NationalWatch

FIRST ON FOX: Eric Flores, an Army veteran and former federal prosecutor, on Monday launched a Republican campaign for Congress in a key battleground House district at the southern tip of Texas.

“We need fewer politicians and more fighters who will put our communities first,” Flores said in a video that was shared first with Fox News Digital.

He pledged that “in Congress, I’ll stand with President Trump, fight and deliver for South Texas every single day.”

Flores is running in Texas’ 34th Congressional District, which stretches along the Gulf Coast from just south of Corpus Christi to the border with Mexico. It includes Brownsville and stretches westward to include parts of McAllen.

SCOOP: HOUSE REPUBLICAN CAMPAIGN ARM AIMS TO ANCHOR MAMDANI TO VULNERABLE DEMOCRATS 

The district is one of 26 the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) is targeting in the 2026 midterm elections, as the House GOP’s campaign arm defends the party’s razor-thin majority in the chamber.

The district appears to be a prime pickup possibility for Republicans, as it’s been trending to the right. Former President Joe Biden carried the district by 15 points in the 2020 White House race. Four years later, President Donald Trump won the district by nearly five points.

FIRST ON FOX: HOUSE REPUBLICANS LAUNCH AD PROMOTING PASSAGE OF ‘BIG BEAUTIFUL BILL’

However, Democrats carried the district in last year’s Senate election, with now-former Rep. Colin Allred (who is running again for the Senate in 2026) topping Sen. Ted Cruz by six points.

Republicans view incumbent Democratic Rep. Vicente Gonzalez as vulnerable. Gonzalez, who’s in his fifth term in Congress, defeated former GOP Rep. Mayra Flores in the 2022 and 2024 elections, but his victory in last November’s rematch to hold the district was by just 2.5 points.

Flores, who has met with NRCC officials, is a Spanish speaker who grew up in the Rio Grande Valley. 

He was commissioned in the U.S. Army as an infantry officer and rose to the rank of captain. He has served in the Texas Army National Guard and has commanded soldiers during Operation Guardian Support along the U.S. southern border with neighboring Mexico.

Flores is also a former assistant U.S. attorney, helping in the prosecutions of cartel-connected and human trafficking operations. His campaign biography also notes that Flores “secured the conviction of one of Texas’s ‘Top Ten’ most-wanted fugitives — accomplishments recognized with two U.S. Attorney’s Awards.”

Flores, who also served as a municipal judge in Alton, Texas, is currently a partner at a statewide legal firm where he leads the litigation department, defending municipalities and school districts across Texas. He is married and the father of two children.

“Every day, I see how broken policies hurt our community,” Flores said. “Enough is enough. Politicians put themselves first, while the Valley gets left behind.”

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Flores said that “President Trump stood up to the insiders and fought for places like ours: the communities the career politicians always forget. We cannot lose this opportunity. That’s why I’m running for Congress. We need bold, principled leadership, and we need it now.”

While several other Republicans are running in the GOP primary in the district next March, Flores is considered the only major Republican candidate.

Former President Joe Biden suspended his re-election bid one year ago Monday, in an unprecedented move that ended his more than 50-year career in politics and rocked the Democratic Party, with those on the left still reeling from the impact.

On July 21, 2024, days after President Donald Trump accepted the GOP nomination, Biden ended his re-election campaign amid mounting pressure from within his own party.

FLASHBACK: BIDEN ENDS BID FOR SECOND TERM IN WHITE HOUSE AS HE DROPS OUT OF HIS 2024 REMATCH WITH TRUMP

The unprecedented announcement came as an increasing number of Democrat lawmakers had started to publicly call for Biden to step aside, and the party’s leadership reportedly was engaged in efforts to convince Biden, then 81 years old, he could not win the November 2024 general election against Trump.

Doubts about Biden’s viability at the top of the Democratic Party’s 2024 ticket began seeping out into the mainstream after his halting delivery and awkward answers were placed on full display for a national audience during the June 2024 presidential debate with Trump in Atlanta.

The performance sparked widespread panic among Democrats and almost immediately spurred calls from political pundits, editorial writers and some party donors for Biden to step aside as the party’s 2024 standard-bearer.

As Biden struggled to regain his footing, an increasing number of House Democrats publicly urged the president to end his re-election bid.

Biden huddled with worried Democrats, including governors and congressional leaders, in the wake of the debate debacle and was also engaged in “working the phones,” according to campaign officials. 

Biden began the week of his withdrawal in a defiant posture, telling congressional Democrats he was committed to campaigning against and beating Trump. Biden also urged lawmakers to stop focusing on the debate and end the calls for his withdrawal — pleas that he said only helped Trump. 

Biden followed that up with a call with members of the Congressional Black Caucus and also gained the support of members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus. 

EXCLUSIVE: WHITE HOUSE INVESTIGATING BIDEN USE OF AUTOPEN IN SPRAWLING PROBE OF ‘INCOMPETENT AND SENILE’ FORMER PRESIDENT

However, concerns mounted and intensified. Democratic lawmakers met behind closed doors hoping to come to a consensus and support the president, but some were hesitant. 

The Biden campaign met with Senate Democrats on Capitol Hill and, for days, the White House, the Biden campaign and the president himself said Biden had no intention of dropping out of the race. 

Then-White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre had told reporters that the president was “absolutely not” considering dropping out.

Additionally, Quentin Fulks, the principal deputy Biden campaign manager, emphasized that “the president is in this race to win it. He is the Democratic nominee.”

On the day after the presidential debate, Biden acknowledged at a rally in Raleigh, North Carolina, “I know I’m not a young man, to state the obvious.”

Upon suspending his campaign, Biden quickly endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris to take his spot at the top of the ticket. She received the party’s presidential nominee weeks later at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.

Months later, Trump defeated Harris in a stunning, landslide victory, sweeping all swing states and delivering him a win in not only the Electoral College, but the popular vote as well. 

The Democratic Party is still grappling with Biden’s withdrawal a year later, looking for a new standard-bearer, while the former president and his team fall under investigation by both the executive and legislative branches. 

In May, leaked audio from Biden’s interview with former special counsel Robert Hur showed the president struggling with key memories, including when his son Beau died, when he left the vice presidency, why he had classified documents he shouldn’t have had and more. 

The audio was leaked after more than a year of congressional lawmakers demanding its release amid questions about the former president’s memory lapses and mental acuity.

Meanwhile, the White House Counsel’s Office and the Justice Department are probing Biden’s use of the autopen and whether signatures were printed at his direction or at the discretion of his senior staff. 

An autopen is a machine that physically holds a pen and features programming to imitate a person’s signature. Unlike a stamp or a digitized print of a signature, the autopen has the capability to hold various types of pens, from a ballpoint to a permanent marker, according to descriptions of autopen machines available for purchase. 

Biden used the autopen to sign a slew of documents while in office. He also used the autopen to sign final pardons, including preemptive pardons for members of his family, Dr. Anthony Fauci, Gen. Mark Milley and members and staff of the House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol riots. He only signed one pardon by hand, for his son Hunter, after vowing to the American people for months he would not do so. 

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In his final weeks in office, Biden granted clemency and pardoned more than 1,500 individuals, in what the White House described at the time as the largest single-day act of clemency by a U.S. president.

Over on Capitol Hill, the House Oversight Committee is probing a cover-up of Biden’s declining mental health, subpoenaing a number of former Biden officials for testimony and the Senate Subcomittee on Investigations is requesting NARA records relating to Biden’s declining mental and physical health. 

Fox News’ Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report. 

President Donald Trump has been back in the Oval Office for a full six months as of Sunday, and is expected to keep a busy pace as he heads into his 27th week as commander-in-chief. 

“Wow, time flies! Today is that Sixth Month Anniversary of my Second Term. Importantly, it’s being hailed as one of the most consequential periods of any President,” Trump wrote on social media on Sunday. “In other words, we got a lot of good and great things done, including ending numerous wars of Countries not related to us other than through Trade and/or, in certain cases, friendship,” he added on TRUTH Social. “Six months is not a long time to have totally revived a major Country.” 

“One year ago our Country was DEAD, with almost no hope of revival. Today the USA is the ‘hottest’ and most respected Country anywhere in the World. Happy Anniversary!!!” 

GOLF HAS A LONG HISTORY IN THE WHITE HOUSE — BUT FOR TRUMP, IT’S MORE THAN A PASTIME

Trump travels to Scotland

Ahead of Trump’s highly-anticipated trip to London in September, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt announced that the president will travel to Scotland on Friday to visit Turnberry and Aberdeen, which are homes to Trump golf courses. 

He will also meet again with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer to continue ironing out the U.S.-UK trade deal. 

“During the visit, President Trump will meet again with Prime Minister Starmer to refine the great trade deal that was brokered between the United States and the United Kingdom,” Leavitt said during a Thursday press briefing. 

