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Rep. Dean Phillips of Minnesota is expected on Friday to announce a long-shot Democratic primary challenge against President Biden, according to people familiar with the lawmaker’s plans.

And the launch of Phillips’ Democratic campaign for the White House will come in New Hampshire, on the last day for candidates to file to place their name on the state’s famed first-in-the-nation presidential primary.

The 54-year-old millionaire businessman and co-founder of a gelato company turned three-term House Democrat is expected to hold an event on the plaza outside New Hampshire’s Statehouse in Concord, and to file for the primary inside the building, in the Secretary of State’s office, those familiar with his plans confirm to Fox News.

BIDEN BUCKS TRADITION, SKIPS FILING FOR FIRST-IN-THE-NATION PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARY 

“He has not actually scheduled a time with my office. I know that he has scheduled some space on the front lawn of the statehouse,” New Hampshire Secretary of State Dave Scanlan told reporters on Tuesday. 

And Scanlan said that a primary challenge by Phillips against the 80-year-old Biden “I think that would a healthy thing for the New Hampshire primary.”

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

A video posted to social media Tuesday showed a bus decorated with “Dean Phillips for President” signage traveling along an Ohio highway.

Phillips, who represents a district in suburban Minneapolis, recently spoke by phone with longtime New Hampshire Democratic Party chair Ray Buckley.

Buckley shared with Fox News that he told Phillips “of course we would be gracious hosts, as is our tradition, but 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! “

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 contender primary 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 News (Minnesota Public Radio) that “it’s healthy to have alternatives. I think voters are demanding it.”

But 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’d launch a primary challenge against the president. And Phillips last week 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 Democratic National Committee, which earlier this year upended years of tradition by revamping their longstanding nominating calendar, the Silver State is supposed to vote second, along with New Hampshire, three days after South Carolina’s Feb. 3 kick off primary. 

It’s all-but-certain that New Hampshire will move up the date of its primary to late January, in accordance with a state law that mandates the Granite State’s primary is held seven days ahead of a similar contest.

With New Hampshire on course to hold what is certain to be a primary that’s out of compliance with the Democratic National Committee’s revamped 2024 nominating calendar, Biden will avoid 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.

While the president’s the commanding front-runner for his party’s nomination, polls indicate Biden has faces mounting concerns from Democrats over his age and physical and mental stamina.

DEMOCRATIC CONGRESSMAN MULLING PRIMARY CHALLENGE AGAINST BIDEN RESIGNS FROM LEADERSHIP POST

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.

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 now seek the White House as an independent candidate.

The DNC is fully backing Biden, as the president campaigns for a second four-year term in the White House. 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, the DNC has said there will be no primary debates between Biden and any of his challengers. 

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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.”

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

House GOP speaker nominee Mike Johnson of Louisiana may pull off his bid for the speaker’s gavel as his party’s support coalesces around him.

Cohesion has been a driving concern among the House GOP as they search for a new speaker after the ousting of former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif.

Johnson scored his party’s nomination late Tuesday, with several members absent and three voting present.

HOUSE TO CONVENE TO HOLD SPEAKER VOTE AFTER REPUBLICANS PICK JOHNSON

In just the hours from Tuesday, though, Johnson has shored up support from the three Republicans who voted present in Tuesday’s late nomination vote — Reps. Mark Amodei of Nevada, Thomas Massie of Kentucky, and French Hill of Arkansas.

Additionally, Wisconsin GOP Rep. Derrick Van Orden is still overseas in Israel on a fact-finding mission, meaning Johnson’s margin of loss is smaller.

Johnson also got support from former President Trump, who gave his support for the GOP nominee, urging Republicans to “get it done, fast” ahead of a potential House speaker vote Wednesday.

“He’s respected by all and that’s what we need. It looks like it’s going to happen,” Trump told reporters on Wednesday morning. “I put out a truth today on him, and last night, you saw that. He’s spectacular and maybe for many years to come, he’ll be very good. So, we’re very happy about that.”

He later said that Johnson is “popular, smart, sharp. He’s going to be fantastic.”

The Louisiana Republican is the fourth candidate the House GOP has put up to take the gavel after McCarthy was removed from the position.

House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., held the nomination for only hours on Tuesday before dropping from the race. Johnson was elected as the nominee later that day.

Johnson issued a letter to his colleagues laying out his plan to fund the government if elected.

He said he would support a stop gap bill past Nov. 17 that expires on either Jan. 15 or April 15, based on the consensus of a member working group that will look at the need for a continuing resolution.

The letter also laid out Johnson’s ambitious plan to pass the remaining appropriations bill by the week of Nov. 13.

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It would see appropriations bills considered for FY25 in May and June, no break for district work period in August unless all appropriations bills have passed the House, and negotiations wrapped up by the National Defense Authorization Act by September.

As he ticks off the items for the year ahead, the Oct-Dec section includes a pledge to “EXPAND OUR MAJORITY.”

Fox News Digital’s Adam Shaw and Lawrence Richard contributed reporting.

Former President Trump backed House Republican nominee Rep. Mike Johnson for speaker of the House, urging GOP lawmakers to vote for him during the floor vote Wednesday and to “get it done fast!”

Before entering a Manhattan courtroom Wednesday morning for another day of proceedings as part of the civil trial stemming from New York Attorney General Letitia James’ lawsuit against him and the Trump Organization, Trump touted Johnson.

“He’s respected by all and that’s what we need,” Trump said. “It looks like it’s going to happen.”

Trump called Johnson “spectacular and maybe for many years to come, he’ll be very good. So, we’re very happy about that.”

“We think Mike Johnson is going to do really well,” Trump continued. “He’s popular, smart, sharp. He’s going to be fantastic. I think he’s going to be a fantastic speaker. I believe that will happen.”

He added: “You’ll let me know when I come out, I’ll be out in a couple of hours.”

Trump, on Truth Social, posted before his comments at the court, and said he would not offer a formal endorsement to any of the current candidates, but made a “strong suggestion” to vote for Johnson, R-La.

“Congratulations to Congressional Republicans! Yesterday was a big and very important day. It gave us a quick and easy way forward with 5 candidates who are beyond reproach, and represent the absolute best there is in the Republican Party,” Trump posted on his Truth Social. “Even the Fake News Media is impressed with what took place yesterday and, more importantly, with the Candidates themselves.”

Trump congratulated Reps. Byron Donalds, R-Fla.; Charles J. “Chuck” Fleischmann, R-Tenn.; Mark Green, R-Tenn.; and Roger Williams, R-Texas, and “the ultimate winner of yesterday’s vote, by a significant margin, Mike Johnson (Louisiana).”

“I am not going to make an Endorsement in this race, because I COULD NEVER GO AGAINST ANY OF THESE FINE AND VERY TALENTED MEN, all of whom have supported me, in both mind and spirit, from the very beginning of our GREAT 2016 Victory,” Trump said. “In 2024, we will have an even bigger, & more important, WIN!”

He added: “My strong SUGGESTION is to go with the leading candidate, Mike Johnson, & GET IT DONE, FAST! LOVE, DJT,”

Trump’s comments come ahead of a House floor vote Wednesday, after House Republicans nominated Johnson as speaker late Tuesday night.

House Majority Whip Tom Emmer was the nominee through the day Tuesday, but Trump sunk his candidacy by blasting him as a “globalist RINO,” or, Republican In Name Only, and by warning House Republicans that electing him speaker “would be a tragic mistake.” 

Johnson is the fourth nominee chosen by the House Republican Conference since McCarthy, R-Calif., was historically voted out of his role.

Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., on Oct. 3, led a motion to vacate. All House Democrats and eight House Republicans, led by Gaetz, voted to remove McCarthy as speaker— a first in U.S. history.

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Since then, House Republicans tried to elect Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., and Jordan, but neither were able to secure votes on the House floor, facing significant Republican opposition. Emmer was the third nominee, and he dropped out ahead of a formal floor vote after pressure from Trump.

House Republicans also sought to empower Speaker Pro-tempore Patrick McHenry last week, but the effort also failed. 

