NationalWatch

Senate Republicans are taking closed-door conversations online to snipe at one another over stalled voter ID and citizenship verification legislation. 

President Donald Trump wants Republicans to pass the Safeguarding American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) America Act, but the political reality in the Senate, albeit through extreme measures that don’t have unified support among the Senate GOP, makes passage unlikely. 

Still, that has not stopped Trump, supporters online, and key proponents of the legislation in the Senate from pushing the message that the SAVE America Act can pass, but only if Republicans have the guts to do it.

That avenue would be through the “talking filibuster,” which proponents say would grind down Democrats’ resistance and ultimately lead to the SAVE America Act passing at a simple majority threshold.

‘IT’S A MESS’: GOP TURNS ON HOUSE CONSERVATIVES AS VOTER ID BLOCKADE STALLS TRUMP’S AGENDA

Opponents warn that doing so would dominate the Senate’s most valuable commodity — floor time — and allow Democrats to control the tempo of the upper chamber. And, there’s fear that Republicans wouldn’t stay unified to kill Democratic amendments on a variety of issues. 

Those dueling positions have caused clashes typically kept behind closed doors in the Senate to manifest on social media, notably between Sens. Mike Lee, R-Utah, and John Cornyn, R-Texas. 

“There is not [a] single instance in the history of the United States Senate where a ‘talking filibuster’ has resulted in a favorable outcome for the proponent,” Cornyn said on X while sharing a memo that included numerous “issues” with launching a talking filibuster.

Among those were the arguments that it would make campaigning more difficult because of attendance requirements, that it would allow Democrats to force unlimited votes on politically tough amendments on “issues that divide” Republicans, and that Democrats could drag out the process so long that the SAVE America Act might not be implemented before the election. Lee shot back that Cornyn’s memo “perfectly illustrates why the talking filibuster is necessary — not why we should avoid it like the plague or pretend it doesn’t exist.”

SEN LEE DARES DEMOCRATS TO REVIVE TALKING FILIBUSTER OVER SAVE ACT, SLAMMING CRITICISM AS ‘PARANOID FANTASY’

“The procedural hurdles you list (including the two-speech rule, quorum, calendar drag, and opportunity costs) are real,” Lee said. “But they’re also manageable—and in many instances can even be used to strengthen our negotiating position—if Republicans actually use the rules instead of surrendering to them.”

“The alternative — walking away from the SAVE America Act — has far higher costs: another election without proof of citizenship, more erosion of public confidence, and Democrats continuing to weaponize the same procedures against us,” he continued. 

Cornyn’s response: “fantasy.”

Meanwhile, the House is facing its own SAVE America Act dispute, which has threatened to blow up the perennial, must-pass National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., demanded that House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., include the legislation in the colossal NDAA package. 

He relented, but it will be the same version of the voter ID bill that the House already passed and that the Senate has been unable to move. And during negotiations over the NDAA in the coming weeks and months, the Senate can easily strip the measure out to ensure that the Pentagon authorization bill passes. 

The House will take its first step on that plan Tuesday afternoon. 

Most Senate Republicans support the original SAVE America Act, which includes voter ID, citizenship verification to register to vote, giving the Department of Homeland Security access to voter rolls, and other policies. 

But Trump wants his version of the SAVE America Act, which tacks on tight restrictions on mail-in ballots, halts biological men from participating in women’s sports and bans transgender surgeries on minors, which does not have 50 votes of support among the Senate GOP. 

TRUMP HEADS TO CAPITOL HILL FOR PIVOTAL MEETING AS SENATE GOP DIVISIONS DEEPEN

That version of the bill has also not passed through the House.

The Supreme Court’s decision on Monday to allow mail-in ballots that arrive late to still be counted has again stoked Trump’s interest in the legislation and directed his ire toward the Senate.

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“In a time when there is a powerful Communist Movement taking place in our Country, one more dangerous than World War I, World War II, Pearl Harbor, or September 11th, all Dumocrats, and our five Republican Senate Hold Outs, Lisa Murkowski, Susan Collins, Thom Tillis, Bill Cassidy, and Mitch McConnell must vote to SAVE OUR COUNTRY,” Trump said on Truth Social. “There can be no more excuses!” 

Notably, Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., has never voted against the SAVE America Act in its many different variations in the Senate, and Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, supports the original version of the bill that passed the House.

It’s been nearly four decades since a Democrat won a U.S. Senate election in reliably red Texas.

But a new poll suggests that Democrats have a good shot this year of breaking their long losing streak.

Democratic Senate nominee James Talarico and Republican nominee Ken Paxton, the longtime state attorney general, are tied at 47% support among likely voters in Texas, according to a New York Times/Siena survey released on Tuesday.

Paxton, who defeated longtime GOP incumbent Sen. John Cornyn in last month’s Republican nomination runoff election just days after landing the backing of President Donald Trump, is facing off against Talarico, a state representative considered a rising star in the Democratic Party, in a midterm race that is among a handful that will likely determine if the Republicans hold their slim Senate majority.

MAGA TRIUMPH: PAXTON TOPS CORNYN IN BATTLE FOR GOP SENATE NOMINATION

The poll points to some troubling signs for Paxton, who has faced a slew of scandals and legal problems that have battered him over the past decade. In 2023, the Texas House of Representatives voted to impeach Paxton, but he was eventually acquitted of all charges by the state Senate. And Paxton is dealing with a messy divorce, with his wife Angela, a state senator, citing “biblical grounds” based on “recent discoveries” in filing last year to end their marriage.

According to the poll, fewer than four in 10 respondents said Paxton has good character or the right kind of moral values. And half said Paxton, a MAGA firebrand and one of the leaders of the legal effort to overturn Trump’s 2020 presidential election loss, is too extreme.

Also problematic for Paxton is that his support, at 47%, is below the 50% of respondents who said they preferred Republicans to control the Senate next year.

The poll also shows Talarico winning the support of 61% of Hispanic — voters less than two years after Trump carried the Hispanic vote in Texas in the last presidential election — and leading the 63-year-old Paxton by 27 points among independents.

THE TEN RACES THAT WILL DETERMINE THE SENATE’S MAJORITY

And the survey spotlights a massive gender gap, with Talarico winning female votes by 18 points and Paxton ahead among male voters by the same margin.

Talarico, a 37-year-old former middle school teacher and Presbyterian seminarian who topped progressive firebrand and vocal Trump critic Rep. Jasmine Crockett in the March Democratic Senate primary, has emerged as the top Democratic fundraiser in Senate races, hauling in a massive $27 million in the first three months of this year.

But Republicans have repeatedly targeted Talarico, spotlighting his past controversial comments, including suggesting that “God is nonbinary” or that there are six biological sexes.

TRUMP ROASTS DEM CANDIDATE AS UNELECTABLE FOR CARDINAL SIN IN TEXAS

In his victory speech last month, Paxton mocked the Democratic nominee as “tofu Talarico,” “six-gender Jimmy,” “James Talafreako” and “low-T Talarico.” 

And he said in a Fox News Digital interview after winning the nomination: “James Talarico doesn’t belong in Texas. We cannot let him be the center of the state of Texas. He fits in California. He does not fit here.”

The poll suggests the Democratic Party brand may impede Talarico, with a majority of respondents seeing Democrats as too far to the left.

DEMOCRACY ’26: STAY UP TO DATE WITH THE FOX NEWS ELECTION HUB

And following a divisive primary with Crockett, who is Black, the poll indicates that 12% of Black voters have a negative opinion of Talarico, who is White.

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But likely helping Talarico is the economy.

Sixty percent of those questioned gave a thumbs down to how Trump was handling cost-of-living issues, which will do Paxton no favors.

It’s no surprise: Talarico is highlighting economic concerns over soaring prices, saying in a new ad as he walks out of a grocery store that “too many Texans feel like they’re drowning.”

FIRST ON FOX: A cohort of Senate Republicans are launching an anti-fraud task force to mirror the efforts of the Trump administration in its multibillion-dollar fraud crusade.

Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., is leading the group of nine Senate Republicans in their formation of the Anti-Fraud Task Force, a group that will examine fraud, waste and abuse across federal programs, identify vulnerabilities in those programs, and ensure that the buck stops where the flow of funding begins: Congress.

“The fraud epidemic burdening our country is one of the most pressing issues facing Americans today,” Schmitt said in a statement to Fox News Digital. “It’s organized theft on a national scale, and the Americans paying the price are the ones swinging the hammer and driving the trucking, working their tails off to make ends meet.”

TRUMP SAYS ANTI-FRAUD EFFORTS ARE UNCOVERING BILLIONS IN WASTE, CLAIMS SAVINGS COULD BALANCE BUDGET

“Our Task Force will go after the fraud rings and bad actors exploiting our systems and robbing Americans,” he continued. “Following President Trump’s lead, we’re declaring war on fraud.”

Schmitt has recruited Sens. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., Katie Britt, R-Ala., Ashley Moody, R-Fla., Tim Sheehy, R-Mont., Pete Ricketts, R-Neb., Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., and Ron Johnson, R-Wis.

SENATE REPUBLICAN PUSHES OVERHAUL TO CUT RED TAPE AND SPEED UP AMERICAN ENERGY PROJECTS

Johnson contended that depending on the database you accessed — like the Government Accountability Office or LexisNexis — the amount of federal government fraud fluctuated between $250 billion and $1 trillion per year.

“It’s nearly impossible to recover those funds through prosecutions, so we must focus on preventing the money from getting to the fraudsters in the first place,” Johnson said.

Schmitt’s task force is meant to align with the Trump administration’s anti-fraud efforts led by Vice President JD Vance, whom President Donald Trump tapped to be his anti-fraud czar, that were launched earlier this year.

SENATE REPUBLICAN EXPANDS CHILDCARE FRAUD CRACKDOWN TO MORE BLUE STATES

Vance’s operation hit the ground running in April and identified nearly $6.3 billion in government contracts believed to be tied to potentially fraudulent businesses. Those findings showed nearly 400 businesses would be required to prove they had legitimate operations and physical addresses.

In May, the task force withheld $1.4 billion in federal funding from home health and hospice providers nationwide.

