NationalWatch

A federal judge ruled Tuesday Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. can sue the Biden administration over alleged social media censorship of his Children’s Health Defense charity, which questions the safety of vaccines.

“The Court finds that Kennedy is likely to succeed on his claim that suppression of content posted was caused by actions of Government Defendants, and there is a substantial risk that he will suffer similar injury in the near future,” U.S. District Judge Terry Doughty in Louisiana said in a ruling. 

The lawsuit alleges the government had pressured social media giants like Facebook, X and YouTube to censor content it considered misinformation.

The Children’s Health Defense, which was founded by Kennedy, says its mission is “ending childhood health epidemics by eliminating toxic exposure.” 

RFK, JR. TORCHES MEDIA CENSORSHIP AS HE ENDS PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN

Critics of the charity have called it “anti-vaccine.” The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has said that vaccines, including the COVID-19 vaccine, are “safe and effective.” 

“Judge Terry Doughty carefully and clearly analyzed the law and facts and applied the framework from the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision in Murthy v. Missouri regarding standing,” CHD general counsel Kim Rosenberg said after the ruling, referring to a similar case brought against the government. 

“The court also firmly found in plaintiffs’ favor that plaintiffs had not waived — and indeed had affirmatively raised — direct censorship claims in addition to listener claims.”

Murthy v. Missouri was recently brought by the Republican attorneys general of Missouri and Louisiana, who accused the Biden administration of pressuring social media companies to censor certain content. 

A Louisiana court banned communication between the government and the companies, but the U.S. Supreme Court, in a 6-3 decision in June, said the plaintiffs had insufficient evidence to prove direct injury and found no direct link to the government in the censorship, adding companies have a right to moderate their own content. 

KENNEDY FAMILY MEMBERS DENOUNCE RFK JR’S DECISION TO ENDORSE TRUMP AS A ‘BETRAYAL OF VALUES’ 

Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett wrote in the decision that “the evidence indicates that the platforms had independent incentives to moderate content and often exercised their own judgment.”

Chief Justice John Roberts and justices Brett Kavanaugh, Elena Kagan, Sonia Sotomayor and Ketanji Brown Jackson also voted against the plaintiffs. 

In the Kennedy case, Doughty said there was direct evidence the charity’s censorship had been linked to the government. 

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The case will now go back to a lower court, and the injunction will be reviewed, according to the Washington Examiner. 

The decision came just days before Kennedy suspended his struggling presidential campaign and endorsed former President Trump. 

Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.’s family denounced him for “betraying” their family values after the former presidential candidate gave his full-throated support Friday to former President Trump. 

“We want an America filled with hope and bound together by a shared vision of a brighter future, a future defined by individual freedom, economic promise and national pride,” a statement signed by five of the former third-party presidential candidate’s siblings said.

“We believe in Harris and Walz,” the statement continued. “Our brother Bobby’s decision to endorse Trump [Friday] is a betrayal of the values that our father and our family hold most dear. It is a sad ending to a sad story.”

The statement, signed by Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, Courtney Kennedy, Kerry Kennedy, Chris Kennedy and Rory Kennedy, was shared by Joe Kennedy III, a grandson of Robert F. Kennedy, who wrote that it was “well said.”

ROBERT F. KENNEDY, JR. LAMBASTS ‘DNC-ALIGNED MAINSTREAM MEDIA,’ ACCUSES THEM OF ENGINEERING HARRIS’ RISE

Jack Schlossberg, RFK Jr.’s cousin, wrote that his relative was “for sale” and now “works” for Trump.

“Never been less surprised in my life. Been saying it for over a year — RFK Jr. is for sale, works for Trump. Bedfellows and loving it,” Schlossberg wrote in an X post. “Kamala Harris is for the people — the easiest decision of all time just got easier.”

Schlossberg, the son of Caroline Kennedy and the grandson of JFK, has been a vocal critic of his cousin’s campaign. 

When RFK Jr. first announced his candidacy, Schlossberg called him an “embarrassment.”

The 31-year-old has been an ardent supporter of Harris and recently spoke at the Democratic National Convention.

KENNEDY FAMILY CHOOSES POLITICS OVER FAMILY WITH ENDORSEMENT IN 2024 PRESIDENTIAL RACE

The Independent presidential candidate on Friday dropped his White House bid and announced support for Trump.

TRUMP THANKS RFK JR FOR ENDORSEMENT AFTER THIRD-PARTY CANDIDATE SUSPENDS HIS CAMPAIGN: ‘THAT’S BIG’

“I’ve made the heart-wrenching decision to suspend my campaign and to support President Trump. This decision is agonizing for me because of the difficulties it causes me and my children and my friends,” he said during an event in Phoenix, Arizona. 

WATCH:

Hours later, Kennedy joined Trump onstage at an Arizona rally, where the crowd burst into resounding “Bobby!” chants.

“Three causes drove me to enter this race in the first place. And these are the principal causes that persuaded me to leave the Democratic Party and run as an independent and now to throw my support at President Trump,” RFK Jr. said. “The causes were free speech, war in Ukraine and the war on our children.” 

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RFK Jr. said the Democratic National Committee “waged continued legal war” on both Trump and him, while also accusing the DNC of running a “sham primary” that prevented a serious primary challenge to President Biden before he secured the Democratic nomination and dropped out in July and endorsed Harris.

Fox News Digital’s Brie Stimson contributed to this report.

“Abandon Biden” is now “Abandon Harris.”

The pro-Palestinian group opposing the Democratic Party announced on Friday that its members were “now mobilizing under the banner of ‘Abandon Harris.'”

“While we will keep the registered name of Abandon Biden, our mission is now laser-focused on exposing and opposing Kamala Harris and her complicity in genocide,” the statement from the group explained. “We call on all people of conscience to join us in holding the Democratic Party accountable for the bloodshed in Gaza.”

HARRIS TRIES TO THREAD ISRAEL, GAZA NEEDLE WITH ANTI-ISRAEL AGITATORS A CONSTANT PRESENCE AT DNC

“The DNC’s recent actions have only confirmed what we’ve been saying all along: the Democratic Party has no interest in ending the genocide in Gaza,” the group continued. “They are not mere bystanders; they are active participants in this brutal, unforgivable violence.”

Abandon Harris is part of a larger movement on the left opposing the Democratic Party due to its continued support of Israel in the Jewish state’s war against Hamas in Gaza.

Anti-Israel demonstrators expressed their discontent with Harris’ campaign throughout this week’s Democratic National Convention with marches, protests, and demonstrations against speakers.

CHICAGO DNC: ANTI-ISRAEL PROTESTS ERUPT AS KAMALA HARRIS SPEAKS ON FINAL NIGHT OF CONVENTION

The Democratic presidential nominee attempted to extend an olive branch to the anti-Israel protesters during her speech at the convention, telling the crowd that President Biden’s administration is “working around the clock because now is the time to get a hostage deal and a cease-fire deal done.”

“And let me be clear – I will always stand up for Israel’s right to defend itself, and I will always ensure Israel has the ability to defend itself, because the people of Israel must never again face the horror that a terrorist organization called Hamas caused on Oct. 7.”

At the same time, Harris said, “what has happened in Gaza over the past 10 months is devastating,” referring to the war casualties of innocent Palestinian people.

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In July, Harris met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to reiterate the administration’s support for Israel, while also expressing her “serious concern about the dire humanitarian situation there.” There was an apparent cease-fire deal also discussed at the time. 

Fox News Digital’s Jamie Joseph contributed to this report.

Vice President Kamala Harris, urged her supporters to “get out there, let’s fight for it,” as she concluded her presidential nomination acceptance speech at this week’s Democratic National Convention.

With both major party national nominating conventions now in the books, the 2024 edition of the race for the White House enters the final sprint.

Both Harris and former President Trump, the Republican Party’s nominee, will be back on the campaign trail in the upcoming week, along with their running mates, making stops across some of the seven crucial battleground states that will likely determine the outcome of the November election.

HARRIS TAKES AIM AT TRUMP AS SHE VOWS ‘TO BE A PRESIDENT FOR ALL AMERICANS’

It’s a process that will be repeated each and every week until Election Day.

Harris interview?

The former president, his running mate Sen. JD Vance of Ohio, and their campaign and allied Republicans have repeatedly criticized Harris for not holding a major news conference or sitting for an interview since replacing Biden atop their party’s 2024 ticket over a month ago.

