NationalWatch

Attorney General Merrick Garland will appear before the House Judiciary Committee Tuesday morning to respond to claims the FBI planned to assassinate former President Trump during a search of Mar-a-Lago, as well as suggestions that the Justice Department was involved in the New York hush money case against the former president.

Garland will also push back on the committee’s efforts to hold him in contempt, a measure that passed the committee but has not yet moved to the House Floor.

“Certain members of this Committee and the Oversight Committee are seeking contempt as a means of obtaining — for no legitimate purpose — sensitive law enforcement information that could harm the integrity of future investigations,” Garland plans to say in his testimony.

A spokesperson for the DOJ said in a statement that the attorney general “will lead with the important work the Department has done under his tenure including decreasing homicide rates, prosecuting hate crimes, and fighting international terrorism, but he will also forcefully push back on false narratives regarding the Department’s employees and their work.”

TRUMP LAYS OUT HIS ‘REVENGE’ STRATEGY AFTER CONVICTION MAKES HIM A FELON

Attorney General Merrick Garland will push back on efforts to hold him in contempt. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Last month, Trump made false claims that Biden’s DOJ authorized the FBI to kill him during the 2022 search for classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago resort, in reference to an unsealed FBI document regarding the search. Trump was not home when the FBI executed the search.

“WOW! I just came out of the Biden Witch Hunt Trial in Manhattan, the ‘Icebox,’ and was shown Reports that Crooked Joe Biden’s DOJ, in their illegal and UnConstitutional Raid of Mar-a-Lago, AUTHORIZED THE FBI TO USE DEADLY (LETHAL) FORCE,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

Trump’s legal team also made a court filing citing the use of force authorization by the DOJ.

But the use of force that Trump’s team cited in the court filing is the standard language used by the DOJ for years, and the same language was used when FBI agents searched President Biden’s home for classified documents.

Garland will say in his testimony that the effort to hold him in contempt “comes as baseless and extremely dangerous falsehoods are being spread about the FBI’s law enforcement operations.”

Special Counsel Jack Smith said Trump’s team omitted the key word “only” in the filing in late May that led to Trump’s accusations that the FBI was prepared to kill him.

“Although Trump included the warrant and Operations Form as exhibits to his motion, the motion misquoted the Operations Form by omitting the crucial word ‘only’ before ‘when necessary,’ without any ellipsis reflecting the omission,” Smith wrote. “The motion also left out language explaining that deadly force is necessary only ‘when the officer has a reasonable belief that the subject of such force poses an imminent danger of death or serious physical injury to the officer or to another person.'”

HOW TRUMP GUILTY VERDICTS MAY IMPACT THE 2024 REMATCH WITH BIDEN

Former President Donald Trump arrives at Trump Tower, Thursday, May 30, 2024, after he was found guilty on 34 counts of falsifying business records in the first degree. (Felipe Ramales for Fox News Digital)

Trump’s team was given until June 14 to reply to a move by Smith to issue a gag order prohibiting Trump from making statements about the FBI.

Smith and Garland said Trump’s statements put law enforcement in danger.

Garland will also testify against claims coming from Republicans that the DOJ had any involvement in the hush money case against Trump in New York, where the former president was convicted on 34 counts for falsifying business records.

The New York case was brought by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, not the DOJ. It is a state case, which means Trump could not pardon himself if he wins the presidential election.

The measure to hold Garland in contempt “comes alongside false claims that a jury verdict in a state trial, brought by a local District Attorney, was somehow controlled by the Justice Department,” Garland will say in his testimony. “That conspiracy theory is an attack on the judicial process itself.”

Garland will say the measure “is only the most recent in a long line of attacks on the Justice Department’s work.”

“It comes alongside threats to defund particular Department investigations, most recently the Special Counsel’s prosecution of the former president,” Garland says.

TRUMP GUILTY VERDICT REVEALS SPLIT AMONG FORMER GOP PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARY OPPONENTS

Trump made false claims that the Justice Department authorized the FBI to kill him during the 2022 search for classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago resort. (Getty Images)

He said it also comes as individual career agents and prosecutors “have been singled out just for doing their jobs” and at a time “when we are seeing heinous threats of violence being directed at the Justice Department’s career public servants.”

Garland says these “repeated attacks” on the DOJ’s are “unprecedented and unfounded” and that the attacks will not influence the department’s decision-making.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

“I view contempt as a serious matter,” Garland says. “But I will not jeopardize the ability of our prosecutors and agents to do their jobs effectively in future investigations.”

“I will not be intimidated,” he adds. “And the Justice Department will not be intimidated. We will continue to do our jobs free from political influence. And we will not back down from defending our democracy.”

Despite Rep. John Rose’s impassioned speech Monday decrying last week’s conviction of former President Trump, all eyes were on the show behind him.  

As the Tennessee Republican spoke on the House floor, his son, 6-year-old Guy Rose, looked directly into the cameras, smiling mischievously from ear to ear. 

Guy Rose smiles at the camera while his dad gives a speech on the House floor.  (House Television via AP)

The younger Rose appeared to fidget a bit then, after looking bored, stuck out his tongue and made a series of silly faces and hand gestures as his father plowed ahead with his speech, railing against the “weaponization of our justice system.”  

It wasn’t long before the youngster became a social media star and a new meme — at age 6.  

SOME FORMER ‘NEVER TRUMP’ VOTERS NOW SAY THEY’RE BACKING GOP NOMINEE AFTER HIS CONVICTION

“He knows something,” Doug Andres, the spokesman for Republican Senate leader Mitch McConnell, tweeted on X with a caption of the young Rose.

“So sorry I was slow responding to your email, I was tied up watching this over and over again,” tweeted Aaron Fritschner, the communications director for Rep. Don Beyer, D-Va. 

This image from House Television shows Rep. John Rose, R-Tenn., speaking on the floor of the House of Representatives Monday, June 3, 2024, in Washington, as his son Guy makes a face. (House Television via AP)

Rose himself, seemed to take the incident in stride, joking in an online post: “This is what I get for telling my son Guy to smile at the camera for his little brother.” 

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Guy Rose just graduated from kindergarten last week and is with his dad for the week. Rep. Rose’s youngest son, Sam, 3, and his wife, Chelsea, are back in Tennessee.

All four Congressional leaders extended an invitation to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to speak to a Joint Meeting of Congress.

“I am very moved to have the privilege of representing Israel before both Houses of Congress and to present the truth about our just war against those who seek to destroy us to the representatives of the American people and the entire world,” Netanyahu said in accepting the invitation.

But the decision to invite Netanyahu is anything but puppies and rainbows on Capitol Hill.

EMBATTLED SEN. BOB MENENDEZ TO DITCH THE DEMOCRATS IN REELECTION BID

One party is squarely behind Netanyahu. And one is not. In fact, Democrats who oppose bringing Netanyahu to Capitol Hill to deliver the address even accused House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., of trying to divide Democrats by extending the invitation.

But the war in the Middle East has already cleaved Democrats. It’s a fracture between progressives and supporters of Israel which could split the Democratic coalition – conceivably costing President Biden the election if liberals stay home.

“This is probably one of the most disturbing things I can think Congress can do is to have Netanyahu come,” said Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., one of the first Muslim women ever elected to Congress.

“It’s just unconscionable. His crimes are about to be prosecuted by the ICC (International Criminal Court). The international community is talking about him starving the population of Gaza,” continued Omar. “I don’t think any leader should allow this to happen.”

UNITED STATES – JUNE 15: Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., arrives to the U.S. Capitol for the last votes of the week on Thursday, June 15, 2023.  ((Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images))

Yet House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., signed on to the invitation.

“The divide is overstated. The Republicans have repeatedly tried to make Israel a partisan, political issue and divide Democrats. And they have failed,” replied Jeffries when asked about consternation surrounding a Netanyahu address.

The Brooklyn Democrat then proceeded to explain how his caucus held together to lift the debt ceiling, avert multiple flirtations with a government shutdown, and aid Ukraine.

However, Jeffries did not cite the vote on the bill to aid Israel in April. The House adopted that package 366 to 58. But 37 Democrats voted nay.

REPORTER’S NOTEBOOK: THERE’S LITTLE CHANCE THAT LAWMAKERS WILL KISS – AND ‘MAKEUP’

However, unlike the majority party, Democrats have not tried to unseat two different Speakers this Congress.

Politics is about contrasts and perspectives. And perhaps that’s how Jeffries attempted to offer a pollyannish view of his party compared to the routine, internecine fisticuffs which paralyzed the majority.

“It’s nothing but puppies and rainbows on the House Democratic Caucus side,” said Jeffries, drawing laughter from the Capitol press corps.

