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MANCHESTER, N.H. – A brash Gov. Chris Sununu has a message for Nikki Haley’s rivals for the Republican presidential nomination – it’s time to get out of the race. 

“This is a race between two people – Nikki Haley and Donald Trump. That’s it,” Sununu stated as he spoke with reporters after endorsing Haley for president on Tuesday, at a town hall event at a ski lodge in New Hampshire’s largest city.

Sununu, the popular Republican governor of the state that holds the first primary and second overall contest in the GOP presidential nominating calendar, emphasized that “with all due respect to all the other candidates, this is a two-person race at this point.”

The endorsement will likely have little immediate impact on the former president, who remains the commanding front-runner for the GOP nomination as he makes his third straight White House run.

‘WE’RE ALL IN’ – SUNUNU BACKS HALEY IN MAJOR 2024 ENDORSEMENT

But Sununu’s much coveted backing of Haley, the former two-term South Carolina governor who later served as ambassador to the United Nations in the Trump administration, is seen as a setback for the two other Republican presidential candidates who were also in the running to land the endorsement – former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.

“Chris and Ron have been running great campaigns. Both are very good friends. Great governors in their own right,” Sununu said in a Fox News Digital interview after endorsing Haley.

SUNUNU TEAMS UP WITH HALEY, DESANTIS, AND CHRISTIE AS HE DECIDES ON A 2024 ENDORSEMENT

But he added that one of the reasons he chose to endorse Haley is that “she’s really connecting on the campaign trail. Her numbers are moving.”

“I’m behind Nikki Haley. I think they should all get out frankly, including former President Trump. I think everyone should kind of clear the way,” Sununu said when asked about Haley’s rivals. 

But he quickly acknowledged “they’re going to keep campaigning.”

Sununu’s endorsement of Haley appears to be a big blow for Christie, who just as he did in his unsuccessful 2016 White House bid, is once again betting it all on New Hampshire.

Sununu told Fox News that he hadn’t talked to Christie ahead of his endorsement of Haley. 

WAS THE REAL WINNER SO FAR IN THE REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL DEBATES THE GUY WHO DIDN’T SHOW UP?

Haley, asked by Fox News if Christie should depart the race in the wake of her landing Sununu’s endorsement, said “Chris is my friend and I will never tell anyone to get out of the race. It’s a personal issue to get in. It’s a personal decision to get out. That’s Chris’ decision to make.”

Sununu will join Haley for three more campaign events on Wednesday and Thursday in New Hampshire. The governor will be stumping with Haley across the Granite State as Christie returns Wednesday to New Hampshire for two events.

Christie’s campaign, in a statement, emphasized that Sununu’s endorsement of Haley “puts us down one vote in New Hampshire and when Governor Christie is back in Londonderry tomorrow, he’ll continue to tell the unvarnished truth about Donald Trump and earn that one missing vote and thousands more.”

CHRISTIE UPS HIS GAME IN A KEY PRIMARY STATE

As he worked to land Sununu’s endorsement, Christie spotlighted that when it comes to Trump, he and the New Hampshire governor were on the same page, as two of the most vocal GOP critics of the former president.

“Who does he want standing across from Donald Trump when this gets down to a one-on-one? Who does he think can take him on in a direct way? Who’s been saying the same things as Chris Sununu has been saying for the last couple of years about Donald Trump, trying to move the party in a new direction? And I think I’m the person who has the clearest, strongest voice on that,” Christie emphasized in a Fox News Digital interview a couple of weeks ago. 

Christie in recent weeks has also stepped up his criticism of Haley’s much more measured jabs at Trump.

Haley, at Tuesday’s event, once again repeated her well-worn line that Trump was “the right president at the right time.”

Asked if Haley’s more passive attacks on Trump were an issue, Sununu told Fox News “not at all.”

“A candidate has to be talking about what they’re about, not just what the other guy isn’t. I think there’s always an opportunity to talk about the former president in terms of where he succeeded and where he didn’t – and there’s a lot of didn’t there. But I think Nikki’s done a great job not just talking about him but what she’s about,” he argued.

And Haley emphasized to reporters that “I talk about my differences with Trump.”

“Anti-Trumpers don’t think I hate him enough. Pro-Trumpers don’t think I love him enough,” she added. “At the end of the day I put my truths out there and let the chips fall where they may.”

Haley, who has enjoyed momentum in the polls in recent months, thanks in part to well-received performances in the first three GOP presidential primary debates, leapfrogged DeSantis for second place in New Hampshire and her home state, which holds the first southern contest. Christie stands in third place in most of the latest surveys in New Hampshire.

Haley also aims to make a fight of it in Iowa – the state whose Jan. 15 caucuses lead off the GOP nominating calendar. The latest polls suggest she is close to pulling even with DeSantis for a distant second place behind Trump.

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While Sununu’s backing of Haley is also a setback for DeSantis, it likely won’t sting as much as it does for Christie.

DeSantis is mostly concentrating on Iowa, where he enjoys the endorsement of Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds. He’s also backed by Bob Vander Plaats, president of The Family Leader, a top social conservative organization in a state where evangelical voters play an outsized role in Republican politics.

DeSantis, who is spending most of his time in Iowa, is expected back in New Hampshire on Friday.

“What happens in New Hampshire will be significantly impacted by the outcome in Iowa, where the true Trump alternative will emerge. And when Ron DeSantis comes out in that position, he will be joined by over 60 New Hampshire state legislators who stand ready to take the fight to the establishment and their candidates of yesteryear to return power to grassroots conservatives,” DeSantis campaign spokesman Andrew Romeo argued in a statement.

And at a town hall in Iowa hosted by CNN, DeSantis on Tuesday evening argued that “even a campaigner as good as Chris Sununu is not going to be able to paper over Nikki Haley being an establishment candidate.”

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

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis invoked the name of former President Donald Trump when asked in a CNN town hall on Tuesday about a controversial satanic display in the Iowa state capitol building.

“So it’s interesting,” DeSantis told CNN’s Jake Tapper. “I heard this and then I was like, well, how did it get there? Is that even a religion? And lo and behold, the Trump administration gave them approval to be under the IRS as a religion. So that gave them the legal ability to potentially do it.”

DeSantis continued, “So I don’t know what the legislature, how they analyzed it, but it very well may be because of that ruling under Donald Trump that they may have had a legal leg to stand on. My view would be that that’s not a religion that the founding fathers were trying to create. But I do think that IRS ruling, I was really surprised to see that they did that.”

THE SATANIC TEMPLE DEDICATING ‘LARGEST SATANIC GATHERING IN HISTORY’ TO BOSTON MAYOR, WILL REQUIRE MASKS

DeSantis was referring to a situation that developed this week where The Satanic Temple of Iowa erected a public display depicting “Baphomet,” made of a ram’s head of with mirrors covering it, propped by a mannequin in red clothing.

Co-founder of The Satanic Temple, Lucien Greaves, told the news outlet that the display represents the group’s right to religious freedom.

The display sparked intense controversy and condemnation from conservatives in Iowa from those who felt the state legislature or the state’s Republican governor should have stopped it from being put up.

SATANISTS CONDEMN LEADER, DEMAND HE REAFFIRM TRANS RIGHTS AFTER TAKING PHOTO WITH ANTI-WOKE ATHEIST

The Iowa Department of Administrative Services said the satanic group met all the requirements legally needed to erect the display, KWWL-TV reported.

“Like many Iowans, I find the Satanic Temple’s display in the Capitol absolutely objectionable,” Gov. Kim Reynolds, who endorsed DeSantis, said in a statement. 

“In a free society, the best response to objectionable speech is more speech, and I encourage all those of faith to join me today in praying over the Capitol and recognizing the nativity scene that will be on display – the true reason for the season,” Reynolds added. 

Lawmakers who oppose the display have acknowledged that it is protected by the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. 

During the Trump presidency, the IRS in 2019 granted the “non-theistic” Salem-Mass.-based Satanic organization tax exempt status. 

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“That doesn’t necessarily mean the government supports it, but they did grant it,” Tapper told DeSantis Tuesday.

“Yeah, exactly,” DeSantis responded. “But they recognized it as a religion, otherwise you wouldn’t be able to do it. I don’t think that was the right decision… that’s wrong.”

When asked if the display should be taken down, DeSantis said, “Yeah, I mean look, I think if they’re going to get sued on it, I think you fight that fight.”

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

Fox News Digital’s Adam Sabes contributed to this report

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis responded to New Hampshire GOP Gov. Chris Sununu’s endorsement of former Ambassador Nikki Haley by praising the governor’s political chops, but he also said he doesn’t believe it will be enough to put Haley over the top. 

