NationalWatch

In Michigan, while more Democrats than Republicans are concerned about their candidates’ ideological views, Democrats are also more engaged and enthusiastic about the upcoming election, setting up a battle in the Wolverine State.

After a heated Democratic primary, progressive Abdul El-Sayed secured the Senate nomination and will face Republican Mike Rogers this fall as Democrats try to retake the Senate.

According to a Fox News survey of Michigan registered voters, Rogers has the edge in the race with 51% to El-Sayed’s 47%, within the survey’s margin of sampling error.

FOX NEWS POLL: NEW MATCHUP, SAME RESULT: MAINE SENATE RACE STAYS LOCKED

Rogers’ edge comes mostly from greater party unity among Republicans. Nearly all Republicans (96%), including both MAGA (99%) and non-MAGA Republicans (89%), back Rogers. 

Only a week after winning the primary race, 9 in 10 Democrats (91%) and nearly all Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) supporters (98%) back El-Sayed, but that falls to 69% among non-DSA Democrats and independents. The small subgroup of independents narrowly favors Rogers.

El-Sayed’s coalition includes liberal voters, Black voters, urban residents and women with a college degree.

Rogers’ most loyal groups are conservatives, White evangelical Christians, rural voters and White men without a degree.

Men favor Rogers by 11 points (44% El-Sayed vs. 55% Rogers), while women are split (49-48%). 

President Donald Trump won the Wolverine State in 2016 and 2024, each time by less than 2 points, while former President Joe Biden won by nearly 3 points in 2020.

El-Sayed is underperforming with Black voters, women and suburban voters compared with former Vice President Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election. Rogers similarly trails Trump’s 2024 support among voters under age 30 and independents. That’s according to the 2024 Michigan Fox News Voter Analysis (FNVA).

Voter enthusiasm for their candidate is evident on both sides. About three-quarters of each candidate’s supporters are certain they will stick with their choice this fall, and about two-thirds say their support is mainly for their candidate rather than against his opponent.

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El-Sayed leads among the most engaged voters with an 11-point advantage among those extremely interested in the election, a 7-point lead among those extremely motivated and a 4-point edge among definite voters (10-out-of-10 likelihood).

Moreover, more Democrats than Republicans are extremely interested (+15 points), motivated to vote (+11) and certain they will cast a ballot this November (+7).

More than half the electorate is concerned El-Sayed’s positions on the issues are too extreme (54%) and that Rogers is too close to Trump (51%).

Voters on both sides of the aisle share concerns about their candidate’s ideological positioning. Twice as many Democrats are concerned El-Sayed is too extreme (30%) as Republicans are that Rogers is too close to Trump (14%). By a 10-point margin, more independents are concerned about Rogers’ ties to Trump than El-Sayed’s issue positions (58% vs. 48%).

Trump’s favorable rating is underwater by 19 points in Michigan (40% favorable, 59% unfavorable). Both Senate candidates also have negative ratings, with El-Sayed (-13 points) faring worse than Rogers (-6).

The two major political parties are viewed negatively. The Republican Party has a -12 net favorable rating while the Democratic Party is at -13.

“The energy is on the left in Michigan, as it is throughout the country, and that should help with turnout,” said Republican pollster Daron Shaw, who helps conduct Fox News polls with Democrat Chris Anderson. 

“But El-Sayed’s nomination path highlighted party rifts. He needs to reassure a wide range of Michigan Democrats — including Reagan Democrats, Jewish voters and Black voters — that he will serve their interests rather than pursue an extremist agenda.”

The MAGA movement is viewed more favorably than the DSA by 10 points (40% vs. 30%). However, more voters have strongly unfavorable views of MAGA than DSA (45% vs. 37%).

Inflation is the top issue in the Michigan Senate race at 38%, and economic anxiety remains palpable, with 4 in 10 saying they are falling behind financially. Other voter priorities are immigration/border security and healthcare (14% each) and political divisions (11%).

El-Sayed stays competitive thanks to voters who prioritize inflation (+10 points), healthcare (+47) and political divisions (+5), while most immigration voters prefer Rogers (+82).

Those who say they are falling behind financially also back El-Sayed by 24 points.

By an 11-point margin, Michiganders oppose the U.S. continuing to provide military aid to the Israeli government (44% favor vs. 55% oppose). Those favoring aid back Rogers by 45 points, while those opposed prefer El-Sayed by 29 points.

Turning to the governor’s race …

With Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer term-limited, Michigan’s gubernatorial seat is up for grabs.

The Fox News poll finds Democrat Jocelyn Benson has the advantage over Republican John James by 5 points in the governor’s contest (52% vs. 47%). The results fall within the survey’s margin of sampling error.

Compared with El-Sayed, Benson draws greater support among non-DSA Democrats and independents: 81% favor Benson in the governor’s race vs. 69% for El-Sayed in the Senate race.

There is some ticket-splitting with Rogers’ backers nearly three times as likely to cross over for Benson as El-Sayed supporters are to back James (14% vs. 5%).

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Overall, about 1 in 5 Benson supporters and 1 in 4 James supporters say they may still change their mind and back someone else.

Benson’s net personal favorable rating is +7 (49% favorable, 42% unfavorable), while James is at -3 (41% favorable, 44% unfavorable).

Conducted Aug. 6-10, 2026, under the joint direction of Beacon Research (D) and Shaw & Company Research (R), this Fox News Poll includes interviews with a sample of 1,006 Michigan registered voters randomly selected from a statewide voter file. Respondents spoke with live interviewers on landlines (103) and cellphones (654) or completed the survey online after receiving a text message (249). 

Results based on the full sample have a margin of sampling error of ±3 percentage points. Sampling error for results among subgroups is higher. In addition to sampling error, question wording and order can influence results. Sources for developing weight targets include the most recent American Community Survey, Fox News Voter Analysis and voter file data. Weights are generally applied to age, race, education and area variables to ensure the demographics of respondents are representative of the registered voter population. Results among subgroups are only shown when the sample size is at least N=100. 

Milwaukee’s election results from Tuesday’s primary were delayed because of a “human error” in which five of the nine USB flash drives did not download the election results, prompting critics to call it a showing of “complete incompetence.”

The error effectively stalled the results of the closely watched Democratic gubernatorial primary between Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley and Francesca Hong. The delay came amid heightened scrutiny of election administration in Democratic-led jurisdictions, where recent ballot and reporting errors have drawn criticism and, in some cases, investigations from Republican lawmakers.

“We’re all human, and humans can make errors,” Paulina Gutiérrez, executive director of the Milwaukee Election Commission, said during a midnight news conference.

The error delayed the county’s election results by an hour as Gutiérrez and Milwaukee Election Commission staffers returned to Central Count with a police escort to retrieve the remaining voting data.

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“So basically what we need to do is go back to the operations center and we’re going to download out five of those machines the results and make sure that’s not the audit log,” Gutiérrez said during the press conference “So have the reports printed from the first download. We’re going to reprint and start the process so that can compare those results.”

The Milwaukee Election Commission said in a news release that the audit log, which documents activity on the tabulator, was downloaded rather than the election results.

“The issue delayed the reporting of Milwaukee’s results, but it did not affect the results,” the press release stated. “The election results remained intact and unchanged on the tabulators. No ballots were lost or changed, or needed to be recounted or retabulated.”

Gutiérrez said there were no issues with the voting machines themselves but confirmed to a reporter that a wrong button was pushed in downloading the data.

In an interview with Votebeat, Gutiérrez said the time it took to download results from the tabulators varied. She said that while the standard time frame was 10 minutes, some tabulators completed the downloads in three minutes.

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“The fact that this happened five times seems more like a training issue,” former Milwaukee Election Commissioner Claire Woodall told Votebeat. “Was this person trained on how to export results? Are they familiar with the machines and how you export results?”

The error meant that 15,000 votes had yet to be counted at that point.

NBC News’ Steve Kornacki buried his face in his hand after learning of Milwaukee’s error on live TV.

“We’re kind of indefinitely waiting for them to get their act together here,” Kornacki said. “We waited 90 minutes for them. They did this whole procession, and then we find out there’s nothing on the sticks.”

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After the remaining election data was properly downloaded after 1 a.m., Milwaukee County Clerk George Christenson addressed reporters and emphasized the importance of being transparent with the public.

“At the end of the day, what’s important is that we’re transparent, that the results are secure, and that we’re open and honest ,” Christenson said, “And that’s what the City of Milwaukee election director did. She came up here and she explained it, went back, got the results, brought it back to us, and we got everything right.”

But despite the transparency, critics did not hold back.

“Complete incompetence at the facility isn’t helping anything here,” Republican state Rep. Scott Krug wrote on X. “This was human error that could have easily been double checked before leaving the facility. More than one answer to the problem not one silver bullet”

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The Milwaukee error follows other election-administration problems in various blue states. New Jersey recently disclosed that a software error improperly registered roughly 6,600 people who had indicated they were not U.S. citizens, with fewer than 400 later casting ballots. In Oregon, officials said DMV errors resulted in 1,945 people being registered without providing proof of eligibility, 44 of whom voted. And a Connecticut judge ordered a new Democratic mayoral primary in Bridgeport after finding evidence of absentee-ballot violations cast the original result into doubt.

This is also not the first “human error” involving the Milwaukee Election Commission.

During the 2024 presidential election, election officials recounted 31,000 absentee ballots because staffers did not lock tabulator doors. The error delayed results from 105,000 absentee ballots.

During the 2020 presidential election, then-Milwaukee Election Commissioner Claire Woodall left one of the 12 flash drives containing election results at Central Count, delaying the reporting of roughly 169,000 absentee ballots.

Wisconsin Election Commission spokesperson Emilee Miklas said that while errors may happen, Wisconsin’s election integrity is secure.

“Wisconsin elections are safe, secure, and accurate due to multiple checks and balances. While human mistake can happen – Wisconsin’s election system, which includes layers of oversight at the local and state level, ensures things are caught and corrected,” Miklas said in a statement to Fox News Digital.

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The race between Crowley and Hong was officially called at 2:34 a.m. Wednesday, with Crowley winning by 0.5%.

FIRST ON FOX: Dozens of American colleges, high schools, middle schools and elementary schools have taken part in a program launched by Chinese President Xi Jinping and run by an agency dedicated to promoting “Marxism-Leninism,” a new report published by the parents’ rights group Defending Education found. 

