NationalWatch

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.

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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.”

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“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).

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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

Migrant encounters at the southern border soared past the 200,000 mark once again in August hitting a new high for the calendar year and marking the highest August on record  — the latest sign that the raging crisis at the southern border is escalating despite a brief lull in the early summer.

There were 232,972 migrant encounters at the southern border in August, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) announced on Friday afternoon. 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.

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. 

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

“CBP remains vigilant in the face of ruthless smugglers and transnational criminal organizations who exploit vulnerable migrants, the same criminal organizations trafficking in lethal drugs that harm our communities,” acting CBP Commissioner Troy Miller said in a statement. “Our operational tempo along the border has increased in response to increased encounters, and we remain squarely focused on our broader security mission and enforcing U.S. immigration laws.”

“We are maximizing consequences against those without a legal basis to remain in the United States, including by processing more individuals into expedited removal than ever before. The men and women of CBP continue to work, day in and day out, to protect our nation, disrupting the entry of dangerous people and dangerous goods into the country while providing humanitarian care for vulnerable individuals,” he said.

The data brings the total migrant encounters for the fiscal year, excluding September, to over 2.2 million migrant encounters. CBP sources told Fox that, with September’s numbers so far, encounters for FY 2023 have already surpassed FY 22’s record 2.37 million encounters. Sources told Fox News on Friday that, with eight days left to go, there have been 2,388,350 encounters in FY 2023.

May and June saw a drop in border encounters after the ending of Title 42. The Biden administration attributed the drop to the implementation of a number of policies, including expanded “lawful” migrant pathways, a new asylum rule limiting who could claim asylum and the restoration of Title 8 enforcement.

But numbers have since shot up, engulfing the border in crisis again, and having knock-on effects in cities like New York City and Chicago — where officials and residents have called on the federal government to do more to help them deal with the influx.

There have been a daily average of around 9,000 encounters in recent days at the border. The surge was on display this week in Eagle Pass, Texas, where thousands of Venezuelan migrants surged into the area across the river, camping out under a nearby bridge — which forced a temporary shutdown of two bridges as agents struggled to cope.

The August numbers brought criticism from congressional Republicans, who criticized the administration for having tied the drop in encounters in June to its policies. House Homeland Security Chairman Mark Green again accused DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas of a “dereliction of duty.”

THOUSANDS OF VENEZUELAN MIGRANTS GATHER UNDER TEXAS BRIDGE AS BORDER NUMBERS SKYROCKET

“Secretary Mayorkas did not hesitate to spike the football in June, and given his record of misleading Congress and the American people, I fully expect he will try to pull a similar PR stunt with these numbers,” he said. “But don’t be fooled—cartel business is booming, and it will continue as long as Secretary Mayorkas insists on these radical open-borders policies. No amount of spin can change the fact that the American people are suffering the worst border crisis in our nation’s history. In fact, Secretary Mayorkas’ open-borders policies are actively undermining our homeland security and jeopardizing the safety of every American.” 

Multiple Border Patrol Sectors have been conducting street releases to relieve overcrowding, while leadership has set targets for “bookouts” as they struggle to deal with arrivals.

Republicans have hammered the administration for the crisis, arguing that Biden-era policies — including reduced interior enforcement, greater “catch-and-release” and the roll-back of Trump-era border policies — have created and exacerbated the crisis.

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The administration has said that it is dealing with a Hemisphere-wide challenge, which needs more funding from Congress as well as the passage of an immigration reform bill to fix what it says is a “broken” system.

This week the administration announced a number of measures, including increased capacity at CBP facilities, more personnel heading to the border and a redesignation of Temporary Protected Status for Venezuela — which will grant protection from deportation and work permits to around 470,000 nationals.

FIRST ON FOX: GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy and Democrat California Gov. Gavin Newsom traded blows online over climate change.

Ramaswamy blasted Newsom amid their heated Twitter battle on climate change in a statement to Fox News Digital.

“Gavin is ignorant about science, but he’s savvy enough to know not to directly debate someone about it either,” Ramaswamy said.

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

Newsom and Ramaswamy’s digital sparring match sparked on Friday when the GOP presidential candidate put the Golden State governor on blast over his recent remarks at the United Nations (UN).

“My message to the UN: This climate crisis is a fossil fuel crisis,” Newsom tweeted on Thursday with a video of his remarks at the UN. “It’s not complicated.”

“My message to [Newsom]: The climate change agenda has NOTHING to do with the climate [and] everything to do with letting China catch up to the U.S.,” Ramaswamy responded. “It’s not complicated.”

“Drill. Frack. Use Coal. Embrace Nuclear,” he added.

Newsom fired back at Ramaswamy in another tweet, telling the GOP presidential candidate to keep “auditioning for the hall of fame for the most ignorant analysis of science.”

“Your coal agenda is up there with your 9/11 theories,” Newsom added.

Ramaswamy swung back, writing the “climate disaster-related death rate is down by 98% over the last century, due to fossil fuels.”

“[Eight times] as many people die of cold temperatures as warm ones, and the best way to stop all temperature-related deaths right now is broader access to fossil fuels,” Ramaswamy said. “China has 115 coal plants under construction now [and] another 250 planned while we’re shutting down the few we have left in America.”

“These are inconvenient truths for the likes of the [Newsom] who wax eloquent about ‘science’ without having the first clue about it,” the Republican presidential contender added. “Utterly shameful that this represents the state of political leadership in America today.”

Newsom’s team did not immediately provide comment.

Ramaswamy’s comments come ahead of the second GOP presidential debate where he will take the stage.

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The presidential candidate is a contender in a robust field of Republicans for the party’s nomination to take on President Biden for the White House.

However, he has to share the stage with several other fighters — including Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley — as they look to take former President Trump’s lead in the primary.

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

A federal court struck down the Biden administration’s last-minute restrictions on an upcoming offshore oil and gas lease sale in a ruling late Thursday evening.

Judge James Cain of the Western District of Louisiana granted a preliminary injunction request from plaintiffs — the State of Louisiana, industry association American Petroleum Institute (API) and oil companies Chevron and Shell — to block the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management’s (BOEM) restrictions on Lease Sale 261. The lease sale spanning millions of acres across the Gulf of Mexico is slated for next week.

Cain ruled the federal government must proceed with the lease sale by Sept. 30 under its original conditions. As a result of a July settlement with environmental groups, BOEM removed about six million acres from the sale and imposed various restrictions on oil and gas vessels associated with the leases auctioned to protect the Rice’s whale species found in parts of the Gulf of Mexico.

“The court observes that plaintiffs have demonstrated substantial potential costs resulting from the challenged provisions,” Cain wrote in his decision. “While the government defendants largely focus on the acreage withdrawal and dynamics of the sale itself, many of plaintiffs’ alleged hardships arise from the vessel restrictions.” 

WHITE HOUSE REFUSES TO REVEAL HOW COSTLY POTENTIAL BILLION-DOLLAR CLIMATE PROGRAM COULD BE FOR TAXPAYERS

“Industry plaintiffs have shown a likelihood that these will burden their operations on current and planned leases,” the ruling continued. “The resulting costs would not be undone by the court’s entry of a permanent injunction and order of another sale.”

Cain also said the Biden administration’s actions appeared to be an attempt to “provide scientific justification to a political reassessment of offshore drilling.” And he said the administration’s process looked “more like a weaponization of the Endangered Species Act than the collaborative, reasoned approach prescribed by the applicable laws and regulations.”

In a statement following the ruling Thursday, API Senior Vice President and General Counsel Ryan Meyers said it was a positive step in ensuring energy security.

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“We are pleased that the court has hit the brakes on the Biden Administration’s ill-conceived effort to restrict American development of reliable, lower-carbon energy in the Gulf of Mexico,” Meyers said in a statement. 

