NationalWatch

Former Attorney General Bill Barr is calling on Senate Republicans to confirm Todd Blanche as attorney general, arguing the former Trump defense lawyer’s close relationship with the president should be viewed as a strength — not a conflict of interest.

In a Wall Street Journal opinion column, Barr, who served as attorney general under the first Trump administration, said Blanche should be confirmed, calling him well-qualified and saying he “will run the department as effectively as anyone could under President Trump, providing much-needed leadership and stability.”

Barr’s appeal comes as Blanche faces a potentially difficult confirmation process in the Senate. Republicans hold a 53-seat majority, but several GOP senators have not committed to supporting the nomination.

A large part of Barr’s argument centered on countering criticism that Blanche’s past as President Donald Trump’s personal defense attorney makes him too conflicted to lead the Justice Department.

ACTING AG TODD BLANCHE BELIEVES TRUMP ‘ABSOLUTELY’ FACED PRISON WITHOUT 2024 ELECTION WIN

“Critics say that Mr. Blanche, having served as the president’s personal defense lawyer, won’t confront the president with hard truths. Exactly the opposite is true,” Barr wrote.

“A successful criminal-defense lawyer like Mr. Blanche isn’t a toady who sugarcoats the truth to his client,” Barr continued. “The job demands regularly confronting strong-willed clients with harsh reality. This necessarily involves clashes, but the lawyer’s dogged willingness to anchor his client to reality is what builds trust and makes the relationship effective.”

Barr wrote that Blanche’s established relationship with Trump should be viewed as an advantage rather than a liability.

TODD BLANCHE ‘HONORED AND HUMBLED’ BY TRUMP’S AG NOMINATION AFTER EXPLOSIVE WEEK OF FEDERAL ARRESTS

“The president takes hard advice best from those whom he recognizes have his best interests at heart,” Barr wrote. “Having helped the president through the crucible of his legal battles, Mr. Blanche is likely in the best position of anyone in the country to deliver strong counsel to the president and have him accept it. Senators should view a trusting relationship as a positive, not a negative.”

Barr further dismissed claims that Blanche would simply carry out Trump’s wishes without independent judgment.

“The left has portrayed Mr. Blanche as a man who will docilely carry out the president’s desires,” Barr wrote. “But Mr. Blanche doesn’t shy away from giving the president straight-from-the-shoulder advice and, where warranted, pushing back on bad ideas. He doesn’t always prevail, but, frankly, no one has a better chance of getting through to Mr. Trump.”

TRUMP’S DOJ PICK IN TROUBLE AS GOP CONCERNS THREATEN CONFIRMATION

Since stepping into the role as acting attorney general following Pam Bondi’s departure, Blanche has been heavily scrutinized for leading prosecutions against some of Trump’s biggest foes, including the newest indictment against former FBI Director James Comey. He’s also faced pushback over the Justice Department’s aborted effort to create an Anti-Weaponization Fund.

The controversies have contributed to uncertainty over Blanche’s confirmation, with several Republican senators publicly acknowledging reservations about his nomination.

Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, has said he remains undecided and has tied his support in part to concerns surrounding the scuttled fund.

TILLIS PUTS ONUS ON TRUMP TO AVOID BOASBERG PICKING US ATTORNEY AFTER MARTIN’S NOMINATION APPEARS SUNK

“It’ll be an issue if the weaponization fund isn’t effectively dead by the confirmation hearing,” Tillis said.

Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, another Judiciary Committee member, has likewise withheld his support, saying he wants additional information before making a decision.

According to the Houston Chronicle, Cornyn said he plans to wait until after receiving a full briefing and hearing Blanche’s testimony before deciding whether to support the nomination.

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Senate Judiciary Committee hearings on Blanche’s nomination are scheduled for mid-July as Republicans weigh whether to advance Trump’s nominee to the full Senate.

Barr served as attorney general under both President George H.W. Bush and President Trump. While he was a key figure in Trump’s administration and defended many of the president’s policies, he later became one of Trump’s most prominent critics over his claims of widespread voter fraud following the 2020 election.

FIRST ON FOX: Republican gubernatorial candidate is vowing to stop New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s agenda if elected in November as the state’s top leader. He warns that proposals like government-run grocery stores, tax hikes and expanded public spending would damage New York’s economy and accelerate an exodus of businesses and residents.

Bruce Blakeman is seeking to unseat Democrat New York Gov. Kathy Hochul in November. Asked how he would work with Mamdani if elected, the Republican candidate rejected the premise that he would be forced to accommodate the mayor’s agenda.

“First of all, let me be clear. I don’t have to work with Zohran Mamdani. He has to work with me,” Blakeman told Fox News Digital of potential relationship if he won state house.

“When I become governor, I’m not going to let him destroy the fabric of New York City. I’m not going to let him destroy the economy of New York City, and I’m not going to let him make New York unsafe. Those are all things he’s doing right now, and I will stop him.”

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The comments come as Mamdani’s political rise has fueled a broader debate over the influence of far-left policies nationwide. Three socialist candidates also won races in Tuesday’s New York primaries, adding to the attention surrounding the movement.

In New York, Mamdani has championed proposals including city-owned grocery stores, free bus service and rent freezes, drawing praise from progressives and criticism from Republicans who argue the plans would expand government at the expense of taxpayers and small businesses.

Blakeman singled out the mayor’s proposal to establish city-owned grocery stores, arguing that government should not compete with family-owned businesses.

“I don’t want to compete with bodega owners and small grocery stores in New York. Government should not be competing with the private sector,” Blakeman said. “Many of these businesses are family-owned businesses, and I don’t want to hurt them.”

FROM FREE BUSES TO CITY-OWNED GROCERY STORES, HERE ARE MAMDANI’S KEY ECONOMIC PROMISES

Blakeman called the proposal “complete nonsense” and argued taxpayers would ultimately be forced to shoulder the cost.

“Somebody’s got to pay for that,” he said. “These are hardworking people. They’ve created the business, and Zohran Mamdani wants to take it away from them because he’s a communist. He doesn’t believe in property rights. He doesn’t believe in capitalism.”

‘WASTEFUL DISTRACTION’: EXPERTS SLAM MAMDANI’S TAXPAYER-FUNDED GROCERY STORES

Blakeman said his own agenda would focus on cutting taxes, reducing utility costs and encouraging businesses to remain in New York, framing the race as a stark contrast between competing visions for the state’s economic future.

His agenda would seek to end New York’s blockade of cooperating with President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown.

“So on day one, as governor, I will sign an executive order that we are no longer a sanctuary state,” Blakeman said. “I will roll out the biggest middle-class tax cut in the history of New York.”

Blakeman also said single filers making $50,000 or less and joint filers making up to $100,000 would pay no state income tax on that income under his proposal. He also pledged to cut utility rates in half by ending what he called the state’s “green energy scam.”

“She takes money out of their payments every month to invest in science projects that cost billions of dollars,” Blakeman said of Hochul. “That ends on day one when I become governor.”

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Hochul campaign spokesperson Ryan Radulovacki dismissed Blakeman’s proposals, saying, “New Yorkers know Bruce Blakeman is too busy catering to the far-right, embracing January 6 architects, and caving to Donald Trump to fight for them and their families.”

“From enabling ICE’s abuses, to raising costs, to fighting to gut Medicaid, Blakeman’s proud of being ‘MAGA all the way,’ just like Trump labelled him.”

Mamdani’s office did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

A man whose life has been deeply impacted by radical Islamic terrorism is incensed as people he claims hold extreme beliefs are winning Democratic Party elections at alarming rates.

“When it comes to terrorist sympathizers, I don’t really suffer fools kindly, and this guy is beyond the pale,” Don Arias said of Dr. Adam Hamawy, now the Democratic nominee for Congress in New Jersey’s blue-leaning 12th Congressional District.

