NationalWatch

EXCLUSIVE: New House Freedom Caucus Chairman Andy Harris, R-Md., wants to focus on two key issues for the remainder of this year – government funding and next year’s House GOP Conference rules. 

“I’ve been on the Freedom Caucus, really, since, since the beginning,” Harris told Fox News Digital on Tuesday night, in his first interview since being elected chair of the ultra-conservative group.

“I’ve watched, you know, all our chairs do a great job pushing the conservative agenda with Congress, and with the American people. And right now our big fight is going to be on controlling spending. It’s going to be on what the rules look like for the next Congress.”

Harris promised, “I’m going to roll up my sleeves and battle those two issues.”

CLUB FOR GROWTH POURS $5M INTO TIGHT HOUSE RACES AS GOP BRACES FOR TOUGH ELECTION

Rep. Andy Harris has been selected the next House Freedom Caucus chair (Getty Images)

The Maryland Republican, who was first elected in 2010, was chosen to lead the Freedom Caucus for the remainder of the year after Rep. Bob Good, R-Va., vacated the role following his June primary loss to another Republican.

Harris has not been known to be particularly chatty with reporters on Capitol Hill, making him an understandable successor for a group that keeps even its membership list undisclosed.

The Freedom Caucus has also long been seen as a thorn in the side of House GOP leaders, pushing them to go further in pushing conservative policies through Congress.

JOHNSON UNVEILS TRUMP-BACKED HOUSE GOP PLAN TO AVOID GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN, SETS UP BATTLE WITH SCHUMER

Harris, however, praised Speaker Mike Johnson’s leadership on government funding ahead of a Wednesday vote on a Freedom Caucus-backed plan to avoid a government shutdown.

The plan is a six-month extension of this year’s federal funds known as a continuing resolution (CR), to give lawmakers more time to hash out fiscal year 2025’s priorities, paired with a measure requiring proof of citizenship in the voter registration process.

Rep. Bob Good recently stepped aside from the chairmanship (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

“The leadership he’s shown on this issue is excellent,” Harris said. “I think if we had had this discussion one month ago and someone suggested that Speaker Johnson was going to bring a six-month CR to the floor, and, oh, by the way, we add the [Safeguarding American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act] into it – most people wouldn’t believe it.”

But the Democrat-controlled Senate and White House have called the legislation a nonstarter.

Harris would not say how conservatives could force Johnson to stick by the plan, even as several Republicans have publicly opposed the measure over concerns the speaker would not fight for the SAVE Act if it was rejected by the Senate. 

“If it fails, we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it,” he said.

Harris did, however, urge those GOP critics to take a “second look” at the bill ahead of Wednesday’s vote.

MCCARTHY’S ‘FINAL STRUGGLES’ THREATEN TO HAUNT JOHNSON’S GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN FIGHT

“I hope they take a second look before tomorrow and realize that the important signal would send to the American people,” Harris said. “I’d love to hear the argument Chuck Schumer is going to make to say, ‘Yeah, you know, we’re going to reject that because we want illegal aliens to vote.’”

The Maryland Republican similarly would not go into detail about what changes he would want to see to the House GOP Conference rules – though the issue is expected to take center stage in the end-of-year leadership elections.

Harris praised Speaker Mike Johnson’s leadership in the government funding fight (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

Ex-Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., agreed to changing certain conference rules to win over his critics after House Republicans won the majority in the 2022 midterm elections.

That notably included lowering the threshold for triggering a vote on the speaker’s ouster – called the motion to vacate the chair – from a simple majority to just one vote.

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“I hope that in its wisdom, that the Republican majority next year – because I believe there will be a Republican majority – not only adopts and endorses all those changes we made this term, but maybe make some further changes. Those will be discussed more obviously in the next two months.”

When pressed for details, Harris noted there were other members of the group besides himself.

“That’s going to be up to what the Freedom Caucus says,” Harris said. “I’m the chairman, but I’m not all the members.”

After the Army deployed 130 airborne soldiers to a far-flung Aleutian Islands base amid joint Russian-Chinese military tests offshore, Alaskan leaders warned the only response should be American strength.

The Army sent the soldiers to Eareckson Air Station on Shemya Island, less than 300 miles from Kamchatka, Russia. The deployment occurred amid the “Ocean 2024” joint military exercises between two of the U.S.’s largest geographic foes.

Russian state media said more than 15 warships in the region practiced missile launches, among other activities. The news follows a July incident in which U.S. F-16s and Canadian CF-18s were dispatched to intercept two Russian and two Chinese bombers off Alaska.

Maj. Gen. Joseph Hilbert, commander of the 11th Airborne based out of Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson (JBER) in Anchorage, said in a statement reported by the Alaska Beacon that the U.S. response ensured Army capabilities.

“[It] is critical to our nation’s defense and the preservation of a free and open Indo-Pacific,” Hilbert said. “Our ability to deploy combat-credible forces quickly and effectively to any location, no matter how remote, is critical to supporting the nation and our strong relationships with allies and partner nations.”

IN THE ONLY STATE BORDERING RUSSIA, ALASKA GOVERNOR SAYS ITS DEFENSES ARE ‘STRONG’

Meanwhile, Alaska Republican Gov. Mike Dunleavy said Russia and his state are less than two miles apart at their closest point, between Big and Little Diomede Islands in the Bering Sea. The latter has a small Inupiaq village whose residents can see across to Russia.

“We live in a dangerous neighborhood,” Dunleavy said in a Tuesday interview.

“Unlike just about every other state, we have flyovers close to our territorial zones. … We have the Russians and Chinese going through the Bering Strait.”

Of the Ocean 24 drills that caused the U.S. response: “I think the Russians are sending a message. What that is, I’m not sure, but certainly our folks in D.C. are receiving it and beefing up some of our personnel out there in the western Aleutians.”

However, Dunleavy said Alaska is prepared to defend its territory and the U.S., if need be.

There are several high-end military bases across the vast state, from JBER to Clear Space Force Station in Fairbanks, to Fort Greely in Delta Junction, to the Near Islands station now receiving reinforcements.

“We have incredible rapid deployment forces. … So, if the question is: Are we concerned about Russia that they may do harm to Alaska? No. We [also] have a missile defense shield in place that guard against any North Korean missile launches.”

FLASHBACK: ALASKAN F-35s PREPARE FOR MAJOR SUB-ZERO ARCTIC WARFARE

Chinese President Xi Jinping, right, and Russian President Vladimir Putin (Sergei Bobylev/Sputnik/Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)

When asked about former President Trump’s claim that such aggressive behavior from U.S. rivals wouldn’t happen under his watch, Dunleavy said, “It’s true.”

“We view the world as Americans. … And that’s not how the world views itself at times. It’s a dangerous world. And I do think that once they perceive weakness, especially those folks in the Middle East and then the Chinese and the Russians, they take advantage of it.”

In televised remarks, Russian President Vladimir Putin called the Ocean 24 exercises the largest in three decades, per Reuters. 

“We pay special attention to strengthening military cooperation with friendly states,” Putin said. “Today, in the context of growing geopolitical tensions in the world, this is especially important.”

“[America is] trying to maintain its global military and political dominance at any cost,” Putin added, saying the U.S. seeks to “inflict a strategic defeat” in Ukraine and upend the “established security architecture” in the Asia-Pacific.

Such national security threats, however, are falling on too many deaf ears in Washington, according to Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, a Marine Corps Forces Reserves colonel with 30 years of active-duty service and deployments.

“The Chinese and Russians in both the North Pacific and Arctic are escalating in ways we haven’t seen in decades,” Sullivan said. “Actually, in ways we’ve never seen because they’ve never really operated jointly like this.”

Alaska has seen its “fair share” of Russian “Bear” bombers menacing the state over the years, Sullivan said in a Tuesday interview. “[But] last summer, we had a 12-ship joint Russian-Chinese naval task force – that’s unprecedented – off [our] coast.”

“The way the Russians and Chinese respond is they only really react to force. And what we need to do is continue to provide our military assets to meet them in our [territory]. This is America, and it might be far away for most Americans, but it’s certainly America for me and my constituents.”

He noted the 11th Airborne’s new presence on the Aleutian chain, adding that another task force would be arriving from Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Olympia, Washington.

Sullivan said that he has routinely hosted top military brass in Alaska and authored an NDAA provision to further examine the major Aleutian island of Adak, where the U.S. used to operate a submarine and airbase.

Sullivan said Russian interests have reportedly approached Alaskan Native corporations who own land on Adak, which is not far from the well-known crabbing capital of Dutch Harbor.

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Anchorage, Alaska (Zihao Chen via Getty Images)

He blamed Democrats at present for holding up any substantive political response.

“In the Senate, [Majority Leader] Chuck Schumer … doesn’t give a damn about national security,” he said.

“We have had the NDAA sitting around for three months. We’re voting on district court judges, and there are even Democrat senators telling Schumer to bring the National Defense Authorization Act to the floor. He won’t do it right now.”

Sullivan said Democrats have a custom of slashing defense spending – or at least attempting to – throughout the terms of Presidents Carter, Clinton, Obama and Biden.

Meanwhile, he said the Republican administrations of Presidents Reagan, Eisenhower, both Bushes and Trump all did the opposite.

“That’s just the wrong signal to be sending adversaries like [Chinese President] Xi Jinping, adversaries like the ayatollahs [in Iran]. Weakness is provocative, and we’re seeing a huge example of that,” Sullivan said. 

In the past week, Sullivan said there have been four foreign incursions of the ADIZ (air defense identification zone) in Alaska, three by air and one by sea. 

While not a formal invasion, unannounced incursions into the ADIZ – a hypothetical ring outside the nation’s true border wherein the U.S. tries to identify the craft coming toward it – is alarming.

Sullivan said multiple refuelings are required for U.S. military craft to reach the western Aleutians, which are more than 1,000 miles from Anchorage. The Russians, meanwhile, only need to travel about the distance from Philadelphia to Washington, D.C., to threaten U.S. soil.

“Our military does a fantastic job, but we need more assets. We need more infrastructure to protect not just Alaska. But if [the U.S.] is going to be attacked in any way by cruise missiles, ballistic missiles, we are the avenue of approach for the rest of the country.”

“Defending Alaska airspace and Alaska water protects all of America.”

Fox News Digital reached out to Schumer for comment.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

FIRST ON FOX: One of the most vulnerable Democratic incumbents in the U.S. Senate, who has a history of railing against the influence of lobbying in Washington, ranks as one of the most active senators when it comes to lobbyists entering and exiting his office.

Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown ranks in the top-15 all time on Legistorm’s revolving door rankings that tracks congressional staffers who enter offices as lobbyists or leave offices to become lobbyists.

According to Legistorm, 64 individuals have lobbied before or after working for Brown’s office, which ranks him tied for #15 all time. 

Brown ranks #7 when it comes to senators who are actively serving in Congress.