“Today’s decision will allow Lease Sale 261 to move forward as directed by Congress in the Inflation Reduction Act, removing the unjustified restrictions on vessel traffic imposed by the Department of the Interior and restoring the more than 6 million acres to the sale,” he added. “This decision is an important step toward greater certainty for American energy workers, a more robust Gulf Coast economy and a stronger future for U.S. energy security.”

In late August, API and its fellow plaintiffs filed the lawsuit against the Biden administration calling for the court to require the Biden administration to “fulfill its obligations to the American people.” According to industry, sales like Lease Sale 261, which is the final federal offshore lease sale scheduled, are vital to ensure long-term oil and gas production.

Overall, BOEM said — following its eco settlement in July — it would offer 12,395 blocks across approximately 67 million acres in multiple regions of the Gulf of Mexico, less than the 13,620 blocks across 73.4 million acres it originally planned to offer. The acreage stripped from the sale included potentially oil-rich tracts located in the middle of the lease area.

Offshore lease sales often span large swaths of federal waters, but earn bids on a fraction of blocks projected by companies to contain more resources and to have a higher return on investment. For example, BOEM auctioned off 73.3 million acres during Lease Sale 259 in March, but received bids worth $263.8 million for 313 tracts spanning 1.6 million acres.

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“The injunction is a necessary and welcome response from the court to an unnecessary decision by the Biden administration,” said Erik Milito, the president of the National Ocean Industries Association (NOIA). “The removal of millions of highly prospective acres and the imposition of excessive restrictions stemmed from a voluntary agreement with activist groups that circumvented the law, ignored science, and bypassed public input.”

In addition to removing acreage from the sale, BOEM also imposed restrictions on oil and gas vessel traffic associated with the leases set to be auctioned during Lease Sale 261. Among the requirements, BOEM said specially-trained visual observers must be aboard all vessels traversing the area, all ships regardless of size must travel no quicker than 10 knots and vessels should only travel through the area in the daytime.

BOEM’s restrictions came in response to the administration’s settlement last month with a coalition of four environmental groups led by the left-wing Sierra Club.

In a federal stipulated stay agreement filed on July 21, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) agreed to a number of conditions requested by the groups which, in response, agreed to temporarily pause litigation in the related case. The case dates back nearly three years when, in October 2020, the environmental coalition sued the NMFS for failing to properly assess the oil industry impacts on endangered and threatened marine wildlife in the Gulf of Mexico. 

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The groups pursued the lawsuit after the NMFS coordinated a multiagency consultation studying the effects all federally regulated oil and gas activities would have on species like the Rice’s whale listed under the Endangered Species Act in the Gulf of Mexico over the next 50 years. The groups argued in the original complaint that the NMFS’ biological opinion resulting from its consultation was not based on the best science.

API and NOIA also argued BOEM’s action had contravened the congressional intent of the Inflation Reduction Act, which reinstated multiple lease sales, including Lease Sale 261, after the Biden administration axed them in May 2022. In the sale’s record of decision, it is mandated to be region-wide while its environmental analysis didn’t acknowledge risks it may pose to the Rice’s whale.

Federal prosecutors charged Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., and his wife with violating corruption and bribery laws, according to an indictment unsealed in federal court Friday.

According to the indictment, Menendez, who chairs the powerful Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and his wife Nadine Menendez are accused of engaging in a corrupt scheme alongside Fred Daibes, a New Jersey real estate developer; Wael Hana, who runs a halal meat certification business in the state; and businessman Jose Uribe.

The bombshell indictment included sprawling allegations against the senior Democratic senator involving a scheme to aid the Egyptian government, gold bars, money stuffed in envelopes and illicit halal certifications.

In a lengthy statement following the indictment, Menendez denied any wrongdoing and said forces “behind the scenes” are working to silence him and dig his “political grave.” He added his behavior laid out in the indictment was all well within the realm of his office’s authority.

“Since this investigation was leaked nearly a year ago there has been an active smear campaign of anonymous sources and innuendoes to create an air of impropriety where none exists,” he said.

FEDS PROBING IF DEM SEN MENENDEZ OR WIFE ACCEPTED GOLD BARS WORTH HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS FROM FELON: REPORT

1. Breached official duty in way that ‘benefited the Government of Egypt’

The federal indictment alleges that Menendez used his power and influence serving in the U.S. Senate to enter into the scheme which ultimately benefited the Egyptian government. It stated that the lawmaker and his wife accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes “to seek to protect and enrich” Daibes, Hana and Uribe.

The bribes, the indictment continued, included cash, gold bars, home mortgage payments, compensation for no-show jobs, a luxury vehicle and “other things of value.”

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“Among other actions, Menendez provided sensitive U.S. Government information and took other steps that secretly aided the Government of Egypt,” the indictment stated. 

“Menendez also improperly advised and pressured an official at the United States Department of Agriculture for the purpose of protecting a business monopoly granted to Hana by Egypt and used in part to fund the bribes being paid to Menendez through Nadine Menendez,” it continued. 

The scheme arose in 2018 after Nadine Menendez, then Arslanian, began dating Menendez and subsequently introduced him to Egyptian intelligence and military officials “for the purpose of establishing and solidifying a corrupt agreement” in which Hana, along with Daibes and Uribe, provided bribes to the Menendez couple.

In exchange, Menendez allegedly breached his official duty to benefit Egypt’s government with respect to foreign military sales and foreign military financing.

In his role as the top Democratic member on the Foreign Relations Committee, Menendez was given substantial access to and possessed substantial influence over foreign military sales and foreign military financing to Egypt, among the top recipients of U.S. foreign aid.

DEMOCRAT SEN. BOB MENENDEZ SETS UP DEFENSE FUND AMID CRIMINAL PROBE INTO GIFTS TO HIS WIFE: REPORT

2. Investigators find cash stuffed in envelopes and Menendez’s jackets

The indictment further revealed that federal agents conducted a search of Menendez’s home last year, when they discovered hidden cash and gold bars.

In June 2022, agents raided Menendez’s residence and a safe deposit box belonging to Nadine Menendez. They found more than $480,000 in cash, which was largely stuffed into envelopes and hidden in clothing, closets and a safe. They also discovered more than $70,000 in the senator’s wife’s safe deposit box.

Some of the envelopes containing cash contained DNA belonging to Daibes or his driver.

Cash was also located in jackets with Menendez’s name stitched on them. One jacket had Menendez’s name stitched next to the insignia for the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, of which he is a member.

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“During the same court-authorized search of the home, agents also found home furnishings provided by Hana and Daibes, the luxury vehicle paid for by Uribe parked in the garage, as well as over one hundred thousand dollars’ worth of gold bars in the home, which were provided by either Hana or Daibes,” the indictment said. 

3. Google search for ‘kilo of gold price’

Meanwhile, amid the scheme, Menendez, according to the indictment, searched on Google for the “kilo of gold price.” The search was an apparent attempt to ascertain how much the gold bars investigators found on his property are worth, according to the indictment. 

Menendez performed the Google search on Jan. 29, 2022, shortly after his wife allegedly exchanged calls with Daibes’ driver and later texted him, “Thank you. Christmas in January.”

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Menendez’s search also came shortly after he allegedly spoke on the phone with an Egyptian government official in what was his first contact with that individual.

Photographs taken by agents who raided Menendez’s home showed gold bars emblazoned with the logo of the Swiss Bank Corporation and markings indicating they weigh one kilogram.

4. Menendez seeks to disrupt federal criminal prosecutions

Menendez attempted to influence a pending federal prosecution of Daibes, who is a New Jersey developer and former bank chairman, from around late 2020 until early 2022, according to the indictment. 

Daibes faced federal bank fraud charges that could have landed him up to a decade in prison for lying about a $1.8 million loan from Mariner’s Bank, where he served as chairman.