But it’s far from it when it comes to tensions among Democrats about the Middle East and the speech to the Joint Meeting of Congress by Netanyahu. The easy thing for Democrats who disagree with Netanyahu or view him as a threat is to hold a press conference or two, sit out the speech and maybe stage a counterprotest of some type. House Democratic Caucus Chairman Pete Aguilar, D-Calif., says he wants Congress to “bring the temperature down.” But it’s hard to keep the thermometer in check if everything isn’t puppies and rainbows.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during the opening ceremony marking Israel’s national Holocaust Remembrance Day at Yad Vashem, the World Holocaust Remembrance Center, in Jerusalem May 5, 2024. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun (Reuters/ Ronen Zvulun)

“Everybody who comes on that House floor should be respectful of the gathering that is happening, whether we are voting or whether someone is speaking to us. That’s the overwhelming feeling of Democratic leadership,” said Aguilar.

Netanyahu last spoke to Congress in the fall of 2015. And Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., says an appearance by Netanyahu fails to lower the temperature.

“I do think that (his speech) is unconstructive and his attendance is unconstructive of the U.S. goal of trying to establish a ceasefire,” said Ocasio-Cortez. “I don’t think that we should be rewarding individuals who are not as focused or committed to that aim (of a ceasefire) as the U.S. administration is.” 

“She’s wrong,” said Rep. Brad Schneider, D-Ill., when asked about the remarks of Ocasio-Cortez. 

So much for puppies and rainbows.

NYC JEWISH, MUSLIM, CHRISTIAN LEADERS RESPOND AFTER MORE HOSTAGES FOUND DEAD IN GAZA

Schneider is Jewish and one of the most-ardent supporters of Israel in Congress.

“Israel’s our most important ally in the Middle East. One of our best allies in the world. And it’s important for all Members of Congress – Democrats and Republicans – come to hear what the Prime Minister has to say. There’s a lot of things I disagree with. The specifics of Prime Minister Netanyahu’s politics. His policies. And I’ve been open about those. But I have no space between my commitment to support the US-Israel relationship,” said Schneider.

On Ocasio-Cortez’s comments, Schneider said that “too many people in Congress will close their minds on a whole number of issues.” 

Schneider cited the April roll call vote to send assistance to Israel.

“They were wrong for that vote. I believe they vote their conscience. I respect that. And I continue to try to persuade them as to why I think that was a bad decision,” said Schneider. “Hopefully the next time something like this comes up, I can win the argument.”

(Tom Williams/Getty Images)

There will be another time for that. Perhaps this fall when Congress tries to fund the government. Or maybe early next year when a new Congress is in place, President Biden is entering his second term or former President Trump is entering his second term. 

But one thing is for certain, it’s not all puppies and rainbows when it comes to the Middle East for Democrats. And the chasm is deep enough that this issue alone could block Democrats from picking up the House and re-electing President Biden.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Sure. Republicans suffer their divides, too. But an even deeper schism for Democrats lurks around the corner if Democrats fail to flip the House after the performance of Republicans over the past two years. That’s to say nothing of a possible repeat of former President Trump. If Democrats stumble at the polls this fall, they will tear at each other like limbs from a ragdoll.

As we wrote earlier, everything in politics is about contrasts and perspective. And if Republicans succeed this fall, one can look back at this period for the Democrats as one of “puppies and rainbows” compared to what’s ahead.

Republican Vince Fong of California was sworn into Congress on Monday after winning a special election to complete the remainder of the term of deposed former U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy.

Fong was a member of the California State Assembly before running for the House. He was backed by former President Donald Trump and McCarthy, who watched the ceremony in person from the House floor. Fong’s swearing-in gives Republicans a 218-213 majority.

KEVIN MCCARTHY’S GHOST IS HAUNTING HOUSE GOP’S NEXT BIG LEGISLATIVE FIGHT

Fong said that as he has traveled his Central Valley-based congressional district, he heard that Congress must do more to address the U.S.-Mexico border, stop the rising cost of everyday essentials and work to keep communities safe, among other priorities.

Assembly member Vince Fong, R-Bakersfield, right, is congratulated by Assembly member Marc Berman, D-Palo Alto, as lawmakers honored Fong for his recent election to the House of Representatives, during the Assembly session in Sacramento, Calif., Thursday, May 23, 2024. Fong will complete Rep. Kevin McCarthy’s term after defeating Tulare County Sheriff Mike Boudreaux in Tuesday’s runoff election for California’s 20th Congressional District seat. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)

“I know that our concerns are very familiar with the concerns that all of you have heard,” Fong said. “We must do more to find solutions and deliver results.”

Fong defeated fellow Republican and Tulare County Sheriff Mike Boudreaux in a special election last month in the 20th Congressional District, in the state’s farm belt.

McCarthy is the only speaker in history to be voted out of the job. About two months after that historic vote, he opted to resign rather than serve out the remainder of his term. He has worked behind the scenes to promote Fong’s candidacy — a political action committee linked to McCarthy steered over $700,000 into the 20th District contest to boost Fong’s campaign.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Fong said he wanted to especially thank McCarthy, calling him a mentor and friend and saying “he has worked tirelessly for decades on behalf of the constituents of the Central Valley of California and our nation.”

Former President Donald Trump’s campaign on Monday announced that they and the Republican National Committee, fueled in part by the former president’s guilty verdicts in his criminal trial, hauled in a stunning $141 million in fundraising in May.

That’s up from the $76 million they raked in back in April when they topped President Biden and the Democratic National Committee for the first time in their 2024 election rematch. 

Spotlighting their grassroots appeal, the campaign said that the average dollar donation was $70.27 with 25% of the donors in May being first time contributors to Trump.

And Trump’s team claimed that outside groups supporting the former president’s White House bid raked in another $150 million in May.   

TRUMP TURNS CONVICTIONS INTO CASH FOLLOWING GUILTY VERDICTS 

Donald Trump arrives to Trump Tower, Thursday, May 30, 2024 after being found guilty on 34 counts of falsifying business records in the first degree. (Felipe Ramales for Fox News Digital)

In a statement, Trump Campaign senior advisers Chris LaCivita and Susie Wiles said, “President Trump raised $141 million this month because Americans remember the roaring economy, secure border, and peace through strength at home and abroad under Donald J. Trump, and we will return to prosperity and success when he is re-elected in November.”

Monday’s announcement comes in the wake of what the Trump campaign touted as “record-shattering” fundraising in the immediate aftermath of the former president’s conviction in his criminal trial in New York City.

Trump was found guilty of all 34 felony counts in the first trial of a former or current president in the nation’s history.

The former president’s campaign highlighted that in the first 24 hours following Thursday evening’s verdict, they and the Republican National Committee hauled in nearly $53 million in fundraising, which counted towards May’s total. 

Former President Donald Trump sits in the courtroom during his hush money trial at Manhattan Criminal Court on May 30, 2024 in New York City.  (Michael M. Santiago/Pool via REUTERS)

The campaign touted that the fundraising was “nearly double the biggest day ever recorded for the Trump campaign on the WinRed platform” and emphasized that the guilty verdicts “have awakened the MAGA movement like never before.”

The RNC said on Sunday that the total topped $70 million in online fundraising by the 48-hour mark.

Biden campaign rapid response director Ammar Moussa, responding to the Trump team’s announcement, said “we’ll see how the numbers actually shake out come July, but one thing’s for certain: Trump’s billionaire friends are propping up the campaign of a white collar crook because they know the deal – they cut him checks and he cuts their taxes while working people and the middle class pay the tab.”  

The Biden campaign has also been fundraising off of the Trump verdict, and a source familiar told Fox News that “the 24 hours after the verdict were one of the best fundraising 24 hours of the Biden campaign since launch.”

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Trump has been aiming to close his fundraising gap with Biden. In April, his campaign and the Republican National Committee for the first time out-raised the Biden campaign and the Democratic National Committee.

Biden had regularly been outpacing Trump in monthly fundraising, but Trump’s April haul was boosted by a record-setting $50.5 million that the former president’s campaign raked in at a single event early in the month with top dollar GOP donors that was hosted at the Palm Beach, Florida home of billionaire investor John Paulson.

While Trump has stepped up his fundraising, the Biden campaign still enjoyed an $84 million to $49 million cash-on-hand advantage at the end of April.

Fundraising, along with public opinion polling, is a key metric used to measure the strength of a candidate and their campaign. Money raised can be used to build up grassroots outreach and get-out-the-vote operations, staffing, travel and ads, among other things.

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

Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. previously expressed support for higher gas prices for consumers, which he argued would force a market shift toward electric vehicles. 

Kennedy made the argument in a number of media appearances, as well as at least one speech, going back to 2003, claiming that ending subsidies to oil companies and forcing them to cover certain costs related to oil production, would lead to gasoline costing its “true price” of up to $22 per gallon.