OHIO SENATE CANDIDATE RIPS ‘DEPRAVED’ POLITICIANS FOR SPRINGFIELD MIGRANT CRISIS: CITIZENS ‘PAY THE PRICE’

Sen. Sherrod Brown, a Democrat from Ohio and chairman of the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee, during a hearing in Washington, D.C., on June 22, 2023. (Nathan Howard/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Staffers who previously worked for Brown are now lobbying for companies that include TikTok, Planned Parenthood, Exxon Mobil and Kroger.

Brown, chairman of the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee, has hired at least 3 former lobbyists to serve as his chief of staff, Fox News Digital previously reported, including James Heimbach, who was once referred to as “hot commodity” in the lobbying world. After leaving Brown’s office, Heimbach continued lobbying including time with Bank of America, one of the country’s largest financial institutions.

Heimbach also lobbied for the Cigna Corporation, a company sued by Ohio for allegedly driving up the costs of prescription drugs by charging high fees for pharmacy benefit management services.

FLASHBACK: VULNERABLE DEM SENATOR ACCUSED VOTERS SUPPORTING TRUMP OF ‘RACISM’: ‘IT WORKS FOR THEM’

US Senator Sherrod Brown, a Democrat from Ohio, during a rail safety event in Columbus, Ohio, US, on Wednesday, April 12, 2023.  (Maddie McGarvey/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Brown has a long history of lamenting the influence of lobbyists in politics as he frames himself as a populist Democrat in Ohio, a state Trump won by 8 points in 2020.

“Something’s wrong with corporate America, and something’s wrong with Congress and administrations listening too much to corporate lobbyists,” he told the Rolling Stone last year.

Brown has also claimed he “took on corporate lobbyists” to get the Inflation Reduction Act passed and often talks about how he has “fought” lobbyists throughout his career.

“Sherrod has always stood up to special interests to level the playing field for Ohioans,” Brown’s website states. “Whether it’s Big Pharma, Big Oil, or Big Banks, Sherrod is fighting back against the Wall Street, profit-at-all-costs business model to make sure hard work pays off for all Ohioans.”

A spokesperson for the Brown campaign defended the senator’s record and claimed his Republican opponent “only looks out for himself and his special interest allies.”

“Ohioans know that Sherrod always fights for them and will stand up to anyone who gets in the way, which is why special interests are spending record amounts to defeat him,” the spokesperson said. “While Bernie Moreno only looks out for himself and his special interest allies, Sherrod is fighting for stronger ethics and transparency rules for lobbyists, supports bipartisan legislation to crack down on foreign actors, and is fighting to lower costs for Ohioans by holding corporations accountable.” 

L – Bernie Moreno R – Sen Sherrod Brown (Getty Images)

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The campaign pointed to Brown’s support of the Lobbying Disclosure Improvement Act last year, which was bipartisan legislation aimed at cracking down on foreign actors lobbying and increasing disclosure requirements for foreign lobbyists. The Ohio senator also co-sponsored the Honest Leadership and Government Act, which overhauled congressional lobbying and ethics rules for Senators and their staff.

Reagan McCarthy, a spokesperson for Brown’s GOP opponent Bernie Moreno, told Fox News Digital in a statement that, “Sherrod Brown parades around as an average Ohioan, but he is nothing more than a career politician who rewards the Washington swamp.”

“In November, Ohioans will finally retire Sherrod after 50 years in politics and send an outsider to DC who will actually work for Ohio.”

The race between Moreno and Brown is expected to be a close one as Republicans view it as one of their strongest opportunities to take back control of the Senate in November. The Cook Political report ranks the race as a “toss up.”

It is a bizarre campaign filled with bullets and blame-shifting.

It’s also a campaign packed with gossip and unproven accusations, exaggerations and falsehoods. 

Just ask your dog or cat.

TRUMP BLAMES KAMALA RHETORIC FOR 2ND ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT AS DEMOCRATS BLAME HIM FOR HAITIANS IN OHIO

To have two attempted assassinations against a presidential nominee within six weeks is absolutely chilling. There should be no debate whatsoever. Joe Biden, having made a friendly call to Donald Trump – who said he “couldn’t have been nicer” – should order the Secret Service to protect Trump as if he were president now. 

That means the agency would have shut down his West Palm Beach golf course while he played. This should happen immediately. Golf courses are inherently hard to protect because they are large, flat surfaces with almost no place to take cover. A Washington Post editorial agrees with me. Forget the bureaucratic nuances, this is nuts. Had a sharp-eyed agent not spotted the barrel of a gun sticking through a chain-link fence, the shooter, who has a long criminal record, might well have succeeded. 

Trump may have nine lives, but we don’t want him losing any more.

Former President Trump is pictured in front of the Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida. (Getty Images)

Unlike his call to tone things down after the near-miss in Butler – which didn’t last long – Trump went on the offensive, telling Fox Digital that the Florida gunman “believed the rhetoric of Biden and Harris, and he acted on it. Their rhetoric is causing me to be shot at.”

It’s true that the Democrats have constantly described Trump as a danger to democracy, a would-be dictator who tried to steal an election and would never allow another one. The hostile media have played a prominent role here, routinely likening Trump to Hitler or Mussolini.

Trump, for his part, has called his opponents a danger to democracy as well, saying they have weaponized law enforcement against him for partisan reasons. 

KAMALA STAYS ON OFFENSE, TRUMP WENT TO PERSONAL ATTACKS, ABC MUCH TOUGHER ON FORMER PRESIDENT

And Democrats have tried to flip the script, trotting out a long list of inflammatory comments by Trump since he started running in 2015.

In my view, the media have moved on too quickly from the second assassination attempt. But why waste time on a senseless search for “motive,” except for political talking points? Anyone who tries to kill a presidential candidate for the notoriety is by definition a crazy person.

JD Vance says that since nobody has tried to kill Harris and Trump has survived two attempts, “I’d say that’s pretty strong evidence that the left needs to tone down the rhetoric, and needs to cut this crap out.”

Former President Trump is seen with blood on his face as Secret Service agents rush him off the stage in Butler, Pennsylvania, July 13, 2024. (Rebecca Droke/AFP via Getty Images)

Vance has been vindicated in another way. I don’t know why Trump brought up the thoroughly debunked tale about “they’re eating the dogs, they’re eating the cats” after an influx of 15,000 legal Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio. Even Republican Gov. Mike DeWine calls that a false “piece of garbage.”

Trump’s running mate has also spread the story, and was accused of prompting the bomb threats that have shut schools and other facilities there for days – something for which no public figure should be blamed.

Now we learn that all those calls came from another country in an effort to boost friction in the Ohio town.

DEBATE CHALLENGE: THE PRESSURE’S ON KAMALA AS SHE AND TRUMP TRADE FLIP-FLOP CHARGES

Meanwhile, I had no intention of bringing up unsubstantiated online rumors against Laura Loomer, the far-right conspiracist who thinks 9/11 was an inside job, because I don’t think a self-described Islamophobe should get more oxygen.

But now she’s hit back on her Rumble podcast:  

“The media now is accusing me of, you know, having an affair with Donald Trump. Such a salacious lie, so malicious, so disrespectful to Donald Trump and Melania Trump! They’ve taken it so far!

Far-right activist Laura Loomer speaks to the media prior to the beginning of former President Trump’s Trial at Manhattan Criminal Court on April 15, 2024, in New York City. (David Dee Delgado/Getty Images)

“And, you know, if I was a leftist journalist, if I was a Democrat, my God, the media would be up in arms if the Republican media was doing this to a, you know, a left-wing journalist–

“My God, they’re misogynist. They’re bullying a woman. They’re trying to, they’re trying to Monica Lewinsky her!”

And then she smeared Kamala Harris, saying she had performed oral sex on Willie Brown to get to the top. This was before Brown was San Francisco mayor and the two openly dated for a couple of years in the 1990s, a decade after he had separated from his wife.  

So much of our politics now turns on charges and countercharges of misinformation and disinformation. So I find the latest blast from Hillary Clinton almost inexplicable.

Yes, she’s promoting her fourth memoir, and in her first interview, with Rachel Maddow, the former first lady, senator, secretary of state and presidential nominee attacked free speech.

She called for criminal charges and civil penalties against Americans “engaged” in spreading “propaganda.”

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What? Who decides where to draw the line between aggressive advocacy and propaganda? Do we want one administration’s Justice Department to make these calls against politicians, activists and journalists aligned with the other party?

It will never pass, but even as a bit of messaging, what an assault on the First Amendment right to free speech.

The Biden administration is moving to reinstate a Trump-era rule that lifted endangered species protections on gray wolves in the U.S.

Wolves were delisted from the Endangered Species Act (ESA) under President Trump in 2020, returning management of gray wolf populations to state and tribal wildlife professionals, according to a press release from the Department of Interior.

However, a federal judge reversed Trump’s decision in 2022 after environmental groups sued the Department of the Interior over the delisting, reinstating protection for the species.

Gray wolves are currently protected under the ESA as “threatened” in Minnesota and “endangered” in the remaining states, except for those in the Northern Rocky Mountain region, according to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services. However, a new filing by the Biden administration suggests that the Trump-era ruling should be reinstated.

WOLVES REINTRODUCED IN COLORADO BLAMED FOR REPEATED ATTACKS ON LIVESTOCK

Stebbins, a gray wolf in the exhibit pack at the Minnesota Zoo, walks through their snow-filled enclosure on March 15, 2022 in Apple Valley, Minnesota. (Anthony Souffle/Getty Images)

Attorneys with the Justice Department filed a motion with the 9th U.S. District Court of Appeals on Friday to reverse the court’s decision on the Trump-era delisting and lift ESA protections on gray wolves.

WASHINGTON OFFICIALS WILL VOTE TO REMOVE GRAY WOLF FROM ENDANGERED SPECIES LIST

The filing with the U.S. Court of Appeals in San Francisco claimed that the court was wrong in overturning the Trump-era ruling on the species. 

“The district court misunderstood the ESA’s clear mandate and compounded that error by imposing its own views of the science,” court documents read. “Its decision invalidating the rule should be reversed.”

The Biden administration is moving to reinstate a Trump-era rule that lifted endangered species protections on gray wolves in the U.S. (Yuri Gripas/Abaca/Bloomberg )

The Biden administration claimed in its 87-page filing that gray wolves no longer meet ESA standards of protection in that they are no longer considered “endangered” or “threatened.”

Court documents referenced the 2020 ruling from Trump’s Department of Interior Fish and Wildlife Service that delisted the wolf species.

“After that thorough analysis, the Service concluded that no configuration of gray wolves was threatened or endangered in all or a significant portion of its range. That analysis was well-reasoned and well-supported by the administrative record,” the brief reads.

The move comes just months after a group of 20 House Republicans sent a letter to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) Director Martha Williams, urging the Biden administration to remove protections for the gray wolf, citing sometimes life-threatening conflicts with ranchers and farmers.

