NationalWatch

Social media users, particularly conservatives, widely mocked New Jersey’s Democrat Sen. Bob Menendez after he claimed in the face of federal corruption charges that the hundreds of thousands of dollars of cash in his home was from his personal back account. 

“For 30 years I have withdrawn thousands of dollars in cash from my personal savings account, which I have kept for emergencies because of the history of my family facing confiscation in Cuba,” Menendez said during a press conference on Monday.

Social media users reacted with skepticism that the $480,000 in cash at the senator’s home found during a search warrant earlier this year — much of it stuffed into envelopes and hidden in clothing, closets and a safe — was simply from his personal savings account. 

Additionally, bars of gold were found in his home and over $70,000 in cash was found in his wife’s safe deposit box. Some of the envelopes of money in the home contained the fingerprints and/or DNA of a business associate or his driver, according to the indictment. 

LEGAL EXPERTS WEIGH IN ON MENENDEZ INDICTMENT, SUGGEST ‘MONSTER’ CHARGES POINT TO LIKELY CONVICTION

“I knew there was an explanation that made total sense,” former Trump press secretary Sean Spicer posted on X, formerly known as Twitter.

“Bob Menendez, the Senator from New Jersey, would have you believe he has so little faith in the United States government he just needs to keep more than $400,000 in cash and a few gold bars around the house in case of sudden government confiscation,” Washington Post contributor Helaine Olen posted on X.

MENENDEZ DEFIANT AS GROWING CHORUS OF DEMOCRATS CALL FOR HIS RESIGNATION

“Bob Menendez was born in New York City in 1954, five years *BEFORE* the revolution,” historian Davis Austin Walsh posted on X. “His dad was a carpenter and his mom a seamstress, so I doubt they were sitting on many assets in Cuba when Castro came to power. Basically he’s so corrupt he’s stolen-valoring Batista loyalists.”

“I aspire to this level of shamelessness,” political commentator Saagar Enjeti posted on X.

Menendez’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.  

Menendez has remained defiant amid calls from prominent Democrats to resign.

“I firmly believe that when all the facts are presented, not only will I be exonerated, but I still will be New Jersey’s senior senator,” Menendez said during Monday’s press conference, falling short of formally announcing a re-election bid. 

“The court of public opinion is no substitute for our revered justice system. We cannot set aside the presumption of innocence for political expediency when the harm is irrevocable.”

CLICK TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

The press conference at Hudson County Community College in Union City, New Jersey, marks the senator’s first public appearance since his federal indictment was unsealed in the Southern District of New York on Friday, charging Menendez, his wife, Nadine, and New Jersey businessmen Wael Hana, Jose Uribe and Fred Daibes in participating in a yearslong bribery scheme. 

Since 2018, as alleged by federal prosecutors, the three businessmen collectively paid hundreds of thousands of dollars of bribes — including cash, gold, a Mercedes-Benz and other things of value — in exchange for Menendez agreeing to use his power and influence to protect and enrich them and to benefit the government of Egypt. 

Fox News Digital’s Danielle Wallace contributed to this report.

New Jersey Democrats are reportedly viewing the Biden administration’s migrant housing proposal as an election issue possibly impacting their own 2024 prospects in the deep blue state. 

As New York City grapples with the arrival of more than 116,000 asylum seekers, South Jersey leaders from both political parties came together earlier this month at a press conference held in opposition to the Biden administration floating Atlantic City International Airport as one of 11 potential sites to house migrants who’ve arrived in New York City from the southern border. 

Though it remains to be seen when the staunchly opposed plan will actualize, the migrant crisis is largely becoming an election issue for Democrats in the Garden State, especially in the long competitive area by Atlantic City that’s been trending Republican in recent cycles, according to Politico. 

“I don’t see any scenario where we’re going to be able to take in a program in Atlantic City or frankly elsewhere in the state,” Democrat Gov. Phil Murphy said in an interview with News 12 last week. “We are already seeing folks in New Jersey that have probably swelled into Jersey from New York City or from other locations, but you need scale, enormous amount of federal support – resources that go beyond anything that we can afford – putting everything else aside.”

But even as Democrats and Republicans both oppose the relocation of migrants at the airport, which houses F-16s from the New Jersey Air National Guard and an FAA research and test base, GOP officials have done so in more strident language and have banked on Democrat Murphy’s past touting of New Jersey as a sanctuary state. 

BOB MENENDEZ TO ANNOUNCE RE-ELECTION BID IN NEW JERSEY DURING 1ST PUBLIC APPEARANCE POST-INDICTMENT: REPORT

“Atlantic City has been a perennial dumping ground,” Democratic Atlantic City Mayor Marty Small Sr. said at the Sept. 1 press conference. 

“And those 60,000 people that they talk about, I guarantee you, I would put my name upon it, that there will be individuals who are criminals,” Rep. Jeff Van Drew, R-N.J., added at the same event, referring to the number of migrants in New York City’s care. “We don’t want it here in South Jersey.” 

“First it started with the wind turbines, and we have to fight that, and we will fight it, and now we have this,” Drew added of Murphy’s unpopular energy initiative. “We have a governor, let’s not forget it, that declared the state of New Jersey a sanctuary state… How about taking care of our people?” 

In late August, New Jersey state Sen. Vince Polistina, a Republican, issued a statement saying, “Atlantic County residents shouldn’t be forced to pay the price for the Biden administration’s disastrous handling of our border and the outrageous ‘Sanctuary’ state and city policies of Democrats in Washington, New York, Trenton and across the country.” 

“My message to President Biden and NYC Mayor Adams is ‘hell no!’” Polistina said. 

His election opponent, Atlantic County Commissioner Caren Fitzpatrick, a Democrat who in 2019 rejected an anti-sanctuary status resolution that aimed to bolster law enforcement but has since reversed course, also issued a statement against the housing of migrants at the airport, saying more softly, her opposition came based on “the delicate balance we are currently striking in Atlantic County as we work to reinvent our economic path forward after years of lost jobs and shuttered businesses,” Politico reported. 

Hit with criticism from Polistano’s campaign, Fitzpatrick later struck back in remarks to the New Jersey Globe, saying, “We are at a crisis point, and it’s not surprising that career politician Vince Polistina can’t accept that Democrats and Republicans are overwhelmingly united in opposing Atlantic City International Airport being the home for New York City migrants.”

GOV. KATHY HOCHUL HAS MESSAGE FOR MIGRANTS LOOKING TO COME TO NEW YORK: ‘GO SOMEWHERE ELSE’

Speaking with Politico, Atlantic County Democratic Chair Michael Suleiman also highlighted that supposed united opposition, arguing that Republicans were caught “flat-footed” when Democrats also rejected the migrant housing proposal and condemned the federal response to immigration. 

Suleiman also claimed that, unlike the GOP, Democrats’ stance is free of the “xenophobia” he said is demonstrated by some Republicans, including Drew, a former Democrat who flipped to support former President Donald Trump. 

Meanwhile, Atlantic County Executive Dennis Levinson, a Republican, countered that Democrats should answer for the migrant crisis in next year’s election, even as the Atlantic City airport proposal likely won’t happen because “it was so preposterous from the get-go.”

“Those smug, pompous individuals that wanted to show they were so much better, so much more compassionate than [Trump] when they wanted to make their states a sanctuary state and their cities sanctuary cities – be careful what you wish for,” Levinson told Politico. 

On immigration, Murphy has highlighted his office’s work with the Biden administration in resettling Afghanistan refugees at a military base in his state. 

CLICK TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Biden’s approval rating plummeted in New Jersey last month, and the Garden State now faces one of its U.S. senators, Democrat Bob Menendez, under a federal corruption indictment. 

Republicans picked up seven seats in the New Jersey legislature in 2021, including two in Atlantic County’s 2nd District. Yet, Democrats still hold a sizable majority in both chambers, 25-15 in the Senate and 46-34 in the Assembly. Murphy and other Democrats have voiced concern over lower election turnout benefiting Republicans as they say it did during the last election.

Democrat Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., called the GOP House-led impeachment inquiry into President Biden a “continuation of the [Jan. 6] insurrection” during an interview Sunday.