“Well, unlike some people running, if someone doesn’t endorse me, I’m not going to go trash them,” DeSantis told CNN’s Jake Tapper, taking a shot at former President Trump, when asked about Sununu’s endorsement of Haley.

“Chris is a good guy. He’s done a good job. And I’m going to continue to say he’s good. He’s a really good campaigner.”

DeSantis added the caveat that even though Sununu is a good campaigner, he is “not going to be able to paper over Nikki being an establishment candidate.”

WILL SUNUNU ENDORSEMENT OF HALEY MAKE A DENT IN TRUMP’S MASSIVE LEAD IN GOP PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARY RACE?

“I mean, she’s getting funded by liberal Democrats from California, like the founder of LinkedIn, people on Wall Street like the head of JP Morgan. She’s getting all these folks that are going to her. Guess what, guys? Those folks do not want to see conservative change in this country. So why are they gravitating to her?”

DeSantis criticized Haley for a controversial comment on the campaign trail calling for social media users to verify their real names, which caused a firestorm among some conservatives.

“Conservatives have been singled out for expressing opinions on social media. People have been canceled,” DeSantis said. “They’ve lost jobs over this. Why would she want to put our own people under there? So I think there’s so many problems with her policy positions.”

TRUMP HOLDS MASSIVE LEAD IN IOWA 5 WEEKS FROM CAUCUSES THAT KICK OFF GOP RACE: POLL

DeSantis said that Haley is “really reflective of the old Republican establishment” and “we do not need to go back to that.”

“But I will say this, Chris is great, he’s done a great job as governor. He’s a great campaigner. And I look forward to campaigning with him next fall in New Hampshire as the Republican nominee.”

Sununu announced his coveted endorsement on Tuesday telling a crowd in New Hampshire that he is thankful for Trump’s service but “we’re moving on.”

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“This is a race between two people: Nikki Haley and Donald Trump,” Sununu told reporters after the event. “That’s it. Nikki has spent the time on the ground here, she has earned people’s trust, and that’s going to be the real decider.”

Trump currently leads the field in New Hampshire with 45.5% of the vote followed by Haley at 18.5%, former New Jersey Gov. Christie at 12%, and DeSantis at 8.5%, according to the Real Clear Politics average. 

A recent Wall Street Journal poll showed that Haley holds a 17 point lead over President Biden in a general election. 

“Gov. Sununu picks winners, and we’re thankful he’s on our team,” Haley spokesperson Ken Farnaso told Fox News Digital on Tuesday night.

Lawyers for former President Donald Trump filed a motion Tuesday urging U.S. District Court Judge Tanya Chutkan to pause proceedings against Trump in the Jan. 6 case while his appeal is pending. 

Trump faces charges accusing him of working to overturn the results of the 2020 election he lost to Democrat Joe Biden before the violent riot by his supporters at the U.S. Capitol. He has denied any wrongdoing.

In a ruling from earlier this month, Chutkan rejected arguments by Trump’s lawyers that he was immune from federal prosecution. Chutkan wrote that the office of the president “does not confer a lifelong ‘get-out-of-jail-free’ pass.”

SPECIAL COUNSEL JACK SMITH TO USE DATA FROM TRUMP’S PHONE IN ELECTION INTERFERENCE TRIAL: COURT FILING

“Former Presidents enjoy no special conditions on their federal criminal liability,” Chutkan wrote. “Defendant may be subject to federal investigation, indictment, prosecution, conviction, and punishment for any criminal acts undertaken while in office.”

Tuesday’s filing by Trump’s legal team comes after Special Counsel Jack Smith asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review Trump’s appeal in an expedited manner to prevent any delays that could push back the trial, currently set to begin March 4. 

The justices indicated they would decide quickly whether to hear the case, ordering Trump’s lawyers to respond by Dec. 20. The court’s brief order did not signal what it ultimately would do.

Trump’s presidential campaign criticized Smith for trying to go around the appeals court. “There is absolutely no reason to rush this sham to trial except to injure President Trump and tens of millions of his supporters. President Trump will continue to fight for Justice and oppose these authoritarian tactics,” the campaign said in a statement.

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The court is next scheduled to meet privately Jan. 5. It’s unclear whether the justices would convene sooner to take up Smith’s request.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

MANCHESTER, N.H. – Saying “let’s not miss this opportunity. The entire country is watching,” Republican Gov. Chris Sununu took sides in the GOP presidential nomination race, as he endorsed former ambassador to the United Nations and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley.

The endorsement of Haley by the popular governor of the state that holds the first primary and second overall contest in the Republican presidential nominating calendar came as the two teamed up Tuesday evening at a Haley campaign event at a ski lodge in the state’s largest city.

“There was a sweet older woman who has come to a lot of events and I saw her coming in here and she said, ‘So are you going to finally endorse Nikki Haley for president?’ You bet your ass I am. We’re all in for Nikki Haley,” Sununu said as he formally backed Haley.

Moments later, Sununu praised Haley as “someone I could not be more proud of. Someone who looks people in the eye, answers their questions and most importantly, has taken the time to earn the trust of the citizens and voters in this state. The next President of the United States – Nikki Haley.”

SUNUNU TEAMS UP WITH HALEY, DESANTIS, AND CHRISTIE AS HE DECIDES ON A 2024 ENDORSEMENT

A beaming Haley, speaking moments later, said “it’s a great night in New Hampshire. I mean it doesn’t get any better than this. To go and get endorsed by the live free or die governor is about as rock-solid endorsement as we could hope for.”

The endorsement by Sununu, who’s won election and re-election to four two-year terms as governor, could potentially sway some Republican voters, as well as independents and moderates who often play an influential role in New Hampshire’s crucial presidential primary.

Sununu, who for nearly three years has been a vocal critic of former President Donald Trump – the commanding front-runner for the 2024 GOP nomination as he makes his third straight White House run – flirted with his own presidential bid before announcing in early June that he wouldn’t seek the White House.

Since then, he’s said he would eventually endorse in the Republican nomination race and has teamed up repeatedly with many of the GOP contenders as they’ve campaigned in New Hampshire. 

MEET THE REPUBLICAN GOVERNOR IN DEMAND WITH THE GOP PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES – OTHER THAN TRUMP

In recent weeks, he’s said that he had narrowed his endorsement choice down to three candidates – Haley, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.

And Sununu campaigned with all three candidates on the trail in New Hampshire just before Thanksgiving.

Christie, who is once again spending most of this time and resources on New Hampshire as he makes his second White House run, returns to the campaign trail in the Granite State with two events on Wednesday. 

As he worked to land Sununu’s endorsement, Christie spotlighted that when it comes to Trump, he and the New Hampshire governor were on the same page.

“Who does he want standing across from Donald Trump when this gets down to a one-on-one? Who does he think can take him on in a direct way? Who’s been saying the same things as Chris Sununu has been saying for the last couple of years about Donald Trump, trying to move the party in a new direction? And I think I’m the person who has the clearest, strongest voice on that,” Christie emphasized in a Fox News Digital interview a couple of weeks ago.

His campaign put out a statement on Tuesday afternoon noting that Sununu’s endorsement of Haley “puts us down one vote in New Hampshire and when Governor Christie is back in Londonderry tomorrow, he’ll continue to tell the unvarnished truth about Donald Trump and earn that one missing vote and thousands more.”

DeSantis, who is spending most of his time in Iowa, is expected back in New Hampshire on Friday.

“What happens in New Hampshire will be significantly impacted by the outcome in Iowa, where the true Trump alternative will emerge. And when Ron DeSantis comes out in that position, he will be joined by over 60 New Hampshire state legislators who stand ready to take the fight to the establishment and their candidates of yesteryear to return power to grassroots conservatives,” DeSantis campaign spokesman Andrew Romeo argued in a statement.

Haley, who has enjoyed momentum in the polls in recent months, thanks in part to well-received performances in the first three GOP presidential primary debates, leapfrogged DeSantis for second place in New Hampshire and her home state, which holds the first southern contest. Christie stands in third place in most of the latest surveys in New Hampshire.

Haley also aims to make a fight of it in Iowa – the state whose Jan. 15 caucuses lead off the GOP nominating calendar. The latest polls suggest she is close to pulling even with DeSantis for a distant second place behind Trump.

TRUMP HOLDS A MASSIVE LEAD IN THE POLLS WITH FIVE WEEKS TO GO UNTIL THE IOWA CAUCUSES 

Sununu’s endorsement was one Haley had long coveted.