Arias is an Air Force veteran and former New York firefighter who witnessed the grave destruction of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. His brother, who worked on the 84th floor of the South Tower, died in the subsequent 9/11 terrorist attacks that changed the trajectory of American history.

Arias spoke to his brother, Adam, the morning of the attack after the first plane had already struck the North Tower. Adam described to him the chaos, as desperate victims jumped from the burning skyscraper that once anchored the city’s skyline.

AOC-BACKED DEM CONNECTED TO TWIN TOWERS BOMBING TERRORIST FACES CONGRESSIONAL PRESSURE AFTER PRIMARY WIN

“So, that has stuck with me for many years,” he told Fox News Digital. Arias has since gone on to advocate for the families of victims of 9/11.

Hamawy is a veteran combat plastic surgeon who now operates his own private practice in New Jersey. He won a crowded Democratic primary to replace outgoing Rep. Bonnie Watson-Coleman, D-N.J., on June 2.

He emerged victorious despite heavy baggage, including ties to radical Islamic terrorism.

SON OF 1993 WTC BOMBING VICTIM CALLS NJ DEMOCRAT PRIMARY WINNER ‘DISAPPOINTING’ OVER TERROR TIES

In his past, Hamawy cozied up to infamous terrorist Omar Abdel-Rahman, better known as the “Blind Sheikh,” the mastermind of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing who died in federal prison in 2017.

The pair met in 1991, when Hamawy was a young adult, and soon thereafter Hamawy began accompanying Abdel-Rahman to mosques. In the same year, Hamawy, the sheikh and others took a 13-hour car ride from Abdel-Rahman’s home in New Jersey to a conference in Detroit called “Towards a Global Islamic Economy.”

The congressional hopeful testified on behalf of the defense in the sheikh’s trial.

While Arias said it’s possible that Hamawy has some positive credentials — he is a doctor and a veteran — he doesn’t trust the candidate at all.

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“But when he’s pals with the Blind Sheikh, and he’s his translator for several years, when he testifies for him in court saying what a great guy is, when he spends that kind of time with this guy, and then says that he’s never heard him say anything about jihad, I have to question his veracity. I mean, that just doesn’t ring true,” Arias told Fox New Digital.

“Show me who your friends are, and I’ll tell you who you are,” he continued. “And if this guy Hamawy is going to try and forget all about that — he wants it to go down the memory hole and say, ‘oh, I was a veteran, you know, I did good stuff’ — I’m not going to forget, and I don’t think people should forget.“

In 1994, Hamawy also went on what he describes as a humanitarian mission to Bosnia. There, he worked with the Benevolence International Foundation (BIF). In a post-9/11 terrorism crackdown, BIF was designated as a financier of terrorism by the U.S. government over its ties to al Qaeda.

RELATIVE OF 9/11 FIREFIGHTER APPEARS TO CALL OUT MAMDANI FOR NOT CONDEMNING ‘GLOBALIZE THE INTIFADA’ SLOGAN

“We’re not educating the voters, and the voters aren’t doing the proper research into their candidates, because I think if they knew that this guy, if it was top of mind awareness that this guy had these kinds of connections… they wouldn’t vote for him, and I think people need to bring that to the forefront.”

Additionally, a socialist candidate who once suggested that the United States deserved 9/11 is likely to win a seat in the New York State Senate.

Aber Kawas is the Muslim daughter of illegal aliens who is now the Democratic nominee for the New York State Senate District 12. She was backed by New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, and won as part of a far-left sweep of several federal and state Democratic primaries in the city last Tuesday.

DAVID MARCUS: OLD-SCHOOL DEMS OUT AS FAR-LEFT SEIZES CONTROL OF NEW YORK

“The system of capitalism and racism and White supremacy… and Islamophobia have all been used to colonize lands, to take resources from other people and so this is a long trajectory, and we’re just seeing the manifestations of that continuation with 9/11,” she said in a 2017 episode of the Asian American Writers’ Association podcast titled “Islamophobia beyond 9/11 with Aber Kawas.”

“The idea we have to apologize for a terror attack that a couple of people did and then there is no apology or reparations for genocides and for slavery… is something I find reprehensible,” she said.

Arias condemned those comments, too.

MORNING GLORY: DEMOCRATS CLIFF DIVE OVER THE FAR-LEFT EDGE OF AMERICAN POLITICS

“For her to minimize 9/11 … it’s just like, ‘oh, some people had some planes,’ you know, it’s beyond the pale,” he told Fox News Digital by phone. “So, when I look at somebody like Kawas, when I look at somebody like Mamdani, I don’t see an American. I mean, you scratch the surface, you see a commie, you see a radical, and — forgive me for saying it — I see a Nazi.”

He then blasted the American education system, which he views as a pipeline to far-left activism instead of actual learning. According to Arias, voters for candidates like Hamawy and Kawas are groomed in schools and in higher education to hold radical beliefs.

“It’s very insidious and it’s very seductive to the young and dumb,” he said. “It’s the young, it’s the dumb, it’s the indoctrinated who are voting for these people in numbers.”

“I don’t know what happens to a person where they actually grow to hate their own country, but I blame universities and the schools for this,” Arias continued. It’s an indictment on our education system because almost… they’re all very young, very ill informed and they’re Islamo-Nazis at this point.”

He added that for people like Kawas, Zionism, Judaism and Israel have been conflated with “white supremacy,” and in their minds, the alleged “white supremacy” has to be “put down.”

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He also described socialism as a “luxury belief,” and its supporters as mostly young, wealthy or upper-middle-class people.

“These guys are cruising, so they can have these luxury beliefs, these ethereal conversations about mankind. They’re so out of touch.”

Hamawy’s campaign did not return Fox News Digital’s request for comment. And Kawas declined to answer questions, instead pointing to her X account.

Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., brushed aside threats of legal action from Elon Musk, the trillionaire founder of SpaceX and Tesla, on Thursday.

“This is what he does,” Khanna told Fox News Digital outside the U.S. Capitol.

“It’s symptomatic of our times that billionaires — and now [a] trillionaire — can threaten to sue members of Congress for doing their job. He won’t intimidate me. I’m not going to be intimidated by the guy. I’m not going to be silenced by the guy,” Khanna said.

Khanna’s comments come on the heels of an online back-and-forth between him and Musk over whether cuts to government aid programs overseas — cuts spearheaded by Musk in the early days of the second Trump administration — had led to fatalities.

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In particular, Khanna, a high-profile progressive and a rumored candidate for president in 2028, had been criticizing Musk’s work to cut the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

“There needs to be accountability for Elon Musk. You know, they’re celebrating that he created 4,400 millionaires, but they don’t talk about the 4.5 million children around the world who he possibly sentenced to death by dismantling USAID,” Khanna said, in a recent podcast appearance, citing a study from the Lancet Group, a medical journal.

The assertion drew a fierce response from Musk, who personally oversaw efforts to trim waste, fraud and abuse from U.S. programs.

ELON MUSK STRATEGIZES $1 TRILLION SPENDING CUTS WITH HOUSE DOGE PANEL IN CLOSED-DOOR MEETING

“Time to sue this liar,” Musk said in a post to X.

“Robber Khanna should be in prison,” Musk added in a separate reaction.

Musk, like many conservatives suspicious of government spending, criticized USAID for greenlighting millions in spending that, in their view, had little justification.

But while few Democrats defended programs for transgender comic books in Peru and Iraqi Sesame Street, critics of the cuts argued that Musk’s efforts had failed to differentiate between waste and life-saving initiatives around the globe.

