NationalWatch

Welcome to the Fox News Politics newsletter, with the latest updates on the Trump administration, Capitol Hill and more Fox News politics content. Here’s what’s happening…

• Iran warns US joining conflict would mean ‘all-out war,’ refuses demands to give up disputed nuclear program
• Senate hearing on who was ‘really running’ Biden White House kicks off Wednesday
• Suspected Tren de Aragua gang members terrorize apartment complex in shocking doorbell video

State Ban on Transgender Treatments for Minors Upheld by Supreme Court

The Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that a Tennessee law banning specific transgender medical treatments for adolescents in the state is not discriminatory, ruling 6-3 to uphold the law.

At issue in the case, United States v. Skrmetti, was whether Tennessee’s Senate Bill 1, which “prohibits all medical treatments intended to allow ‘a minor to identify with, or live as, a purported identity inconsistent with the minor’s sex’ or to treat ‘purported discomfort or distress from a discordance between the minor’s sex and asserted identity,'” violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.

That law prohibits states from allowing medical providers to deliver puberty blockers and hormones to facilitate a minor’s transition to another sex… READ MORE.

White House

CLEAR RED LINE: White House maintains Trump consistent in firm stance on Iran nukes — and shows off receipts

SURVEY SAYS: Where Trump stands in the eyes of Americans five months into his second presidency

World Stage

GLOBAL GAGGLE: G7 with early Trump departure does not yield agreements on matters like world conflicts

ANTISEMITISM SPREADS: UN commission accuses Israel of ‘extermination’ in controversial report

Israel-Iran Conflict

KEEPING FAITH: ‘Jewish Matchmaking’ star living in Israel has hope amid conflicts with Hamas, Iran

DEADLY REACH: In Iran’s ‘forever war’ against the US, regime has targeted, killed Americans worldwide

CONFLICT INTENSIFIES: Iran warns US joining conflict would mean ‘all-out war,’ refuses demands to give up disputed nuclear program

‘VERY BIG’: Trump weighs striking Iranian nuclear facilities: ‘I may do it, I may not do it’

DRONE FORCE RISING: ‘Eyes in the sky’: Army drone expert explains US strategy on innovation as global conflict looms

Capitol Hill

TROUBLING PATTERN: FBI Director Patel says man who threatened Trump used same message as Comey’s ‘destructive’ Instagram post

ENEMY AT THE GATES: Senators Ricketts, Fetterman unite against China’s quiet invasion of US farmland

PRESIDENCY IN NAME: Senate hearing on who was ‘really running’ Biden White House kicks off Wednesday

Immigration

TAXPAYER TAB: Migrant influx helping drive $1B shelter bill in Massachusetts, report shows

MAINTAINING ORDER: Trump admin deploys 2,000 more troops to blue city for anti-ICE riots

ONE ON THE RUN: Third illegal immigrant captured after ICE facility breakout

MASSIVE BUST: Louisiana racetrack ICE raid nets more than 80 illegal migrants during worksite enforcement operation

EVIL KNOCKING: Suspected Tren de Aragua gang members terrorize apartment complex in shocking doorbell video

Across America 

SAFETY AND SECURITY: Potential Youngkin successor focused on message to keep Virginia ‘red’

COMEBACK OR COLLAPSE: Cuomo’s lead shrinks with under one week until New York City mayoral primary: poll

POLITICAL TOUCHDOWN: State senator, Indian immigrant, pulls upset in Virginia Democratic lieutenant governor’s race

PRIVACY BETRAYED: Republicans demand answers on California program accused of leaking patient health data to Big Tech

‘BETRAYED OUR STATE’: GOP Louisiana state senator says he’s running for US Senate because incumbent Republican ‘sucks’

Get the latest updates on the Trump administration and Congress, exclusive interviews and more on FoxNews.com.

As the conflict in the Middle East escalates, voters are torn on Israel’s decision to attack Iran’s nuclear facilities, yet they agree Iran is a national security threat and that what happens abroad matters to life in the U.S.

Seventy-three percent of registered voters think Iran poses a real threat to the U.S., a 13-point increase from six years ago (the last time this question was asked).

“The increased sense that Iran constitutes a threat is real, but it also reflects the unique timing and circumstances surrounding this poll,” says Republican pollster Daron Shaw, who helps run the Fox News Poll along with Democrat Chris Anderson. “The poll was in the field as images of Iranian missiles falling on Tel Aviv dominated television and the internet — the immediacy and clarity of the conflict undoubtedly contributes to how voters gauge what is at risk.”

Majorities of Democrats (69%), Republicans (82%), and Independents (62%) agree Iran poses a real risk and those numbers are up since 2019 (by 12, 17, and 4 points respectively).

The latest Fox survey, released Wednesday as President Donald Trump urged for Iran’s “unconditional surrender,” also finds voters split on Israel’s decision to launch military strikes against Iran’s nuclear programs – nearly half (49%) approve of the strikes while slightly fewer (46%) disapprove.

Republicans (73% approve) are more than twice as likely as Democrats (32%) and Independents (32%) to approve of the strikes.

FOX NEWS POLL: THE FIRST 100 DAYS OF PRESIDENT TRUMP’S SECOND TERM

Voters have contradictory concerns. On the one hand, voters are pessimistic about how the air strikes will affect security. Most think the attacks against Iran will make the world a more dangerous place (59%) rather than safer (36%). About three-quarters of Democrats (74%) and Independents (77%) agree the strikes will increase peril, as do nearly 4 in 10 Republicans (36%).

On the other hand, voters are worried about Iran developing a nuclear weapon. Almost 8 in 10 say they are also extremely or very concerned about Iran’s nuclear program (78%) up from 66% in April and matching the high in September 2010. The increase comes from demographics across the board.

FOX NEWS POLL: DEMOCRATS’ FAVORABILITY HITS NEW LOW, STILL FAVORED OVER GOP IN 2026 MIDTERMS

While concern is palpable, voters see other issues as more pressing. When presented with a list of eight issues, Iran’s nuclear program falls in the middle. The future of the U.S. (85% extremely or very concerned), inflation (84%), and government spending (80%) rank higher while antisemitism (69%), illegal immigration (67%), the use of U.S. military troops domestically (66%), and protests in U.S. cities (63%) rank lower than concerns about Iran.

While roughly 8 in 10 Democrats, Republicans, and Independents are concerned about Iran getting a nuke, it only ranks in the top three concerns for Republicans.

Overall, 8 in 10 think what happens in the Middle East matters a great deal or some to life in the U.S. (81%) while more than half support financial aid to the Israelis for their military (53%), a 3-point increase since March, but down from a high of 60% in November 2023, shortly after the October 7 Hamas attacks.

Since November 2023, Democrats (-14 points) and Independents (-11) are less likely to support sending money to the Israelis while Republicans (+4 points) solidified their support.

“Even though most think the stakes are high, there is a reticence to get involved in the Middle East,” says Shaw. “The public isn’t blind to history and history teaches us that those who get directly involved in these conflicts do so at their peril.”

Trump left the G7 summit early on Monday along with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, citing the ongoing and intensifying situation in the Middle East as the reason.

Trump’s approval rating on foreign policy has held relatively steady since April: 42% approve vs. 57% disapprove for a net negative rating of -15, it was -14 last month. He fares better on border security (53% approve, 46% disapprove) and immigration (46%, 53%) while he does worse on the economy (40%, 58%) and inflation (34%, 64%).

Overall, 46% approve of his job performance as president, while 54% disapprove.

Trump’s personal favorable rating held steady at 45%, compared to those in his administration. 

Trump’s personal favorable rating held steady at 45%. Compared to those in his administration, Trump’s about even with Vice President JD Vance (44% favorable) and performs better than Rubio (42%), Elon Musk (41%), and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth (32%). Robert F. Kennedy Jr. does the best with a 48% favorable rating.

For comparison, the favorable ratings among Democratic Party leaders were in the same ballpark: Kamala Harris (49% favorable), Joe Biden (43%), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (40%), and Gavin Newsom (39%). Everyone tested was viewed more negatively than positively, although by only 2 points for both Harris and RFK Jr.

The Russia-Ukraine conflict

The continuing war between Russia and Ukraine takes a backseat to the conflict in the Middle East, with 72% saying the war matters a great deal to life in the U.S. compared to 81% who say the same about what is happening in the Middle East.

Those saying the Russia-Ukraine war matters are down from 81% in October 2023 (when the question was last asked) and a high of 85% in March 2022 (at the start of the war).

Even so, 56% of voters support sending money to Ukraine to help fight Russia. That number has held steady at between 54 and 63% for the last three years.

Big picture, majorities favor sending financial aid to the Ukrainians (56%) and the Israelis (53%) to fight their respective wars, with partisanship driving support in the different theaters.

Seventy percent of Democrats support funding Ukraine compared to just 46% of Republicans, while 71% of Republicans favor sending aid to Israel compared to just 43% of Democrats.