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According to the indictment, Menendez recommended now-U.S. Attorney Philip Sellinger for the position after believing he would be sympathetic to Daibes. Sellinger, however, recused himself. 

During the process, Menendez and his wife allegedly received cash, gold bars and furniture for his attempts to help Daibes. 

Last year, New Jersey’s U.S. Attorney’s Office agreed to let Daibes plead guilty to one count and serve probation. They said Daibes had repaid the loan.

5. Menendez allegedly receives luxury car for disrupting criminal case

Two defendants within the indictment, Hana and Uribe, allegedly helped purchase a Mercedes-Benz C-300 convertible valued at over $60,000 for Menendez and his wife.

Menendez had agreed to interfere in a New Jersey state criminal prosecution dealing with an associate of Uribe, who faced insurance fraud charges relating to a trucking company and an employee of Uribe, according to the indictment.  

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Around this time, Menendez’s wife had a car accident that left her without a vehicle. She texted Hana about her lack of a car. They agreed that Menendez would then intercede in exchange for a car, according to the indictment.  

Menendez allegedly contacted a senior state prosecutor in New Jersey’s attorney general’s office, attempting “through advice and pressure” to cause the individual to resolve the issues favorably for Uribe’s associates. 

Uribe later allegedly met Menendez’s wife in a restaurant parking lot and supplied her with $15,000 in cash. The following day, Menendez’s wife made a $15,000 down payment on the Mercedes with a combination of cash, a credit card and checks. 

“Congratulations mon amour de la vie, we are the proud owners of a 2019 Mercedes,” Menendez’s wife allegedly texted him after she acquired the vehicle. 

His wife later texted him a picture of the new car, the indictment said. 

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New Jersey Democratic Senator Bob Menedez was indicted on international corruption charges Friday, years after accusing former President Trump of being “compromised” by the Russian government. 

“Over the last two years, many of us have grappled with a very difficult question about our President,” Menendez said on the Senate floor in February 2019. “It’s a question that never before could we even imagine thinking about an American president, let alone saying aloud on the floor of the Senate.

“I’m talking about the entirely legitimate question of whether Donald Trump could be compromised by the Russian government.”

Menendez continued, “It’s more than a legitimate question — it’s the natural question that comes to mind every time we learn more about the links between President Trump, his associates, and the Russian government.”

FEDS PROBING IF DEM SEN MENENDEZ OR WIFE ACCEPTED GOLD BARS WORTH HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS FROM FELON: REPORT

Menendez made a lengthy speech outlining allegations against Trump and said that the possibility of corruption “keeps me up at night.”

On Friday, Menendez was federally indicted on bribery offenses that alleged the senator and his wife took bribes of cash, gold bars and a luxury car for a range of corrupt acts, including having the Democrat use his influence over foreign affairs to benefit the authoritarian government of Egypt.

DEMOCRAT SEN. BOB MENENDEZ SETS UP DEFENSE FUND AMID CRIMINAL PROBE INTO GIFTS TO HIS WIFE: REPORT

A search of the couple’s home turned up $100,000 in gold bars and $480,000 in hidden cash, said prosecutors, who announced the charges against the 69-year-old Democrat nearly six years after an earlier criminal case against him ended with a deadlocked jury.

“For years, forces behind the scenes have repeatedly attempted to silence my voice and dig my political grave,” Menendez said in a press release Friday. “Since this investigation was leaked nearly a year ago, there has been an active smear campaign of anonymous sources and innuendos to create an air of impropriety where none exists.”

“To my supporters, friends and the community at large, I ask that you recall the other times the prosecutors got it wrong and that you reserve judgement. I am confident that this matter will be successfully resolved once all of the facts are presented and my fellow New Jerseyans will see this for what it is.”

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In April, Menendez established a legal defense fund to help pay for tens of thousands of dollars in legal fees relating to the federal criminal probe.

The Associated Press and Fox News Digital’s Joe Schoffstall contributed to this report

Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley took a swipe at former President Donald Trump Thursday during a campaign event in New Hampshire, where she said he was “the right president at the right time,” but that times have changed.

Speaking to an audience at the Portsmouth Rotary Club Meeting, Haley criticized Trump as being “weak in the knees,” and “thin-skinned and easily distracted,” while also offering praise about his time in the White House.

When asked how the 45th president would be remembered 100 years from now, Haley began with a positive outlook.

“He was the right president at the right time,” Haley said. “He broke things that needed to be broken. He listened and brought in a group of people who felt unheard. He was strong on foreign policy and getting America respected in the world.”

She then said of the current Republican primary front-runner: “He was thin-skinned and easily distracted. He didn’t do anything on fiscal policy and really spent a lot of money, and we are all paying the price for it. He did a better job than Biden on the border. He used to be good on foreign policy and now he has started to walk it back and get weak in the knees when it comes to Ukraine.”

2024 WATCH: NIKKI HALEY SAYS HER MOMENTUM IN GOP PRESIDENTIAL RACE COMES DOWN TO THIS

During an interview after the event, Haley echoed her remarks: “I agree with a lot of his policies, but I don’t think he is the right president to go forward. He was strong when it came to foreign policy, but we’ve seen him get weak on Ukraine.”

Haley has emerged as a strong vocal supporter of Ukraine military aid as her 2024 contenders, including Trump, and some Republicans in Congress have wavered.

Addressing Trump later at her New Hampshire event, Haley, also a former U.N. Ambassador, said that while she served in the Trump administration there were times when she and the former president disagreed on issues.

“He appreciated that I was not a ‘yes man,’” she shared, noting she “saved him” a few times.

Haley also addressed a question about her trailing Trump in national polls, to which she highlighted the importance of New Hampshire in the primary process.

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She said Iowa, New Hampshire and her home state of South Carolina decide early momentum in the primary race and suggested this momentum was enough to ultimately determine the nominee.

Haley said there could be as many as eight Republicans on the ballot in Iowa, four or five in New Hampshire then just two or three in South Carolina.

The former South Carolina governor urged voters to do their part to help her stay in the race through New Hampshire, and she vowed to carry the fight to win in South Carolina.

Trump has vowed he would end the war between Ukraine and Russia if elected through stern negotiations.

He currently leads the GOP primary field in national polls by as much as 50% or more. He saw his support slip some with his notable absence from the first debate, and Haley suggested he would see another drop if he does not participate in next week’s Republican debate. 

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Trump is trailed by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is in second place, while Haley has climbed to third in some polls.

The second Republican National Committee debate will be hosted by FOX Business on Wednesday, September 27.

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

A group of Republican Wisconsin lawmakers on Thursday proposed impeaching the battleground state’s top elections official as Democrats wage a legal battle to keep the nonpartisan administrator in office.

Democrats say the GOP-controlled state Senate acted illegitimately when it voted along party lines last week to oust Wisconsin Elections Commission Administrator Meagan Wolfe. In a lawsuit challenging the vote, Democratic Attorney General Josh Kaul accused Republicans of attacking the state’s elections.

The resolution introduced Thursday by five Assembly Republicans makes Wolfe the second state official GOP lawmakers have threatened with impeachment this month. Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, Wisconsin’s top Republican, created a panel last week to investigate the criteria for impeaching liberal Justice Janet Protasiewicz, whose installment in August tipped the Wisconsin Supreme Court to liberal control for the first time in over a decade.

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Wolfe has been targeted by conspiracy theorists who falsely claim she was part of a plot to rig the 2020 election in favor of President Joe Biden. The lawmakers proposing her impeachment have played a role in advancing those claims and some pushed to decertify the results of the 2020 election.

“A gaggle of well-known election deniers is once again attacking Meagan Wolfe, a nonpartisan election administrator who has served Wisconsin and our democracy with the utmost respect and dignity,” Democratic Senate Minority Leader Melissa Agard said in a statement.