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Schmitt’s effort isn’t the only one in the Senate, either. Sen. Bill Cassidy, who chairs the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, has been ramping up anti-fraud efforts since the beginning of the year in the wake of the Minnesota fraud scandal.

Cassidy launched an anti-fraud task force cracking down on abuses in Minnesota that has since expanded to other blue states, including New York, Michigan and Oregon.

A poll released this week, in addition to showing a dead heat in the Maine Senate race, suggests that Democratic candidate Graham Platner’s working-class bona fides as an oyster farmer — which he has made a central part of his campaign — aren’t resonating.

Platner currently trails incumbent Republican Sen. Susan Collins by 21 points, 37% to 58%, with registered voters who do not hold a four-year college degree, according to a New York Times/Portland Press Herald/Siena poll released on Monday.  

Additionally, the poll shows Platner up 37 points with White college-educated voters but trailing Collins by 23 points with White non-college-educated voters. 

In the September 2020 New York Times/Siena poll, Collins led Democrat Sara Gideon by just 48%-45% with White non-college-educated voters, a 20-point swing from six years ago in a race Collins won by about nine points statewide.

PLATNER’S ANTI-CORPORATE CRUSADE HITS AWKWARD SNAG AS RECEIPTS TELL ANOTHER STORY

Platner’s sagging support from those without a college degree has prompted some on social media to suggest his messaging to working-class voters as an oyster farmer from rural Maine is falling flat, despite his repeated pledges to fight against “corporate greed” and the billionaire “oligarchy.”

Ryan Girdusky, founder of the 1776 Project PAC, posted on X that “Graham is what a college educated person thinks a working-class person is supposed to act like and working-class people can see he’s a fraud.”

“Blue collar voters can tell he’s not one of them,” journalist Melissa Braunstein posted on X.

EXCLUSIVE: COLLINS PITS RECORD BUILT IN MAINE POTATO FIELDS AGAINST PLATNER’S ‘ANGRY RHETORIC’

Platner has faced criticism during his campaign for claims about his background as he has long identified himself as an oyster farmer and harbor master, giving a blue-collar tinge to his left-wing campaign, at the same time financial disclosures show that he brings in relatively little money from oyster farming and reports have suggested that Platner receives the majority of his income through veteran’s disability payments, Fox News Digital previously reported.

In his pitch to working-class voters, Platner has also had to overcome his own wealthy background that resulted in him attending private schools, including The Hotchkiss School, an exclusive $75,000-a-year boarding school in Lakeville, Connecticut.

“Mainers know authenticity, and they can spot a pretender from a mile away,” Maine Republican state Rep. Laurel Libby told Fox News Digital. “Maine voters aren’t looking for a performance, they’re looking for someone who understands their lives and will fight for them — that has always been Susan Collins.”

THE GROWING LIST OF CONTROVERSIES THREATENING DEMOCRAT GRAHAM PLATNER’S MAINE SENATE BID

The various controversies surrounding Platner, including infidelity, physical abuse of an ex-girlfriend, a Nazi-linked tattoo, disparaging comments about the military and referring to himself as a “communist,” appear to have hurt him with voters, as only 44% said he has “good character” while 47% said he is “too extreme” for the state.

Fox News Digital reached out to the Platner campaign for comment. 

Still, despite the questions about his background and his controversial statements, Platner’s pitch to voters as a combat veteran who will push back against Trump and the establishment of both parties has helped him to a two-point lead over Collins, according to the New York Times poll, in a race that could decide the balance of power in the U.S. Senate in November.

Fifty-four percent of respondents in the poll said they’d like to see the Democrats win back the Senate majority in the midterms, five points higher than the 49% who are supporting Platner. And Collins is capturing 10% of voters who prefer the Democrats control the Senate.

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Warning signs for Collins in the poll include a majority that said they thought the senator would be too supportive of Trump and even some of her own supporters worry that the 73-year-old Collins is too old to be an effective senator.

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

The Supreme Court may have done more Monday than give President Donald Trump new firing power — it may have opened the door to a far broader challenge to the modern administrative state, the sprawling network of federal agencies that many conservatives have long dubbed the “deep state.”

In a 6-3 decision, the Court ruled Trump could lawfully remove Federal Trade Commission Commissioner Rebecca Slaughter, overturning much of the nearly 90-year-old Humphrey’s Executor precedent that had protected independent agency officials from at-will dismissal.

While Chief Justice John Roberts’ majority opinion held that the FTC’s leaders must remain accountable to the president because the agency exercises executive power, Gorsuch argued the ruling raises a broader constitutional question over whether Congress can continue allowing executive agencies to exercise sweeping legislative and judicial powers.

“The fourth branch’s powers still exist; they have just been reassigned to the President,” Gorsuch wrote in a concurring opinion.

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That observation could become the next major front in the Supreme Court’s ongoing effort to reshape the modern administrative state.

For decades, independent agencies such as the FTC, Securities and Exchange Commission, Federal Communications Commission and National Labor Relations Board have combined multiple governmental functions under one roof. They investigate alleged violations, write regulations carrying the force of law and adjudicate enforcement actions through administrative proceedings.

With Humphrey’s Executor now overruled, those agencies remain intact, but their leadership is subject to presidential control if they exercise executive power. Gorsuch questioned whether Congress can continue delegating broad legislative and judicial authority to agencies that are now unmistakably under presidential supervision.

“The power to write new regulatory crimes still exists,” Gorsuch wrote. “The ability to judge disputes in-house remains, but now the house is white.”

Carrie Severino, president of the Judicial Crisis Network, said Gorsuch’s concurrence points toward the next phase of litigation.

CONGRESS EXPANDED THE EXECUTIVE—ONLY FOR TRUMP TO QUASH MUCH OF THE ADMINISTRATIVE STATE

“I think the next step in this type of litigation won’t be looking at firings per se, but really trying to make sure all of these administrative agencies actually fall into one of our constitutional buckets,” Severino said. “Are they executive agencies or are they legislative or are they judicial? You can’t straddle all of this.”

She said that while Monday’s ruling restored presidential control over executive agencies, it did not resolve whether those same agencies can continue exercising quasi-legislative and quasi-judicial powers that Congress has delegated over decades.

“There still remains to be more work going back and taking out of these agencies that now are properly under executive control the activities that really aren’t fundamentally executive in nature,” Severino said.

Haley Proctor, a constitutional law professor at Notre Dame Law School, similarly described Gorsuch’s opinion as a roadmap for future legal challenges.

LEGAL CHALLENGES ON ADMINISTRATIVE REACH EXPECTED IN TRUMP’S DEREGULATORY SCHEME, EXPERTS SAY

“I do think what Justice Gorsuch is pointing out is that this is the first step toward rethinking the way in which the administrative state is empowered and structured,” Proctor said.

Rather than simply expanding presidential authority, Proctor said the concurrence raises the possibility that Congress may ultimately have to reclaim powers it has delegated to agencies or assign certain responsibilities back to Article III courts.

“If we’re concerned about the amount of power that the Federal Trade Commission has, then the next step would be to reconsider giving that power to the Federal Trade Commission because some of the decisions that it’s making could be made by Congress instead and some of the decisions that it’s making could be made by the courts,” she said.

The majority opinion did not resolve those questions. Instead, Roberts limited the Court’s holding to presidential removal authority, concluding that the FTC “unquestionably exercises executive power” and therefore its commissioners must remain accountable to the president.

The Court stopped short of deciding how much power Congress can give executive agencies to make rules or resolve disputes, saying questions involving agencies such as the Federal Reserve will have to wait.

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But Gorsuch suggested future cases could go much further, arguing the Constitution provides the tools to dismantle much of the modern administrative state. He pointed to several constitutional doctrines that could be used to sharply limit the power of independent federal agencies and return lawmaking authority to Congress and judicial power to the courts.

“From here, the only sure path is to finish the journey we start today and restore legislative and judicial powers to where they belong: in Congress and the courts,” Gorsuch wrote.

House Republican leaders are making another bid to salvage the stalled SAVE America Act after a conservative revolt froze floor action last week, but GOP lawmakers behind the blockade are withholding support for the plan.

The House Rules Committee on Monday approved a rule in an 8-4 vote that would merge an annual defense policy bill with the Trump-backed election measure in a rare procedural maneuver before sending the package to the Senate. 

Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, a member of the panel who was among the conservatives last week that backed the SAVE-related floor blockade, did not vote. 

Meanwhile, Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla. — the leader of the lower chamber’s SAVE protest — argued the procedural tactic would fail to force Senate action, instead calling for a SAVE amendment to be added to the defense bill.

‘AS LONG AS IT TAKES’: TRUMP ALLIES FREEZE HOUSE FLOOR TO PRESSURE SENATE ON VOTER ID BILL

“The only way to ensure the Senate passes this is to make sure it’s in the bill text of the NDAA, meaning that my amendment(s) must be made an order,” the Florida Republican wrote on X. “I’m not trying to be difficult, but this is what 80% of Americans want and what we promised the American people, so I stand by my decision.” 

Johnson’s proposal comes after the conservative holdouts rejected his appeal to enact parts of SAVE in another ‘Big Beautiful Bill” last week.

Given House Republicans’ slim majority, the speaker will likely need their support to pass a rule later Tuesday teeing up the chamber’s version of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). Because procedural votes are typically party-line, he can afford to lose only a handful of GOP defections.

Tuesday’s vote will also advance a spending bill funding the State Department and other foreign operations for fiscal year 2027 and a resolution commemorating the one-year anniversary of President Donald Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which Republicans now refer to as the Working Families Tax Cuts.

If Republican leadership fails to advance the legislative items, the House floor would effectively be frozen and lawmakers could return home early ahead of the July 4 recess.

Johnson warned Monday that continuing the floor blockade would be a “self-defeating” approach.

“It doesn’t make any sense,” Johnson told reporters. “We have to move forward with legislation and that’s what I’ll be telling them all.” 

‘IT’S A MESS’: GOP TURNS ON HOUSE CONSERVATIVES AS VOTER ID BLOCKADE STALLS TRUMP’S AGENDA

But Luna indicated her reluctance to unlock the House floor until she receives assurances on the SAVE America Act’s fate in the Senate.