At least 83 universities and 26 K-12 schools across 30 states have participated in Beijing’s Young Envoys Scholarship, an exchange program which the Chinese Communist Party says is designed to improve relations with the United States, according to the report. Critics, however, maintain that Chinese exchange programs serve a political function, allowing the CCP to curate manicured experiences to unduly sway American perceptions of China.

The program’s reach underscores how Beijing uses educational exchanges to build influence with American students even as U.S. officials, the president among them, are increasingly scrutinizing CCP efforts to shape public opinion and gain footholds in institutions. The new Defending Education report raises questions about what students are shown in China, who shapes those experiences and whether schools and families fully understand the political implications of participation.

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“The Chinese Communist Party engages in cognitive warfare to distort American perceptions of the CCP‘s endless human rights abuses and global aggression,” Michael Lucci, the CEO of the national security nonprofit State Armor, told Fox News Digital. “They are reaching deep into our education system to influence American students as one of their influence operations to try to change the way Americans think.”

Xi established the program in 2023 with the aim of inviting 50,000 young Americans to the country over five years.

The China Education Association for International Exchange, which runs the program, uses “Marxism-Leninism, Mao Zedong Thought, Deng Xiaoping Theory … and Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era as its guiding ideology and action guide,” according to a translation of its Chinese-language website.

“These aren’t just cultural trips. They’re an integral part of China’s broader soft power strategy aimed at infiltrating America’s classrooms,” Reagan Dugan, the director of Defending Education’s higher education initiative, told Fox News Digital. “Disclosure requirements need to catch up. American students and families deserve to know if their school is partnering with a CCP operation.”

The Chinese government maintains that their exchange programs are not intended to serve a political purpose, however.

“China is committed to promoting mutual understanding and friendship between the Chinese and American peoples and advancing exchanges and cooperation between the two countries in areas including trade, education and culture,” a spokesperson for the Chinese embassy in D.C. told Fox News Digital. “China opposes politicizing normal people-to-people, educational and economic exchanges. Such unfounded accusations serve no constructive purpose and do not contribute to the healthy development of China-U.S. relations.”

“We hope the U.S. side will view China and bilateral relations in an objective and rational manner, provide an open, fair and non-discriminatory environment for exchanges and cooperation, and work together to promote the sound and stable development of China-U.S. relations,” they added.”

Fox News Digital reached out to the China Education Association for International Exchange for comment on the study, but did not receive a reply.

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One 2025 newsletter published by the Chinese exchange program documents how 27 students from a high school in Chicago took a trip to the Chinese region of Xinjiang, where independent human rights organizations and the United States government say China is carrying out a genocide against Uyghur Muslims.

Despite the human rights abuses occurring in the province, visiting American students were provided with a rosy view of Xinjiang, taking dance classes, practicing calligraphy, doing Tai Chi and lounging at Heshuo Golden Beach.

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If reactions from students and teachers who attend Young Envoys Scholarship trips are anything to go by, the Chinese government program has been successful in winning hearts and minds.

“I am a China fan,” one high school student said after participating in a Young Envoys Scholarship program.

“President Xi Jinping’s message is very heartwarming,” another student stated. A teacher said that she “strongly agreed with President Xi Jinping’s message that ‘the future is in the hands of the youth.'”

China makes use of these quotes, as well as others from similar trips, in articles produced by its state-run media organizations, which the United States government and some academics have described as “propaganda.”

Chinese exchange programs are already on the radar of congressional China hawks.

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“It is a tool used by the CCP to expand its influence over the American public,” House Select Committee on the CCP Chairman John Moolenaar wrote in August 2025, addressing a school district in Maryland participating in an exchange program. “American youths should not be used as propaganda tools of the Chinese government to legitimize its authoritarian control or assert its undue influence on the American population.”

Furious users took to social media to blast an illegal alien who has been present in the United States for 37 years after she demanded amnesty in a Spanish rant alongside top Democratic Party leaders.

“I ask that you be champions of a change in the immigration laws,” said Margarita Cielo Balbuena, flanked by House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., and Rep. Rob Menendez, D-N.J., through an interpreter earlier this week.

“We need a path to citizenship for those of us that have been present for at least seven years in this country,” she continued. “We need a stop to these raids that immigration is using to terrorize Dover [New Jersey].”

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A clip of the video went viral online Wednesday.

“It is not just that someone like me, who has been in this country since 1989, who pays taxes, who is a homeowner, who is a business owner who gives work to others, someone who has children and grandchildren who are born in this country — that I have to suffer the psychological and physical abuse and that I also have to suffer the humiliation that is the violent arrest and detention in a detention center,” said Cielo Balbuena.

The foreign-born woman was detained in ICE’s Elizabeth Detention Center for two months, and claimed that she was treated inhumanely, according to the New Jersey Globe.

But online opponents of illegal immigration were not sympathetic to Cielo Balbuena’s call.

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Among her most prominent and harshest critics was former U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) commander-at-large Gregory Bovino.

“You have lived in the United States since 1989. That is 37 years. You still need a translator,” he listed.

“At a Democratic event you stood up and demanded a path to citizenship for anyone who has been here just 7 years,” Bovino continued. “Notice the arrogance. Notice the entitlement.”

He went on to claim that Democrats’ open borders policies allowed so many foreigners into the country so quickly that “assimilation is no longer required.”

“There can be no amnesty and there can be no exceptions. All illegals must go,” the John Birch Society said on X in response to the video.

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“No English. No citizenship,” said popular online personality Brigitte Gabriel.

“No. Someone who wanted to be a citizen would care enough to learn the language. In any country,” said another post that garnered over 1,000 likes.

“Immediate deportation,” said actor Matthew Marsden. “A just country that cares about its citizens should defend it. That includes getting rid of people like this.”

Rep. Jeffries spoke at the event, and demanded the closure of Delaney Hall, another ICE detention facility in New Jersey that was subject to intense protests and sometimes violent riots for months earlier this year.

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“Delaney Hall needs to be shut down,” Jeffries said. “That will remain a high priority for us until it takes place.”

“The behavior that ICE is engaging in is inconsistent with our values and what America should represent.”

The White House fired back in a statement to Fox News Digital, saying: “These types of smears by sanctuary politicians are contributing to our ICE law enforcement officers facing a more than 1,300% increase in assaults against them and an 8,000% increase in death threats.”

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“Our ICE officers are heroes who put their lives on the line to arrest murderers, rapists, pedophiles, gang members, and terrorists from American communities. Democrats must stop demonizing our officers for simply enforcing our nation’s laws,” White House spokeswoman Lauren Bis said.

The suspect charged in the stabbing death of a California man in an otherwise quiet East Bay suburb has a history of prior arrests and originally entered the U.S. during the George W. Bush administration, according to records.

Marcos Iriarte-Valdez, alternatively identified by DHS as Marcos Valdezusper, was arrested Friday at his home in Contra Costa County, California, after police said he stabbed and killed 68-year-old retiree Todd Stewart during an apparent burglary attempt.

“The investigation is ongoing and our understanding of the incident may change as more individuals are interviewed and evidence is collected and analyzed,” a statement from the Martinez Police Department read in-part.

Iriarte-Valdez was “legally admitted” to the U.S. in 2007, according to information provided by ICE. Fox News Digital reached out to the agency for further clarity on what happened between then and when he was deemed an “illegal alien” by DHS on X more recently.

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Iriarte-Valdez hails from Venezuela but has Spanish citizenship.

Iriarte-Valdez was arrested earlier this year on at least two charges of residential burglary with persons present stemming from incidents in Orinda on April 29, according to Martinez police.

He was out on pretrial release for those charges when he was arrested again on Aug. 4 for violating his home-detention monitoring rules, according to authorities.

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One day later, Contra Costa Superior Court Judge Nichelle Holmes, an appointee of Gov. Gavin Newsom, released Iriarte-Valdez on his own recognizance and returned him to home-detention monitoring.

Then, on Aug. 6, surveillance video showed Iriarte-Valdez wearing a tactical vest and emerging from a Cadillac before he was seen stabbing Stewart, who could be heard screaming in pain.

That video helped police obtain a warrant from Contra Costa Superior Court for Iriarte-Valdez on charges of murder and committing a felony while on own-recognizance release, according to court records.

Just after 6PM PT Friday, a Contra Costa SWAT team arrested Iriarte-Valdez at his home. His bail was initially set at $1.1 million.

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Contra Costa County Democratic District Attorney Diane Becton filed a felony complaint against Iriarte-Valdez that included one count of murder with several “special circumstances” cited under California law that could result in stiffer penalties.

The complaint includes a special-circumstance allegation of murder during a burglary, which could lead to life imprisonment without parole if Iriarte-Valdez is convicted, as well as “enhancement” allegations involving the use of a knife and committing an offense while out on conditional release.

“Our office will pursue this case with diligence and integrity to hold Iriarte-Valdez fully accountable under the law for this devastating act of violence,” Becton said in a statement.

“Our thoughts are with the victim’s loved ones and the larger community as they navigate this unimaginable loss.”

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Becton’s office said Iriarte-Valdez pleaded not guilty Wednesday during a hearing in which Judge David Goldstein called him a “risk to public safety” and ordered him held without bail. Former Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown appointed Goldstein.

Another Newsom appointee, Judge Michael Nieto, is set to preside over Iriarte-Valdez’ case during a preliminary hearing in nearby Richmond on Sept. 1.

According to court documents, Iriarte-Valdez is set to appear separately before Holmes on Sept. 9 on his original burglary charges from April.

ICE placed a federal detainer on Iriarte-Valdez on Saturday and said he has also been charged with crimes including inflicting corporal injury on a spouse, receiving stolen property, trespassing, loitering and entering a noncommercial dwelling.

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DHS did not immediately explain what happened between 2007 and 2026 that could have led to Iriarte-Valdez being considered an “illegal alien” now. Common scenarios include a noncitizen overstaying a temporary visa, violating visa terms, becoming a lawful permanent resident and later having that status revoked because of a criminal conviction, or abandoning permanent resident status through extended residency abroad.

White House border czar Thomas Homan described the incident as a tragic case of “politics of a sanctuary jurisdiction.”

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“There’s nothing against the sanctuary law in California for a deputy to pick a phone up and say ‘hey this guy’s being let go in an hour’,” Homan told “Fox & Friends.” “This person is dead because Governor Newsom and the State of California put politics — hatred of President Trump — over public safety.”

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Fox News Digital reached out to Holmes, Becton and Newsom for further comment.

So far during the 2026 election season, 10 incumbent House lawmakers have lost primaries, including three Republicans and seven Democrats.