Wolves were delisted from the Endangered Species Act under President Trump in 2020. (Alex Brandon/AP Newsroom)

In February, FWS rejected requests from conservation groups to restore protection for gray wolves across the Northern Rocky Mountain region. 

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Most recently, a bipartisan group of House lawmakers passed legislation in April to end federal protection for gray wolves and remove them from the endangered species list. 

Tulsi Gabbard, the former Democratic congresswoman from Hawaii, told Fox News Digital Monday that she would “be honored to serve” in a potential Trump administration.

If tapped, Gabbard expressed her desire to work in a position where she can make the greatest impact, particularly in areas related to foreign policy or national security. Gabbard is an active-duty military veteran who completed two tours in the Middle East, and currently serves as a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army Reserves. 

“I feel I can make the most impact in these areas of national security and foreign policy, and work to bring about the changes that President Trump talks about,” Gabbard said Monday evening from a campaign fundraising event in Atlanta, Georgia. Gabbard added that bringing an end “to the influence of the military industrial complex,” working to prevent World War III and bringing the U.S. back “from the brink of nuclear war” would be among her priorities. War should be a “last resort,” Gabbard said. She has also supported former President Trump’s plans to end the war in Ukraine.

TULSI GABBARD REVEALS HOW SHE ‘DISSECTED’ KAMALA HARRIS DURING 2019 DEM PRIMARY DEBATE

Tulsi Gabbard speaks about joining a potential Trump administration to Fox News Digital on Monday Sept. 16, 2024.

Gabbard spent time as the vice chair of the Democratic National Committee between 2013 and 2016, and previously supported candidates like Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt, and President Biden. However, blaming a shift within her former party that she has not agreed with, Gabbard became increasingly friendly with the GOP before leaving the party and eventually joining Trump’s transition team last month. 

“There are a lot of people who I meet in a lot of different places every day who are former Democrats, or people who are leaving the Democratic Party,” Gabbard said Monday. “People who recognize the same things that I have and experienced the same things that I have and realize that the Democratic Party of today doesn’t stand for them, doesn’t stand for freedom, it doesn’t stand for civil liberties… doesn’t stand for peace.”  

Former President Trump has recruited former Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard ahead of his upcoming debates against Vice President Kamala Harris. (Getty Images)

The former Democratic congresswoman has been outspoken against what a Harris administration could do to peace around the world and, on Monday, she slammed Democrats – including Vice President Kamala Harris – for what she described as their refusal to engage in diplomacy with U.S. adversaries. 

“President Trump did in his last administration what President Obama refused to do, what President Biden refused to do, what Kamala Harris has made clear she refuses to do – which is to go out and do that tough work that a president and commander in chief has to do in diplomacy,” Gabbard said. “Not just hanging out with your friends, and your allies, and your partners, but actually going out and talking to your adversaries.”

KAMALA HARRIS’ FOREIGN POLICY CHOPS QUESTIONED: WHAT HAS SHE DONE, WHERE HAS SHE BEEN?

President Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un during their second summit meeting in 2019, which took place in Hanoi, Vietnam. (Vietnam News Agency/Handout/Getty Images)

Gabbard argued that peace will remain elusive until the leaders in the White House are willing to do this sort of diplomacy. She also slammed Harris for escalating the war in Ukraine and being “flippant” about the chances of a nuclear disaster.

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“The longer this war goes on and the more that Kamala Harris and Joe Biden and the neocons of Washington continue to escalate this war, the greater risk we are of a potential nuclear war, World War III,” Gabbard said on Monday. “It is unconscionable and unacceptable that Kamala Harris and others who are continuing to escalate [the war in Ukraine] are so flippant about the reality of nuclear war.”

Vice President Kamala Harris declined to say whether she supports a commission to study reparations, despite being behind such legislation in Congress. 

She suggested Congress should take the lead on studying the history of racism and the potential need for reparations, not the White House. 

During a conversation with members of the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) Tuesday in Philadelphia, the Democratic presidential nominee said when asked whether she would create such a committee: “We just need to speak truth about history. In spite of the fact that some people are trying to erase history and try and teach our children otherwise, we need to speak truth about the generational impact of our history, in terms of the generational impact of slavery, the generational impact of of redlining, of Jim Crow law, I could go on and on.”

“I think Congress ultimately will have the ability to do this work,” Harris said. 

Vice President Kamala Harris addresses members of the National Association of Black Journalists in Philadelphia, Sept. 17, 2024. (Reuters/Piroschka van de Wouw)

NYC COUNCIL PASSES SLAVERY REPARATIONS LEGISLATION 

Racial justice groups and some Democrats have been pushing President Biden for years to establish a national reparations commission by executive order – so far to no avail.

“We ask with no apologies for an executive order to be in place,” the late Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Texas, said in December 2022. Her milestone legislative proposal was a bill that would have established a commission to study reparations. “I want for once an acceptance of the history, of the journey that African Americans have taken, to be an accepted reality in America.”

Liberal cities and states have launched their own efforts to give reparations to Black Americans. Rep. Cori Bush, D-Mo., introduced a proposal last year to pay $14 trillion to compensate for what she believes are racist government policies that created a wealth gap between White and Black people.

Harris, meanwhile, pivoted to her own proposals she believed would boost African Americans. 

“Part of what we can do right now is, for example, what I’m talking about in terms of building an opportunity economy, which is addressing explicitly the obstacles that historically and currently exist, and dealing with them, student loan debt, medical debt, bias and home appraisals. What we need to do in terms of dealing with an issue that I have championed for years, Black maternal mortality, which is the fact that Black women are three to four times more likely to die in connection with childbirth than other women.”

PROTESTS ERUPT AT CALIFORNIA STATE CAPITOL AFTER PAIR OF REPARATIONS BILLS SHELVED

A boy holds a sign calling for reparations on the 106th anniversary of the 1915 Armenian genocide during a protest outside of the Turkish ambassador’s residence in Washington, D.C., on April 24, 2021. (Samuel Corum/AFP via Getty Images)

Democratic presidential nominee and Vice President Kamala Harris answers questions during a gathering of the National Association of Black Journalists in Philadelphia on Sept. 17, 2024. (Reuters/Piroschka van de Wouw)

The vice president was also asked about Black men who are considering voting for former President Trump.

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“I think it’s very important to not operate from the assumption that Black men are in anybody’s pocket,” Harris responded. 

“Black men are like any other voting group. You gotta earn their vote. So I’m working to earn the vote, not assuming I’m going to have it because I am Black, but because the policies and the perspectives I have understand what we must do to recognize the needs of all communities.”

FIRST ON FOX: Senate Republicans condemned a forthcoming United Nations General Assembly vote that, if successful, would label the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) posture in Gaza and the West Bank as an “unlawful presence” and demand that the country leave the territories within six months. 

“This proposal introduced by the Palestinian delegation, ahead of the United Nations’ General Assembly, is an absolute disgrace that rewards terrorism. It is a clear insult to the Jewish people and anyone who understands history,” Senate Select Committee on Intelligence Vice Chair Marco Rubio, R-Fla., said in a statement that was signed onto by 28 other Republicans. 

Signers included Foreign Relations Committee ranking member James Risch, R-Idaho, and Senate Bipartisan Task Force for Combating Antisemitism co-Chair James Lankford, R-Okla.

REPUBLICANS BLOCK DEM-BACKED IVF BILL REVIVED BY CHUCK SCHUMER

Sen. Marco Rubio led dozens of Senate Republicans in condemning the upcoming U.N. vote on a resolution by the Palestinian Authority. (Reuters)

A draft of the proposal by the Palestinian Authority reportedly cited the International Court of Justice and its nonbinding opinion issued in July, which declared that Israel’s presence in the Palestinian territories as well as its actions were in violation of international law, per the Associated Press. 

A U.N. General Assembly vote on the resolution is expected Wednesday, according to reports.

GOP DEMANDS TRUMP HAVE ‘SAME LEVEL’ SECRET SERVICE PROTECTION AS BIDEN AFTER 2ND ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT

Israeli soldiers take up position among the ruins of buildings in the Gaza Strip on Sept. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

“As we approach the one-year anniversary of the barbaric terrorist attack by Hamas and affiliated Palestinian terrorist groups against innocent Israeli civilians, which involved murder, mutilation, and sexual violence, the international community must unequivocally unite against this evil, one-sided effort to delegitimize Israel,” the Senate GOP statement said.

Oct. 7, 2024 marks one year since the Hamas terrorist attacks on Israel that left about 1,200 dead and hundreds taken to Gaza as hostages. 

TOP SENATE DEMOCRAT ‘ANGRY’ OVER BIDEN-HARRIS ADMIN ‘STONEWALLING’ AFTER TRUMP ASSASSINATION ATTEMPTS

Israeli tanks maneuver near the Israel-Gaza border on July 4. (Reuters/Amir Cohen)

Since then, Israeli and Hamas forces have continued to fire on one another, and the former has launched several targeted strikes against targets as well as hostage recovery missions. Attempts by the U.S. and neighboring Middle Eastern countries to facilitate a cease-fire agreement have yet to result in an end to the war.

“Instead of proposing biased and counter-productive initiatives, which will do nothing to advance a lasting peace between Israelis and Palestinians, the international community must focus its energy and resources on ensuring Hamas and other terrorist groups are completely destroyed,” the GOP statement continued. “We must remain firm to ensure every single hostage held by these terrorists is safely returned to their loved ones.”

DEMS POUR $25M INTO GROUND GAME AS GOP INCHES CLOSER TO SENATE MAJORITY

Families of Israeli hostages march to Jerusalem and carry the photos of loved ones being held captive by Hamas in Gaza. (Matan Golan/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

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If the proposal passes the U.N. General Assembly, which consists of 193 members, it would not be legally binding or have any enforcement mechanism. However, it would reflect global opinion about the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas.

There are no vetoes during a General Assembly vote, further differentiating it from one in the 15-member U.N. Security Council.

FLINT, Michigan – Former President Donald Trump argued that it is “consequential” presidents who face the threats he has over the last few months at a town hall event in Flint, Michigan, the former president’s first since surviving an assassination attempt Sunday.

“You wonder why I got shot at right. You know, only consequential presidents get shot at right,” Trump said during the town hall at Flint’s Dort Financial Center.

The event marked Trump’s first official campaign stop since the latest attempt on his life Sunday, when a lone gunman was spotted by U.S. Secret Service agents while Trump was playing a round of golf at Trump International Golf Club in Florida.

A DECISION TO MAKE: HOUSE SPEAKER MIKE JOHNSON’S GOVERNMENT FUNDING BILL DIVIDES REPUBLICANS

Former US President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump attends a town hall meeting moderated by Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders at the Dort Financial Center in Flint, Michigan, on September 17, 2024. (Photo by JEFF KOWALSKY / AFP) (Photo by JEFF KOWALSKY/AFP via Getty Images)

The gunman, identified as 58-year-old Ryan Wesley Routh, was spotted by Secret Service agents as Trump moved between holes five and six on the course, with the agents firing at Routh after spotting his rifle and scope poking out of the brush.