The 23-page impeachment resolution reiterates conspiracy theories about the 2020 election and faults Wolfe for election administration decisions that were made by elections commissioners. As the elections commission’s nonpartisan administrator, Wolfe has little decision-making power and instead implements decisions made by the three Democrats and three Republicans on the bipartisan commission.

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“No matter how many times some politicians misrepresent my actions and how this agency works, it does not make what they’re saying true,” Wolfe said in a statement. “It’s irresponsible for this group of politicians to willfully distort the truth when they’ve been provided the facts for years.”

Republican Rep. Janel Brandtjen, one of the resolution’s authors, lost her position as chair of the Assembly elections committee and was even kicked out of a GOP caucus last year after Republicans said they lost trust in her for promoting election lies. Brandtjen has frequently butted heads with Vos and other GOP leaders, and she endorsed Vos’ Republican primary opponent in the 2022 midterm.

The resolution to impeach Wolfe would need approval from Vos to move forward. He did not respond to an email or text message seeking comment Thursday. Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu also did not respond to emails seeking comment.

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Numerous reviews have found that the 2020 election in Wisconsin was fair and the results were accurate. Biden defeated then-President Donald Trump in 2020 by nearly 21,000 votes in Wisconsin, an outcome that has withstood two partial recounts, a nonpartisan audit, a conservative law firm’s review, and multiple state and federal lawsuits.

The Department of Homeland Security on Thursday announced it will be granting deportation protections and work permits to thousands of Afghan nationals who arrived in the last year – including those who crossed illegally at the southern border – a day after it made a similar announcement for nationals from Venezuela.

DHS announced it will be both extending and redesignating Afghanistan for Temporary Protected Status – which shields nationals already in the country from deportation and allows them to apply for work permits due to conditions in their home country. 

The designation is typically based on conditions in the designated country and is based on three grounds: armed ongoing conflict, environmental disasters or “extraordinary and temporary conditions.” Officials cited conditions including armed conflict in Afghanistan, where the Taliban has retaken control.

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

“Today’s announcement to extend and redesignate TPS for Afghanistan allows us to continue to offer safety and protection to Afghan nationals who are unable to return to their country,” DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said in a statement. “DHS will continue to support Afghan nationals through this temporary form of humanitarian relief.”

Extending TPS means that the estimated 3,100 already protected by prior designations are granted additional benefits until May 2025. The redesignation opens up to new applicants who arrived between March 2022 and Wednesday. DHS estimates it will open the program up to 14,600 additional Afghans. 

Afghans who were paroled into the United States as part of the evacuation from Afghanistan in 2021 can technically apply for TPS, but DHS said it encourages them to seek “more durable immigration pathways” for which they may be eligible than the more limited TPS.

The move comes a day after a broader re-designation of Venezuela for TPS on Wednesday, which affects a much larger population of around 472,000 Venezuelans with a cut-off date of July 31 for eligibility.

The re-designation of Venezuela had been called for by officials in New York and elsewhere, who have been overwhelmed with a surge of migrants who have traveled to those jurisdictions and are unable to work. It came hours after thousands of Venezuelans surged into Eagle Pass, Texas — although the designation will not directly affect them.

LEAKED IMAGES SHOW BIDEN ADMIN’S PLANNED ICE ID CARD FOR ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS

The southern has been seeing rapidly increasing numbers of migrants arriving at the southern border from countries across the globe – with immigration activists pushing for additional TPS designations and re-designations to prevent deportations and allow them to work.

“We encourage the Biden administration to continue granting TPS designations to vulnerable populations amid unprecedented and ongoing global displacement,” Krish O’Mara Vignarajah, President and CEO of Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service, said in a statement. “As we’ve witnessed with Venezuelans, Ukrainians and other groups, TPS is a valuable tool to help stabilize those hoping to rebuild their lives in the U.S. and expand protection for people unable to return to their home countries.”

THOUSANDS OF VENEZUELAN MIGRANTS GATHER UNDER TEXAS BRIDGE AS BORDER NUMBERS SKYROCKET

But conservatives say the TPS authority, which was authorized by Congress in the 1990s, has been abused and has become distorted from its initial intent and is now anything but temporary.

“I can’t remember a time when a Democratic administration terminated a TPS determination,” Lora Ries, Director of the Border Security and Immigration Center at The Heritage Foundation, told Fox News Digital on Thursday. “The Trump administration terminated some TPS programs and the Left sued to keep them going. The Biden Administration is now up to TPS for 16 countries, many of which also have their own mass parole program.”

“And all receive what they really want – work authorization,” she said. “It’s past time for Congress to take back its authority to determine who is authorized to work & narrow parole and TPS statutory text to align with Congress’ original intent.

EXCLUSIVE — New documents obtained through Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests show that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) argued that the agency has authority in regulating “misinformation, disinformation, and malinformation” despite the disbandment of the agency’s highly criticized Disinformation Governance Board.

In heavily redacted memos obtained by Americans for Prosperity Foundation (AFPF) and reviewed exclusively by Fox New Digital, the agency appeared to circulate ahead of the launch of the disinformation board justification that DHS has regulatory or statutory authority in the “the MDM Space” – short for “misinformation, disinformation, and malinformation.

But because DHS withheld all the substance in these memos that AFPF requested via FOIA and then by a lawsuit, the group says DHS is effectively relying on secret authorities for its work in the “MDM Space.”

“If DHS believes it has the authority to police people’s online speech, it should be open with the public about what those authorities are,” AFPF Director of Investigations Kevin Schmidt told Fox News Digital.

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“The idea that any agency with such vast political power believes it has the authority to determine what ideas count as good or true upsets the delicate balance of power established by our founding fathers,” he said.

One memo is partially withheld under FOIA Exemption 7(E), which protects “techniques and procedures for law enforcement investigations or prosecutions, or would disclose guidelines for law enforcement investigations.”

The use of the exemption, AFPF says, is troubling because it suggests DHS is either overstating its authority in the “MDM Space” or it’s abusing FOIA exemptions to avoid transparency.

GOP LAWMAKER AIMS TO CUT US TAXPAYER DOLLARS FROM UNITED NATIONS ‘CENSORSHIP’ PROGRAM

“Our Constitution was designed to protect people’s liberties from overreaching authorities. But the documents we’ve uncovered suggest that DHS believes it has overreaching authorities to regulate speech under the guise of countering misinformation even without a Disinformation Governance Board,” Schmidt said.

According to the documents obtained by AFPF, the Disinformation Governance Board also began working on misinformation related to “irregular migration” and “Ukraine” before it was disbanded.

One memo produced from the FOIA request is dated Feb. 22, 2022, and titled “Ukraine MDM Playbook,” but the content of that memo is redacted in the document produced to AFPF.

Ken Cuccinelli, former deputy secretary of Homeland Security during the Trump administration, told Fox News Digital in a statement that “DHS does not have censorship authority.”

“Making up a new government acronym – ‘MDM’ – does not change that legal fact,” he said.

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Former DHS Assistant Secretary of Public Affairs Alexei Woltornist said “no amount of regulatory authority can undermine Constitutional rights.”

“What is most concerning about this disclosure from DHS is they are using sophisticated law enforcement techniques against law-abiding citizens just for saying things the government does not like.”

In August 2022, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas terminated plans for the “disinformation board” after mounting backlash.

But in November 2022, leaked documents published by The Intercept revealed that while DHS disbanded the disinformation board, the agency was still working to combat disinformation on a range of topics, including COVID-19, vaccines, racial issues, the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan and Ukraine aid.

According to a draft copy of its Quadrennial Homeland Security Review, which is DHS’ capstone strategy document, the agency intends to target disinformation on topics such as “the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic and the efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines, racial justice, U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, and the nature of U.S. support to Ukraine,” The Intercept reported.

