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President Donald Trump turned Chinese President Xi Jinping’s reported swipe at the West during the U.S. and China’s high-stakes meetings in Beijing into a political attack on former President Joe Biden Thursday.

“When President Xi very elegantly referred to the United States as perhaps being a declining nation, he was referring to the tremendous damage we suffered during the four years of Sleepy Joe Biden and the Biden Administration, and on that score, he was 100% correct,” Trump wrote on Truth Social ahead of the second day of talks between the U.S. and China.

After the U.S. delegation was greeted with pomp and circumstance at an opening ceremony Wednesday night, Xi invoked the so-called “Thucydides Trap” during opening remarks, asking whether China and the United States could avoid the historical pattern of conflict between a rising power and an established one.

TRUMP-XI’S CHINA SUMMIT IS A DEFINING TEST FOR AMERICA IN THE NEW COLD WAR

The line echoed Beijing’s broader view of a shifting global balance of power, though it is unclear if Xi explicitly called the U.S. or the West a “declining nation.”

“President Xi was not referring to the incredible rise that the United States has displayed to the world during the 16 spectacular months of the Trump Administration, which includes all-time high stock markets and 401K’s, military victory and thriving relationship in Venezuela, the military decimation of Iran (to be continued!),” Trump added in his post.

“The United States is the hottest Nation anywhere in the world, and hopefully our relationship with China will be stronger and better than ever before!” Trump continued.

BEHIND SUMMIT SMILES, XI GIVES BLUNT WARNING TO TRUMP OF ‘CLASHES’ AND ‘CONFLICTS’

Trump went on to say that the United States “suffered immeasurably” under Biden-era policies like open borders, increased taxes, DEI, “transgender for everybody,” and sanctuary city ordinances. He agreed that “two years ago” the nation was “in decline.”

Fox News Digital reached out to China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the White House for comment. 

A White House spokesperson referred Fox News Digital back to the president’s Truth Social post, but a Chinese Embassy spokesperson said in a statement that “the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation and making America great again can go hand in hand.”

However, the Chinese embassy spokesperson did not respond to inquiries asking for more context about Xi’s reported comments. 

Xi’s “Thucydides Trap” reference was not a direct statement that the United States or the West is declining, but it invoked a geopolitical theory about the danger of conflict when a rising power challenges an established one and came as the Chinese president raised the prospect of a future U.S.-China clash over Taiwan. The phrase has been used in U.S.–China policy circles to describe fears that China’s rise could put it on a collision course with Washington.

“On a welcoming banquet for President Trump, President Xi pointed out that this year marks the start of China’s 15th Five-Year Plan for economic and social development. The over 1.4 billion people of China, drawing on the rich heritage of our over-5,000-year civilization, are advancing Chinese modernization on all fronts through high-quality development. This year is also the 250th anniversary of U.S. independence. The over 300 million American people are reinvigorating the spirit of patriotism, innovation and enterprise, and ushering in a new journey for the development of the United States,” the spokesperson said in their statement to Fox News Digital.

“The peoples of China and the United States are both great peoples. Achieving the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation and making America great again can go hand in hand. We can help each other succeed and advance the well-being of the whole world. President Xi and President Trump also agreed to build a constructive China-U.S. relationship of strategic stability to promote the steady, sound and sustainable development of China-U.S. relations, and bring more peace, prosperity and progress to the world.”

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Former President Biden’s personal history with Xi dates back to both their tenures as vice presidents. 

But as president, Biden’s relationship with Xi was one that involved an ongoing strategic rivalry, with the two leaders meeting in Bali in 2022 and California in 2023 as Washington and Beijing tried to stabilize ties amid disputes over Taiwan, a spy balloon caught over the United States, fentanyl and other disputes.

Fox News Digital reached out to Biden’s representatives for comment, but did not immediately hear back in time for publication. 

“We should be partners, not rivals,” Xi told Trump during opening remarks that followed the welcome ceremony in front of Great Hall of the People in Beijing. “We should help each other succeed and prosper together and find the right way for major countries to get along well with each other in the new era.”

CIA Director John Ratcliffe met with counterparts from Cuba’s Ministry of the Interior on Thursday during a high-level visit to the island nation amid “complex bilateral relations” between the long-time adversaries.

A CIA official told Fox News correspondent David Spunt that Ratcliffe met with Cuban officials including Raulito Rodriguez Castro, Minister of Interior Lazaro Alvarez Casas and the head of Cuban intelligence services in Havana to “personally deliver President Trump’s message that the United States is prepared to seriously engage on economic and security issues, but only if Cuba makes fundamental changes.”

During the meeting, the official said Ratcliffe and Cuban officials discussed intelligence cooperation, economic stability and security issues, all against the backdrop that Cuba can no longer be a safe haven for adversaries in the Western Hemisphere.

DEM REPRESENTATIVE ADMITS TO WORKING WITH MEXICO TO SNEAK OIL INTO CUBA, DESPITE BLOCKADE

Sources told Fox News Ratcliffe emphasized that the U.S. is extending a genuine opportunity for collaboration, and as evidenced by Venezuela, President Donald Trump must be taken seriously.

The Cuban government wrote in a statement that its delegation presented evidence attempting to “categorically demonstrate that the island poses no threat to U.S. national security,” arguing Cuba should not remain on the U.S. list of state sponsors of terrorism.

The dialogue presents Cuba with a rare chance to stabilize its failing economy and deliver for its people, but the window of opportunity will not stay open indefinitely, sources said. The Cuban government must decide whether to seize the moment or continue down an unsustainable path that only leads to deeper isolation and instability.

RUBIO SAYS CUBA NEEDS ‘NEW PEOPLE IN CHARGE’ AS BLACKOUTS, UNREST GRIP ISLAND

Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel announced on social media Thursday the country may be willing to accept $100 million in humanitarian aid offered by the U.S.

“Our country’s experience in receiving international aid, including from the United States, is extensive and constructive,” Diaz-Canel wrote on X. “Any donor can testify to that reality. If there is truly a willingness on the part of the United States government to provide aid in the amounts it announces and in full conformity with the universally recognized practices for humanitarian assistance, it will encounter no obstacles or ingratitude from Cuba, however inconsistent and paradoxical the offer may seem to a people that the United States government itself punishes collectively in a systematic and ruthless manner.”

“The priorities are more than evident: fuels, food, and medicines,” he continued. “Incidentally, the damage could be alleviated in a much easier and more expeditious way by lifting or easing the blockade, as it is well known that the humanitarian situation is coldly calculated and induced…”

While the director emphasized Trump prefers dialogue, sources said the Cubans should have no illusions that the president will not enforce redlines.

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This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster, a top Trump ally and fellow Republican, announced Thursday that he is convening the state legislature in Columbia, South Carolina, starting Friday for a special session to “address the state budget and congressional districts” in his largely Republican state.

“I have issued an Executive Order calling the General Assembly back for an extra legislative session to address the state budget and congressional districts beginning Friday, May 15, at 11:00 AM,” McMaster wrote on X. 

The move comes amid intraparty Republican tensions over the Trump-backed effort to redraw the state’s congressional map — a push that could threaten the tenure of Democratic Rep. James Clyburn, the man credited with reviving former President Joe Biden’s 2020 campaign.

Senate Majority Leader Shane Massey, R-Edgefield, and four other senators originally joined Democrats to defeat a proposal that would have allowed the chamber to vote on redistricting after the South Carolina legislative session closed Thursday.

The roadblock came hours after President Donald Trump warned he is “watching closely” the redistricting effort that proponents hope will ultimately rid the state’s congressional delegation of its lone Democrat, while advising lawmakers to move the primary for House members to August.

SOUTH CAROLINA REPUBLICANS DEFY TRUMP, TANK REDISTRICTING, FOR NOW

Clyburn, the octogenarian Orangeburg, South Carolina, lawmaker considered a kingmaker in Palmetto State Democratic politics — and credited with reviving then-candidate Biden’s floundering campaign with his endorsement in 2020 — may not be long for Capitol Hill, as a redraw would almost certainly redistribute the state’s heavy Republican advantage across its seven districts.

Clyburn said he remains confident he can win re-election even under a new map.

“I don’t know why people think I could not get re-elected if they redistrict South Carolina,” Clyburn said in a CNN interview. “I have a district that’s about 45 percent African American. I have no idea what the number will be after the legislature finishes, but whatever that number is, I will be running on my record and America’s promise.”

Massey argued in a floor speech that following Trump’s lead on redistricting would run counter to the interests of the Palmetto State.

“South Carolina has always punched above their weight,” Massey said. “Doing this will diminish that influence.”

But he also acknowledged that he will likely face political payback from Trump and the president’s allies.

