NationalWatch

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Fox News’ Andrew Mark Miller contributed to this report.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Wild card

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

Christie is the only candidate targeting those voters exclusively.

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

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

Outsiders 

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

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

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

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

The second debate airs next Wednesday

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Good Irish whiskey,” Netanyahu replied.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

POPE FRANCIS: ‘GENDER IDEOLOGY’ IS ONE OF ‘MOST DANGEROUS IDEOLOGICAL COLONIZATIONS’

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Biden administration on Wednesday announced that it will be offering hundreds of thousands of Venezuelan migrants already in the U.S. – including those in the country illegally – work permits and protections from deportations, just as numbers are skyrocketing at the southern border.

Officials announced a move to redesignate Venezuela for Temporary Protected Status, which allows migrants to apply for deportation protections and work permits if they have arrived for a certain date.

The latest extension will see TPS extended for 18 months and applies to nationals who were in the country on or before July 31. Venezuela was last extended, but not re-designated, for TPS in 2022, meaning it was not open to new applicants. This redesignation will open it up to new applicants, and officials told reporters they estimate it will protect around 472,000 foreign nationals. 

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The designation is typically based on conditions in the designated country and is based on three grounds: armed ongoing conflict, environmental disasters or “extraordinary and temporary conditions.” Officials on Wednesday cited the latter.

However, it comes as the administration has faced fierce pressure from sanctuary jurisdictions like New York City, which have demanded more federal action to help them deal with the migrant crises they are facing – including expedited work permits. New York City has declared itself overwhelmed by the more than 110,000 migrants that have come to its city.

The announcement comes on the same day as Eagle Pass, Texas saw a surge of predominantly Venezuelan single adults surge into the area, overwhelming officials and causing the closure of the main bridge so officials could focus on processing. 

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Across the border there has been a jump in encounters since a relative lull in June. Numbers jumped to over 180,000 encounters in July and what is believed to be around 230,000 in August, although numbers have not been released. This week, officials have made over 45,000 migrant encounters in the last five days alone both at the ports of entry and between them, sources told Fox, with multiple days of over 8,000 illegal immigrant encounters.

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

The redesignation is on top of a parole program that allows 30,000 migrants from four countries, including Venezuela, to be paroled into the U.S. each month, and Venezuelans are also eligible to be one of the 1,450 a day allowed to enter the U.S. through a port of entry for parole after making an appointment on the CBP One App.

There will likely be concerns, particularly from Republicans and immigration hawks, that redesignating TPS could attract more migrants even though they are not eligible for protection if they arrive after July 31. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) sources told Fox News that the decision will only compound the problem at the border and draw even more Venezuelan migrants because of the “pull” factor of being granted TPS status and the ability to get work authorization. Republicans, meanwhile, have blamed the border surge on the administration’s policies, accusing it of winding down Trump-era border protections and increasing “catch-and-release.”

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The administration has pushed back, saying Congress needs to provide more funding, and pass a comprehensive immigration reform bill the administration unveiled after taking office. That bill included a permanent pathway to citizenship for TPS recipients. 

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The administration has also pointed to enforcement measures it has taken, including restored use of expedited removal and an asylum bar for some who have crossed illegally and failed to claim asylum at a third country. It has also said it has removed or returned around 253,000 migrants since Title 42 ended on May 12. 

On Wednesday, the administration announced an additional 800 active-duty personnel to assist with logistics and allow Border Patrol agents to return to the field and expand holding capacity in facilities by 3,000 to 23,000. It also announced accelerated processing for employment authorization documents fled by those paroled in via the CBP One app, reducing processing from 90 to 30 days and increasing the validity periods of those documents to five years in some cases.

Fox News’ Bill Melugin and Griff Jenkins contributed to this report.

A cross-party delegation of Australian politicians met with U.S. officials, members of Congress and civil rights groups in Washington, D.C., Wednesday to urge the U.S. government to abandon efforts to prosecute WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, who is accused of publishing classified U.S. military documents.