“Many of [Kevin] McCarthy’s folks go to the January 6 prisoners and visit them to give them comfort and aid, and so they’ve never accepted President Biden as a legitimate president,” Swalwell said to MSNBC host Jen Psaki. “And this week, even as we are hurtling toward a shutdown, they’ll hold impeachment proceedings, which is just a continuation of the insurrection — and so this is all about just putting Donald Trump in charge.”

Psaki asked Swalwell — who sat on the Jan. 6 House committee — what he thinks of former PresidentTrump’s purported role in the House’s decisions. The Democrat congressman said, “Donald Trump and McCarthy and the other pro-insurrection Republicans have never accepted Joe Biden as the president.”

“The House, unfortunately, has become a law firm with just one client, Donald Trump,” he said.

SWALWELL, NEHLS CLASH AT CHILD MIGRANT HEARING OVER ALLEGED CHINESE SPY TIES: ‘YOU DON’T GET TO SAY THAT S—‘

The House is probing Biden’s foreign business ties with his son, Hunter, in Ukraine and China. Republicans hope to unearth bribery negotiations that suggest Biden leveraged his position as then-vice president under former President Obama for personal gain.

House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., will lead the inquiry alongside House Oversight Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, and Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith, R-Mo.

ERIC SWALWELL DENIES WRONGDOING IN CHINESE SPY SCANDAL

House Republicans, led by Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., will hold their first impeachment inquiry hearing to investigate allegations of corruption and abuse of power against President Biden on Thursday.

“Kevin McCarthy is a spectator speaker. He may have the title, but Donald Trump and Marjorie Taylor Greene and Matt Gaetz, they all share the job,” Swalwell said.

Swalwell’s comments come as time is ticking in the House to reach a spending deal before funds run out from the previous fiscal year and the government shuts down on Saturday.

COMER TO PURSUE HUNTER, JAMES BIDEN PERSONAL BANK RECORDS AS NEXT STEP IN IMPEACHMENT INQUIRY

CLICK TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP 

Meanwhile, Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., said on CNN’s “State of the Union” he would “look strongly at” ousting McCarthy from speakership if he doesn’t pass the 12 appropriation bills needed to fund the government.

“They’re all talking about this promise that he made with Biden a year ago — what about the promise we made to the American public that we were going to be responsible Americans?” Burchett asked CNN host Dana Bash.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., said the U.S. economy was in a “crisis” on Sunday, seemingly contradicting President Biden on a core pillar of his re-election campaign. 

“Our economy is in a special kind of crisis. Our whole economy is in a special kind of crisis,” the progressive lawmaker said at a union rally in Wentzville, Missouri, on Sunday. 

“Now if you ask a Washington insider or a Wall Street analyst, they will tell you, ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about,'” she said. “They’ll say, ‘Look at GDP. Look at the growth rate.’ They’ll say, ‘Look at job numbers. How are we in a crisis?’”

UAW STRIKE AGAINST DETROIT BIG THREE AUTOMAKERS COULD EXPAND

Without naming names, Ocasio-Cortez accused Washington elites and others like them of not having to make tough economic decisions before aligning herself with workers who feel the financial effects “in the callouses of our hands.”

“And that’s an easy thing to say for someone who primarily experiences this economy on paper – who aren’t choosing between childcare and work, or medicine and rent. It’s easy to say that when you’re not making those decisions,” Ocasio-Cortez said as workers cheered.

“Because those of us who do have to make those decisions, feel the economy in the callouses of our hands and the aches of our joints at the end of a long day, so we don’t have any time left, proper time, to spend with our children or loved ones.”

UAW MEMBERS HOLDING OUT ‘AS LONG AS IT TAKES’ AS HIGH-STAKES NEGOTIATIONS REACH DAY 3: WE ARE ALL ‘SUFFERING’ 

Despite not mentioning either political party, her comments still appear to land as a stinging rebuke of the Biden administration’s insistence that the economy is doing well under its tenure. 

Biden allies have been so confident in the issue that “Bidenomics” has already become a well-worn term on the campaign trail as the president seeks another term in 2024. 

BIDEN’S ADVISERS FEAR TRUMP IS WINNING THE POLITICAL BATTLE AS AUTOWORKERS STRIKE 

“Since I’ve come to office, all they’ve really done is attack me and my economic plan — there hadn’t been much else — even though we’ve created, as has been pointed out, over 13 million jobs — more jobs in two years than any president has created in a four-year term,” the president said of Republicans during a speech in Maryland last week. 

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

“Even though we’ve had 19 straight months of unemployment under 4% for the first time in American history. Even though we have the lowest inflation rate of any major economy in the world, with core inflation rate the last three months at 2.4%. We got more to do, even though we’ve created 800,000 manufacturing jobs and a manufacturing boom we haven’t seen in decades.”

Meanwhile, a new Washington Post-ABC News Poll found that nearly three quarters of Americans have negative attitudes toward the state of the economy. With regard to food prices specifically, 91% of respondents said they were “not so good or poor.”

Ocasio-Cortez’s campaign did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

**Activating later tonight**

Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto offered his support to U.S. conservatives pushing for more border security – including a wall at the southern border – saying that his own country has shown the importance of physical infrastructure.

Szijjarto visited Texas last week before heading to New York for the U.N. General Assembly and told Fox News Digital in an interview that there are “many similarities” between the migration challenges facing the two countries. 

He said that while the U.S.-Mexico border is much longer than the Hungarian border, they have both faced significant pressure from migration and efforts to prevent border security measures from being implemented.

Hungary was at the forefront of the 2015 European migration crisis and responded by ramping up its border security even as it took significant criticism from human rights groups and the European Union in doing so. He told Fox News Digital that physical infrastructure, whether it be the buoys set up by Texas in the Rio Grande or the wall built during the Trump-era, is vital.

HUNGARIAN FOREIGN MINISTER SLAMS ‘LECTURING’ BIDEN ADMIN, HOPES FOR RETURN TO TRUMP-ERA

“You have built some infrastructure to protect [the border], and this is the only way,” he said. “So, if you do not build a physical infrastructure with simple manpower, it is absolutely impossible to protect your border. So, physical infrastructure – be the fence, be the wall or be the buoys on the water – you have to do it, otherwise you are defenseless.”

He noted the opposition that efforts to build physical barriers – by Hungary, by the U.S. under the Trump administration or at the state level under Texas Gov. Greg Abbott – have faced from left-wing politicians and media outlets, which he tied to deeper divisions between left and right over the importance of migration, national identity and sovereignty. Hungary has faced reprimands from the European Union over its policies, which courts have ruled clash with EU law.

“What we also see is that the liberals are pushing for migration to take place, migration to increase because, for them, it’s not a problem to lose the identity and the character of a nation,” he said.

He said Hungary is sticking to a right to decide who enters the country, calling it a “sovereign decision” to maintain the “character and the identity” of the country.

“We simply do not want to change the nature of the country. Hungary must remain the country of the Hungarians, and I understand that the conservatives, the Republicans here and in Texas, are standing up for this as well, and we understand that the liberals are going against [them], so it’s very similar in Hungary and in the U.S.,” he said.

MIGRANT NUMBERS SURGED IN AUGUST AS SOUTHERN BORDER CRISIS RAGES

Szijjarto said Hungary is facing “enormously increasing” pressure from migration at its border with Serbia, and last year it stopped 275,000 migrants. He warned that migrants are becoming violent, including with weapons against both each other and against officials at the border. He also said that pressure is exacerbated when combined with the ongoing conflict in nearby Ukraine.

“This is alarming because we Hungarians are being faced with a tremendous security-related challenge from the East, given the war, and now from the South as well with the migration,” he said. “And instead of the European Union being helpful to resolve these issues, they are making basically both much more serious.”

Meanwhile, the U.S. remains in the grip of a nearly three-year crisis at its southern border.

DHS TO OFFER WORK PERMITS, DEPORTATION PROTECTION TO OVER 470,000 VENEZUELANS AMID NEW BORDER SURGE

On Friday, U.S. Customs and Border Protection announced that there were 232,972 migrant encounters at the southern border in August. That is an increase from the 204,087 encounters in August 2022 and an increase from the 183,494 encountered in July and the 144,570 encountered in June.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

It is the highest number of monthly encounters seen this year, although it is not the highest number seen this fiscal year – with both November and December 2022 seeing higher numbers. Of those encounters in August, which is the highest August on record, 181,059 were encountered by Border Patrol illegally between ports of entry.