The three Republican incumbents who fell short include Dan Crenshaw of Texas, Thomas Massie of Kentucky, and Andy Ogles of Tennessee.

The seven incumbent House Democrats who lost include Al Green of Texas, Julie Johnson of Texas, Dan Goldman of New York, Adriano Espaillat of New York, Diana DeGette of Colorado, Shri Thanedar of Michigan, and John Larson of Connecticut.

The failed Texas and Tennessee U.S. House incumbents grappled with redistricting in their states that applied to this cycle.

1. Rep. Dan Crenshaw, R-Texas

Crenshaw, the only U.S. House Republican incumbent seeking re-election in Texas who did not get President Donald Trump’s endorsement, lost the GOP primary for Texas’ 2nd Congressional District to state Rep. Steve Toth.

While Trump did not endorse either of the men ahead of the primary, he has since endorsed Toth.

Crenshaw has served in the House since 2019.

 

2. Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky.

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Massie lost the Republican primary for Kentucky’s 4th Congressional District to Trump-backed challenger Ed Gallrein, a former Navy SEAL.

The race made history as the most expensive U.S. House primary contest ever, reports indicate.

Massie has served in the U.S. House of Representatives since late 2012.

 

3. Rep. Andy Ogles, R-Tenn.

Despite having Trump’s endorsement, Ogles lost the GOP primary for Tennessee’s 5th Congressional District to former state Agriculture Commissioner Charlie Hatcher.

Ogles has served in the House since 2023.

Trump backed Hatcher last week after he defeated Ogles in the primary.

“Last night was another good night for Endorsements, 8-1, and the 1 was a person who I remained loyal to even though he had virtually no chance of winning, and was running against a Great ‘Trump’ Candidate, and former Agricultural Commissioner of Tennessee, named Charlie Hatcher. Good luck Charlie! Run tough and hard. You have my Complete and Total Endorsement!” Trump declared in a Truth Social post.

 

4. Rep. Shri Thanedar, D-Mich.

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Thanedar, who has served as a lawmaker in the lower congressional chamber since 2023, lost the Democratic U.S. House primary in Michigan’s 13th Congressional District this year to state Rep. Donavan McKinney, a Democratic socialist.

Thanedar declared in October 2023 that he was renouncing Democratic Socialists of America membership, though then-Detroit DSA co-chair Mikal Goodman declared at the time in a post on X that Thanedar “was expelled as a member on September 17th, by 91% of vote the general membership. He no longer had a membership to renounce.”

 

5. Rep. Dan Goldman, D-N.Y.

Goldman, who took office in 2023, lost the Democratic U.S. House primary in New York’s 10th Congressional District to former New York City Comptroller Brad Lander.

Big Apple Mayor Zohran Mamdani, a Democratic socialist, had backed Lander ahead of the primary contest.

“He’ll bring principled leadership to Washington and make sure Congress works for the many, not just the few,” Mamdani wrote in part of a post on X.

 

6. Adriano Espaillat, D-N.Y.

MAMDANI-BACKED SOCIALIST WITH HISTORY OF ANTI-AMERICAN RHETORIC WINS VICIOUS DEM PRIMARY RACE

Espaillat lost the Democratic U.S. House primary for New York’s 13th Congressional District to Democratic socialist Darializa Avila Chevalier, who was also endorsed by Mamdani.

The congressman has served in the U.S. House chamber since 2017.

He is chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus.

 

7. Rep. Diana Degette, D-Colo.

DeGette lost the Democratic U.S. House primary for Colorado’s 1st Congressional District to Democratic socialist Melat Kiros.

The congresswoman has served in the House for nearly two decades since taking office in 1997.

 

8. Rep. Al Green, D-Texas

Green, who has served in the House since 2005, lost the Democratic U.S. House primary runoff for Texas’ 18th Congressional District to U.S. Rep. Christian Menefee.

 

9. Rep. Julie Johnson, D-Texas

Johnson, who has only served in the House since last year, lost the Democratic U.S. House primary runoff for Texas’ 33rd Congressional District to former Rep. Colin Allred.

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10. Rep. John Larson, D- Conn.

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Larson, who has served in the House since 1999, lost the Democratic U.S. House primary in Connecticut’s 1st Congressional District to former Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin.

President Donald Trump’s administration says it has gone 15 straight months without a single release at the border as of Thursday.

Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin’s office says daily apprehensions at the border are down 94% compared to former President Joe Biden’s administration and are at the lowest level seen in 30 years.

“Again this month, the results are clear: President Trump’s border security agenda is restoring order and putting the safety of the American people first,” Mullin said in a statement.

“DHS remains focused on enforcing our immigration laws, securing the border, and ensuring those who enter our country illegally are removed swiftly. Thanks to the strong leadership of President Trump, we have the most secure border in history,” he added.

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Meanwhile, seizures of contraband at the border in July were 26% higher than under Biden, with authorities seizing cocaine, methamphetamine, heroin, fentanyl, and marijuana.

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U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) also helped enforce Trump’s tariff policies, flagging $23 billion in duties identified for collection in July alone.

“Clear policy, strong enforcement, and dedicated frontline personnel are delivering results at our borders,” CBP Commissioner Rodney Scott said in a statement.

“With the support of President Trump and Secretary Mullin, CBP is securing our nation against illegal crossings, dangerous individuals, and illicit drugs while keeping lawful trade and travel moving. These results show what is possible when border security is treated as a national priority,” he added.

The Trump administration is still moving to increase its immigration enforcement efforts. Last month, the House of Representatives moved toward codifying several of Trump’s immigration orders.

The Permanent Trump Secure Border Act would criminalize visa overstays and increase penalties for unlawful entry, would effectively end “catch and release” policies by requiring most illegal migrants to be detained or returned while their cases are pending and tighten asylum eligibility and humanitarian parole, among other provisions.

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The measure would also bolster the CBP by directing the DHS to modernize border facilities, expand staffing and workforce planning and deploy more surveillance technology, including drones, radar systems, biometric screening and DNA collection.

Fox News’ Adam Pack contributed to this report.

FIRST ON FOX: Vice President JD Vance is calling for the Department of Justice to investigate a bombshell Health and Human Services (HHS) report alleging some hospitals and healthcare providers fraudulently subjected children to lucrative sex-change procedures.

The new report, titled: “Wolves in White Coats: How Doctors and Hospitals Pushed and Profited from the Fraud of ‘Gender Medicine,'” revealed more than $60 million in insurance claims for treatments including puberty blockers for adolescents as young as 13 billed from 2015 to 2025.

According to HHS, some providers aggressively treated children who presented with hormonal issues, endocrine system problems, or early onset puberty with transgender care, billing insurance companies. HHS also blamed Biden-era policies promoting transgender treatments for expanding access gender surgery coverage.

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Fox News Digital obtained a letter from Vance to Attorney General Todd Blanche which detailed Vance’s concerns surrounding the report, and called for criminal prosecution of anyone who has intentionally misled children to get transgender treatment.

“One study showed that only about 4.7 percent of patients diagnosed with “endocrine disorder, unspecified,” had that actual condition,” Vance wrote in the letter to Blanche. “Another notes a 30 percent increase in the number of endocrine disorder diagnoses, despite it being unlikely that that there has been a substantial increase in pediatric endocrine disorders.”

The average healthcare cost for a minor is roughly $3,000, but transgender treatments can push that to $75,000 without surgery and nearly $170,000, if surgery is involved, according to the report.

The report also details how some healthcare providers profit from life-long medical costs, including prescriptions, surgeries and medical interventions years after a minor reaches adulthood.

About 225 hospitals and health systems across the country have established pediatric gender programs. Vance charged in his letter to Blanche that health care providers knowingly pushed their misdiagnoses to insurance companies, using billing codes to compel coverage.

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“When providers miscode treatment in order to secure insurance coverage for gender-transitioning interventions that insurance would not otherwise cover, they should be held accountable,” read Vance’s letter. “If they have done so intentionally, thereby perpetrating a fraud on Medicaid or on private insurers, they should go to prison.”

“Rather than allow the proliferation of harmful, sex-rejecting procedures on our children, we must send a clear message that any hospitals and providers that have participated in these practices will face justice.”

The HHS report cited peer-reviewed scientific literature, hospital records, whistleblower testimony, nationwide insurance claims analyses and interviews with patients and parents.

Hours after President Joe Biden was sworn into office in 2021, he signed Executive Order 13988, titled: “Preventing and Combating Discrimination on the Basis of Gender Identity or Sexual Orientation.”

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“Children should be able to learn without worrying about whether they will be denied access to the restroom, the locker room, or school sports,” the executive order read. “People should be able to access healthcare and secure a roof over their heads without being subjected to sex discrimination.”

The executive order’s mandate took effect, and in May of 2021, Biden’s HHS said its Office of Civil Rights would enforce an Affordable Care Act nondiscrimination provision, which includes sex discrimination.

In a March 2022 notice, the department “unequivocally” confirmed “that gender affirming care for minors, when medically appropriate and necessary, improves their physical and mental health.”

In a separate executive order signed by Biden in June of 2022, Biden directed the federal government, including his HHS, to “address the discrimination and barriers that LGBTQI+ individuals and families face by expanding access to comprehensive health care.”

LARGEST CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL IN US TO OPEN ‘DETRANSITION CLINIC’ AFTER $10M SETTLEMENT WITH TRUMP DOJ, STATE

Fox News Digital also obtained a letter from HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. to HHS Inspector General Thomas March Bell that included a sizable list of individual hospitals and clinicians that Kennedy says exhibit “potentially anomalous billing patterns.”

The report calls for additional review of insurance coding practices that enable hospitals and clinicians to file claims for gender medicine.

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Fox News Digital reached out to the Justice Department but did not receive a response in time for publication.

EXCLUSIVE: President Donald Trump’s State Department is dumping Biden-era guidelines that directed personnel to push a woke Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility (DEIA) agenda on foreign officials and governments.

“Under the Trump Administration, America’s diplomats are tasked with advocating for our national interests on the world stage — not demonstrating adherence to woke political dogmas,” State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott told Fox News Digital.

Official Biden-era guideline documents obtained by Fox News Digital show the previous administration directing employees to peddle woke gibberish in high-level discussions and bilateral dialogue with foreign counterparts.

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“Do Front Offices routinely raise social inclusion, racial/gender equity, disability, and LGBTQI+ issues with high-level host country interlocutors, especially in countries where these issues are problematic, and are these issues included in bilateral dialogues, whenever appropriate?” the document asks.

