NationalWatch

A new political advertisement aimed at promoting Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., links the conservative Democratic senator to former President Donald Trump. 

Manchin is up for re-election in 2024. Though he has not formally disclosed his planned political future, he is already expected to face one of the toughest Senate fights of his career in deep-red West Virginia if he seeks re-election. The state’s popular governor, Jim Justice, and House GOP Rep. Alex Mooney, R-W.Va., are both running in the GOP primary to face him.

But a new six-figure ad campaign by Duty and Honor PAC, which is affiliated with the Democrat-linked Senate Majority PAC, is capitalizing on Manchin’s victories for coal miners and features at least one other popular Republican to West Virginians – Trump. 

“When miners’ pension checks were being chipped away, Joe Manchin protected our hard-earned benefits, and worked with President Trump to protect over 100,000 miners’ pensions,” a voiceover said in one 30-second ad spot.

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“And when gridlock in Washington threatened to take away our health care, Sen. Manchin made sure nobody touched our benefits and helped secure health insurance for 22,000 miners. That’s the West Virginia way. Tell Manchin to keep fighting for West Virginia.”

Shorter versions of the ad are also being rolled out, Fox News Digital was told. 

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Manchin is the only statewide elected Democrat left in West Virginia, which Trump carried by nearly 40 points over President Biden in the 2020 race. Trump is running for a second term as president in 2024.

But Manchin said in a radio interview recently that he is “seriously” considering leaving the Democratic Party altogether.

“I have to have peace of mind, basically. The brand has become so bad, the ‘D’ brand and ‘R’ brand,” Manchin told West Virginia Metro News’ “Talkline” host Hoppy Kercheval. “In West Virginia, the ‘D’ brand because it’s [the] national brand. It’s not the Democrats in West Virginia, it’s the Democrats in Washington.”

MANCHIN ON POTENTIAL THIRD-PARTY 2024 PRESIDENTIAL RUN: ‘IF I GET IN THE RACE, I’M GOING TO WIN’

At the same time, Manchin has generated speculation as a top prospect for a presidential ticket under the new third-party group No Labels, after he appeared at an event it hosted in New Hampshire and refused to rule out a White House bid there.

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Trump’s son, Donald Trump Jr., attacked Manchin on social media over the new ad linking the Democrat to his father.

“Don’t be fooled – There’s no bigger fraud in the US Senate than Joe Manchin,” he said on Twitter, formerly X. “He pretends to be a Pro-Trump moderate whenever he has an election coming up in West Virginia, but when it actually matters, he always does exactly what Chuck Schumer and the Dems tell him to do in DC!!”

Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, R-N.Y., is calling for Staten Island to break away from the rest of New York City over Democrat Mayor Eric Adams’ handling of the migrant crisis. 

“What we’re simply asking is, for common sense. We want the mayor to end this. Stop doing what you’re doing and listen. Secure the damn border. We do not have a border. We do not have a nation,” Malliotakis said during a protest at a former Catholic school turned migrant shelter in the borough.

“If you’re not going to do your job, mayor, then let Staten Island secede.” 

The call was met with cheers and applause from the hundreds of attendees. Staten Island makes up a large part of Malliotakis’ district, which also includes part of Brooklyn. It’s a district that mostly voted for former President Donald Trump in 2020 despite New York City’s blue stronghold status.

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“We didn’t vote for your policies. We should not be subjected to your policies. We’re going to keep on turning out. Let Staten Island secede,” Malliotakis said of state- and citywide Democrats.

The protest was not organized by Malliotakis or her staff, her office told Fox News Digital Tuesday. Her office also noted that the push for Staten Island to break away from the other four boroughs has been ongoing for decades.

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The two-term GOP lawmaker has led Republican pushback to New York City officials’ handling of the worsening migrant crisis. 

She spoke with Fox News Digital earlier this month after several people were arrested while protesting reported plans to convert a nursing home into an overflow shelter for undocumented migrants. She called for the protesters to be let go and compared it to how she believed Black Lives Matter protesters were treated in 2020.

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“Arrests were made at the direction of the mayor, obviously. And it’s frustrating because, you know, the summer of 2020, we had rioters who assaulted police officers, who looted, who created all sorts of disruption, and all their charges were dropped. So, I’m calling for equal treatment,” Malliotakis said at the time. 

Officials from both parties in New York have repeatedly called on the federal government to provide more aid as migrants continue arriving to the city, many of whom have been sleeping on the streets. 

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But the Biden administration replied Monday in a pair of letters to Adams and New York state Gov. Kathy Hochul from Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.