CLICK HERE FOR CROSSTABS AND TOPLINE

Conducted June 13-16, 2025, under the direction of Beacon Research (D) and Shaw & Company Research (R), this Fox News survey includes interviews with a sample of 1,003 registered voters randomly selected from a national voter file. Respondents spoke with live interviewers on landlines (149) and cellphones (566) or completed the survey online after receiving a text (288). Results based on the full sample have a margin of sampling error of ±3 percentage points. Sampling error for results among subgroups is higher. In addition to sampling error, question wording and order can influence results. Weights are generally applied to age, race, education, and area variables to ensure the demographics of respondents are representative of the registered voter population. Sources for developing weight targets include the American Community Survey, Fox News Voter Analysis and voter file data.

Vice President JD Vance was briefly suspended Wednesday evening by liberal X competitor Bluesky within the first hour of the country’s No. 2 leader joining the platform. The account has since been reinstated.

“We welcome the Vice President to the conversation on Bluesky,” the company told Fox News Digital in an email response, noting, “There have been many past attempts to impersonate Vice President JD Vance on Bluesky as he is a public figure, and the jd-vance-1.bsky.social account was flagged as part of that pattern by our automated systems, and temporarily suspended.”

“The account was quickly reinstated within 20 minutes of the suspension, and we’ve also added a verified badge to help users confirm the authenticity of the profile,” the statement added.

Bluesky, a social media platform with a similar layout to X, has become a haven for many liberals fleeing X after Elon Musk bought the platform and began making changes. Despite its reputation as a liberal stronghold, Vance set up a profile on Bluesky Wednesday, making his first post at 4:50 p.m.

In the vice president’s first post he said: “Hello Bluesky, I’ve been told this app has become the place to go for common sense political discussion and analysis. So I’m thrilled to be here to engage with all of you.”

MARK CUBAN SAYS LIBERAL ALTERNATIVE TO X HAS BECOME ‘HATEFUL’ DUE TO LEFTIST GROUPTHINK

Within the post, he embedded a screenshot of Supreme Court Associate Justice Clarence Thomas’ concurring opinion issued today in United States v. Skrmetti, which upheld a Tennessee law banning sex change surgeries on minors.

Thomas’ concurrence listed off several problems he found with those challenging Tennessee’s law, which included “there is no medical consensus on how best to treat gender dysphoria in children” and “leading voices in this area have relied on questionable evidence, and have allowed ideology to influence their medical guidance.”

In his second and third posts, Vance said: “To that end, I found Justice Thomas’s concurrence on medical care for transgender youth quite illuminating. He argues that many of our so-called ‘experts’ have used bad arguments and substandard science to push experimental therapies on our youth,” and “I might add that many of those scientists are receiving substantial resources from big pharma to push these medicines on kids. What do you think?”

In response, Bluesky quickly suspended Vance’s account. However, it was shortly reinstated after a brief period.

CONSERVATIVE SATIRE OUTLET CENSORED BY ELON MUSK-RIVAL BLUESKY: ‘CHILLING REMINDER’

This prompted a firestorm of mockery from conservatives on X, who said the suspension evidenced the need for a free speech platform.

“Bluesky banned VP JD Vance 20 minutes after he joined the platform … The libs at Bluesky are so triggered,” commented popular conservative account Libs of TikTok.

“OMG they banned him already,” chimed in political commentator Eric Daugherty.

SUCCEEDING TRUMP: 6 REPUBLICAN POTENTIAL PRESIDENTIAL HOPEFULS TO KEEP YOUR EYES ON IN 2028

The suspension even garnered condemnation from Vance critics. Liberal reporter Billy Binion commented, “I can’t stand JD Vance. But suspending the sitting vice president is exactly why Bluesky is unserious & doomed to fail.”

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

“If you claim to care about real debate, you can’t wall yourself off from everyone outside the progressive bubble—esp[icially] someone who might be president one day,” wrote Binion. 

Voters are feeling a bit better about the economy, yet overall sentiment remains negative.

Since the start of President Donald Trump’s second term, positive ratings of the economy have inched up from 21% in March to 28% in April to 31% in the latest Fox News survey, which is about where things stood at the end of the Biden administration in January. During the previous four years, that number was higher than the current rating only once, when it hit 32% in June 2024. For reference, at the end of the first Trump administration, 33% gave economic conditions positive marks (December 2020), but that had been as high as 55% in January 2020 (just before the pandemic).

Currently, 62% say their family is getting ahead (14%) or holding steady financially (48%), up 5 points since January. The 36% who say they are falling behind is the lowest in four years.

FOX NEWS POLL: THE FIRST 100 DAYS OF PRESIDENT TRUMP’S SECOND TERM

Still, economic sentiment is mostly gloomy: 84% are extremely or very concerned about inflation, 68% score conditions as only fair or poor, and 55% feel pessimistic about the economy.

Democrats, Independents, women, and voters without a college degree are among those most likely to say the economy is in bad shape, while Republicans, men, and college graduates are among those most likely to rate it better.

FOX NEWS POLL: DEMOCRATS’ FAVORABILITY HITS NEW LOW, STILL FAVORED OVER GOP IN 2026 MIDTERMS

“During the Biden years, Republicans and independents were overwhelmingly negative about the economy, while Democrats were slightly less so,” says Republican pollster Daron Shaw, who helps run the Fox News survey with Democrat Chris Anderson. “Now with Trump as president, Democrats think the sky is falling, while Republicans see rays of sunlight.”

By a 21-point margin, voters oppose the federal budget legislation passed by the House of Representatives that the president calls the “One Big Beautiful Bill” (38% favor vs. 59% oppose). About half think the bill would hurt their family (49%), while one quarter think it would help (23%), and another quarter don’t think it would make a difference (26%).

Sixty percent feel they have a good understanding of what is in the OBBB, and while those voters are more likely to favor the legislation than those who are unfamiliar with it, more still think it will hurt rather than help their family (45% vs. 34%).

Views of the legislation are highly partisan, with Republicans favoring it (73%), and Democrats (89%) and Independents (73%) opposed. Fewer than half of Republicans think it will help their family (46%).

Overall, 57% think tariffs hurt the economy, the highest ever recorded in Fox News surveys — and double the number who think tariffs help.

While a majority (53%) approve of Trump’s handling of border security (46% disapprove), the president otherwise receives negative marks on the issues: immigration (46% approve, 53% disapprove), and foreign policy (42-57%). His worst ratings are on the economy (40-58%) and inflation (34-64%), where he’s underwater by a whopping 30 points. 

The president’s overall job approval stands at 46%, while 54% disapprove. That’s up a couple ticks from 44-55% in April. His highest approval, 49%, came in March 2025 and April 2020. Men under age 45 (55% approve) and White men without a college degree (54% approve) are among those giving the president his best marks. Seven in 10 Republicans consider themselves part of the MAGA movement, and fully 98% of them approve. 

About 90% of Democrats disapprove of the job Trump is doing generally and on specific issues, with the exception of border security, where fewer disapprove (80%). Most Republicans are with Trump, but approval drops to 68% on inflation and 75% on the economy, generally. Disapproval among Independents ranges from roughly half on border security to three-quarters on inflation.

When voters are asked how they feel about Trump as a person, his ratings are underwater by 10 points: 45% have a favorable opinion and 55% an unfavorable view. For comparison, that’s about on par with JD Vance (44- 53%), Joe Biden (43-56%), and Marco Rubio (42-46%), and ahead of Elon Musk (41-58%), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (40-45%), Gavin Newsom (39-45%), and Pete Hegseth (32-45%), while his ratings trail those of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (48-50%) and Kamala Harris (49-51%). Harris’s higher favorability comes from more Democrats (87%) and Independents (38%) viewing her positively compared to favorable views of Trump among Republicans (85%) and Independents (34%). 

None of those tested – not the president, not the vice president and not the former president nor the former vice president — garnered positive marks from at least 50% of voters, although Harris comes closest.

As mentioned above, most are concerned about inflation (84%), including 78% of Republicans.

By a single point, the future of the U.S. narrowly tops inflation as voters’ top concern, with 85% saying they’re worried about the direction of the country. That includes 8 in 10 Republicans, and 9 in 10 Democrats and Independents.

Eight in 10 voters are concerned about government spending and Iran getting a nuclear weapon, while around 7 in 10 are worried about antisemitism, illegal immigration, and the use of the U.S. military domestically, and roughly 6 in 10 about protests in U.S. cities.  

More Democrats (87%) and Independents (71%) express concern about the deployment of federal troops in cities in response to anti-ICE protests than Republicans (42%). On the other hand, more Republicans (84%) are worried about illegal immigration than Independents (68%) and Democrats (49%).

There are zero issues that all three groups, Democrats, Republicans, and Independents, agree on as priorities. The top three concerns for Democrats are the future of the U.S., inflation, and U.S. troops being deployed, while for Republicans, it’s illegal immigration, Iran getting nukes, and government spending.  Among Independents, it’s the future of the country, inflation, and government spending.

CLICK HERE FOR CROSSTABS AND TOPLINE

Conducted June 13-16, 2025, under the direction of Beacon Research (D) and Shaw & Company Research (R), this Fox News survey includes interviews with a sample of 1,003 registered voters randomly selected from a national voter file. Respondents spoke with live interviewers on landlines (149) and cellphones (566) or completed the survey online after receiving a text (288). Results based on the full sample have a margin of sampling error of ±3 percentage points. Sampling error for results among subgroups is higher. In addition to sampling error, question wording and order can influence results. Weights are generally applied to age, race, education, and area variables to ensure the demographics are representative of the registered voter population. Sources for developing weight targets include the American Community Survey, Fox News Voter Analysis, and voter file data.