The group of Australian lawmakers included former Deputy Prime Minister and National Party Leader Barnaby Joyce, Labor Party member of parliament Tony Zappia, Independent member of parliament Monique Ryan, Liberal Party member of parliament Alex Antic, Greens Party member of parliament Peter Whish-Wilson and Greens Party Sen. David Shoebridge. 

Assange’s brother, Gabriel Shipton, joined the delegation in Washington for its meetings with U.S. officials.

The delegation brought a letter signed by more than 60 members of parliament calling on the U.S. to drop charges against Assange, who is fighting against extradition to the U.S., where he could be sentenced to up to 175 years in an American maximum-security prison. 

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He is facing 17 charges for allegedly receiving, possessing and communicating classified information to the public under the Espionage Act and one charge alleging a conspiracy to commit computer intrusion. Assange would face trial in Alexandria, Virginia, if he is extradited to the U.S.

Speaking at a press conference outside the Justice Department Wednesday evening, members of the delegation said they are optimistic a resolution can be reached with the U.S. to secure Assange’s freedom, but they remain committed to continuing to pressure the U.S. until the prosecution comes to a conclusion.

“We did not come here to pick a fight,” Joyce told reporters. “We came here to present a case and to lobby for an outcome. And this is part of the process of making sure that people are aware of all the facts and the wider facts as we also have grown to know over a number of years. So, the delegation has come from every corner of the political spectrum, but we have arrived in Washington at the one spot, and that is, after 11 years, enough is enough.”

Assange has been held at London’s high-security Belmarsh Prison since he was removed from the Ecuadorian Embassy April 11, 2019, for breaching bail conditions. He had sought asylum at the embassy in London since 2012 to avoid being sent to Sweden over allegations he raped two women because Sweden would not provide assurances it would protect him from extradition to the U.S. The investigations into the sexual assault allegations were eventually dropped.

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The delegation said it attempted to speak with Assange at Belmarsh but was denied visits. Members of the delegation said they have been in contact with Assange’s family.

The charges against Assange came in response to the 2010 publication of cables U.S. Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning leaked to WikiLeaks that detailed alleged war crimes committed by the U.S. government in the Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, detention camp, Iraq and Afghanistan. The materials also expose instances of the CIA allegedly engaging in torture and rendition.

WikiLeaks’ “Collateral Murder” video showing the U.S. military gunning down civilians in Iraq, including two Reuters journalists, was also published 13 years ago.

“Literally, all sides of politics have come together and united on this one key message, which is that an Australian citizen, Julian Assange, should come home,” Joyce said. “The only crime that we see that Julian Assange has been charged with is the crime of being a journalist, the crime of telling the truth. And the fact that it’s an Australian citizen that has been targeted by one of our closest friends and allies is a very real concern to us as politicians and to a growing part of the Australian public.”

U.S. prosecutors and critics of Assange have argued WikiLeaks’ publication of classified material put the lives of its sources and allies at risk. But, as members of the delegation stressed to Fox News Digital Wednesday, there is no evidence Assange’s work put anyone in danger.

Whish-Wilson told Fox News Digital after the press conference the case against Assange has already strained U.S.-Australian relations but stressed that U.S. officials have been receptive to the delegation’s concerns.

“Julian Assange has suffered enough,” Whish-Wilson said. “Regardless of what you think of his character or what he’s done, he’s already paid a heavy price. And I think from here on in, it’s going to be very interesting to see where that relationship goes. We are the closest friends, the closest allies of the U.S. That relationship should be based on mutual respect and mutual trust. So, while we have respect for the U.S., I think we expect the U.S. will also show respect for us by listening and acting.”

President Biden will host Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in late October, and the delegation said the prime minister is expected to bring up Assange’s case. Albanese has repeatedly called on the U.S. in recent months to end the prosecution of the Australian journalist.

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The Obama administration decided not to indict Assange after WikiLeaks published the cables in 2010 because it also would have had to indict journalists from major news outlets who published the materials. Former President Barack Obama also commuted Manning’s 35-year sentence for violations of the Espionage Act and other offenses to seven years. 

