using the murder of Charlie Kirk as a justification to shut down speech on campus,” the letter reads. “While considering safety concerns, it is critical that universities are not imposing what would effectively be a tax on free speech.” 

“Particularly at this moment, when free speech itself was attacked, our universities must show through their actions that they will defend free speech and resist the ‘Assassin’s Veto.’ You have an obligation to protect free speech—you must not use the burden of protecting free speech to prevent free speech.”

The “assassin’s veto” is understood as a phenomenon of using violence or threats of violence to silence opposing views. 

CHARLIE KIRK’S KILLING AT UTAH UNIVERSITY PROMPTS SCRUTINY OF SECURITY MEASURES 

At the heart of the letter is the issue of security costs as it pertains to conservative speakers. Colleges and universities previously have come under fire over accusations of charging higher security fees for conservative speakers.

Such accusations have led to free speech lawsuits in the past, including the University of California, Berekely, settling a lawsuit with campus conservative groups, the College Republicans and Young America’s Foundation, in 2018 concerning allegations the school discriminated against conservative speakers by leveling higher security fees and other safety restrictions that led to the cancellation of right-leaning speakers on campus. 

Berkeley argued that the higher security fees were based on assessment from law enforcement officials that the speakers were likely to face an increase in public disruption and violence, before reaffirming its “commitment to free speech” and changing its security fee operations. 

The state attorneys general called on colleges to ensure they “impose security fees in a content-neutral and viewpoint-neutral manner” or face potential investigation and legal action. 

YEARS OF CAMPUS ATTACKS ON CONSERVATIVE ACTIVISTS RESURFACE AFTER CHARLIE KIRK’S MURDER

“Any security policy that appears neutral on its face must not be applied in a discriminatory manner. There is a long and troubling trend of universities misusing security policies to unconstitutionally chill conservative speech on campus. For example, just last year, the U.S. District Court for the District of New Mexico issued a preliminary injunction against the University of New Mexico after the university attempted to charge Turning Point USA over $5,000 in security fees for an October 2023 event featuring conservative speaker Riley Gaines. As the Court found, that was unacceptable,” the letter continued, pointing to another instance of colleges using security fees to allegedly silence conservative voices. 

The letter was spearheaded by Republican Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird. A total of 17 Republican state attorneys general signed onto the letter, including top law enforcement officials from Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas and Utah. 

“The tragedy of Charlie Kirk’s assassination is a sobering reminder that the right to free speech must be protected,” Bird told Fox Digital. “Charlie was murdered while debating on a university campus, a place where the free exchange of ideas should be encouraged; we cannot allow the actions of an assassin to stop free speech in any way. Colleges and universities must take steps to keep their students safe while preserving free discussion and open debate.” 

Kirk was killed Sept. 10 while he was at Utah Valley University’s campus as part of a Turning Point USA event. The conservative powerhouse was sitting under a tent while chatting with students when a single shot rang out and struck Kirk in the neck. 

“We were shocked and saddened by the assassination of Charlie Kirk on the campus of Utah Valley University on Wednesday,” the letter reads. “As the chief law enforcement officers of our states, we unequivocally condemn political violence of any kind. The fact that the slaying took place on a college campus, during a debate, makes it even more tragic.” 

“It is critical our state institutions of higher learning serve as forums for robust debate from all perspectives,” the letter continued. “The campus should be the very place where the First Amendment rings loudest for all to hear. We urge you to say no to the ‘Assassin’s Veto.'” 

The attorneys general argued that students might be considered “consumers” under the respective states’ Consumer Fraud Acts or Unfair and Deceptive Acts and Practices laws, and that the universities might violate state “laws if you invoke ‘security concerns’ to impose exorbitant fees on student groups,” while simultaneously advertising to students that the school is open for discussion and dialogue across the political spectrum. 

CHARLIE KIRK ASSASSINATION: TIMELINE OF UTAH CAMPUS SHOOTING DETAILS ATTACK, MANHUNT FOR SUSPECT

“If we receive complaints about your school, we will fully and fairly investigate those complaints subject to the authority of our respective offices,” the state attorneys general wrote. “Our offices are committed to ensuring that all our state entities, including our public colleges and universities, follow the Constitution.” 

Conservative nonprofits, including President of Parents Defending Education Nicole Neily, celebrated that the AGs’ calls for better protecting free speech is the ideal way to honor Kirk’s legacy. 