This is the second-longest period the House has ever gone without a speaker. It lacked a speaker for two months in late 1855 and early 1856.

A new 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. 

According to a Sienna College poll released Tuesday, 64% of New Yorkers disapprove of the job Biden is doing to address the recent influx of migrants in the state as of October. That includes 48% of Democrats who flunk Biden for his handling of the crisis, 91% of Republicans and 72% of independents. The poll found 46% of New Yorkers disapprove and just 30% approve of how New York City Mayor Eric Adams has addressed the influx of migrants, and as for New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, 52% disapprove, while just 37% approve. 

“While other issues in Washington and abroad have largely driven the news cycle over the last few weeks, the influx of migrants to New York remains top of mind for voters, with 84% saying it’s a serious – 57% very serious – problem for the state,” Siena College pollster Steven Greenberg said. “Seldom do we see an issue where at least 79% of Democrats, Republicans, independents, men, women, upstaters, downstaters, Blacks, Whites, Latinos, Catholics, Jews, and Protestants all agree – that the migrant influx is a serious problem.” 

“The strong majority of voters last month who said by 22 points that New Yorkers must work to slow the flow of migrants rather than accept and assimilate them, has grown to an overwhelming 35-point majority today,” Greenberg assessed. “That view is shared by 82% of Republicans, 68% of independents and 52% of Democrats, as well as two-thirds of downstaters and 59% of upstaters.”

MIGRANTS DEFY MAYOR ERIC ADAMS’ CALLS FOR THEM TO STAY AWAY FROM NEW YORK: ‘WE ARE GOOD PEOPLE’

“While a plurality of New Yorkers do not approve of the job Adams is doing to address the influx of migrants, a 58-32% majority of New Yorkers – including a narrow plurality of Democrats – agree with Adams’ statement that ‘this issue will destroy New York City.’ A majority of White (60%), Black (57%) and Latino (51%) voters all agree,” Greenberg said.

Greenberg assessed that New York remains a “true blue state,” as 49% of voters are enrolled as Democrats and only 23% as Republicans. 

“True, the last Republican presidential candidate to win here was Ronald Reagan in 1984. But also true is that just last year, a Republican came within seven points of being elected governor,” he added, noting Hochul’s relatively narrow victory over GOP gubernatorial candidate and then-congressman Lee Zeldin, who gained major ground with his anti-bail reform, tough on crime platform.  

“And also true is that right now, Biden has his worst-ever New York favorability and job approval ratings,” Greenberg said. “The good news for Biden is the election is more than a year away. The bad news is there’s more bad news.”

ERIC ADAMS SLAMS BIDEN FOR NOT MEETING, IGNORING MIGRANT CRISIS ON NYC VISIT: ‘EVERYBODY KNOWS WHERE I AM’

Greenberg noted that the poll found 52% of Democrats say they want a different presidential nominee in 2024. Addtionally, in the general, he said, Biden only leads Trump 46-37%, “a far cry from the 61-38% margin Biden won by in 2020.” Biden’s lead slips to just seven points if Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Cornell West – who, combined, win the support of nearly one in five voters – are on the ballot, Greenberg added. 

As of Oct. 16, more than 126,700 migrants have arrived in New York City since last spring, including more than 64,100 people who remain in the city’s care. With the rate at which migrants are pouring into New York City increasing, the Big Apple has faced a dual crisis due to the war in Israel. Hamas leaders have called for action around the globe, and the NYPD bolstered patrols this month, but Adams said so far there has been no credible threat. 

Adams’ relationship with Biden has soured over recent months amid the mayor’s urging for further and timely support from federal authorities in handling the migrant crisis. 

While Adams and Biden did not meet last month while the president was in New York City for the United Nations General Assembly, Hochul did meet Biden and secured a deal with the White House in fast-tracking work authorization for Venezuelans. 

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While Hochul has seemingly helped facilitate Adams’ controversial strategy of relocating migrants across the state by identifying tens of thousands of eligible jobs across various counties available for migrants, the city is also opening a migrant shelter at Floyd Bennett Field, an airfield in Brooklyn, in the coming weeks “to serve families with children seeking asylum in a semi-congregate setting.” City officials said privacy dividers with locks will be installed to provide approximately 500 families with children a place to stay.

Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has floated an idea that would see him return to the speakership, but this time with Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, serving as assistant speaker, according to NBC News.

McCarthy declined to confirm the Hail Mary proposal when asked by Fox News’ Chad Pergram on Wednesday. The reported pitch comes as Republicans have failed to fill the speaker’s chair for nearly a month, with three consecutive nominees being struck down by in-fighting.

It is unclear whether the latest nominee, Rep. Mike Johnson, R-La., stands a better chance than those who came before him. The first nominee, Rep. Steve Scalise, was brought down by allies of Jordan. Scalise and McCarthy’s allies then crippled Jordan’s nomination in turn. Finally, Rep. Tom Emmer, R-Minn., faced an all-out assault by former President Donald Trump, who opposed his nomination.

It is also unclear whether a co-speakership position is even possible, however, and one GOP lawmaker told NBC that the McCarthy-Jordan idea had only come about because, “We’re desperate.”

WHY JORDAN COULDN’T GRAB THE SPEAKER GAVEL AFTER THREE FAILED BALLOTS

Proponents of the deal likened it to the relationship that had existed between Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., as speaker and Rep. Katherine Clark, D-Mass., as assistant speaker from 2021-2023, the outlet reported.

HOUSE REPUBLICANS VOTE TO REMOVE JIM JORDAN AS SPEAKER NOMINEE

When Pergram asked McCarthy about the potential arrangement late Tuesday, the Republican declined to confirm it and said only that “Republicans are talking.”

If the plan were to come to fruition, however, Johnson’s nomination would have to deflate first. Johnson received 128 votes in the final round of voting at an internal GOP meeting on Tuesday with Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., getting 29.

McCarthy also got 43 votes in the same round, sources told Fox News Digital.

HOUSE VOTES TO REMOVE KEVIN MCCARTHY AS SPEAKER IN HISTORIC FIRST

The night began with five speaker candidates making their pitches to the conference before voting began. Rep. Chuck Fleischmann, R-Tenn., was the first candidate knocked out of the running, followed by Rep. Roger Williams, R-Texas, in the second round of voting.

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Emmer won multiple rounds of voting earlier in the day to become the party’s nominee before being forced to drop his bid in the face of staunch opposition from within the conference, as well as from Trump.

Fox News’ Elizibeth Elkind and Houston Keene contributed to this report.

Some evangelical voters in Iowa are now saying support for Israel has become their top priority for the Republican presidential caucus, now less than three months away, according to a report.

For decades, Christian conservatives have supported candidates who protect the lives of unborn children and curb abortion, but Hamas attacking Israel has changed the 2024 landscape. Israel’s ongoing war with Hamas in Gaza has put new pressure on Republican candidates to directly address the conflict and emphasize traditional Republican support for Israel, according to The Associated Press, which interviewed more than a dozen Iowa conservative activists.

Since the Oct. 7 attack, Iowa’s evangelical pastors, faith leaders and rank-and-file caucus participants have been looking more closely at candidates’ statements, while ministers urge their congregations to keep those positions top-of-mind when weighing their options.

Several leading Republican candidates, including former President Trump, Nikki Haley, Ron DeSantis and Tim Scott, have told Iowans where they stand on the conflict and shared how they would respond if they were in the White House.

TIM SCOTT EXPLAINS WHY MOVE TO GO ‘ALL IN’ IN IOWA WILL ‘TRANSLATE INTO VOTES’: ‘MESSAGE IS RESONATING’

In Iowa, just three days after Hamas attacked Israel and killed more than 1,400 people — which were mostly civilians — several Christian pastors delivered a message meant to resonate both biblically and politically.

“What we’re seeing in that region is pure evil,” said Steve Rowland, a senior minister at the Rising Sun Church of Christ in the Des Moines suburb of Altoona. “Israel has mobilized their army, and they are intent on stamping out evil, and we should be behind them. That’s where we should be, and I want you to know that, as a pastor.”