But former President Donald Trump’s Justice Department later moved to indict Assange under the Espionage Act, and the Biden administration has continued to pursue his prosecution.

“If you look at what’s actually transpired here, the person who was responsible, we understand, for the leak had their sentence commuted. That was Chelsea Manning,” Antic told Fox News Digital. “We are dealing with a situation where the publisher is now still being pursued under those circumstances. We have been saying we find it puzzling. I can’t see how there wouldn’t be a chilling effect on the free press if this was allowed to proceed.”

Members of the delegation pointed to how Assange is the only journalist facing prosecution for publishing material that other news outlets also published. The Guardian, The New York Times, Le Monde, Der Spiegel and El País worked with Assange on the publication of excerpts from more than 250,000 documents he obtained in the Cablegate leak. 

Last year, the editors and publishers of these U.S. and European outlets wrote an open letter calling for the U.S. to drop the charges against Assange.

“Australians are very confused as to why you would pardon the whistleblower and then go after the publisher,” Whish-Wilson told Fox News Digital. “We also know that other publications here in the U.S. have also published some of these large leaks as well, prior to WikiLeaks. And the Department of Justice is not seeking their indictment on criminal offenses, but they’re going after Julian Assange.”

The Australian politicians also cited polling Wednesday showing nearly 90% of Australians believe the charges against Assange should be dropped. 

“Most Australians feel that, as a publisher and journalist, he hasn’t committed any crimes and feel that the charges that they laid against him by the Trump administration weren’t warranted and that the exhibition of the extradition proceedings by the U.S. should be dropped,” Ryan told Fox News Digital.

“We think that it’s really important that we speak to the representatives of the Department of Justice and the State Department, but also to politicians,” she added. “But we need to make sure people understand how Australians feel. We’re not sure that people do. Obviously, there are situations that go on for a long time, and people are no longer particularly seeing them … in terms of having them aware of the nature of the charges against them.”

The State Department declined to comment to Fox News Digital. The Justice Department did not respond to a request for comment in time for publication.

On Capitol Hill, Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., led a letter to the Justice Department earlier this year demanding that it drop charges against Assange. Fox News Digital reached out to Tlaib’s office for comment about the Australian delegation but did not hear back in time for publication.

The delegation told Fox News Digital it met with a bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers supporting its cause, and the delegation will meet with more U.S. officials and members of Congress Thursday. The Australian politicians are also meeting with representatives of civil rights groups, including the American Civil Liberties Union, the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) and the Committee to Protect Journalists and Reporters Without Borders.

“We’re in touch with Julian Assange’s family and legal team and look forward to continuing our conversations with them,” FIRE General Counsel Ronnie London said in a statement to Fox News Digital. “We remain concerned about the threat to press freedom posed by the use of the Espionage Act in contexts like this.”

During the Trump administration, the CIA allegedly had plans to kill Assange over the publication of sensitive agency hacking tools known as “Vault 7,” which the agency said represented “the largest data loss in CIA history,” Yahoo reported in 2021. The CIA had discussions “at the highest levels” of the administration about plans to assassinate Assange in London and allegedly followed orders from director Mike Pompeo to draw up kill “sketches” and “options,” according to the report.

The agency also had advanced plans to kidnap and rendition Assange and had made a political decision to charge him, according to the report.

“It’s fascinating about this issue, not just in Australia. We’ve got some hard right politicians here. We’ve got some hard left politicians. We’ve got centrists, and that’s exactly what we’re experiencing in the U.S.,” Whish-Wilson told Fox News Digital. “This is an issue that cuts.

“It gets libertarians exercised. It gets social justice campaigners exercised. And I think that’s what makes it really unique. It’s not very often that you … it’s a conviction issue, right? So, if you’re a conviction politician, no matter what color or what political persuasion, it’s bringing people together. And I think that’s a good thing.”

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WikiLeaks also published internal communications in 2016 between the Democratic National Committee and presidential candidate Hillary Clinton’s campaign that revealed the DNC’s attempts to boost Clinton in that year’s Democratic primary.