Fox News’ Victoria Balara contributed to this report.

Vice President JD Vance insists Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard is still an essential team member in Trump’s “coalition” after President Donald Trump said he “didn’t care” what she’d previously told lawmakers about Iran’s nuclear threat. 

“DNI Gabbard is a veteran, a patriot, a loyal supporter of President Trump and a critical part of the coalition he built in 2024,” Vance said in a statement Wednesday to Fox News Digital. 

“She is an essential member of our team, and we’re grateful for her tireless work to keep America safe from foreign threats.”

TRUMP BLOWS OFF GABBARD DOWNPLAYING IRAN NUKE THREAT, BUT WH STILL SAYS PRESIDENT AND INTEL CHIEF ARE IN SYNC

Vance and Gabbard have both historically been outspoken leaders of the non-interventionist camp making up the Trump administration. Both historically have backed a foreign policy doctrine that supports minimal interference with other nations’ affairs. 

By comparison, other, more hawkish members of Trump’s Cabinet, like Secretary of State Marco Rubio, have historically backed military intervention in foreign conflicts. 

Vance has publicly supported Trump as the administration contemplates next steps to address Iran, though. Vance said Tuesday that while those worried about foreign intervention are right to be concerned, Trump has “earned some trust on this issue.” 

“And having seen this up close and personal, I can assure you that he is only interested in using the American military to accomplish the American people’s goals,” Vance said in a Truth Social post Tuesday. “Whatever he does, that is his focus.”

Vance’s statement of support for Gabbard comes after Trump appeared to discount Gabbard’s March Senate Intelligence Committee statements, when she said she believed Iran was not actively building a nuclear weapon. 

Gabbard told lawmakers in March the intelligence community assessed that Iran was “not building a nuclear weapon, and Supreme Leader Khamenei has not authorized the nuclear weapons program that he suspended in 2003,” she said. 

ISRAEL-IRAN CONFLICT: LIVE UPDATES

She did add that “Iran’s enriched uranium stockpile is at its highest levels and is unprecedented for a state without nuclear weapons.”

“Iran will likely continue efforts to counter Israel and press for U.S. military withdrawal from the region by aiding, arming and helping to reconstitute its loose consortium of like-minded terrorist actors, which it refers to as its axis of resistance,” she said during the March hearing. 

Additionally, Gabbard released a video June 10 in which she stated the world was “on the brink of nuclear annihilation.” Politico reported that Trump told associates at the White House that Gabbard was out of line and believed the video was an attempt to prevent him from endorsing Israel attacking Iran.

Alexa Henning, Gabbard’s deputy chief of staff, said in a post on X Tuesday that Politico’s story was “total clickbait.” 

HOW CLOSE WAS IRAN TO A NUCLEAR WEAPON BEFORE ISRAEL’S STRIKE ON TEHRAN?

Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One Monday he believed Iran was “very close” to obtaining a nuclear weapon. When asked specifically about Gabbard’s March testimony, Trump stood firm in his assessment of Iran’s nuclear capabilities. 

“I don’t care what she said,” Trump said. “I think they were very close to having one.”

Still, an official with the Office of the Director of National Intelligence said in a statement to Fox News Digital Wednesday that Gabbard and the president are aligned on Iran. 

“Just because Iran is not building a nuclear weapon right now doesn’t mean they aren’t ‘very close’ as President Trump said on Air Force One,” the official said. “POTUS and DNI Gabbard’s statements are congruent.” 

Gabbard wasn’t invited to Camp David in Maryland to convene with other military officials and Cabinet members in June. However, she was in the White House’s Situation Room Tuesday as Trump kept an eye on updates in the Middle East.  

A White House official told Fox News Digital Tuesday that Trump and Gabbard’s views and statements on the matter are consistent with one another, noting that Gabbard said in March that she believed Iran had the capability to build a nuclear weapon. 

VANCE DEFENDS TRUMP’S IRAN POSITION AMID ‘CRAZY STUFF ON SOCIAL MEDIA’

Trump told reporters Wednesday at the White House he hadn’t decided yet whether he would engage the U.S. in strikes targeting Iran but said that the coming days or the “next week is going to be very big.” 

“Yes, I may do it. I may not do it. I mean, nobody knows what I’m going to do. I can tell you this, that Iran’s got a lot of trouble, and they want to negotiate,” Trump told reporters Wednesday. “And I said, ‘Why didn’t you negotiate with me before all this death and destruction? Why didn’t you go?’ I said to people, ‘Why didn’t you negotiate with me two weeks ago? You could have done fine. You would have had a country.’ It’s very sad to watch this.”

Fox News’ Emma Colton contributed to this report. 

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has launched an investigation into 33 potential noncitizens allegedly illegally voting in the 2024 general election.

Paxton, a Republican who is running a Senate primary challenge against Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, announced the investigation on Tuesday.

In a press statement, Paxton’s office said it was made aware of the potential illegal votes by Texas Secretary of State Jane Nelson. The statement said Nelson was only able to access the information because of an executive order signed by President Donald Trump this March. 

Trump’s executive order, titled “Preserving and Protecting the Integrity of American Elections,” directed the Departments of State and Homeland Security to give all states “access to appropriate systems for verifying the citizenship or immigration status of individuals registering to vote or who are already registered.”

RED STATE TOPS ANNUAL HERITAGE FOUNDATION SCORECARD FOR STRONGEST ELECTION INTEGRITY: ‘HARD TO CHEAT’

The order also directed DHS Secretary Kristi Noem to provide U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi with “complete information on all foreign nationals who have indicated on any immigration form that they have registered or voted in a Federal, State, or local election, and shall also take all appropriate action to submit to relevant State or local election officials such information.”

Part of this order involved the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service’s SAVE database being opened up to the states at no cost, through which Nelson was able to access the information about the alleged illegal voting, according to Paxton’s statement. 

Trump said in the order that “free, fair, and honest elections unmarred by fraud, errors, or suspicion are fundamental to maintaining our constitutional Republic” and “the right of American citizens to have their votes properly counted and tabulated, without illegal dilution, is vital to determining the rightful winner of an election.”

DOJ SUES NORTH CAROLINA OVER VOTER ROLLS

In August 2024, Texas Governor Greg Abbott announced that the state had removed 1.1 million people from its voter rolls, including individuals who had moved out-of-state, were deceased or who were non-citizens.

A statement by the governor’s office said that over 6,500 of the individuals removed from the state’s voter rolls were potential noncitizens. The statement said that approximately 1,930 of the removed noncitizens had a voter history. 

Later reporting by the Texas Tribune alleged that the governor’s office had inflated the numbers of noncitizen voters. The governor’s office, however, has said that the removal process “has been, and will continue to be, ongoing.”

TEXAS GOVERNOR MAKES IT ‘CRYSTAL CLEAR’ ONLY U.S. CITIZENS CAN VOTE IN STATE ELECTIONS

In his Tuesday statement announcing the investigation into the 33 potential noncitizens voting, Paxton said that “these potential instances of unlawful voting will be thoroughly investigated, and I will continue to stand with President Trump in fighting to ensure that our state’s elections are safe and secure.” 

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

“In order to be able to trust the integrity of our elections, the results must be determined by our own citizens—not foreign nationals breaking the law to illegally vote,” said Paxton, adding that “noncitizens must not be allowed to influence American elections, and I will use the full weight of my office to investigate all voter fraud.”

As lawmakers debate what role, if any, the United States should play in the escalating conflict between Israel and Iran, progressive “Squad” member Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., made the curious claim that no one has “attacked” the United States. 

“No one is attacking or has attacked Americans. It’s time to stop dragging Americans into war and letting Israel once again get America involved in their chosen war. Stand up for the Americans who believed you wanted peace and don’t commit another generation of Americans into a costly war,” Omar said in response to President Donald Trump. 

Trump called for Iran’s “UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER!” on Truth Social on Tuesday, and said the United States won’t strike Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei “at least not for now,” but signaled America’s “patience is wearing thin.” 

A Fox News Digital report published Wednesday morning refutes Omar’s claim that Americans have not been attacked, including extensive examples of Iran’s direct and proxy strikes on U.S. forces, support for terror groups and assassination efforts.

IN IRAN’S ‘FOREVER WAR’ AGAINST THE US, REGIME HAS TARGETED AND KILLED AMERICANS WORLDWIDE

Omar’s office did not respond to Fox News Digital’s inquiry about the validity of her claim. 

TRUMP PROMISES TO RESPOND WITH ‘FULL STRENGTH AND MIGHT’ OF US MILITARY IF IRAN ATTACKS AMERICA

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Fox News’ Bret Baier on Monday that Trump remains an Islamic Republic target. “They want to kill him. He’s enemy No. 1.”

The Department of Justice announced charges against an Iranian citizen and two New Yorkers in November for their role in a murder-for-hire plot targeting multiple American citizens, including Trump. 

Iran bears responsibility for the deaths of 603 U.S. service members in Iraq between 2003 and 2011, according to a 2019 Pentagon report cited by the Military Times. That figure accounted for 17% of U.S. deaths in the country during the period. 

