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CONCORD, N.H. – As he formally launched a long-shot Democratic primary challenge against President Biden on Friday, Rep. Dean Phillips criticized the president’s border policies.

The moderate three-term Democrat lawmaker from a suburban Minneapolis, Minnesota, district praised much of Biden’s work as president but had harsh words for his party regarding the crisis at the southern border.

“Right now, having been to the southern border twice, it is not secure. It is inhumane. It is not fair to those who are seeking refuge,” Philips told reporters after filing to place his name on the primary ballot in New Hampshire. 

THIS DEMOCRATIC CONGRESSMAN IS CHALLENGING PRESIDENT BIDEN FOR THE 2024 DEMOCRATIC NOMINATION

Illegal immigration and border security have long been top of mind for Republican voters, and GOP leaders and politicians for two and a half years have heavily criticized President Biden’s administration over the surge in border crossings by migrants.

But increasingly, Democrats are also speaking out.

“It is not fair to our border patrol agents who have shown extraordinary mercy and humanity in ways that I wish more Americans saw. And they’ve been demeaned by Democrats,” Phillips argued. “For someone to accuse those who care about border security as being racist, I think those people are being inhumane, and I think we can do better.”

Pointing to his service on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Phillips argued that America is not using aid money effectively. 

“It’s wasted. It fuels corruption in a lot of places. Why do we not invest in the very countries from which migrants are coming because they’re persecuted, feel unsafe, or have no opportunity,” he said.

“Why don’t we use American resources upstream to invest in those countries, so people have a safe place, they have opportunity, they have shelter and do not need to pour across our border,” he added.

WHO IS DEAN PHILLIPS? FIVE THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT BIDEN’S DEMOCRATIC PRIMARY CHALLENGER

Phillips, a millionaire businessman and co-founder of a gelato company who is one of the wealthiest members of Congress, technically launched his campaign on Thursday, as he filed paperwork with the Federal Election Commission to set up his presidential campaign, and launched his website.

On Friday, after filing at the Statehouse in Concord, New Hampshire, he gave a speech at a small rally as he stood in front of his campaign bus.

“I am the Democratic candidate who can win the 2024 election,” Phillips said, referring to polls that suggest former President Donald Trump edging Biden in a 2024 hypothetical general election matchup.

Phillip’s bid comes as the 80-year-old Biden continues to suffer from underwater approval ratings among many Americans. 

While the president is the commanding front-runner for his party’s 2024 nomination, polls indicate Biden faces mounting concerns from Democrats over his age.

Phillips, citing the president’s age, in recent months has criticized Biden for “not passing the torch” to the next generation of Democratic leaders.

“I’m here to celebrate the president. This might surprise many of you – I admire President Biden. I think he saved our country four years ago. At that time, he was the only one who could have done so,” he told reporters on Friday. 

The White House, when asked earlier this week about Phillips’ expected candidacy, pointed to the lawmaker’s “almost 100% support of this president.”

Phillips on Friday responded that “yes, I voted for his polices. I’m a Democrat. I’m a proud Democrat.”

But he emphasized that “President Biden has served for fifty years in Washington. I think I was three years old when he became a United States senator.”

“People are struggling immensely,” he stressed. “We have passed very important policies, but it is not nearly enough.”

Phillips said Biden’s “a good man. That’s not why I’m doing this. I’m doing this because I’m listening to people all around the country who say they want a change. They want a new generation. That it’s time to go to the future. . . . I’m part of a different generation that’s looking ahead.”

Asked by Fox News whether he’ll support the party’s eventual nominee, regardless of who it is, Phillips said: “I think it’s terribly important that a Democrat win this election, and I will do anything – I will give everything I have, every moment of my time, every ounce of my energy, to ensure that that nominee, whether it be me of course, President Biden or somebody else, becomes president. I think it is that existential.”

He also emphasized that he would not support any third-party candidate for president.

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The Biden campaign, in a statement, said that “President Biden is proud of the historic, unified support he has from across the Democratic Party for his re-election. The stakes of next year’s election could not be higher for the American people, and the campaign is hard at work mobilizing the winning coalition that President Biden can uniquely bring together to once again beat the MAGA Republicans next November.”

With New Hampshire expected to hold a primary out of compliance with the Democratic National Committee’s revamped 2024 nominating calendar, Biden will not be appearing on the ballot.

On Tuesday, the president’s 2024 re-election campaign announced that Biden would not file to place his name on New Hampshire’s ballot. Top Democrats in the state now plan to mount a write-in effort on behalf of the president.

But even without Biden on the ballot in New Hampshire, Phillips faces an uphill climb to unseat the incumbent president for the party’s nomination.

“I’m the underdog. I’m the longshot. I’m at a massive disadvantage,” he acknowledged.

But he called Biden’s skipping of the primary “disappointing” and pledged, if elected president, to restore New Hampshire’s lead-off primary position in the Democratic nominating calendar.

“I believe in tradition. I think that our entire country can and must learn from New Hampshire. I think it’s the most civically engaged state in the country,” he highlighted.

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

I asked a former colleague what William Shakespeare might say about the meandering journey to elect a new House speaker.

“A true ‘Comedy of Errors,’” came the response.

If this was “Twelfth Night,” the House would have wrapped this up a long time ago.

It certainly wasn’t “Much Ado About Nothing.”

HOW THE GOP CONFERENCE CAME TOGETHER TO ELECT MIKE JOHNSON AS SPEAKER, DESPITE MCCARTHY MEDDLING

Perhaps the marathon quest to choose a speaker was like “As You Like It?”

However, it was thought that after the hurly-burly, the House might actually re-elect its deposed leader, former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., after it dethroned him. There were even charges that McCarthy and his allies were trying to execute a return to power behind the scenes.

Now that would be Shakespearean.

House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., seized the GOP’s nomination for speaker for four hours and ten minutes on Tuesday, before withdrawing.

Former President Trump made sure of that.

“Tom Emmer, it looks like he’s finished. He was not a supporter. He was a RINO,” thundered Mr. Trump.

One might say there was some semblance of “Richard III” once the former president got involved. 

Others piled on.

“I can’t go along with putting one of the most moderate members of the entire Republican Conference in the speaker’s chair,” argued Rep. Jim Banks, R-Ind. “That betrays the conservative values that I came here to fight for.”

“There are some people criticizing him for that, which I think is wrong,” said Fitzpatrick. 

“He didn’t object to Joe Biden’s Electoral College votes. He voted with the Democrats to overturn President Trump’s ban on transgenders in the military,” said Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga. 

“The voter base, I think they’re making it pretty clear they don’t want Tom Emmer to be speaker,” said Rep. Eli Crane, R-Ariz., of Emmer. 

Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Penn., said that Republicans tore Emmer up because he had voted to certify the 2020 presidential election results. 

“All’s Well, that Ends Well?” Hardly. 

The former colleague wrote that Congress had officially entered “‘Othello’ status” once Emmer bowed out. 

McCarthy, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., Jordan and Emmer.

To be, or not to be was certainly the question for this quartet.

GOP LEADERS CELEBRATE CLEARING MAJOR GOVERNMENT FUNDING HURDLE JUST A DAY AFTER JOHNSON WAS ELECTED SPEAKER

But as Cassius said to Brutus in “Julius Caesar,” “It’s not in the stars to hold our destiny but in ourselves.” 

Shakespeare and politics are among my favorite subjects, but I truly didn’t think any of the aforementioned plays or quotations from the Bard quite did the mayhem over the speakership justice.

So, I brushed up my Shakespeare.

I finally landed on what is perhaps Shakespeare’s most obscure work: “Pericles, Prince of Tyre.”

“Pericles” isn’t a household name like “Hamlet” or “King Lear.” It’s rarely performed. In fact, academics question whether Shakespeare even wrote the whole thing.

The reason “Pericles” is held in such low regard: the play is messy. The text is jangly. The plot is uneven. The production is difficult to stage. The show drifts aimlessly into an odyssey with action unfolding in six distinct locales. It’s challenging for the audience to grasp the importance of each setting.

Like Pericles, the speaker drama was episodic. For Act I, the scene was set in McCarthy-land. Then set sail for Scalise-land. Then Jordan-land (or should it just be “Jordan”?). Then, Emmer-ville. Finally, the House arrived in “Johnson Parish” with the election of House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La.

Who?

Johnson is to the speakership as to what “Pericles” is to the Shakespeare canon.

We’re not talking about Sam Rayburn or Tip O’Neill here.

“Pericles” is one of Shakespeare’s shorter plays at a mere 2,462 lines. By contrast, “Hamlet“ is Shakespeare’s longest work. It clocks in at more than 4,000 lines — but a meager 18 characters.

There are 24 characters in “Pericles.” In all of the iterations of the October speaker sweepstakes, an astonishing 14 Republicans were declared candidates for the job at one time or another. A total of 15 different people received votes for speaker on the floor. 