A lawsuit brought by two Republican attorneys general that alleges the Biden administration colluded with social media companies to censor user speech has so far resulted in a court order temporarily banning such activities by the government, ruling that such activities likely violated the First Amendment.

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The Justice Department appealed the court order to the Supreme Court, arguing that the “unprecedented injunction installing the United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana as the superintendent of the Executive Branch’s communications with and about social-media platforms – including senior White House officials’ speech addressing some of the most salient public issues of the day.”

The Supreme Court is expected to weigh in as early as Friday.

Last week, House Republicans introduced legislation that would ban any federal dollars from helping to form any other such disinformation governance board in the future.

“Partisan government officials running a ‘disinformation board’ sounds ridiculous to most people, yet the Biden Administration tried to control the speech of American citizens,” said bill co-author Rep. August Pfluger, R-Texas, in a statement.

The Department of Homeland Security did not return a request for comment by time of publication.

It’s take two for Dave McCormick in battleground Pennsylvania.

McCormick, a former hedge fund executive, West Point graduate, Gulf War combat veteran and Treasury Department official in former President George W. Bush’s administration, on Thursday launched his second straight campaign for the Senate. 

His announcement gives national and state Republicans a high-profile candidate with the ability to self finance. McCormick had been courted to run against longtime Democratic Sen. Bob Casey, Jr. — a race that could ultimately decide whether the GOP wins back the Senate majority in 2024.

“I have total faith and confidence in the people of Pennsylvania,” McCormick said, but he stressed the need for leadership in Washington, D.C. “That is why today, I am announcing my candidacy for the United States Senate,” McCormick said as he launched his Senate bid at Heinz History Center in Pittsburgh.

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Asked why he was running again for the Senate, McCormick said in an interview with Fox News Digital that “the motivation is the same in the sense that I really feel that the country’s headed in the wrong direction.”

“Whether it’s the immigration crisis or the economy or record high inflation, whether it’s the war on our domestic energy sector, I think the need to get great leaders into public life who can really make a difference and be independent and try to break the gridlock in Washington, which is failing us, is key,” McCormick said.

CHECK OUT THE FOX NEWS POWER RANKINGS IN THE BATTLE FOR THE SENATE

And he took aim at Casey, tying the three-term Democratic senator and son of popular former Pennsylvania governor as well as President Biden, whose approval ratings remain well in negative territory.

“Bob Casey is an 18-year senator. He’s been in politics 30 years and really hasn’t’ accomplished very much at all. He’s been a rubber-stamp for Joe Biden. He’s voted for Joe Biden 98% of the time,” McCormick said. “If I can win this seat, I can really be a force for good in pushing back on Joe Biden’s policies.”

Casey, who served a decade as the state’s auditor general and then treasurer before winning election to the Senate in 2006, is not expected to face any serious primary challenge for the Democratic nomination.

FIRST ON FOX: SENATE REPUBLICANS BUILD WAR CHEST FOR EVENTUAL GOP NOMINEES IN CRUCIAL 2024 STATES

McCormick may escape a crowded and combustible battle for the 2024 GOP Senate nomination similar to the one he faced last year. McCormick ended up losing the nomination by a race thin margin to celebrity doctor and cardiac surgeon Mehmet Oz, who secured a primary victory thanks to a late endorsement from former President Donald Trump. Oz ended up losing the general election last November to now-Democratic Sen. John Fetterman.

Asked about lessons learned from his first campaign, McCormick noted in his Fox News interview that he entered the race “a lot earlier this time.”

“When you lose by 900 votes, there’s lots of lessons that you can learn. And so I’ve tried to learn all the things that came out of that last race and despite losing it was a great experience,” he emphasized. “The most important thing is to get out there and be authentic.”

McCormick immediately won praise from the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC), the campaign arm of the Senate GOP.

“Dave McCormick has done a remarkable job of unifying the grassroots in Pennsylvania. A graduate of West Point, combat veteran and Pennsylvania job creator, Dave is exactly the type of candidate who can win both a primary and a general election in one of the most competitive states in the country. It’s great news that Dave is stepping up to serve our country once again.” NRSC chair Steve Daines wrote in a statement shared with Fox News.

A race between Casey and McCormick could end up being one of the most expensive and closely watched Senate contests in the country next year, as the Democrats defend their fragile 51-49 majority.

Republicans need a net gain of either one or two seats in 2024 to win back the majority — depending on which party controls the White House after next year’s presidential election. 

The math and the map favor the GOP, as the Democrats are defending 23 of the 34 seats up for grabs, including three in red states and a handful in key general election battlegrounds such as Pennsylvania.

McCormick will likely once again come under attack — as both he and Oz did last year — over residency.

Oz was repeatedly criticized for relocating to Pennsylvania after living for decades in neighboring New Jersey. And McCormick, who grew up in northeast Pennsylvania and who’s the son of the Keystone state’s first state university system chancellor, was attacked for owning a home in an affluent part of Connecticut even buying a home in Pittsburgh ahead of his 2022 Senate campaign.

“The real David McCormick is a mega-millionaire Connecticut hedge fund executive who is lying about living in Pennsylvania,” the Pennsylvania Democrats charged in a release.

McCormick told Fox News that he is born and raised in Pennsylvania, lived most of his life there and ran a business in the state. “But like many Pennsylvanians, I’m divorced and remarried. My youngest daughter is finishing high school in Connecticut – she lives with her mom – and I’m going to go to Connecticut to see my daughter and to be a great dad,” he said.

Attacks on his ties to Connecticut are a distraction, McCormick said.

Democrats are also blasting McCormick over the combustible issue of abortion.

Following the Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade last year, abortion restrictions returned to individual states — making it a major election issue.

Republicans have played defense as Democrats point to polling that shows most Americans favor at least some form of abortion access.

“Dave McCormick wants to ban abortions, even in cases of rape or incest,” the Senate Majority PAC — the top super PAC backing Senate Democrats — said in a release hours before Thursday’s campaign launch.

But McCormick told Fox News that “my position hasn’t changed. I’m pro-life.” And he reiterated that “any limits on this [abortion] should be for exceptions for rape, incest, and life of the mother. That’s what I consistently said throughout the campaign [last year]. So that position hasn’t changed.”

Asked about a 15-week federal ban that some Republicans in Congress and some GOP presidential candidates support, McCormick answered “I don’t support a national abortion ban.”

“This is also an issue where I think we have to show a lot of compassion and look for common ground. Certainly, we can — and most Pennsylvanians and most Americans agree we should contraception and we have reasonable limits on late-term abortion. And that is a compassion position and a consensus position. And that’s the position I support,” he emphasized.

And he claimed that “Bob Casey can’t name one limit on abortion he would support, even at eight or nine months. So, Bob Casey and the Democrats are supporting late-term abortions… I think that’s how I’ll talk about this on the campaign trail.”

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In last year’s primary, Trump repeatedly criticized McCormick as “liberal Wall Street Republican,” as he campaigned for Oz.

But if Trump secures the GOP nomination, the former president and McCormick would both be at the top of the GOP ticket in Pennsylvania.

“It’s publicly documented that we’ve had our disagreements,” McCormick said of his relationship with Trump. “There’s no doubt about that. We have different styles.”

“But there’s a lot of things I said in the last campaign that I say in this campaign about the polices of President Trump that I think were great for the country, great for America,” he added. “The country’s going in a terrible direction since Biden has been in office and that’s the case that I’ll make and I think many of the things that President Trump was advocating and put in place were taking us in the right direction.”

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

President Biden committed his latest awkward gaffe Wednesday when it appeared he forgot to shake the hand of Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, known as “Lula,” before leaving the stage after a joint event.

