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President Donald Trump dismissed a question Tuesday night from a reporter about the possibility of him running for a third term in 2028, saying “the law is very strong.”

“Everybody asks me that question, and you know that the law is very strong on that,” Trump said while speaking to reporters at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland. “I’d love to run, but the law is very strong.”

“I get asked by everyone, well, even tonight they’re screaming at the event, ‘2028,’” he said, referring to the Patriot Games, which he had attended earlier that day. “No, everybody wants me to do it, but the law is very strong.”

Section 1 of the 22nd Amendment to the U.S. Constitution states that no one can be elected president more than twice.

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The amendment was ratified by the states in February 1951, roughly six years after the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt, who had served an unprecedented four terms as president.

Before Roosevelt, it was a longstanding political norm for presidents to serve no more than two terms, following the precedent set by George Washington.

Throughout his second term, Trump has walked a fine line between joking about seeking a third term and signaling that he may be serious about the idea.

At the White House Correspondents’ Dinner on July 24, Trump opened his speech with a wisecrack about running again.

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“Just like my presidency, the second time is always better. It’s always better. And the third time will be better yet. I’m only kidding,” Trump said.

In an interview on March 30, 2025, with NBC’s Kristen Welker, Trump struck a different chord, explicitly saying he was not “joking” about seeking a third term.

“There are methods which you could do it,” he also told Welker, acknowledging one possible route in which Vice President JD Vance could run for president with Trump as his running mate, win, and then resign — allowing Trump, as vice president, to succeed him and potentially sidestep the 22nd Amendment’s prohibition on being elected president more than twice.

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Most constitutional scholars say this would not work. Deborah Pearlstein, a Princeton University law professor, told The Washington Post that the 12th Amendment “closes the door” on Trump securing a third term through the vice presidency.

The amendment’s final sentence states that “no person constitutionally ineligible to the office of President shall be eligible to that of Vice-President of the United States.”

Michael Alfonso, the son-in-law of Department of Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and Fox News host Rachel Campos-Duffy, has won the Republican Party’s nomination in Wisconsin’s 7th Congressional District.

The 26-year-old, endorsed by President Donald Trump, defeated a crowded field of contenders as he seeks the same northern Wisconsin congressional seat once held by his father-in-law, who represented the district from 2011 to 2019.

“It is my Great Honor to endorse MAGA Warrior, Michael Alfonso, a young ‘STAR’ who is running to represent the incredible people of Wisconsin’s 7th Congressional District,” Trump wrote on Truth Social on the eve of Tuesday’s Election Day.

“As your next Congressman, Michael will work tirelessly to Grow our Economy, Cut Taxes and Regulations, Champion our Amazing Farmers and Ranchers, Promote MADE IN THE U.S.A., Unleash American Energy DOMINANCE, Keep our Border SECURE, Stop Migrant Crime, Support our Military/Veterans, Safeguard our Elections, and Protect our always under siege Second Amendment,” Trump added.

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The seat is currently held by Rep. Tom Tiffany, R-Wis., who on Tuesday won the Republican nomination in the Wisconsin governor’s race.

Tiffany was first elected to the seat in a May 2020 special election after Duffy resigned due to one of his children’s health issues.

District 7 has been under control of Republicans for 15 years, and it is deemed a solid Republican by Cook Political Report. Trump carried the district with about 60% of the vote during the 2024 presidential election.

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Alfonso will face off against Fred Clark in November, who won Tuesday’s Democratic primary for Wisconsin’s 7th Congressional District.

Clark, a former Wisconsin state assemblyman, said on his website that he believes northern Wisconsin has the “makings of a new rural majority.”

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“That’s a majority not based on old right wing and left wing politics, but a majority made up of real people who live and work in our communities,” Clark’s website said. “Fred Clark will become part of a new majority of leaders in Congress who will stand up, represent their communities, and do the work we expect from our elected representatives.”

Fox News Digital’s Elaine Mallon contributed to this report.

New York Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul’s lead over Republican candidate Bruce Blakeman is slipping, according to a new Siena University poll released Wednesday, as likely voters in New York also gave a negative 30-47% favorability rating to the Democratic Socialists of America.

With under three months to go until Election Day, Hochul leads Blakeman 49-39% among likely New York State gubernatorial voters, down from 52-32% when registered voters were asked the same question in June.

“At this point four years ago, August 2022, when Hochul was just finishing her first year as governor, she led her opponent, former Republican Congressman (and current EPA Administrator) Lee Zeldin by 14 points, 53-39%, before going on to ultimately win the election by six points, 53-47%,” Siena pollster Steven Greenberg said in a statement.

Blakeman, who is the current Nassau County executive, said in a statement provided to Fox News Digital on Wednesday that “All of the polls we have seen in the last two months have us virtually tied with Kathy Hochul,” and, “This poll is always off and continues to be off.”

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“We know and she knows this race is neck and neck. Kathy Hochul is desperate for people to believe that she is way ahead when she knows that her high taxes, soaring electric bills, and increased crime have made her the worst governor in America,” Blakeman added.

The latest Siena University Poll was conducted between Aug. 3–6 among 811 New York likely voters, with an overall margin of error of +/- 4.6 percentage points for those who answered the entire survey.

Fox News Digital has reached out to Hochul’s campaign for comment.

The Siena poll found that likely voters believe Hochul will do a better job than Blakeman on making prices more affordable for average New Yorkers, 48–41%, and increasing the supply of affordable housing, 51–35%.

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Respondents were more divided over the issues of keeping New Yorkers safe, where Hochul led 47-44%, and addressing undocumented immigrants living in the state, where she was ahead 45-44%, according to the Siena Research Institute.

“Not surprisingly, both candidates are holding on to their partisan bases, as Hochul leads among Democrats 80-8% and Blakeman leads among Republicans 84-9%. Likely independent voters favor Blakeman by a narrow five-point margin, 45–40%,” Greenberg said.

“Hochul holds a commanding 64-19% lead in New York City, but trails Blakeman in the downstate suburbs by eight points, 49-41%. They are running virtually even in upstate, as well as among men and with white voters; Hochul has large leads with women, Latinos and Black voters,” he added.

The Siena Research Institute also said it asked voters about the Democratic Socialists of America for the first time. The progressive political group has been exerting its influence on elections across America, with member Zohran Mamdani winning the New York City mayoral race last year.

The poll found that the group had a negative favorability rating.

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“Democrats view the DSA favorably, 50–21%, while 82% of Republicans and 57% of independents have an unfavorable view of the DSA,” the Siena Research Institute said.

Fox News Digital’s Danielle Wallace contributed to this report.

Democratic Gov. Abigail Spanberger was roasted for her visit to a nearly century-old fiddling convention in southwestern Virginia, with the area’s state delegate comparing her unfavorably to failed presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton.

Clinton famously surprised the hosts of New York’s “Breakfast Club” radio program in 2016 when she said she regularly carries hot sauce in her purse — a remark critics said echoed Beyoncé Knowles and amounted to political pandering to Southern and Black voters during her 2016 race against then-businessman and reality TV star Donald Trump.

Del. Wren Williams, a Republican who represents Galax, where the 90th Annual Old Fiddlers’ Convention took place, told Fox News Digital he was proud of constituents who made their feelings about the governor known peacefully but strongly.

DEM GOVERNOR BOOED AT VIRGINIA OLD FIDDLERS’ CONVENTION

Williams said it was clear to those assembled that Spanberger was trying to “pander” to rural residents, who have pushed back on several of the governor’s priorities, including the judicially halted redistricting effort and a slew of what Richmond Republican leaders have called “the bad bills.”

“[It was] about like Hillary Clinton and her hot sauce – nobody was buying it,” Williams said.

Over the weekend, Spanberger and her public safety chief, Galax native Stanley Meador, were booed after Meador introduced the governor. Meador previously served as special agent in charge of the FBI’s Richmond Field Office during the “anti-Catholic memo” controversy that drew congressional scrutiny.

Williams told Fox News Digital that people in Galax and surrounding Carroll County — atop the Blue Ridge and just over the border from Andy Griffith’s “Mount Pilot” area of North Carolina — have felt ignored by Spanberger and said their reaction was justified.