“The president and the first lady will travel to the United Kingdom for an official state visit from September 17 to September 19 later this fall. This will mark a truly unprecedented second state visit for President Trump and he is honored and looking forward to meeting with His Majesty the King at Windsor Castle,” Leavitt added, previewing the president’s highly-anticipated trip to London. 

The UK’s monarch typically does not invite a U.S. president for a second state visit if they are re-elected to office, opting for more intimate meetings such as tea or lunch, making Trump’s second state visit unprecedented. 

Scotland holds a special place in Trump’s life, as his mother, Mary Anne MacLeod Trump, was born and raised in Scotland before moving to Queens, New York. 

UK TO ROLL OUT RED CARPET IN ‘UNPRECEDENTED’ SECOND TRUMP VISIT HOSTED BY KING CHARLES

The Trump Organization purchased the historic golf resort and hotel at Turnberry in 2014, and the Aberdeen golf club in 2012, which is set to open new course next month. 

Trump traveled to the same golf courses in July 2018 under his first administration. 

Tariff negotiations continue 

A 90-day pause on tariffs was set to end July 9, after Trump first announced reciprocal tariffs on foreign nations in April. The administration announced earlier this month that foreign nations now face an Aug. 1 deadline or face higher tariffs. 

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told the media on Sunday that the next two weeks will showcase Trump delivering on his vow to roll out trade deals favorable to the U.S. economy. 

“The next two weeks are going to be weeks for the record books. President Trump is going to deliver for the American people,” Lutnick said on CBS’ “Face the Nation.”

WILL TRUMP TRADE DEAL WITH UK EASE ECONOMIC JITTERS AND BOOST PRESIDENT’S POLL NUMBERS?

“They’re going to love the deals that President Trump and I are doing. I mean, they’re just going to love them. You know, the president figured out the right answer, and sent letters to these countries, said this is going to fix the trade deficit. This will go a long way to fixing the trade deficit, and that’s gotten these countries to the table and they’re going to open their markets or they’re going to pay the tariff. And if they open their markets, the opportunity for Americans to export, to grow the business, farmers, ranchers, fishermen, this is going to be…” he continued before remarking the next two weeks would be ones “for the record books.”

Epstein grand jury testimony release

Trump directed Attorney General Pam Bondi last week to release grand jury transcripts in the case of Jeffrey Epstein after a memo released earlier this month concluded that there is “no credible evidence found that Epstein blackmailed prominent individuals,” or kept a “client list” of such individuals after years of Trump surrogates vowing to reveal the Epstein’s alleged secrets. 

Longtime conservatives and supporters of Trump subsequently slammed the memo, and sounded off on social media that Epstein won’t “go away.”

LEGAL PATHWAY CLEARLY EXISTS FOR TRUMP’S REQUEST TO MAKE EPSTEIN GRAND JURY TESTIMONY PUBLIC

“Based on the ridiculous amount of publicity given to Jeffrey Epstein, I have asked Attorney General Pam Bondi to produce any and all pertinent Grand Testimony, subject to Court approval,” Trump wrote on Truth Social late Thursday last week. “This SCAM, perpetuated by the Democrats, should end, right now!” 

It is unclear if Bondi could convince a judge to release the grand jury testimony, but the Department of Justice reported on Friday that it formally moved to unseal long-secret grand jury transcripts. 

Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche submitted the motion in Manhattan federal court, urging a judge to release the transcripts from Epstein’s 2019 grand jury proceedings and those from the prosecution of Epstein’s convicted associate, Ghislaine Maxwell, as part of a new transparency push by the department.

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Epstein was a notorious predator who pleaded guilty to procuring underage girls for prostitution in 2008, before he was arrested in 2019 on new federal charges of sex trafficking minors and conspiracy to engage in sex trafficking of minors. He was found dead in his New York City jail cell in 2019 of suicide, according to Trump officials. 

Fox News Digital’s Bradford Betz and Jasmine Baehr contributed to this report. 

President Donald Trump posted an AI-generated video of former President Barack Obama being arrested on Sunday, a nod to recent claims made by Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard.

In the Truth Social post, Trump shared a TikTok video of various Democrats, including Obama, saying that “No one is above the law.”

Later in the 45-second AI-generated video, Trump and Obama are seen sitting in the Oval Office before Obama is arrested by agents as the song “YMCA” plays. 

The AI-generated version of Trump grins as Obama is apprehended and eventually thrown in a jail cell. The AI-generated Obama is also seen wearing an orange jumpsuit behind bars.

OBAMA OFFICIALS ADMITTED THEY HAD NO ‘EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE’ OF TRUMP-RUSSIA COLLUSION: HOUSE INTEL TRANSCRIPTS

The video surfaced amid allegations from Gabbard that Obama and his intel chiefs manufactured the Russia collusion narrative.

“The implications of this are frankly nothing short of historic,” Gabbard said on Fox News Channel’s Sunday episode of “Sunday Morning Futures.” 

“Over 100 documents that we released on Friday really detail and provide evidence of how this treasonous conspiracy was directed by President Obama just weeks before he was due to leave office after President Trump had already gotten elected,” Gabbard claimed.

WHITE HOUSE WANTS OBAMA INTEL OFFICIALS ‘HELD ACCOUNTABLE’ FOR ROLE PEDDLING 2016 RUSSIA HOAX

Gabbard also said that she planned to send the uncovered documents to the FBI and Department of Justice (DOJ) for a criminal referral.

Documents shared by Gabbard’s office claim that before the 2016 election, there was no evidence of collusion with Russia – and that politically motivated actors distorted the narrative to harm Trump, not in response to new intelligence.

“Creating this piece of manufactured intelligence that claims that Russia had helped Donald Trump get elected contradicted every other assessment that had been made previously in the months leading up to the election that said exactly the opposite, that Russia had neither the intent nor the capability to try to ‘hack the United States election,’” Gabbard told host Maria Bartiromo.

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“So the effect of what President Obama and his senior national security team did was subvert the will of the American people, undermining our democratic republic and enacting what would be essentially a years-long coup against President Trump, who was duly elected by the American people,” she added.

Fox News Digital’s Taylor Penley contributed to this report.

President Donald Trump lashed out at former President Joe Biden after an off-duty Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officer was allegedly shot in the face by an illegal immigrant with a lengthy criminal rap sheet in New York City.

“Last night, in New York City, an incredible CBP Officer was shot in the face by an Illegal Alien Monster freed into the Country under Joe Biden,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post on Sunday. “He was apprehended at the Border in April 2023 but, instead of being deported, was RELEASED.”

The suspect was identified by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) as 21-year-old Miguel Francisco Mora Nunez, a Dominican national. DHS confirmed that Nunez was arrested by Border Patrol near San Luis, Arizona, in April 2023, but was released into the U.S. by the Biden administration. 

The agency also told Fox News that Nunez has an active warrant for kidnapping in the state of Massachusetts, in addition to prior felony arrests. During a press conference on Sunday, NYC Mayor Eric Adams said Nunez had prior arrests for assault and violating an order of protection. Adams said Nunez also had an active bench warrant from the Bronx, was wanted for a robbery from last December and a stabbing from January. 

TEXAS BORDER PATROL SHOOTER DETAILS REMAIN SCANT AS VIOLENCE AGAINST ICE, CBP AGENTS SURGES

“The Democrats have flooded our Nation with Criminal Invaders, and now, they must all be thrown out or, in some cases, immediately prosecuted in that we cannot take a chance that they are able to come back,” Trump added. “That’s how evil and dangerous they are!”

Authorities said Nunez rode up on a motorized scooter with another suspect and attempted to rob the CBP officer as he sat in Riverside Park on Saturday night.

ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT ARRESTED AFTER ALLEGEDLY THREATENING TO ASSASSINATE TRUMP IN HANDWRITTEN LETTER

The officer, who has not yet been identified, pulled out a gun to defend himself. Police said the officer and Nunez were both shot multiple times. Nunez walked into an area hospital after the shooting, police said. The officer is expected to recover from his injuries. 

Trump added that the off-duty officer “bravely fought off his attacker, despite his wounds, demonstrating enormous Skill and Courage.”

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Adams said Nunez was taken into custody.

“He has inflicted violence in our city and once he is charged for last night’s crimes, we will be able to add attempted murder to his rap sheet,” Adams said.

DHS has lodged a detainer against Nunez.

Fox News Digital’s Bill Melugin contributed to this report.

Minnesota’s branch of the Democratic Party endorsed far-left Minnesota State Sen. Omar Fateh’s campaign for mayor of Minneapolis on Saturday.

Fateh announced the endorsement from the Democratic Farmer-Labor (DFL) party on social media. He secured the endorsement over incumbent mayor Jacob Frey, also a Democrat.

“I am incredibly honored to be the DFL endorsed candidate for Minneapolis Mayor. This endorsement is a message that Minneapolis residents are done with broken promises, vetoes, and politics as usual. It’s a mandate to build a city that works for all of us,” Fateh wrote on X.

The DFL did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.

