NationalWatch

Bill Ferguson, Maryland‘s Democratic Senate president, beat back a surprisingly serious challenge from a progressive candidate who goes by the social media moniker “Captain Bobby” in what became the state’s most closely watched race.

Though state Senate races rarely garner much national attention, Ferguson’s challenger, activist Bobby LaPin, drew outsized attention for his offbeat online presence, where he repeatedly accused Ferguson of being too establishment.

LaPin, an Army veteran, charter boat owner and social media personality, pitched himself to voters by saying, “I’m a Bernie Sanders” while calling Ferguson “a Chuck Schumer,” according to News From the States.

On Tuesday night, Ferguson fended off LaPin’s challenge, winning 56.6% of the vote to LaPin’s 43.4%. Ferguson’s primary victory in deep-blue Maryland Senate District 46, which is centered in Baltimore, all but guarantees he will retain his seat.

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LaPin took particular issue with Ferguson’s opposition to a redistricting bill that would have eliminated Maryland’s sole Republican congressional seat. LaPin’s campaign website ripped Ferguson, saying he “single-handedly prevented Maryland from answering Trump’s assault on democracy by preventing redistricting efforts championed by the Democratic Caucus of the U.S. Congress, the Maryland State Senate, and Governor Wes Moore.”

As Maryland Senate president, Ferguson rebuffed a push by Moore and national Democratic leaders to redraw Maryland’s congressional districts. Ferguson reportedly called the proposed map “objectively unconstitutional,” according to The Washington Post. He also stated that “the legal risks are too high, the timeline for action is dangerous, the downside risk to Democrats is catastrophic,” according to WTOP.

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The move drew heavy criticism from many Democrats. Questions were raised when Maryland Gov. Wes Moore conspicuously declined to endorse Ferguson despite Ferguson serving as one of the state’s most powerful Democrats.

Despite the controversy and buzz, Ferguson held a clear money advantage over LaPin.

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At age 43, Ferguson has held the state Senate seat since 2011. He was just 27 when he was first elected, becoming the youngest state senator in Maryland history. In 2020, he was unanimously elected president of the Maryland Senate, making him the second-youngest person to hold that office in state history. Ferguson’s background is in education, and he earned a law degree from the University of Maryland School of Law.

Former Rep. David Trone, D-Md., fell short in his comeback bid to return to Congress after pouring millions of his personal fortune into the race to unseat an incumbent Democrat. 

Rep. April McClain Delaney, D-Md., defeated Trone on Tuesday in a bruising primary battle for a gerrymandered House seat in western Maryland, according to The Associated Press. 

The intraparty contest was one of the costliest primaries of the 2026 cycle, with more than $32 million spent between both candidates, who had considerable wealth at their disposal to boost their respective campaigns.

It is unclear whether total spending eclipsed the Kentucky primary battle that resulted in the defeat of Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., which recently earned the title of the nation’s most expensive House primary. 

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Trone, the billionaire founder of the alcohol retailer Total Wine & More, put more than $25 million of his wealth into the race. Delaney, a freshman lawmaker who served in the Biden administration, spent at least $7 million of her own money to fend off Trone’s primary challenge for a second House term. 

She previously served in the Biden administration as a political appointee in the Commerce Department.

Though both candidates had few policy differences, Trone sharply criticized Delaney for voting for the GOP-authored Laken Riley Act in early 2025. Delaney later said she regretted supporting the law, which requires the detention of illegal immigrants accused or convicted of certain crimes. 

Delaney also denounced Trone for touting support from former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in an advertisement focused on his defense of abortion rights, despite not receiving a formal endorsement. 

Trone, who represented the district for three terms, previously bankrolled a failed 2024 Senate bid with more than $60 million of his fortune, losing to now-Sen. Angela Alsobrooks, D-Md. He notably endorsed Delaney to succeed him in Congress.

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Maryland’s Democratic establishment rallied around Delaney’s campaign in a notable display of unity against Trone’s insurgent campaign. Gov. Wes Moore, D-Md., Sens. Chris Van Hollen and Angela Alsobrooks, D-Md., Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., and former House Minority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., endorsed Delaney’s re-election campaign. 

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., also backed Delaney’s campaign. 

Meanwhile, Trone touted the endorsement of the state’s largest teachers union.

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Neither Delaney nor Trone reside in the district, which stretches from the rural, Republican-leaning northwestern corner of the state to the heavily Democratic and suburban Montgomery and Frederick counties. Both Democrats live in the affluent Potomac, Md., suburb near Washington, D.C.

President Donald Trump came within six points of winning the Democratic-leaning district in 2024, but national Republicans do not view the seat as a top pickup opportunity. 

Delaney’s husband, John Delaney, previously represented the seat from 2013 to 2019 before launching a failed campaign for president in 2020.

Peter Oberacker, a Trump-backed Republican New York state senator, won a GOP primary on Tuesday evening, securing the GOP nomination to challenge incumbent Rep. Josh Riley, D-N.Y.

New York’s 19th Congressional District, which encompasses an area north of Manhattan, is one of many competitive seats Republicans hope to flip as they look to maintain control of the U.S. House of Representatives, where they hold a narrow majority.

Despite a historically Democratic bent, Republicans last won the district in 2022.

Oberacker, who has a background in food business, has served as a New York state senator since 2021. In his campaign, he has pitched himself as a pragmatic public servant with a diverse resume.

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“They say there are two things you should never see being made: laws and sausage. Well, I know both. Service has always called me. As a volunteer firefighter and EMT and as a town supervisor and county legislator,” Oberacker said in a campaign video.

Oberacker received President Donald Trump’s endorsement earlier this year.

“As your next Congressman, he will fight tirelessly to Grow the Economy, Cut Taxes and Regulations, Unleash American Energy DOMINANCE, Keep our Border SECURE, Stop Migrant Crime, Ensure LAW AND ORDER, Strengthen our Brave Military/Veterans, Advance Election Integrity and Protect our always-under-siege Second Amendment,” Trump wrote.

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Most of Oberacker’s work in the state Senate has focused on rural agriculture, farms and ratepayer energy costs. In the past, Oberacker has introduced bills that looked to ban retroactive bills for businesses and a ban on using taxpayer funds to cover corporate losses. He has also spearheaded calls to investigate climbing utility prices.

“Results matter. That’s why I have introduced several bills as a part of my utility ratepayer bill of rights. This legislation requires transparency and accountability from the utilities and gives power back to people — where it belongs,” Oberacker wrote in a recent post to Facebook.

He has raised just shy of a million dollars, according to Federal Election Commission records.

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Having cleared the primary, Oberacker now heads to the general election, where he will face off against Riley on Nov. 3.

Riley, a first-term representative, won his seat in a narrow 51.1% to 48.8% victory over Rep. Marcus Molinaro, R-N.Y., in 2024.

New York Assemblyman Micah Lasher won the Democratic primary Tuesday to replace retiring Rep. Jerry Nadler, defeating a crowded field that included anti-Trump lawyer George Conway, Kennedy family scion Jack Schlossberg and fellow New York State Assemblyman Alex Bores.

The race drew outsized attention because incumbent Rep. Jerry Nadler’s retirement created a rare open-seat contest in a Manhattan district he has represented for more than three decades, since 1992. 

The crowded Democratic primary featured a mix of local elected officials and national names, including George Conway, a conservative attorney turned high-profile Trump critic who was formerly married to Kellyanne Conway, one of Trump’s top White House advisers during his first term.

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It also featured a run from Jack Schlossberg, the grandson of former President John F. Kennedy, whose famous family name and large social media following brought national attention to the otherwise hyperlocal Manhattan primary.

Lasher also fended off a challenge from New York state lawmaker Alex Bores, whose campaign became a test case in the political power of the AI industry after the former computer engineer helped push New York’s RAISE Act, a state-level AI safety law aimed at forcing major developers to publish safety plans and disclose risks tied to the most powerful models.

His push for tougher AI guardrails drew heavy opposition from tech-aligned super PACs, which responded by pouring millions into the race against him, turning the Manhattan primary into a proxy war over whether states should be allowed to crack down on the rapidly growing industry.

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Lasher entered the race as the most obvious establishment heir to Nadler, drawing support from the retiring congressman and other major New York political figures. His win would suggest that local institutional backing still mattered in a race where several rivals had stronger national profiles.

Lasher previously worked for Nadler, Gov. Kathy Hochul and served as director of state legislative affairs under former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg. He entered the race with support from all three, giving him significant backing from prominent New York Democrats.

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Lasher will be heavily favored in November’s general election in the solidly Democratic district, which includes some of Manhattan’s wealthiest and most liberal neighborhoods, including the Upper West Side, Upper East Side, Midtown and Chelsea.