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“These are my constituents, the same ones that she just disarmed, tried to force into one single congressional district that represented their political views, and lied every step of the way while jockeying for the national Democratic Party nod for her shot at first female president,” Williams said, referring to another parallel between Spanberger and Clinton.

Galax, currently represented in Congress by Rep. Morgan Griffith, R-Va., would have sat at the edge of the only remaining Republican-held district under Richmond Democrats’ proposed 10-1 congressional map, which a bipartisan group of Virginia Supreme Court justices blocked earlier this year.

Virginia’s top state Republican – whose district is not far west of where Spanberger got booed – told Fox News Digital the incident proved to the governor that her policies run counter to what his neighbors want from Richmond:

“Southwest Virginians have never been shy about standing up for their values and their way of life,” said House Minority Leader Terry Kilgore of Gate City.

“When you try to take away their voice in Congress, go after their Second Amendment rights, and drive up their power bills to pay for a green energy agenda they don’t want and can’t afford, folks are going to let you know how they feel,” he said.

Former Attorney General Jason Miyares, a top figure in the “Vote No” coalition opposing Spanberger’s redistricting effort, said in a statement that the crowd’s response was predictable.

“Governor Spanberger booed in Galax. Turns out when you break your campaign promise, attempt a leftist power grab pushing an unconstitutional gerrymandering effort In order to silence rural Virginia voices, coupled with massive tax increases, it results in a frosty reception,” Miyares said.

WATCH: SPANBERGER KNOCKED FOR ‘BAIT AND SWITCH’ HYPOCRISY AS POPULARITY PLUMMETS AMID REDISTRICTING FIASCO

“Spanberger finally had to face the music,” another Virginia user wrote on X.

Other critics contrasted Democrats’ strength in Northern Virginia with opposition to Spanberger in more rural parts of the state.

“These folks booing are showing how the vast majority of those of us in Virginia feel… not those communists in the blue suburbs of DC,” Diane Cheesbrough wrote on X.

“She needs to go and take Tim Kaine and Mark Warner and Eugene Vindman with her.”

TRUMP BLASTS SPANBERGER AHEAD OF VIRGINIA MEETINGS, SAYS STATE FACES TAX BASE EXODUS LIKE NEW YORK, CALIFORNIA

Radio host Scott Adams added that rural voters “are not forgetting” the redistricting controversy.

“Southwest Virginia just delivered the message in person,” he said.

“Virginians are done with her,” added former Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla.

Some observers, however, credited Spanberger with going to Galax and Carroll County despite her weak electoral support in the area.

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“Abigail Spanberger lost [the independent city of] Galax 68 to 32 and showed up anyway,” said Democratic strategist Matt Royer.

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“A Republican would have tucked tail and stayed at home when it comes to events in places they lost, like Jason was yesterday. She won Virginia by 15 and still went to one place that booed her. That is the job.”

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Fox News Digital reached out to Spanberger and Clinton for comment.

Fourteen-term Rep. John Larson, D-Conn., met his match in Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin during Tuesday’s hard-fought primary race.

Larson, who has served in Congress since the Clinton administration, faced three challengers: Bronin, state Rep. Jillian Gilchrest and Hartford Education Board member Ruth Fortune. The sprawling district includes Hartford, Glastonbury, Bristol and Windsor Locks.

Earlier this term, during a markup of legislation providing House members with DOGE access to Treasury payment information, Larson erupted at his colleagues and began yelling:

“You will do whatever Elon Musk and Donald Trump tell you to do. Where’s the independence of the committee? Where’s the legislature? We’re an equal branch of government,” Larson yelled. “Look at the empty seats here. Where’s Elon Musk?”

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Larson has routinely criticized Musk and President Donald Trump during his tenure, notably filing more than a dozen articles of impeachment following the arrest and extraction of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro.

In that case, Larson accused Trump of piracy and other offenses. The impeachment push came as Larson faced a primary challenge from the younger Bronin.

Bronin, who also served in the Obama administration, appeared to be gaining on incumbent Larson as the year went on. He ran as a candidate seeking generational change in a longtime Democratic seat.

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The First District has not seen a Republican lawmaker since Rep. Edwin May Jr., R-Conn., who served during the Eisenhower administration.

Gilchrest is considered a progressive who also is also pro-choice abortion rights.

Fortune, considered the lowest-funded major candidate, ran an education-focused campaign.

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Republican challenger Amy Chai, a medical doctor focused on addiction treatment, said on her campaign site that Americans are too stressed and depressed because of national divisions and need a change.

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Democrats, however, are again favored over Chai and the GOP this fall in the district.

A retired Army special operations veteran is urging Congress to give qualified former special operators nationwide concealed carry privileges enjoyed by retired U.S. law enforcement officers, arguing the elite troops are uniquely trained to protect themselves and Americans.

“It needs to happen,” Gavin Glasenapp, who served 20 years and 12 combat deployments in the Army, told Fox News Digital on Monday.

The Special Operations Forces Concealed Carry Act was put forward last week by Sen. Tim Sheehy, R-Mont., months after a companion bill by the same name in the House was introduced in April by Rep. Pat Harrigan, R-N.C.

“These are proven men and women,” Glasenapp, the training operations manager at Delta Defense for the U.S. Concealed Carry Association (USCCA) said, adding “they’re specially selected, uniquely trained.”

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“I can think of no better group of people to be equipped to defend themselves and others around them. In fact, that’s part of our core values here at Delta Defense.

“We believe every American has the inalienable right to self-defense, and I can think of no better group that to really emulate that and really show you what that looks like.”

More well-trained good guys with guns to stop the bad guys with guns will help America safe again, Second Amendment advocates argue.

Last month, President Donald Trump trolled his critics and gun-control advocates with a post that went viral: “Over 273 Americans have been shot since the war in Iran … in Chicago.”

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Chicago is among the Democrat-run cities with strict gun laws and, yet, a raging gun violence crisis every summer.

Notably, an armed bystander last week in Idaho, strapped by the shoulder with a FN Five-seveN semi-automatic pistol, was able to engage a mass shooter, forcing him to flee and saving countless lives, local police hailed. That bystander Jordan Salinas, had concealed carry training, and local police noted he followed “observe, orient, decide and act” (OODA) protocol as a good guy with a gun able to help stop a bad guy with one.

“That would be the OODA loop,” Glasenapp said.

“That’s kind of become almost a university taught system of being situationally aware. You know, observing a threat and making decisions as far as what your next steps are going to be. And the big thing with that OODA loop is it’s just that: It’s a loop. You should constantly be observing, orienting on things, deciding, acting, and then redoing it over and over again.”

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Nationwide concealed carry reciprocity, making it lawfully easier to carry concealed state to state, has faced congressional obstruction from gun-control advocates, but expanding the Law Enforcement Officers Safety Act (LEOSA) to special ops veterans would allow more good guys with guns to stop bad guys with guns.

It also could be a baby step, ultimately, in gun-rights advocates’ push for nationwide reciprocity.

The fact highly trained special operations veterans are not afforded the permissions to carry concealed firearms across state lines might be a surprise to some.

“[LEOSA] allows retired law enforcement officers to carry concealed throughout the country, which is very convenient, actually, because sometimes state laws as far as concealed carry or possessing weapons can be very different when you travel state to state,” Glasenapp said.

“So, for example, if you’re a retired law officer and you’re on a cross-country road trip with your family, that definitely streamlines things a lot. You’re not having to check things like a reciprocity app.”

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The most popular reciprocity app is the USCCA Concealed Carry app, which provides a live interactive permit reciprocity map, state gun laws, and permit management tools for all 50 states.

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A key distinction between the proposed Sheehy Senate bill and Harrigan’s House version is annual certification requirements for special ops veterans.

“Our Special Operations Forces spend their careers protecting the American people with unmatched discipline, judgment, and professionalism,” Sheehy wrote in a statement.

“This bill honors that reality by giving qualified special operators the same nationwide concealed carry privileges already afforded to retired law enforcement officers. Our elite warfighters never stop serving, and this bill ensures the law reflects the trust they’ve earned through a lifetime of sacrifice.”

Sheehy’s version requires yearly, state-standard, active-duty-level firearms qualification at the individual’s expense, plus completion of a Justice Department-certified “Concealed Carry Use of Force in Society” course before carrying.