RNC CHAIR ARGUES MAMDANI ‘FACE OF THE NEW DEMOCRATIC PARTY’

Fateh has received many comparisons to New York City’s Zohran Mamdani. Like Mamdani, Fateh is a Muslim Democratic socialist and, at 35, a fellow member of Generation Y.

Fateh, a son of Somali immigrants, became the first Somali-American elected to the Minnesota Senate in 2020. He pledges that, if elected mayor, he would raise the city’s minimum wage, increase the supply of affordable housing, and combat what he calls “police violence.”

POTUS PUNDITRY: TRUMP WEIGHS IN ON MAMDANI-CUOMO NYC MAYORAL FACEOFF

Frey criticized the DFL’s endorsement of Fateh in a campaign statement, arguing the party convention where the decision was made had been “irregular.”

“This election should be decided by the entire city rather than the small group of people who became delegates, particularly in light of the extremely flawed and irregular conduct of this convention,” campaign spokesperson Sam Schulenberg said. 

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“Voters will now have a clear choice between the records and leadership of Sen. Fateh and Mayor Frey. We look forward to taking our vision to the voters in November,” Schulenberg added.

Fox News’ Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report

California has become the epicenter of the immigration debate under the Trump administration, which is leading to questions about what cultivated the protests and riots that happened in the area in June and continue to pop up around the country.

Heather Mac Donald, a Manhattan Institute fellow and author of “When Race Trumps Merit,” said she believes that the border crisis under the Biden administration paved the way for civil unrest.

“It shows that lawlessness in one area breeds lawlessness in another. We’ve had an absolutely lawless situation going on with regards to the border. We’ve had California and Los Angeles tolerate criminal lawlessness, and so it’s not surprising that activists and protesters and immigrant rights activists felt that they were entitled to wreak absolute chaos and havoc in the streets,” Mac Donald said in the wake of riots in Los Angeles last month.

ANTI-ICE RIOTS REVEAL THE LEFT HAS LEARNED NOTHING. IT’S JUST HANDED TRUMP A GIFT

Mac Donald added that the large amount of immigration could lead to cultural assimilation woes.

“This is nothing new, but Americans have turned their eyes away and have bought into the narrative that the more diversity, the better, the more demographic change, the better,” she said. 

Mac Donald added that a cap on the number of people allowed to come into the United States could be beneficial in the long term.

“Well, for assimilation, a cap would definitely be necessary. We saw that with the long decades after maximal immigration at the turn of the century, when we did halt immigration. And that allowed the assimilation to go on, that it did. With nonstop immigration coming in, you’re running a losing race to assimilate. So that would absolutely be ideal.”

“We should reform the agriculture sector. You know, we have temporary worker programs for that, and whether we want to carve out any exceptions to a moratorium for very, very high-skilled workers, that is definitely worth considering. But certainly for chain migration, the bringing in of remote family members, that should be ended now until we are confident that we are creating Americans and not people who will get out in riots and wave flags of non-American countries,” Mac Donald continued.

TRUMP SAYS NATIONWIDE IMMIGRATION RAIDS ON THE WAY, RIOTERS TO FACE ‘GREATER FORCE’ THAN LA

When it comes to the overall stance of the American population on immigration, she explained that mass deportations, which the Trump administration has said they are working toward while highlighting those with criminal convictions and charges, could be the best path forward in the short-term aftermath of the border crisis.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE IMMIGRATION COVERAGE

“We should not make the distinction between criminal illegal aliens, who are legitimately deported and those who have committed lawbreaking on entry and by staying here but have not got a criminal record. The received wisdom is it’s OK to deport the first, but the second, we shouldn’t even make them fearful of deportation, that that’s cruel,” she said. “I think they’re all legitimately eligible for deportation. Nevertheless, I’m not sure that the American people have a stomach for that degree of immigration enforcement.“

In addition to ICE and Border Patrol arrests and busts, the Department of Homeland Security has encouraged self-deportation through the CBP Home app, which was swapped from the CBP One app people used to request asylum under President Joe Biden. DHS is offering $1,000, travel out of the U.S., as well as scrapping fees and a chance to return to the country legally as part of the deal.

MAYOR BASS BLAMES TRUMP’S ICE RAIDS FOR STARTING RIOTS WHILE CLAIMING ‘THINGS IN LA ARE CALM’

In Los Angeles, Democratic Mayor Karen Bass has been a significant voice of opposition to federal immigration sweeps, at one point saying ICE should “go home.”

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“We are a proud city of immigrants, and with the Trump Administration signaling that they will ratchet up their chaotic approach, I’m making sure we deploy every resource and tool available within the City to ensure that we are supporting immigrant communities,” Bass said recently, according to a news release. 

When it comes to potential civil unrest in other cities, Mac Donald says it could happen.

“I think there will be civil unrest in other cities, because it was justified, it was trivialized by our elected leaders as, ‘Oh, we’ve got the situation under control,’” she said.

Acting ICE director Todd Lyons blamed rhetoric from “elected officials” for the rise in attacks against immigration officers on Sunday.

Lyons made the comments during an interview with CBS’ “Face the Nation” that aired Sunday, tying the increased violence to President Donald Trump’s political opponents.

“I think the sharp increase in the rhetoric, especially from a lot of elected officials, that are shaming, if you will, or speaking out against ICE law enforcement mission is what’s really increasing these attacks on officers,” he said.

Lyons noted that there has been an 830% increase in assaults on officers compared to 2024.

ICE AGENT SHARES FEARS ABOUT FAMILY SAFETY AS ASSAULTS ON OFFICIALS SURGE

He added that the spike in violence is also due to ICE officers being more “visible” in communities across the country as Trump’s deportation campaign expands.

“The immigration mission is one of the forefront of this administration, so there is a lot of scrutiny and publicity to it,” Lyons said.

NO CAGES, DUE PROCESS RIGHTS INTACT: ICE AGENTS SET THE RECORD STRAIGHT ON TRUMP’S IMMIGRATION ENFORCEMENT

The official also confirmed that ICE is not limiting its arrests to illegal immigrants who have been convicted of a separate crime. He said many illegal immigrants without criminal records have been taken in as “collateral arrests” during operations targeting violent migrants.

Nevertheless, he added that ICE “targets the worst of the worst.”

ICE officers themselves have spoken out about the increased violence and criticism they have faced under the new administration.

“It has been very sad to see how we’re villainized, the names used towards us,” officer Kristian Moreno told “My View” host Lara Trump on Fox News this weekend.

“Just doing this [interview] right now, I had to talk to my family about it and say, ‘Hey, this is something that I believe in, something I think is important for us to get our stories out there and let the American public know we’re humans.’ We got a job to do. We’re just enforcing the law. We’re not making up the law, and it’s sad, but we just keep pushing through it,” he added.

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He and officers Edgardo Centeno and Chris Sandoval shared their perspectives on the violence ICE officers risk daily.

“We have to do our job. We raised our hands to defend the Constitution, and we’re enforcing the law, so we’re adjusting as we see what’s going on in our country, but it’s saddening my heart, especially when you serve in combat and come back and see your country so divided,” Centeno said.

Democratic socialist mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani unapologetically announced an extended trip to Africa on Sunday while he campaigns to lead America’s largest city. 

Mamdani, who defeated Andrew Cuomo by more than 12 percentage points last month, securing the Democratic nomination for mayor of New York City, released a video anticipating criticisms of his trip to Uganda. 

In a defiant, yet playful tone, Mamdani called out what he said have been “thousands” of messages on X telling him to “go back to Uganda where you come from and belong” and “go back to Africa.” 

“Being a politician means listening, not just to your supporters, but your critics too,” Mamdani said. “And some of these critics – especially on a certain website – have been giving me consistent advice.” 

“I hear you, and I agree. I’m going back to Uganda,” Mamdani said. 

CUOMO QUIPS ‘EVEN I WILL MOVE TO FLORIDA’ IF MAMDANI WINS NYC MAYORAL BID

The mayoral hopeful said he was headed to Uganda “in a personal capacity” to celebrate his marriage to his wife, Rama, with their family and friends.

“I do want to apologize to the haters, because I will be coming back,” he said. Mamdani added in the accompanying X post that he’d be back “by the end of the month.”

Attempting to assert control over the narrative, Mamdani offered some imaginary headlines condemning his overseas travel. 

“And since you will undoubtedly read about this trip in the New York Post, inshallah [Arabic for God willing], on the front page, here are a few of my humble suggestions for headlines,” Mamdani said, jabbing at the New York-based newspaper. 

He proposed tabloid headlines including “M.I.A.? Mandani in Africa,” “Uganda Miss Me,” or “He’s Kampala-etely Crazy,” a reference to Kampala, the capital and largest city of Uganda. 

Mamdani also suggested the headlines: “He Africa-n’t Be Serious!” and “Carl Kampalanile Investigates Mamdani” – a satirical take on the name of American investigative journalist Carl Bernstein, who uncovered the Watergate scandal. 