DEMOCRATS IN PANIC MODE AS ELON MUSK AND DOGE GO PUBLIC

By March of last year, USAID had cut roughly 83% of its programs, according to Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

It’s not immediately clear what kind of damages Musk would try to pursue in a lawsuit against Khanna for his claims.

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When asked if he would go to court if Musk followed through on his posts, Khanna said he liked his odds.

“Grok says he doesn’t have a case, so we will have to see,” Khanna said, referring to the AI chatbot on X, a social media platform owned by Musk.

President Donald Trump’s immense clout over the GOP and the power of his endorsements in Republican nomination races faces its latest test Saturday, as Louisiana holds primary runoff elections for the U.S. Senate.

Six weeks after denying Trump-targeted GOP Sen. Bill Cassidy a third six-year term in the Senate, Republican voters in the solidly red Gulf Coast state will choose between Rep. Julia Letlow and state Treasurer John Fleming for the now open seat.

A Letlow victory in the GOP runoff would be another victory for Trump as he works to fill the halls of Congress with loyal lawmakers for his final two years in the White House. But a win by Fleming would be the third high-profile endorsement setback for Trump in this spring’s Republican primaries.

Five years after he voted to convict Trump in his second impeachment trial, Cassidy was sent packing.

WATCH: CASSIDY DETAILS NEW BEHIND CLOSED DOORS CLASH WITH TRUMP

Letlow, who was backed by Trump even before she entered the race in January, grabbed 45% of the vote in the primary, with Fleming at roughly 28% and Cassidy at just under 25%. Since no candidate cracked 50% of the vote, Letlow and Fleming advanced to the runoff for the Republican nomination and Cassidy became the first elected Republican senator to lose renomination since Sen. Richard Lugar of Indiana in 2012.

Trump, celebrating Cassidy’s defeat, said on social media that “it’s nice to see that his political career is OVER!”

Cassidy, in a speech to supporters after conceding, took a jab at Trump, saying, “When you participate in democracy, sometimes it doesn’t turn out the way you want it to. But you don’t pout, you don’t whine. You don’t claim the election was stolen… You don’t manufacture some excuse.”

Letlow, who is also backed by Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry, a top Trump ally, won her congressional seat in 2021, after her husband, Luke Letlow, died six days after being sworn into the U.S. House after his 2020 election victory for the seat she now holds. She has highlighted her support from Trump throughout her Senate campaign.

Fleming, who spent eight years in Congress before serving as a White House deputy chief of staff during Trump’s first term, has argued that he’s the most conservative candidate in the GOP Senate primary.

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

The GOP nominee will be considered the clear frontrunner in the midterm election against either farmer Jamie Davis or Navy veteran Gary Crockett, who are facing off in the Democratic Senate runoff.

The brute force of the president’s endorsement power has been on display in GOP primaries over the past two months, with his candidates ousting incumbents he targeted in showdowns in Indiana, Kentucky and Texas, as well as the Louisiana primary.

But Trump’s endorsement streak in statewide and congressional Republican primaries was snapped a few weeks ago when his last-minute endorsement of Republican Rep. Randy Feenstra of Iowa in the race to succeed retiring GOP Gov. Kim Reynolds wasn’t enough to propel the three-term congressman to victory.

Feenstra was narrowly edged by Zach Lahn, a businessman, farmer and former political strategist who was backed by the political wings of MAHA — the acronym for the Make America Healthy Again movement aligned with Trump’s Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. — and Turning Point USA, the powerful conservative organization co-founded by the late Charlie Kirk.

The president rebounded three weeks ago in South Carolina, as Trump-backed Lt. Gov. Pam Evette finished first in the GOP gubernatorial primary and longtime Trump ally Sen. Lindsey Graham won a majority of the vote in the Republican Senate primary, and avoided a runoff.

Graham, who was endorsed by Trump, was facing primary challenges from five candidates, including conservative businessman Mark Lynch, who took aim at the senator over his support for the war in Iran. Lynch was backed by some MAGA leaders who have been critical of the president.

Two weeks ago, Trump-backed candidates won two of the three top races in Georgia and Alabama, with the one setback coming against a billionaire businessman who shelled out over $100 million of his own money to boost his campaign.

Rep. Barry Moore, a House Freedom Caucus member and longtime Trump supporter who was endorsed by the president, comfortably defeated rival Jared Hudson, a former Navy SEAL sniper who was supported by some top names on the right, in solidly red Alabama’s GOP Senate runoff.

In battleground Georgia’s Republican Senate runoff, an 11th-hour endorsement by Trump helped boost Rep. Mike Collins, a MAGA champion, to victory over former college football coach Derek Dooley, who was backed by popular conservative Gov. Brian Kemp.

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Collins will face Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff in the general election in a race that’s among a handful that will likely decide if the GOP holds its slim majority in the chamber in the midterms.

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But in Georgia’s GOP gubernatorial runoff, the candidate Trump backed, Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, who was also endorsed by Kemp this past weekend, was defeated by billionaire businessman Rick Jackson, who ran as an outsider.

On Tuesday, Trump-backed first-time candidate Anthony Constantino, a businessman and former boxer, defeated Robert Smullen, a retired Marine Corps colonel and New York assemblyman who had the backing of the state party, in the upstate New York race to succeed retiring GOP Rep. Elise Stefanik.

Meanwhile, in South Carolina’s Republican gubernatorial runoff, Trump couldn’t lose.

That’s because, besides backing Evette, he also gave a last-minute endorsement to state Attorney General Alan Wilson, who ended up winning the showdown in a landslide.

Former Speaker of the House Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., dodged answering questions on the growing influence of the socialist movement after three candidates backed by New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani dominated in primary elections.

Mamdani’s political clout was on display Tuesday night after all three House candidates he endorsed — Darializa Avila Chevalier, Brad Lander and Claire Valdez — won their Democratic primaries in New York, beating out more moderate Democrats.

Pelosi, a moderate Democrat herself, refused to answer Fox News Digital’s question on her reaction to these socialist candidates coming out as victorious. 

RISING SOCIALIST STARS ON TRACK TO CONGRESS: WHO ARE DARIALIZA AVILA CHEVALIER, BRAD LANDER AND CLAIRE VALDEZ?

The 20-term California congresswoman never formally endorsed Mamdani, but she did endorse a socialist candidate in 2024 — Dean Preston for California’s District 5 supervisor. 

She also said that she will “reject socialism as an economic system” and as a full picture of the Democratic Party in an interview with CBS’ 60 Minutes back in 2019.

“If people have that view, that’s their view,” Pelosi said in the interview. “That is not the view of the Democratic Party.” 

Omar, a member of the progressive Squad, also ignored questions about the New York primary results, including whether the three socialist candidates could complicate House Democrats and Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries’ agendas if they’re elected to Congress.

HAKEEM JEFFRIES DODGES QUESTION ON WHETHER MAMDANI IS FUTURE OF DEMOCRATIC PARTY

While Omar has never formally identified as a socialist, she has supported many policies associated with socialism and has also been backed by the Democratic Socialists of America.

While Pelosi and Omar walked away without responding, Rep. Hank Johnson, D-Ga., welcomed the incoming lawmakers.

“I think Democrats in New York elected three new Democrats that will join our caucus, and I’m looking forward for them participating,” Johnson told Fox News Digital.

Asked about criticism that the three candidates have leveled against Israel, Johnson argued they oppose the Israeli government rather than Israel itself.

“They were not anti-Israel. They were anti-Israeli government,” Johnson said. “The government of Benjamin Netanyahu has done a grave disservice to the nation of Israel and to its people.”

Lander is Jewish himself and said in his victory speech, “You can criticize Israel and not be antisemitic. You can be an anti-Zionist and not be antisemitic.”