Fox News’ Aubrie Spady contributed to this report.

GOP presidential hopefuls have a lot riding on the second debate of the 2024 nominating cycle — but some have more to prove than others.

Thanks to her well-regarded performance at the first Republican presidential nomination debate, expect plenty of attention on Nikki Haley at this week’s second GOP primary showdown.

“I’ll continue to be myself. I’ll continue to say what I think,” the former South Carolina governor, who later served as the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, said in a recent Fox News Digital interview.

For Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, who was far from the loudest voice at last month’s debate, Wednesday’s showdown at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California, could be an opportunity to paint contrasts with his rivals for the nomination.

“Having an opportunity to talk about where we’re different, I think it’s important for the audience, frankly, at home to understand that there are real differences between the candidates on the stage, and we should have an opportunity to discuss those differences,” Scott told Fox News Digital last week.

FIRST ON FOX: RNC RAISES BAR FOR CANDIDATES TO MAKE STAGE AT THIRD PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE

The debate will be televised on the FOX Business Network (FBN) and Univision from 9 to 11 p.m. ET on Wednesday.

FIRST ON FOX: RNC THREATENS TO PULL NEW HAMPSHIRE DEBATE IF STATE LEAPFROGS IOWA IN PRESIDENTIAL NOMINATING CALENDAR

Longtime Republican consultant David Kochel said the debate gives the candidates a second chance.

“You’ve got to fix what was wrong in the first debate, or you’ve got to maintain the momentum that built from it,” noted Kochel, a veteran of numerous GOP presidential campaigns.

So far, according to a Fox News count, seven of the eight candidates who took part in last month’s first GOP presidential nomination debate have already reached the Republican National Committee’s polling and donor criteria to make the stage.

They are, in alphabetical order, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, Nikki Haley, former Vice President Mike Pence, biotech entrepreneur and political commentator Vivek Ramaswamy, and Tim Scott

GOP PRESIDENTIAL BATTLE IN LEAD-OFF NOMINATING STATE HEATS UP

Former President Donald Trump, who has reached the donor and polling thresholds, did not sign the RNC’s pledge in which they agree to support the eventual Republican presidential nominee. Pointing to his commanding lead over his rivals for the nomination, Trump did not attend the first debate and is not showing up for the second showdown.

Dave Carney, a longtime Republican strategist with decades of presidential campaign experience, said that candidates who “have a breakout night” at the second debate “can put some of their rivals to sleep and can start formulating themselves as the alternative to Trump.”

But he warned that “If it doesn’t go well, you can pack up your bags and go home and spend more time with your family.”

Here’s a look at what’s on the line for the candidates on the stage Wednesday night.

Ron DeSantis

Carney, pointing to the Florida governor’s slide in the recent polls in the early voting states, said that “this is his opportunity to save his campaign or end his campaign.”

“He has the most riding on this,” Carney said.

Kochel suggested that DeSantis “needs to broaden the appeal.” And he argued that “you’ve already got a Trump imitator on the stage – Vivek Ramaswamy.”

Pointing to the governor’s landslide gubernatorial reelection victory last November, Kochel said, “DeSantis needs to draw a distinction between himself and Trump.”

Nikki Haley

Pointing to Haley’s upward movement in the polls since the first debate, Carney said that “she has a lot riding on this.”

Kochel said “the question now is what do you do with that momentum? Is it a flash in the pan or can you repeat that performance and have an upward trajectory in the race?”

“People got to see that she’s a pretty talented and effective communicator, and I would just double down,” he said. “My guess is she’s going to get a little more attention [on] this one. Some of the candidates may want to go at her in this debate.”

Tim Scott

Carney said “this debate’s important for him. He was sort of quiet and disappeared during the first debate. … He needs to be a little bit more aggressive.”

Kochel suggested that “there’s going to be a lot of pressure on someone like Tim Scott, who disappeared a bit in the first debate, to step up and do better.”

Mike Pence

Carney pointed out that the former vice president “was very aggressive — probably the most out-of-character aggressive — at the first debate. I think you’ll see more of that at the Reagan Library.”

Pence, who gave a high-profile speech this month in which he criticized Trump and some of his other rivals for the nomination for walking away from core conservative values as he took aim at the wave of populism in the GOP, may reiterate his theme at Wednesday’s debate.

“Being at the Reagan Library really gives him an opportunity to pivot off ‘Lets get back to Reagan-like ideas,'” Carney said.

And Kochel noted that “if I were him, I would be touting myself as the Reagan conservative in the traditional sense and take off after populism.”

“He’s making a bet here. It doesn’t appear to be paying off, but at this point, you’ve got to be who you are. That speech he gave will find a way into a lot of his responses,” Kochel said.

Vivek Ramaswamy

The multimillionaire biotech entrepreneur, political commentator and culture wars crusader is probably the biggest surprise to date in the GOP nomination race as his poll numbers continue to rise.

Ramaswamy faced plenty of incoming fire at the first debate, and since his support continues to grow, expect more attacks coming his way at the second showdown.

Carney said the first-time candidate has “got to prove that he can be presidential and serve as president of the United States.”

“His biggest role right now is to make sure that no one becomes the massive heir apparent to Trump. It’s an interesting role he’s playing,” Carney added.

Chris Christie

The former two-term New Jersey governor and vocal GOP Trump critic is making is second run for the Republican nomination.

Carney predicted that Christie will “once again use Trump as his foil … you can tell, he loves the fight. He loves the engagement with voters. He relishes the interactions with the media. He has a lot of compelling parts for being a president, but his limited focus I think hurts him.”

Kochel said Christie’s “an effective communicator, but I don’t think there’s a market for what he’s selling right now.”

Pointing to Trump’s absence from the debate stage, Kochel said Christie “wanted to be in these debates so [that] he could get a shot at Trump, and he’s not going to get it.”

“My guess is he’ll probably throw more haymakers at Ramaswamy because he’s [the] most Trump-like person on the stage,” Kochel added. “He wants to throw these punches, and there’s nobody to hit.”

DOUG BURGUM

Burgum, the least well-known of the contenders on the stage, will likely once again be standing on the wings of the debate stage.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

“It’s hard when you’re going to get the least amount of questions and the least amount of time,” Carney said.

He emphasized that the North Dakota governor needs to find a way to stand out: “That’s his mission. He needs to get people to get interested in him.”

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

FIRST ON FOX: Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., plans to send a letter Monday to Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra demanding answers from the Biden administration on its handling of unaccompanied minors at the border.

Blackburn’s letter, first obtained by Fox News Digital, is a follow-up to a previous one she sent in April with the same inquiry. 

“As I expressed when you appeared before the Senate Finance Committee in March and again in my letter to you in April, I am appalled by reports that the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has mishandled unaccompanied minors by placing them with unvetted sponsors, leading to their exploitation and forced labor,” Blackburn wrote. 

Blackburn said HHS’s response to her inquiry was “completely inadequate” and an “insult” to the Senate’s job to oversee government operations. 

LA MAYOR ‘FEARFUL’ THAT PLANES OF ILLEGAL ALIENS MIGHT ARRIVE IN CITY THAT ‘WELCOMES IMMIGRANTS’

“I asked you specifically about your knowledge of this crisis and your involvement in the alleged whistleblower retaliation that has taken place under your watch, yet your Assistant Secretary declined to answer a single question,” Blackburn wrote. “Additionally, I asked you to provide the documents you received regarding the potential exploitation of these migrant children, but Assistant Secretary Hild failed to produce a single document. 

“Instead, over five months later, my inquiry was met with general information about your failed policies,” she continued. “Your department’s lack of urgency on this matter, and your continued refusal to provide information about the amount of time you spent in California instead of fulfilling your duties in-person, speaks volumes regarding your mishandling of this crisis.”

ERIC ADAMS SLAMS BIDEN FOR NOT MEETING, IGNORING MIGRANT CRISIS ON NYC VISIT: ‘EVERYBODY KNOWS WHERE I AM’

By next week, Blackburn expects Becerra to respond to several requests pertaining to concerns over the administration’s purported mishandling and exploitation of migrant children released to unvetted sponsors by HHS. 

She is also requesting documentation related to potential exploitation of these children and Becerra’s involvement in demotions and dismissals of individuals who raised safety concerns and relevant documents, such as schedules and travel expenses, committed to sharing with the Senate Finance Committee since the start of his tenure as secretary.