Shakespearean scholars have even struggled to classify the obscure play. Is it a comedy? Is it a tragedy? Many theatrical experts identify “Periclese” as a “tragicomedy.”

SPEAKER JOHNSON SUPPORTS $14B FOR ISRAEL, BUT SAYS AMERICA ‘CANNOT BE DROPPING MONEY OUT OF HELICOPTERS’

The same could be said about the election of speaker. 

The show begins with Pericles hearing a riddle. A king offers his beautiful daughter to marry anyone who answers the riddle correctly. But they will be killed if they are wrong.

Pericles knows that he will die if he botches the answer to the riddle, but he knows the answer. The king is having an incestuous relationship with his daughter. Thus, Pericles concludes that if he tells the truth, he will be killed, too.

That kind of “damned if you do, damned if you don’t” paradox is the quintessence of the modern speakership. McCarthy faced one fate if he were to fail to lift the debt ceiling or avoid a government shutdown. And if he faced another doomed fate if he . . . .

Well, the rest is history.

Mike Johnson faces the same conundrum as McCarthy.

If he moves to avoid a government shutdown . . . .

But if he doesn’t meet certain conservative demands on government funding . . . .

Republicans spent weeks jogging from one candidate to another, holding forth a vision to elect one Speaker but then dashing those chances just hours later. For instance, Republicans bounced Jordan because of his behind-the-scenes threats and bullying.

“Who makes the fairest show means most deceit,” wrote Shakespeare in “Pericles.”

Republicans swapped out Jordan for Emmer. Emmer’s nomination for speaker lasted four hours. That didn’t even qualify as a one-act. Perhaps a sonnet for Emmer.

Some experts believe that George Wilkins wrote the first two acts of “Pericles.” He then might have brought in the Bard to clean things up and write the final acts.

There are parallels with that on Capitol Hill.

McCarthy started the show. Then, after lots of drama, the House recruited Johnson to finish.

On Johnson’s first full day on the job, the speaker found himself rushing to a meeting at the Capitol with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.

“Did you think that would be your first task as speaker,” I asked Johnson

“I did not,” he replied with a smile.

Thursday was emblematic of the frenzied nature of the speakership. At one moment, Johnson was huddling with Albanese. A few minutes later, he spoke off the cuff to the press corps about the shootings in Maine. By afternoon, Johnson was at the White House with other Congressional leaders discussing the Middle East and Ukraine.

The day was as discordant as the scenes in “Pericles.” 

Perhaps the best quotation to sum up Johnson’s challenge appears not in “Pericles,” but “The Tempest.”

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“What’s past is prologue,” wrote the Bard in Act II, Scene 1 of “The Tempest.”

For the House, a new guy. But the same members. And the same problems.

Stick around for the next act.

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

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What’s happening:

– Manhunt for Maine mass shooting suspect continues. Get the latest updates on the search and the tragedy.

– Jews in New York City warned to avoid ‘Flood Brooklyn for Gaza’ protest. Follow Fox News for the latest updates on the Israel-Hamas conflict.

Biden’s Challenger

Democratic Rep. Dean Phillips officially launched his challenge President Biden Friday. Phillips has prophesied that Democrats will face an ‘emergency’ next year if Biden is at the top of the ticket, given the president’s age, accusations of mental and physical decline, and underwater approval ratings. 

But Phillips’ long-shot bid has hardly any support among his Democratic colleagues. It’s unclear whether Democratic voters will be more supportive of his candidacy.

Phillips isn’t the first Democrat to launch a presidential campaign against Biden. Self-help author Marrianne Williamson is still running, and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. initially launched as a Democrat, but recently switched to run as an independent.

Five things to know about Rep. Dean Phillips …Read more

CAUGHT AGAIN: Biden holds another reporter cheat sheet …Read more

PRIORITIES: Biden State Dept faces backlash for ‘Intersex Awareness Day’ statement …Read more

GUN GRAB? Harris praises country’s near-ban on firearms …Read more

Israel at War

NO CITING TERRORISTS: White House battles reporters as it rejects Hamas’ Gaza death count …Read more

MAJOR REVISIONS: Top Biden official’s on Middle East significantly revised after Hamas attack …Read more

‘GENOCIDE IS HAPPENING’: Hollywood agent who posted anti-Israel message donated heavily to Kamala Harris, Dems …Read more

UN-ITY?: British minister sees progress in rallying for Israel at UN …Read more

‘HOTBEDS OF ANTISEMITISM’: Dems and GOP lawmakers join forces to crack down on anti-Israel protests at colleges …Read more

Across America

‘IT’S DANGEROUS’: Gretchen Whitmer, Michigan Dems are quietly ramming through a Green New Deal …Read more

DRAWING BOARD: Judge says Georgia’s congressional and legislative districts are discriminatory and must be redrawn …Read more

ANOTHER OUT: Presidential candidate leaves the race, offers endorsement …Read more

STAYING OUT OF IT: US attorney for California said he declined to co-counsel with Weiss on Hunter Biden probe …Read more

BACK IN BUSINESS?: House goes in for mutual punishments after speaker elected …Read more

SURPRISE VISITS: House Republicans take credit for stopping surprise IRS visits on taxpayers …Read more

Capitol Hill

A QUESTION OF FAITH: New Speaker Mike Johnson’s appeal to ‘God,’ ‘the Bible’ on House floor sparks debate …Read more

TIME IS MONEY: Speaker Johnson celebrates big government funding victory …Read more

‘NOT GUILTY’: GOP lawmaker arraigned in NY court on new fraud indictment …Read more

MORE QUESTIONS: Security footage of ‘Squad’ Democrat pulling fire alarm released …Read more

PLEA FOR PROTECTION: Trespasser arrested twice at RFK Jr’s home in same day …Read more

Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more on FoxNews.com.

FIRST ON FOX: The House Judiciary Committee’s select subcommittee on government weaponization says the IRS rolled back unannounced visits to U.S. taxpayers after pressure from the panel.

“The Committee’s and Select Subcommittee’s oversight revealed, and led to the swift end of, the IRS’s weaponization of unannounced field visits to harass, intimidate, and target taxpayers,” the Republican-led report said.

“Taxpayers can now rest assured the IRS will not come knocking without providing prior notice—something that should have been the IRS’s practice all along.”

The 22-page document focuses on two instances in which the IRS is accused of abusing its policy, including one in which a tax agent is accused of entering someone’s home under false pretenses. 

IRS CONSULTANT CHARGED WITH DISCLOSING TAX RETURNS OF TRUMP AND NATION’S ‘WEALTHIEST INDIVIDUALS’ TO MEDIA

An IRS agent purportedly introduced himself as “Bill Haus” to a woman only identified as a “Marion County, Ohio taxpayer” when coming to her home in April this year. After allowing him inside, he allegedly told her that she owed a substantial amount of money on an estate she owned.

“Prior to the visit, however, the taxpayer had not received any notice from the IRS of an outstanding balance on the estate,” the report said.

After the taxpayer showed documents disputing that she owed any money, the report said, “Agent ‘Haus’ conceded that the true purpose of his visit was not due to any issue with the decedent’s estate, rather Agent ‘Haus’ was at the taxpayer’s home because the decedent allegedly had several delinquent tax return filings.”

IRS LOOKS TO HIRE 3,700 NEW AGENTS TO CRACK DOWN ON WEALTHY TAX CHEATS

A footnote on the report stated that the agent’s supervisor confirmed the taxpayer had nothing due and just one delinquent filing from 2016.

The woman called her lawyer after being asked to fill out sensitive tax documents, upon which her attorney “immediately and repeatedly told Agent ‘Haus’ to leave the taxpayer’s home since the taxpayer had not received any prior notice from the IRS of any issue with the decedent’s estate or delinquent tax returns.”

“Agent ‘Haus’ responded aggressively, insisting, ‘I am an IRS agent, I can be at and go into anyone’s house at any time I want to be.’ At the end of his unannounced visit, Agent ‘Haus’ told the taxpayer he would mail her paperwork for her to execute and threatened that she would have exactly one week to satisfy the remaining balance or he would freeze all her assets and put a lien on her house,” the report said.

The woman contacted police after the visit, who later found that the agent did work for the IRS — but that “Bill Haus” was not his real name. His supervisor apologized to her the following May, the report said.

IRS WARNS TAXPAYERS OF NEW MAILING REFUND SCAM

The other incident mentioned is involves journalist Matt Taibbi, whose home received a surprise IRS visit while he was in Washington, D.C. testifying about social media censorship uncovered by the “Twitter Files.” 

“The IRS’s dossier on Mr. Taibbi included information such as Mr. Taibbi’s voter registration records, whether he possessed a hunting or fishing license, and whether he had a concealed weapons permit. The revenue officer also examined and saved Mr. Taibbi’s Wikipedia page, which contained extensive details about Mr. Taibbi’s work on the Twitter Files,” the report said.