TRUMP TARGETS RED STATE REPUBLICAN LAWMAKERS IN PUSH FOR CONGRESSIONAL REDISTRICTING

“There are likely consequences for me, personally, taking the position that I am right now,” Massey said. “I’m comfortable with that. I may not like it, but I’m comfortable with it. … My conscience is clear on this one.”

The recent Callais decision at the Supreme Court — which eliminated Louisiana’s race-conscious map that provided for two largely minority-heavy Democratic strongholds — has already spurred action in Tennessee, Alabama and Mississippi, and with Clyburn’s district itself reportedly the product of a George H.W. Bush Justice Department request regarding racial makeup, its days may be numbered.

The DOJ in 1992 recommended creating a majority-Black district in South Carolina, and Clyburn swiftly won the seat upon the retirement of fellow Democratic Rep. Robin Mooneyhan Tallon of Hemingway, according to a Government Printing Office publication on Black Americans in Congress. 

Clyburn is also reportedly a relative of the previous Black South Carolina congressman, Republican George Washington Murray, who served in the 1890s.

The 85-year-old recently signed documents to make his run for re-election official, quipping that he is in good health and simply celebrating the 47th anniversary of his 39th birthday soon.

If redistricting fails and Clyburn is able to run again, he will join a growing list of octogenarian — and some nonagenarian — lawmakers who remain bullish about their political prospects.

The oldest sitting member is Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, who is 92, while elderly lawmakers facing re-election in 2026 besides Clyburn include Rep. Hal Rogers, R-Ky., who is 88, and Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., who is 87. Sen. James Risch, R-Idaho, is 83 and running for re-election, which would make him 89 at the end of his next term.

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Alabama convened a special session earlier in May that House Speaker Nathaniel Ledbetter, R-Rainsville, correctly predicted would force the courts to rule on the validity of a special-case redistricting referendum there.

Tennessee successfully redrew its map, which is likely to result in the ouster of longtime Shelby County Democratic Rep. Steve Cohen, while Mississippi hit a snag in its own efforts after Gov. Tate Reeves pumped the brakes on a Callais-spurred effort to boot former House Jan. 6 Committee Chairman Bennie Thompson in the Delta.

Before the Iran war, President Donald Trump was “poised” to strike a “better deal” with the regime than the President Barack Obama-era Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, former National Counterterrorism Center Director Joe Kent asserted in a Thursday post on X.

“Prior to letting the Israelis lead us into this war, President Trump was actually poised to cut a better deal than the JCPOA (aka the Obama Iran deal),” Kent wrote.

“The Iranians feared and respected Trump in a way they never respected Obama—he took out the terror mastermind Qasem Soleimani, yet was prudent enough not to get sucked into the quicksand of another Middle Eastern quagmire that would only favor Iran and strengthen its hardliners,” he continued.

US INTEL COMMUNITY AGREED BEFORE WAR ‘IRAN WASN’T DEVELOPING A NUCLEAR WEAPON’: EX-COUNTERTERRORISM CHIEF

“That’s why, as soon as he returned to office in January 2025, the Iranians stopped their proxies from attacking us and were immediately open to negotiations,” Kent added.

Kent, who quit the counterterrorism post in March due to his opposition to the Iran war, asserted in the Thursday post that Trump could “still correct course” on the issue.

“President Trump can still correct course, but he has to break the current stalemate cycle we are in: Get us out of the military standoff. Restrain the Israelis. Leverage the potential of sanctions relief to open the Strait of Hormuz and secure a new deal on the nuclear issue,” he advised.

EX-COUNTERTERRORISM CHIEF SAYS TRUMP MUST RESTRAIN ISRAEL BEFORE HE CAN DECLARE VICTORY IN IRAN

In response to Fox News Digital’s request for a comment from the White House on Thursday, spokesman Davis Ingle provided a statement slamming Kent. 

“Joe Kent’s self-aggrandizing resignation letter and recent comments are riddled with lies. Most egregious are Kent’s false claims that the largest state sponsor of terrorism somehow did not pose a threat to the United States and that Israel forced the President into launching Operation Epic Fury. As Commander-in-Chief, President Trump took decisive action based on strong evidence which showed that the terrorist Iranian regime posed an imminent threat and was preparing to strike Americans first. President Trump’s number one priority has always been ensuring the safety and security of the American people,” Ingle said in the statement.

While testifying at a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on Thursday, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) Commander Adm. Brad Cooper said that during the 30 months prior to when Operation Epic Fury began, “Iran and its proxies had been attacking U.S. service members and diplomats about 350 times … about every third day.”

But Kent asserted in a post on X, “Iran’s proxies attacked our troops & diplomats under Biden, NOT under this Trump admin prior to Epic Fury, hence the 30 months time frame. When Trump returned to office in January of 2025 those attacks stopped.”

SHIP SEIZED NEAR STRAIT OF HORMUZ BY ‘UNAUTHORIZED PERSONNEL,’ BROUGHT TOWARD IRAN

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“Iran stoped [sic] its proxies from attacking us b/c they knew Trump would hit back & they wanted to reach a deal w/Trump. A deal was in the works, that deal would have thwarted Israel’s goal of getting us committed to a war against Iran, so Israel did everything they could to get us into a war with Iran,” he added.

“Iran holding back its proxies & the protests against the regime in January show that Trump’s max pressure & strategic targeted strike campaign was working, tragically this success was squandered by letting the Israelis drive our decision making,” Kent claimed.

As details emerge from President Donald Trump’s meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, a key reality is coming into focus: China still wants U.S. business and Trump may have the upper hand.

Trump’s high-profile business delegation highlights the economic balancing act the two nations are seeking to strike. Xi wants investment and continued access to American corporate power, while Trump is positioning himself to use trade pressure and market access as leverage with Beijing.

The heavyweight lineup alongside Trump for the trip includes tech executives like Apple’s Tim Cook, Tesla and SpaceX’s Elon Musk, Nvidia’s Jensen Huang, Micron’s Sanjay Mehrotra and Meta’s Dina Powell McCormick.

The overlap between politics and business was clear even before the meetings began. Huang was reportedly added to Trump’s trip at the last minute. He even secured a seat on Air Force One — a sign of Nvidia’s central role in the global chip race and broader U.S.-China tech tensions.

TRUMP GETS RED-CARPET WELCOME IN CHINA, BUT PAST BEIJING TRIP SHOWS PAGEANTRY ONLY GOES SO FAR

Also on the trip were Blackstone’s Stephen Schwarzman, BlackRock’s Larry Fink, Citigroup’s Jane Fraser and Goldman Sachs’ David Solomon.

Many joining the president rank among the world’s wealthiest business leaders. Musk, for example, is the richest person in the world, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, while Schwarzman and Huang have amassed fortunes in the tens of billions.

Together, the group represents trillions in corporate power with deep business ties to China despite years of trade tensions between the world’s two largest economies. Their companies still rely heavily on Chinese consumers, manufacturing and supply chains, even as Washington and Beijing clash over tariffs, technology and national security.

That influence is already showing up in the talks.

Both sides discussed expanding access for U.S. companies into Chinese markets, a top priority for executives on the trip. Xi said his opportunities in his country “will only open wider and wider,” according to Chinese state media.

‘INTENSE STANDOFF’ ERUPTS BETWEEN SECRET SERVICE, CHINESE OFFICIALS DURING TRUMP-XI EVENT: REPORT

At the same time, Washington is weighing steps that directly affect those firms. The U.S. could allow Nvidia to sell its H200 chips, a step below its most advanced semiconductors, to a limited number of Chinese companies, according to Reuters, even as broader disputes over artificial intelligence and export controls remain unresolved.

They also discussed increased Chinese investment in the U.S. and purchases of American goods, including beef, soybeans and Boeing aircraft, long-standing trade pressure points.

But the cooperative tone was also laced with threats.

Xi warned against a potential clash between the U.S. and China and delivered a blunt message on Taiwan, a key flashpoint and hub for advanced semiconductor production.

That mix of outreach and tension is where Trump sees an opening.

If U.S. companies are still seeking access and Beijing is signaling it wants them there, Trump can argue economic pressure is working — strengthening his case for tariffs, export controls and tougher trade terms.

Executives are pushing for greater access and stability in China while navigating a U.S. strategy built on economic pressure and national security concerns — underscoring both the importance of the market and the leverage Washington believes it holds.

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Trump has already invited Xi to visit the White House in September, signaling more talks ahead. For now, Beijing’s message is clear: China still wants American business.

House Democrats failed again Thursday to fracture Republicans’ support for President Donald Trump’s Iran strategy as GOP lawmakers overwhelmingly rejected an effort to curb his war powers.

The House of Representatives deadlocked in a 212-212 vote, blocking a resolution offered by Rep. Josh Gottheimer, D-N.J., that would have forced Trump to end hostilities against Iran absent congressional authorization. 