“Zo-Running Away?” Mamdani said, offering one last imagined headline before the video showed himself and another campaign supporter waving to the camera and the screen fading to “Zohran for Mayor.” 

TRUMP SAYS CUOMO’S GOT A ‘GOOD SHOT’ OF BEATING MAMDANI IN NYC MAYOR ELECTION

Mamdani holds dual U.S. and Ugandan citizenship. He was born in Uganda and was raised in South Africa until moving to New York City at age 7. 

He owns four acres of undeveloped land in Jinja, Uganda, that’s valued between $150,000 and $250,000, the New York Post previously reported, citing Mamdani’s 2024 New York Legislative Ethics filing. 

Despite this, resurfaced social media video shows Mamdani in the past has floated the “abolition of private property” – a principle of communism. 

His mother is an acclaimed Indian American filmmaker. She reportedly owned a nearly $2 million New York City loft for about a decade before recently selling the property, according to the Post. 

His father is a Columbia University professor who sits on the advisory council of an anti-Israel organization. The organization supports boycotts and sanctions of Israel, routinely accuses the Israeli government of committing “genocide,” and has expressed sympathy for suicide bombers. 

Mamdani’s candidacy has sparked concern from the Jewish community, as he declined to condemn the term “globalize the intifada” – a stance he has since walked back while courting local business owners. Meanwhile, New York City college campuses, including Columbia University, have faced rising antisemitism and anti-Israel protests and encampments in the wake of the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks by Hamas terrorists in Israel. 

Mamdani himself has defended BDS, or the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions, saying at a May town hall that the anti-Israel movement “is consistent with my core of my politics, which is nonviolence.”

Critics of Mamdani have also condemned how he’s campaigned on socialist ideals, including government-run grocery stores and rent freezes, despite his wealthy upbringing. 

Having won the Democratic mayoral primary, Mamdani has emerged as the frontrunner, and he is backed by progressives in Congress, including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., and Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., have been more cautious with Mamdani. 

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It’s extremely rare for candidates who win the Democratic mayoral primary to lose the November general election, but Mamdani still faces Cuomo, who formally declared his independent mayoral bid last week. Incumbent Mayor Eric Adams is also running as an independent, as is former federal prosecutor Jim Walden. “Guardian Angels” founder Curtis Sliwa is the Republican mayoral candidate.

Fox News’ Andrew Mark Miller, Cameron Cawthorne and Deirdre Heavy contributed to this report.

The Biden administration’s State Department authorized more than $1 million in taxpayer funds for renovating swimming pools at U.S. embassies and mission residences in war-torn countries such as Haiti, Sudan and Iraq, a report from Sen. Joni Ernst’s office found. 

“The Biden State Department threw a blowout summer pool party on your dime,” Ernst, R-Iowa, said in a statement provided to Fox News Digital.

“Bureaucrats might think wasting millions is a drop in the bucket, but I am sick and tired of taxpayers getting tossed in the deep end by Washington,” Ernst added. “I will continue working with the Trump administration to put a stop to the splashy spending of the Biden years.”  

Ernst’s office found that the State Department under the Biden administration authorized that two pools in Haiti, five in Iraq, three in Sudan, one in Russia, one in Zimbabwe and one in Ghana be renovated, totaling more than $1.2 million, according to the New York Post, which first reported on the pool renovations on Thursday. 

RUBIO OFFICIALLY KILLS USAID, REVEALS FUTURE HOME FOR FOREIGN ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS

Taxpayers spent $41,259 to rehabilitate the pool at the U.S. embassy in Moscow in a contract inked three months after Russia invaded Ukraine in a war that has continued raging. The purchase order was dated June 3, 2022, through Aug. 15, 2022, after the war began in February that same year. 

RUBIO SPEARHEADS MASSIVE STATE DEPT REORGANIZATION SET TO ELIMINATE, MERGE MORE THAN 300 OFFICES

The U.S. embassy in Baghdad was awarded a whopping $444,000 to replace its indoor dehumidification system for its pool in a contract that began on Sept. 27, 2024. While the U.S. Consulate in Erbil, Iraq received over $10,000 to conduct mechanical repairs to its pool, according to the Ernst report reviewed by Fox News Digital. 

DOGE’S GREATEST HITS: LOOK BACK AT THE DEPARTMENT’S MOST HIGH-PROFILE CUTS DURING TRUMP’S FIRST 100 DAYS

In Sudan, taxpayers spent $24,000 in 2021 for the installation of a pool deck. Sudan has notably been under a State Department do not travel advisory “due to armed conflict, civil unrest, crime, terrorism, and kidnapping,” with the embassy in Khartoum suspending operations in 2023 over the ongoing violent conflicts in the nation. 

Some of the contracts detailed in the report have not been fully paid out, such as a $173,000 award to conduct work on a swimming pool in Indonesia at the embassy in Jakarta. 

The federal government has previously been criticized for the amount of taxpayer funds spent on U.S. embassies overseas, including spending hefty sums on artwork under the Obama administration, Fox Digital reported at the time. 

U.S. embassies are primarily funded through congressional appropriations to the U.S. Department of State. 

Ernst’s report follows months of the Department of Government Efficiency reporting it has saved the federal government billions of dollars amid its ongoing investigations into various federal agencies in search of corruption, overspending and mismanagement. 

Secretary of State Marco Rubio has been at the forefront of gutting departments and programs under State’s purview, including shuttering USAID earlier in July for failing to ensure its programs actually supported America’s interests. 

RUBIO OVERHAULING ‘BLOATED’ STATE DEPARTMENT IN SWEEPING REFORM

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“This era of government-sanctioned inefficiency has officially come to an end. Under the Trump administration, we will finally have a foreign funding mission in America that prioritizes our national interests. As of July 1st, USAID will officially cease to implement foreign assistance. Foreign assistance programs that align with administration policies – and which advance American interests – will be administered by the State Department, where they will be delivered with more accountability, strategy, and efficiency,” Rubio said in comment regarding shuttering USAID. 

Housing and Urban Development Secretary Scott Turner blasted Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell for spending billons of dollars renovating the Fed’s headquarters amid a housing crisis he said Powell is helping perpetuate.

The Federal Reserve’s headquarters has been undergoing a major renovation that has been plagued by cost overruns and now has a price tag of $2.5 billion. Meanwhile, the Trump administration faults Powell for not cutting interest rates, even with inflation seemingly under control.

“It’s rich that an unelected bureaucrat like Powell is wasting billions of taxpayer dollars on building renovations while Americans struggle to buy homes due to high mortgage rates, which are directly impacted by his refusal to lower interest rates,” Turner told Fox News Digital. 

HUD became the first Cabinet agency to announce a move out of Washington, D.C., with Turner reporting in June that the department was moving to the already existing National Science Foundation (NSF) in nearby Alexandria, Virginia. Turner said the move will free up millions in taxpayer funds that were spent on the massive, longtime HUD headquarters at D.C.’s L’Enfant Plaza that also included “health hazards, leaks, and structural and maintenance failures” for staffers. 

“HUD’s move isn’t about me – our workforce deserves to be in a building that is safe and that fits our workforce. NSF was never able to fully fill their building to occupancy and will move into a building that best fits their workforce. Instead of spending nearly a half-billion dollars on renovating 10 floors of basement with perpetual leaks, HUD and GSA are saving the taxpayers money – something that Chairman Powell, sitting in his ivory tower, thinks he is above – and putting Americans first,” Turner continued. 

HUD BECOMES FIRST MAJOR CABINET AGENCY TO EXIT DC, CITING ‘FAILING’ HQ — WHICH DOGE WANTS TO SELL 

Speculation has swirled that President Donald Trump could try to oust the Fed chief ahead of his term officially ending in May 2026 due to his reluctance to lower the federal funds target rate, which would lower borrowing costs for Americans. The Fed in June held its benchmark interest rate range between 4.25%-4.5%, which Trump has argued stifles American economic growth. 

The Fed, which sets monetary policies and oversees banks, has said decisions on interest rates are rooted in its data-dependent approach to managing inflation and economic growth. It acts independently, meaning it does not require approval from the president or Congress when enacting policies. 

Trump has amplified his criticisms of Powell in recent weeks, arguing that he already should have lowered interest rates, while calling him a “numbskull” along with the nickname “Mr. Too Late.” At the recent NATO summit in Canada, Trump said during a press conference that Powell is “terrible” and is a “very average mentally person” who has a “low IQ for what he does.”

‘FOR SALE’: DOGE MOVES TO SELL OFF ALMOST HALF A BILLION IN FEDERAL REAL ESTATE, RELOCATE CABINET AGENCY HQS

Trump said recent, over-budget renovations at the Fed headquarters, the Marriner S. Eccles Building, “sort of is” a “fireable offense.”

“I think he’s terrible. I think he’s a total stiff. But the one thing I didn’t see in him is a guy that needed a palace to live in,” Trump told reporters last week.

“You talk to the guy. It’s like talking to – nothing. It’s like talking to a chair. No personality, no high intelligence, no nothing. But the one thing I would have never guessed is that he would be spending $2.5 billion to build a little extension.”