“The No. 1 thing we need to do as a nation, more important than the moonshot, more important than anything else, is to get off of foreign oil, whatever it takes, and I think if we had true markets, we’d spend $5.2 trillion a year on subsidies to the carbon industry, and that doesn’t include the $8 trillion that we spent on wars protecting essentially oil pipelines,” Kennedy said during an interview last year.

INSIDERS PREDICT THIS POSSIBLE TRUMP VP PICK POSES ‘EXISTENTIAL THREAT’ TO KEY AREA OF BIDEN SUPPORT 

Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. expressed support for higher gas prices in order to force a market shift toward electric vehicles. (Getty Images)

“If those companies were forced to internalize those costs, gasoline would cost its true price, which is about $22 a gallon, and we would be figuring out using American initiative and our industrial genius other ways to get around,” he added.

Kennedy made a similar argument during a 2016 speech at the University of California, Berkeley, telling the audience that if oil companies were “forced” to internalize costs related to the effects the industry had on nearby populations, such as healthcare costs, crop damage, acid rain damage and other pollution costs, it would, in turn, be reflected in the price of oil.

“We’d be paying $12 at the pump, and we’d be sending the correct signals to the marketplace. And the market would be saying, we need an alternative to a gasoline car because every American would say, ‘Well, it costs about 0.30 cents a mile to drive an electric car, and it costs about $4 a mile once you get to buy a gasoline car,'” he said.

“We’d very quickly transition, and you would incentivize all these people out there who are adding efficiencies to lithium-ion batteries and looking at different battery systems.”

He went on to argue that the federal government should be creating an “ecosystem” that incentivizes the most efficient technologies available and “punishes the inefficiencies of oil and coal.”

NIKKI HALEY SILENT ON TRUMP’S NYC CONVICTION AS OTHER PROMINENT REPUBLICANS SPRING TO HIS DEFENSE

Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. speaks at the Libertarian National Convention on May 24, 2024 in Washington, DC. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

Kennedy similarly wrote in a 2014 article for the Huffington Post that “if the oil industry had to pay the true costs of bringing its product to market, gas prices would be upwards of $12 per gallon at the pump.”

“Most Americans would be running to buy electric cars,” he wrote. “With low-cost disruptive technologies like cheap, fast and efficient electric vehicles, and solar and wind technologies poised to displace Big Oil, the industry is using its hold on the Republican Party to permanently embed itself in our economy while subverting science, American democracy, free market capitalism and our sacred belief in an ethical God.”

Kennedy appeared on CNN in 2003 and also argued then that removing subsidies for oil companies to a point where consumers would pay more at the pump would force a market reaction.

“There’s no stronger advocate for free market capitalism than myself, and I don’t think the government should be telling people what to buy or Detroit what to build. The problem is the free market has been distorted in this case,” he said. “We give $6 to $15 billion a year in direct subsidies to the oil industry. That allows big oil to artificially lower the price of gasoline to about $1.89 a gallon, as it is today.” 

TRUMP GUILTY VERDICT REVEALS SPLIT AMONG FORMER GOP PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARY OPPONENTS

Independent Presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. speaks to attendees during a campaign rally at Brazos Hall on May 13, 2024 in Austin, Texas. (Brandon Bell/Getty Images)

“If we were paying the true price of gasoline, we’d be paying what they pay in Europe and elsewhere, $5 a gallon. Americans then would be screaming at Detroit to give us cars that get 40 miles per gallon. And Detroit would be giving us SUVs that get 40 miles per gallon.”

Kennedy was asked why automakers weren’t, at the time, already producing more electric vehicles if they could make billions by enticing consumers unhappy over gas prices, but Kennedy argued there was no demand for them at the time because the price of gas, then just under $2 on average, was “still relatively low.”

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

“If we go up over $2.50 a gallon, they will be making within, two or three years, 40 mile per gallon SUVs, and we’ll be buying them. And the problem is that we have a distortion in the free market that’s caused by these giant subsidies to the oil industry,” he said.

Kennedy’s campaign told Fox News Digital that “Mr. Kennedy believes the transition to clean energy must never come at the expense of those who can least afford it.”

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

Prominent pro-life organization Susan B. Anthony (SBA) Pro-Life America is urging Republican candidates not to stick their heads in the sand ahead of the 2024 elections, but rather paint Democrats as unpopular on abortion.

Since the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision overturned nearly 50 years of precedent that effectively legalized abortion, Democrats have attributed political wins to the unpopularity of pro-life causes.

But SBA said in a memo, sent to Republican leaders and committees Monday, that Democrats’ message is more fearmongering than fact, and it wants GOP candidates to emphasize that Democrats want to place America “on a short list of the most pro-abortion countries in the world.”

HERE ARE THE TOP 4 MOMENTS FROM THE 2024 MARCH FOR LIFE

“There are no protections for the unborn that Democrats can bring themselves to support, and they are consistently on the record opposing the protection of unborn babies when they can feel pain, even legislation to provide basic health care for a baby born alive after a failed abortion,” the SBA memo says.

Pro-life supporters take part in a “Rally for Life” march and celebration outside the state Capitol on Jan. 27, 2024, in Austin, Texas. (Suzanne Cordeiro/AFP via Getty Images)

Working with a pollster and former adviser to Trump, SBA says a winning message for Republican candidates involves stressing support for mothers at all stages of pregnancy and childbirth. 

“The message that performed the strongest in moving voters is driving a strong contrast between Democrat support for the so-called Women’s Health Protection Act (WHPA) and GOP support for providing real options and support for mothers in need and opposition to the WHPA,” SBA wrote. The research was conducted by Adam Schaeffer of Evolving Strategies, a behavioral science and political data firm.

The WHPA passed the House in 2022, but failed in the Senate. Billed as a codification of Roe v. Wade, the measure goes beyond enshrining the 1973 abortion ruling and effectively would make it impossible to restrict abortion at any stage, according to SBA. 

“In our test, the WHPA was characterized as sweeping federal legislation that would wipe away nearly all state limitations on abortion, even those that limit late-term abortions on healthy babies and ensure parental involvement when a young girl becomes pregnant,” the SBA memo said. 

The other part of the “winning” message involved support for pregnant women and help for mothers – including expanding child tax credits.

“GOP support for mothers in need was characterized in our testing as offering women real options to choose life and embracing policies that would streamline adoption services, increase the child tax credit, make baby items tax-free, and provide funding to pregnancy care centers and maternity homes. Further, women should be informed about the financial help and adoption services available so she can make an educated choice,” the SBA memo said.

PRO-LIFE CONSERVATIVES ARE ‘DISAPPOINTED’ IN TRUMP’S NEW ABORTION POLICY, BUT STICK BY HIM: ‘ONLY ONE OPTION’

SBA said it is committed to delivering its message to key presidential and congressional battleground states of Arizona, Georgia, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Ohio and Montana.

But without individual candidates joining the messaging, SBA indicated that Democrats would continue to see success in their spreading “falsehoods and fearmongering” in favor of abortion access.

SBA Pro-Life America president Marjorie Dannenfelser, right, has urged Republican candidates to be clear about their commitment to protecting life in the womb. (Fox News Digital)

“Most importantly, candidates themselves must draw this contrast and put money behind it. The ‘ostrich strategy’ from 2022 of candidates putting their heads in the sand cannot be repeated. This is urgent for GOP Senate candidates, who continue to trail across key races despite President Trump holding a consistent lead at the top of the ticket across those same states,” SBA’s memo states.

Trump has ruffled feathers in the pro-life movement for his approach to abortion following the Dobbs decision. He criticized Florida’s restriction on abortion in most cases after six weeks of pregnancy as cruel, but has indicated he would consider a national ban on abortion at 15 weeks. 

He has also said abortion restrictions should be a state issue, pushing back on calls for a nationwide protection of life bill, but in numerous rallies and speeches has criticized Democrats for wanting abortion to be legal up to and after birth.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

“Democrats and their abortion industry allies will not stop until America becomes a global abortion factory where women are forced into abortion and find few options when choosing life,” SBA said. “If this happens it will put the pro-life movement in an even worse position than it faced under the Roe regime. We must unite and stop them before it is too late.”

EXCLUSIVE: House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, told Fox News Digital he is proposing an appropriations package that would “defund the lawfare activities” of state and federal prosecutors leading “politically sensitive investigations,” pointing specifically to Special Counsel Jack Smith, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg and Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis. 

The proposal comes just days after former President Donald Trump was convicted on all 34 counts of falsifying business records, stemming from charges brought against him by Bragg.

Rep. Jim Jordan, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, leaves the Republican caucus meeting at the Capitol, Oct. 12, 2023. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

TRUMP GUILTY ON ALL COUNTS IN NEW YORK CRIMINAL TRIAL

Trump is also currently awaiting a Supreme Court ruling on whether he is immune from charges brought against him by Smith in his Jan. 6 investigation; awaiting a trial date on charges brought from Smith’s classified records case; and awaiting a trial date on charges brought by Willis in Georgia.