In the letters, obtained by several news outlets, Mayorkas both defended Biden officials’ response and fired off a list of “structural issues” the state had in managing the crisis.

Gen. Mark Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, on Tuesday released a statement vowing “accountability” for the families of those killed in the Abbey Gate bombing two years ago during the withdrawal from Afghanistan.

“We owe Gold Star families everything. We owe them transparency, we owe them honesty, we owe them accountability. We owe them the truth about what happened to their loved ones,” Milley, who has received sharp criticism for his role in the botched Afghanistan withdrawal, said in a statement to Fox News.

The U.S. on Saturday marked the two-year anniversary of the attack outside the Abbey Gate at Kabul Airport during the chaotic military evacuation from Afghanistan in 2021. At least 183 people were killed in the attack, including 13 U.S. service members.

AFGHANISTAN WITHDRAWAL: A POLITICAL TURNING POINT FOR WAY PUBLIC FELT ABOUT BIDEN

The Biden administration took heavy criticism for the chaos that accompanied the withdrawal, which was in turn followed by a takeover of the country by the Taliban. Republicans in particular have continued to demand officials be held accountable for the withdrawal.  

MOTHER OF MARINE KILLED IN KABUL SAYS BIDEN ROLLED HIS ‘F— EYES’ WHEN SHE REMEMBERED SON DURING MEETING

Some Gold Star families have also criticized the administration, and said they were given incomplete or incorrect information. The House Foreign Affairs Committee was holding a roundtable with Gold Star families on Tuesday afternoon, just as Milley’s statement was released.

Milley addressed some of the claims about incorrect information in his statement.

“I trust the Army, Navy and Marine Corps did the best they could in briefing the families who had loved ones killed at Abbey Gate. I believe the briefers gave every piece of information that they could. If there was issues with that, we need to take whatever corrective action is necessary,” he said. “And our hearts go out to those families.”

He continued: “This is a personal thing for all of us in uniform. We don’t like what happened in Afghanistan. We don’t like the outcome of Afghanistan. We owe it to the families to take care of them. Their sacrifices were not in vain.”

He then said that for those who served in the mission, “the cost in blood was high, but every single one of us who served in Afghanistan should hold our heads high. 

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“Each served with skill, dedication and honor. For two decades our nation was not attacked from Afghanistan – that was our mission, and each one can be rightly proud of their service,” he continued.

This is a breaking story; check back for updates

Ray Stallings Smith III, a former Trump campaign lawyer, has pleaded “not guilty” to the election meddling charges brought against him in Fulton County, Georgia. 

Smith’s attorney filed court documents Monday that waived his formal arraignment and entered a “not guilty” plea to each of the 12 counts in District Attorney Fani Willis’ racketeering case against former President Trump. Trump and his 18 co-defendants are accused of violating Georgia’s racketeering law in an alleged plot to overturn President Biden’s victory in the state after the 2020 election. 

“It is counsel’s understanding that by filing this waiver of arraignment, prior to the arraignment date, that Mr. Smith and the undersigned counsel are excused from appearing at the arraignment calendar on September 6, 2023,” the document states.  

An attorney for Smith did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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Smith is the first of Trump’s co-defendants to enter a plea in the Georgia 2020 election case. By waiving his arraignment, Smith and his attorney will not be required to appear in court next week when the other defendants are expected to enter their pleas. 

Fulton County prosecutors charged Trump and all 18 others with at least one count of violating the Georgia RICO Act—the Racketeer Influenced And Corrupt Organizations Act. 

Other charges Trump and the defendants are facing include Solicitation of Violation of Oath by a Public Officer; Conspiracy to Commit Impersonating a Public Officer; Conspiracy to Commit Forgery in the First Degree; Conspiracy to Commit False Statements and Writings; Conspiracy to Commit Filing False Documents; Conspiracy to Commit Forgery in the First Degree; Filing False Documents; and Solicitation of Violation of Oath by a Public Officer.

MARK MEADOWS TO MAKE FIRST COURT APPEARANCE IN GEORGIA ELECTION CASE

The 97-page indictment contains 12 counts against Smith, who is accused of illegally asking state lawmakers to appoint a different set of electors from Georgia who would cast their votes for Trump in the Electoral College.

In 2020, Smith participated in state legislative hearings on behalf of the Trump campaign, arguing it was “impossible” to certify Biden’s victory. 

“Because of irregularities and abject failure of the secretary of state of this state and the counties to properly conduct of the election it is impossible — impossible — to certify the results of the 2020 presidential election,” Smith told the Georgia State Senate Judiciary Subcommittee at the time. He argued that Georgia’s election was “flawed” and claimed state lawmakers held the power to choose presidential electors in the event of gross “irregularities” in a presidential election. 