“But to, you know, say that we’re holding up the process. This is legislating,” Luna told reporters Monday, standing next to Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., who has also joined the SAVE protest. “If people elected us to just come up here and vote in line with what the party wants, then it would be a whole lot different.”

Democrats, who would like to see the rules package fail, argued the GOP holdouts should not listen to Republican leadership because their proposal would be dead on arrival in the Senate. 

“Let me be clear, the Senate will just strip the SAVE Act out,” Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Conn., said during the Rules Committee debate Monday. “They’ve already said that merging it with the NDAA bill doesn’t prevent that. Nothing in this rule will prevent that.”

“There is a 0% chance SAVE ends up in the NDAA because of this rule today,” he continued. “So this is a ‘cover-your-behind’ maneuver, if you will.”

Under the rule approved Monday, the procedural maneuver would facilitate SAVE’s attachment to the NDAA without requiring lawmakers to vote on it again.

Leadership did not choose a version of the election bill including all the president’s SAVE priorities, such as curtailing mail-in voting and banning men in women’s sports and child sex change procedures. Johnson has yet to ask House Republicans to consider the comprehensive measure, and it is unclear whether a crackdown on mail-in ballots could clear the chamber.

Johnson’s SAVE gambit comes as House Republicans appear to have little leverage to force the bill through the Senate, where GOP leaders say it lacks the votes to pass. The election measure has struggled to win unified Republican support, let alone the 60 votes needed to overcome a Democratic filibuster.

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Trump sharply criticized five alleged holdouts — Sens. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, Susan Collins, R-Maine, Thom Tillis, R-N.C., Bill Cassidy, R-La., and Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. — in a Truth Social post Monday, arguing the cohort “must vote to SAVE OUR COUNTRY.”

“There can be no more excuses!” he wrote.

WARNING: Graphic Content

Seattle’s LGBT Pride parade on Sunday descended into bedlam as attendees stripped off their clothes and marched the streets naked while children looked on.

One video filmed by Chloe Cole, a de-transitioner activist, and posted by Frontlines Turning Point USA, shows people from a group called “Friends of Denny Blaine” marching in the nude. Some onlookers clapped and cheered, while the video panned to young children watching the spectacle.

Another video shows naked people prancing around an outdoor fountain near children who were playing in the water.

DRAG QUEEN INVITED TO BALTIMORE ORIOLES PRIDE NIGHT TAKES A SHOT AT THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION

The “Friends of Denny Blaine” website says it is dedicated to protecting Denny Blaine Park, which is known for its “historic nude & queer character.” Currently, the park is facing a lawsuit from concerned citizens over its graphic nature, according to the website.

“Nude ≠ Lewd,” “Free to be Naked” and “Nude is Nourishing,” read signs held by the marchers in the parade.

BOSTON PUBLIC LIBRARY PLANS 19 DRAG QUEEN STORY HOURS FOR YOUNG KIDS DURING PRIDE MONTH

Yet another lewd video shows naked men cycling in the parade, again to the applause and appreciation of the crowd, though some spectators can be seen shielding the eyes of children from the nude bodies.

DRAG QUEEN INVITED TO BALTIMORE ORIOLES PRIDE NIGHT TAKES A SHOT AT THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION

The Frontlines TPUSA video showing people parading nude around the Seattle Center International Fountain after the gay pride event includes scenes of children splashing in the water that sprays from the fountain just feet from several naked men and one naked woman.

It comes as Pride Month, which celebrates the LGBTQ+ community every June, comes to a close. In 1999, then-President Bill Clinton officially declared June the “Gay and Lesbian Pride Month,” and in the years after gay marriage was codified in 2015, the parades and celebration have become increasingly crass, often with scenes of nude or nearly nude people parading in public.

The three videos of naked demonstrators caused online fury from viewers shocked by the indecent display.

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“How is this not indecent exposure? Wtf?” one X user said.

“Why the f— would you take your children to see and celebrate this vile filthy celebration of perversion and degeneracy?” asked another.

DRAG QUEEN INVITED TO BALTIMORE ORIOLES PRIDE NIGHT TAKES A SHOT AT THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION

A third said: “Those parents are stupid, both for bringing children to a Pride Parade, and for keeping them there when a bunch of naked pervs exposed themselves. Pride Parades are infamous for crap like this.”

Seattle’s municipal code mentions nothing about public nudity, and the Seattle Police Department (SPD) has reiterated multiple times that being nude in Seattle is not a crime in itself.

“However, public nudity can quickly become a case of indecent exposure if the nudity causes a person to reasonably experience fear, alarm or concern,” an SPD press release says.

Instead, the city is governed by Washington’s indecent exposure law.

“A person is guilty of indecent exposure if he or she intentionally makes any open and obscene exposure of his or her person or the person of another knowing that such conduct is likely to cause reasonable affront or alarm,” Revised Code of Washington 9A.88.010 says.

A subsection of the law says indecent exposure is a misdemeanor “on the first offense if the person exposes himself or herself to a person under the age of fourteen years.”

It is a felony for convicted sex offenders to commit the crime of indecent exposure.

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The Seattle Police Department did not return a request for comment when asked whether anyone was arrested during the city’s pride festivities.

Mayor Katie Wilson’s Office also did not return Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

Influential evangelical leaders are divided over the Trump administration’s memorandum of understanding with Iran, as conflict continues across the Middle East and debate grows over whether the framework strengthens U.S. leverage or risks harming Israel.

President Donald Trump recently threatened to re-escalate U.S. military strikes against Iran after Tehran continued attacks in the Strait of Hormuz after the regime launched strikes against Kuwait and Bahrain over the weekend, drawing condemnations from both Gulf neighbors.

The split is emerging at a delicate moment for Trump, who is trying to turn military pressure on Iran into a diplomatic framework without alienating supporters who helped power his political coalition. Supporters of the MOU say Trump has earned trust because he weakened Tehran first, while critics say any deal that gives Iran relief before its threat to Israel is permanently neutralized risks betraying the alliance his base expects him to protect.

Dr. Mike Evans, founder of the Friends of Zion Heritage Center in Jerusalem and a close evangelical ally of Trump, told Fox News Digital that many people are underestimating the American president.

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“The facts are that Donald Trump was key to ending the Gaza war, he was key to getting hostages out of there and he was key in breaking the back of the Iranian regime, including destroying its navy, air force, missile defense and leadership,” Evans said.

TRUMP ADMINISTRATION UNVEILS SWEEPING TERMS OF PROPOSED IRAN AGREEMENT

There are 750 million Bible-believing Christians around the world who identify as Zionists, Evans said, adding that while they may disagree on Israeli political issues, they agree that Israel is the biblical homeland given by God to the Jewish people through Abraham.

While running for president, Trump met with Christian groups, including Evans, and asked whether they would support him, Evans said, adding that they agreed on the condition that he support Christian values in the United States and stand by the State of Israel.

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“He promised to do both and so far he’s exceeded all of our expectations,” Evans said.

“Israel is willing to shed its blood for America in the Middle East. America needs to do everything possible to support the State of Israel. We, as believers, believe that God birthed this nation. We don’t have any fear about Israel’s future,” he added.

U.S. Officials worked with the Israel Defense Forces to complete Operation Epic Fury in February, which was a 38-day effort to dismantle the Iranian regime’s military capabilities. 

“Following the historic destruction of Iran’s military capabilities through the successful Operation Epic Fury, President Trump and his negotiating team have brokered an excellent, performance-based MOU that advances the interests of the United States by ending the fighting, reopening the Strait of Hormuz to significantly lower energy prices, and forcing Iran to commit to abandon its nuclear ambitions,” White House Spokesperson Olivia Wales told Fox News Digital.

“President Trump has a strong relationship with Prime Minister Netanyahu, and Israel has always been a great ally to the United States. There has been no greater friend to Israel and a fighter for peace than President Trump…Americans and our allies around the world are already safer for the United States and Israel’s bold actions to deny the Iranian regime the ability to develop a nuclear weapon,” a White House official added in comment to Fox News Digital.

Rev. Johnnie Moore, President of The Congress of Christian Leaders, told Fox News Digital that in 2016, opposition to President Obama’s catastrophic Iran deal was one of the top three reasons evangelicals rallied to Donald Trump, helping forge one of the most consequential, enduring and powerful political coalitions in American history — a coalition that stands with him still and knows its power.

“Evangelicals know, and President Trump knows, that words on paper don’t change terrorists. Accountability does. Action does. This President has been willing to confront the Iranian regime in ways no predecessor would, and the regime has never been weaker,” Moore said.

TRUMP PIVOTS ON STRIKES WHILE DANGLING IRAN DEAL, TESTING WHETHER TEHRAN BLINKS

“The nuclear threat, at least for now, is gone. What brought Iran to this table was not a memorandum — it was precise and unrelenting military action that shattered their nuclear ambitions and broke their conventional forces,” he continued.

“We also know, as the President knows, that the regime will say and do anything to deceive everyone around him — because they understand they cannot deceive the President himself. Evangelicals trust President Trump entirely. That does not mean that we trust many of those now involved in the negotiation,” he added. 

The risk the president must manage, he said, is that Tehran turns this into a stalling game — as it tried and failed to do with his own team at least twice and did successfully with Presidents Biden and Obama. 

“In the end, because of the President, America will win this too — negotiation or not. But it is clear where our community stands. The regime only understands one language: strength. American strength,” he said.

ISRAEL FEARS TRUMP WEARY OF ‘HIGHLY SUSPICIOUS’ NETANYAHU AND COULD ‘FLIP’ AMID IRAN DEAL: ANALYST 

Other leaders expressed concerns over recent comments on Israel from the administration. Laurie Cardoza-Moore, president of Proclaiming Justice to the Nations, told Fox News Digital that evangelical Christians were largely responsible for the election of the current administration and said the agreement with Iran is extremely worrying.