Some Christians support Israel due to Old Testament writings that Jews are God’s chosen people and that Israel is their rightful homeland. Some evangelicals believe Israel is key to an end-times prophecy that will bring about the return of the Christian messiah.

DEMOCRATS SUPPORT PALESTINIANS OVER ISRAEL, GOP OVERWHELMINGLY STANDS WITH US ALLY: 2023 POLL

Evangelical Christians dominate the first-in-the-nation Republican presidential caucuses, and several GOP contenders have begun to discuss the conflict in black-and-white terms, even accusing President Biden of not being tough enough on Hamas or Iran, a financial supporter of the terrorist group.

Haley, the former South Carolina governor and United Nations ambassador, described the ongoing war to The Associated Press as “between good and evil.”

“We’ve got a true war between good and evil, and we have to have a leader that has the moral clarity to know the difference,” Haley said in Iowa.

Former President Trump remains popular in Iowa, including among fervent Christian conservatives, where he leads in Iowa polls and gets the largest crowds at his campaign events. He continues to highlight his record while in the White House of supporting Israel, notably moving the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem and recognizing Israel’s annexation of the Golan Heights.

Several activists interviewed by The Associated Press, however, were annoyed by Trump’s criticism of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu following the Hamas attack. Trump also said Hezbollah, an Iran-backed terror group that is fighting with Israel on the country’s northern border, was “very smart.”

BIDEN PUTS CONDITION ON HUMANITARIAN AID TO GAZA AS ISRAEL ALLOWS EGYPT TO DELIVER SUPPLIES

South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, who has invested heavily in Iowa, often speaks of Israel’s importance by referencing the Bible, which highlights Israel as God’s chosen people.

“Pray for the peace of Jerusalem,” Scott told an audience in Newton this month, quoting from the Book of Psalms. Scott, paraphrasing the Book of Romans, said of Israel’s enemies: “the wrath of God, let them feel it.”

DeSantis has also tried to win the support of evangelical clergy in Iowa, especially those who called Trump’s criticism of Netanyahu “a huge turnoff,” like Iowa pastor Joseph Brown.

“Even though Donald Trump has done amazing things when it comes to Israel, we need some assurances now,” said Brown, who leads Marion Avenue Baptist Church in Washington, Iowa. “I don’t think he understands the biblical foundation of why we stand with Israel.”

The Israeli-Hamas war has also caused concern for the civilian casualties, including whether the U.S. should accept refugees from Gaza, where many of its roughly 2 million residents have been displaced by Israeli airstrikes and face acute shortages of food and water.

Haley has expressed concern for the humanitarian crisis and said in a recent televised interview that the U.S. could appropriately determine which Palestinians “want to be free from this terrorist rule.”

Following Haley’s interview, the pro-DeSantis PAC Never Back Down argued Haley was “in support of bringing Gaza refugees to America” — a statement PolitiFact later rated “false.”

Haley did not call for bringing refugees from Gaza to the United States but instead called on regional countries to support the crisis.

“We should care about the Palestinian citizens, especially the innocent ones, because they didn’t ask for this,” Haley said during the interview, when asked if the U.S. should accept Gazans. “But where are the Arab countries? Where are they? Where is Qatar? Where is Lebanon? Where is Jordan? Where is Egypt? Do you know we give Egypt over a billion dollars a year? Why aren’t they opening the gates? Why aren’t they taking the Palestinians?”

STATE DEPARTMENT OFFICIAL CALLS IT QUITS AFTER BIDEN SAYS US WILL SUPPORT ISRAEL: ‘POLICY DISAGREEMENT’

She added, “You know why? Because they know they can’t vet them, and they don’t want Hamas in their neighborhood. So, why would Israel want them in their neighborhood? So, let’s be honest with what’s going on. The Arab countries aren’t doing anything to help the Palestinians because they don’t trust who is right, who is good, who is evil, and they don’t want it in their country.”

Ann Trimble Ray, a conservative from Early, Iowa, told The Associated Press she is supporting Haley over her sympathetic stance.

“There are victims on both sides now,” she said. “The terrorists who want to rid the world of Jews struck first and killed innocents, and now Israel is retaliating and there is innocent loss of life on both sides.”

Trump has alleged Hamas sympathizers could be among the Palestinians seeking to leave Gaza, potentially including those who could cross the southern U.S. border.

DeSantis has also argued the U.S. should not take in any Gaza refugees.

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Several Iowan pastors have criticized biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, a political newcomer who has an affinity for Judeo-Christian beliefs.

“I think he’s trying to figure out what conservatives want to hear,” said Brad Cranston, the former pastor of Heritage Baptist Church in Burlington, Iowa. “And I think he thinks conservatives want a less interventionist foreign policy. But that does not work when it comes to Israel.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin is conducting a 2024 litmus test on abortion by urging state Republicans to support a 15-week ban ahead of next month’s legislative elections. 

The governor is helping GOP candidates running in Virginia’s Nov. 7 elections for all 140 seats in the General Assembly potentially align themselves with a 15-week limit on abortion with exceptions for rape, incest and the life of the pregnant women as a “reasonable” and “common” approach, The Washington Post reported. 

A $1.4 million ad blitz funded by Youngkin’s Spirit of Virginia group promoted the policy, saying, “Here’s the truth: There is no ban.”

Next month’s election in Virginia is the only major race in the country ahead of the 2024 presidential and congressional elections, so Youngkin’s strategy is viewed a critical test for national Republicans who have struggled on a common pro-life message since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. 

GLENN YOUNGKIN PRESSED ON 2024 PLANS AS SPECULATION SWIRLS

Though Democrats running for Virginia’s General Assembly out-raised Republicans in September, Youngkin has drawn from his national fundraising – which has seen surges amid the governor’s own flirtation with a potential presidential run – to throw support behind helping the state GOP maintain control of the House of Delegates and flip the Democratic-controlled Senate, the Post reported. 

If he succeeds, it will give him more leeway to push a conservative agenda not only including limits on abortions but also tax cuts, stricter criminal justice laws and more lenient environmental restrictions.  

In the 2022 elections, national Republicans were caught flat-footed on the abortion issue, while Democrats successfully rallied support in many races after the Dobbs ruling.  

“There was no Republican response, none, and the results were tough in the ’22 midterms,” Zack Roday, a spokesman for Youngkin’s Spirit of Virginia PAC, told the Post. “Republicans didn’t talk about where they were. They didn’t swat back the misstatements, the sometimes outright lies.”

Taking a beating by some pro-life groups, GOP presidential candidate and former President Donald Trump said it could be detrimental for the Republican Party in 2024 if they don’t reach a consensus on abortion, describing Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ support of a 6-week abortion ban as a “terrible thing.” 

Youngkin’s strategy, which seeks to provide a roadmap for how to tackle abortion on the state and federal level, could prove risky to his own national prospects, as not many Republican candidates running in his state have embraced the 15-week restriction ahead of November. The media tracking firm AdImpact found that abortion is mentioned in 42% of ads aired by Democratic House and Senate candidates in Virginia through Oct. 17, compared to just 3% of those aired by Republicans. 

YOUNGKIN DISMISSES SPECULATION OF 2024 PRESIDENTIAL RUN, SAYS HE’S FOCUSED ON VIRGINIA’S ELECTIONS

Virginia Democrats in turn have flooded ad dollars into arguing Youngkin’s strategy equates to a “ban.” 

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“I hope they keep it up,” Democratic Party of Virginia chairwoman Susan Swecker told the Post of Youngkin’s ad campaign. “We’re the only Southern state that doesn’t ban abortion and [protecting access] is something that resonates across the commonwealth in all social, economic and diverse communities.”

Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., who led the effort to oust former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, has joined in a chorus of Republicans supporting the new House speaker nominee, Rep. Mike Johnson, R-La.

After Republicans spent most of Tuesday behind closed doors selecting Johnson as the new GOP speaker candidate, Gaetz praised him as a “good godly man who’s going to advance Republicans.” The Florida Republican also told a group of reporters that his colleague is the “best possible candidate” as the GOP looks to finally elect a speaker after McCarthy was voted out of the position three weeks ago.