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Harrigan’s bill just expands the LEOSA standards to special ops veterans and calls for “no separate certification of firearms training is required for a qualified special operator.”

“I don’t believe the annual recertification requirement should be required for either the proposed special operations forces concealed carry act or the current HR 218/LEOSA,” according to Glasenapp, who urges regular training regardless if required. 

“Both of these communities have spent their professional careers training and qualifying with various handguns and other small arms.”

The Senate bill defines a qualified special operator as a former member of the armed forces who went through a special operations assessment, was selected for qualification training and held a special warfare or special operations occupational specialty or skill designator recognized by U.S. Special Operations Command.

Glasenapp said the distinction matters because firearms proficiency is a fundamental and continually reinforced part of training for many of the operators the legislation is intended to cover.

An infantryman or infantry officer in the Army’s 75th Ranger Regiment, for example, would be “intimately familiar with small arms,” including rifles and handguns, he said.

“There’s going to be continuing training on that,” Glasenapp said, noting that firearms skills can deteriorate without practice.

Special operators have another advantage when it comes to navigating different rules: years of operating under changing restrictions in different jurisdictions and even different countries.

“These are folks that have not only dealt with changing state lines, but different rules and different regulations in different countries,” Glasenapp said. “We’re talking international travel and dealing with rules of engagement that are constantly changing depending on what theater you’re in.

“They can definitely adapt on the fly.”

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Glasenapp also rejected the notion that military experience alone means special operations veterans would treat civilian concealed carry like operating in a combat zone – a fear gun-control advocates have.

He said he held a Tennessee concealed carry permit himself while serving on active duty and stressed that carrying a firearm as a civilian comes with different legal responsibilities.

“What you’re doing as a civilian carrying every day … is going to be different than when you’re in a combat zone,” said Glasenapp, who said he deployed 12 times during his military career.

“Get familiar with local, state and federal law as far as what you can and can’t do,” he said. “You’ve got to make different decisions and act in different ways.”

The veteran also said he would support broader nationwide concealed carry reciprocity, arguing that gun owners currently face a complicated patchwork of laws when traveling between states.

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But, on the narrower proposal before Congress, Glasenapp said he believes special operators have already demonstrated the judgment and skills necessary to earn the expanded protection.

“I certainly hope this passes and becomes U.S. code,” Glasenapp said.

“I think it needs to happen.”

MADISON, Wis. – For a second straight week, the progressive left-wing won a high-stakes Senate primary battle over the establishment in what is seen as a setback for longtime Democratic Senate Leader Sen. Chuck Schumer.

But the biggest ballot-box face-off between the far left and the center in the ongoing fight for the ideological future of the Democratic Party ended with a narrow victory for the establishment, as Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley defeated democratic socialist state Rep. Francesca Hong in Wisconsin’s gubernatorial primary.

Meanwhile, the Democrats’ generational showdown claimed another longtime member of Congress.

And it was a split decision for President Donald Trump‘s endorsements in statewide Republican nomination contests, as Minnesota, Wisconsin, Connecticut, Vermont, South Carolina and Alabama held primaries on Tuesday.

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Upper Midwest showdowns

“I know we don’t have the final results right now, but I do know we are ready to keep fighting,” Democratic gubernatorial candidate state Rep. Francesca Hong told supporters at a primary night event in Wisconsin’s capital city before the race was called.

Hong, a former chef and single parent who is a Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) member, narrowly lost to Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley, who consolidated support from more mainstream Democrats and was backed by retiring Democratic Gov. Tony Evers.

Crowley will face Rep. Tom Tiffany, who cruised to the GOP nomination. Tiffany is a hard-right member of the conservative House Freedom Caucus who was backed by Trump in the primary. The general election winner will succeed Democratic Gov. Tony Evers, who decided against seeking a third term in office.

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Hong was backed by top nationally known progressives, including Reps. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota and Ro Khanna of California, a potential 2028 Democratic presidential contender. But two champions of the left, Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, didn’t endorse in the race.

Hong ran on a platform that includes guaranteed paid leave, boosting the state’s minimum wage from $7.25 to $20 per hour and a one-year moratorium in Wisconsin on building AI data centers. Hong has faced scrutiny over years-old social media posts calling for defunding and abolishing the police. But she says she no longer supports cutting police budgets or abolishing police departments.

She also made national headlines over the past two weeks for a resurfaced social media post from 2020 where she argued that the country should “cancel Thanksgiving” in order to “stop celebrating colonialism.”

Hong walked back her Thanksgiving comments amid backlash and now says that Thanksgiving is her “favorite holiday.”

The Democratic primary was rocked this summer, as Wisconsin Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez and former Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes, two of the major contenders for the gubernatorial nomination, exited the race. And Crowley, who earlier suspended his campaign and backed Rodriguez, re-entered the contest.

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Crowley was backed by Evers, who joined him on the campaign trail in the closing stretch leading up to the primary, as they both questioned Hong’s electability and warned that a victory by her would help Tiffany in the general election. Meanwhile, pro-GOP super PACs, including one aligned with the Republican Governors Association, shelled out millions of dollars to boost Hong in the primary, because they view her as the weakest Democratic candidate.

The final pre-primary polls indicated Hong with a healthy double-digit lead. But the polls were off again, as they were a week ago when left-wing Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed narrowly edged more moderate Rep. Haley Stevens for the party’s Senate nomination in Michigan, which, along with Wisconsin, is a key Midwestern battleground.

While his margin was razor-thin, El-Sayed’s win boosted the left. Fast-forward to this week, and progressives scored another victory, as Minnesota Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan downed moderate Rep. Angie Craig by roughly 20 points to capture the Democratic Senate nomination.

Flanagan, who was backed by top progressives including Sanders and Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, will now face off with GOP nominee Michele Tafoya, a former longtime NBC Sports reporter, in the race to succeed retiring Democratic Sen. Tina Smith.

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It’s been 24 years since a Republican won a U.S. Senate election in Minnesota. But Flanagan’s victory may boost the GOP hopes of flipping the seat in a left-leaning but competitive state.

Craig was supported by Democratic establishment leaders, including Schumer. Craig’s defeat is the second major setback for Schumer in a week, following El-Sayed’s victory in Michigan. And Flanagan has said that if elected in November, she wouldn’t support Schumer remaining as Democratic leader in the Senate.

Democrats’ generational battle

Rep. John Larson of Connecticut became the seventh House Democrat ousted so far this primary season.

Larson, who’s been in Congress for nearly three decades, was defeated by double digits in the Democratic primary in Connecticut’s solidly-blue 1st Congressional District by former Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin.

With both candidates touting their progressive credentials, this race was less about ideology and more about generational change in the party, which was fueled two years ago by then-81-year-old President Joe Biden’s exit from the presidential race amid questions over his physical and mental stamina following a disastrous debate performance against Trump.

The 47-year-old Bronin is three decades younger than the 78-year-old Larson, who became the latest political victim of a push by Democratic voters to sweep out older incumbents and replace them with younger leaders.

“John Larson is a good man, but he’s been in Congress since the 90s. The stakes are just too high to keep doing the same thing,” Bronin, a retired Naval intelligence officer, argued in one of his campaign ads.

Larson countered by touting his experience and his record as a fighter in Congress.

“We are a country in absolute crisis. We need our toughest fighters. I’ve taken on Trump, DOGE, and ICE, and won,” Larson wrote in a social media post.

Larson joined Reps. Al Green of Texas, Diana DeGette of Colorado, Adriano Espaillat of New York and Shri Thanedar of Michigan, who also fell to younger primary challengers.

The generational battle will likely play out on a larger stage in a couple of weeks, as 47-year-old Rep. Seth Moulton challenges 80-year-old Sen. Ed Markey, a progressive leader, in the party’s Senate primary in Democrat-dominated Massachusetts.

Split decision for Trump

Backed by Trump, appointed Sen. Darline Graham captured the most votes in Tuesday’s special Republican Senate primary in South Carolina, in the race to succeed her brother, the late Sen. Lindsey Graham.