“One of our core issues is the Biblical requirement to stand with Israel and G-d’s chosen people as described in the Books of Genesis and Obadiah. As the Bible teaches, those who stand with Israel will be blessed, and those who curse her will be cursed,” she said.

“There is a strong feeling that Israel is being betrayed and thrown under the bus in favor of the Islamic Republic of Iran. We are particularly concerned about recent harsh and false statements made by Vice President Vance, which could be perceived as cursing Israel,” she added.

The office of the vice president declined to comment when approached by Fox News Digital.

Vance has supported Israel but has also said he is willing to criticize the country when he believes its actions warrant it. He condemned antisemitism in February, telling the Daily Mail, “I think Jew hatred is disgusting.”

“You shouldn’t hate people because they’re white. You shouldn’t hate people because they’re Jewish. You shouldn’t hate people because they’re black,” he said.

But Vance has also made clear that support for Israel does not mean automatic agreement with Netanyahu’s government.

“Prime Minister Netanyahu, look, he governs a country that has obviously been a very close partner of the United States. But, even when we’ve been close partners, sometimes we have interests that are perfectly aligned, and sometimes we have interests that are misaligned,” Vance said in an interview on “CBS Sunday Morning” June 10.

TRUMP’S IRAN AGREEMENT RAISES A BASIC QUESTION: IS IT ACTUALLY A DEAL?

The Trump administration publicly released details of the memorandum outlining plans for immediate waivers on Iranian oil exports, a framework for at least $300 billion in reconstruction and economic development assistance if a final agreement is reached, and a 60-day negotiating period aimed at securing a comprehensive deal on Iran’s nuclear program.

Pastor John Hagee, founder and chairman of Christians United for Israel, told Fox News Digital that, in its current form, the MOU appears ill-advised at best, as the military gains achieved by Washington and Jerusalem have yet to be fully realized.

“I have yet to hear from anyone who was not surprised by such an about face in signing the MoU. Who would not be concerned with the U.S. effectively agreeing to forever negotiations with a highly militarized radical Islamist regime, flush with cash, in pursuit of nuclear weapons,” Hagee said.

Most evangelical Christians, he added, see what everyone else sees: The U.S. negotiating team appears to have fumbled the ball on the one-yard line. Nevertheless, the U.S.-Israel alliance remains a cornerstone of both countries’ security as well as a key pillar of global stability.

AMERICANS KNOW IRAN IS OUR ENEMY. IT’S TIME ESTABLISHMENT POLITICIANS AGREED

RETIRED US MILITARY LEADERS SUPPORT LETTING ISRAEL ‘FINISH THE JOB’ AGAINST IRAN, PROXIES

“From a religious perspective, we have a divine mandate to stand with Israel. From a national security perspective, we have no stronger or wiser ally anywhere in the world. And from the Christian pilgrim’s perspective, our holy sites in the Holy Land have never been more open and yet more secure,” Hagee said.

“The most “America-first” thing one can do is stand with our only true ally in the region,” he continued.

“The Islamic Republic declared war on the West the day it was founded nearly half a century ago. That has not changed. Democracies rarely get to decide who their enemies are. The only conclusion to this conflict is regime change through domestic revolution in Iran,” Hagee added.

MORNING GLORY: PRESIDENT TRUMP AND THE US ARE WAGING A RIGHTEOUS BATTLE — AND WINNING

After the 60-day timeframe, Evans predicted Trump is likely to extend negotiations for another 90 days, carrying them through the end of the year and beyond the midterm elections. President Trump, Evans said, will then break the economic back of the regime, take Kharg Island and completely bankrupt the regime.

“I am not panicking because I know Donald Trump. I am the strongest supporter in the state of Israel of Donald Trump. I am the one that hosted the embassy gala, put up all the billboards and gave him an award. I am not panicking over this,” he added.

Evans said Christians do not believe the battle can be won by bombs alone, and that they view prayer as their most powerful weapon.

“We are hosting the largest prayer in history at the Kotel (Western Wall) with 5 to 10 million Christians on Oct. 7. I now have more than a dozen ambassadors involved and 23 additional ones I am meeting with who want to represent their country,” he said.

Dr. Jürgen Bühler, president of the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem (ICEJ), said his organization has witnessed up close for decades how the Iranian regime has progressively raised the sword of radical Islam over Israel, as well as over indigenous Christians throughout the Middle East.

“Given the current deal being worked out with Iranian leaders, we share the sense of most Israelis that the war against this intolerable Iranian threat has been stopped short of its needed objective,” he told Fox News Digital.

“Israel is a fellow Western democracy that deserves our full support in its fight to defend our shared freedoms and values, and many Christians in this region look to Israel as a light of hope for securing their own freedoms and futures,” he added.

Ultimately, Bühler said, the best and most just answer to the Iranian threat is genuine regime change in Tehran.

“We have not given up hope that the Iranian people themselves will be able to rise up and overcome their oppressive rulers and steer their nation away from this self-destructive obsession with destroying Israel,” he said.

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Heather Johnston, founder and president of the U.S.-Israel Education Association, said in a statement to Fox News Digital in reaction to the MoU that the U.S.-Israel relationship has advanced American interests for decades and should be strengthened — not strained — by U.S. diplomacy with Iran.

“Iran’s long record of supporting terrorism and threatening Israel gives Americans ample reason to assess this agreement carefully and skeptically. Any diplomacy with Iran should be measured against whether it advances or undermines that progress,” she said.

The Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) is setting its sights on Colorado.

A handful of Tuesday’s primaries in the Democrat-dominated Rocky Mountain state are the next battleground in the fight between the far left and the center-left establishment over the future of the Democratic Party.

“Today, the East Coast, next week the Mountain West,” the DSA wrote in a social media post last week, hours after their ballot-box victories in a handful of congressional primaries in New York City.

The post came after DSA-aligned Darializa Avila Chevalier, a 32-year-old far-left community organizer, ousted incumbent Democratic Rep. Adriano Espaillat, chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, and state Assembly Member Claire Valdez, another democratic socialist, won a congressional primary by defeating an establishment-backed candidate.

VICTORIES BY MAMDANI-BACKED CONGRESSIONAL CANDIDATES SPOTLIGHTS GROWING RIFT IN DEMOCRATIC PARTY

The victories by Chevalier and Valdez, who were heavily supported by democratic socialist New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, further emboldened the far left as it takes on the center-left establishment in a high-stakes battle for the future of the Democratic Party.

The DSA is now looking to replicate its playbook across the country, starting Tuesday in the Democratic primary in Colorado’s 1st Congressional District, a solidly blue seat anchored in Denver that then-Vice President Kamala Harris carried by a whopping 56 points in the 2024 election.

Democratic Rep. Diana DeGette, who was first elected to Congress three decades ago, is facing two primary challengers, including DSA-backed Melat Kiros, a first-time candidate and former attorney born four months after DeGette first took office.

Kiros, who lost her job as a lawyer in New York after writing an essay critical of Israel, is also supported by Justice Democrats, the nearly decade-old political group known for heavily supporting “Squad” members Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar, Ayanna Pressley and Rashida Tlaib as they toppled entrenched incumbents in their initial elections to Congress.

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“ELECT ANOTHER SOCIALIST TO CONGRESS ON JUNE 30TH,” a DSA social media post states as it urges supporters to lend a hand to the Kiros campaign.

The Democratic Party divide will also play out in the primary in the neighboring 8th Congressional District, which stretches along the I-25 corridor north of Denver.

State Rep. Manny Rutinel is running to the left of former state Rep. Shannon Bird, with the winner taking on Republican Rep. Gabe Evans, who flipped the seat in the 2024 cycle. The race is considered one of two or three dozen that will determine if the GOP holds onto its razor-thin House majority in the midterms.

Immigration has been a top issue in the Democratic primary in a district where roughly 40% of the population is Latino. Rutinel has criticized Bird for a vote she cast last year opposing a measure limiting cooperation between local and state law enforcement and ICE.

MAMDANI-BACKED SOCIALISTS LOOK TO TAKE NEW YORK PLAYBOOK NATIONWIDE AFTER PRIMARY VICTORIES

Another primary showdown highlighting the split between progressives and moderates, as well as the party’s generational divide, is the Senate nomination battle between incumbent Sen. John Hickenlooper, 74, and former state Sen. Julie Gonzales, a 43-year-old progressive. Hickenlooper, a former Denver mayor and two-term governor, has seen his once-large advantage over Gonzales, a one-time DSA member, narrow.

The winner will face Republican state Sen. Mark Baisley, who is unopposed in his primary.

Shannon Jackson, a longtime progressive political strategist and grassroots organizer best known for his leadership roles in Sen. Bernie Sanders’ 2016 and 2020 presidential campaigns, pointed to last week’s results and told Fox News Digital that “people are frustrated.”

“The key message of the victors: Medicare-for-All, the importance of affordability and a living wage. Progressives have long fought for these values and I expect the primary victories to continue,” he emphasized.

Meanwhile, the state’s expensive and combustible Democratic gubernatorial primary pits Sen. Michael Bennet against state Attorney General Phil Weiser.

Bennet or Weiser will be considered the clear favorite in the race to succeed two-term Democratic Gov. Jared Polis, the first openly gay man elected governor in the nation’s history.

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Weiser, who is running to Bennet’s left on certain issues, closed the gap with the senator as he spotlighted his efforts to take on President Donald Trump, including suing Trump 66 times as attorney general.

The winner will face either state Rep. Scott Bottoms, state Sen. Barb Kirkmeyer or pastor and Marine Corps veteran Victor Marx as the Republican nominee.

A liberal television icon issued a blunt warning to the Democratic Party about the upcoming midterm elections after a rash of far-left socialists won primary elections last week.

Bill Maher, a comedian known for his political commentary, said Democrats are “well on their way” to blowing the November midterms after voting for three “outright really crazy” socialists in New York’s primary elections rather than their more establishment Democrat counterparts.

Three socialists, Darializa Avila Chevalier, New York State Assembywoman Claire Valdez and former New York City Comptroller Brad Lander all won Democratic primaries in New York City congressional districts last Tuesday.