Jordan sent his proposal Monday to House Appropriations Chairman Tom Cole, R-Okla. Fox News Digital obtained the letter and his proposal.

“The Committee on the Judiciary and its Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government continue to conduct vigorous oversight over the Biden Administration in an effort to protect Americans’ fundamental freedoms,” Jordan wrote.

Last year, Jordan helped to implement reforms through the appropriations process, including “proposals to prohibit the funding of politically sensitive investigations, protect whistleblowers against retaliation, prevent taxpayer funds from being used to implement radical regulations, prohibit the funding of disastrous Biden immigration policies, and stop the funding of government censorship – among other proposals – which were included in Subcommittee or Full Committee-passed bills.” 

Jordan said he hopes to build on that work for fiscal year 2025. 

Former President Trump appears in Manhattan Criminal Court, Thursday, May 30, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, Pool)

Jordan said he has spent the year conducting oversight of “the troubling rise in politicized prosecutions and the use of abusive ‘lawfare’ tactics to target political opponents.” 

WHAT’S NEXT FOR TRUMP LEGALLY? WHICH CASE MIGHT COME UP BEFORE ELECTION DAY?

“We have seen rogue prosecutors abuse the rules of professional conduct and their duty to do justice in service of politicized ends,” he said. 

Jordan recommended the 2025 fiscal year appropriations package include language “to eliminate federal funding for state prosecutors or state attorneys general involved in lawfare and to zero out federal funding for federal prosecutors engaged in such abuse.” 

District Attorney Alvin Bragg speaks during a news conference on March 7, 2024, in Manhattan. (Barry Williams/New York Daily News/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)

Jordan noted that the House Judiciary has already passed specific bills that would help to address politicized prosecutions – the “No More Political Prosecutions Act” and the “Forfeiture Funds Expenditure Transparency Act.” 

“Never forget these key facts,” Jordan said in an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital. “Alvin Bragg campaigned on how he’s going to ‘get Trump.’ Once he gets in and sees how ridiculous this case is, he says he cannot envision a world where he would indict President Trump and call Michael Cohen as a prosecution witness, but he does just that after – this is key – after President Trump announces he’s running for president.” 

Jordan then pointed to Willis, who was investigating 2020 election interference in Fulton County, Georgia.

NY V. TRUMP: HOUSE JUDICIARY INVESTIGATES BRAGG PROSECUTOR WHO HELD SENIOR ROLE IN BIDEN DOJ

“Fani Willis starts her investigation in February of 2021 – she doesn’t do anything with it, doesn’t indict, until after President Trump announces he is running for president,” Jordan said. 

“And maybe the biggest one is Jack Smith who, three days after President Trump announces he’s running for president, Merrick Garland appoints him as special counsel,” Jordan added. 

Jordan told Fox News Digital that “all of these things are completely driven by politics.” 

Jordan said the purpose of his proposal is to “defund the lawfare activities.” 

Donald Trump and Jack Smith (Getty Images)

Trump pleaded not guilty to all charges stemming from Bragg’s, Smith’s and Willis’ investigations. 

Separately, Jordan proposed to Chairman Cole that Congress focus on “reining in abusive federal law enforcement agencies.” 

Jordan said his committee has received testimony this year “about egregious abuses, misallocation of federal law-enforcement resources, and misconduct within the leadership ranks” of the FBI. 

“We recommend that the Appropriations Committee include language to eliminate any funding for the FBI that is not essential for the agency to execute its mission, including rescinding prior appropriations and prohibiting new taxpayer funding for any new FBI headquarters facility,” he wrote. “We also recommend tying funding for the FBI to specific policy changes – such as requiring the FBI to record interviews – that will promote accountability and transparency at the FBI.” 

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis during a hearing in the case of the State of Georgia v. Donald John Trump at the Fulton County Courthouse on March 1, 2024, in Atlanta. (Alex Slitz-Pool/Getty Images)

On immigration, Jordan recommended prohibiting the use of taxpayer dollars from funding the Biden administration’s “open-border immigration policies.” 

Jordan also proposed efforts to protect freedom of speech online by prohibiting taxpayer funds from being used “to censor Americans online or to classify speech as so-called ‘mis-, dis-, or mal-information.’” 

Jordan also asked that the committee eliminate taxpayer dollars going toward the Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency’s (CIA) Foreign Influence Operations and Disinformation office, the Global Engagement Center, and other governmental and non-governmental entities he said are “engaged in speech suppression.” 

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Jordan also proposed language to ensure federal grant dollars are not being awarded to jurisdictions across the nation that choose to defund their police – in an effort to address rising crime in urban American cities. 

“On behalf of the Committee and the Select Subcommittee, enclosed please find an initial list of suggested priorities to be included in the fiscal year 2025 appropriations bills. Like last year, these proposals stem from our robust oversight and legislative efforts, which will continue throughout the remainder of the 118th Congress,” Jordan wrote. “By working together, we can ensure that the appropriations process will continue to be a powerful check against the weaponization of the federal government.” 

Fox News Digital reached out to the offices of Smith, Bragg and Willis.

Republicans are capitalizing on the polarizing conviction of former President Trump in his criminal trial.

As they aim to win back the Senate majority in November’s elections, the GOP is going on offense in reliably red state Montana, where Democratic Sen. Jon Tester is fighting for his political life.

Tim Sheehy, the overwhelming frontrunner for the Republican nomination in Tuesday’s primary in Montana, is launching an ad this week that charges “Jon Tester supported Joe Biden’s witch hunt.”

It is the first spot in a crucial Senate race to highlight the verdict in Trump’s trial.

TRUMP UNLEASHED FOLLOWING GUILTY VERDICT IN CRIMINAL TRIAL

Trump, the presumptive GOP presidential nominee, was found guilty by a New York City jury Thursday of all 34 felony counts in his case, the first in which a former or current president stood trial.

TRUMP TURNS CONVICTIONS INTO CASH FOLLOWING GUILTY VERDICTS

The former president repeatedly argued that the case was a “sham” and “rigged” and claimed that it was “prosecuted directly from the inner halls of the White House and DOJ.”

Former President Trump, right, endorsed Tim Sheehy for the Montana Senate. (Sheehy for Senate)

The narrator in the ad by Sheehy, a successful businessman and former Navy SEAL, charges that it was “state-sponsored political persecution led by Joe Biden and the radical left. They want to throw Trump in jail.”

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

“Tester’s even advocated for violence against President Trump,” the narrator says, as the commercial includes a clip from an old MSNBC interview when the senator said someone needs to “punch” Trump “in the face.”

News of the ad was first reported by Politico.

Trump has endorsed Sheehy, who is also heavily backed by the National Republican Senatorial Committee, the campaign arm of the Senate GOP.

Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT) speaks to reporters as he walks through the Capitol Building on Feb. 5, 2024 in Washington, D.C. (Anna Moneymaker)

The commercial is the latest entry in the Montana Senate race’s multimillion-dollar ad wars. Additionally, a GOP strategist who works in Senate races says it is “a sign of Republicans going on offense following the Trump verdict,” especially in red states like Montana and Ohio, where Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown is also being heavily targeted by the GOP.

Tester spokesperson Monica Robinson, responding to the spot, argued in a statement that Sheehy “is trying to cover up the fact that he’s an out-of-state multimillionaire who has been caught lying about every part of his life and is running for Senate to benefit himself, not Montana. Jon will continue running on his record of always fighting for what’s best for Montana — including getting more than 20 bills signed into law by President Trump.”

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

President Biden issued permits to several Texas cities on Monday allowing them to “expand and continue to maintain” their border crossings.

Biden’s order impacts the Texas cities of Laredo, Eagle Pass and Brownsville. The border crossings include the bridges that span the Rio Grande, allowing vehicular and pedestrian traffic to cross to and from the U.S. and Mexico.

The permits are a preview of Biden’s plans for the border as he is expected to issue a series of executive orders on the issue this week.

Details of what will be announced remain unclear. Some outlets reported that it could involve a mechanism to prevent additional migrant entries into the U.S. once there is a rolling seven-day average of more than 4,000 apprehensions a day.

MAYORKAS SAYS SOME MIGRANTS ‘TRY TO GAME’ ASYLUM SYSTEM, AS BORDER REMAINS TOP POLITICAL ISSUE

President Biden issued permits to several Texas cities on Monday allowing them to “expand and continue to maintain” their border crossings. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

That plan would likely be similar to the one proposed in a sweeping bipartisan Senate bill that was unveiled earlier this year. The bill has backing from the Biden administration but has so far failed to drum up enough support to pass. The legislation would create a Title-42 style expulsion authority that would allow agents to quickly remove migrants across the border. 