TRUMP CO-DEFENDANT, HEAD OF BLACK VOICES FOR TRUMP DENIED BAIL AND WILL REMAIN IN PRISON

Smith presented the Trump campaign’s case that Georgia election code was not followed in 2020 to lawmakers— claims tossed out of court — and interviewed several witnesses put forward by Trump’s defense team. He now faces three counts of soliciting a public officer to violate their oath and two counts of making false statements at the hearings. 

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Smith also faces six counts in connection to an alleged scheme to submit a false slate of electors, including forgery, two false statement charges and several conspiracy counts. 

Fox News’ Ronn Blitzer contributed to this report. 

The leader of the California Senate said Monday she will step down from her leadership post, ending an historic run as the first woman and first openly gay person to lead the upper legislative chamber of the nation’s most populous state.

Toni Atkins, a Democrat from San Diego, said she will step down next year. Sen. Mike McGuire, a Democrat from the state’s North Coast region, will replace Atkins as the Senate’s president pro tempore.

Atkins made the announcement at a news conference with McGuire and most of the Senate Democratic Caucus standing behind her. The display of unity was in stark contrast to the leadership battle that embroiled the state Assembly last year, when new speaker Robert Rivas replaced former speaker Anthony Rendon.

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Atkins cannot seek re-election because of term limits and must leave the Senate at the end of next year. She said the caucus chose to announce the transition now because “a long, drawn-out successor campaign would not be in the best interest of the Senate nor the people who we were elected to represent.”

“We have a lot of work to get through in the next few weeks,” Atkins said, referring to the chaotic final days of the Legislative session when lawmakers will vote on hundreds of bills. “This work does not mix well with internal caucus politics being at the top of everyone’s minds.”

The leader of the California Senate is one of the most powerful positions in state politics, acting as the body’s chief negotiator with the governor and the Assembly speaker on key legislation and the state’s more than $300 billion annual operating budget.

Atkins is one of only three people in history to hold both top spots in the Legislature. She has led the Senate since 2018. Before that, she was speaker of the state Assembly from 2014 to 2016.

McGuire was first elected to the Senate in 2014. He has been an outspoken critic of Pacific Gas & Electric, the nation’s largest utility, whose equipment has sparked a number of massive wildfires that have killed dozens of people and destroyed thousands of homes.

In 2019, McGuire took on former Republican President Donald Trump by authoring a law that required candidates for president to disclose their tax returns as a condition of appearing on the ballot in California. The part of the law that applied to presidential candidates was ultimately struck down by the courts. But the law still applies to candidates for governor.

McGuire praised Atkins as “a California trailblazer” and pledged to carry on her work, including focusing on climate issues, housing and access to abortion. But McGuire made it clear Atkins was still in charge.

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“There is one leader, one leader at a time. And our leader here in the California state Senate is Toni Atkins,” he said. “The pro tem and I, we are unified in our transition. And we can make this promise to each and every one of you. The next three weeks, getting these bills off the floor and into the governor’s desk is going to be smooth, successful and focused on the success of the Golden State.”

McGuire is known throughout the state Capitol for his seemingly unending energy, often referred to by his nickname of the “Energizer Bunny,” according to veteran lobbyist Chris Micheli.

His ascension to the Senate’s top post means the Legislature will have two leaders who represent mostly rural parts of California, a rare occurrence in a state where political power has historically been concentrated in the dense urban areas of Southern California and the San Francisco Bay.

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Rivas, who took over as Assembly speaker earlier this summer, represents a district in the state’s mostly agricultural Central Coast region. McGuire’s district stretches from the northern tip of the San Francisco Bay to the Oregon border.

“I think these are parts of the state that deserve a little more attention and focus,” said Jennifer Fearing, a longtime lobbyist whose firm — Fearless Advocacy — represents nonprofit organizations. “I look forward to it, what the difference their leadership can make on addressing longstanding disparities.”

McGuire’s term in office will be a short one. He is required to leave office after 2026 because of term limits.

Democrats control 32 of the 40 seats in the state Legislature, giving them total control of what bills can pass. State Sen. Brian Jones, the Republican leader, said McGuire has “respect for differing viewpoints.”

“He has shown a willingness to work in a bipartisan manner and we are excited to continue this cooperation,” Jones said.

One of the biggest moments from last week’s first Republican presidential debate appeared to echo a similar moment that occurred during a primary debate in the 2016 election cycle.

Political outsider Vivek Ramaswamy turned heads at the Fox News debate Wednesday during a discussion whether human behavior creates climate change.