Michael DeCillis, a former New York Police Department officer, won a Democratic primary on Tuesday evening, securing his party’s nomination to take on incumbent Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, R-N.Y.

The race is among many pivotal matchups set to determine the balance of power in the House of Representatives, where Republicans hold a slim majority. Although New York Republicans have often found themselves the target of Democratic efforts to flip seats, DeCillis faces an uphill challenge in November.

DeCillis has argued that congressional resistance to President Donald Trump is key to preventing executive overreach.

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“He understands that our democracy is disappearing in real time,” DeCillis’ campaign website reads.

“In the next Congress, Mike will fight to build guardrails to protect our rights and ensure the government serves everyone — not just billionaires.”

Throughout his campaign, DeCillis has touted his diverse background in public service and deep ties to the community in New York, pointing out that he is a fourth-generation Staten Islander and a third-generation union member.

“I’ve worked in EMS as a paramedic for over a decade, was a 9/11 first responder, helping firefighters at Ground Zero, I’ve walked the streets of New York City as a police officer and taught as a special education teacher in our public schools,” DeCillis said in a campaign video.

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DeCillis has run for the seat twice before — once in 2018 and in 2022. In both races, he dropped out before the general election.

Now in his third challenge, DeCillis is painting Malliotakis as a MAGA-aligned Republican, out of touch with the split voter demographic in the state, and calling her a “MAGA loyalist.”

“President Trump and Republicans like Nicole Malliotakis are destroying democracy at home and diplomacy and security abroad,” DeCillis said in a post to X.

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Malliotakis last won reelection in 2024 with a 63.8% to 35.8% victory over Democratic challenger Andrea Morse, an attorney and small-business owner.

Having cleared the primary, DeCillis will face off against Malliotakis in the Nov. 3 general election.

Democratic Gov. Wes Moore of Maryland, whom pundits consider a potential 2028 presidential contender, is one step closer to winning re-election this year.

Moore on Tuesday captured the Democratic gubernatorial nomination in the solidly blue Mid-Atlantic state, the Associated Press reports.

Moore and his running mate, Lt. Gov. Aruna Miller, easily dispatched a primary challenge from Eric Felber and his running mate, LaTrece Hawkins Lytes. Felber, a physician, unsuccessfully challenged Democratic Rep. Jamie Raskin in the 2024 primary in the state’s 8th Congressional District.

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Candidates for governor and lieutenant governor run on the same ticket in Maryland.

The Democratic ticket will face the winners of a nine-way Republican primary field.

Moore is running for re-election this year amid speculation that he also is eyeing a run for the White House in 2028, in the race to succeed term-limited President Donald Trump. Democrats are expected to field a large and competitive field in the race for their party’s presidential nomination.

The governor has consistently ruled out running for the White House in 2028, saying that his political focus is on his home state and his 2026 re-election.

But regardless, Moore remains a top Democratic Party surrogate in national politics. And Moore, a 47-year-old Army veteran, who is also a Rhodes Scholar and was CEO of the charitable organization the Robin Hood Foundation during the coronavirus pandemic, is viewed as a rising star in the party.

Moore, the nation’s only Black governor, has had a combustible relationship with Trump, which has included very public feuds and verbal sparring, and clashes over policy.

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Earlier this year, Trump initially excluded Moore from a National Governors Association dinner at the White House, charging that the governor was “not worthy” of attending.

President Donald Trump scored a major legislative win after Congress cleared a sweeping housing bill aimed at expanding the nation’s supply of homes and lowering costs.

House lawmakers voted 358-32 in an overwhelmingly bipartisan vote Tuesday to approve the Senate-passed measure with opposition coming solely from Republicans. Every Democrat present voted for the package.

The 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, one of the most significant housing bills approved by Congress in decades, largely incorporates Trump’s proposal to ban large institutional investors from purchasing single-family homes — a measure designed to help individual buyers compete with private equity firms.

It would also streamline federal environmental reviews for housing, loosen regulations around the construction of factory-built homes, and incentivize local governments to reform their zoning laws to allow for more homebuilding, among its more than 45 provisions.

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Other sections would allocate federal grants to municipalities with a track record of constructing new homes and create a pilot program to help communities redevelop vacant properties. 

“The package focuses on a simple idea of building more homes, which means lower costs and more expanded opportunities for all Americans,” Rep. Mike Haridopolos, R-Fla., said Tuesday.

The president is expected to promptly sign the measure into law as soon as Wednesday.

Tuesday’s vote comes as home prices have surged in recent years, with the median nationwide price tag topping $400,000 and the median asking rent climbing above $1,760, representing an increase of 34.4% and 17.9%, respectively, since 2019, according to analysis from Realtor.com.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., brought the measure to the floor under a fast-track procedure known as suspension of the rules that required a two-thirds majority to secure passage. 

In the end, more Democrats supported the legislation than Republicans.

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Some of the more than two dozen conservatives voted against the housing bill in protest of the SAVE America Act not being attached to the package. That legislation — mandating voter identification requirements, cracking down on mail-in voting and barring men from women’s sports, among other provisions — has failed to clear the Senate’s legislative filibuster and has not received a vote in the House.

“The Senate cannot keep obstructing President Trump’s agenda while ignoring election integrity,” Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., wrote on social media. “I call on my fellow colleagues to stand firm and honor their pledge.”

The group of conservatives has also advocated for the SAVE America Act to be paired with the reauthorization of a critical surveillance authority, known as Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, though that is unlikely to materialize amid intraparty disagreement.

Some Republicans also opposed the Trump-backed measure, citing the inclusion of provisions offered by progressive Democrats.

“The Housing bill is full of big government garbage & spending,” Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, wrote on social media.

The housing bill’s package comes after the House and Senate exhausted months ironing out disagreements about how to implement restrictions on private equity investors and a temporary ban on central bank digital currencies (CBDC) — an unrelated proposal sought by GOP privacy hawks.

Both chambers ultimately agreed to a provision that would restrict large investors owning more than 350 single-family homes from purchasing additional ones, while creating exceptions for the construction of rental properties. However, investors that exceed the new threshold would not be required to sell existing holdings. 

Critics have argued that large investors are not the source of supply constraints, with those firms owning less than 1% of the nation’s housing stock, according to Parcl Labs. 

Their ownership of single-family rental properties is slightly higher, ranging from 1% to 3%, with the presence of large investors highly concentrated in certain rental markets, including Jacksonville, Fla., (22%) and Phoenix (13%), according to a March Government Accountability Office report.

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The housing bill’s passage comes as Republicans are facing electoral headwinds from voters who are souring on the current state of the economy and cost of living. But the soon-to-be law could give Republicans a concrete example taken to address housing affordability — a key issue for voters heading into November’s midterm elections.

Just 31% of voters approve of Trump’s handling of the economy, according to a Fox News poll released last week. That was a 2-point improvement after the measure hit an all-time low of 29% in May.

EXCLUSIVE: The White House slammed the “mainstream media” for citing Iranian state media reports that Tehran has no intention of honoring the nuclear inspection commitments that Vice President JD Vance says were agreed upon.

Iran has agreed to “robust” inspections of its nuclear sites following the peace talks in Switzerland, according to a U.S. official. A White House official spoke to Fox News Digital on Tuesday, calling the sourcing for widespread reports from mainstream media outlets “propaganda from the Iranian regime.” 

“For the tireless scolding we hear from the mainstream media about their ‘journalistic ethics’ and ‘integrity of their reporting,’ you’d think they would view the misinformation flowing from Iranian state media with a high level of skepticism,” a White House official told Fox News Digital. 

“Instead, the American press has spent every waking hour of this negotiating process mindlessly parroting hardliner propaganda from the Iranian regime,” the official added. “The President and Vice President of the United States, along with the entire U.S. negotiating team, are working around the clock to secure a great deal for the American people, and the updates they’ve provided on this process have been the truth.”

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Critics cited Iranian state media’s reporting that nuclear inspections would not be honored, despite Vance and the White House saying that the terms of the deal included the provision. 

“Despite their protestations and false statements to the contrary, coupled with the drumbeat of the Fake News, which is doing everything possible to make the U.S. Victory as small and insignificant as possible, Iran has fully and completely agreed to highest level Nuclear inspections long into the future (Infinity!!!),” President Donald Trump said in a Truth Social post.

A source familiar with the talks expressed frustration to Fox News Digital over the irony of pundits speaking out against the deal for using talking points from Iranian public figures and state media, likening dialogue and reporting to an unwitting support for the Iranian regime.