Trump, who was about 300-500 yards away from the shooter at the time of the incident, escaped uninjured.

The attempt marked the second time Trump faced an assassination attempt, coming just over two months after the former president was grazed in the ear by a bullet fired at him during a rally in Butlery, Pennsylvania.

Trump reflected on the attempts on his life during the Michigan event, saying being and running for president is a “dangerous business.”

FBI investigators gather evidence from the perimeter of Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida on Monday, September 16, 2024.   (Mega for Fox News Digital)

RUBIO CALLS OUT DEMOCRATS FOR ‘CLEARLY’ INFLUENCING SECOND WOULD-BE TRUMP ASSASSIN WITH INCENDIARY RHETORIC

“It’s a dangerous business. However, being president, it’s a little bit dangerous. It’s. You know, they think race car driving is dangerous. No, they think bull riding. That’s pretty scary, right? No, this is a dangerous business, and we have to keep it safe,” Trump said.

The former president spent much of the event, which took place in a critical swing state, hitting Vice President Kamala Harris on issues such as inflation and the auto industry.

“’I’ll say this for Michigan, if I don’t win, you will have no auto industry within two to three years,” Trump said. “China is going to take over all of your business because of the electric car and because they have the material we don’t.”

Former US President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump attends a town hall meeting moderated by Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders (R) at the Dort Financial Center in Flint, Michigan, on September 17, 2024. (Photo by JEFF KOWALSKY / AFP) (Photo by JEFF KOWALSKY/AFP via Getty Images)

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Michigan figures to play a key role in this year’s election. Trump won the state by less than one percentage point in 2016, but lost it to President Biden in 2020 by less than three percentage points.

Polls show a close race brewing in the state again, with Harris holding a less than one percentage point lead as of Tuesday, according to the Real Clear Politics polling average.

White House officials continue to call former President Trump a “threat” to democracy, despite two attempted assassinations on the former president’s life.

During a press briefing on Tuesday, Fox News senior White House correspondent Peter Doocy asked White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre about Trump being referred to as a “threat.”

“How many more assassination attempts on Donald Trump until the president and vice president and you pick a different word to describe Trump, other than ‘threat?’” Doocy asked.

Jean-Pierre told Doocy she completely disagreed with the premise of his question, calling the way he asked it “incredibly dangerous” because Americans are watching.

TRUMP BLAMES BIDEN-HARRIS RHETORIC FOR LATEST ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT, SAYS HE WILL ‘SAVE THE COUNTRY’

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre explained that she and others at the White House will continue to call former President Trump a threat, backing up the term with events like the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol. (White House)

She also went into defense mode, saying the Biden administration has consistently condemned political violence.

After Thomas Matthew Crooks opened fire at a Butler, Pennsylvania, campaign rally and grazed Trump’s ear with a bullet, President Biden called Trump to tell him he was grateful the former president was OK, Jean-Pierre explained.

She also defended the Biden administration because it has called out Trump’s role in the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the Capitol, called out the attack on Rep. Nancy Pelosi’s, D-Calif., husband Paul Pelosi and asked that the temperature of political rhetoric be lowered after the assassination attempt on Trump in Butler.

WHO IS RYAN WESLEY ROUTH: ALLEGED GUNMAN AT TRUMP GOLF CLUB

Republican presidential nominee former President Trump is surrounded by Secret Service after getting shot in an assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania, July 13. (Rebecca Droke/AFP via Getty Images)

“What I have said about the president, the former president, about Jan. 6 is [a] fact that you all have reported. It is [a] fact. When you have a former president who basically says that the election wasn’t the results of the election… when dozens, dozens of more than 60 Republican judges said that it was a fee and fair election,” Jean-Pierre said. “You had more than 2,000 people who were told to go to the Capitol. It was one of the darkest days of our democracy, one of the darkest days.”

She continued, saying it was important to have disagreements on policies surrounding things like the economy, health care and foreign policy.

But the political rhetoric, she said, was not OK.

TRUMP SAFE AFTER ‘GUNSHOTS IN HIS VICINITY,’ CAMPAIGN SAYS

Protesters descend on the U.S. Capitol, in Washington, D.C., Jan. 6, 2021. (AP Photo/John Minchillo, File)

“To your point, there are people watching at home who might miss the part where you say, ‘Let’s lower the temperature,’ and… there are mentally unstable people who are attempting to kill political candidates… attempting to kill Donald Trump,” Doocy told Jean-Pierre. “And they are still hearing this White House refer to him as a threat. Is there no concern that people are taking that literally?”

Jean-Pierre responded by saying she and others are using examples to back up what they are saying, like Jan. 6.

The events covered on Jan. 6 happened, she noted, and the White House has denounced political violence “over and over again.”

MSNBC HOST ASKS IF TRUMP CAMPAIGN WILL CALL FOR ‘TONING DOWN’ RHETORIC AFTER SHOOTING OUTSIDE HIS GOLF CLUB

President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris take in Fourth of July fireworks from the Truman Balcony of the White House in Washington, D.C. (Tierney L. Cross/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Jean-Pierre explained that people are watching what the media is saying about the White House raising political violence rhetoric.

“This is an administration that has denounced and condemned any type of political rhetoric or violence. It is the reason why this president decided to run in 2020. That is why the president decided to come back,” Jean-Pierre said of Biden.

On Monday, Trump said Biden’s and Vice President Harris’ “rhetoric” is what is causing him to be “shot at,” following the second attempt against him since July. Trump also told Fox News Digital that the suspected gunman “acted” on the “highly inflammatory language” of Democrats.

Trump spoke with Fox News Digital on Monday, a day after he was rushed off the golf course at Trump International in West Palm Beach, Florida, after Secret Service agents discovered a gunman in the bushes near the course.

DEMOCRATS HAVE REPEATEDLY USED VIOLENT RHETORIC AGAINST FORMER PRESIDENT: ‘TIME TO PUT TRUMP IN A BULLSEYE’

Trump assassination attempt suspect Ryan Wesley Routh is taken into custody Sunday in Florida. (Martin County Sheriff’s Office )

The suspected gunman, Ryan Wesley Routh, had an AK-47-style rifle pointing through a chain-link fence out toward the green, a GoPro camera and two backpacks. Routh ran from the scene, but was pulled over and arrested on Interstate 95 in Martin County. 

Authorities are treating the episode as an apparent assassination attempt against Trump.

“He believed the rhetoric of Biden and Harris, and he acted on it,” Trump said. “Their rhetoric is causing me to be shot at, when I am the one who is going to save the country, and they are the ones that are destroying the country — both from the inside and out.” 

Trump pointed to Biden and Harris’ past comments casting Trump as a “threat to democracy,” while telling Americans they are “unity” leaders. 

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“They are the opposite,” Trump said. “These are people that want to destroy our country.” 

He added: “It is called the enemy from within. They are the real threat.” 

Fox News Digital’s Brooke Singeman contributed to this report.

The questions are always the same.

Be they in the aftermath of superstorm Sandy walloping the northeastern U.S.

Or the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore.

Or following the second attempt to assassinate a former President.

A DECISION TO MAKE: HOUSE SPEAKER MIKE JOHNSON’S GOVERNMENT FUNDING BILL DIVIDES REPUBLICANS

Do they have enough money and resources?

Would the federal government provide sufficient money to help New York City and the Northeast recover after the massive hurricane spun through the most-densely populated corridor of the U.S.? Mudslides wiped out roads and bridges in Vermont. The storm drowned subway stations in the Big Apple. 

What will it take to rebuild the bridge in Baltimore? That bill will come due in a year or two.

And so the question now lands on the Secret Service after a gunman tried to fire at former President Trump during a round of golf at Trump International in Palm Beach, Fla. Does the service have the money? Does it need more resources?

Acting Secret Service Director Ronald Rowe said his agency has “done more with less for decades.” Rowe says “we have immediate needs right now.”

Acting Director Ronald Rowe Jr. of the U.S. Secret Service addresses the media at a press conference with updates on the investigation into the apparent assassination attempt of former president Donald Trump, West Palm Beach, FL, Monday, September 16, 2024. (Mega for Fox News Digital)

President Biden agrees. 

“One thing I want to make clear. The (Secret) Service needs more help and I think that Congress should respond to their needs if they in fact need more services,” said the president.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. chimed in.

“We all must do our part to ensure an incident like this does not happen again. This means that Congress has a responsibility to ensure the Secret Service and all law enforcement have the resources they need to do their jobs,” said Schumer. “If the Secret Service is in need of more resources, we are prepared to provide it for them. Possibly in the upcoming funding agreement.”

That’s a reference to the looming interim spending bill to avoid a government shutdown, due at the end of this month.

RUBIO CALLS OUT DEMOCRATS FOR ‘CLEARLY’ INFLUENCING SECOND WOULD-BE TRUMP ASSASSIN WITH INCENDIARY RHETORIC

But on Fox, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., doubted this is strictly about financial resources. Johnson argued this was an issue specific to former President Trump. And it was a human resources problem.

“He’s the most attacked. He’s the most threatened. Even probably more than when he was in the Oval Office,” said Johnson on Fox. “So we are demanding in the House that he have every asset available and we will make more available if necessary. I don’t think it’s a funding issue. I think it’s a manpower allocation.”

By Tuesday, Johnson cooled to the concept of showering the Secret Service with additional money. 

“We don’t just want to throw more money at a broken system,” said Johnson.

Other conservatives spoke out about boosting funding levels for the Secret Service.

Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey B. Veltri of the FBI Miami Field Office, Acting Director Ronald Rowe Jr. of the U.S. Secret Service, and Sheriff Ric Bradshaw of the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office attend a press conference regarding an apparent assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump on September 16, 2024, in West Palm Beach, Florida. The FBI and U.S. Secret Service, along with the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s office, are investigating the incident, which the FBI said “appears to be an attempted assassination of former President Trump” while he was golfing at Trump International Golf Club.   (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

“We don’t need to throw more money at the Secret Service. We need new leadership,” said Rep. Mark Alford, R-Mo., on Fox Business.

“We need answers more than the Secret Service needs money. In the real world, when you don’t do your job, you get fired. In the world of Washington, common sense is illegal. When you don’t do your job, you get more money because obviously you need it. You don’t have enough,” said Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., “What the Secret Service needs to do right now is simple: do better.”

There was chatter that lawmakers might try to infuse the Secret Service with cash by latching it to a still-to-be-determined interim spending bill, known as a CR, to sidestep a government shutdown in two weeks.

Rep. Cory Mills, R-Fla., who called for former President Trump to drop the Secret Service and use private security, lambasted that idea.

REPUBLICANS BLOCK DEM-BACKED IVF BILL REVIVED BY CHUCK SCHUMER

“The American people are not stupid. They see it for what it is. They’re trying to attach the shiny bill to this CR to try and get it passed when the reality is, that’s not really what needs to happen. We need to stop the irresponsible spending,” said Mills on Fox Business.