In 2022, surviving family members and victims won a case against the Islamic Republic of Iran, using the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act to hold the regime accountable for its support of terror actors who killed or injured 30 U.S. personnel in Afghanistan.

Bill Roggio, senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and editor of the Long War Journal who testified in support of the victims, told Fox News Digital that “Iran’s support for the Taliban and al Qaeda and the impact it had on the deaths and injuries to American soldiers and civilians is incalculable.”

“Iran provided money, weapons, training, intelligence, and safe haven to Taliban subgroups across Afghanistan, including in the heart of the country in Kabul,” Roggio said.

By Roggio’s estimation, “Iran’s support for the Taliban was only rivaled by that of Pakistan. I would argue that Iran’s extensive support facilitated nearly every Taliban attack on U.S. personnel.”

In 2020, in attempted retribution for the murder of Islamic Revolutionary Guard Gen. Qassem Soleimani, Iran targeted two U.S. bases housing U.S. troops in Iraq with surface-to-surface missiles.

In 2022, the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., found that Iran likewise owed damages to the families and victims of 40 U.S. service members who were injured or killed in Iraq due to Iran’s support of terrorism in the country.

In 2023, Sayyed Issa Tabatabai, Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s representative in Lebanon, admitted during an interview with the state-controlled Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) that the Islamic Republic was involved in two 1983 bombings that killed Americans in Lebanon. 

The bombing of the U.S. Embassy in Beirut resulted in the deaths of 63 victims, including 17 Americans. When two suicide truck bombs exploded at the barracks of multinational forces in Lebanon, 220 Marines, 18 U.S. Navy sailors and three U.S. Army soldiers were killed, and 58 French troops were murdered.

Between October 2023 and August 2024, Iranian-backed Islamic Resistance in Iraq militias launched 180 attacks against U.S. forces in Syria, Iraq and Jordan. Throughout their “decades of experience,” Roggio said, Iraqi militias “are estimated to have killed more than 600 U.S. service members.”

In January 2024, three Americans were killed, and 25 others were wounded in a drone attack on an outpost in Jordan near the border with Syria. Two Iranians, one of whom had dual U.S. citizenship, were charged in connection with the attack.

At the time of the attack, House Foreign Affairs Committee Chair Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, said Iranian proxies had “launched over 150 attacks on U.S. troops” following Hamas’ Oct. 7 attacks on Israel. 

Roggio reported that on June 14, Iranian-backed militias “launched three drones” at Ain al Assad, a U.S. base in western Iraq. The drones were shot down before reaching their target. 

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He said that the drone attack appeared to be an “unsanctioned strike by an unnamed Iranian militia. Unlike past attacks, no group has claimed credit, and there have been no follow-on strikes.” He believes Iran “wants to keep the U.S. out of the fight, as the U.S. military has the capability to hit the underground nuclear facility at Fordow.”

Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., a conservative fiscal hawk who refused to sign onto President Donald Trump’s “big, beautiful bill,” is building an unlikely bipartisan coalition of lawmakers resisting the United States’ involvement in the conflict between Israel and Iran. 

“This is not our war. But if it were, Congress must decide such matters according to our Constitution,” Massie said in a social media post announcing the War Powers Resolution that he introduced with Democrat Rep. Ro Khanna of California on Tuesday. 

Massie, whom Trump threatened to primary during the House GOP megabill negotiations, invited “all members of Congress to cosponsor this resolution.” By Tuesday night, the bipartisan bill had picked up 27 cosponsors, including progressive “Squad” members Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ilhan Omar.

Across the political aisle, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., signaled her support, writing that Americans want an affordable cost of living, safe communities and quality education “not going into another foreign war.”

MASSIE TO FIELD ‘BIPARTISAN WAR POWERS RESOLUTION’ TO BAR US FROM ISRAEL-IRAN WAR, AOC SIGNALS SUPPORT

The bill’s original co-sponsors also include progressive Democrat Reps. Pramila Jayapal, Summer Lee, Ayanna Pressley and Rashida Tlaib, who called it unconstitutional for “Trump to go to war without a vote in Congress.”

SENATE RETURNS AMID CONCERNS ABOUT DEEPER US INVOLVEMENT IN THE IRAN, ISRAEL CONFLICT

The War Powers Resolution would “remove United States Armed Forces from unauthorized hostilities in the Islamic State of Iran” and direct Trump to “terminate” the deployment of American troops against Iran without an “authorized declaration of war or specific authorization for use of military forces against Iran.”

Lawmakers who oppose the United States’ joining the escalating conflict in the Middle East have sounded off on the unconstitutionality of Trump striking Iran without congressional approval. Congress has the sole power to declare war under Article I of the Constitution. 

“The American people do not want to be dragged into another disastrous conflict in the Middle East. I’m proud to lead this bipartisan War Powers Resolution with Rep. Massie to reassert that any military action against Iran must be authorized by Congress,” Khanna said. 

The president told reporters on Wednesday morning that he is weighing whether to sign off on military strikes against Iran’s nuclear facilities. 

“Yes, I may do it. I may not do it. I mean, nobody knows what I’m going to do,” Trump said. 

Trump called for Iran’s “UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER!” on Truth Social on Tuesday, and said the United States won’t strike Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei “at least not for now,” but signaled America’s “patience is wearing thin.” 

On the sixth consecutive night of strikes between Israel and Iran, Iran warned that the United States joining forces with Israel would mean an “all-out war,” as Israel bombarded sites overnight it says would have allowed Iran to continue enriching uranium, as well as attack Israeli forces.

Israel launched preemptive strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities and military leaders last week, which the Islamic Republic considered a “declaration of war” and has since launched its own strikes against Israel. 

Thousands of American troops are based in nearby countries within range of Iran’s weapons, but Trump said on Wednesday that “we now have complete and total control of the skies over Iran.”

The Jewish State targeted Iran’s nuclear capabilities after months of failed negotiations in the region and heightened concern over Iran developing nuclear weapons. 

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But Ali Bahreini, Iran’s ambassador to Geneva, said Iran “will continue to produce the enriched uranium as far as we need for peaceful purposes,” as Israel continues to target Iran’s nuclear capabilities. 

The White House did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment on the bill. 

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

President Donald Trump touted his poll numbers while speaking with reporters on the White House lawn Wednesday.

“My approval rating is the highest it’s ever been,” the president declared, pointing to a newly released national survey.

But five months into his second tour of duty in the White House, Trump’s approval ratings remain underwater in most, but not all, of the latest national polls conducted over the past three weeks.

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An average of the most recent surveys suggests the president’s approval rating stands in the upper 40s, with his disapproval rating hovering slightly above 50%.

WHERE TRUMP STOOD 100 DAYS INTO HIS SECOND WHITE HOUSE TERM

Trump has aggressively asserted executive authority in his second term, overturning longstanding government policy and aiming to make major cuts to the federal workforce through an avalanche of sweeping and controversial executive orders and actions, some aimed at addressing grievances he has held since his first term.

And the president, true to form, has been continuously grabbing headlines, including in the last two weeks for sending National Guard troops and U.S. Marines into Los Angeles in an effort to quell protests over ICE detentions and deportations of illegal migrants and over his mulling of the U.S. joining Israel in attacking Iran’s nuclear program.

FIRST ON FOX: AMERICANS BACK TRUMP’S CALL TO MAKE SURE IRAN DOESN’T ACQUIRE NUCLEAR WEAPONS

Trump started his second administration with poll numbers in positive territory, but his poll numbers started to slide soon after his late-January inauguration. The president’s approval ratings sank underwater by early March and have remained in negative territory ever since in most national surveys.

Former President Joe Biden, whose single term in the White House is sandwiched by Trump’s two terms, enjoyed positive approval ratings in June 2021, five months into his tenure. 

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However, Biden’s numbers sank into negative territory in the late summer and autumn of 2021, after his much-criticized handling of the turbulent U.S. exit from Afghanistan and amid soaring inflation and a surge of migrants crossing into the U.S. along the nation’s southern border with Mexico.

Massachusetts taxpayers are on course to spend $1 billion on the state’s emergency shelter program for FY25 with migrant families making up a significant share of those receiving assistance, according to a new report. 

Gov. Maura Healey’s administration has already spent $830 million so far in FY25 – which started on July 1 – accommodating more than 4,000 families who have been receiving taxpayer-funded shelter, food, education, legal aid and case management.

The costs work out at about $3,496 per week per family, or around $1,000 per person per week for the program, known as the Emergency Assistance (EA) system.

ILLINOIS PROJECTED TO SPEND $2.5B ON MIGRANTS BY END OF 2025, REPORT CLAIMS

The report, a June 16 biweekly update from the Massachusetts Executive Office for Housing and Livable Communities, notes that $679.6 million was spent on direct shelter costs and another $149.7 million on wraparound services, including education aid, work programs, National Guard payroll for security and rental assistance to help individuals exit the system.

Around 1,600 of the total 4,088 families currently in the system are migrants, per the report, although that figure is likely much higher as many migrant families are counted as “Massachusetts residents” for the purpose of eligibility.