“This is a moment for leadership, and we are deeply grateful that the nation’s attorneys general are using their authority to remind university administrators of their sacred obligation to protect free speech and open discourse on college campuses,” she said. “I can think of no better way to honor Charlie’s legacy than through ensuring that students voices cannot be silenced by fear or malice.” 

Will Hild, the executive director for Consumers’ Research, a longtime nonprofit dedicated to consumer information, lauded Bird for leading the charge on ending the “assassin’s veto.”

“By sustaining the assassin’s veto, these University bureaucrats are actively aiding Charlie’s murderer, using the threat of violence to cut off free debate,” Hild told Fox Digital. “Such a practice is not just antithetical to everything Charlie Kirk represented but to the very principles of America. Attorney General Bird’s leadership in rallying states’ top law enforcement officers to oppose the Assassin’s Veto in all its forms is encouraging and should be emulated by others. Last week’s atrocity should be a turning point for every American campus.” 

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Kirk’s funeral is scheduled for Sunday in Arizona and is expected to be attended by President Donald Trump and other administration leaders. 

Former Vice President Kamala Harris revealed that Pete Buttigieg was her “first choice” as running mate in last year’s presidential election, but such a pairing “was too big of a risk,” according to an excerpt from her upcoming book. 

Buttigieg, the former secretary of transportation and mayor of South Bend, Indiana, who is gay, “would have been an ideal partner – if I were a straight white man,” Harris wrote in a portion of “107 Days” published by The Atlantic. 

“But we were already asking a lot of America: to accept a woman, a Black woman, a Black woman married to a Jewish man. Part of me wanted to say, Screw it, let’s just do it. But knowing what was at stake, it was too big of a risk,” she added. “And I think Pete also knew that – to our mutual sadness.” 

Harris ultimately selected Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate. That pairing lost the presidential election to Donald Trump and JD Vance in November. 

FORMER BIDEN CABINET MEMBER ADMITS PRESIDENT SHOULDN’T HAVE SOUGHT RE-ELECTION IN 2024 

In the “107 Days” excerpt, Harris said Buttigieg initially led the eight names on her vetting list for running mates because “he is a sincere public servant with the rare talent of being able to frame liberal arguments in a way that makes it possible for conservatives to hear them,” according to The Atlantic. 

“I love Pete,” she reportedly wrote. “I love working with Pete. He and his husband, Chasten, are friends.” 

Fox News Digital has reached out to representatives of Buttigieg for comment.

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

Harris and Buttigieg both ran for president in 2020, but the Democratic Party’s nomination was secured by Joe Biden in that election cycle. 

Harris’s book “107 Days” is set to be released next Tuesday, Sept. 23. 

“For the first time, and with surprising and revealing insights, former Vice President Kamala Harris tells the story of one of the wildest and most consequential presidential campaigns in American history,” reads a description of the book on Simon & Schuster’s website. 

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“From the chaos of campaign strategy sessions to the intensity of debate prep under relentless scrutiny and the private moments that rarely make headlines, Kamala Harris offers an unfiltered look at the pressures, triumphs, and heartbreaks of a history-defining race,” it added. 

Prosecutors are expected to rest their case Thursday in the federal trial of Ryan Routh — accused of attempting to assassinate President Donald Trump at his West Palm Beach golf club in 2024 — after Wednesday’s testimony centered on a gray storage box, a 12-page “Dear World” letter and accounts from longtime acquaintances.

Prosecutors used FBI Special Agent Garett Foo to walk jurors through the gray box recovered in North Carolina, which contained phones, ammunition, an “improvised firing mechanism” and Routh’s alleged handwritten “Dear World” letter. 

Per Judge Aileen Cannon’s ruling, jurors were shown only the first three sentences of that letter, including: “This was an assassination attempt on Donald Trump … I will offer $150,000 to whomever can complete the job.”

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

Routh – representing himself – had argued the whole letter should be brought into evidence, but Judge Cannon had only approved those first three lines. Routh argued that if the whole letter didn’t get into evidence, at least include three words from near the end of the letter, “shred his airplane.”

Routh told Cannon there’s “nothing about a golf course” in the letter and that the jury at least needed “some context… this is about shredding his airplane,” not assassinating him at his golf course. 

“How can you take three sentences out of 12 pages?” asked Routh. “How fair is that?” He added that the main object here was to “ascertain the truth.”