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A number of reports from mainstream outlets this week cited information surrounding Vance allegedly being snubbed by the Qataris after Qatar’s prime minister and chief negotiator, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, walked past Vance and warmly greeted Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif instead.

In an interview on Monday with Qatar-funded media outlet, Al Jazeera, Al Thani denied snubbing Vance, saying he had just spent hours with Vance and hadn’t yet greeted Sharif. He blamed the media for misrepresenting the encounter. “And they just made the issue too big,” he said.

A U.S. official told Fox News Digital the U.S. team had already been meeting with Qatari officials for hours, eliminating the need for a ceremonial greeting. The official added that the leaders’ joint remarks before the meeting were organized impromptu rather than as a staged public appearance.

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Some reports also said the Iranians walked away from the negotiating table while Vance and the White House delegation were still in Switzerland. The reports mainly cited Iranian state media as a source. 

Vance said that there were threats to walk out, but denied the reports and allegations that the Iranians walked away from the table when speaking to the press on Tuesday.

“They didn’t walk out, and their technical team is still here in Bürgenstock, working with our technical team,” Vance said. “When they make threats that aren’t rooted in reality, they have to accept that the President of the United States is actually going to set the record straight. That’s all that happened. So, yes, there was a little bit of threatening, there was a little bit of whining, but at the end of the day, the talks continued, and we made great progress.”

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During a news conference on Tuesday, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Tehran will never negotiate its missile defense capabilities with any nation and stated that Iran believes “regional peace and stability can only be achieved through honest dialogue and intra-regional cooperation.”

President Trump told reporters on Tuesday that he expects nuclear inspections to occur “at the appropriate time.”

President Donald Trump announced a pair of executive orders investing in quantum computing Monday, moving forward an unprecedented partnership between government and industry while simultaneously moving to secure the U.S. from cryptographic threats.

The first executive order, titled “Ushering In The Next Frontier Of Quantum Innovation,” outlined a strategy to update the National Quantum Strategy by “promoting commercialization and deployment of” quantum technologies and partnering with industry leaders.

To drive that point, Trump signed the order in the Oval Office alongside executives from technology companies with vested quantum interests, including IBM and Google parent company Alphabet.

Furthermore, the directive mandates administration officials from the Departments of Energy and War, the director of national intelligence (DNI) and the director of the National Science Foundation (NSF) to submit to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) “a summary of steps taken to align their processes, policies, and programs with” the National Quantum Strategy.

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It also kickstarts a national effort to develop a working quantum computer to be delivered to the Department of Energy for use and, “to the extent possible, make it available to the scientific community.”

Furthermore, Trump’s order directed NASA and other agencies to probe the development of quantum-enabled sensors, a technology that, if successfully adopted, could have significant military and defense applications.

Quantum computers can perform exponentially greater amounts of calculations at one time when compared to even the most advanced modern supercomputers today. This application makes them a potential threat to cryptographically secure information involving global finances, state secrets and digital communications.

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This fact underscores the second executive order Trump signed Monday, “Securing the Nation Against Advanced Cryptographic Attacks.” This order directed OMB and the national cyber director to “lead an accelerated, nationwide migration to post-quantum cryptography (PQC), ensuring our Nation and our data stay secure as quantum technology evolves.”

Joining Trump in the Oval Office, in addition to Alphabet President Ruth Porat and IBM CEO Arvind Krishna, were Nobel Prize-winning physicist John Martinis, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Energy Secretary Chris Wright.

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Lutnick highlighted the administration’s late May move to direct $2 billion from the CHIPS and Science Act to quantum computing companies.

“Besides investing in the companies we’ve also invested in fabs to build quantum for others so we can manufacture these quantum in America,” Lutnick said, pointing to the decision to invest directly in an IBM fab, a machine that can manufacture quantum-capable chips.

“We’re already the leader by a lot. We’re gonna be, now, the leader by a lot more,” Trump also said during the signing.

Senate Democrats scored another win in pushing back against President Donald Trump’s war in Iran on Tuesday, but the symbolic victory won’t actually curb his war powers in the region. 

Aided by absences from Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and Dave McCormick, R-Pa., Democrats and a handful of Republicans passed a war powers resolution rebuking the conflict in Iran. It’s the same resolution that passed the House earlier this month in a rare display of House Republicans breaking with Trump. 

Sens. Rand Paul, R-Ky., Susan Collins, R-Maine, Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, and Bill Cassidy, R-La., joined nearly every Senate Democrat to adopt the resolution on a 50 to 48 vote. 

But unlike several previous attempts in the Senate to curb Trump’s authority, the House-passed measure does not carry any legally binding weight and won’t go to the president’s desk for his signature, where it would likely be vetoed. 

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Still, after stumbling last week, Democrats notched another victory against the war.

The vote comes as Congress reels over the memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed between the U.S. and Iran that, for now, has allotted more time for officials to negotiate a longer-lasting peace deal.

Many Republicans recoiled at the drip-feed of information coming out about the deal, with some comparing it to former President Barack Obama’s own Iran nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

Senate Armed Services Committee Chair Roger Wicker, R-Miss., shredded the MOU in a statement Thursday in which he cautioned that the agreement “negotiates away the victories of Operation Epic Fury in ways that are completely out of step with the president’s goals.”

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Wicker took particular issue with the proposed $300 billion reconstruction fund, which he acknowledged wouldn’t be funded by taxpayers, but “would make Iran’s payoff under President Obama’s 2015 deal look like a pittance by comparison.” 

Other Republicans aren’t thrilled with sanctions on Iranian oil being lifted, even temporarily, after years of keeping their oil business in a vice grip. 

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said he wanted to “tie lifting sanctions or financial incentives to conditions on Iranian behavior,” and acknowledged that reopening the Strait of Hormuz was a component of that.

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But he also said that the “objective here is always going to be Iranian compliance” with ending their nuclear program in exchange for financial incentives. And if the final deal does include an agreement touching Iran’s nuclear program, lawmakers will get to vote on it. 

Congress is also gearing up to mull an $80 billion supplemental spending request from the Pentagon to cover the costs of the war, a figure that’s more than double what War Secretary Pete Hegseth and the Pentagon comptroller told lawmakers during a hearing earlier this year.

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Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., argued that as the MOU takes hold, now is the “perfect time for Congress to step back and ask ourselves the question of what should the next chapter be, rather than allowing one man to make that decision?”

“If you have to come to us for diplomacy, and you have to come to us for money, you shouldn’t be able to end run us to initiate war on our own,” Kaine said.

An Obama-appointed judge blocked the Trump administration’s effort on Monday to let a handful of states ban SNAP recipients from using food stamps to buy soda, candy and other sugary products.

“Amid a chronic disease epidemic, President Trump was elected with a resounding mandate to Make America Healthy Again,” White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly told Fox News Digital. “This administration has rightfully put real food at the center of SNAP to promote healthier options for families in need. This will not be the final say on the matter.”

The ruling is a setback for the administration’s “Make America Healthy Again” push, which has made SNAP reform a central front in its campaign against obesity, diabetes and chronic disease.

U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson ruled Monday that because Congress has already defined “what ‘food’ is supposed to be,” USDA cannot waive or amend the definition. Jackson has served on the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia since 2011, after then-President Barack Obama appointed her to the bench.

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Congress “set out clearly the type of experimental projects that could be tested to address the unquestionably serious health issues attributed to the rise of obesity in the population in general and particularly the low-income population. But it did not invite the Secretary to ignore its directives by trying to advance those ends under the banner of ‘efficiency’ or administrative improvements,” Jackson wrote.

The lawsuit was brought by SNAP recipients in Colorado, Iowa, Nebraska, Tennessee and West Virginia, where USDA had approved state waivers restricting certain food purchases, including candy, soft drinks and energy drinks. The plaintiffs were represented by the National Center for Law and Economic Justice and Shinder Cantor Lerner.

“An activist judge just blocked our commonsense restriction on using SNAP benefits for soda and junk. SNAP is for food — not sugar bombs fueling obesity, diabetes, and skyrocketing healthcare costs for low-income families,” Department of Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins wrote on X. “Taxpayers shouldn’t subsidize junk food and drinks at the expense of American health.”

Both Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and USDA’s Rollins have touted SNAP reform, traveling to various states and working with governors to ensure that Americans are making healthier choices by avoiding “junk food.”

USDA has approved SNAP food restriction waivers in over 20 states.

“The idea that taxpayer funds should not be used to purchase junk food should not be controversial. USDA will not be backing down from the fight to Make America Healthy Again, including for families and communities reliant on SNAP,” a USDA spokesperson told Fox News Digital.