Blackburn joins a choir of GOP lawmakers who have been sounding the alarm on unaccompanied migrant children at the border. Texas Sen. Ted Cruz told Fox News Digital in an interview last week that thousands “of children were brutalized by human traffickers” last year. 

“Right now this week, we are seeing roughly 9,000 people a day crossing illegally, and the numbers continue to get worse month after month after month,” he said.

DHS TO OFFER WORK PERMITS, DEPORTATION PROTECTION TO OVER 470,000 VENEZUELANS AMID NEW BORDER SURGE

CLICK TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., also sent a demand letter last week to Tyson Foods CEO Donnie King over allegations that Tyson outsourced companies who hired migrant children to work in chicken processing plants. 

Democrats, once vocal critics of the Trump administration’s handling of migrant children separated from their parents at the border, have been less inclined to voice concerns over the Biden administration’s handling of migrant children entering the U.S. since Title 42 – an emergency order that allowed the government to expel migrants faster – expired in May. 

In a 48-hour period in July, Texas authorities recovered four bodies, including an infant, from the Rio Grande near the U.S.-Mexico border, according to border patrol officials. 

LAS VEGAS – EXCLUSIVE: A former Air Force pilot and business leader seeking to oust one of the country’s most vulnerable Democratic U.S. senators says the nation “can do better” with new leadership and get the U.S. back to operating like a great nation.

Fox News Digital sat down with Republican Nevada Senate candidate Tony Grady, who argued he has skills from his experience in the military to help Americans get through the “rough times” they’re facing and move away from the “wrong leaders” he says are running things now.

“I really don’t like what’s happening in the United States right now. We’re a great country, and we can do better,” Grady said when asked why he decided to run. 

“I thought about it, and I realized that I have a unique skill set, meaning I have certain capabilities because of the life that the Lord has blessed me to live. And I want to bring those skills to helping our country over the rough times we’re in right now and get back to being and operating like the great country that we are.”

KARI LAKE BOOSTS NATIONAL PROFILE AS TOP TRUMP SURROGATE, GOP CAMPAIGNER AHEAD OF LIKELY SENATE RUN

Grady, who has never held elected office, ran unsuccessfully for the Republican nomination for Nevada lieutenant governor in 2022, coming in second to Stavros Anthony, who won the general election. Grady spent 20 years in the U.S. Air Force, including time as a unit commander and B-2 Stealth Bomber test pilot. He was also a FedEx pilot 20 years and later spent 11 years running a startup biotech business called Synerbotics.

He pointed to his military experience, particularly his test pilot experience, as evidence he has problem-solving skills to help the country face current challenges.

DEM MEGADONOR WHO SAID ‘NOBODY CARES’ ABOUT UYGHUR GENOCIDE HOSTING $50K-A-PLATE RAMASWAMY FUNDRAISER

“I commanded the B-2 Stealth Bomber Test Squadron. In that test program, there were a lot of problems that we had to solve,” Grady said. “There are a lot of times that we have to test things that we don’t know what exactly is going to happen, but we have to find answers. And I think our country is there right now.

“There are many things that are going on that we’ve never seen before as the United States. And so I want to take that experience that I had looking into the unknown and to try to help us get back on track as a country.”

When asked why he thought Democratic Sen. Jacky Rosen, whom he hopes to unseat, had failed to fully represent the people of Nevada — a consistent swing state — Grady accused her of not visiting all the state’s counties and refusing to meet with a county law enforcement officer who visited Washington, D.C.

“We have the wrong leaders if we have a leader that thinks that they can ignore their constituents,” Grady said. “And then, on the other side, we look at that Jacky Rosen is a rubber stamp for Bidenomics. Gas prices are 40% higher in Nevada than in the rest of the country. Nevada families are being strangled by inflation. So, Jacky Rosen is not exercising the leadership to help Nevadans. So, we need a change.”

Grady said his top policy priorities if elected to the Senate would be to get America back to energy independence by opening the Keystone pipeline and beginning to drill in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR), an oil-rich area in Alaska, and securing the southern border.

RACE TO REPLACE MITT ROMNEY IN UTAH GAINS STEAM AS ANOTHER CANDIDATE JUMPS IN: HE ‘SOLD US OUT’

“We have an economy that is oil based, and we need to use that energy to help our country,” Grady said. “We were energy independent before the Biden administration. We need to get back to that so that we are not dependent on our enemies for energy because we need the energy. But, more importantly than that, economically, when energy prices go down, everything else in the economy will go down and that will begin to eat away in inflation and take pressure off families.

“We don’t have a country if we don’t secure our borders. We need to secure the border immediately. We don’t need more legislation. What we need to do is get rid of the secretary of the Department of Homeland Security and put someone in there who will uphold the laws that are on the books. We need to stop people entering our country illegally.”

He added that human trafficking was modern-day slavery and needed to stop immediately.

In the race for the Republican nomination, Grady is facing a number of candidates, most notably former U.S. Army veteran Sam Brown, who unsuccessfully ran for the Republican Senate nomination in Nevada in 2022 to unseat Democrat Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto.

Grady said he believes he is the best candidate in the Republican field to take on Rosen because of his experience in the military and leading a small business.

“I’m the only Republican in the field right now that has the ability to speak about military strategy with the military instrument of power, the foreign diplomatic instrument of power. … I understand businesses, and I understand regulation,” he said. 

He added his marriage of 40 years and raising his four children add to his life experience.

“My oldest decided then to go to Annapolis, and the baby went to West Point because they never listen,” he said with a laugh. “And the two in the middle — have one that’s a molecular biologist who now teaches high school science and one that runs a personal training business.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

“So, I could dote over my kids all day long. But the real reason I bring that up is my kids are successful. We need to elect leaders that know how to help young people be successful and want all American children to be successful. So, why am I the best? Because I have the broadest skill set to make the compelling argument that I can best represent Nevadans,” he added.

Fox has reached out to the Rosen campaign for comment.

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

The clock’s ticking for the Republican White House candidates still trying to make the stage for Wednesday’s second GOP presidential nomination debate.

The candidates have until 9 p.m. ET Monday — 48 hours before the FOX Business- and Univision-hosted showdown at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California — to reach polling and donor thresholds required by the Republican National Committee to qualify for the debate.

According to a Fox News count, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum on Saturday became the seventh candidate to meet the RNC’s criteria.

Burgum’s campaign and an allied super PAC made investments over the past week to try to boost the national ID of a politician who is far from a household name outside his native North Dakota in an attempt to make the stage. And it appears to have paid off.

FIRST ON FOX: THE RNC RAISES THE BAR FOR THE CANDIDATES TO MAKE THE STAGE AT THE THIRD PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE

Still aiming to qualify is former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, who, along with Burgum, took the stage last month at the first GOP presidential nominating debate.

“We made the last debate. It surprised everybody. People had counted us out. So, don’t count us out in this next debate,” Hutchinson emphasized in a recent Fox News Digital interview.

FIRST ON FOX: RNC THREATENS TO PULL NEW HAMPSHIRE DEBATE IF STATE LEAPFROGS IOWA IN THE PRESIDENTIAL NOMINATING CALENDAR

The RNC, which is organizing the GOP presidential primary debates, raised the thresholds the candidates need to reach to make the stage at the second showdown.

To participate in the second debate, each candidate must have a minimum of 50,000 unique donors to their campaigns or exploratory committees, including 200 donors in 20 or more states. The candidates must also reach 3% support in two national polls or reach 3% in one national poll and 3% in two polls conducted in Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada or South Carolina, the four states that lead off the Republican presidential nominating calendar.

Additionally, candidates are required to sign a pledge to support the eventual Republican presidential nominee. They must agree not to participate in any non-RNC-sanctioned debates for the rest of the 2024 election cycle and agree to data-sharing with the national party committee.

WATCH: MODERATORS PERINO, VARNEY, PREVIEW WEDENSDAY’S DEBATE

So far, according to a Fox News count, seven of the eight candidates who took part in last month’s first GOP presidential nomination debate have already met the RNC’s criteria.

They are, in alphabetical order, Burgum, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former ambassador and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, former Vice President Mike Pence, biotech entrepreneur and political commentator Vivek Ramaswamy and Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina.