Former President Donald Trump was swarmed by a crowd of his supporters Wednesday during a stop at a Bettendorf, Iowa bar, where he handed out pizzas to those in attendance.

Trump made the stop at Treehouse Pub & Eatery after holding multiple events in the state earlier that day, and was met with loud chants of “U-S-A,” and singing of “Proud to be an American.”

“Who wants one?” the former president asked patrons of the bar as he passed around pizza boxes and stopped to take photos and talk with supporters, including to sign one woman’s shirt.

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Trump drew similarly enthusiastic crowds when he attended the Iowa-Iowa State football game — along with a tailgate ahead of the game — earlier this month. 

At the tailgate, he helped flip burgers on a grill as supporters gathered around. He was later met with loud cheers while walking through the stadium ahead of the game.

Trump has maintained a strong lead over his Republican opponents in the Hawkeye State, with the Fox Business Poll released Wednesday showing him with 46% support among likely caucus goers. The poll showed Florida Gov Ron DeSantis in a distant second with 15% and former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley with 11%.

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He also continues to lead his opponents nationally, garnering in another recent Fox News Poll.

Trump made more waves in the state during one if his stops earlier in the day, when, reacting to the worsening border crisis, he vowed to carry out the “largest domestic deportation operation in American history” if elected president next year.

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Fox News’ Deirdre Heavey and Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report.

Former President Trump announced his plans to carry out “the largest domestic deportation operation in American history” if he is elected to a second term in the White House.

Trump, who leads the 2024 Republican primary field by a massive margin, delivered a speech in Dubuque, Iowa Wednesday evening, blasting President Biden for the “nation-wrecking catastrophe on our southern border.”

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“Under my leadership, we had the most secure border in U.S. history. Now, we have the worst border in the history of the world,” Trump said Wednesday— the same day that more than 4,000 predominantly Venezuelan adult illegal migrants crossed the border into Texas.

Trump, in Iowa, said that if elected, his second term would begin by “immediately” terminating “every Open Borders policy of the Biden Administration.”

“Following the Eisenhower Model, we will carry out the largest domestic deportation operation in American history,” Trump said.

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The former president said he plans to also “invoke the Alien Enemies Act to remove all known or suspected Gang Members, drug dealers, or Cartel Members from the United States”—an effort he says will end the “scourge of illegal alien gang violence once and for all.” 

Trump also said he plans to “shift massive portions of federal law enforcement to immigration enforcement,” including parts of the FBI, Department of Homeland Security, Drug Enforcement Administration, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).

GOP GOVERNORS CALL ON BIDEN TO PROVIDE ‘HONEST, ACCURATE’ DATA ON MIGRANT CRISIS AS NUMBERS SURGE

“I will make clear that we must use any and all resources needed to stop the invasion—including moving thousands of troops currently stationed overseas to our OWN southern border,” Trump said, stressing that “before we defend the borders of foreign countries, we must secure the border of our country.”

Trump went on to say he plans to deploy the U.S. Navy to “impose a full Fentanyl Blockade on the waters of our region—boarding and inspecting ships to look for fentanyl and fentanyl precursors.”

Earlier this year, Trump said he would deploy U.S. special forces and other military assets to “inflict maximum damage” on cartels crossing the southern border.

As for Title 42, which ended in May, Trump said he would use the provision to “end the child trafficking crisis by returning all trafficked children to their families in their home countries immediately.”

Meanwhile, Trump said he plans to reinstate his 2017-era travel ban. Trump, in 2017, signed an executive order suspending entry into the U.S. for individuals from several mostly Muslim countries: Sudan, Syria, Libya, Somalia, Yemen and Iran. The travel ban was updated later that year to include North Korea and Venezuela. The Trump administration expanded the ban again in January 2020 to include an additional six countries. 

President Biden repealed the order on his first day in office and instructed the State Department to restart visa processing for affected countries in an effort to “restore fairness and remedy the harms caused by the bans.”