CHINESE, JORDANIAN, TURKISH ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS CAUGHT IN LARGE NUMBERS AT SOUTHERN BORDER

Biden could attempt to implement such an authority by executive order using 212(f) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, which allows presidents to limit the entry of foreign nationals into the U.S.

President Biden is expected to issue a flurry of executive orders relating to the border this week. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

The Biden administration has repeatedly said its hands are largely tied regarding fixing what it admits is a “broken” immigration system. The White House has called for additional reforms and funding from Congress.

Republicans have blamed the policies of the administration, including the rollback of Trump-era policies such as wall construction, the Migrant Protection Protocols and increased interior enforcement. They have passed their own legislation in the House that would significantly limit asylum claims and restart border wall construction and similar measures. It has not yet been taken up by the Senate.

Immigrants wait to be transported and processed by U.S. Border Patrol officers at the U.S.-Mexico border in El Paso, Texas. ( John Moore/Getty Images)

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., on “Fox News Sunday” said the reported action from Biden is “too little too late.”

Fox News’ Adam Shaw contributed to this report

President Biden is expected to announce executive actions related to the ongoing crisis at the southern border by Tuesday as the issue threatens to become a major issue in the 2024 presidential race, with Republicans saying it is “too little, too late.”

Biden administration and border officials confirmed to Fox News that executive actions are expected to be announced by Tuesday before President Biden departs for Normandy. 

Details of what will be announced remain unclear. Some outlets reported that it could involve a mechanism to prevent additional migrant entries into the U.S. once there is a rolling seven-day average of more than 4,000 apprehensions a day.

MAYORKAS SAYS SOME MIGRANTS ‘TRY TO GAME’ ASYLUM SYSTEM, AS BORDER REMAINS TOP POLITICAL ISSUE 

President Biden speaks with a member of the US Border Patrol as they walk along the U.S.-Mexico border fence in El Paso, Texas, on Jan. 8, 2023. (JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Image)

That mechanism would likely be similar to one proposed in a sweeping bipartisan Senate bill that was unveiled earlier this year and has backing from the Biden administration but has so far failed to drum up enough support to pass in the upper chamber. In that bill, a Title-42 style expulsion authority would allow agents to quickly remove migrants across the border. 

Biden could attempt to implement an authority by executive order using 212(f) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, which allows presidents to limit the entry of foreign nationals into the U.S. 

Former President Trump used 212(f) multiple times during his presidency but was unsuccessful in using it to restrict border crossings, with a legal challenge scuppering the effort. Any similar move by President Biden would almost certainly face a similar challenge.

CHINESE, JORDANIAN, TURKISH ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS CAUGHT IN LARGE NUMBERS AT SOUTHERN BORDER

There are no plans for the president to visit the southern border next week ahead of his departure for Europe, officials say. 

The Biden administration has repeatedly said its hands are largely tied regarding fixing what it says is a “broken” immigration system and has repeatedly called for additional reforms and funding from Congress. In a statement to Fox News Digital on Monday, the White House said it “continues to explore a series of policy options and we remain committed to taking action to address our broken immigration system.”

“Congressional Republicans do not care about securing the border or fixing America’s broken immigration system. If they did, they would have voted for the toughest border enforcement in history. Instead, they put partisan politics ahead of our country’s national security,” a White House spokesperson said. 

President Biden walks along a stretch of the U.S.-Mexico border in El Paso, Texas, Jan. 8, 2023. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File)

“While Congressional Republicans chose to stand in the way of additional border enforcement, President Biden will not stop fighting to deliver the resources that border and immigration personnel need to secure our border.”

Republicans have blamed the policies of the administration, including the rollback of Trump-era policies such as wall construction, the Migrant Protection Protocols and increased interior enforcement. They have passed their own legislation in the House that would significantly limit asylum claims and restart border wall construction and similar measures. It has not yet been taken up by the Senate.

House Speaker Mike Johnson on Fox News Sunday said that the reported action from Biden is “too little too late.”

CLICK HERE FOR MORE COVERAGE OF THE BORDER SECURITY CRISIS

“Now he’s trying to desperately show the American people somehow that he wants to address the issue that he himself created,” he said. 

“We documented 64 specific executive actions of President Biden and Secretary Mayorkas of DHS took over the course of the last three and a half years beginning on the first day that President Biden took office to open the border. Why? They did it intentionally. And it is had catastrophic effects upon our country that we’ll be living with for decades to come,” he said.

Meanwhile, the illegal immigration crisis appears to be looming as a major election issue. A recent Fox News poll said the crisis at the southern border is the second most important issue for voters and 69% of respondents said they disapprove of Biden’s handling of the border. 

Trump won in 2016 due in large part to his plans to fix the southern border, an issue Biden’s critics say he has failed to properly address. 

However, in recent months the numbers of migrant encounters has decreased from the record highs seen in December, where there were more than 200,000 migrant encounters. 

There were 179,725 encounters at the southern border in April, compared to 211,992 in April 2023, and 189,357 in March.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

However, the administration has been using tougher rhetoric on the crisis. Recently, DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said that some migrants attempt to “game” the system.

“The reality is that some people do indeed try to game the system,” Mayorkas told CBS News last month. “That does not speak to everyone whom we encounter, but there is an element of it, and we deal with it accordingly. 

Grover Cleveland and Frances Folsom made history when they wed on June 2, 1886. 

Cleveland is the only president in history to be married inside the White House. They were married in the Blue Room, according to the White House Historical Association. Their marriage also made Folsom the youngest first lady to date, as she was only 21 years old when they wed. 

Folsom was the daughter of a longtime friend and law partner of Cleveland’s named Oscar Folsom. Cleveland knew Folsom from birth and was nearly 30 years older. 

Grover Cleveland and Frances Folsom got married in a small ceremony at the White House June 2, 1886.  (Getty Images )

NOT SINCE 1892: TRUMP VS. BIDEN 2024 WILL BE A RACE BETWEEN TWO INCUMBENTS

After Folsom’s father died, Cleveland became the administrator of the family estate and guided the young Folsom by providing educational advice to her, according to the White House website. 

Cleveland was the first Democrat elected president after the Civil War. When Cleveland took office for his first term in 1885, he was unmarried. With her mother’s permission, Cleveland sent letters to Folsom while she was going to school at Wells College in New York, according to History.com. 

In one of his letters, he proposed to Folsom, according to the source. Their engagement was kept under wraps until just before the wedding. 

On June 2, 1886, Cleveland and Folsom got married in the White House. Their wedding was a small event, attended by only 28 guests, according to History.com. Rev. William Neal Cleveland, the president’s brother, officiated the wedding along with Rev. Bryon Sutherland, according to the source. 

WHAT MAKES A PRESIDENT GREAT?

Music was provided by the United States Marine Band under the direction of John Philip Sousa. 

Frances Folsom remains the youngest first lady in history. She was just 21 years old when she married Grover Cleveland and assumed the role.  (Library of Congress/Corbis/VCG via Getty Images)

Prior to Cleveland’s marriage to Folsom, his sister, Rose Elizabeth Cleveland, fulfilled the duties of the first lady.

PRESIDENTIAL COMEBACKS ARE NOT ALL THEY’RE CRACKED UP TO BE, AS GROVER CLEVELAND’S STORY SHOWS 

As first lady, Folsom held two receptions every week, one of which took place on Saturday so women who were employed could attend, according to the White House website. 

Cleveland ran for a second consecutive term but lost to Benjamin Harrison. During the next election, he ran again and was re-elected, bringing him and his wife back into the White House. To date, Cleveland is the only president to leave the White House and be re-elected. 

During her time as first lady, Frances Folsom held receptions on Saturdays so working women could attend.  (Heritage Art/Heritage Images via Getty Images)

Cleveland and Folsom had five children together. Their first, Ruth, was born in 1891 after Cleveland lost the election. Ruth died at age 12 from diphtheria. Their second child, Esther, was born in 1893, during Cleveland’s return to the White House. Their third child, Marion, was born in 1895. In 1897, their fourth child, Richard, was born, followed by the youngest, Francis, in 1903. 

Cleveland died June 24, 1908, when he was 71. Five years after his death, Folsom married Thomas J. Preston Jr., a professor of archeology. 

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP 

When Folsom died Oct. 29, 1947, she was buried next to Cleveland in Princeton, New Jersey. 

The Republican Party of Texas (RPT) is days away from publishing their official policy platform proposing sweeping reforms within the state, after a weekend of deliberation and a new state chairman election. 

Fox News Digital spoke with several prominent Republicans across the state to get their thoughts on the new platform and new chairman. 

Abraham George, a former GOP chair from Collin County, received endorsements from former Chair Matt Rinaldi, Attorney General Ken Paxton and a number of state representatives before beating party Vice Chair Dana Myers in a six-way race.

