NationalWatch

Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, opened part of her questioning of acting Attorney General Todd Blanche on Wednesday by asking whether he had ever requested sexual favors or committed sexual harassment — reviving a confirmation-hearing question that has repeatedly drawn mockery from conservatives.

“Low IQ @maziehirono begins her questioning of @DAGToddBlanche —an esteemed professional with an honorable record in public service—by asking, ‘Have you ever made unwanted requests for sexual favors?’ What a joke,” wrote the official White House Rapid Response account on X.

Hirono recently held the same line of questioning during the confirmation hearing for Secretary of Interior Doug Burgum last year. Hirono began introducing the questions in 2018, inspired by the #MeToo and #TimesUp movement.

TRUMP’S AG NOMINEE RACKS UP MASSIVE SUPPORT AHEAD OF CONFIRMATION HEARING: ‘REAL RESULTS’

“Since you became a legal adult, have you ever made unwanted requests for sexual favors or committed any verbal or physical harassment or assault of a sexual nature,” Hirono asked.

“No, Senator,” Blanche responded.

“Have you ever faced discipline or entered into a settlement relating to this kind of conduct?” she followed up.

MIKE DAVIS: WHY SENATE MUST IGNORE OBAMA JUDGE’S ATTACK ON AG NOMINEE TODD BLANCHE

“No, Senator,” Blanche responded.

Social media users swiftly mocked Hirono’s opening line of questions.

“Raise your hand if you’re tired of @maziehirono’s favorite Senate Judiciary line of questioning,” posted the Republican National Lawyers Association on X.

“The White House is RIPPING deranged Sen. Mazie Hirono (D) for demanding AG Todd Blanche answer, ‘have you ever made unwanted requests for s*xual favors’ BLANCHE: ‘…no, senator..,’” wrote Right Line News Chief Content Officer Eric Daugherty on X.

“WTF? What a stupid thing to ask out of nowhere,” Daugherty added.

“She does it to EVERYONE, SHEIS ABSOLUTELY NUTS,” added one user.

DEMOCRAT POLITICOS RERUN UNDERHANDED LEFTIST PLAYBOOK IN EFFORT TO TORPEDO TRUMP’S AG NOMINEE

Hirono wrote in 2018 that she is “asking nominees to our courts, under oath, whether or not they have a history of sexual assault or harassment.”

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

“Like in other industries, our judges are in positions of power & #TimesUp,” she posted on X at the time.

She first used the line of questioning during the confirmation hearing for judicial nominee Kurt Engelhardt during the first Trump administration.

Former special counsel Jack Smith was thrust back into the spotlight Wednesday during Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche’s confirmation hearing, as Sen. John Kennedy pressed the Justice Department over newly revealed allegations related to the Biden-era special counsel’s review of lawmakers’ text messages. 

“Would you check for me first if [Smith] read my emails and … number two, how he got them. And number three … what emails did he get of Senator Grassley and I mean … what were they limited to, if at all,” asked Kennedy, referring to Smith’s prior investigation into President Donald Trump that allegedly swept up text messages from 44 members of Congress. 

“Did he get emails from Senator Grassley talking about his corn harvest and, and all that? And who did he share them with? Do you know if Mr. Smith shared my emails with Attorney General Garland,” he continued.

BIDEN SPECIAL COUNSEL’S ‘RUNAWAY TRAIN’ SCOOPED UP SENSITIVE LAWMAKER INFO: ‘ABUSE OF POWER’

Kennedy was referring to Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, announcing Tuesday that records provided to the committee showed Smith’s team obtained and reviewed text messages involving 44 current and former lawmakers as part of the Trump election probe. Kennedy was not among the list of 44 lawmakers released by Grassley’s office. 

Operation Arctic Frost, the Biden-era FBI probe that Grassley says formed the basis of Smith’s election case against Trump, initially examined the alleged false electors scheme following the 2020 election. Grassley and other Republicans have been investigating whether the probe reflected improper weaponization of federal law enforcement against Trump and his allies.

Blanche confirmed to Kennedy that the DOJ is investigating.

TRUMP’S AG NOMINEE RACKS UP MASSIVE SUPPORT AHEAD OF CONFIRMATION HEARING: ‘REAL RESULTS’

Kennedy asked Blanche how DOJ officials could get ahold of messages without probable cause.

“There are checks in place that should make it extraordinarily difficult for a prosecutor to, collect and review a senator’s emails or a congressman’s emails or a lawyer’s emails or other folks that have privileged protections associated with their communications,” said Blanche. “Those checks and balances should always be used.”

Grassley’s office said in the press release that Smith’s investigative team bypassed an internal filter review process meant to keep privileged materials from being swept into a criminal prosecution.

“Bypassing a Filter Team evades consideration of additional privileges, such as attorney-client privilege,” stated the release.

The records were provided by the Trump Justice Department in a full-scale probe of Operation Arctic Frost.

Sen. Eric Schmitt of Missouri also addressed critics, claiming Trump’s DOJ is the “most troubled” justice department in history pointing to weaponization of Biden DOJ’s investigation.

DEMOCRAT POLITICOS RERUN UNDERHANDED LEFTIST PLAYBOOK IN EFFORT TO TORPEDO TRUMP’S AG NOMINEE

“We lived through Jack Smith, and the chairman has just revealed new revelations, of course, that he was reading text messages,” said Schmitt. “By the way, Jack Smith testified under oath he didn’t do that. He testified that they just had the phone logs. We know that’s not true.”

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

“Now, Jack Smith should be subject to prosecution for lying to Congress. So this weaponization, let’s draw a distinction. When you go after your political opponents, that is a weaponization,” he added.

The Department of Labor (DOL), in collaboration with the White House Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, has deployed a strike force to New York to recover hundreds of millions in unemployment fraud payments.

“New York has exhibited fraud and improper payment rates on a scale we’ve never seen before—draining nearly $2 million a day from hardworking American taxpayers,” DOL Inspector General Anthony D’Esposito told Fox News Digital. “While the state is cooperating with our review, these numbers are simply unacceptable. Our strike team will ensure the system is operating exactly as intended with no underlying issues.”

New York contributed to $750 million in improper unemployment insurance claims, and has accounted for $507 million of those claims paid out in 2025, according to numbers reported to the federal government by the state.

Now, the Trump administration wants to claw back those funds it says were obtained through fraudulent means in the Democrat-led state.

STOLEN IDS SOLD FOR ‘HAPPY MEAL’ PRICES FUEL BILLIONS IN US BENEFIT FRAUD

New York has the highest unemployment insurance fraud rate in the country at 15%, according to the DOL. The federal government says the state also has the highest improper payment rate at 23%.

Of the $507 million in overpayments, New York has only managed to recover 25% of the total, which is well below the national actual loss prevention average of 69%.

A spokesperson for New York Gov. Kathy Hochul’s office told Fox News Digital that she is implementing policies to prevent fraud, which has been a longstanding priority of President Donald Trump’s second term.

“Governor Hochul and the State Department of Labor take fraud and abuse very seriously. That’s why the Governor has led the way in implementing several changes since the pandemic to fight waste, fraud and abuse,” the Democrat leader’s spokesperson said.

“We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to pursue criminals and hold perpetrators accountable while ensuring workers receive the benefits to which they are entitled under law efficiently.”

THE WAR ON FRAUD IS HERE, AND VICE PRESIDENT VANCE IS LEADING IT FROM THE FRONT

The DOL described its collaboration with the recently announced White House Task Force for Eliminating Fraud as “unprecedented.”

Trump instituted the task force by executive order in March and tapped Vice President JD Vance to lead the effort.

“My Administration will use all available resources and authorities to fight fraud, close loopholes, enforce eligibility rules, and protect benefits for eligible Americans, while ensuring States administering Federal benefits programs do the same,” the administration said at the time.

VANCE REFERS TIM WALZ, MINNESOTA ATTORNEY GENERAL TO DOJ FOR CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION OVER STATE’S ALLEGED FRAUD

The DOJ said its effort to eliminate fraud in New York is unique, and that rather than simply sending national unemployment insurance experts to states, the agency is now embedding Office of the Inspector General special agents on the ground to work with the New York State Department of Labor on criminal referrals and investigations.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

“Never before has the U.S. Department of Labor and our Office of Inspector General unleashed this level of coordination in the war on fraud,” D’Esposito said. “Our elite strike teams — powered by top national unemployment insurance experts and OIG special agents — are embedded on the ground in New York to hunt down every lead and dismantle suspected fraud.”

“Combined with President Trump and Vice President Vance’s White House Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, this collaboration has forged the most aggressive and advanced strike teams we have ever assembled.”

FIRST ON FOX: One House Republican is moving forward with efforts to codify President Donald Trump’s sweeping travel ban on “third-world” countries.

Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., will introduce legislation Wednesday that would bar people from 39 countries across the Caribbean, Middle East and Africa from entering the United States, Fox News Digital has learned.

Mace’s bill, titled the Third World Immigration Moratorium Act, would also block entry for individuals traveling on Palestinian Authority-issued documents.

The South Carolina lawmaker argued her legislation, which mirrors the list of countries facing full or partial bans under the Trump administration, is necessary because many immigrants from the affected countries have failed to assimilate into American life.

TRUMP ADMIN ANNOUNCES EXPANSION OF VISA RESTRICTION POLICY IN WESTERN HEMISPHERE

“For too long, Washington has looked the other way while bad actors exploited every gap in our system and American families paid the price. Those days are over,” Mace said in a statement obtained by Fox News Digital on her upcoming legislation. “If you import the third world, you will become the third world.”

“This bill makes crystal clear: entry into the United States is a privilege, not a right,” she continued. “We make absolutely no apologies for defending it.”