BILL MAHER CALLS MAMDANI-BACKED SOCIALIST ‘PATIENT ZERO’ OF THE ‘WOKE MIND VIRUS’

In the wake of the socialist sweep, Maher was asked Sunday during an event in Washington, D.C. about comments he made claiming the 2026 midterms are the Democratic Party’s to lose.

“I did say that, it was about two months ago, and you see how quickly the news changes in just two months, because that was before the Supreme Court made a ruling on voting rights,” said Maher, referencing the April Supreme Court decision in Louisiana v. Callais, which said congressional districts in that state had been illegally racially gerrymandered.

Maher, who has recently become a voice for moderate Democrats, made the comments just before accepting the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Maher hosts “Real Time with Bill Maher” on HBO and is a late night comedian icon.

“So, that has changed just in the last two months and then the Democrats just elected three very far-left democratic socialists in New York who are crazy — like outright really crazy — so like, how are they gonna blow it? I don’t know but they seem to be well on their way.”

JEFFRIES’ SOCIALISM DILEMMA: NEW YORK VICTORIES EXPOSE DEMOCRATIC PARTY DIVIDE

Maher’s comments echoed those of a growing list of Democrats who are concerned about a far-left socialist takeover of the party.

Avila Chevalier, in particular, is a rabid anti-borders activist, and has argued for completely abolishing police and prisons. She also made a series of anti-American posts on a since-deleted X account.

She trashed the United States on multiple occasions — one time calling her home country “a f—ing disgrace.”

“I forgot to get napkins so I just wiped my hand on the American flag behind me,” she said in yet another deleted post.

Avila Chevalier has called for the abolition of prisons and police and mocked black and Arab men for “fetishizing ugly colonizer women,” referring to white women.

MUSLIM MAMDANI-BACKED SOCIALIST PRIMARY WINNER SUGGESTED AMERICA DESERVED 9/11 IN UNEARTHED VIDEO

Valdez’s socialist bona fides, on the other hand, include outwardly calling for the abolishment of ICE, which she described as a “fascist agency” and accused them of “terrorizing” the community and “kidnapping” people.

Lander, meanwhile, left the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) in 2023 over their response to the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas terrorist attack that killed 1,200 Israeli concertgoers.

Still, he has also called for the abolition of ICE, the defunding of the NYPD and has spewed anti-white rhetoric, even intimating that he could be a white supremacist simply because of his skin color.

Longtime Democratic strategist James Carville said Avila Chevalier shouldn’t be able to serve in Congress under the Democratic Party name.

“I don’t think that the congressional Democrats should seat her as a member of the Democratic Party. She actually describes herself as a democratic socialist,” he said in an interview with Fox News’ Kayleigh McEnany on “Saturday in America.”

“I don’t have anything in common with someone that says that they’re against interracial dating or doesn’t want to have any incarceration for convicted felons.” 

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Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., has also spoken out about the socialist takeover in his own party.

“Anti-Israel. Anti-America. Anti-Western Civilization,” he said on X. “Why am I the only Democrat in the U.S. Senate that refuses to excuse this or defend any of those self-identified communists?”

A top DOJ prosecutor responded to concerns raised by a Virginia resident and fellow Trump administration official over alleged slow-walking of background checks after a judge temporarily blocked a sweeping “assault weapons” ban that otherwise was set to take effect Wednesday.

The uproar comes as Richmond becomes the latest Democrat-run capital to pursue restrictions on Second Amendment-related activities. The Supreme Court’s recent rulings against New York’s and the District of Columbia’s gun laws have given conservatives major legal victories in their efforts to challenge similar measures.

Amid Virginia’s legal fight, critics accused state police of intentionally slow-walking background checks to effectively backdoor-enforce the law while it is litigated. Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon responded that her office is “all over this” case and other instances of “gun-grabbing nonsense nationally.”

Joined by Gun Owners of America, a Virginia resident seeking to purchase firearms from a dealer in Kilmarnock, Virginia, sued to block Richmond’s new law imposing criminal penalties for selling or purchasing “assault firearm[s],” which critics said is a sweeping violation of the Second Amendment.

VIRGINIA GUN SALES SPIKE AHEAD OF JULY 1 ASSAULT WEAPONS BAN SIGNED BY GOV. SPANBERGER

The inclusion of the Kilmarnock gun store established legal standing in GOP-friendly Lancaster County in Virginia’s Northern Neck, where Judge John Martin blocked enforcement of the law through Dec. 31.

After the ruling, FTC Commissioner Andrew Ferguson tweeted that he encountered what he called an “en masse” delay in background checks after visiting his local gun store. The checks are handled by the Virginia State Police.

The top cop at VSP, Col. Jeffrey Katz, is both a Spanberger appointee and listed the defendant in the Lancaster case.

“The Virginia State Police is is delaying background checks en masse in one of the most flagrant violations of our rights that I’ve seen. This is outrageous,” Ferguson said.

“Our police are aiding radical leftists to disarm Americans.”

When asked about the allegation, VSP suggested there was no intentional slow-walking and said troopers have seen a spike in applications over the past month.

“The Firearms Transaction Center is seeing a large number of transactions. The [center] has processed over 100,000 transactions in June alone and have been averaging over 5,000 transactions a day,” said Matthew Demlein, an ombudsman for the state police.

“The [center] is working diligently to complete each transaction.”

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Philip Van Cleave — whose Virginia Citizens Defense League is a co-plaintiff in the case — also said he was not convinced VSP was intentionally holding up background checks in light of the Lancaster decision.

“I don’t want to be unfair to the Virginia State Police,” Van Cleave tweeted. “I’m not convinced that the delays are intentional.”

“I just don’t think VSP and their computer system is geared up to handle the immense volume that the gun-control idiots in the general assembly have created.”

Another critic of the ban shared a section of the Code of Virginia that appeared to allow firearm transfers to proceed despite background check delays.

If a dealer fulfills the requirements laid out by VSP but police do not respond within five business days, the dealer may complete the sale or transfer of the firearm without violating the law.

Meanwhile, a spokesperson for Gov. Abigail Spanberger said Virginians overwhelmingly support stringent background checks and that the law keeps the Old Dominion safe.

“Polls have repeatedly shown that more than 80 percent of Virginians support universal background checks — including a majority of gun owners and Virginians from every part of the political spectrum. Governor Spanberger signed this widely supported law to restore commonsense background checks and help law enforcement officers keep our communities safe,” the spokesperson said, pledging that Spanberger will “continue to take commonsense steps to protect law enforcement officers, kids, and families across the Commonwealth from gun violence.”

Fox News Digital reached out to DOJ to determine what actions are being taken or planned, given allegations from Ferguson and others.

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Martin’s ruling stated that the firearm characteristics identified in the ban lack a rational basis because handguns are excluded despite fitting the lawmakers’ stated military-style rationale.

The ban was originally authored in the House by Del. Dan Helmer, D-Fairfax, and in the Senate by Sen. Saddam Salim, D-Dunn Loring.

In comments reported by Courthouse News Service, Van Cleave separately noted that a commission set up by Democratic then-Gov. Tim Kaine following the Virginia Tech massacre found that gun-magazine limits like those focused on in the new law would have “made no difference in the outcome.”

Attorney General Jay Jones, arguing for the state, said in a statement that “gun violence is the key driver of violent crime in this commonwealth and nation, and assault weapons are designed intentionally to inflict maximum damage in a matter of seconds.”

During his 2025 campaign, text messages surfaced showing Jones had envisioned the shooting of the former Republican speaker of the Virginia House.

“The assault weapons ban passed by the General Assembly and signed by the Governor will save lives in the Commonwealth and is compliant with the Constitution of Virginia,” Jones said.

When she signed the law in May, Spanberger lamented that the legislature declined to accept her proposed changes that would have carved out commonly used hunting firearms.

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“I am signing this bill into law because firearms designed to inflict maximum casualties do not belong on our streets. We are taking this step to protect families and support the law enforcement officers who work every day to keep our communities safe,” she said, adding that she would work with Salim and Helmer to clarify the law’s language to assuage hunters.

Fox News Digital reached out to Virginia’s Republican legislative minority for additional comment. The House was expected to go into session late Monday, where the subject could come up.

Supporters attending President Donald Trump’s rally on the National Mall acknowledged feeling the pinch from higher gas prices, but they largely declined to blame Trump — instead pointing to the Iran conflict and lingering frustration with inflation under former President Joe Biden.

“My least favorite president ran gas up to about $5 a gallon for no reason, and that was Mr. Biden,” said Billy of North Carolina.

Fox News Digital spoke with Americans who gathered on the National Mall Wednesday evening for President Donald Trump’s rally kicking off the “Great American State Fair” celebrating the nation’s 250th anniversary, where attendees weighed in on whether they are feeling pain in their pockets as affordability concerns loom over the war with Iran and midterm elections in November.

“Affordability has a lot to do with just interest rates that went up the highest in 48 years under President Biden, so it’s going to take some time to get those prices back down to where we were before that,” said James McNair of Maryland.

GAS SURGE TIED TO IRAN CONFLICT HITS SWING STATES, TESTING TRUMP’S LOW-PRICE PITCH

“I’m not that concerned about the affordability thing. I think that our president is probably the best businessman to ever be president, and things will turn,” added James’ brother, David.

“Being in Gen Z, everything’s very expensive now,” William of New York said in summary.

Many attendees shared that while they recognize gas prices are high, they attribute the recent spike to the escalating conflict with Iran—a development they continue to support.

TRUMP PROMISED LOWER COSTS; THE IRAN CONFLICT NOW THREATENS THAT PLEDGE

“I don’t think the prices in general have gotten any worse than when Biden was in the administration,” said Lisa of Maryland.

Before the war, the national average price of gasoline was $2.98 per gallon. Prices climbed to a peak of $4.56 per gallon in late May before gradually declining to $3.87 per gallon by the end of June.

Lisa and her husband, Matt, both served in the Army and expressed diverging opinions on affordability and Trump’s handling of Iran.

PENTAGON ESTIMATES IRAN WAR COST $11.3B IN THE FIRST SIX DAYS IN CLOSED-DOOR CONGRESSIONAL HEARING: REPORT

“Prices have definitely gone up and they do get my attention,” said Matt of Maryland.