Early this summer, at the New Hampshire GOP’s annual cookout, Haley was introduced by Sununu. After exchanging a hug, Haley kicked off her comments to the crowd by saying, “You’ve got a great governor.”

With a joke that elicited plenty of laughter, she said, “Governor, I very much worry about your health. What I’m thinking is, I don’t want you to over-stress. I don’t want you to get out there and do too much. So I think what’s best is, go ahead and endorse me now.”

Haley was kidding, but in the ensuing months she’s jokingly asked Sununu about an endorsement a handful of times.

Sununu’s backing of Haley follows by a month Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds of Iowa’s endorsement of DeSantis. Since then, Reynolds has joined DeSantis at multiple stops on the Hawkeye State campaign trail. 

Sununu told Fox News Digital last month that his endorsement would also be much more than just a one-day announcement.

“If I get behind a candidate, I’m going to get behind a candidate,” he emphasized.

And he later added that he’d put muscle behind his endorsement, “110%.”

“That’s the fun part. Are you kidding? I’m not going to do an endorsement and sit on my hands. When I do an endorsement, it’s going to be a six-, seven-, eight-, nine-week push, whatever it is, to really make sure folks know where we are. I tend to not leave anything on the table,” he emphasized.

And Sununu, who’s won election and re-election to four two-year terms as New Hampshire governor, said he’d help whichever candidate he backed “put together a ground game. I think we know how to do it pretty well here.”

The big question going forward is whether Sununu’s endorsement impact a race dominated by Trump.

The governor has tempered expectations that his endorsement might move the needle in the Granite State, telling Fox News last month that “I’m never a big believer that endorsements matter as much as the press think they do.”

WAS THE REAL WINNER SO FAR IN THE REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL DEBATES THE GUY WHO DIDN’T SHOW UP?

Longtime New Hampshire-based Republican strategist Jim Merrilll, a veteran of numerous presidential campaigns, told Fox News the endorsement was “a big deal.”

“There’s no endorsement in New Hampshire you’d rather have. And it’s clear he’s going to use it early and often to support Haley.”

And Neil Levesque, the executive director of the New Hampshire Institute of Politics at Saint Anselm College, told Fox News “it is always questionable whether endorsements matter but in this case, this is a game-changing endorsement.”

“This is why,” Levesque continued. “Sununu is one of the most talented communicators in politics. You combine that with his credibility and popularity in a state like New Hampshire and the fact that he’s going to basically go on the road and sell this to New Hampshire voters and make a persuasive argument for Nikki Haley, I think is going to move the needle.”

But longtime New Hampshire-based Republican consultant Mike Dennehy told Fox News “I think times have changed from the 1990s when endorsements by a governor made a significant difference.”

“I expect Sununu will open some doors and he will make for a very good surrogate, but in the end I don’t think it will make more than a one percent difference in this race,” Dennehy, a veteran of numerous GOP presidential campaigns, said.

Sununu’s backing of Haley comes a couple of weeks after she landed the endorsement of Americans for Prosperity Action, the political wing of the influential and deep-pocketed fiscally conservative network founded by the billionaire Koch Brothers. AFP Action has pledged to spend tens of millions of dollars and mobilize its formidable grassroots operation to boost Haley and help push the Republican Party past Trump.

The Trump campaign on Tuesday took aim at Sununu.

“Sununu’s endorsement means nothing and does nothing for any candidate in this race,” Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung charged in a statement to Fox News. “The only endorsement in politics that matters is President Trump’s endorsement. Nothing will stop him from securing the nomination and beating Crooked Joe Biden and retaking the White House.”

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Trump continues to hold a very formidable and very large double-digit lead over Haley, DeSantis and the rest of the remaining field of rivals for the nomination in the latest polls in New Hampshire, Iowa, South Carolina, and in national surveys.

But Sununu said last month that Trump’s “got a floor, but he’s also got a ceiling.” 

“And when you look at the fact that well over 50% of the Republican core-based voter wants somebody else, the fact that in New Hampshire you can have independents that come out – I believe in record numbers – most of which won’t vote for yesterday’s news in terms of Donald Trump,” Sununu argued.

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

Calls are growing for Congress to subpoena convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein’s flight logs in order to identify possible perpetrators who may have partaken in his sex trafficking ring.

In a Monday letter to the House Oversight Committee, Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., said there were still many unanswered questions surrounding Epstein’s operation, including the identities of “America’s most powerful and well-known people” who may have been involved.

“The American people have a right to know who took part in Epstein’s disgusting business that ruined so many lives,” Burchett wrote. “More importantly, their victims deserve justice and accountability.”

GOP SENATOR MOVES TO FORCE RELEASE OF JEFFREY EPSTEIN FLIGHT LOGS, IDENTIFY PERPETRATORS IN ‘HORRIFIC CONDUCT’

Burchett also accused Senate Democrats of recently blocking an effort by Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., to subpoena the flight logs. In a statement following the letter, Burchett accused Democrats of “stonewalling” attempts to get them.

“This shouldn’t be a partisan issue, but Senate Democrats completely disrespected my friend Marsha’s attempts to find out who participated in Epstein’s disgusting business so we can hold them accountable,” Burchett said. “We should all be concerned about the horrors of sex trafficking, especially when it involves kids, but I’ll call on Republicans to show some leadership in this field if the Democrats insist on stonewalling it like this.”  

Blackburn first moved for the flight records to be subpoenaed in early November in response to efforts by Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee to target justices on the Supreme Court. She then unsuccessfully moved to force a subpoena during a hearing on Nov. 30.

WH SPURNS BIDEN FAMILY ‘CONSPIRACY THEORIES’ AHEAD OF LIKELY IMPEACHMENT INQUIRY VOTE, HUNTER BIDEN DEPOSITION

The failure of that effort Blackburn blamed on Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., the committee chair.

“[Durbin] BLOCKED my request to subpoena Jeffrey Epstein’s flight logs. What are Democrats trying to hide?,” Blackburn posted on X after calling it a “sad day in the history of the prestigious Judiciary Committee.”

In a statement following the failed subpoena attempt, Blackburn said Democrats “don’t want to have a conversation about the estate of Jeffrey Epstein to find out the names of every person who participated in Jeffrey Epstein’s human trafficking ring.”

HOUSE OVERSIGHT DEMOCRAT QUIETLY MEETING WITH GOP LAWMAKERS IN EFFORT TO QUASH IMPEACHMENT INQUIRY: SOURCES

A Democrat aide to the committee told Fox News Digital that Durbin made clear he was willing to stay all day in order to allow Republicans to offer as well as debate the 177 amendments that they filed ahead of the hearing, and that the committee would vote on the subpoena authorization after.

However, several Republicans on the committee allegedly began to filibuster and didn’t allow Blackburn to offer the first amendment to the authorization, the aide added.

Dubbed by some in the media as “The Lolita Express,” Epstein’s plane was allegedly used to fly underage girls to his private island in the Carribean, as well as his other homes around the U.S. and other parts of the world.

A number of big-name actors, politicians and other public figures have reportedly been passengers on the plane at some point, including former Presidents Bill Clinton and Donald Trump, independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., actors Kevin Spacey and Chris Tucker, Prince Andrew, billionaire businessman Bill Gates and a number of others.

There is currently no evidence to suggest anyone who flew on Epstein’s plane participated in any crime.

KEY MCCONNELL ALLY MAKES ENDORSEMENT IN CRUCIAL SWING STATE RACE THAT COULD FLIP SENATE RED

Epstein pleaded not guilty to sex trafficking and sex trafficking conspiracy in July 2019 in a New York court after being accused of having preyed on dozens of victims as young as 14.

He was found dead in his Manhattan jail cell the following month. His death was ruled a suicide.

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Epstein previously pleaded guilty in Florida to charges of soliciting and procuring a person under age 18 for prostitution.

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:

– House Republicans try to formalize Biden impeachment inquiries

– Biden meets with Zelenskeyy as Ukraine’s president requests more aid

– Special Counsel Jack Smith to use Trump’s phone in election interference trial

Ivy League Blues

Harvard President Claudine Gay will remain in charge of the storied university despite criticism for her testimony in the House last week, when she said calls for genocide of Jewish people required “context” violate the schools code of conduct, depending on the “context.”

On top of that, a Manhattan Institute Report over the weekend looked at her academic work, which has scholars saying Gay “definitely” plagiarized almost 20 authors in four of her 11 peer-reviewed academic papers, including her doctoral dissertation. In a statement, Harvard referred to the plagiarism allegations as incidents of “inadequate citation.”