One issue in particular that attracted conference members to Johnson was his support for single subject appropriations bills, or spending bills that fund one department or initiative at a time rather than a spending package that can force members to support some spending levels they would be uncomfortable with otherwise supporting, Gaetz said.

“He talks about single subject spending bills being the organizing principle in the House of Representatives. That is what I’ve been fighting for since January,” Gaetz said of Johnson. “It is the reason Kevin McCarthy was vacated and despite the swamps, best efforts, we got a good godly man who’s going to advance Republicans.”

REPUBLICANS EXUDE OPTIMISM AS FOURTH SPEAKER CANDIDATE HEADS TO THE HOUSE FLOOR

A majority of Republicans backed Johnson, who received 128 votes in the final round of votes, with Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., getting 29, sources confirmed to Fox News Digital. Other candidates, including McCarthy, received votes.

Johnson said he was “honored” to have the support of his colleagues and exhibit “servant leadership” in Congress.

“We’re going to serve the people of this country. We’re going to restore their faith in this Congress, in this institution of government,” Johnson said.

He added, “We’re going to govern well. We’re going to do what’s right by the people, and believe people are going to reward that next year.”

House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., won multiple rounds of voting earlier in the day to become the party’s nominee but ultimately withdrew his candidacy in the face of staunch opposition from within the conference, as well as former President Trump.

Speaking with reporters Tuesday, Gaetz said there were efforts within the committee to try and prevent Johnson from winning the nomination, but his supporters ultimately succeeded in getting him across the finish line.

HOUSE VOTES TO REMOVE KEVIN MCCARTHY AS SPEAKER IN HISTORIC FIRST

“Well, Kevin McCarthy did everything we could to scuttle Mike Johnson without announcing his candidacy, and he had, like, 40 people vote to try to create a balance against anybody getting to 217 but we scoped him out,” Gaetz said. “We have votes for Mike Johnson across the board. And from some of these conservative members of our conference to some of our freight liners. There was enthusiastic support for this transformation.”

The Floridian said he had “nothing bad to say about those other candidates” but that the consensus process — which “sometimes it takes a little longer” — ultimately “demands consensus.”

“This process clearly demanded consensus, and it led to the best possible candidate,” Gaetz said.

Gaetz’s praise for Johnson echoes that of some of his Republican colleagues, who are hopeful this latest nominee — the fourth after Rep. Steve Scalise, R.-La., Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, and Emmer — will become the next House speaker.

HOUSE REPUBLICANS VOTE TO REMOVE JIM JORDAN AS SPEAKER NOMINEE

Scalise released a statement Tuesday calling Johnson “honest, hardworking, and principled.”

“He is a great man and will make a great speaker. I look forward to continuing to work with my good friend to get this country back on track and deliver results for American families who deserve better from Washington,” Scalise said.

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Rep. Ben Cline, R-Va., told Fox News Digital, “All the different factions came together, and we’re confident that the members who weren’t here will recognize the unity that we have [and] importance of the mission ahead.”

Rep. Russell Fry, R-SC, told Fox News that he felt “great” with Johnson as the nominee.

“Mike Johnson was the consensus pick, he’s a great guy, he’s well trusted,” he said. “And I think overwhelmingly tonight the conference is ready to stand behind him on the floor tomorrow, and he is going to lead us over the next year and a half as we continue our work as the House Republican majority. “

Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart, R-Fla., agreed, saying Republicans “are unified.” 

“Oh, yeah, absolutely,” Diaz-Balart said when asked about supporting Johnson. “I think we are, we are unified. I think we are confident and we’re unified. You know, democracy is sometimes sloppy. “

A vote for Johnson’s speakership is expected on Wednesday afternoon, however, both Scalise and Emmer dropped their candidacy before receiving a full floor vote.

Rep. Patrick McHenry, R-NC, has remained the speaker pro tempore, overseeing only minimal House protocols, since McCarthy’s exit.

Fox News’ Kelly Phares, Elizabeth Elkind and Houston Keene contributed to this report.

House Republicans were jubilant when they coalesced around a new speaker nominee after a day of marathon-closed door meetings on Tuesday.

GOP Conference Vice Chair Mike Johnson, R-La., became speaker-designate on Tuesday evening, the fourth Republican nominee in three weeks.

But House GOP lawmakers insisted that their conference is finally on the same page and ready to unite under Johnson’s leadership — teeing up a House-wide vote Wednesday just after noon.

“My wife…and I were talking, and I said, if we can get somebody like a Mike Johnson, we would be very fortunate,” Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., told reporters after the vote.

WHY JORDAN COULDN’T GRAB THE SPEAKER GAVEL AFTER THREE FAILED BALLOTS

“I think he would be an excellent choice because… he’s very cerebral,” Burchett said. “And he’s kind of a goober… but I dig that about him. There’s an old saying in east Tennessee, ‘He’s cleaner than a hound’s tooth.'” 

Burchett was one of eight House Republicans who voted to oust ex-House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., three weeks ago Tuesday. He said Johnson “brings something to the table that’s lacking in Washington.”

Rep. Michael Cloud, R-Texas, one of the original 20 lawmakers to oppose McCarthy’s speakership bid in January, called Johnson a “capable” and “good man.”

HOUSE REPUBLICANS VOTE TO REMOVE JIM JORDAN AS SPEAKER NOMINEE

“I think it was important to make sure that we got the right person for the American people,” he told Fox News Digital.

Johnson also scored the support of leadership like Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., the No. 2 House Republican who was tapped as McCarthy’s original replacement — before dropping out of the race due to mounting opposition. 

“Mike is honest, hardworking, and principled — he is a great man and will make a great speaker. I look forward to continuing to work with my good friend to get this country back on track and deliver results for American families who deserve better from Washington,” Scalise said in a statement.

House Republicans had gathered earlier in the day for a speaker election where Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., came out on top. But opposition, including from former President Donald Trump, forced him to drop out hours later.

HOUSE VOTES TO REMOVE KEVIN MCCARTHY AS SPEAKER IN HISTORIC FIRST

GOP lawmakers hastily scheduled another candidate forum where Johnson emerged on top after previously coming in second to Emmer. 

A subsequent roll call vote where members were called upon by name to say whether they would support Johnson on the floor saw no one vote against him, and just a few lawmakers voting “present.” Johnson vowed to uphold conservative values in a press conference after the vote, in which all the House Republicans present flanked him and jubilantly cheered.

However, multiple lawmakers estimated that about 19 members were missing — a significant factor in the Wednesday vote. 

Rep. John Rutherford, R-Fla., who opposed House Republicans’ second speaker-designate, Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, said “I don’t think so” when asked if the absences will pose a problem for Johnson.

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And Rep. Ben Cline, R-Va., told Fox News Digital, “All the different factions came together, and we’re confident that the members who weren’t here will recognize the unity that we have [and] importance of the mission ahead.”

CONCORD, N.H. – Former President Donald Trump remains the commanding front-runner for the 2024 Republican nomination, but vocal GOP Trump critic Gov. Chris Sununu argues the race in the first primary state of New Hampshire is “wide open.”

Sununu, who’s repeatedly said he’ll make an endorsement in the Republican race later this year, has been teaming up with a number of the White House hopefuls on the campaign trail in New Hampshire, which holds the first primary and second overall contest in the GOP presidential nominating calendar.

On Tuesday, Sununu met up with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, and for the first time spent an entire day campaigning with a Republican presidential candidate.

Asked in an interview with Fox News Digital if his full day with DeSantis was any kind of signal, Sununu emphasized that “it’s a signal that Ron’s making a commitment to New Hampshire.”

DESANTIS, HALEY, TRADE FIRE OVER WHO WAS MORE CHINA-FRIENDLY 

While Trump remains the commanding front-runner in the race for the GOP nomination, DeSantis for months had second place in the polls to himself, ahead of the rest of the field of Republican White House contenders.

But former ambassador to the United Nations and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley has leapfrogged DeSantis to stand in second place in some of the most recent polls in New Hampshire and in her home state, which holds the first southern contest and votes fourth in the Republican schedule.