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Michael Bloomberg tried something similar as New York City mayor in 2011, asking the Obama administration’s USDA to let the city block SNAP recipients from using benefits to buy sugary drinks. USDA rejected the request at the time, saying the proposal did not clearly show whether the restriction would actually improve health outcomes.

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Fox News Digital reached out to HHS for comment. 

Hope they have Maalox and Pepto-Bismol on hand when President Donald Trump visits Capitol Hill to meet with Senate Republicans over lunch.

Senate GOP Steering Committee Chairman and Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., invited Trump for the luncheon Wednesday. Some Senate Republicans may wonder if they’re the ones on the menu. Both Sens. Bill Cassidy, R-La., and John Cornyn, R-Texas, are out after the president refused to endorse them and they lost their primaries. Trump has also sparred with Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., exasperated that he can’t execute his legislative agenda.

Scott is a close ally of the president. He lost to Thune and Cornyn in the race to become majority leader in late 2024. In fact, Scott didn’t even request a blessing from the top Senate GOP leadership team to invite the president.

Scott’s teamed up with Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, advocating that the Senate approve the SAVE America Act. It requires proof of citizenship to vote. This advocacy is driving Thune and other members of the GOP brass batty since the bill failed twice. Scott and Lee want the Senate to get onto the SAVE America Act and stay on it until the measure passes. But few understand how exhaustion somehow conjures a majority of senators to suddenly support the bill.

GOP TRIGGERS MARATHON SENATE FIGHT TO EXPOSE DEMS’ OPPOSITION TO TRUMP-BACKED VOTER ID BILL

Moreover, the president demands that they eliminate the filibuster. If the SAVE America Act doesn’t have the necessary votes to pass, there’s no way it commands 60 yeas to break a filibuster.

Simple solution, right?

Not really. Thune has said repeatedly that there aren’t the votes to alter the filibuster, either.

It’s about the math.

So expect some intense discussions Wednesday over what the president wants the Senate to do. Thune has tried to tell the president repeatedly what the Senate is capable of, based on the various parliamentary equations.

And there’s fear among Republicans that the president may attempt to sow discord about the midterm election outcomes if Democrats flip the House and/or Senate — and Republicans never passed the SAVE America Act.

Trump sports plenty of supporters in the Senate, but he’s frustrated Senate Republicans by repeatedly yanking the legislative rug out from under his own party for weeks now. 

The Senate was on the precipice of beginning a “vote-a-rama” to finally pass funding for ICE and Border Patrol in May. Then the administration announced its weaponization fund. A meeting between Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche and GOP senators devolved into pointed conversations. Blanche continued to defend the fund. Some Republicans threatened their own amendments during the vote-a-rama to either block the fund or shield themselves from political fallout.

Thune pulled the bill from the floor and sent everyone home for more than a week.

SENATE GOP ERUPTS OVER TRUMP DOJ ‘ANTI-WEAPONIZATION’ FUND, PUNTS ICE, BORDER PATROL FUNDING

Then there was a carefully crafted bipartisan agreement to renew FISA Section 702, the nation’s most effective program to track terrorists. Its authorization ran out after the president sidetracked the nomination of Jay Clayton, his own pick to become Director of National Intelligence (DNI).

Republicans couldn’t pass the FISA authorization on their own, so they engineered a bipartisan compromise with Democrats. But Democrats withdrew their support for the bill once the president announced that housing czar Bill Pulte would take over as acting DNI for former Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, who resigned. Democrats viewed Pulte as a partisan who had no experience in intelligence. Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Tom Cotton, R-Ark., quickly scheduled a confirmation hearing for Jay Clayton once  Trump tapped him as the nominee.

It was believed that the Senate may be able to confirm Clayton within a matter of days after his confirmation hearing. That would limit time on the job by Pulte. So, once Clayton was in place, the Senate could prospectively return to the bipartisan FISA deal and pass it.

But Trump detonated all of that last week. He insisted that Senate Republicans cancel Clayton’s confirmation hearing and not advance his nomination until it has confirmed Jamie McDonald as U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York. That’s the position Clayton held. The president made those demands at 3:59 a.m. ET Wednesday — all without consulting Thune.

He then made his signature on the FISA renewal conditional on passage of the SAVE America Act. 

“That tells me he’s not very serious about FISA or intelligence,” said one senior congressional Republican about Trump. “And Pulte is a big middle finger to the intelligence community.”

So Senate Republicans aren’t enamored with all of these demands. Some began to lose faith in the president once he ditched support for Cassidy and Cornyn. Now they believe he’s being unreasonable, jerking around Thune, moving the goalposts for critical national security legislation and expecting the impossible on the SAVE America Act and the filibuster.

For his part, Scott believes he and the president can change minds.

Trump has criticized Senate Republican leaders generally of late. But he’s tiptoed around potentially calling out Thune by name. Thune is well-liked by his GOP colleagues and, like most congressional leaders, has an impossible job. That is why former Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott, R-Miss., likened the job to that of “herding cats.”

THUNE ‘ADAMANT’ ABOUT TRUMP SUPPORT, DRIVING MAGA AGENDA DESPITE TENSE PAST RELATIONSHIP 

It’s clear that the president has better relations right now with House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., compared to Thune. But turning on Thune by name would truly infuriate many of the president’s best allies in the Senate.

Trump routinely excoriated former Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., for not ditching the filibuster. But it was McConnell who delivered Trump three of the most lasting legacies: Supreme Court Justices Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett.

McConnell established a new Senate precedent for the method he used to confirm Gorsuch. Gorsuch would have faced an unprecedented filibuster for an associate justice on the High Court and never scored confirmation.

McConnell stuck by Kavanaugh during the raucous confirmation process to confirm Kavanaugh in the fall of 2018. And he rammed through Coney Barrett’s confirmation days before the 2020 election. Yet McConnell refused to hold a confirmation hearing for President Barack Obama’s Supreme Court nominee and future Attorney General Merrick Garland for nearly 11 months — because it was an election year. Blocking confirmation of Garland held the seat open for Gorsuch. Yet Trump railed against McConnell at every turn.

Thune passed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act last year. But through no fault of his own, Thune hasn’t delivered any wins as enduring as the Supreme Court for Trump yet. However, the president has extended some grace to the South Dakota Republican — despite his criticism of the Republican Senate.

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We’ll see if that continues after Wednesday’s luncheon.

The legislative contretemps between the president and Senate Republicans over the past few weeks has just been an appetizer. Anguish and frustration are on the bill of fare Wednesday. And if the meeting doesn’t go well, some Republicans may yell “Check, please!” to get out of there as fast as they can.

Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., wants to show “who the good guys are and who the bad guys are” with a legislative wish-list he wants to pitch to President Donald Trump in Republicans’ meeting with the president this week.

In a letter to fellow Senate Republicans obtained by Fox News Digital, Scott laid out a plan for the next six months that would take away Democrats’ ability to shut the government down ahead of the midterm elections and possibly find a path to pass the Safeguarding American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) America Act.

“We need to make a clear distinction as to who the good guys are and who the bad guys are,” Scott wrote. “We have to demonstrate what Republicans stand for and what Democrats stand for through action, not rhetoric.”

His roadmap comes ahead of Trump’s scheduled meeting with Senate Republicans on Wednesday. Trump accepted an invitation to attend the weekly Senate Republican Steering Committee lunch from Scott last week.

TOP SENATE REPUBLICAN RIPS INTO TRUMP’S IRAN DEAL, SAYS $300B MAKES OBAMA DEAL LOOK LIKE ‘A PITTANCE’

Republicans are readying for their face-to-face meeting with Trump following a series of decisions that have thrown roadblocks on their march to advance key policy priorities, and they await a briefing from the administration on the recently signed memorandum of understanding with Iran.

“I think it’ll be a lot of different things,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said of what to expect at the meeting.

“Hopefully, celebrating some of our successes, talking about the path forward, but I wouldn’t be surprised if the SAVE Act, the SAVE America Act, whichever version of it, might come up,” he continued.

TRUMP’S DNI PICK WILL HAVE TO WAIT FOR HIS CONFIRMATION HEARING AFTER TRUTH SOCIAL BOMB

The SAVE America Act, in particular, has proven a difficult lift in the Senate. While a paired-down version of the voter ID and citizenship verification legislation cracked 50 votes earlier this month, united opposition from Senate Democrats and Republicans unwilling to back the bill have sidelined it. 

Still, Trump has continued to demand that Republicans pass the SAVE America Act, calling for it to be attached to a reauthorization of the nation’s controversial spy powers or rammed through with the pargyline budget reconciliation process. 