The state was overwhelmed by an influx of migrants under the Biden administration and struggled to accommodate them. Many migrants ended up sleeping at Logan Airport as the Healey administration worked to set up temporary shelters, many of which are at hotels. 

There are currently 599 hotel rooms being used under the program and the report states that all hotels being used under the program will be shuttered this year. 

Already, the number of hotels being used as shelters has dropped to 28, down from a peak of more than 100, according to the report.

“The administration is on track to reduce [the] caseload to 4,000 families and close all hotel shelters by the end of the calendar year,” the report states. It follows Healey, a Democrat, saying last month too that all hotel shelters would be shuttered by the end of the year. She said the number of people in the EA system had dipped below 5,000 last month, as well.

BLUE STATE GOVERNOR SOUNDS OFF ABOUT ‘DISTURBING’ ICE OPERATIONS ON AFFLUENT LIBERAL ISLANDS

“Closing hotel shelters is essential to making sure that families are set up for success and to save our state hundreds of millions of dollars a year,” said Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll said last month.

The report comes as the influx of new migrants has all but ended given border crossings are at historic lows.

On Tuesday, Trump administration border czar Tom Homan said Border Patrol encountered just 95 illegal immigrants in a single day and that zero migrants were released into the U.S. last month.

Mike Kennealy, a Republican running for governor who previously served as housing and economic development secretary, blasted the report. 

He said that taxpayers are “being forced to bankroll billions to an unaccountable, broken system that perpetuates the migrant crisis—and we’re fed up,” per the Boston Herald.

Fox News reached out to Healey’s office for comment but did not immediately receive a response.

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“While families are struggling to afford everyday necessities, the state is shelling out $15,166 per family per month. It’s not just insane — it’s offensive.”

The report also notes that 1,599 individuals in the EA system are currently employed, and 2,270 migrants have received work authorizations.

With the fiscal year ending June 30, Massachusetts is likely to exceed $1.06 billion, the report forecasts. 

State Sen. Ghazala Hashmi, D-Chester, has won the Democratic nomination for Virginia’s lieutenant governorship, according to The Associated Press. 

Hashmi, an immigrant from India, said on her campaign site that she is the only candidate “endorsed by both abortion rights groups and labor.”

Hashmi was locked in a close race with the top two contenders, former Green Bay Packers safety Aaron Rouse and ex-Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney. Hashmi will face GOP nominee John Reid in the state’s general election in November.

Stoney, who conceded on Wednesday, moved on to become mayor of Richmond, the capital city, and oversaw the removal of several Confederate sculptures that for decades lined the famous Monument Avenue from the Fan District to downtown.

NEW YORK GOV. KATHY HOCHUL FACING DEMOCRATIC PRIMARY FROM HER OWN LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR

In the Washington Post at the time, Stoney wrote that there “are two epidemics in America: COVID-19 and racism. One is now 14 months old, the other over 400 years old. Both are lethal. I knew I wasn’t going to be able to cure those issues that day [standing with protesters at Lee Circle].”

More recently, Stoney told the Virginia Mercury that he would effectively work across the aisle in the lieutenant governor’s dual role of president of the Virginia State Senate.

“We will not agree on everything, and that is OK. I will be a happy warrior—someone who is willing to stand firm on values, speak up when there is disagreement, and still find a way to work together when common ground exists. Disagreement does not have to lead to dysfunction,” Stoney said.

Rouse has positioned himself as a force to counter Republican leadership in Washington, writing on his campaign site that he “stood up to Donald Trump time and again.”

VIRGINIA GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE ABIGAIL SPANBERGER RELEASES FIRST AD, SLAMS ‘POLITICAL NONSENSE’

He added that he shepherded a law through the legislature to protect federal workers from Department of Government Efficiency attrition, which he labeled “Musk’s chaos.”

Other candidates in the race included Prince William County School Board Chair Dr. Babur Lateef and union leader Alexander Bastani.

Hashmi, whose county directly abuts Richmond-Petersburg, positioned herself as a progressive who emphasized support for public education, abortion rights and affordable housing.

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She also serves as chairwoman of the Senate Education and Health Committee in Richmond.

Lateef, an ophthalmologist endorsed by McAuliffe, also focused on education policy.

Bastani partially self-funded his quixotic campaign and focused on labor and economic issues.

Former Rep. Abigail Spanberger, D-Va., ran unopposed for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination and was officially projected as such Tuesday evening.

President Donald Trump said it’s up in the air whether he will sign off on military strikes targeting Iran’s nuclear facilities — comments that come as his administration weighs U.S. involvement in the growing conflict between Israel and Iran. 

Trump told reporters outside the White House Wednesday that he hasn’t ruled out whether the U.S. will strike Iranian nuclear facilities, but said that the coming days or the “next week is going to be very big.” 

Additionally, Trump said that Iran’s capital, Tehran, is facing a lot of problems as it seeks to come to the negotiating table after abandoning talks scheduled for Sunday. 

“Yes, I may do it. I may not do it. I mean, nobody knows what I’m going to do. I can tell you this that Iran’s got a lot of trouble and they want to negotiate,” Trump told reporters Wednesday. “And I said, why didn’t you negotiate with me before all this death and destruction? Why didn’t you go? I said to people, why didn’t you negotiate with me two weeks ago? You could have done fine. You would have had a country. It’s very sad to watch this.”

Trump previously has said he believes that Iran was very close to obtaining a nuclear weapon, and has pushed Iran to sign a nuclear agreement. Although talks were scheduled for the U.S. and Iran in Oman Sunday, Iran withdrew Friday from the discussions. 

Trump doubled down on his previous statements Wednesday asserting that Iran could not obtain a nuclear weapon. 

“This is just not a threat you can have. And we’ve been threatened by Iran for many years,” Trump said. “You know, if you go back and look at my history, if you go back 15 years, I was saying we cannot let Iran get a nuclear weapon. I’ve been saying it for a long time.”

This is a breaking news story and will be updated. 

The Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that a Tennessee law banning gender-transition treatments for adolescents in the state is not discriminatory.

At issue in the case, United States v. Skrmetti, was whether Tennessee’s Senate Bill 1, which “prohibits all medical treatments intended to allow ‘a minor to identify with, or live as, a purported identity inconsistent with the minor’s sex’ or to treat ‘purported discomfort or distress from a discordance between the minor’s sex and asserted identity,'” violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.

Writing for the majority, Chief Justice John Roberts said that the law in question is not subject to heightened scrutiny “because it does not classify on any bases that warrant heightened review.”

All three liberal justices notably dissented in the case.

SUPREME COURT APPEARS DIVIDED OVER STATE BANS ON GENDER TRANSITION ‘TREATMENTS’ FOR MINORS

That law in question prohibits states from allowing medical providers to deliver puberty blockers and hormones to facilitate a minor’s transition to another sex.

It also targets healthcare providers in the state who continue to provide such procedures to gender-dysphoric minors – opening these providers up to fines, lawsuits and other liability. 

The court’s ruling comes after many other states have moved to ban or restrict medical treatments and procedures for transgender adolescents, drawing close attention to the case. During the oral arguments, justices on the Supreme Court appeared reluctant to overturn Senate Bill 1, with Chief Justice Roberts and Justice Brett Kavanaugh suggesting that state legislatures, rather than courts, are best equipped to regulate medical procedures. 

The Constitution leaves such questions “to the people’s representatives,” Roberts said, rather than to nine justices on the Supreme Court, “none of whom is a doctor.” 

SUPREME COURT WEIGHS TRANSGENDER YOUTH TREATMENTS IN LANDMARK CASE

Justice Samuel Alito cited “hotly disputed” medical studies on the alleged benefits of such medical treatments. He also referred to other research from Great Britain and Sweden that reported on the negative consequences teens experienced after undergoing gender transition treatments.

Alito told the government’s attorney that those studies “found a complete lack of high-quality evidence showing that the benefits of the treatments in question here outweigh the risks.” 

“Do you dispute that?” Alito asked during oral arguments.

Justice Sonia Sotomayor, however, countered with evidence from underage individuals that were denied treatment.

“Some children suffer incredibly with gender dysphoria, don’t they? I think some attempt suicide?” she said. “The state has come in here and, in a sharp departure from how it normally addresses this issue, it has completely decided to override the views of the parents, the patients, the doctors who are grappling with these decisions and trying to make those trade-offs.”

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) are the petitioners in the case, representing the parents of three transgender adolescents and a Memphis-based doctor who treats transgender patients. 

The Biden administration had previously joined the petitioners in the case via a federal law that allows the administration to intervene in certain cases certified by the attorney general to be of “general public importance.” 

LGBTQ+ ADVOCATES, FAMILIES SUE TRUMP ADMIN FOR ENDING FUNDING OF TRANSGENDER HEALTHCARE UNDER 19

However, the Trump administration notified the Supreme Court in February that the government would be changing its stance on the constitutionality of the law, saying the Tennessee law does not violate the equal protection clause. 

Also at issue was the level of scrutiny that courts should use to evaluate the constitutionality of state bans on transgender medical treatment for minors, such as SB1, and whether these laws are considered discriminating on the basis of sex or against a “quasi-suspect class,” thus warranting a higher level of scrutiny under the Equal Protection Clause of the Constitution. 