Every Democratic lawmaker except for Rep. Jared Golden, D-Maine, voted for the measure. Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., a leading Trump foe, and Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa., and Tom Barrett, R-Mich., were the lone Republicans to cross party lines in support of the resolution.

Several lawmakers in both parties did not vote.

WHERE AMERICAN SUPPORT FOR TRUMP’S IRAN STRIKE STANDS AS NEW POLLS ROLL IN

The failed vote comes after peace talks between Washington and Tehran stalled in recent weeks, though the ceasefire has largely stayed intact despite sporadic fighting.

Trump said Monday the ceasefire was “on life support” and reiterated his demand that Iran end its nuclear program. 

Amid the stalemate, congressional Democrats have linked the war to voter concern about affordability in an effort to pressure GOP lawmakers to buck the president.

“The single fastest way to bring down costs is to end this war,” House Democratic Whip Katherine Clark, D-Mass., said on the House floor Wednesday. “And once again, Republicans are going to have an opportunity to do just that. Once again, they have a chance to bring our service members home and end this chaos.”

But Republicans have argued that limiting Trump’s war powers could undermine his ability to end the conflict.

“By putting an arbitrary limitation on America’s ability to deploy both kinetic as well as diplomatic pressure on Iran, I think it ends up harming our ability to negotiate, to get Iran to stand down,” Rep. Zach Nunn, R-Iowa, a colonel in the Air Force Reserve, told Fox News Digital in an interview.

“What I’ve seen from the president is a clear desire to stop Iran’s ability from having a nuclear weapon and in their ability to be the number one sponsor of state terrorism,” he added.

TRUMP’S IRAN STRIKES GET LEGAL COVER AS SCHOLARS SAY ARTICLE II PLAYBOOK SPANS OBAMA ERA AND BEYOND

The vast majority of Republicans have continued to stand by Trump’s Iran strategy despite the administration cruising past a 60-day deadline to seek congressional approval of the conflict. 

The president has argued the indefinite ceasefire that began April 7 effectively stopped the clock. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has also contended that the 1973 War Powers Resolution giving Congress a say over the use of military force is unconstitutional.

Across the Capitol, GOP support for the war in Iran appears to be on shakier ground.

The Senate narrowly defeated a war powers resolution on Wednesday, the seventh attempt from Democrats since Operation Epic Fury began Feb. 28, that would have ended hostilities with Iran. 

Sens. Rand Paul, R-Ky., Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, crossed party lines to support the measure curbing Trump’s war powers while Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., joined Republicans in opposition. Just one more GOP yes vote would have allowed the resolution to clear the chamber.

Murkowski, who flipped her vote to support the war powers resolution, said Wednesday that the administration’s timeline in Iran “has taken us beyond the 60 days” deadline for Congress to authorize or halt the conflict. 

She had hoped the administration would provide more clarity, but that information hadn’t come, prompting her to join with Democrats in curbing Trump’s war powers.

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“We’re in a different place than we were last time we voted on this,” Murkowski said. 

A Fox News poll published in late April found that 55% of Americans oppose military action against Iran. Nearly six in ten respondents said the war will not improve the safety of Americans enough to justify military action.

Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., said his “heart breaks” for Erika Kirk after she had to live through the White House Correspondents’ Dinner assassination attempt not even a year following her husband’s murder.

The Pennsylvania Democrat described their exchange as a “very personal human interaction” amid the chaos of the shooting as he recalled to Fox News Digital a conversation he had with the widow of slain conservative activist Charlie Kirk.

“How triggering that must have been for her,” Fetterman said.

“I expressed how sorry I am,” he detailed of the moment. “She was frantic, understandably, after her husband was assassinated.”

DEMOCRAT JOHN FETTERMAN DECRIES ‘DEHUMANIZING’ ATTACK AGAINST CHARLIE KIRK’S WIDOW ERIKA

Fetterman expressed his frustration over online attacks targeting Kirk following the shooting after a video went viral that showed her leaving the hotel in tears and pleading: “I just want to go home.”

“It blows,” he said. “People attack a widow. I mean what’s wrong with people? That’s bonkers.”

Kirk’s husband was assassinated in September during one of his famous college outreach events on the campus of Utah Valley University.

Fetterman has often been lauded as the lone Democrat willing to go across party lines to vote with and side with Republicans on a handful of issues — this includes his support for Israel.

FETTERMAN CALLS FOR US TO SUPPLY ANYTHING ISRAEL NEEDS FOR IRAN ATTACK: ‘MILITARY, INTELLIGENCE, WEAPONRY’

Beyond the emotional aftermath of the shooting, Fetterman also weighed in on escalating tensions with Iran, signaling his support for prioritizing U.S. foreign policy and defense to restrain nuclear threats.

When asked about President Donald Trump’s proposed gas tax relief, Fetterman pivoted to emphasizing the need to continue applying pressure on Iran to disarm and abandon its nuclear ambitions.

“I think it’s important to stand and demand Iran to surrender its nuclear material,” he said. “I mean, my views haven’t changed.”

Fetterman has previously called out members in his party for criticizing Trump’s efforts to destroy Iran’s nuclear program, citing their opposition may give Iran hope Trump will succumb to political pressure to pull back. He was the only Democrat on Wednesday to vote against a Senate war powers resolution aiming to limit American involvement in the conflict with Iran — for the seventh time.

He also suggested China should take a more assertive role in pressuring Iran and share in the economic consequences.

“I think China should feel that pain,” Fetterman said. “I think that’s entirely appropriate. Why can’t China demand that?”

“Why not? Unless they want to create Iran as a nuclear power, and that would be incredibly dangerous for the whole world peace.”

IRAN FUNDING EMERGES AS KEY TEST FOR JOHNSON’S RAZOR-THIN HOUSE MAJORITY

As tensions surrounding Iran’s nuclear program continue, China has been scrutinized by U.S. officials over its economic ties to Iran, including allegations that Chinese entities have helped Tehran evade sanctions and supported its military infrastructure.

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Fetterman also indicated his support for Trump’s $1.5 trillion defense budget for fiscal year 2027 — the largest request ever made by an administration.

 “I’m very open to this,” he said. “The idea that we are the arsenal of the free world.”

“It’s really important to make sure that we have whatever’s necessary to defend democracy in the global stage.”

Chinese President Xi Jinping issued a stark warning to President Donald Trump that Taiwan could trigger “clashes and even conflicts” between the world’s two superpowers, injecting a note of potential confrontation into an otherwise upbeat summit in Beijing.

“President Xi stressed to President Trump that the Taiwan question is the most important issue in China-U.S. relations. If it is handled properly, the bilateral relationship will enjoy overall stability. Otherwise, the two countries will have clashes and even conflicts, putting the entire relationship in great jeopardy,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said following the meeting.

The White House, however, downplayed the exchange, with a senior administration official telling Fox News Digital that “both sides reiterated their long-stated stance on the issue and everyone understands each other’s position.”

Trump struck a notably warm tone in his public remarks, predicting a “fantastic future together” and praising Xi as “a great leader” as the two leaders opened talks focused heavily on trade, investment and economic cooperation.

TRUMP HEADS TO BEIJING FOR HIGH-STAKES XI TALKS AS TAIWAN TENSIONS, TRADE DISPUTES TEST US STRENGTH

“In fact, the longest relationship of our two countries that any president and president has had,” Trump said. “We’ve had a fantastic relationship. We’ve gotten along.”

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., blasted Trump following the meeting, accusing him of failing to respond forcefully to Xi’s warning.

“Just hours in, and Xi Jinping has already threatened to, quote, collide or even clash, unquote, with the United States if we continue our support for Taiwan. Trump apparently didn’t say anything in response. He was just mute,” Schumer said. “For the sake of democracy and the stability of the global economy. Trump must not sell out Taiwan. Trump must also safeguard the interests of American workers, families and businesses.”

RUBIO SAYS COMMITMENT TO TAIWAN WON’T CHANGE AMID TRADE TALKS WITH CHINA

The exchange underscores how Taiwan — long the most sensitive and potentially explosive issue in U.S.-China relations — is re-emerging as a central fault line, even as both sides seek to project stability and focus publicly on trade and economic cooperation.

Analysts had warned ahead of the summit that the best-case scenario for Taiwan would be for the issue to stay off the agenda entirely, amid concerns Beijing could try to extract concessions or shape U.S. policy language behind closed doors.

Trump himself had suggested before the summit that U.S. arms sales to Taiwan could come up during discussions with Xi. He told reporters earlier this week, “I’m going to have that discussion with President Xi.”

TRUMP ADMIN ANNOUNCES $11B TAIWAN ARMS SALES DEAL

That prospect alarmed some national security analysts, who warned against allowing Taiwan to become part of a broader U.S.-China negotiation over trade or other strategic issues.