“Going into the November election, my goal is to work and ensure we gain more seats in the Texas House and Senate,” George told Fox News Digital. “We have Ted Cruz and Donald Trump on the ballot, those campaigns are very important to the RPT, and we are working on strategy, fundraising, and execution.”

From left to right, Williamson County Republican Chair Michelle Taff Evans, State Rep. Caroline Harris Davila, Travis County Chair Matt Mackowiak and RPT Chair Abraham George.

George is taking the helm of a party that is deeply divided and relying on an increasingly smaller pool of donors — notably, a massive reliance on West Texas oil billionaires Tim Dunn and Farris Wilk, whose donations have reportedly ballooned to 25% of the party’s income via $450,000 from Dunn’s Hexagon Partners LTD & $350,000 from Defend Texas Liberty Pac. In April’s federal filing, the RPT reported an income of $2.8 million since 2023, three quarters of what the party previously had raised in the 2019-2020 cycle. 

OPPOSED BY TOP TEXAS REPUBLICANS AND TRUMP, STATE HOUSE SPEAKER SURVIVES GOP PRIMARY RUNOFF CHALLENGE

“I’m not worried about it, but I think my job as the new chairman is to expand that pool to the next group of people,” George said. “I haven’t had a chance to talk to these big donors, or any of the donors honestly, but we’re going to build financial committees where we can actually have fundraising throughout the state of Texas without depending on one or two people.”

“However, big donors are always important to the party because they can bring in a huge amount of money from just a phone call away. But I don’t want us to be the party of a few individuals, but the party of grassroots.” 

In his address at the convention, Texas Senator John Cornyn called for unity, “What we got here in Texas is too important to squander by fighting the fights of the past as opposed to looking forward to winning in November.”  

While there is always speculation about a blue Texas, George said he does not see a threat coming from the left anytime soon. 

Sen. John Cornyn arrives to a luncheon with Senate Republicans at the U.S. Capitol on Feb. 7, 2024 in Washington, D.C. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

“I don’t see a huge threat honestly,” George countered. “Grassroots are energized, there are more volunteers for the Republican Party than ever before. South Texas is moving towards us, we’re starting to pick up seats in those areas, and we’re going to be working hand in hand with the county chairs there. I think we’re in a great place to start. I don’t think we’re going blue anytime soon, although a lot of people like to talk about it.” 

Several local party leaders and state representatives felt similarly. Williamson County Chairwoman Michelle Taff Evans told Fox News Digital, “The biggest threat to the Republican majority is complacency, both on the part of the elected officials and the voters. I think the RPT division is most deeply felt by those who are losing control of the party, who see the grassroots as a threat to their long-held power, and who fear populism.” 

One of the more ambitious proposals in the new RPT platform is closing primaries, thereby allowing only Republicans to vote in Republican primaries. “I think closing primaries was one of the most important policy achievements of convention,” George explained. “My job now is to go ahead and secure that. We are in conversation with legal counsel and I expect that to be the major thing to happen over the next few months.”

Detractors are concerned that this could entirely surrender the RPT to the hard right-wing of the party. The moderate speaker of the Texas House, Dade Phelan, recently won a razor-thin victory against Trump-backed Dave Covey in a runoff election. Lt. Governor Dan Patrick attributed Phelan’s victory to the open primary system, saying “The only way Dade Phelan, who doubled down on appointing Democrat chairs in his recent campaign, can be re-elected Speaker is by a handful of a small minority Republicans and a huge majority of Democrats.” 

The most consequential proposal, however, comes in the form of a new constitutional amendment. The proposed amendment would require a state office holder to win a majority of Texas’ countries in a proposal similar to the electoral college. Given the GOP’s reliance on low-populated, but numerous, rural counties, this would make a Democratic statewide victory virtually impossible. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott carried 235 out of 254 counties in 2022 despite only winning the popular vote by +10%. Legal experts expect this to be challenged under the Voter Rights Act, although the platform also calls for the repeal of the Voting Rights Act.   

“I think it’s great, they have eight [policy focuses] that they’re highlighting. I will be focused on school choice. I think we have a huge opportunity to get that done,” state Rep. Caroline Harris Davila told Fox News Digital, speaking on the platform’s alignment with legislative priorities. “We want to be the top of the list for education in Texas, and whether it’s public schools, great private schools, we need to make sure parents have everything they can to get their kids the best education possible.”  

State Representative Caroline Harris, R-Williamson, in the Texas House. (Caroline Harris for Texas)

TENNESSEE GOVERNOR JOINS GOP TREND OF VETTING CANDIDATES ON SUPPORT FOR SCHOOL CHOICE: ‘SO IMPORTANT TO ME’

“The legislative priorities haven’t been published yet, but I expect it’ll be about closing our borders and election integrity is going to be major for us,” George said.

Not all Republicans are optimistic about the results of the election and the direction of the party. Travis County Chair Matt Mackowiak, who ran for election against George, told Fox News Digital, “RPT needs competent leadership for the first time in five years. I doubt we will see that. The RPT needs to unify the party, register voters for the first time in years, raise $5 million as quickly as possible, support our targeted races, and win elections. Next year they will work to advance the platform and legislative priorities.”

“I think Republican voters are yearning for decisive action against federal incompetence with regard to the border and federal overreach with regards to our civil liberties,” Taff Evans said.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

“My advice to the next chair is to always remember that the party should serve the people, not the politicians, and always stand on principle,” former RPT Chairman Matt Rinaldi told Fox News Digital.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., on Sunday defended President Biden’s past comment that his son, Hunter Biden, “did nothing wrong.” 

Jeffries’ remarks came a day before the scheduled beginning of jury selection in the federal gun case against Hunter – and just days after former President Trump, President Biden’s main election opponent, was convicted on 34 counts following the hush-money trial brought by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg. 

“President Biden commented as a loving father, as I would hope any loving father would do. Hunter Biden, of course, is entitled, as was Donald Trump, to the presumption of innocence and to a trial by a jury of his peers,” Jeffries said during an appearance on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” “And this Justice Department is going to proceed in that fashion, present the facts and the law and then we’ll all have to wait for a determination that is made by a jury as to Hunter Biden’s guilt or innocence.” 

In an interview with MSNBC in May 2023, President Biden insisted, “First of all, my son has done nothing wrong,” adding that “I trust him. I have faith in him.

HUNTER BIDEN’S CRIMINAL TRIAL ON FEDERAL GUN CHARGES BEGINS WITH JURY SELECTION

President Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden during the 2024 White House Easter Egg Roll on the South Lawn of the White House, Monday, April 1, 2024.  (Demetrius Freeman/The Washington Post via Getty Images)

That was before what Republicans dubbed a “sweetheart deal” with prosecutors for Hunter to plead guilty on misdemeanor tax charges fell apart in Delaware during a dramatic hearing last summer before a Trump-appointed judge. In response, Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed David Weiss, who had already been leading the investigation into Hunter’s gun case, as special counsel. 

TRUMP LAWYER SPARS WITH HOST OVER EX-BIDEN DOJ OFFICIAL TAPPED IN NEW YORK HUSH-MONEY CASE

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., conducts his weekly news conference in the Capitol Visitor Center on Thursday, May 23, 2024.  (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

Hunter Biden, who spent the weekend with his father, has been charged with three felonies stemming from a 2018 firearm purchase when he was, according to his memoir, in the throes of a crack addiction. He has been accused of lying to a federally licensed gun dealer, making a false claim on the application used to screen firearms applicants when he said he was not a drug user, and illegally having the gun for 11 days.

He has pleaded not guilty and has argued he’s being unfairly targeted by the Justice Department. 

Hunter Biden during a state dinner in honor of Kenya’s president William Ruto at the White House in Washington, D.C., on Thursday, May 23, 2024.  (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Hunter Biden is also facing a separate trial in California in September on charges of failing to pay $1.4 million in taxes. He has also pleaded not guilty in that case. 

CLICK TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Jeffries, meanwhile, also addressed Trump’s conviction. The Democratic leader said the guilty verdict against the former president was a “validation of the American judicial system,” when asked if the eight-year-old case would have been brought against anyone but the former president. 

“Donald Trump was entitled to the presumption of innocence, he received it,” he said. “This is America. This is not a system that is occupied by a monarch or a king or a dictator. We are a democracy. And in a democracy, no one is above the law.” 

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

Hunter Biden’s criminal trial will begin with jury selection Monday morning in Delaware. The trial stems from federal gun charges brought against him by special counsel David Weiss. 

Hunter Biden pleaded not guilty to federal gun charges in U.S. District Court for Delaware after Weiss charged him with making a false statement in the purchase of a firearm; making a false statement related to information required to be kept by a licensed firearm dealer; and one count of possession of a firearm by a person who is an unlawful user of or addicted to a controlled substance. 

With all counts combined, the total maximum prison time for the charges could be up to 25 years. Each count carries a maximum fine of $250,000 and three years of supervised release. 