Scott argued that Senate Democrats would likely again shut down the government ahead of the elections to gain a political edge, given their track record of record-breaking shutdowns in the last year. He also acknowledged that while the SAVE America Act was Trump’s top priority, “Republicans are not united in eliminating the filibuster to pass Republican priorities.” 

Included in his pitch to lawmakers is a plan to pass a funding extension to keep the government open “at least until after the November election,” and putting the current version of the SAVE America Act or portions of it such as voter ID or requiring proof of citizenship before registering to vote.” 

REPUBLICANS EYE ENDING GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWNS FOREVER OVER FEARS DEMS WILL DO IT AGAIN

Other agenda items included passing anti-shutdown legislation, like Sen. Ron Johnson’s, R-Wis., bill to pay federal workers during a closure, and Sen. James Lankford’s, R-Okla., measure to pass automatic short-term funding extensions in the event of a shutdown.

Scott also wants to pass legislation that would crack down on fraud, reduce government waste, reduce government spending, add a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution, bills aimed to make the country safer and further legislation to lower taxes. 

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“We need to show voters that we are listening to them and will fight for their priorities whether any Democrats vote with us or not,” Scott wrote. 

The Trump administration is prepping a long-awaited, multibillion-dollar request to resupply munitions drained during the Iran war as Congress wrestles with another eye-popping funding request from the Pentagon. 

The Pentagon is expected to request roughly $80 billion in supplemental funding to cover the cost of the war in Iran, a source familiar confirmed to Fox News Digital. That figure is double what War Secretary Pete Hegseth and Pentagon Comptroller Jay Hurst testified before lawmakers earlier this year. 

Lawmakers have been waiting since the war began for a request from the administration with little insight on what the actual price tag would be. 

TRUMP’S PUSH FOR $350 BILLION ‘ARSENAL OF FREEDOM’ HITS GOP SKEPTICISM

Whether the request can pass muster in the upper chamber remains to be seen, especially with the backlash among several Democrats and Republicans over President Donald Trump’s memorandum of understanding (MOU) that has temporarily paused the war.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., contended, “We need to make sure we’re doing everything we can to replenish, resupply a lot of our munitions that have been depleted, not only just with what’s happening in Iran but prior to that.”

“I think there’s a good interest in doing some things that would help ensure that, from a National Security standpoint, we’re prepared to deter and defeat any threat that comes up,” Thune said. “And so we’ll see if and when it gets here, we’ll work through it. We’ll see where the votes are at some point.” 

The expected request comes after Hegseth made the rounds on Capitol Hill last week, pitching senators for more funding for the Pentagon, and after Deputy War Secretary Steve Feinberg spoke with lawmakers pushing for an $80 billion supplemental, which was first reported by the Wall Street Journal.

HEGSETH TESTIFIES AT SENATE AS IRAN WAR’S $25B PRICE TAG AND 60-DAY WAR POWERS DEADLINE LOOM

Hegseth and Hurst recently told Congress that the war had cost $29 billion, but many lawmakers believe that figure underestimates the cost given the number of SM3, Patriot, THAAD missiles and Tomahawks used to bomb Iran.

Trump is set to meet with top executives at defense contractors at the White House on Wednesday, following up on a March 6 meeting where Lockheed Martin, Raytheon parent RTX, BAE Systems, Boeing, Honeywell Aerospace, L3Harris and Northrop Grumman promised to quadruple production on their “exquisite” munitions systems. 

On June 16, Trump invoked the Defense Production Act to speed up production due to “systemic constraints in the munitions industrial base, including limited production capacity, fragile supply chains, long-lead dependencies, and related production bottlenecks.”

Analysts at the Center for Strategic and International Studies have warned that inventories of several key weapons systems used during the war could take years to restore to pre-war levels. Their analysis found that Patriot and THAAD missile interceptors, as well as Tomahawk cruise missiles, could require three or more years to fully replenish under current production rates.

Defense industry officials and outside experts have argued that substantially increasing output would require Congress to appropriate additional funding, allowing the Pentagon to place large replenishment orders and provide manufacturers with the long-term demand signals needed to expand production.

“The United States Military has more than enough munitions, ammo, and stockpiles to serve all of President Trump’s strategic goals and beyond, and Operation Epic Fury has exposed what happens when you mess with the United States,” White House spokesperson Anna Kelly said. “Even still, the president has urged our defense contractors to constantly produce more ‘made-in-America’ weapons, which are the best in the world. Democrats destroyed our military, but President Trump rebuilt it.”

TRUMP UNVEILS $1.5T DEFENSE SURGE, DEEP DOMESTIC CUTS — WHAT’S ON THE CHOPPING BLOCK

The bombing campaign against Iran, known as Operation Epic Fury, began on Feb. 28. A tenuous ceasefire has been in place since April 7, and now senior officials from both countries are negotiating on a longer-term peace deal after signing an MOU last week that established a framework for talks. 

Meanwhile, it’s not the only eye-popping request the Pentagon and Trump have asked of lawmakers. 

Trump earlier this month demanded that Republicans immediately begin work on a third budget reconciliation package loaded with $350 billion in defense funding tied to his highly sought-after Safeguarding American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) America Act.

The figure, in part, is to make up the difference between his initial $1.5 trillion defense budget request, which lawmakers aren’t anywhere close to in their funding negotiations. 

“This is a GENERATIONAL Investment in our Military, even bigger than President Reagan’s! Recon 3.0 is the ONLY path to the full $1.5 TRILLION DOLLAR Military Budget our Warriors need in order to build THE ARSENAL OF FREEDOM,” Trump said on Truth Social. 

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But the request has already hit early roadblocks among Republicans in the upper chamber, and it comes as few Republicans want to circumvent the typical appropriations process to fund the Pentagon. 

Earlier this month during a contentious Senate Appropriations hearing, Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., agreed that another reconciliation bill was unlikely to happen, particularly as a dumping ground for billions in additional defense spending.

Collins, who chairs the Senate Appropriations Committee, said, “Reconciliation is not the best approach.”

“It would be very difficult to get the reconciliation bill approved,” Collins said.

EXCLUSIVE: As federal agents raced to dismantle an alleged plot targeting President Donald Trump’s UFC Freedom 250 event, investigators were simultaneously making another critical determination: whether the White House event itself could safely go forward.

In a Monday interview with Fox News Digital, FBI Deputy Director Chris Raia said investigators believed they had sufficiently disrupted the alleged conspiracy before the event took place, arguing that agents were monitoring suspects and knew none were in the Washington area when the UFC event was held.

“We absolutely felt very comfortable moving (the UFC event) forward,” Raia said. “We were confident that we had disrupted that main plot.”

The FBI initially arrested five people accused of participating in the plot to kill lawmakers and attendees at the June 14 event. Since then, prosecutors have publicly identified two additional defendants, raising questions about why the event was allowed to proceed while investigators continued pursuing other alleged participants.

5 CHILLING DETAILS FROM THE ALLEGED WHITE HOUSE ATTACK PLOT TIED TO UFC EVENT

Raia said the additional defendants were “followers” rather than leaders of the conspiracy.

“We were confident that we had the leaders, the main plotters of that, so the rest of the folks were more of the followers that you’re seeing now.”

“There was a lot of security there,” Vice President JD Vance said during a June 16 appearance on Fox News’ “The Five.” “And it turns out the plot was like, not that advanced. They weren’t in town.” 

The issue reportedly sparked tensions between federal agencies. 

Two senior U.S. officials previously told Fox News that Secret Service leadership wanted to delay publicly disclosing the investigation until additional arrests could be made, fearing that revealing the probe could alert other subjects and complicate the ongoing case.

Raia said the FBI did not share those concerns, arguing that investigators were already monitoring both the alleged ringleaders and other suspected participants.

FBI NAMES SIXTH SUSPECT IN ALLEGED PLOT TO USE DRONES AND SNIPERS TO TARGET UFC FREEDOM 250 EVENT

“We had that contained or what I would call mitigated very early on even though we didn’t do the arrests,” he said. “We were watching the folks that were planning it. We had them under surveillance. And so we knew that nobody was even close to the DC area at the time that was happening.” 

Despite reported disagreements over when to publicly disclose the investigation, Raia emphasized that the FBI and Secret Service worked closely throughout the case.

“That was a joint case with us and the Secret Service,” Raia said.

The agencies jointly assessed the threat before deciding the event could proceed, according to Raia.  

“We all talked about that as a group and made that decision to move forward with the UFC 250 event,” he told Fox News Digital.

Deputy Secret Service Director Matthew Quinn, responding to questions about the case at an unrelated event, emphasized that the Secret Service had “led that investigation from the beginning” and suggested investigators intentionally avoided public disclosure while the case remained active. 