The gaffe occurred following Biden’s speech on workers’ rights at the United Nations in New York City when he shook the hand of International Labor Organization Director-General Gilbert Houngbo, who was also on stage, and then stopped to wave and give a salute toward the audience before slowly turning and walking away.

Lula walked toward Biden as if to shake his hand, before realizing the president was beginning to walk in the other direction. He then turned and motioned his arm toward his side of the stage and walked away, appearing irritated.

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

The gaffe came on the same day as Biden was torched on social media for — according to a press pool report — telling the same story at a fundraiser twice just minutes apart, that users pointed out was “nearly word for word.”

“After briefly touting his economic record, POTUS reflected on his decision to seek the presidency,” the pool report from Politico’s Jonathan Lemire, who was traveling with the president on Wednesday, stated. “He told the story about the events of Charlottesville in 2017 as the reason for his campaign. A few minutes later, he told the story again, nearly word for word.”

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Users promoted the pool report as evidence that the 80-year-old president’s age has become a factor in his presidency and campaign for re-election, a charge he has faced from both sides of the aisle since taking office.

An Associated Press-NORC poll last month found that 77% of Americans say Biden is too old for a second term. While an unsurprising 89% of Republicans expressed the sentiment, 69% of Democrats also say Biden is no longer up to the task, according to the poll.

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

Fox News’ Andrew Mark Miller contributed to this report.

PHOENIX – Former Arizona gubernatorial candidate and conservative firebrand Kari Lake has been hitting the pavement more and more in recent weeks as a top surrogate for former President Donald Trump’s presidential campaign and as a booster of Republican candidates across the country ahead of her own likely run for U.S. Senate.

According to two sources close to the former news anchor, Lake will likely launch her campaign in the second week of October to win back for Republicans the Senate seat currently held by independent Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema.

Those sources also said Lake will continue to travel the country and speak to voters in an effort to help Republican candidates, including Trump, win the back the White House and secure majorities in both houses of Congress next year.

WATCH: TRUMP HANDS OUT PIZZAS TO SWARM OF SUPPORTERS AT IOWA PUB

Just in the past three months, Lake has traveled to 14 states to headline events and address Republican organizations at the state and county levels, and has even thrown her support behind candidates in other Senate races. 

On Monday, she traveled to Utah for an event to endorse Trent Staggs, the mayor of Riverton, Utah, in his bid to replace retiring Sen. Mitt Romney, and, last month, endorsed businessman Bernie Moreno’s efforts to unseat vulnerable Democrat Sen. Sherrod Brown in Ohio.

Lake has also boosted Trump on the campaign trail, including at events in Wisconsin, Texas and Iowa — the state she was raised. According to sources close to Lake, she will also travel to California next week as a surrogate for Trump at the second Republican presidential debate hosted by Fox Business. Trump will not be participating, and will instead speak at an event in Michigan.

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Early polls have suggested Lake would be the front-runner in a hypothetical Republican primary. The only major Republican candidate in the race so far is Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb, who launched his campaign in April. Republican businessman Blake Masters, who lost to Democrat Sen. Mark Kelly in last year’s race, has also been mentioned as a potential candidate. 

Democrat Congressman Ruben Gallego, whose district encompasses a large portion of the deep-blue Phoenix area, is currently considered the front-runner for his party’s nomination in the race. Meanwhile, Sinema has still not officially said whether she will attempt an independent run for re-election after leaving the Democrat Party last year.

Sources close to Lake have also pointed to polling showing Trump edging President Biden in a hypothetical 2024 matchup as evidence she would perform well against Gallego in the general election.

DEMOCRAT LAWMAKER REVEALS THE PARTY’S ‘NIGHTMARE SCENARIO’ FOR BIDEN AND 2024

Lake first gained nationwide name recognition last year with her gubernatorial run against now-Democrat Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs. She narrowly lost to Hobbs by just over 17,000 votes out of the nearly 2.6 million cast, but has maintained there was an amount of voter fraud significant enough to help put the Democrat over the finish line.

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It’s unclear how her view on any alleged fraud could sway middle of the road voters in the swing state should she ultimately jump into the Senate race.

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

FIRST ON FOX – The Republican National Committee will raise polling and donor thresholds 2024 primary candidates must reach to make the stage at the third GOP presidential nomination debate, Fox News Digital has learned.

To participate in the third debate, each candidate must have a minimum of 70,000 unique donors to their campaign or exploratory committee, including 200 donors in 20 or more states, according to sources with knowledge of the committee’s deliberations. 

The White House hopefuls must also reach 4% support in two national polls, or reach 4% in one national poll and 4% in two statewide polls conducted in Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada or South Carolina — the four states that lead off the Republican presidential nominating calendar.

THESE REPUBLICAN CANDIDATES ARE SCRAMBLING TO QUALIFY FOR NEXT WEEK’S SECOND PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE

Additionally, candidates are also required to sign a pledge in which they agree 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.

The thresholds have been rising for each ensuing debate. To make first showdown, a Fox News hosted event in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on August 23, the candidates needed to hit a 1% in polling and have 40,000 donors. Eight candidates ended up facing off in Milwaukee.

HERE ARE THE CANDIDATES WHO’VE SECURED A SPOT ON THE STAGE AT THE SECOND GOP PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE

The criteria were raised to 3% in the polls and 50,000 donors for next week’s second debate, a Fox Business hosted showdown happening Tuesday at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum in Simi Valley, California.

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

They are former — in alphabetical order — 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.

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North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum and former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, who qualified for the first debate, have yet to reach the second showdown’s thresholds.

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 alternate plans for next week’s showdown.

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

This is the second of a two-part series breaking down the Fox News Power Rankings ahead of the second 2024 GOP presidential debate. Read part one here.

Wild card

Governor Chris Christie is the wild card in this race. As this column has pointed out, there is a “non-Trump” lane in this primary, with 25% of likely voters saying they will not support the former president. 

Christie is the only candidate targeting those voters exclusively.

FOX NEWS POWER RANKINGS: THE 2024 GOP PRESIDENTIAL FRONTRUNNER, CHALLENGERS AND SECOND PLACE CANDIDATES

In New Hampshire, Christie continues to outperform relative to national and other state polls. If he picks up delegates there, he could be one of a smaller group of candidates who are still part of the conversation going in to Super Tuesday.

Outsiders 

Gov. Doug Burgum remains in 8th but moves down to the “outsiders” tier, and former Gov. Asa Hutchinson stays in 9th. Neither candidate gained momentum after the first debate, and it’s not yet apparent that they will qualify for the second.

LONGSHOT REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES SCRAMBLE TO MAKE 2ND DEBATE NEXT WEEK

Former Rep. Will Hurd remains in 10th, with Larry Elder moving up to 11th after Mayor Francis Suarez suspended his campaign. 

Businessman Perry Johnson, who meets some criteria to appear at the second debate, joins the rankings in last place.

The second debate airs next Wednesday

FOX Business and Univision will host the second Republican debate next Wednesday, September 27, at 9PM ET, from the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in California. 

Your moderators are Fox’s Dana Perino and Stuart Varney, and Univision’s Ilia Calderón. 

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Live coverage begins at 8PM ET on Fox Business Network and 8:30PM ET on Fox News Channel. The debate will simulcast on both networks, along with Univision, and streaming partner Rumble.

President Biden met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for the first time in months on Wednesday following a long delay seen as a snub to the Israeli leader.

Biden had neglected to meet with Netanyahu for nine months prior to Wednesday. The location of the meeting, New York City instead of the White House, was seen as another veiled jab. Biden has been critical of Netanyahu’s efforts to overhaul Israel’s judicial system.

Nevertheless, Netanyahu cracked jokes with Biden and left Wednesday’s meeting with an invitation to come to the White House before the end of the year.

“I suffer from an oxymoron, Irish optimism. If you and I 10 years ago were talking about normalization with Saudi Arabia, I think we’d look at each other like, ‘Who’s been drinking what?” Biden joked to his Israeli counterpart.