“Taiwan needs to stay off the menu,” retired Rear Adm. Mark Montgomery of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies said during a media briefing ahead of the summit. “If they’re on the menu and it’s about foreign military sales, it’s bad. If it’s on the menu and it’s about some kind of reimagining our statements, that would be worse.”

Experts say even subtle shifts in wording could carry significant consequences. A change from the longstanding U.S. position that it “does not support” Taiwan independence to language stating it “opposes” it, for example, could be seized on by Beijing to bolster its claims over the self-governing island.

For decades, U.S. policy has walked a careful line — formally recognizing Beijing as the government of China under the “One China” policy, while maintaining unofficial relations with Taiwan and providing it with defensive weapons under the Taiwan Relations Act. Washington has also deliberately kept its military response ambiguous, a strategy known as “strategic ambiguity,” aimed at deterring both a Chinese invasion and a unilateral declaration of independence by Taiwan.

After the summit, however, Secretary of State Marco Rubio sought to minimize the Taiwan portion of the talks, saying U.S. arms sales to Taiwan “did not feature prominently” in the discussions and insisting longstanding U.S. policy remained unchanged.

Chinese Embassy spokesperson Liu Pengyu reiterated Beijing’s longstanding position in a statement to Fox News Digital, calling Taiwan “an inalienable part of China’s territory” and warning that China would “never promise to renounce the use of force” against “Taiwan independence” separatist activities.

“The DPP authorities’ obstinate pursuit of their separatist agenda is the root cause undermining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait,” Liu said.

Despite the tensions surrounding Taiwan, the public tone of the summit remained cordial, with both leaders emphasizing cooperation and economic ties.

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Xi told Trump that “China and the United States both stand to gain from cooperation and lose from confrontation,” adding that the two countries “should be partners, not rivals.”

Trump arrived in Beijing accompanied by a delegation of top American executives, including Apple CEO Tim Cook, BlackRock CEO Larry Fink, Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, and Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg, underscoring the administration’s focus on trade and investment even as geopolitical tensions simmer beneath the surface.

A county clerk in Wisconsin claims that a Federal Bureau of Investigation agent attempted to interview a county election director at her residence and released a statement defending the state’s handling of the 2020 presidential election. 

“I can confirm that a representative of the Federal Bureau of Investigation visited the home of my Elections Director and left her business card,” Milwaukee County Clerk George Christenson said in a statement on Thursday morning. 

“We will be following up to determine the nature of this visit. It is unfortunate that the FBI chose to visit the private residence of Milwaukee County’s Elections Director rather than contact the Election Commission’s office directly. No dedicated public servant should be subjected to that type of intrusion simply for carrying out her responsibilities with integrity and professionalism.”

Christenson went on to defend the state’s handling of the 2020 presidential election as “fair and transparent” and said “this has been proven repeatedly over the last six years by the post-election canvass, the Presidential Election Recount, State court-based challenge, Federal court-based challenge, the forensic audit by the Wisconsin’s Legislative Audit Bureau, and two additional independent audits. Continuing to relitigate settled questions does not strengthen public confidence in elections but it undermines it.”

DOJ TAUNTS MEDIA AFTER TRUMP SCORES WIN IN BATTLEGROUND-STATE BALLOT FIGHT

“While we cooperate with all legitimate law enforcement actions, we will defend against any attack on our democracy and will defend the rights of voters of Milwaukee County,” Christenson wrote. “Our responsibility as election officials is to safeguard the integrity of the process through facts, transparency, and adherence to the law, and the record clearly demonstrates that those standards were met in 2020.”

Christenson went on to suggest the FBI’s actions are an “attack on democracy.”

TRUMP ACCUSES SCHUMER OF TRYING TO ‘INTERFERE IN OUR ELECTIONS’ WITH LATEST STRATEGY

The FBI declined to comment.

Milwaukee County, the largest county in the state, has been a target of conservatives alleging improprieties with the 2020 election, and the FBI has been active across the country investigating election integrity issues.

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In January, searched Fulton County Georgia’s main election facility in Union City, near Atlanta, and focused on records connected to the 2020 general election after obtaining a court-approved search warrant, Fox Atlanta reported.

An underlying affidavit revealed the bureau was probing allegations of ballot irregularities and record-keeping failures in Georgia, a state President Donald Trump lost by a razor-thin margin to President Joe Biden that became ground zero for Trump’s election fraud claims in the aftermath of 2020.

In March, the FBI subpoenaed 2020 voting documents in Arizona. Multiple U.S. officials confirmed the election probe to Fox News, saying the DOJ is looking at a large tranche of Arizona data from 2020 and 2024.

Fox News Digital’s Louis Casiano contributed to this report.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent indicated that Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., prioritized the nation over partisanship on Wednesday by joining with Senate Republicans in voting to confirm President Donald Trump’s nomination of Kevin Warsh to serve as Federal Reserve System Board of Governors chair.

Aside from Fetterman, the 54-45 vote was strictly along party lines, with Republicans voting for confirmation and Democrats voting against it.

“Today @SenateGOP, along with the Democrat who put country before political ideology, confirmed @POTUS’s nominee Kevin Warsh as the next Chairman of the @FederalReserve,” Bessent declared in a Wednesday post on X.

SENATE CONFIRMS KEVIN WARSH AS FED CHAIR AS TRUMP’S ECONOMIC VISION COMES INTO FOCUS

“Chairman Warsh will usher in a new day at an institution that is in need of accountability, sound policy guidance, and the renewed sense of purpose to help guide our economy. His chairmanship opens the door and lays the groundwork for every American family to build and grow in the world’s greatest economy,” Bessent added.

Fetterman said in a statement issued on Wednesday, “I’ve met Kevin Warsh and believe he will be transparent and responsive to Congress and the public. His promise to maintain Fed independence in setting interest rates is crucial and I look forward to working with him.”

“I also maintain we owe an enormous debt of gratitude to Chair Powell. Through multiple administrations and a global pandemic, our economy has been the envy of the world under his steady hand. He never broke the law, has done a remarkable job, and I’m profoundly grateful for his service as Chair. I encourage him to stay on the Fed Board as long as he wants,” Fetterman added.

FETTERMAN CALLS OUT ‘ABSOLUTE SOCIALIST’ SEATTLE MAYOR AND ‘AVOWED COMMUNIST’ GRAHAM PLATNER

During his first presidential administration, Trump nominated Powell for the chairmanship. Then, President Joe Biden, during his White House tenure, tapped Powell to remain in the role for a second term.

Trump more recently has been a vociferous Powell critic.

“After my term as Chair ends on May 15, I will continue to serve as a governor for a period of time to be determined. I plan to keep a low profile as a governor. There is only ever one Chair of the Federal Reserve Board. When Kevin Warsh is confirmed and sworn in, he will be that Chair,” Powell said last month.

POWELL WILL REMAIN AT THE FED FOR NOW, SETTING UP POTENTIAL CLASH WITH TRUMP

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The Federal Reserve website notes that “Mr. Powell has served as a member of the Board of Governors since taking office on May 25, 2012, to fill an unexpired term. He was reappointed to the Board and sworn in on June 16, 2014, for a term ending January 31, 2028.”

President Donald Trump said Tuesday he expects to have a “long talk” with Chinese President Xi Jinping about Iran this week, an issue now looming over a summit that was originally expected to focus heavily on trade, technology and Taiwan.

“It was a fantastic day,” Trump said Thursday during a state banquet of his welcome to China and his initial round of meetings. “And in particular, I want to thank President Xi, my friend, for this magnificent welcome … and for so graciously hosting us on this very historic state visit. We had positive and productive conversations and meetings today with the Chinese delegation earlier. And this evening is another cherished opportunity to discuss among friends some of the things that we discussed today.”

Instead of arriving in Beijing with the Middle East conflict behind him, Trump faces the added challenge of confronting Xi over China’s ties to Tehran while trying to preserve leverage in one of the world’s most consequential relationships.

China’s role as a top buyer of Iranian oil has long frustrated U.S. officials. But with Trump now trying to choke off Tehran’s economic lifeline, Beijing’s support for Iran is no longer a side issue.

TRUMP DELAYS XI MEETING AS IRAN CONFLICT LETS US STRONG-ARM CHINA’S OIL SUPPLY

Ahead of the summit, Trump also appeared to downplay the extent to which Iran would dominate the talks, telling reporters before departing for Beijing that “we have a lot of things to discuss” and adding, “I wouldn’t say Iran is one of them, to be honest with you, because we have Iran very much under control.”

China purchases roughly 90% of Iran’s exported oil, making Beijing Tehran’s primary economic lifeline — though Iranian crude accounts for only about 13% to 15% of China’s total oil imports.