FED UP WITH BIDEN, SUNUNU MOVES TO BEEF UP BORDER SECURITY

Joining DeSantis in taking questions reporters at the Red Arrow Diner in Londonderry — their first stop on Tuesday — Sununu said “I think there’s three or four candidates that are clearly surging ahead.”

Later, joining DeSantis in a Fox News interview in Concord, Sununu reiterated that “the race is wide open. I think that’s the most important message.”

Pointing to Granite State voters (who are known to be late deciders) the governor said “folks won’t make their decision who they’re voting for till maybe late December, early January. So still plenty of time to actually earn those votes.”

While he’s concentrated much of his time the past two months in Iowa, which leads off the GOP nominating calendar, DeSantis on Tuesday returned to New Hampshire for the second straight week.

“We are going to be in New Hampshire and in Iowa nonstop between now and the caucuses and the primary. I think you got to show up. I think you got to earn the vote,” DeSantis emphasized.

And taking aim at Trump — who’s holding a much more limited campaign schedule — DeSantis stressed “nobody is entitled to this. You’re not going to see me out there wedded to the teleprompter. I’m going to go out there and let it rip. I’m going to take all the questions and we’re going to shake the hands and we’re going to earn this thing the way you need to.”

Sununu’s teamed up many of DeSantis’ rivals on the campaign trail, including Haley, former Vice President Mike Pence, Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum.

Scott, who last week returned to New Hampshire to file to place his name on the state’s GOP presidential primary ballot, on Monday told staffers that moving forward he’d concentrate nearly all of this campaign time in Iowa.

Sununu wouldn’t say if Scott’s move knocked him out of contention to earn an endorsement. 

And while he said “every candidate has to decide what’s best for their campaign,” Sununu added, “I believe that every candidate’s campaign is going to do better really splitting their time between Iowa and New Hampshire. Two different types of voters but you have to connect with those voters. You’ve got to earn your time there.”

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“You can’t just do well in Iowa and then think it’s going to translate to success here in New Hampshire,” Sununu added. “It doesn’t really work that way.”

Sununu’s repeatedly downplayed the significance of his eventual endorsement, telling Fox News that “I’m never a big believer that endorsements matter as much as the press think they do.”

But the presidential contenders continue to praise Sununu, and have made no secret that they’d be thrilled to land Sununu’s backing

“Chris Sununu and I have been friends for 12 years. I have enormous respect for him as a person and as a governor… he’s done a really great job here for eight years,” Christie told reporters last week as he filed in New Hampshire. “I would love to have him on my team. I make no secret about that.”

Sununu, who flirted for months with a White House run of his own before announcing in June that he wouldn’t seek the presidency, told Fox News earlier this month that “I’m not going to wait too long. My sense is November. Early December. Just like most voters, I’m going to start narrowing this thing down and then when I go, I’ll go.”

On Tuesday, when asked again about his timetable, the governor said “when the mood hits me.”

Adding that he’s not coy, he said “when I know everyone else will know.”

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

CONCORD, N.H. – Republican presidential candidate Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida is spotlighting his opposition to President Biden’s humanitarian aid to Palestinians in Gaza.

“They were wrong on the humanitarian aid to Hamas because Hamas is going to use that for terrorism,” DeSantis said on Tuesday in an interview with Fox News Digital when asked about the $100 million in humanitarian assistance for Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank.

The president, in announcing the aid last week, said the funding would help support “over a million displaced and conflict-affected people with clean water, food, hygiene support, medical care, and other essential needs. The United States provides humanitarian assistance through trusted partners, including U.N. agencies and international NGOs.”

After Hamas militants launched a horrific sneak assault on Israel two and a half weeks ago – in which more than 1,400 Israelis were killed in the worst attack on the Jewish state in a half century – Israel responded with relentless airstrikes on the Gaza Strip that have left nearly 5,000 people dead.

CLICK HERE FOR LIVE FOX NEWS UPDATES ON THE ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR 

The top contenders for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination – including former President Donald Trump, who’s the commanding frontrunner, DeSantis, former U.N. ambassador and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, and Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina – have all been calling out Biden for what they charge is backdoor assistance to Hamas, which aims to wipe out Israel.

“No U.S. tax dollars to the Gaza Strip. Hamas is holding American hostages and Biden wants to fund them?” DeSantis charged last week.

On Tuesday, DeSantis reiterated “you shouldn’t be doing that” regarding the aid, “knowing that Hamas rules the streets.”

2024 DIVIDE: GOP PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES SPAR OVER MIDEAST CONFLICT

Pointing to the over 200 Israelis and some Americans held hostage by Hamas in Gaza, DeSantis said “it’s doubly problematic when they still are holding all these people hostages. So wait a minute. How is it humanitarian to be holding these people hostages? That should have been a precondition before they even discussed anything else.”

“The president has a responsibility to look after Americans, and that includes Americans overseas. And in this case, you need to be engaged in that,” DeSantis said. “Most of what will go on will be things that are not going to be publicized. There’s going to be a lot of things that are going to rely on intelligence. I’d work closely with the Israelis, but I think we both have common interests in this to be able to recover all those hostages.”

DesSantis was interviewed during his latest campaign swing in New Hampshire, the state that holds the first primary and second overall contest in the GOP nominating calendar.

Haley has also spotlighted her opposition to the humanitarian aid, noting how easily the assistance could fall into the hands of Hamas.

“Nikki opposes taxpayer dollars for Gaza just like she did when she helped eliminate it at the U.N. The money is too easily diverted to Hamas and is not a good use of tax dollars. Arab countries should step up if they want to help Palestinians as much as they claim,” Haley’s campaign told Fox News.

And in an interview Monday on the Fox News Channel, Haley reiterated “no more money to countries that hate America.”

HEAD HERE FOR LIVE FOX NEWS CHANNEL COVERAGE OF THE ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR

During her tenure as ambassador to the U.N., Haley slashed U.S. funding to Palestinians in Gaza by defunding the U.N. Relief and Works Agency. The aid was later restored under the Biden administration.

“I stopped all U.S. taxpayer money going to the Palestinian refugees when I was at the United Nations. This is something that I always said – the Arab countries, it was their responsibility, not the American taxpayer’s responsibility,” Haley said in an interview last week on Fox News’ “Hannity.”

Scott told Fox News in a statement that “there should not be a single U.S. dollar that risks ending up in the hands of Hamas. The terrorist organization brutally murdered innocent Israelis and dozens of Americans.”

And Scott vowed to take steps “to ensure no future taxpayer dollars make their way into the hands of Hamas.”

Trump has slammed the aid as “totally inappropriate.”

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The White House has said the aid will be distributed through the United Nations and non-government organizations. But Hamas has a long track record of seizing assistance funneled through the U.N. or relief agencies.

While the Republican presidential contenders are mostly on the same page in criticizing the Biden administration over the humanitarian aid, they’ve traded blows on other aspects of the Israel-Hamas war.

Most notable is the verbal fireworks between DeSantis and Haley and their campaigns and allied super PACs over whether the U.S. should accept any Palestinian refugees fleeing the fighting.

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

• Committees on Wisconsin’s Republican-controlled Legislature have advanced multiple proposed amendments that would enshrine election reform measures into the state’s constitution.
• The amendments would ban both private election funding and noncitizen voting in local elections, as well as further enshrine voter ID requirements into state law.
• The Wisconsin Constitution can only be amended if said amendment passes in two consecutive legislative sessions. Democratic Gov. Tony Evers does not have the power to veto a constitutional amendment.

Republicans who control the Wisconsin Legislature have advanced a series of constitutional amendments that would outlaw private funding for elections ahead of the 2024 presidential contest, bar municipalities from allowing non-U.S. citizens to vote in local elections and enshrine existing voter photo ID requirements in the state constitution.

The proposals debated Tuesday at a joint hearing of the Senate and Assembly elections committees stem from false claims made by former President Donald Trump and his supporters that widespread voter fraud tipped the 2020 presidential election in favor of President Joe Biden.