HEAD HERE FOR THE LATEST FOX NEWS POLLING IN THE 2024 ELECTION

So all eyes will be on Harris to see if she lives up to her promise to do a national news media interview in the week left in the month of August.

Fundraising fight

There’s just one week left in August, and the end of the month will bring anticipation of the latest fundraising figures from both the Trump and Harris campaigns.

President Biden enjoyed the fundraising lead over Trump earlier this year, but the former president saw his fundraising soar in the late spring and early summer.

But after Biden’s blockbuster move to end his re-election bid and Harris replacing him as the Democrats’ standard-bearer, the campaign and the party’s fundraising surged and Harris walloped Trump in fundraising during July. 

The August numbers, which the campaigns could release as early as September 1, will be closely watched and scrutinized, as fundraising along with polling is a crucial metric.

Debate clash

The first and possibly the only presidential debate between Harris and Trump is scheduled for Sept. 10 in Philadelphia.

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The face-off could be the most important evening in the 2024 presidential election, with the power to potentially shift or transform the current margin-of-error race between the vice president and the former president.

Need proof – just look back to the late June debate between Biden and Trump. The president’s disastrous performance fueled questions about whether the 81-year-old president had the mental and physical stamina to handle another four years in the White House. And it sparked calls from within his own party for Biden to drop out of the race. 

Less than a month after the clash in Atlanta, the president was out of the race.

Early voting 

There are 73 days to go until Election Day, but some voters will start casting ballots next month. 

In swing state North Carolina, mail-in voting begins on Sept. 6. And early voting begins on Sept. 16 in Pennsylvania and Sept. 26 in Michigan, two other crucial electoral battlegrounds.

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

FIRST ON FOX: Sixteen Republican-led states are suing the Biden administration to block a controversial parole program that gives protection from deportation to illegal immigrants who are married to U.S. citizens.

The states, led by Texas and America First Legal, are suing over the “parole in place” rule announced in June by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The rule allows for humanitarian parole and a path to permanent residency for certain illegal immigrant spouses of U.S. citizens without them having to leave the country.

The states argue that the rule violates federal law, which prohibits illegal immigrants from obtaining immigration benefits, including permanent status, without first having left the country and being readmitted. They argue it does that by an unlawful use of parole, which is limited to use on a “case-by-case basis for urgent humanitarian reasons or significant public benefit.”

GOP LAWMAKERS WARN BIDEN PAROLE SCHEME COULD LEAD TO MASSIVE SPIKE IN MARRIAGE FRAUD

“Claiming that it has ‘unfettered discretion,’ Implementation of Keeping Families Together…DHS has announced the creation of a program that effectively provides a new pathway to a green card and eventual citizenship; announcing that it would allow more than 1.3 million aliens who are unlawfully present in the United States—more than 200,000 of whom live in Texas—to circumvent the processes established by Congress to apply for permanent residency,” the states argue in the filing, obtained by Fox News Digital.

The new process applies to noncitizen spouses who have lived in the U.S. for 10 years as of June and are judged not to pose a threat to public safety or national security, allowing them to apply for permanent residency. It argued that families live in fear and “face deep uncertainty about their future” due to the requirement that they depart and be processed abroad.

“In addition, individuals must have no disqualifying criminal history or otherwise constitute a threat to national security or public safety and should otherwise merit a favorable exercise of discretion,” a fact sheet said.

The DHS estimates that it will affect approximately 500,000 illegal immigrants. The process would not be eligible for new arrivals, as they must be in the U.S. for more than 10 years by June 2024.

TOP HOUSE COMMITTEE DEMANDS MAYORKAS FORK OVER DOCS AFTER BIDEN ADMIN FREEZES MIGRANT FLIGHT PROGRAM o

However, the coalition of states says that it would allow more than 1.3 million illegal immigrants to benefit. They argue it would also violate laws created by Congress that restrict the use of parole to a case-by-case determination.

“Under Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, the federal government is actively working to turn the United States into a nation without borders and a country without laws. I will not let this happen,” Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said in a statement. “Biden’s new parole workaround unilaterally grants the opportunity for citizenship to unvetted aliens whose first act on American soil was to break our laws. This violates the Constitution and actively worsens the illegal immigration disaster that is hurting Texas and our country while the Administration denies any responsibility for the border crisis.”

The states in the lawsuit are Texas, Idaho, Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, North Dakota, Ohio, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee and Wyoming.

Stephen Miller, president of America First Legal, called the rule “brazenly unlawful.”

“Since our founding over three years ago, America First Legal has led the courtroom fight against the open borders agenda of Biden and Harris. We have sued time and again to fight their catastrophic policies. Today, we are proud to represent a coalition of 16 states in filing a lawsuit to block an unconstitutional Biden-Harris amnesty program,” he said. “This executive amnesty gives over one million illegals legal status, work permits, and a path to voting citizenship. It is brazenly unlawful, a deadly accelerant to the ruinous border invasion, and we will use every lawful tool to stop it.”

CLICK HERE FOR MORE COVERAGE OF THE BORDER SECURITY CRISIS

DHS responded to the lawsuit with a statement promising to defend the policy in court.

“The Department of Homeland Security is committed to Keeping Families Together. Keeping Families Together is grounded in well-established legal authority, and its purpose – enabling the families of U.S. Citizens to live without fear of separation – is consistent with fundamental American values. We will defend it in court. DHS is continuing to process already filed applications, and to accept and process new applications,” a spokesperson said.

The White House, in a separate statement, accused Republican officials of being “more focused on playing politics than helping American families or fixing our broken immigration system.”

“This lawsuit is seeking to force U.S. citizens and their families, people who have lived in the United States for more than ten years, to continue to live in the shadows. The lawsuit aims to separate American citizens from their spouses and stepchildren who are already eligible for lawful permanent residency and could remain together through this process,” spokesperson Angelo Fernández Hernández said. “This lawsuit goes against our nation’s values, and we will vigorously defend Keeping Families Together and our ability to make the immigration system more fair and more just. We will also continue securing our border and enforcing our laws, something Congressional Republicans have refused to do time and time again.” 

“Since President Biden announced new, decisive executive actions to secure the border, encounters between ports of entry have dropped significantly – encounters in July 2024 were the lowest since September 2020 and lower than at this point in 2019,” he added.

The Biden administration’s use of parole has caused controversy with Republicans. The administration is paroling up to 1,450 a day at ports of entry via the CBP One app and is allowing an additional 30,000 nationals from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela to enter into the U.S. a month via a separate program.

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The CHNV program was halted last month after an internal report discovered a significant amount of fraud among those applying to be supporters for migrants entering the U.S.

FIRST ON FOX: A dozen Republican White House lawyers who served in the administrations of then-Presidents Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush are endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris in her race against GOP nominee former President Donald Trump.

“We endorse Kamala Harris and support her election as President because we believe that returning former President Trump to office would threaten American democracy and undermine the rule of law in our country,” the lawyers wrote in a letter that the signatories shared first with Fox News Digital.

The letter was released on Friday, the day after Harris delivered her nomination acceptance speech in the culminating moment of the Democratic National Convention, which was held in Chicago.

HARRIS TAKES AIM AT TRUMP AS SHE VOWS ‘TO BE A PRESIDENT FOR ALL AMERICANS’

The signatories added that “we urge all patriotic Republicans, former Republicans, conservative and center-right citizens, and independent voters to place love of country above party and ideology and join us in supporting Kamala Harris.”

The list includes Michael Luttig, the prominent right-of-center legal scholar and retired federal appeals court judge who previously served as assistant counsel to the president in the Reagan White House. Luttig made headlines at the start of the week by endorsing Harris as the Democrats’ convention kicked off.

WATCH: TRUMP JOINS FOX NEWS FOLLOWING HARRIS ADDRESS 

The letter notes, “Donald Trump’s own Vice President and multiple members of his Administration and White House Staff at the most senior levels – as well as former Republican nominees for President and Vice President – have already declined to endorse his reelection.”

Those signing the letter pointed to what they called “the profound risks presented by his [Trump’s] potential return to public office. Indeed, Trump’s own Attorney General and National Security Adviser have said unequivocally that Donald Trump is unfit for office, dangerous, and detached from reality.”

And pointing to the then-president’s attempts to reverse the results of his 2020 election loss to President Biden, the Republican lawyers argued that “Trump’s attempt to prevent the peaceful transfer of power after losing the election proved beyond any reasonable doubt his willingness to place his personal interests above the law and values of our constitutional democracy.”