The trial begins nearly a year after presiding Judge Maryellen Noreika questioned a plea deal between prosecutors and Hunter Biden, which subsequently fell apart.

JUDGE BARS PROSECUTORS FROM USING SOME SALACIOUS EVIDENCE IN HUNTER BIDEN’S GUN TRIAL

President Biden’s son, Hunter Biden, has reportedly told people he may have to “flee” the country if Trump wins in 2024. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

The agreement, blasted as a “sweetheart” deal by congressional Republicans, appeared to convey broad immunity to the president’s son on a host of potential criminal charges.

According to an indictment, Hunter Biden bought a Colt Cobra revolver Oct. 12, 2018, and “knowingly made a false and fictitious written statement, intended and likely to deceive that dealer with respect to a fact material to the lawfulness of the sale of the firearm … certifying he was not an unlawful user of, and addicted to, any stimulant, narcotic drug, and any other controlled substance, when in fact, as he knew, that statement was false and fictitious.” 

The indictment also charges Hunter Biden with possessing that gun, which was “shipped and transported in interstate commerce,” for nearly a week despite being addicted to narcotics.

HUNTER BIDEN IS IN COURT IN DELAWARE. HERE’S WHAT HE DOESN’T WANT THE JURY TO HEAR

Fox News first reported in 2021 that police had responded to an incident in 2018, when a gun owned by Hunter was thrown into a trash can outside a market in Delaware.

A source with knowledge of the Oct. 23, 2018, police report told Fox News it indicated that Hallie Biden, who is the widow of President Biden’s late son, Beau, and who was in a relationship with Hunter at the time, threw a gun owned by Hunter in a dumpster behind a market near a school.

Hallie Biden may be required to testify during Hunter Biden’s trial. 

Special counsel David Weiss (Department of Justice)

A firearm transaction report reviewed by Fox News indicated Hunter purchased a gun earlier that month.

On the firearm transaction report, Hunter answered in the negative when asked if he was “an unlawful user of, or addicted to, marijuana or any depressant, stimulant, narcotic drug, or any other controlled substance.”

Hunter was discharged from the Navy in 2014 after testing positive for cocaine.

HUNTER BIDEN PLEADS NOT GUILTY TO FEDERAL GUN CHARGES OUT OF SPECIAL COUNSEL DAVID WEISS’ PROBE

Judge Noreika ruled ahead of the trial that Weiss’s team cannot use some salacious evidence in the first son’s criminal trial, including references to the Navy discharge and his child support case for his out-of-wedlock daughter in Arkansas. 

Hunter Biden departs a House Oversight Committee meeting on Capitol Hill Jan. 10. On Friday, a judge denied a motion to throw out a federal gun case against him.  (Kent Nishimura/Getty Images)

Noreika also said Weiss must show Hunter Biden was addicted to drugs but not necessarily using drugs the day he purchased the gun. 

Noreika said the government may use part of Hunter Biden’s book in which he discusses his addiction to drugs. 

The prosecution does not plan to bring out the entire infamous laptop containing details of Hunter Biden’s life but will introduce certain portions. Noreika ruled that Hunter Biden’s team will be able to question aspects of the laptop in front of the jury. The laptop, which leaked in 2020 just before the presidential election, was decried as Russian disinformation by 51 former intelligence officials.

Noreika also ruled that the special counsel cannot mention Hunter Biden’s pending federal tax trial in California during the trial in Delaware, which is also part of Weiss’s investigation and scheduled for a September trial.

A courtroom sketch depicting Hunter Biden in a federal courtroom in Wilmington, Del., July 26, 2023. (Courtesy William J. Hennessy, Jr.)

Hunter Biden pleaded not guilty to those charges — specifically, three felonies and six misdemeanors concerning $1.4 million in owed taxes that have since been paid. Weiss alleged a “four-year scheme” when the president’s son did not pay his federal income taxes from January 2017 to October 2020 while also filing false tax reports. 

HUNTER BIDEN TAX TRIAL POSTPONED TO SEPTEMBER

Judge Mark Scarsi heard arguments during a pre-trial hearing in California last month. That criminal trial was scheduled for June 20, but Hunter Biden’s attorneys requested to delay the trial. 

Scarsi sided with Hunter Biden’s attorneys, and moved the tax trial to Sept. 5, when jury selection will begin. 

Former President Trump has joined TikTok, the embattled Chinese-owned social media platform that he once tried to ban during his years in the White House.

The presumptive Republican presidential nominee’s first post on TikTok was a launch video on Saturday night on a verified account – @realDonaldTrump – showing him waving to fans at an Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) fight in Newark, New Jersey, that he attended a couple of hours earlier. 

“The president is now on TikTok,” UFC CEO and Trump friend Dana White said as he introduced the former president in the video.

“It’s my honor,” Trump responded in the video. The song “American Bad A–” by Kid Rock can be heard in the background.

TRUMP ‘UNLEASHED’ NOW THAT HIS CRIMINAL TRIAL IS OVER

Former President Trump smiles at Dana White while attending the UFC 302 mixed martial arts event Saturday, June 1, 2024, in Newark, New Jersey. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

The move appears to be an effort to connect with younger voters who frequent the app, as Trump faces off with President Biden in the 2024 election rematch. The main super PAC supporting Trump, MAGA Inc., joined TikTok a couple of weeks ago. The site has roughly 170 million users in the U.S.

TRUMP TURNS CONVICTIONS INTO CASH IN WAKE OF HIS CRIMINAL TRIAL VERDICT

The app appears to be friendly ground for the former president, with roughly twice as many pro-Trump posts compared to pro-Biden posts on the site, according to recent reports from the New York Times and Puck, which cited internal analysis from TikTok.

Biden’s 2024 re-election campaign joined TikTok in February, but the president signed a law in April forcing TikTok’s Chinese owner to sell the app within a year or face a ban in the U.S.

Donald Trump waves to the crowd at the UFC 302 event at Prudential Center on June 1, 2024 in Newark. (Jeff Bottari/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)

Trump, in 2020 during his last year as president, tried to ban the app in the U.S. market over national security concerns. His executive order was eventually blocked in federal court.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Trump changed his mind this year, and came out in opposition to Biden’s potential ban on TikTok.

Some former top Trump advisers – including former senior adviser Kellyanne Conway and David Urban – have been speaking out in favor of TikTok on Capitol Hill.

Regardless, many Republicans continue to criticize the popular app and urge its Chinese-based parent company to divest.

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

The unprecedented criminal conviction of former President Trump has opened a dark chapter in the history of America’s criminal justice system, according to several legal experts.

A New York jury on Thursday pronounced Trump guilty of 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in what prosecutors called a scheme to illegally influence the 2016 election. Trump is now the first former president to ever be convicted of a crime. He is scheduled to be sentenced on July 11 and may be sent to prison. 

Harvard Law professor emeritus Alan Dershowitz is among those who have called the facts of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s case against Trump an “absolute joke.” He warned on Friday that if Trump can’t get justice in New York through the appeal process, it’ll be open season for Republican prosecutors to target Democrats in deep-red districts.

“This is the beginning of a war of weaponization of the criminal justice system,” Dershowtz said on “Mornings with Maria” on FOX Business. “The legal system failed. Our system of checks and balances, which is the great contribution that the American Constitution made, failed yesterday.” 

TRUMP NY SENTENCING TO BE 4 DAYS BEFORE REPUBLICAN CONVENTION

Former President Donald Trump appears in Manhattan Criminal Court, Thursday, May 30, 2024, in New York. The jury found Trump guilty on 34 counts of falsifying business records.  (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Trump’s critics would call that dire warning hyperbole, at best, or at worst, dangerous. They argue that Trump’s historic conviction, however irregular the charges, was delivered by a jury of his peers in a court of law where Trump was presumed innocent until proven guilty. 

“This was a conviction by a jury of Americans who listened to the evidence and made their decision,” said Rachel Kleinfeld, a senior fellow in the Democracy, Conflict, and Governance Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, in comments to the New York Times. “When you undermine courts the way that elections have already been undermined, there is no peaceful way to settle differences.”

Trump and many of his supporters say otherwise: That this was the product of a blatantly political prosecution brought by Bragg, a Democrat who campaigned on a pledge to “get Trump,” presided over by Judge Juan Merchan — who previously donated $35 to an anti-Trump political committee — and located in a county where only 12% of residents eligible to be jurors voted for Trump in 2020. 

“The whole thing was rigged from day one — from the venue to the judge,” Trump told Fox News Digital’s Brooke Singman in an exclusive interview after the verdict came down. He maintains his innocence and has accused President Biden and the Democratic Party of attempting to harm his presidential campaign through the legal system. 