HUD SECRETARY SCOTT TURNER LAYS OUT AGENCY WINS DURING FIRST 100 DAYS, SHARES PRIORITIES FOR NEXT 100

Democrat lawmakers have slammed Trump’s attacks on Powell over the Fed building’s updates, including Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren taking a swipe at Turner for moving HUD to Virginia. 

“If Trump were serious about lowering interest rates, he would rein in his chaotic tariffs,” Warren said earlier this month during a speech at the Exchequer Club in D.C. “Instead, he is threatening to fire the chairman of the Federal Reserve. When his initial attempts to bully Powell failed, Trump and Republicans in Congress suddenly decided to look into how much the Fed is spending on building renovations.”

TRUMP SHOULD RAZE HUD HEADQUARTERS TO DRAIN DC SWAMP

HUD is expected to save $22 million per year on operating and maintenance costs by moving out of the Robert C. Weaver Building, while the government is expected to pull in a hefty sum when the building is officially sold due to its prime location in the nation’s capital. 

The agency’s new home at NSF is anticipated to cost the government $35 per square foot, compared to the $86 per square foot at the Weaver building, including operations and maintenance, Fox Digital learned. 

The federal government had spent $90 million on repairs for the massive Weaver building in the last 15 years, Fox Digital learned, but the building has “deteriorated well beyond the point of cost-effective repair, creating significant financial obligations for the federal government if occupancy is maintained,” HUD reported in June. 

HUD OFFICES BECAME AS VACANT AS A ‘SPIRIT HALLOWEEN’ STORE UNDER BIDEN: ADMIN SOURCES

The Federal Reserve on Sunday morning declined comment when asked about Turner’s remarks to Fox Digital.

The Fed’s website includes a frequently asked questions page regarding the building’s renovations, including underscoring that the Fed’s board “takes the responsibility to be a good steward of public resources,” and is subject to a handful of safeguards to ensure transparency. 

 “The Federal Reserve Chair testifies to each house of Congress twice per year on monetary policy. During two sequential days of hearings, members of the House and Senate have the opportunity to question the Fed Chair on any topic, and then submit questions in writing after the hearings. As part of these hearings, the Federal Reserve publishes a semiannual Monetary Policy Report, detailing recent economic and monetary policy developments,” the page states. 

Trump, who appointed Powell during his first presidential term, has meanwhile continued slamming Powell on social media for the current interest rates he said are “choking” the housing market for Americans. 

“Too Late,” and the Fed, are choking out the housing market with their high rate, making it difficult for people, especially the young, to buy a house,” Trump wrote on Truth Social Friday. “He is truly one of my worst appointments. Sleepy Joe saw how bad he was and reappointed him anyway.”

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“The USA is Rockin’, there is VERY LOW INFLATION, and we deserve to be at 1%, saving One Trillion Dollars a year on Interest Costs. I can’t tell you how dumb Too Late is – So bad for our Country!”

Fox News Digital’s Eric Revell and Amanda Macias contributed to this report. 

President Donald Trump celebrated six months since he was sworn into his second term on Sunday, saying that the United States has been “totally revived” after being “DEAD” under former President Joe Biden. 

“Wow, time flies! Today is that Sixth Month Anniversary of my Second Term. Importantly, it’s being hailed as one of the most consequential periods of any President,” Trump wrote on social media. 

“In other words, we got a lot of good and great things done, including ending numerous wars of Countries not related to us other than through Trade and/or, in certain cases, friendship,” he added on TRUTH Social. “Six months is not a long time to have totally revived a major Country.” 

Trump continued: “One year ago our Country was DEAD, with almost no hope of revival. Today the USA is the ‘hottest’ and most respected Country anywhere in the World. Happy Anniversary!!!” 

LAWSUIT TRACKER: NEW RESISTANCE BATTLING TRUMP’S SECOND TERM THROUGH ONSLAUGHT OF LAWSUITS TAKING AIM AT EOS

Trump’s first six months have been marked by a number of significant moments, particularly on the international stage.

After Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen ramped up attacks on shipping vessels in the Red Sea in late 2024, the Trump administration designated the group a foreign terrorist organization, reinstating a move that had been reversed under Biden.

U.S. and U.K. forces earlier this year pounded Houthi missile and radar sites as part of an operation to ensure freedom of navigation, and the Trump administration secured a ceasefire deal with the terror group in May.  

Trump intervened in the Israel-Iran war in June, ordering U.S. military strikes against Iranian nuclear facilities and infrastructure that pummeled Tehran’s capabilities and forced the regime into quick submission. 

Though Trump had promised on the campaign trail to end the Ukraine-Russia war within 24 hours, a peace agreement between the two sides has so far failed to materialize. 

Earlier in his second term, Trump had slammed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for a perceived lack of gratitude for billions of dollars in U.S. support to his war effort under Biden’s presidency. Trump more recently has sharpened his criticism of Russian leader Vladimir Putin, slamming Moscow for the massive loss of life on both sides during the more than three-year-long conflict. 

UKRAINE’S ZELENSKYY NAMES NEW PRIME MINISTER FOR FIRST TIME SINCE RUSSIA’S WAR BEGAN

Trump issued a new deadline in mid-July that Russia had 50 days to agree to a ceasefire or face “maximum tariffs.” He also recently approved the sale of additional U.S. Patriot missiles to Ukraine. 

In its first six months, the Trump administration had also brokered a ceasefire between the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda in late June. 

Beyond “ending numerous wars,” Trump has celebrated other accomplishments during his first six months back in office, including securing the passage of his “big, beautiful bill,” which made the 2017 Trump tax cuts permanent. The legislative package also earmarked funding for the president’s other initiatives, including for his mass deportation campaign and border security. 

On overseas trips and at home, Trump has repeatedly said the U.S. is the “hottest” country, claiming to have restored America’s reputation both domestically and on the world stage with his “America First” foreign policy. 

Delivering on his 2024 pledge to make the U.S. the “crypto capital of the planet,” Trump on Friday signed landmark legislation that creates a regulatory regime for dollar-pegged cryptocurrencies known as stablecoins. 

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Trump on Sunday also appeared to dismiss concerns that his administration’s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files could cost Republicans control of Congress in the 2026 midterm elections and beyond. 

“My Poll Numbers within the Republican Party, and MAGA, have gone up, significantly, since the Jeffrey Epstein Hoax was exposed by the Radical Left Democrats and, just plain ‘troublemakers’,” Trump wrote in another post Sunday morning. “They have hit 90%, 92%, 93%, and 95%, in various polls, and are all Republican Party records. The General Election numbers are my highest, EVER! People like Strong Borders, and all of the many other things I have done. GOD BLESS AMERICA. MAGA!” 

From “super genius” to “CRAZY,” President Donald Trump has changed his tune about SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk in a matter of months, while the tech mogul has backpedaled his support for the Republican Party and called for a new, third American political party instead. 

Musk unveiled the creation of the so-called “America Party” after Trump signed into law his massive tax and domestic policy bill, which Musk staunchly opposed due to concerns that it would increase the federal deficit.

“Today, the America Party is formed to give you back your freedom,” Musk said in a July 5 X post. 

While there is an appetite for a third party in the U.S., Musk’s so-called America Party is not likely to pick up steam and the tech mogul would have better luck driving reforms in the Republican Party, according to experts. 

“Elon’s effort will go nowhere,” Republican strategist Matt Gorman said in an email to Fox News Digital. “But I don’t doubt it’ll make a lot of consultants rich in the process.” 

TRUMP SAYS DOGE ‘MONSTER’ MAY HAVE TO ‘EAT ELON’ AS MUSK VOWS PRIMARY ADS FOR LAWMAKERS WHO CROSS HIM ON BBB

Meanwhile, Gorman said candidates undoubtedly would prefer an endorsement from Trump over financial backing from Musk – the largest donor in the 2024 election cycle who contributed approximately $295 million to Republicans. 

“If given a choice between a Trump endorsement or $20 million in ads from Elon, it’s not even a contest,” said Gorman, who previously served as the communications director for the National Republican Congressional Committee. “They’d take the Trump endorsement every single time.”

Political columnist Kristin Tate said that while Musk was helpful in driving public support from wealthy Silicon Valley Americans for Trump, it’s unlikely these same tech leaders would abandon Trump and follow Musk instead. 

“Trump is the beating heart of the Republican Party right now,” Tate said in an email to Fox News Digital. 

“Elon Musk would be better off trying to shape politics from within the Republican Party,” Tate said. “A third party effort is doomed to fail. Most of President Trump’s supporters see the effort as hostile to Trump and will not support Musk. Meanwhile, all Democrat voters have been conditioned to despise Musk, so they will not support him either.” 

REPUBLICAN LAWMAKERS STAND FIRM AGAINST MUSK’S ‘KILL THE BILL’ ASSAULT ON TRUMP’S AGENDA

Tate said Trump and Musk should attempt to repair their relationship because “both men bring something important and unique to the GOP. 