But with no candidate topping 50% of the vote, Graham will face off in a runoff in two weeks with Rep. Ralph Norman, who came in second. Rep. Russell Fry and former Gov. and former Rep. Mark Sanford, as well as other contenders, fell short in the special primary, which was held one month to the day after the longtime senator suddenly died at age 71.

“I want to thank President Trump, his steadfast support and his complete and total endorsement means so much to me. He knows that I will stand with him and fight for his agenda, just like Lindsey did,” Graham said at her primary night event.

Norman, who unsuccessfully campaigned this year for the GOP gubernatorial nomination in the race to succeed term-limited South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster, is a Trump ally in the House and also showcased his support for the president in his Senate campaign.

Trump’s sway over the GOP remains immense, and the power of his endorsements in Republican primaries faced another test in South Carolina, which the president passed.

But the Trump endorsement hasn’t proven to be a sure bet this cycle in solidly-red South Carolina.

Trump backed Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette for the GOP gubernatorial nomination — in the race to succeed the term-limited McMaster — ahead of the state’s early June primary.

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Evette was the top vote-getter in the primary but lost the ensuing runoff election against South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson in a landslide. And Trump, ever hungry for a victory, endorsed Wilson in addition to Evette days before the runoff.

The big question going forward is whether Graham will suffer the same fate as Evette.

The winner of the Senate runoff election in two weeks will be considered the clear front-runner in the solidly red state in the midterms against Democratic nominee Annie Andrews, a pediatrician.

Meanwhile, Trump suffered a rare endorsement setback in Minnesota.

Mike Lindell, the MyPillow founder and former CEO who is a close Trump ally who joined the president in denying former President Joe Biden‘s victory in the 2020 White House race, had Trump’s backing. But Lindell lost the Minnesota Republican gubernatorial primary to state House Speaker Lisa Demuth.

EXCLUSIVE: The FBI on Tuesday marked the first anniversary of the Trump administration’s crime crackdown in Washington, D.C., touting thousands of arrests and seizures since the enhanced federal enforcement effort began.

The milestone comes one year after President Donald Trump launched the Safe and Beautiful initiative in Washington, increasing the federal law enforcement presence and deploying hundreds of federal agents and National Guard troops to combat crime in the nation’s capital.

“Last summer President Trump made the historic decision to surge federal resources to Washington D.C. to crack down on crime – and thanks to his brilliant leadership, the work of brave FBI agents and our law enforcement partners, and the support of our Justice Department, our nation’s capital is now safer than it’s been in decades,” FBI Director Kash Patel told Fox News Digital.

TRUMP’S DC LAW-AND-ORDER BLITZ MARKS ONE YEAR WITH EYE-POPPING HAUL OF SUSPECTS

“One year later, the FBI has worked with partners to make over 6,000 arrests, nearly 2,000 drug seizures, and over 1,300 illegal firearm seizures,” Patel continued. “Homicides in D.C. are down an incredible 44% from last year.”

The FBI said the enforcement effort has resulted in 6,121 arrests, 237 search warrants and the recovery of $252,592 in cash.

Patel vowed that the federal enforcement effort would continue.

“The greatest country on earth should have a capital city reflecting it – where American taxpayers can live, visit, and petition their government without fear of violent crime,” Patel said.

TRUMP’S DC BEAUTIFICATION PUSH WINS RARE DEM PRAISE AS PRESIDENT SNAPS LANDMARKS BACK TO LIFE

“Thanks to President Trump and brave law enforcement, one year later we have made historic progress to that end, and the work will only continue,” he added.

The federal surge followed a series of high-profile violent crimes in Washington, including the June 2025 killing of 21-year-old congressional intern Eric Tarpinian, the beating of a former DOGE staffer and the fatal shooting of a 14-year-old boy in a case involving alleged MS-13 gang members.

The National Guard deployment also drew criticism from Democratic leaders, including then-Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser.

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“I don’t think it’s legal, let me start there, for the National Guard to police Americans on American soil,” Bowser said at the time.

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

MADISON, Wis — The left wing suffered a high-profile setback on Tuesday at the hands of the center-left establishment in their ongoing battle for the ideological future of the party.

Seven days after far-left candidate Abdul El-Sayed narrowly edged out more moderate Rep. Haley Stevens in battleground Michigan’s Democratic Senate primary, state Rep. Francesca Hong on Tuesday was upset in her bid to capture the Democratic gubernatorial nomination in Wisconsin, another crucial swing state.

Hong, a state lawmaker from Madison, Wisconsin and a Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) member, was defeated by Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley, the Associated Press reports.

CONTROVERSIAL SOCIALIST CHEF FLIP-FLOPS ON ABOLISH THE POLICE, SAYS SHE’S ‘SERIOUS ABOUT PUBLIC SAFETY’

Crowley will face off in the general election against likely Republican nominee Rep. Tom Tiffany, a hard-right House Freedom Caucus member who is backed by President Donald Trump. The race is considered a top flip opportunity for the GOP.

Crowley was heavily backed by retiring Democratic Gov. Tony Evers, with both warning that a Hong primary victory could jeopardize Democratic control of the governor’s office.

The governor’s race in Wisconsin opened after Evers announced he would not seek a third term. With Evers stepping aside, the race offered Democrats their first opportunity in 16 years to choose a nominee without an incumbent governor on the ballot.

The primary was closely watched as an early test of whether Wisconsin Democrats favored the party’s progressive wing or its establishment, with the winner advancing to a high-stakes general election in one of the nation’s premier battleground states.

Hong, a 37-year-old former chef and single mother, was backed by top nationally known progressives, including Reps. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota and Ro Khanna of California, a potential 2028 Democratic presidential contender. But Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, a longtime champion of the left, last week said he didn’t plan on endorsing Hong, arguing that he was not familiar enough with her campaign or the race.

SOCIALIST FRONTRUNNER’S TRADITION-TRASHING HOLIDAY RANTS COME BACK TO BITE HER: ‘WORST OF HUMANITY COMES OUT’

Hong is running on a platform that includes guaranteed paid leave, boosting the state’s minimum wage from $7.25 to $20 per hour, and a one-year moratorium in Wisconsin on building AI data centers. Hong has faced scrutiny over years-old social media posts calling for defunding and abolishing the police. But she says she no longer supports cutting police budgets or abolishing police departments.

“I’m not defunding the police, not abolishing police. I am serious about public safety,” Hong emphasized on Saturday as she took questions from voters.

Hong also made national headlines over the past two weeks for a resurfaced social media post from 2020 where she argued that the country should “cancel Thanksgiving” in order to “stop celebrating colonialism.”

Hong walked back her Thanksgiving comments, amid backlash, and now says that Thanksgiving is her “favorite holiday.”

On her resurfaced tweets, Hong told reporters on Saturday that she has “evolved” and “learned.”

Wisconsin Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez and former Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes, two of the major contenders for the Democratic nomination, exited the race this summer. And Crowley, who earlier suspended his campaign and backed Rodriguez, re-entered the contest.

2026 MIDTERMS: PRIMARIES, KEY RACES AND ELECTION RESULTS

Crowley was backed by Evers, who joined him on the campaign trail in the closing stretch leading up to the primary.

There was a growing number of more moderate Democrats concerned that if Hong captured the gubernatorial nomination, it would give Tiffany a big boost in his bid to flip the governor’s office.

A Wisconsin-based Democratic strategist who asked to remain anonymous to speak more freely argued that with Hong at the top of the ticket, “it will hurt Democrats down ballot, in key congressional and legislative races” in the Midwestern battleground

Meanwhile, pro-GOP super PACs, including one aligned with the Republican Governors Association, shelled out millions of dollars to boost Hong in the primary, because they view her as the weakest Democratic candidate.

MEET THE FAR LEFT INSURGENTS WAGING WAR ON THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY IN THE 2026 MIDTERMS

In a Fox News Digital interview on the eve of the primary, Tiffany pointed to his expected general election showdown with Hong and said his state would be “the firewall… We’ll be the place that stops socialism.”

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Asked about electability concerns, Hong told Fox News on Sunday that “this election belongs to the voters. We let the voters decide. The candidate that’s the most electable is the one that earns the most votes. So we’re focused on meeting voters up until Election Day, until the polls close.”