RYAN ROUTH TRIAL CONTINUES AFTER AGENT TESTIFIES SUSPECT AIMED RIFLE AT HIM ON TRUMP’S GOLF COURSE

Two former associates, brothers Samuel and Lazaro Plata, also testified with Spanish-English interpreters. Samuel Plata described finding the gray box with cartridges, pipes, four phones and a letter and said he alerted law enforcement. 

Lazaro told jurors Routh left the box at his home and said three phrases from the letter stuck in his memory: “Dear World,” “Donald Trump,” and “$150,000.” 

RYAN ROUTH TRIAL CONTINUES AFTER AGENT TESTIFIES SUSPECT AIMED RIFLE AT HIM ON TRUMP’S GOLF COURSE

In a text shown in court, Routh wrote: “Ryan Routh here. Want to give you my son Oran’s number in case I die in the next 10 or 20 years, so you can reach him.” On cross-examination, Routh asked, “Are you mad at me?” Lazaro replied, “How do you want me to feel?” Routh: “I want you to be happy.” Cannon ended the exchange after Routh continued trying to pivot.

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Prosecutors plan to finish their case and Cannon told the defense to be ready with witnesses Friday morning. Routh has indicated he plans to call a firearms expert and character witnesses, but it remains unclear whether he will testify on his own behalf.

House Freedom Caucus chair Rep. Andy Harris, R-Md., and other Republican lawmakers expressed strong support for President Donald Trump’s decision to label Antifa a terrorist organization and investigate who funds the group.

“I am pleased to inform our many U.S.A. Patriots that I am designating ANTIFA, A SICK, DANGEROUS, RADICAL LEFT DISASTER, AS A MAJOR TERRORIST ORGANIZATION. I will also be strongly recommending that those funding ANTIFA be thoroughly investigated in accordance with the highest legal standards and practices. Thank you for your attention to this matter!” the president declared on Truth Social.

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

TRUMP TO DESIGNATE ANTIFA A ‘MAJOR TERRORIST ORGANIZATION’

“President Trump is right. ANTIFA is a dangerous, radical group that thrives on chaos and violence. Rightfully declaring them a terrorist organization will help protect our communities. It’s time to investigate those who fund them and stop the lawlessness once and for all,” Rep. Harris declared in a post on X.

The House Freedom Caucus account reposted Harris’ post, and posts by GOP Reps. Eli Crane and Andy Biggs, both of Arizona, in which they shared screenshots of the president’s post about Antifa and thanked him for it.

FROM ‘LEGISLATIVE TERRORISTS’ TO CENTER OF TRUMP’S DC REVOLUTION: WHERE KEY CONSERVATIVE CAUCUS IS NOW

GOP Sens. Rick Scott, of Florida, and Mike Lee, of Utah, also thanked the president.

“Antifa has gotten away with its evils and terrorized cities across our country for far too long. This was 100% the right move. Thank you, @POTUS!” Scott declared in a post on X.

“ANTIFA is like a group of arsonists masquerading as firefighters,” Lee wrote. “Thank you, President Trump, for designating ANTIFA as a major terrorist organization.”

REPUBLICAN BILL WOULD PUT ‘ANARCHIST JURISDICTIONS’ ON NOTICE, THREATEN FEDERAL FUNDING

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On May 31, 2020, during his first term in office, Trump declared in a tweet, “The United States of America will be designating ANTIFA as a Terrorist Organization.”

A new watchdog group aiming to hold major institutions accountable and promoting good governance says it plans to become a “leading voice” for conservative values and effective governance across the country.

The Safety and Prosperity Oversight Coalition, which launched on Wednesday, will be led by seasoned political operative Chris Zeller. The group announced its creation this week and said it will be focused on promoting transparency, integrity and efficiency across American governmental institutions and the private sector. Zeller has a long history in GOP politics, including work on numerous national campaigns and a stint as the executive director for multiple state Republican parties. 

“The coalition brings together some of the nation’s top attorneys and financial investigators, leveraging their expertise to scrutinize institutional practices, expose inefficiencies, and advocate for policies that prioritize safety and prosperity for all Americans,” stated a press release from the group. “Backed by a team of established professionals, the coalition is poised to become a leading voice for conservative values and effective governance.”

EXCLUSIVE: HOUSE GOP REPORT ALLEGES $20B GREEN GRANTS ENRICHED BIDEN ALLIES 

Per the press release, the watchdog will focus on three core pillars: “rigorous oversight of government spending, accountability for corporate and public sector misconduct, and advocacy for common-sense reforms to strengthen democratic institutions.” This work will subsequently be accomplished via independent audits, legal challenges to governmental overreach brought forward by the nonprofit, and public education campaigns “to empower citizens with the facts.”