House GOP Conference Chair Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., slammed the decision to stand behind Gay, calling it a “complete moral failure” of Harvard’s leadership.

POISON IVY: Billionaire investor and influential Harvard alum Bill Ackman claimed Harvard’s handling of the rising antisemitism on campus has cost the university more than a billion dollars in donations.

White House

FIRST MEETING: Biden to meet with families of Americans held hostage by Hamas …Read more

‘I AM A ZIONIST’: President Biden condemns silence on antisemitism at Hanukkah ceremony …Read more

REVISIONIST HISTORY?: VP Harris’s husband deletes story of Hanukkah post after being mocked …Read more

Capitol Hill

UKRAINE IN THE CROSSHAIRS: Speaker Johnson unmoved about Ukraine aid after meeting with Zelenskyy …Read more

I SPY: GOP infighting blows up plans for controversial surveillance tool’s renewal …Read more

‘GRAVELY CONCERNING’: GOP senators sound alarm on DEI contracts in government agencies …Read more

FORMALIZE THE INQUIRY?: House Rules to consider resolution to formalize Biden impeachment inquiry, strengthen subpoenas …Read more

ALL GOOD: Top GOP rebel group picks lawmaker who voted to oust McCarthy as leader …Read more

Tales from the Campaign Trail

WISCONSIN WOES: Wisconsin considers major election overhaul through ranked choice voting proposal …Read more

SPOILER ALERT: New poll shows Trump with slim lead over Biden, with RFK Jr. candidacy taking away from Dems …Read more

KEY ENDORSEMENT: Former New Hampshire governor expected to back Trump challenger …Read more

OPTIMISTIC PREDICTION: 2024 GOP presidential race: Ramaswamy predicts he’ll ‘shatter expectations’ in Iowa and New Hampshire …Read more

Across America

‘BIGOTRY’ IN MICHIGAN: Antisemitic sign hung outside Michigan Republican’s district office …Read more

CASHING IN: Planned Parenthood received $90 million in PPP loans during COVID-19 pandemic: Report …Read more

RIGHT TO ‘BEAR’ ARMS: Florida lawmakers consider bill allowing deadly force to protect home from bears …Read more

‘MODERN-DAY SLAVERY’: EV batteries remain dependent on mines employing child labor: report …Read more

NOT MINCING WORDS: Bill Clinton allegedly ripped wife Hillary’s campaign as not being able to sell ‘p*ssy on a troop train’ …Read more

FLED TEXAS: Texas Supreme Court rules against pregnant woman hours after she leaves state to obtain abortion …Read more

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

EXCLUSIVE: Five members of the Republican National Committee’s youth advisory council have resigned amid dissatisfaction with GOP’s efforts—or lack thereof—to draw in young voters ahead of the 2024 election, Fox News Digital has learned.

The RNC created the council, co-chaired by Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., and Rep. Kat Cammack, R-Fla., in a commitment to youth voter outreach. The council is made up of millennials and Gen Z individuals. 

RNC LAUNCHES ‘BANK YOUR VOTE’ AD BLITZ TO PUSH REPUBLICANS TO VOTE EARLY IN 2024 ELECTIONS

But five members are resigning from the 16-member board due to, what they call, a “lack of vision” from the party.

“When first approached about the committee that your team was forming, we were honored to join and excited about what we believed was a serious undertaking by the RNC to win the hearts and minds of young voters across the country,” the five members who are resigning wrote in a letter to RNC Chair Ronna McDaniel, exclusively obtained by Fox News Digital.

“Our decision to withdraw from the committee is one that has not been made lightly and is the result of a lack of organization, lack of tangible goals and benchmarks, and general lack of vision for the Advisory Council,” they wrote.

The members— all “elected officials” from Iowa, West Virginia, Missouri, Florida and Texas—said that upon joining, it was their “understanding that our proven abilities to fundraise, mobilize voters, and win elections would be utilized to gain a larger share of the youth vote.”

RNC TO LAUNCH CAMPAIGN PUSHING REPUBLICANS TO VOTE EARLY IN 2024

The members said that during their “short tenure” on the board, they have “not been updated on any efforts employed by the RNC—if any exist at all—to specifically reach young voters, have not been utilized as elected representatives of our state, have not been assigned or delegated any tasks, and have not even received proper invitations to council meetings.” 

The members said the “lack of organization and communication from the RNC” makes them feel that the council is “nothing more than another failed fundraising ploy by the RNC.” 

“My colleagues and I refuse to be used as shiny objects in the solicitation of funds by the RNC when there is no work being done to advance the mission of the Advisory Council,” they wrote.

The members stressed that the RNC needs to “win over and mobilize young voters across this country” in order to “course-correct and restore our great country to the force it once was.” 

“After seeing the way the Youth Advisory Council has been run since its formation, we are sending this letter to express the lack of confidence we have in the RNC’s ability to win over and mobilize young voters,” they wrote.

They added: “It is our hope that you will take the concerns expressed in this letter and our departure from the Youth Advisory Council as a call to reform and reestablish this council as one that is actionable and effective and as an invitation to join us in the critical work of reaching young voters in tangible, measurable ways before election day in November 2024.”

But members of the council who are staying on are completely at odds with their resigning colleagues, and claim they “weren’t contributing” while they served.  

A person familiar with the RNC’s Youth Advisory Council told Fox News Digital that all five members of the council who are resigning were “repeatedly asked to help with both the social media and messaging projects, each individual either refused to participate or were assigned to a project and did not return multiple requests for input.”

“Our Youth Advisory Council has been working tirelessly to engage with the grassroots, bring young voters to our debates, get them committed to vote early through the RNC’s Bank Your Vote program, and working on guides for our Republican candidates on how to reach young voters and the pressing issues that will motivate us to vote next year,” RNC Youth Advisory Council Co-Chair Brilyn Hollyhand told Fox News Digital. “We are excited for the work ahead of the council in 2024 and won’t be distracted by a select few who weren’t contributing in the first place and no longer want to be a part of it.” 

The letter is signed by members Joe Mitchell from Iowa; Caleb Hanna of West Virginia; Mazzie Boyd of Missouri; Carolina Amnesty of Florida; and Caroline Harris of Texas.

Harris told Fox News Digital that the advisory committee was “always just a PR stunt the RNC could use to mislead donors.” 

“After meeting once or twice back in the summer, there has not been one follow-up meeting, not one phone call, nor has the committee been invited to participate or advise on anything else within the RNC,” Harris said.

“The RNC understands the young voters as much as they understand the Trump movement,” Boyd told Fox News Digital. “They are still stuck in the Bush Era and haven’t been able to get out.” 

And Hanna told Fox News Digital that the advisory council is “based on a lie.”

“A lie that the RNC actually wants to reach young people or even wants to learn how,” he said. “It’s very revealing and disappointing to see the RNC’s incompetence up close and personal.”

BIDEN’S STANDING WITH YOUNG VOTERS GETS SCATHING ASSESSMENT IN NY TIMES: ‘MANY YOUNG DEMOCRATS DON’T LIKE HIM’

Council co-Chair CJ Pearson said: “Resigning from a job you didn’t show up for isn’t news. It’s a distraction from the important work we do, and will continue to do, as we march towards 2024.” 

Council member Riley Gaines also praised the work of the RNC, saying that “the Republican Party has never been more committed to bringing more young voices into the Party than it is this cycle.” 

An RNC official told Fox News Digital that the council is currently working on rolling out a “best practices guide for social media and messaging guidance on how to talk about young voters’ most pressing issues.” 

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The official also said the council has been involved in promoting the RNC’s “Bank Your Vote” effort, which is the party’s initiative to get voters to commit to voting early. The official said council members have provided their input to the RNC on how best to reach young voters in that effort. 

“Some groups that claim to turn out young voters, like Turning Point, have failed cycle after cycle,” RNC spokesperson Keith Schipper told Fox News Digital. “That’s why the RNC has stepped up and created the Youth Advisory Council to fine-tune effective youth get-out-the-vote and messaging strategies to grow our Party.” 

House Speaker Mike Johnson on Tuesday defended a vote scheduled this week to formalize the impeachment inquiry into President Biden, arguing that unlike what Democrats did with the “sham impeachment” of former President Trump, Republicans are committed to the “rule of law.” 

Fox News’ Chad Pergram pressed Johnson on an expectation from the GOP base to bring an impeachment vote sometime in the spring ahead of the 2024 presidential election. 