Countries that would face travel restrictions are Afghanistan, Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Benin, Burkina Faso, Burma, Burundi, Chad, Cote d’Ivoire, Cuba, Dominica, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Gabon, Gambia, Haiti, Iran, Laos, Libya, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Republic of the Congo, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Tanzania, Togo, Tonga, Turkmenistan, Venezuela, Yemen, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

The proposal comes after the Trump administration resurrected a travel ban on 12 countries in June 2025 after an Egyptian national was charged with carrying out a deadly firebombing attack in Boulder, Colo., on demonstrators calling for the release of hostages in Gaza.

Trump later moved to expand the list by more than double after an Afghan national fatally shot 20-year-old Sarah Beckstrom, a member of the West Virginia National Guard, and severely injured U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe, 25, in Washington, D.C., in November.

The president argued the move was necessary to protect national security and guard against visa overstays after both perpetrators were in the country illegally after overstaying their visas. 

Many of the countries on the travel ban list are among the poorest in the world and have struggled with instability and terrorism.

Iran and Cuba — both longtime U.S. adversaries — are also among the countries targeted by the proposal. 

Mace’s legislation would exempt several categories of travelers, including lawful permanent residents, dual nationals using passports from countries not subject to the restrictions, diplomats, NATO personnel, athletes participating in major international competitions, special immigrant visa recipients who assisted U.S. forces, and some people fleeing ethnic or religious persecution in Iran.

ALITO RIPS RACE-BASED CLAIM IN HIGH-STAKES MIGRANT PROTECTIONS CASE AT SUPREME COURT

Under Mace’s bill, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) secretary would possess the authority to grant case-by-case waivers if admitting an individual is determined to be in the nation’s “critical interest.”

But the legislation is likely to face an uphill battle in the House amid expected opposition from Democrats and some Republicans who support legal immigration from several of the countries on her list.

Earlier this year, a handful of Republicans joined Democrats in voting to extend Temporary Protected Status for Haitians despite the Trump administration’s opposition. Some Republicans have also defended legal immigration for people from Cuba, Venezuela and other countries subject to the travel ban and often used as proxies of other foreign powers.

Mace previously introduced legislation that would bar naturalized citizens from serving in most of the federal government, including in Congress and as federal judges.

Wednesday’s legislation comes as Mace weighs her political future.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

The Republican firebrand is serving the final months of her House term after losing her bid for South Carolina governor earlier this year.

She has floated running in a fast-approaching primary election to succeed the late Sen. Lindsey Graham, who died unexpectedly late Saturday evening.

The rise of socialist candidates across the United States has reignited a long-running debate over how far left the Democratic Party has shifted, with political veterans from both parties telling Fox News Digital the movement’s success is the product of decades of ideological change that started with cultural institutions and that failing to confront it could have profound consequences for the country’s future.

“Yuri Bezmenov, a KGB defector, warned of ‘great brainwashing’ schemes to undermine America and the West some 40 years ago,” New York City Republican Councilwoman Inna Vernikov, who grew up in Soviet Ukraine, told Fox News Digital.

“What we’re seeing now is anything but ‘grassroots’; it’s the effect of decades-long campaigns to subvert American thought and way of life.”

That campaign, some experts argue, is the underlying reason behind the rise of socialist candidates like New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and the candidates he backed for Congress last month, as well as Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson, Sen. Bernie Sanders, Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan, and the various other candidates who embrace socialist ideology.

THE DEMOCRATIC SOCIALISTS ARE NO LONGER ON THE FRINGE

“Marxist schemes slowly mainstreamed once-fringe ideas like ‘America is systematically racist,’ or ‘all cops are bastards,’ and ‘capitalism is evil,’” Vernikov explained. “The biggest culprits are the education system, which is increasingly beholden to radicalized teachers’ unions, and moderate Democrat politicians who have refused to challenge – and in most cases embraced – their radical, anti-West peers. The next thing you know, we have a socialist mayor committed to the destruction of our value system and three of his cronies on their way to Congress.”

Mike Gonzalez, a senior fellow at the Heritage Foundation who fled communist Cuba in the 1970s, told Fox News Digital the path to this point over the last several decades was blazed by the “long march through the institutions” where the “cultural left took over the K-12 school system, higher education, art houses, media, entertainment, and museums.”

NEWT GINGRICH: THE DECLARATION STILL TERRIFIES SOCIALISTS AND TYRANTS, HERE AND ABROAD

Gonzalez, co-author of the book “NextGen Marxism: What It Is and How to Combat It,” pointed to a sweeping new White House report which concluded that the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of American History (NMAH) has become a taxpayer-backed institution of “ideological capture” and “extreme political activism.”

“People think America is exceptional because it is rich and powerful, which completely misunderstands American exceptionalism and the concept of exceptionalism. American exceptionalism is not at all about America being free, rich and powerful,” Gonzalez said.

“On the contrary, America is rich and powerful because of America’s exceptional nature. And that has nothing to do with being rich and powerful. It has to do with the fact that America derived its sovereignty from the concept of natural rights. They stopped demanding their rights as Englishmen and turned around and started demanding their rights as men under the concept of natural rights — that they have these rights that are endowed by the Creator with natural rights, and that these rights are eternal. Nobody has taught Mamdani this. Instead, they have taught Mamdani to hate America — that America is structurally oppressive and systemically racist — and that has been the message of these institutions.”

SOCIALISTS LAUNCH RADICAL PLATFORM TO ABOLISH THE US SENATE IN BID TO FUNDAMENTALLY TRANSFORM AMERICA

As concerns about the growth of socialism and communism grow, the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) is adopting and rolling out an updated platform that cuts at the heart of what many conservatives view as America’s constitutional framework and public-safety system, including calls to abolish the U.S. Senate, replace the Electoral College, defund police departments and abolish prisons.

Gonzalez told Fox News Digital that if he had to put a date on when the left’s cultural takeover began to explode, it would be the 1980s.

“It started in earnest in the 80s because the members of the New Left that had been terrorists, like the Weather Underground and the Black Panthers and so forth, they come out of hiding and they start taking over the teaching profession,” Gonzalez explained.

“They go into cultural areas and by the late 80s, you have the doctrine of Critical Race Theory, before that, you have critical legal theory and that takes over the law schools and then it gravitates to all faculties and then it comes to the Ivy walls in the second decade of the of the twenty-first century with Obama, Obama creates the environment for it.”

Much has been made in recent months about the disappearance of “moderates” within the Democratic Party and some attribute that to what Gonzalez referred to as the “decimation” of moderate Democrats in red and purple districts during the Obama years.

Obama, who moved in many of the same Chicago political and civic circles as former Weather Underground co-founder Bill Ayers during his early political career, is often accused by conservatives as opening the door to the far-left of the party with his rhetoric and big government policies like Obamacare. During Obama’s eight years in office, Democrats lost more than 1,000 elected offices nationwide, including 63 House seats, 12 Senate seats, 12 governorships, and roughly 940 state legislative seats, in one of the party’s most severe down-ballot declines in modern history.

During Obama’s presidency, as moderate Democrats were losing elected offices across the country, several high-profile left-wing movements emerged, including Occupy Wall Street and Black Lives Matter. The country also witnessed widespread protests, and, in some cities, riots, following high-profile police shootings, including the unrest in Ferguson, Missouri, after the 2014 shooting of Michael Brown.

How did the Democratic Party go from pragmatic bipartisan leaders in the 1980s and 1990s to the schism between socialists and moderates that exists today? Gonzalez suggested patriotism is the underlying issue.

“I would go back to pre-Bill Clinton,” Gonzalez said when asked about the last time the Democratic Party had leaders who could stand up to the socialist wing. “I would say Tip O’Neill, and Dick Gephardt, these are people that I strongly disagreed with when I was alive back then, I disagreed with them on Central American policy, but they loved the flag, they loved America, they loved capitalism. Tip O’Neill would not have put up with Mamdani’s balderdash on collectivism or seizing the means of production.”

A Gallup poll released in late June found Americans’ national pride has fallen to its lowest level in the survey’s 25-year history, with just 53% saying they are “extremely” or “very” proud to be American. The survey also found a sharp partisan divide: 93% of Republicans said they were extremely or very proud to be American, compared to 27% of Democrats, continuing a trend of widening differences in national pride between the two parties.

Veteran Democratic strategist Hank Sheinkopf told Fox News Digital the political divide in the United States now essentially boils down to two groups: those who love the country and those who don’t.

EXPERT WHO FLED CUBA WARNS OF ‘VICIOUS CYCLE’ THAT WILL LEAD TO ‘COMMUNISTS IN DOUBLE DIGITS’ IN CONGRESS

“If you hate this country, it doesn’t matter whether you are a Republican or a Democrat,” Sheinkopf said. “If someone hates the country, you have an obligation to do whatever you can to stop them. And the people telling you they hate this country mean they hate its residents as well. They hate differences, they hate multi-ethnic societies, they hate Western democracy, and they’re going to do whatever they can to stop it. If you look at the DSA website, it’s pretty clear.”

As far as what can be done to reverse the spread of communist ideology within the Democratic Party, Sheinkopf said Democrats need to ” engage in real partisanship as opposed to blabathons” while focusing less on Trump and more on engaging with “programmatic arguments” on substantive issues.

“Low turnouts benefit the enemy, the enemy are the enemies of democracy and people have to stop thinking about it as Republican or Democrat,” Sheinkopf said, referencing the low turnouts in places like New York City where socialists have seen major victories.

Sheinkopf explained that in addition to the failures of leadership within the Democratic Party, his generation did a “crappy job” warning their children of the dangers of socialism, and instead installed the “religion called social justice.”

