NationalWatch

Infighting has erupted within the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) about the selection of its pick for U.S. president, as the group’s influence continues to grow on the national stage and speculation swirls about a 2028 presidential run by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y.

The infighting reveals fractures in the roughly 120,000-member group, which has emerged as the preeminent socialist group in America. The division also sheds light on how some Democratic Socialists of America members believe the group can gain a permanent foothold in American politics and deliver on its socialist ideals on a national scale.

Some Democratic Socialists of America leaders have been pushing for an earlier presidential endorsement in place of the group’s normal practice of selecting endorsements at its biennial national convention, which is set for summer 2027. 

One faction known as the “Groundwork” caucus is pushing strongly for the group to conduct a national member poll and “endorse AOC on day one.” The caucus believes an early endorsement will help DSA hold a more influential early role in 2028 presidential politics and “build power for socialism.” 

DEMOCRATIC SOCIALISTS OF AMERICA LEADER SAYS ‘MANY’ IN GROUP WOULD BE ‘THRILLED’ AT AOC IN 2028

In one online petition, DSA members voiced that “if we don’t have a member poll, we as members will be left out of DSA’s most fundamental way of building a democratic strategy.”

However, in a Sunday 14–13 vote, DSA’s National Political Committee (NPC) rejected a proposal to allow the group’s 2028 presidential endorsement to be decided through a nationwide all-member poll, according to Canary Mission. By rejecting the proposal, the committee left the issue to DSA’s existing convention process, meaning any national endorsement decision would likely wait until the organization’s next convention in August 2027.

The decision was blasted by many DSA members online. 

Gustavo Gordillo, co-chair of the group’s New York City chapter, posted on X that “DSA’s national leadership (the NPC) just voted to overturn our convention & took away rank and file members’ right to vote in an all-member poll on presidential endorsement.”

Gordillo added that the committee is “taking away our members’ right to vote” while NYC-DSA, the group’s largest chapter, is “send(ing) them ~ $2M per year in dues.”

Likewise, J. Ryder, founding editor of a magazine on communism, wrote that the committee’s decision “to suppress polling the will of the members on presidential endorsement is severely disappointing.”

Ryder added that “this will inevitably put DSA on the back foot in the 2028 moment,” writing, “Waiting to endorse in August of next year at the convention may mean 6 months+ of vital AOC campaign time where the masses will be mobilizing without intervention by DSA.”

“The worst part is, the members want to mobilize, they see the opportunity that this moment represents for socialism and want so desperately to grasp it,” he added. “The fact the (sic) some sectarians on the NPC are suppressing even a non-binding poll shows that they know this, and are scared of the implications of member democracy and mass politics in DSA.” 

In response, committee member Amy Wilhelm fired back at Gordillo, posting on X that “NYC members deserve co-chairs that don’t lie.”

Wilhelm said that “there was never intention to prevent” DSA members from participating in chapter polls, and that “with the resolution where we left it today chapters are allowed to carry out the poll per their standard method.”

Likewise, another X user who goes by the name “tylerisposting” blasted Gordillo, telling him in an X post to “stop lying” and “stop trying to foment a split.”

Meanwhile, Eve Seitchik, a Massachusetts DSA member, characterized the events of the day as “a massive escalation of factional tensions,” adding, “I’m afraid DSA has been set down a dangerous path.”

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The authors posited that DSA’s recent electoral wins and Ocasio-Cortez and Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., “Fight Oligarchy” tour “have shown that there is energy all across the country to support a bold, democratic socialist presidential campaign.”

They argued that “DSA should be ready to position ourselves as the political home for the millions of people that will be inspired by AOC’s message and position our organization as the vital core of AOC’s campaign.”

They wrote that Ocasio-Cortez is “on the precipice of running for — and potentially winning — the presidency of the United States” and that “this opportunity is years in the making.”

“If we drag our feet,” they wrote, “we will have forced ourselves into the backseat and miss the opportunity to strike when the iron is hot.”

The four-term congresswoman has not directly said whether she will launch a presidential run in 2028. Rumors are also circulating about her opting to instead run for the Senate to topple Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.

Though Ocasio-Cortez is considered one of the most prominent socialists in the country and a close ally of Sanders, she has run afoul of DSA leadership several times.

In summer 2025, the group issued a statement condemning Ocasio-Cortez’s vote against an amendment to block additional funding for Israel’s “Iron Dome,” which would have denied Israel an additional $500 million in U.S. funding for its preeminent missile defense system. In 2024, the DSA withdrew its endorsement for Ocasio-Cortez’s re-election, citing that she had not met its conditions, including opposing all funding to Israel and publicly supporting boycott and sanctions for the country.

DSA’s New York City chapter notably retained its endorsement for Ocasio-Cortez.

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Commenting on DSA’s deliberations, a spokesperson for Canary Mission told Fox News Digital that “an AOC presidency would give that movement more than influence: it would give its agenda access to the full power of the executive branch.”

The spokesperson added that “putting that power in the hands of a movement that repeatedly places ideological allegiance above America’s national interests, regards America and its allies as the problem, and shows sympathy toward their adversaries would not be political progress. It would be a profound national-security risk—and could be devastating for the country.”

“DSA presents its agenda as a project of reconstruction, but much of its politics begins with dismantling the institutions, alliances, and economic system that sustain those achievements,” the spokesperson said, adding, “For more than a decade, Canary Mission has documented numerous instances in which anti-Zionist activism has crossed into antisemitic harassment, support for extremism, and hostility toward the United States and its democratic allies.”

“As these ideas have moved from activist circles into mainstream politics, DSA has emerged as the primary vehicle through which radical ideology is translated into political success,” said the spokesperson.

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Canary Mission keeps its representatives unnamed for security reasons.

Fox News Digital reached out to Ocasio-Cortez’s office and DSA for comment.

Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth on Monday announced the creation of a joint task force with the Department of Justice to identify and prosecute officials who leak “sensitive information” to the media.

Hegseth said the Pentagon’s Office of General Counsel (OGC) may request and receive all information, support and records across the department regarding news media leak investigations.

“To combat the dangers that leaks pose, effectively immediately, I have ​delegated tasking authority ​to the war department’s ‌office ⁠of general counsel, empowering OGC to request and receive ​all ​information, ⁠records and support across the ​department concerning ​media ⁠leak investigations,” he said in a video shared on X.

“Leaked information risks lives, these new tools and processes will greatly assist us in protecting our joint force,” Hegseth continued. “The security of our nation cannot be a bargaining chip for those who seek momentary headlines, access to confidential and secret information is a sacred trust, and those who betray that trust will be met with the full force of the law.”

TRUMP ADMINISTRATION SUBPOENAS NY TIMES JOURNALISTS IN GRAND JURY LEAK PROBE TIED TO AIR FORCE ONE REPORT

The secretary also thanked Acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche for his support, adding that he was “proud that our departments are working together closer than we have ever before.”

Hegseth’s announcement comes just days after the DOJ issued subpoenas to four reporters at The New York Times, attempting to force them to testify before a federal grand jury after the newspaper reported on the security concerns involving the plane gifted to President Donald Trump by Qatar that he flew on to Turkey for a recent NATO summit.

The subpoenas were widely criticized by The New York Times, journalists at various news outlets and press freedom groups, arguing that the Trump administration is attempting to intimidate reporters conducting legitimate news-gathering about the government.

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“The appearance of federal law enforcement agents on the doorstep of news reporters should shock the conscience of any American who believes in the Constitution and the press freedom it protects,” an attorney for the newspaper, David McCraw, said in a statement.

“Our journalists report the facts and advance the American public’s right to know how their government is operating and their taxpayer dollars are being used,” McCraw added. “This brazen act should be seen as nothing more than an attempt to prevent the public from knowing what is happening in their country by intimidating journalists from doing their jobs.”

Since taking over as head of the Pentagon last year, Hegseth has sought to crack down on leaks to the media.

Last year, the department opened investigations into those accused of leaking classified information to the press and threatened to conduct polygraphs to identify leakers.

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Hegseth has also attempted to impose restrictions on reporters covering the Pentagon. He had forced them to sign a pledge stating that they would not solicit any unauthorized material, even if the information was unclassified. Most Pentagon reporters turned in their press badges rather than accept the department’s restrictions on news-gathering.

That policy is facing lawsuits, and a judge last month granted a preliminary injunction, ruling that the department’s requirement that journalists be accompanied by an official chaperone at all times violated the First Amendment in response to a case brought by The New York Times.

Stephen Miller, a policy advisor for the White House, paid tribute to the late Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., on Monday afternoon, calling him a personal “friend.”

“Lindsey was of a mold that I don’t think we’re going to see for a very long time,” Miller said. “He was someone who really understood how the power of rhetoric, how the power of communication as a senator can actually change outcomes.”

“Lindsey really believed you could change people’s minds through the force and persuasion of his rhetoric.”

LINDSEY GRAHAM, SOUTH CAROLINA SENATOR WHO ROSE FROM SMALL-TOWN ROOTS TO GOP POWER BROKER, DIES AT 71

Miller, like many members of the Trump administration, continues to reel from Graham’s sudden death late on Saturday evening, paying homage to a key ally in the Senate. His remarks reveal a closer relationship between the two than has previously been reported.

“Lindsey, I miss you, Godspeed and I’ll see you on the other side,” Miller said.

While Graham and President Donald Trump had an up-and-down relationship before and after Trump’s first term, Graham was also a close friend to the president and highly influential on domestic and foreign policy. Graham consistently urged the U.S. to assume a leadership role in the international community, arguing the world was safer and more stable with American engagement.

“Lindsey was the most effective, consistent advocate for the president’s agenda in the Senate,” Miller said. “That is a historical legacy that will always belong to him.”

Miller added a few other details about their relationship, expressing gratitude for Graham’s readiness to work with the administration.

FROM ‘DISGRACE’ TO ‘FAMILY’: TRUMP’S REMARKABLE JOURNEY WITH LINDSEY GRAHAM

“Lindsay was just so fundamentally good to us, to all of us. Every time we needed everything and anything at all, we called Lindsay. Without question, without hesitation, he would help out. I think it’s important for people to see the fullness of the picture of Lindsey Graham, why people liked him as much as they did, because he was so generous in heart and in spirit,” Miller said.