TOP GOP 2024 CANDIDATES RALLY AROUND KEY TRUMP-ERA IMMIGRATION POLICY NIXED BY BIDEN ADMIN

“I will bring back the travel ban and expand it even further to keep Radical Islamic Terrorists out of our country,” Trump said. “I will also use existing federal law to deny entry to all communists and Marxists to the United States.”

Trump added: “Those who join our country must love our country—and we are going to keep foreign Christian-hating communists, Marxists, and socialists the hell out of America.”

Trump has also said he would designate major cartels as foreign terrorist organizations, which would sever their access to global financial systems, and ask Congress to pass legislation that would ensure drug smugglers and human traffickers receive the death penalty.

“2024 is our final battle,” Trump said. “With you at my side, we will demolish the Deep State, we will expel the warmongers from our government, we will drive out the globalists, we will cast out the Communists, Marxists, and Fascists, we will throw off the sick political class that hates our country, we will rout the fake news media, we will defeat Joe Biden, and we will end illegal immigration once and for all.” 

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Trump’s comments come as numbers are again skyrocketing at the border. Officials have made over 45,000 migrant encounters in the last five days alone both at the ports of entry and between them, sources told Fox on Wednesday, with multiple days of over 8,000 illegal immigrant encounters.

Sources also told Fox News that there were around 230,000 migrant encounters in August — Customs and Border Protection has not yet released its official numbers. That 230,000 would be up significantly from over 180,000 in July and 144,000 in June. August’s numbers would mark the highest month in 2023.

Fox News’ Adam Shaw contributed to this report. 

FIRST ON FOX – Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy is set to unveil his plan to “declare economic independence from China” in a preview of his policy speech obtained by Fox News Digital. 

In his address that will be given Thursday in his hometown of Columbus, Ohio, Ramaswamy says he will “delineate the heretofore-unexamined connection between the rise of ‘stakeholder capitalism’ in the West and China’s use of that trend to achieve economic parity with the U.S. by failing to adopt the constraints that multinational institutions apply to the U.S.”

“This includes the use of forced data and technology transfers and even pro-CCP U.S. lobbying as a condition for acquiring licenses to do business in China, including but not limited to applying constraints (e.g. emissions caps) in the U.S. while failing to apply such caps in China,” the preview of his speech read.

WWII GOES VIRAL AT RAMASWAMY NH TOWN HALL: WHAT YOU’RE SAYING IS ‘EXACTLY WHAT MY GENERATION GREW UP IN’

Ramaswamy will boast what he calls a “pro-trade approach to sensibly decoupling from China” and knocked conservatives who reject a “trade-led agenda” as “unserious.”

“To declare independence from China abroad, we must first declare independence from the climate change agenda at home,” the preview read. “Electric vehicle agenda worsens dependence on China for rare earth minerals and mineral refining capacity: when U.S. taxpayers subsidize EVs, American taxpayers subsidize the CCP.”

Ramaswamy asserts the climate change agenda “has nothing to do with the climate and everything to do with letting China catch up to the U.S.” adding that “this is something that the Republican Party has missed in entirety.”

RAMASWAMY CALLS HUNTER BIDEN GUN CHARGES A ‘SMOKESCREEN’: THE ‘REAL PROBLEM’ IS BIDEN FAMILY’S FINANCES

The political outsider reiterated his call for semiconductor independence, calling the CHIPS Act that was passed and sign into law by the Biden administration a “boondoggle” and describing it as the “Green New Deal in chips-related clothing.”

“The right answer: more narrowly tailored pro-semiconductor policy in the U.S., but without the excesses and political trinkets of the CHIPS Act – not as a matter of economic protectionism, but as a matter of national security,” the preview read. “Key way to stop this from simply serving as corporate ‘pork’ – simultaneously open trade relationships with South Korea, Japan, and other nations that provide market access for their own semiconductors to the U.S. market to compete with domestically supported U.S. semiconductor manufacturers.

RAMASWAMY SAYS TRUMP WAS ‘DUPED BY THE ADVISER CLASS’ AHEAD OF POLICY SPEECH ON GUTTING FBI, OTHER AGENCIES

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He will highlight the U.S. military’s reliance on China, pointing out how the CCP is a leading producer of “16” out of the 35 strategic materials identified as critical by the Department of Defense. 