A GOP strategist who was willing to speak on background said the new watchdog group is a much-needed entity to combat efforts from the left. The strategist highlighted how the new conservative watchdog will help Republicans hold corporate America’s feet to the fire the same way the left did during the Black Lives Matter movement in 2020, or the same way they did with “woke” diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.

DEPT OF ED SPENDING SOARED 749% DESPITE DOWNSIZING, NEW DOGE-INSPIRED INITIATIVE REVEALS

“The Safety and Prosperity Oversight Coalition is a response to the growing need for accountability in our institutions,” Zeller added. “Americans deserve leadership that upholds integrity and delivers results. Our coalition will shine a light on waste, corruption, and mismanagement, ensuring that those in power serve the public, not themselves.”

Zeller most recently spent time as a top aide for Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., which followed his stint working on Kari Lake’s Arizona Senate bid in 2024. Lake ultimately lost to Democrat challenger Ruben Gallego.

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Zeller also worked as the campaign manager for Rep. Claudia Tenney, R-N.Y., when she successfully won her 2021 bid to represent New York’s 22nd Congressional District by a razor-thin margin of just over 100 votes.

Meanwhile, Zeller has spent time as the Executive Director at both the Connecticut and New Hampshire state Republican parties as well.

Former President Barack Obama said conservative activist Charlie Kirk’s death was “horrific and a tragedy,” while also taking a veiled shot at President Donald Trump with accusations of sowing political division in the country as the nation faces an unprecedented “political crisis.” 

“Regardless of where you are on the political spectrum, what happened to Charlie Kirk was horrific and a tragedy,” Obama said Tuesday night at the Jefferson Educational Society’s 17th annual global summit in Erie, Pennsylvania. 

“Obviously I didn’t know Charlie Kirk,” Obama said. “I was generally aware of some of his ideas. I think those ideas were wrong, but that doesn’t negate the fact that what happened was a tragedy and that I mourn for him and his family.”

Obama, who said Tuesday that the nation is facing a “political crisis of the sort that we haven’t seen before,” did not mention Trump by name in his remarks. 

‘GRADUALLY AND THEN SUDDENLY’: REAGAN SPEECHWRITER TALKS POLITICAL VIOLENCE IN AFTERMATH OF KIRK’S DEATH

Kirk, 31, was killed after suffering a gunshot wound in the neck during his American Comeback Tour at Utah Valley University Sept. 10. The shooting suspect, Tyler Robinson, was charged Monday with aggravated murder, along with other charges. 

The assassination comes a year after two attempts to take the president’s life.

While Obama admitted that extremists are present at both ends of the political divide, he distanced himself and his administration from far-left ideologues. 

“Those extreme views were not in my White House,” Obama claimed. “I wasn’t empowering them. I wasn’t putting the weight of the United States government behind them. When we have the weight of the United States government behind extremist views, we’ve got a problem.” 

‘DARK MOMENT FOR AMERICA’: TRUMP DECLARES CHARLIE KIRK’S VOICE ‘BIGGER AND GRANDER’ AFTER ASSASSINATION

Additionally, Obama signaled that the current White House was seeking to “silence discussion” in the aftermath of Kirk’s death, comments that come as Trump and administration officials have vowed to take action against those who have cheered for Kirk’s death on social media and cast blame on the “radical left” for recent political violence. 

“When I hear not just our current president, but his aides, who have a history of calling political opponents ‘vermin,’ enemies who need to be ‘targeted,’ that speaks to a broader problem that we have right now, and something that we’re going to have to grapple with — all of us,” Obama said. 

In response, the White House said that Obama is the “architect” for creating political division within America. 

CHARLIE KIRK ASSASSINATION: ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER, JOSH DUHAMEL, JILLIAN MICHAELS DENOUNCE POLITICAL VIOLENCE

“Barack Hussein Obama is the architect of modern political division in America — famously demeaning millions of patriotic Americans who opposed his liberal agenda as ‘bitter’ for ‘cling(ing) to guns or religion,’” White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson said in a Wednesday statement. “Obama used every opportunity to sow division and pit Americans against each other, and following his presidency more Americans felt Obama divided the country than felt he united it.” 

“His division has inspired generations of Democrats to slander their opponents as ‘deplorables,’ or ‘fascists,’ or ‘Nazis,'” Jackson said. “If he cares about unity in America, he would tell his own party to stop their destructive behavior.” 