“Instead of reinitiating contact with Mr. Taibbi by less intrusive means after several years had passed since he filed his 2018 return, the revenue officer scheduled its field visit for March 9, 2023-the day Mr. Taibbi was to testify before Congress.”

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The IRS announced in late July that it “will end most unannounced visits…to reduce public confusion and enhance overall safety measures for taxpayers and employees.”

But the GOP report heaped doubt on that explanation for reducing the practice. 

“The IRS’s attempt to justify its decision as being in the best interest of the safety of its revenue officers lacks concrete evidence. To the extent this data does exist, the IRS has not made it publicly available or supplied it to the Committee or Select Subcommittee,” it said.

A judge in New York has ruled Friday that Ivanka Trump must take the stand as a witness in the civil case brought against her father, brothers and the Trump Organization – their family business.

The ruling comes after Ivanka Trump was dismissed as a defendant in the case in June. New York Attorney General Letitia James, a Democrat, brought a lawsuit against former President Trump last September alleging he and his company misled banks and others about the value of his assets. 

Judge Arthur Engoron sided with state attorneys who had argued that Ivanka, the former Trump Organization executive vice president, has relevant information to provide in the case. He cited documents showing that Ivanka Trump continued to have ties to some businesses in New York and still owns Manhattan apartments, according to The Associated Press. 

“Ms. Trump has clearly availed herself of the privilege of doing business in New York,” Engoron said. He said her testimony would not be scheduled before Nov. 1, to give her lawyers time to appeal. 

NEW YORK APPEALS COURT NARROWS NYAG CASE, DISMISSES IVANKA TRUMP AS A DEFENDANT, CUTS STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS

Ivanka Trump’s lawyer, Bennet Moskowitz, told the judge Friday that state lawyers “just don’t have jurisdiction over her.” 

“The idea that somehow Ms. Trump is under the control of the Trump Organization or any of the defendants, her father — anyone who has raised a daughter past the age of 13 knows that they’re not under their control,” Christopher Kise, a lawyer for former President Trump, also told the AP. 

Kise maintained that state lawyers “just want another free-for-all on another of President Trump’s children.” 

However, Kevin Wallace, a lawyer for the New York State Attorney General’s Office, told the AP that, “She is 100% someone who can come in and testify.” 

ACLU BACKS TRUMP IN FIGHT AGAINST DC JUDGE’S GAG ORDER 

James claimed that Trump and his children, Donald Jr., Ivanka and Eric, as well as his associates and businesses, allegedly committed “numerous acts of fraud and misrepresentation” on their financial statements.

James alleged Trump “inflated his net worth by billions of dollars” and said his children helped him to do so. 

When Trump was president, James sued his administration dozens of times, challenging policies on the environment, immigration, education, health care and other issues. 

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Trump has denied any wrongdoing and has said the investigation is politically motivated and a “witch hunt.” 

Fox News’ Brooke Singman and The Associated Press contributed to this report.  

House Republican leaders are touting a major victory in passing another of their 12 spending bills on Thursday, just a day after Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., was sworn in to lead the chamber.

“This is the first step in getting our appropriations done,” Johnson told Fox News Digital in a statement on Thursday evening. 

“I promised we were going to get back to work for the American people and today we proved it.”

The Energy and Water Development appropriations bill, which funds the Department of Energy and other related matters, passed with almost no Republican opposition.

GOP Conference Chair Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., said the bill “eliminates billions in wasteful funding for unrelated Green New Deal policies” and “prioritizes funding to maintain strong national security.”

WHY JORDAN FAILED TO WIN SPEAKERSHIP IN FIRST ROUND, LOSING 20 REPUBLICANS

Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., said on X, “House Republicans just passed our FY24 Energy and Water appropriations bill which prioritizes fiscal responsibility while unleashing American energy. Meanwhile, how many appropriations bills has the Schumer Senate passed? Hint: The answer is still zero.”

The bill cuts federal spending in that sector by roughly $857 billion from this year’s funding levels. It is the fifth appropriations bill House Republicans have passed and the first under Johnson’s tenure. 

THE CHAOTIC, CONVOLUTED PATH HOUSE REPUBLICANS TOOK TO ELECT A SPEAKER LEADS BACK TO SQUARE ONE

Republican lawmakers appear to be forging ahead with a new sense of unity and optimism after coming together to unanimously elect Johnson earlier this week. 

The House had been deadlocked for nearly a month following the ouster of ex-Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., by a majority vote of eight Republicans and all House Democrats.

Federal spending has been a major contention point for House Republicans thus far, with members on different sides of the ideological spectrum clashing at times over funding levels and various amendments.

Government funding was meant to run out on Oct. 1, but McCarthy shepherded a stopgap extension known as a continuing resolution through the House at the 11th hour, narrowly avoiding a shutdown. It gave lawmakers until Nov. 17 to cobble together 12 individual spending bills.

Johnson acknowledged the deadline was “coming quickly” in a Thursday evening interview on “Hannity.” 

“We’re speeding it up as quickly as possible. That was my commitment to my colleagues when they named me speaker of the House,” Johnson said. “We passed one of the appropriations bills just a couple of hours ago…that was a big box that we had to check and we did that.”

FLASHBACK: CALLS MOUNT FOR ‘HOUSE SPEAKER DONALD TRUMP’

The speaker acknowledged that another continuing resolution may be needed to buy more time to pass the remaining seven appropriations bills but signaled that it would need to have “certain conditions,” rather than a clean extension of the previous Democrat-held Congress’ funding priorities. 

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Just before the speaker vote on Wednesday, Johnson laid out a plan to colleagues with deadlines for getting the remaining funding bills to the floor.

Even if passed before the deadline, however, the House would still need to find middle ground with the Democrat-controlled Senate — which is marking up its appropriations bills to a top line that is roughly $120 billion higher than the House GOP’s.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom was in China meeting with CCP President Xi Jinping earlier this week leading many to wonder, including a congressman from his own state, whether he is running a “shadow” campaign for president in case Democrats ultimately look for an alternative to President Biden as crises pile up on his watch at home and abroad.

The California Democrat met with Xi and other Chinese officials as part of a week-long trip he said was aimed at discussing the threat of climate change and “renewing our friendship and reengaging (on) foundational and fundamental issues that will determine our collective faith in the future.”

Newsom faced criticism as a result of his trip from people who said that homelessness, crime, and fentanyl are more pressing problems in the Golden State and one GOP congressman spoke both to Fox News Digital and through a social media post to suggest Newsom has the presidency on his mind via a “shadow campaign.”

“The track record is not good for him to be gallivanting around the world doing basically a shadow campaign for president, just waiting for the moment when they finally decide to throw Biden under the bus,” Rep. Doug LaMalfa, R-Calif., said, referring to Newsom as the “backup quarterback” and Biden as the “starter.”

CALIFORNIA GOV. NEWSOM, A TOP BIDEN 2024 SURROGATE, MAKES HIGH-PROFILE TRIPS TO ISRAEL, CHINA

LaMalfa told Fox News Digital that his constituents in California are more concerned with wildfires, water storage, businesses fleeing the state, high taxes, and deteriorating freeways than they are with climate change.

“I remind folks that carbon dioxide is only 0.04% of our atmosphere and that the contribution by the US is a tiny percentage of that,” LaMalfa said. “And the transportation sector and others is a tiny percentage of that. So chasing this carbon thing is just a means with which the government can further take over our economy and our choices.”

LaMalfa went on to say he recently spoke to a moderate California Democrat colleague who seemed “not very excited” about Newsom, pointing out that Newsom is “slick” with many “rehearsed talking points” that could easily “dupe” voters.

“This trip here, he’s trying to build a base,” LaMalfa said. “He’s running the back channels until Biden takes himself out and the party says man we’re going to get killed on this.”

“With Trump looking more and more like a likely nominee pulling ahead in most places from what I’ve seen then the Dems are, I think I saw in our notes here, that they would need to break the glass and reach in for the Newsom fire extinguisher.”

LaMalfa was one of several California Republicans who blasted Newsom showing off a $160K Chinese electric vehicle earlier this week. 

Newsom’s trip to China was the second trip in recent weeks that reignited theories that he is positioning himself for higher office. Last week, Newsom traveled to Israel and met with leaders and victims of the Oct. 7 Hamas terror attack.

In addition to the statesmanlike trip to China and Israel, Newsom has kept a high profile over the last few months including a role as a Biden surrogate at the most recent GOP presidential debate in California and a much talked about challenge to debate Florida governor and presidential candidate Ron DeSantis on Fox News at the end of November, which DeSantis accepted.

MARIO LOPEZ BLASTS GAVIN NEWSOM FOR BEING TOUGHER ON ‘SKITTLES’ IN CALIFORNIA THAN DRUGS AND HOMELESSNESS

Newsom has also been active when it comes to policy in recent months.