I still honestly almost haven’t with the process that he’s gone, because it was so complete and sudden.

Lindsey Graham’s office released a preliminary cause of death on Sunday evening that found the longtime lawmaker had died from “aortic dissection due to arteriosclerotic cardiovascular disease.”

Aortic dissection is when a tear occurs in the inner wall of the aorta, the body’s main artery, and is a life-threatening medical emergency.

On Monday, South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster appointed Graham’s sister, Darline Graham Nordone, to serve out the remainder of his term with Trump’s blessing.

It’s unclear if Darline would consider running for a full six-year term.

LINDSEY GRAHAM’S SISTER APPOINTED TO SENATE AS GOP RUSHES TO PROTECT FRAGILE MAJORITY

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Reps. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., and Ralph Norman, R-S.C., are both rumored to be eyeing the seat and possible bids for the GOP nomination in the forthcoming special election.

According to South Carolina State law, Republicans will have to hold a primary election on Aug. 11.

PORTLAND, Maine – Some of the leading contenders in the race to replace former candidate Graham Platner as the Democratic Senate nominee in Maine are amplifying calls to abolish ICE after a fatal shooting by federal immigration officers in the northern New England state.

Hours after U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents on Monday shot and killed a man in Biddeford, which is located about 15 miles south-west of Portland, four of the candidates joined hundreds of protesters who marched by the shooting site.

The shooting comes as the battle to replace Platner is heating up, and will likely boost immigration as an issue in a crucial Senate race that may determine the Senate majority.

“I think we are at the point where ICE needs to be abolished,” Nirav Shah, the former director of the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention, told Fox News Digital. “ICE in its current form has shown itself incapable of doing its job.”

PLATNER EXITS SENATE RACE AMID SCANDALS AND CHORUS OF CALLS TO DROP OUT

Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows, speaking with reporters, said, “This is not acceptable in America. A young man, a dad, has been killed by ICE…This must stop. We need to get ICE out of the streets.”

Troy Jackson, a former state Senate president, took to social media immediately after the shooting to write, “Abolish ICE.”

Jackson held a sign at the protest that called for abolishing ICE, and reiterated that he’s been calling for the dismantling of the agency for months.

Paige Loud, a social worker and former congressional candidate who has also launched a Senate bid, also attended the protest.

“We must abolish ICE and prosecute the leaders of these operations that are destroying communities,” she said in a social media post.

The incident in Maine is the second in a week when ICE agents have used deadly force, following the fatal shooting during a traffic stop in Houston, Texas.

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The latest incidents are reigniting protests and scrutiny of federal agents months after the shooting deaths in Minneapolis, Minnesota at the beginning of the year of Renee Good and Alex Pretti. Those shootings drew weeks of national coverage and sharp debate over President Donald Trump’s ramped-up deportation efforts amid his administration’s crackdown on illegal immigration.

The Maine attorney general’s office, which is investigating Monday’s shooting along with the FBI, said initial statements suggest the motorist who was the target of the enforcement operation was attempting to flee in the direction of an ICE agent.

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Two immigration advocacy groups said the man who was killed was authorized to work in the U.S. and had a Social Security number.

The shooting in Maine came three days after Platner ended his campaign amid mounting controversies and allegations of sexual misconduct that he had repeatedly denied, and a chorus of calls from top Democrats in Maine, the nation’s capital, and across the country to drop out of the race immediately.

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

Seven Democrats have filed to run for the nomination, which will be determined by roughly 600 voting delegates at a July 25 convention held by the Maine Democratic Party.

Collins said in a statement following the shooting that “a full and impartial investigation of what happened” was needed.

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Hours later, Collins said in another statement that Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Markwayne Mullin “informed me that the Boston office of the DHS Inspector General has taken over the investigation of the Biddeford shooting in cooperation with the FBI.”

One of Collins’ Senate offices is located in Biddeford, and protesters marched to the office to chant, “Vote her out.”
 

A bipartisan push to make Daylight Saving Time permanent is heading for a chamber-wide vote after clearing a key House hurdle.

The House Rules Committee on Monday teed up a floor vote on the Sunshine Protection Act, which would allow states to enact Daylight Saving Time year-round — with an option to opt out. The committee approved the rule in a 6-4 vote.

The measure has the support of many coastal lawmakers and President Donald Trump, who has repeatedly urged Congress to make Daylight Saving Time permanent and end the twice-a-year ritual of changing clocks — a practice currently observed by every state except Hawaii and most of Arizona.

Proponents argue that resetting clocks has negative health impacts, while permanent Daylight Saving Time would boost outdoor recreation, tourism and economic activity, among other benefits.

CONGRESS EYES RARE BIPARTISAN HOUSING WIN WITH OR WITHOUT TRUMP’S HELP

Most Americans already set their clocks forward one hour each spring to preserve more evening daylight before “falling back” one hour in November.

“Americans are overwhelmingly supportive of this policy and want to end the practice of ‘springing forward’ and ‘falling back.’ Locking the clock all year long would have positive impacts on sleep schedules, energy conservation, motor vehicle safety, and our economy,” Chairman Brett Guthrie, R-Ky., said in an opening statement Monday.

“In practice, this change would mean more time for people to exercise outside, visit family, attend concerts and sporting events, attract customers to their retail businesses, and more.”

“Floridians and Americans across the country are tired of the biannual time change, and the evidence is clear that permanent daylight saving time can improve public health, reduce traffic accidents, lower crime and encourage more outdoor activity,” Rep. Vern Buchanan, R-Fla., who authored the measure, previously said in a May news release. 

“Ending the clock change is a commonsense reform that will improve everyday life for millions of Americans,” he added.

The legislation’s momentum comes after the House Energy and Commerce Committee overwhelmingly passed the measure 48-1 in May.

“It’s time that people can stop worrying about the ‘Clock,’ not to mention all of the work and money that is spent on this ridiculous, twice-yearly production,” Trump wrote following the Sunshine Protection Act’s advancement out of committee. “It will also be a very nice WIN for the Republican Party. Take it! We are going with the far more popular alternative, Saving Daylight, which gives you a longer, brighter Day — And who can be against that — This is an easy one!”

SLEEP DOCTOR REVEALS THE BRUTAL HEALTH DOWNSIDE OF DAYLIGHT SAVING TIME

Roughly 20 states have already passed legislation that would make Daylight Saving Time permanent if Congress were to authorize the practice. Alabama, South Carolina, Oregon, Maine and Florida are among those places.

But opponents, including several medical organizations, argue that permanent standard time — which provides more sunlight in the morning — would be the healthier option because it would more closely align with the body’s natural circadian rhythms.

Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon, D-Pa., proposed amending the bill with language from her co-sponsored Sunshine for Our Kids Act, which would make standard time permanent nationwide. The amendment was quickly rejected.

Scanlon argued that permanent daylight saving time would pose significant health and safety risks by leaving more Americans — particularly children — in darkness during morning hours. She also pointed to the nation’s brief experiment with year-round daylight saving time in 1974, which Congress abandoned after widespread public backlash.

Rep. Nanette Barragán, D-Calif., was also the lone lawmaker to oppose the legislation during the Energy and Commerce Committee markup in May, citing concerns that year-round daylight saving time could negatively affect children’s health and sleep schedules.

Some conservative lawmakers have also argued that GOP leadership should be focused on what they describe as more pressing legislative issues, including legislation codifying Trump’s border security executive orders and the stalled SAVE America Act.

“Republicans are majoring in the minors — fiddling with the clocks while the country burns,” Rep. Keith Self, R-Texas, a member of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, wrote Monday.

The House has already passed versions of the SAVE America Act multiple times, but the measure has struggled to overcome the Senate’s legislative filibuster.

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The Senate unanimously passed a version of the Sunshine Protection Act in 2022, but it died in the House amid opposition, including from lawmakers who voiced concerns about darker morning hours in parts of the country during the winter.

Darline Graham Nordone, the sister of the late Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., was appointed to fill her brother’s Senate seat after a push from President Donald Trump.

“It’s my honor to ask his little sister, Darlene Graham, to finish his work for him now,” South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster said at a ceremony on Monday afternoon.

McMaster, a close Trump ally, appointed Nordone nearly 48 hours after her brother and longtime lawmaker suddenly died from an aortic dissection.

McMaster’s pick comes after Trump pushed for Graham’s “wonderful sister” Nordone to get the job.

“This would be a fabulous tribute to Lindsey, who loved her dearly,” Trump wrote in a post to Truth Social on Monday morning.

HEART CONDITION TIED TO LINDSEY GRAHAM’S DEATH CAN STRIKE WITHOUT WARNING — WHAT TO KNOW

Others were also initially considered, including Lt. Gov. Pam Evette, who Trump endorsed in her failed bid to clinch the GOP nomination for governor, former Rep. Trey Gowdy and former Sen. Jim DeMint, sources told Fox News Digital.

Her appointment fills the seat through Jan. 3, while voters decide in November who will hold the seat for the next six-year term. 

At this point, it’s unclear if Nordone, 62, would consider running for a full six-year term, and there’s already private jockeying to run in the special election, set for Aug. 11, to secure the GOP nomination in the Palmetto State, with Reps. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., and Ralph Norman, R-S.C., both eyeing a bid. 

Graham’s death narrowed Republicans’ Senate majority and added pressure to keep every GOP vote available, especially with Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., still being treated after a fall and pneumonia.

Nordone, who has largely kept out of the public eye, is married to Larry Nordone and has two daughters. She has worked with the South Carolina Commission for the Blind (SCCB) as commissioner, according to the organization’s 2026-27 budget. The SCCB provides services aimed at helping blind and low-vision South Carolina residents gain employment, independence and self-sufficiency.

In the past, she has described a personal closeness with Lindsey Graham, having been raised by him after the death of their mother when she was just 11. 

“I have always looked up to Lindsey. He’s just always been there for me as long as I can remember. If I fell down and scraped my knee, Lindsey was the one I ran to,” she recounted in a 2014 campaign ad.

Nordone has not previously held elected office. She will become South Carolina’s first female senator.

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

Following Trump’s endorsement, Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., the chair of the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC), also put his support behind Nordone on Monday morning ahead of the announcement. 