“In order to maintain the integrity of the investigation and the security plan we chose not to leak it,” Quinn said during a June 16 press conference. 

Raia, a career FBI agent and former head of the bureau’s New York Field Office, was appointed FBI co-deputy director in January after the departure of former Deputy Director Dan Bongino. Before leading the New York office, Raia served as one of the FBI’s top counterterrorism officials and has been with the bureau since 2003.

According to court records, the alleged conspirators first connected through a TikTok community known as “Vanguard of the Old” before moving their discussions to encrypted messaging platforms including Signal, Telegram and SimpleX. Investigators say members organized themselves into tiered roles that included frontline operators, drone operators, recruiters, logistics personnel and technical support.

Court records indicate the network extended well beyond the suspects initially charged. After obtaining a warrant for the phone of Ohio defendant Tycen Proper, investigators allegedly discovered a primary Signal chat containing approximately 19 participants, along with smaller operational chats organized by role and location.

Raia said the case is far from closed: 14 to 15 FBI field offices are assisting in the investigation.

“We’re going to continue to work that case aggressively,” he said. “You uncover one layer, and you see four more layers.”

The case also underscored one of the FBI’s biggest investigative challenges: encrypted communications platforms.

“That is a gap for us in encrypted communications platforms,” Raia said.

Raia said investigators attempt to penetrate those networks through confidential human sources, undercover employees and other lawful investigative techniques. 

“We try to infiltrate, obviously, with CHSs, UCEs, again, inside the bounds of the Constitution,” he said, referring to “confidential human sources” and “undercover employees.” 

But Raia acknowledged the FBI does not have visibility into every encrypted chat where criminal activity may be occurring. 

In the UFC case, he pointed to Proper’s mother as the catalyst who helped investigators uncover the alleged conspiracy before it could advance further.

“We had a concerned parent that really launched this entire UFC 250 case off,” Raia said. “Concerned parent called in on her son.”

The tip ultimately led investigators to Proper’s phone and the alleged network of encrypted chats that prosecutors say contained discussions about drones, sniper positions, escape routes and attack planning. Without that initial call, Raia suggested, the alleged plot may have remained hidden inside encrypted platforms that continue to challenge law enforcement visibility.

The UFC case also reflects what FBI officials say is a broader shift in the threat landscape. Rather than large, hierarchical terrorist organizations, investigators are increasingly concerned about lone actors and small groups that can organize online, acquire commercially available technology and develop attack plans with little outside support.

“I’m less concerned about a mass 9/11 style attack than I am a lone single person, a single attacker,” he said.

While discussing security preparations for the FIFA World Cup, he described drone-based attacks as one of the FBI’s top concerns and warned that tactics seen on battlefields overseas could eventually migrate to the United States.

Investigators say they saw signs that the alleged network may have been considering targets beyond the White House UFC event. 

In a newly unsealed court filing, an FBI agent said he believed messages exchanged among alleged conspirators referenced a potential attack on a FIFA World Cup match scheduled for July 3 in Kansas City, Missouri.

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“I think that is a threat that is emerging,” Raia said. “We have seen that overseas, and it’s only a matter of time for somebody brings that type of attack, that threat vector here to the United States.”

The alleged UFC plot illustrates many of those concerns. Prosecutors say the group allegedly used encrypted communications, divided members into specialized roles, discussed drone operations and coordinated activity across multiple states without relying on a traditional terrorist organization or foreign network.

This story is part of Fox News Digital’s exclusive interview with FBI Deputy Director Chris Raia. Additional reporting from the interview will be published in the coming days.

Fox News’ Mike Ruiz contributed to this report. 

PELZER, South Carolina — Both candidates in Tuesday’s Republican gubernatorial runoff election in this solidly red southeastern state have President Donald Trump’s blessing.

Trump, seemingly aiming to cover his bases, made an 11th-hour endorsement ahead of the runoff and is now backing both contenders in the showdown to succeed term-limited Republican Gov. Henry McMaster.

The South Carolina runoff had been viewed as the latest test of Trump’s immense grip over the GOP and the power of his endorsements in Republican nominating contests.

But on Friday, just three days after the candidate Trump was backing in neighboring Georgia’s Republican gubernatorial runoff lost, the president took to social media to say that he was supporting longtime state Attorney General Alan Wilson as well as Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette in the battle for the GOP gubernatorial nomination.

TRUMP WINS TWO, LOSES ONE AS GEORGIA BILLIONAIRE DELIVERS RARE BLOW TO ENDORSEMENT MACHINE

“I can’t hurt one of them by only Endorsing the other, so, therefore, I am going to Endorse, for Governor of South Carolina, both Pam Evette and Alan Wilson!” Trump wrote, adding: “With either one you can’t go wrong.”

The endorsement of Wilson appeared to be a move by Trump to hedge his bets, because Trump was already backing Evette, who is also supported by McMaster, a longtime top ally of the president.

Trump’s decision to support both Evette and Wilson wasn’t the first time he’s made dual endorsements in the same Republican race. Most famously, Trump endorsed “ERIC” in the 2022 GOP Senate primary in Missouri, where the two major candidates were Eric Schmitt and Eric Greitens. Both candidates claimed the endorsement, with Schmitt ultimately winning the nomination.

In South Carolina, Trump endorsed Evette late last month, a week and a half before the gubernatorial primary.

Evette finished on top of a crowded field of contenders in the primary election, with Wilson second. The field also included Reps. Nancy Mace and Ralph Norman, and multimillionaire businessman Rom Reddy. Since no candidate won a majority of the vote, as the top two finishers, Evette and Wilson advanced to the June 23 runoff.

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Mace and Norman endorsed Wilson after failing to advance to the runoff. And Wilson was also backed — and joined on the campaign trail on the eve of the runoff by Sen. Ted Cruz, the conservative firebrand from Texas.

Mace, reacting to Trump’s endorsement of both Evette and Wilson, wrote on social media, “LMAO,” which is a common abbreviation for the phrase “laughing my a– off.”

The runoff between Evette and Wilson turned combustible, and in last week’s final debate, both candidates launched personal attacks and accused each other of lying and misrepresenting their records.

Wilson worked to contrast his tenure as attorney general with what he’s argued is Evette’s largely ceremonial role as lieutenant governor. And he has spotlighted his experience as a combat veteran, prosecutor, and the state’s top law enforcement official.

Evette showcased herself as an outsider and a Trump-endorsed businesswoman, while casting Wilson as a career politician.

“The president had a lot of confidence in me when it was a crowded field, and I won it for him on June 9. I’m going to win it for him again on June 23,” Evette told Fox News Digital on the eve of the runoff. “I have always been very loyal to the president. I’ve traveled wherever he’s asked me to help stump for him, fundraise for him.”

Wilson, campaigning with Cruz, pointed to Trump and said in a Fox News Digital interview, “I’ve been fighting and defending his agenda for the better part of a decade, and to have the president reflect that understanding in his endorsement a few days ago means so much to me.”

Cruz, who endorsed Wilson a week ahead of Trump’s backing, told Fox News Digital, “I was very glad to see the President endorsing Alan Wilson… My philosophy, as you know, is that I support the strongest conservative who can win, and I think in the governor’s race that’s Alan Wilson.”

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, Louisiana, Kentucky and Texas that grabbed plenty of national attention.

But Trump’s endorsement streak in statewide and congressional Republican primaries was snapped three weeks ago when his 11th-hour 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 Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. — and Turning Point USA, the powerful conservative organization co-founded by the late Charlie Kirk.

Trump rebounded two weeks ago, as Evette finished first and advanced to Tuesday’s runoff.

Meanwhile, longtime Trump ally Sen. Lindsey Graham did win 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.

Last week, Trump-backed candidates won two of the three top races.

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 this past weekend 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.

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 backed at the last minute by Kemp, was defeated by billionaire businessman Rick Jackson, who ran as an outsider.

President Donald Trump on Monday endorsed U.S. Rep. John James, who is running for governor in Michigan.

“It is my Great Honor to endorse America First Congressman, John James, who is running to become the next Governor of the Beautiful State of Michigan!” the president declared in part of a Truth Social post. “John James has my Complete and Total Endorsement to be the next Governor of Michigan — HE WILL NOT LET YOU DOWN!”

James thanked Trump, calling him “The greatest President of my lifetime” in social media posts.

SCOOP: TRUMP ALLY KID ROCK JUMPS INTO KEY GOVERNOR’S RACE WITH HIGH-PROFILE ENDORSEMENT

After Trump issued the endorsement message on Monday, Michigan state Senate Minority Leader Aric Nesbitt dropped out of the Michigan Republican gubernatorial primary and endorsed James.