“We cannot go along with other former Republican officials who have condemned Trump with these devastating judgments but are still not willing to vote for Harris,” they added. “We believe this election presents a binary choice, and Trump is utterly disqualified.”

And they charged that Trump “was guilty of grave wrongdoing to our Constitution, democracy, and rule of law, and who remains unfit, dangerous, and detached from reality.”

Trump’s numerous indictments in four different legal cases dating back to the spring fueled support for him among Republicans as he fended off over a dozen challengers for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination.

His fundraising skyrocketed this spring after he was found guilty of all 34 felony counts in the first criminal trial of a former or current president in the nation’s history.

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While Trump easily captured the Republican nomination as he cruised through the GOP’s primaries and caucuses, his final rival – former ambassador and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley – continued to win up to 20% of the vote in Republican contests long after she dropped out of the race.

President Biden’s campaign – which transformed into the Harris campaign after the president’s blockbuster announcement last month that he was ending his re-election bid – has made efforts for months to court Republican voters disaffected with Trump.

The Harris campaign during the four-day convention in Chicago this week showcased Republicans who are supporting the vice president.

Among them were former Georgia Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan and former Rep. Adam Kinzinger of Illinois.

Trump has dramatically transformed the Republican Party since he first won the GOP nomination and the White House in 2016, turning it from a conservative-dominated party to one where the populist wing of MAGA (Make America Great Again) supporters and followers dominate. 

The list of signatories to the letter, besides Luttig, includes (in alphabetical order) John B. Bellinger III, Senior Associate Counsel to the President and Legal Adviser to the NSC under George W. Bush, Phillip D. Brady, Deputy Counsel to the President under Reagan, Benedict S. Cohen, Associate Counsel to the President under Reagan, Peter D. Keisler, Associate Counsel to the President under Reagan, and Robert M. Kruger, Associate Counsel to the President under Reagan.

Also included are John M. Mitnick, Associate Counsel to the President and Deputy Counsel, White House Homeland Security Council under George W. Bush, Alan Charles Raul, Associate Counsel to the President under Reagan and General Counsel, OMB under Reagan and George H.W. Bush, Nicholas Rostow, Special Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs and Legal Adviser to the NSC under Reagan and George H.W. Bush, Peter J. Rusthoven, Associate Counsel to the President under Reagan, David B. Waller, Senior Associate Counsel to the President under Reagan, and Wendell L. Willkie II, Associate Counsel to the President under Reagan.

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

FIRST ON FOX: The Republican National Committee (RNC) is suing the Election Commission of the City of Detroit over allegations they violated state law by hiring more than seven times more Democratic poll workers than Republicans for the 2024 election.

Michigan requires that the board of election commissioners “shall appoint an equal number, as nearly as possible, of election inspectors in each election precinct from each major political party,” according to Section 168.74 of the state’s election law.

However, the city of Detroit hired about 2,300 Democratic poll workers and only about 300 Republican election inspectors for the state’s 2024 primary election, according to the Detroit Election Commission Report cited in the lawsuit.

The lawsuit, filed by the RNC, Michigan GOP, and chairs of Wayne County Republican committees late Thursday, charged that the City of Detroit’s Election Commission violated state law and, moreover, has a legal duty to appoint an equal number of GOP and Democratic poll workers before the November election.

OHIO STATE SECRETARY SAYS 100 NON-US CITIZENS VOTED IN RECENT ELECTIONS, BEGINS PROCESS TO PROSECUTE

“Detroit’s failure to hire Republican poll workers is the kind of bad-faith Democrat interference that drives down faith in elections,” RNC Chairman Michael Whatley and Co-Chair Lara Trump said in a statement shared with Fox News Digital. 

Section 674(2) of the Election Law also requires the commission to “appoint at least 1 election inspector from each major political party,” but according to the lawsuit obtained by Fox News Digital, 200 of the 335 precincts did not have a single Republican election inspector.

“The RNC is bringing suit to remedy this completely unacceptable breach of public trust and our unprecedented election integrity campaign will continue to fight in Michigan and nationwide to protect the rights of every voter to have fair, accurate, secure and transparent elections,” Whatley and Trump said in a joint statement.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

The lawsuit asked that the commission use “appropriate practices and procedures to ensure the appointment of an equal number, as nearly as possible, of Republican and Democrat election inspectors,” and comply with state law by Oct. 15.

The Detroit Election Commission did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. joined former President Trump on stage at his Friday rally in Glendale, Arizona, hours after the third-party candidate announced he was suspending his presidential campaign and endorsing the Republican nominee. 

“We are both in this to do what’s right for the country,” Trump told the large crowd inside the Desert Diamond Arena with RFK Jr. standing beside him, adding that if he wins the presidency, he would establish an independent presidential commission on assassination attempts that would also be tasked with releasing all the remaining documents related to the assassination of former President John F. Kennedy, RFK Jr.’s uncle, who was killed in 1963. 

“He is a phenomenal person, a phenomenal man who loves the people of this country,” Trump added of RFK Jr.

The former long-shot candidate said he had more than one meeting with Trump starting last month, in which they “talked not about the things that separate us because we don’t agree on everything, but on the values and the issues that bind us together. And one of the issues that he talked about was having safe food and ending the chronic disease epidemic.” 

ROBERT F. KENNEDY, JR. LAMBASTS ‘DNC-ALIGNED MAINSTREAM MEDIA,’ ACCUSES THEM OF ENGINEERING HARRIS’ RISE

He added of Trump: “Don’t you want a president who’s going to protect America’s freedoms and who is going to protect us against totalitarianism? … Don’t you want a safe environment for your children? Don’t you want to know that the food that you’re feeding them is not filled with chemicals that are going to give them cancer and chronic disease? And don’t you want a president that’s going to make America healthy again?” 

Trump added that RFK Jr. “did well in the polls” but the two-party system made it “very tough” for his candidacy. 

He also pitched to RFK Jr.’s supporters. 

“And all who supported Bobby’s campaign, I very simply ask you to join us in building this coalition,” Trump said. “It’s a beautiful coalition in defense of liberty and safety, prosperity and peace. It’s going to be an incredible coalition, and the relationship has been so good for so long. I have no doubt it’s going to work and work well, but we have to win. We have to take our country away from these people that are going to destroy our country.” 

Trump and RFK Jr. rallied a capacity crowd in the same arena where Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate Gov. Tim Walz held a rally earlier this month. 

RFK Jr. endorsed Trump earlier Friday, saying that he planned to stay off the ballot in red and blue states, so people could vote for him there, but remove his name from battleground states.

“Three causes drove me to enter this race in the first place. And these are the principal causes that persuaded me to leave the Democratic Party and run as an independent and now to throw my support at President Trump,” RFK said. “The causes were free speech, war in Ukraine and the war on our children.” 

Kennedy said that the Democratic National Committee “waged continued legal war” on both Trump and himself while also accusing the DNC of running a “sham primary” that prevented a serious primary challenge to President Biden before he secured the Democratic nomination and dropped out in July, endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris. 

TRUMP THANKS RFK JR FOR ENDORSEMENT AFTER THIRD-PARTY CANDIDATE SUSPENDS HIS CAMPAIGN: ‘THAT’S BIG’

Harris’ campaign reached out to RFK Jr. supporters in a statement to Fox News on Friday. 

“For any American out there who is tired of Donald Trump and looking for a new way forward, ours is a campaign for you. In order to deliver for working people and those who feel left behind, we need a leader who will fight for you, not just for themselves, and bring us together, not tear us apart. Vice President Harris wants to earn your support. Even if we do not agree on every issue, Kamala Harris knows there is more that unites us than divides us: respect for our rights, public safety, protecting our freedoms, and opportunity for all.”

DNC senior advisor Mary Beth Cahill said “good riddance.” 

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

“The more voters learned about RFK Jr. the less they liked him. Donald Trump isn’t earning an endorsement that’s going to help build support, he’s inheriting the baggage of a failed fringe candidate. Good riddance,” she said. 

EXCLUSIVE: Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign manager dodged questions about whether the Democratic presidential nominee would hold a press conference as her presidential bid recently passed one month since being launched. 

Campaign manager Julie Chávez Rodríguez ducked questions from Fox News Digital on Thursday at the Democratic National Convention (DNC) in Chicago, keeping her head down and speeding away when pressed about Harris speaking to the press, which she has been avoiding. 