“Lindsey Graham’s sister, Darline Graham Nordone, would be a fantastic pick to serve out the remainder of the Senate term,” Scott wrote in a post to X.

“After speaking with Darline, there is no one better who understands Lindsey’s love for family, our state and our country.”

McMaster also described speaking with Darline ahead of her appointment as well as with Trump.

“After we spoke on the phone in the wee hours of Sunday morning and you agreed to serve through tears, I had wondered what you would say and I was humbled by your quickness to see the duty that you had to serve. And I called the president afterwards, and he thought it was a great idea,” McMaster said. 

GRAHAM REPORTEDLY REFUSED MEDICAL HELP BEFORE SCHEDULED TV APPEARANCE

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Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., also voiced his support for Nordone. 

He told CNN Monday afternoon that he had already spoken with both Nordone and McMaster the day before, and believed that tapping the longtime lawmaker’s sister to fill his spot, “in my view, makes a lot of sense.”

“I think, in many respects, it would be a way of extending Lindsey’s legacy here, and certainly something that, if that’s what they decide to end up doing, I think there’d be a lot of support for,” Thune said. 

The filing period for a special primary election begins on July 21, with the special election to follow on Aug. 11. A runoff, if needed, would be held Aug. 25, leaving the candidate just two months to campaign before the Nov. 3 general election.

In the Senate, there’s a black veil covering a desk. On top there’s a bowl of striking white roses. That’s where Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., used to sit.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., pointed to that desk during an emotional tribute to the late Senator on Monday. Graham was a confidant, trusted advisor and friend to Thune. And through tears, he set about remembering the lawmaker who spent 30 years in Washington, D.C., making a mark on his state and country.

“It’s difficult to believe that Lindsey Graham is no longer here with us,” Thune said. “That we won’t run into him at a meeting today or share a joke with him at this afternoon’s vote. The halls of the Senate already feel empty without him. And I know I’m not alone in that feeling.”

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

As Thune spoke about Graham, the late lawmaker’s staff sat in the Senate chamber as tears filled the room. And since Thune became the leader of the Senate GOP, you would oftentime see Graham enter his office just off the Senate floor.

He was there to talk down Republican rebels who threatened to sink President Donald Trump’s “big, beautiful bill,” and once earlier this year stormed into Thune’s office declaring his resistance to a deal struck by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and the president to avert a government shutdown.

But he was there, and Thune noted that “Lindsey was fearless in his commitment to the causes that he espoused.”

SENATE RETURNS TO PACKED AGENDA AFTER GRAHAM’S DEATH SHRINKS GOP MARGIN

“It didn’t matter to him whether he would catch flak on an issue,” Thune said. “He was undaunted by the politics if he believed he was right on the principle.”

“Senator. Warrior. Patriot. Statesman,” Thune continued. “Words that will be written about Lindsey. But for me, most of all, Mr. President, he was my friend.”

Shortly after Thune’s tribute to Graham, South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster officially tapped his sister, Darline Graham Nordone, to fill his seat for the remainder of his term. It’s a move that Thune, Trump and Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C. backed.

LINDSEY GRAHAM’S SISTER APPOINTED TO SENATE AS GOP RUSHES TO PROTECT FRAGILE MAJORITY

“I think this is what Lindsey would have wanted, and I plan to honor him in this way,” Nordone said at the ceremony. “Now to Lindsey, I miss you more than I can even put into words. But I’m going to do this, I got it.”

Back in the Senate, Thune remembers Graham as a “staunch conservative and a fierce advocate for South Carolina,” but as a lawmaker who was willing to cross the aisle to find a solution. Through it all, Thune said that he would miss Graham’s friendship and humor.

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“I am comforted by the knowledge that in the end, he has just changed his address. And that one day, Mr. President,” Thune said through tears. “We will laugh together again.”

An Obama-appointed federal judge in Florida rebuked President Donald Trump’s legal team Monday, finding his $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS was brought for an “improper purpose” to legitimize a controversial Justice Department settlement.

U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams of the Southern District of Florida found the case was brought for an “improper purpose,” rebuked Trump’s legal team and referred attorney Alejandro Brito to the Florida Bar for possible disciplinary action.

“The Parties here are not private actors to a mine-run dispute, recounting their proficiency in the art of the deal they negotiated,” wrote Williams. “Lead Plaintiff and Defendants are public servants—the pinnacle of the Executive Branch—sworn to uphold the law, faithfully perform the duties of their office, and protect the interests of the American public.”

TRUMP DOUBLES DOWN ON $1.8 BILLION ‘SLUSH FUND’ THAT KILLED HIS AGENDA, SPURRED REPUBLICAN REBELLION

Trump, his two eldest sons and the Trump Organization sued the IRS and Treasury Department seeking at least $10 billion in damages for failing to protect his confidential tax information after IRS contractor Charles Littlejohn leaked his records in 2019. Littlejohn pleaded guilty to one count of unauthorized disclosure of tax return and return information.

Williams found that Trump was using the lawsuit to advance his own interests while controlling the federal agency he had sued.

She was appointed by Obama in 2011 and previously served as a Federal Public Defender for the Southern District of Florida.

GOP LEVERAGES ICE FUNDING PACKAGE TO MAKE TRUMP’S CONTROVERSIAL $2B FUND ‘NEVER EXIST’

Trump envisioned creating an “Anti-Weaponization Fund” from the lawsuit settlement to compensate alleged victims of government “lawfare” as well to halt IRS audits of his finances.

The fund drew an enormous amount of scrutiny from Democrats, calling it a “slush fund” to personally benefit Trump and his allies. The fund was later dropped after political backlash, with DOJ Acting Attorney General moving to walk back that portion of the proposed settlement.

TRUMP SAYS HE WILL NOMINATE ACTING AG TODD BLANCHE TO PERMANENTLY LEAD JUSTICE DEPARTMENT

The lawsuit puts the controversial anti-weaponization fund back under the microscope as confirmation hearings begin Wednesday for Blanche’s nomination as attorney general.

Williams called out Blanche in her ruling, saying that he appeared to be speaking for both sides of the lawsuit. 

“The Court is extremely troubled by the testimony given by Acting Attorney General Blanche on May 19, 2026. In response to why the ‘settlement agreement’ had not been submitted to this Court for review, he stated that ‘there is no judge’ because the case had been dismissed and, therefore, there was “no mechanism” for reviewing the agreement,” wrote Williams.

“While temporally accurate, this answer is, at best, misleading and, at worst, disingenuous,” she added.

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The White House referred Fox News Digital to Trump’s personal attorneys for comment. Fox News Digital reached out to attorney Alejandro Brito and DOJ for comment.

A sprawling, 25-county congressional district more than 2,000 miles from the Mexican border was thrust into the national immigration spotlight this month after a 6-year-old girl was killed in a crash allegedly caused by a three-time deported illegal immigrant with a history of driving while intoxicated.

The economy usually dominates politics in North Carolina’s 1st congressional district, which consistently ranks among the nation’s poorest districts by poverty rate. But, that changed after six-year-old Calli Toler was pronounced dead after a wreck allegedly caused when Mexican national Jaime Santiago Corona ran a stop sign west of Vanceboro last week – just a mile from the district line.

The illegal immigration crisis has been “hitting home … in North Carolina, when you saw fentanyl dealers being caught, you saw terrorists being caught,” Laurie Buckhout of Edenton, a retired Iraq War battalion commander and the Republican candidate seeking a rematch against incumbent Democratic Rep. Don Davis of Snow Hill, in what is now a slightly Republican-leaning; formerly Democrat-leaning swing district.

THREE-TIME DEPORTED ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT CHARGED WITH KILLING NORTH CAROLINA GIRL, 6, AFTER RUNNING STOP SIGN

“It has continued because, under the Biden administration with Don Davis’ oversight, you allowed so many illegals in the country [and] just a little bit ago, an illegal alien blew through a stop sign and killed a little girl,” Buckhout said in an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital.

Davis, who is also a retired military officer, said in a statement that he supported the Laken Riley Act, adding federal immigration laws must be enforced to ensure “safe communities” for Carolinians. He said Corona was driving on a revoked license when he crashed into the Tolers on Warren Jones Road near US-17.

ABIGAIL SPANBERGER’S VIRGINIA A ‘HOTBED’ FOR ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT CRIME, DHS SAYS AFTER LATEST RAPE CHARGE

Buckhout said Toler’s mother and sister survived after being treated at a Greenville hospital, adding that despite the Trump administration trying to crack down on illegal immigration, the repercussions of prior years’ leniency “continues to happen,” she said.

Corona was deported in 2019, 2023 and 2024 and re-entered illegally a fourth time before the Vanceboro crash, according to DHS. He also has a criminal record that includes DUI charges, DHS Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis said.

OKLAHOMA STATE BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION STAFF ATTORNEY UNDER REVIEW AFTER VIDEO OF ANTI-ICE TIRADE

Pitt County authorities, who have custody of Corona, indicated they plan to cooperate with ICE.

Buckhout said President Donald Trump’s “America First” agenda and DHS’ mass deportation actions have gone a long way to stem the tide of cases like the Tolers’, but that if elected she would push for higher pay for agents, and improved technology at the Mexican border like funding for sensors and other tools the feds can use to secure the homeland.

“We need to support them more… More technology, more access roads going down to the border so that they can access the border safely. We need to let them safely do their jobs with every technology available,” Buckhout said.

“The safety of the American people depends upon it. You don’t have sovereignty without a border. I mean, that’s just the bottom line.”

Buckhout also pointed to two other illegal immigrants’ cases in the district – the arrest of Jose Valdez-Masias on homicide charges near Warrenton and Josue Cano-Landero on child fondling and strongarm rape charges in the Inner Banks.

She also returned to the importance of reviving the economy in her area, noting that jobs are as important as national security for the people of NC-1.

“We need to protect our food sources, protect our farmers, protect our fishermen. And once again, build up the economy from the ground up because the Democrats have been ignoring it for so long,” she said – as inland NC-1 is historically significant in the tobacco and peanut industries while the coastal areas are home to key fishing areas.