A Front Office is the immediate leadership and executive staff suite for a specific State Department bureau, directorate or office, which exists worldwide.

The Biden guidelines weren’t just suggestions.

Under the previous president, the State Department considered how well personnel and staff had adopted the DEI policies in official reviews and considerations when it came to promoting an individual.

Fox News Digital confirmed that those criteria no longer exist when assessing job performance at Trump’s State Department.

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Another section of the document discussed “allyship.”

“Do you speak up – in the moment – to support colleagues and try to help all understand when there might be bias that undermines inclusivity?” the document questions.

“This includes actively working to break down not just race/ethnicity/gender/LGBTQI+/disability biases, but also bias among the civil service and foreign service, U.S. direct hires and contracting colleagues, and within foreign service cones.”

It also demanded that employees take initiative to learn DEI on their own, instead of “depending on others — particularly others from historically marginalized groups” to help them.

Similarly, the document demanded that Front Offices ensure each employee supported a “DEIA Council,” or, if a Front Office did not have a council, supported the creation of one.

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“How is bias discussed and mitigated both within the mission and in interactions with the host nation?” the document asks. “What types of localized DEIA trainings are being developed to engage all job categories — both [U.S. Direct Hire] and [Locally Employed] staff at Post? Is there a channel for [Locally Employed] staff, [Entry Level Officers], and other groups sometimes excluded from interaction with senior staff to be able to share ideas or give commentary on how to advance DEIA more effectively?”

Pigott said that under President Trump’s leadership, the State Department is solely focused on meeting the demands of diplomacy, not playing political games.

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“The State Department is implementing sweeping reforms to the Foreign Service to prioritize merit, refocus training on tangible diplomatic skills, and prepare our nation’s diplomats to deliver America’s answer to our most pressing challenges,” he said.

EXCLUSIVE – Efforts to treat gender dysphoria among minors should be utilized with mental health counseling and compassionate care, not with hormone blockers and “mutilating surgeries” that can potentially have long-term and irreversible ramifications, said Assistant Secretary of Health and Human Services Adm. Brian Christine.

Christine, a urologist who oversees public health offices and programs within HHS and leads the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, came out in support of the Trump administration’s Tuesday announcement of a new rule that will bar Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) from funding puberty blockers, hormone therapy and surgeries to treat gender dysphoria in minors.

“Gender dysphoria is certainly a real condition. There are some children who have gender dysphoria, some minors who have that,” Christine told Fox News Digital. “Now, in the past, it’s been an incredibly small percentage. And what we’ve seen is this has really turned into a social contagion. In other words, where there’s so many more kids being diagnosed with gender dysphoria, that’s not really explained by simple epidemiology.”

What medical professionals know, Christine said, is that the vast majority of minors who are diagnosed with gender dysphoria will move beyond it if they are provided with competent, compassionate counseling.

MEDICAID ENDS FUNDING FOR CHILD SEX-CHANGE PROCEDURES AS TRUMP ADMIN SLAMS ‘EXPERIMENTAL’ TREATMENTS

“What you don’t want to do is carry out treatments… we refer to them as sex-rejecting procedures, where you’re using castrating chemicals or cross-sex hormones or mutilating surgeries to permanently change their bodies and give them potentially life-long complications that can happen,” he said.

The rule being implemented by the Trump administration means Medicaid and CHIP will no longer financially support pediatric gender treatments. It doesn’t ban the procedures.

“By cutting off federal funds for these sex-rejecting procedures, we’re following the science, saving taxpayer dollars, and, most importantly, protecting children from potentially irreversible harm so they can truly flourish,” Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz said in a Tuesday statement.

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So far, the science doesn’t support “sex-rejecting” procedures on children, Christine said.

“What does the science support? Mental health care, compassionate counseling,” he said.

In a Tuesday Truth Social post, President Donald Trump called gender transition surgeries and the providing of hormones for minors “barbaric.”

“We are not going to pay for our innocent children to undergo these barbaric surgeries and practices, which result in unthinkable and irreversible harm to their young bodies,” he wrote.

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In opposition to many on the left, Christine uses the term “corrective care” to differentiate between helping minors move past gender dysphoria and the language used by critics who support medical treatments.

“The term from the left is gender-affirming care. I can tell you that mutilating surgeries and castrating chemicals affirm nothing,” he said. “Absolutely not. They are harmful.”

Twenty-seven states have enacted restrictions on “gender-affirming care” for minors, according to KFF, a health policy group.

According to the rule, which takes effect on Oct. 13, children being treated with hormone blockers and other drugs will be transitioned off instead of being forced to quit cold turkey, Christine said. The federal funding will be available for a tapering off period of six months for children currently on hormone therapy, CMS said.

Historically, gender dysphoria has involved a very small percentage of adult males, said Christine, who called it a “true diagnosis” that has been hijacked for ideological purposes.

“Now you have dramatic numbers of minors, and more importantly, young girls, when you virtually never saw that in the past. Again, adult men, that’s been the history,” he said.

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“What you’ve seen is this transition, this social contagion, and I believe individuals who are complete ideologues who follow the gender ideology who say little boys can be little girls and little girls can be little boys and there’s no differences between the sexes,” he added. “That’s completely wrong.”

FIRST ON FOX: The Trump administration has opened a federal civil rights investigation into Florida State University (FSU) over 32 scholarships accused of discriminating against students based on race or sex, according to a Department of Education (DOE) letter obtained by Fox News Digital.

The DOE’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) said it will investigate whether FSU discriminated on the basis of race, color or national origin in violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act and whether the university discriminated based on sex in violation of Title IX.

The investigation stems from a July 2025 complaint filed by the Equal Protection Project (EPP) that targeted 32 FSU scholarships. The DOE’s Aug. 4 letter lists all 32 programs and confirms FSU is a recipient of federal financial assistance and therefore must comply with Title VI and Title IX.

William Jacobson, founder and president of the EPP and Cornell Law professor, told Fox News Digital that FSU stood out even among the hundreds of colleges and universities his organization has challenged.

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“Florida State, surprisingly, has one of the largest contingencies of discriminatory scholarships that we’ve seen anywhere,” Jacobson said of the Tallahassee institution with an enrollment of more than 46,000 students. “We have challenged over 290 colleges and universities, and only a handful have this many.”

Jacobson said the allegations were particularly surprising because of Florida’s aggressive efforts to eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, and discrimination in higher education.

“The culture on the campuses has not caught up yet with the politics,” Jacobson said. “Florida famously has cracked down on wokeness and DEI and discrimination more so than blue states. So it’s very surprising to find such aggressive discriminatory scholarships at Florida State University.”

The Equal Protection Project’s 34-page complaint divides the programs into 14 scholarships it alleges discriminate based on race, color or national origin, 13 based on sex, and five based on both.

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FSU pushed back on the allegations, telling Fox News Digital that all students are eligible to apply for and receive the scholarships under investigation.

“All Florida State University students are eligible to apply for and receive the scholarships listed,” the university said in a statement. “While donors may express preferences, these do not constitute eligibility requirements.”

FSU said the scholarships are funded entirely through private donations rather than institutional funds and maintained that all applicants are “evaluated equally based on merit,” with no student disqualified or given an unfair advantage because of a donor preference.

The distinction between a donor’s stated preference and an eligibility requirement is at the center of the dispute.

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Among the programs cited is the Crockett Family Fund for Excellence, whose FSU listing, reproduced in the complaint, stated that any student could apply but that it was the donor’s preference that the recipient be an African American or Black student.

Jacobson zeroed in on that language during his interview with Fox News Digital, arguing that FSU cannot shield itself from discrimination allegations by attributing the preference to private donors.

“They try to couch this in terms of offloading the blame onto the donor,” Jacobson said. “These are scholarships promoted by and awarded through the Florida State University system. Legally, they are responsible.”

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“So that’s what I found [at] Florida State to be most interesting, is that they seem to try to wordsmith around it,” he added.

Other programs identified in the complaint include the Crossman Career Builders Scholarship, which stated a donor preference for a female recipient who is Black or African American, Hispanic or a member of the Seminole Tribe, and the Disciples of the Diamond Spring 81 Scholarship, which expressed an additional preference for an African American male.

Another, the Dynamic African American Women in Engineering Powerhouse Scholarship, stated that any student could apply but expressed a donor preference for an African American female student.

The complaint also challenges a number of scholarships based solely on sex. Among them is the College of Arts and Sciences Student Travel Awards, whose listing stated any student could apply while expressing a preference for a female recipient.

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Jacobson argued the distinction between an eligibility requirement and a stated preference does not resolve the underlying legal issue.

“Rather than doing away with it, they play word games,” he said. “And that’s just not good enough.”

The DOE has not determined that FSU violated federal law.

OCR explicitly said that opening the investigation “in no way implies” that it has reached a determination on the merits. The agency said it will serve as a neutral factfinder and collect and analyze evidence from FSU, the complainant and other sources.

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Still, Jacobson called the decision to formally investigate a significant development.

“It is very significant that the U.S. Department of Education has opened this for a formal investigation,” Jacobson told Fox News Digital. “That doesn’t happen in every case.”

“This is a preliminary step, but it’s a very large preliminary step,” he added.

The EPP’s complaint argues the scholarships violate Title VI and Title IX, as well as the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment, because FSU is a public university. It also argues the programs run afoul of Florida law and FSU’s own nondiscrimination policy. Those remain allegations that OCR will now investigate.

Jacobson said his organization is not seeking to eliminate the scholarship money.

“We do not want the scholarships disbanded or shut down,” he said. “We want the discrimination disbanded and shut down. Keep the funding, give the students the money, but give everybody a fair shot.”

The EPP is also calling on Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier and Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration to examine the programs.

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“We hope the Attorney General and the Governor’s Office will look into this,” Jacobson said. “Why is one of the leading state schools in Florida so openly and pervasively discriminating in its scholarship programs?”

DeSantis’ and Uthmeier’s offices, and the DOE did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

In recent months, top Democrats like Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., who caucuses with Senate Democrats, have raised fears about artificial intelligence and cast dismal projections about what it might mean for the job market, pressing for government intervention.

“How the hell do you go forward and throw millions of people out on the street without planning what’s going to happen?” Sanders said at a press conference in April.

But since the introduction of artificial intelligence chatbots in late 2022, the U.S. has continued to add jobs while unemployment has remained at historically low levels, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The tension between Democratic projections and market adjustments underscores the difference between free-market perspectives and more centrally planned alternatives.

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To Richard Stern, an economist with Advancing American Freedom, a conservative think tank, the debate reveals a more fundamental clash of worldviews.