“No. No. No. No. We don’t need more funding,” said Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan. “They’ve got plenty of personnel. They got plenty of money. They need to prioritize where to be placing these Secret Service agents.” 

But, finding the right people – and assigning them to the right places with the right tasks – isn’t easy. 

“You don’t hire them right off the street,” argued Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin, D-Ill.

At a House hearing before she resigned following the Butler, Penn., shooting, former Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle testified that she needed 9,500 employees. But the agency was only staffed at 8,000. 

U.S. Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle testifies before the House Oversight and Accountability Committee about the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump at a campaign event in Pennsylvania, at the Capitol in Washington on Monday, July 22, 2024.  ( AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr.)

Still, some Republicans were more sympathetic to a cash injection for the agency. 

“They seem to need more resources,” said Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., adding former President Trump suggested he needed a bigger detail. “There’s only one way to do that: have enough money to hire enough agents. If you can even find enough people willing to do it.”

Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., chairs the Senate panel which controls purse strings for the Secret Service. He argues that the threat environment is so dangerous that lawmakers want the agency to get “creative” about getting appropriate resources to guard protectees.

The House is on the precipice of rejecting an interim spending plan pushed by Johnson to fund the government through next spring. The bill also requires people prove their citizenship in order to vote. That measure likely fails. So the Senate may counter with a straight bill to fund the government – tacking on some assistance to the Secret Service.

Johnson denied that the House would “get stuck” by the Senate if the House faltered. But remember, members of Jane’s Addiction get along better than some House Republicans. Johnson lacks the votes to pass his own bill. So, if the Senate sends over legislation with Secret Service aid, the House might just have to eat it to avoid a government shutdown.

“If increasing the funding is part of the solution, I’m for it,” said Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. “It would be politically beyond stupid for us to (shut down the government) right before the election because certainly, we’d get the blame.”

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., speaks with reporters after a meeting with fellow Republicans, at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, June 4, 2024. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite) (AP)

So this is the same question which arises after each crisis: could money solve the issue? It’s natural that Congress often responds with money. Spending authority is the ultimate power on Capitol Hill.

Will more dollars help?

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If Congress spends the money and there are no more security breaches, then lawmakers will argue the extra dough worked.

But if Congress spends the money and something else happens, it will probably spend even more money.

Vice President Harris spoke to the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) in Philadelphia on Tuesday, about a month after former President Trump spoke to the same group and made waves when he questioned Harris’ race.

The event marks Harris’ first solo interview with the national media. It was held at NPR’s Philadelphia station, WHYY, and was moderated by three Black journalists, including Eugene Daniels of Politico Playbook, WHYY’s Tonya Mosely and TheGrio’s Gerren Keith Gaynor. The stop marked Harris’ 13th visit to the Keystone State this year.

Democrat presidential nominee Vice President Harris is interviewed by National Association of Black Journalists members at the WHYY studio in Philadelphia on Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

During his July interview with the NABJ in Chicago, Trump drummed up a firestorm of criticism when he said, “I didn’t know she was Black until a number of years ago, when she happened to turn Black, and now she wants to be known as Black. So, I don’t know. Is she Indian or Black?”

Harris was not asked to respond to those remarks from Trump on Tuesday, but she did slam the former president for what the moderators described as racially charged rhetoric about Haitian migrants in a small Ohio town eating people’s pets.

OHIO AG EYES ‘CREATIVE’ PATH TO GET ‘MISHANDLED’ SPRINGFIELD MIGRANT CRISIS IN FRONT OF FEDERAL JUDGE

“It’s harmful, and it’s hateful and grounded in some age-old stuff that we should not have the tolerance for,” Harris said of the rumors being circulated by Trump. “We’ve got to say that you cannot be entrusted with standing behind the seal of the president of the United States of America, engaging in that hateful rhetoric that, as usual, is designed to divide us as a country.”

Springfield, Ohio, resident Mark Sanders talks about the migrant crisis that’s devastated his community. (Fox News)

When asked by one of the moderators if this case of “irredeemable racism” deserved some sort of federal response to help the community heal, Harris sidestepped the question.

Meanwhile, Harris also sidestepped whether she would sign or veto a bill establishing a federal committee to study reparations for the Black community. Harris said she “thinks” a federal reparations commission will be taken up by Congress and, therefore, she won’t need to use her power as president to study the matter at the federal level.

Harris also spoke about the Black vote on Tuesday and took a far different approach than President Biden did in 2020. 

“If you have a problem figuring out whether you’re for me or Trump, then you ain’t Black,” Biden said while campaigning for the presidency in 2020. Harris, however, said Tuesday that she expects to have to “earn” the Black vote, particularly Black men. “I think it’s very important to not operate from the assumption that Black men are in anybody’s pocket.”

MARYLAND GOVERNOR SAYS DEMS MUST EARN SUPPORT OF BLACK VOTERS AS TRUMP SEES SURGE IN POLLS: ‘NOT MONOLITHIC’

Beyond race-focused topics, the interview included remarks from Harris about her economic plan, abortion, support for Israel – which she said has the right to defend itself – and gun control.

“The United Sates of America absolutely has a role” in aiding Israel’s right to self-determination, Harris said during Tuesday’s interview. 

On gun control, Harris was resolute that she and her running mate, Democrat Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, are both gun owners – something that came as news to voters during last week’s presidential debate. “We’re not trying to take anybody’s guns away from them, but we do need an assault weapons ban,” she said. Previously, as a presidential candidate in 2019, Harris said she thought a mandatory gun buyback program run by the federal government was “a good idea.” However, Harris’ campaign has said she no longer supports such a program.

Harris added that she does support universal background checks for those seeking to legally obtain a firearm. When one of the moderators pointed out that most handguns are purchased illegally, Harris pointed to the need to eradicate “gun show loophole[s].”

“We need to address each entry point in the issue,” Harris insisted.

KAMALA HARRIS WANTS TO HAVE IT BOTH WAYS ON CRIME. NO WONDER AMERICANS DON’T FEEL SAFE

Democrat presidential nominee Vice President Harris addresses members of the National Association of Black Journalists in Philadelphia on Sept. 17, 2024. (Reuters/Piroschka van de Wouw)

Later, the moderators turned to the second assassination attempt made on Trump’s life over the weekend. Harris indicated that she spoke to Trump after the close call to check on him.

“I am in this election, in this race, for many reasons, including to fight for our democracy. And in a democracy, there is no place for political violence,” Harris said. “We can and should have healthy debates and discussion and disagreements but not resort to violence to resolve those issues.”

Harris was asked a follow-up question about her confidence in the Secret Service to protect her, with Harris responding in the affirmative.

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“Not everybody has Secret Service. And there are far too many people in our country right now who are not feeling safe,” she said. “I mean, I look at Project 2025, and I look at, you know, the Don’t Say Gay laws coming out of Florida. Members of the LGBTQ community don’t feel safe right now, immigrants or people with an immigrant background don’t feel safe right now. Women don’t feel safe right now. And so, yes, I feel safe. I have Secret Service protection, but that doesn’t change my perspective on the importance of fighting for the safety of everybody in our country.”

Welcome to the Fox News Politics newsletter, with the latest political news from Washington, D.C. and updates from the 2024 campaign trail. 

Here’s what’s happening…

– New poll indicates who has the edge in key battleground state

– Top House Committee threatens Biden admin over border docs…

– GOP senators demand heightened security over second Trump assassination attempt…

Stonewalling

A top Senate Democrat blasted the Biden-Harris administration for “stonewalling” in response to requests for information on the assassination attempts on former President Trump and the potential failures of the U.S. Secret Service. 

Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., chairman of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations (PSI) within the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee (HSGAC), said the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) was “almost derelict in its duty by resisting our requests for documents, evidence and information that are necessary to investigate.”

The Democrat reiterated his disappointment in the department, and added that he has become “angry” that DHS has not been more “forthcoming.” …Read more

U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) speaks to reporters after receiving a briefing from President Biden’s campaign advisors amid questions about Biden’s reelection campaign, on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., July 11, 2024. REUTERS/KEVIN Mohatt

Trump Assassination Attempts

EQUAL PROTECTION: GOP senators demand heightened security for Trump after 2nd attempt on his life …Read more

‘HORSE IN THE HOUSE’: Woman who once lived next door to Trump suspect Ryan Routh says he was ‘weird’ …Read more

‘PERSONAL VENDETTA’: How investigators are digging into would-be Trump assassin’s motive …Read more

LIFE IN PRISON?: Florida to pursue more charges for Trump assassination attempt suspect …Read more

Executive Branch

WHALE OF A TALE: Agency opens investigation into RFK Jr. over alleged beachside butchery …Read more

LOST IN SPACE: Watchdog group sues for NASA emails with ‘Space Czar’ Harris, Boeing as astronauts linger in orbit …Read more

PHOENIX, ARIZONA – AUGUST 23: Former Presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. gives remarks at the Renaissance Phoenix Downtown Hotel on August 23, 2024 in Phoenix, Arizona.Kennedy announced that he was suspending his presidential campaign and supporting Republican presidential candidate, former U.S. President Donald Trump.(Photo by Rebecca Noble/Getty Images) (Rebecca Noble/Getty Images)

Capitol Hill

AGGRESSIVE ACTION: Top House committee threatens Biden admin over Harris border docs …Read more

‘MENTALLY DERANGED’: GOP members of Congress accuse liberal PAC of bizarre texting scheme posing as allies …Read more

LONG LIST: Democrats have repeatedly used violent rhetoric against former president: ‘Time to put Trump in a bullseye’ …Read more

CALLING A VOTE: Speaker Johnson moves forward on House measure to stop government shutdown with add-on to prevent non-citizen voting …Read more

Speaker Mike Johnson is moving on his federal funding plan despite opposition from fellow Republicans like Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene, Thomas Massie and others (Getty Images)

Tales from the Trail

DEBATE DUD?: Only fraction of Harris or Trump supporters say debate caused them to reconsider their vote: poll …Read more

DANGLING ENDORSEMENT: Last major union yet to endorse in Harris-Trump showdown nears final decision …Read more

MOST IMPORTANT BATTLEGROUND: New poll indicates whether Harris or Trump has the edge in the most important battleground …Read more

‘FULL-SPEED AHEAD’: Gov Sanders hits campaign trail as top surrogate for Trump in key battleground state …Read more

FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH: Obama reportedly looking to bring in young voters for Harris with TikTok appearances …Read more

GAINESVILLE, VA – SEPTEMBER 13: Former United States president Barack Obama poses for a selfie with a fan at the first tee during the Friday Four Ball of the first round of the 2024 Solheim Cup on September 13, 2024, at Robert Trent Jones Golf Club at Gainesville, Virginia.  (Brian Spurlock/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Across America

‘CHOICE IS SIMPLE’: Trump camp tabulates how much Americans will pay if tax cuts expire …Read more

‘FIVE OR SIX’ A WEEK: Haitian influx causing one major safety concern among Springfield residents …Read more

People watch as Springfield Police Department officers investigate the Springfield City Hall after bomb threats were made against buildings earlier in the day in Springfield, Ohio on September 12, 2024. A government building and school were evacuated after an alleged bomb threat Thursday in Springfield, Ohio, local media reported, rattling the small city at the heart of an anti-migrant conspiracy theory amplified by Donald Trump. Springfield has been thrust into the spotlight in recent days after an unfounded story of Haitian migrants eating pets went viral on social media, with the Republican ex-president and current White House candidate pushing the narrative despite it being debunked. (Photo by ROBERTO SCHMIDT / AFP) (Photo by ROBERTO SCHMIDT/AFP via Getty Images)

PLUMMETING NUMBERS: Migrant border encounters returning to Trump era levels: CBP …Read more

‘CRAZY IDIOT’: Foreign fighters in Ukraine recall would-be Trump shooter Ryan Routh as a ‘wack job’ with ‘messiah complex’ …Read more

CCP CRACKDOWN: China cracks down on exporting minerals for US weapons …Read more

CALIFORNIA SCHEMING: California GOP pushes back on bill that would give unemployment benefits to illegal immigrants …Read more

GREAT WALZ’S CHINA: Walz pick for state board was reportedly Chinese party member …Read more

ALL ‘HOAXES’: Ohio governor contradicts Dem narrative with revelation about Springfield bomb threats from ‘overseas’ …Read more

Subscribe now to get the Fox News Politics newsletter in your inbox.

Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more on FoxNews.com.

The suspect in the second failed Trump assassination attempt, Ryan Routh, may have relied on “poor man’s surveillance” to target the 45th president as he waited about 12 hours outside the golf club before his arrest on Sunday.

Bill Stanton, a former NYPD officer and an executive protection expert, spoke with Fox News Digital on Tuesday regarding security failures surrounding the second attempt on Trump’s life. Authorities have not yet confirmed how Routh knew Trump would be on that golf course Sunday afternoon, with Stanton saying the suspect may have employed a laser focus on Trump — which he called “Forrest Gump focus” in a nod to the classic 1994 movie — and simply Googled Trump’s frequent non-campaign activities to stake out a location.

“If you have someone with like, this Forrest Gump focus… he could have done a journeyman’s research on Google,” Stanton said, and simply searched, “Where does Trump usually go when he’s home in Florida?” before heading to Trump’s golf club in West Palm Beach. 

“If I’m that guy, I’m doing that, and then I’m going to do a poor man’s surveillance,” Stanton said, explaining the suspect would keep his eyes peeled for Trump’s caravan to roll up to the course. 

HOUSE DEM LEADER RAILS ‘WE MUST STOP’ MAGA AMID NEWS OF 2ND TRUMP ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT 

Members of the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Department patrols outside of Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida on Monday, Sept. 16, 2024. (Mega for Fox News Digital )

“I’m guessing [Trump] has a lead car. I’m guessing he has his main car and then the chase car. So that’s a little motorcade. That’s at minimum three cars, not to mention the advance car. So that’s about four vehicles right there, and [Routh] could have guessed it,” Stanton said of Routh likely monitoring the club for Trump’s motorcade ahead of the attempt. 

News broke Sunday afternoon that Trump had been safely escorted from the course at his Trump International Golf Club West Palm Beach after reports of gunfire in his vicinity. Trump was not injured during what is being investigated as a likely assassination attempt, with the suspect identified as a 58-year-old man from Hawaii, Ryan Wesley Routh. 

Federal authorities on Monday released charging documents related to Routh’s charges stemming from the suspected assassination attempt, and found Routh’s phone was located near the golf club for about 12 hours, beginning at 1:59 a.m. Sunday until approximately 1:31 p.m. that same day. 

“Agents requested T-Mobile, on an emergency basis, to provide law enforcement with information pertaining to Routh’s mobile phone usage. Those records indicated that Routh’s mobile phone was located in the vicinity of the area along the tree line from approximately 1:59 AM until approximately 1:31 PM on September 15,” the charging document reads.

WOULD-BE TRUMP ASSASSIN RYAN ROUTH CAMPED UNDER COVER OF DARKNESS FOR 12 HOURS: COURT DOCS

Routh was arrested shortly after 1:30 p.m. Sunday, after he allegedly pointed an AK-47-style rifle through a chain-link fence towards where Trump was playing golf. U.S. Secret Service protecting the president on the golf course noticed the muzzle of the rifle and fired at the suspect. 

Despite no confirmation from authorities on how Routh knew Trump’s whereabouts, Trump’s love of golf has been well documented across his political career.

BEDMINSTER, NEW JERSEY – AUGUST 10: Former President Donald Trump hits his shot from the second tee during the pro-am prior to the LIV Golf Invitational – Bedminster at Trump National Golf Club on August 10, 2023 in Bedminster, New Jersey. (Mike Stobe/Getty Images)

TRUMP ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT SUSPECT LAUGHS, SMILES DURING FIRST COURT APPEARANCE IN FLORIDA

Trump frequently golfs over holidays and on weekends when he is not on the campaign trail. Left-wing media outlets criticized Trump during his presidency for playing rounds of golf, including keeping running tabs on the number of days he spent on the course and comparing the stats to how often former President Barack Obama frequented the green. 

Routh’s location near the golf course was additionally revealed in a New York Post exclusive this week to be a common paparazzi hang out. 

Stanton explained that every person is a creature of habit, but that it’s up to the Secret Service to accommodate Trump’s schedule. 

Bill Stanton, security expert and author of “Prepared Not Scared: Your Go-To Guide for Staying Safe in an Unsafe World.” (Bill Stanton )

“It’s not the protected — in this case, former President Trump — to be told what he can and cannot do. It is up to the Secret Service to accommodate the will and travels of President Trump, not the other way around. The tail doesn’t wag the dog. The dog wags the tail,” Stanton, the author of 2019 book “Prepared Not Scared: Your Go-To Guide for Staying Safe in an Unsafe World,” said. 

“We are all creatures of habit, especially when you’re in your home. We think we’re not. The same way Google does predictives, we’re like that in the real world: We go get our coffee. We go to the gym, yada yada yada. Now it’s just a little bit more esoteric with Trump because he’s all over the place,” Stanton said.

Ryan W. Routh, suspected of attempting to assassinate Republican presidential nominee and former U.S. President Donald Trump at his West Palm Beach golf course, stands handcuffed after his arrest during a traffic stop near Palm City, Florida, U.S., Sept. 15, 2024.   (Martin County Sheriff’s Office/Handout via REUTERS)

Trump spoke to Fox Digital on Monday and blamed rhetoric promoted by Democrats, namely President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, for the attempt on his life Sunday. 

“[The suspect] believed the rhetoric of Biden and Harris, and he acted on it,” Trump said in the interview. “Their rhetoric is causing me to be shot at, when I am the one who is going to save the country, and they are the ones that are destroying the country — both from the inside and out.” 

RYAN ROUTH, ARMED MAN ARRESTED AT TRUMP GOLF COURSE, POSTED PROLIFICALLY ABOUT TRUMP, POLITICS 

“It is called the enemy from within. They are the real threat,” Trump added. 

Stanton added in a comment to Fox Digital that the U.S. is facing a “perfect storm of heightened political rhetoric” that can cause people to become “self-radicalized.”

“You have these keyboard warriors. It’s like a drug. They go out, and they spew all their hate and venom online,” he said. “[The internet] has allowed these people, for them to stew in their own psychosis. And then, when that drug doesn’t become enough, now you see it going from like ‘The Matrix’ from the cyber world into the real world.”

Trump assassination attempt suspect Ryan Routh was seen being taken into custody Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024, in bodycam footage released Monday. (Martin County Sheriff’s Office )

Stanton added that the attempt could have been far worse if it had been carried out by trained professionals or a “super villain” who not only could have gotten as close to Trump as Routh, but also leveled an “unfortunate touchdown” against the 45th president.

“This mentally ill individual [Routh] who, by all standards is essentially — using an old school term — a loser, is able to get within a couple of 100 yards. Think about if you had an organized team of two or three,” Stanton warned.

The security expert called for Trump to receive the “highest levels” of security, but not full presidential protection, as that would entail stopping air traffic and shutting down major highways. 

TRUMP BLAMES BIDEN-HARRIS ‘RHETORIC’ FOR LATEST ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT, SAYS HE WILL ‘SAVE THE COUNTRY’ 

“We see trillions of dollars getting thrown around, and you’re telling me you can’t add enhanced personnel on someone who’s already been targeted,” Stanton said.

Karoline Leavitt, the Trump campaign’s national press secretary, told Fox News Digital that the 45th president has repeatedly called on the federal government to provide additional protection, while lauding the agents who protected Trump on Sunday. 

“President Trump is grateful to his personal protective USSS detail who acted swiftly and courageously during yet another assassination attempt. President Trump has repeatedly requested more resources to protect him,” she said.

The Trump International Golf Club is shown, Monday, Sept. 16, 2024, in West Palm Beach, Florida. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

Fox News Digital pored through Routh’s likely social media accounts Sunday evening, and found he repeatedly posted about Trump, the war in Ukraine, the 2020 election, as well as Trump’s assassination attempt in July during a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. 

WITNESS SAW TRUMP ASSASSINATION SUSPECT FLEE BUSHES, TOOK PHOTO OF GETAWAY CAR

“You and Biden should visit the injured people in the hospital from the Trump rally and attend the funeral of the murdered fireman. Trump will never do anything for them….show the world what compassion and humanity is all about,” Routh said in a reply message to Harris’ X account on July 17, for example.

In another X post published on April 22, Routh appeared to quote a commonly used phrase by the Harris campaign, declaring, “DEMOCRACY is on the ballot and we cannot lose.”

“Your campaign should be called something like KADAF. Keep America democratic and free. Trumps should be MASA …make Americans slaves again master. DEMOCRACY is on the ballot and we cannot lose. We cannot afford to fail. The world is counting on us to show the way,” the account posted ahead of Biden dropping out of the race in July and Harris ascending to the top of the Democratic ticket. 

FBI investigators gather evidence from the perimeter of Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida on Monday, Sept. 16, 2024.  (Mega for Fox News Digital)

Routh also declared on X during the 2020 election cycle that Trump was his “choice” in 2016, before completely backtracking during the 2020 election.

Fox News Digital reached out to the FBI and Palm Beach Sheriff’s Office for any information regarding how Routh knew Trump would hit the course on Sunday, but did not immediately receive replies. The Secret Service referred Fox Digital to the FBI when approached with the same inquiry. 

FAILED TRUMP ASSASSIN’S VANTAGE POINT WAS NO SECRET – PAPARAZZI HAVE STAKED OUT TREE LINE FOR YEARS

Routh was arrested in his car on I-95 after authorities issued a BOLO, also known as a “be on the lookout” alert, to law enforcement agencies on Sunday afternoon. 