Matt shared that his drill sergeants were warning him of being deployed to Iran back in 1985. “Here we are today in 2026, still dealing with this problem.”

“If we’re worried about gas prices, we’re going to be worrying again and again and again until we get a handle on regimes that just don’t share our values,” said Matt.

BLACKROCK CEO LARRY FINK ARGUES US-IRAN CONFLICT WON’T DERAIL ECONOMY AS GAS PRICES SURGE

Norma Holm of Indiana also said she believed Iran would eventually have to be dealt with and that it was better to address the issue head-on than leave it for the next generation.

“We are taking it for the team with the gas prices and everything else, but things are stabling, and President Trump, don’t underestimate him.”

Washington and Tehran agreed to halt military strikes in the region with delegations scheduled to meet June 30 in Doha, Qatar for talks.

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Other attendees are hoping that a resolution to the Iran conflict will lead to lower prices.

“As the Iran war comes to an end and the peace deal hopefully gels, we’ll see. I think gas prices are already coming down, not tremendously, not where we would like to see, but those things take time,” said James of New York.

The Senate Ethics Committee has dismissed a complaint against Sen. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., that alleged the lawmaker committed sexual misconduct and campaign finance violations. 

The probe was spurred by Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., who earlier this year charged that there were “very disturbing” allegations against a sitting senator in the wake of the scandal-filled downfall of former-Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., a close friend of Gallego’s. 

But after a nearly monthlong investigation into the matter, the committee told Gallego in a letter on Monday that there wasn’t evidence to back up Luna’s claims. 

‘DISTURBING’ ALLEGATIONS AGAINST UNNAMED SENATOR UNDER REVIEW IN WAKE OF SCANDALS ROCKING CONGRESS

“We are writing to inform you that the Select Committee on Ethics (the Committee) dismissed a complaint filed against you by Representative Anna Paulina Luna,” the panel stated. “Specifically, the complaint alleged campaign finance violations and inappropriate conduct of a sexual nature.” 

“In response to your request for an investigation, the Committee referred these allegations to you and requested additional information on April 17 and May 15, 2026,” the letter continued. “Based on the investigation of the Committee, the Committee did not find evidence that your actions violated Federal law, Senate Rules, or related standards of conduct.” 

Gallego said in a statement that the Ethics Committee’s decision “reaffirms what I have said about these accusations from the beginning: they were right-wing conspiracies peddled by far-right activists like Anna Paulina Luna, the White House and their allies.”

SENATOR GALLEGO SAYS LONGTIME FRIENDSHIP WITH SWALWELL ‘CLOUDED MY JUDGMENT’ AS RUMORS SWIRLED IN DC

“I look forward to an apology from Rep. Luna for weaponizing the ethics process while refusing to investigate historic corruption that’s making life harder for families,” Gallego said. “In the meantime, I will continue fighting for Arizonans and holding Trump Republicans accountable for high costs and new wars.” 

But an apology from Luna is unlikely. 

The lawmaker shot back on X that the allegations “are not conspiracy theories. You’re a gross example of representation.”

SWALWELL FRIEND GALLEGO DEFENDS CAMPAIGN-FUNDED SUPER BOWL, MIAMI TRIPS: ‘GO WHERE THE MONEY IS’

“Need I mention you leaving your pregnant wife during your campaign for Senate? There are plenty of people who know about your antics,” Luna said. 

“The good news about D.C. is everyone talks, and eventually the reporters come forward with your texts,” she continued. “Do yourself a favor and keep raising for your legal defense fund. Once a creep, always a creep, and you’re gonna need it.”

Luna’s allegations against Gallego came shortly after Swalwell resigned from the House following a bombshell report from The San Francisco Chronicle that the ex-lawmaker allegedly sexually assaulted a former staffer.

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Gallego moved to quickly put distance between himself and Swalwell and argued that his tight-knit relationship “clouded my judgment,” regarding rumors that swirled about the ex-lawmaker for years in Washington, D.C.

Gallego has recently come under scrutiny for a report from Politico that he spent thousands in campaign cash on luxury travel, Super Bowl tickets and childcare. 

“This is not breaking news,” Gallego told the outlet. “With the rising costs of childcare and the burden it has on the budgets of American families, Democrats and Republicans in Congress and the White House alike regularly travel with their wives and children, as is permitted by the FEC.”

Former President Barack Obama took aim at the Founding Fathers ahead of America’s 250th anniversary, saying they held a “deep flaw” for their ties to slavery despite being “geniuses.” 

“I think sometimes we get confused in thinking that these two stories are separate. They’re intertwined, right? Which is why it’s possible for me to be a great admirer of George Washington, and also acknowledge he was a slaveholder,” said Obama in an interview Sunday with MSNOW.

The 44th president’s appearance comes as most Americans prepare to celebrate the nation’s 250th birthday on Saturday with patriotic events across the country, while Obama is using the milestone to deliver a more cautionary message about the state of American democracy.

OBAMA KNOCKS FOUNDERS AT PRESIDENTIAL CENTER DEBUT BEFORE AMERICA’S 250TH: ‘FELL TERRIBLY SHORT’

“That does not negate [Washington’s] greatness, it simply acknowledges that there’s a profound deep flaw in these Founding Fathers who were also geniuses and gave us these tools,” Obama said.

“It’s that we’re this mixed bag, we’ve got contradictions. And embody the country’s contradictions,” he added.

OBAMA KNOCKS FOUNDERS AT PRESIDENTIAL CENTER DEBUT BEFORE AMERICA’S 250TH: ‘FELL TERRIBLY SHORT’

Obama has been making many media appearances leading up to and following the opening of his presidential center in Chicago earlier this month. The expansive center includes a museum, library branch, community programming and is intended as a legacy project tied to Obama’s political roots on Chicago’s South Side.

OBAMA KNOCKS FOUNDERS AT PRESIDENTIAL CENTER DEBUT BEFORE AMERICA’S 250TH: ‘FELL TERRIBLY SHORT’

During the center’s opening ceremony, which attracted former presidents and Hollywood elites, Obama took a swipe at the founders. 

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“The success of this experiment was never a given,” Obama said in his speech, referring to the nation’s founding.

“In forming our union, the founders fell terribly short of the Declaration’s promise, leaving slavery intact, allowing states to restrict the franchise to white men who owned property. But in drafting a Constitution and a Bill of Rights, they did have the foresight, the genius, to provide us with a framework that allows each generation to make our union more perfect,” he added.

Fox News Digital reached out to Obama’s office for additional comment on Monday. 

During Obama’s early political rise, researchers found that some of his White ancestors had owned slaves in the U.S., a discovery that has resurfaced periodically in political discourse, including in 2019 comments by then-Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.

“While a relative owned slaves, another fought for the Union in the Civil War,” then-Obama spokesman Bill Burton confirmed to the Associated Press in 2007 of the future president’s family history. 

Graham Platner, the populist Democratic Senate nominee in Maine, is in a virtual dead heat in a crucial Senate showdown with longtime Republican Sen. Susan Collins, according to a new poll.

Platner, the embattled candidate who has been facing a slew of controversies, stands at 49% support among likely voters questioned in a New York Times/Portland Press Herald/Siena poll released on Monday, with Collins at 47%, and 3% of respondents undecided or refusing to answer. Platner’s two-point edge is within the survey’s sampling error, meaning the contest is virtually tied.

Collins, a moderate Republican who at times votes against President Donald Trump’s agenda, is running for a sixth six-year term in the Senate.

The high-profile and likely combustible and expensive race is among a handful that will determine if the GOP holds onto its slim Senate majority in November’s midterm elections. Republicans currently control the chamber 53-47 and flipping the Senate seat in left-leaning Maine is a key part of the Democrats’ path to retake the majority.

GAME ON IN KEY SENATE RACE AS PLATNER CAPTURES DEMOCRATIC NOMINATION

Platner, a military combat veteran and oyster farmer who is backed by progressive champions Sens. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, and Rep. Ro Khanna of California, earlier this month easily defeated two longshot rivals in Maine’s Democratic Senate primary.

Platner, who advocates an economically populist agenda as he takes aim at corporate influences and advocates for the working class, also topped two-term Democratic Gov. Janet Mills in the primary. The governor’s name remained on the ballot even though Mills, who had been backed by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and the Senate Democrats’ campaign arm, suspended her bid this spring after significantly trailing Platner in fundraising and polling.

Platner’s victory also came as he was facing one of the roughest stretches of his bid for the U.S. Senate.

He was playing defense the past couple of months amid multiple controversies. They included inflammatory online comments made on Reddit, a well-publicized and now covered-up tattoo on his chest that resembled a Nazi symbol, recent reports that he exchanged sexually explicit messages with several women while married, and allegations from ex-girlfriends of a history of rape fantasies, heavy drinking and violent episodes. Platner has called the allegations of violence untrue.

THE TEN RACES THAT WILL DETERMINE THE SENATE’S MAJORITY

A day before the primary, a former high-level staffer from the Platner campaign wrote in the Washington Post that Platner “is not someone who would be good for Maine or for the country.”

The mounting controversies grabbed plenty of attention and triggered some Democrats in the nation’s capital to question whether Platner was damaged goods, but didn’t stop him from riding a populist wave to capture the nomination. More than 9 in 10 Platner supporters questioned in the poll said they had heard about his controversies but that their vote for him was based on where he stands on the issues.

Platner, who has acknowledged his battle with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) from his three tours of duty in the war in Iraq with the Marines and one tour with the Army National Guard in Afghanistan, apologized for his controversial Reddit posts after some of them made headlines last fall soon after he launched his Senate campaign.

And Platner has said he got the skull and crossbones tattoo in 2007 while drinking with fellow Marines stationed in Croatia. He said that he covered up the tattoo with a new design after learning last year that it resembled a Nazi symbol. But allegations from an ex-girlfriend raise questions about Platner’s timeline regarding knowledge of the tattoo.

In his primary night victory speech, Platner emphasized that he’s a changed man. 