“Will Kamala talk to the press? Will she do a press conference?” Fox News Digital asked Chávez Rodríguez, who is also the granddaughter of labor activist Cesar Chavez. 

TRUMP TAUNTED OVER SPECULATED RFK JR ENDORSEMENT: ‘WEIRD AS HELL’

“Will Kamala do a press conference? Will she do a press conference?” she was asked a total of four times. 

Chávez Rodríguez looked away and rushed to an open door without responding to the queries. 

Harris officially announced her campaign on July 21, following President Biden’s decision to drop out and endorse her as his successor. Since then, 33 days have passed without Harris holding a press conference or sitting down for a news interview. 

BIDEN-HARRIS HHS SECRETARY SIDESTEPS BACKING ANY LIMIT ON LATE-TERM ABORTION

Her campaign has remained silent on whether she will hold a press conference prior to the presidential election in 74 days. Early voting begins even sooner, kicking off in just 14 days, meaning there are just two weeks before some voters can cast their ballots without hearing Harris answer difficult questions about her record and policy positions. 

DEM LAWMAKERS’ VOTING RECORDS WITH BIDEN-HARRIS IN SPOTLIGHT AHEAD OF TIGHT RACES

Harris’ campaign website is also devoid of any policy positions. She recently released an economic agenda, which featured a proposal for price controls in the food industry, which was heavily scrutinized. However, no new policy prescriptions were introduced during the DNC this week. 

NEWSOM DODGES QUESTION ON HARRIS PRICE CONTROLS: ‘SHE HASN’T PUT OUT THE DETAILS’

After being continuously pressed on when she would sit down for an interview, Harris told reporters earlier this month that she wants to get an interview on the schedule by the end of August. A campaign spokesperson repeated this on CNN, claiming last week that they would be doing a sit-down interview by the end of the month. 

However, no such interviews have been announced.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

The lack of access to Harris on her presidential campaign could foreshadow what can be expected in terms of transparency out of a Harris and Gov. Tim Walz, D-Minn., administration. 

Former President Trump’s campaign has used Harris’ avoidance of the press as an opportunity to show contrast, holding frequent press conferences and taking questions from reporters. He has further challenged Harris to speak to the press herself. 

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

Former President Trump on Friday, while speaking at a restaurant in Las Vegas, thanked Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. for his endorsement minutes after the third-party candidate said he was suspending his campaign because he didn’t want to “be a spoiler.” 

“We just had a very nice endorsement from RFK Jr, Bobby,” Trump said at Il Toro E La Capra eatery just off the Vegas Strip, where he addressed restaurant workers and other supporters.

The Republican presidential nominee said that he would be speaking more about RFK Jr.’s endorsement at a rally in Glendale, Arizona, on Friday evening, the same venue where Vice President Harris held a large rally earlier this month, and where Trump teased a “surprise guest.” 

He continued, “But I just want to thank everybody, and I want to thank Bobby. That was very nice. That was really, that’s big. He’s a great guy, respected by everybody.” 

ROBERT F KENNEDY JR. SUSPENDS CAMPAIGN, BACKS TRUMP FOR PRESIDENT

RFK Jr. endorsed Trump just minutes before the former president began speaking in Las Vegas, saying during a scheduled press conference in Glendale that he planned to stay off the ballot in red and blue states, so people could vote for him there, but remove his name from battleground states.

“Three causes drove me to enter this race in the first place. And these are the principal causes that persuaded me to leave the Democratic Party and run as an independent and now to throw my support at President Trump,” RFK Jr. said. “The causes were free speech, war in Ukraine and the war on our children.” 

RFK Jr. said that the Democratic National Committee “waged continued legal war” on both Trump and himself, while also accusing the DNC of running a “sham primary” that prevented a serious primary challenge to President Biden before he secured the Democratic nomination, then dropped out in July, endorsing Harris.

WILL ROBERT F KENNEDY’S LIKELY EXIT FROM 2024 RACE BOOT TRUMP OVER HARRIS?

Harris’ campaign reached out to RFK Jr. supporters in a statement to Fox News on Friday. 

“For any American out there who is tired of Donald Trump and looking for a new way forward, ours is a campaign for you. In order to deliver for working people and those who feel left behind, we need a leader who will fight for you, not just for themselves, and bring us together, not tear us apart. Vice President Harris wants to earn your support. Even if we do not agree on every issue, Kamala Harris knows there is more that unites us than divides us: respect for our rights, public safety, protecting our freedoms, and opportunity for all.”

DNC senior advisor Mary Beth Cahill said “good riddance.” 

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

“The more voters learned about RFK Jr. the less they liked him. Donald Trump isn’t earning an endorsement that’s going to help build support, he’s inheriting the baggage of a failed fringe candidate. Good riddance,” she said. 

The Trump campaign blasted Vice President Kamala Harris as a “liar” and “desperate” after her campaign released a TV ad claiming former President Trump’s policies brought in a “violent crime wave,” telling Fox News Digital Harris is an “open border, weak-on-crime liberal.” 

The Harris campaign, just a day after the vice president accepted the Democratic presidential nomination in Chicago, released a television ad focused on crime. The ad claims on Harris’ watch, “violent crime went down.” 

“Her record as district attorney and attorney general — locking up child abusers, online predators and violent offenders and shutting down international drug cartels,” the ad says. “Under Donald Trump? A violent crime wave. And Trump ordered MAGA extremists to kill the bipartisan border security deal.

“Trump just talks tough. Kamala Harris is tough.”

NEW HARRIS BORDER SECURITY ADS MARK 180 FROM YEARS OF LIBERAL IMMIGRATION ADVOCACY

Trump campaign national press secretary Karoline Leavitt called Harris “a liar.” 

“The truth is Kamala and Biden reversed every single one of President Trump’s effective immigration policies immediately upon taking office and opened the border to criminals, terrorists and drug cartels,” Leavitt told Fox News Digital. “If Ms. Border Czar Harris really wanted to secure the border, why doesn’t she go back to Washington and do it today?

“She won’t, because she’s an open border, weak-on-crime liberal.”

Meanwhile, the Trump campaign took to X, formerly Twitter, and wrote that violent crime “isn’t down, it’s up almost 25% across 66 major U.S. cities while Kamala has presided over three of the four most murderous years in the last 25 years.”

DNC ATTENDEES WEIGH IN: ARE KAMALA HARRIS’ AND JOE BIDEN’S RECORDS ONE AND THE SAME?

“Under Kamala, illegals she let into the country are brutally raping and murdering our citizens,” the campaign continued, adding that, as district attorney, Harris “was known for being soft on crime, while San Francisco had the highest murder rate in a decade.”

The campaign said Harris became “the model” for “Soros-backed prosecutors across the country.” 

“Drug cartels haven’t been ‘shut down,’ they’ve ravaged our communities with deadly drugs flowing across the border in unprecedented numbers,” the campaign continued. “The Sinaloa Cartel has made record profit under Kamala.” 

As for the bipartisan border bill, the Trump campaign said it would have “put millions of illegals on the fast track to citizenship.”

Trump visited the border in Arizona Thursday. 

Trump’s campaign has referenced Americans like Jocelyn Nungaray, Laken Riley and Rachel Morin, who were all allegedly killed by illegal immigrants.

Two Venezuelan nationals — 21-year-old Johan Jose Martinez-Rangel and 26-year-old Franklin Jose Peña Ramos — have been charged with capital murder in the death of 12-year-old Nungaray. The two men crossed illegally into the U.S. earlier this year and are accused of strangling the pre-teen to death in June.

Jose Ibarra, a 26-year-old Venezuelan illegal immigrant, was charged with 22-year-old Riley’s murder. Ibarra entered the U.S. through El Paso, Texas, in 2022 and was freed on border parole. He initially lived in New York City, where he was arrested for allegedly endangering a child prior to his move to Athens, Georgia.

Ibarra has been charged with malice murder, felony murder, aggravated battery, aggravated assault, false imprisonment, kidnapping, hindering a 911 call and concealing the death of another in connection to Riley’s murder.

The El Salvadoran national allegedly responsible for Morin’s death, 23-year-old Victor Antonio Martinez-Hernandez, was also in the country illegally, and, according to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), was caught by Border Patrol three times within a matter of days in January 2023 and February 2023 and sent back to Mexico under Title 42 each time. 