That was another focus of the oral arguments in December, as petitioners and respondents battled for more than two hours over the level of scrutiny that the court should apply in reviewing laws involving transgender care for minors, including SB1. 

Tennessee argued then that its law can still withstand even the test of heightened scrutiny, contending in a court brief that it does have “compelling interests” to protect the health and safety of minors in the state and “in protecting the integrity and ethics of the medical profession.”

SUPREME COURT CAN TAKE MASSIVE STEP IN PREVENTING TRANS ATHLETES IN GIRLS’ SPORTS WITH HISTORIC HEARING

The high court’s decision comes at a time when transgender rights are a hotly contested topic. 

President Donald Trump cracked down on the issue almost immediately after being sworn in to his second White House term in January.

Just weeks after his inauguration, Trump signed an executive order preventing biological men from competing in women’s sports.

The order, titled “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports,” was signed on National Girls and Women in Sports Day. It prohibits schools and colleges that receive federal funds and are subject to Title IX from allowing transgender-identifying biological men onto women’s sports teams and into women’s locker rooms and restrooms. 

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If such institutions fail to comply with the order, they could become subject to investigations and lose federal funds.

The Trump administration’s policies on transgender rights have inevitably become the targets of legal challenges launched by advocacy groups, medical organizations and individuals who claim they are discriminatory. 

This is a breaking news story. Check back for updates.

EXCLUSIVE: Republican Sen. Pete Ricketts is leading the charge with Democrat Sen. John Fetterman to codify oversight on foreign countries buying American farmland.

The bipartisan Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure (AFIDA) Improvements Act seeks to implement recommendations published by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) in January 2024, which found the AFIDA was ill-equipped to combat foreign ownership of American agricultural land. 

“Communist China is our greatest geopolitical threat,” Ricketts told Fox News Digital in an exclusive interview, adding, “This is a way for us to improve the disclosure that’s going on with regard to the purchase of this agricultural land, so we can take other action if necessary to make sure we’re not giving Communist China the opportunity to buy agricultural land.”

The bill’s proposal comes as two Chinese nationals – a University of Michigan post-doctoral research fellow, Yunqing Jian, and Huazhong University of Science and Technology student Chengxuan Han – were held in federal custody after they were accused of smuggling biological materials into the United States.

RICKETTS, FETTERMAN TEAM UP FOR CRACKDOWN ON CHINA’S ATTEMPTS TO PURCHASE US FARMLAND

The suspects have been charged with “smuggling a fungus that has been described as a “potential agroterrorism weapon” into the heartland of America, where they apparently intended to use a University of Michigan laboratory to further their scheme,” interm U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan Jerome Gorgon said in a statement. 

AFTER UKRAINE’S SURPRISE DRONE ASSAULT ON RUSSIA, NEW ATTENTION DRAWN TO SENSITIVE SITES STATESIDE

The fungus causes a “head blight,” described as a disease of wheat, maize, rice and barley, and is responsible for billions of dollars of economic losses throughout the world each year, according to the Department of Justice. If ingested by humans, the substance can cause vomiting, liver damage and “reproductive defects in humans and livestock.” 

Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin told Fox News Digital that the Trump administration is focused on “keeping our homeland secure” through enhanced border screenings. 

“Protecting America’s food supply and national security remains a top priority. Last week’s smuggling attempt by Chinese nationals of Fusarium graminearum, a dangerous crop-destroying fungus, posing a significant bioterrorism threat, only highlights this imperative to combat this threat,” McLaughlin said. 

“That could potentially be very damaging to agriculture,” Ricketts told Fox News Digital. “We also know that Chinese nationals have been trying to steal our biotechnology with regard to agriculture. They’ve also been crashing gates of bases. Supposed Chinese tourists have been flying drones around bases. Of course, the Chinese flew a surveillance balloon over our country when the Biden administration just let that happen.”

Ricketts said China has been aggressively buying American agriculture, “which is why we need to have a heightened sense of vigilance around protecting our homeland.”

Foreign investors own over 40 million acres of agricultural land in the United States, and between 2010 and 2021, Chinese ownership of American agricultural land increased from 13,720 acres to 383,935 acres, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). 

“It’s not just about the number of acres that they own, but the fact that they own it around Grand Forks Air Force Base in North Dakota or Fort Liberty in North Carolina. They’re buying it around sensitive military installations,” Ricketts said. 

The bill, also co-sponsored by Sens. Tommy Tuberville of Alabama, John Cornyn of Texas, Roger Wicker of Mississippi and Rep. Don Bacon of Nebraska, requires AFIDA reporting for foreign persons holding more than 1% interest in American agricultural land.

The AFIDA Improvements Act aims to increase information-sharing between the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States and the USDA. It also requires updates to the AFIDA’s handbook and establishes a deadline for USDA to set up an online AFIDA system. 

Based on the GAO’s recommendations, the bill seeks to update the Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act of 1978 to better equip the USDA to combat foreign adversaries’ ownership of American agricultural land. 

“We are at the most dangerous point in our history right now since World War II,” Ricketts said. “We have to be investing in our military. We have to be supporting our friends around the world that are pushing back on these dictators. Communist China is one of them.”

Additionally, the bill comes as conflict in the Middle East reaches a boiling point between Iran and Israel, reigniting concerns about national security. Israel successfully coordinated attacks against Iran from inside the country, and Ricketts pointed to Ukraine’s success in targeting a Russian air base. 

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“What Ukraine was able to do against Russia with their operation that destroyed some of their strategic bombers, and they placed trucks with drones close to an air base and had those drones attack their squadrons. We could be vulnerable to the same thing if China did that here. They’ve owned farmland close enough to our air bases to be able to launch a drone strike. That should be very concerning to us,” Ricketts said. 

Ricketts added that American farmland should not be a “tool that our adversaries, like Communist China, can use to attack us from inside our own country.”

There has been little movement on the bill since it was just recently introduced. That is largely because Senate Republicans are narrowly focused on advancing Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” ahead of a self-imposed July 4 deadline.

Fox News Digital’s Julia Bonavita and Alex Miller contributed to this report. 

Louisiana state Sen. Blake Miguez announced a U.S. Senate bid, declaring in a campaign video that he is “running for the U.S. Senate because Bill Cassidy sucks.”

The video highlights old footage of Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy, noting that he voted to convict President Donald Trump. Cassidy voted to convict after the House impeached Trump in the wake of the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol riot. 

However, the Senate vote happened after Trump left office, and it ultimately fell short of the threshold necessary for conviction.

“Today, I’m announcing my candidacy for the United States Senate,” Miguez declared in a Tuesday post on X that features the campaign video. “I’m running because the American Dream is worth fighting for – and DC phonies forget that. Bill Cassidy betrayed our state, our President, and our principles.

“As your next Senator, I won’t bend. I won’t break. I’ll stand with President Trump. And I’ll never stop fighting to put America First. Bill Cassidy had his shot. He missed. I won’t,” the Republican state lawmaker’s post reads.

TRUMP’S ‘BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL’ CRACKS DOWN ON BIDEN’S STUDENT LOAN ‘SCHEME,’ TOP REPUBLICAN SAYS

Cassidy campaign press secretary Ashley Bosch asserted in a statement to Fox News Digital that the senator will win regardless of who throws their hat into the ring.

“Anyone can join this race, but it won’t change the outcome —Senator Cassidy will win,” Bosch said in the statement. “He’s a proven conservative fighting alongside President Trump to secure our southern border, unleash American energy, and put America First. Senator Cassidy is fighting to protect our values and delivering real results for Louisiana.”

LOUISIANA RACETRACK ICE RAID NETS MORE THAN 80 ILLEGAL MIGRANTS DURING WORKSITE ENFORCEMENT OPERATION

Louisiana State Treasurer John Fleming, who is also targeting Cassidy for ouster, announced a U.S. Senate bid last year.

The Bayou State’s next U.S. Senate election will be held in 2026.

WHO IS JOHN FLEMING, THE FREEDOM CAUCUS FOUNDING MEMBER CHALLENGING GOP SEN BILL CASSIDY?

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Cassidy has served in the Senate since 2015. He previously served in the U.S. House of Representatives, and before that, in the Louisiana state Senate.

FBI Director Kash Patel took to social media on Tuesday to condemn a former Coast Guard officer who was arrested for allegedly threatening to assassinate President Donald Trump, which Patel claimed resulted, in part, from a “destructive” Instagram post shared earlier this year by his predecessor, former FBI director James Comey. 

“This is a guy who threatened President Trump’s life using the ‘86 47’ language,” Patel said of Peter Stinson, the former Coast Guard official who was charged with making threats to kill the president. Stinson, who served from 1988 to 2021 in the Coast Guard – where he held roles as a sharpshooter and FEMA instructor – will appear in federal court for the first time on Wednesday.

Stinson appears to have made multiple, graphic threats against President Donald Trump, according to court documents, including 13 references to the “86 47” message shared in a now-deleted Instagram post by former FBI director James Comey. 

Comey in May posted a photo of shells arranged in the sand with the number “86 47” on Instagram. The post, which he deleted hours later, prompted backlash, including from Trump himself, and sparked at least two interviews with the Secret Service, as Comey later detailed.