Former President Donald Trump, who has reached the donor and polling thresholds, did not sign the RNC’s pledge. Pointing to his large lead over his rivals for the nomination, he did not attend the first debate and has already made alternative plans for Wednesday night.

Burgum’s campaign last week launched a new national voter contact program that aimed to boost his support in the polls.

“The direct text video-to-voter program hyper-targets highly persuadable Republicans and conservative-leaning independents likely to vote in the Republican presidential primary with a tested video message most likely to move numbers,” the Burgum campaign said in a release.

The move by the North Dakota governor’s presidential campaign came as the Burgum-aligned Best of America super PAC shelled out another $2 million to an existing $6 million national ad buy to try and boost the candidate’s poll numbers. 

It appears the investments paid off.

But Burgum told Fox News Digital last week that he would be on the ballot in Iowa and New Hampshire – the first two states to vote in the GOP presidential primary calendar – regardless of whether he made the second debate stage. 

“We’re going to be here because the voters of these two states decide who goes forward,” he emphasized.

Looking toward the second debate, Hutchinson emphasized it is “very important because a lot’s happened since the last debate.”

Hutchinson, who has yet to reach the polling and donor thresholds, told Fox News during a recent interview in Newton, Iowa, “We’re looking forward to being on the debate stage. We look to increasing those numbers.”

Among those still trying to qualify for the second debate — who did not make the stage for the first debate — are 2022 Michigan gubernatorial candidate, businessman and quality control expert Perry Johnson; former CIA agent and former Rep. Will Hurd of Texas; and Larry Elder, a former nationally syndicated radio host who was a candidate in California’s 2021 gubernatorial recall election.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Hurd, who has said he will not sign the RNC’s pledge due to his vocal criticism and opposition to Trump, told Fox News earlier this month, “We’re working hard to meet those requirements.”

When asked if he would drop out of the race if he does not qualify for next week’s debate, Hurd said, “My focus right now is to hit those requirements to be on that second debate stage, and then we’ll go from there.”

Fox News’ Remy Numa contributed to this report.

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

President Biden spoke to the Congressional Black Caucus Saturday night in Washington, D.C., where he attributed Congress’ failure to reach a deal to avoid a government shutdown thus far and political violence to a group of “extreme Republicans.”

The president and Vice President Harris both delivered remarks at the annual awards dinner for the CBC Foundation 52nd Annual Legislative Conference National Town Hall. 

Harris said during her remarks that the CBC is helping to “lead the fight for reproductive freedom. Just as you continue to lead the fight for civil rights. And I do believe the right to be safe is also a civil right. Today, however, gun violence is the number one cause of death for children in America. But instead of protecting our children, extremists obstruct.” 

The vice president also blasted Florida officials for “intend[ing] to tell our children that enslaved people benefited from slavery.” She was referring to a controversial line in Florida’s new instruction on African American history, which addresses “how slaves developed skills which, in some instances, could be applied for their personal benefit.”

ROBERT F KENNEDY JR ATTACKS BIDEN’S ‘DISASTER’ BORDER POLICY, CALLS IT UNSUSTAINABLE

In taking the stage after Harris introduced him, Biden thanked his vice president for her partnership and “always fighting for freedom.” He said Harris is “doing an incredible job, and she really is. I told you I was gonna have a smart vice president and an African American woman, and we got one.” 

He also thanked White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, who received a Co-Chair’s Award during the event, saying “No wonder I’m doing okay.”

Biden said some members of Congress are “sowing so much division” and willing to shut down the government, referring to a few congressional Republicans who have signaled that they would not support the deal he brokered with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., to avoid a government shutdown on October 1.

“Just a few months ago, after long negotiations between myself and the new speaker, we agreed to spending levels to government fund essential domestic and national security priorities, while still cutting the deficit by $1 trillion over the next decade,” Biden said. “Now, a small group of extreme Republicans don’t want to live up to the deal. So now everyone in America could be forced to pay the price.”

“Let’s be clear. If the government shuts down, that means members of Congress and members of the U.S. military are going to have to continue to work and not get paid,” he continued. “A government shutdown could impact everything from food safety to cancer research to Head Start programs for children. Funding the government is among the most basic responsibilities of Congress. And it’s time for Republicans to start doing the job America elected them to do.”

The president also spoke on the 2024 election, reiterating his previous comments claiming “democracy is at risk” and that there is a “battle for the soul of America.” Biden said Saturday that Americans no longer doubt that U.S. democracy is at stake now and was at stake in 2020.

KARINE JEAN-PIERRW DODGES QUESTIONS ON BIDEN REPEATING STORY AT CAMPAIGN EVENT

“And thank God, because of all of you, we won,” he said of the 2020 presidential election. “I might add, we won convincingly and clearly by a margin of seven million votes, 81 million votes cast. The most in history. And that victory withstood not one, but 60 legal court challenges and an insurrection on January 6. So I’m running again.”

Biden, 80, noted that there are conversations surrounding whether he fit for office given his advanced age, but said he “knew what to do” to support the U.S. and its allies when he took office in 2021.

“When I came to office, this nation was flat on its back,” Biden said. “I knew what to do. I vaccinated the nation and rebuilt the economy. When Russia invaded Ukraine. I knew what to do. I rebuilt NATO. And brought our alliance to rally the world. And above all, when democracy was taken I knew what to do.”

He later joked that he entered the U.S. Senate “200 years ago” in the early 1970s.

Addressing political division and violence, the president blamed former President Trump and his MAGA Republican base.

The president said hate groups all across American have been emboldened and that the intelligence community has said the greatest terroristic threat to the U.S. is domestic.

“That’s the greatest terrorist: domestic. Because far too often, it’s still the case, you can get killed or attacked walking on the streets of America just because you’re black or because you’re wearing a symbol of your faith … I want the entire nation to join me in sending the strongest, clearest, most powerful message possible that political violence in America is never, never, never acceptable in our democracy. Never. Because democracy is at stake,” he said.

Biden added, “Let there be no question Donald Trump and his MAGA Republicans are determined to spread anger, hate, and division. They seek power at all costs, they’re determined to destroy this democracy. I can not watch that happen, nor can you. And I’ll always defend, protect and fight for our democracy.”

The president also claimed he “started off as a kid in the civil rights movement in Wilmington, Delaware when I was in high school.”

“When I ran the first time for the Senate at 29 years old, and Nixon won by 64% in my state, I won because virtually 90% of the African-American community — we have a large community — voted for me,” Biden said. “I owe you.”

Biden also explained that the 2017 Charlottesville shooting and Trump saying at the time that there are “very fine people on both sides” led him to seek the presidency in 2020.

“The president at the time was asked what happened. He said, quote, ‘There are very fine people on both sides. Very fine people on both sides.’ When I heard that, I knew I could no longer sit on the sidelines because the President of the United States said yes, drawing a moral equivalence equivalency between those who stood for hate, those stood against it,” Biden said.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Biden also appeared to have some gaffes during his speech Saturday night, mispronouncing rapper LL Cool J’s name and initially referring to the artist as “boy” before quickly correcting himself. He was attempting to acknowledge LL Cool J and MC Lyte for their musical talents as the two artists received the Phoenix Award for their musical contributions at the annual awards dinner.

“Two of the great artists of our time representing the groundbreaking legacy of hip hop in America, LL Jay Cool J, uhhh…” Biden said as the crowd laughed. “By the way that boy — that man’s got biceps bigger than my thighs.”

Biden, notably, has a history of referring to African Americans as “boy,” a term considered a racial epithet when used to describe black men, including earlier this year when referring to Maryland’s Democrat Gov. Wes Moore, the state’s first black governor.

Republican 2024 White House hopeful and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, in a new interview that aired Saturday, warned that the left will attempt to “weaponize” former President Donald Trump’s comments against six-week abortion bans. 

During an appearance on The Glenn Beck Podcast, DeSantis warned that a referendum for a constitutional amendment “to basically have abortion on demand” might be on the ballot in Florida.

“The left is pursuing it, and if that passes, that means the legislature can never do anything to protect life,” DeSantis said. “Do you think they’re going to run ads to Republicans and Independents, showing Trump, Trump voters, saying ‘Trump didn’t like this, vote the other way, for us’? Of course they are. They’re gonna weaponize what he said, to try to defeat the cause of life.” 