He recently called on the Supreme Court to review a ruling preventing states from removing homeless encampments. He vetoed a bill that would have decriminalized psychedelic mushrooms earlier this month and also vetoed a bill that would have forced employers to provide earlier notices of mass layoffs.

He has also recently signed legislation promoting LGBT inclusion, requiring companies to provide emission information, and a law to “overhaul” the state’s mental health system.

CALIFORNIA GOV. GAVIN NEWSOM SIGNS BILL ALLOWING SOME MEXICAN RESIDENTS NEAR BORDER TO GET IN-STATE TUITION

Newsom’s recent trips abroad and focus on policy over the last couple months comes as Biden continues to see crises piling up on his watch, including the border crisis, inflation, skyrocketing crime in major cities, and major foreign policy failures, including the botched Afghanistan withdrawal. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) announced this past weekend that migrant numbers at the southern border for the month of September had reached new levels with the highest monthly encounters on record as well as the highest fiscal year total on record, in a significant blow to the administration’s border strategy.

A recent poll found that nearly two-thirds of New Yorkers blame President Biden for the migrant crisis, raising national security, financial and other concerns in the Empire State. Other polls over the last few months have shown that voters are concerned about Biden’s age and his physical fitness. 

A Monmouth University poll released earlier this month showed that 76% of voters agreed Biden, 80, was “too old” to serve another term, compared to just 48% who said the same about Trump, 77. 

LaMalfa wasn’t alone in his speculation that Newsom is positioning himself for higher office evidenced by a flurry of social media speculation in recent days.

“Newsom is currently in China, running a shadow campaign for the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination, just in case President Biden succumbs to the realities of his age and waning mental capacity,” columnist Derek Hunter wrote in an opinion piece for The Hill this week. 

“It is yet another GIANT indicator that Gavin Newsom will indeed run for president next year,” Fox News Contributor Tomi Lahren posted on X.

“Why is the Governor of California going to China to meet with their dictator?” Conservative commentator Benny Johnson posted on X. “Why is the Governor of California going to Israel during wartime? Democrats want to replace Joe Biden.”

Fox News’ “Outnumbered” co-host Kayleigh McEnany appeared on “Jesse Watters Primetime” earlier this week to weigh in on the Newsom China trip, telling Watters the trip is part of a “shadow presidential campaign.” The former White House press secretary went on to say Newsom “is not an idiot” and that Biden has had multiple foreign policy failures, adding, “Who trusts him to manage our way out of this crisis in the Middle East?”

Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., who is running for president, speculated during a recent Ruthless Podcast episode that  the Democrats are “grooming someone” to be a “back-up plan” to Biden and suggested Newsom might be their choice based on recent interviews.

Vivek Ramaswamy, another Republican presidential candidate, said Newsom’s trip to China was political, telling Iowans that he believed Newsom was campaigning for president “in disguise.”

“Gavin Newsom wants to run for president in 2024, that much is clear,” Democrat pollster Doug Schoen wrote this summer. “The California governor would not be campaigning for President Joe Biden in red states with 16 months until the presidential election if he wasn’t trying to prove his own political bona fides and build a future base of national support for himself.”

Democratic strategist James Carville sounded the alarm during a recent interview with The Washington Post, saying it was “ludicrous” to avoid debating Biden’s viability next year.

“The idea that this should not be aired out and should be discussed in hushed tones is ludicrous,” Carville said of Biden. “This needs to be discussed.”

Newsom has denied he’s running for president when asked and told NewsNation’s Chris Cuomo in September that he’s “not worthy of that conversation” and that Biden “deserves it.”

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Kevin Munoz, a spokesperson for the Biden campaign, pushed back against speculation about Newsom by telling NBC News that “Republicans peddling blatantly false conspiracy theories is nothing new” and that these “lies don’t change the fact that Joe Biden will again beat MAGA Republicans and their twice-rejected agenda in 2024 as his party’s nominee for president.”

Fox News Digital reached out to the White House, the Biden campaign, and a representative for Newsom, but they did not respond to requests for comment.

Fox News’ Adam Shaw, Danielle Wallace, and Brandon Gillespie contributed reporting.

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

CONCORD, N.H. – Rep. Dean Phillips of Minnesota is jumping into the 2024 White House race with a long-shot Democratic primary challenge against President Biden.

The campaign launch by the millionaire businessman and co-founder of a gelato company turned three-term House Democrat comes as the 80-year-old president continues to suffer from underwater approval ratings among many Americans and faces serious concerns over his physical and mental stamina.

Phillips filed paperwork with the Federal Election Commission on Thursday to officially set up his presidential campaign, and his website www.dean24.com went live in the evening.

“I am excited to announce my candidacy for President in 2024. It’s time to put our country back together again – and use our differences to make us stronger. It’s time to repair America,” Phillips said in a launch video posted on social media on Thursday evening.

BIDEN BREAKS CENTURY OLD TRADITION AS HE FORGOES FILING FOR THE PRIMARY IN THIS STATE

And when asked in an interview with CBS News if he’s running for president, the 54-year-old Phillips answered “I am. I have to.” The recorded interview is scheduled to be broadcast Friday morning.

Friday morning is also when Phillips, who represents a congressional district in suburban Minneapolis, will formally declare his candidacy in New Hampshire, the state that for a century’s held the first primary in the presidential nominating calendar.

Phillips, one of the wealthiest members of Congress, is scheduled to hold a campaign launch event outside the New Hampshire Statehouse in Concord. And Phillips will enter the Statehouse and file at the Secretary of State’s office to place his name on the New Hampshire’s presidential primary ballot.

A bus decorated with “Dean Phillips for President” was headed to New Hampshire earlier in the week, and is expected to take the candidate on a tour.

Phillips, citing the president’s age, has repeatedly criticized Biden for “not passing the torch” to the next generation of Democratic leaders and urged that a serious primary contender challenge the president for the party’s 2024 nomination.

CHECK OUT THE LATEST FOX NEWS 2024 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION POLLING

When no other Democrats considered running against Biden, Phillips began to consider himself for the mission. Earlier this month, he told MPR (Minnesota Public Radio) News that “it’s healthy to have alternatives. I think voters are demanding it.”

And in his CBS News interview, Phillips pointed to recent polling suggesting that former President Donald Trump is edging Biden in hypothetical 2024 general election matchups.

“I think President Biden has done a spectacular job for our country,” Phillips said. “But it’s not about the past. This is an election about the future.”

While the president is the commanding front-runner for his party’s 2024 nomination, polls indicate Biden faces mounting concerns from Democrats over his age. Those surveys also suggest that many Americans – including plenty of Democrats – don’t want the president to seek a second term in the White House.

The White House, when asked earlier this week about Phillip’s expected candidacy, pointed to the lawmaker’s “almost 100% support of this president.”

Phillips — who recently stepped away from his leadership role as co-chair of the Democratic Policy and Communications Committee due to his potential White House bid — let lapse a September deadline he set for himself to decide whether he would launch a primary challenge against the president. And last week he missed a deadline to place his name on the ballot in Nevada, which is holding its presidential primary on Feb. 6 in the Democratic Party’s nominating calendar.

According to the Democratic National Committee (DNC), which earlier this year upended years of tradition by revamping their longstanding nominating calendar, Nevada’s supposed to vote second, along with New Hampshire, three days after South Carolina’s Feb. 3 kickoff primary. 

NEW HAMPSHIRE’S SUNUNU SAYS 2024 RACE IS ‘WIDE OPEN’ IN FIRST PRIMARY STATE

The revised scheduled was initially proposed by Biden, who came in a disappointing fifth in the 2020 New Hampshire primary before rebounding in Nevada and South Carolina enroute to winning the nomination and eventually the presidency.

But New Hampshire’s on course move up the date of its primary to late January, in accordance with a state law that mandates the Granite State’s presidential primary is held seven days ahead of a similar contest.

With New Hampshire to hold what is certain to be a primary that’s out of compliance with the DNC’s revamped 2024 nominating calendar, Biden is avoiding the unsanctioned contest.

And on Tuesday, the president’s 2024 re-election campaign announced that Biden would not file to place his name on New Hampshire’s ballot. Top Democrats in the state now plan to mount a write-in effort on behalf of the president.

But there are concerns that anger among Granite Staters to the move by Biden and the DNC to revamp the nominating calendar, and the president’s absence from the primary ballot, could serve as another distraction for Biden as he marches towards re-nomination.

Longtime New Hampshire Democratic Party chair Ray Buckley, who recently took a call from Phillips, told Fox News that “both polling and grassroots interactions in New Hampshire reveal a high level of support for President Biden among the likely voters.”

“It would be a tough challenge for Phillips or anyone. But sure, c’mon on up!,” Buckley says he told Phillips.

The president is already facing a long-shot primary challenge from best-selling author spiritual adviser Marianne Williamson, who is making her second straight White House run.

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Biden was also facing an uphill primary challenge from environmental lawyer and high-profile vaccine critic Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who is a scion of arguably the nation’s most famous family political dynasty.