Democrats in deep blue Vermont have a new nominee as they take a sixth straight shot at trying to oust popular Republican Gov. Phil Scott.

Democrats in deep blue Vermont have a new nominee as they take a sixth straight shot at trying to oust popular Republican Gov. Phil Scott.

Economist Amanda Janoo on Tuesday defeated former child advocacy organization CEO Aly Richards — who is backed by former Democratic Govs. Howard Dean and Madeleine Kunin — to capture the party’s gubernatorial nomination, the Associated Press reported.

Scott was unopposed as he cruised to the GOP gubernatorial nomination. Scott is running for a sixth two-year term steering Vermont, and if he wins the general election and completes another term, he’ll pass Dean as the northern New England state’s longest serving governor. Vermont and neighboring New Hampshire are the only two states in the nation to elect governors every two years.

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Scott is a moderate Republican and a vocal GOP critic of President Donald Trump.

The governor endorsed former ambassador and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley in the 2024 Republican presidential primaries, and voted for then-Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee, over Trump in that year’s general election.

CHECK OUT THE FOX NEWS POWER RANKINGS IN THE MIDTERM ELECTIONS

Beating Scott in November will once again be a tough task for Democrats in a state where their party normally dominates elections.

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Scott won a whopping 73% of the vote in his 2024 re-election, besting the 69% he received in his 2022 victory.

Minnesota House Speaker Lisa Demuth has won the Republican gubernatorial primary and will move on to face the Democratic nominee in November to replace outgoing Gov. Tim Walz.

The victory amounts to a significant show of strength for Demuth, who stayed in the race after losing the Republican Party endorsement to Kendall Qualls at the state convention. Qualls secured the endorsement after 10 ballots, but Demuth argued that her legislative experience and record of leading House Republicans made her the party’s strongest candidate for November.

Additionally, Demuth defeated MyPillow founder and CEO Mike Lindell, who had President Donald Trump’s endorsement and has national name recognition.

No Republican has won a statewide election in the state since 2006, when Gov. Tim Pawlenty narrowly won reelection by less than a percentage point. Since then, Republicans have lost 28 consecutive statewide contests through the 2024 election, an 18-year drought that became the longest for either major party in Minnesota history.

KLOBUCHAR VOWS FRAUD CRACKDOWN, AUDIT OF MN GOV’T AS GOP BLASTS WALZ TIES

“There is hope for Minnesota, for the change that is so desperately needed,” Demuth told Fox News Digital about her victory at her election night watch party in St. Paul on Tuesday night. 

“People are frustrated with fraud, they can’t believe that it happened, that it was allowed to go on for so long, and so I think the message is hope, and change that is desperately needed, reducing taxes and improving education, and ending that fraud are those main messages.”

The race was dramatically reshaped in January when Walz abandoned his campaign for a third term, saying he wanted to spend his final year in office focused on combating fraud in state programs rather than defending his political future.

Walz had launched his reelection campaign only months earlier, but mounting scrutiny of fraud involving government-funded programs had become a major political liability and a central line of attack from Republicans.

WALZ APPROVAL RATING CRATERS TO LOWEST LEVEL EVER AND TRAILS TRUMP AMID MASSIVE FRAUD SCANDAL: ‘TIRED OF IT’

Walz’s withdrawal marked an abrupt turn for a politician who had vaulted onto the national stage less than two years earlier as Kamala Harris’ 2024 vice presidential running mate.

As governor, Walz had signed a sweeping set of Democratic priorities after his party took full control of state government, including expanded abortion protections, free school meals, legalized recreational marijuana and paid family and medical leave. But his administration also faced sustained criticism over its handling of fraud in state programs that prosecutors say could total over $9 billion.

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Walz’s departure opened the governor’s race and quickly turned attention to Klobuchar as a potential successor.

Klobuchar ultimately entered the contest, transforming what had been shaping up as a referendum on Walz’s eight years in office into a race in which Republicans would instead have to take on one of Minnesota’s most established statewide politicians.

A series of closely watched primaries across the Upper Midwest delivered key victories for the Democratic Party’s progressive wing Tuesday night — with one major test still hanging in the balance in battleground Wisconsin.

Minnesota was among the clearest signs of progressive strength, with Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan winning the Democratic nomination for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by retiring Sen. Tina Smith, while progressive “Squad” member Rep. Ilhan Omar secured another primary victory in her overwhelmingly blue Minneapolis-area district.

Flanagan defeated Rep. Angie Craig in a closely watched clash between the party’s progressive and establishment wings. Flanagan drew support from prominent figures on the left, while Craig had the backing of several leading establishment Democrats.

SOCIALIST WINNING STREAK FACES MAJOR SWING-STATE TEST AS POLLS CLOSE IN WISCONSIN

Meanwhile, progressive “Squad” member Rep. Ilhan Omar won the Democratic primary in Minnesota’s 5th Congressional District, securing another victory for one of the most prominent members of the House’s progressive wing.

Omar’s win adds to a string of primary victories for the congresswoman, who has previously survived well-funded efforts to oust her.

MEET THE FAR LEFT INSURGENTS WAGING WAR ON THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY IN THE 2026 MIDTERMS

But the biggest remaining question of the night is in Wisconsin, where Democratic voters are still waiting to learn who will carry the party’s banner in the race to succeed outgoing Gov. Tony Evers.

State Rep. Francesca Hong, a democratic socialist, is seeking to extend the progressive left’s string of victories in one of the nation’s most closely divided battleground states, where Democrats are fighting to keep control of the governor’s mansion.

Hong, a 37-year-old former chef and single mother, has drawn backing from nationally known progressives, including Reps. Omar and Ro Khanna of California.

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She is running on a platform that includes raising Wisconsin’s minimum wage from $7.25 to $20 an hour, guaranteed paid leave and a one-year moratorium on new AI data centers.

Hong has also faced scrutiny over years-old social media posts calling for defunding and abolishing the police, positions she now says she no longer supports.

With most of Tuesday’s marquee contests decided, Wisconsin stands as the night’s biggest remaining test of whether the progressive left can carry its momentum into one of the nation’s premier battleground states.

Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., fended off four challengers in her Democratic primary on Tuesday as she heads to the general election where she will fight to retain her seat for a fifth term representing Minnesota’s 5th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives.

The incumbent Somali-born congresswoman faced lower profile challengers — Julie Trang Le, a former federal immigration prosecutor; Abena McKenzie, a nurse who ran against Omar in the 2024 primary, receiving just 0.38% of the vote; Latonya Reeves, DNC member and a longtime activist running from Omar’s right; and Nate Schluter, a political outsider with barely any footprint in the race.

But no challenger had realistic potential of overtaking Omar, who has solidified her spot in Congress through appealing to the increasingly progressive voter bloc in her district, which hosts the largest concentration of Somali Americans in the U.S.

SOCIALIST SURGE: FAR-LEFT DEMOCRATS TEST NATIONAL PLAYBOOK AFTER BLUE-CITY PRIMARY SHOCKS

The 5th District includes Minneapolis and several nearby suburbs and is one of the most Democratic congressional districts in Minnesota.

Omar has represented the district since 2019. She was one of the first two Muslim women elected to Congress and the first Somali American elected to the House.

The one-time refugee and a founding member of the so-called Squad has become one of the Democratic Party’s most prominent progressive voices. She has repeatedly drawn national attention for her positions on immigration, healthcare and U.S. policy toward Israel.

2026 MIDTERMS: PRIMARIES, KEY RACES AND ELECTION RESULTS

The primary in Minnesota, where Omar secured the nomination for a fifth-straight term, comes as progressive and socialist candidates have scored several high-profile victories around the country in this year’s Democratic primary races.

There’s much debate over whether those advances by the far-left faction of the party will be a feature or a downfall for Democrats looking to regain control of Congress in the 2026 midterms.

Omar will now advance to the general election in November to face the Republican nominee, who will be chosen in Tuesday’s GOP primary race between Dalia Al-Aqidi, a pro-Israel former journalist born in Iraq and considered the frontrunner; John Nagel, a retired Minnesota State Patrol lieutenant; and long shot political outsider candidates Angie Windhauser and Abbey Zieska.

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The 5th Congressional District in Minnesota has consistently elected Democrats for decades, making the Democratic primary the race that often draws the most attention.