Johnson explained that House Republicans have “come to this impasse” in their investigations into President Biden’s alleged involvement in his son, Hunter Biden’s business dealings, and are “hitting a stone wall because the White House is impeding that investigation” and not allowing witnesses to come forward and thousands of pages of documents. The vote on a resolution to formalize the House impeachment inquiry, which is currently set for Wednesday, is not the same as a vote to impeach.

“We have no choice to fulfill our constitutional responsibility. We have to take the next step. We’re not making a political decision. It’s not. It’s a legal decision,” Johnson said at the House Republican Conference press conference on Tuesday. “So people have feelings about it one way or the other. We can’t prejudge the outcome. The Constitution does not permit us to do so. We have to follow the truth where it takes us and that is exactly what we’re going to do.” 

HOUSE OVERSIGHT DEMOCRAT QUIETLY MEETING WITH GOP LAWMAKERS IN EFFORT TO QUASH IMPEACHMENT INQUIRY: SOURCES

Noting some frustration about the time being invested in the impeachment probe, Johnson argued, “this is the way the founders anticipated that something like this would go.”

“There shouldn’t be any such thing as a snap impeachment, a sham impeachment like the Democrats did against President Trump. This is the opposite of that,” Johnson said. “And that’s why people are getting restless, because they want things to happen quickly. If you follow the Constitution and you do the right thing, you cannot rush it. You have to follow the facts.” 

Piggybacking off Pergram’s question about pressure for Johnson to bring the impeachment vote while Republicans hold a slim majority, another reporter asked Johnson, “If you get into the spring and decide not to impeach the president based on the inquiry, you would be comfortable with that decision essentially absolving him months before a presidential election?” 

“We’re not going to prejudge the outcome of this,” Johnson responded. “We can’t because, again, it’s not a political calculation. We’re following the law, and we are the rule of law team. And I’m going to hold to that as my commitment.” 

CONGRESS AIMS TO HOLD VOTE TO INITIATE BIDEN IMPEACHMENT INQUIRY

Wednesday’s vote will allow the House Judiciary, Oversight and Ways and Means committees to continue their investigations into the Biden family business dealings, House Majority Whip Rep. Tom Emmer, R-Minn., explained, stating that the “Biden administration has been stonewalling our investigations.”

The Justice Department has refused to allow two attorneys to testify before the House Judiciary Committee, Emmer said at the press conference. The White House sent House Oversight and Accountability Chair Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., and House Judiciary Chair Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, a letter stating, “they have no intention of complying with our subpoenas and requests for interviews without a formal vote,” according to Emmer, who also stressed how the National Archives has “withheld thousands of pages of documents and emails.”

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“It’s clear the House will have to defend our lawful investigations in court, and passing this resolution will put us in the best position possible to enforce our subpoenas and set forth a clear process,” Emmer said. “As we have said numerous times before, voting in favor of an impeachment inquiry does not equal impeachment. We will continue to follow the facts wherever they lead. And if they uncovered evidence of treason, bribery or other high crimes and misdemeanors, then and only then will the next steps towards impeachment proceedings be considered. No one in this country is above the law, and that includes President Joe Biden.” 

Fox News’ Chad Pergram contributed to this report.

NEWFIELDS, N.H. – Republican Gov. Chris Sununu of New Hampshire is expected to endorse former ambassador to the United Nations and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, multiple GOP sources confirmed to Fox News.

The endorsement of the popular governor of the state that holds the first primary and second overall contest in the Republican presidential nominating calendar is all-but-certain to occur when the two team up Tuesday evening at a Haley campaign event in Manchester, New Hampshire.

Sununu’s political team released a media advisory early Tuesday morning announcing that the governor would join Haley and make remarks at a town hall at 6 p.m. ET at the McIntyre Ski Area in Manchester.

And in a statement to Fox News, the governor said “I look forward to joining Nikki at her town hall this evening – it’s going to be a lot of fun!”

SUNUNU TEAMS UP WITH HALEY, DESANTIS, AND CHRISTIE AS HE DECIDES ON A 2024 ENDORSEMENT

The endorsement could potentially sway some independent and moderate voters who often play an influential role in New Hampshire’s crucial presidential primary.

Sununu has long been a vocal critic of former President Donald Trump, the commanding front-runner for the 2024 GOP nomination as he makes his third straight White House run. 

The governor flirted with his own presidential bid before announcing in early June that he wouldn’t seek the White House in 2024. Since then, he’s said he would eventually endorse in the Republican nomination race and has teamed up repeatedly with many of the GOP contenders as they’ve campaigned in New Hampshire. 

MEET THE REPUBLICAN GOVERNOR IN DEMAND WITH THE GOP PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES – OTHER THAN TRUMP

In recent weeks, he’s said that he had narrowed his endorsement choice down to three candidates – Haley, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.

Christie, who is once again spending most of this time and resources on New Hampshire as he makes his second White House run, returns to the campaign trail in the Granite State with two events on Wednesday. 

DeSantis, who is spending most of his time in Iowa, is expected back in the New Hampshire on Friday.

“What happens in New Hampshire will be significantly impacted by the outcome in Iowa, where the true Trump alternative will emerge. And when Ron DeSantis comes out in that position, he will be joined by over 60 New Hampshire state legislators who stand ready to take the fight to the establishment and their candidates of yesteryear to return power to grassroots conservatives,” DeSantis campaign spokesman Andrew Romeo argued in a statement.

Sununu campaigned with all three candidates on the trail in New Hampshire just before Thanksgiving.

“Nikki’s done a great job. She’s been really pounding the pavement in terms of going to various parts of the state, talking to folks, letting them ask her questions,” Sununu told reporters after teaming up with Haley in Hooksett, New Hampshire. “Her message seems to resonate.”

Haley, who has enjoyed momentum in the polls in recent months, thanks in part to well-received performances in the first three GOP presidential primary debates, leapfrogged DeSantis for second place in New Hampshire and her home state, which holds the first southern contest. Christie stands in third place in most of the latest surveys in New Hampshire.

Haley also aims to make a fight of it in Iowa – the state whose Jan. 15 caucuses lead off the GOP nominating calendar – where the latest polls suggest she is close to pulling even with DeSantis for a distant second place behind Trump.

TRUMP HOLDS A MASSIVE LEAD IN THE POLLS WITH FIVE WEEKS TO GO UNTIL THE IOWA CAUCUSES 

Early this past summer, at the New Hampshire GOP’s annual cookout, Haley was introduced by Sununu. After exchanging a hug, Haley kicked off her comments to the crowd by saying, “You’ve got a great governor.”

With a joke that elicited plenty of laughter, she said, “Governor, I very much worry about your health. What I’m thinking is, I don’t want you to over-stress. I don’t want you to get out there and do too much. So I think what’s best is, go ahead and endorse me now.”

Haley was kidding, but in the ensuing months she’s jokingly asked Sununu about an endorsement a handful of times.

Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds of Iowa early last month endorsed DeSantis. Since then, Reynolds has joined DeSantis at multiple stops on the Hawkeye State campaign trail. 

Sununu told Fox News Digital last month that his endorsement would also be much more than just a one-day announcement.

“If I get behind a candidate, I’m going to get behind a candidate,” he emphasized.

And he later added that he’d put muscle behind his endorsement, “110%.”

“That’s the fun part. Are you kidding? I’m not going to do an endorsement and sit on my hands. When I do an endorsement, it’s going to be a six-, seven-, eight-, nine-week push, whatever it is, to really make sure folks know where we are. I tend to not leave anything on the table,” he emphasized.

And Sununu, who’s won election and re-election to four two-year terms as New Hampshire governor, said he’d help whichever candidate he backed “put together a ground game. I think we know how to do it pretty well here.”

But he’s also tempered expectations that his endorsement might move the needle in the Granite State, telling Fox News last month that “I’m never a big believer that endorsements matter as much as the press think they do.”

WAS THE REAL WINNER SO FAR IN THE REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL DEBATES THE GUY WHO DIDN’T SHOW UP?

Longtime New Hampshire-based Republican strategist Jim Merrilll, a veteran of numerous presidential campaigns, told Fox News the endorsement – which was first reported by WMUR – was “a big deal.”

“There’s no endorsement in New Hampshire you’d rather have. And it’s clear he’s going to use it early and often to support Haley.”

“Chris Sununu is the Shohei Otani of New Hampshire politics. He’s a remarkably gifted, best-in-class talent. He’s our state’s most successful and impactful Republican of his generation. So his endorsement of Nikki Haley makes this the best day of her campaign and gives her a heck of a clean-up hitter down the stretch,” Merrill emphasized.