But Kennedy announced at a campaign event in Philadelphia earlier this month that he would seek the White House as an independent candidate.

The DNC is fully backing Biden, as the president campaigns for re-election. At its winter meeting in February, the DNC unanimously passed a resolution committing its “full and complete support” for the re-election of Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris. Additionally, it has said there will be no primary debates between Biden and any of his challengers.

Williamson, Kennedy and others in the party criticized the DNC and Biden, but there is political precedent for the move. No incumbent president has participated in primary debates in modern times. 

Jim Demers, a longtime New Hampshire-based political consultant and lobbyist who is helping to lead the write-in effort for Biden, terms a primary challenge by Phillips “a ridiculous idea.”

“Democrats in New Hampshire support the president,” Demers told Fox News. “So if his mission is to divide Democrats and help [former President] Donald Trump, then that’s what he’s doing.”

Fox News’ Kellianne Jones contributed to this report

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

Perhaps it was better without a Speaker.

With no Speaker, the House floor was closed.

TRUMP AS HOUSE SPEAKER WOULD BE THE ‘DUCK-BILLED PLATYPUS’ OF POLITICS

Now that the House elected House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), there was an absolute PARADE on the House floor today of lawmakers demanding that the body either expel or sanction their fellow colleagues.

If you’re scoring at home.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) introduced a resolution to censure Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) over her support of the massive anti-Israel rally on Capitol Hill last week which resulted in more than 300 arrests.

That measure comes up next week.

THE CHAOTIC, CONVOLUTED PATH HOUSE REPUBLICANS TOOK TO ELECT A SPEAKER LEADS BACK TO SQUARE ONE

Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R-NY) still wants to expel Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.) – especially after he pleaded guilty to pulling a false fire alarm on Capitol Hill in late September.

New York Republicans introduced a resolution to expel Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.). The House must tangle with that resolution. Some Republicans want Santos gone. Yet other Republicans may move to table or kill the resolution.

Expelling Santos would shave the GOP’s already narrow majority. This is going to be a challenge for Johnson to finesse this.

Finally, Rep. Becca Balint (D-Vt.) has introduced a resolution to censure Greene. The House must also tackle that resolution next week.

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In short, the House is TRULY back in form now that it has a new Speaker and is “open for business.”

Long-shot Republican presidential candidate Larry Elder announced Thursday evening that he had suspended his campaign and immediately endorsed former President Donald Trump.

In a statement, Elder expressed gratitude for his supporters and said he was honored by their enthusiasm and grassroots support. He further explained that after assessing his campaign and the state of the race, he had made the “difficult decision” to suspend his campaign.

“Throughout my campaign, I have been steadfast in my belief that the biggest issues facing our nation are the crisis of fatherlessness, the dangerous lie that America is systemically racist, the need for an amendment to the constitution to set federal spending to a fixed percentage of the GDP — otherwise government gets bigger whether Republicans or Democrats are in charge, and the need to remove the Soros-backed DAs across the country who refuse to enforce the law,” he said in a statement.

“The breakdown of the family structure and the absence of positive father figures in the lives of many children have far-reaching consequences for our society, including the crime wave we are currently seeing in America today,” he continued. “I hope that my campaign has helped shine a light on these critical issues and sparked important conversations about how we can solve them.”

GOP CANDIDATE FACES CALLS TO DROP OUT AFTER MISSING FIRST DEBATE

Elder — a conservative talk radio host who previously ran as a recall candidate to replace Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom — announced he would run for president in April during an interview with Fox News. He explained that he believed he had a “moral, religious and a patriotic duty” to enter the race.

GOP CANDIDATE’S CAMPAIGN ON DEATH WATCH AFTER MISSING SECOND DEBATE

In August, Elder made waves after he threatened to sue the Republican National Committee (RNC) for not including him in the first GOP debate. While the RNC determined Elder had failed to meet the required threshold for number of individual donors and polling, he accused them of purposely silencing him.

“I said from the beginning that it appeared the rules of the game were rigged, little did we know just how rigged it is. For some reason, the establishment leaders at the RNC are afraid of having my voice on the debate stage,” he said in an X post at the time.

However, according to the latest polls, Elder’s support continues to hover at between 0-1%.

And in his statement Thursday, Elder called for Republicans to rally around Trump as their presidential candidate.

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“Now that I am exiting the race, I am proud to announce my endorsement of Donald Trump for President of the United States. His leadership has been instrumental in advancing conservative, America-first principles and policies that have benefited our great nation,” Elder said. “We must unite behind Donald Trump to beat Joe Biden and fight back against Biden’s unprecedented election interference and the left’s destruction of America.

“I want to thank my supporters, volunteers, and donors who invested their time, energy, and resources in this campaign. From Iowa to New Hampshire to Nevada and beyond, I am grateful for the opportunity to have met so many incredible Americans who share our values.”

EXCLUSIVE: Walter Reed National Military Medical Center reinstated a contract for Catholic priests to provide care at the hospital after a “cease and desist” order from the facility earlier this year ordered priests to halt pastoral care, Fox News Digital has learned.

In April, Walter Reed sent a “cease and desist” letter to Holy Name College Friary, a group of Catholic priests who have served at the hospital for nearly 20 years. The letter was sent during Holy Week, leading up to the Easter holiday.

Following the move, Rep. Mary Miller, R-Ill., led a group of two dozen Republican lawmakers who voiced concerns and blasted the decision as a violation of the First Amendment. 

Fox News Digital obtained a letter from the Department of Defense directed to Miller and the original signatories that clarified the renewal of the contract.

WALTER REED ‘CEASE AND DESIST’ ORDER FOR CATHOLIC PRIESTS VIOLATES THE FIRST AMENDMENT, GOP LAWMAKERS SAY

Holy Name College was a contract vendor that provided supplemental pastoral care services to Walter Reed’s resident Catholic Ministry and Pastoral Care Service from 2007 to 2023. Its contract term expired on March 31, 2023. The Department of Defense clarified in the letter that the “cease and desist” came after the contract expired, stressing that it was “not terminated.”

Walter Reed replaced the contract with a secular defense contracting firm, Mack Global LLC, which the Catholic archdiocese argued would not be able to provide adequate care.

“Per the Federal Competition in Contracting Act, upon expiration of the Catholic Ministry and Pastoral Care Services contract at WRNMMC, a new contract could not be awarded without fair and open competition,” wrote Ashish S. Vazirani, acting undersecretary of Defense for personnel. “After reviewing all proposals, the contract selection committee and contracting officer chose another vendor, Mack Global LLC, commending April 1, 2023, as they were able to meet the requirements as listed in the performance work statement.”

CATHOLIC ARCHDIOCESE ACCUSES WALTER REED OF STIFLING RELIGIOUS RIGHTS WITH ‘CEASE AND DESIST’ ORDER

“In accordance with Federal contracting guidance and routine business practices, a cease-and-desist letter was sent to Holy Name College on April 5, 2023, because it continued providing supplemental pastoral care services after its contract had expired,” Vazirani continued. “If the Federal Government allowed Holy Name College to provide services without a contract, it could create an unauthorized commitment, in violation of Federal laws and the Federal Acquisition Regulation.” 

But amid an “oversight in the contractual language with the new vendor,” the contract was terminated, and instead, the Department of Defense awarded a new contract to Holy Name College for a one-year term from June 8, 2023, to June 7, 2024, with “four option years.”

“No Catholic services were canceled during Holy Week, or at any point between April 1, 2023, and June 7, 2023, when there was a lapse in the Pastoral Care contract requirements,” Vazirani wrote, adding that Walter Reed assigned an “active duty Army Catholic priest, who provided Catholic services, to include pastoral counseling and sacramental rights.”

Additionally, an Army Reserve Catholic priest was also assigned to Walter Reed, beginning on May 22.

“All beneficiaries receiving care at WRNMMC are afforded the opportunity to exercise religious freedom,” Vazirani wrote. “WRNMMC is proud of the pastoral care provided to people of all faiths and has ensured everyone has access to the ecclesiastical services needed.” 

The development comes after Rep. Miller led a group of two dozen Republican lawmakers in April in writing a letter to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, reported exclusively by Fox News Digital, that blasted the Biden administration’s “attack on the Christian faith.” 

FBI SOUGHT TO DEVELOP SOURCES IN CATHOLIC CHURCHES TO COMBAT DOMESTIC TERRORISM, DOCS SHOW

Miller applauded the Department of Defense’s decision to reinstate the Holy College contract.

“As a result of our efforts to protect the religious liberty of our service members, the Biden administration reversed its decision to remove Catholic priests from Walter Reed, demonstrating how conservatives are holding the Biden administration accountable,” Miller told Fox News Digital. “I proudly led an amendment included in this year’s NDAA to force the Biden Department of Defense to reverse their decision to kick priests out of Walter Reed.”

Miller added: “Conservatives in the House are committed to supporting and defending our troops and ensuring that their rights are protected.”