The Trump administration has ramped up pressure by imposing secondary sanctions on Chinese refiners processing Iranian oil — a move that threatens to cut those firms off from the U.S. financial system and underscores how the Iran conflict is increasingly colliding with the broader U.S.-China relationship.

During the first bilateral meeting between Trump and Xi Thursday morning, the Chinese president expressed interest in buying more American energy. 

“The two sides agreed that the Strait of Hormuz must remain open to support the free flow of energy,” a White House official said in a readout of the meeting.

“President Xi also made clear China’s opposition to the militarization of the Strait and any effort to charge a toll for its use, and he expressed interest in purchasing more American oil to reduce China’s dependence on the Strait in the future,” the official continued. “Both countries agreed that Iran can never have a nuclear weapon.”

Beijing, in turn, ordered Chinese companies not to comply with those sanctions, a far more direct confrontation with Washington than China has typically embraced in past disputes, where it has often quietly worked around U.S. pressure.

Even as Beijing publicly urged firms to ignore the U.S. sanctions, Chinese regulators quietly instructed major banks to suspend new lending to several sanctioned refineries, according to a Bloomberg report, a sign Beijing was trying to shield its financial system from exposure to U.S. secondary sanctions rather than openly escalate the standoff.

TRUMP TARGETS IRANIAN OIL WITH SANCTIONS, INCREASING PRESSURE ON ISLAMIC REPUBLIC TO MAKE DEAL ON NUKES

Elaine Dezenski, who heads the Center on Economic and Financial Power at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, said the Iran conflict is “quietly changing China’s strategic calculus.”

“Thus far, China has weathered the economic disruption of the Iran conflict reasonably well,” Dezenski said during an FDD media briefing previewing the summit. But she noted Beijing has been forced to draw on strategic oil and gas reserves originally intended for a potential Taiwan contingency.

The dynamic has fueled debate in Washington over whether the Iran conflict ultimately weakens Trump’s hand with Beijing by pulling U.S. resources back toward the Middle East — or whether it instead highlights China’s own vulnerabilities.

Craig Singleton, senior director of FDD’s China Program, argued Beijing has little interest in allowing the conflict to spiral further.

“China does not want a wider Middle East war,” Singleton said. “It does not want sustained energy disruption.”

Even if China is better positioned than many countries to absorb short-term shocks, Singleton argued Beijing ultimately wants the Strait of Hormuz reopened because “China’s export economy depends on predictable energy, transport and insurance conditions.”

But the Trump administration’s campaign against Iran is increasingly running through Chinese interests — transforming what had been a regional conflict into a direct point of friction between the world’s two largest powers.

“President Trump, when you go to China, realize that the person you’re talking to is propping up Russia and Iran,” Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham said during a Senate hearing on Tuesday, adding that “of all the countries on the planet, China could have the most influence of ending this war if they chose to.”

U.S. officials have also accused Chinese and Hong Kong-based entities of helping Iran procure materials tied to its missile and drone programs, further deepening tensions between Washington and Beijing over Tehran.

“China always acts prudently and responsibly on the export of military products, and exercises strict control in accordance with China’s laws and regulations on export control and due international obligations,” Chinese embassy spokesperson Liu Pengyu told Fox News Digital. “China opposes groundless smear and ill-intentioned association. Regarding the situation in Iran, China has repeatedly articulated its solemn position. The pressing priority is to make every effort to prevent by all means a relapse in fighting, rather than exploiting the conflict to maliciously smear other nations.”

Analysts say Trump is unlikely to secure a dramatic breakthrough from Beijing on Iran, but could push Xi to quietly pressure Tehran to avoid further disruptions to global energy markets.

Chinese cooperation could come with expectations of concessions elsewhere in the U.S.-China relationship, even if Beijing’s actual influence over Tehran is limited.

Other experts cautioned against overestimating Beijing’s ability — or willingness — to deliver Iran.

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“I would be very careful about making concessions … for some kind of promise that they’re going to whisper in the ears of their friends in Iran,” said Sarah Cook, a senior fellow at CEPA.

Despite China’s economic importance to Iran, experts note Tehran’s decision-making is driven heavily by ideology and regime survival — factors Beijing cannot fully control.

House Democrats split over a resolution backing law enforcement as assaults on officers surged last year.

Just 29 House Democrats on Wednesday voted for a GOP-authored measure paying tribute to the “extraordinary sacrifice” law enforcement officers make and criticizing the defund the police movement for jeopardizing public safety.

Meanwhile, 173 Democrats voted with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., against the resolution, while every GOP lawmaker present supported it.

“We want to take that best practice of respecting law enforcement in Iowa to the nation’s capital, and I was thrilled that we got bipartisan support,” Rep. Zach Nunn, R-Iowa, who introduced the measure, said in an interview with Fox News Digital.

HANDFUL OF HOUSE DEMOCRATS JOIN REPUBLICANS IN SANCTUARY CITY CRACKDOWN

But the Iowa Republican said he expected his resolution to receive unanimous backing.

“I think it unfortunately puts a real spotlight on a chasm we have between those who support law and order and those who are supporting those who undermine it,” Nunn said.

The vote comes as assaults against law enforcement officers climbed to a 10-year high last year, according to an FBI report released Monday. The number of officers killed saw a slight decrease between 2024 and 2025.

Some Democrats likely objected to language in the resolution that criticized left-wing activists for supporting the defund the police movement and sanctuary city policies for putting officers’ safety at risk. 

“Whereas rhetoric and policies from leftist activists and progressive politicians seek to defund or dismantle local police departments undermine public safety and place both officers and the communities they serve at greater risk,” the resolution states, in part.

Nunn’s measure also credited the Trump administration’s aggressive law and order policies for contributing to a historic reduction in violent crime, including the United States experiencing its lowest homicide rate in more than a century last year.

“We are at a 125-year low for murder rates, 10-year low for drug overdoses,” Nunn told Fox News Digital. “These are things that good community policing, that our law enforcement officers are doing every day, have had a really positive impact.” 

HOUSE DEMOCRATS AND REPUBLICANS QUIETLY DISCUSS EXPANDING PERSONAL SECURITY MEASURES FOR LAWMAKERS

The majority of Democrats who supported the resolution are facing competitive re-election contests in November.

However, several vulnerable Democrats, including Rep. Gabe Vasquez, D-N.M., voted against the measure.

A spokesperson for Vasquez did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment. 

Reps. Maggie Goodlander, D-N.H., Chrissy Houlahan, D-Pa., and Johnny Olszewski, D-Md., voted present. 

The vote came during National Police Week, which honors the service and sacrifice of fallen law enforcement officers across the country.

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“To the families of those fallen heroes and those who continue to stand guard in our communities: we have your back,” House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said Tuesday at a candlelight vigil to commemorate fallen officers. “We’ll continue to advance policies here that support law enforcement and bring justice to those who seek to harm officers.” 

House Republicans are also pitching a slate of anti-crime bills this week, including legislation that would require the attorney general to compile a list of state and local governments that have adopted cashless bail policies. GOP lawmakers have sharply criticized those policies for letting repeat offenders walk free from jail while awaiting trial.

FIRST ON FOX: A top Senate Republican is demanding answers on whether taxpayer-backed health providers used federal support to provide gender transition-related services to minors — and whether taxpayers could be footing the bill when former patients sue.

In letters obtained by Fox News Digital, Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, asked two Rhode Island health care providers to explain reports saying they provided puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, surgical referrals or related services to patients under 19 years old — and pressed the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) on whether federal funding and liability protections are shielding community health centers from accountability.

Cassidy is broadening scrutiny into federally supported health providers accused of providing puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones and related services to “vulnerable patients,” including minors, days before a scheduled Senate hearing looking into alleged gender transition procedures for children and federally funded support for them.

WATCH: DEMS SPAR WITH WHISTLEBLOWER WHO EXPOSED CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL FOR PERFORMING TRANS SURGERIES ON MINORS

“Health care providers are supposed to protect children’s health, not subject them to dangerous sex-change procedures driven by ideology,” Cassidy said in a news release about the new probes. “These entities need to be held accountable to prevent further harm to children.” 

General counsel for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Mike Stuart, referred several federally funded community health centers in February for an inspector general investigation for allegedly providing gender-transition services to children. It was not immediately clear whether the HHS Office of Inspector General has completed or publicly released findings from those referrals. Cassidy’s letter asks Health Resources and Services Administration to detail what enforcement actions, if any, have been taken.

Documents from one of those community health centers, according to materials reviewed by Fox News Digital, describe a pathway for patients under 18 seeking gender-affirming care, including hormones, as long as parental consent is obtained for an initial intake appointment. Another publicly advertises transgender health services, including hormone care, and separately operates an adolescent health program for LGBTQ youth and young adults ages 13 to 24.