“What it is, is the beginning of the fall of Western civilization by its disruption and that’s the idiocy that people fail to understand,” Sheinkopf said.

A Fox News poll released in March found a record 38% of registered voters said it would be a good thing for the United States to move away from capitalism and toward socialism, up from 32% in 2022 and just 18% when the question was first asked in 2010, underscoring a growing openness to socialist ideas even as a majority of voters still oppose such a shift.

Communist and socialist organizations have also become increasingly visible at high-profile demonstrations over the past year. During May Day protests in Minneapolis this spring, members of Communist Party USA and the Freedom Road Socialist Organization marched alongside other activist groups carrying communist and socialist banners while participants called for a “revolution” and displayed anti-capitalist messaging, Fox News Digital extensively reported.

Similar scenes have played out at demonstrations in New York City, where communist organizations have openly distributed literature, displayed communist flags and promoted Marxist ideology at larger anti-Trump protests.

The political shift has gotten the attention of President Donald Trump, who earlier this month in a speech at Mt. Rushmore described communism as “the greatest threat” facing the United States.

“It is the greatest threat to our country, including World War I, World War II, Pearl Harbor or even 9/11,” Trump said. “We’re not going to let this happen to us. Believe me, we’re not letting it happen, because communism is the enemy of free people.”

Historians estimate communist regimes, many of which described themselves as socialist states, in the Soviet Union, China, Cambodia and elsewhere were responsible for the deaths of more than 100 million people during the 20th century through executions, forced labor, famine and political repression.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

“This needs to be taken very seriously,” Gonzalez told Fox News Digital. “Mamdani tells you about collectivism, that’s one of the ways you know he’s a communist, he doesn’t tell you what follows collectivism, the gulags follow collectivism and Marx himself tells you why the gulags follow collectivism.”

“Marx in the manifesto says when you take people’s property away, they get awfully angry and they’re gonna fight back and you’re gonna need, ‘despotic inroads.’ This is what the English translation of the German says, despotic inroads. In other words, you’re going to need to be repressive. And that’s gulags. And that follows collectivism. America needs to understand there is a specter haunting America, and it’s communism. They need to wake up to this.”

FIRST ON FOX: A Texas imam invited to pray before Congress is facing backlash on Capitol Hill after celebrating Sen. Lindsey Graham’s death in a social media post that wished him “an eternity in ruins” over his support for Israel.

Rep. Beth Van Duyne, R-Texas, plans to introduce a resolution on Wednesday that would formally condemn Omar Suleiman, the president and co-founder of the Yaqeen Institute for Islamic Research, near Dallas.

“In other news, Lindsey Graham is dead,” Suleiman wrote on social media early Sunday morning, shortly after news broke that Graham had died. “Bye Lindsey. May you live an eternity in ruins for the ruins you helped create in Gaza. Ameen.”

Van Duyne, who represents the suburban Dallas district where Suleiman lives, said Congress must condemn his incendiary message, pointing to his 2019 opening prayer before the House, which he delivered at Democrats’ invitation.

JOY REID MOCKS MEDIA MOURNING OF LINDSEY GRAHAM, SAYS ‘HELL OPENED ITS DOORS FOR AT LEAST ONE MORE’

“This type of action from a religious leader that claims to preach about love and not hate needs to be condemned,” Van Duyne told Fox News Digital in an interview. “That was anything but love. That was depravity.”

“Is this really what you believe—that you’re going to take a sitting senator who has just died, and you’re going to condemn his soul to an eternity of ruins because you don’t agree with his politics?” she continued.

Graham, who served in Congress for decades, was a leading advocate for Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza and the United States’ months-long conflict with Iran. He was also a fierce defender of Ukraine, Taiwan and those living under authoritarian regimes.

Van Duyne said she is talking with leadership about putting her resolution on the floor and hopes Democrats will support it.

“It needs to be condemned by those Democrats who called him to the House floor to preach,” the Texas lawmaker said. “I would love to be able to get Democrats who are on the floor who don’t agree that this is the type of action that a religious leader should take.”

Suleiman was invited by former Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson, D-Texas, to deliver the opening prayer in the House chamber in May 2019. She died in 2023.

The imam was asked to perform the invocation despite a history of controversial remarks, including calling for a third Intifada — a phrase widely interpreted as calling for violence against Israel and Jews — and claiming that Zionists are “enemies of God,” the Jerusalem Post reported.

“It’s a hatred of a people” that fueled Suleiman’s remarks celebrating Graham’s death, Van Duyne told Fox News Digital. “I thought it was very important to highlight that.”

NETANYAHU DETAILS ‘FINAL’ CONVERSATION WITH LINDSEY GRAHAM, SAYS SENATOR CHALLENGED HIS PUSH TO END ISRAEL AID

The resolution alleges that Suleiman has “defended convicted terrorists” and traveled to Turkey to support members of the Muslim Brotherhood, who are banned from traveling to the United States.

Suleiman did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Texas imam was not alone in celebrating Graham’s death. Van Duyne argued the vitriol from some progressive commentators and left-wing activists reflects a broader decline in civility.

“The words are getting more hateful,” the Texas Republican told Fox News Digital. “The call for violence is getting more dangerous.”

“It has absolutely gone beyond reason,” she continued. “And to have a religious leader that joins in that, that is calling for that, is horrible. And yes, we should be condemning it.”

Her measure also highlights Sharia law’s “incompatibility” with constitutional principles and American life.

Van Duyne, who served as mayor of Irving, Texas, before winning election to Congress in 2020, has long warned about the spread of radical Islam and efforts to promote Sharia law in the Lone Star State.

“There are Republican leaders in Congress who are speaking out against it. Eleven years ago, I felt like I was on my own,” Van Duyne told Fox News Digital. “They are in my hometown, and they are in cities across the country, and I think what you’re seeing is elected representatives standing up to it.”

The resolution also pays tribute to Graham, who she said supported her during her runs for Congress and appeared with her at some fundraisers.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

“When he didn’t agree with somebody, he would tell them,” Van Duyne said. “But it was never in a hateful, malicious manner, and I think we have lost the soul of debate. We have lost the soul of actual compromise in this country.”

FIRST ON FOX: A Senate Republican has a plan to challenge the Supreme Court’s decision on birthright citizenship, and he’s taking a decades-old page from Democrats to do it.

Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, will soon circulate legislation that was once pushed by the late, former Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., that, among several things, would drastically reduce the scope of birthright citizenship.

The bill, first obtained by Fox News Digital, is a mirror image of Reid’s initial offering from 1993. It’s a comprehensive immigration reform package that cuts legal immigration substantially, caps refugee admissions at 50,000 annually and speeds up deportations with limited court review, among several provisions.

‘IT’S INSANE’: GOP SENATOR SAYS SUPREME COURT BIRTHRIGHT RULING HANDS CHINA A CITIZENSHIP LOOPHOLE

Moreno painted his objective as twofold: try to tackle the Supreme Court’s decision last month with legislation and show how Democrats have strayed from their immigration policy over the last three decades.

“What it’s going to do is highlight two things,” Moreno said earlier this month. “The Democrats of today are nothing like the Democrats of 1993 and, if they choose to reject a bill sponsored by their majority leader that they named an airport in Las Vegas after, then I think my Republican colleagues have no choice.”

“We have to recognize that these Democrats want to systematically destroy this country,” he continued.

SUPREME COURT RULING SPARKS RACE TO KILL A MULTIBILLION-DOLLAR LOOPHOLE IN CONGRESS

On the birthright citizenship matter, the Moreno-Reid product would tackle the main argument made by the Court, which interpreted the meaning of “subject to the jurisdiction of” within the 14th Amendment to effectively mean all children born in the U.S. are automatically granted citizenship.

The unorthodox bill would modify that language to “subject to the jurisdiction of” a foreign country. Under the proposal, illegal immigrants, most temporary visa holders and others who are temporarily in the country and their children would not qualify for automatic citizenship.

That’s an interpretation that Democrats of today have rejected. Notably, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., who was mentored by Reid, cheered the Supreme Court’s decision.

TRUMP SUFFERS MAJOR SUPREME COURT DEFEAT AS JUSTICES UPHOLD BIRTHRIGHT CITIZENSHIP

“No matter how much President Trump tries to steal citizenship from people that the Constitution has said have earned it and reverse the grand American tradition of welcoming newcomers to our nation, the Supreme Court confirmed today that those born in America are American,” Schumer said last month.

Reid disagreed.

In a press release from 1993, Reid made many of the same arguments that Republicans have made for the last few years on issues at the southern border and abuse of birthright citizenship.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

Reid said that “our borders have overflowed with illegal immigrants, placing tremendous burdens” on several programs, and that “our federal wallet is stretched to the limit by illegal aliens getting welfare, food stamps, medical care and other benefits, often without paying any taxes.”

“We are a country founded upon fairness and justice. An individual in real threat of torture or long-term incarceration because of his or her political beliefs can still seek asylum,” Reid said at the time. “But this bill closes the door to those who want to abuse America’s inherent generosity and legal system.”

President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the nation’s intelligence agencies will get a second shot in the Senate on Wednesday, weeks after the president sabotaged the initial confirmation hearing.

U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton, who currently serves in the Southern District of New York, was tapped by Trump to be the permanent nominee as the director of national intelligence (ODNI) after former DNI Tulsi Gabbard stepped down from the role last month.

He’ll get his shot before the Senate Intelligence Committee on Wednesday at 9:30 a.m.

TRUMP’S DNI PICK WILL HAVE TO WAIT FOR HIS CONFIRMATION HEARING AFTER TRUTH SOCIAL BOMB

“Jay Clayton is a patriot and highly qualified nominee,” Senate Intelligence Committee Chair Tom Cotton, R-Ark., said on X.