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The initial letter to Austin was sent by Miller, R-Ill.; Jim Banks, R-Ind.; Paul Gosar, R-Ariz.; Byron Donalds, R-Fla.; Tom Tiffany, R-Wis.; Scott Perry, R-Pa.; Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga.; Andy Biggs, R-Ariz.; Warren Davidson, R-Ohio; Matt Rosendale, R-Mont.; Lauren Boebert, R-Colo.; Ralph Norman, R-S.C.; Bob Good, R-Va.; Keith Self, R-Texas; Debbie Lesko, R-Ariz.; Andrew Clyde, R-Ga.; Josh Brecheen, R-Okla.; Brian Babin, R-Texas; Ben Cline, R-Va.; Andy Harris, R-Md.; Diana Harshbarger, R-Tenn.; Michael Cloud, R-Texas; Eli Crane, R-Ariz.; Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla.; and Alex X. Mooney, R-W.Va.

The Archdiocese for the Military Services (AMS) was created by St. Pope John Paul II to provide the Catholic Church’s services to veterans and service members in the U.S. and overseas. The archdiocese, which does not have geographical boundaries, is responsible for the care of 1.8 million Catholics across the globe. 

Fox News’ Adam Shaw contributed to this report. 

The Biden administration issued a federal plan Thursday to remove all remaining oil and gas infrastructure located off the California coast once they stop producing.

The Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) published a programmatic environmental impact statement (PEIS) for “Oil and Gas Decommissioning Activities on the Pacific Outer Continental Shelf.” The filing formally recommends a plan ensuring no fossil fuel infrastructure remains off California’s coast that could interfere with other offshore operations like navigation and commercial fisheries.

“We completed a robust analysis based on sound science, Tribal consultation, public input, and the best available information,” Bruce Hesson, BSEE’s Pacific region director, said in a statement. 

“This final PEIS provides BSEE with important guidance on future decommissioning applications for the complete removal and disposal of oil and gas platforms, associated pipelines, and other facilities offshore Southern California,” he continued.

OFFSHORE OIL AND GAS PERMITTING PLUMMETS TO 2-DECADE LOW UNDER BIDEN

Overall, 23 oil and gas drilling platforms, which have been standing for decades, are located in federal waters off the coast of California, according to the California State Lands Commission. One of the platforms is a processing facility while the other 22 produce oil and gas. Eight of the platforms stand unused.

25 REPUBLICANS UNLEASH EFFORT OPPOSING BIDEN ADMIN’S CRACKDOWN ON FOSSIL FUEL TRANSPORTATION

Under the BSEE action announced Thursday, the agency chose a proposal involving the complete removal of the platforms, topside, conductors, the platform jacket to at least 15 feet below the mud line, pipelines, power cables, and other subsea infrastructure.

The plan to remove the platforms comes as federal offshore California drilling activities continue to dwindle to near-zero levels. As of 2021, less than 11,000 barrels of crude oil were produced per day in the region, down 94% compared to its peak in the 1990s, federal data showed.

And the Biden administration proposed a plan late last month to hold the fewest number of offshore oil drilling leases in U.S. history as part of a five-year plan that ends in 2029. The plan includes just three lease sales which would all take place in the Gulf of Mexico. A Trump administration version of the plan laid out six lease sales off the coast of California.

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“The Biden-Harris administration is committed to building a clean energy future that ensures America’s energy independence,” Interior Secretary Deb Haaland said on Sept. 29. 

“The Proposed Final Program, which represents the smallest number of oil and gas lease sales in history, sets a course for the Department to support the growing offshore wind industry and protect against the potential for environmental damage and adverse impacts to coastal communities.”

When serving as governor of South Carolina in 2014, presidential GOP hopeful Nikki Haley said she considered China “a friend” and that she appreciated the “strong relationship” the Palmetto State shared with China. 

In a letter sent to then Chinese Ambassador Cui Tiankai on Dec. 30, 2014, Haley thanked the diplomat for congratulating her on her re-election and said she is “grateful” for China’s “contributions on the economic front.”

Tiankai had written in his letter to Haley that China is “glad to see that the overall ties between China and South Carolina have been growing rapidly in recent years.… I look forward to continuing to work with you.”

The 2014 correspondence comes to light as Haley, who’s seen a big boost in polling in recent weeks, repeatedly said on the campaign trail that China is the “No. 1 biggest national security threat.” Earlier this year, Haley, who also served as U.N. ambassador under President Trump, released a comprehensive plan to combat China.

WAR OF WORDS: DESANTIS, HALEY TRADE FIRE OVER WHO WAS MORE CHINA-FRIENDLY GOVERNOR

On the campaign trail, Haley has spotlighted that she would rescind federal funding for universities that accept money from China, take back land in the U.S. that China’s already purchased, and end “all normal trade relations with” China until it stops flooding the U.S. with fentanyl.

Haley campaign spokesperson Ken Farnaso responded to the revelation, telling Fox News Digital, “Every governor in this campaign recruited Chinese businesses to their state.”

“Nikki Haley did it 10 years ago. Just last year, Ron DeSantis let a U.S. sanctioned Chinese company expand its footprint in Florida. DeSantis even voted to fast-track Obama’s bad trade deals. Nikki took on the Chinese threat every day as U.N. ambassador and has called for ending normal trade relations with China,” Farnaso said. 

China’s increasing threat to the United States has been escalating since at least 2010. In the same year Tiankai and Haley corresponded, the Justice Department indicted five Chinese military hackers for economic espionage directed at six Americans in the U.S. nuclear power, metals and solar products industries.

Also in 2014, two Chinese security breaches into U.S. federal worker databases holding personnel records and security-clearance files “exposed sensitive information about at least 22.1 million people,” the Washington Post reported. 

BILL MAHER HYPES NIKKI HALEY AS A VIABLE ALTERNATIVE TO TRUMP: ‘SHE’S HAVING A MOMENT’

The outlet reported that U.S. officials ranked the breaches “among the most potentially damaging cyber heists in U.S. government history because of the abundant detail in the files.”

China is the latest flashpoint of contention between Haley and fellow GOP presidential contender Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. 

NIKKI HALEY WARNS BIDEN TO ‘BE SMART’ FOLLOWING HAMAS’ RELEASE OF 2 AMERICAN HOSTAGES; ‘DON’T FALL FOR IT’

In a Fox News Digital interview last week, DeSantis charged that Haley “rolled out the red carpet for China” during her tenure as South Carolina governor.

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Haley’s campaign fired back, claiming DeSantis has “aggressively recruited Chinese companies to Florida.”

Fox News Digital’s Paul Steinhauser contributed tot his report. 

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) on Wednesday said it will file an amicus brief arguing the limited gag order imposed on former President Donald Trump in his Washington, D.C., election interference case is unconstitutional. 

On the same day, federal prosecutors asked U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan to reinstate the currently paused gag order, stating the order is necessary to prevent Trump from targeting witnesses. 

Trump “has a demonstrated history of using inflammatory language to target certain individuals in a way that ‘pose[s] a significant and immediate risk’” that witnesses will be intimidated, Special Counsel Jack Smith’s team argued in court papers filed Wednesday. 

In the ACLU’s proposed brief, senior staff attorney Brett Kaufman wrote that Trump has made statements that have been “patently false” and have “caused great harm to countless individuals, as well as to the Republic itself.” 

NEW YORK JUDGE FINES TRUMP $10K FOR VIOLATING PARTIAL GAG ORDER IN CIVIL FRAUD TRIAL

“But Trump retains a First Amendment right to speak, and the rest of us retain a right to hear what he has to say,” the brief states. 

Trump has used his social media platform, Truth Social, to launch a barrage of insults and criticisms at the prosecutors, judges and witnesses involved in the cases against him.  

On Oct. 17, Chutkan imposed a partial gag order on Trump, blocking him from making statements targeting Special Counsel Smith, his staff, witnesses and court personnel. 

The judge said the former president is able to criticize the Justice Department in general terms and has the right to post his view that the case against him is politically motivated. However, she also said Trump cannot post attacks against prosecutors or court staff. 

JUDGE DENIES TRUMP TEAM’S REQUEST FOR IMMEDIATE VERDICT IN FRAUD TRIAL AFTER COHEN TESTIMONY

Trump has appealed the order, asserting it violates his free speech rights, and Chutkan on Friday issued a stay pending his appeal. The former president has since returned to posting about the special counsel and witnesses. 

The ACLU argues Chutkan’s order is too vague on its ban on “targeting” the special counsel, potential witnesses and the “substance of their testimony” because it could be read such that Trump would violate the order by merely mentioning those people.

The civil rights group also suggests the order is too broad because it covers Smith, a public official, and the “substance” of any witnesses’ testimony, which will be highly relevant to the 2024 presidential campaign. Trump has a commanding lead in polls of the 2024 Republican presidential primary.