DEMOCRATIC SOCIALIST GROUP BACKING MAMDANI CONDEMNS GAZA CEASEFIRE, CALLS FOR MORE ANTI-ISRAEL RESISTANCE

The three primary winners have all been critical of Israel’s military campaign in Gaza, making the issue a defining point of the Democratic Party’s progressive wing.

Johnson then called out Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s relationship with President Donald Trump and condemned both of their involvement in starting the war with Iran.

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“The people there will have an opportunity to correct the mistake that they made,” Johnson said. “The same way that the people of America have the opportunity to correct this mistake that we made in electing Donald Trump, who unfortunately got manipulated into war by Benjamin Netanyahu.”

He continued, “People don’t like this war, and they don’t like Israeli government policy that put us into this war.”

Rep. Brandon Gill, R-Texas, sparred with a SNAP policy advocate during a House Oversight subcommittee hearing Thursday, pressing her to answer whether Americans “need Coca-Cola to survive” and whether taxpayer-funded food benefits should pay for sugary sodas.

The exchange came as lawmakers examined waste, fraud and abuse in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), a roughly $100 billion program that serves more than 40 million Americans. During the hearing, Republicans argued lax oversight had enabled misuse of taxpayer dollars, while Democrats warned against restricting benefits for eligible families.

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Gill first asked Gina Plata-Nino, director of policy and advocacy for the Food Research and Action Center, whether SNAP dollars should be spent on soda. She replied that the program exists to provide families with “food and beverages.”

When Gill narrowed the question to sugary sodas, she said she was “happy to talk about hunger and nutrition, but not dictate what Americans should or should not eat.”

Gill, clearly unsatisfied with the answer, continued pressing and asked whether “tax dollars should be used to pay for sodas” and whether Americans “need sugary sodas to survive.”

“Some of them do, who do have low blood issues,” Plata-Nino reasoned, adding that those “who have kidney issues” might need such drinks, as well.

FOOD-STAMP FRAUD NUMBERS EXPOSE WHICH STATES ARE DRAINING THE MOST TAXPAYER DOLLARS

Unrelenting, the congressman followed up: “Do the American people need Coca-Cola to survive?… What’s nutritional about Coca-Cola?”

“I am not a nutritionist. I am a food security expert,” Plata-Nino replied.

Gill later argued that “there’s not nutritional value to sugary sodas” and criticized the witness for declining to say taxpayers should not fund their purchases through SNAP.

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“I think that focusing on soda when people are going hungry,” Plata-Nino began before Gill interrupted.

“We spend a lot of our tax dollars… on soda. That’s why I’m asking about it,” he lamented.

The exchange ended with Gill asking whether drinking soda every day is healthy. She replied that “the worst health outcome is hunger” and emphasized that her focus was ensuring families have access to food resources.

As infighting over the SAVE America Act throws congressional Republicans into disarray, President Donald Trump’s bid to get the stalled election bill across the finish line gained one notable ally.

Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., told Fox News Digital that he supports the election integrity measure and indicated that Trump should continue to use every available tool to pressure the Senate to pass it.

“He’s going to try everything he can to make sure he passes that through,” McCarthy said in a brief interview outside the U.S. Capitol. 

The ex-speaker’s comments came after Trump abruptly called off a signing ceremony Wednesday for a bipartisan housing bill to pressure the Republican-controlled Senate to act on the SAVE America Act.

IRATE REPUBLICANS ACCUSE TRUMP OF HANDING DEMOCRATS A WIN AFTER BLOWING UP HOUSING PACKAGE

The move surprised Republican lawmakers, some of whom were praising the bill’s passage at a press conference when Trump’s Truth Social post broke.

But Trump has repeatedly cast the election measure — requiring proof of citizenship to vote in federal elections and voter identification requirements — as his top legislative priority.

The legislation’s momentum, however, has slowed in the upper chamber, where Republican leadership insists the votes aren’t there amid widespread Democratic opposition. Senate Republicans have also been unwilling to eliminate the legislative filibuster, which requires a 60-vote threshold to pass the legislation.

TRUMP CALLS MAIL IN VOTING CORRUPT AS SENATE BEGINS DEBATE ON SAVE ACT REQUIRING VOTER ID

Amid the SAVE standoff, a group of conservative lawmakers effectively shut down the House floor in an effort to force Senate action on the election bill. 

But the Senate recessed Wednesday for two weeks over the July 4 holiday, leaving the measure in limbo until lawmakers return.

The conservative-led blockade sparked fierce backlash, with several members inside the GOP conference telling Fox News Digital the move risked torpedoing their own legislative agenda.

Meanwhile, the House has also yet to pass a version of the legislation incorporating several of the president’s priorities, including a mail-in voting crackdown and provisions banning men from competing in women’s sports and child sex change procedures. 

Trump has not indicated whether he will sign the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, despite the likely existence of a veto-proof majority.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., told reporters Thursday that the housing bill had been transmitted to the White House for Trump’s signature following a meeting with the president.

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Trump now has 10 days to sign the package or veto it. If he does nothing, the legislation automatically becomes law at the end of the 10-day period.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy reaffirmed the Trump administration’s commitment to holding Atlanta’s Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA) “accountable” following the horrific stabbing death of a great-grandmother, announcing Friday that the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) is actively scrutinizing the transit system’s safety and security plans.

In an X post Friday, Duffy said the FTA has launched a comprehensive review of MARTA’s security spending and safety protocols, along with risks to riders and workers.

He noted that while MARTA met the government’s initial deadline for a response and assured the administration they are taking action, the FTA “won’t stop there.”

ATLANTA TRAIN STABBING SUSPECT FACES NEW CHARGE AS FEDS WEIGH DEATH PENALTY IN GREAT-GRANDMOTHER’S KILLING

“We are examining every aspect of their plan to verify if substantive improvements are being made,” Duffy wrote in the post. “This includes pouring over hundreds of pages of documents and conducting on-site visits to see the situation on the ground. We will continue to work to secure Atlanta’s system for passengers and transit workers alike.”

The intense federal review into MARTA was launched after the unprovoked killing of 66-year-old Margaret Swan. 

Swan was riding a northbound MARTA train near the Oakland City Station on May 30 when John Elijah Matthews, 25, allegedly approached her, reached into his pocket and opened a folding knife.

DISTURBING CONTENT WARNING: ILLEGAL ACCUSED OF KILLING GEORGIA GRANDMOTHER FACES NEW DISTURBING CHARGES

According to prosecutors and a Fulton County arrest warrant, Matthews sliced Swan’s throat and subsequently stabbed her approximately 18 to 20 times in the neck and chest as she screamed and attempted to defend herself. 

Matthews allegedly threw Swan to the floor before exiting the train at the Oakland City Station, where MARTA police arrested him holding a bloody knife. 

Despite emergency medical aid from first responders, Swan was pronounced dead at the scene.

‘TRAGEDY AVERTED’ AT ATLANTA AIRPORT AS POLICE ARREST MAN WITH AR-15 ALLEGEDLY THREATENING TO ‘SHOOT IT UP’

Witnesses confirmed there was no interaction between the two prior to the attack.

Matthews is facing a local felony murder charge and has been federally charged with committing an act of violence using a dangerous weapon with intent to cause death on a mass transportation system. 

If convicted, he could face life in prison or the death penalty, a determination that will be made by Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche.

DUFFY WARNS CHICAGO, BOSTON TRANSIT SYSTEMS COULD RISK FEDERAL SUPPORT AMID RISING VIOLENCE

In an X post earlier this month, Duffy said the rates of assaults, robberies and rapes on MARTA’s trains are “MORE THAN THREE TIMES the national average.” 