Constitutional amendments must be passed in two consecutive sessions of the state Legislature before being ratified by voters in a statewide election. The governor cannot veto a constitutional amendment.

EX-WISCONSIN SUPREME COURT JUSTICE FIGHTS SUBPOENA OVER PROTASIEWICZ IMPEACHMENT ADVICE

Democratic Gov. Tony Evers has previously vetoed more than a dozen Republican-backed elections proposals, including a 2021 bill to outlaw private elections grants.

The Legislature approved the amendments requiring voters to be U.S. citizens and outlawing private elections grants in its last session. The voter ID amendment is a new proposal this year, which means the soonest it could be put on the ballot for voter approval is 2025.

Assembly Majority Leader Tyler August said Tuesday that he hopes to put the amendment outlawing election grants before voters in the statewide April 2024 election and put the citizenship requirements on the November 2024 ballot.

Conservatives were outraged in 2020 by a nonprofit that distributed hundreds of millions of dollars in grants, mostly funded by Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, to local election offices. Opponents termed the money “Zuckerbucks” and claimed it was an attempt by the billionaire to tip the vote in favor of Democrats, although there was no evidence to support that. Since 2020, GOP lawmakers in at least 20 states have outlawed private elections grants.

There has also been a recent push for states to specifically make clear that only U.S. citizens can vote in state and local elections. Some cities and towns across the country have allowed noncitizens to vote in local elections. Federal law already requires U.S. citizenship to vote in national elections and no state constitutions explicitly allow noncitizens to vote in state or local elections.

The Wisconsin Constitution guarantees that every U.S. citizen age 18 and over is a qualified elector. But it does not specifically say that only U.S. citizens are qualified to vote in state or local elections.

“I don’t think anyone in this room believes noncitizens are going to gain the right to vote in the state of Wisconsin anytime soon,” said Jamie Lynn Crofts, policy director for Wisconsin Voices. “It should be up to people at the local level to decide if noncitizens should be able to vote in their local elections.”

The photo ID amendment would enshrine the state’s current photo ID law, enacted in 2011, in the state constitution. The Legislature could still pass exceptions to the requirement.

WISCONSIN ALLOCATES $402M TO COMBAT PFAS, OTHER WATER POLLUTANTS

The move to make photo ID a constitutional requirement comes after the Wisconsin Supreme Court flipped to liberal control. There is no current legal challenge to the state’s voter ID requirement, which is one of the strictest in the country. But other election-related lawsuits challenging restrictions on absentee voting and ballot drop boxes could be taken up by the state Supreme Court.

Republican supporters at Tuesday’s hearing said the voter ID law is designed to ensure that only qualified voters cast ballots. But opponents say voter ID requirements make it more difficult for people to vote, particularly those with disabilities, the elderly and people who don’t have driver’s licenses.

Under current law, and the proposed amendment, voters must provide one of a list of approved photo IDs in order to cast their ballot. Acceptable IDs include a Wisconsin driver’s license, U.S. passport, tribal ID, U.S. military ID or student ID. Absentee voters must provide a photocopy of their ID when requesting a ballot.

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Voters who do not have one of the required photo IDs can vote a provisional ballot and then return by the deadline with the identification to have the ballot counted. The ability to cast a provisional ballot does not change under the proposed amendment.

As they battle to be the top alternative to former President Donald Trump in the 2024 Republican presidential nomination race, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and former United Nations Ambassador and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley are increasingly trading fire.

The latest flash point is China.

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

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

DESANTIS, HALEY, TARGET BIDEN OVER HUMANITARIAN AID TO PALESTINIANS

While Trump remains the commanding front-runner in the race for the GOP nomination, DeSantis for months had second place in the polls to himself, ahead of Haley and the rest of the field of Republican White House contenders.

But Haley’s seen her poll position rise the past two months and has leapfrogged DeSantis to stand in second place in some of the most recent polls in New Hampshire — which holds the first primary and second overall contest in the GOP nominating calendar — and in her home state of South Carolina, which holds the first southern contest.

Over the past week, the candidates, their campaigns and allied super PACs have traded fire over whether the U.S. should accept any Palestinian refugees who flee the fighting in Gaza between Israel and Hamas.

Now comes new fireworks over China, which has increasingly become a prime target for Republicans as relations have dramatically worsened between Washington and Beijing.

TRUMP MAY NOT BE THE ONLY REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE TO SKIP THE NEXT GOP PRIMARY DEBATE

The DeSantis-aligned super PAC Never Back Down went up with a new spot — backed by a seven-figure ad buy — that criticized Haley for bringing Chinese businesses to the Palmetto State while she was governor.

“Nikki Haley: questionable judgment, dangerous on China,” the narrator of the ads says under pictures of Haley and Chinese leader Xi Jinping.

While noting that his campaign wasn’t responsible for the commercial, DeSantis said that “it’s very jarring to see her in her own words talk about how … she wants to roll out the red carpet for the CCP (Chinese Communist Party).”

DeSantis added, “I did the opposite in Florida. We banned the CCP from purchasing land in Florida. We didn’t give them any free land. So, that’s an honest difference of policy.”

He asked, “[W]ho do you trust to lead — somebody that’s actually stood up to China or somebody that rolled out the red carpet for China?”

On the campaign trail this year, Haley’s repeatedly stated that China is the “No. 1 biggest national security threat.” And earlier this year, she released a comprehensive plan to combat China.

Haley also 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.

The Haley-aligned super PAC Stand for America has also spotlighted the candidate’s China stance in a series of ads.

The Haley campaign in a statement to Fox News said the attacks are “more lies and hypocrisy from desperate and losing Ron DeSantis, who aggressively recruited Chinese companies to Florida, including a sanctioned Chinese military manufacturer. Nikki Haley took on the Chinese at the UN and she will as president.”

Never Back Down chief operating officer Kristin Davison, responding, told Fox News that “Nikki Haley can’t defend her disastrous record on China, so she’s lying about Ron DeSantis. She has no evidence to support these wildly false claims.”

DeSantis was interviewed as he campaigned Tuesday in New Hampshire.

Speaking with reporters after mingling with the breakfast crowd at the Red Arrow Diner in Londonderry, DeSantis once again targeted Trump.

“What Donald Trump does now, he is wedded to the teleprompter,” DeSantis said. “This is a different Donald Trump than 2015 and ’16 – lost the zip on his fastball, has a sense of entitlement, all this stuff; doesn’t think he has to go through and earn it like other candidates. And that’s just not going fly in Iowa and New Hampshire.”

Responding, Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung said in a statement to Fox News that “Ron DeSantis is operating with a little league brain in a major league world. It’s not surprising to see him go full-blown Never Trump and anti-MAGA because that’s who he is deep down inside.”

DeSantis also pointed to Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the environmental activist, high-profile vaccine skeptic and scion of the Kennedy political dynasty, who this month dropped his Democrat primary challenge against President Biden to launch an independent White house run.

DeSantis has repeatedly argued that Trump ceded control to Dr. Anthony Fauci, the longtime top federal infectious disease expert.

“RFK Jr. will be a vessel for anti-lockdown and anti-Fauci voters if Trump is the nominee. If I’m the nominee, they all go to me because I stood up against Fauci. I’m going to clean out [the] CDC and all those. It’s a big part of my platform. With Trump, though, he created Fauci. He elevated Fauci,” DeSantis said in his latest attack on Trump over the then-president’s management of the coronavirus pandemic.

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Speaking with Fox News, DeSantis added that “there are millions of voters out there who want to see accountability for the federal government’s COVID policies. I represent a vessel to do that. I’ve pledged to do that. Donald Trump will not do that. He said he did everything right. He doesn’t think there’s a need to go back and do any of that.”

Looking ahead to the 2024 election, DeSantis said that “those voters, those anti-lockdown voters, those anti Fauci voters, they’re going to want a vehicle. And I think that RFK is going to be able to peel those voters away from Trump.”

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

CONCORD, N.H. – President Biden is breaking with 100 years of tradition with the news that he won’t file to place his name on New Hampshire’s Democratic presidential primary ballot.