“I’m the only person on this stage who isn’t bought and paid for,” Ramaswamy declared.

That comment elicited intense boos from the audience and sparked a line of attacks from former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie. 

However, to some viewers, that exchange was reminiscent of one then-candidate Donald Trump had with former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush at a primary debate in February 2016. 

CNN, POLITICO JOURNALISTS REPORTEDLY SAID VIVEK RAMASWAMY ‘COULD BE OUR NEXT PRESIDENT’

Bush went after Trump over an accusation that the celebrity billionaire attempted to use eminent domain to take property from an elderly woman in Atlantic City, New Jersey, something he denied.

As Trump was giving his response knocking Bush as being a “tough guy,” Bush interrupted and asked, “How tough is it take property from an elderly woman?”

“Quiet,” Trump scolded Bush while lifting his finger over his mouth. 

VIVEK RAMASWAMY WAS THE MOST GOOGLE-SEARCHED CANDIDATE AT THE GOP DEBATE

Like Ramaswamy, that fueled loud boos from the audience. However, then Trump took aim at the booers themselves.

“That’s all of his donors and special interests out there, it’s what it is,” Trump pointed at the audience, invoking a laugh from Bush.

Trump then accused the RNC of only allotting tickets for the debate to “donors” and “special interests.”

“And by the way, let me just tell you- we needed tickets. You can’t get them. You know who has the tickets? I’m talking about — to the television audience — donors, special interests, the people that are putting up the money,” Trump said, which elicited even more boos. 

“The RNC told us we have all donors in the audience and the reason — excuse me,” Trump scolded the audience for the ongoing booing. “The reason they’re not loving me is I don’t want their money. I’m gonna do the right thing for the American public. I don’t want their money, I don’t need their money, and I’m the only one up here who can say that.”

RAMASWAMY SAYS HE EMBRACES THE MEDIA HEAT AHEAD OF FIRST GOP DEBATE: ‘IT MAKES ME STRONGER AS A CANDIDATE’

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The 2016 debate spat resurfaced after the first GOP showdown of the 2024 presidential primary race, inspiring many on social media to agree that the two moments sound similar — some called it “deja vu.” 

Ramaswamy himself shared the clip with his followers on X, formerly known as Twitter. 

Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy is giving himself a “pat-on-the-back” after a nearly 20-year-old clip of himself asking a presidential hopeful why someone with “the least political experience” should earn his vote went viral. 

During an October 2003 MSNBC town hall ahead of the 2004 election, the then-Harvard student posed a question to then-Democratic candidate Rev. Al Sharpton on his lack of office holding, noting that Sharpton’s sit-down with “Hardball” host Chris Matthews had followed two Democratic rivals, then-sitting Senators John Edwards and John Kerry, the latter who ultimately won the nomination but lost in the general election to President George W. Bush.  

“Of all the Democratic candidates out there, why should I vote for the one with the least political experience?” the 18-year-old Ramaswamy asked. 

CNN, POLITICO JOURNALISTS REPORTEDLY SAID VIVEK RAMASWAMY ‘COULD BE OUR NEXT PRESIDENT’

“Well, you shouldn’t, because I have the most political experience,” Sharpton responded, sparking laughs and applause from the audience. “I got involved in the political movement when I was 12 years old. And I’ve been involved in social policy for the last 30 years, so don’t confuse people that have a job with political experience.”

“As we have seen with the present occupant in the White House, George Bush was a governor and clearly has shown he doesn’t have political experience,” Sharpton later quipped. 

VIVEK RAMASWAMY WAS THE MOST GOOGLE-SEARCHED CANDIDATE AT THE GOP DEBATE

Ramaswamy reacted to the viral clip. 

“I’ll give the 18-year-old version of myself a pat-on-the-back for eliciting the most sensible words ever to come from that man’s mouth,” Ramaswamy wrote on Monday, swiping the now-MSNBC host Sharpton. 

He added, “20 years later, it’s funny how the tables have turned.”

The clip, which went viral on Monday, first resurfaced after Ramaswamy referred to his exchange with Sharpton in an interview published in Time magazine earlier this month. 

Ramaswamy recently acknowledged that he voted for the libertarian candidate in the 2004 election after previously claiming he had not voted until 2020, when he supported former President Trump over President Biden. 

RAMASWAMY SAYS HE EMBRACES THE MEDIA HEAT AHEAD OF FIRST GOP DEBATE: ‘IT MAKES ME STRONGER AS A CANDIDATE’

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Ramaswamy himself took plenty of slings and arrows during the first Republican presidential debate, particularly over his youth and non-political background. Former Vice President Mike Pence knocked Ramaswamy as a “rookie,” while former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie called him an “amateur” and compared him to Barack Obama. 