“Limiting foreign engagement in other parts of the world (e.g. Ukraine and Middle East) will reopen substantial funds to reinvest in our domestic defense base without the need for expanding the overall U.S. military budget,” the preview read. “Vivek will modernize the Reagan Doctrine to the 21st century – from ‘peace through strength’ to ‘prosperity through peace.'”

Ramaswamy will also propose weakening America’s pharmaceutical reliance on China by bolstering trade partnerships with Israel and India and will do the same regarding rare earth minerals with countries like India and Brazil, adding that Chile is “the world’s third-greatest lithium reserves” yet “our third-largest lithium partner is China.”

“We don’t have to ban Chinese imports; we just need to buy from other countries that produce the same things. I call on all American companies to declare lithium independence from China and grow their imports from Chile,” Ramaswamy will declare according to the preview. 

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

Government funding expires at 11:59:59 pm et on September 30.

And right now, House Republicans, despite holding the majority, can’t pass any spending bills by themselves.

The House has tried for two weeks to get clearance on a procedural vote for the House to even launch debate on a defense spending bill. That’s a measure most Republicans support. In fact House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., says he’s never heard a Republican articulate what’s wrong with the bill.

Republicans passed one of the 12 annual spending bills in July. And now Republicans have practically torpedoed their trial balloon package rolled out over the weekend. That plan would re-up government funding to avoid a shutdown for 31 days and attach language to bolster border security. The House had planned to vote on that bill Thursday. 

HOUSE REPUBLICANS HOLD CONFERENCE CALL TO AVERT GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN, PASS DEFENSE SPENDING BILL

It was a bad omen for a potential government shutdown when Republicans blew up their own procedural vote, blocking the House from beginning debate on the defense bill Tuesday.

“Is this another blow to you,” yours truly asked McCarthy.

“You think it’s a blow. I just think it’s another challenge,” replied McCarthy.

“Most Speakers are able to get their defense bills onto the floor,” I countered.

“You assume it’s over,” responded McCarthy. “I don’t quit.”

McCarthy then warned that he would keep everyone here this weekend to vote.

“We’re going to vote on appropriations bills, whether they pass them or not,” said McCarthy.

That is, if they can even bring them to the floor.

The votes have never caramelized for McCarthy in his efforts to get any spending measure up for debate recently.

HOUSE WILL HOLD FIRST BIDEN IMPEACHMENT INQUIRY HEARING NEXT THURSDAY

And therein lies the potential strategy for McCarthy.

It may look like defeat after defeat after defeat for McCarthy. And it is. But McCarthy has long-known where the solution to this impasse lies. The government may shut down. But the only path to keep the government open is a blend of Democrats and Republicans in the House and Senate. In fact, an interim spending bill to avert a shutdown could likely clear the Senate with 65 to 70 votes. A similar bill would move through the House with anywhere between 275 to 300-plus votes. For reference, the House approved the bill to suspend the debt ceiling in May with 314 votes. 

But McCarthy can’t pivot just yet to something else. He has to let his own GOP members fight it out among themselves. That’s why he gave a wide berth to the more centrist Republican “Main Street” Caucus and Rep. Scott Perry, R-Penn., the head of the Freedom Caucus, to cut a deal on the interim spending bill over the weekend. But that plan appears dead.

Nothing can pass the House right now. And, ironically, that might be what McCarthy needs.

To wit: McCarthy keeps the House here to vote on rules to bring up various procedural matters or the bills themselves. In the process, McCarthy is building a canon of evidence to show that there are 200-plus Republicans willing to vote yes on something – and a crew of five to 20 who will oppose just about anything.

It’s often a bad idea on Capitol Hill to keep members in Washington over a weekend when there aren’t things to pass or items to vote on. Lawmakers grow cranky and insolent. They sometimes then lash out at leadership for marooning them in Washington with little to show for it. In the case of the Freedom Caucus members, leaders have sometimes wanted to separate them. So tethering lawmakers to Washington with little to do often backfires.