“This campaign has always been about the people of Michigan and standing with President Trump to defeat the Democrats in November. Today, I am suspending my campaign and proudly joining President Trump in endorsing John James as Michigan’s next Governor,” Nesbitt declared within social media posts. “A divided primary only helps Democrats. It’s time to unite. I’m asking every one of you who supported this campaign to stand with me behind John James, roll up our sleeves, and deliver a Republican victory in November.”

James responded to Nesbitt’s move, asserting in part of a post on X, “When President Trump endorsed this campaign, Aric Nesbitt did exactly what a true Michigan CONSERVATIVE should do: He united behind the President and our mission to Save Michigan from the Libs and the RINOs destroying our Republic!”

FORMER DETROIT MAYOR BLOWS GOVERNOR’S RACE WIDE OPEN IN SURPRISE MOVE

Businessman Perry Johnson, who is also running in the Michigan Republican gubernatorial primary, suggested that the president had made the wrong move by backing James.

“President Trump received bad advice yet again. John James is a two-time statewide loser, and Michigan has already seen this movie before: Trump-backed statewide candidates like John James, Tudor Dixon, Matt DePerno, and Kristina Karamo all came up short when it mattered most,” Johnson asserted in social media posts.

TUDOR DIXON RETURNS TO MICHIGAN POLITICS WITH NEW PAC AIMED AT BOOSTING REPUBLICANS IN KEY BATTLEGROUND

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Former Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox, who is also running, asserted in a post on X, “Like @POTUS, I’ve won Michigan twice by building a coalition of working Michiganders who are sick of being screwed by the elites. I’m proud to have voted for President Trump in each of his last three elections, to have donated thousands of dollars to support his campaigns, and to have been hired to represent him as his election integrity lawyer in Michigan in 2024. I look forward to being President Trump’s favorite Governor when I win.”

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and President Donald Trump are not on the ballot, but their sway over the Democratic and Republican parties will be tested Tuesday as New York, Maryland, Utah, and South Carolina hold primary elections and runoffs.

Trump, seemingly aiming to hedge his bets, made an 11th hour endorsement ahead of the South Carolina GOP gubernatorial runoff and is now backing both candidates in the showdown to succeed term-limited Republican Gov. Henry McMaster.

Meanwhile, Mamdani is testing the limits of political power as he takes on the party establishment one year after sending political shock waves across the country with his New York City Democratic primary victory en route to winning election as mayor of the nation’s most populous city.

The 34-year-old socialist mayor is backing a slate of candidates in the primary, including a trio of left-wing congressional contenders who are taking on the Democratic Party’s old guard.

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At the top of this list is political organizer Darializa Avila Chevalier, the Mamdani-backed primary challenger taking on Rep. Adriano Espaillat, the Congressional Hispanic Caucus chair, in New York’s 13th U.S. House District, which covers the northern third of Manhattan and a sliver of the Bronx. Chevalier, 32, says a victory on Tuesday could be the “domino” that falls and builds a “socialist power” nationwide.

The 71-year-old Espaillat, who has been in Congress for a decade, is supported by a slew of party leaders, including New York Gov. Kathy Hochul.

The mayor is also backing former New York City Comptroller Brad Lander, who ran against Mamdani last year in the crowded primary field but became one of his biggest backers. Lander is challenging incumbent Democratic Rep. Dan Goldman in the 10th Congressional District, which includes Lower Manhattan and parts of Brooklyn. Goldman’s supporters include former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

And in New York’s 7th, which covers parts of Brooklyn and Queens, Mamdani’endorsed state Assembly Member Claire Valdez, who is battling Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso, who is backed by retiring Rep. Nydia Velazquez.

Along with the mayor, Valdez and Avila Chevalier are also members of the Democratic Socialists of America.

Valdez has said voters are looking for Democratic candidates with moral clarity on Israel, and the three congressional primary races have focused in part on anti-Israel sentiment, with Mamdani recently referring to AIPAC, a top pro-Israel lobbying group, as “monsters.”

“This is the team. This is our year. It’s up to all of us to get them over the finish line,” Mamdani emphasized in a social media post ahead of a rally last week with the three candidates and Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, the longtime progressive champion and two-time Democratic presidential nominee runner-up.

And at the rally, Mamdani emphasized that the Democratic Party “must change.”

‘FULL-BLOWN BATTLE’ BREWING IN DEM PARTY AS MAMDANI-STYLE CANDIDATES RISE IN KEY RACES

It’s a risky bet for the mayor, which could end with Mamdani being crowned a kingmaker, or weakening his political powers.

The socialist has been a darling of the far left for a year and a half. But six months into his tenure as New York City mayor, he can also count former critics within the Democratic Party, including Hochul, as allies. And he’s even earned praise from Trump.

Trump last year repeatedly claimed Mamdani was a “communist lunatic,” but during an Oval Office meeting in November that grabbed plenty of national attention, the president lauded Mamdani as a “very rational person” who would do a “really good job.”

Longtime Democratic strategist Joe Caiazzo told Fox News Digital, “It’s crystal clear that Mamdani understands power and how to leverage it.”

“He remains incredibly popular, and it appears he also understands that may not always be the case. That’s why I think you see him flexing his political muscle now. It’s smart politics,” added Caiazzo, a veteran of the 2016 and 2020 Sanders presidential campaigns.

The candidates Mamdani’s backing, including some running for state legislative offices, are mostly showcasing the mayor’s platform of focusing on affordability in a city with one of the nation’s highest costs of living.

Mamdani’s support for the trio of congressional candidates, along with Thursday’s rally with Sanders, gives Republicans, who have long cast the mayor as a radical, more ammunition to use him as a cudgel as they work to hold their razor-thin House majority in this year’s midterm elections.

“Zohran Mamdani’s socialist brand is as toxic as it comes,” National Republican Congressional Committee National Press Secretary Mike Marinella told Fox News Digital.

“And during a time when Democrats don’t have a leader or a message, he’s exactly the kind of bogeyman we can use against Democrats to truly show who is leading their party and the crazy policies they all support.”

In South Carolina, Trump on Friday took to social media to say that he was supporting longtime state Attorney General Alan Wilson as well as Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette in the battle for the GOP gubernatorial nomination.

“I can’t hurt one of them by only Endorsing the other, so, therefore, I am going to Endorse, for Governor of South Carolina, both Pam Evette and Alan Wilson!” Trump wrote, adding: “With either one you can’t go wrong.”

The endorsement of Wilson appeared to be a move by Trump to cover his bases, because Trump was already backing Evette, who is also supported by McMaster, a longtime top ally of the president.

The South Carolina runoff had been viewed as the latest test of Trump’s immense grip over the GOP and the power of his endorsements in Republican nominating contests.

And his decision to back both Evette and Wilson wasn’t the first time he’s made dual endorsements in the same Republican race. Most famously, Trump endorsed “ERIC” in the 2022 GOP Senate primary in Missouri, where the two major candidates were Eric Schmitt and Eric Greitens. Both candidates claimed the endorsement, with Schmitt ultimately winning the nomination.

In South Carolina, Trump endorsed Evette late last month, a week and a half before the gubernatorial primary.

Evette finished on top of a crowded field of contenders in the primary election, with Wilson second. The field also included Reps. Nancy Mace and Ralph Norman, and multimillionaire businessman Rom Reddy. Since no candidate won a majority of the vote, as the top two finishers, Evette and Wilson advanced to the June 23 runoff.

Mace and Norman endorsed Wilson after failing to advance to the runoff. And Wilson was also backed — and joined on the campaign trail on the eve of the runoff by Sen. Ted Cruz, the conservative firebrand from Texas.

Mace, reacting to Trump’s endorsement of both Evette and Wilson, wrote on social media, “LMAO,” which is a common abbreviation for the phrase “laughing my a– off.”

The runoff between Evette and Wilson turned combustible, and in last week’s final debate, both candidates launched personal attacks and accused each other of lying and misrepresenting their records.

Wilson worked to contrast his tenure as attorney general with what he’s argued is Evette’s largely ceremonial role as lieutenant governor. And he has spotlighted his experience as a combat veteran, prosecutor, and the state’s top law enforcement official.

Evette showcased herself as an outsider and a Trump-endorsed businesswoman, while casting Wilson as a career politician.

The power of the president’s endorsement is also on the line in upstate New York, in the race to succeed retiring Republican Rep. Elise Stefanik.

Trump is backing first-time candidate Anthony Constantino, a businessman and former boxer, who is facing off against Robert Smullen, a retired Marine Corps colonel and New York assemblyman who has the backing of the state party.