COMEY CLAIMS HE HAD NO ‘DARK INTENTION’ WITH ’86 47′ SEASHELL POST, ISN’T SCARED OF TRUMP

The former FBI director has said in multiple public interviews since that he did not have any dark intentions in sharing the photo and that his wife had associated it with her time as a restaurant server to mean taking something off the menu. 

According to Merriman Webster, “86” is slang that can mean “to throw out,” “to get rid of” or “to refuse service to.” Trump, of course, is the 47th president. 

“I regret the distraction and the controversy around it,” Comey said of the incident on MSNBC. “But again, it’s hard to have regret about something that, even in hindsight, looks to me to be totally innocent.” 

Comey is not currently under investigation for the post and has said that neither he nor his wife, who was with him at the time, believed it had any nefarious meaning.

Still, the Comeys’ repeated public statements and his compliance with Secret Service personnel have done little to assuage some Trump administration officials, including Patel, who now has Comey’s former job. 

“Tragically, this case was predictable,” Patel told Fox News Digital on Tuesday in regard to Stinson’s alleged threats. 

FLORIDA MAN THREATENS TO ASSASSINATE TRUMP, DESTROY NEW YORK WITH MISSILES IN 911 CALLS: REPORT

“When former Director Comey first pulled his destructive Instagram stunt, it forced the FBI to pull numerous agents off of critical portfolios, taking key personnel away from important initiatives protecting the American people to deal with an overwhelming number of copycats following Comey’s lead and posting threatening messages against the president of the United States,” Patel said.

“Thankfully, law enforcement did excellent work preventing a potential violent actor, and we’ll continue to be on guard,” he added.

Stinson is a Northern Virginia resident, and while it is unclear to what degree Stinson was influenced by the Comey Instagram post or the resulting media coverage of it, court documents show that many of Stinson’s threats were posted long beforehand, including in the run-up to Election Day and during the 2024 presidential campaign. 

Stinson, a “self-identified” member of Antifa, made at least one threat appearing to invoke the July 13 assassination attempt against Trump while he campaigned in Butler, Pennsylvania.

“Those secret service agents moved very slowly,” Stinson said in a post at the time. “They left him in the open way to (sic) long. A missed opportunity will not come around again. They will teach this to future agents as a failure to protect and act.” 

FEDERAL GRAND JURY INDICTS MAN FOR THREATENING TO ASSASSINATE TRUMP AFTER REELECTION

In February, Stinson posted on his X account, “Sure. This is war. Sides will be drawn. Antifa always wins in the end. Violence is inherently necessary.” 

The most recent post referenced in the document was published on BlueSky on June 11, when Stinson allegedly wrote, “When he dies, the party is going to be yuge.”

Comey did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment on Patel’s remarks nor on any role that the Instagram post in question may have inadvertently played in the case.

News of Stinson’s arrest comes after a federal grand jury indicted a San Bernardino County, California, man just weeks earlier for allegedly threatening to assassinate then-President-elect Donald Trump after he was elected to a second White House term.

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“This defendant is charged with threatening the life of our President – a man who has already survived two deranged attempts on his life,” Attorney General Pam Bondi said at the time.

“The Department of Justice takes these threats with the utmost seriousness and will prosecute this crime to the fullest extent of the law,” Bondi added.

Fox News Digital’s Andrea Margoli contributed to this report.

Gov. Tim Walz has condemned the assassination of former Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband as politically motivated, but questions remain about the suspect’s political affiliation. 

The Democrat Minnesota governor immediately denounced what he said “appears to be a politically motivated assassination,” following the attacks Saturday morning.

Vance Luther Boelter, 57, is charged with killing Hortman and her husband, Mark, and shooting state Sen. John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, in separate incidents early Saturday morning.

Lawmakers from Minnesota and across the United States have since joined Walz in condemning the violent attacks. Politicians and authorities have been clear that Saturday’s attack was politically motivated, but they have been less clear about the suspect’s political preferences.

MINNESOTA LAWMAKER SHOOTING SUSPECT HAD CACHE OF WEAPONS, HIT LIST IN VEHICLE, COURT DOCUMENTS SHOW

U.S. Attorney Joseph H. Thompson said Monday that Boelter’s primary motive was “to go out and murder people” as authorities announced the suspect’s capture on Monday after a two-day manhunt. 

“Now, they were all elected officials,” Thompson said. “They were all Democrats. Beyond that, I think it’s just way too speculative for anyone that has reviewed these materials to know and to say what was motivating him in terms of ideology or specific issues.”

MINN. GOV THANKS LAW ENFORCEMENT FOR BRINGING HOUSE SPEAKER’S ALLEGED KILLER TO JUSTICE AFTER TWO-DAY MANHUNT

Boelter now faces federal charges after officials arrested him in Sibley County on Sunday night. He is charged with two counts of stalking, two counts of murder and two counts of firearm-related crimes. Boelter is also facing second-degree murder charges filed in Hennepin County. 

“Political violence has no place in this country,” Alvin M. Winston, FBI Minneapolis special agent, said during a press conference on Monday. 

While Thompson said it was too early to identify specific political motivation, he said, “This was a political assassination.”

“It’s only the most recent example of violent political extremism in this country,” Thompson added, in light of two assassination attempts on President Donald Trump last year, the attack on former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband at their home in San Francisco in 2022, and the shooting of House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., at the annual Congressional Baseball Game in 2017, to name a few.

Records reveal Boelter registered to vote as a Republican while living in Oklahoma in 2004 before moving to Minnesota, where voters don’t list party affiliation.

Boelter was previously appointed to Minnesota’s Workforce Development Board by two governors, according to Fox 9. 

The suspect was reportedly appointed by Gov. Mark Dayton, a Democrat, in 2016, and then re-appointed by Walz in 2019 as a private sector representative to the council. He previously served on the same board as Hoffman before his term expired in 2023.

Friends and former colleagues interviewed by the Associated Press described Boelter as a devout Christian who attended an evangelical church and attended Trump rallies. 

Paul Shroeder, who has known Boelter for years, told AP, “He was right-leaning politically but never fanatical, from what I saw, just strong beliefs,” and added, “It seemed to be just that he was a conservative Republican who naturally followed Trump.”

A Fox News search found no results for individual contributions to federally registered political committees. 

According to Boelter’s LinkedIn page, he has a purported extensive security background, including as CEO of Red Lion Group based in the Democratic Republic of Congo. He is also listed as the director of Praetorian Guard Security Services, a security firm his wife reportedly filed to create, according to the company’s website. 

Several AK-47-style firearms were recovered from Boelter’s vehicle during the investigation, along with a pile of “No Kings” flyers, reflecting anti-Trump administration protests that erupted across the country this weekend. 

Walz had planned to speak at a “No Kings” rally in St. Paul on Saturday before the assassination. 

Authorities also found a manifesto that listed the names and addresses of other public officials. About 70 names were found in the manifesto, according to two law enforcement officials who spoke to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity. Officials said the list also included the names of pro-abortion politicians, abortion rights advocates and information about health care facilities.

“There were some abortion-rights supporters, I believe, on the list. But again, there was dozens and dozens and dozens of names on, you know, hundreds of pages of documents that were recovered with his writings on them,” Thompson said. 

Boelter’s roommate told the New York Post that he had conservative political views but rarely talked about politics and didn’t seem overtly political.

“He was a Trump supporter. He voted for Trump. He liked Trump. I like Trump,” his lifelong friend, David Carlson, said. “He didn’t like abortion.”

Carlson told the New York Times that Boelter had been experiencing financial and mental health challenges, and that Bolter “just gave up on life for some reason.”

According to the Wall Street Journal, Carlson woke up on Saturday to a text from Boelter that he was “going to be gone for a while” and “may be dead shortly.” 

“I thought he was going to do self-harm,” Carlson said. “I didn’t think he was going to do anything like this.” 

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Walz continued to denounce the violence during a press conference Monday. 

“A moment in this country where we watched violence erupt. This cannot be the norm. It cannot be the way that we deal with our political differences.”

And Walz added in a statement that we “cannot become numb to this violence,” adding we are a “deeply divided nation.”

Walz’s office and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Minnesota did not immediately respond to a Fox News Digital inquiry. 

Fox News Digital’s Stephen Sorace, Michael Dorgan, Julia Bonavita, Audrey Conklin, Peter D’Abrosca and Sarah Rumpf-Whitten contributed to this report. 

Senate Republicans are gearing up for the first full-scale congressional hearing into the alleged cover-up of former President Joe Biden’s cognitive decline.

Senators John Cornyn, R-Texas., and Eric Schmitt, R-Mo. will co-chair a Senate Judiciary Hearing Wednesday that delves into “what exactly went on” during Biden’s term and why the constitutional power to remove him from office wasn’t triggered.

Cornyn said on the Senate floor that one of the main goals of the hearing was to shine a light on what happened behind the scenes during landmark moments of Biden’s presidency, “from the Biden border crisis to the disastrous results from the withdrawal in Afghanistan.