Obama previously weighed in to express his condolences to Kirk’s family immediately after the shooting. 

“We don’t yet know what motivated the person who shot and killed Charlie Kirk, but this kind of despicable violence has no place in our democracy,” Obama said in an X post Sept. 10. “Michelle and I will be praying for Charlie’s family tonight, especially his wife Erika and their two young children.” 

The assassination of Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk has sparked sharply divided reactions, with some churches across the U.S. addressing the tragedy — and the viral video of his shooting — in their sermons this past Sunday.

Ryan Visconti, lead pastor at Generation Church in Mesa, Arizona, told Fox News Digital in an interview that many people are finding themselves “mourning this in an unusual way,” but noted that people probably had more familiarity with Kirk than they realized due to his expansive reach.

“As a Christian, Charlie was a brother in Christ, and so I think there is a connection there spiritually that a fellow brother in Christ, a Christian, was murdered brutally and graphically,” Visconti said. “And how graphic his death was, it was traumatic. And so, really, all of us who saw those terrible videos are witnesses to murder. And that really hurts on a deep level, and it scars your soul.”

YOUTH LEADERS MOURN ‘THE GODFATHER OF CAMPUS CONSERVATISM’ CHARLIE KIRK FOLLOWING ASSASSINATION

“What I would encourage people to do is, you need to know the hope and the comfort that comes from Jesus. That’s where Charlie found hope, and that’s where he got his strength from. And that’s what he would want other people who are hurting to turn to in a time like this,” Visconti added.

The pastor said he knew Kirk personally, and that he previously hosted a rally for then-vice presidential nominee JD Vance at his church.

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

Visconti touched on the fact that the murder has had an intense impact on Generation Z, as a large part of Kirk’s effort was speaking on campuses, including when he was killed.

“I believe that especially the younger generation who listened to Charlie and who at least appreciated his ability to engage people in conversation, those people see that he was willing to die for his beliefs, and I think that piques people’s interest, and it causes them to want to know what convinced him that this was true? What made him so passionate?” he said.

“And I think people are going to look at what Charlie believed in a new light and probably explore that for themselves, and so I think he will continue to have a lasting impact for many, many years to come, especially with the younger generation.”

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

Following Kirk’s murder at Utah Valley University last week, his casket was flown on Air Force Two to Phoenix, where mourners have set up memorials outside Turning Point USA headquarters and outside the Hansen Mortuary Chapel. 

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The conservative activist’s celebration of life is scheduled for Sunday at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, and President Donald Trump and Vance are slated to speak, along with other members of the Trump administration.

Former Sen. Joe Manchin, I-W.Va., said he spoke more with President Donald Trump in the first two years of Trump’s term than with former President Barack Obama during Obama’s eight years in office.

In his new book, “Dead Center: In Defense of Common Sense,” released this week, Manchin outlined a cordial working relationship with Trump and a far chillier, less active back and forth with Obama.

Manchin, who switched from the Democratic Party to become an Independent before retiring from the Senate last year, wrote that he considered Trump a fellow “outsider” when he arrived in Washington, D.C., for his first term and lauded him as the “most engaged president I ever worked with” since former President Bill Clinton.

MANCHIN SAYS HE WANTED GOP TO WIN SENATE TO STOP DEMOCRATS’ QUEST FOR ‘RAW POLITICAL POWER’

“From the start, President Trump had an open line of communication with me,” he wrote. “I spoke to him more in the first two years of his presidency than I did to President Obama during all eight years of his time in office.”

He noted, “If you want to have influence with Donald Trump, you have to be the last person he talks to about a topic,” and said he would jokingly ask that the president ensure he was the last person he called.

“He’d laugh, and we’d talk it out,” he said.

He recalled his 2018 election campaign in the wake of Trump’s dominant, 40-point win in the state. Trump told Manchin that he was being pressured to campaign against him and promised he wouldn’t. Ultimately, Trump visited the state five times, but Manchin still came out on top.

JOE MANCHIN TELLS ‘THE VIEW’ WHY HE COULDN’T ENDORSE KAMALA HARRIS

He was later invited to the Oval Office to meet with Trump, where, in front of then-Vice President Mike Pence and Ivanka Trump, the president “blurted to his other guests, ‘I told you we couldn’t beat him,’” Manchin wrote.

Manchin’s relationship with the former president goes back to his time as governor of West Virginia, when Obama was still a senator. The two worked together on a coal deal in Illinois that had previously excluded West Virginia.