READ THE ACLU BRIEF BELOW. APP USERS: CLICK HERE

While the ACLU acknowledges that the First Amendment does not protect incitements to violence, threats or other unlawful speech, the group says the gag order placed on Trump is insufficiently justified because prosecutors have not shown a serious threat that his speech will threaten the administration of justice.

“No modern-day president did more damage to civil liberties and civil rights than President Trump, but if we allow his free speech rights to be abridged, we know that other unpopular voices — even ones we agree with — will also be silenced,” said Anthony D. Romero, executive director of the ACLU. “As much as we disagreed with Donald Trump’s policies, everyone is entitled to the same First Amendment protection against gag orders that are too broad and too vague.”

TRUMP FACES OFF IN COURT WITH COHEN AS EX-LAWYER TESTIFIES AGAINST HIM IN TRUMP ORGANIZATION CIVIL TRIAL

Trump attorney John Lauro said the ACLU brief “makes very strong and compelling legal arguments for preserving Trump’s First Amendment Rights. Many of these important legal points were also made by our team as well.” 

On Wednesday, the special counsel’s team responded to Trump’s motion to stay. “There has never been a criminal case in which a court has granted a defendant an unfettered right to try his case in the media, malign the presiding judge as a ‘fraud’ and a ‘hack,’ attack the prosecutor as ‘deranged’ and a ‘thug,’” they wrote, pointing out that Trump has even stated that one witness’s actions warrant the “punishment” of “DEATH!” 

Meanwhile, Trump was hit with a $10,000 fine on Wednesday for violating a separate gag order imposed by New York Judge Arthur Engoron in the civil trial stemming from New York Attorney General Letitia James’ lawsuit against him and the Trump Organization.

Engoron imposed a partial gag order earlier this month, blocking all parties from making derogatory statements about his court staff. Engoron fined Trump on Friday $5,000 for violating the order on social media, and threatened imprisonment if further violations were committed.

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On Wednesday, Engoron asked the former president to take the stand during the civil trial, and discussed statements Trump made to the press earlier in the day about “a person who’s very partisan sitting alongside” the judge. 

After a back and forth, the judge ruled that Trump was referring to his law clerk — which Trump denied — and fined him $10,000. 

Fox News’ Brooke Singman contributed to this report.

FIRST ON FOX — The Republican National Committee and the North Carolina Republican Party in the Democrat-led lawsuit challenging the Tar Heel state’s newly enacted election law. 

North Carolina‘s Senate Bill 747 provides “appropriate safeguards and transparency while still offering voters ample opportunities to cast a ballot,” according to RNC and the NCGOP’s court filing.

The law, which aims strengthen voter ID, allow for poll watchers, and tighten the deadline to return mail-in ballots, was enacted on October 10 after the state’s GOP-controlled state legislature voted to override Democratic Governor Roy Cooper’s veto.

GOP SET TO GAIN 3 US HOUSE SEATS UNDER MAP ADVANCED IN NC SENATE

Moments after Republicans voted to override the veto, DNC and the state’s Democratic Party filed a lawsuit claiming that the law is “a direct assault on the ‘most fundamental’ right to vote,” and leads to “vote suppression.” 

The RNC argues that the Democrats’ lawsuit against the state election board underscores the Biden campaign and the DNC’s strategy to loosen “common-sense” election laws ahead of the 2024 election. 

RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel told Fox News Digital that President Biden is “directing his political operation to sue state legislators for passing good laws.”

“Joe Biden should be focused on solving the crises that have erupted under his watch, not directing his political operation to sue state legislators for passing good laws,” McDaniel said.

Since taking office, President Biden’s Department of Justice has filed lawsuits challenging voting laws in Arizona, Georgia and Texas. 

Republicans say that the Democratic plaintiffs are “armed with hyperbole and mischaracterization” and “far-reaching assertions” in their claims that SB 747 violates the Constitution and the Voting Rights Act.

The filing also states that the plaintiffs “are not entitled to make their assertions free from challenge and scrutiny. Just as fair election procedures promote fair elections, so do fair election-litigation procedures.”

However, Governor Cooper alleges that the law “attempts to give Republican legislators the authority to decide contested election results” and “has nothing to do with election security and everything to do with Republicans keeping and gaining power.”

The Democratic plaintiffs say that they are not aware of “any instances of actual voter fraud” in North Carolina and claim that the state is “indulging the dubious assumption that the measures would deter or prevent such fraud.”

NORTH CAROLINA REPUBLICANS GIVE FINAL APPROVAL TO CURB DEMOCRATIC GOV. COOPER’S APPOINTMENT POWERS

“Senate Bill 747 cracks down on non-citizens voting, protects bipartisan poll watchers, and gets rid of dark money in elections—polling shows that the American people support these common-sense measures,” said McDaniel. 

According to a 2021 Axis Research study, 68% percent of registered voters in Arizona, New Hampshire, Nevada and West Virginia believe that state legislatures should dictate the voting rules and regulations in their state. 

In addition, 71% of the voters in the study believe that if you need an ID to sign up for welfare, get on a plane or rent a hotel room, it does not “make sense” that one would not need identification for voting. 

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North Carolina is a key battleground state for the 2024 presidential election. Although Republicans have carried the state in 11 of the last 13 presidential elections, Trump won the state by less than 2% — largely due to early voting and a significant get-out-the vote push by Democrats. 

Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., is the most prolific fundraiser in House Republican history, and his replacement as speaker will have big shoes to fill.

The unprecedented ouster of McCarthy earlier this month as speaker was seen as a setback for the House GOP as it aims to hold its fragile majority in the chamber in the 2024 elections.

Republicans are breathing some sighs of relief after the election Wednesday of GOP Rep. Mike Johnson of Louisiana as speaker, which ended three weeks of vicious infighting in the House Republican Conference.

But the victory of 51-year-old Johnson as McCarthy’s successor invites questions regarding the four-term lawmaker’s ability to bring in the fundraising needed for the GOP to keep control of the House next year.

AFTER THREE WEEKS, THE HOUSE FINALLY HAS A NEW SPEAKER. CLICK HERE TO LEARN ALL ABOUT HIM

Not only is he in just his fourth term, but Johnson has never served in a senior leadership position nor steered a committee as chair. 

On the fundraising front, he’s brought in on average about $1.3 million per cycle, plus a bit more for a leadership PAC. That pales in comparison to what he will now be asked to haul in on behalf of the GOP.

“McCarthy was a tremendous fundraiser and helped Republicans win the majority,” Brian Walsh, a veteran Republican consultant who served for years at a top communications strategist for both House and Senate Republicans, told Fox News.

Pointing to Johnson, Walsh said that “one key and emerging advantage he has is that he’s been able to unite a very divided caucus. That’s not easy to do, and that speaks to a lot of potential Johnson has to continue to grow in this role, which includes fundraising around the country with both large and small donors.”

HOUSE REPUBLICANS FACE FUNDRAISING SETBACK AFTER OUSTING MCCARTHY AS SPEAKER

Rep. Richard Hudson, R-N.C., chair of the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC), which is the House GOP’s campaign arm, said, “I know Mike cares deeply about our Conference, understands our majority is the last line of defense against the Democrats, and will work relentlessly with the NRCC to go on offense.”

“I am confident we will grow our majority with Republicans united behind Speaker Johnson and making our case to improve American families’ lives,” he added.

However, a longtime Republican operative and veteran of House races who asked for anonymity to speak more freely told Fox News, “I think it will be a bit of a learning curve” for Johnson.

As minority leader, McCarthy helped the GOP defy expectations in the 2020 elections by taking a big bite out of Democrats’ House majority — despite Democrats winning the White House. And he personally hauled in record fundraising in the last election cycle to help Republicans win back the House majority. 

The three lawmakers who were each nominated by House Republicans to succeed McCarthy — House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan, and House Majority Whip Tom Emmer — all had plenty of fundraising chops. 

Scalise, a 15-year House veteran from Louisiana, was the No. 2 Republican fundraiser last cycle, hauling in more than $18 million through his re-election campaign, according to the Federal Election Commission campaign finance disclosures.

Jordan, the longtime lawmaker from Ohio, was the No. 4 House Republican fundraiser last cycle, hauling in more than $14 million, mostly through small-dollar donors.

And Emmer, who steered the NRCC the past two cycles as the GOP took back the House majority, is also known as a prolific fundraiser. The Minnesota Republican has already raked in $7.3 million so far this year in fundraising.

But one after another, all three were forced to withdraw from the race after facing opposition from fellow Republicans in the chamber, or from former President Donald Trump.

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While the GOP captured the House majority last year, hopes of a red wave never materialized and the party came out of the midterm elections with a fragile 222-213 majority. It’s currently a 221-212 edge, with seats in a red district and a blue district vacant. That means Democrats need a net gain of just five seats to win back control of the chamber next year.

“The House of Representatives is very much up for grabs in 2024. The party’s going to need as many financial resources as possible. At the same time, you’re competing with presidential campaign dollars and Senate dollars,” Walsh warned.