Bipartisan ranking by the Cook Political Report puts the race at ‘solid Democrat’ with a +32 rating, making it highly unlikely that the district would flip red.

A former waitress, small-business owner and nonprofit founder won the Democratic primary in Wisconsin’s 3rd Congressional District on Tuesday, setting her up for a rematch with Republican Rep. Derrick Van Orden.

Rebecca Cooke, raised on an Eau Claire-area dairy farm, defeated former Eau Claire City Council President Emily Berge on Tuesday evening. The win puts Cooke back on the ballot in one of Democrats’ top House pickup opportunities this fall.

It will be Cooke’s third attempt to win the western Wisconsin seat. She lost the 2022 Democratic primary to then-state Sen. Brad Pfaff before securing the party’s nomination in 2024. Van Orden defeated her that November by roughly 11,000 votes, winning 51.4% of the vote to Cooke’s 48.6%.

WISCONSIN DEM TOUTS ENDORSEMENT FROM UNION PUSHING BACK AGAINST CDL CRACKDOWNS ON ILLEGAL ALIEN TRUCKERS

Cooke has sought to make her working-class background central to her campaign. She grew up on a dairy farm near Eau Claire, has worked as a waitress since she was a teenager and founded the Red Letter Grant, a nonprofit supporting women entrepreneurs. She also previously operated a small retail business and served on the board of the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. after being appointed by Democratic Gov. Tony Evers.

Her campaign has focused on affordability, health care and the economic challenges facing rural communities, while portraying Cooke as a pragmatic Democrat able to appeal across party lines in a district that includes Eau Claire, La Crosse and much of western Wisconsin.

Cooke entered the primary as the better-funded candidate and with national support from Democrats.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) added Cooke to its “Red to Blue” program, which directs party resources toward candidates viewed as viable in competitive districts.

Berge, a mental health counselor and former Eau Claire City Council president, ran as a local alternative to Cooke, arguing voters should have a choice rather than see the nomination effectively decided by national party backing and fundraising. Her strongest base of support was expected to be in and around Eau Claire.

IOWA DEM ADMITS BEING ‘UNCOMFORTABLE’ WITH WHITENESS AS SHE SEEKS TO FLIP COMPETITIVE HOUSE SEAT

The general election is likely to renew scrutiny of Cooke’s personal finances and past political work. Van Orden’s campaign has pressed her to release a financial disclosure that was extended until Aug. 13, two days after the primary. The campaign has argued that earlier disclosures showing income from political consulting and rental properties undercut Cooke’s working-class image.

Republicans have also sought to cast Cooke as a Democratic political insider, pointing to her work on Democratic campaigns and fundraising. Cooke has presented that experience as part of a broader record that includes operating a business, leading a nonprofit and working in the hospitality industry.

Van Orden, a retired Navy SEAL who was first elected in 2022, is seeking a third term.

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The 3rd district in Wisconsin, a swing state, has leaned Republican in recent presidential elections, but Cooke’s narrow 2024 loss and substantial fundraising have made the race a closely watched contest as Democrats seek to win back the House in November.

The bipartisan Cook Political Report moved the race from “lean Republican” in the last election cycle to “toss up.”

White House officials have asked the Department of Justice (DOJ) to explore whether it would be possible to pursue a new prosecution against the man accused of vandalizing the newly renovated Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, weeks after federal prosecutors moved to dismiss felony charges against him, Fox News has learned.

The previous case, which U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro’s office moved to dismiss on July 31, accused Olympic canoeist David Hearn of damaging the costly $14 million project after cracks, algae growth and peeling sealant were discovered.

Pirro’s office cited findings from the Department of the Interior that concluded the damage was linked to flaws in the installation process rather than vandalism.

White House officials have since reached out to the DOJ to determine whether Hearn could instead face a misdemeanor charge, as first reported by The Wall Street Journal. No final decision has been made, Fox News has learned.

TRUMP URGES JEANINE PIRRO TO REVISIT DROPPED LINCOLN MEMORIAL REFLECTING POOL VANDALISM CASE

In response to the move, Hearn’s attorneys said pursuing a new case would only undermine the DOJ’s credibility after prosecutors already acknowledged they lacked sufficient evidence to support the original charges.

“If true, it would mark a shocking first: a case that the DOJ lost by its own admission because it lacked the evidence to convict, returning from the dead. This would add another bizarre turn to a sad chapter in the DOJ’s history and further harass an innocent man,” the attorneys said in a joint statement.

The statement was issued by Norm Eisen of Democracy Defenders Fund, Mary Dohrmann of Washington Litigation Group, and Steve Levin of Steptoe LLP.

TRUMP SAYS HE ‘DISAGREES 100%’ WITH U.S. ATTORNEY JEANINE PIRRO OVER REFLECTING POOL CASE

While Pirro’s office has moved to drop the original federal case, prosecutors sought a dismissal without prejudice, meaning the charges could potentially be brought again.

The possibility of a renewed prosecution comes as the Trump administration has repeatedly maintained that the damage was caused by vandalism.

President Donald Trump said slashes were found in the pool’s material that appeared to have been made with a knife. He also claimed people had been seen kneeling at those exact locations with their hands in the water.

U.S. Park Police identified Hearn as a suspect after he was reportedly seen grabbing and tugging on a loose section of the pool’s coating on June 19. Police said he continued to do so even after National Park Service employees urged him to stop.

TRUMP DOUBLES DOWN ON REFLECTING POOL VANDALISM ALLEGATIONS, CITES NEW WITNESS ACCOUNT

The damage was estimated at about $1,000 and resulted in Hearn’s indictment on July 2 on one count of felony destruction of property.

Trump has urged Pirro to reconsider her “hastily made” decision to drop that felony charge and criticized Hearn’s alleged political connections, claiming he was a “big player” in the Democratic fundraising platform ActBlue.

“U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro should re-visit her hastily made decision, especially since it turned out that the ‘gentleman’ involved is a big player in ActBlue, a disgraceful fundraising SCAM, and is represented by a TRUMP DERANGED SLEAZEBAG, Political Hack Lawyer, Norm Eisen, and CREW, a group that uses ‘charity’ for political purposes which is, to the best of my knowledge, ILLEGAL!” Trump said.

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Trump later said Pirro “choked” under pressure from a judge regarding the case and “folded like an ​umbrella.”

Connecticut Democratic Gov. Ned Lamont is no fan of President Donald Trump, but his progressive primary challenger, state Rep. Josh Elliott, says he’s too cozy with the president.

Lamont defeated Elliott in a high-stakes New England primary Tuesday in a state that not long ago shifted from competitive territory to reliably Democratic.

Elliott, D-Hamden, painted Lamont as too “nice” to Trump, saying that being “nice is a problem right now.”

“Nice doesn’t solve affordability. Nice doesn’t solve fascism or fight back against fascism,” Elliott told the Connecticut Mirror.

ANTI-TRUMP SENATOR DEFEATED BY FAR-LEFT RIVAL AFTER HEATED GUBERNATORIAL PRIMARY

“[Ned] can be nice all day long, but that’s a liability right now.”

Lamont, meanwhile, told the outlet that “talk is cheap” and said Elliott has little to offer compared with the incumbent’s record during his nearly eight years in office.

Lamont’s camp said it wants to see single-payer healthcare and additional resources for early childhood education in the state. Connecticut is increasingly becoming a bedroom community for the New York City, Providence and Boston metropolitan areas.

GOP GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE FIGHTING TO FLIP BLUE STATE UNVEILS HEALTHCARE PLAN TO LOWER COSTS, EXPAND ACCESS

Lamont faces state Sen. Ryan Fazio, R-Greenwich, in the November general election.

While now reliably blue, Connecticut not long ago had several Republicans in Congress and GOP governors with staying power, including John Rowland, who was later imprisoned.

Republicans held Connecticut’s governorship for much of the period between the Reagan era and 2010, when the late Gov. M. Jodi Rell decided against seeking another term and Democrat Dannel Malloy succeeded her.

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Former Sen. Prescott Bush, father of former President George H.W. Bush, represented Connecticut in the U.S. Senate for more than a decade in the mid-20th century.