He then successfully entered the U.S. as a gotaway, meaning he entered without being inspected, admitted or paroled by a U.S. immigration officer, in February 2023 near El Paso, Texas.

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During his visit to Arizona Thursday, Trump invited Angel Moms to share stories about victims of illegal migrant crime. 

“We’ve done a lot of trips to the border over the years and told a lot of stories about border victims, including the stories of the amazing Angel Moms,” Trump said. “Time doesn’t heal all wounds, but we have never seen anything in terms of the volume and viciousness like what we are seeing now in our country.

“It is an onslaught of violence.” 

A Trump campaign official told Fox News Digital the campaign’s strategy will be to “continue to hammer home immigration and Kamala’s dereliction of duty at the border.” 

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

What’s happening…

-Biden-Harris quietly role out new amnesty proposal during the DNC

-Harris toes thin line with Israel-Gaza in DNC speech

-Hamas to receive new peace fire proposals

Multiple Agents on Leave

At least five members of the U.S. Secret Service (USSS) have been placed on administrative leave following the July 13 assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump in Butler, Penn., Fox News has confirmed.

One member of Trump’s personal protective team and four members of the Secret Service’s Pittsburgh Field Office, including the special agent in charge, have been sidelined nearly six weeks after the incident. The five are still employed but are teleworking and are no longer allowed in the field. They cannot do any investigative work….Read more

White House

BORDER BACKLASH: Biden parole plan faces new challenge in the courts …Read more

THE REAL SURPRISE GUESTS: Biden-Harris admin quietly rolled out new ‘amnesty’ during DNC: critics …Read more

‘ABHORRENT’ RULE: ATF blasted for defining gun parts as firearms …Read more

Capitol Hill

‘NOT SCIENCE FICTION’: AOC declares that Harris will be ‘first woman president’ …Read more

IMMIGRANT MEDICAID TIFF: Grassley demands answers after CA promised to repay feds …Read more

Tales from the Trail

CEASE-FIRE DEAL: Harris toes thin line with Israel-Gaza conflict in DNC speech …Read more

TWO WEEKS TO GO: With 14 days until voting starts, ‘election season’ kicks off sooner than you think …Read more

MEDIA LACKEYS: MSNBC, CNN personalities get speaking roles at Democratic Convention …Read more

FACT-CHECKING KAMALA: 3 Harris DNC attack lines against Trump that were inaccurate or false …Read more

‘UNACCEPTABLE BREACH’: RNC sues Detroit Election Commission over allegations of ‘failure to hire Republican poll workers’ …Read more

Across America

‘PROTECTION OF WOMEN’S SPORTS’: Riley Gaines to testify in Georgia regarding 2022 NCAA matchup against biological male swimmer …Read more

GUN BAN UNDER FIRE: SCOTUS asked to rule on Maryland law …Read more

BE A MAN: Competing visions of being a man in America at center of Trump-Harris matchup …Read more

MOTHER’S PLEA: Family of mom murdered by illegal immigrant suspect has a message in Trump border meeting …Read more

FAILURE TO WARN: Trump team irate over Secret Service failing to warn them about Crooks after spotting him with a range finder …Read more

‘HOW IS THIS JUSTICE?’: Dozens of criminal defendants handed ‘get out of jail free card’ on a technicality …Read more

RAY OF HOPE: Hamas to receive new cease-fire proposal after ‘constructive’ talks in Egypt: report …Read more

BANNING WOMEN: Taliban government issues public ban on women’s voices, bare faces …Read more

TROUBLED WATERS: Civilian contractors to haul back Army boats used in Gaza pier mission …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.

Democratic Rep. Marcy Kaptur appears to be changing her tune when it comes to working with President Biden during her close race for re-election.

Kaptur, one of the vulnerable Democrats who did not attend the Democratic National Convention (DNC), previously said she would be honored to work with Biden but now appears to be distancing herself from his presidency. 

The contrast was highlighted by the Congressional Leadership Fund (CLF), a GOP SuperPAC that recently launched a website highlighting Kaptur’s own words from 2020 to now.

“It will be my honor to not just vote for Joe Biden, but to work for him and Sen. Kamala Harris,” Kaptur said in October 2020, a video on CLF’s new site shows.

‘MUST APOLOGIZE’: VULNERABLE HOUSE DEM FACES RENEWED BACKLASH OVER COMPARISON INVOLVING 9/11 TERRORIST

As she seeks re-election in Ohio’s 9th Congressional District, rated by the Cook Political Report as a “toss-up,” Kaptur recently shifted her rhetoric.

BATTLEGROUND DEMOCRATS LEAVE BIDEN HIGH AND DRY AFTER ‘DISTASTROUS’ DEBATE PERFORMANCE

“I don’t work for Donald Trump or Joe Biden,” Kaptur said in August 2024, just weeks after Biden withdrew from the presidential race.

CLF is also running a five-figure ad, which was streamed during the DNC, highlighting the contrast.

“Marcy Kaptur knows the Biden-Harris administration has hurt Ohioans, which is why she’s is trying to have them forget,” CLF spokeswoman Courtney Parella told Fox News Digital in a statement. “But voters know through Kaptur’s own words, she works for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, not Ohioans — period.”

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Fox News Digital reached out to Kaptur’s campaign for comment but did not receive a response by the time of publication.

Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. said in a Friday court filing that he will endorse former President Donald Trump, The Associated Press reports.

The Kennedy campaign asked Pennsylvania to remove him from the ballot in the court filing, according to the AP. The filing didn’t say explicitly if he would be suspending his campaign.

The former Democrat is making an announcement in Phoenix a couple of hours before Trump was scheduled to hold a campaign event in nearby Glendale, Arizona. The Trump campaign on Thursday advertised that the former president would be joined by a “special guest,” which further sparked speculation of a Kennedy endorsement of the Republican 2024 presidential nominee.

The announcement is expected to end the presidential run by the longtime environmental activist and high-profile vaccine skeptic, who is the scion of the nation’s most storied political dynasty.

DOES KENNEDY’S DEPARTURE FROM THE 2024 RACE HELP TRUMP MORE THAN HARRIS?

Kennedy launched his long-shot campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination in April of last year, but last October the 70-year-old candidate switched to an independent run for the White House.

HARRIS TAKES AIM AT TRUMP AS SHE VOWS ‘TO BE A PRESIDENT FOR ALL AMERICANS’

While Kennedy had long identified as a Democrat and repeatedly invoked his late father Sen. Robert F. Kennedy and his uncle President John F. Kennedy, who were both assassinated in the 1960s, Kennedy in recent years built relationships with far-right leaders.

President Biden’s campaign and the Democratic National Committee for months repeatedly slammed Kennedy as a potential spoiler whose supporters could hand Trump a presidential election victory in November.

And the DNC battled Kennedy and his supporters at nearly every step as he worked to place his name on the ballot in all 50 states.

RFK JR.’S RUNNING MATE CHARGES DEMOCRATS ‘OBSTRUCTED A FAIR ELECTION,’ ‘FULLY SUPPORTS’ WORKING WITH TRUMP 

But Kennedy remained a thorn in Biden’s side from last year through the president’s announcement last month that he was ending his re-election bid and endorsing Harris.

The Trump campaign, which had cheered on Kennedy when he was running against Biden as a Democrat, also started taking aim at him after he switched to an independent run, labeling him a member of the “radical left,” and criticizing him for his environmental activism.

But the relationship between Kennedy and Trump started warming earlier this year, and the two spoke last month after the assassination attempt against Trump and met in person the following day. 

Earlier this week, Kennedy running mate Nicole Shanahan sparked headlines by saying in a podcast interview that the campaign was considering whether to “join forces” with Trump to prevent the possibility of Vice President Kamala Harris winning the 2024 election.

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“If he endorsed me, I would be honored by it. I would be very honored by it. He really has his heart in the right place,” Trump said on Thursday in an interview on “Fox & Friends.”

And the former president’s running mate, Sen. JD Vance of Ohio, said Wednesday in an interview on “Fox & Friends” that he hoped Kennedy “endorses the president, gets on the team, because this is about saving the country.”

Kennedy’s departure from the race comes as his campaign was cratering.

The last public event put on by his campaign came on July 9, in Freeport, Maine. But even before that, his poll numbers – which once stood in the teens – had faded.