The FTA’s audit aims to examine if MARTA has properly implemented its safety plans to protect passengers and how it has allocated federal funds intended for security improvements.

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MARTA did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

Fox News Digital’s Sarah Rumpf-Whitten contributed to this report.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., lashed out at President Donald Trump during a recent local television interview, labeling him a “man-child” throwing a “tantrum” over his refusal to sign a sweeping bipartisan housing package.

Appearing on WCVB‘s “On the Record,” the left-wing senator did not hold back her frustration over the stalled legislation, delivering a blunt message to the president: “Sign the damn bill.”

“If he cared about the American people, he’d have already signed the damn thing,” Warren said during the interview, arguing that Trump “does not care about the economic survival of America’s working families.”

TRUMP-BACKED HOUSING BILL CLEARS HOUSE AFTER GOP DEFIES SENATE PRESSURE CAMPAIGN

The 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act is an expansive bipartisan package that she said contains nearly 50 provisions designed to address the nationwide housing emergency.

Warren noted that decades of under-building have driven prices up, leaving the U.S. in need of millions of new units. 

The primary focus of the bill is to lower the costs of construction and make it easier to build new homes.

BIPARTISAN HOUSING PUSH ADVANCES, BUT TRUMP-BACKED INVESTOR BAN FACES RESISTANCE

The bill, which was co-sponsored by Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., also includes a secondary focus aimed at blocking corporate consolidation of the housing market. 

Warren explained that the legislation is designed to keep private equity firms from buying up local neighborhoods and turning America “into a nation of renters.”

According to Warren, the legislation had widespread support from both sides of the aisle before it was stalled.

TRUMP VOWS BLOCK ON SIGNING NEW LAWS UNTIL SAVE AMERICA ACT PASSES SENATE

She claimed the bill was “handed to the president on a silver platter” and that lawmakers from both parties were eagerly taking credit for the legislation.

“Republicans were all going online, saying, ‘well, I helped write that bill. This bill is terrific,’” Warren said. “So everybody’s out there saying, ‘my bill, I helped make this happen,’ right up until the man-child has a tantrum and announces he will not be signing it.”

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Critics of the legislation claim it does not allocate fresh federal funding, directly address rising costs of homeownership, or go far enough to address permitting issues. 

The president previously canceled a scheduled signing event, insisting lawmakers must first approve the unrelated SAVE America Act, a voting-focused measure, before he moves forward.

The White House did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

Fox News Digital’s Alex Miller contributed to this report.

White House border czar Tom Homan erupted at critics of President Donald Trump’s immigration agenda Friday, recalling horrific scenes from his decades in border enforcement — including migrants he said were “baked to death” in a tractor-trailer — as he argued that secure borders save lives.

Homan used the graphic stories during remarks at the Faith and Freedom Coalition’s Road to Majority Policy Conference in Washington, D.C., to push back on critics who have accused the Trump administration of being inhumane, arguing instead that tougher border enforcement saves lives by deterring migrants from making dangerous journeys controlled by cartels.

“I want to talk about why I’m pissed off this morning,” Homan told the crowd, arguing that media coverage has falsely portrayed Trump’s immigration policies as cruel or inhumane.

BORDER CZAR TOM HOMAN SLAMS CATHOLIC CHURCH, SAYS ‘SECURE BORDER SAVES LIVES’

“There’s nothing further from the truth,” Homan said. Rather, the border czar said critics have it backward, arguing that lax border enforcement creates the conditions for migrants to be exploited, assaulted or killed by smugglers and cartels. “What President Trump is doing is saving lives,” Homan told the crowd.

He then described one of the most graphic scenes he said he witnessed during his career in border enforcement.

“I’ve stood in the back of a tractor-trailer with 19 dead people at my feet,” Homan told the crowd at the Washington Hilton Friday morning, adding that the victims included a young boy and that they were found in their underwear while trying to escape extreme heat in the back of the truck.

“They all baked to death,” Homan said. “I got to that crime scene. They’re all in underwear, trying to get some relief from the 170 degree heat in the back of a steel truck with no air. Think of the way these people died.”

TRUMP BORDER CZAR HAS BLUNT MESSAGE FOR SELENA GOMEZ: ‘WHERE’S THE TEARS’ FOR SEX TRAFFICKED CHILDREN?

Homan also said he has spoken with young girls who were raped by cartel members while making the journey to the U.S. border.

“I’ve gotten on my knees to talk to little girls as young as 9 that were raped multiple times by members of a cartel,” Homan said.

“That’s what happens when you have an unsecured border,” he added. “Well, guess what? There’s no little 9-year-old girl right now that everybody’s getting on their knees and talking to. President Trump has closed the border down.”

Homan repeatedly defended Trump personally and politically, saying the president has delivered the “most secure border in the history of this nation” and arguing that the administration’s immigration crackdown is aimed at preventing more deaths, trafficking and cartel exploitation.

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“Secure borders save lives,” Homan said near the end of his remarks. “Secure borders protect our national security. No one’s done it better than President Trump. And we ain’t finished yet.”

The remarks came as the Trump administration continues to face criticism from Democrats and immigrant-rights advocates over its mass deportation push, expanded immigration enforcement and efforts to reverse Biden-era border policies. Homan, however, framed the crackdown as a moral necessity, saying the administration is making the country safer while reducing incentives for migrants to place themselves in the hands of criminal cartels.

President Donald Trump on Friday unveiled the inside of the new United States passport, which shows his own image gracing a page in front of the Declaration of Independence, while warning those coming to the U.S. to behave appropriately.

“The U.S.A.’s New Passport, which says, ‘Welcome, but be good!’ President DJT,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post accompanied by the image.

The image of one page shows a stern-looking Trump over his signature, while another page features a mock-up of the Founding Fathers signing the Declaration of Independence, with “United States of America 250” written below.

TRUMP URGED TO DECLARE ‘AMERICAN’ THE OFFICIAL US LANGUAGE AHEAD OF 250TH ANNIVERSARY

Fox News Digital previously reported that the State Department would be rolling out limited-edition U.S. passports to commemorate the 250th anniversary of American independence, with Trump featured prominently.

The passports are slated to be released this summer and are part of the Trump administration’s broader “America250” celebration, which also includes a Grand Prix race on the National Mall in August and a UFC fight on the White House South Lawn that took place earlier this month.

EXCLUSIVE: STATE DEPARTMENT INTRODUCES NEW US PASSPORTS CELEBRATING AMERICA250

A State Department official previously told Fox News Digital that the new designs will be available to “any American citizen” who applies for a passport during the rollout and will continue for as long as there is availability.

Trump’s social media post comes as the U.S. has enacted stricter vetting policies for foreign visitors, explicitly demanding that tourists and nonimmigrants respect and follow U.S. laws and institutions.

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The tighter rules coincide with the 2026 FIFA World Cup, where hundreds of thousands of foreigners have come to the U.S. to watch the games, which end in July.

EXCLUSIVE: As part of an anti-fraud crackdown that spans the entirety of the federal government, the Trump administration’s Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) uncovered millions of alleged fraudsters on the Affordable Care Act rolls, according to a report obtained by Fox News Digital.

A Biden-era spike in Obamacare enrollments led to a probe into the veracity of millions of claims, a Trump administration official confirmed. At the beginning of Biden’s term, there were 10 million people enrolled in the government’s healthcare program, but that number drastically skyrocketed to 22 million at its 2024 peak.

Now, the Trump administration has removed nearly three million of the fraudulent enrollees, with a planned 2.6 million left to go.

The administration official said the program’s massive abuse equates to about $10 billion swindled from the American taxpayer between 2021 and 2024.