DESANTIS WARNS PRO-LIFE VOTERS TRUMP WILL ‘SELL YOU OUT’ AFTER EX-PRESIDENT’S CRITIQUE OF 6-WEEK ABORTION BAN

DeSantis last week warned pro-life Americans that Trump will “sell you out” on abortion after the former president, in his first network interview since leaving office on NBC “Meet the Press,” criticized the Florida governor’s support of a six-week abortion ban as a “terrible mistake.” Trump vowed to reach a deal between Republicans and Democrats on the number of weeks into pregnancy where abortion would be illegal, ripping Democrats for allegedly supporting late-term abortions. 

TRUMP BLASTED ONLINE AFTER ATTACK ON DESANTIS’ ABORTION BAN: ‘A TERRIBLE THING’

While state law in Florida currently prohibits most abortions after 15 weeks, DeSantis, in April, signed the Heartbeat Protection Act, which aims to restrict abortions after six weeks gestation, with exceptions including women who are victims of rape, incest and human trafficking, or whose baby has a devastating diagnosis of a fatal fetal abnormality. A court ruling this fall could determine whether the law will take effect. 

Trump later attempted to clarify his comment, credited himself for the Supreme Court’s overturn of Roe V. Wade, which he says gave pro-life Americans bargaining power.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

“I was able to do something that nobody thought was possible, end Roe v. Wade,” Trump wrote on TRUTH Social. “For 52 years, people talked, spent vast amounts of money, but couldn’t get the job done. I got the job done! Thanks to the three great Supreme Court Justices I appointed, this issue has been returned to the States, where all Legal Scholars, on both sides, felt it should be.”

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

Former President Donald Trump is currently leading President Biden by 10 points among voters, according to a new poll. 

The Washington Post and ABC released the poll Sunday, which found that if the 2024 presidential election were held today, Trump would win 52% to 42% over Biden. Respondents also held a poor view of Biden’s handling of the economy and the U.S.-Mexico border, in addition to his age.

The Post downplayed the results of its own poll after it showed Trump with such a commanding lead, however.

“The sizable margin of Trump’s lead in this survey is significantly at odds with other public polls that show the general election contest a virtual dead heat,” the Post wrote Sunday. “The difference between this poll and others, as well as the unusual makeup of Trump’s and Biden’s coalitions in this survey, suggest it is probably an outlier.”

FOX NEWS POWER RANKINGS: THE FRONTRUNNER AND CONTENDERS IN THE 2024 GOP PRIMARY FIELD

Meanwhile, Biden’s approval rating sits at 37%, according to the poll, while 56% of respondents actively disapprove of his presidency.

Biden is facing a crisis of confidence among his own party members as well, with roughly 60% of Democrat and Democrat-leaning respondents saying they would prefer a different nominee.

FOX NEWS POLL: MAJORITY THINKS TRUMP DID SOMETHING ILLEGAL, YET SAY INVESTIGATIONS POLITICALLY MOTIVATED

The critics cited Biden’s age, his handling of the economy, and the ongoing border crisis as pain points with his administration.

Biden’s 2024 campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s decision to launch an impeachment inquiry also polled well, with 58% of respondents saying that Biden is being held accountable under the law like any other president. Just 32% argued he was being unfairly victimized, the poll found.

Trump also holds an aggressive lead over Biden among younger voters, sporting a 20% lead over Biden among voters 35 and under.

TRUMP INDICTMENT REACTION FROM RIVALS RANGE FROM OFFER OF LEGAL ASSISTANCE TO CALL TO DROP OUT OF RACE

Age remains one of the most unpopular factors for Biden’s re-election campaign, however. 70% of respondents said he is too old to hold office, while just 50% said the same of Trump.

Biden, 80, is the oldest person ever to run for president in the U.S., followed closely by Trump, 77. Biden would be 82 by the time he enters office for a second term.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

WAPO/ABC conducted the poll from September 15-20, using a random sample of 1,006 U.S. adults and contacting them through both landlines and cellphones. The poll has a margin of error of 3.5%.

GOP presidential candidate and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said Sunday he had no interest in running against Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J.

“But let me ask you point-blank, would you run against Menendez?” NBC “Meet the Press” host Kristen Walker asked. 

“No, I have no interest in being in the United States Senate,” Christie said during an appearance on the program. 

“You rule it out completely?” Walker said, seeking clarification. 

“Yes, I have,” he said. “Throughout my entire career, I had a chance to appoint myself to the United States Senate. In 2013, when Frank Lautenberg passed away, and I was governor. If I didn’t appoint myself to the United States Senate, the easiest way to get there, I sure as heck am not going to run for it.” 

DEMOCRAT ANNOUNCES BOB MENENDEZ PRIMARY CHALLENGE IN WAKE OF LONG-TIME SENATOR’S BRIBERY INDICTMENT

Menendez was charged through an unsealed indictment Friday in the Southern District of New York with allegedly agreeing to use his official position to benefit New Jersey businessmen Wael Hana, Jose Uribe and Fred Daibes and Egypt’s government in exchange for hundreds of thousands of dollars of bribes. The indictment also charges Menendez’s wife, Nadine, and the three businessmen in the years-long bribery scheme. Federal prosecutors said the bribes included gold bars, cash and a luxury convertible. 

So far, Menendez has refused to resign his seat and insisted he will run for re-election in 2024 but stepped down from his position as chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Friday, as Senate Democratic Caucus rules require any members charged with a felony to abandon committee chair roles.

Earlier in the interview, Walker asked Christie if he believed Menendez’s indictment “undercuts the Republican argument that there are two tiers of justice in this country.” 

“I’m glad that the Justice Department acted, and they acted on some very horrific facts,” Christie said, referring to his seven years as U.S. attorney in New Jersey working 130 corruption cases. “There is no way that any public official has any legal or plausible or ethical explanation for having $500,000 in cash stuffed in jackets and envelopes throughout their home. Gold bars that have the fingerprints of DNA of someone who you were attempting to fix the system for.” 

CHRIS CHRISTIE VOWS TO ‘FOLLOW’ AND ‘CONFRONT’ TRUMP IF HE DOESN’T ATTEND DEBATES: ‘I’LL FIND HIM’

“I commend the Southern District of New York for doing the right thing. And by the way, I do not believe the whole Department of Justice has done things that were wrong. I believe what David Weiss in Delaware was wrong with Hunter Biden, and it gave people the sense that there were two tiers of justice,” Christie added. 

Walker interjected, noting Hunter Biden “now has been indicted,” before quickly pivoting. 

Hunter Biden was indicted earlier this month on federal gun charges out of Justice Department Special Counsel Weiss’ investigation.

But that was only after an original plea agreement collapsed in July. Hunter Biden was expected to plead guilty to two misdemeanor tax counts of willful failure to pay federal income tax as part of a plea deal to avoid jail time on a felony gun charge, but U.S. District Judge Maryellen Noreika of Delaware declined to accept the agreement during his first court appearance. She described the DOJ’s deal as unconstitutional, “not standard” and “different from what I normally see.”

CLICK TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Hunter Biden was forced to plead not guilty to two misdemeanor tax charges and one felony gun charge. Weiss, the U.S. attorney for Delaware, had been leading the Hunter Biden investigation for years. Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed Weiss as a special counsel amid allegations of politicization impacting prosecutorial decisions. 

Christie, who supported Trump in 2016 before becoming a staunch critic after a 2020 falling out, also said Sunday it was “unfortunate and selfish” for the former president to avoid the second GOP presidential debate scheduled Wednesday. During the NBC interview, Christie also predicted Kevin McCarthy’s House speakership would survive through the 2024 election. 

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

Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., said he would finish what former President Donald Trump started at the U.S.-Mexico border and complete the wall construction if elected in 2024.

Scott made the statement during a Sunday morning appearance on Fox News, telling host Griff Jenkins that Democrats don’t understand the border issue. He went on to blast the Biden administration for selling supplies that had been intended for the construction of the wall.

“Washington is out of touch with the rest of the nation. One of the reasons we need change in the nation’s capital is that Washington is so consistently broken that the American people don’t trust the people in Washington. I understand that,” Scott said. 

“As a guy who spends some time in Washington, but a whole lot of time in South Carolina, I can just say to the leaders of this nation today, bless your heart, which is a Southern way of saying you guys just don’t get it,” he added.