“If you believe, as I do, that we can change our politics and change our country, then you must also believe that people can change,” Platner told the crowd. “And the reason I believe that is because I have lived it. And the reason that I have lived it is because of my wife.”

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The new poll, conducted June 19-26, suggests Platner is having some difficulty winning over some voters who want the Democrats to take back power in Congress.

Fifty-four percent of respondents said they’d like to see the Democrats win back the Senate majority in the midterms, five points higher than the 49% who are supporting Platner. And Collins is capturing 10% of voters who prefer the Democrats control the Senate.

The poll also indicates that a majority of Maine voters don’t believe Platner has “good character” or the “right kind of moral values” and nearly half say he’s too extreme.

By contrast, more than 6 in 10 say Collins has “good character” and the “right kind of moral values” and only a third said she was too extreme for Maine.

Meanwhile, some Democratic respondents worried that the 41-year-old Platner, who has never held elective office, would be “too inexperienced.”

But there are also warning signs for Collins.

A majority questioned said they thought the senator would be too supportive of Trump and even some of her own supporters worry that the 73-year-old Collins is too old to be an effective senator.

The senator voted to convict Trump in his second impeachment trial, in 2021, soon after the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. And early last year she opposed the confirmation of now-Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.

But she is also remembered for her 2018 vote to confirm Justice Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court, which eventually helped the court’s conservative majority overturn the landmark Roe v. Wade ruling that had legalized abortion nationwide.

Beating Collins won’t be easy.

Six years ago, public opinion polls indicated the senator was headed to defeat, but Collins defied expectations and won re-election by topping then-Democratic state House Speaker Sara Gideon by nine points.

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The new survey is the latest to indicate Platner with a slight edge over Collins, although a Pine Tree Poll conducted by the University of New Hampshire late last month suggested Platner held a nine-point lead.

Spotlighting the new poll, the Platner campaign wrote in a social media post that “Susan Collins has the billionaires. The lobbyists. The Super PACs. The Washington establishment. But we have Maine.”

President Donald Trump appeared surprised after the U.S. Supreme Court said it would not hear his appeal of a $5 million verdict that found he sexually abused writer E. Jean Carroll and later defamed her.

The high court declined to take up the case, leaving the $5 million judgment in place. In 2023, a jury found Trump liable for sexually abusing Carroll in 1996 inside a Bergdorf Goodman dressing room, awarding her $5 million. In 2024, another jury awarded Carroll $83.3 million in a separate defamation case over Trump’s denials and attacks after she accused him.

The justices did not provide an explanation for Monday’s decision.

“Surprisingly, the Supreme Court declined to ‘review’ a Fake Case brought against me by a woman I never met (Decades old celebrity photo line, standing with her husband, does not count!),” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “I will continue the fight against this Weaponization and Lawfare Case against me, including the ridiculous claim of Defamation, with all of my power and strength.”

TRUMP REQUESTS E JEAN CARROLL $83M JUDGMENT STAY FOR PENDING SUPREME COURT ACTION ON PRESIDENTIAL IMMUNITY

“This Case is really against the United States of America, and all it stands for,” he added, “and should never be allowed to happen to another President, or Candidate to be!”

Trump’s attorneys argued that the trial judge violated federal evidence rules by admitting the infamous Access Hollywood tape — in which Trump is heard bragging about grabbing women by their genitals — and by allowing the jury to hear from two other women who accused Trump of sexual assault, allegations he denies.

Carroll’s lawyers countered that the women’s testimony was relevant because the allegations were highly similar, and they noted that Judge Lewis Kaplan’s evidentiary decisions aligned with legal precedents across the country.

FEDERAL APPEALS COURT UPHOLDS $83.3M E. JEAN CARROLL JUDGMENT AGAINST TRUMP

“Today’s Supreme Court decision affirms once and for all the jury’s unanimous verdict that President Donald J. Trump sexually assaulted and defamed E. Jean Carroll. His multiple efforts to appeal that verdict have all failed, and today’s ruling ends his quest to avoid accountability for his actions,” said Roberta Kaplan, Carroll’s attorney.

In a separate statement, Trump’s legal team stated: “The American People stand with President Trump as they demand an immediate end to all of the Witch Hunts, including the Democrat-funded travesty of the Carroll Hoaxes. President Trump will keep winning against Liberal Lawfare, as he continues to focus on his mission to Make America Great Again.”

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In his Truth Social post, Trump also accused New York state lawmakers of explicitly targeting him.

“New York State created a Law, for an instant speck of time, going back many decades, in order to wrongfully ‘nab’ me,” he wrote. “It was tailor-made, and this Injustice cannot be allowed to stand!”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

President Donald Trump on Monday nominated acting Labor Secretary Keith Sonderling to serve as U.S. labor secretary, sending his pick to the Senate for confirmation.

If confirmed, Sonderling would formally assume the Cabinet post after leading the Labor Department on an acting basis since former Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer’s departure in April. He would continue overseeing the department’s efforts to enforce federal labor laws, administer workforce programs and implement the administration’s employment agenda.

“It is my Great Honor to announce that I am nominating Keith E. Sonderling, the outstanding Acting United States Secretary of Labor, to be permanent,” Trump announced on Truth Social. “Keith previously served as Deputy Secretary and Chief Operating Officer and, during my First Term, worked at the U.S. Department of Labor as the Acting and Deputy Administrator of the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division.

“Throughout his career, Keith has proven his dedication to delivering strong results for the Hardworking People of our Country, and I know he will do an incredible job in his new role,” Trump added.

ACTING LABOR SECRETARY SONDERLING: A FAST-TRACK WAY TO GET A JOB WITHOUT COLLEGE DEBT

Chavez-DeRemer left the Labor Department in April, when the White House announced Sonderling would serve as acting labor secretary.

ACTING LABOR SECRETARY SONDERLING: A FAST-TRACK WAY TO GET A JOB WITHOUT COLLEGE DEBT

Chavez-DeRemer’s departure came after a whistleblower complaint accused her of having an affair with a member of her security detail, drinking on the job, creating a hostile work environment and directing staff to perform personal errands at taxpayer expense.

The Labor Department’s inspector general is investigating the allegations, which also include claims that Chavez-DeRemer’s husband made unwanted advances toward department officials and that family members routinely sent personal requests to young staffers, according to previous Fox News Digital reporting.

ACTING LABOR SECRETARY SONDERLING: A FAST-TRACK WAY TO GET A JOB WITHOUT COLLEGE DEBT

Reporting on the complaints indicates Chavez-DeRemer requested staff perform private errands for her and her husband, including picking up dry cleaning, purchasing wine and cleaning out the secretary’s closet, while allegedly using threats to ensure compliance.

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Meanwhile, other complaints alleged drinking on the job and keeping stashes of liquor around the office, according to the New York Post, which first reported the complaints in January. Chavez-DeRemer has denied the allegations. 

Fox News Digital’s Louis Casiano contributed to this report.

Justice Samuel Alito cautioned on Monday that the Supreme Court’s decision to allow ballots received after Election Day to be counted could lead large sections of the public to view elections as illegitimate.

While Alito had legal concerns with the majority’s ruling, arguing that they misinterpreted when the “electorate’s choice” occurs, he closed his dissent by issuing a practical warning. Allowing late-arriving ballots to determine the outcomes of elections long after Election Day will, according to Alito, severely damage the trust Americans place in their electoral system.

“Not only is today’s decision inconsistent with statutory text, legal context, historical practice, and precedent; it also threatens to produce lamentable consequences,” he wrote. “The majority’s holding spawns a slurry of troubling election-law questions and risks further undermining Americans’ confidence in election integrity.”

SUPREME COURT RULES ON MAIL-IN BALLOTS RECEIVED AFTER ELECTION DAY

Alito went on to describe a hypothetical scenario where the outcome of a presidential election hinges on a single state that allows late-arriving mail ballots to be counted. In the scenario described by the justice, one candidate leads by 15,000 votes on election night only for the opposing candidate to slowly gain votes and, a few days before electors are scheduled to vote, pull ahead by just under 100 votes.

“If the apparent winner the morning after the election ends up losing due to late arriving ballots, charges of a rigged election could explode,” Justice Brett Kavanaugh also noted during the case’s oral arguments.

Alito didn’t simply claim that the ruling could affect how people view elections; he argued that it could open the door for fraud.

SUPREME COURT RULES ON MAIL-IN BALLOTS RECEIVED AFTER ELECTION DAY

“Today’s decision leaves open opportunities for voter fraud that may further undermine Americans’ faith in the integrity of this country’s elections. Diverse sources have recognized that mail-in ballots increase the potential for fraud,” Alito continued. “In 2005, a committee chaired by former President Jimmy Carter and former Secretary of State James Baker found that absentee voting was ‘the largest source of potential voter fraud’ in American elections.”

While instances of voter fraud carried out using mail-in ballots have been recorded, there is no evidence that widespread fraud occurred in the 2020 or 2024 presidential elections. 

Democrats, meanwhile, argue that allowing states to process ballots that are postmarked by Election Day but arrive afterward, is essential to ensuring that all eligible voters have a say in who governs them.

SUPREME COURT RULES ON MAIL-IN BALLOTS RECEIVED AFTER ELECTION DAY

“I’m relieved the Supreme Court is not interfering with Washington’s mail-in ballot system,” Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, D-Wash., wrote on X. “If you work a shift job, have young kids, or live out in the woods, you can’t just knock off for the day to go stand in line at a polling place. For decades, Washington’s secure vote by mail system has made it easy for these folks to participate in democracy and make their voice heard.”

The majority, however, did not address whether allowing late ballots to be counted was good policy, stating that such a consideration is outside the scope of what the court has authority to rule on.

“Finally, plaintiffs assert that requiring ballots to be received by Election Day protects election integrity and increases voter confidence in election results,” Justice Amy Coney Barrett wrote. “As we have said time and again, however, policy arguments are properly directed to legislatures, not courts.”

It’s a Democratic identity crisis.

Democratic Socialists of America are on the charge, running hot off their wins in the New York Democratic primaries last week. Their victories in multiple Congressional seats – felling both Reps. Adriano Espaillat, D-N.Y., and Dan Goldman, D-N.Y. – signals that the party is ready to move on from the same old, same old.