FRAUD SCRUTINY CLOUDS SCHUMER’S OBAMACARE CREDIT PUSH AFTER HIS PENTAGON ‘LUXURY’ SPENDING JAB

The Biden administration relaxed eligibility checks and income verification requirements while also allowing more year-round enrollment in the program, according to the report. Furthermore, the report claims that fraudsters intentionally misstated their income levels in order to qualify and that insurance brokers signed people up for Obamacare without their knowledge, which are called “phantom enrollments.” Some people also received subsidies they were not eligible for.

“By our estimate, improper, phantom, and fraudulent enrollment peaked at 5.6 million people in 2025,” the report says. “We estimate 2.6 million improper and phantom enrollments remain, including over 1 million enrollments without a social security number.”

The Trump administration has since restored income verification, ended some special enrollment opportunities, checked for duplicate Medicaid enrollment, investigated so-called “phantom” enrollments by scamming brokers and ended some special enrollment periods.

Right now, about 19.2 million people remain on the Obamacare rolls.

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“Preserving the fiscal and programmatic integrity of the ACA Exchanges is key to safeguarding taxpayer-funded resources for those that truly need them,” the report says. “The federal government paying brokers to enroll individuals without their knowledge is not.”

“The Trump Administration continues to aggressively root out fraud, waste, abuse, and corruption by promulgating new regulations to improve program integrity, investigating suspected improper or fraudulent enrollment, and taking action against agents and brokers committing fraud.”

READ THE FULL REPORT BELOW. MOBILE USERS CLICK HERE:

President Donald Trump took aim at the trajectory of the Democratic Party on Friday, telling attendees at the Faith & Freedom Coalition conference that its recent socialist primary winners are “godless communists.”

“These are not social democrats. These are hardcore, godless communists. They’re godless communists. All communists are godless. They don’t believe in God. This is the most serious threat to our country since its existence. In my opinion, 250 years ago. This is a major threat to our country,” said Trump.

Tuesday’s primary results in New York signaled a shift in the Democratic Party, with several socialist-backed candidates defeating incumbent officeholders. Trump, speaking ahead of the nation’s 250th birthday, highlighted America’s founding principles, arguing they stand in sharp contrast to the growing influence of socialist movements within the Democratic Party.

“Our most important birthday so far, 250 years and instead of speaking about Christ and instead of speaking about freedom and victories of all different kinds, we’re speaking about yet another threat to the foundations of America,” said Trump.

FAR-LEFT SURGE: MAMDANI-BACKED CANDIDATES OUST DEM ESTABLISHMENT INCUMBENTS

He took aim at New York City socialist Mayor Zohran Mamdani over a historic decision by New York City’s Rent Guidelines Board.

Mamdani scored another political victory Tuesday, with all three congressional candidates he endorsed — Brad Lander, Claire Valdez and Darializa Avila Chevalier — winning their respective Democratic primaries.

“For the first time in history, the powerful Rent Stabilization Board, as an example that sets rents in New York City just happened today. They’ve done it for years and years and they’ve been very far left,” said Trump.

NYC VOTERS FLOCK TO SOCIALIST-STYLE FREEBIES AS MAMDANI PUSHES RENT FREEZES, CITY-RUN STORES

The board voted to freeze rents, banning landlords from raising rent on new one-year or two-year leases.

“Mayor Mamdani, who came to the White House and seemed like a nice guy, but he said he was going to do this in his campaign,” said Trump.

He warned that the decision would lead to the city’s decline.

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“What the mayor doesn’t say is that these buildings will soon turn into ghettos and slums, and that everybody will continue leaving New York,” Trump added.

“As this spreads throughout the country, very much like an uncontrollable form of cancer, the country itself will be taken down. It will be third world, strictly third world. And it’s happened many times before to very big and very powerful countries. But it’s not going to happen to the United States of America,” Trump added.

Americans gathered on the National Mall for President Donald Trump’s America250 kickoff at the Great American State Fair said New York’s socialist surge is a warning sign for Democrats — one they argue history has already rejected.

“If you study history, you will see that many countries have already tried to go down that path and ended up in disaster,” said 11th grade Georgia teacher Jill. “If you talk to immigrants who came from countries that were socialist, they will tell you they left you know tending toward communist countries. They left for that reason.”

Fox News Digital spoke with Americans who gathered on the National Mall Wednesday evening for Trump’s rally kicking off the Great American State Fair celebrating the nation’s 250th anniversary, where attendees shared why they believe socialism would fail in the United States.

The comments follow New York City socialist Mayor Zohran Mamdani scoring another political victory Tuesday, with all three congressional candidates he endorsed—Brad Lander, Claire Valdez and Darializa Avila Chevalier—winning their respective Democratic primaries.

WINNERS AND LOSERS EMERGE AFTER SOCIALIST EARTHQUAKE ROCKS NYC PRIMARIES

The victories were widely viewed as another sign of Mamdani’s growing influence in the Democrat Party and the increasing acceptance of socialism. 

The socialist victories in several high-profile New York Democratic primaries drew a sharp political contrast that many attendees of Trump’s rally told Fox News Digital served as a stark reminder of the direction they fear the country is heading.

Rally attendee Jill told Fox News Digital that she traveled to East Germany at the age of 16 when the Berlin Wall was coming down, an experience she now brings into the classroom by showing her students photos from the trip.

“I show my students pictures, and we talk about what communism means … capitalism is what’s got us here. We’ve been a capitalist country for a very long time. They have to be extremely careful when voting. They need to study and be well-informed voters,” Jill continued.

While socialism collapsed in the Soviet Union and East Germany, it continues to shape the governments of countries such as Cuba and Venezuela—two nations that President Donald Trump has made a focus of his foreign policy efforts in an effort to support democratic change.

NYC VOTERS EMBRACE DEMOCRATIC SOCIALISM AS AOC, SANDERS STUMP FOR MAMDANI

“I don’t support socialism … If you look at Cuba, the difference there… compared to even the other Caribbean countries around it, it’s totally different. And they’re driving old cars. They don’t have even heating and air … capitalism makes that possible. And so I’m very much in favor of working for what you want … I still think America is a place where the American dream can still come true,” said Toni of Kentucky.

“A hundred million people died from communism, whether it be from China and Mao or Stalin and Russia, Hitler. We can’t forget our history, or we have a tendency to repeat it, and we should definitely reject this. It’s never worked anywhere. And capitalism and a free market society has benefited the world,” David of Annapolis, Maryland, said.

Jennifer, who traveled from Tennessee, said she is worried about the rise of socialism in America. 

“It’s not something that’s beneficial for our country and our values,” she said.

Former Rochester, New York, resident Norma told Fox News Digital she has 10 grandchildren and is worried about the next generation.

“New York is pretty much, I hate to say, far gone… I lived there for 22 years. There are conservative people there, but unfortunately, there’s this new agenda coming through,” she said.

NYC VOTERS FLOCK TO SOCIALIST-STYLE FREEBIES AS MAMDANI PUSHES RENT FREEZES, CITY-RUN STORES

Mamdani has faced criticism from conservatives over proposals including fare-free city buses, universal free childcare and city-run grocery stores, with Americans at the event telling Fox News Digital that “free” programs ultimately come at taxpayers’ expense.

“Socialism promises everything, but they can’t deliver past everybody’s money… history has shown where socialism fails… the proof is in the pudding,” said Billy of North Carolina.

“I don’t agree with it at all… we can’t function on giving everything away for free,” said Nicky of Tennessee.

DANGEROUS OR AN OPPORTUNITY? SOCIAL MEDIA AS VENUE FOR DISCUSSING POLITICS DEBATED BY YOUNG CONSERVATIVES

When Fox News Digital asked Gen Z and Millennial voters whether Mamdani is “cool,” Sarah of Massachusetts and Johanna and Elizabeth of California responded, “no.”