“Good Irish whiskey,” Netanyahu replied.

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Biden came to the table with Netanyahu to help secure a deal to normalize relations with Saudi Arabia. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman told Fox News that a deal is getting “closer.”

“For us, the Palestinian issue is very important. We need to solve that part,” bin Salman told Fox News host Bret Baier. “We got to see where we go. We hope that will reach a place, that it will ease the life of the Palestinians, get Israel as a player in the Middle East.”

BIDEN DROVE ‘HISTORICALLY’ CLOSE MIDDLE EAST ALLIES INTO THE ARMS OF AMERICA’S GREATEST ENEMIES, EXPERTS SAY

Biden and Netanyahu discussed negotiations with the Saudis in a private session on Wednesday. While U.S. officials have expressed optimism over the deal, they have also cautioned that work remains to be done.

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“Normalization is a very complicated issue. We have been making some progress, but there’s some ways to travel on this before we get there,” a senior U.S. official told reporters.

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A normalization deal between Israel and the Saudis would cap a string of peace deals with Israel and neighboring Arab countries through the Abraham Accords under former President Trump.

Pro-life groups are vowing to put pressure on former President Donald Trump after the leading Republican 2024 candidate did an about-face on abortion and began opposing some restrictions.

Trump turned on the pro-life movement over a matter of days this week, labeling Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ six-week ban “a terrible thing” and abandoning a push for federal-level restrictions. Now, many within the pro-life movement are prepared to pressure Trump back into the fold.

“Are pro-lifers going to allow themselves to be a cheap date?” Patrick Brown, a fellow with the conservative Ethics and Public Policy Center’s Life and Family Initiative, told Politico. “Are they going to sit back and take it when candidates are denigrating the cause they dedicated their life to?”

“He won’t feel pressure until it’s applied, and we’re willing to apply it,” Kristi Hamrick, chief policy strategist with Students for Life of America, told the outlet. “You cannot ignore the human rights issue of our time and still get our vote.”

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Lila Rose, president and founder of Live Action called Trump’s move “[p]athetic and unacceptable,” saying the former president was “actively attacking the very pro-life laws made possible by Roe’s overturning.”

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

“Heartbeat Laws have saved thousands of babies. But Trump wants to compromise on babies’ lives so pro-abort Dems ‘like him.’ Trump should not be the GOP nominee,” she wrote on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.

Trump GOP primary contenders have capitalized on his reversal, with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis warning pro-life voters that Trump is preparing to “sell you out.”

“Anytime he did a deal with Democrats, whether it was on budget, whether it was on the criminal justice ‘First Step Act,’ they ended up taking him to the cleaners, and so, I think if he’s going into this thing, he’s gonna make the Democrats happy with respect to the right to life. I think all pro-lifers should know that he’s preparing to sell you out,” DeSantis told Iowa Radio.

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“Protecting babies with heartbeats is not terrible. Donald Trump may think it’s terrible. I think protecting babies with heartbeats is noble and just, and I’m proud to have signed the heartbeat bill in Florida, and I know Iowa has similar legislation,” DeSantis added.

FIRST ON FOX: Two veteran Republican congressmen are demanding answers from the heads of West Point and the U.S. Air Force Academy (USAFA) regarding a event they say “encouraged partisanship,” promoted diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, and bashed conservative lawmakers.

Republican Reps. Michael Waltz of Florida and Jim Banks of Indiana sent letters to U.S. Military Academy (USMA) and USAFA superintendents Lt. Gens. Steven Gilland and Richard Clark regarding the event, and a cadet’s question to a panel at the USMA’s Annual Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Conference.

At the August 30 conference, a USAFA cadet in uniform reportedly asked how DEI teachings can be “safeguarded” by U.S. military academies and their cadets. The cadet also “spoke contemptuously of Members of Congress for performing their constitutional oversight duties,” according to Waltz and Banks.

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“So, the United States Air Force Academy has a diversity and inclusion minor that teaches classes on gender, race, and nationalism in the class, and these teachings have been incredibly controversial across the U.S. with an outright ban in Florida and the superintendent of the United States Air Force Academy being questioned for it in Congress and the video going viral,” the cadet asked, according to a report of the incident.

“Can cadets and service academies safeguard the teachings of these topics, or, if we get a particularly bad batch of congressmen, are these teachings like, screwed?” the cadet said.

Banks, the chairman of the Anti-Woke Caucus and the Military Personnel Subcommittee, told Fox News Digital he disagrees “with the cadet’s remarks,” but sees “why he thought they were appropriate, given he made them at a left-wing political conference.”

“The issue is that the U.S. Military Academy is hosting partisan, DEI events in the first place,” Banks said.

In the letter, Waltz — the chairman of the House’s military readiness subcommittee — wrote that the conference “was hosted by USMA and attended by personnel from the U.S. Air Force Academy, USMA, U.S. Army officers, U.S. Air Force officers, as well as USMA faculty, civilian professors, Veterans Affairs staff, NASA staff, and professional DEI speakers.”

The congressmen noted the audio recording of the cadet’s question and wrote that, per “the recording, the crowd in attendance erupted in laughter at the cadet’s comments, and it is not apparent that any senior officer attempted to correct or counsel the cadet, nor did anyone take the opportunity to educate the group of cadets regarding civilian oversight of the military or the constitutional duty of elected officials to conduct legislative oversight.”

“As veterans, we find USMA and the U.S. Air Force Academy’s apparent acquiescence of demeaning statements aimed at Congress troubling and emblematic of the increasing politicization of our academies,” the Republicans wrote.

“The apparent failure of any senior officer to correct the highly inappropriate behavior of scorning lawful, civilian authorities amounts to turning a blind eye to conduct that could be a violation of Article 88 of the UCMJ,” they continued.

Waltz and Banks added that “the recording reinforces and validates the statements of a number of cadets who have reached out to our offices over the last several years.”

The congressmen wrote that some cadets as well as their families “feared that voicing a dissenting opinion” on DEI or critical race theory teachings “even in an academic setting or seminar” will lead to “mockery by their peers, faculty, and would be detrimental to their fledgling military careers.”

“As we discussed during a Congressional hearing this year, I hope you will ask yourselves as commanders, why these cadets are so uncomfortable sharing their concerns with their chain of command,” the Republicans wrote.

The congressmen also torched USMA’s DEI speaker selection for its annual conference, writing that the speakers, “as well as the nature of the conference itself, suggests that USMA fostered an environment that encourages partisanship.”

“One of the speakers on the panel titled ‘Diversity in National Security: Views from Academia and Practice’, Dr. Nakissa P. Jahanbani, has a history of divisive public statements,” the lawmakers wrote, pointing to social media posts from the speaker attacking former President Trump.

“On social media, she has blamed the ‘rise in anti-black, immigrant hate’ on former President Trump’s ‘bigoted opinions’ and stated that ‘white identity and grievances,’ explain his political success,” the lawmakers wrote.

“Another participant on that panel, Dr. Rachel Yon, has published ‘classroom exercises’ based on the work of Derrick Bell, who has been described as the ‘Godfather of Critical Race Theory.’ A third member of the same panel was Zainab Ahmad, a former federal prosecutor who worked on Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s very controversial investigation into the Trump campaign, the premise of which was later discredited by the Durham report.”

“Given the example that has been set at an official USMA event, it’s not surprising that a cadet felt it acceptable to attack elected officials while in uniform,” the lawmakers added.

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The lawmakers asked the superintendents if the cadet in question was counseled “on appropriate references to elected officials while in uniform” and if the academies “condone the highly partisan statements of the conference’s guest speakers.”

Banks and Waltz are currently investigating race-based admissions to military service academies — which was a controversial exclusion in the Supreme Court’s recent overturn of race-based affirmative action in college admissions.