A spokesperson for Davis’ campaign countered that the Democrat’s record “speaks for itself” in his expected-to-be-tight race against Buckhout.

“Laurie Buckhout seems to be increasingly bothered by the resources Congressman Davis continues to deliver for ENC, and was most recently perturbed by the fact that he is fighting for a local hospital to be reopened in Martin County,” the spokesperson said.

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“Congressman Davis will continue to do what he does best: fight for and be a voice for the people of Eastern North Carolina.”

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Fox News Digital reached out to Biden for comment.

Fox News Digital’s Louis Casiano contributed to this report.

Tragedy built a strong bond between Darline Graham Nordone and her brother, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.

Tragedy is once again striking its bell, this time with the sudden passing of her brother and father figure. And now, she’s being considered to replace him in the Senate, just over 24 hours after his death.

President Donald Trump and Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., both want her in the role, and sources have told Fox News that Scott has been speaking with her about filling in for the remainder of Graham’s term.

TRUMP MAKES SURPRISE PICK TO FILL GRAHAM’S SENATE SEAT

Trump is pushing South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster to appoint her, announcing that he recommended the governor tap Graham’s “wonderful sister” to serve out his term as a caretaker.

“This would be a fabulous tribute to Lindsey, who loved her dearly,” Trump said on Truth Social.

McMaster is slated to announce his pick Monday afternoon in a news conference that Scott is also expected to attend.

If he does tap Nordone, it would be a temporary selection. In the background, private jockeying is already happening to succeed Graham as the GOP nominee in the Palmetto State.

The filing deadline to succeed Graham and run for a full six-year Senate term opens July 21 and a special election primary is scheduled for Aug. 11. Many South Carolina politicians have expressed interest in the job, seeing the vacant Senate seat as a once-in-a-generation opportunity to serve in the upper chamber.

Meanwhile, Nordone has never held public office, unlike her brother, who served in Congress for three decades in both the House and Senate. Nordone is a mother of two and worked in a vocational rehabilitation role that specifically helped people with disabilities find employment in South Carolina.

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

And whether she’s ready to accept the position remains unclear.

“Actually, I’m just kind of like devastated right now,” Nordone told the New York Post shortly after Trump’s announcement.

Nordone and Graham shared a unique bond, too. Graham was in his early 20s when both their parents died within less than a year of one another. That tragedy pushed him to become her primary legal guardian and caretaker, thrusting him into the role of father and brother to his younger sister.

“Of all the things that have happened in my life, her turning out so well is the highlight of it by far,” Graham told C-SPAN in 2015.

FROM ‘DISGRACE’ TO ‘FAMILY’: TRUMP’S REMARKABLE JOURNEY WITH LINDSEY GRAHAM

Nordone highlighted the outsized role Graham played in raising her after the death of their parents. After becoming her legal guardian, he enlisted in the Air Force to allow her to qualify for his military benefits. She later credited him with ensuring that she completed high school and college.

“He’s kind of like a brother, a father and a mother rolled into one,” she told The New York Times in an interview in 2015.

Nordone was a frequent presence in Graham’s campaigns during his decades-long career.

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“My parents, they were loving people and cared about us, but Lindsey was always the one that took care of me and helped me with my homework,” she said in a campaign spot titled “Darline.” “If I was sick, he gave me my medicine. He taught me how to ride a bicycle.”

“He never let me down,” she continued. “To take on that responsibility of raising a little sister — that came from within for Lindsey.”

Two years after a gunman opened fire on Donald Trump at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, the security failures that nearly cost him his life remain under scrutiny as later alleged plots and reported threats keep presidential protection in the spotlight.

Trump was rushed offstage by Secret Service agents after gunfire grazed his upper right ear during his July 13, 2024, rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. The attack came months before Trump’s re-election and preceded a series of later alleged attempts and reported threats against his life.

Two years ago Monday, Trump was mid-sentence, pointing to a chart on illegal immigration under the Biden administration, when gunshots pierced the air at his Butler rally. Authorities identified the gunman as Thomas Matthew Crooks, who fired from the roof of a nearby building.

TWO MEN SHOT AT TRUMP’S BUTLER RALLY SUE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT OVER SECRET SERVICE ‘PREVENTABLE FAILURES’

Secret Service agents tackled Trump to the ground. Moments later, as they rose to escort him to his motorcade, Trump emerged from the huddle. Trump raised his fist high in the air, and said “fight” three times, prompting the audience to erupt and chant “U-S-A!” as he exited.

The gunman killed firefighter Corey Comperatore, who was shielding his family, and wounded two other men. A Secret Service sniper killed Crooks during the attack.

A report from the Office of Inspector General, released earlier this month, found that the U.S. Secret Service “missed multiple opportunities” to prevent or disrupt the assassination attempt due to communication failures and other security lapses.

AFTER THIRD ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT, DEBATE GROWS OVER WHETHER TRUMP ATTACK WARRANTS ANOTHER INVESTIGATION

“The Secret Service’s overall lack of policy and processes coupled with limited intelligence sharing and poor collaboration and communication with protectee staff and state and local law enforcement set the conditions that led to missing opportunities to prevent and detect the attempted assassination,” the report said.

It also found failure to warn Trump’s protective detail that Crooks had a rangefinder and a long gun and had climbed onto the roof of a nearby building.

Trump’s security has remained under scrutiny since he returned to office, amid later alleged assassination attempts and reported threats against his life. 

In September 2024, authorities said Ryan Wesley Routh was arrested after a Secret Service agent spotted him with a rifle near Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida, in what federal prosecutors later charged as an attempted assassination of Trump.

ISRAEL SHARES INTELLIGENCE WARNING IRAN PLOTTED NEW ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT AGAINST TRUMP: REPORT

In April of this year, there was an assassination attempt against Trump at the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner, where a shooter attempted to break into the ballroom.

The renewed threats come amid escalating tensions with Iran, after the U.S. resumed strikes following the collapse of a ceasefire agreement. Reports this week said Israeli intelligence warned U.S. officials about a new Iranian plot to assassinate Trump.

Trump warned Iran Friday that the United States would “decimate and destroy” the country if Tehran carried out an assassination attempt against him.

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U.S. Secret Service has not directly commented on the reports.

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

President Donald Trump is pushing for an unexpected replacement to fill the vacancy left by the late Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., in the Senate.

Trump wants South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster to tap Graham’s sister, Darline Graham Nordone, to be appointed to the lawmaker’s suddenly open seat for the remainder of his term.

“I recommended, to Governor Henry McMaster, Lindsey Graham’s wonderful sister, Darline, to serve as interim Senator from the Great State of South Carolina,” Trump said on Truth Social on Monday. “This would be a fabulous tribute to Lindsey, who loved her dearly!”

Graham and his younger sister, Darline, had a unique bond, given that, after their parents died, the lawmaker legally adopted and raised her.

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

Trump’s announcement comes as a scramble behind the scenes is taking place to fill Graham’s spot, and further, find a new GOP nominee to run in November to keep his seat in the hands of Republicans.

McMaster is expected to announce his pick for the seat at 4 p.m. on Monday. He has so far kept quiet about who he would prefer. Fox News Digital did not immediately hear back from McMaster’s office on who he is eyeing in the interim.

Meanwhile, a key Republican, Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., also wants to see Graham’s sister get the nod for his seat.

GRAHAM REPORTEDLY REFUSED MEDICAL HELP BEFORE SCHEDULED TV APPEARANCE

“Lindsey Graham’s sister, Darline Graham Nordone, would be a fantastic pick to serve out the remainder of the Senate term,” Scott said on X. “After speaking with Darline, there is no one better who understands Lindsey’s love for family, our state, and our country.”

Scott, earlier in the day, floated both former Rep. Trey Gowdy and former Sen. Jim DeMint as possible replacements in the interim. He hoped that McMaster would “put a placeholder and let the voters decide” later during a forthcoming special election.

“I think in the next several hours or next day or so we’ll figure out who that person is,” Scott said. “I love Trey Gowdy and Jim DeMint has been in the conversation.”

“[Graham’s] sister would be a wonderful placeholder as well,” he continued. “So we’ve got lots of candidates who could hold the place so that the voters decide. And remember the election starts August the 11th in South Carolina, three weeks from now, we’ll have a primary process.”

FROM ‘DISGRACE’ TO ‘FAMILY’: TRUMP’S REMARKABLE JOURNEY WITH LINDSEY GRAHAM

Both Gowdy and DeMint have served in Congress — Gowdy in the House and DeMint in the Senate, preceding Scott. Graham Nordone, however, has never held public office.

Multiple sources close to Scott, who chairs the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) told Fox News Digital that he is pushing McMaster to choose one of the three to effectively be a placeholder and not seek a six-year term in the Senate.

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While the appointment race nears its conclusion, the race for the GOP nomination to run in South Carolina is still wide open.

Reps. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., and Ralph Norman, R-S.C., are already hinting at leaping into the special election, which is set for Aug. 11. Rep. Joe Wilson, R-S.C., said that he would stay in the House, but the rest of the Palmetto State’s GOP congressional delegation have not said what their plans are.

Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham served in Congress for more than three decades, but public disclosure estimates show he died with a modest net worth compared to many of his longtime Washington colleagues.

The senator died with a net worth of about $1.4 million, with congressional disclosures from May showing a lower-end estimate of just over $600,000 and an upper estimate of a little more than $2.2 million, according to financial disclosures he filed in May. Despite serving in Congress for 31 years, Graham ranked at 294th in wealth among the 535 voting members of Congress, according to data from the Quiver Quantitative.

Graham died at age 71, meaning that his net worth at the end was relatively normal. Individuals between the ages of 65 and 74 have an average net worth of $1.79 million and a median net worth of $409,900, according to Fidelity.

LINDSEY GRAHAM, SOUTH CAROLINA SENATOR WHO ROSE FROM SMALL-TOWN ROOTS TO GOP POWER BROKER, DIES AT 71

Though transparency experts have long argued that allowing members of Congress to trade individual stocks enables them to abuse non-public information for personal gain, Graham largely avoided this criticism as almost all his assets were mutual funds or government bonds.

As a senator, Graham earned an annual salary of $174,000.

While Graham’s wealth was humble by D.C. standards, he still came a long way from where he started.