“I understand the appeal that socialism has, but definitely don’t think that it’s the right way our country should be going. I think in theory it makes sense,” said Sarah. “In reality, that’s not how it ends up looking. It’s definitely scary to see so many of my generation leaning that way.”

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“It’s a really good concept to have everything for free in socialism, but it doesn’t really work out in the real world,” added Johanna. “If you look at the countries that have already tried socialism, it really hasn’t worked. It also doesn’t encourage innovation.”

Elizabeth, visiting Washington, D.C. for the week, said she agreed with her friends, adding, “I’m not a socialist. I’m a Republican.”

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is pouring $15 million into new sex change initiatives for children and adults, framing the taxpayer-funded move as a defense against the federal government.

The mayor’s office announced the multi-million-dollar package will establish a “direct care access fund” to subsidize providers who offer sex change procedures for children, and launch a dedicated call and text line, as well as fund research into LGBTQ+ healthcare access.

Additionally, the city’s health department will launch a pilot program later this year at a Queens clinic to offer “gender-affirming hormone therapy” to adults at “no or low cost and regardless of immigration status.”

MAMDANI TOUTS MASSIVE TAXPAYER-FUNDED INVESTMENT FOR TRANS HEALTHCARE: ‘FIRST STEP’

In a fiery statement, Mamdani accused the federal government of attempting to “intimidate patients, families and providers,” claiming the city is “stepping up” and will do “everything in our power to defend” the procedures.

The mayor has directed the city’s law department to prepare for potential litigation to fight any federal efforts to restrict sex changes for children and adults.

Top city officials echoed Mamdani’s sharp rhetoric, with Deputy Mayor for Economic Justice Julie Su blasting the federal government’s actions as a “dehumanization of transgender people” that is “not just cruel, it’s dangerous.”

NEW YORK AG LETITIA JAMES ADVISES HOSPITALS TO IGNORE TRUMP EO ABOUT SEX-CHANGE PROCEDURES FOR MINORS

The director of the Mayor’s Office of LGBTQIA+ Affairs, Taylor Brown, accused the Trump administration of waging an “ideological war” driven by “political instincts, not science.”

The city’s announcement follows a recent legal clash over the issue. 

Earlier this month, the city opposed federal grand jury subpoenas seeking the medical records of transgender patients, and a federal judge recently granted an injunction blocking the U.S. Department of Justice from accessing the records.

DEMS ‘DELIBERATELY OBFUSCATING’ TRUTH ABOUT ‘BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL’ WITH THIS CLAIM: WATCHDOG

Despite the multi-million-dollar price tag, some city officials are arguing that the $15 million investment is not enough. 

With the New York City Council projected to receive an additional $2 billion in tax revenue over the current and upcoming fiscal years, Councilmember Tiffany Caban is pressuring the city to increase the sex change budget to $60 million, according to a report from the Daily News.

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“We got money for 500 more cops in the executive budget, but we don’t have money for healthcare and trans kids,” Caban said.

City Budget Director Sherif Soliman has also signaled a desire to expand the program, calling the $15 million allocation a “start” and expressing hopes to funnel more money toward the initiatives within the city’s fiscal limits, the outlet reported.

A Democratic House hopeful vying for one of the nation’s most competitive districts is staying silent after Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., voiced support for her campaign. 

Ocasio-Cortez, a leftist firebrand with growing influence in the Democratic Party, congratulated former Biden administration official Cait Conley on her primary victory in a social media post Wednesday.

“I look forward to working together as a delegation as we fight for working families across New York,” Ocasio-Cortez wrote.  

The post also celebrated a Democrat vying to succeed retiring Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., alongside three socialist candidates backed by New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani.

RISING SOCIALIST STARS ON TRACK TO CONGRESS: WHO ARE DARIALIZA AVILA CHEVALIER, BRAD LANDER AND CLAIRE VALDEZ?

Conley has yet to comment on Ocasio-Cortez’s support or address the trio of far-left candidates — longtime New York official Brad Lander, state Assembly member Claire Valdez, D-N.Y., and activist Darializa Avila-Chevalier — who have called for abolishing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), are outspoken critics of Israel and have vowed to advance the Palestinian cause in Congress. 

Conley’s general election opponent, Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., insists she should have to answer for it.

“Which is it, Cait: do you reject AOC and the candidates who want to abolish ICE, defund the police, and tear down our borders, or do you embrace them?” Lawler’s campaign manager Ciro Riccardi said in a statement to Fox News Digital.

“The Hudson Valley deserves an answer, and so far all we’ve heard is your damning silence,” he continued.

Lander and Avila-Chevalier previously called for defunding the police, while the latter has continued to advocate for abolishing prisons and stopping all deportations. Avila-Chevalier also reposted a tweet denying Israel’s right to exist and helped form a pro-Palestinian group at Columbia University that called for “the total eradication of Western civilization.”

The three Mamdani-backed candidates are expected to double the ranks of the left-wing group known as the “Squad,” an informal bloc closely aligned with Ocasio-Cortez, who also supports abolishing ICE. 

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

DEM CANDIDATE CLEARS CROWDED FIELD TO FACE TRUMP-BACKED INCUMBENT IN NY

The scrutiny comes after Conley avoided criticizing the socialist candidates during an interview with MS NOW on Thursday.

Asked about socialist candidates who support prison abolition and have suggested the United States deserved 9/11, Conley talked about her own background rather than directly addressing the question. 

“I joined the Army and went to West Point because of 9/11 because I watched the suffering and pain that we as a nation, we as a state, we as the Hudson Valley, experienced that day,” Conley said. “And so when you talk about the American government’s responsibility to the people, it is to keep it safe.”

“While, you know, folks were elected down in New York City, in New York-17, Democratic voters chose a West Point grad and 16-year Army combat veteran to be their representative in this fight this fall,” Conley added, referring to herself.

Aber Kawas, a socialist and pro-Palestinian activist who won a Democratic primary for a New York State Senate seat Tuesday, appeared to justify 9/11 in a resurfaced 2017 video.

Conley has previously faced scrutiny over her role on former President Joe Biden’s national security team. Lawler has argued that she downplayed her alleged involvement in the former president’s botched 2021 Afghanistan withdrawal, which coincided with her time on the National Security Council.

The battleground race is expected to be one of the most hotly-contested races in the country, with national Republicans expected to aggressively defend Lawler’s bid for a third House term.

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The nonpartisan Cook Political Report rates the contest as a “toss-up” after shifting the race in favor of Democrats earlier this year. 

In 2024, former Vice President Kamala Harris narrowly won the purple district, where Democrats hold a sizable voter registration advantage. 

A federal judge has ordered the Justice Department to release more unredacted Jeffrey Epstein records or justify keeping them sealed by July 2, with redacted versions of the files including sensitive interview notes documenting a minor’s uncorroborated sexual assault allegations against President Donald Trump.

U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan, a Clinton-appointed judge, issued the order after granting a preliminary injunction sought by independent journalist Katie Phang, who sued Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche in April. She alleged that the Justice Department failed to comply with the Epstein Files Transparency Act that was signed last year when she requested several documents. The law requires the government to make Epstein-related investigative records public while allowing limited redactions to protect victims and other legally protected information.

More than half of the six million files have been made publicly available, with the remaining files withheld because of legal privilege protections or because they are duplicates, according to the Justice Department. But the department has faced growing criticism over the scope of its redactions, with critics arguing it has concealed information that should be public under the law.

EPSTEIN FALLOUT GROWS AS DOJ WATCHDOG DIGS DEEPER INTO HANDLING OF THE CASE

In a 48-page memorandum, Sullivan ordered the Justice Department to either disclose less-redacted versions of several key Epstein records or justify the redactions. The documents covered by the order include eight emails with hidden senders or recipients; a 2007 draft federal indictment — with the names of potential co-conspirators redacted — that was never filed; and a 2019 email referencing alleged co-conspirators whose identities were obscured.