During the 2008 election cycle, he said he invited both then-Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., and Obama to come to West Virginia to campaign, but said Obama shook off the invitation and told him, “Let’s be honest with each other —­ my demographics don’t work well in your state.”

NEW BOOK REVEALS WHAT OBAMA AND ‘CONQUEROR’ TRUMP CHATTED ABOUT IN VIRAL MOMENT DURING CARTER’S FUNERAL

“But he didn’t come, and that night belonged to Hillary,” he wrote. “She made the most of her visit and won the primary by 41 points.”

He said their relationship became even chillier when Obama launched his “war on coal” with a push for green initiatives that targeted fossil fuels and states like West Virginia.

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Manchin argued that the Democratic Party had grown dismissive and lost touch with the working class as a means to reshape their agenda through a progressive lens. That led to a seismic shift in West Virginia’s political alignment, from Democratic to now largely Republican, he said.

And in the process that began when Obama won in 2008, he said that rural states like his felt “overlooked and undervalued.”

“But that’s exactly how Democrats handled West Virginia, and no one embodied that disconnect more than President Obama,” he wrote.

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

California Gov. Gavin Newsom told reporters Charlie Kirk’s assassination has not changed the way he plans to approach campaigning, even after dropping a threatening name for an upcoming anti-Trump campaign. 

The rally was originally called the “FAFO50” campaign, a reference to the phrase “F— around and find out,” which is a slang warning meaning “if you keep doing something, you’ll regret it.”

“DONALD TRUMP IS F—— AROUND. NOW HE’LL FIND OUT,” the campaign’s marketing materials read before they were changed, according to archived images of the campaign’s website, as well as screenshots from the campaign’s official X account. The website for the campaign, which is aimed at passing an anti-gerrymandering ballot measure called Proposition 50, was ultimately changed from “FAFO50.com” to “YesOn50Live.com.” 

“FAFO” messaging on the campaign’s website and social media account was also removed, and a related event was subsequently referred to as a “Voter Registration Day Rally” on the campaign’s social media. 

LAWMAKERS SHARE VIEWS ON POLITICAL DISCOURSE IN US FOLLOWING CHARLIE KIRK ASSASSINATION

During an event promoting a new initiative to improve the well-being of young men and boys on Tuesday, Newsom was asked whether the rebrand was part of a changing calculus for the governor on how he intends to approach campaigning going forward.

“No,” Newsom insisted. “Because I’m the same guy that walked on the tarmac with Donald Trump. I’m the same guy that would pick up his phone call. I’m the same person that sat down not just with Charlie Kirk, but with Steve Bannon, with the guy who created this space, you know, ‘Language, Borders and Culture,’ Michael Savage, back in the ’90s, you know, was the dominant voice on talk radio. The person that sat down with Newt Gingrich, who was one of the leaders of my recall. I’m that same person.”

Newsom’s response followed a different question about the California governor’s new initiative supporting young men and boys. The governor was asked whether Kirk’s death played any role, or inspired the governor, in shaping the newly announced initiative, which builds on efforts Newsom initiated through a statewide executive order he signed earlier this summer.  

“I appreciate the question. I mean, I believe in civility. I believe in an open hand, not a closed fist,” Newsom responded. “I just think, at the end of the day — I said it inside a moment ago — divorce is not an option, period. Full stop. We’ve got to live together, across our differences, and there are a lot of differences in this state, this nation, for that matter, the world we’re trying to build.”

The nature of political discourse in the United States has become a major point of debate following Kirk’s assassination that occurred last week. Lawmakers from both sides of the aisle have called on others to “turn down the heat” in the wake of Kirk’s assassination. 

NEWSOM WARNS AMERICANS ‘YOU WILL LOSE YOUR COUNTRY’ UNDER TRUMP AT CALIFORNIA SUMMIT

The Trump administration’s Department of Homeland Security (DHS) put out a call for “the media, leftist groups, and sanctuary politicians” on Wednesday to tone down the “hateful rhetoric” targeting immigration enforcement officers, arguing it has contributed to “political violence in our country and a more than 1000% increase in assaults against our brave ICE law enforcement.” 

“This demonization is inspiring violence across the country,” Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin warned. “We have to turn down the temperature before someone else is killed.”

One example cited by DHS were comments by Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, a member of the cohort of progressive lawmakers on Capitol Hill known as “the squad.” During an interview with MSNBC on Sunday, Crockett likened ICE officers to slave catchers. “As someone who understands history, when I see ICE, I see slave patrols,” Crockett said.