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Lowell Weicker, a liberal Republican U.S. senator who preceded Joseph Lieberman, also served as governor in the 1990s under the “A Connecticut Party” line, which he founded.

A federal judge in Massachusetts on Tuesday blocked the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) from implementing part of President Donald Trump’s executive order tightening mail-in voting rules ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.

U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani granted a preliminary injunction preventing the USPS from implementing or enforcing Section 3 of Executive Order 14399 for the Nov. 3 midterm elections, or any earlier federal election.

The ruling prevents USPS from refusing to transmit mail-in or absentee ballots under the challenged section and blocks rulemaking to implement certain regulations outlined in the executive order for the November elections.

The injunction does not prevent the federal government from providing nonbinding USPS guidance on ballot-mail envelopes.

JUDGE HANDS TRUMP MAIL-BALLOT WIN FOR NOW AS DEMOCRATS’ NEXT MOVE LOOMS

Talwani held a hearing Friday on the plaintiffs’ renewed request for a preliminary injunction. The Trump administration is expected to appeal Tuesday’s ruling to the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston.

Trump signed the executive order in March as part of his election integrity agenda.

It directs the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to compile lists of confirmed U.S. citizens eligible to vote and provide them to states, instructs the USPS to establish new standards for mail-in ballots, and directs the Department of Justice (DOJ) to prioritize investigations into state and local election officials who issue federal ballots to people deemed ineligible to vote.

“Cheating on mail-in voting is legendary. It’s horrible. Democrats want to use it for cheating,” Trump said.

Tuesday’s ruling comes weeks after the 1st Circuit rejected the administration’s attempt to enforce other provisions of Trump’s executive order while a separate legal challenge proceeds.

OBAMA-APPOINTED JUDGE BLOCKS TRUMP’S ELECTION ORDER AS SAVE AMERICA ACT FIGHT INTENSIFIES

In a 2-1 decision July 25, the appeals court denied the DOJ’s request to pause a June ruling blocking several provisions of Trump’s order in 23 Democratic-led states and the District of Columbia.

That lawsuit was led by California, Massachusetts, Nevada and Washington. The states argued that the Constitution gives states primary responsibility for administering federal elections and that Trump exceeded his authority by directing federal agencies to impose new voting requirements.

Talwani had previously blocked several provisions of the executive order in June, finding they likely exceeded the president’s authority. The appeals court left that injunction in place July 25, while the administration’s appeal proceeds.

The DOJ previously told the appeals court it could seek emergency relief from the U.S. Supreme Court if it did not prevail.

The League of Women Voters of Massachusetts praised Tuesday’s ruling, saying it protects voting rights for people who rely on voting by mail.

“The League of Women Voters of Massachusetts commends the court for upholding one of our most sacred constitutional rights: the right to vote,” a representative for the organization wrote in a statement shared with Fox News Digital. “We are pleased to see this ruling and are committed to remaining in the fight to protect voting rights – not just for the Bay Staters who rely on mail voting, but for every American who utilizes this safe, secure, and trusted tool.”

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The White House, DOJ and USPS did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s requests for comment.

Talwani ordered the plaintiff organizations in Tuesday’s ruling to post a nominal $100 bond by Aug. 18.

Reports of President Donald Trump’s secret move to a military jet during last month’s NATO summit in Turkey has put a rare security trade-off in focus: As officials apparently sought to shield Trump from a credible Iranian threat, White House staff, Secret Service agents, U.S. Military members and journalists remained aboard the decoy aircraft.

The White House did not return Fox News’ request for comment on whether officials assessed a separate risk to those left aboard the plane, which could have included Secretary of State Marco Rubio. It’s not clear what, if any, protective measures were in place.

Air Force One is the call sign of the plane the U.S. president is traveling aboard, not the name of a specific aircraft.

The Washington Post first reported that Trump secretly switched to a military jet after appearing to board the older Air Force One in Turkey. Journalists and White House staff traveling with the president for the trip abroad remained on the aircraft that flew to the United Kingdom. Trump later rejoined the group before continuing home, according to the report.

TRUMP USED CATERING TRUCK, AIR FORCE ONE DECOY TO EVADE IRAN THREAT: REPORT

In a separate follow-up to that article, the Wall Street Journal reported that Israeli intelligence briefed the Trump administration on a threat to use shoulder-fired missiles against Air Force One. It also noted that Rubio was among top aides who remained aboard the older aircraft.

Former Secret Service agent Bill Gage told Fox News that the people aboard the aircraft “probably did face an elevated risk.” But he described the reported operation as a calculated response to the threat environment surrounding Trump.

“Any travel with him should be considered a risk,” Gage said. “I think some members of the government at the highest levels made a calculated risk to not tell anyone on the fake AF1.”

The key distinction in the reporting is that the threat was allegedly aimed at the aircraft believed to be carrying Trump, rather than at the older jet itself. The secret slip-away by the president left all passengers on the plane as potential collateral of any attacks, with no public accounting of whether there were additional protections in place for them in the heightened threat environment.

Reporters traveling on the older Air Force One from Turkey to the United Kingdom recount being asked to close their window shades as the plane took off. Asked later that day whether he knew why reporters were asked to close the shades, Trump replied: “You’re probably on a dangerous flight because of the sleaze bags that we have to deal with.”

“I’m number one on their list, before you,” he told a reporter. “But if I go, you go right? So perhaps some day you want to change professions.”

TRUMP SAYS HE’S IRAN’S ‘NO. 1’ TARGET AS RENEWED CONFLICT RAISES ASSASSINATION FEARS

Gage told Fox News Digital that the reported operation was likely kept to a very small circle because of the security sensitivity. “Very few people would have been told about this plan ahead of time.”

He said the decision to actually move Trump to a different jet suggested officials were acting on serious intelligence.

“Overall, the threat must have been substantial and corroborated to conduct the switch/ruse. The highest levels of the government and intelligence agencies (CIA/NSA etc.) would have been involved in analyzing the threat and developing countermeasures.”

Robert “Bobby” McDonald, a former senior Secret Service official, said deceptive presidential movements — sometimes referred to as “shell games” — are unusual but a part of the Secret Service playbook when credible intelligence demands extraordinary measures.

McDonald said the Air Force, rather than the Secret Service, is responsible for protecting presidential aircraft and said he believed both planes were likely being monitored.

“I find it hard to believe that those two planes were not being tracked, were not being escorted by other aircraft from either allies or our Air Force,” he said. “There’s no way in the world that the Secret Service, the White House staff, and the White House military office, were going to let those two planes dangle out there and and and be fending for themselves.”

The Pentagon and the Air Force referred questions to the White House.

Trump’s move isn’t the first time Air Force One aircraft have been put to use to balk potential threats. During President Bill Clinton’s 2000 visit to Pakistan, a marked decoy aircraft arrived first and Secret Service agents disembarked before Clinton landed separately in an unmarked plane.

But the reported Turkey operation differs from many past surprise trips, in which a limited press pool traveled with the president and was sworn to secrecy.

Jake Tapper, who traveled with Obama on a secret trip to Afghanistan, said prior White Houses have used deception to protect presidents but that the reported Turkey operation was different.

“Obviously the life of the president is paramount, and previous White Houses have used deception to protect the president’s life. But no officials I’ve spoken to have ever before heard of using an AF1 full of WH staff and journalists as a decoy during an imminent threat,” the CNN anchor said.

Former White House press secretary Ari Fleischer defended the reported deception as a necessary protective measure if the threat was credible.

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“If the WP story about Trump switching planes to return home from Turkey is true, then kudos to the Secret Service, the Air Force and the WH,” Fleischer wrote on X. “If there’s a credible threat against any POTUS, their job is to protect him. I’m sorry if the press felt deceived. In an extraordinary situation like that, what was the WH supposed to do? Announce the switch?”

The Trump administration will no longer fund gender transition surgeries using Medicaid, President Don ald Trump said Tuesday. 

In a Truth Social post, Trump said he ordered Dr. Mehmet Oz, administrator of the US Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, to stop using the joint federal and state public health insurance program to fund such procedures. 

“We are not going to pay for our innocent children to undergo these barbaric surgeries and practices, which result in unthinkable and irreversible harm to their young bodies,” Trump wrote.  