“In his service to the people of New York, Mr. Clayton has deep experience combatting a wide range of national security threats,” he continued. “I look forward to his hearing before the Senate Intelligence Committee tomorrow.”

But Clayton, who served as chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) during Trump’s first term, was caught in a political firestorm roiling through the Senate last month that he had no part of.

SENATE PUSH TO REAUTHORIZE NATION’S SPY POWERS STUMBLES OVER CONTROVERSIAL TRUMP DECISION

And if he survives the process — several Democrats still serving in the Senate voted to confirm him as SEC chair — lawmakers are hopeful that it will again set up a path to turn a key counter-terrorism tool back on.

Democrats were enraged at Trump for tapping Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte to be the acting DNI, arguing that he was unqualified and could weaponize the nation’s 18 intelligence agencies at Trump’s bidding.

“Why is Mr. Pulte being promoted? Beyond the fact that just the kind of outright insult to the intelligence community, that he can suddenly do the mortgage banking job and the intelligence job at the same time, it’s absurd,” Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., said at the time.

TRUMP NAMES BILL PULTE ACTING DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE

In return, they refused to support reauthorization of the nation’s top counter-terrorism tool, Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), causing the program to gradually go dark.

Clayton’s nomination was seen by Democrats as an olive branch from the administration designed to ensure that Pulte would never get into the DNI role, and that consideration of a FISA reauthorization could restart.

But then Trump blew up the process, demanding that the hearing be halted in a fiery Truth Social post.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

He argued that Democrats “broke the deal” with FISA, and that until Clayton’s replacement in the Southern District, James McDonald, was confirmed, the nomination would not go forward. And to “add a slight bit of intrigue,” Trump demanded that Republicans tie the SAVE America Act to FISA, effectively killing the legislation for Democrats.

“Not complicated, actually, the Republicans fell into a trap,” Trump said at the time.

A Democrat running in a key Montana House race as a “smokejumper” and working-class outsider previously worked as a registered lobbyist opposing state-level bills that would have restricted drag performances in public schools and libraries, banned gender-transition procedures for minors and cracked down on sanctuary policies, records reviewed by Fox News Digital show.

Sam Forstag, the Democratic nominee in Montana’s 1st Congressional District, has leaned into a blue-collar campaign message, saying constituents like him “know how to work” and “know how to swing a tool.” 

His campaign has focused heavily on affordability, corruption and working-class frustrations, but his lobbying record puts him on the record on several hot-button issues that could undercut his effort to appeal to more centrist voters in an already heavily Republican state.

Between 2021 and 2023, Forstag was listed as a registered lobbyist for groups and entities including the American Civil Liberties Union, Planned Parenthood, the Montana Library Association and the City of Missoula. During that time, he testified against or was tied through lobbying records to opposition against bills involving drag performances in schools and libraries, transgender-related medical treatments for minors, boys competing in girls’ sports, voter ID and local cooperation with federal immigration authorities.

FOUR MONTHS TO MIDTERMS: 12 RACES THAT WILL DETERMINE THE SENATE MAJORITY

“This bill is the latest of a series that I expect you’ll see that are intended to stir up fear and distrust of our fellow citizens,” Forstag told Montana lawmakers in 2023 as Republicans considered a bill restricting minors from attending drag performances in public schools and libraries. Forstag argued the measure was overly broad and could affect people who are transgender or nonbinary participating in library programming, saying he hoped lawmakers did not intend to “prohibit an entire class of people” from serving in public libraries.

Forstag also opposed SB 99, a bill banning certain gender-transition procedures and medications for minors. In testimony on the bill, Forstag urged lawmakers to “leave personal and medical decisions to families and their chosen health care providers.”

While representing the ACLU of Montana, Forstag was tied to opposition against HB 112, which required student athletes to compete based on biological sex, and SB 169, a measure to increase scrutiny around voter ID protocols.

TRUMP HOLDS WASHINGTON HOSTAGE OVER SAVE ACT AS MIDTERM CLOCK TICKS ON GOP CONTROL

Forstag also opposed bills involving sanctuary policies and local law enforcement cooperation with federal immigration authorities, including measures aimed at requiring local officials to comply with immigration detainers. 

Forstag did not directly dispute the lobbying record when asked by Fox News Digital, instead defending his work in the state capitol as a fight for working people and individual freedom.

“Between fire seasons, I fought for working people in a state capitol that too often ignores us,” Forstag told Fox News Digital. “Instead of accepting a system where the extremes and the rich have the loudest voice, I worked my tail off to defend Montanans’ constitutional rights and freedoms and fight for policies that actually improve our lives.”

Forstag framed his opposition to bills involving transgender medical procedures as part of a broader belief that government should stay out of personal decisions.

UNEARTHED RECORDS REVEAL DEM MAYOR SOUGHT TAX HIKE TO FUND DEI ROLE AHEAD OF KEY HOUSE RACE

“I believe the government’s got no place getting involved in peoples’ private, personal decisions,” he said. “Politicians have no place coming for our guns, and no place inserting themselves into medical decisions that should be up to patients, parents, and doctors.”

On immigration, Forstag, who is backed by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., and Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., said local police should not be forced to carry out federal immigration responsibilities.

“Laws that force local law enforcement to do the federal government’s bidding make our communities less safe and put police in a bad spot,” he said. “Immigration enforcement should be left to federal officials so our local police can keep Montanans safe.”

Jake Eaton, a longtime Montana Republican strategist whose clients have included Gov. Greg Gianforte and Attorney General Austin Knudsen, told Fox News Digital that Forstag’s lobbying record could undercut his effort to appeal to blue-collar and swing voters in the district, noting that issues involving transgender policies, schools and immigration “cut across” demographics.

RED-STATE SENATOR DROPS HAMMER ON DEM MAYOR OVER NEW ‘WOKE’ DEI ORDINANCE WHILE VIOLENT CRIME SURGES

Meanwhile, Eaton described Forstag as emblematic of the leftward shift of Montana Democrats.

“There aren’t a lot of moderate Democrats, if any, left,” Eaton said. “The days of Brian Schweitzer, when you had Democrats that were pro-gun and pro-coal, they don’t really exist anymore.”

But Eric Koch, a longtime Democratic consultant, rejected that criticism, arguing that Forstag’s record fits his broader message about keeping government out of personal decisions.

“Sam’s record is about keeping government out of your business,”Koch told Fox News Digital. “No amount of divide-and-distract will change that.” The consultant argued Republicans would rather focus on culture-war issues than Forstag’s economic contrast with his Republican opponent Aaron Flint.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

Forstag will face Flint, an Army veteran and conservative radio host, in the November 3 general election for the open western Montana seat currently held by GOP Rep. Ryan Zinke, who announced earlier this year he would not seek re-election. 

Forstag won the Democratic primary after defeating former 2024 gubernatorial nominee Ryan Busse, Russell Cleveland and Matt Rains, while Flint emerged from a Republican primary field that included Montana Secretary of State Christi Jacobsen, former state Sen. Al Olszewski and educator Ray Curtis.

PORTLAND, Maine – The clock is quickly ticking in the race to replace former candidate Graham Platner as Maine’s Democratic Senate nominee in the race to challenge longtime Republican Sen. Susan Collins.

Candidates gunning to win the Democratic nomination must file with the state party by Wednesday to get on the ballot. Eight Democrats have filed so far to run for the nomination, which will be determined by 601 voting delegates at a July 25 convention held by the Maine Democratic Party.

Platner, a populist Democrat who was backed last September by progressive champion Sen. Bernie Sanders, won the early June Democratic primary in a landslide. He was challenging Collins in a high-profile, combustible and expensive race which is one of a handful that will determine if the GOP holds onto its slim Senate majority in November’s midterm elections.

A combat veteran and oyster farmer whose campaign caught fire, Platner steamrolled the Democratic establishment. But even as he crushed the competition to capture the nomination, Platner had already been forced on defense in the wake of a slew of scandals.

DEMOCRATS RUNNING TO REPLACE PLATNER CALL FOR ICE TO BE ‘ABOLISHED’

Platner dropped out of the race last week, amid calls from top Democrats in Maine and across the country to immediately exit the race following an explosive report contained an allegation of rape from a woman he previously dated.

Facing a July 27 deadline to replace Platner with a new nominee, the state Democratic Party announced that all 16 Maine counties will convene special nomination meetings this weekend where participants will vote to elect delegates.

Those delegates will meet the following Saturday, July 25, in Bangor, Maine, to vote for the party’s nominee.

Ahead of the vote, a “statewide network of volunteer leaders who organized, knocked doors, hosted events, and built the loop grassroots infrastructure behind Graham Platner’s campaign,” in an open letter on Tuesday to the state party made it clear that the organization they built “does not transfer automatically to whoever the Party selects.”

“It will only continue to exist, and only continue to be deployed, for a nominee who publicly and explicitly adopts” a list of core progressive commitments that they listed.

The letter is a sign of the tough task ahead for whomever wins the nomination to quickly unite the different wings of the Democratic base.

Here’s a look at who have already announced they’re running.

Nirav Shah

Shah finished with the most votes in last month’s Democratic gubernatorial primary, but lost the nomination to former Maine House Speaker Hannah Pingree following ranked choice voting.

DEMOCRACY ’26: STAY UP TO DATE WITH THE FOX NEWS ELECTION HUB

Shah directed the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention from 2019 to 2023 and later served as principal deputy director of the federal CDC, stepping down shortly after President Donald Trump assumed office last year.

Touting his “strong progressive stances,” Shah told Fox News Digital that “my message to those supporters of Graham’s is a very clear one. You have a home in this campaign. You have an important voice in this campaign.”