TRUMP GUILTY ON ALL COUNTS IN NEW YORK CRIMINAL TRIAL

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg speaks after the guilty verdict in former President Donald Trump’s criminal trial over charges that he falsified business records to conceal money paid to silence porn star Stormy Daniels in 2016, at a press conference in New York, on May 30, 2024. (REUTERS/Brendan McDermid)

“We couldn’t get a fair trial,” he said. “It’s a sad day for New York and a sad day for the country.” 

Bragg has denied any political motives in his successful prosecution of Trump and said his office “did our job,” which was “to follow the facts and the law without fear or favor.” 

“The only voice that matters is the voice of the jury. And the jury has spoken,” Bragg said Thursday evening. 

But Staten Island criminal defense attorney Louis Gelmorino said Bragg and other Democratic officials who made campaign promises to prosecute Trump should never have been allowed to move their cases forward. 

“Letitia James, Fani Willis and Alvin Bragg all campaigned on the fact that they were going to get Trump. They all got elected and they all went right after Trump. And they all should’ve been recused, everyone in their offices, should’ve been recused because of the statements they made on the campaign trail,” said Gelormino, referencing New York Attorney General Letitia James and Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis in Atlanta. 

I WAS INSIDE THE COURT WHEN THE JUDGE CLOSED THE TRUMP TRIAL, WHAT I SAW SHOCKED ME: ALAN DERSHOWITZ

Republican presidential candidate and former President Donald Trump reacts as the verdict is read in his criminal trial over charges that he falsified business records to conceal money paid to silence porn star Stormy Daniels in 2016, at Manhattan state court in New York City, on May 30, 2024 in this courtroom sketch.  (REUTERS/Jane Rosenberg)

James had called Trump a “con man” and “carnival barker” and promised to shine a “bright light into every dark corner of his real estate dealings” before she was elected in 2018. She led a successful prosecution of the Trump Organization for fraud by falsely inflating the value of its assets. Trump and his lawyers argued that he never told anyone to inflate the value of his assets and that, if there were discrepancies, no one was harmed. 

Willis brought charges against Trump and 14 co-defendants in an alleged conspiracy to overturn the 2020 election in Georgia. After winning the Democratic primary for her office in March, she said “the train is coming” for Trump and his co-defendants.

“It’s quite obvious they are using the law to prevent Trump from running for office,” said Gelormino. He criticized Bragg’s prosecutorial decisions in New York, noting the district attorney has taken a soft approach towards violent crime while ferociously pursuing Trump.

“In Manhattan, you can deal a house full of drugs, and they’ll try, at best, not to prosecute or put you in a program. You can get arrested for all kinds of crimes in Manhattan, and they’ll try to reduce the sentence. But Bragg is really cracking down on white collar crime, and we see it every day while street crime, violent crime and drugs are let go. And he’s doing it because that’s not his constituency,” he said.

BIDEN URGES RESPECT FOR LEGAL SYSTEM AFTER TRUMP CONVICTION WHILE PUBLICLY FLOUTING SCOTUS RULINGS

David Gelman, a New Jersey-based a criminal defense attorney and a former deputy district attorney, said anyone who looks at how the Trump case was handled in New York and doesn’t think it was “weaponized” against Trump is “lying to themselves.” 

“This is the first time in New York an individual has ever been tried for this type of crime. Is it a coincidence that it happened to President Trump smack-dab in the middle of a presidential campaign where he is the front-runner?” he asked. “I think not.”

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

He noted that the Federal Elections Commission, Department of Justice, Southern District of New York and Bragg’s predecessor each declined to prosecute Trump previously because they thought there was not enough evidence of a crime. 

“The problem now is that this could be common where we prosecute our opponents to stop them from being elected,” he warned. “This makes us no better than countries like Russia or China.” 

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

As the White House finalizes plans for a U.S.-Mexico clampdown that would shut off asylum requests and automatically deny entrance to migrants once a threshold is met, the Biden administration has continued to allow hundreds of thousands of migrants to remain in the U.S. with what amounts to amnesty, according to a report.

A report released last month by Syracuse University’s Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC), a nonpartisan data gathering organization that tracks immigration cases and backlogs shows that since 2022, over 350,000 asylum cases filed by migrants were closed by the U.S. government on the basis that those who filed did not have a criminal record or were not deemed a threat to the U.S.

Once cases are terminated without a decision on the merits of their asylum claim, the migrants are removed from the legal system, and they are not required to check in with authorities.

It also means the migrants can legally go anywhere they want inside the U.S. without having to worry about being deported.

BIDEN IS SAID TO BE FINALIZING PLANS FOR MIGRANT LIMITS AS PART OF A US-MEXICO BORDER CLAMPDOWN

JACUMBA HOT SPRINGS, CALIFORNIA – FEBRUARY 20: Border patrol agents process asylum seekers at an improvised camp near the US-Mexico border on February 20, 2024 in Jacumba Hot Springs, California.  (Qian Weizhong/VCG via Getty Images)

The New York Post reported that a memo sent out by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) principal legal advisor Kerry Doyle in 2022 told agency prosecutors to dismiss cases for migrants who do not pose a threat to national security.

TRAC’s data shows that in the same year, there were 173,227 applications for asylum filed. Of those applications, immigration judges ordered 36,250 of the applicants be removed from the U.S., granted asylum to 31,859 applicants. The other 102,550 applications were reportedly dismissed or taken off the books.

In 2023, there were 248,232 asylum applications filed, of which 52,440 applicants were ordered to be removed, 43,113 were granted asylum, and 149,305 were dismissed or taken off the books.

IMMIGRATION JUDGES RAMP UP PACE CLOSING DEPORTATION CASES, BUT BACKLOG EXPLODES AS BORDER CRISIS GROWS

People, mainly from West African countries, line up outside the former St. Brigid School to apply for shelter, in New York City on December 7, 2023. There are approximately 66,000 asylum seekers currently housed in shelters in New York, which Mayor Eric Adams says is “managing a national migration crisis virtually single-handedly.”  (CHARLY TRIBALLEAU/AFP via Getty Images)

So far in 2024, there have been 175,193 asylum applications and 113,843 applications dismissed.

The numbers are much higher than under the Trump administration, when in 2019 – before the pandemic – there were 87,018 asylum applications filed with 52,223 applicants removed from the country, 24,109 granted relief and 4,746 applications dismissed.

When cases are closed, migrants are no longer faced with deportation or removal proceedings. They are also not obligated to leave the U.S. as they are no longer being monitored by ICE.

BIDEN’S REVERSAL OF TRUMP POLICIES CREATED BORDER CRISIS, EXPERT SAYS: ‘INTENTIONALLY UNSECURED IT’

June 2, 2022: ICE agents conduct an enforcement operation in the U.S. interior. ((Immigration and Customs Enforcement))

The applicants whose cases are dismissed are able to apply for asylum again or they can seek out other forms of legal status like a family-based or employment-based visa, or even Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA).

The immigration court backlog has grown from 2.8 million at the end of Fiscal Year 2023 to nearly 3.6 million in FY 2024, with immigration judges being unable to keep up with the current flow of new cases into the system.

The number of new cases filed as well as the number of cases completed by immigration judges are both on pace to exceed all-time highs this year, the TRAC report notes, though the pace of completions will be unable to stem the growing backlog.

‘FEARMONGERING’: CHINESE MIGRANT SURGE HEARING DISMISSED BY HOUSE DEMS DESPITE NATIONAL SECURITY CONCERNS 

TOPSHOT – US President Joe Biden speaks with US Customs and Border Protection officers as he visits the US-Mexico border in El Paso, Texas, on January 8, 2023.  (JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images)

The president has been weighing additional executive action since the collapse of a bipartisan border bill earlier this year. The number of illegal crossings at the U.S.-Mexico border has declined for months, partly because of a stepped-up effort by Mexico. Still, immigration remains a top concern heading into the U.S. presidential election in November and Republicans are eager to hammer Biden on the issue.

The Democratic administration’s effort would aim to head off any potential spike in crossings that could occur later in the year, as the fall election draws closer, when the weather cools and numbers tend to rise. Four people familiar with Biden’s plans were not authorized to speak publicly about the ongoing discussions and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.

The move would allow Biden, whose administration has taken smaller steps in recent weeks to discourage migration and speed up asylum processing, to say he has done all he can do to control the border numbers without help from Congress.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

The restrictions being considered are an aggressive attempt to ease the nation’s overwhelmed asylum system, along with a new effort to speed up the cases of migrants already in America and another meant to quicken processing for migrants with criminal records or those who would otherwise be eventually deemed ineligible for asylum in the United States.

The people told the AP that the administration was weighing some of the policies directly from a stalled bipartisan Senate border deal, including capping the number of encounters at an average of 4,000 per day over a week and whether that limit would include asylum-seekers coming to the border with appointments through U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s CBP One app. Right now, there are roughly 1,450 such appointments per day.

Fox News Digital’s Michael Lee and The Associated Press contributed to this report.