One of the outstanding questions is going forward is whether McCarthy will help Johnson with fundraising.

McCarthy wrote Wednesday on social media that Johnson “has my full support as Speaker. We’ll keep working together to put our country first and fulfill our Commitment to America.”

And Jeff Miller, a longtime friend and adviser who was a major force behind McCarthy’s fundraising, wrote in a statement that he “will absolutely help the new Speaker raise the resources to grow our majority in the House.”

A Republican consultant who has worked on House races told Fox News that “Johnson is going to have a lot on his plate very quickly on both the legislative and political calendars. This will really need to be a team effort among all the senior members.”

The consultant, who asked to remain anonymous to speak more freely, emphasized that “to the extent that the former speaker would participate in that would be a big help.”

Democrats, aiming to win back the majority next year, were quick to target the new speaker.

Pointing to Johnson’s role in support of Trump’s unsuccessful effort to overturn his 2020 presidential election loss to President Biden and to his opposition to legalized abortion, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee argued that “Republicans have chosen a MAGA acolyte to push an extreme agenda in the House at the expense of middle-class families.”

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

FIRST ON FOX: The Justice Department “limited” a former U.S. attorney’s 2020 investigation into Biden family business dealings in Ukraine, according to testimony before the House Judiciary Committee.

Former U.S. attorney for the Western District of Pennsylvania Scott Brady appeared for a transcribed interview behind closed doors at the House Judiciary Committee this week, Fox News Digital has learned.

FBI RECEIVED ‘CRIMINAL INFORMATION’ FROM OVER 40 CONFIDENTIAL SOURCES ON JOE BIDEN, HUNTER, JAMES: GRASSLEY

Brady was tasked in 2020 by then-Attorney General Bill Barr to run an assessment investigating information brought to the Justice Department related to Ukraine. Some of that information was brought to the DOJ by former Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani related to Hunter Biden’s business dealings in Ukraine.

Brady told House investigators that his review of that material was limited to accepting information from any member of the public, and vetting the information through open-source databases, publicly available resources and pre-existing FBI records.

“It was limited by both the scope of what we were to look at and the tools that were available to us,” Brady said. “It was really a vetting to assess credibility. It was not to make determinations about whether there was evidence sufficient to open criminal investigations, anything like that.”

Fox News Digital first reported that Brady’s investigative work was limited and lacked subpoena power since they had no authorization for a grand jury. That information was revealed in a letter Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, sent to FBI Director Christopher Wray and Attorney General Merrick Garland which was exclusively obtained by Fox News Digital Wednesday.

Brady stressed that he did not have tools that “could compel testimony or the production of documents.”

“Witnesses, bank records, emails, we weren’t able to access any of those kinds of things or compel them from third-parties,” he said.

EXCLUSIVE: JOE BIDEN ALLEGEDLY PAID $5M BY BURISMA EXECUTIVE AS PART OF A BRIBERY SCHEME, ACCORDING TO FBI DOCUMENT

“It was really to say, yes, we believe that this, again, as I said, is credibility, has indicia of credibility, and then pass it on to one of the offices with the predicated jury investigation,” he said.

Brady told House investigators the same, while noting that he would pass credible information along to other U.S. Attorneys Offices that had relevant, existing investigations.

Brady said he provided briefings to U.S. Attorney for the District of Delaware David Weiss — now a special counsel — who has been investigating Hunter Biden since 2018. He also briefed the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York and the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York. Brady said that special agents from the FBI’s Baltimore Field Office were present for the briefing provided to Weiss.

But Brady said after he gave the briefings, his team was not involved.

“We had no visibility into what they did with that after we gave our briefings,” he said.

During Brady’s assessment of Ukraine information, a 2017 FD-1023 was discovered referencing Hunter Biden’s role on the board of Burisma. A re-interview of the confidential human source was requested, and later completed in June 2020.

“A confidential human source in a previous 1023 had identified an interaction with a Ukrainian national who discussed—it wasn’t the focus of that 1023 form several years prior but had made reference to Hunter Biden serving on the board of Burisma,” Brady explained. “At my direction, we asked the FBI to re-interview the CHS.”

BIDENS ALLEGEDLY ‘COERCED’ BURISMA CEO TO PAY THEM MILLIONS TO HELP GET UKRAINE PROSECUTOR FIRED: FBI FORM

That FD-1023 alleges a criminal bribery scheme between then-Vice President Joe Biden, his son Hunter Biden, and the founder and CEO of Ukrainian natural gas firm Burisma Holdings, Mykola Zlochevsky.

Brady told House Judiciary Committee investigators that he had determined that source to be highly credible and worked with the FBI in other investigations dating back to the Obama administration. Fox News Digital first reported that earlier this year.

Brady also told investigators that Giuliani was not the source for details included in the FD-1023 in question.

That FD-1023 is currently in the hands of Weiss, whose investigation is ongoing. Brady told investigators that his office corroborated information, by obtaining the source’s travel records which matched the dates of the foreign meeting. contained in the FD-1023 before sharing it with Weiss.

Meanwhile, Brady said that even “simple” requests to the FBI and DOJ, like “extending the assessment,” required a renewal every 30 days. Brady said it required “17 different people, including mostly at the headquarters level to sign off on it before the assessment could be extended.”

EXCLUSIVE: PERSON ALLEGING BIDEN CRIMINAL BRIBERY SCHEME IS ‘HIGHLY CREDIBLE’ FBI SOURCE USED SINCE OBAMA ADMIN: SOURCE

“We were told by the special agents that they had to go pens down sometimes for 2 or 3 weeks at a time before they could re-engage and take additional steps because they were still waiting on, again, someone within the 17 chain signify to approve,” he said.

When asked if he had ever seen a “17-person signoff required by the FBI,” Brady replied: “Never in my career.”

DOJ KNEW HUNTER BIDEN LAPTOP WAS ‘NOT MANIPULATED,’ CONTAINED ‘RELIABLE EVIDENCE’ IN 2019: WHISTLEBLOWER

Brady testified about a September 2020 report he sent to the Justice Department about his findings, which Fox News Digital first reported earlier Wednesday. In that report, Brady recommended further investigative steps be taken related to the findings, including on the FD-1023.

Brady then told investigators he briefed U.S. attorneys at SDNY, EDNY and Delaware in October 2020.

Brady’s interview comes as part of the House Judiciary Committee’s investigation into the alleged politicization of the Justice Department and FBI, and on whether politics influenced the federal investigation 

Presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who recently announced he was running as an independent after initially running as a Democrat, has a long history of supporting two-time failed presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, despite campaigning as a voice critical of the Washington, D.C. establishment. 

In 2000, Kennedy touted Clinton’s “character” in a campaign ad supporting her campaign for a U.S. Senate seat in New York. 

Eight years later, Kennedy reaffirmed his support for Clinton by endorsing her 2008 presidential run.

“Hillary Clinton has the strength and experience to bring the war in Iraq to an end and reverse the potentially devastating effects of global warming,” Kennedy said in a press release. 

NEW POLL: TIGHT RACE BETWEEN TRUMP, BIDEN WITH RFK, CORNEL WEST INDEPENDENT BIDS THREATENING BOTH CANDIDACIES

“I watched proudly as Hillary won over New Yorkers across the state in her race for the Senate seat my father once held. Since then, she’s been reelected in a landslide victory and proven that she is ready to lead this nation from her first day in office. Hillary will inspire the real change America needs.”

Kennedy stumped for Clinton on the campaign trail in her quest for the White House against eventual President Barack Obama and once Obama had won, Kennedy praised her appointment as Obama’s Secretary of State calling her “great.”

THREE REASONS WHY RFK JR. POSES A REAL THREAT TO BIDEN

When Clinton ran again for president in 2016 in a race won by Donald Trump, who had donated to Democrats including Hillary Clinton in the past, Kennedy continued his vocal support with an endorsement.

“I’m solidly for Hillary,” Kennedy told Larry King in an interview about his “long term” friend. “I think Hillary is going to be a very, very good president.”

RFK JR. PUSHES BACK AFTER SIBLINGS DENOUNCE HIS PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDACY AS ‘PERILOUS’ FOR AMERICA

On the campaign trail as an independent candidate, Kennedy has distanced himself from both political parties writing in a Fox News opinion piece this month that he “declared independence from the two political parties and the corrupt interests that dominate them, and the entire rigged system of rancor and rage, corruption and lies, that has turned government officials into indentured servants of their corporate bosses.”

Critics have voiced concerns about where Kennedy stands on issues including Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning who wrote at Townhall.com that the presidential candidate is “far-left ideologue and radical environmentalist” and a “wolf in sheep’s clothing.”

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At the same time, Kennedy Jr. has ruffled liberal feathers by expressing support for the 2nd Amendment and a stronger southern border. He has also faced scrutiny over “hurtful” COVID-19 comments.

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