Cassidy’s investigation expanded scrutiny of these health centers to two more federally funded healthcare providers, Thundermist Health Center and Hasbro Children’s Hospital, in Rhode Island.

The senator’s probe focuses in part on a federal liability structure that can leave the government on the hook for defending certain malpractice claims.

THE MEDICAL SYSTEM PUSHED TRANSGENDER SURGERY ON KIDS — NOW IT’S FACING LEGAL JUSTICE

In his letter to Health Resources and Services Administration, Cassidy said certain community health centers and their providers may be deemed employees of the U.S. Public Health Service for liability purposes and, when medical malpractice claims arise under the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA), the Department of Justice (DOJ) becomes responsible for defending the cases.

Cassidy argued that framework raises fresh accountability questions as detransition-related lawsuits mount nationwide. In his letters, Cassidy cited several lawsuits in which DOJ has represented community health centers or their providers in litigation involving gender transition-related services.

Community healthcare centers “receive billions of taxpayer dollars from Congress. For fiscal year (FY) 2026 alone, CHCs will receive over $6.3 billion in mandatory and discretionary funding. In addition, the HRSA Health Center Program receives $120 million to administer the FTCA Program,” Cassidy’s letter to HRSA states. “The underlying conduct is concerning and exposes potential gaps in the guardrails governing existing federal funding streams. Furthermore, the current liability framework raises accountability challenges. Patients alleging harm from gender transition-related services may be forced to litigate against the full resources of the federal government, rather than the individual providers responsible for their care, with DOJ defending providers engaged in practices that this administration and HHS have sought to restrict.”

For Thundermist, Cassidy’s letter notes that the center receives mandatory and discretionary grant funding from the federal government, enhanced reimbursement from Medicare and Medicaid, revenue through the 340B drug pricing program and other federal support. The letter says 66% of Thundermist’s fiscal year 2024 grants and contributions revenue came from HHS and the Health Resources and Services Administration. 

Cassidy, meanwhile, highlighted a Rhode Island lawsuit filed by a former patient against Thundermist providers alleging medical malpractice, negligence and lack of informed consent related to gender transition.

HOSPITALS NATIONWIDE CHALLENGE TRUMP’S EXECUTIVE ORDER ON TRANSGENDER TREATMENTS FOR MINORS

The Hasbro letter raises a similar federal-funding question, but focuses on federal support available to children’s hospitals rather than Health Resources and Services Administration-funded community health centers.

Fox News Digital reached out to Thundermist and Hasbro for comment, but did not hear back in time for publication.

At an upcoming HELP Committee hearing, Cassidy is expected to focus on what Republicans describe as the risks of pediatric gender transition procedures and whether federal agencies have done enough to restrict taxpayer support for providers that continue offering them to minors.

The hearing also gives Cassidy a public platform to pressure Health Resources and Services Administration and HHS over whether the agencies have identified which federally funded providers are still offering gender transition-related services to minors, whether any grants have been restricted or terminated, and whether federal liability protections should continue to apply in cases involving those procedures.

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Cassidy’s letter to Health Resources and Services Administration asked the agency to respond by May 28 to questions about whether any community health centers are currently providing gender transition-related services, whether those services could affect eligibility for federal funding, and how much taxpayer money has been used to resolve claims involving gender transition-related procedures.

Fox News Digital reached out to HHS about the status of the current inspector general investigations into community healthcare centers over providing gender-transition services to minor but did not hear back in time for publication.

Republicans hoping to hold the U.S. House hit a setback Wednesday when Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves indicated he will not immediately pursue redistricting following a critical Supreme Court ruling, as officials seek to oust the leader of Democrats’ January 6 probe.

Following the Supreme Court’s “Callais” ruling on how race can or cannot factor into redistricting, several Republican-led states have moved to redraw congressional maps, arguing for race-neutral approaches — and officials in Jackson quickly took note.

Mississippi lawmakers were primed to convene a special session next week to redraw state Supreme Court and potentially congressional districts, but Reeves canceled the session Wednesday after the judge who ruled the court district maps inhibited Black candidates was overruled — sparking a now-in-limbo effort to oust entrenched former January 6 Committee chairman Bennie Thompson.

“Understand something, that maybe while it may be in the best interest of some individual politicians in Mississippi to talk about congressional redistricting, what happens in Mississippi doesn’t happen in a vacuum,” Reeves said in a talk-radio spot Wednesday.

MISSISSIPPI GOVERNOR SAYS HE WILL CALL SPECIAL SESSION TO REDRAW DISTRICT MAPS AFTER SCOTUS RULING

“I’m going to do what’s in the best interest of Mississippi and I’m going to do what’s in the best interest of America and I’m going work very closely with the Trump administration to accomplish both of those goals.”

Reeves pushed back on claims he flip-flopped on congressional redistricting, noting the Magnolia State’s March 10 primary has passed — complicating any change in voting landscape, and also said he was onboard with ending what he called Thompson’s 33-year “reign of terror.”

However, Reeves suggested it is not a setback to State Auditor Shad White and others’ renewed bid to shift the Magnolia State’s GOP representation from 3-1 to 4-0 and oust Thompson.

Thompson, a firebrand Democrat from Hinds County seeking his 18th term representing the predominantly Black and largely impoverished Delta region, is in danger of losing his reliably blue seat when redistricting commences.

Thompson and Reeves briefly sparred on X, with the Democrat depicting an elephant painting Mississippi “white” while Reeves countered that Thompson was wrong to claim ownership of the district with the term “my” versus the people of Mississippi.

“It must be done to go into effect before the 2026 elections,” replied voting rights activist Scott Presler, while Pastor William Pierce of Columbia drew a state map that comprised evenly divided 22-24-point Republican districts saying “this must be done now” -— as Reeves said the issue is not “if” but “when” and that he plans for the changes to take effect for the 2027 statewide elections.

SUPREME COURT RULES ON KEY VOTING RIGHTS ACT RULE AS REPUBLICANS AND DEMOCRATS WAGE REDISTRICTING WAR

White told Fox News Digital he was the first statewide official to publicly consider drawing-out Thompson and creating a 4-0 map, while Reeves rejected claims of pressure from the White House and Republican Party to redraw now.

As the Supreme Court was set to hand down the Callais ruling, Reeves took to Instagram to say he “do[es]n’t typically make news on a Friday afternoon” but made an “exception” to call a special session 21 days after the decision to consider redistricting.

White, a rising star in the GOP following his major anti-fraud and waste investigations, said that Thompson is “the worst congressman in America” and the state’s map favoring him must be dealt with promptly.

“Among Mississippians; normal taxpayers, Bennie Thompson is incredibly unpopular,” White said in an exclusive Fox News Digital interview Wednesday.

“As chair of the January 6 Committee, anyone who supports President Trump is not happy that Bennie Thompson represents a part of our state.”

TRUMP URGES REPUBLICANS TO ‘BE BOLD’ AS RED STATES PUSH TO REWRITE CONGRESSIONAL MAPS

“[I]t is absolutely both legally and practically possible to change our districts to a 4-0 state,” he said, pointing to Callais and Alabama’s successful bid Monday to get their “Livingston Map” through the courts.

Like Alabama, White said Mississippi officials have “dozens” of already prepared maps to choose from, including some that give each of the four congressional districts an even-keeled level of Trump support totaling 15 points or higher, citing 2024 election results.

“The real question is just whether our politicians here have the courage to actually get Bennie Thompson out. And that question remains unanswered right now,” he said.

White said Mississippi has been stuck with maps featuring a Thompson stronghold for decades, as Thompson himself told Jackson’s NBC affiliate it has been Republicans who have drawn the maps since his 1992 election to Congress.

Thompson said that the issue between the lines in the plans is race.

“I have a voting record that no other person in the [Mississippi] delegation can touch for those things that we need the most: Health care, housing, better educational opportunities… but they’d rather put somebody in position who’s against those things. And the only difference between Bennie Thompson and the rest of the delegation that represent Mississippi in Washington is that I’m Black,” Thompson told Memphis’ NBC affiliate.

REPUBLICAN RIFT PUTS SPOTLIGHT ON HIGH-STAKES SHOWDOWN OVER TRUMP-DRIVEN RED STATE REDISTRICTING

Thompson added Mississippi has a history of requiring federal intervention to provide equal rights to Black people, including during the Civil Rights era and suffrage fights, and compared it to the dynamic today, calling it “Jim Crow 2.0” that he will “fight back with every fiber.”

Fox News Digital reached out to Thompson for further comment.

After Reeves’ comments were reported, White told Fox News Digital that he still hopes “Thompson is redistricted-out as soon as possible – even if it’s not going to happen next week.”

Fox News Digital also reached out to Mississippi House Speaker Jason White, R-West, and Senate Leader Dean Kirby, R-Brandon for their take on Reeves’ latest move and efforts to redraw the map.