Troy Jackson

Jackson, a former Maine Senate President and fifth-generation logger, came in third place in Maine’s Democratic gubernatorial primary.

Jackson campaigned with Platner during Maine’s primary, and, along with Platner, was endorsed by Sanders. And his gubernatorial campaign was also backed by the Maine chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA).

He’s being supported by the Sanders-founded Our Revolution as he runs for the Senate.

SIGN UP TO GET THE POLITICS NEWSLETTER

“This movement is always been bigger than one person. It’s about taking on a system rigged against working people, fighting for Medicare for all, strong unions, higher wages, reproductive freedom, and an economy where billionaires and corporations finally pay their fair share,” Jackson said Monday during a Our Revolution virtual town hall, as he pointed to Platner supporters.

Shenna Bellows

Bellows, Maine’s Secretary of State, came in fourth place in the race for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination.

“Flipping the Senate in November is crucial. I’m running to pass Medicare for all, fight for workers’ rights, and protect our neighbors,” Bellows said in a social media post.

If she wins the nomination, this will be the second time Bellows will face off against Collins. The senator topped Bellows by a more than two-to-one margin in the 2014 Senate election in Maine.

Jordan Wood

Wood is a former congressional staffer for Katie Porter who unsuccessfully ran for the Democratic nomination this year in Maine’s 2nd Congressional District, a crucial swing seat.

Wood originally launched a Senate campaign last year, but pivoted to the House race when Democratic Rep. Jared Golden announced he wouldn’t seek re-election.

“This campaign belongs to the Mainers who built it: the volunteers, small-dollar donors, and neighbors who filled town halls in every corner of the state. We refuse every dime of corporate PAC, AIPAC, and lobbyist money, because a movement funded by the people answers only to the people,” Wood said on social media.

David Costello

This is Costello’s second run this year for the Senate nomination.

He finished with 8% of the vote in the June primary, coming in third behind Platner and Gov. Janet Mills, who had already suspended her campaign but her name remained on the ballot.

A former Maryland Department of the Environment deputy secretary, Costello was the Democratic Senate nominee in Maine in the 2024 election, coming in a distant third to incumbent independent Sen. Angus King.

Dan Kleban

A co-founder of the Maine Beer Company, Kleban briefly ran for the Democratic Senate nomination before dropping out and endorsing Mills.

“I fully support an open, transparent process to earn the trust of our delegates, unite our party, and bring a new generation of leadership to Washington,” Kleban wrote as he announced his filing on Tuesday.

Paige Loud

Loud is a social worker who unsuccessfully ran for the Democratic primary for Maine’s 2nd congressional district.

“The grassroots movement in Maine is more powerful than ever, and we cannot afford to lose that momentum. This has always been about building a future where every Mainer has a voice and a seat at the table,” Loud wrote as she launched her Senate bid.

Elizabeth Dickerson

Dickerson’s LinkedIn page indicates she served as a state representative from 2012 through 2014, resigning from the Legislature and working as a teacher in Colorado from 2016 to 2020 before moving back to Maine.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

“I believe in a world where everyone belongs, but the disparity between the rich and the poor keeps growing. I believe that with power, responsibility should follow,” Dickerson wrote in explaining her Senate bid.

Following the sudden death of Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., Republican South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster appointed Graham’s younger sister, Darline Graham, to fill his seat for the remainder of his term, continuing a legacy of family members stepping in to take the reins of power from their kin.

When Darline is sworn in Tuesday afternoon, she will become the latest example of a U.S. lawmaker sliding into a seat vacated by a deceased family member.

Rep. Julia Letlow

Rep. Julia Letlow, R-La., is a favorite of President Donald Trump and has his backing in her ongoing campaign to represent Louisiana in the U.S. Senate.

“DID YOU CALL 911?” TUBERVILLE RECOUNTS GRAHAM’S FRANTIC FINAL PHONE CALL

Her political career began years ago when Julia’s husband, Luke Letlow, died from COVID-19 complications in December 2020, just over a month after residents of Louisiana’s 5th district had voted him in as their congressman.

Though Luke Letlow was never sworn into office, his widow picked up the torch, running in and winning the 2021 special election to fill the House seat.

GRAHAM ALLY RIPS ‘THIRSTY’ REPUBLICANS JOCKEYING TO REPLACE LATE SENATOR

Rep. Adelita Grijalva

On the other side of the aisle, Rep. Adelita Grijalva, D-Ariz., was also thrust into the halls of Congress after tragedy struck her loved one.

Grijalva’s father, former Rep. Raúl Grijalva, D-Ariz., died of lung cancer in March 2025. Raúl had already announced that he would not be seeking re-election after a 22-year stint in Congress.

Six months later, Adelita Grijalva won a special election for her father’s seat, defeating Republican candidate Daniel Butierez Sr. by more than 40,000 votes, according to results published by the Arizona secretary of state.

TRUMP REVEALS WHO HE’S EYEING TO REPLACE LINDSEY GRAHAM

Though Democrats cried foul when House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., initially delayed her swearing in, she officially became a member of the U.S. House of Representatives on Nov. 12, 2025.

Erica Lee Carter

Former Rep. Erica Lee Carter, D-Texas, also ascended into Congress as the result of a parent’s death.

Carter’s mother, Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Texas, was a progressive stalwart as the representative from Texas’ 18th Congressional District, which includes parts of Houston, from 1995 until her 2024 death.

Though Jackson Lee won the Democratic primary for the 2024 election in March 2024, she died of pancreatic cancer just four months later.

The Democratic Party, including Erica Lee Carter, initially rallied around former Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner to replace Jackson Lee in a November special election. But shortly after endorsing Turner, Lee Carter changed her mind and decided to run to complete her mother’s term. Turner dropped out, and Lee Carter won the election by nearly 100,000 votes, according to results published by the Texas secretary of state.

Lee Carter chose not to run for re-election, finishing her mother’s term in January 2025 and choosing to cede the party’s nomination for the seat to Turner.

Though Turner won the seat and was sworn in Jan. 3, 2025, he served for two months, dying of bone cancer in March.

Mary Bono

Arguably the most famous example of a spouse stepping in for a deceased partner is the tale of Sonny Bono, who for years toured the U.S. with his then-wife, pop icon Cher, as one half of the iconic musical duo Sonny and Cher.

Bono and Cher would eventually divorce and, after marrying and divorcing a third wife, Bono wed his fourth and final spouse, Mary Whitaker, in 1986.

Sonny ran for U.S. Congress as a Republican in 1994, winning a seat as the representative for California’s 44th district.

But when Bono died in a skiing accident in 1998, his wife, then known as Mary Bono, ran in a special election to fill his seat. Mary Bono ended up serving 15 years in Congress, losing her seat to Democratic challenger Raul Ruiz in 2013 after her district was redrawn.

Donald Payne Jr.

In New Jersey, former Rep. Donald Payne Jr., D-N.J., replaced his father, former Rep. Donald Payne Sr., D-N.J., in Congress.

Payne Sr. had represented New Jersey’s 10th district for 23 years, a tenure that was cut short when he succumbed to a fight with colon cancer in March 2012.

Donald Payne Jr. ran in the special election to replace his father and won.

Darline Graham

McMaster’s decision to tap Darline Graham to replace her brother will make her the first female U.S. senator in South Carolina history.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

When their parents died in 1976 and 1977, Lindsey became his sister’s legal guardian. Accepting McMaster’s nomination for her to replace her brother, Darline vowed to return the favor of his lifetime of taking care of her.

“Lindsey has always been there for me. And, now, I will be there for him,” she told a crowd at South Carolina’s statehouse in Columbia, South Carolina, Monday.

A Cuban national convicted of hijacking an airplane in the wake of 9/11 has been ordered released in Florida despite a standing order for his removal from the U.S.

Maikel Guerra Morales and several others assaulted a flight crew and hijacked a Cuban commuter airplane in 2003 and forced it to fly more than 100 miles north to Monroe County, Florida, where it eventually landed at Key West International Airport.

Morales was arrested that evening after U.S. Air Force jets scrambled from Homestead to intercept the plane, which originally took off from Nuevo Gerona on Cuba’s Isle of Youth.

TRUMP ADMINISTRATION PLANS NEW ICE HOLDING FACILITY NEAR LOUISIANA DEPORTATION FLIGHT HUB

Since then, he has been in U.S. custody, including for a 22-year sentence for “aircraft piracy.”

A federal immigration judge issued an order of removal against Morales in 2023, and he ultimately was transferred to ICE custody after completing his prison sentence in 2025.

But, Clinton-appointed Judge John Steele in Fort Myers ruled last week that Morales must be released, citing a Supreme Court ruling involving foreign nationals languishing in custody with no country to take them back.

DHS Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis called Morales’ case “yet another example of an activist judge trying to thwart President Trump’s mandate from the American people to remove criminal illegal aliens from our country.”

“Under President Trump and Secretary Mullin, DHS will continue to fight for the detention and removal of criminal illegal aliens who have no right to be in our country,” Bis said in a statement.

BIDEN JUDGE REJECTS TRUMP’S SANCTUARY CITIES LAWSUIT, SAYS EVEN A WIN WOULDN’T SOLVE DOJ’S PROBLEM

Steele wrote that federal officials indicated their intention to deport him to Mexico, but instead found that there is no evidence of a “a significant likelihood that Guerra Morales will be removed in the reasonably foreseeable future.”

ALLEGED CUBAN INFLUENCE OPERATIVE, FAMILY IN FEDERAL CUSTODY AFTER RUBIO REVOKES LEGAL STATUS

“Therefore, he is entitled to release from detention under ‘Zadvydas’, but he remains subject to the terms of an order of supervision,” Steele wrote – relying on the case of Kestutis Zadvydas, an ethnic Lithuanian lawful permanent U.S. resident born in a German displaced-persons camp who had been ordered deported in 1994 due to a criminal record but had no receptive country to return to.