The Biden 2024 re-election campaign announced on Tuesday that the president will pass on filing, due to the pledge by the Democratic National Committee to discipline candidates who compete in unsanctioned primaries like the one New Hampshire is planning to hold next year.

“While the president wishes to participate in the Primary, he is obligated as a Democratic candidate for President to comply with the Delegate Selection Rules for the 2024 Democratic National Convention promulgated by the Democratic National Committee,” Biden 2024 campaign manager Julie Chávez Rodríguez wrote in a letter to longtime New Hampshire Democratic Party chair Ray Buckley.

“In accordance with this guidance, Biden for President will refrain from submitting a Declaration of Candidacy for the Primary ahead of Friday’s candidate filing deadline for the Primary,” Rodriguez explained.

WILL DEAN PHILLIPS LAUNCH A DEMOCRATIC PRIMARY CHALLENGE AGAINST BIDEN FRIDAY IN NEW HAMPSHIRE?

New Hampshire has held the first presidential primary in both major political parties’ nominating calenders for a century, and Iowa’s held the lead-off caucuses for the Democrats and Republicans for half a century.

But Democrats for years have knocked both Iowa and New Hampshire as unrepresentative of the party as a whole, for being largely White with few major urban areas. Nevada and South Carolina, which in recent cycles have voted third and fourth on the calendar, are much more diverse than either Iowa or New Hampshire. Nevada and South Carolina were added to the Democratic calendar nearly two decades ago to increase the diversity of the early states electorate.

While Republicans aren’t making major changes to their schedule, the DNC earlier this year overwhelmingly approved a calendar proposed by President Biden to move South Carolina to the lead position, with a Feb. 3, 2024, primary. New Hampshire and Nevada are scheduled to hold primaries three days later, with Iowa entirely losing its early state position. The president and supporters of the plan have argued that the plan would empower minority voters, whom Democrats have long relied on but have at times taken for granted.

But New Hampshire has a nearly half-century-old law that mandates that it hold the first presidential primary, a week ahead of any similar contest.

To comply with the DNC, New Hampshire needed to scrap its state law protecting its first-in-the-nation primary status and expand access to early voting. However, with Republicans in control of New Hampshire’s governor’s office and both houses of the state legislature, state Democrats repeatedly argued that is a non-starter.

While he’s yet to set the date of the primary, New Hampshire Secretary of State Dave Scanlan said recently that the contest would likely be held in late January.

That would make New Hampshire non-compliant, and the state could lose half of its delegates to next summer’s Democratic presidential nominating convention, under DNC penalties passed last year.

While top Democrats in the Granite State are expected to lead a write-in campaign for Biden in the primary, the president’s decision to skip putting his name on the ballot could lead to a protest vote in New Hampshire.

While the president’s the commanding front-runner for his party’s nomination, polls indicate Biden has faced plenty of concerns from Democrats over his age and physical and mental stamina.

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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.

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 now seek the White House as an independent candidate. 

Rep. Dean Phillips of Minnesota, who’s seriously mulling a primary challenge against Biden, may head to New Hampshire on Friday to file and launch a 2024 Democratic presidential campaign.

Buckley, responding to the Biden campaign’s announcement, took to twitter on Tuesday evening to write, “The reality is that Joe Biden will win the NH FITN Primary in January, win renomination in Chicago and will be re-elected next November. NH voters know and trust Joe Biden that’s why he is leading Trump in NH by double digits.” 

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

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

Subscribe now to get Fox News Politics newsletter in your inbox.

What’s happening:

– Third GOP speaker nominee drops out of race after three weeks without House leader. Get the latest updates on the House speaker race from Fox News’ live blog

– House returns Tuesday evening to select another nominee for House speaker…

– US officials say at least 33 Americans have been killed in the Israel-Hamas war. Follow Fox News for the latest updates on the conflict. 

Emmer goes down

The third House Republican to win his party’s nomination for speaker withdrew Tuesday hours after winning the title. Rep. Tom Emmer withdrew his name from the speaker race before calling a House floor vote. 

Republicans remain divided about who should lead the party since Rep. Kevin McCarthy’s historic ousting three weeks ago. Emmer dropped out shortly after former President Trump called him a “globalist RINO.”

HOUSE OF CHAOS: Republicans agree on needing speaker this week, divided on if they’ll get one …Read more

Quote of the day: 

“So the consensus is unless it changes, you stay here all night until we pick somebody”

-Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C. on the Tuesday evening GOP conference meeting to find a speaker

FIVE PRINCIPLES: GOP speaker candidates calls on all contenders to follow these principles …Read more

DONALDS CLAPS BACK: Donalds fires back at AOC’s jab at his ‘experience’ …Read more

Israel-Hamas war rages on

OBAMA’S WARNING: Ex-president says Israeli military action ‘could ultimately backfire’ if one thing not considered …Read more

‘ANTISEMITIC ACTIVITY’: GOP debuts resolution censuring Rashida Tlaib amid Israel crisis …Read more

POPE-ENDORSED PLAN: Biden claims Pope Francis ‘on the same page’, as US on Israel-Gaza war; Pontiff calls for peace …Read more

‘I CANNOT UNCRITICALLY ACCEPT’: Squad member continues suggesting Israel behind Gaza hospital explosion …Read more

GRAVE CONCERNS ON GAZA: Democrat Sen. Peter Welch warns against a ground invasion of Gaza …Read more

‘RESENT THOSE COMMENTS’: New York Democrat hits back at Ilhan Omar over Israel …Read more

‘LOST ME FOREVER’: Former DSA member trashes org for support of Palestinian resistance …Read more

‘LEAVE THEM ON THE FRINGE’: ADL CEO leaves no doubt about disgust for anti-Israel ‘Squad’ …Read more

WHY THE WAIT?: Why the NYT waited to correct their botched Gaza reporting …Read more

Campaign trail

ALL TIED UP: New poll shows independent candidates threaten Trump, Biden presidential hopes …Read more

‘MENTALLY UNSTABLE’: New biography details tense exchange between Romney, 2024 GOP candidate …Read more

GAINS IN CAROLINA: GOP set to gain 3 seats in North Carolina’s Senate …Read more

BACKING OUT: Ramaswamy expresses support for US decreasing role on world stage …Read more

ELLIS TAKES DEAL: Former Trump attorney pleads guilty in Georgia election interference case …Read more

Worth the read

‘DESIGNED’ TO FAIL: Cruz says Biden funding request won’t help border crisis …Read more

TROJAN HORSE: China is rapidly expanding influence in US via green energy industry: report …Read more

‘COERCIVE INFLUENCE’: Gallagher warns university presidents to be ‘clear-eyed’ on China threat to campuses …Read more

‘CALAMITOUS’: US birth rate fell by 22% since 2007 …Read more

BOARDING PASS: TSA flub lands lawmaker in cuffs …Read more

‘TIME FOR ACTION’: Conservative group warns House GOP to push on border security …Read more

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

FIRST ON FOX: Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., spoke to Fox News Digital about his presidential campaign’s shift of resources to the state of Iowa, and why he believes his campaign is well positioned to make inroads with the evangelical base in the Hawkeye State.

“Iowa chooses presidents and the entire road to the White House starts in Iowa,” Scott told Fox News Digital on Tuesday. “I wanted to make sure I anchored myself in a place where I believe our message is resonating. We’re seeing a positive response, which has aligned with my faith-filled message. Personal experience seems to match with the Iowa voters, so it’s just been a really good experience so far, and I look forward to seeing it translate into votes.”

The interview with Scott came a day after his campaign announced he was going “all in” on Iowa and has shifted ad buys from New Hampshire to Iowa, along with staff and nearly all of his other resources.

Scott told Fox News Digital that Iowa is a state “rich in faith” that understands that the “miracle of America is not a miracle, it’s driven by faith.”