“It’s showcasing the difference between free market and central planning, but it’s also showing the difference in what you think it is to be human. Do you think it is to merely do the work that you’re told to do? Or is it to do things that provide new value and new service to your neighbors?” Stern said.

Stern pointed out that innovation has routinely eliminated some jobs while freeing up workers to pursue other kinds of work and create new products.

He recalled how the weaving industry was threatened by one such breakthrough in the 1820s.

“We invented something called a Jacquard loom, which had basically an early punch card system. It allowed a loom to automatically raise and lower needles so that it would replicate a pattern on its own without a human having to memorize what the pattern was,” Stern said.

Since 2022, the workforce has continued to grow, adding total non-farm payroll employment every year even as the use of AI has made its way into the workforce. Over the same window, unemployment has remained below 4.5%. Some companies seem to have also adjusted their expectations for AI and the role it plays in the workplace.

In one such case, the Wall Street Journal reported that several companies started hiring again when they realized AI wasn’t replacing junior workers, defying market projections.

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Despite encouraging short-term data, Democrats have continued to demand that the government step in to curtail the impact AI has on the workforce.

“AI is the most transformational technology in the history of the world — and will have a profound impact on the life of every man, woman and child in our country. And, if you’re currently in the workforce, there’s a good chance it will take your job,” Sanders said.

“A Stanford paper called ‘Canaries in the Coal Mine?’ found there has already been a 16% decline in employment for younger workers in jobs exposed to AI — like computer programming and customer service,” he added.

Other Democrats, like Rep. Greg Casar, D-Texas, chairman of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, have articulated similar fears.

“One entity seems totally unaware: the United States government. The only major AI proposal advanced this Congress was a failed effort to prevent states from regulating the industry,” Casar said in a press release of his own, referring to a proposed 10-year moratorium on AI regulation included in Trump’s signature One Big Beautiful Bill.

That provision was struck out in the Senate and did not become law.

“The path we are on is clear,” Casar continued. “AI will make a small number of investors and executives even richer, while it eliminates jobs for millions of Americans — and the government does nothing about it.”

The Trump White House’s former deputy chief of staff, Taylor Budowich, fired back, telling Fox News Digital that “Trump’s AI boom will only make the American worker more productive.”

“Democrats keep telling American workers that AI is going to take their jobs,” Budowich, the founder of Innovation Council, said. “The truth is that President Trump’s AI boom will only make the American worker more productive—and more employable—than ever before.”

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., and Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., have also participated in fearmongering about AI and jobs. 

“If AI could disrupt half the workforce, we can’t wait until people lose their jobs to act,” Warren said in June.

“An overwhelming majority of Americans now worry that AI will take their jobs and leave them permanently unemployed,” AOC said in Dec. 2025.

Stern believes that while new technologies often disrupt markets and force employees, innovators and businesses to adapt, confidence in the market comes down to a matter of trust. He added that calling on the government to prevent that change or somehow control it is also a form of trust.

“Do you trust a million nameless, faceless entrepreneurs and innovators? Or do you trust the government?” Stern said.

He compared the reliance on government to how some people have treated AI itself — as a vehicle for solutions without human error.

“’Claude, do whatever — no hallucinations, make no mistakes,’ right?” Stern said, referring to an AI chat put out by Anthropic.

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“Democrats have viewed government as that for 200 years, right? They’re like, ‘government, solve this problem that no one else can figure out no hallucination no mistakes no corruption,’ and I think it’s people who are just unwilling to recognize that the government is a collection of people.”

DALLAS — The artificial intelligence boom is fueling a data center rush in Texas and opening a rare divide between President Donald Trump and one of his closest political allies — Republican Gov. Greg Abbott.

Projects bringing billions of dollars in investment to Texas also create enormous demand for electricity, raising questions over who will be on the hook to pay for potential power grid impacts. Abbott has moved to address those concerns, directing regulators to ensure data centers cover the infrastructure costs needed to serve them, and calling on developers to add their own power generation rather than shift costs onto Texas residents.

Trump isn’t happy with Abbott’s approach, and called the Lone Star State’s stance toward data centers a “mistake,” pointing to the economic investment the projects can bring to communities willing to host them.

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The president has made energy dominance and U.S. leadership in artificial intelligence central pillars of his second term.

“For Texas to say no to data centers is a mistake in the sense that it could be bigger than oil,” Trump told Punchbowl News in an interview published Friday.

“Data centers could be bigger than oil,” he predicted.

Texas has become a focal point of that debate as soaring demand for the computing power behind artificial intelligence and cloud services drives a wave of data center development across the state.

Neither the White House nor Abbott’s office responded to Fox News Digital’s request for comment on the departure between the two on data centers.

Dallas now ranks as the world’s No. 1 primary data center market, according to Cushman & Wakefield’s 2026 Global Data Center Market Comparison. The ranking underscores the Lone Star State’s rapid rise as companies seek the land and electricity needed to support artificial intelligence.

The firm said the state is growing at a pace that could eventually rival or surpass Virginia, currently the world’s largest data center market by operating capacity.

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That growth, however, has intensified scrutiny of the strain large-scale facilities place on Texas’ power system.

Balaji Tammabattula, chief operating officer of BaRupOn, which is developing a data center campus in Texas, told Fox News Digital that Trump’s recent pushback on the governor was “really helpful.” He said companies have already committed significant amounts of money to projects in Texas based in part on the state’s historically business-friendly environment.

“A lot of companies made huge investments into Texas, and now all of a sudden he [Abbott] changed his stance,” Tammabattula said. “That, I think, could be a problematic situation going forward.”

Tammabattula explained that BaRupOn’s 700-acre campus is somewhat insulated from the growing fight over grid access because its Houston-area campus is being built to generate its own power rather than rely on the state’s electric grid.

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Tammabattula said BaRupOn began building its own infrastructure, including natural gas pipelines and turbines, to create what he called an “islanded power campus.”

“Even if we want to connect it to the grid, we don’t have a pathway for the next three years,” he said.

That constraint could now work in BaRupOn’s favor as Texas pushes data centers to rely more heavily on their own power generation. Tammabattula said the company has advocated for on-site power generation, known as behind-the-meter power, for more than a year as a way to meet the enormous electricity demands of data centers without adding to the strain on the grid.

“For us, it definitely is beneficial because it proves what we’ve been trying to say for the last one and a half, two years,” he said.

Tammabattula also acknowledged the concerns fueling opposition to the industry’s rapid expansion, particularly the possibility that the cost of supplying massive amounts of electricity to new facilities could fall on residents.

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The challenge for Texas is finding a way to accommodate an industry pouring billions of dollars into the state without leaving residents to shoulder the costs of the infrastructure needed to support it.

Tammabattula said the tension is unlikely to disappear as demand for data centers continues to grow.

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“These data centers have to be built,” he said. “Until an actual solution comes up, this is going to continue for the long term.”

“And in my opinion, that has to come from the government.”

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani rode his promise to make one of America’s most expensive cities more affordable all the way to City Hall. But for New Yorkers hunting for an apartment, rents have never been higher.

The citywide median asking rent reached $4,200 in June, up 5% from a year earlier and the highest recorded by StreetEasy since it began tracking the market in 2010. In Manhattan — the most densely populated NYC borough — the median cost of monthly rent climbed 5.1% to $4,965.

At the same time, apartments are becoming harder to find. The number of rentals available across the city fell 1.4% from a year ago, while Manhattan saw a 4.4% drop. It was even more dire for larger apartments in Manhattan, where the number of available two-bedroom units fell 9.3% and three-bedroom units dropped 11%.

Simply put, there are not enough apartment units to meet demand, and costs are reflecting that squeeze.

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The rental unit shortage presents an early test for Mamdani’s affordability agenda in New York.

While the socialist mayor has pledged to dramatically expand the city’s housing supply, his push to freeze rents on roughly 1 million rent-stabilized apartments has drawn warnings from economists who say the policy could discourage investment and make an already tight housing market even tighter.

Adam Lehodey of the Manhattan Institute told Fox News Digital that rent increases on rent-stabilized apartments have failed to keep pace with inflation for years, even as the costs of maintaining buildings have continued to rise. As a result, he said, “slowly but surely, landlords have less to invest in their properties.”

He argued that this growing gap is leaving some building owners increasingly unable to cover basic operating expenses, which can lead to deferred maintenance and reduced investment in the city’s existing housing stock.

Lehodey also pointed to a second dynamic in the rent-stabilized market: tenants paying below-market rents have a strong incentive to stay in place, which reduces turnover and makes those apartments harder for prospective renters to find.

“People who are looking for apartments can’t find apartments,” Lehodey said. “People aren’t giving them up, even if they have too much room.”

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Other economists have sounded similar warnings, arguing that uncertainty surrounding Mamdani’s broader tax and regulatory agenda could also discourage the investment needed to expand the city’s housing supply.

“Merely the threat of a more hostile tax and regulatory environment has been enough to chill investment in New York City, and that’s already impacting prices,” E.J. Antoni, chief economist at the Heritage Foundation, told Fox News Digital. “Builders and financiers aren’t going to start multi-year projects that might become unprofitable on Mamdani’s next whim.”

Antoni previously told Fox News Digital that the problem goes beyond new construction, arguing that government limits on rents can reduce the number of apartments available and discourage investment in existing properties.

“Economists, whether they are on the right or on the left, essentially are in universal agreement, that when the government implements price controls in the rental market, you end up with housing shortages,” Antoni said.

“And not only do you end up with fewer housing units available, but the quality of those units consistently goes down as well,” he added.

Mamdani has argued that his rent freeze is only one piece of a broader effort to bring down housing costs. His administration has also laid out plans to dramatically increase the city’s housing supply, including a goal of building 200,000 new affordable homes over the next decade.

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For Mamdani, the challenge will be delivering enough new housing to ease a shortage that is already pushing rents to records, while pursuing a rent freeze that critics warn could discourage investment in the apartments New York already has.

Mamdani’s office did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment on surging rent costs.

Minnesota’s new Democratic nominee for Senate has baggage heading into the November election: the massive fraud scandal that rippled through the Land of 10,000 Lakes happened right under her nose.  

Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan scored a major win for the insurgent progressive movement that’s reshaping the Democratic Party from the outside on Tuesday, toppling the more moderate Rep. Angie Craig, D-Minn., in the process. But her role during the Minnesota fraud scandal has plagued her campaign, with both sides attacking her on the issue. 

It became Craig’s prime line of attack against her. 