Neil Levesque, the executive director of the New Hampshire Institute of Politics at Saint Anselm College, told Fox News “it is always questionable whether endorsements matter but in this case, this is a game-changing endorsement.”

“This is why,” Levesque continued. “Sununu is one of the most talented communicators in politics. You combine that with his credibility and popularity in a state like New Hampshire and the fact that he’s going to basically go on the road and sell this to New Hampshire voters and make a persuasive argument for Nikki Haley, I think is going to move the needle.”

Sununu’s backing of Haley comes a couple of weeks after she landed the endorsement of Americans for Prosperity Action, the political wing of the influential and deep-pocketed fiscally conservative network founded by the billionaire Koch Brothers. AFP Action has pledged to spend tens of millions of dollars and mobilize its formidable grassroots operation to boost Haley and help push the Republican Party past Trump.

Trump continues to hold a very formidable and very large double-digit lead over Haley, DeSantis and the rest of the remaining field of rivals for the nomination in the latest polls in New Hampshire, Iowa, South Carolina, and in national surveys.

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But Sununu said last month that Trump’s “got a floor, but he’s also got a ceiling,” 

“And when you look at the fact that well over 50% of the Republican core-based voter wants somebody else, the fact that in New Hampshire you can have independents that come out – I believe in record numbers – most of which won’t vote for yesterday’s news in terms of Donald Trump,” Sununu argued.

Fox News’ James Levinson contributed to this report

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

Special Counsel Jack Smith plans to use data from the cell phone former President Trump used in his final weeks in office — including data revealing when Trump’s phone was “unlocked and the Twitter application was open” on Jan. 6, 2021, according to a new court filing. 

Smith, in a court filing Monday, notified the court that he plans to call “expert” witnesses to testify in the trial against Trump, the 2024 GOP presidential frontrunner, which is set to begin March 4, one day before voters in several states participate in Super Tuesday primaries. 

SPECIAL COUNSEL OBTAINED TRUMP’S TWITTER DMS DESPITE COMPANY’S EFFORTS TO BLOCK ACCESS

One of the experts Smith plans to call has “knowledge, skill, experience, training, and education beyond the ordinary lay person regarding the analysis of cellular phone data, including the use of Twitter and other applications on cell phones,” according to the filing.

In the filing, Smith hints that the expert will be able to testify that he or she “extracted and processed data from the White House cell phones” used by Trump and one other individual. The identity of the second individual is unclear.

Smith said the expert will also testify that they “reviewed and analyzed data” on Trump’s phone and on “Individual 1’s” phone, “including analyzing images found on the phones and websites visited.”

Smith said the expert has “determined the usage of these phones throughout the post-election period, including on and around January 6, 2021” and has “specifically identified the periods of time during which the defendant’s phone was unlocked and the Twitter application was open on January 6.”

SUPREME COURT: TRUMP MUST RESPOND TO SPECIAL COUNSEL’S PRESIDENTIAL IMMUNITY PETITION BEFORE CHRISTMAS

Trump, in August, pleaded not guilty in federal court to all four federal charges stemming from Smith’s investigation into 2020 election interference and the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021.

Trump is charged with conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, obstruction of and attempt to obstruct an official proceeding, and conspiracy against rights.

The cell phone data Smith plans to use in the trial is in addition to Trump’s direct messages on the social media platform once known as Twitter, despite the company’s efforts to block access.

Unsealed court filings in August showed that Smith’s team obtained location data and draft tweets in addition to the former president’s messages.

Attorneys for the company, now named X Corp., attempted to block and delay the effort in January and February, leading one federal judge to speculate that X owner and one-time CEO Elon Musk was attempting to ally himself with Trump.

The social media giant ultimately lost the struggle, however, and was forced to hand over an extensive list of data related to the “@realdonaldtrump” account, including all tweets “created, drafted, favorited/liked, or retweeted.”

SPECIAL COUNSEL JACK SMITH CALLS ON SUPREME COURT TO RULE ON TRUMP IMMUNITY CLAIM

The handover also included searches on the platform surrounding the 2020 election, devices used to log into the account, IP addresses used to log into the account and a list of associated accounts.

Meanwhile, Smith, on Monday, asked the Supreme Court to rule on whether Trump can be prosecuted on charges relating to his efforts to overturn the 2020 election results.

A federal judge ruled the case could go forward, but Trump said he would ask the federal appeals court in Washington to reverse that outcome. Smith is attempting to bypass the appeals court — the usual next step in the process — and have the Supreme Court take up the matter directly.

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The Supreme Court, late Monday, asked Trump’s lawyers to respond to the special counsel’s motion by Wednesday, December 20 — two days later than Smith had requested. 

The Court’s next scheduled conference day for consideration of such matters is Jan. 5, 2024. The court’s brief order did not signal what it ultimately would do.

Former President Donald Trump holds a marginal lead over President Biden in a straight national matchup, according to a new poll.

The Monday poll from Reuters/Ipsos found that Trump leads Biden 38% to 36% in a head-to-head matchup, though a sizable 26% stated that they weren’t sure or supported another candidate. Meanwhile, the poll also found that a third-party candidacy by Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. could serve as an effective spoiler against Biden.

When RFK’s candidacy was factored into the poll, Trump’s lead over Biden grew to 5%. Trump’s overall support dropped to 36%, but Biden’s fell to 31%, with RFK Jr. taking 16% of the vote.

Reuters conducted the poll from Dec. 5-11, surveying 4,411 U.S. adults across the nation via online questioning.

HEAD HERE TO CHECK OUT THE LATEST FOX NEWS POLLING

The survey also matched up with recent polling on Americans’ distaste for both Biden and Trump more generally, often citing the candidates’ ages. Roughly 60% of respondents to the Reuters poll stated that they were dissatisfied with the binary option and wanted a third choice.

BIDEN FACES A BIGGER POLLING DEFICIT NOW THAT OBAMA DID A YEAR BEFORE THE 2012 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION

Biden has consistently fallen behind Trump in national polling in recent weeks. Trump led Biden 47% to 43% in a hypothetical head-to-head match and led 37% to 31% in a hypothetical ballot with five independent candidates, according to the results of a Wall Street Journal poll released Saturday.

The president’s sagging numbers against Trump also come as voters give Biden low approval marks, including only 23% of respondents saying Biden’s policies have helped them personally, compared to 53% who say they have been hurt by the president’s policies.

THESE SIX BATTLEGROUND STATES COULD COST BIDEN THE WHITE HOUSE IN 2024

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Biden’s team, however, has attempted to spin the grim numbers as effectively as possible.

“Predictions more than a year out tend to look a little different a year later,” Biden campaign spokesperson Kevin Munoz said last month. “Don’t take our word for it: Gallup predicted an eight-point loss for President Obama, only for him to win handily a year later.”

Reuters and Fox News’ Michael Lee and Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report

• Commissioners in Cascade County, Montana, are set to vote on removing election oversight duties from Clerk and Recorder Sandra Merchant.
• Commissioner Joe Briggs proposed the resolution, citing complaints about local elections since Merchant took office earlier this year.
• Briggs emphasized the need to address systemic problems before the upcoming general election.

Commissioners in a Montana county are expected to vote Tuesday on whether to remove election oversight duties from a clerk and recorder who expressed doubts about the integrity of the election process when she ran for office last year.

The Cascade County commission meeting was moved to the fairgrounds in Great Falls to accommodate the anticipated public participation. If the resolution passes, it would take effect immediately.

Commissioner Joe Briggs proposed the resolution, noting that since Sandra Merchant was sworn in early this year, the county has received complaints about the way several local elections have been run. Lawsuits have been filed. The library board asked for court-appointed oversight for their mill levy election this summer.

REPUBLICANS UNLEASH EFFORT FORCING BIDEN ADMIN TO HOLD OIL AND GAS LEASE SALES

“It’s been everything from people not getting ballots that should have to people who got ballots that shouldn’t have in these various elections, so there seems to be some systemic problems,” Briggs said Monday.

The issue needs to be settled before next year’s general election, Briggs said.

“We need to get all of the issues identified and fixed before we get in to federal elections, because they do have broad ramifications,” Briggs said.

Democratic U.S. Sen. Jon Tester is seeking reelection in a race that could help determine the majority party in the Senate, two U.S. House races will be on the ballot along with all the major statewide elected races, including governor.

‘TOUGHEST UPHILL CLIMB’: RACE FORECASTER REVEALS SHIFT TOWARD GOP IN TOP 2024 SENATE RACE

The resolution proposes that that election oversight be removed from the clerk and recorder’s office and be assumed by the county commission, which would appoint an election administrator. State law allows for the change and a handful of Montana’s 56 counties have done so.