Meanwhile, Shad White pointed to New England as precedent for Mississippi drawing out Thompson, saying Kamala Harris’ 38% performance mirrors the GOP partisan makeup of multi-district blue states like Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Hampshire and Maine.

State Sen. Michael McLendon, R-Hernando, joined Shad White’s call to redraw the map to “give Speaker Johnson another ‘+1’ and send Bennie Thompson home.”

ALABAMA REPUBLICANS PLOW FORWARD AFTER KEY SUPREME COURT WIN PUTS CONGRESSIONAL MAP IN QUESTION

He disputed timeframe concerns, saying that Democrats successfully sued Mississippi to redraw his region, costing the GOP their supermajority — and he was still able to run in a mid-off-year primary.

“When Democrats demanded redistricting, the establishment’s response was simple: ‘We have a court order, and we’re going to comply,’” McLendon said in a statement obtained by Fox News Digital. “Now, suddenly, many of those same voices have gone completely silent.”

Asked for his view on the matter, U.S. Rep. Mike Ezell, a Republican from Pascagoula, told Fox News Digital that redistricting is handled by the legislature in Jackson and that he trusts leaders there to “follow the law and do what’s best” for the state.

“My focus remains on serving the people of South Mississippi and fighting for our conservative values in Congress,” Ezell said.

Senate Minority Leader Derrick Simmons, D-Greenville and House Minority Leader Robert Johnson III did not respond to requests for comment.

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With hopes of a 4-0 Mississippi map before the midterms dashed, House Speaker Mike Johnson in neighboring Louisiana will have one fewer likely pickup as he battles a series of Republican retirements and independent voter malaise toward Trump in the effort to keep the House red.

Fox News reached out to the White House for comment.

An ex-girlfriend of Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., alleges he extended a $5,000 offer to drop a wrongful termination lawsuit against one of his top congressional allies. 

Cynthia West, a social worker and school board candidate in Okaloosa County, Fla., said she began dating Massie several months after his first wife of 30 years died in 2024. She alleged that Massie then got her a job in the office of his close ally, Rep. Victoria Spartz, R-Ind.

West said she never applied for the role and was terminated shortly after she broke off her relationship with the congressman.

West first made the allegations on Tuesday in a video interview with Marcus Carey, a Kentucky attorney who challenged Massie during the congressman’s first run for Congress in 2012. Massie has represented the deep red seat since winning the election that year.

TRUMP STIRS GOP PRIMARY DRAMA WITH VISIT TO MASSIE’S KENTUCKY HOME TURF

The allegations come as early voting in Kentucky is underway for the state’s May 19 primary election. Massie, a leading Trump foe, is seeking to fend off a well-funded re-election challenge from Ed Gallrein, a former Navy SEAL supported by President Donald Trump. The intraparty clash has become one of the most closely watched House races this year.

West has said she has not been in contact with Gallrein’s campaign or Trump’s political operation and that no one is paying her to make the allegations.

In the interview, West said Massie first contacted her over social media in August 2024. Their relationship, according to West, became “very intense, very romantic” over the following months, including travel to Savannah, Ga., and South Africa.

“He wanted me to go to wherever he was,” West said in the interview when asked by Carey why she moved to Washington, D.C., to take a job in the Spartz office — a position that Massie arranged.

West said she broke off her relationship with Massie after he asked her to “engage in behavior” that she was not comfortable with and alleged emotional abuse. The Spartz office subsequently fired her after just “six weeks” on the job, West alleged.

She then filed a wrongful termination complaint against Spartz and named Massie as a witness, prompting him to offer her $5,000 to drop the pending lawsuit.

REPUBLICAN LAWMAKER WELCOMES HOUSE ETHICS PROBE INTO SEXUAL MISCONDUCT ALLEGATIONS AGAINST HIM

“I called him up to let him know, and he was very angry,” West told Carey in the sit-down interview. “He said you’re just one person, that you can’t make a difference, that you need to just walk away.”

“He had $5,000 he said that he would give me if I could just walk away,” she went on. “I didn’t take it, though.”

The Office of Congressional Ethics offered West $60,000 to settle her wrongful termination complaint earlier this year, according to a copy of the proposed agreement first reviewed by Axios and obtained by Fox News Digital. West declined the settlement because it included a non-disclosure agreement that would bar her from publicly discussing the allegations.

“I’ve spent so much time fighting for transparency and justice, accountability, that if I did this, then I would call into question my own integrity,” West told Carey. “I wouldn’t be able to sit with that, so I can’t do it.”

Massie has denied any wrongdoing and has argued that West’s allegations are politically motivated.

“It’s sad that a week before this election people are making false and unsubstantiated allegations about me in an obvious attempt to influence the outcome of this election,” Massie said in a statement obtained by Fox News Digital. “All of the claims of inappropriate conduct are false.”

“I’ve never offered anyone money in exchange for their silence,” Massie continued. “I have consulted legal counsel, and we are considering all options.”

When reached by phone, West declined to comment on the allegations and referred Fox News Digital to her spokesman, Rob Wilbur.

“Thomas Massie spent months screaming about ‘transparency’ and ‘accountability’ over the Epstein files, but the second allegation hit close to home. Suddenly we’re all just supposed to shut up,” Wilbur said in a statement. “That’s not principle. That’s hypocrisy.”

“Cynthia has been a warrior for transparency and accountability, and her integrity should be respected, not met with political threats, bullying, and the toxic politics Thomas Massie represents,” Wilbur continued.

A Spartz spokesperson said the office could not comment on the specifics of West’s allegations.

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“We can confirm that Ms. West held a temporary 90-day probationary position with our office, and her employment was not extended beyond that period due to unsatisfactory job performance,” the spokesperson said. 

Spartz has been labeled as one of the “worst bosses” on Capitol Hill when accounting for staff turnover, by the nonpartisan website Legistorm.

The Indiana lawmaker has developed close ties with Massie. Spartz was the lone Republican to back him for House speaker in 2023, and she attended his wedding ceremony with Carolyn Grace Moffa in November 2025.

CIA whistleblower James Erdman III testified that the Biden administration buried analysis concluding a lab leak was the most likely origin of the COVID-19 pandemic in an explosive hearing on Wednesday.

Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Chairman Rand Paul, R-Ky., said Erdman, a two-decade CIA veteran, chose to testify on the alleged cover-up at “great personal risk” because “government secrecy cannot become government impunity.” 

Paul’s oversight panel had subpoenaed Erdman’s testimony and previously interviewed him in a classified setting. Erdman worked in a joint role with the Director of National Intelligence’s Director’s Initiatives Group (DIG) to investigate COVID origins over the past year.

“According to his testimony, CIA scientific analysts concluded multiple times between 2021 and 2023 that a lab leak was the most likely origin of COVID-19,” Paul said in his opening statement. “Yet those conclusions never shaped the official narrative, never made the intelligence report. Congress was never told.”

WHO IS JAMES ERDMAN III? CIA WHISTLEBLOWER WHO WENT FROM COVID MANDATE FIGHTS TO SENATE SPOTLIGHT

“It was not until after the 2024 election that the outgoing Biden administration directed the CIA to issue an assessment, not because of new intelligence, but so officials could walk out of the door claiming there was nothing left to find,” the Kentucky Republican added. “That is not analysis. That is a cleanup operation.”

Erdman publicly testified before the panel despite fierce opposition from the CIA, which called the COVID origins hearing “political theater.”

Paul’s committee, according to CIA spokeswoman Liz Lyons, “acted in bad faith by subpoenaing an agency officer for testimony today without notifying CIA, despite having already obtained closed-door testimony from the individual previously.

“The witness testifying today is not appearing as a whistleblower in pursuit of the truth, but instead in response to the subpoena issued by Chairman Paul,” Lyons added in a statement. 

Carol Thompson, Erdman’s attorney, told reporters Wednesday that her client was concerned about retaliation by the CIA, but declined to comment further.

Erdman alleges Fauci helped suppress COVID origins, prompting calls for criminal prosecution

Following Erdman’s testimony, several GOP lawmakers called for former National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) Director Dr. Anthony Fauci to face criminal prosecution for allegedly seeking to suppress the origins of COVID-19. 

“It was significantly influenced by Anthony Fauci, injecting himself into the IC [intelligence community],” Erdman said when asked by Paul whether the CIA downplayed the likelihood that COVID-19 emerged from a lab leak.

“We just heard testimony that he intervened behind the scenes to try and get our own intelligence agency, CIA, FBI to change their assessment of the lab leak,” Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., told Fox News. “Why? Because he helped fund the Wuhan lab. He supported and funded gain-of-function research, and then he tried to cover it up, and then he worked to cover it up from the American people.”

“I hope he’s indicted,” Hawley added.