Among the redacted records is an email — with the recipient’s identity concealed — in which Epstein wrote that he “loved” a torture video he watched. During the litigation, Blanche suggested the recipient was wealthy Middle Eastern businessman Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem.

The order also covers FBI records summarizing 2019 interviews with a woman who made allegations involving President Donald Trump. In the FBI’s interview summary, the woman alleged she met Epstein when she was 14 or 15 years old and that he later introduced her to Trump, whom she accused of sexually assaulting her in explicit detail. Those claims are uncorroborated and the president has denied the allegations. Trump was friends with the late financier in the 1990s and early 2000s but cut ties after a falling-out in the mid-2000s.

The Justice Department is also required to issue a complete log of every redaction made in records released under the Epstein Files Transparency Act.

DOJ PUBLISHES TROVE OF EPSTEIN FILES, SAYS MORE TO COME AFTER FRIDAY DEADLINE

The Justice Department had argued the lawsuit should be dismissed because Phang could have sought the records through the Freedom of Information Act. Sullivan rejected that argument, concluding that FOIA did not provide Phang an “adequate remedy.”

Phang’s lawyers said the department’s previous denial of related FOIA requests showed that FOIA was not an adequate way to obtain the records.

“I have standing to be able to get Todd Blanche to comply with Judge Sullivan’s order, which is now telling him that on or before July 2, he either has to put up or shut up,” Phang said during an appearance on the MeidasTouch network. “He either has to bring forth unredacted files or show cause as to why he should not or cannot do so.”

The ruling also noted that the department itself had previously acknowledged the Epstein Files Transparency Act required broader disclosure than would ordinarily occur through FOIA, including limiting certain exemptions typically available under federal public records law.

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Sullivan has become a prominent figure in cases involving Trump and his allies. He oversaw former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn’s criminal case and challenged the Trump Justice Department’s effort to drop the charges after Flynn pleaded guilty. Sullivan also presided over Jan. 6 Capitol riot cases.

Fox News Digital reached out to the Justice Department and the White House for comment.

Former White House National Security Advisor John Bolton pleaded guilty on Friday to only one count of an 18-count indictment, but he will not be sentenced until the fall.

During a hearing at the federal district court in Greenbelt, Maryland, Bolton pleaded guilty to the twelfth count, alleging he had unauthorized possession of a document related to national defense.

The count typically has a maximum penalty of 10 years behind bars, but both sides agreed that five years will be the most prison time that can be imposed.

U.S. Attorney Kelly O. Hayes addressed reporters outside the courthouse, emphasizing that this case demonstrated that “no one is above the law.” Hayes declined to take questions.

FORMER NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISOR JOHN BOLTON TO PLEAD GUILTY TO RETAINING CLASSIFIED INFORMATION: SOURCES

“The rules governing classified and national defense information apply equally to everyone, regardless of position, and regardless of how long you have served with the United States government,” Hayes began her brief remarks.

“The national defense information at issue in this case was classified at the highest classification levels,” Hayes added. “It contained human intelligence using sensitive sources and methods, and it discussed a covert action program. Mr. Bolton admitted he shared more than 1,000 pages of information about his day-to-day activities as the national security advisor.”

A prosecutor from the Department of Justice told Judge Theodore Chuang that Bolton also faces a fine of $2.25 million, half of which should be paid within 5 days, a required debrief with a U.S. intelligence committee, three years of supervised release and up to 100 hours of community service. Bolton agreed that he would not get an annuity or retirement from his federal service.

When the judge asked Bolton if he was pleading guilty after having heard the summary of facts in the case, the former Trump official said: “I am your honor, and I’m sorry for it.”

The sentencing was set for October 28. The government plans to dismiss the remaining counts at sentencing.

By pleading guilty, Bolton waived his right to appeal the sentence and conviction. Chuang said Bolton will be allowed to withdraw his guilty pleas before sentencing. That window will close once the sentencing phase concludes. 

Authorities first raided Bolton’s home and office in August of last year. He was indicted in October, originally being charged with both transmission and retention of classified documents.

JOHN BOLTON INDICTED WITH IMPROPER HANDLING OF CLASSIFIED DOCUMENTS

According to the indictment, the documents Bolton illegally kept had intelligence about future attacks by an adversarial group in another country. 

Prosecutors said the documents also contained information about a liaison partner sharing sensitive information with the U.S. intelligence community, as well as intelligence that a foreign adversary was planning a missile launch in the future.

Many of the documents were labeled “TOP SECRET,” according to prosecutors.

“From on or about April 9, 2018, through at least on or about August 22, 2025, BOLTON abused his position as National Security Advisor by sharing more than a thousand pages of information about his day-to-day activities as the National Security Advisor,” the indictment read.

BOLTON MAY BE IN HOT WATER AS FBI INVESTIGATION EXPANDS BEYOND CONTROVERSIAL BOOK

“BOLTON also unlawfully retained documents, writings, and notes relating to the national defense, including information classified up to the TOP SECRET/SCI level, in his home in Montgomery County, Maryland,” it continued.

Bolton shared this information with two family members through a non-government email account, according to prosecutors.

Bolton served as Trump’s National Security Adviser during his first administration from 2018 to 2019.

At the time, Trump said he fired Bolton over strong policy disagreements, but Bolton claimed he resigned of his own accord.

A court document released by the White House revealed that the National Park Service (NPS) plans to drain the reflecting pool again after Independence Day to conduct repairs after it was allegedly vandalized.

In the document, which was filed in federal court on Thursday, NPS Deputy Director for Operations Frank Lands states that on June 9, U.S. Park Police responded to a report of damage to the reflecting pool.

Lands stated that the damage to the pool included caulk over the foam sealant that was cut with a “sharp knife or razor” and “destruction of delaminating surface material.” He also said approximately 70 fence post tops were thrown into the pool.

Lands said NPS plans to drain the reflecting pool to conduct repairs, including “assessing and repairing any damage to the lining,” and will begin “following the Independence Day celebration.”

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The damage comes after more than two months of renovations on the reflecting pool ordered by President Donald Trump.

Washington, D.C., is expected to host massive crowds for Independence Day celebrations marking America’s 250th anniversary. Preparations have been set back by additional incidents, including the National Mall being marked with “8647” and a blood-written message on the Washington Monument.

Among the incidents cited by the Department of the Interior unfolding on the National Mall were multiple “8647” markings. The administration has previously interpreted the number “86” as a political threat, pointing to its common use in the restaurant industry to mean removing or refusing service, while 47 appears to refer to Trump as the 47th president.

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In a separate case, an individual used their own blood to write “I’ve come” on the Washington Monument, according to a police report reviewed by Fox News Digital.

According to the White House, seven individuals have been arrested in connection with the alleged vandalism to the reflecting pool, seven others have been issued federal citations, and 18 police reports have been filed.

This week, U.S. Park Police asked for the public’s help identifying a person captured on camera during an investigation into damage to the reflecting pool and alleged destruction of government property in Washington, D.C. Video released by police shows what appears to be a person kneeling next to the pool and reaching an arm into the water.

The White House released a statement on Thursday, positing “this isn’t random mischief – it’s targeted sabotage by anti-American crackpots who despise a strong, proud, and beautiful country.”

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The White House called the alleged vandals “crazed and deranged lunatics [who] have once again exposed their hatred for America with a cowardly, deliberate attack on one of our nation’s most iconic landmarks.”

Fox News Digital’s Ashley J. DiMella and Landon Mion contributed to this report.