“The lieutenant governor, even as we sit here today, continues to take absolutely no accountability for any of the fraud issues, and she continues to blame the governor,” Craig said during a debate with Flanagan on Minnesota Public Radio. “And I’m going to be honest: It’s pissing me off.”

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During the campaign, Craig charged that Flanagan had largely shrugged off responsibility for the fraud scandal, despite having served alongside Walz as his No. 2 since the pair were first elected in 2018. 

In an interview with the Minnesota Reformer, Flanagan said, “The governor has said that the buck stops with him, and he took the lead here,” on the fraud scandal. 

Notably, Flanagan did not mention fraud during her victory speech Tuesday night, instead focusing on hallmarks of her campaign thus far, such as vowing to “rip [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] apart” following the deadly shootings in Minnesota earlier this year. 

Still, the scandal torpedoed Walz’s re-election hopes, and Republicans plan to lean into it in the weeks leading up to Nov. 3. 

HALL OF FAMER TONY DUNGY ENDORSES MICHELE TAFOYA IN CROWDED MINNESOTA REPUBLICAN PRIMARY FOR U.S. SENATE

Her opponent, former NFL sideline reporter Michele Tafoya, has already pounced on the opportunity several times this election season and did so again shortly after being crowned the Republican nominee for Senate. 

“Minnesotans of every political stripe are fed up. They’re exhausted with this fraud,” Tafoya told a Minnesota Fox affiliate.

“We cannot show our children that failure comes without accountability,” she continued. “We’ve got to have accountability, but more than that, we’ve got to do things, everything we do, to make Minnesota more livable, more affordable, more safe, and without fraud, and we’re gonna do that.”

National Republicans are confident that she could win big in November.

While Minnesota is not on the NRSC’s target map of eight battleground seats, Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., who chairs the committee, believes Tafoya is a serious contender to Democrats, who have held both Senate seats since 2009.

“The one thing that gets me excited when I think about this election cycle on the map is Minnesota,” Scott told CNN. “I think Minnesota, we have a real shot with Michele Tafoya.”

REPUBLICANS GET THE DEMOCRAT THEY WANTED AS SOCIALIST ABDUL EL-SAYED WINS MICHIGAN SENATE PRIMARY

Republicans also see Tafoya’s more moderate leanings as a positive heading into November.

A GOP operative told Fox News Digital that she’s seen as a candidate who can unite swing, moderate and MAGA voters in a winning coalition.

“Tafoya has the power to appeal to a broader electorate that’s starving for authenticity,” the operative said. “Her career as a sideline reporter for NBC’s ‘Sunday Night Football’ makes her relatable to a mainstream crowd.”

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Her position on abortion, for example, could attract swing voters.

In an open letter to Minnesotans, Tafoya wrote that, as a senator, she would oppose taxpayer-funded abortions, support conservative, strict-constructionist judges and remain “completely aligned with President Donald Trump on this issue.” She also expressed support for the Dobbs decision.

But she won’t support a total ban on abortion.

“I do not support an outright ban on abortion, and I believe there should be reasonable access in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy,” Tafoya wrote. “Further, I believe that states who restrict access to fertility treatments like IVF are also acting wrongly — being pro-family is pro-life.”

President Donald Trump’s private advisors and attorneys are now protected by executive privilege as long as their conversations relate to the president’s official decision-making, according to a memo Tuesday from the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel.

“The need for presidential confidentiality applies to communications with private advisers just as it does with government officials,” the 21-page memo stated.

The memo, written by Assistant Attorney General Elliot Gaiser, comes months ahead of the midterm elections as Democrats battle for control of Congress. 

Democrats have pledged to continue their investigations into Trump and his family’s business dealings and financial investments, potentially using subpoenas and congressional hearings to advance those probes.

TRUMP AG PICK TODD BLANCHE FACES SENATE TEST IN FIRST MAJOR CONFIRMATION FIGHT SINCE GRAHAM’S DEATH

Under the Office of Legal Counsel’s new nonbinding memo, private citizens who have offered advice in confidential conversations with Trump or White House staffers about official presidential duties can claim executive privilege if they’re subpoenaed by Congress.

“The presidential communications privilege is rooted in the need for confidentiality to ensure that [this] presidential decision-making is of the highest caliber, informed by honest advice and full knowledge,” the memo stated. “Without a promise of confidentiality, the President’s ability to ‘decide and act quickly’ on matters of unrivaled importance would be seriously hindered.”

The memo noted that the president may sometimes need expertise and guidance from an outside source who could be crucial to making the best decision. Gaiser also acknowledged that a private advisor to the president may be more hesitant to offer guidance because of concerns that doing so could negatively affect the advisor’s livelihood.

“Such individuals may be reluctant to provide advice on controversial or unpopular policies based on a fear of public disclosure or potential ramifications for their personal endeavors,” the memo stated.

Gaiser pointed to a long history of presidents seeking advice from people outside the federal government. Andrew Jackson had his informal “Kitchen Cabinet,” while Franklin D. Roosevelt turned to a group of academics known as his “Brain Trust.” The memo also noted that Grover Cleveland consulted financier J.P. Morgan during a Treasury gold shortage, and Lyndon B. Johnson sought advice from trusted friends outside the government during the Vietnam War.

SCHUMER DODGES QUESTIONS AFTER BOMBSHELL REPORT ALLEGES DEM SENATOR HAD RELATIONSHIPS WITH HOUSE STAFFERS

“Yet throughout history, Presidents have relied on private advisers (or, at minimum, advisers outside the Executive Branch) to perform their executive function,” Gaiser wrote.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., interpreted the Justice Department memo as a sign that Trump is worried about what could come if Democrats win control of Congress.

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“Donald Trump is scared,” Schumer wrote on X. “He knows accountability is coming. He’s using his newly installed Attorney General/personal lawyer, Todd Blanche, to cover up his communications with private advisers and special interest cronies.

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“These are the actions of someone with something to hide,” Schumer continued. “And it shows he is petrified of the questions a Democratic Congress will demand answers to. We will not let Trump escape the accountability he deserves.”

Nearly a dozen people tied to a decade-long marriage fraud network allegedly involving more than 1,000 sham unions face federal charges related to a scheme that charged Chinese nationals up to $100,000 to participate in fake marriages to U.S. citizens in an effort to secure green cards, federal prosecutors said Wednesday.

A federal indictment unsealed in New York City names 11 defendants — all naturalized U.S. citizens from China and one green card holder — for their roles in the marriage and immigration fraud scheme.

They were charged with conspiracy to commit marriage fraud, immigration document fraud and conspiracy to encourage the unlawful residence of aliens in the United States, the Justice Department said.

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The indictment is one of the largest marriage fraud prosecutions in the U.S., authorities said.

“This scheme was not a quick fly-by-night operation, but rather a years-long, multimillion-dollar cottage industry to criminally assist people who would not, or legally could not, otherwise become citizens of the United States,” U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche told reporters at a news conference Wednesday.

Some of the defendants worked as facilitators, recruiters and officiants, authorities said.

They were identified as: Amy Cheng, 72; Xiao Mei Chan, 64; Christine Lu, 52; Jing Yan Ye, 43; Xiao Yan Chen, 48; Gang Zheng, 61; Anthony Cheng, 47; Michelle Duenas, 35; Angela Duenas, 26; Sigrid Cetino, 32; and Erika Johnson, 43.

DOJ MOVES TO STRIP CITIZENSHIP FROM 17 PEOPLE ACCUSED OF HIDING DISTURBING CRIMES

The alleged New York City-based fraud ran from at least 2016 through July 2026, involving mostly Chinese citizens who married U.S. citizens, prosecutors said.

The network included facilitators who oversaw the alleged scheme and identified foreigners, recruiters who found willing American citizens and helped ensure their continued participation and assistants who prepared immigration paperwork and coordinated the submission of green card applications, authorities said.

The foreigners paid as much as $100,000 for the sham marriages, the DOJ said. U.S. citizens involved were paid as much as $30,000, mostly in installments tied to milestones in the green card application process. Recruiters were paid commissions of high as $5,000 for each citizen willing to participate, authorities said.

The alleged fake marriages took place across the U.S. and overseas, including Vanuatu and China.

To conceal the fraud, the defendants would stage photos of families at restaurants to create the appearance of a legitimate wedding, complete with wedding attire, photographers and attendees, Blanche said.

“After the married couples would visit a local office affiliated with the scheme, sign forms for submission to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, learn about the USCIS interview process to apply for a green card, they would then execute prenuptial agreements, which, not surprisingly — given the allegation these were sham marriages — waived their rights to share in the other’s estate upon death,” he said.

The scheme also relied on marriage officiants, attorneys, tax preparers, insurance providers and other service providers.

The couples were coached before U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) interviews, and once a foreign national obtained a green card, the organizers allegedly arranged for a divorce.

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“We believe this network took in tens of millions of dollars over its decade-long operation, making it one of the largest marriage fraud prosecutions in U.S. history,” said Jamie McDonald, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York.

Authorities were looking into whether the federal government will revoke the green cards for those involved in the fake marriages, McDonald said.

The Trump administration has prioritized cracking down on marriage and immigration fraud as a key part of its enforcement efforts. Officials have emphasized stricter interviews, increased arrests and prosecutions of participants in sham marriage networks and increased scrutiny of documents.

In February, 11 people were charged in a similar alleged marriage fraud scheme that involved the recruitment of U.S. military service members to marry Chinese citizens.

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The scheme was orchestrated by a Chinese transnational gang that recruited military members to participate in fraudulent marriages so that Chinese citizens could obtain immigration benefits and access cards for U.S. military installations, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) said at the time.

Wisconsin Democrats narrowly chose Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley over state Rep. Francesca Hong in the crucial swing state, handing the gubernatorial nomination to a more moderate candidate in a key test of socialism’s growing influence within the Democratic Party.

Despite holding double-digit leads in most polls ahead of Election Day, Hong, a Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) member with a history of controversial statements, ultimately fell short after retiring Democratic Gov. Tony Evers and other party heavyweights rallied behind Crowley, calling him “the future of the party.”

Crowley will face Republican Rep. Tom Tiffany, a House Freedom Caucus member who is backed by President Donald Trump, in a November showdown expected to draw national attention.

But as Crowley pivots to the general election after emerging as the Democratic establishment’s choice over Hong and the party’s progressive wing, questions remain over just how moderate Crowley is.