SIGN UP TO GET THE POLITICS NEWSLETTER

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

An Associated Press report following the hijackers’ 2003 arrests in Key West said Cuban officials demanded the U.S. return the plane and all occupants, including those charged with piracy. Morales and the other suspects claimed at the time they hijacked the plane “for freedom.”

Several key groups are coming to the support of acting Attorney General Todd Blanche as he navigates Senate confirmation to officially become the successor to Pam Bondi, according to the office of Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Support cited by Grassley’s office includes 670,000 sworn officers, 300 angel families, families who lost a loved one to crimes committed by undocumented immigrants and 100 bipartisan U.S. attorneys and DOJ officials.

The office highlighted a statement from 23 attorneys general, among other outpourings of support.

MIKE DAVIS: WHY SENATE MUST IGNORE OBAMA JUDGE’S ATTACK ON AG NOMINEE TODD BLANCHE

“At a time when Americans expect their government to protect communities from violent crime, narcotics trafficking, human trafficking, terrorism and organized criminal activity, Todd Blanche has shown the ability to deliver real results. His record reflects a commitment to public safety, vigorous enforcement of federal law and effective stewardship of the Department of Justice… we urge the Senate to swiftly confirm Todd Blanche as United States Attorney General,” the statement said.

Support received by Grassley highlighted Blanche’s work as acting attorney general and, in particular, his aggressive stance toward enforcement.

Blanche took over the Department of Justice after Bondi left the role in April.

President Donald Trump dismissed her after what many critics saw as a botched handling of the Epstein Files, overpromising transparency on who may have facilitated the sex trafficking crimes of Jeffrey Epstein and then underdelivering.

WATCH: ANGEL MOM TURNS TABLES ON SANCTUARY POLITICIANS WITH BASIC QUESTION ABOUT THEIR PRIORITIES

Since taking the role, Blanche has steered the DOJ away from the Epstein controversy and refocused messaging on domestic security. Soon after taking command, he created a National Fraud Enforcement Division and highlighted reductions in violent crime, drug seizures, immigration enforcement and prosecution of gangs and cartels.

Now that Trump has officially tapped him to become the next attorney general, The American Border Story (TABS), which represents Angel Families, said Blanche is key to continuing that work.

“At a time when the Department of Justice must confront violent crime, illegal immigration, human trafficking, child exploitation, cartels, MS-13, Tren de Aragua, and other transnational threats, the country needs clear leadership and sustained operational focus… TABS respectfully urges the Senate Committee on the Judiciary to give full and fair consideration to Todd Blanche’s nomination and to advance his confirmation as Attorney General of the United States,” TABS said in a statement.

The National Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) echoed that reasoning in a statement of its own.

“We believe Mr. Blanche’s leadership will help ensure that the Department of Justice remains focused on public safety, the rule of law, and providing unwavering support for the law enforcement professionals who risk their lives daily to protect our families and communities… On behalf of the more than 382,000 members of the Fraternal Order of Police, we commend President Trump on his nomination of Todd W. Blanche to lead the Justice Department and urge the committee to favorably report his nomination.”

Another group of 78 former DOJ officials praised Blanche for steering the department back toward law enforcement and staying away from politically charged controversy.

“Todd Blanche understands that the Department’s mission is to deliver justice — not to serve political interests or entrenched bureaucracies,” the group said.

DEMOCRAT POLITICOS RERUN UNDERHANDED LEFTIST PLAYBOOK IN EFFORT TO TORPEDO TRUMP’S AG NOMINEE

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

“He has shown the courage and institutional knowledge to restore focus on public safety, law enforcement support, and the rule of law… We firmly believe the Department of Justice and the nation will benefit from his continued leadership at the helm. We urge [the Senate] in the strongest terms to confirm Todd W. Blanche as the next Attorney General of the United States without delay.”

Blanche is expected to appear before the Senate Judiciary Committee Wednesday morning, and outside witnesses will testify Thursday.

Newly minted Sen. Darline Graham, R-S.C., represents a series of firsts for the Senate and for her home state.

Graham, who was sworn in on Tuesday, is the first female senator from the Palmetto State, the first sister ever appointed to the upper chamber and the first person to fill the colossal gap left behind by her late brother, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.

“Lindsey has always been there for me, and now I will be there for him,” Darline Graham said during her appointment ceremony. “My brother was the most amazing person, outstanding leader and just a genuinely good man.”

WHO IS DARLINE GRAHAM? LINDSEY GRAHAM’S SISTER EMERGES AS TRUMP’S SENATE PICK

Though she’s never held elected office, she has had front-row seats to her brother’s work, appearing with him on the campaign trail and during his own swearing-in ceremonies.

“It is such a privilege to get to finish some of his important work, and I promise to work hard over the next several months to support the president and carry forward the efforts of my brother on behalf of the citizens of South Carolina and the United States,” she continued.

Years ago, when her brother was running for president, he was asked by C-SPAN whether, if he made it to the White House, his sister would get a role in the administration.

“If she took a role, she would be a great representative of our country. I can’t think of a better person to represent our country in an event than my sister,” Lindsey Graham said in 2015.

TRUMP REVEALS WHO HE’S EYEING TO REPLACE LINDSEY GRAHAM

Her sudden ascension to the Senate and subsequent swearing-in ceremony on Tuesday in the old Senate chamber just a few yards from the Senate floor capped a fast-moving first chapter in replacing her brother, whose shocking death sent shock waves through Washington, D.C., and beyond.

Darline Graham was appointed to fulfill the remainder of her brother’s term Monday by South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster. President Donald Trump recommended she get the position, and Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., spoke with her several times before appearing alongside her in Columbia, South Carolina.

“Lindsey took care of his little sister in years long departed. It’s my honor to ask his little sister, Darline Graham, to finish his work for him now,” McMaster said.

She is expected to act as a caretaker for the seat, finishing off the remainder of Lindsey Graham’s term through January, when a new face will take over as the junior senator for South Carolina.

GRAHAM’S DEATH IGNITES GOP SCRAMBLE FOR SENATE SEAT AS TRUMP HINTS HE ALREADY HAS A FAVORITE

Meanwhile, the public and private battle for the special election to replace Lindsey Graham as the GOP nominee in South Carolina is in full swing. So far, both Reps. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., and Ralph Norman, R-S.C., have shown interest in jumping into the race, which is scheduled for Aug. 11.

Trump has not yet said who he would endorse in the contest but did show interest in Rep. Russell Fry, R-S.C., who he backed in his first run for the House in 2022 when he toppled former Rep. Tom Rice, R-S.C., who was one of 10 House Republicans to vote to impeach him in his first term.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

And in the immediate future, Republicans will have to figure out replacements for Lindsey Graham on the several committees he sat on.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said the conference was still “working through” that task.

“Obviously, his sister will be sworn in today, and then we’ll figure out which of his committees she wants to stay on, and then we’ll go from there,” Thune said.

FIRST ON FOX: Rep. Mary Miller, R-Ill., asked two university medical leaders in a tense hearing Tuesday to directly answer whether non-biological women can have babies and didn’t receive a straight answer, prompting a fiery statement from the congresswoman to Fox News Digital.

“Doctor (Sam) Hawgood, you see UCSFs Classroom Guide, titled ‘Framework for Gender and Sex Concepts in Teaching,’ advises against using the term pregnant women,” Miller told the chancellor of the University of California San Francisco in an Education and Workforce Committee hearing on DEI’s impact in medical schools.

“Instead, it says to use pregnant people. Who are pregnant people compared to pregnant women? Just curious.”

Hawgood responded by saying that terminology is “part of a curriculum to help our students who are facing a wide diversity of patients before saying the “vast majority of pregnancies are in women” and that he has “absolutely no problem with the term pregnant women.”

BILL REPLACING ‘MOTHER’ AND ‘FATHER’ WITH GENDER-NEUTRAL TERMS PASSES IN NEW YORK, HEADS TO HOCHUL’S DESK

“Has a non-biological woman ever had a baby?” Miller asked, and Hawgood responded that a “transgender person can.”

“That’s not a biological woman. Has a non-biological woman ever had a baby?” Miller shot back.

Hawgood responded, “I would reiterate” before Miller interrupted saying, “It’s ridiculous.”

“Lastly, Dr. Dubinett, a required course at UCLA medical school advises ob-gyn students not to, and, I quote, assume gender identity,” Miller told Dr. Steve Dubinett, dean of UCLA School of Medicine.

“OK, from another class in May of 2026. It included a disclaimer that while it uses the term she and women, it does not intend to exclude, and I quote, ‘those who have a uterus but do not identify with these terms.’ What does that even mean?”

PENNSYLVANIA MEDICAL SCHOOL HIT WITH CIVIL RIGHTS COMPLAINT OVER ALLEGEDLY DISCRIMINATORY SCHOLARSHIPS

The dean responded, “I’m not familiar with that announcement that I’d have to read the entire thing.”

Miller pressed Dubinett and asked, “Can someone have a uterus but not be a woman? Because it seems like your school is promoting that ridiculous idea?”

Dubinett did not directly answer the question but said that the school is “treating transgender people,” but “we’re doing that in compliance with state and federal law.”

Miller pressed again, asking Dubinett if the school teaches biology, to which Dubinett answered, “Yes we do.”

“This is curious,” Miller responded. “So, I’m going to ask you again, can someone have a uterus and not be a woman? Just say yes or no. Can they?”

“Again, I would,” Dubinett said before being interrupted by the committee chair as Miller’s time expired.