This story is breaking. Please check back for updates. 

President Donald Trump has long argued that who is counting the votes can matter nearly as much as who is on the ballot — a view that has helped turn the mechanics of elections into their own political battleground.

That fight is becoming more organized, more expensive and more sophisticated ahead of the 2026 midterms.

Tuesday marks National Poll Worker Recruitment Day, a once-obscure observance created in 2020 that has become a significant organizing marker for both parties. Republicans and Democrats are recruiting poll workers, observers, lawyers and voter-protection staff as they prepare for one of the most consequential midterm elections in history.

“We have more poll workers in the 2026 cycle than we did in the 2024 cycle,” Republican National Committee Chair Joe Gruters told Fox News Digital in a recent interview. “We’re better prepared. We have staffers in 25 states. We are on the ground, ready to do battle.”

TRUMP WILL ‘DELIVER’: RNC CHAIR SIGNALS MIDTERMS CONFIDENCE DESPITE ‘DOOM AND GLOOM’

The RNC, in data shared exclusively with Fox News Digital, is 42% ahead of its 2024 pace, with 16,971 volunteer signups nationwide compared with 11,917 at the same point in the past presidential cycle.

“The RNC has shattered our 2024 poll worker recruitment benchmarks, built the largest election integrity operation in Republican Party history, and mobilized thousands of volunteers to help secure the ballot box,” Gruters added in a statement. “With less than 90 days until the midterms, we’re seeing record-breaking grassroots engagement, expanding our operation into new states, and building the infrastructure needed to defy history in 2026.”

That effort came from the top from Trump, post-2020, and has led to the RNC’s election integrity unit buildout with its multimillion-dollar campaign.

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And “parity” election laws regulating poll workers from both the national party apparatuses have the Democratic National Committee, facing widely reported fundraising hiccups, playing catch-up with the RNC and its $128.5 million midterm war chest.

“We’re going to have to be a lot sharper the next time when it comes to counting the vote,” Trump told Pennsylvania Republicans in 2022, starting one of his oft-repeated, campaign-rally mantras. “There’s a famous statement: ‘Sometimes the vote counter is more important than the candidate.’ And we can’t let that ever, ever happen again. They have to get a lot tougher and smarter.”

Trump also says every next election tends to be more important than the past one, but grassroots voter enthusiasm and donor fundraising tend to be bigger in presidential elections than in the midterms. But, while Trump might not be on the ballot, his “Save America” grassroots enthusiasm will be, even as the Senate sits on passing his landmark Save America Act to set nationwide voter ID standards.

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“We’ve been continuing to build on the election integrity efforts of the last cycle where Lara Trump and Michael Whatley [former RNC co-chairs] did such a great job,” Gruters said in Friday’s interview. Lara Trump now hosts “My View with Lara Trump” on Fox News Channel.

That statement pointed back to the nexus of the RNC’s multimillion-dollar election integrity unit at ProtecttheVote.com that has Democrats, its famed election lawyer Marc Elias and Democracy Docket founder and the DNC forced to play catch-up, to match the RNC’s poll worker masses. Parity laws in some states nationwide legally require it.

“The Democratic National Committee continues to invest in our voter protection infrastructure to defend Americans’ sacred right to vote,” a DNC spokesman told Fox News Digital, when reached for comment on recent data before National Poll Worker Recruitment Day. “The Democratic Party currently has voter protection staff in more than 30 states, and we will recruit, train, and deploy tens of thousands of observers across the country this November.

“We have seen a surge of citizens who have joined our training programs and stepped up to defend our democracy. We will continue our work to ensure all eligible voters have their voices heard.” 

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The DNC did not share its 2026 numbers with Fox News Digital, but did share 2021 to 2024 data showing Democrats mobilized more than 120,000 voter protection volunteers, including over 65,000 trained poll observers, and recorded more than 465,000 confirmed hours of poll observation across over 63,000 polling locations.

The Save America Act is stalled in the Senate, but Trump and Republicans efforts are playing out on the ground and running up expenses for lawyers, legal election experts and staff.

“We got to do everything we can to make sure we have these safe and secure elections,” Gruters said Friday, pointing to the “most litigation we’ve ever done as a party.” “We have, I think, almost 200 lawsuits now this cycle. I think 177 active lawsuits right now.”

“We’re not being reactive. We’re being as proactive as we can.”

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“We’re bringing the absolute hammer wherever we can in defending freedom and these safe and secure election policies everywhere we have to, anywhere we can go, we will go from coast to coast,” he said.

The numbers underscore how election administration itself has become a major front in modern campaigns.

Election Day itself has also become election season, Trump has long lamented. With early voting stretching for days or weeks in many states, the staffing burden no longer falls on a single Tuesday or even a weekend. Parties and local officials need poll workers, observers and legal support across an extended voting window — a costly undertaking for national organizations and a significant time commitment for the Americans on the ground who sign up to serve.

The RNC says it has expanded recruitment into Maryland, Colorado, New Mexico, Kentucky, Alaska and Ohio, producing 2,076 additional submissions in those states. The committee says the effort is part of a multimillion-dollar election integrity program with directors deployed in 22 states and a year-round voter-protection operation nationwide.

At the center of the Republican push are the state “parity” laws that require or encourage bipartisan representation among poll workers.

Election rules vary significantly by state and locality, but a number of states have provisions intended to give both major parties representation in election administration. The RNC says its job is to build a large enough pool of Republican applicants that local election officials have GOP workers available to fill those slots.

“Recruitment is what turns parity laws from words on paper into reality,” the committee said in written responses to questions about the program.

More Republican signups do not necessarily mean more Republicans will ultimately be stationed inside polling places. Poll workers are generally selected or appointed by state and local election authorities, and the number of positions available varies by jurisdiction.

But party officials argue that a deep recruiting bench gives Republicans more opportunities to fill vacancies, meet bipartisan staffing requirements and keep trained volunteers available for future elections.

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The RNC identified Michigan, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Ohio, New Jersey, Maryland, West Virginia, Delaware, Connecticut, New York and Indiana among states with some form of bipartisan or balanced poll worker representation.

Michigan, with the high-profile Senate race of Democrat Abdul El-Sayed against Republican Mike Rogers, is one state where the RNC told Fox News Digital it has a sizable poll worker recruitment edge. Texas’ Senate race between Democrat James Talarico and Republican State Attorney General Ken Paxton is another big battleground, while the North Carolina Senate race between former RNC Chair Whatley, Gruters’ former boss, and former Gov. Roy Cooper, a Democrat, will be the biggest dollar race in the nation these midterms, if not Senate history, according to Gruters.

The RNC and Elias are battling in messaging and courtrooms, and RNC officials have told Fox News Digital privately its case-winning is deeply frustrating its opponents.

“It’s an on the ground effort, and it’s an effort overall with litigation, and we are winning a lot of these cases,” Gruters said. “I expect us to continue to move forward to try to make sure these elections are fair.”

Vote counting, one of the trained poll workers’ most important roles in the process, can vary in returns from state to state. Gruters points to the size and success of Florida results on election night.

“I always say, go look at Florida, my home state, a state of 23 million people, a state where, literally within 90 minutes, we can give you results: Everybody has full faith and confidence,” Gruters said. “That’s with Democrat and Republican supervisor of elections across the state.

“We could do this nationwide, it’s not rocket science, but when you have a party that does everything they possibly can to cheat, lie, and steal to win elections – when it’s all about control and power, rather than trying to make sure we protect democracy – we got to do everything we can to put the ship in the right direction.”

“We’re going to continue to do anything we can to make sure these elections are safe and secure.”

The two parties describe their missions differently.

Republicans frame the buildup as an election-integrity effort designed to increase transparency, enforce election rules and give GOP voters confidence that members of their party are represented inside the process.

Democrats describe their operation as voter protection, focused on ballot access, monitoring polling places and ensuring eligible voters can cast ballots.

That has turned the period before Election Day into a contest not only over candidates, advertising and turnout, but also over the people staffing polling sites, watching election officials and challenging the rules in court.

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National Poll Worker Recruitment Day was established by the U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC) in 2020 to highlight the vital role of election workers and encourage more Americans to serve their local communities.