Court sketch depicting Routh in Federal court in West Palm Beach, FL, on Monday, Sept. 16, 2024. (Lothar Speer )

Routh was brought to federal court on Monday morning, when he was seen laughing and smiling ahead of his first court appearance in the case.

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He faces charges of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number. Authorities said he could be hit with additional charges. 

Routh will face a bond hearing on Sept. 23 and will be arraigned on Sept. 30. 

Fox News Digital’s Brooke Singman contributed to this story.

Ohio’s Republican attorney general is blasting the federal government over the developing migrant crisis in Springfield, Ohio, and says his office has begun the process of trying to get the issue in front of a federal judge.

“I’ve asked my staff to take a look at the law and put their creative hats on to see if there’s a way we can get in front of a federal judge to review this situation,” Ohio AG Dave Yost told Fox News Digital during an interview. “I mean, think about this. If it could happen to Springfield, it could happen to any town in America. There has to be some kind of limit to the federal government’s authority to simply continue letting people in and allowing them to run free in the country and congregate in a place like Springfield that’s not prepared to handle it.”

Yost told Fox News Digital that the federal government has “completely mishandled” Springfield, where between 15,000 and 20,000 Haitian migrants have settled in the town of 60,000 and many of those migrants have come to the U.S. with temporary protected status, allowing them the ability to live and work in the U.S. for a limited amount of time.

TRUMP TALKS ABC NEWS PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE, WHAT’S HAPPENING IN SPRINGFIELD, OHIO, IN FOX NEWS INTERVIEW

Ohio AG Dave Yost spoke to Fox News Digital about the migrant crisis in Springfield, Ohio. (Getty Images)

Yost says the federal government has not properly coordinated resettling those migrants with the town and it is therefore “stressing the schools, the health care system, and the safety net” and said that at least 4,000 Haitians are receiving government assistance.

“What I’m hearing from the people of Springfield is, first of all, we need help with our town as it’s not set up to take 20,000 people to stay here for a long time,” Yost said. “And I understand that there’s also some frustration in the city because they’re goodhearted people, they’ve tried to be kind, they’ve tried to be supportive of folks that are clearly fleeing a terrible situation in Haiti, but they feel like they’re being left to handle it on their own and I don’t blame them.”

Fox News Digital asked Yost what he hopes the federal government will do in the future to avoid issues like this. 

SPRINGFIELD, OHIO, RESIDENT DETAILS ‘DYSTOPIAN NIGHTMARE’ AS HAITIAN MIGRANTS OVERRUN TOWN: ‘BREAKS MY HEART’

Rose Groute Creole Restaurant in Springfield, Ohio, a popular Haitian food establishment that opened in August 2023. (Fox News)

“Well, for starters, they need to keep track of people once they’re in the country,” Yost said. “The notion that we’re going to release somebody on a temporary basis, whether that’s on parole or temporary protection or whatever bureaucratic ‘gobblese’ they’re using this week, they ought to know where these folks are, make sure that they can get to court on their court date and if they’re not supposed to be here, that they can be sent home.”

“I don’t see any evidence that they know that. If they do know that, they’re not sharing it with local communities who need to know to be able to plan their response. I would argue, though, that there has to be a limiting principle. What if they just decided that the 8 to 12, I mean, estimates vary, but there’s millions of people that came into the country in the last four years,” Yost continued. “Can you just put all of them in Ohio and basically double our population? There has to be a limiting principle here. And we’re looking for a way to get this in front of the court.”

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Sign welcoming motorists to city of Springfield, Ohio. (Michael Lee/Fox News Digital)

Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment but did not receive a response.

Fox News Digital’s Michael Lee contributed to this report

FIRST ON FOX: A top House committee is doubling down on its efforts to get documents from the Biden administration about Vice President Kamala Harris’ role in what lawmakers call “the worst border crisis in American history.”

House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer, R-Ky., wrote to acting Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Commissioner Troy Miller following up on a request last month for documents and communications between Harris’ office and CBP.

“It is important the Committee and the American people understand Vice President Harris’s role as the border czar in the ongoing border crisis,” Comer said in the letter obtained by Fox News Digital.

TOP HOUSE COMMITTEE DEMANDS INTERNAL DOCS ON HARRIS’ ROLE IN BORDER CRISIS: ‘ABJECT FAILURE’
 

Rep. James Comer speaks during a news conference at the U.S. Capitol Visitors Center on April 30, 2024. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

“The mass illegal entry and release of illegal aliens into the United States under the Biden-Harris Administration has contributed to murders, sexual assaults, and serious bodily injuries committed against numerous Americans at the hands of illegal aliens. These crimes should have never happened.”

The letter notes a number of crimes more recently committed allegedly by illegal immigrants, including one by an MS-13 gang member and a rape in New York City, allegedly by two migrants.

Comer says the committee set an Aug 20., deadline, reiterating the request on Aug. 20 and Sept. 6. It now sets a deadline of Oct. 1 and Comer threatens additional action if the request is not met.

TRUMP REVEALS NEW PLEDGE AMID HAITIAN REFUGEE CONTROVERSY: ‘I WILL SAVE OUR CITIES’ 

“If CBP continues to withhold documents and communications on this matter, the Committee will consider alternative measures to obtain this information, including through the compulsory process,” he says.

The fight over the documents comes amid an ongoing debate about who is responsible for the border crisis and which presidential candidate is best suited to fix it. Republicans have blamed the crisis on the policies of the Biden-Harris administration, saying that the historic three-year crisis came as a direct result of the rolling back of Trump-era policies and the implementation of what they say are “open borders” policies by the administration.

Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at the Congressional Black Caucus Foundations Phoenix Awards Dinner in Washington, D.C., Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

They have focused on Harris due to her role tackling “root causes” of migration, which she was given in 2021. It led to her being dubbed the “border czar,” but it’s a title the White House rejected.

The Biden administration has argued it is dealing with a historic hemisphere-wide crisis that needs more funding and immigration reform from Congress to fix a “broken” system. It has pointed to a sharp decrease in numbers since Biden signed an executive order limiting arrivals in June.

Officials say there has been a more than 50% decrease in encounters since then, including August encounters that were 68% lower than August 2023.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE COVERAGE OF THE BORDER SECURITY CRISIS

Harris, meanwhile, has been critical of former President Trump for not supporting bipartisan legislation introduced earlier this year that conservatives said would regularize high numbers, but supporters said would increase funding to the border and limit entries into the U.S.

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“Last year, Joe and I brought together Democrats and conservative Republicans to write the strongest border bill in decades. The Border Patrol endorsed it. But Donald Trump believes a border deal would hurt his campaign, so he ordered his allies in Congress to kill the deal. Well, I refuse to play politics with our security, and here is my pledge to you: As president, I will bring back the bipartisan border security bill that he killed, and I will sign it into law,” she said at the Democratic National Convention last month.

On Tuesday, a spokesperson for the vice president said Republicans “continue to block a bipartisan border security bill supported by the Biden-Harris Administration and a bipartisan group of Senators.”

“This Administration has delivered record border security funding, and continues to fight to ensure the border is properly resourced, including by deploying cutting-edge fentanyl-detection machines. The Administration’s executive actions have brought unauthorized crossings to a lower level than when Trump left office,” spokesperson Ernesto Apreza told Fox News Digital. “President Biden and Vice President Harris are leading on border security solutions while congressional Republicans continue to exploit the issue to score political points.”

With Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz under congressional scrutiny for his connections to Chinese entities, one top lawmaker fumed at allegations he had appointed a Chinese political party member to a state board.

In August, Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., wrote to FBI Director Christopher Wray requesting information on “Chinese entities and officials Governor Walz has engaged and partnered with” as part of its investigation into “elite capture” – or China’s strategy of developing relationships with U.S. political figures.

Last week, the Daily Caller News Foundation (DCNF) reported that one of Walz’s chairperson appointments to the Council of Asian-Pacific Minnesotans (CAPM) is a person with ties to China’s third-largest political party.

HOUSE OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE INVESTIGATING WALZ OVER LONGSTANDING CONNECTIONS TO CHINA

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

In 2021, Chang Wang took his seat as vice chair representing Chinese ancestry on the CAPM’s board. His term expires in January. Other ancestries represented on the panel include Tibetan, Polynesian and Bhutanese.

Wang, however, was or is one of 25 members serving on the Central Civil and Judiciary Committee of China Association for Promoting Democracy (CAPD) [party],” the DCNF reported, citing an archived University of Minnesota biography.

In China, minor parties like CAPD effectively operate with the express permission of the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP). 

CAPD Chairman Cai Daifeng has urged CAPD members to rally around the CCP Central Committee and properly advise the ruling party, according to Chinese state media Xinhua.

When asked about the news in light of his correspondence with the FBI, Comer said it is “deeply concerning.”

GOP VETERAN LAWMAKERS DROP SCATHING ‘STOLEN VALOR’ LETTER AS TRUMP CAMP RIPS ‘FREAKISH TIMOTHY’

The House Oversight Committee is currently investigating Gov. Tim Walz’s Chinese ties. (Getty Images)

“Governor Walz’s documented history and cozy relationship with Chinese entities and officials is … a national security threat,” Comer said.

“Based on information obtained by the House Oversight Committee, the governor’s decision to embrace China with open arms may have allowed the CCP to influence his decision-making as a congressman and governor and potentially would allow the CCP to influence the White House should Vice President Harris be elected.”

The Kentucky lawmaker added that Americans deserve to have the full picture of Walz’s reported ties to the CCP.

“The committee will continue to push the FBI for all relevant information in its possession.”

According to his CAPM biography, Chang studied filmmaking at Beijing Film Academy, holds an art history degree from the University of Illinois-Champaign and got his Juris Doctor from the University of Minnesota. His legal focus is immigration law, art law and foreign direct investment.

Fox News Digital reached out to Chang via his Kingsfield Law firm but was unsuccessful.

Meanwhile, Comer indicated that the FBI has “failed” to comply with his month-old request for information.

“The committee requested information about the CCP-affiliated entities and officials with which Mr. Timothy Walz has engaged, as well as any warnings or information the Federal Bureau of Investigation has provided to Mr. Walz or his office about CCP influence operations. The deadline to produce such documents and information has passed, and the Bureau has failed to provide any response to the Committee,” Comer said, calling the bureau’s silence “inexcusable.”

Walz has reportedly visited China about two dozen times, and Comer noted he organized a 1993 trip to the Communist nation for his students. He had been teaching high school in Box Butte County, Nebraska, at the time.

In 2007, Walz was a fellow at Macau Polytechnic University in the autonomous Macau region while he was a member of Congress.

“Macau Polytechnic University exists ‘in alignment with China’s Belt and Road Initiative,’ a political warfare program developed by President Xi Jinping to exert China’s influence worldwide,” Comer said in a separate statement.

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Gov. Tim Walz speaking at LaborFest. (Fox News)

However, Chang told DCNF that his elderly parents are his only ties to China. The outlet added that his current University of Minnesota bio does not include his Chinese political affiliation as the archived link had.