Espaillat chaired the Congressional Hispanic Caucus. Goldman was a key House staffer during the first impeachment of President Donald Trump.

“Even Dan Goldman’s not good enough for them,” said House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, on Fox. “That is how radical it’s become.”

MAMDANI-BACKED SOCIALISTS LOOK TO TAKE NEW YORK PLAYBOOK NATIONWIDE AFTER PRIMARY VICTORIES

Some moderate Democrats are trying to distance themselves from the left.

“That’s not the same brand of politics that we have. We’re not those type of Democrats,” said Rep. Tom Suozzi, D-N.Y., who represents a battleground district.

“There’s a new group of Democratic Socialists who are socialists who are not commonsense Democrats. Who are not interested in getting things done. They’re interested in throwing bombs. Not actually solving problems,” said Rep. Josh Gottheimer, D-N.J.

LURCHING LEFT: MAMDANI-BACKED CANDIDATES OUST ESTABLISHMENT DEMOCRATS

Some Democrats are worried how far left candidates command more attention than those in the middle. Rep. Kristen McDonald Rivet, D-Mich., worries that the outsized attention garnered by the left sends the wrong impression to voters.

“What they don’t want is divisiveness. They don’t want screaming and yelling,” said McDonald Rivet.

Mainstream Democrats feel trapped in the middle as the left – specifically the New York City left – wields an outsized media and political megaphone.

“Those candidates would not have won in Virginia where I live,” said Rep. Suhas Subramanyam, D-Va.

Republicans believe they are primed to nationalize the midterms. Republicans can do that by highlighting the extreme views of Democratic Socialists who captured primary victories in New York City. The GOP wants to portray their opponents as veering left.

“These are board-certified communists, right?” asked Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan. “They want no police. They want no private property.”

President Trump capitalized on the Democratic outcomes in his home city.

“The Democrat party is in big trouble because this isn’t stopping with New York,” he forecast.

VICTORIES BY MAMDANI-BACKED CONGRESSIONAL CANDIDATES SPOTLIGHTS GROWING RIFT IN DEMOCRATIC PARTY

This shakeup has progressive leaders demanding transformation at the top.

“You’re going to see, I think, people voting for new leadership and to change their representation,” said Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y.

The Democratic Party tapped Sen. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., to deliver their official response to President Trump’s 2025 State of the Union speech. Slotkin is a moderate who won in a battleground race in 2024 – even as the President prevailed in the Wolverine State. But during an appearance on SiriusXM, Slotkin insists on a Democratic Party management switch.

“If people can’t understand that the game has fundamentally changed and they can’t adapt, then they need to let others,” said Slotkin. “The old models do not work for people.”

Republicans believe House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., is vulnerable after the DSA elected their candidates over his preferred picks in New York City.

“I think Hakeem Jeffries’ friends and neighbors gave him a big middle finger,” said House Oversight Chairman James Comer, R-Ky. “If you lose three elections in your hometown, that’s a pretty big slap in the face.”

He added that Democrats “are going further and further to the left to the point where they are full-blown, card-carrying socialists.”

And then there is the anti-Israel, anti-Jewish, and in some cases, antisemitic take by some of these candidates. Rep. Greg Landsman, D-Ohio, is a moderate Democrat from a swing district. He’s Jewish and one of the most pro-Israel Democrats in the House.

“There are some on the left who use Israel the way that some on the right use immigrants or trans kids as a way to divide. And I think it’s terrible. It’s also just not what voters want us talking about,” said Landsman.

HOUSE DEMOCRAT LASHES OUT WHEN GRILLED ON WHETHER SOCIALIST VICTORIES WOULD THREATEN DEM UNITY

Yours truly tangled with Rep. John Larson, D-Conn. – who once chaired the House Democratic Caucus. I pressed him about what the party would do about some candidates “who are too far to the left.”

“What does that mean? That’s your statement. Did the people of New York vote?” queried Larson.

I assured him that they did.

“Is that democracy?” asked Larson.

“But if some of them are antisemitic,” I countered.

“Is that a democracy?” continued Larson.

“Will you stand by people if they have antisemitic views?” I followed up.

Larson finally addressed my inquiry. His answer crystallized the schism the Democratic Party now faces.

“I’m against antisemitism, if that’s your question,” Larson declared.

The fact that Democrats are now facing this debate robs them of valuable time on economic issues.

Landsman argued that voters would prefer candidates to stick to groceries and the price of gas.

Gottheimer echoed Landsman on kitchen table subjects.

“We should be focused on ways to actually solve problems like that. Not coming in here and using tea party tactics and trying to divide up the country and pray to socialist ideals,” said Gottheimer.

So what is the party to do?

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“They’re our nominees. We’re going to support them. We’re going to welcome them. They’re going to be part of our caucus and we’re going to unite behind Leader Jeffries,” said Rep. Robert Garcia, D-Calif., the top Democrat on the Oversight panel.

But that doesn’t address the fissures. It doesn’t address how voters may perceive the party. And it doesn’t establish if these new Democratic nominees will work on behalf of the party to raise money and advocate for Democrats across the board. Or, will they become professional bomb throwers – ala what the right has endured for a while.

“It’s going to be a lot harder to get things done when you get more and more extreme candidates who are here because they’re interested in political celebrity. They are interested in fighting. They’re interested in making points,” asserted Rep. Dusty Johnson, R-S.D.

Republicans suffered through an absolutely abysmal week. House GOP leaders had to yank multiple bills off the floor and send lawmakers home early because of internal disputes. President Trump and Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., got into a shouting match about Iran. And the president even threatened to veto a bipartisan housing bill. President Trump then refused to sign the bill at the Capitol, despite his aides touting the bill and House Republicans tricking out Statuary Hall for a signing ceremony.

The President characterized the housing bill as “a yawn.”

But the Democrats’ internal fractures may have superseded any internecine fighting among Republicans.

“While it’s not been a great week for Republicans, I think it’s been a much worse week for Democrats because of these primary elections,” observed Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart, R-Fla.

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Democrats will certainly run on economic issues and capitalize on statements by the President about basic issues like housing. But will a genuine policy debate outweigh fears about progressives nationwide?

Emotion and feelings rule in politics. And it could be a problem for Democrats if Republicans appropriate what happened in New York and Xerox it onto battleground districts across the country.

President Donald Trump on Monday blasted a Supreme Court opinion upholding a Mississippi law that allows mail-in ballots received up to five days after Election Day to be counted.

The ruling in Watson v. RNC pitted Trump against some of the justices he appointed and dealt a blow to his push for stricter election rules by upholding Mississippi’s practice of counting late-arriving mail-in ballots. The decision also prompted a rebuke from one of the Republican senators Trump singled out in a scathing response, after the senator noted he already supports legislation requiring ballots to be received by Election Day.

Justice Amy Coney Barrett, a Trump nominee, rebuked Republicans’ arguments in the case, writing that as long as Election Day is the statutorily required date on which a vote is submitted and that “election-day statutes do not set a deadline for ballot receipt.”

Trump fired back hours later on Truth Social, calling the case a “tremendous loss” for voters’ rights and saying the ruling means Congress must moot it immediately by passing the SAVE America Act.

SUPREME COURT RULES ON MAIL-IN BALLOTS RECEIVED AFTER ELECTION DAY

The bill, led by Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, in the House and Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., in the Senate, would require nationwide voter ID and essentially ban no-excuse mail-in balloting.

“It is more important than ever to pass the SAVE America Act,” he said.

TRUMP’S SAVE AMERICA ACT SHOWS SIGNS OF LIFE IN THE SENATE DESPITE REPUBLICAN REVOLT

“There is no excuse for a politician, or otherwise, to be against the above three requirements,” he said, citing voter-ID, proof-of-citizenship, and only distributing mail-in ballots to military members, the sick and disabled and those voters traveling away from their home precinct on Election Day.

“There is only one reason to oppose — cheating,” he said, adding that the House approved the SAVE Act in three different iterations.

“In a time when there is a powerful Communist movement taking place in our country, one more dangerous than World War I, World War II, Pearl Harbor, or Sept. 11, all Dumocrats (sic) and our five Republican Senate Hold Outs, Lisa Murkowski, Susan Collins, Thom Tillis, Bill Cassidy, and Mitch McConnell must vote to save our country.”

WATCH: HAWLEY FUMES AFTER 4 GOP SENATORS HELP SINK TRUMP-BACKED VOTER ID LAW

Fox News Digital reached out to Senate leaders John Thune, R-S.D., and Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., as well as each of the senators Trump mentioned.

Cassidy incredulously replied that the president may need to fact-check his missive, as the Louisiana Republican is a co-sponsor of the SAVE Act.

“I don’t know which staffer misled you, but thank you for your attention to this matter,” Cassidy said, mimicking Trump’s signature statement-closer.

Trump and Cassidy have sparred in other respects, but the two appear in agreement on the bill’s contents. However, Cassidy added that it is “irresponsible” to postpone a now-paused Housing bill signing until the SAVE Act is passed because people deserve “relief… for the high cost of housing.”

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Thune’s office declined further comment, while McConnell’s acknowledged receipt and said the former majority leader would share any comment if he has one in the interim.

While Trump grouped all Democrats in opposition, one maverick member of the minority has signaled he would support a pared-down version that would require voter ID.

“If the GOP wants real reform over a show vote––put out a clean, standalone bill and I’m AYE,” Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman said in a recent statement.

“Keep it basic: PHOTO ID to vote. Stop turning this into a Christmas list and attacking vote-by-mail.”

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If the Senate were to approve the House-passed version of the SAVE Act, it could upend or at least moot parts of the Supreme Court’s Watson decision.

Calls for the SAVE America Act’s passage mounted in the weeks before the decision as critics pointed to California’s ballot tabulation process after actor Spencer Pratt was overtaken by socialist Councilwoman Nithya Raman, D-Los Feliz, and eliminated from the runoff. Critics also cited the slow pace at which Democrat Xavier Becerra and Republican Steve Hilton were declared general election candidates for governor after a crowded primary.