DEMOCRATS REVOLT OVER ‘BIOLOGICAL’ WORDING IN WOMEN’S HISTORY MUSEUM BILL

“That’s what your medical school is promoting,” Miller said. “Chairman, it’s clear these medical schools are hiding DEI curriculum under the guise of medical access.”

Miller, in an exclusive statement to Fox News Digital after the hearing, said, “It shouldn’t take a medical degree to answer a basic biology question. This hearing exposed that our medical schools have become consumed by political ideology that they’re losing sight of reality. Patients just want doctors grounded in common sense. Medical schools that abandon scientific truth should lose their accreditation.”

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

Fox News Digital reached out to Hawgood and Dubinett for comment.

The House Education and Workforce Committee held a hearing, “Training Activists, Not Physicians: The Impact of DEI on Medical Schools.” The hearing focused on whether diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives at medical schools, including the University of California, Los Angeles; the University of California, San Francisco; and the University of Illinois, have shaped admissions policies, contributed to antisemitism and influenced medical school curricula.

Senate Democrats drew a rare line in the sand against a yearly, must-pass defense package in an act of rebellion against President Donald Trump.

Democrats blocked a procedural hurdle for the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), a perennial bill that opens up funding for the Pentagon and military. Many were already frustrated by the overall funding target of the package and pushed over the edge by the renewal of the Iran war.

“It’s very disappointing,” Sen. Jim Banks, R-Ind., a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, told Fox News Digital.

REPUBLICANS BREAK WITH TRUMP TO REBUKE IRAN WAR — BUT IT WON’T CHANGE POLICY

“It’s about supporting our troops, supporting our military, and it’s disappointing when Democrats play games with that,” he continued.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., charged on the Senate floor that Republicans wanted the upper chamber to take up the bill “as though none of this is happening.”

“The president is waging an unauthorized war, defying bipartisan majorities in Congress, refusing to level with the American people at the cost of the mission or the endgame,” Schumer said. “The NDAA cannot become a permission slip for that recklessness that we see occurring in Iran.”

CLOSED-DOOR OUTBURST TURNS INTO VICTORY FOR TRUMP’S IRAN NEGOTIATIONS

Early signs of trouble for this year’s NDAA first appeared during the Senate Armed Services Committee’s vote to advance the legislation. The majority of Democrats, nine out of 13 on the panel, voted against it.

Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., was one of the “no” votes, something he acknowledged was a rare move.

He said guardrails needed to be added to Trump’s war authorities in Iran and a deeper explanation provided of where exactly the staggering $1.15 trillion authorized by the bill would come from.

IRAN WAR’S PRICE TAG HITS $80B — MORE THAN DOUBLE WHAT CONGRESS WAS TOLD

“The Iran war issue is, I think, one of the major issues about the NDAA, but it’s not the only issue,” Kaine said. “The absence of knowing where this money is coming from to do this dramatic top-line increase? That still has to get resolved.”

Republicans, however, contended that taking the first step on the bill would allow for an amendment process to modify it.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., who also sits on the Senate Armed Services Committee, told Fox News Digital, “It’s pretty frustrating, people need to come together and act in the best interest of the country.”

“We have to, you know, we have to have a strong military,” Scott said. “Whether we like it or not, people decide to be our enemies. They want to destroy us. So I think we ought to, you know, get on the bill and if we need to do amendments, let’s start amending it.”

Justice Amy Coney Barrett told the House Appropriations Committee the uptick in threats waged against her and fellow Supreme Court justices have taken a toll on her children.

“They have required my children to think about and see things that children should not have to see or think about,” Barrett testified Tuesday.

Barrett shared how her security detail gave her a bulletproof vest to wear, and one day when she brought it into her bedroom, her 12-year-old son asked what it was.

“And I didn’t know how to respond because maybe I lack imagination, but I didn’t expect that performing this service was going to put me in the position of explaining to my children what a bulletproof vest was and why I had to wear one,” Barrett told the committee.

SUPREME COURT JUSTICES HEAD TO CAPITOL HILL FOR FIRST CONGRESSIONAL APPEARANCE SINCE 2019

Barrett and Justice Elena Kagan’s testimony before Congress came as the Supreme Court seeks a 10% budget increase for fiscal year 2027, with roughly $16.6 million of the $20.7 million increase dedicated to expanding security for the justices.

Barrett, who was the target of a swatting incident in May, recounted how her and her family’s lives drastically changed following the leaked Dobbs decision in 2022, which ruled that abortion was not a constitutional right, causing threats on her life to intensify.

In that incident, someone falsely reported gunshots at her home, Barrett testified, saying her teenage son and his friends were the first to discover the street filled with police.

AMY CONEY BARRETT DRAWS BACKLASH FROM CONSERVATIVE CRITICS WHO WANT HER TO BE A TRUMP PARTISAN

“I was very, very grateful that I had Supreme Court police outside my home because they were able to stop and meet with and explain to the county police that it had been a false alarm, and so the police did not actually attempt to enter our home,” Barrett said.

She also shared that her and other justices are receiving anonymous packages being sent in the name of Daniel Anderl, the 20-year-old son of U.S. District Court Judge Esther Salas, who was killed in 2020.

The gunman was an attorney posing as a delivery driver. Judge Salas was his target. Salas’ husband was seriously injured as well.

MORNING GLORY: THE SUPREME COURT OFFICIALLY CLOSES THE BOOKS ON ANOTHER TERM

“I think the message on these deliveries being sent in his name is clear,” Barrett said. “As Justice Kagan said, federal judges across the country, throughout the judiciary, including the Supreme Court, continue to do their jobs without fear or favor, but the threat level is really high.”

The testimony underscored the urgency behind the Supreme Court’s push for more security funding during its first appearance before Congress since 2019.

In total, the Supreme Court is requesting roughly $89 million to cover personal security costs, which Kagan said is necessary given that the justices have experienced a 35% increase in threats just in 2026, compared to a 25% increase in threats the year prior. Kagan noted how recent growth in the budget can be entirely attributed to security expenses.

“For some of us, those threats have come very close, and all of us live with the knowledge that they may again materialize,” Kagan testified.

She recalled that when she arrived at the Supreme Court in 2010, justices did not receive around-the-clock personal protection. Instead, the court’s police primarily guarded the building, and she only had security accompanying her during work-related public events.

But Kagan said the heightened focus on justices’ security began after Justice Antonin Scalia’s death in 2016. Scalia died while on a hunting trip in Texas, where he was hours away from security personnel after declining a private security detail for the trip.

Kagan recalled that Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., and the late Rep. Elijah E. Cummings, D-Md., went to Chief Justice John Roberts to push them to step up security.

“This was how the chief described it to us — they said, kind of like, ‘We think you’re crazy, you know, that you have less security than the director of the Office of Personnel Management does. And we think that you have to do better.’

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

“Then, of course, the Dobbs leak happened, and that really increased the urgency of the entire thing,” Kagan said. “But we’ve been working on this now for about a decade and actually, I think, are grateful to Congress for coming to us and saying, ‘You have to up your game in this area.'”

Sen. Mitch McConnell’s disclosure of new details about the medical issues that have kept him away from the Senate has sparked fresh scrutiny on Capitol Hill, with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., questioning whether his prolonged absence is “legal at this point” even as Republicans insist he’ll return when the Senate needs him.

“How is everyone pretending this is normal?” Ocasio-Cortez said to Fox News Digital. “This is not normal. At all.”

“How is it that we have sitting elected members of Congress going missing for months at a time?”

MITCH MCCONNELL BREAKS SILENCE ON MYSTERY HOSPITALIZATION AFTER GRAHAM’S DEATH

The Kentucky senator broke his silence on his previously undisclosed medical conditions that have kept him absent from the Senate since he was first hospitalized on June 14. He posted to social media claiming that his childhood fight with polio contributed to the fall that left him “briefly unconscious” and hospitalized last month, and then was hit with a “mild case of pneumonia” in the midst of his recovery.

“Leader McConnell is tough as nails,” Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., said. “This guy survived polio. For days on end, he went through therapy. People have no idea how tough he is. “

McConnell’s silence fueled online speculation about his condition, with unsubstantiated rumors ranging from cardiac arrest to claims that he had died.

“When you’re not very forthcoming with a lot of information, whether it’s personal or professional information, you do leave the conclusion up to conspiracy theorists,” Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., said. “And people’s imagination is far greater than reality almost every time.”

Even after McConnell released his statement on his medical absence, including a photo of him with his wife in the hospital, rumors circulated about the senator, claiming he could be in a vegetative state.

MCCONNELL FACES FRESH CALLS TO COME CLEAN ABOUT HEALTH ISSUES

The statement also did not address specifically when McConnell would return to the Senate, only stating that he would not “be able to return to the Senate floor to vote quite yet.”

But Republican senators seemed confident that McConnell would return to the Senate floor for key votes, with Cramer even claiming GOP leaders have been in “regular” contact with him throughout his absence.

“Enough of our leadership have regular conversations with him for me to be comfortable,” Cramer said.

“I don’t have any doubt if there was a vote for a Supreme Court justice tomorrow that he’d find a way to be here for that,” Marshall said. “I think he’ll be here when we need him, and I just would never count him out. He’ll be back.”

McConnell, 84, is set to retire next year at the end of his term, but has promised he will be “finishing the job” he was elected to do until then.

“I think that Mitch McConnell has always been exactly who he is right now,” Cramer said.

HOUSE DEM URGES TRANSPARENCY BY PUBLIC OFFICIALS AFTER GOP COLLEAGUE REVEALS REASON FOR EXTENDED ABSENCE

“He’s not the most transparent person in the world. He thinks strategically, tactically. He thinks about what serves the institution best — what serves his political ambitions and his political priorities.”