During the 2022 campaign for clerk and recorder, some Republicans asked the county commission to ask Democratic clerk Rina Fontana Moore to recuse herself from administrating the election since she was on the ballot, Briggs said. She declined to step down temporarily and Briggs proposed taking election duties away from the clerk and recorder’s office. However none of the other two commission members would second his motion.

Merchant defeated Moore by fewer than 40 votes in November 2022, months after the Republican-controlled state Legislature passed several laws it said were needed to improve election security. However, courts rejected those laws, saying the state brought no proof of the alleged widespread voter fraud the laws sought to eliminate.

Before Merchant took office, Briggs again moved to transfer the election duties to a non-elected administrator and again, nobody else supported him. All three commissioners are Republicans.

Things changed, however, as elections took place this year.

“It went from being basically a structural issue of someone in charge of an election should not be on the ballot to broader questions about how things are being conducted here that didn’t exist previously,” Briggs said.

Merchant said after she took office, experienced employees in the elections department left without teaching her how to do the job.

She argues Briggs’ motion is disenfranchising the people who voted for her to run elections.

“They weren’t electing somebody to take care of the records in the other office, they voted for me because of elections and now their votes are being thrown out,” Merchant said Monday.

Merchant campaigned on election integrity, supported opening up ballot tabulators to make sure they could not be connected to the internet and advocated hand counting of ballots as former President Trump brought baseless allegations that there was widespread fraud that cost him the 2020 election. Merchant has not suggested opening tabulators or going to hand counts since she’s been elected, Briggs said.

In the resolution, Briggs wrote that the county recently spent $200,000 on ballot tabulators and “has received persistent criticism and concerns from certain members of the public who are politically aligned to the currently elected Clerk and Recorder that the county’s … tabulators are Wi-Fi connected, capable of being manipulated by foreign governments or other nefarious actors, and that the only way to remove such fears is for Cascade County to open the tabulators for public inspection.”

MONTANA DRAG BAN CHALLENGED AS COALITION SEEKS FEDERAL JUDGE’S DECLARATION OF UNCONSTITUTIONALITY

However, doing so would void warranties and render the tabulators worthless, he said.

Merchant argues Briggs is playing politics with her job.

“If you’re in the same party you should be supporting each other and working together and that has not happened,” she said.

Briggs said he made the motion to remove partisan politics from elections administration and finds it a little ironic that it was Republicans who sought the change last year when a Democrat was in office and Republicans who oppose the change now.

“From my standpoint, if you tout something because it’s the right way to do to it, then it’s the right way to do it, regardless of whether there’s a Republican or Democrat in office,” Briggs said.

Planned Parenthood affiliates received $90 million in Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans meant for small businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a new report from the Government Accountability office (GAO) released Tuesday morning. 

The PPP loans were designed to bail out small independent businesses with less than 500 employees. But pro-life advocates raised concerns with the Small Business Administration — an independent government agency that supports entrepreneurs — and argued that Planned Parenthood has more than 16,000 employees across the country, well above the cutoff to be considered a small business. 

Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., one of the lawmakers who requested the report in January 2022, called the findings “appalling.”

PLANNED PARENTHOOD ANNOUNCES RETURN OF ABORTION IN WISCONSIN AFTER KEY COURT RULING

“While small businesses struggled to make ends meet during the pandemic, Planned Parenthood illegally siphoned over $90 million from the Paycheck Protection Program, specifically designed to help our mom and pop shops keep their doors open,” Blackburn said in a statement. 

She added, “The American people want their tax dollars spent responsibly and in line with our nation’s values — not on the Left’s abortion-on-demand agenda.”

The report, also requested by New Jersey state Sen. Chris Smith, outlined federal funding received by several major pro-abortion organizations between 2019 and 2021 amounting to nearly $2 billion. 

Smith said the PPP loans were “money that could have gone to struggling small businesses, many of which were forced to close.”

“This money would have been better spent helping the businesses that were forced to close or providing comprehensive medical support for both women and children,” Smith told Fox News Digital in a statement. 

Aside from the PPP loans, government sources that funneled funds to the organization included Medicaid, Medicare, and Children’s Health Insurance Program reimbursements, along with federal funding through grants and cooperative agreements amounting to $148.5 million.

Between 2019 and 2021, Planned Parenthood obtained $1.78 billion in government funding and executed one million abortion procedures, while International Planned Parenthood Federation received $2.03 million, MSI Reproductive Choices received $1.35 million, and four regional abortion providers got $107.74 million in funding.

PSAKI REPEATS CLAIM THAT DEMS DON’T SUPPORT ABORTION UNTIL BIRTH: ‘ENTIRELY MISLEADING’

The report noted that in 2019, Planned Parenthood, under the Trump Administration’s Protect Life Rule, declined Title X funding — a federal grant program that provides funding for family planning and reproductive health services — due to the rule’s stipulation against abortion referrals and demanded financial separation from abortion providers. 

The GAO found that Planned Parenthood’s refusal to comply and forfeit its Title X funding “led almost all affiliates to discontinue using family planning grants under Title X” during 2020 and 2021.

From 2019 to 2021, Planned Parenthood conducted 1.11 million abortions while obtaining around $1.78 billion in federal funding, equating to an average of $592 million annually, according to the report. 

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Planned Parenthood operates over 600 health centers across the United States.

Fox News Digital reached out to Planned Parenthood for comment. 

Former President Bill Clinton had a few choice words about his wife Hillary’s disastrous efforts during the 2016 election cycle, according to a new book.

A passage in “The Squad: AOC and the Hope of a Political Revolution” by The Intercept’s Ryan Grim, which was released last week, says the former president allegedly tore into his wife’s campaign for being ineffective communicators and, more specifically, said they could not sell “p—- on a troop train.”

The statement from Bill Clinton, which he allegedly made to a close confidante during the fall of 2016, coincidentally came to light as Democrats reportedly tapped Hillary to help with Biden’s re-election efforts.

‘DEEP, DEEP TROUBLE’: DEMS REPORTEDLY BRINGING IN HILLARY CLINTON TO HELP WITH BIDEN’S RE-ELECTION

Grim appears to be the first to report the remarks in a portion of his book examining the communication efforts of her campaign and then-Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont. 

“Former president Bill Clinton, surveying the landscape and the ham-handed efforts at identity politics, was bereft, lamenting to a longtime friend in the fall of 2016 that Hillary’s campaign ‘could not sell p—- on a troop train,'” Grim wrote in the book.

However, this was not the first time Bill Clinton allegedly chastised Hillary’s campaign. Another book alleged that he had warned them not to ignore swing states.

In perhaps Hillary’s biggest blunder during the 2016 election, she notoriously faced widespread criticism for not campaigning enough in Midwestern states, which many believe swung the election to former President Donald Trump. 

But during the election, Bill allegedly urged Hillary’s campaign not to neglect those areas, pleas that ultimately “fell on deaf ears,” ABC News reported.

HILLARY CLINTON SAYS BIDEN’S AGE IS A LEGITIMATE ISSUE: ‘PEOPLE HAVE EVERY RIGHT TO CONSIDER IT’

Journalists Amie Parnes and Jonathan Allen made the claim in their 2017 book, “Shattered: Inside Hillary Clinton’s Doomed Campaign,” which received pushback from former Hillary staffers.

“He thought, these eggheads don’t really know politics. They don’t understand persuasion,” Allen said during an ABC News podcast at the time of the book’s release, adding that Bill advised Hillary’s campaign to visit suburban and rural areas where Hillary likely would not garner most of the votes.

“He knew there was some power just in showing up,” Allen said. 

And despite Hillary’s 2016 loss, Democrats are allegedly bringing her in to aid President Biden’s re-election efforts.

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NBC News reported she held a fundraiser for Biden last month at her Georgetown home that raised close to $1 million. Her popularity with women and critical parts of the Democratic base are considered assets for Biden as he attempts to expand his outreach to voters. 

Clinton’s role in Biden’s re-election effort is expected to grow as the 2024 presidential election nears, according to NBC.

Bill Clinton’s office did not respond to a Fox News Digital request for comment.

Fox News Digital’s Ashley Carnahan contributed to this report.

PORTSMOUTH, N.H. – With the first votes in the Republican presidential race fast approaching, a bullish Vivek Ramaswamy predicts he’ll “shatter expectations” when the Jan.15 Iowa caucuses lead off the GOP nominating calendar.