Chang’s parents were scientists at a Chinese academy whose work contributed to military products, according to a Pentagon document.

“Walz… can’t explain away the pattern,” China expert Gordon Chang told Newsmax in a recent interview regarding evidence of ties to Chinese entities.

Walz is not the first Democrat to receive attention for his alleged ties to China or Chinese interests.

Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., has batted back criticisms in regard to Fang Fang, a suspected Chinese spy who had worked to develop “close ties” with his office as early as 2014.

Swalwell said previously that when the FBI alerted him to Fang’s potential ties to Chinese espionage, he “did everything I hoped everyone would do, which was to cooperate and help the FBI – and she was removed.”

Similarly, when the late Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., was notified by the feds that her professional driver of 20 years was also suspected of similar ties, she fired him.

Earlier this month, police in New York State arrested an aide to Gov. Kathy Hochul on charges of conspiring to violate the Foreign Agents Registration Act, visa fraud, alien smuggling and money laundering conspiracy.

Linda Sun was hired by the executive chamber “more than a decade ago,” Hochul said in a statement, adding that the Empire State fired her in 2023 over evidence of misconduct. Hochul’s office said Sun was first hired by the executive branch a decade ago – a timeframe that would instead have placed Andrew Cuomo in Albany.

Fox News Digital also reached out to Walz’ office in St. Paul and the Harris campaign for comment.

Fox News Digital’s Brooke Singman contributed to this report.

Only a handful of voters say that last week’s presidential debate caused them to reconsider their support for either Vice President Kamala Harris or former President Donald Trump, according to a new national poll.

A slew of political pundits and media analysts said that Harris bested Trump in the debate – their first and potentially only face-to-face encounter ahead of Election Day on Nov. 5.

However, only 3% of debate watchers said the showdown in Philadelphia caused them to reconsider whom they may support as president, according to a Monmouth University national poll released on Tuesday.

NEW POLL INDICATES WHICH CANDIDATE HAS THE EDGE IN THE MOST IMPORTANT BATTLEGROUND

Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump speak during their presidential debate in Philadelphia on Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024. (Doug Mills/The New York Times/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Just more than seven in 10 respondents said that the debate between the Democratic and Republican Party presidential nominees did not raise any doubts about the candidate they were already supporting in the White House race. Eight percent of those surveyed said some doubts were raised but that the debate did not change their minds on their support. Additionally, 17% offered that they did not see or hear any part of the debate.

WHAT THE LATEST FOX NEWS POWER RANKING IN THE PRESIDENTIAL RACE SHOW

“How much this election is shifting is measured in inches rather than yards right now,” Monmouth University Polling Institute director Patrick Murray said.

“We are basically at the point where turning out 10,000 extra voters in a key swing state could determine the outcome. Polling tells us the broad contours of the race, but it cannot measure these types of micro-shifts,” Murray emphasized.

Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump speaks during a campaign event at the Linda Ronstadt Music Hall on Thursday Sept. 12, 2024 in Tucson, Arizona. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

Trump, in social media posts and in a couple of Fox News Channel interviews following the debate, said that he won the showdown with Harris.

“That was my best Debate, EVER,” he wrote in a social media post.

During a “Fox and Friends” interview, he argued that “we had a great night, we won the debate.”

However, Harris, in her first rally last week after the debate, charged that Trump’s performance “was the same old show, that same tired playbook that we’ve heard for years… with no plans for how he would address the needs of the American people because, you know, it’s all about him, it’s not about you.”

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According to the Monmouth poll, 49% of registered voters nationwide said they would either definitely (39%) or probably (10%) vote for Harris. In a separate question, just over four in 10 said they would definitely (34%) or probably (10%) cast a ballot for Trump.

Nearly every national poll conducted after last week’s debate indicates Harris with a lower to mid-single digital advantage over Trump in the race to succeed President Biden in the White House. 

However, it remains a margin-of-error race in the seven key battleground states that will likely determine the outcome of the 2024 presidential election.

Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during a campaign rally at Bojangles Coliseum, in Charlotte, North Carolina, on Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Pointing to those surveyed who said they are extremely motivated to vote, Murray spotlighted that “Trump right now is doing better with motivated voters than he is with the overall electorate. This includes a good number of voters who may have sat out the 2020 contest. Perhaps they were exhausted by the Trump era when they stayed home four years ago, but that feeling has faded, and now they are more upset with the Biden presidency.”

“To counter that, Democrats will be trying to light a fire under voters who already have concerns about Trump but aren’t fully engaged in the election,” he added.

The Monmouth University poll was conducted Sept. 11-15, with 803 registered voters nationwide questioned. The survey’s overall sampling error is plus or minus 3.9 percentage points.

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

FIRST ON FOX: Republican senators are demanding the Secret Service (USSS) increase former President Donald Trump’s security following a second assassination attempt against him in just over two months. 

“It is imperative that the USSS detail assigned to President Trump be afforded additional protective resources, including greater staffing capabilities that would allow agents to secure a broader perimeter,” Sens. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., and Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., penned in a letter to Acting Director Ronald Rowe on Tuesday. 

The second assassination attempt took place on Sunday at Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida, where the former president was golfing. Suspect Ryan Wesley Routh, 58, was arrested after he allegedly pushed the muzzle of an AK-47 through the chain-link fence around the course. 

TOP SENATE DEMOCRAT ‘ANGRY’ OVER BIDEN-HARRIS ADMIN ‘STONEWALLING’ AFTER TRUMP ASSASSINATION ATTEMPTS

GOP senators are demanding increased security from the Secret Service for former President Donald Trump. (Reuters)

The Secret Service opened fire after the suspect was seen raising the firearm, and Routh fled in a black Nissan before being apprehended. 

Marshall and Tuberville, joined by six other senators, including, Sens. James Risch, R-Idaho, Mike Lee, R-Utah, Marco Rubio, R-Fla., Bill Cassidy, R-La., Rick Scott, R-Fla., and Bill Hagerty, R-Tenn., requested that Rowe and the Secret Service “designate President Trump as a protectee with the same level of protective resources afforded to a sitting president.” 

SCHUMER REVIVES DEM-BACKED IVF BILL AFTER TRUMP PROPOSAL

They additionally asked for “a briefing to Members of Congress and staff regarding the attempts against President Trump’s life, the ongoing threat environment, and how the USSS will continue to operate successfully in their no-fail mission.”

DEMS POUR $25M INTO GROUND GAME AS GOP INCHES CLOSER TO SENATE MAJORITY

The suspect is shown being taken away after authorities arrested him for allegedly attempting to assassinate former President Donald Trump in Florida. (Martin County Sheriff’s Office)

Additionally, they called on the acting director to provide responses within 10 days to several questions, including what additional protective resources were allocated following the July 13 assassination attempt, and what steps the USSS had taken to further enhance Trump’s protection.

The Republicans referred to a statement from Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, indicating that there had been “significant physical and technical enhancements” in July after the first attack. 

TAMMY BALDWIN FACES CONFLICT OF INTEREST CONCERNS OVER PARTNER’S WALL STREET GIG

Former President Donald Trump is seen with blood on his face surrounded by Secret Service agents as he is taken off the stage at a campaign event at Butler Farm Show Inc. in Butler, Pennsylvania, July 13, 2024. (Rebecca Droke/AFP via Getty Images)

The senators referred to a statement made this week by President Biden, in which he claimed that he had directed his administration to “ensure that Secret Service has every resource, capability and protective measure necessary to ensure the former president’s continued safety.” 

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“What additional protective resources will this order allocate, and how will the USSS further ensure President Trump’s protection?” they questioned. 

The DHS and Secret Service did not provide immediate comment to Fox News Digital. 

A top Senate Democrat blasted the Biden-Harris administration for “stonewalling” in response to requests for information on the assassination attempts on former President Donald Trump and the potential failures of the U.S. Secret Service. 

Chairman of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations (PSI) within the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee (HSGAC), Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., said the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) was “almost derelict in its duty by resisting our requests for documents, evidence and information that are necessary to investigate.”

The Democrat reiterated his disappointment in the department, and added that he has become “angry” that DHS has not been more “forthcoming.” 

SCHUMER REVIVES DEM-BACKED IVF BILL AFTER TRUMP PROPOSAL

Sen. Blumenthal slammed DHS for stonewalling Congress’ requests for information. (Reuters)

The Democrat foreshadowed potential subpoenas being used in the future, telling reporters on Monday, “We may need to require more cooperation from them. And we have the power to do so through the compulsory process. In other words, the subpoena power.”

PSI Ranking Member Ron Johnson, R-Wis., echoed Blumenthal’s characterization of the DHS and its lack of transparency, claiming, “they’re holding all their cards close to the vest.”

DEMS POUR $25M INTO GROUND GAME AS GOP INCHES CLOSER TO SENATE MAJORITY

Sen. Ron Johnson questions Secret Service Director Ronald Rowe Jr. and FBI Deputy Director Paul Abbate at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on the attempted assassination of Republican presidential nominee and former U.S. President Donald Trump, on Capitol Hill, on July 30, 2024. (Umit Bektas/Reuters)

In fact, he said their withholding of information is “driving suspicion and driving conspiracy theories.” 

As for his Democratic counterpart on the PSI and HSGAC, Chairman Gary Peters, D-Mich., Johnson said, “I hope they’re getting frustrated.”

TAMMY BALDWIN FACES CONFLICT OF INTEREST CONCERNS OVER PARTNER’S WALL STREET GIG

Acting Director Ronald Rowe Jr. of the U.S. Secret Service addresses the media at a press conference with updates on the investigation into the apparent assassination attempt of former president Donald Trump, West Palm Beach, FL, Monday, September 16, 2024. (Mega for Fox News Digital)

“I wrote a letter that it took us a couple weeks for all four offices to sign onto. That’s the one that upset them because we sent it to Secret Service and DHS. We got a response in four hours, and the response was pretty disrespectful,” he described. “And I think that fired up, Chairman Peters and Chairman Blumenthal … I think that’s the reaction you heard last week. They’re not happy with the way they’re treating them.”

Neither DHS nor the Secret Service immediately provided comment to Fox News Digital. 

JON TESTER CASTS DOUBT ON UNFAVORABLE POLL IN MONTANA SENATE RACE: ‘GIVE ME A BREAK’

Trump plays golf at the Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida, U.S., December 30, 2020.  (REUTERS/Marco Bello)

On Sunday, the Secret Service opened fire at Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida after seeing a suspect raising a weapon. The suspect fled the scene in a black Nissan SUV but was apprehended by authorities. 

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The suspect, a 58-year-old man known as Ryan Wesley Routh, had allegedly pushed the muzzle of an AK-47 through the chain-link fence outside where Trump was golfing. 

The HSGAC and PSI had already been investigating the first assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania on July 13, most recently receiving a briefing from Acting Secret Service Director Ronald Rowe last week, which they said left them frustrated and disappointed by the uncovered failures.