Ocasio-Cortez told Fox News Digital that while medical emergencies can often be inevitable, she believes there needs to be some regulations pertaining to the length of absences, as well as potentially some legislation passed to prevent lawmakers from being able to be absent for long periods.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

“Listen, things do happen,” Ocasio-Cortez said. “People get into medical incidents. If you’re in the hospital, you’re in the hospital. But I do think that there should be some sort of… there’s a line here. And I think almost everyone can agree that it’s been crossed.”

Sen. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., said the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act (SAVE) America Act would make it harder for Democrats to win elections, prompting Republicans to argue she had finally said “the quiet part out loud” about Democrats’ opposition to stricter election laws.

Slotkin made the remarks in a video recently unearthed by Breitbart News that was recorded the day after the Senate narrowly rejected the SAVE America Act in June. The bill failed 50-48 after four Republicans joined Democrats in voting against it.

The SAVE America Act has become one of the biggest legislative fights in Congress, and President Donald Trump has made its passage his top priority. Trump refused to sign a housing bill Friday to protest Congress’ failure to pass the SAVE America Act.

WATCH: HAWLEY FUMES AFTER 4 GOP SENATORS HELP SINK TRUMP-BACKED VOTER ID LAW

During a June 6 address to Indiana’s state Democratic Party, Slotkin celebrated the Senate’s rejection of the SAVE America Act, in which she claimed the bill would allow the Trump administration to “rig our democracy.”

“It would be hard for any Democrat in any state to win any election,” Slotkin said of the SAVE America Act.

Slotkin did not explain how the legislation would hurt Democratic politicians.

The SAVE America Act would require documentary proof of U.S. citizenship to register to vote and photo identification to cast a ballot in federal elections and mandates that states take additional steps to remove noncitizens from voter rolls.

Trump argued for months that Democrats opposed the SAVE America Act because it would make it harder to “cheat” in elections, claiming the party benefits politically from weak voter verification measures and the votes of people who are not eligible to vote.

During his Feb. 24 State of the Union address, Trump urged Congress to pass the SAVE America Act, arguing Democrats oppose voter ID because “the only way they can get elected is to cheat.”

TRUMP UNLOADS AFTER SUPREME COURT UPHOLDS LATE MAIL-IN BALLOTS IN MISSISSIPPI

“And the reason they don’t want to do it — why would anybody not want voter ID? One reason: Because they want to cheat. There’s only one reason. They make up all excuses,” Trump said. 

“They say, ‘It’s racist.’ They come up with things — you almost say, ‘What imagination they have.’ They want to cheat, they have cheated and their policy is so bad that the only way they can get elected is to cheat, and we’re going to stop it.”

But the Center for Election Innovation & Research, a nonprofit election policy group that describes itself as nonpartisan, has found that voter registration of noncitizens is rare.

“When investigations do turn up rare instances of improper registration or voting, officials take swift action to ensure that American elections remain secure,” according to the Center for Election Innovation & Research.

OBAMA-APPOINTED JUDGE BLOCKS TRUMP’S ELECTION ORDER AS SAVE AMERICA ACT FIGHT INTENSIFIES

Slotkin also alleged that the SAVE America Act would make it more difficult for married women to vote, saying a woman would have to show her birth certificate at the polls.

Critics of the bill argue the requirement could create additional hurdles for some married women who changed their last names after marriage because the name on their birth certificate may not match their current identification. In those cases, voters may need to provide additional documentation, such as a marriage certificate.

Republican congressional members slammed Slotkin.

“Democrats are saying the quiet part out loud,” Rep. Tony Wied wrote on X Tuesday. “They know they can’t win on their own merit.”

“This talking point from the Left is not only false, but it also paints women as incapable, which we all know is not the case,” Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., also wrote on X Tuesday. “Showing up to the polls to vote with an ID that proves you’re an American citizen – whether you’re married or not – is common sense. We need to pass the SAVE America Act.”

“By that same logic, no married woman in America could fill out an I-9 form — which every American must do when starting a new job,” Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, wrote on X on Tuesday. “This is absurd. And it highlights why we need to pass the SAVE America Act.”

Slotkin’s office referred Fox News Digital to a June video of Slotkin in which the Michigan Democrat said Trump told Congress that if Republicans lose the 2026 midterms, the election was “rigged.”

“In the State of the Union, while we were all sitting on the House floor, he said again that if his side doesn’t win in November 2026, the election was rigged,” Slotkin said in the video, referring to Trump.

A Fox News Digital review of Trump’s State of the Union address found Trump did not make that statement. Instead, Trump argued Democrats “want to cheat” and that “the only way they can get elected is to cheat.” He also said Republicans could face impeachment if they lose the midterms.

“They want to cheat, they have cheated and their policy is so bad that the only way they can get elected is to cheat,” he said. “And we’re going to stop it.”

In the video, Slotkin also accused Trump of trying to federalize elections, pointing to an unsigned draft executive order drafted after the 2020 election that proposed using the National Guard to seize voting machines. The order was never signed or carried out.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

The White House dismissed Slotkin’s claims about SAVE America hurting Democrats.

“If securing America’s elections — through commonsense methods like voter ID and proof of citizenship — will make it impossible for Democrats to win elections, perhaps they should reconsider the methods they’re using to ‘win,’” White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson said in a statement to Fox News Digital.

During four terms in Congress, South Dakota’s Dusty Johnson has emerged as a leading voice on American agricultural policy, U.S.-China relations and fiscal responsibility. 

Often known as the “problem solver,” he recently sat down with Fox News Digital at Freedom Fest in Las Vegas to discuss his congressional career, his South Dakota gubernatorial bid and his future plans as his time in the U.S. House draws to a close.

Long respected for his detailed analysis of China policy, Johnson believes the United States is routinely underestimating the geopolitical and economic threat posed by Beijing.

REP. DUSTY JOHNSON INTRODUCES GET AMERICANS BACK TO WORK ACT

“I think the biggest mistake is that we’re basically sleepwalking through this competition. I mean, every day the leaders of China get up, and they try to figure out how to beat America, how to destabilize our country, how to get an advantage. 

“And we’re, frankly, in this country spending more time fighting one another than we are trying to think about how to compete with the Chinese Communist Party.”

Johnson is the former leader of the Republican Main Street Caucus, a group of center-right Republicans focused on commonsense governance and pragmatism. He has approached his career aspiring to break the famed Washington gridlock.

However, recently Johnson lamented that “it’s a tough time to be normal,” observing that the loudest and angriest voices seem to be increasingly dominating the national conversation.

“Well … looking a little further than the New York primaries last week, where just an insane bunch of really out there democratic socialists beat some pretty liberal but still kind of mainstream American political thought Democrats, I just think you see that happening in both parties. 

“Primary turnout is rarely great. Those who do turn out are generally the most interested in purity rather than in progress. And, so, when you’re trying to swim upstream, when you are trying to deliver a message of nuance and thoughtfulness, that sometimes doesn’t go over as well as just saying, ‘Let’s go fight.'”

Even as the GOP has controlled the White House and both chambers of Congress on several occasions over the past generation, it has been perennially unable to tackle the problem of balancing budgets and reducing the national debt.

Johnson argues that only a bipartisan approach has hope of offering a solution.

“Well, everybody wants to go to heaven, but nobody wants to die,” he said. “I’ve certainly rolled out a number of plans that would have some pretty substantial reforms to our entitlement programs. I’m not looking to take away grandma’s Social Security or Medicare. But we simply are not going to restore solvency to those programs with a status quo approach. 

“And, unfortunately, candidate Harris, candidate Biden, candidate Trump … they damn near swore on a stack of Bibles that they were not going to touch Social Security or Medicare. That approach guarantees failure. 

“The other thing we have to acknowledge is one party’s not going to get this done. And I know that’s hard for Republicans to hear because so many Republican office holders have sold the American people a bill of goods that this can be done with one party alone. It cannot. 

“The last time we made much-needed reform to Social Security in 1983, it took Democratic Speaker Tip O’Neill and Republican President Ronald Reagan to get it done. If we do not start thinking about avoiding fiscal calamity as a bipartisan problem, we will fail.”

Johnson entered the 2026 South Dakota GOP gubernatorial primary as the frontrunner but ended up placing third in a tight race behind real estate executive Toby Doeden and incumbent Gov. Larry Rhoden.

He acknowledges that a congressional pedigree, once seen as a boost in a bid for a higher office, now appears to be something of an albatross.

SOUTH DAKOTA GOVERNOR SURVIVES CROWDED PRIMARY — FOR NOW

“Well, I think an absolute onslaught of negative ads the last three or four weeks against me, they really worked. Told people I was a career politician, that I was a RINO, that I was a liberal, and we saw in the polling that that was resonating. Those ads worked so well because they tapped into kind of the spirit of the times. 

“I have 13 of my colleagues in Congress who have lost their races for governor or senator. Normally, running as a House member, that gives you a bit of an advantage if you’re running for a different office. That’s no longer the case. People are fed up with Washington, D.C. And that clearly is a drag on my many colleagues like me who’ve lost their races.”

Despite the outcome of the crowded primary, Johnson looks to his future plans with optimism, not bitterness, and pledges that his work is not yet finished, citing previous success in the business and non-profit sectors.

“Well, I don’t know yet. Of course, I’ve got to spend most of my time focused on my day job, which is being South Dakota’s only voice in the U.S. House of Representatives. I’ll do that until January, but listen, I know you can lead a life of consequence. 

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

“You can make a better society in business. I’ve done that before. In the nonprofit sector, in lesser elected office or government office. So, I don’t really know yet, but I do know that I’m surely not ready to retire. I’m 50, but I feel like a real young 50, and I’m still filled with plenty of piss and vinegar. Let’s go get it done.”