WITH FOUR MONTHS UNTIL THE FIRST VOTES, THE 2024 GOP BATTLE HEATS UP IN THE FIRST CAUCUS STATE

Scott went on to praise Texas Gov. Greg Abbott for his migrant bussing program, which has woken up deep blue cities across the country to the realities of the border crisis.

TIM SCOTT SUGGESTS RIVALS PLANTING STORIES ABOUT HIS UNMARRIED STATUS

“Biden refuses to fix a fixable problem at our southern border,” Scott said, adding that it would be fixed “not by selling the construction material to finish the wall – that’s what he’s doing – but by using the construction material to complete the wall,” he said.

While Scott is targeting Biden, he remains locked in a contested Republican presidential primary in which former President Donald Trump is miles ahead of the other candidates. Only Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Trump have consistently polled in the double digits in the primary.

NIKKI HALEY SEEKS COMMON GROUND ON COMBUSTIBLE ISSUE OF ABORTION 

Scott’s appearance came more than a week after he opened up about his relationship status on the campaign trail. Scott has never been married and says he is now dating a “lovely Christian girl.”

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

“As a guy who was raised in a single-parent household mired in poverty, I understand that devastation when a family breaks up. I live with the consequences of a father who was not there. I made a commitment to make sure that never happened in my life,” Scott highlighted. “I’m so thankful to know a risen savior that has helped guide my way, and I’m so thankful that he’s allowed my life to intersect at the right time with the right person. And I just say, praise the living God.”

Several left-wing activists and commentators took to social media to issue an identical message on Friday, equating the indictment of Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., on bribery charges to alleged ethics violations by Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas.

The message, which suggest that either Menendez and Thomas should both step down from their roles or that Menendez should only be pushed to resign if Thomas does, came after it was alleged in a federal indictment that the New Jersey senator had accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes in exchange for favors.

“Here’s the deal: Menendez resigns. Clarence Thomas resigns. One standard. Corruption is corruption,” Washington Post columnist Jennifer Rubin wrote in a post to X, formerly known as Twitter.

Rubin’s message was echoed by several others, including retired Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, who served as a witness during the first impeachment proceedings of former President Donald Trump.

MENENDEZ DEFIANT AS GROWING CHORUS OF DEMOCRATS CALL FOR HIS RESIGNATION

“Clarence Thomas resigns. Menendez resigns. One standard. Corruption is corruption,” Vindman wrote.

Several other accounts made posts with the same language, drawing criticism from conservatives across social media.

Blasting what appeared to be coordinated “talking points,” conservative activist Melissa Tate responded to Vindman and said, “Justice Clarence Thomas ain’t going nowhere sir.”

“Even the ‘Journalists’ gets their talking points from the regime,” Tate wrote in another tweet that featured a screenshot of the identical language being used by different people.

The similarity between Menendez and Thomas that was drawn by Rubin, Vindman, and others comes after a ProPublica report earlier this year revealed that Thomas had received gifts from Republican mega-donor Harlan Crow without reporting them. His defenders, however, have argued that he has followed the court’s reporting guidelines.

Several stories regarding Thomas and other Supreme Court justices have since followed, leading to left-wing attacks against the high court. In March, the New York Times reported that rules were modified to require justices and other federal judges to reveal more activities, such as private jet travel and visits to commercial properties.

CRITICS SLAM LATEST PROPUBLICA ‘HIT PIECE’ ON JUSTICE CLARENCE THOMAS

The Menendez indictment alleges that the senator and his wife, from at least 2018 through 2022 “engaged in a corrupt relationship” with three New Jersey businessmen.

“Today, I’m announcing that my office has obtained a three count indictment charging Senator Robert Menendez, his wife, Nadine Menendez, and three New Jersey businessmen, Wael Hana, Jose Uribe and Fred Daibes for bribery offenses,” U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said at a press conference on Friday morning. 

According to the indictment, the couple accepted “hundreds of thousands of dollars of bribes in exchange for using Menendez’s power and influence as a senator to seek to protect and enrich Hana, Uribe, and Daibes and to benefit the Arab Republic of Egypt.”

The alleged bribes included gold, cash, payments toward a mortgage, compensation for a low-or-no-show job, a luxury car, and “other things of value.”

After an investigation began, Menendez disclosed that in 2020 his family accepted gold bars.

According to prosecutors, Menendez gave sensitive U.S. government information to Hana, who’s an Egyptian-American businessman, who “secretly aided the Government of Egypt.”

Menendez allegedly pressured an official at the Department of Agriculture with the goal of protecting a business monopoly granted to Hana by the Egyptian government.

CLICK TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

In return, Hana allegedly kicked back profits from the monopoly to Menendez, the indictment states.

FBI agents found “approximately $500,000 of cash stuffed into envelopes in closets,” and jammed into the senator’s jacket pockets, while executing a search warrant at Menendez’s residence, Williams said during the press conference.

Fox News’ Adam Sabes and Chris Pandolfo contributed to this report.

The Hungarian foreign minister says his country is hoping for a return of former President Donald Trump to the White House, as he says the relationship between the U.S. and Hungary has deteriorated due to the “lecturing” and interference in policy by the Biden administration.

Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto told Fox News Digital that his country, which is led by a conservative government, had strong relations with the U.S. during the Trump administration, but that it has soured with the new Biden administration.

“We had the best ever political relationship with the United States during the term of President Trump, the best ever political relationship. And I think the reason for that was that President Trump has based this bilateral relationship on mutual respect, and he did not have the intention to judge, to lecture or educate us,” he said. “He concentrated on America to develop — America First — and he concentrated on the relationship of ours to develop as well, which can bring mutual benefit for both sides.”

He says that now, the Biden administration has sought to interfere with domestic issues, and highlighted a move in 2022 to end a bilateral tax agreement that prevented double taxation after Hungary reduced its corporate income tax. Last month, the U.S. also restricted visa-free travel for Hungarian passport holders, citing security concerns, and has also repeatedly criticized the government for its human rights record.

UNITED STATES IMPOSES TRAVEL RESTRICTIONS ON HUNGARIAN CITIZENS OVER VERIFICATION CONCERNS 

“The Democrat administration is making continuous attempts to interfere in domestic issues in Hungary, they are judging us, they are lecturing us. The fact that they have terminated and broken the bilateral tax agreement between the two countries is a clear signal that they tried to put political pressure or economic pressure on us to change policies,” he said. “And this is unacceptable.”

He said there is no longer “mutual respect” that was there during the Trump era, and suggested that political factors are at play. 

“We understand that the U.S. establishment is very unhappy with the fact that a conservative, right-wing, patriotic Christian Democrat government has been in office in Hungary for such a long time, and it is not enough that we have been in office for a long time, but we have proven to be successful, and I think this is very uncomfortable for many liberal forces around the world. So we do hope that our relationship will come back to the level where it used to be under President Trump.”

As for specific disagreements, he highlighted the war in Ukraine. He estimates that there are 150,000 ethnic Hungarians living in Ukraine, some of whom have been conscripted into the army and deployed. 

“So we Hungarians are losing our nation mates, let’s put it this way, and we do not want to lose any more Hungarians in this war. We don’t want to see any more casualties in this war — not only Hungarians, none of them,” he said.

The U.S. has sought to end the conflict by backing Ukraine with funding and weapons to retake territory seized by the Russians, but Hungary sees delivering weapons as prolonging the conflict. President Biden told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Thursday that the U.S. is “staying with you” as he pushes Congress to provide additional funding for the war effort.

Szijjarto said that his country wants to see the U.S. bringing “peace into the neighborhood, and not weapons.” He said he believed that would be more likely under former President Donald Trump, who is running to retake the White House in 2024 and has said that he would launch peace talks to bring the conflict to an end if re-elected. 

TRUMP DESCRIBES HOW HE COULD SOLVE RUSSIA-UKRAINE CONFLICT IN 24 HOURS

“We understand the position of President Trump, who would like to bring peace into our region. And we wish that an American administration brings peace into the region, because we have to be realistic that, without the United States, there will be no peace in the region,” Szijjarto said. “And as far as we listen to President Trump, this is really encouraging, and we cross fingers for him, for our own interests, because we have a track record already with him. We know how the relationship was under his term, and the fact that he would like to make peace . . . that serves our national interests as well.”

Szijjarto stressed that “we are not Americans, so it doesn’t matter what we think about domestic politics, and we would never interfere in domestic politics either.”