FROM ‘DISGRACE’ TO ‘FAMILY’: TRUMP’S REMARKABLE JOURNEY WITH LINDSEY GRAHAM

The senator spent his early life living with his sister and parents in a small room attached to their family restaurant in Central, South Carolina, which he helped run. The Graham family later moved into a mobile home.

“It’s not a log cabin like Abe Lincoln, but he grew up in a mobile home, which is South Carolina’s equivalent of it, I guess,” Warren Mowry, Graham’s law school roommate, said in 2015.

MEDICAL EXAMINER RELEASES PRELIMINARY FINDINGS IN LINDSEY GRAHAM’S DEATH AS DEATH CERTIFICATE REMAINS PENDING

The senator’s parents died in quick succession after he left home for college, leaving him to care for his 13-year-old sister at the age of 22. Graham, an Air Force veteran, was the first in his family to attend university.

Graham died Saturday night following a “brief and sudden illness” after a trip to Ukraine, according to his office. The DC medical examiner’s office has stated that his preliminary cause of death was a ruptured aorta caused by chronic heart disease.

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“I can’t die now. I still need to do the Russia sanctions, get Iran sorted out and do Israeli-Saudi normalization,” Graham joked shortly before his death, according to a source close to the lawmaker.

Graham’s staff did not respond to a request for comment when reached by Fox News Digital on Monday.

EXCLUSIVE: Sen. Jim Banks will introduce legislation Monday aimed at ending birthright citizenship for children of illegal immigrants and birth tourists by defining them as children of “invaders” under federal law after a Supreme Court ruling last month dealt a setback to President Donald Trump’s executive order on the issue.

Trump recently urged Senate Republicans to move faster on his legislative agenda, including ending birthright citizenship, telling them they were “not fighting hard enough,” Banks, R-Ind., recalled in a June 30 interview with Human Events.

Banks told Fox News Digital he plans to introduce the Citizenship Act as soon as the Senate opens for business Monday afternoon – crafting it with a nod to Trump-appointed Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s concurrence in last month’s Trump v. Barbara case.

Kavanaugh, concurring in the judgment and dissenting in part, said Trump’s order conflicted with federal birthright citizenship law but suggested Congress could amend that statute to create new exceptions.

TRUMP’S ‘HERO’ JUSTICE OFFERS ROADMAP AFTER SUPREME COURT REJECTS BIRTHRIGHT ORDER

The Citizenship Act would declare that children of statutory “invaders” are not entitled to birthright citizenship under the law and codify a 2025 executive order that cites the term.

In its summary, Banks’ bill declares “any person who enters the United States without authorization or for the purpose of engaging in birth tourism is considered an invader …” and amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to exclude children of such “invaders.”

Banks’ key use of “invaders” cites Trump’s executive order declaring illegal immigration across the southern border an “invasion,” while the bill notes the “Barbara” decision leaves that avenue open for Congress to crack down on.

Without touching the constitutional amendment process or attempting to overturn any court ruling, the Citizenship Act will codify Trump’s declaration of “invasion” and amend federal law to revoke birthright citizenship from children of illegal immigrants under exceptions listed in the same case the “Barbara” ruling’s majority used as its precedent.

SEN MORENO PUSHES CONGRESS TO CLARIFY BIRTHRIGHT CITIZENSHIP RULES USING HARRY REID’S OWN 1993 LEGISLATION

Kavanaugh found that Trump’s order didn’t violate the Fourteenth Amendment but did conflict with a federal statute on birthright citizenship passed in the spirit of the amendment conservatives said was intended mainly for freed slaves and their children.

Bush-appointed Justice John Roberts relied on the landmark 1898 U.S. v. Wong Kim Ark case to rule against Trump in “Barbara” and “guarantee citizenship to all children born in the United States and subject to its power” – but Banks’ bill would use that same case as precedent to secure an end to birthright citizenship for progeny of illegal immigrants and birth tourists.

Then-Justice Horace Gray – an appointee of Republican President Chester Arthur – ruled in Wong Kim Ark that those exceptions include diplomats’ kids, “enemies within” and those engaged in hostile occupation of U.S. territories who are not “bound to render obedience to the sovereign [U.S. government] whose domains are being invaded.”

‘WEAPONS OF MASS REPRODUCTION’: WATCHDOG UNVEILS ACTION PLAN TO CURB BIRTH TOURISM AFTER SUPREME COURT RULING

By Roberts reaffirming Wong Kim Ark’s precedent with its exceptions, Banks’ bill would essentially use it against itself.

“The Supreme Court’s birthright citizenship decision was an unprecedented assault on American sovereignty, and we must do whatever it takes to save our country,” Banks told Fox News Digital.

“I’m leading the Citizenship Act to reverse the effects of this consequential ruling and ensure the millions of illegal aliens that invaded our country can’t continue to exploit our immigration system.”

In U.S. v. CASA, a similar 2025 case that went against Trump, Obama-appointed Justice Sonia Sotomayor separately confirmed “children born of alien enemies in hostile occupation” do not qualify for birthright citizenship, while not taking the extra step to classify illegal immigrants as such “invaders” mentioned in the original ruling.

Banks also makes a textual Constitutional argument in his bill, writing that Article IV requires the feds to “protect each [state] against invasion” while Congress’ Article I power includes “establish[ing] a uniform rule of naturalization.”

He also cited President James Madison’s 1788 analysis that the Constitution vested Congress—not the states—with authority over naturalization through a uniform national rule.

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The Citizenship Act lays out that some Mexican nationals view migration northward as a means of re-conquering territory the U.S. won during 1840s military hostilities finalized in the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848 that established Texas and beyond as part of the U.S.

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It also points to Chinese birth tourism being encouraged directly by the CCP – which brings the birthright citizenship debate over what defines an invasion by a hostile government full circle.

Banks’ bill argues those examples demonstrate that birthright citizenship has become intertwined with broader questions of national sovereignty and foreign influence.

A 42-year-old illegal immigrant convicted of repeatedly raping a child was awarded a pardon by Gov. Tim Walz’s board of pardons after the state’s clemency commission recommended it be granted to him due to “immigration concerns.”

Fox News Digital reviewed documents from the Minnesota Clemency Review Commission, which voted 4-2 to grant a pardon to Laotian national Tue Lue Vang following his conviction for criminal sexual conduct. Vang admitted to repeatedly raping a girl over a multi-year period beginning when she was 10 years old. While the two board members who voted against granting a pardon noted the serious nature of Vang’s offenses, the four members recommending a pardon each listed concern about him being deported.

One commissioner, Zach Linstrom, who voted in favor of granting the pardon, wrote in his recommendation, “Very tough case but the kids not having a father is not in the best interest of society,” referring to Vang’s six children. Artika Roller, another commissioner who voted in favor of the pardon, wrote, “The applicant stated the need for clemency related to immigration issues.”

Following the commission’s recommendation, the Minnesota Board of Pardons, which consists of Walz, state Attorney General Keith Ellison and Minnesota Supreme Court Chief Justice Natalie Hudson, awarded Vang a full pardon on June 10, essentially giving him a clean slate as he was set to be deported.

DOJ ACCUSES MARYLAND OF ‘ACTIVE AND DELIBERATE EFFORT’ TO PREVENT DEPORTATIONS OF ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS: LAWSUIT

At the time of the pardon, Homeland Security Acting Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis remarked that “Governor Tim Walz’s decision to pardon an illegal alien convicted child rapist so he can remain in our country is disgusting.”

“These are the criminal illegal aliens he and his Minnesota sanctuary politicians are protecting,” she said.

Vang entered the U.S. through California in 1994 and was granted legal status by the Clinton administration. Between 2002 and 2004, when Vang was between 18 and 20 years old, he had sexual intercourse with the victim four to six times. The abuse took place in St. Paul, Minnesota, in Ramsey County. The first rape took place when the victim was in fourth grade.

Documents reviewed by Fox News Digital reveal that the victim “did not understand what Vang was doing, so she let him.” As time went on, the document notes that the victim began to tell her friends about the abuse, who testified that she was “angry and sad” about it. At one time, the document said that Vang offered the victim $10 to keep quiet about the abuse.

While Ramsey County District Court Judge Sara Grewing did not take a position on Vang’s pardon, Ramsey County Assistant Attorney Tami McConkey recommended against granting it.

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

In her formal opposition statement, McConkey noted that her office had offered a dispositional departure to Vang because the then-12-year-old victim experienced pressure from her family not to cooperate with law enforcement after his arrest.

Vang was sentenced to 12 years in prison following his conviction. However, the sentence was stayed in favor of 30 years of supervised probation, which included one year of local confinement. Ultimately, he served eight months at the county correctional workhouse. He was discharged from probation early in 2019.

McConkey noted that there were several additional aggravating factors in the case, including Vang abusing the victim over an extended period of time, in one instance even driving her to his home to abuse her, and not using sexual protection.

A criminal complaint shared with Fox News Digital states that upon his arrest, Vang told police, “I made a mistake, but this is a minor thing. It is a cultural thing in Thailand to marry and have sex with girls as young as 12.” The complaint also notes that “Vang stated [the victim] should be arrested also because she was as much at fault.”

McConkey noted that “while Mr. Vang expresses shame and regret about what his children experience when then [sic] learn of the offense, he does not share any thoughts or insight about what the victim must have gone through.”

Despite this, several commissioners noted that the victim supported a pardon for Vang in their reasons for their recommendation.

Commissioner Nadine Graves wrote, “The victim supports this pardon. His [Vang’s] wife stayed and has forgiven. He also [has] immigration concerns. He has remorse and was discharged from probation.”

Graves noted Vang’s early discharge from probation and wrote that “he retracted his prior statement about this being a result of culture. He admits this was wrong then and will always be wrong.”

Lindstrom likewise noted, “applicant’s wife supports” and “victim supports” a pardon.

ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT SOCCER COACH WHO USED ALCOHOL AND DRUGS TO SEXUALLY ABUSE KIDS LEARNS FATE

Commissioner Perry Moriearty wrote, “Despite the extraordinary severity of the underlying offense, there is substantial evidence of rehabilitation, remorse and acceptance of responsibility.” He also noted in his reasons that Vang “is facing deportation” and “victim supports.”