But here, McCarthy may actually want people in Washington. It helps members hash things out and conjure their own ideas to end the standoff. McCarthy has publicly said he prefers to defer to Members. But heretofore, that approach hasn’t worked. 

In addition, it’s about the math.

FROM SUIT AND TIE TO ‘ANYTHING GOES’: THE SENATE DRESS CODE HAS UNRAVELED BEFORE

In the sense that there are about 200 Republicans who fully support McCarthy and five to 20 who aren’t completely on board. There is strength in numbers. The stasis in the House will start to draw the ire of the larger group. They already feel that the most extreme voices in the GOP are dragging the majority around by the nose. So, one could see infighting between McCarthy loyalists and those who oppose him. 

So what happens if the spending measures fail in the coming days? McCarthy will have shown that he was willing to fight and “never give up,” as he often says. But the Speaker warned rank-and-file Republicans for days that unless the House passes something, it will likely get jammed by the Senate.

Since McCarthy can’t get votes to caramelize around any proposal to avoid a shutdown, it’s possible the Senate could cobble together an interim spending bill. That involves a lot of parliamentary mechanics. In fact, it may already be too late for the Senate to assemble a stopgap bill and break two filibusters to avoid a shutdown on October 1. But things are definitely a lot better these days in the Senate than the House. 

If that’s the case, McCarthy can tell his members that he tried and the House weakened its position by never passing a bill of consequence in the spending fight. Therefore, the House must accept whatever the Senate comes up with. 

This inherently weakens McCarthy’s stance. We don’t know if a government shutdown is inevitable. But it’s a near certainty that Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., or someone else will call for a no confidence vote in McCarthy’s leadership.

This is known as a “motion to vacate the chair.” And while I’ve seen a lot of Congressional “shows” over the years, this program has never appeared in my TV Guide.

A “motion to vacate” could happen at any time – although it’s more likely to unfold if and when the House adopts an interim spending bill. A “CR” (short for Continuing Resolution, because it renews all old funding at present levels) appears to be the red line for McCarthy’s opponents. 

Here’s what happens if we get a “motion to vacate.”

All it takes is one Member to call for a “motion to vacate.” However, that motion is subject to a SECONDARY motion. McCarthy defenders would probably move to table (set aside) or refer the PRIMARY motion to committee (probably House Rules or Administration). If the SECONDARY motion prevails, the effort to “vacate the chair” is euthanized. There’s no threat to McCarthy.

But if the House DEFEATS the SECONDARY motion, the House then votes on the PRIMARY motion (the motion to vacate). If the House okays the motion to vacate, hold on to your hats.

All legislative traffic on the House floor stops. We are essentially back to January 3, the beginning of the Congress. The House can’t do anything on the floor until it elects a Speaker. Remember that it took 15 rounds in January to pick a Speaker. That process consumed five days and was the longest Speaker’s election since 1859. A potential Speaker’s race at this stage could take longer.

Remember, the winning candidate must receive an outright majority of all Members of the House WHO VOTE. 

That said, the House is in a different situation than it was in January. The House has sworn-in its Members. It has committees. So other activity may continue. But NOTHING on the floor until it picks a Speaker.

Here is the doomsday scenario: 

The government shuts down and the House is forced into an election for Speaker. But then the House struggles to elect a Speaker – EVEN IF IT HAS THE VOTES TO RE-OPEN THE GOVERNMENT.

Sigh.

Keep in mind that if the government shutters, it deems certain workers as “essential.” But things like national parks close. And workers who are on the job aren’t paid. In fact, Congress usually must approve a resolution to provide back-pay to federal workers if they miss a paycheck.

Border Patrol, the Transportation Security Agency and air traffic controllers are required to work – even if they aren’t paid. However, air safety was one of the reasons the government re-opened in 2019 after a 35-day government shutdown which began in late 2018. 

A small group of air traffic controllers decided to stay home – paralyzing travel at major air hubs like Philadelphia, Atlanta, Newark, N.J., and at New York’s La Guardia airport. 