According to the RealClearPolitics average of national polls, Ramaswamy is placing third with 7.5% behind Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis with 13% and former President Trump, who continues to dominate the GOP field with 53%. 

INDIAN LAND, S.C. — EXCLUSIVE — Former ambassador and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley says her Republican White House campaign has had a “fantastic response” since last Wednesday’s first GOP presidential nomination debate.

“I think in the first 72 hours we raised a million dollars. We’ve had thousands of people volunteer. We’ve had a lot of people join the campaign. The phones are still ringing,” Haley said on Monday in an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital.

Haley spoke minutes before holding her first event since last week’s debate: a jam-packed town hall in Indian Lake, South Carolina. Haley’s campaign said that roughly 1,000 people filled the auditorium, balcony and overflow rooms at a community event space in this northern South Carolina town along the border with North Carolina.

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Pointing to the support, Haley said, “We’re grateful. We’re absolutely grateful. But it only keeps us more motivated because we have a country to save.”

Haley, the only woman among the major candidates running for the Republican nomination, was the first contender on the stage at last week’s Fox News-hosted debate in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, to come out swinging, targeting Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina and former Vice President Mike Pence early in the debate for supporting legislation that raised the national debt.

CHECK OUT INITIAL FOX NEWS POWER RANKINGS IN 2024 GOP PRESIDENTIAL NOMINATION RACE

And Haley, who served as former President Donald Trump’s ambassador to the United Nations, was the first to target Trump over his perceived electability liability, arguing the former president was the “most disliked” politician in the country.

She also heavily criticized another rival, multimillionaire biotech entrepreneur and first-time candidate Vivek Ramaswamy over foreign policy. She repeated those comments at Wednesday’s town hall, charging Ramaswamy’s proposals were “completely naive”

Asked about the first showdown, Haley said in her interview, “You never know what you’re going to get when you get on a debate stage. You never know what questions you’re going to be asked. You don’t know who’s going to attack or not attack. You don’t know. So it’s all instinct and gut. And it’s about communicating as much as you can, and that’s what we tried to do.”

“I think we only had eight and a half minutes in two hours. I would have loved to say more, but you take the most of the time that you’re given to really get the substance, solutions and policy out there, and that’s what I tried to do,” she emphasized.

Haley appeared to enjoy a small bounce in some of the initial public opinion surveys conducted following the debate, but she remains in the single digits, and along with the rest of the large field of contenders remains far behind Trump, who remains the commanding front-runner for the nomination.

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But Katon Dawson, a former chairman of the South Carolina Republican Party and Haley campaign adviser and surrogate, told Fox News that “what the Fox debate did for us as a campaign was made it all real and start coming together, and I think they [voters] understand the fact that Nikki’s different. … You saw that difference on the debate.”

Dawson emphasized that the first debate “put gasoline on the fire, and now we’ve got to continue to keep working.”

Presidential candidate Nikki Haley is hitting back at GOP contender Vivek Ramaswamy who called her “lying Namrata,” referencing her given Indian name, and originally misspelling it on the website. 

In an interview with Fox News Digital, Haley said she’s “not going to get into the childish name calling,” and that he should “know better than that.” 

On a new page on the newcomer’s campaign website called “TRUTH. Over myth,” Ramaswamy is attempting to set the record straight on recent attacks leveled by competition for the Oval Office in 2024 related. 

One such criticism is Ramaswamy’s position on U.S. support to Israel, an accusation leveled by former UN ambassador Haley last week during the first GOP primary debate. 

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“WRONG. Keep lying, Namrata Randhawa. The desperation is showing,” Ramaswamy’s website read earlier today. It has since been updated with the correct spelling for Haley’s birth name.

“Nimarata Randhawa” appears to be a reference to Haley’s birth name of Indian origin, but it leaves out Nikki, her middle name which she goes by.

“I’m not going to get into the childish name calling or whatever, making fun of my name that he’s doing,” Haley told Fox News Digital. I mean he of all people should know better than that. But I’ve given up on him knowing better than anything at this point.

“I think we saw the childish demeaning side of him on stage. I think he’s carrying that out whether it’s on the website or otherwise, but I have no use for it,” she continued.  

Asked for comment, a spokesperson for the Ramaswamy campaign told Fox News Digital, “”How is he making fun of her name? His name is Vivek Ramaswamy.” 