“But of course, we have an experience, and we have a hope. We have an experience about how we work together, and we have a hope for the president of the United States to make peace in our neighborhood. And President Trump is the one.”

The Ron DeSantis presidential campaign fired back at the hosts of “The View” on Friday after the panel compared the Florida governor to a comic book villain and mocked a clip of him explaining a controversial education reform in his state.

“Booo,” co-host Joy Behar said after a clip of DeSantis was played on Thursday’s show.  

“He’s lying,” co-host Sonny Hostin added before co-host Whoopi Goldberg compared him to a Batman villain.

“You know what he’s like? Do you remember The Penguin on Batman?” Goldberg said before mocking the governor’s voice. The panel then continued to slam the DeSantis campaign and argue that he’s not a threat to win the GOP nomination.

‘THE VIEW’ HOST KNOCKS KRISTEN WELKER’S DEBUT ‘MEET THE PRESS’ INTERVIEW WITH TRUMP: ‘NOBODY EVER WINS’

The DeSantis campaign responded on Friday telling Fox News Digital the clip shows the panel is “out of touch.”

“Like Team Trump, the liberal, out-of-touch women of the View claim Ron DeSantis is not a threat, and then spend a lot of time attacking him, which means we are right over the target,” DeSantis spokesperson Carly Atchison said. 

‘THE VIEW’ DERAILS WHEN WHOOPI GOLDBERG SUDDENLY ASKS SURPRISED CO-HOST IF SHE’S PREGNANT: ‘NO, OH MY GOD!’

“Unfortunately for these very rational and thoughtful women, when Ron DeSantis is president, the American people will not be paying for their ninth COVID booster.”

The DeSantis campaign also posted a clip of the program on its “war room” account on X, formerly known as Twitter.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

“The highly thoughtful and intellectual women of the View lose their minds over Ron DeSantis, Part CXXVIII,” the caption read. 

A representative for The View did not respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.

EXCLUSIVE — Republican senators are calling on President Biden to honor Respect Life Month in October with a display at the White House to match the one shown for LGBTQ+ Pride Month last June.

In a letter sent to the White House on Friday, Sens. Pete Ricketts, R-Neb., Cindy Hyde-Smith, R-Miss., and Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., challenged Biden to show “inclusivity” to pro-life Americans by displaying the Pro-Life Flag prominently at the White House and federal agency buildings during the month of October.

“Earlier this year, your administration displayed the Pride Flag at the White House for Pride Month,” the senators wrote. “We are asking you to also honor Respect Life Month and fly the Pro-Life Flag to send a powerful statement that our country celebrates Americans of all beliefs and is committed to protecting innocent and vulnerable life.”

“We know that the commitment to protecting and loving both unborn children and mothers is shared by Americans in every state and territory across our great nation,” the letter continues. “Flying the Pro-Life Flag during Respect Life Month would show the federal government stands alongside its citizens in upholding the unalienable truth that all people, including the unborn, have a right to life.”

TIM SCOTT SLAMS TRUMP, OTHER GOP PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES FOR BEING ‘WRONG’ ON ABORTION

In October, the Catholic Church in the United States celebrates Respect Life Month and the first Sunday of October is designated Respect Life Sunday. The time is meant as a period of reflection on why every human wife is valuable and how to “build a culture that protects life from conception to natural death,” according to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. 

READ THE LETTER BELOW. APP USERS: CLICK HERE

Earlier this year, the Biden administration received backlash over its Pride Month display at the White House for appearing to violate U.S. Flag Code.

POLICE DROP CHARGES AGAINST BRITISH WOMAN FOR SILENTLY PRAYING OUTSIDE AN ABORTION CLINIC

Biden celebrated the LGBT community in a social media post, that revealed a set of flags hanging from the White House that faced the South Lawn. The display includes a rainbow-colored Pride flag flanked by two American flags.

Social media users argued the display violated a section of the U.S. Flag Code that mandates the American flag be in the center of any display featuring multiple national flags or pennants.

PRO-LIFE GROUPS REMIND TRUMP THEY AREN’T A ‘CHEAP DATE’ AFTER RECENT ABORTION REMARKS

The Pro-Life Flag Republicans want Biden to display next month was created by the Pro-Life Flag Project as a unifying symbol for those who oppose abortion. 

“We believe that creating, promoting, and proudly flying a unified, freely-reproducible, international pro-life flag will wildly help the movement in its already-unified aim: ending abortion,” said spokesman James Chapman. 

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

“Just as the rainbow flag has raised awareness for and significantly contributed to the success of the LGBTQ movement or as the Thin Blue Line flag has come to represent support for law enforcement, flying or displaying the pro-life flag will be a means by which everyday pro-life supporters can stand in solidarity with the larger pro-life movement,” he continued. 

“People around the world, regardless of their stance on abortion, will see the flag, know its meaning, and be compelled to think about the reality of abortion. Through positive symbolism within the design, the flag will also serve to positively brand the movement that has, in many mainstream currents, been so vilified and misrepresented.” 

Fox News’ Anders Hagstrom contributed to this report.

A Democrat mega-donor who donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to President Biden’s 2020 campaign and previously claimed “nobody cares about” the ongoing genocide of Uyghur Muslims in China is slated to host a fundraiser for Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy.

According to an invitation for the “intimate dinner and discussion,” Golden State Warriors part-owner Chamath Palihapitiya and his wife Nathalie, along with a number of other individuals, will host Ramaswamy at their home in the San Francisco Bay Area on Sep. 29. The event invitation was first reported by Puck News.

The cost to attend the event is a minimum $50,000 donation to Ramaswamy’s American Exceptionalism PAC.

RAMASWAMY UNVEILS PLAN TO ‘DECLARE ECONOMIC INDEPENDENCE FROM CHINA’ IN UPCOMING POLICY SPEECH

Palihapitiya, a billionaire venture capitalist, made headlines last year when he claimed that “nobody cares” about the Chinese Communist Party-sponsored (CCP) genocide that has been recognized as such by several national governments.

“Let’s be honest: nobody cares about what’s happening to the Uyghurs, OK?” Palihapitiya said on a Jan. 2022 episode of his podcast. “You bring it up because you care, and I think that it’s nice that you care.”

“The rest of us don’t care,” Palihapitiya said about the ongoing genocide that has reportedly included forced sterilization, beatings and “mental torture and physical torture.” He said it was a “very hard, ugly truth.”

KARI LAKE BOOSTS NATIONAL PROFILE AS TOP TRUMP SURROGATE, GOP CAMPAIGNER AHEAD OF LIKELY SENATE RUN

“Of all the things I care about, yes, it is below my line,” he continued, repeating that the communist state-sponsored Uyghur genocide was “below” his caring “line.”

A campaign spokesperson told Fox News Digital that Ramaswamy vehemently disagrees with Palihapitiya on the Uyghur genocide, but will still attend the super PAC fundraiser.

“He thinks what’s happening to the Uyghurs in China is an atrocity,” Ramaswamy campaign communications director Tricia McLaughlin said.

During a speech in Columbus, Ohio, Thursday where Ramaswamy laid out his plan to declare economic independence from China, he called the enslavement, imprisonment and forced sterilization of Uyghurs “one of the worst human rights atrocities committed by a major nation since the Third Reich of Germany.”

Noting that he is by far the biggest contributor to his own campaign, a McLaughlin added that Ramaswamy believes super PACs and dark money should not be part of the political system in America.

“Vivek thinks money corrupts politics. He’s felt very strongly on that since day one, and if he is the GOP nominee he would like to strike a deal with the Democratic nominee to make sure there’s no super PAC money in the race. But right now, super PACs are a part of the 2024 primary game, and we’ve got to play to win,” McLaughlin said.

According to FEC data, Palihapitiya has donated to the campaigns of several prominent Democrats, including Biden, Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., Hillary Clinton’s failed 2016 campaign, the Democratic National Committee (DNC), and the Senate Majority PAC (SMP).

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

He gave $250,000 to the Biden Victory Fund in support of Biden’s 2020 presidential campaign in July of that year and another $5,600 directly to his campaign. He also donated $66,200 to the DNC.

That same year, Palihapitiya donated a total of $750,000 to the SMP, a political action committee affiliated with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. He also donated $5,800 directly to Schumer’s campaign in September 2021.

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