EX-WHITE HOUSE OFFICIALS TO TESTIFY ON WHO ‘REALLY RAN THE COUNTRY’ DURING BIDEN ERA

“And it’s now clear that for many months — no one knows exactly how long — the president was simply not up to the task,” he said. “Whoever happened to be making those decisions and carrying out the duties of the Office of President was not somebody who was authorized by the Constitution or by a vote of the American people.”

Cornyn and Schmitt’s hearing, first announced late last month, will be held after the release of the book “Original Sin” by CNN host Jake Tapper and Axios reporter Alex Thompson, which alleges the Biden White House was trying to control the narrative about the former president’s health and that his allies worked to cover up his decline.

SENATE REPUBLICANS PLAN HEARING ON BIDEN’S ALLEGED COGNITIVE DECLINE COVER-UP

The hearing, “Unfit to Serve: How the Biden Cover-Up Endangered America and Undermined the Constitution,” features a trio of witnesses called by the Senate Republican duo who served during President Donald Trump’s first term and during the Reagan and Bush years.

Among the Republicans’ witnesses are Theodore Wold, who formerly served as acting assistant attorney general in the Office of Legal Policy at the Justice Department and deputy assistant to the president for domestic policy during the Trump administration; Sean Spicer, former White House press secretary and communications director; and John Harrison, a legal scholar from the University of Virginia School of Law who previously served during former the Reagan and Bush administrations.

Wold and Harrison told Fox News Digital their testimony would focus on Biden’s alleged usage of an autopen, a device that is used to automatically mimic a person’s signature, typically used signing of numerous documents, and how the usage of the device may have acted as a smokescreen to prevent the triggering of the 25th Amendment.

SCOOP: GOP PUSH FOR NEW HOUSE COMMITTEE TO PROBE BIDEN DECLINE ‘COVER-UP’ GAINS STEAM

Biden has rejected assertions by lawmakers and Trump that he habitually used an autopen. Trump recently ordered Attorney General Pam Bondi to open an investigation into whether the former president’s aides “abused the power of Presidential signatures through the use of an autopen to conceal Biden’s cognitive decline.”

Spicer’s testimony will focus on the media’s treatment of Trump compared to Biden during their respective first terms and how some media outlets were allegedly “silent” when it came to signs of the ex-president’s decline.

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Democrats on the panel did not call any witnesses.

The top-ranking Democrat on the committee, Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., contended that Cornyn and Schmitt were wasting the panel’s time with their endeavor.

“We have so many important topics to consider, and this is a totally political undertaking by several of my colleagues,” he said. “It is a waste of the Senate Judiciary Committee’s time.” 

Senate Republicans are steadily moving along in their quest to advance President Donald Trump’s “big, beautiful bill,” but some remain dissatisfied with one of the most crucial portions of the package.

The Senate Finance Committee unveiled its portion of the budget reconciliation package Monday night that deals directly with making the president’s first-term tax cuts permanent and the more controversial proposed changes to Medicaid, niche tax issues and Biden-era green energy subsidies.

Senate Republicans met behind closed doors to get a crash course on the bill, and some left distraught over provisions they hoped they would see on the cutting room floor. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., can only afford to lose three votes in the upper chamber.

SENATE PANEL NAVIGATES DELICATE COMPROMISES ON MEDICAID, TAXES IN LATEST CHUNK OF TRUMP’S MEGABILL

And due to the nature of budget reconciliation, which allows lawmakers to skirt the filibuster, he can’t count on Democrats, who would demand serious changes to the broader legislation, to help get the package across the line.

The changes to the Medicaid provider tax rate, which were a stark departure from the House GOP’s version of the bill, particularly ruffled feathers among Republicans who have warned not to make revisions to the healthcare program that could shut down rural hospitals and boot working Americans from their benefits.

“I want changes,” Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, said. “I’m still not satisfied with where we are on Medicaid.”

‘IT’S WRONG’: HAWLEY WARNS SENATE GOP NOT TO BOOT AMERICANS FROM MEDICAID IN TRUMP MEGABILL

The Senate Finance Committee went further than the House’s freeze of the provider tax rate, or the amount that state Medicaid programs pay to healthcare providers on behalf of Medicaid beneficiaries, for non-Affordable Care Act expansion states, and included a provision that lowers the rate in expansion states annually until it hits 3.5 percent.

To date, 41 states and Washington, D.C., have opted into the Medicaid expansion program. The idea behind the changes to the provider rate taxes was to help pay for Trump’s mammoth bill in part and discourage the remaining states from opting into Medicaid expansion.

Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., argued, for a state like his dotted with rural hospitals, that the bill “is not a good development” for their survival. 

BLUE STATE REPUBLICANS THREATEN REVOLT AGAINST TRUMP’S ‘BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL’ IF SENATE CHANGES KEY TAX RULE

“I mean, it’s really not,” he said. “And in order to pay for increased subsidies for the Green New Deal? I mean, it just baffles me.”

The Senate’s version of the tax package does add more flexibility to green energy tax credits than the House’s, an issue pushed for by a handful of Senate Republicans who wanted to see the truncated phase-out of the credits in the House bill slowed down.

Senate Republicans met with Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz Tuesday afternoon to discuss the Medicaid tweaks in the bill. Oz said the White House did “not believe” changing the provider tax would influence the ability of hospitals to stay viable. 

“In fact, the provider tax and the state-directed payments are often used to pay institutions that have the best connections to the government of the state, not necessarily the hospitals that need the help the most,” he said. “It is important that we clean up this system.”

Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D., sought to extinguish anger among his colleagues, noting that Senate Finance Committee Chair Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, and Senate leaders were still working on what the final product would look like.

“Everybody’s got an opinion, and I think it’s gonna be that way right up until we vote,” he said.

Fiscal hawks were not pleased with the bill, either.

Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., has stumped for a return to pre-COVID-19 pandemic era spending, a gouge to federal spending that would be trillions of dollars more than the rough goal of $2 trillion in spending cuts that some Senate Republicans are eying.

He believed there was “no way” that the current parts of the broader reconciliation package could be fixed and stitched together by the Senate GOP’s self-imposed July 4 deadline.

“The problem is it just simply doesn’t meet the moment,” he said.

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But Crapo cautioned he and lawmakers were still working out the kinks and that a resolution to his colleagues’ issues could still be found.

“All I can say is that we will work it out,” Crapo said. “We have to work that out, not only among our colleagues in the Senate, but with the House and with the White House.”

A key House Republican says Israel will continue to have bipartisan support from Congress as its conflict with Iran worsens tensions in the Middle East.

“Yeah, absolutely,” Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart, R-Fla., said when asked about a hypothetical supplemental funding package in the event the crisis became a prolonged conflict. 

“There’s very, very, very strong bipartisan support, in particular Republican support, for Israel, and I think again, what we are seeing is Israel doing what they need to do to protect themselves from literally being wiped off the face of the planet.”

He also commended President Donald Trump as having handled the volatile situation “brilliantly so far.”

LIVE UPDATES: ISRAEL-IRAN CONFLICT

ISRAEL AIRSTRIKE HITS IRANIAN STATE TV BUILDING

The Florida Republican chairs the House Appropriations Committee panel responsible for overseeing foreign aid and State Department funding.

The National Security, Department of State, and Related Programs subcommittee was key to Congress crafting emergency foreign aid packages to Israel, Taiwan, and Ukraine last year — all of which passed Congress with varying degrees of bipartisan support.

Diaz-Balart said he had not spoken with House leaders about the issue, noting most lawmakers were away in their home districts tending to their constituencies this week.

He added, “I’ve actually had informal conversations with members.”

He declined to say how those members felt about supplemental Israel funding, however, telling Fox News Digital, “I can’t speak for others, but I will tell you that there is a very strong appetite from me to make sure that Israel has all the help that it needs in order to finish the job that it’s doing.”

Meanwhile, he and his fellow subcommittee members have also been crafting their appropriations bill for the next fiscal year coming on Oct. 1.

“We’re going to do what we’ve been consistently doing, is just, we’re going to be helping Israel. And if there is a need to do more, obviously you’re going to see strong support, whether it’s in the appropriation… bills, or if we need a supplemental, I think you would see strong bipartisan support,” he said.

Last year, the House authorized just over $26 billion in emergency U.S. funding for Israel, humanitarian aid in the region, and shore up American military operations. The bill passed in an overwhelmingly bipartisan 366 to 58 vote — an increasingly rare occurrence for major legislation in the current political climate.

Twenty-one House Republicans and 37 Democrats voted against the measure at the time.

But since then, Democrats have continued to grow increasingly critical of Israel’s war in Gaza and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s conservative government.

At the same time, there’s been a growing skepticism of foreign aid among the House GOP — particularly with the national debt climbing toward $37 trillion.

ISRAELI LEADER SAYS TRUMP WAS MARKED FOR DEATH BY IRANIANS

Diaz-Balart, however, was still optimistic that a hypothetical aid package could pass if brought up in Congress, when asked about both of those factors.

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Israeli officials said Iran was dangerously close to having a nuclear weapon when its military launched an attack on Tehran that killed the Islamic regime’s top military figures and hit nuclear sites in and around the capital.

Since then, both sides have exchanged rocket fire, with fatalities reported on both sides.

Fox News Digital reached out to Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and House Appropriations Committee Chairman Tom Cole, R-Okla., for comment on the possibility of supplemental funding to Israel.