Matt Whitlock, a former spokesperson for the National Republican Senatorial Committee posted on X that Ramaswamy’s fact-check website “feels like parody.”

“[N]ot sure why using Nikki Haley’s maiden name (spelled wrong) is a rebuttal. But makes clear her debate attacks got under his skin,” Whitlock said.

He went on to comment that this type of political attack “usually comes from lunatics (on the left or right) accusing her of whitewashing her identity and hiding her heritage. (Who are too stupid to google it and realize Nikki is her actual birth name).” 

Another X user pointed out that “what’s even crazier” is that Haley was the only candidate during the debate to properly pronounce “Vivek,” which he says rhymes with “cake.” 

Saat Alety of Fed Hall Policy Advisors stated on X that “The references to @NikkiHaley’s maiden name or first name as pejoratives are bewildering. She’s a married woman — her last name is Haley.” 

“Nikki is an extremely common name in Punjabi culture – and it’s her middle name. Sad to see this from an Indian-American, @VivekRamaswamy,” he stated. 

RAMASWAMY, PENCE CLASH AFTER FORMER VP CALLS GOP NEWCOMER A ‘ROOKIE’: ‘THIS ISN’T COMPLICATED’

Haley went after Ramaswamy during the debate, saying he has no foreign policy experience and it “shows.” 

“He wants to hand Ukraine to Russia, he wants to let China eat Taiwan, he wants to go and stop funding Israel. You don’t do that to friends, what you do instead is you have the backs of your friends,” Haley said.

Ramaswamy responded, “Our relationship with Israel would never be stronger than by the end of my first term, but it’s not a client relationship, it’s a friendship, and you know what friends do? Friends help each other stand on their own two feet.”

WATCH: HALEY CLASHES WITH RAMASWAMY OVER U.S. AID TO UKRAINE

“You know what I love about them? I love their border policies, I love their tough-on-crime policies, I love that they have a national identity and an Iron Dome to protect their homeland, so, yes, I want to learn from the friends that we’re supporting,” Ramaswamy added.

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“No, you want to cut the aid off, and let me tell you, it’s not that Israel needs America, it’s that America needs Israel. They’re on the front line of defense to Iran,” Haley retorted, drawing applause from the crowd. 

Ramaswamy’s website says that, “By the end of Vivek’s first term, the US-Israel relationship will be deeper and stronger than ever because it won’t be a client relationship, it will be a true friendship.” 

“The centerpiece of Vivek’s Middle East policy in Year 1 will be to lead “Abraham Accords 2.0” which will fully integrate Israel into the Middle East economy – by adding Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar, and Indonesia to the pact which was one of President Trump’s crowning foreign policy achievements,” the website says. 

Fox News Digital’s Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report.

EXCLUSIVE – Sen. Tim Scott will unveil a new plan on Monday that the Republican presidential candidate aims to “defend America’s children, empower parents, and protect kids online.”

Scott will announce his proposal, which was shared first with Fox News Digital, as he meets with parents, homeschool advocates and voters during a campaign swing through his home state of South Carolina, a crucial early voting state that holds the first southern primary in the GOP presidential nominating calendar.

“Teachers’ unions, Big Tech, and [President] Joe Biden are on a mission to make parents less important,” Scott charged in a statement.

And the conservative senator showcased that “I have a bold agenda to support and empower parents — from the classroom to the locker room to the smartphone. We must empower parents and give them a choice, so that every child has a chance.”

CHECK OUT INITIAL FOX NEWS POWER RANKINGS IN 2024 GOP PRESIDENTIAL NOMINATION RACE

Scott’s proposal is the latest example of Republicans pushing to elevate the role of parental control of public schools in recent years.

The first component of Scott’s “Empower Parents Plan” is defending children with a “family first culture.”

Scott, a rising star in the GOP and the only Black Republican in the Senate, calls for restoring “American childhood and let girls and boys be girls and boys, not guinea pigs” and “Save Title IX and women’s sports — if God made you a man, you play sports against other men.”

WHAT SEN. TIM SCOTT SPOTLIGHTED IN HIS CLOSING ARGUMENT AT LAST WEEK’S DEBATE

He also spotlights that he will “stand with crisis pregnancy centers” and pledges to stop the Department of Justice, which he argues is “turning a blind eye to far-left threats and vandalism.”

Scott also vows to empower parents by defending their ability to know what their children are hearing and reading in school.

He also wants to “empower every family the right to opt out of propaganda that attacks their values and religious liberty,” and pledges to “break the back of the teachers’ unions and enact nationwide school choice,” which are staples of the conservative movement.

The senator also wants to give parents a greater ability to decide whether to send their children to public, private, charter, or STEM schools, or homeschooling.