2024 GOP CANDIDATE FACED WRATH OF ROMNEY AFTER ENDORSING TRUMP, BOOK SAYS: ‘DIMINISHES YOU MORALLY’

“Our Founding Fathers should be celebrated for founding a country on ideals, the ideal of religious liberty, religious freedom, and a Judeo-Christian principle,” Scott said. “And so having the same perspective and worldview and understanding that the importance of the policy positions that we take or what we’re doing is undergirded by the way we do it. And here in Iowa, I see that that message continues to resonate, and it’s just been a really good alignment.“

The Real Clear Politics average of polling in Iowa shows Scott at 6%, behind former President Donald Trump, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy. 

CHER SAYS SHE’LL LEAVE US IF TRUMP RETAKES WHITE HOUSE IN 2024: ‘I ALMOST GOT AN ULCER THE LAST TIME’

Scott told Fox News Digital that his focus on Iowa won’t be “attacking” other candidates, but rather on providing a contrast on where he stands on certain issues.

One of those issues is abortion, where Scott said he has “been working on getting the rest of the Republican presidential candidates to join me in a 15-week national limit.” He acknowledged that DeSantis pledged support for that position at the last GOP debate, but pointed out that Haley did not. 

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Scott also explained his stance that the U.S. should not accept refugees from Gaza and said, “Other candidates decided that was a good idea, but backtracked when the polls changed.”

Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., has dropped out of the race for speaker hours after being named House Republicans’ nominee. 

Emmer won a majority of the GOP Conference on Tuesday morning after five rounds of voting, against six other potential candidates. 

But it quickly became clear that he did not have enough support to outright win a House-wide vote. With Republicans’ razor-thin majority, a GOP speaker-designate can only lose four members of their own party to win the gavel without Democratic support. 

MEET TOM EMMER, THE GOP MAJORITY WHIP AND NOMINEE FOR HOUSE SPEAKER

At least 25 Republicans said they would not support Emmer in a House floor vote after he won the title.

More GOP lawmakers indicated after the roll call that the conference needed to move on to a new nominee. 

“This morning I voted for Rep. Donalds for speaker. Followed by Rep Johnson. Rep Emmer does not have votes to be speaker and I will be unable to support him on the floor,” Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., wrote on social media platform X. 

WHY JORDAN COULDN’T GRAB THE SPEAKER GAVEL AFTER THREE FAILED BALLOTS

Rep. Matt Rosendale, R-Mont., called on GOP Conference Vice Chair Mike Johnson, R-La., and Republican Study Committee Chair Kevin Hern, R-Okla., to jump back into the race. Both lost to Emmer earlier in the day. 

“This morning, the Republican Conference met to elect a Speaker. I supported Kevin Hern until he was eliminated from the ballot, at which time I supported Mike Johnson,” Rosendale said on X. “Tom Emmer has secured the nomination but no longer has a path to secure 217 votes. It’s time to get back in the room and give Kevin Hern and Mike Johnson an opportunity to get to 217!”

HOUSE REPUBLICANS VOTE TO REMOVE JIM JORDAN AS SPEAKER NOMINEE

Meanwhile, former President Donald Trump exerted external pressure against Emmer.

“I have many wonderful friends wanting to be Speaker of the House, and some are truly great Warriors,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social app. “RINO Tom Emmer, who I do not know well, is not one of them.”

Emmer is the third speaker-designate House Republicans have had in as many weeks. Congress has been paralyzed since eight GOP lawmakers voted with all Democrats to oust ex-Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., the first time in history the House deposed its own leader.

Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., and Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio – two of the highest-profile House Republicans after McCarthy – were both forced out of the race because they were unable to win over the 217 Republicans needed for victory.

Former President Trump on Tuesday blasted House Majority Leader Tom Emmer as a “globalist RINO,” warning that electing him speaker of the House “would be a tragic mistake.” 

Emmer won the Republican nomination to be the next speaker of the House on Tuesday. Emmer is the third nominee since the ouster of former Speaker Kevin McCarthy earlier this month.

MEET TOM EMMER, THE GOP MAJORITY WHIP AND NOMINEE FOR HOUSE SPEAKER

But even as he secured the majority of votes in the House Republican Conference meeting Tuesday, Trump, the 2024 Republican presidential frontrunner, slammed his nomination, and urged Republicans not to vote for him on the House floor.

“I have many wonderful friends wanting to be Speaker of the House, and some are truly great Warriors,” Trump posted on his Truth Social Tuesday.

Trump endorsed Jordan, R-Ohio, to serve as speaker of the House earlier this month.

“RINO Tom Emmer, who I do not know well, is not one of them,” Trump said. “He never respected the Power of a Trump Endorsement, or the breadth and scope of MAGA—MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”

A “RINO” stands for “Republican In Name Only.” 

Trump said Emmer “fought me all the way, and actually spent more time defending Ilhan Omar, than he did me.”

“He is totally out-of-touch with Republican Voters,” Trump said. “I believe he has now learned his lesson, because he is saying that he is Pro-Trump all the way, but who can ever be sure? Has he only changed because that’s what it takes to win?”

WHY JORDAN COULDN’T GRAB THE SPEAKER GAVEL AFTER THREE FAILED BALLOTS

Trump warned that the Republican Party “cannot take that chance, because that’s not where the America First Voters are.” 

“Voting for a Globalist RINO like Tom Emmer would be a tragic mistake!” Trump posted.

Trump’s comments come as Emmer’s team has been seeking to portray the majority whip as in-line with Trump. Reports say Emmer keeps an autographed photo of himself with the former president in his office. 

Emmer reportedly spoke to Trump over the phone this weekend, as he announced his bid for speaker, but so did several of his opponents. 

Emmer had led voting Tuesday morning amid multiple votes within the House GOP conference on secret ballots to determine who would be their nominee to pick up the gavel. On the fifth vote, Emmer secured a majority and became the nominee.

Emmer is only able to afford four defections from fellow Republicans when the vote eventually goes to the House floor.

Emmer is the third nominee chosen by the House Republican Conference since McCarthy, R-Calif., was historically voted out of his role.

Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., on Oct. 3, led a motion to vacate. All House Democrats and eight House Republicans, led by Gaetz, voted to remove McCarthy as speaker— a first in U.S. history.

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Since then, House Republicans tried to elect Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., and Jordan, but neither were able to secure votes on the House floor, facing significant Republican opposition.

House Republicans also sought to empower Speaker Pro-tempore Patrick McHenry last week, but the effort also failed. 

This is the second-longest period the House has ever gone without a speaker. It lacked a speaker for two months in late 1855 and early 1856.

Former Trump attorney Jenna Ellis has pleaded guilty to intentionally interfering in the election process in the state of Georgia.

On Tuesday, Ellis’ attorneys informed Judge Scott McAfee that Ellis intended to plead guilty to aiding and abetting false statements in writing, and both were present in a courtroom hearing where a teary-eyed Ellis, 38, read from a prepared typed statement admitting her fault.

“As an attorney who is also a Christian, I take my responsibilities as a lawyer very seriously and I endeavor to be a person of sound moral and ethical character in all my dealings,” Ellis said in the courtroom. “In the wake of the 2020 presidential election, I believed that challenging the results on behalf of President Trump should be pursued in a just and legal way.”

“I endeavored to represent my client to the best of my ability,” she continued, saying she worked closely with other lawyers who provided her with information that she then told the media. “What I did not do, but I should, was make sure the facts that the other lawyers alleged to be true were in fact true. In the frenetic pace of attempting to raise challenges to the election in several states, including Georgia, I failed to do my due diligence.”

BILL MAHER ASSERTS BIDEN WON FAIRLY, TRUMP ADVISER JENNA ELLIS PUSHES BACK: ‘WE DON’T KNOW THAT’

She was charged with one charge of aiding and abetting false statements in writing. It carries a minimum of one year in prison.

As part of the plea deal, Ellis will have to serve five years probation and pay $5,000 in restitution to the Georgia Secretary of State within 30 days.

She will also have to complete 100 hours of community service, write an apology letter to voters in the state of Georgia and testify truthfully in future hearings regarding ongoing cases.

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

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Ellis is also not allowed to post anything on social media about her case until the conclusion of all cases about election inference.

In lieu of ongoing cases, she must fully cooperate with prosecutors in interviews and evidentiary hearings as well as assisting in pre-trial matters.

She also asked the court to be tried as a first-time offender.