DEMOCRAT ESTABLISHMENT STRIKES BACK AS SOCIALIST CANDIDATE DOWNED IN BATTLEGROUND PRIMARY

Crowley appeared alongside Hong at a Wisconsin Democrats unity breakfast in Middleton Wednesday before kicking off a five-day, 17-stop statewide tour with Sarah Godlewski, the nominee for lieutenant governor. Speaking to reporters after the breakfast, Crowley thanked Hong for her “work” and “leadership” while vowing to win over her supporters and unite the party.

“We may not agree on everything, but it doesn’t mean that we can’t come to the negotiating table and figure out how we bring everybody under this big tent,” he said. “The Democrats, we are a big tent. We should not be focusing on kicking people from under, saying that they don’t belong within this tent.”

Crowley credited Evers, who joined him on the campaign trail, as the “secret weapon” for his primary victory. In an early morning post Wednesday on X, Evers wrote, “Tonight’s all about @DavidCCrowley. He’s earned this win and the accolades. I am so proud of David — he’s the future of our Party, and I can’t wait for him to be our next governor.”

Turning his attention to Tiffany, Crowley added the general election will offer a “stark contrast.”

“This isn’t insider versus outsider,” he said. “This is Democrats defeating the MAGA extremists and Congressman Tom Tiffany.”

The Milwaukee native worked as a community organizer before winning election to the Wisconsin State Assembly and becoming the first Black person elected Milwaukee County executive in 2020. He has leaned heavily on his working-class upbringing, and his campaign website says he “wasn’t fed by a silver spoon” and grew up amid his parents’ struggles with addiction and mental health issues and repeated family evictions.

SOCIALIST WISCONSIN GOVERNOR CANDIDATE REFERRED TO AMERICA AS ‘ABUNDANCE OF SUFFERING,’ RESURFACED POST SHOWS

Crowley’s path to the nomination took an unexpected turn when he dropped out of the race in early July over a lack of a clear path forward and endorsed Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez. Just 10 days later, Crowley, who admitted to The Guardian that he and his wife went back and forth about reentering the race, jumped back in after his wife said her prayers were answered.

Crowley’s wife, in his telling, asked God in prayer to send her a clear sign — a red bird — to indicate if her husband should revive his gubernatorial campaign. Just before receiving a call informing her that Rodriguez had dropped out, she says she saw a red cardinal, a common bird in Wisconsin.

Crowley’s platform also includes affordable housing, universal early childhood education, expanded healthcare, clean energy investments, stronger voting rights and requiring “mega-users like data centers to pay the full cost of grid upgrades they drive,” his campaign website said.

He has been a vocal critic of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), telling WISN 12’s “Upfront” in February he doesn’t see “any scenario where we would want to partner with ICE.”

Crowley and his allies warned that a Hong primary victory could threaten Democratic control of the governor’s office and give Republicans a key flip opportunity. Evers’ decision not to seek a third term gave Democrats their first chance in 16 years to choose a nominee without an incumbent governor on the ballot.

“People don’t like socialists,” Crowley told an Axios reporter days before the election. “Socialists didn’t poll very good. … And, so, it’s leading me to believe that she can’t win.”

Ahead of the primary, Evers told WISN 12 that while he would support Hong if she won, “that’s not going to happen,” a prediction that ultimately proved correct.

NEW MIDTERM BATTLEGROUND TAKES SHAPE AS PARTIES BUILD ELECTION ARMIES

Democratic leaders quickly threw their support behind Crowley.

Democratic Governors Association (DGA) Chair and Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear congratulated Crowley Wednesday, saying he would continue to “build on this record of fighting for working families and work with both parties to grow the state’s economy, strengthen the middle class, bring down costs, and invest in Wisconsin’s kids.

“The DGA looks forward to working with him to keep this seat in Democratic hands.”

Democratic Party of Wisconsin Chair Devin Remiker said the party was “proud to endorse and throw its full support behind” Crowley, arguing the tough primary battle proved he was ready to take on Tiffany in the general election.

“Unlike Donald Trump’s handpicked nominee, MAGA extremist Congressman Tom Tiffany, David Crowley has proven through a competitive primary that he is battle-tested and ready to win in November. Wisconsin Democrats across the state are united and fired up to join David Crowley in his fight to lower costs for Wisconsinites and take on Congressman Tom Tiffany and his extreme MAGA policies,” Remiker said in a statement Wednesday.

He added that Crowley’s nomination would unite the party and mark another step in defeating Republican-backed efforts in Wisconsin.

In another swipe at President Trump and Tiffany, Crowley’s campaign manager, Garren Randolph, accused the pair of “division and extremism” in a victory statement posted to Crowley’s X account Wednesday morning.

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“Now, David is focused on bringing people together, earning the support of Democrats, Republicans, independents, and anyone who believes Wisconsin is at its best when we work together and deliver results,” Randolph said. 

“The choice in November has always been clear. We can move Wisconsin forward with leadership focused on solving problems, or we can bring the division and extremism of Tom Tiffany and Donald Trump to Wisconsin. David is ready to get back to work, build a broad coalition, and win in November.”

Fox News Digital reached out to Crowley’s campaign for comment.

Maine voters are weighing concerns about both U.S. Senate candidates, with anxieties over Republican incumbent Senator Susan Collins’ ties to President Donald Trump outpacing concerns about Democratic challenger Troy Jackson’s progressive alignment, according to a Fox News statewide poll released Wednesday.

Collins has represented Maine in the Senate since 1997, winning her fifth term in 2020 by nearly 9 percentage points. The new survey shows more than half of Maine voters, 55%, are concerned her voting record aligns with President Trump too often, while fewer, 43%, are worried Jackson is too close to the Democratic Socialist movement.

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By a 14-point margin, more independents are worried Collins is too close to Trump than are concerned Jackson is too close to the Democratic Socialists.  

Jackson, a fifth-generation logger from Allagash and former president of the Maine Senate, replaced Graham Platner as the Democratic nominee in July after Platner withdrew amid an assault allegation.

Jackson’s candidacy makes the contest more of a referendum on Collins: 61% of his supporters say their vote is mainly against Collins, up from 48% when Platner was the opponent. Only 36% say they’re voting for Jackson, down from Platner’s 50%.

FOX NEWS POLL: DEMOCRATIC ENTHUSIASM SHAPES NORTH CAROLINA SENATE RACE

The contrast is even clearer for Collins: 71% of her backers say they’re voting mainly for her, up from 53% in June. Just 27% are voting against Jackson, down from 45% when it was Platner.

Despite a major change in the Democratic ticket, the survey finds the Maine Senate race remains competitive. Jackson tops Collins by 2 percentage points, 48-46%, well within the survey’s margin of sampling error. In June, Collins was ahead of Platner by 3 points. Since then, Collins’ support is down 4 points, while Jackson does 1 point better than Platner. 

Among the subgroup of voters who rate themselves a 10-out-of-10 on certainty to vote, Jackson’s edge increases to 4 points (50-46%).

By an 8-point margin, more of those backing Collins say their choice is locked in. One in five Jackson supporters say they may change their mind before voting.

Roughly 9 in 10 partisans back their respective candidate, while independents narrowly prefer Jackson.

Jackson’s best groups include liberals, women with a college degree, and those under age 35. He also leads among men under age 45 and those in union households. He’s favored by women by 4 points, while men are evenly divided.

Collins’ biggest support comes from conservatives, White evangelical Christians, men ages 45 and up, and voters without a college degree. She’s also ahead among rural and married voters.

Compared to Platner’s numbers in June, Jackson mostly holds steady with key constituencies including women, voters with a college degree, and suburban voters, while making gains among those under age 45 (12 points better than Platner). At the same time, Collins’ previous 10-point advantage among men has evaporated.  

Almost all MAGA Republicans back Collins, but that drops to three-quarters among non-MAGA Republicans (nearly one in five non-MAGA back Jackson).

For Jackson, almost all supporters of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) movement back him, but that falls to two-thirds among non-DSA Democrats and independents.

“Replacing Platner with Jackson has allowed two other factors to assert themselves — opposition to President Trump and a desire for change,” says Republican pollster Daron Shaw, who conducts Fox News polls with Democrat Chris Anderson. “The race remains close and I’d never count Collins out, but you have to give a slight edge to the Democrats here.”

FOX NEWS POLL: VOTERS WANT MAJOR CHANGE AMID ECONOMIC AND POLITICAL DISCONTENT

Collins is the only GOP senator running for reelection this year from a state Trump lost in 2024 (former Vice President Kamala Harris won the Pine Tree State by 7 points). Meanwhile, Trump’s personal favorable rating is underwater by 20 points (39% favorable vs. 59% unfavorable).

Democrats view Maine as a must-win seat in their effort to take control of the Senate.

Inflation remains the top issue in Maine, as one-third say it will be the most important factor in deciding their Senate vote. The other priorities are immigration/border security, healthcare, and political divisions within the country.

Part of Jackson’s lead is built on the support of the 4 in 10 who say they’re falling behind financially, where he leads by 29 points.

Ratings of Collins are unfavorable by 10 points (44% vs. 54%), which is more negative than in June when her ratings were underwater by 3 points (47-50%). Jackson’s favorable rating is positive by a single point (47% favorable vs. 46% unfavorable). Views of both Senate candidates are more positive than those of their respective political parties. 

Voters who hold negative opinions of both candidates prefer Jackson by 3 points in the horse race, while those viewing both major parties unfavorably back him by 22 points. 

Ratings for both MAGA and DSA are about equally negative, with MAGA at minus 19 points and DSA at minus 21. However, there is more intensity in views of MAGA, as 50% have a “strongly” unfavorable opinion of it compared to 38% saying the same about DSA.

Many more Democrats than Republicans say they’re extremely interested in the election (D+18), and are more motivated to vote (D+9), but nearly equal numbers of both groups say they are certain to cast a ballot in November (D+3). 

In the governor’s race, Democrat Hannah Pingree continues to lead Republican Bobby Charles by 11 points, with third-party candidate Rick Bennett garnering 9%. However, nearly 3 voters in 10 say their preference in the race could change.

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Party loyalty plays a big part in Pingree’s lead, as more Democrats (92%) support her than Republicans (83%) back Charles — and the largest share of independents favor her as well.

Pingree’s personal favorable rating is net positive by 15 points (52% favorable vs. 37% unfavorable). Charles’ rating is underwater by 6 (36% vs. 42%), while 23% are unfamiliar with him. Bennett is even less well known, with 52% unable to rate him.