Scott argued that he will “replace indoctrination with education. ABC, not C.R.T.”

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Scott’s third component will also please conservatives, as he aims to “stop Big Tech from stealing kids’ attention spans, China from stealing their privacy, and predators from stealing their future.”

The senator calls for mandating country-of-origin labeling on every app so parents are fully informed and making big tech do more to keep kids safe online.

Republicans have been showcasing their efforts to defend parental rights in recent years, helping to turn public education into a political battleground. The push came in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, which triggered school closures across the country, upending families and putting schools in the spotlight.

MOMS FOR LIBERTY CLOUT WITHIN THE GOP KEEPS RISING 

Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s victory over former Gov. Terry McAuliffe in Virginia’s high-profile 2021 gubernatorial election – in a contest where Youngkin made parental rights a centerpiece of his campaign – energized the GOP.

Fast-forward to this year and House Republicans – in one of their first major legislative pushes after taking over the chamber’s majority – passed mostly along party lines a “Parents Bill of Rights.” The legislation, which aims to boost the information parents’ receive regarding their children’s education, fulfilled a pledge they made in last year’s midterm elections.

On the presidential campaign trail, the GOP White House contenders this year have been trying to one up each other in highlighting their commitment to boosting parental rights.

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Additionally, five Republican presidential candidates – including GOP nomination commanding front-runner and former President Trump – spoke in-person in June in Philadelphia at the annual summit of Moms for Liberty, a conservative leaning parental rights organization that has quickly become very influential in Republican circles.

Democrats argue that the widespread push by Republicans is a mission by the GOP to take aim at what they consider an anti-woke agenda and weaken public education.

And the Democratic National Committee took aim at Scott in responding to his plan.

“Tim Scott has spent his career working to defund public education and gut programs that millions of students across the country rely on, all to divert taxpayer dollars to wealthy private schools,” DNC spokesperson Ammar Moussa charged in a statement.”

And Moussa argued that “our students, teachers, and parents deserve better than Scott and MAGA Republicans’ extreme agendas that would devastate public education and harm education across the country.”

Rep. Andrew Clyde, R-Ga., is planning to use the upcoming government spending fight to pump the brakes on the federal and state prosecutions targeting former President Trump.

“Americans’ hard-earned tax dollars have no place funding the radical Left’s nefarious election interference efforts,” Clyde told Fox News Digital. “Together, Jack Smith, Alvin Bragg, and Fani Willis intentionally brought four sham indictments against the sitting president’s top political opponent, President Donald J. Trump, as the upcoming 2024 presidential election ramps up.”

Clyde is a member of the House Appropriations Committee, which has been tasked with assembling 12 different spending bills for the next fiscal year, which begins on Oct. 1.

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He said on Monday that he intends to introduce two amendments to the Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill, which allocates funding to the Justice Department, among other offices. 

Both would prevent federal funds from going toward the prosecution of a major presidential candidate ahead of the 2024 White House race. The first is aimed at federal cases and the second at state prosecutions.

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Trump’s allies have rallied around him in the wake of his four criminal indictments, accusing prosecutors in each case of playing politics to kneecap his front-runner status in the 2024 GOP primary. The former president is facing 91 total charges, including two cases related to his alleged efforts to overturn his 2020 loss.

Clyde on Monday dismissed the cases as “witch hunt” efforts and said he had “serious concerns” about how they were being handled.

It comes after a flurry of GOP proposals with the similar aim of defunding the cases against Trump. Many have specifically targeted Special Counsel Jack Smith, who brought two separate federal indictments against the former president – one for his handling of classified documents and another related to the 2020 election.

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“The American people get to decide who wins the White House — not Deep State actors who have shamelessly attacked Donald Trump since he announced his first bid in 2015. It is imperative that Congress use its power of the purse to protect the integrity of our elections, restore Americans’ faith in our government, and dismantle our nation’s two-tiered system of justice,” Clyde said.

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“I’m fully committed to helping lead this effort, and I call on my House Appropriations colleagues to join me in this righteous fight.”

If Clyde’s amendments make it through the legislative process and end up on the House floor for a vote, they face a decent prospect of passing under the GOP’s razor-thin majority. However, the measures are likely dead on arrival in the Democrat-controlled Senate.

The federal judge presiding over Special Counsel Jack Smith’s case against former President Trump, which alleges interference in the 2020 presidential election, set the trial date for March 4, 2024 – right in the middle of the GOP presidential primary calendar.

U.S. District Judge for the District of Columbia Tanya Chutkan rejected a proposal by Trump’s defense team that the trial begin in April 2026 – long after the results of the 2024 presidential election.