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Meanwhile, rhetoric from Newsom’s “Voter Registration Day Rally” similarly likened Republican-led redistricting efforts to “pre-Jim Crow” era policies. 

“It’s about knowing that you can walk outside your home and not be detained and deported, not be lynched, because of the color of your skin,” California state legislator, Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove, said during the Tuesday night virtual rally promoting her state’s Proposition 50. “[Republicans] are doing every single thing that they can to take us back to pre-Jim Crow. And I am not being hyperbolic.”

Fox News Digital did not receive a response after reaching out to Newsom’s office and campaign team to see if the governor, or any of his representatives, wanted to comment further about the decision to rebrand Tuesday night’s event promoting Proposition 50 and the broader issue of inflammatory political rhetoric following Kirk’s assassination.

Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., sharply criticized Kash Patel’s tenure as FBI director Wednesday, telling reporters that he viewed Patel’s leadership as deeply partisan and a “terrible tragedy” for the nation’s sprawling law enforcement agency. 

Speaking at a news conference alongside former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and other House Democrats, Schiff took umbrage at Patel’s testimony one day earlier before the Senate Judiciary Committee, which Schiff said further crystallized his concerns about politicization within the bureau.

The FBI “has been the premier law enforcement agency in the country, and the world, because they’ve been constantly professional and non-partisan,” Schiff said Wednesday, noting the close working relationship he had with FBI agents during the years he spent as a federal prosecutor. 

FBI AGENTS GROUP TELLS CONGRESS TO TAKE URGENT ACTION TO PROTECT AGAINST POLITICIZATION

“It is a terrible tragedy, I think, for the men and women of the bureau to have such poor leadership that is replacing expertise with incompetence, that is replacing non-partisanship with the most rabid partisanship,” Schiff told Fox News Digital. “And this is not unrelated to why we’re here today.”

His remarks come as Patel appeared on Capitol Hill Wednesday for a second day of testimony before the Senate and House Judiciary committees.

FBI AGENTS DETAIL J6 ROLE IN EXHAUSTIVE QUESTIONNAIRE EMPLOYEES ‘WERE INSTRUCTED TO FILL OUT’

Both hearings were marked by sharp lines of questioning from Democrats, who grilled Patel on issues ranging from a flurry of FBI firings, the bureau’s handling of the Epstein files and concerns of politicization, among many other topics.

Schiff, in particular, pressed Patel on his tenure at the FBI, saying the bureau’s agents — mostly assigned to its 52 field offices across the country and loath to see their work politicized — wanted to know what, if any, marching orders Patel had received from President Donald Trump.

The heated back-and-forth devolved into a shouting match between the two as Schiff pressed Patel repeatedly on the firings of FBI agents and whether those individuals were removed for political reasons.

Patel, for his part, described Schiff as a “political buffoon.” 

Speaking to reporters Wednesday, Schiff said Patel’s appearance did little to assuage his broader fears of weaponization within the bureau.

“You can’t have a vibrant democracy without the rule of law,” he told Fox News Digital. “You can’t have the rule of law if you have a weaponized FBI and a weaponized Justice Department, and, sadly, that’s what we have here today,” Schiff said.

He also weighed in on Patel’s remarks yesterday on the Epstein files, another issue that sparked intense criticism from lawmakers, after Patel claimed Tuesday that there was “no credible evidence” that Jeffrey Epstein was trafficking women other than for himself. 

Schiff said it was a “startling claim,” particularly from someone who had previously promoted the belief that Epstein maintained a vast client list of powerful people.

“So, it was completely contradictory to everything he said in the past,” he said. He also noted Patel’s “refusal” to answer his questions on why Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche declined to press Ghislaine Maxwell further on the Cabinet members she identified as being “close” to Epstein or having a relationship with him during a two-day interview in July.

“Blanche refused to ask who they were and just ignored her comment,” Schiff added. 

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“And this is, again, the kind of incompetence we’re seeing,” he said. “Incompetence is probably the most polite thing I can describe, but it certainly looks like a cover-up.”

The Justice Department and FBI have struggled to quell the mounting public pressure on them to release more information related to the Epstein investigation, underscoring the story’s sticking power in a fast-moving news cycle and among Trump supporters, who have been some of the leading voices in demanding the information be released.

The House voted Wednesday to advance a resolution honoring slain conservative activist Charlie Kirk, clearing the way for floor debate later this week.

Lawmakers voted in favor of advancing the measure and a bill to avert a government shutdown in a joint mechanism known as a “rule vote.”