The most recent Fox News national poll, conducted August 9-12, indicated Kennedy at 6% support. 

His fundraising was also in a free fall, with campaign finance reports indicating he had just $3.9 million cash on hand as of the start of July, with nearly $3.5 million in debt.

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

Congress does not return to session until Sept. 9, and the only thing the House and Senate must absolutely do the rest of the year is fund the government.

The problem is that Congress does not have until Dec. 31.

The government’s fiscal year deadline is Oct. 1.

THE HOME STRETCH: VP HARRIS FILLS DEMOCRATS WITH OPTIMISM AS ELECTION DAY NEARS

As per usual, expect a veritable adventure between now and October – if not the end of the year and maybe into 2025 – over how Congress might sidestep a government shutdown.

The House Freedom Caucus issued an ultimatum. The coalition of the House’s most-conservative members wrote to House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., demanding a simple renewal of existing funding at current levels – known as a Continuing Resolution (CR) – through “early 2025.” The Freedom Caucus is banking on a return of former President Donald Trump to the White House – to say nothing of the supposition that Republicans will hold the House and flip the Senate. Recent polling is starting to favor Vice President Kamala Harris. The chances of Republicans holding the House are a jump ball at best – and may trend toward Democrats. Political handicappers have long favored Republicans to seize control of the Senate, but that’s not a done deal, either.

The Freedom Caucus believes the GOP will seize the major levers of government and can implement the spending package it wants next year. Johnson is certainly entertaining this possibility. And he may be wise to do so, considering the rambunctious nature of the House Republican Conference. More on that in a moment. But many Republicans, especially members of the Appropriations Committee, aren’t on board with the Freedom Caucus strategy. And those same Republicans doubt that Senate Democrats would ever abide such a plan. In short, some Republicans and lots of Democrats would prefer a short-term CR that runs through mid-November or December. Then work out the bills individually and pass everything, en masse, in an omnibus before the end of the calendar year.

Then no one needs to worry about funding the government until next Oct. 1.

Which is precisely the concern in conservative circles.

First, many Freedom Caucus members abhor the concept of any omnibus spending bill. Even a few “minibus” spending bills, with a handful of appropriations measures tucked into each legislative vehicle. Secondly, with President Biden still in the White House and Democrats at the helm of the Senate, conservatives believe a longer CR which stretches into the new year short-circuits how long liberal and progressive spending policies might remain in effect. Republicans can nip these in January with a CR which lasts until then. But if lawmakers adopt a short-term CR through late fall and then mash all of the spending plans together at once before handing over the keys to a new Congress and new President next year, Democratic spending priorities remain in place until the autumn of 2025.

This is counterintuitive, but conservatives believe an elongated CR actually helps them more in the short-term.

HOUSE LAWMAKERS LEAVE DC UNTIL SEPTEMBER WITH GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN DEADLINE LOOMING

The question is what path Johnson might choose.

Johnson caught flak from conservatives for doing a number of short-term spending bills last fall, through the winter and into the spring to avoid multiple forays into a government shutdown. He also fielded criticism for allowing a bill to aid Ukraine to come to the floor. And don’t forget that simply advancing a short-term spending bill last year cost former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., his gavel. So, Johnson must be mindful of which course he takes.

But the question of how to fund the government might be laced with questions about the future of the House Republican leadership. It’s hard to see how Johnson is able to punt into next year. He’ll need House Democrats and certainly buy-in from the Senate for that. But let’s say Johnson somehow pulls that off and scores a longer-term CR. If that’s the case, the government is funded and Johnson likely protects himself from political challenges on the right.

The House will elect a speaker on Jan. 3, the start of the new Congress. First, Republicans must be in the majority. If former President Trump wins, he might dictate whether Johnson or someone else becomes speaker. However, what happens if Democrats win the House and/or Vice President Harris prevails? Does Johnson become the Minority Leader?

What is past could be prologue. After the McCarthy experience, how Johnson handles the CR might dictate his future. That said, it is tougher to become House speaker than Minority Leader. Johnson or anyone else needs an outright majority of the entire House (Democrats and Republicans casting ballots) to become speaker. That’s a high bar. but the Minority Leader only requires a simple majority of their respective conference or caucus. That race isn’t decided on the floor.

Regardless, even if some conservatives disagree with how Johnson addresses government funding, they don’t have the stomach to go through another protracted leadership battle. Many House Republicans suffer from “PTSD.” Or, as we might call it on Capitol Hill, “Post Traumatic Speaker Disorder.” So while some conservatives might not fully embrace whatever decision Johnson makes, they’re not willing to engage in another donnybrook over who will lead House Republicans.

Moreover, the tactics of the right and the Freedom Caucus exhausted some rank-and-file Republicans and GOP members of the Appropriations Committee. Many Republicans point to the schism in the party over the Freedom Caucus approach. One senior GOP appropriator noted that Freedom Caucus members might not support whatever spending plan Republican leaders concoct – simply because they oppose most everything. So they aren’t willing to kowtow to the right.

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There’s a push by some Republicans to latch an election integrity bill to a stopgap spending bill. The plan would bar noncitizens from voting in federal elections – even though that’s already illegal. Senate Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Patty Murray, D-Wash., characterized the election bill demand as a “political scare tactic” and a “poison pill.”

Like their criticism of McCarthy, conservatives are upset that Johnson “worked with Democrats” or “worked with the Senate.” Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., tried to strip Johnson of the speaker’s gavel earlier this year for forging bipartisan spending pacts with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y. The outcome of the election will dictate how much sway voices like Greene have.

But before the election, Congress must figure out how to avoid a government shutdown. And lawmakers, incoming lawmakers and even an incoming President will likely litigate the consequences of those decisions later this year and early next.

Two major Second Amendment groups called on the Supreme Court to hear a case challenging Maryland’s stringent “Assault Weapons Ban of 2013,” after a lower court ruled the ban constitutional.

The Firearms Policy Coalition filed a petition to the high bench asking them to hear Snope v. Brown – alternatively Bianchi v. Frosh – which the Richmond, Va.-based Fourth Circuit upheld in a 10-5 decision earlier this month.

That decision, written by Reagan-appointed Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson III, said the Old Line State’s ban on certain semi-automatic rifles and pistols “fits comfortably within our nation’s tradition of firearms regulation.” Two residents of Baltimore County, Md., and one from Anne Arundel County first filed suit against Maryland in 2021.

The California-based Firearms Policy Coalition (FPC) and Washington State-based Second Amendment Foundation (SAF) filed petitions for certiorari, asking the Supreme Court to make a superseding ruling on the Fourth Circuit’s decision.

SAF founder Alan Gottlieb said the appeals bench is trying to flip the landmark “Heller” decision nixing the District of Columbia’s gun ban “on its head.”

LAWMAKERS INVOKE HUNTER BIDEN, SECOND AMENDMENT WHILE OFFERING VARYING DEFENSES OF GUN LAWS

“They are essentially arguing the arms protected by the Second Amendment are limited only to certain state-approved firearms, which would make it no right at all, but a government-regulated privilege,” Gottlieb said in a statement.

“This is the third time we have petitioned the high court in this case,” Gottlieb added. 

Meanwhile, in a separate release, FPC President Brandon Combs argued the case is an “ideal vehicle for the Supreme Court to resolve exceptionally important issues.”

Combs said AR-15s and other similar arms prohibited in Maryland are otherwise very commonly owned.

“There is no legitimate basis for the Fourth Circuit to have concluded that the most widely owned semiautomatic rifles in the United States are not arms protected by the Second Amendment,” he said. 

“The Court must provide more guidance on which weapons the Second Amendment covers and they should do so in this case. This immoral and abusive gun control regime must end here.” Proponents also cited the recent Bruen decision overturning New York’s open-carry ban.

OBAMA JUDGE’S RULING ON ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS OWNING GUNS HELPS THE LEFT BLUR THE LINES OF CITIZENSHIP: RUBIO

In his majority decision, Wilkinson argued the AR-15 and Barrett .50 cal and “gangster-style” guns are not protected by the Constitution due to their “excessively dangerous” nature, according to Maryland Matters.

He then listed mass shootings in Blacksburg, Va., Las Vegas, Nev., Parkland, Fla., Thousand Oaks, Calif., and about a dozen other cities.

Meanwhile, writing in dissent, Trump-appointed Judge Julius Richardson countered that the “Second Amendment is not a second-class right subject to the whimsical discretion of federal judges.”

Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown, a Democrat, is the named defendant in the suit – which formerly named his Democratic predecessor Brian Frosh. Brown’s office declined to comment on the filings.

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Fox News Digital also reached out to Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., who spearheaded the ban while serving in the state Senate at the time.

The Takoma Park lawmaker was listed as the first sponsor of the legislation, which also named Frosh – then a state senator from Potomac – as one of its co-sponsors.

The law’s text orders that “certain firearms” be designated as “assault weapons” and prohibits sale, transfer or purchase of such weaponry. It also called upon an Annapolis board to create a roster of prohibited weapons.

Fox News Digital also reached out to Maryland Gov. Wes Moore for comment but did not hear back by press time.

Former President Donald Trump took the stage in Butler, Pennsylvania, several minutes after the Secret Service first began tracking the former president’s attempted assassin, and Trump’s team was none too happy about it.

Those in Trump’s orbit said the former president’s security detail became enraged after learning they were not told for 30 minutes about a suspicious subject carrying a range finder around the perimeter of Trump’s July 13 rally, according to the Washington Post. That suspicious subject turned out to be Thomas Matthew Crooks, the former president’s 20-year-old attempted assassin.  

Trump took the stage in Butler shortly after 6 p.m., according to reports. Meanwhile, local officers had first spotted Crooks between 5:45 p.m. and 5:55 p.m., the Washington Post’s timeline of events indicates. Once spotted, local law enforcement verbally communicated the threat to Secret Service agents, but the threat was reportedly never shared with Trump’s team. Trump’s team was also reportedly never told that local law enforcement counter-snipers lost track of Crooks at one point.

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

Anger from Trump’s team about the circumstances surrounding the July 13 Butler rally comes amid years of frustrations over the Secret Service’s failure to heed the Trump team’s repeated requests for additional counter-snipers, bomb-sniffing dogs, magnetometers and other security precautions at the former president’s rallies and residences, the Washington Post reported last week.

ATTEMPTED TRUMP ASSASSIN SEEN WALKING AROUND PENNSYLVANIA RALLY HOURS BEFORE OPENING FIRE

In 2021, Trump’s Secret Service detail created an “Intrusion Detection Plan” to better secure the former president’s Mar-a-Lago golf club in South Florida, where other people seeking to harm Trump have been caught. However, when they asked for funds to implement the plan, the Secret Service only provided about 10% of the money that was requested, the Washington Post reported last week.

“They didn’t see it as their job to protect his club, but to protect him,” a former Trump security official familiar with the request told the Washington Post. “But it could be hard to separate the two.” 

The Secret Service, meanwhile, told the Washington Post that the agency has “continuously invested in security enhancements” at the former president’s residences, but due to their policies on not disclosing operational tactics, would not discuss any specific funding numbers. 

TRUMP SHOOTER HAD MULTIPLE ENCRYPTED ACCOUNTS OVERSEAS, INCLUDING GERMANY: REP. WALTZ

Secret Service officials have countered the Trump camp’s complaints about a lack of precautions with claims that the agency has never been asked to provide so much security for a former president, according to reporting from the Washington Post. Officials also appeared to throw some of the blame on Trump himself, reportedly asserting that his team schedules events that are especially challenging to protect. 

In the wake of the July 13 attempted assassination, the Secret Service has reportedly ramped up its security efforts for Trump. According to Trump advisers who spoke with the Washington Post on the condition of anonymity, the former president’s security became as heavy after the assassination attempt as when he was president. 

MULTIPLE SECRET SERVICE AGENTS PUT ON LEAVE FOLLOWING TRUMP ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT

Trump’s outdoor rallies now include bulletproof glass surrounding the former president, a request he demanded following the attempted assassination.

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Fox News Digital reached out to the Trump campaign for comment but did not receive a response by press time.

Vice President Kamala Harris delivered her acceptance speech for the Democratic presidential nomination on Thursday at the conclusion of the Democratic National Convention.

In her pitch to voters, Harris read a laundry list of complaints and accusations about Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump.

Some of the attacks on Trump hinged on inaccurate interpretations about the former president’s platform and policies, while others were outright false.

Trump and Project 2025

“We know what a second Trump term would look like,” Harris told Democrats on Thursday. “It’s all laid out in Project 2025, written by his closest advisers, and its sum total is to pull our country back to the past. But America, we are not going back.”

STEPH CURRY ENDORSES KAMALA HARRIS AT DNC, MONTHS AFTER SUGGESTING HE WILL RUN FOR PRESIDENT SOME DAY

Portrayed as a blueprint for a future Republican administration to restructure many parts of the U.S. government, Project 2025, also known as the Presidential Transition Project, launched in April 2023 and is not directly associated with Trump’s campaign.

The Trump campaign has never endorsed the policy project, which was compiled by the Heritage Foundation — though several former members of the Trump administration did contribute to the document.

“They know I have nothing to do with it,” Trump told “Fox & Friends” Thursday. “I had no idea what it was. A group of people got together. They drew up some conservative values, very conservative values, and in some case, perhaps they went over the line. Perhaps they didn’t. I have no idea what Project 25 is.”

“Agenda 47 and President Trump’s RNC Platform are the only policies endorsed by President Trump for a second term,” Trump campaign spokesperson Danielle Alvarez told Fox News Digital last month, accusing the Democratic Party of “lying and fear mongering” by tying the platform to the former president.

Social Security and Medicare

“When you read [Project 2025], you will see — Donald Trump intends to cut Social Security and Medicare,” Harris claimed in the DNC address.

The Project 2025 policy plan does not advocate for cuts to Social Security.

33 DAYS: KAMALA HARRIS HAS NOT HELD A PRESS CONFERENCE SINCE EMERGING AS PRESUMPTIVE DEMOCRATIC NOMINEE

Trump himself began his campaign with inconsistent rhetoric about his intentions for Social Security and Medicare, saying he was open to significant reforms of the system and claiming “there is a lot you can do in terms of entitlements, in terms of cutting.” 

His spokesperson, Karoline Leavitt, told NBC News earlier this year, “President Trump will continue to strongly protect Social Security and Medicare in his second term.”

Since early 2024, Trump has been consistent about not cutting either program.

His official policy platform now states his intention to “fight for and protect Social Security and Medicare with no cuts, including no changes to the retirement age.”

He has also proposed not taxing Social Security benefits.

Nationwide abortion ban

“[Trump] and his allies would limit access to birth control, ban medication, abortion and enact a nationwide abortion ban with or without Congress,” Harris said in her speech.

The Trump campaign has repeatedly affirmed that a future administration intends to leave abortion policy decisions to the states.

This intention to back off from the abortion issue following the overturn of Roe v. Wade is reflected in the official Republican Party platform published last month.

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“We believe that the 14th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States guarantees that no person can be denied life or liberty without due process and that the states are, therefore, free to pass laws protecting those rights,” the draft reads.

However, for the first time in 40 years, the document makes no mention of a federal abortion ban, which Trump has emphasized that he opposes.

Instead, the new platform stresses, “We will oppose late-term abortion while supporting mothers and policies that advance prenatal care, access to birth control and IVF (fertility treatments).”

Fox News Digital’s Andrew Mark Miller, Paul Steinhauser and Cameron Cawthorne contributed to this report.

CHICAGO – Vice President Kamala Harris touted her foreign policy record and support of veterans during her Democratic National Convention (DNC) acceptance speech, while leaving out the 13 U.S. service members who were killed during the White House’s botched withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021. 

“I will never hesitate to take whatever action is necessary to defend our forces and our interests against Iran and Iran-backed terrorists. And I will not cozy up to tyrants and dictators like Kim Jong Un, who are rooting for Trump. Because they know he is easy to manipulate with flattery and favors. They know Trump won’t hold autocrats accountable — because he wants to be an autocrat,” Harris touted from the DNC’s stage in Chicago Thursday evening. 

“As president, I will never waver in defense of America’s security and ideals. Because, in the enduring struggle between democracy and tyranny, I know where I stand — and where the United States of America belongs.”

Harris also celebrated her foreign policy record as vice president, including her handling of the yearslong war in Russia. 

GOLD STAR DAD SAYS BIDEN-HARRIS ‘DENIED’ SON’S SERVICE AS FALLEN AFGHANISTAN SOLDIERS HONORED IN CALIFORNIA

“Five days before Russia attacked Ukraine, I met with President Zelensky to warn him about Russia’s plan to invade. I helped mobilize a global response — over 50 countries — to defend against Putin’s aggression. And as President, I will stand strong with Ukraine and our NATO allies,” she added. 