“By leaving Trump, and the GOP generally, Musk will chisel off a small fraction of Republican Party voters – a fraction that will not be nearly big enough for his new party to win elections, but could be a spoiler for Democrats in elections with extremely tight margins,” Tate said. 

Alex Keyssar, a history professor at Harvard Kennedy School of public policy, said that given dissatisfaction with the two-party system right now, it’s possible that more third-party candidates could win state and local elections. But it’s unclear if that would translate over to national elections because the rules governing elections and who may appear on ballots pose additional limitations for those candidates, he said. 

“There’s a lot of popular sentiment looking for something else that is creating pressures for a third party,” Keyssar told Fox News Digital. “In that sense, Elon Musk is on to something.” 

Still, voters don’t appear interested in a third party affiliated with Musk. While 49% of U.S. voters said they would consider joining a third party, 77% said they weren’t on board if Musk created it, according to a new Quinnipiac University poll released Wednesday. 

MUSK DOES IMMEDIATE 180 ON TRUMP AS SOON AS LA RIOTS RAGE

Musk’s relationship with Trump first started to unravel, at least publicly, in May toward the end of Musk’s tenure overseeing the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). 

Shortly after Musk’s exit from DOGE, the two traded barbs over the “big, beautiful bill,” where Musk said Trump wouldn’t have won the 2024 election without his backing. Likewise, Trump accused Musk of going “CRAZY” over cuts to the electric vehicle credits that benefit companies like Tesla, and said Musk had been “wearing thin.”

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Meanwhile, Trump isn’t counting on Musk’s political party taking off anytime soon, and told reporters July 6 that he believed another party “just adds to confusion.” 

“Third parties have never worked, so he can have fun with it – but I think it’s ridiculous,” Trump said. 

A top advisor to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has left the Pentagon after six months of service, the Department of Defense (DoD) confirmed to Fox News Digital on Saturday.

Justin Fulcher told Fox News Digital he formally resigned on Thursday evening, describing the decision as entirely his own.

Fulcher said he had originally planned to serve six months in government and, having reached that point, chose to move on “amicably.” He also emphasized what he described as the “great work” being done by Hegseth “for our troops and country.”

“The Department of Defense is grateful to Justin Fulcher for his work on behalf of President [Donald] Trump and Secretary Hegseth. We wish him well in his future endeavors,” chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said in a statement.

HEGSETH VOWS TO RESTORE WARRIOR MENTALITY AND RAISE STANDARDS IN SWEEPING MILITARY TRANSFORMATION

In addition to advising Hegseth on personnel and policy, Fulcher played a role in several defense initiatives during his tenure, he told Fox News Digital.

Fulcher said he contributed to reviews of major acquisition programs aimed at strengthening lethality and the U.S. industrial base, and helped streamline software procurement timelines “from years to months,” modernizing key IT systems across the department.

He also said he supported Hegseth in high-level meetings across the Indo-Pacific, including the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, and participated in efforts that redirected nearly $50 billion from non-lethal line items into readiness and more impactful defense programs.

Fulcher praised the “dedicated men and women of the Department of Defense,” cited progress in “revitalizing the warrior ethos” and “rebuilding the military,” and thanked both Hegseth and Trump for their leadership. “Still, this is just the beginning,” Fulcher added.

Fulcher, who had served as a senior advisor to Hegseth since April, announced his departure Saturday afternoon in a message posted to X. 

“As planned, I’ve completed 6 months of service in government to my country,” he wrote, calling the experience “incredibly inspiring.”

WALTZ DOUBLES DOWN ON HEGSETH PRAISE AMID ONGOING PENTAGON CONTROVERSY

“None of this could have happened without Secretary Hegseth’s decisive leadership or President Trump’s continued confidence in our team,” he wrote. “I will continue to champion American warfighters in all future endeavors.”

Fulcher joined the DoD earlier this year as part of Hegseth’s inner circle, a cohort of loyal advisers appointed after Hegseth took the helm at the Pentagon in Trump’s second term.

His departure comes amid a broader reshuffling of senior personnel inside Hegseth’s office. At least six aides have left since January, though defense officials have downplayed the moves as standard transitions.

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It’s unclear what Fulcher’s next step will be, though his statement suggests he intends to remain active in national security circles.

The Pentagon has not yet named a replacement.

Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo appeared to be joking Saturday when he said he would move to Florida if Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani wins the New York City mayor’s race.

Cuomo lost to Mamdani in the Democratic primary, but is planning to challenge him as an independent in the general election. The line, delivered at a Hamptons breakfast with political insiders, sparked laughter but also highlighted growing unease over the city’s political direction.

“It’s all or nothing. We either win or even I will move to Florida. God forbid,” Cuomo said, according to attendees at the event.

The remark came during a private gathering hosted by businessman John Catsimatidis at 75 Main in Southampton. Catsimatidis, a GOP donor and radio host, is also the owner of the Gristedes and D’Agostino supermarket chains, which could be directly affected by Mamdani’s proposal to create government-run grocery stores.

The guest list included RXR Realty Chairman Bruce Mosler, Ambassador George Tsunis, and former top Cuomo aide Melissa DeRosa. One attendee described the line as a “wow” moment. Multiple guests said it got the room’s attention.

TRUMP SAYS CUOMO’S GOT A ‘GOOD SHOT’ OF BEATING MAMDANI IN NYC MAYOR ELECTION

Cuomo’s senior adviser, Rich Azzopardi, defended the comment to the New York Post.

“Governor Cuomo would never give up on New York,” he said. “The line underscored the stakes in this election and the risk of electing a dangerously inexperienced, hate-spewing 33-year-old socialist to lead the city.”

Cuomo repeatedly referred to Mamdani as “the kid” during the event. He called Mamdani’s rent freeze proposal a “death sentence” for landlords and housing supply, and dismissed his platform as “unrealistic bumper sticker slogans.”

Mamdani’s campaign did not respond to a request for comment.

ANDREW CUOMO TALKS REMATCH WITH MAMDANI, SAYS SOCIALIST’S POLICIES WILL CAUSE ‘DEATH’ OF NYC

Cuomo also took aim at Mayor Eric Adams, who is also running as an independent, saying, “We haven’t had a competent mayor since Bloomberg.” He accused Adams of being unable to focus, citing ongoing investigations and ethics concerns.

Asked about the criticism by the New York Post, Adams responded, “If he’s serious about moving to Florida, he should go ahead. He’s already spent three weekends in the Hamptons.”

The race, which also features Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa, has become one of the most unconventional mayoral contests in recent memory.

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Cuomo’s campaign did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

Fox News’ Elizabeth Elkind contributed to this report.

The Justice Department is investigating whether George Mason University (GMU) engaged in discriminatory hiring practices. According to the department, it is focused on determining whether GMU violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits employers from discriminating based on race, color, religion, sex or national origin.

“It is unlawful and un-American to deny equal access to employment opportunities on the basis of race and sex,” Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division said in a statement. “When employers screen out qualified candidates from the hiring process, they not only erode trust in our public institutions—they violate the law, and the Justice Department will investigate accordingly.”

DOJ INVESTIGATING MINNESOTA HIRING PRACTICES IN LATEST CLASH WITH WALZ

In a letter to GMU Board of Visitors Rector Charles “Cully” Stimson, Dhillon wrote that the DOJ has “reason to believe” that race and sex were used as “motivating factors in faculty hiring decisions” under GMU President Gregory Washington.

Dhillon stated that on July 23, 2020, Washington emailed a GMU faculty listserv in which he said he planned to create a process for “renewal promotion and tenure” that would benefit “faculty of color and women.” Furthermore, Washington allegedly also said in the email that he aimed to “develop specific mechanisms in the promotion and tenure process that recognize the invisible and uncredited emotional labor that people of color expend to learn, teach, discover, and work on campus.”

“I have authorized a full investigation to determine whether GMU is engaged in a pattern or practice of discrimination as set forth above. We have not reached any conclusions about the subject matter of the investigation,” Dhillon wrote.

UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA PRESIDENT RESIGNS AMID PRESSURE FROM TRUMP ADMIN OVER DEI INITIATIVES

The investigation into GMU comes just weeks after University of Virginia President James Ryan resigned due to pressure from the Trump administration.

“To make a long story short, I am inclined to fight for what I believe in, and I believe deeply in this University. But I cannot make a unilateral decision to fight the federal government in order to save my own job. To do so would not only be quixotic but appear selfish and self-centered to the hundreds of employees who would lose their jobs, the researchers who would lose their funding, and the hundreds of students who could lose financial aid or have their visas withheld,” Ryan wrote in a statement.

The Trump administration has made tacking diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policies, particularly in government and educational institutions, a priority. As part of the DEI crackdown, the Education Department launched the “End DEI” Portal in February 2025. It allows parents, students, teachers and even concerned citizens to submit reports on what they believe to be DEI in publicly funded K-12 schools.