The rule was adopted in a 216-210 vote along party lines. Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., who is known to be opposing the federal funding bill, was the lone lawmaker from either side to vote “present.”

Massie explained to Fox News Digital that he vehemently supports the Kirk resolution but opposed an unrelated provision in the rule that blocks Congress’ ability from weighing in on tariff policy.

ABC REPORTER CALLS CHARLIE KIRK ASSASSIN’S TEXT MESSAGES WITH TRANSGENDER PARTNER ‘VERY TOUCHING’

“I’m a cosponsor of the Kirk resolution, and obviously I will vote for it, but shamefully they turned off Congress’ ability to vote on tariffs with this rule,” Massie said.

Rule votes are procedural hurdles that commonly tie together unrelated pieces of legislation that, if adopted, allow House lawmakers to debate each measure individually before respective votes. 

The current rule’s adoption means House lawmakers could vote on the resolution to honor Kirk on either Thursday or Friday.

A vote on the measure to avert a government shutdown, a short-term extension of current federal funding levels called a continuing resolution or CR, is expected Friday morning.

It is not surprising that no Democrats supported the rule’s adoption on Wednesday; rule votes traditionally fall along party lines and have rarely seen bipartisan crossover, even if the legislation they include has wide support from both Republicans and Democrats.

And while Democrats are largely expected to buck the GOP-led government funding patch, the resolution to honor Kirk’s legacy is expected to get healthy bipartisan support.

The Turning Point USA founder was assassinated last week during a college campus speaking event in Utah.

The resolution to honor him, led by Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., lauded Kirk as “one of the most prominent voices in America, engaging in respectful, civil discourse across college campuses, media platforms and national forums, always seeking to elevate truth, foster understanding and strengthen the Republic.”

SCRUTINY INTENSIFIES OVER SECURITY LAPSES SURROUNDING THE CHARLIE KIRK SHOOTING

It also said Kirk’s “commitment to civil discussion and debate stood as a model for young Americans across the political spectrum, and he worked tirelessly to promote unity without compromising on conviction.” It called his killing “a sobering reminder of the growing threat posed by political extremism and hatred in our society.”

Both Democrats and Republicans have released statements condemning political violence in the wake of Kirk’s killing.

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The latter measure that advanced on Wednesday evening, the CR, will keep government agencies funded at current levels through Nov. 21 if it’s passed by the House and Senate and signed into law by President Donald Trump.

That bill includes a combined $88 million in added security funds for Congress, the judicial branch and the executive branch.

Conversations about boosting lawmaker security, in particular, had been ongoing but took on new urgency after Kirk’s death.

A federal immigration judge has ordered Mahmoud Khalil deported to either Algeria or Syria after ruling he hid information on his U.S. green card application.

Judge Jamee Comans issued the Sept. 12 decision in Louisiana and said that Khalil did not disclose his internship with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) and ties with Columbia University Apartheid Divest, an anti-Israel campus coalition.

Court filings unsealed Wednesday and published by the American Civil Liberties Union also show Coman cited the activism ties as central to her ruling. 

NEWLY RELEASED MAHMOUD KHALIL SPOTTED BACK AT ANTI-ISRAEL PROTEST AT COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY

She denied Khalil’s motion for relief, writing that the omissions were deliberate and constituted grounds for removal.

Federal authorities argue that Khalil’s misrepresentations involved politically sensitive affiliations, raising both national security and foreign policy concerns.

Khalil, a legal permanent resident, was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on March 8 at his Manhattan apartment. 

He spent more than three months in detention in Louisiana before being released in June, when U.S. District Judge Michael Farbiarz ruled he was neither a flight risk nor a danger to the public.

ANTI-ISRAEL RINGLEADER MAHMOUD KHALIL POSTS $1 BOND AFTER FEDERAL JUDGE RULES TRUMP ADMIN CAN’T DETAIN HIM

Farbiarz also temporarily blocked Khalil’s removal while reviewing his claim that the government’s actions amounted to retaliation for protected political speech.

Khalil’s legal team confirmed Wednesday that they plan to appeal the decision to the Board of Immigration Appeals. They framed the case as a broader civil rights battle.

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“It is no surprise that the Trump administration continues to retaliate against me for my exercise of free speech,” Khalil said in a statement. “Their latest attempt, through a kangaroo immigration court, exposes their true colors once again.”

Fox News Digital has reached out to the Department of Homeland Security for comment.