Instead, she set the date far closer to one proposed by Smith and the government, who wanted the trial to begin on Jan. 2, 2024. They suggested it would last approximately four to six weeks. That date would have fallen just weeks before the Iowa caucuses and New Hampshire’s first-in-the-nation primary.

Trump is the first former president in United States history to face criminal charges.

But a criminal trial against a former president, who is also a candidate with a commanding lead over the GOP presidential field, being set in the middle of the primary cycle is likely to cause a political firestorm.

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The judge said neither date was acceptable.

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Once scheduled, defense attorney John Lauro told the judge that Trump’s defense team would abide by her ruling but that they would “not be able to provide adequate representation.”

“I feel the need to put that on the record,” Lauro said.  

Chutkan said she understood Lauro’s position but added that she would issue an order with a pre-trial schedule.

There was a brief discussion in the courtroom of whether the defense team planned on polling citizens of the District of Columbia in an effort to determine whether to submit a motion for a change of venue.

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Chutkan said she would be “watching very carefully for anything which might poison the jury pool.”

Lauro said the defense has not started such polling, but given the accelerated schedule for a trial, they may begin to do so, adding that he has never seen a judge restrict such action.

Chutkan replied that she had no intention to restrict anything of the sort but that she would be protective of the District of Columbia’s jury pool.

The trial date comes after Smith investigated whether Trump was involved in the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021, and any alleged interference in the 2020 election result.

On Aug. 1, Trump was indicted on four federal charges out of Smith’s Jan. 6 probe.

Trump pleaded not guilty to all charges, which included conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, obstruction of and attempt to obstruct an official proceeding, and conspiracy against rights.

Separately, Trump pleaded not guilty to all 37 felony charges out of Smith’s classified records probe. The charges include willful retention of national defense information, conspiracy to obstruct justice and false statements.

On July 27, Trump was charged with an additional three counts as part of a superseding indictment out of Smith’s investigation – an additional count of willful retention of national defense information and two additional obstruction counts.

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A federal judge in Florida has scheduled a trial date for May 20, 2024.

President Biden is also under special counsel investigation for his alleged improper retention of classified records. The status of Special Counsel Robert Hur’s probe is unclear.

Democrat Rep. Ayanna Pressley fired back at GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy Sunday after he referred to her and social justice author Ibram Kendi as “modern grand wizards” of the “modern KKK.”

“The verbal assault lobbied against myself and Dr. Kendi is shameful. It is deeply offensive. And it is dangerous,” Pressley said on MSNBC’s “PoliticsNation” on Sunday with Rev. Al Sharpton. 

She added she is “squarely focused on the work of undoing the centuries of harm that has precisely been done to Black Americans and charting a path of true restorative justice and racial justice forward.”

“It is not that long ago that we were besieged by images of White supremacists carrying tiki torches in Charlottesville. It was not that long ago that a White supremacist mob seized the Capitol, waving Confederate flags and erecting nooses on the West Lawn of the Capitol,” she said.

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But Ramaswamy upheld his position, initially expressed during an Iowa campaign event Friday. 

“I stand by what I said to provoke an open and honest discussion in this country,” Ramaswamy told CNN host Dana Bash on Sunday. “And there are many Americans today who are deeply frustrated by the new culture of anti-racism, how it’s really racism in new clothing.”

Ramaswamy said racism “comes from the modern left” and that it is part of “a dogma in this country.”

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The original comments were made during Friday’s campaign appearance in Iowa, when Ramaswamy responded to a voter’s question about whether he has experienced racism in recent years. 

“She’s a member of the squad,” Ramaswamy said of Pressley on Friday. “Her words not mine: ‘We don’t want any more Black faces that don’t want to be a Black voice. We don’t want any more Brown faces that don’t want to be a Brown voice.'” 

“These aren’t my words,” Ramaswamy said. “These are the words of the modern grand wizards of the modern KKK.”

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Ramaswamy’s Pressley quote was reportedly said during a 2019 campaign event.

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During Friday’s rally, Ramaswamy went on to read Kendi’s opening lines in his book “How To Be Anti-Racist.”

“Here’s what it says,” Ramaswamy said on Friday, NBC reported. “Opening lines: ‘The remedy to past discrimination is present discrimination. The remedy to present discrimination is future discrimination.”

Kendi responded to Ramaswamy on MSNBC to host Ali Velshi on Sunday: “The modern Klan actually hates me. And you know who the modern Klan loves? The very candidate that Vivek praises every chance he gets, and that’s Donald Trump.”