In his application for a pardon, Vang wrote, “I carry deep shame and regret for the harm I caused.” He noted that he was detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in December and was facing a final order of removal. He expressed worry that, because he arrived in the U.S. as a child, if he were deported he “would be sent to a place entirely unfamiliar to me, with no family, no home, and no future.”

Vang wrote, “My fear is that, if deported, my children will grow up without a father, like I did” and “I will do all that I can to be here and to protect them from the outcomes of my deportation.”

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None of this stopped the Trump administration from taking action against Vang. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced on Friday that he had stepped in to terminate Vang’s legal status in the U.S. and that he had been removed to his home country of Laos.

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Rubio told Fox News Digital, “Americans should never have to live in fear that foreign sex predators — shielded from deportation by their own elected officials — could endanger them or their children.”

“That’s why I terminated his legal status in the United States,” he continued. “Vang has now been removed from our country and will never pose a threat to any American ever again.”

Nominations, renewed fighting in Iran, government funding and President Donald Trump’s flagship election bill await the Senate as it returns this week.

The upper chamber is coming back after a more than two-week hiatus to sprint through the remainder of July and march into the first week of August. And priorities have piled up, be it over divisions between the aisles or within the Senate GOP.

Adding to the uphill climb is the sudden death of Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., meaning that Republicans will be down one key vote in their push to move Trump’s agenda. 

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., will be put to the task of keeping his conference together, while Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Democrats are likely to look for any fractures they can in the GOP’s unity to slow down Trump’s agenda.

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

But Trump has done his part to derail some aspects of his own agenda, much of it over his determination to force Republicans to pass his flagship election integrity legislation, the Safeguarding American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) America Act.

He already refused to sign a massive, bipartisan housing package in protest of the stalled legislation and now wants the GOP to attach the SAVE America Act to the perennial, must-pass National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which needs Democratic votes to pass. Adding the voter bill to the military funding authorization package would all but guarantee no Democrats would support it.

Republicans hope to begin the process on the NDAA in July and fear that trying to attach the SAVE America Act would just hand Schumer and Democrats leverage.

“We really empower the Democrats to have a reason to be able to stop stuff that otherwise they would probably have to vote for, whether it’s the NDAA, whether it’s an appropriations bill or whatever,” Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., told Fox News Digital.

TRUMP REFUSES TO SIGN BIPARTISAN HOUSING BILL IN PROTEST OVER SAVE ACT

“They found that this can be an Achilles heel for Republicans because, as soon as we attach it to any kind of bill, they know the votes aren’t there because, at a 60-vote margin, they’ll never get us the votes because they know how important it is to us,” he continued.

One key priority left over from before Republicans left town is replacing acting Director of National Intelligence (DNI) Bill Pulte, whose appointment by Trump in June blew up Congress’ push to reauthorize one of the nation’s key anti-terrorism tools over calls from both sides of the aisle that he was unqualified for the position.

His replacement, Jay Clayton, will appear for his confirmation hearing before the Senate Intelligence Committee on Wednesday, weeks after Trump yanked his initial hearing and further threw into doubt lawmakers’ ability to reauthorize Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA).

Another Trump pick, acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, will also have his confirmation hearing this week. Blanche, like any nominee, made the rounds with lawmakers before the recess explaining his role in the president’s now-defunct anti-weaponization fund. Whether he survives the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing remains in the air, given some Republicans are skeptical of him. Among those is Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., who, for now, appears willing to support Blanche.

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

“I’m going to go through the nomination process. I have got a positive predisposition toward Blanche,” Tillis told CNN.

Republicans are also eager to begin the government funding process and put to the test their fears that Democrats will again shut down the government for a political edge.

Rounds, a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, told Fox News Digital that he expected a handful of spending bills to make their way to the Senate floor during the July sprint.

Senate Democrats have told him they want to fund the government through appropriations, but fear that the Trump administration may withhold funding on some of their priorities. Whether they actually give Republicans the votes to pass the funding bills remains in the air.

“If they don’t do that, then we’ll know pretty well that the political side of the discussion is taking a priority for them,” Rounds said. “And then we just as well start negotiating for a continuing resolution to get through the election and let the chips fall.”

Another issue that could cause Democratic support for legislation to evaporate is the administration’s renewed strikes in Iran, which began last week over frustrations with ships being stymied by Iran in the Strait of Hormuz.

Several lawmakers on both sides of the aisle disliked Trump’s temporary agreement with Iran to continue negotiating a longer-lasting peace over the next two months, but welcomed the pause in fighting that came with it.

Trump nixed that last week.

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“The Islamic Republic of Iran has asked us to continue ‘talks,’” he said on Truth Social. “We have agreed to do so, but the United States has stated to them, in no uncertain terms, that the Cease Fire is OVER!”

That will likely once again stoke Democrats’ continued push to rein in his war authorities in the region with even more votes on war powers resolutions in the coming weeks.

Lawmakers successfully passed a non-binding resolution to curb his authority in Iran, but fell short of pushing a full-blown war powers resolution to Trump’s desk.

“Congress voted against more war with Iran,” Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., told Fox News Digital in a statement. “The U.S. should not be launching new strikes without congressional authorization and restarting a war that has raised gas prices, killed Americans, and hurt the economy. The U.S. and Iran must return to a ceasefire.”

The high-stakes fight between the left-wing and the center-left establishment for the future of the Democratic Party is moving to a much larger stage.

After victories by far-left and socialist candidates in dark blue congressional districts in New York City and Colorado the past couple of weeks drew plenty of national attention, the spotlight now shifts to Midwestern battlegrounds.

Hours after Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) backed challenger and first-time candidate Melat Kiros toppled 15-term Democratic Rep. Diana DeGette in last week’s primary in Denver’s deep blue 1st Congressional District, former Rep. Cori Bush of Missouri predicted on social media: “On August 4th, St. Louis will do the same.”

A trio of far-left congressional candidates’ victories heavily supported by socialist New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani have emboldened progressives as they try to turn their upsets into a far-left national pressure campaign against the Democratic Party.

DEMOCRATIC PARTY CIVIL WAR HITS DEBATE STAGE IN CRUCIAL PRIMARY SHOWDOWN

“Only socialism can solve decades of capitalist mismanagement in the US. Our newly elected leaders will fight for the working class — not for crumbs,” the DSA proclaimed in a social media post celebrating the string of primary election victories.

DSA-backed Bush is running to win back her seat in the Missouri’s St. Louis-anchored 1st Congressional District. The far left is also training its firepower on Michigan, which holds its primary on the same day as Missouri on Aug. 4.

One week later, on Aug. 11, Wisconsin will hold its primary elections. That’s where DSA-backed state Rep. Francesca Hong is on the rise among a crowded field of candidates in the race to succeed retiring Democratic Gov. Tony Evers.

“It’s a great day to be a democratic socialist,” Hong posted on X last month after the progressive victories in New York City, in which two Democratic congressional incumbents lost renomination. “Wisconsin is next!”

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It’s undeniable that progressives are gaining momentum and attention, but the real test will come in November when they face-off with Republicans and find out if their message on Medicare for all, the Green New Deal, higher taxes on the rich and abolishing ICE will resonate when the stakes are higher.

Ahead of upcoming primaries, Fox News Digital takes a look at the 19 Democratic incumbents and 20 candidates who have won nomination so far this year who are backed by either the DSA or two other far-left groups, Justice Democrats (JD) and the Working Families Party (WFP).

Charles Booker – Kentucky Senate

WFP-backed Charles Booker is making his third bid for the Senate in red-leaning Kentucky.

A former state representative, Booker lost in the 2020 Senate primary but won the nomination two years later before losing by over 23 points to Republican Sen. Rand Paul.

This time around, Booker defeated Amy McGrath, the 2020 Senate nominee, in Kentucky’s May primary and is the underdog in the general election against GOP Rep. Andy Barr.

The winner will succeed former Republican Senate Leader Sen. Mitch McConnell, who is in the throes of a health scare and retiring this year after four decades in the chamber.

Bob Brooks – Pennsylvania 7th Congressional District

Brooks, a retired firefighter and president of the Pennsylvania Fire Fighters Association, was handpicked by Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro to run for Congress.

The WFP-backed Brooks won the May Democratic primary in a swing district in northeast Pennsylvania, and is challenging incumbent GOP Rep. Ryan Mackenzie in a midterm race that’s among two or three dozen that will determine if Republicans hold their razor-thin House majority.

Connie Chan – California 11 Congressional District

Chan, born in Hong Kong and endorsed by the WFP, serves on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. She is running to succeed retiring former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

Fellow Democrat Scott Wiener, a state senator, will face-off with Chan in the general election in November in the heavily blue district that sits entirely within San Francisco’s city limits.

Darializa Avila Chevalier – New York 13th Congressional District

Chevalier, a DSA member who was also backed by the Justice Democrats, stunned political circles from coast to coast in the June New York primary by ousting incumbent Democratic Rep. Adriano Espaillat, chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus.

The far-left Chevalier, a community organizer who has created controversy with past comments and anti-Israel rhetoric, is considered the overwhelming general election favorite in the Democrat-dominated district located in northern Manhattan and the Bronx.

Alissa Ellman – New York 24th Congressional District

Ellman, a U.S. Army veteran who later served as a military contractor in Afghanistan, won the June Democratic primary in the upstate New York congressional district.

The WFP-backed Ellman, who worked at the Veterans Administration before being let go amid the DOGE cuts, faces an uphill climb to victory in November in the solidly red district against Republican Rep. Claudia Tenney.

Chris Galant – New York 1st Congressional District

Galant, an air traffic controller backed by the WFP cruised to the Democratic nomination in New York’s June primary.

But he’ll be the underdog against GOP Rep. Nick LaLota in the right-leaning district on the eastern end and north shore of Long Island.

Aaron Gies – New York 23rd Congressional District

A college professor, Geis is another candidate supported by the WFP that won hs Democratic primary election in New York in a landslide.

But the candidate faces a steep uphill climb in the general election against incumbent Republican Rep. Nick Langworthy in the solidly red district based in western New York and in the state’s southern tier.