And pointing to public opinion polls that suggest his support in the early voting states has flatlined in the mid to upper single digits while his unfavorability rating has edged up, the multi-millionaire biotech entrepreneur and first-time candidate argues the surveys are “way off the mark.”

In a campaign trail interview with Fox News with five weeks to go until the Iowa caucuses, Ramaswamy reiterated he is “confident we’re going to do excellent in Iowa, that’s going to propel us forward when we come here to New Hampshire. And I think that’s going to carry us forward to the final phase of this race.”

Ramaswamy, who has spent millions of his own money on his White House run, once again spotlighted his optimistic forecast hours after a new and reputable poll in Iowa suggested he stood at just five percent support among likely Republican presidential caucus-goers.

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The candidate noted that “history teaches us that where the polls stand in early December are not a good predictor necessarily of where things land ultimately. And I think we’re in for a shock that’s coming in the next few months.”

“A lot of the people coming to our events, supporting me… they’re not polled. So I think the poll numbers are way off the mark and I think that works well for us,” Ramaswamy argued.

He added that “there’s a lot of people who are libertarians, independents, young people, that are not in those polls…that are absolutely coming to the caucus for us.”

And the Ramaswamy campaign pointed to their own internal numbers that suggest stronger support in Iowa than what the public surveys indicate.

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The 38-year-old Ramaswamy, who campaigns on an “America First 2.0” agenda, often highlights that “there are two America First candidates in this race. That’s Donald Trump and myself. Everybody else comes from an old-school vision of neo-conservatism that is long outdated, and that is not where our party or our base is.”

Ramaswamy is the biggest supporter of the former president in the winnowing field of 2024 GOP White House hopefuls, and has repeatedly called Trump the “most successful president in our century.”

But unfortunately for the candidate aiming to be Trump’s heir apparent, the former president isn’t going anywhere. In fact, Trump remains the commanding front-runner in the GOP nomination race as he makes his third straight White House run.

Ramaswamy’s rise in the polls in the late winter, spring and early summer was one of the biggest surprises in this cycle’s GOP nomination race. And the candidate has put in the hours on the campaign trail, holding more events than his rivals in Iowa and New Hampshire – which holds the first primary in the Republican calendar and votes second after the Hawkeye State.

“I’m doing more events on the ground in Iowa right now than any other candidate and we’ve been here plenty as well,” he showcased as he spoke with Fox News following a campaign stop in New Hampshire on Monday.

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Longtime Granite State-based Republican consultant Mike Dennehy told Fox News that Ramaswamy’s put in the time in New Hampshire. I think that’s benefited him.”

But Dennehy added that “there’s no doubt in my mind that he has a very limited ceiling because of his consistent support of Donald Trump…Why would someone want the Trump supporter when they can have Trump himself?”

While some of the voters who showed up to see Ramaswamy at the campaign in Portsmouth, New Hampshire told Fox News and other news organizations they were likely to vote for him, plenty of others said they remained all-but-certain to support Trump.

Ramaswamy for months has vowed he’ll pull off a “surprise” in Iowa. Asked whether that means he needs to win, or finish second, Ramaswamy answered, “it means meaningfully ahead of where the mainstream media narrative and the polling narrative is right now. And I think we’re going to accomplish that. I think we’re going to shatter expectations and that will propel us forward to the next phase of this race.”

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The candidate has spent most of his time and resources in Iowa and New Hampshire, and less than impressive finishes in both states would likely all-but-sink his campaign. And in recent weeks he’s broached the possibility on the campaign trail that his presidential bid won’t succeed.

Asked if he would support Trump if his White House bid faltered, Ramaswamy told Fox News “if he’s the nominee, he’ll have my support.”

But he quickly interjected that “I expect his full support if I’m the nominee.”

And Ramaswamy added that “I’m not a plan B person. I’m a plan A person. I didn’t get to where I am in life by plotting out plan B. I’m sticking to Plan A and I think we’re going to succeed in getting there.”

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

The House Freedom Caucus elected a new chairman on Monday night, picking Rep. Bob Good, R-Va., as the hardline conservative group’s leader for 2024.

Good was one of eight House Republicans who voted to oust former Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., in early October.

“No comment tonight,” Good told reporters while leaving a Freedom Caucus meeting just minutes before 10 p.m.

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He was similarly coy earlier in the evening after a closed-door House GOP conference meeting. Asked by Fox News Digital of his policy goals if he became chairman, he said, “I’ll wait to talk about it after tonight.”

Good is a conservative who was elected in 2020 to Virginia’s red-leaning 5th Congressional District, which is mostly rural but includes part of Charlottesville.

He is expected to have significant sway over House GOP policy as Freedom Caucus chair, with the group wielding outsized influence so far in Republicans’ razor-thin House majority.

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The group’s current chairman is Rep. Scott Perry, R-Pa., a close ally of former President Trump’s. Leaving the Monday night meeting, Perry was asked by Fox News Digital whether he had any advice for Good.

“Be true and be bold,” Perry said, adding that he hoped Good would “lead better” as his successor. 

Good’s relationship with leadership has, so far, been more fraught than Perry’s, as he was one of 20 House Republicans who forced McCarthy to go through 15 rounds of voting before winning the speaker’s gavel in January, months before finally voting to oust him.

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Perry said of that difference, “Past chairs, Jordan, Meadows, Biggs, kind of [grew] into the position. It’s not just about you and your own desires. You’re representing the group, the brand, and so you have to be open to maybe things that you wouldn’t be otherwise.”

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He would not say whether the friction with McCarthy would be a liability for the group’s negotiating power going forward.

“We’re all in this together. So we, you know, get over our personal differences and disagreements and focus on the country,” he said instead.

The Supreme Court has indicated it will expedite consideration of a petition by special counsel Jack Smith on whether former President Donald Trump can be prosecuted on charges he plotted to overturn the 2020 election results.

Smith made his request for the court to act with unusual speed to prevent any delays that could push back the trial of the 2024 Republican presidential primary front-runner, currently set to begin March 4, until after next year’s presidential election.

The Court has asked Trump’s lawyers to respond to the motion by next Wednesday, December 20 – two days later than Smith had requested. 

The Court’s next scheduled conference day for consideration of such matters is Jan. 5, 2024. 

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This is a developing story. Check back for updates. 

Hispanic and Latino House Democrats are calling for a meeting with the White House over their concerns about ongoing talks to pair border and asylum measures with President Biden’s request for supplemental foreign aid, an aide told Fox News.

The Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) wants to meet with Biden after a request for a sit-down with White House chief of staff Jeff Zients never materialized into an actual meeting, a Democratic aide told Fox News.

CHC members are worried the president would “cave” to GOP demands on border talks, the aide said. 

They cited Biden’s comments during an impassioned speech at the White House last week, “I am willing to make significant compromises on the border. We need to fix the broken border system, it is broken.”

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The aide said CHC Democrats are worried Biden gave away significant leverage during his address, particularly when it comes to including measures regarding DREAMers and work permits that are sought by the left.

Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment but did not immediately hear back.

CHC Chair Nanette Barragan, D-Calif., released a statement with Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., on Monday morning rejecting the inclusion of “Trump-era immigration policies” from the ongoing supplemental talks. 

“We are deeply concerned that the President would consider advancing Trump-era immigration policies that Democrats fought so hard against – and that he himself campaigned against – in exchange for aid to our allies that Republicans already support,” they said. “Caving to demands for these permanent damaging policy changes as a ‘price to be paid’ for an unrelated one-time spending package would send a dangerous precedent.”

Rep. Darren Soto, D-Fla., CHC’s vice chair for policy, wrote on X on Sunday that the group “supports border funding, but not immigration policy, being included in the Supplemental.”

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“If [President Biden and Senate Democrats] are going to go there, DREAMers should be included too. These young people have waited long enough,” Soto said.

NBC News first reported that CHC lawmakers and their allies were seeking to broaden communication with Biden on the issue.

It comes after House and Senate Republicans closed ranks last week around addressing the border crisis as part of any foreign aid deal.

Senate Republicans tanked a procedural vote on a $110 billion supplemental aid bill for Ukraine, Israel, the U.S. border and humanitarian causes brought forward last week by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.

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Democrats have expressed concerns that Republicans are pushing for measures that are too severe and would do little to stop the ongoing border crisis.

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But hardliners within the GOP, who have likened the thousands of people coming across the border with Mexico to an “invasion,” are calling for nothing short of House Republicans’ border bill known as H.R.2, which would build a border wall and significantly tighten asylum laws, among other provisions.

Both Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., have signaled that significant border security measures would be needed to entertain all or part of Biden’s supplemental request.