Harris touting her record on foreign affairs comes years after the Biden administration’s botched withdrawal from Afghanistan. 

The chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan led to the deaths of 13 U.S. service members defending the Kabul airport during the operation, while hundreds of Americans and tens of thousands of Afghan allies were left in the country under Taliban rule. Critics such as Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, said the withdrawal paved the way for adversaries such as Russia to invade Ukraine. 

The Taliban claimed control of Afghanistan following the withdrawal. 

AMERICA’S VETERANS, HEROES GET SUPPORT THROUGH BOLD MT KILIMANJARO CLIMB FOR CHARITY

During the Republican National Convention last month in Milwaukee, families of those killed during the withdrawal took the stage for 20 minutes in an emotional remembrance of the service members. 

“Look at our faces. Look at our pain, and our heartbreak. And look at our rage. [The Afghanistan withdrawal] was not an extraordinary success,” Cheryl Juels, the aunt of Marine Sgt. Nicole Gee, said. “Joe Biden owes the men and women who served in Afghanistan a debt of gratitude, and an apology.”

Harris previously confirmed that she was the “last person in the room” with Biden before he made the decision to withdraw and also told the media that she was “comfortable” with the operation that ultimately turned deadly and chaotic.  

3 YEARS LATER, AFGHANISTAN WAR VETERANS HAVEN’T FORGOTTEN – HAVE YOU?

ANTI-ISRAEL AGITATORS PROTEST VP HARRIS NOMINATION NEAR DNC, HAND OUT FLYERS FOR GLOBAL ‘INTIFADA’

Harris went on to praise veterans and the military during her DNC speech, without a mention of the Afghanistan withdrawal and those who lost their lives. 

“I stood up for veterans and students being scammed by big, for-profit colleges, for workers who are being cheated out of their wages, the wages they were due for seniors facing elder abuse,” she said. 

GOLD STAR DAD RECALLS KNOCK AT HIS DOOR THAT ‘CHANGED EVERYTHING’

Harris rose to the top of the Democratic ticket last month, when Biden dropped out of the race amid mounting concern over his mental acuity and age. Harris accepted the nomination this week, vowing she would serve all Americans, no matter their political party, if she is elected to the Oval Office. 

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“My entire career, I have only had one client. The People. And so, on behalf of the People, on behalf of every American. Regardless of party. Race. Gender. Or the language your grandmother speaks. On behalf of my mother and everyone who has ever set out on their own unlikely journey. On behalf of Americans like the people I grew up with. People who work hard. Chase their dreams. And look out for one another. On behalf of everyone whose story could only be written in the greatest nation on Earth,” she said. 

“I accept your nomination for President of the United States of America.”

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

The political spotlight will be on Democrat turned independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Friday, in what many expect will be an announcement that he is ending his White House bid.

Kennedy’s campaign says their candidate “will address the nation live on Friday about the present historical moment and his path forward.”

On the eve of his event in Arizona, Kennedy moved to withdraw his name from the state’s ballot – which appeared to be another signal of his intent to drop out of the race.

However, the biggest question surrounding Kennedy’s anticipated exit from the 2024 race is whether it will give former President Donald Trump a small but potentially significant boost in his showdown against Vice President Kamala Harris.

Pointing back to the previous two presidential elections, veteran Republican strategist and Fox News contributor Karl Rove spotlighted the influential role third party candidates played.

RFK JR.’S RUNNING MATE CHARGES DEMOCRATS ‘OBSTRUCTED A FAIR ELECTION,’ ‘FULLY SUPPORTS’ WORKING WITH TRUMP 

ROBERT F. KENNEDY, JR. TO ADDRESS AMERICA ON FRIDAY ABOUT THE ‘PRESENT HISTORICAL MOMENT AND HIS PATH FORWARD’

“[Green Party candidate} Jill Stein got more votes in Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania than Hillary Clinton lost those states by,” Rove noted as he pointed to Trump’s victory over the Democrats’ 2016 presidential nominee. 

Rove added that “in 2020, Jo Jorgensen, the Libertarian candidate, got more votes in Arizona, Georgia and Wisconsin than Donald Trump lost those states by. And in each instance, that was the difference between winning and losing.”

Kennedy, the longtime environmental activist and high-profile vaccine skeptic, who is the scion of the nation’s most storied political dynasty, launched his long-shot campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination in April of last year. However, last October, the 70-year-old candidate switched to an independent run for the White House.

While Kennedy had long identified as a Democrat and repeatedly invoked his late father – Sen. Robert F. Kennedy – and his uncle – former President John F. Kennedy – who were both assassinated in the 1960s – Kennedy in recent years built relationships with far-right leaders.

President Biden’s campaign and the Democratic National Committee for months repeatedly slammed Kennedy as a potential spoiler whose supporters could hand Trump a presidential election victory in November.

However, Kennedy remained a thorn in Biden’s side from last year through the president’s announcement last month that he was ending his re-election bid and endorsing Harris.

The Trump campaign also started taking aim at Kennedy after he switched to an independent run, labeling him a member of the “radical left,” and criticizing him for his environmental activism.

However, the relationship between Kennedy and Trump started warming earlier this year, and the two spoke last month after the assassination attempt against Trump and met in person the following day. 

Earlier this week, Kennedy running mate Nicole Shanahan sparked headlines by saying in a podcast interview that the campaign was considering whether to “join forces” with Trump to prevent the possibility of Harris winning the 2024 election.

“If he endorsed me, I would be honored by it. I would be very honored by it. He really has his heart in the right place,” Trump said on Thursday in an interview on “Fox and Friends.”

Kennedy’s event is being held in Phoenix a couple of hours before Trump holds a rally in nearby Glendale.

“President Trump will be joined by a special guest as he delivers remarks about his America First policies and his vision to lower inflation and the cost of living, secure the border, and make our cities safe again,” a release from the former president’s campaign announced on Thursday, which sparked more speculation about a potential Kennedy endorsement.

Trump called in to Fox News following Vice President Kamala Harris’ nominating acceptance speech on Thursday night. Noting that Trump and Kennedy would be in the same state, Fox News anchors Bret Baier and Martha McCallum asked Trump if Kennedy would endorse him on Friday, and the former President replied coyly, “It’s possible we will be meeting tomorrow, and we’ll be discussing it.”

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Kennedy’s campaign has been cratering in recent months. The last public event put on by Kennedy’s campaign came on July 9, in Freeport, Maine. However, even before that, his poll numbers – which once stood in the teens – had faded.

The most recent Fox News national poll, conducted Aug. 9-12, indicated Kennedy at 6% support. 

His fundraising was also sinking, with campaign finance reports indicating he had just $3.9 million cash on hand as of the start of July, with nearly $3.5 million in debt.

Well-known non-partisan political handicapper Larry Sabato argued in a social media post that “Kennedy is barely relevant.”

“He can’t transfer much support, esp. to Trump. His backers will splinter,” Sabato predicted.

Rove, the mastermind behind former President George W. Bush’s two White House election victories, said that if Kennedy “does endorse Trump, my sense is the people who were supporting him because he was a Kennedy, and they didn’t like Biden, have dissipated over the last four to five weeks and his supporters are probably people more inclined to vote for Trump than Harris.”

Alex Castellanos, the veteran Republican consultant who served in leading positions on the campaigns of four GOP presidential nominees, said that if Kennedy drops out and backs Trump, “it could help in two ways.

“One is he’s an outsider and Trump’s an outsider. RFK got drop-kicked out of the Democratic establishment, so the anti-Washington message that Trump has is amplified,” Castellanos argued.

He added that “more importantly, RFK is the K in Kennedy and that brand still has magic. That brand is Camelot. It’s what could have been and was interrupted. It’s a promise about the future, and you need know who needs optimism and someone to help him get to the future is Donald Trump. I think the brand is more important than the one or two percent he might bring to the Trump campaign.”

Democratic strategist Marie Harf, a Fox News contributor, said that “Democrats are curious what will happen if and when he [Kennedy] drops out, because if him being in the race was taking votes from Trump, those votes will go back to Trump now.”

“It’s already a tight race and will get even tighter if all the RFK votes go to Trump,” Harf emphasized.

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