Angela Gonzales-Torres – California 34th Congressional District

Gonzales-Torres, a former neighborhood council president who also worked in the Los Angeles mayor’s office, advanced to the general election in last month’s California primary.

Backed by the JD and the WFP, Gonzales-Torres is facing off in the autumn against incumbent Democratic Rep. Jimmy Gomez in the solidly blue congressional district anchored in Los Angeles.

Deb Haaland – New Mexico governor

Haaland, a former congresswoman who made history as the first Native American to serve as a Cabinet secretary during her tenure running the Interior Department in then-President Joe Biden’s administration, is the Democratic nominee for New Mexico governor.

The WFP-backed Haaland is considered the favorite as she faces off in the general election against Republican Gregg Hull in the left-leaning southwestern state.

Pat Halpin – New York 2nd Congressional District

Halpin, a former Suffolk County executive, is the Democratic congressional nominee for a seat that covers the central portions of Long Island’s South Shore.

The WFP-endorsed Halpin is the underdog against incumbent GOP Rep. Andrew Garbarino in the general election.

Adam Hamawy – New Jersey 12th Congressional District

Hamawy, a plastic surgeon and former U.S. Army combat surgeon, grabbed national attention in 2024 as part of a volunteer team of American doctors in Gaza who were unable to leave after Israel closed border crossings during its war with Hamas.

The JD-backed Hamawy topped a crowded field of candidates to win the party’s congressional primary in the solidly blue district in the race to succeed retiring Democratic Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman.

During the primary campaign, Hamawy’s past ties to a convicted terrorist who was convicted of seditious conspiracy linked to the 1993 World Trade Center bombing resurfaced.

Frederick Douglass Haynes III – Texas 30th Congressional District

Haynes, the senior pastor of Friendship-West Baptist Church in Dallas, won the March Democratic primary in a landslide in the race to succeed Rep. Jasmine Crockett, who unsuccessfully ran for the Senate instead of seeking re-election.

The JD-backed Haynes is considered the overwhelming favorite against Republican nominee Everett Jackson in the Democrat-dominated district located in the southern portions of Dallas.

Melat Kiros – Colorado 1st Congressional District

The DSA-endorsed Kiros drew plenty of national attention in Colorado’s June primary when she toppled Democratic Rep. Diana DeGette, who has served in Congress for 30 years representing the Denver seat.

The 29-year-old first time candidate and attorney who is also backed by the JD and WFP is now on a glide path to Washington in the Democrat-dominated district.

Past comments by Kiros that American foreign policy had made the 9/11 terror attacks “inevitable” were spotlighted during her primary clash with DeGette.

Brad Lander – New York 10th Congressional District

Supported by Mamdani and WFP, Lander ousted incumbent Democratic Rep. Dan Goldman in New York’s June primary. The former New York City comptroller ran against Mamdani in last year’s mayoral primary before becoming one of his top allies in the general election.

Lander is the clear favorite in the general election in the deep blue district which covers lower Manhattan and the northwestern neighborhoods of Brooklyn.

Brian Poindexter – Ohio 7th Congressional District

Poindexter, an iron worker and a councilman in a small city in suburban Cleveland, is backed by the WFP.

He’ll take on GOP Rep. Max Miller in the right-leaning district in the general election.

Chris Rabb – Pennsylvania 3rd Congressional District

The DSA, WFP and JD all support Rabb, who won the June Pennsylvania primary in the Philadelphia anchored district in the race to succeed retiring Democratic Rep. Dwight Evans.

Rabb, a leftist supported by the Squad, is the overwhelming favorite in the dark blue district.

Claire Valdez – New York 7th Congressional District

Valdez, a state lawmaker endorsed by the DSA, won New York’s June congressional primary to succeed retiring Rep. Nydia Velázquez in a district that includes parts of Brooklyn and Queens.

Valez, who topped Velázquez-backed Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso for the Democratic nomination, is the clear favorite to win in November in the Democrat-dominated district.

Mai Vang – California 7th Congressional District

Vang, a Sacramento city councilor, slightly edged Democratic Rep. Doris Matsui in the state’s June nonpartisan primary.

The WFP and JD-endorsed Vang and Matsui will face off again in November’s general election for the solidly blue seat, which includes downtown Sacramento and suburban areas.

Randy Villegas – California 22nd Congressional District

Villegas, a school board trustee in the San Joaquin Valley city of Visalia, came in second to Republican Rep. David Valadao in California’s June primary.

The WFP-backed Villegas, a Democrat, topped fellow Democrat Jasmeet Bains to advance to the general election against Valadao in the crucial swing district race.

Aisha Wahab – California 14th Congressional District

Wahab, who is supported by the WFP, came in first in California’s primary, and will face off with fellow Democrat Melissa Hernandez in the general election in the solidly blue district south and southwest of Oakland.

The winner in November will fill the seat left vacant when then-Rep. Eric Swalwell, who was running for governor ended his campaign and resigned from Congress in April amid scandal involving sexual misconduct allegations.

Rep. Alma Adams – North Carolina 12th Congressional District

Adams has represented a bright blue district anchored in Charlotte and surrounding Mecklenburg County for nearly a dozen years. Known for wearing distinctive hats in Congress, Adams is backed by the WFP.

She cruised to renomination in the early March primary and is considered the clear frontrunner against GOP challenger Jack Codiga, a finance professional.

Rep. Greg Cesar – Texas 37th Congressional District

Cesar, a former Austin city councilman, currently represents the state’s 35th district, but is running for re-election in the recently redrawn 37th district.

The chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus is backed by the WFP.

Pramila Jayapal – Washington 7th Congressional District

Jayapal, the first Indian American woman elected to Congress, for a decade has represented a Seattle based district.

The JD-backed Jayapal, who served as chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus for four years earlier this decade, is on a glide path to re-election in the bluest district in the Pacific Northwest.

Rep. Tim Kennedy – New York 26th Congressional District

Kennedy represents a western New York district that stretches from Buffalo to Niagara Falls.

The WFP-endorsed Kennedy is the favorite for re-election this autumn in the left-leaning district.

Rep. Ro Khanna – California 17th Congressional District

Khanna, one of the most visible progressive lawmakers in the House, was first elected to Congress a decade ago by ousting Democratic incumbent Rep. Mike Honda.

The JD and WFP-backed Khanna, a potential 2028 Democratic presidential contender, is on a glide path to re-election in the left-leaning district located in the South Bay and East Bay portions of the San Francisco Bay Area.

Rep. Summer Lee – Pennsylvania 12th Congressional District

Lee, the first Black woman to represent Pennsylvania in Congress, is a former DSA member and part of the Squad.

The JD and WFP-backed Lee is expected to cruise to re-election this autumn in a left-leaning district that includes much of Pittsburg and its eastern suburbs.

Rep. John Mannion – New York 22nd Congressional District

A former high school biology teacher, Mannion served as a state lawmaker before winning election to Congress in 2024.

The WFP-backed Mannion is favored to win re-election in the solidly Democrat upstate New York district that includes Syracuse and Utica.

Rep. LaMonica McIver – New Jersey 10th Congressional District

McIver, a former Newark municipal council member, represents an urban and suburban district in northern New Jersey.

The WFP-backed lawmaker drew national attention last year when she was among a group of Democrats attempting to make a Congressional oversight visit to an ICE facility in Newark.

McIver was later indicted by a grand jury for “forcibly impeding and interfering with federal officers” during the visit. She has disputed the charges as political in nature.

Rep. Analilia Mejia – New Jersey 11th Congressional District

Mejia, the co-director of the nonprofit progressive advocacy group, won a special election in April in the race to succeed now Gov. Mikie Sherrill, who stepped down from Congress after winning election last November’s gubernatorial election.

The WFP-backed Mejia, who represents a northern New Jersey seat west of New York City, is favored in November to secure a full term in the left-leaning district.

Rep. Joe Morelle – New York 25th Congressional District

A former New York State Assembly majority leader, Morelle was elected to Congress in 2018.

The WFP-endorsed Morelle is on a glide path to re-election in the Democratic-dominated upstate New York district anchored in Rochester.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez – New York 14th Congressional District

Eight years after bursting onto the national stage by ousting then-House Democratic Caucus Chairman Joe Crowley in a shocking primary upset, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s political options look brighter than ever.

The four-term progressive firebrand from New York City is eyeing a potential 2028 bid for the White House or a possible challenge to longtime Democratic Senate Leader Chuck Schumer.

Ocasio-Cortez, best known by her acronym AOC, is the most visible member of the Squad.

She is backed by the DSA, JD, and the WFP as she’s expected to cruise to re-election this autumn in a dark blue district that covers parts of the Bronx and Queens.

Rep. Ilhan Omar – Minnesota 5th Congressional District

Omar, the fist Somali American elected to Congress and the first woman of color to represent Minnesota, is also a member of the Squad. Omar is one of the first two Muslim women elected to U.S. Congress.

Backed by JD and a frequent target of President Donald Trump, Omar represents a Democrat-dominated district that includes the entire city of Minneapolis and some of its inner suburbs.

Rep. Ayanna Pressley – Massachusetts 7th Congressional District

Pressley, a former Boston city councilor, won election to Congress in 2018 by ousting longtime Democratic Rep. Capuano in the Democratic primary.

The first Black woman elected to Congress from Massachusetts, Pressley is another well-known member of the Squad.

The JD-backed Pressley is an overwhelming favorite for re-election in a Democrat-dominated district that includes much of Boston and some of the city’s suburbs.

Rep. Delia Ramirez – Illinois 3rd Congressional District

The daughter of undocumented immigrants, Ramirez served as a state lawmaker before winning election to Congress in 2022.

The JD-backed Ramirez is all but certain to win re-election this fall in her dark blue district that includes neighborhoods in northwestern Chicago and the city’s western suburbs.

Rep. Josh Riley – New York 19th Congressional District

Riley, a lawyer who worked as a Department of Labor policy analyst and a counsel on the Senate Judiciary Committee, is seeking a second term in a competitive and large district located New York’s Catskills, Hudson Valley, greater Capital District, Southern Tier and Finger Lakes regions.

The WFP-backed Riley will face off this autumn against Republican state Sen. Peter Oberacker.