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That “sickout” compelled the Trump Administration to relent and re-open the government.

Most lawmakers from both parties now believe the government is cruising toward a shutdown. The question is what are the aftershocks on Capitol Hill and for the Speaker.

WINDHAM, N.H. – EXCLUSIVE – Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina appears to be turning up the heat when it comes to taking on his rivals for the Republican presidential nomination.

Scott told Fox News Digital in an interview Wednesday that former President Donald Trump is “wrong” on abortion and charged that Trump and two other rivals — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and former ambassador and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley — have “run away from protecting life.”

Trump, the commanding front-runner in the race for the GOP presidential nomination as he makes his third straight White House run, appears to have handed some his rivals some ammunition over the combustible issue of abortion.

The blockbuster move last year by the Supreme Court’s conservative majority to overturn the landmark nearly half-century-old Roe v. Wade ruling, which had allowed for legalized abortions nationwide, moved the divisive issue back to the states.

AS TRUMP PICKS UP THE PACE IN IOWA, WILL HE FACE BLOW-BACK FOR CALLING ABORTION BAN ‘TERRIBLE MISTAKE’ ?

And it has forced Republicans to play defense in elections across the country, as a party that is nearly entirely “pro-life” has had to deal with an electorate that broadly supports at least some form of abortion access.

Trump declined to endorse a specific number of weeks after which abortion would be banned, with some exceptions, and he refused to say whether he feels the issue should settled at the state or federal levels, during an interview that aired Sunday on NBC News’ “Meet the Press.”

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

“We’re going to agree to a number of weeks or months or however you want to define it,” Trump said. “And both sides are going to come together and both sides — both sides, and this is a big statement — both sides will come together . . . I think both sides are going to like me.”

Trump also reiterated his criticism of Republicans who take too hard an abortion stance, saying, “You’re not going to win on this issue.”

And he called the six-week abortion ban DeSantis signed into law in Florida “a terrible thing and a terrible mistake.”

“I think the former president is wrong on the issue,” Scott said when asked about Trump’s comments. “He was a pro-life president. We need a pro-life president in the future.”

Scott, who was interviewed after headlining the New Hampshire Institute of Politics “Politics and Eggs” speaking series, charged that “President Trump and Governor Haley, Governor DeSantis, have all run away from protecting life.”

DeSantis has repeatedly said, “I’m pro-life. I’ve been pro-life governor. I’ll be pro-life president,” but he has not shared specifics on what he would do as president in terms of supporting a federal abortion ban. 

NIKKI HALEY SEEKS COMMON GROUND ON COMBUSTIBLE ISSUE OF ABORTION 

Haley has also showcased her “pro-life” credentials but emphasized that without enough support in the Senate, passing a federal abortion ban is “not realistic.”

Scott, along with former Vice President Mike Pence and a couple of other Republican presidential candidates, supports a proposed 15-week federal abortion ban.

The senator’s criticisms of Trump, DeSantis, and Haley in his Fox News interview appear to be the latest indicator that he is sharpening his contrasts with his rivals for Republican presidential nomination.

Scott, a rising star in the GOP and the only Black Republican in the Senate, has been spotlighting an uplifting conservative message as he seeks his party’s presidential nomination. 

The senator was anything but the loudest voice at last month’s first Republican presidential nomination debate, a Fox News showdown in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. And because he mostly avoided the numerous verbal fistfights at the first debate, he rarely enjoyed the glare of the primetime spotlight.

SCOTT ON HIS RELATIONSHIP STATUS: ‘I’M DATING A LOVELY CHRISTIAN GIRL’

Scott’s campaign says the candidate will draw contrasts and distinctions with the rest of the field at next week’s second debate, a Fox Business hosted showdown at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum in Simi Valley, California. 

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

But he seemed to discount poor reviews from political pundits and prognosticators, who gave him a thumbs down.

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“I think you’ll see basically what I did last time. I’ll try to do that again. Frankly, I thought our performance was strong. I want to make sure that we do it again,” Scott said.

Fox News’ Kirill Clark contributed to this report

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