Also on the primary ballot

Incumbent Rep. Jerry Nadler’s decision to retire left his Manhattan district open for the first time since he was elected in 1992. Notable Democratic candidates in this crowded field include New York Assembly members Alex Bores and Micah Lasher, the late President John F. Kennedy’s grandson Jack Schlossberg, and former conservative lawyer and onetime anti-Trump Republican George Conway. Nadler endorsed Lasher — a former congressional staffer.

 Meanwhile, five Democrats are facing off in the primary in New York’s 17th Congressional District, in New York City’s northern suburbs and exurbs, with the winner facing off against GOP Rep. Mike Lawler in a key general election race that is one of a couple dozen that will decide if Republicans hold their razor-thin House majority.

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In Utah, voters will nominate candidates for Congress using a new map that created a Democratic-friendly district in Salt Lake City, which upended reelection plans of the state’s all-Republican delegation.

And in Maryland, Democratic Gov. Wes Moore faces a longshot primary challenger as he runs for re-election amid speculation that he also has his eye on a potential 2028 presidential campaign.

Fox News’ Sally Persons and the Associated Press contributed to this report

A group of Democrat senators all agreed Congress should renew the government’s spying powers to ensure national security.

When asked whether the authority should be reauthorized amid ongoing foreign and domestic terror threats, Sens. Mark Warner, D-Va., Peter Welch, D-Vt., and Chris Coons, D-Del., all agreed while raising different concerns surrounding Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA).

Congress let the key spying tool that allows American intelligence agencies to electronically spy on foreigners abroad without a warrant to expire on June 12 for the first time since its enactment in 2008. Intelligence officials, however, note that existing surveillance activity can continue because the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court recertified the program through March 2027.

Additionally, Senate Intelligence Chairman Sen. Warner argued to Fox News Digital that “there has not been a lapse” because communications providers remain legally obligated to turn over material to intelligence agencies

REPORTER’S NOTEBOOK: CONGRESS PASSES SHORT-TERM FISA 702 FIX, DELAYS LONG-TERM RENEWAL

“That could end at any point, and why we need to get it renewed,” Warner insisted.

Sen. Welch, while backing renewal of the authority, said lawmakers should ensure protections remain in place for Americans. Some in Congress argue the surveillance could be used to spy on citizens.

“It’s still under consideration with protections for our own civilians, but yeah, it’s a good tool,” Welch told Fox News Digital at the Capitol.

FISA 702 expired earlier in June after Democrats voted against its renewal in protest of President Donald Trump’s appointing of Bill Pulte, head of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, to be acting director of national intelligence (DNI).

Tapping Pulte remains a deeply divisive decision that has drawn widespread concern among lawmakers who point to his lack of experience in the industry as to why he should not have interim access to U.S. intelligence information.

REPS ANDY HARRIS, KEITH SELF, SEN RICK SCOTT: FIX FISA. DON’T SPY ON US

“Yes, we should reauthorize FISA,” Coons said. “I also think Bill Pulte doesn’t belong anywhere near our intelligence system.”

Criticism of Pulte has come from both sides of the aisle, with several Republican senators also questioning his intelligence credentials.

Pulte began in his new role on Friday after Trump forcefully postponed last week’s scheduled Senate Intelligence Committee confirmation hearing for his Director of National Intelligence nominee Jay Clayton. Former DNI Tulsi Gabbard resigned from the position this month due to her husband’s rare cancer diagnosis. 

REPORTER’S NOTEBOOK: LAWMAKERS SCRAMBLE AS FISA FIGHT COMES AT THE WORST POSSIBLE TIME

Trump has also said he will not sign a renewal of Section 702 unless it is tied to the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act, which would require voters provide proof of citizenship and a photo ID to cast a ballot in federal elections.

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“There’s one reason if it’s not renewed, and that’s unfortunately President Trump,” Warner said. 

This sets up a stalemate as several Democrats have said they will not support reauthorizing Section 702 while Pulte remains Trump’s acting DNI pick.

The FBI has identified two additional suspects in the alleged plot targeting the UFC Freedom 250 event in Washington, D.C., bringing the total number of publicly identified defendants to seven.

Newly unsealed court records identify Missouri resident Jordan W. Rincker and Washington state resident William Lee Spartacus Falkner as alleged members of the conspiracy. Prosecutors say Rincker allegedly helped fund and facilitate the operation, while Falkner allegedly discussed procuring and operating drones intended for use in the attack.

Five suspects previously were charged in the case in recent days. Investigators allege the group planned to use explosive-laden drones to trigger a mass evacuation of the June 14 event before directing fleeing crowds toward prepositioned shooters. FBI officials previously told Fox News Digital that a “second wave” was then expected to target the White House gate.

Falkner allegedly joined a Telegram chat devoted to drone operations June 7 and communicated with other alleged conspirators about drone procurement, tactics and the use of explosives, according to the Washington state complaint. 

5 CHILLING DETAILS FROM THE ALLEGED WHITE HOUSE ATTACK PLOT TIED TO UFC EVENT

Prosecutors allege Falkner discussed obtaining multiple drones through a network of contacts and argued that “the more drones the better.” Court records also allege he exchanged messages about drone payloads, anti-jamming measures, fiber optics controls and the number of drones needed to carry out the attack.

The complaint alleges Falkner claimed he could obtain drones capable of carrying heavy explosive payloads and discussed coordinating their acquisition with other members of the group.

According to the complaint, Falkner allegedly participated in a Telegram channel known as “D Ops” dedicated to the conspiracy’s alleged drone operation. In one exchange cited by prosecutors, a co-conspirator allegedly wrote that the group was “down to 7 days” before the attack and discussed obtaining multiple drones for the operation.

Images of the new suspects were not immediately available. 

The newly unsealed affidavit also suggests investigators were examining whether members of the group discussed a potential future attack targeting a FIFA World Cup match scheduled for July 3 in Kansas City, Missouri. 

In the filing, an FBI agent wrote that he believed messages exchanged by alleged ringleader Abraham Hermosillo Alvarez referenced the event and encouraged co-conspirators to prepare to travel to Missouri around the July 4 holiday.

Prosecutors said the plotters met around March through a TikTok community known as “Vanguard of the Old” where participants shared workout videos and tactical content before moving to encrypted Signal chats.

According to the newly unsealed complaint, members of the conspiracy allegedly agreed to commit murder on the White House grounds and surrounding area during the UFC Freedom 250 event. The complaint alleges the conspiracy operated from approximately March through June 21.

Federal investigators allege members acquired firearms, ammunition, ballistic gear and other tactical equipment in preparation for the attack. 

The complaint claims Tycen Proper allegedly acquired several boxes of ammunition, plate carriers, rifles and tactical clothing, while Daniel Eskridge allegedly obtained multiple firearms, a helmet and a ballistic vest.

‘SOMETHING BIG’: FEDS REVEAL HOW RELATIVES OF SUSPECTS IN FOILED WHITE HOUSE UFC PLOT SAW WARNING SIGNS

The newly unsealed filing also says that Eskridge allegedly shared a photograph of tactical equipment, including a rifle, helmet and ballistic vest, with co-conspirators on the encrypted messaging platform SimpleX in May.

Prosecutors allege Rincker played a logistical role in the conspiracy. 

He allegedly accepted a $1,200 cash payment from co-defendant Alvarez, allegedly sent Bryan Omar Roa $100 to help fund Roa’s drive from California to Washington and allegedly transferred a pump-action shotgun to Alvarez during an in-person meeting, according to the complaint. 

The complaint further claims that Roa allegedly began driving from California to Washington on June 11 to participate in the attack.

The plot was allegedly disrupted after the mother of Proper, a 19-year-old Ohio defendant in the case, called in a tip to the FBI.

A seizure of Proper’s phone helped investigators identify other members of the alleged network.

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Investigators say the network extended well beyond the five men initially charged. Proper’s phone contained a primary Signal chat with approximately 19 alleged participants, according to court records, along with smaller operational chat groups organized by role and location.

Tensions reportedly boiled over between federal agencies over the decision to make the case public. 

FBI Deputy Director Chris Raia told Fox News Digital Monday that the initial five arrests targeted the individuals investigators viewed as the most dangerous members of the alleged conspiracy and that any additional arrests would likely involve suspects who played lesser roles in the plot.

“We made a bunch of probable cause arrests before the (UFC) event, we assured the event was safe,” Raia said. “We were watching a whole bunch of others to ensure that nobody had come to nobody had come to DC. But we’re continuing to make those cases. And so that’s why you’re seeing folks get kind of picked off.”

Fox News’ Jake Gibson contributed to this report.