Rep. Pat Ryan – New York 18th Congressional District

Ryan, a West Point graduate who served two tours of duty in the Iraq War and was awarded two Bronze Stars, co-founded a software company following his military career and later served as Ulster County executive.

The WFP-backed Ryan likely to win re-election this autumn in a left-leaning district that includes some of New York City’s northern suburbs and exurbs, as well as the Hudson Valley cities of Newburg, Kingston, and Poughkeepsie.

Rep. Lateefah Simon – California 12th Congressional District

Simon, who served on Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) board of directors and as a California University System trustee, was elected to Congress in 2024, succeeding longtime Democratic Rep. Barbara Lee.

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Simon is the first member of Congress known to be born legally blind in both eyes, and the first Muslim member from California.

The WFP-backed Simon is on a glide path for re-election in a dark blue district that includes Oakland and surrounding Alameda County.

Rep. Rashida Tlaib – Michigan 12th Congressional District

First elected to the House in 2018, Tliab, along with Ilhan Omar, is one of the first two Muslim women in Congress.

A former state lawmaker, Tlaib and fellow squad member Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez are the first female DSA members to serve in Congress. She is also backed by the JD and WFP.

Tlaib is expected to easily secure reelection. During her tenure, the Palestinian-born congresswoman has been a vocal critic of both the Trump and Biden administrations, is sharply critical of Israel, and calls for abolishing ICE.

Rep. Paul Tonko – New York 20th Congressional District

A longtime former state lawmaker, Tonko was first elected to Congress in 2008.

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Known as a staunch progressive, the WFP-backed Tonko is heavily favored to win re-election in a left-leaning seat that includes New York’s Capital District as well as Saratoga.

The District of Columbia’s Office of the Chief Medical Examiner on Sunday released preliminary findings indicating Sen. Lindsey Graham suffered an aortic dissection due to arteriosclerotic cardiovascular disease before his death.

The medical examiner emphasized that the findings are not final and that Graham’s death certificate will remain pending while toxicological and microscopic testing is completed.

“The preliminary examination findings were: Aortic Dissection due to Arteriosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease,” the medical examiner’s office said in a statement.

SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM DEAD AT 71 AFTER ‘BRIEF AND SUDDEN’ ILLNESS, OFFICE SAYS

The office emphasized that the findings are preliminary and that Graham’s death certificate remains pending. Officials said toxicological and microscopic testing must be completed before the death certificate is updated to reflect the cause and manner of death.

An aortic dissection is a tear in the inner layer of the aorta, the body’s largest artery, that allows blood to flow between the layers of the vessel wall, according to the Mayo Clinic. The condition is considered a life-threatening medical emergency that can lead to severe internal bleeding or organ damage.

Arteriosclerotic cardiovascular disease refers to the buildup of plaque inside the arteries, which can restrict blood flow and increase the risk of serious heart and vascular complications.

LINDSEY GRAHAM, SOUTH CAROLINA SENATOR WHO ROSE FROM SMALL-TOWN ROOTS TO GOP POWER BROKER, DIES AT 71

The release of the preliminary findings comes after Graham, 71, died Saturday night, shocking colleagues in Washington and across the nation.

Graham, a Republican who was first elected to the Senate in 2002 after serving four terms in the House of Representatives, became one of the chamber’s most influential voices on national security, foreign policy and the judiciary. He chaired the Senate Judiciary Committee during President Donald Trump’s first term and was one of the president’s closest allies on judicial nominations and defense policy.

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Following news of Graham’s death, tributes poured in from lawmakers across the political spectrum, with colleagues remembering his decades of public service and his influence on some of the Senate’s most consequential debates.

The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner said it will update Graham’s death certificate after toxicological and microscopic testing is complete.

Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., nearly a month after being hospitalized, revealed what actually happened to cause his absence from the Senate.

In a lengthy statement released Sunday evening, McConnell attributed his childhood fight with polio to a fall he suffered last month which landed him in the hospital. He was “briefly unconscious,” he said in an open letter to Kentuckians, and while recovering was hit with a “mild case of pneumonia.”

“My doctors have confirmed that I didn’t break any bones or suffer a concussion,” McConnell said. “I didn’t have a heart attack or a stroke. I don’t have any tumors or hemorrhages.”

MCCONNELL FACES FRESH CALLS TO COME CLEAN ABOUT HEALTH ISSUES

Yet, when he will return to the Senate remains a mystery, something that McConnell himself acknowledged.

“As much as it frustrates me, this process takes time. And on the advice of my doctors, I won’t be able to return to the Senate floor to vote quite yet,” McConnell said. “But rest assured that, in the meantime, I’m not taking a break from the Senate business that matters to you.”

His attending physician noted that McConnell has, “experienced several falls throughout the year that have been attributed to his post-polio condition.”

MCCONNELL WAS FOUND ‘UNCONSCIOUS’ IN HOME LAST MONTH AS CONDITION REMAINS UNKNOWN

“He was admitted to the hospital four weeks ago after falling at home and sustaining minor injuries,” McConnell’s doctor said.

“A comprehensive evaluation by a multidisciplinary team determined that he had no fractures, cardiac abnormalities, stroke, tumor, or hemorrhage,” his doctor continued. “Early in his hospitalization, he developed pneumonia, which responded rapidly to antibiotic treatment.”

The latest update on the longtime lawmaker’s health comes after the sudden death of Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., who had just returned from a trip to Ukraine on Saturday night.

McConnell’s absence, coupled with the shocking death of Graham, leaves the Senate down two crucial votes amid a dead sprint to wrap up key parts of President Donald Trump’s agenda through July and into early August.

FROM ‘DISGRACE’ TO ‘FAMILY’: TRUMP’S REMARKABLE JOURNEY WITH LINDSEY GRAHAM

It also comes after over three weeks of speculation as to why the Senate GOP’s longest serving leader in history was sidelined.

His office for several weeks did not reveal the true nature of his condition, nor explain how he ended up in the hospital. That prompted a firestorm online that alleged that McConnell was in a vegetative state.

Adding to the morbid intrigue was leaked emergency dispatch audio from June 14, the day he was hospitalized, that revealed the longtime Senate Republican was “unconscious” and may have suffered a heart attack.

Further compounding the hazy nature of the situation was his wife, former Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao’s, trip to China just days after his hospitalization. Chao’s office previously told Fox News Digital that, “The secretary was on a long-planned trip in China to support her family’s philanthropic endeavors.”

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“During the trip, she met with a number of people, including the U.S. ambassador,” her office said. “The Senator’s health did not warrant an immediate return to the U.S.”

McConnell’s statement did not directly address much of the speculation that surrounded his hospitalization. But, he did vow to return to the Senate once he was able.

“You’re right to expect your representatives to work hard for you. And part of my decision to retire at the end of my term this coming January was being honest about the demands of Senate work,” McConnell said. “But I still have unfinished business to complete on your behalf, and I have every intention of finishing the job you elected me to do.”

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., never wanted President Donald Trump to be nominated, let alone win the presidency in 2016.

“If we nominate Trump, we will get destroyed…….and we will deserve it,” Graham said on X at the time.

Graham had run on the same ticket as Trump, and like many other Republicans on the debate stage, challenged Trump’s candidacy as preposterous — he once likened his candidacy to “being shot in the head.”

LINDSEY GRAHAM, SOUTH CAROLINA SENATOR WHO ROSE FROM SMALL-TOWN ROOTS TO GOP POWER BROKER, DIES AT 71

But Trump ultimately clinched the nomination, took the White House and eventually won over Graham.

Now, in the fast-moving hours after Graham’s sudden death at 71 years old, and as private jockeying to fill his empty seat takes place behind the scenes, Trump has lost a once-fierce political enemy turned friend.

Trump told NBC’s “Meet the Press” that he had just spoken with Graham the night before and believed “It could have been his last call.”

“I don’t know exactly, but I got a message about 1 in the morning from one of the people in his office that he had passed away. I said, ‘I just can’t believe it,’” Trump said. “He was like a member of the family to me. It’s very tough, actually.”

It wasn’t always that way for Trump. He once told a crowd in South Carolina nine years ago that Graham was a “disgrace,” and “one of the dumbest human beings I’ve ever seen.”

TRUMP REVEALS DETAILS OF FINAL PHONE CALL WITH GRAHAM AFTER SENATOR’S DEATH, CALLS LOSS ‘BIG BLOW’ TO SAVE ACT

“I don’t think he could run for dogcatcher in this state and win again,” Trump said at the time. “I really don’t. Other than that, I think he’s wonderful.”

Still, their relationship evolved from potshots online and on the debate stage into steadfast friends who weren’t shy about hitting the golf course.

Graham transformed into one of Trump’s most vocal allies in the Senate and a key bridge from the upper chamber to the White House during Trump’s second term — even after Graham believed Trump should never step foot in the White House.

After winning his primary for the GOP nomination in June, Trump was almost top of mind for Graham.

“I want to thank the big guy, God,” Graham said during a speech last month. “Trump comes later. Mr. President, you’re not far behind God, but we’re going to start with him.”

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

But that reverence, be it political or sincere, took time. Years ago, Trump at one point grew so angry at Graham that he leaked the lawmaker’s phone number online, which prompted Graham to make a show of destroying several of his phones.

And after the Jan. 6, 2021, riots on Capitol Hill, Graham turned his back on Trump.

“Trump and I, we’ve had a hell of a journey. I hate it to end this way. Oh my God, I hate it. From my point of view, he’s been a consequential president,” Graham said on the Senate floor as the vote to certify the election neared. “All I can say is count me out. Enough is enough.”

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In the run-up to and during Trump’s second term, Graham became a fierce ally of Trump’s.

He led the vanguard for the “one, big beautiful bill,” as Senate Budget Committee chair and has championed Trump’s flagship election integrity legislation, the SAVE America Act.

And in the hallways of the Senate during the last year and a half, you’d often hear Graham say he’d just spoken with Trump or was headed to the White House to hammer out a legislative dispute — be it with Democrats standing in the way or Republicans.

Now, after a rocky, explosive and tight-knit journey together, the road has run out.

“I said, ‘We’ll see you soon,’” Trump recalled of his last call with Graham. “Come over anytime you want. He came into the White House, because I liked him. Can’t do that with everybody.”