Conducted August 6-10, 2026, under the joint direction of Beacon Research (D) and Shaw & Company Research (R), this Fox News Poll includes interviews with a sample of 1,000 Maine registered voters randomly selected from a statewide voter file. Respondents spoke with live interviewers on landlines (128) and cellphones (626) or completed the survey online after receiving a text message (246). Results based on the full sample have a margin of sampling error of ± 3 percentage points. Sampling error for results among subgroups is higher. In addition to sampling error, question wording and order can influence results. Sources for developing weight targets include the most recent American Community Survey, Fox News Voter Analysis, and voter file data. Weights are generally applied to age, race, education, and area variables to ensure the demographics of respondents are representative of the registered voter population. Results among subgroups are only shown when the sample size is at least N=100. 

Fox News’ Victoria Balara contributed to this report.

President Donald Trump’s cloak-and-dagger departure from Ankara, Turkey, last month — secretly slipping off the plane he was seen boarding — was an extraordinary security maneuver, but the playbook for disguising his movements aboard Air Force One dates back years.

Trump himself has long talked about the brilliance of the bait-and-switching during his first term.

Trump’s Dec. 26, 2018, surprise Christmas trip to U.S. troops in Iraq featured a darkened Air Force One, closed window shades and an unusual military call sign intended to obscure the presidential jet’s movement. That operation was ultimately pierced by a British plane spotter, however, prompting the White House to go considerably further the following year by leaving one presidential 747 parked conspicuously in Florida while Trump secretly flew another to Afghanistan.

The history gives fresh context to reports this week detailing an even more elaborate deception July 8, when Trump left a NATO summit in Ankara amid what U.S. officials described as a credible Iranian threat against the president or his aircraft.

TRUMP USED CATERING TRUCK, AIR FORCE ONE DECOY TO EVADE IRAN THREAT: REPORT

Trump publicly boarded the legacy blue-and-white Air Force One before secretly exiting through another door into an airport catering truck and transferring to an Air Force C-32A, a modified Boeing 757, according to reports.

The larger presidential jet then departed with journalists and some White House staff aboard, with the assumption that Trump was traveling with them.

“Well, it’s only up to the Secret Service; I just follow what they’d like to do,” Trump told reporters Tuesday night after traveling to Geneva, Ohio, for the Freedom 250 Patriot Games. “So I go by the Secret Service and the military.

“They wanted me to go on a different flight, a different plane, equal safety – but they wanted me to do it, so I do it. I do what they say.”

While the call sign Air Force One (AF1) changes to wherever the president is purportedly traveling, the decoy operations are a shell game to keep U.S. enemies in the dark.

The July 8 legacy 747 used the “AF1” call sign in flight despite Trump actually traveling aboard the C-32A under the comparatively nondescript “RCH18” designation, according to reported flight-tracking data.

Reporters were instructed to keep their window shades closed – a detail that harkens back to Trump’s regaling campaign rally crowds about the Christmas night 2018 Iraq trip and another November 2019 surprise trek to have Thanksgiving dinner with troops in Afghanistan.

Those trips have a common destination: travel through foreign and potentially hostile airspace.

Trump himself helped set the cover story last month.

NEW AIR FORCE ONE TAKES FLIGHT AS TRUMP UNVEILS REVAMPED PRESIDENTIAL AIRCRAFT

Before leaving Ankara, he announced that he would use the “former Air Force One” for part of the trip home “for old time’s sake,” while the newer Boeing 747-8 provided by Qatar would fly ahead to RAF Mildenhall in Britain so U.S. service members could see it.

Television cameras then captured Trump climbing the stairs of the older jet and waving before disappearing inside.

Minutes later, according to reports, a hydraulically raised catering truck pulled up to a door on the opposite side of the aircraft. Trump and several aides entered the truck out of sight of most of the traveling party and were driven across the tarmac to the C-32A. War Secretary Pete Hegseth boarded the smaller plane separately, helping make its presence appear routine.

“I think actually the plane that I flew on was at greater risk,” Trump told reporters on the tarmac Tuesday night after the news of the switch was leaked. “I think it was at greater risk because that would be the plane I think that they would be more likely to go for.”

Trump flew aboard the C-32A to RAF Mildenhall. The smaller plane arrived shortly before the legacy Air Force One, and Trump apparently transferred back to the larger aircraft out of view before descending its stairs in front of cameras — preserving the appearance that he had been on it all along.

TRUMP SAYS HE’S IRAN’S ‘NO. 1’ TARGET AS RENEWED CONFLICT RAISES ASSASSINATION FEARS

He later boarded the newer, Qatari-provided 747 for the final leg back to Washington.

The White House has not directly confirmed the details of the shell game maneuvers, but communications director Steven Cheung said the administration uses all available means to confront threats against the president, while the Secret Service declined to discuss the operation to multiple outlets.

The elaborate ruse was set in motion after intelligence pointed to a specific danger involving Iran, which Trump acknowledged in the subsequent Air Force One press gaggle, hinting at the danger after reaching Britain.

Asked aboard the flight home about the threat, he told reporters, “I have a threat all the time. I’m No. 1 on their list.”

TRUMP SAYS HE LEFT INSTRUCTIONS TO ‘BOMB’ IRAN ‘AT LEVELS’ NEVER SEEN IF HE IS ASSASSINATED

“But if I go, you go,” Trump added in homage to the dangers of all their jobs amid the ongoing war in the Middle East.

The tactic was unusually elaborate. But keeping a presidential war-zone flight hidden — right down to manipulating what observers can see, hear and track — was familiar territory for Trump and his security team.

On Christmas night in 2018, Trump and first lady Melania Trump quietly left Washington aboard one of the two Boeing VC-25 aircraft normally used as Air Force One for an unannounced visit to Al Asad Air Base in Iraq. The flight was conducted under tight secrecy as Trump made his first trip as president to troops in a combat zone.

The aircraft did not advertise itself in the usual way, according to reports. Aviation enthusiasts identified the blue-and-white VC-25 flying over Britain under the call sign RCH358 rather than the familiar Air Force One designation. British aviation enthusiast Alan Meloy photographed the aircraft over South Yorkshire, and online aircraft trackers began piecing together its route from Joint Base Andrews toward the Middle East.

The attempt at secrecy began to unravel hours before the White House publicly disclosed Trump’s whereabouts.

Meloy’s photograph showed the unmistakable presidential 747, while aviation trackers followed the aircraft into Europe. One tracking account noted periods when the plane could no longer be readily followed and speculated that its identifying code had been changed or its transponder switched off.

The aircraft nevertheless had become conspicuous enough to fuel public speculation that Trump was making a previously undisclosed overseas trip.

Inside the plane, the precautions became even more stark as it approached Iraq. Shades were pulled down and the lights were shut off for much of the flight, according to a reporter traveling aboard the aircraft. Trump later said the security measures were unlike anything he had experienced.

The president returned to the episode repeatedly.

At the Conservative Political Action Conference, on March 2, 2019, Trump dramatically recreated the approach into Iraq, telling the crowd that crew members informed him about an hour before landing that the aircraft’s lights had to be extinguished. He described the shades being lowered and recalled going toward the cockpit as Air Force One descended toward a runway he said he could barely make out.

Trump said the experience struck him as a symbol of the costs and dangers of America’s long involvement in the region.

“Think of this: We spent $7 trillion in the Middle East and we can’t land with the lights on — 20 years later,” Trump told the CPAC crowd. “How bad is it? No, seriously, how bad is it?”

“Seven trillion dollars and we have to fly in with no lights.”

The detail describing the aircraft as darkened with its window shades closed on a trip conducted in near-total darkness were strikingly similar.

But the 2018 flight also exposed a weakness in that kind of secrecy. A highly recognizable Boeing 747 painted in presidential colors is difficult to hide in broad daylight from aviation enthusiasts holding personal cameras and handy with public flight-tracking tools.

Eleven months later on Thanksgiving Day 2019, when Trump made another secret war-zone trip — this time to Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan — the White House built its operation around avoiding a repeat.

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Officials took reporters’ cellphones and other transmitting devices, arranged for Thanksgiving messages from Trump’s social-media account to appear while he was in transit and directed the small press pool to meet on the top floor of a Maryland parking garage before black vans carried them to Joint Base Andrews.

The biggest piece of misdirection was sitting in “plane” sight in Florida.

Trump had traveled to Palm Beach aboard one of the familiar blue-and-white VC-25s, and that aircraft remained parked at Palm Beach International Airport, creating the impression that the president was still spending Thanksgiving at Mar-a-Lago. Trump instead secretly left Florida aboard a smaller aircraft and returned to Joint Base Andrews.

There, a second nearly identical presidential 747 was concealed inside a hangar.

Trump boarded it at about 9:45 p.m. ET, according to contemporaneous reporting, before the aircraft departed for Afghanistan under darkness with its cabin lights dimmed and shades drawn. Reporters aboard did not initially know their destination.

That operation amounted to a true aircraft decoy: Anyone watching the presidential 747 in Palm Beach could reasonably conclude Trump was still nearby while another VC-25 was already carrying him halfway around the world.

The White House’s precautions can be linked at the time to what had happened in 2018. Contemporary reports said officials were determined not to repeat the Iraq trip, when the supposedly secret Air Force One flight had been spotted over Britain and dissected in real time by aviation watchers.

The newly disclosed Ankara operation appears to have taken that concept to another level.

Instead of merely leaving one presidential aircraft behind while Trump departed secretly on another, officials reportedly had Trump climb aboard the apparent presidential flight in public, slip away unseen and send the conspicuous jet onward with reporters and staff still believing he was aboard. The C-32A carrying Trump was made harder to follow electronically.

There is precedent beyond Trump as well. The Washington Post reported that President Bill Clinton used a decoy during a high-risk 2000 trip to Pakistan, sending a recognizable presidential aircraft ahead while Clinton arrived on an unmarked jet.

Unlike the Ankara operation, however, at least one representative of the traveling press corps had been briefed privately in advance about the deception and the risks surrounding the flight.

The distinction has become part of the controversy surrounding Trump’s July flight. Journalists aboard the legacy Air Force One did not know it was serving as the decoy or that the president had already moved to another aircraft. A senior administration official stressed to Fox News’ Peter Doocy that U.S. fighter jets escorted the “decoy” plane, and that Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent remained on that aircraft.

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The White House’s own public messaging continued to indicate Trump had traveled to Britain aboard the older presidential jet.

What looked at the time like a simple Air Force One swap was a swap inside a swap — the latest version of a presidential sleight of hand that Trump’s team had been refining since plane spotters spoiled the secret over England nearly eight years earlier.