Though she appears on a schedule prepared prior to the event, Ahmad told Fox News Digital that she “did not attend the conference,” 

Neither the USMA and USAFA nor the rest of the speakers highlighted by the congressmen in the letter immediately responded to Fox News Digitals’ requests for comment.

FIRST ON FOX: Catholic Bishop Robert Barron and commentator Chris Rufo share a hope that the “extremism of a lot of the woke ideology” is prompting a promising backlash despite dominating conservative fears.

“My Hope Is that in what 20 years, 30 years, 40 years people will look back at this time and say ‘oh my goodness, that woke extremism was so unhealthy,’” said Word on Fire ministries’ Barron during an hour-long conversation with Rufo on Bishop Barron Presents.

Barron, bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Winona–Rochester in Wisconsin, discussed the ideological threat of critical race theory (CRT), Marxism and transgender ideology with Rufo, who is a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute in an interview shared with Fox News Digital ahead of its Thursday release on Barron’s popular YouTube channel.

Rufo is among the most prominent activists against CRT and transgender ideology, and has been accused by critics of sparking widespread moral panic among conservatives. 

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Barron, one of the most vocal Roman Catholic prelates in the U.S., faced criticism in recent years for speaking against “woke” ideology. But his opposition to CRT is against the theory’s framing of fundamentally racist structures, collective guilt and revolutionary struggle.

Barron said the U.S. will be “on dangerous ground politically” as culture moves away from the Declaration of Independence’s sense of inalienable rights. “Real equality is that we’re all children of God together our rights are going to even us because they’re dependent upon the Creator’s will,” Barron said.

While many Republican politicians have joined the crusade against “wokeness,” others have softened on the term. 

“I don’t like the term ‘woke’ because I hear, ‘Woke, woke, woke,'” said Republican primary frontrunner and former President Donald Trump during a campaign stop in Iowa this summer. “It’s just a term they use. Half the people can’t even define it, they don’t know what it is.”

In his book “America’s Cultural Revolution: How the Radical Left Conquered Everything” Rufo writes that the roots of CRT and wokeness are found in Marxism and nihilism, but presented in moral — even Christian — “marketing terms.” 

Activists take “revolutionary literature and launder them through euphemism, passing them through the organs of legitimation — the academic journals and the university programs — into the K-12 School curriculum, into the diversity training curriculum in companies, into public policy using those same ideas,” Rufo told Barron. 

At the university level, critical race theory began permeating academic institutions in the 1960s and ’70s, when according to Barron Catholic and conservative intellectuals “didn’t present our own point of view with confidence.” 

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“Coming out of this very rich intellectual tradition there was kind of a hand-wringing quality to a lot of Catholic intellectual life and [that] opened the door too to the invasion of these other points of view that were not wringing their hands — they were evangelizing very effectively at a time when we had sort of stopped evangelizing,” Barron said.

The success of what Rufo called the “cultural conquest” has been pervasive, but not at every level. 

At the local level, Rufo sees promise in education movements away from public schools toward charter schools and homeschooling, often making drastic job or life changes to do so. 

In local and broader policy fights, Rufo also sees promise. 

“This is not a conflict at heart between left and right,” Rufo said. “This is a contest between the permanent bureaucracy and let’s say elite institutions that are seeking to impose these ideologies from the top down and then the broad middle class that opposes them.”

As more people contest the charters and funding for “woke” programs, Rufo said more politicians will turn aside. 

“That’s going to be a brutal it’s going to be a difficult and it’s going to be, in a metaphorical sense, a bloody fight,” Rufo said.

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In his 1993 book “Faces at the Bottom of the Well,” Derrick Bell — hailed sometimes as the godfather of critical race theory — argued that “racism is an integral permanent and indestructible component of our society.” 

“If that’s true, if [racism is] so baked into our society then the only solution is a complete destruction of the society,” Barron said. “It’s not a matter of reforming [society], calling it to conversion like in [Dr. Martin Luther] King’s case summoning its own best qualities,” Barron said. The “only solution is a revolutionary violence that destroys the entire society, and that is a Marxist inspired strategy,” he added.

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Bell wrote that recognizing systemic racism throughout society should not cause “disabling despair.” 

For Bell, resistance to the overarching structure helped achieve freedom at a human level, even if it never overturned structures “deeply poisoned with racism.” Bell quoted 20th century psychoanalyst and Marxist Frantz Faron: “In the World through which I travel, I am endlessly creating myself.”

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The self-creation, self-identification motif is something Barron called fundamentally anti-Christian, and he connected it to transgender ideology. 

“Pope Francis — I can tell you this from direct experience — he told us when I was a bishop out in California ‘I want you to stand against the gender ideology,’ because it’s repugnant to the Bible and to our anthropology, and we’re on dangerous ground when we start playing that game of my existence completely trumps essence,” Barron said.

An appointee on a committee advising Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg once declared “ALL CARS ARE BAD” but has a long record of complaining about public transit on social media.

“Even in late September a train car with no a/c is killer,” Andrea Marpillero-Colomina posted to X, formerly known as Twitter, in 2011. “Smells like stale doritos.”

Marpillero-Colomina was appointed last month to the Advisory Committee on Transportation and Equity (ACTE), which focuses on advising Buttigieg on civil rights and equity. Her social media history criticizing cars was highlighted shortly after her appointment, but additional posts show she also has grievances about public transportation, including tourists, cleanliness, disorganization and safety. 

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“There are tourists on my subway car and I am reminded how annoying and how bad at respecting personal space these people are…” she posted in November 2021. 

Originally created under the Obama administration, ACTE is made up of 23 experts serving two-year terms, according to a press release. Marpillero-Colomina was selected from a pool of more than 240 applicants.

Marpillero-Colomina is also the sustainable communities program director for GreenLatinos. The nonprofit is made up of “Latino/a/x leaders” working to “demand equity and dismantle racism” and “resourced to win our environmental, conservation, and climate justice battles, and driven to secure our political, economic, cultural, and environmental liberation,” according to its website.

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In October 2022 Marpillero-Colomina posted about a “psychotic man” on the subway and tagged New York City Transit.

“We’d all be dead by now if he had decided to act,” Marpillero-Colomina wrote in a follow-up post when asked for a description of the man.

“I don’t know — tall, Black, wearing ill-fitting shoes and a green hat… generally I try not to look at people behaving insanely and suggest you don’t put your riders in danger by asking them to..” she replied to the city transit’s account.

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A few hours later, she asked the New York City Police Department to “do something one of these days about the mentally unwell people all over the subway system.”

In another post about the safety of public transit, she said her late night rules include using cars with other people — preferably women — and avoiding the first or last car on a subway “so you can’t get trapped as easily.”

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Marpillero-Colomina criticized passengers without masks.

“I hope all the people who don’t wear masks on the subway enjoy the extra special hell they are all ending up in together,” she posted in June 2022.

The next month, she she asked “why everyone who doesn’t wear a mask on the subway IS NOT DEAD YET.”

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“Ooh my favorite! A man on the subway who has not heard of headphones or wearing a mask,” another July 2022 post read.

In other posts, Marpillero-Colomina complains about the subway’s cleanliness and disorganization, including one where she said she gets panicked when she sees people accidentally “dragging their coats on the floor of the subway.” Another called service changes “nonsensical” and “completely insane.”

She took a break from lambasting the New York City subway in July 2021 and turned to Amtrak.

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“THE ENTIRE AMTRAK SHOULD JUST BE A QUIET CAR,” she posted.

But in March 2021, she said in another post that “Everyone’s crazy because they spend all their time alone in their cars.”

Marpillero-Colomina told Fox News she didn’t have time to comment, and the Department of Transportation responded only with unsolicited information about the 2021 infrastructure law.