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President Donald Trump has issued multiple executive orders aimed at ending DEI. This includes “Ending Radical and Wasteful Government DEI Programs and Preferencing” and “Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity.”

Fox News Digital contacted Mike Fragoso of Torridon Law PLLC, who is handling inquiries on behalf of George Mason University, but did not get a response in time for publication.

Democrats have railed against potential Medicaid cuts since President Donald Trump won the 2024 presidential election. Now that his “big, beautiful bill” has passed through Congress, they are making Medicaid a top talking point ahead of competitive midterm elections expected in 2026. 

Republicans, meanwhile, are doubling down on Medicaid reform included in Trump’s megabill, which also includes sweeping legislation on taxes, immigration and energy. 

“My policy is if you’re an able-bodied worker, get a damn job,” Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., told Fox News Digital. “If you want government benefits, go to work and get a job.”

A provision in the megabill requires able-bodied, childless adults between the ages of 18 and 64 to work at least 80 hours a month to be eligible to receive Medicaid benefits. Individuals can also meet the requirement by ​​participating in community service, going to school or engaging in a work program.

REPUBLICANS PRAISE ‘BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL’S’ WORK REQUIREMENT FOR MEDICAID: ‘WE’VE GOT TO GET BACK TO WORK’

Fox News Digital asked lawmakers on Capitol Hill if taxpayers should have to pay for Medicaid bills for able-bodied workers who are under 65 and unemployed. 

‘RIGHT DOWN THE LINE’: MEDICAID REFORM IN ‘BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL’ DIVIDES LAWMAKERS BY PARTY

Sen. Angus King, an independent from Maine, said in both Arkansas and Georgia, where work requirements have already been imposed, it ended up costing taxpayers more money to administer the work requirements. 

“We’re talking about a very small population, and in the two cases where they tried it, it ended up, number one, disqualifying people who met all the requirements but gave up on the paperwork. These aren’t people that are used to filling out a lot of paperwork every month. And it also cost the state a lot to administer,” King said. 

The New England Journal of Medicine found that Arkansas’ Medicaid work requirement from 2018 to 2019 “found no evidence of increased employment … and a significant loss of Medicaid coverage among low-income adults.”

Similarly, the Georgia Budget & Policy Institute (GBPI) reported that 80% of the $58 million spent in the first year of Georgia’s Pathways to Coverage program went toward administrative costs. 

But Sen. Katie Britt, R-Ala., emphasized that Republicans “want these programs to be around for the people who need them.” She said Medicaid reform is about “strengthening and preserving these programs at the rate that they’re growing.”

“These programs were intended to be safety nets, not hammocks that people stay in, and the success of these programs should be measured by how many people we get off of them,” Britt said. 

Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., agreed, telling Fox News Digital, “What you don’t want is for somebody to become dependent. I’d tell people: safety nets should bounce you to your feet. They shouldn’t be like flypaper in which you stick and can never get off.”

“We’re not saying, ‘Hey, we’re not throwing you out.’ All right, but you gotta go get a job. You either get a job, or actually you can even volunteer, all right? And that will satisfy the requirements for work,” Rep. Carlos Gimenez, R-Fla., explained. 

But Democrats who spoke to Fox News Digital continued to push back against the work requirements included in the “big, beautiful bill.” 

“I think people [who] are able to work, trust me, they’d rather work than to get the piddling dollars that they get from Medicaid. It’s insulting to suggest that a person would rather sit at home rather than work and get this meager amount of money. All of this has just been totally expanded to fit a narrative that allows them to cut into those people who really deserve Medicaid,” Rep. Troy Carter, D-La., said. 

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And Rep. Lateefah Simon, D-Calif., said, “We need to be able to have an infrastructure in this country that supports the elderly and the sick and the widows and the child. This bill, it violates all those basic principles.”

Fox News’ Peter Pinedo contributed to this report. 

Leading Democrat Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., says President Donald Trump should release the Epstein files, but is silent on why former President Joe Biden did not anytime in his four years in the Oval Office.

Democrats have seized on the issue since the case became a political controversy for the Trump administration. However, despite their current calls for transparency on the case, the Biden Justice Department also failed to release additional documents on Epstein. 

Asked by Fox News Digital whether she thought the Trump administration should release the Epstein files, former House Speaker Pelosi responded, “Absolutely.”

Fox News Digital then asked, “Why do you think Biden didn’t do it for four years?” to which Pelosi simply turned around and began walking away.

 TRUMP DIRECTS AG BONDI TO WORK ON UNSEALING GRAND JURY TRANSCRIPTS IN EPSTEIN CASE: ‘WE ARE READY’

Fox News Digital pressed, “Do you know why they didn’t do it? Do you think they should have?” However, Pelosi ignored the reporter and stepped into a car.

Pelosi served as House speaker, one of the most powerful positions in the country, from 2019 to 2023, two of those years occurring when Biden was in the Oval Office.

Other Democrats have similarly struggled to answer why a president of their party did not release the files as they demand action now.

On Thursday, Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., was pressed on the issue by “Morning Joe” co-host Joe Scarborough, but he could not give an answer.

“But, Congressman, you could have gotten that from ’21 to ’25, when Democrats controlled the DOJ. Why — it was a crisis then. It’s a crisis now. Why didn’t Democrats call for it from ’21 to ’25?” Scarborough asked. 

“So, I mean, you’d have to go back and look specifically at particular prosecutorial decisions and what was taking place in terms of the other cases. So, I don’t know, we could try to reconstruct that record,” Raskin replied. 

DEMOCRATS HIT ROCK BOTTOM AS PARTY PLUMMETS TO ALL-TIME LOW: POLL

Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., was also caught off guard when a CNN anchor challenged her on why she never called for transparency on Epstein while Biden was president, despite her hammering the Trump administration over the case.

“I would have been happy to raise it then as well. Frankly, we were focused on so many different pieces,” Jayapal replied. 

Meanwhile, Republican Sen. Roger Marshall of Kansas told Fox News Digital, “What I think is really rich is this, Epstein dies in 2019 and the Biden administration does nothing for four years, absolutely nothing.”

“I didn’t hear any Democrats call for it. And, you know, I never heard the legacy media on TV saying one thing about it either. And suddenly, it’s a code blue. Suddenly, every Democrat and the legacy media wants to see these reports. I think that’s hypocritical,” he said.

Marshall went on to say that “beyond that, there may be a lot more going on than meets the eye.”

TWICE-DEPORTED MIGRANT RAPIST FREED AS DEMS FACE HEAT FOR SANCTUARY POLICIES

While noting that he does not have any special information, he said, “I think something else is going on that may be affecting national security,” and “I think President Trump deserves a little bit of grace here. But hopefully, at the end of the day, everything will be released. I’m all for the transparency.”

Rep. Scott DesJarlais, R-Tenn., said that while U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi may not need to release all the files, “if there’s information in those files that shows that somebody committed a crime, that there’s somebody that she has knowledge of that knowingly had sex with an underage girl, they need to be prosecuted and I would hope that she would be doing that.”

“Pam Bondi made quite a show out of what she had, and we need a better explanation than what we’ve got,” said DesJarlais.

He suggested that a bipartisan panel be given access to the files for review.

“Do you need to release everything? I don’t know. But anything that’s criminal, I think, needs to be exposed,” he said.

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Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., told Fox News Digital, “I’m sure that the president is going to want to release whatever he can release.”

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Johnson went on to say, “I am concerned about the chain of custody” of the files.

“The Democrats have had control of these files. What have they added? What have they deleted? I don’t know. I have no idea. I’m as curious as anybody else,” he said, adding, “I’ll trust the Trump Justice Department to do what is right.”

Fox News Digital’s David Spector contributed to this report.

President Trump has been in office for six months, delivering on campaign promises, securing his “big beautiful bill” by his self-imposed deadline and taking decisive action on the world stage.

The president was sworn into office Jan. 20, and the Trump administration has operated at warp speed since Day One.

Key tenets of Trump’s first 100 days included imposing harsh tariffs on Chinese imports, starting and continuing peace negotiations between Russia and Ukraine, and cracking down on border security amid a mass deportation initiative. 

CONGRESS SENDS $9B SPENDING CUTS PACKAGE TO TRUMP’S DESK AFTER LATE-NIGHT HOUSE VOTE

The next chapter of the second Trump administration began, with the House of Representatives, as promised, passing Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill,” before Memorial Day, sending it to the Senate for weeks of negotiations.

The Senate made its changes, approved the legislation and kicked it back to the House just in time for the lower chamber to pass the bill before Trump’s self-imposed Fourth of July deadline. 

The president welcomed House and Senate Republican leadership to the White House July 4 for a signing ceremony on his landmark legislation, which included key provisions that would permanently establish individual and business tax breaks included in his 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, and incorporate new tax deductions to cut duties on tips and overtime pay. 

Trump’s second administration has also focused on the new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which was run by Elon Musk. DOGE proposed cuts to programs that the Trump administration chalked up to wasteful and excessive government spending.

Congressional lawmakers prepped a rescissions package — a bill to codify those DOGE cuts into law. Congress passed that package by its deadline. 

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Trump signed the package Friday, which blocks $8 billion in funding to the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and $1 billion to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting for the remainder of the fiscal year. The dollars had been allocated by Congress for the duration of fiscal year 2025.

As for Musk, his “special government employee” window expired, and he returned to the private sector. Shortly after, Musk started a short-lived feud with the president, who chose not to prolong the tensions. Trump only hit his former ally briefly, and carried on with business as usual, leaving Musk to a lonely rant on social media.

Meanwhile, on the world stage, the president ordered strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities. 

Trump’s historic precision strikes on Iran’s nuclear sites in June hit their targets and “destroyed” and “badly damaged” the facilities’ critical infrastructure — an assessment agreed upon by Iran’s Foreign Ministry, Israel and the United States. 

But Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei recently issued his latest threat against the U.S. and “its dog on a leash, the Zionist regime (Israel),” saying that Iran’s attack on U.S. Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar was just the beginning of what Tehran could throw at Washington. He warned that “an even bigger blow could be inflicted on the U.S. and others.”

Iran has until the end of August to agree to a nuclear deal with the United States and its allies, Fox News has learned. 

Secretary of State Marco Rubio and the foreign ministers of France, Germany and the United Kingdom set the de facto deadline, according to three sources with knowledge of a call Wednesday among the officials. 

If Iran fails to agree to a deal, it would trigger the “snapback” mechanism that automatically reimposes all sanctions previously imposed by the United Nations Security Council. 

The sanctions were lifted under the 2015 Iran deal. 

IRAN FACES AUGUST DEADLINE TO ACCEPT COMPREHENSIVE NUCLEAR DEAL OR FACE RENEWED UN SANCTIONS

In his first six months as president, Trump also signed a sweeping order blocking travel to the U.S. from nearly 20 countries identified as high-risk for terrorism, visa abuse and failure to share security information.

The travel restrictions — announced under executive order 14161 — apply to nationals from 12 countries, including Afghanistan, Iran, Somalia, Libya and Yemen, all deemed “very high risk” due to terrorist activity, weak or hostile governments, and high visa overstay rates. 

Domestically, the president has focused efforts on securing the border, with border crossings at a record low.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection reported the lowest number of border crossings in recorded history in June. Nationwide, there were 25,228 CBP encounters, the lowest monthly number the agency has recorded, including a “historical low” of 8,024 apprehensions. Encounters include legal ports of entry, whereas apprehensions are arrests of those coming into the United States illegally. 

As for tariffs, the Trump administration had leveled tariffs as high as 145% on Chinese goods following the president’s reciprocal tariff plans in April, when China retaliated against the U.S. with tariffs of its own. China and the U.S. reached a preliminary trade agreement in May, which Trump said China violated in a Truth Social post at the end of May.  

An agreement was reached between the U.S. and China in June, which includes China supplying rare earth materials to the U.S., and that Trump will “work closely” with Chinese President Xi Jinping “to open up China to American Trade.”

“Full magnets, and any necessary rare earths, will be supplied, up front, by China,” Trump said in June. “Likewise, we will provide to China what was agreed to, including Chinese students using our colleges and universities (which has always been good with me!). We are getting a total of 55% tariffs, China is getting 10%. Relationship is excellent!” 

The president also celebrated the U.S. Army’s 250th birthday with a massive parade in Washington June 14 — kicking off a yearlong extravaganza leading up to America’s 250th birthday.

Outside the White House, Trump administration agencies have delivered on promises. 

OBAMA ADMIN ‘MANUFACTURED’ INTELLIGENCE TO CREATE 2016 RUSSIAN ELECTION INTERFERENCE NARRATIVE, DOCUMENTS SHOW

The Department of Education unveiled plans to scale down its workforce, terminating nearly 1,400 Education Department employees. The Supreme Court upheld Trump’s move.

The Justice Department released the audio of former President Joe Biden’s interview with former Special Counsel Robert Hur. Hur was investigating Biden for alleged improper retention of classified records.

Congressional lawmakers had been demanding the audio of that interview be released since 2024, after the transcript of Biden’s interview was littered with mistakes and revealed significant memory lapses.

The Department of Justice also has started an investigation into Biden’s pardons his final days in office to determine whether they are valid. Fox News Digital has learned the pardons, in his final weeks in office, were signed by autopen, with just one signed by hand — the pardon for his son Hunter. 

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Trump has also directed Attorney General Pam Bondi to make public any relevant grand jury testimony relating to the Jeffrey Epstein case. 

Over at the FBI, CIA and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, intelligence officials and political appointees are in the process of declassifying all records related to the Trump–Russia investigation, also known as “Crossfire Hurricane.”

Fox News Digital also exclusively reported that former FBI Director James Comey and former CIA Director John Brennan are under criminal investigation relating to their actions tied to the Trump–Russia probe.

Fox News’ Emma Colton, Diana Stancy, Elizabeth Elkind and Louis Casiano contributed to this report. 

FIRST ON FOX: A conservative legal group revealed a tranche of correspondence on Friday from the Biden administration’s Department of Justice (DOJ) shedding new light on the behind-the-scenes discussions about a controversial directive former Attorney General Merrick Garland gave about school boards.

The document dump included an email from a deputy attorney general aide that said the DOJ was searching for a “federal hook” to use to address a letter the National School Boards Association (NSBA) wrote to the White House raising alarm about parents who were, at the time, expressing outrage at school board meetings across the country over COVID-19 mandates, critical race theory, and transgender policies.

“We’re aware; the challenge here is finding a federal hook. But WH has been in touch about whether we can assist in some form or fashion,” deputy attorney general aide Kevin Chambers wrote to a colleague on Oct. 1, 2021.

EXCLUSIVE: CONSERVATIVE GROUPS URGING TRUMP ADMIN TO EXPOSE ANTI-CHRISTIAN ‘PATTERN’ IN BIDEN FBI

Garland issued a directive on Oct. 4, 2021, mobilizing the FBI to assist local law enforcement partners with a “disturbing spike in harassment, intimidation, and threats of violence” against school administrators.

Garland said during a congressional hearing soon thereafter that he had issued the order just after the NSBA sent a letter to the White House, which the NSBA later retracted, that had asked the White House to investigate parents displaying threatening behavior at school board meetings as possible “domestic terrorists.”

The emails were uncovered by America First Legal, a conservative group aligned with President Donald Trump.

MARYLAND TEACHER CLAIMS IN LAWSUIT HE WAS FALSLEY BRANDED ‘RACIST’ OVER SEATING CHART DISPUTE

More of them show some DOJ lawyers raising concern among their colleagues about the department taking any action on the school board letter.

“I read the letter from NSBA, and looked at the links for a handful of footnotes, and it appears to me that the vast, vast majority of the behavior cited cannot be reached by federal law,” one DOJ attorney wrote to colleagues in an email on Oct. 3, 2021, adding that “almost all of the language being used is protected by the First Amendment.”

The NSBA’s letter, and Garland’s subsequent directive that came as a result of the letter, were criticized by Republicans for containing flimsy evidence suggesting some parents presented a threat that warranted federal action. Critics also said it chilled parents’ freedom to speak at school board meetings.

Garland repeatedly maintained when pressed by Republican lawmakers about controversial matters that the DOJ worked independently of the White House, but the new emails about the school board letter undermine that message.

The same DOJ lawyer who raised concerns about acting on the NSBA letter also noted that local law enforcement could address parents disturbing the peace or trespassing. “Nothing remotely federal,” the lawyer wrote.

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America First Legal’s president, Gene Hamilton, said in a statement that the emails revealed a “conspiracy that was ultimately aimed at depriving parents of two fundamental rights — the right to speak, and the right to direct the upbringing up their children.”

Former DOJ official Sparkle Sooknanan, who later became a Biden-appointed federal judge, was the one to set off internal conversation about whether the DOJ could do anything about the school board letter. Sooknanan sent out a rushed email during the weekend, on Oct. 2, 2021, making a “quick-turn request” about the NSBA letter just after it was sent to the White House.

“Are there any authorities [the Civil Rights Division] enforces that could help address this issue?” Soonanan wrote.

The revelation comes as the White House has changed its posture during the Trump administration to overtly coordinate with the DOJ, including to investigate the president’s political opponents. Trump signed executive orders in April directing the DOJ to investigate former Homeland Security official Miles Taylor and former cybersecurity official Christopher Krebs. Fox News Digital reported this week that the White House counsel’s office is coordinating with the DOJ to investigate Biden’s use of an autopen.

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One recently fired DOJ employee of nearly two decades alleged to CBS News that the Trump DOJ has shown no concerns about coordinating with the White House.

“There used to be a line, used to be a very distinct separation between the White House and the Department of Justice, because one should not interfere with the work of the other,” the ex-employee said. “That line is very definitely gone.”