The hearing on Wednesday came after a statute of limitations deadline for Fauci to face criminal charges regarding that testimony passed earlier this week.

“Whether the DOJ decides to charge Fauci or not, I’m not letting up,” Paul wrote on social media Monday.

‘HELD ACCOUNTABLE’: SEN. RAND PAUL AGAIN VOWS TO ISSUE A CRIMINAL REFERRAL FOR FAUCI

Paul has long called for Fauci to be indicted for allegedly lying to Congress about gain-of-function research in Wuhan, China, linked to the COVID-19 pandemic. Fauci has vigorously denied the allegations.

“I’ve sent several criminal referrals on Anthony Fauci to the Justice Department,” Paul said Wednesday. “And I hope they will be pursued at this time.”

Former President Joe Biden notably issued an unprecedented preemptive pardon to Fauci with just hours left in his term. President Donald Trump has declared that pardon null and void because it was signed via autopen, but his administration has yet to make that argument in court.

Dr. David Morens, a former senior advisor to Fauci, was indicted by a federal grand jury last month for allegedly concealing the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic.

GOP Sen. Ron Johnson demands apology from CIA Director Ratcliffe

A handful of Republicans who have long pushed for answers on the pandemic’s origins excoriated the CIA for characterizing the hearing as politically motivated and aiming to undermine the president.

“This proceeding amounts to nothing more than dishonest political theater masquerading as a congressional hearing,” CIA spokeswoman Lyons said in a statement preceding the hearing. “As the CIA has already assessed, COVID-19 most likely originated from a lab leak, and efforts to undermine that conclusion are disingenuous.”

The agency’s scathing statement was a notable display of Republican infighting between the Trump administration and the GOP-controlled Senate.

“This is not political theater,” Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., said in a fiery response to CIA spokeswoman Lyons. “I have years and years and years of built-up frustration of agencies like the CIA, Department of Justice, the FBI, HHS snubbing our oversight, giving us the big middle finger.”

HOUSE REPUBLICANS ACCUSE BIDEN’S FBI OF RETALIATING AGAINST WHISTLEBLOWER WHO EXPOSED MISCONDUCT

Paul also objected to the CIA’s objections to Erdman testifying in a public hearing, stating, “Closed-door testimony doesn’t provide oversight. Public testimony provides oversight.”

Democrats boycott hearing, sparking GOP backlash

Senate Republicans on the influential committee blasted their Democratic colleagues for not taking the time to listen to Erdman’s testimony.

Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., the panel’s top-ranking Democrat, and the six other Democratic lawmakers on the committee did not attend Wednesday’s hearing. 

“Nothing shocks me anymore with our colleagues from the other side of the aisle, but I’m shocked that not one of them showed up here,” Johnson told Erdman.

“This is serious oversight work,” he added. “This is what the American people need to see. And I just wish our Democrat colleagues had any level of curiosity about what’s happening inside the deep state.”

Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, argued that Democrats intentionally chose to skip the hearing so they would not have to reckon with policy mistakes made during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“This isn’t about politics, but somehow it’s become about politics because the Democrats don’t even want to hear the conversation about what obviously was a grave error that this country made during COVID,” he said during the hearing. “There’s never been a situation, certainly not in my lifetime, where you had decisions made that affected generations of Americans, kids that were absolutely deprived of their childhood, businesses that were destroyed, families that were torn apart, memories that you’ll never get back, trillions of dollars of economic loss.”

GOP SAYS DEMS ADMIT ‘GUILT’ IN BIDEN HEALTH COVER-UP BY BOYCOTTING SENATE HEARING ON ‘CONSTITUTIONAL SCANDAL’

CIA failed to comply with COVID origins investigation, Erdman alleges

Erdman also alleged the CIA intentionally put up roadblocks to stifle his group’s investigation into COVID origins while spying on and retaliating against whistleblowers.

“The CIA did not comply with lawful oversight during the DIG’s investigation,” Erdman told lawmakers. “The CIA refused to provide information necessary to understand why analytic standards at the CIA were violated.”

Erdman claimed the CIA illegally spied on DIG personnel and their communications with whistleblowers.

“These were Americans being spied upon illegally while executing duties directed by the president and under the authority of the Director of National Intelligence,” Erdman continued.

The alleged retribution led to the agency firing one contractor who cooperated with investigators, Erdman said Wednesday. 

Thompson, Erdman’s attorney, said she hoped her client’s testimony would encourage more whistleblowers to come forward and shed light on the CIA allegedly obstructing investigators.

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“There has been obstruction by those intelligence agencies, precluding those individuals from being able to conduct the investigation,” Thompson, Erdman’s attorney, told reporters. 

“We have basically a systematic effort to violate the laws of Congress, to lie to the American people, to mislead the American people. And it’s still going on,” Hawley told reporters on Wednesday. “If you’ve got people who will just not follow the laws of Congress and lie openly to the American people, I don’t know how you can hope to preserve our country.”

Democrats keep winning at the ballot box as the party works to win back congressional majorities in this year’s midterm elections.

But despite a slew of electoral victories and overperformances in the more than 15 months since President Donald Trump returned to the White House, the party’s image remains well underwater in public opinion polling and the Democratic National Committee (DNC) finds itself badly trailing the rival Republican National Committee in fundraising, a crucial gauge of a party’s strength.

To make matters worse, the DNC is facing continued calls to release its internal autopsy of the party’s sweeping setbacks in the 2024 election, when Democrats lost the presidency and Senate majority and fell short in winning back control of the House.

Among those calling on the DNC to make public their report on what went wrong for the Democrats in 2024 is former Vice President Kamala Harris, the party’s presidential nominee two years ago.

DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL COMMITTEE FLIP FLOPS, PULLS PLUG ON ITS 2024 ELECTION ‘AUTOPSY’

Harris, who is mulling making another White House bid in 2028, recently told donors she believes the DNC should make the autopsy public. The news was first reported by NBC News and confirmed by Fox News Digital.

A source with knowledge said that Harris had not discussed the autopsy with DNC Chair Ken Martin, and that the former vice president did not know in advance about Martin’s decision in December to keep the 2024 election postmortem under wraps.

Martin ordered the report soon after he was elected DNC chair early last year.

Democratic Party officials interviewed over 300 Democrats from all 50 states for the report, which Martin promised would examine the party’s mistakes in 2024 and offer a roadmap to victory going forward.

There was controversy surrounding the report as it was being compiled, after reports last summer said the autopsy would skip analyzing whether then-President Joe Biden should have run for re-election in 2024 and would pass on judging key decisions made by Harris and her team, after she replaced Biden as the party’s nominee with just over three months to go until the 2024 election.

Throughout the process, Martin repeatedly pushed back on calling the report an “autopsy,” since he noted that the Democratic Party wasn’t dead. He instead labeled the report an “after-action review.”

But in December, weeks after Democrats scored major victories in the 2025 off-year elections, the party announced it would not be releasing the report.

Martin, in a statement at the time, said releasing the report would be “a distraction” from the party’s “core mission” to win back congressional majorities in the midterms.

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In explaining his decision, Martin wrote, “We completed a comprehensive review of what happened in 2024 and are already putting our learnings into motion. And we’re winning again — even in places that haven’t gone blue in decades. In our conversations with stakeholders from across the Democratic ecosystem, we are aligned on what’s important, and that’s learning from the past and winning the future.”

“Here’s our North Star: does this help us win? If the answer is no, it’s a distraction from the core mission,” he emphasized.

But the DNC chair’s decision was criticized not only by Republicans but also by fellow Democrats.

“They are spiking an autopsy of the election that gave us Trump 2.0. If party leaders won’t take the steps required to rebuild ourselves into a winning coalition, we will take it into our own hands,” former DNC Vice Chair David Hogg warned in a social media post at the time.

Hogg, a gun-control crusader who was elected a DNC vice chair as Martin won election as chair, stepped down from his position last summer after upsetting party leaders for his efforts backing primary challenges against what he called “asleep at the wheel” older, longtime incumbents in safe, blue districts.

Dan Pfeiffer, a former senior advisor to then-President Barack Obama and a co-host of the popular progressive podcast “Pod Save America,” also took to social media to criticize the move.

“This is a very bad decision that reeks of the caution and complacency that brought us to this moment,” Pfeiffer wrote.

His podcast co-host and fellow Obama alum Jon Favreau called the DNC flip-flop “unreal” and “baffling.”

“The DNC’s actual position is that if the public knew more about what Democrats got wrong in the last election, it would hurt the party’s chances in the next election,” Favreau wrote on X. “How does this rebuild trust between the party insiders and grassroots activists and organizers?”

Martin last month made an appearance on “Pod Save America” to push back against the criticism.

DNC CHAIR GRILLED BY LIBERAL PODCAST HOST FOR NOT RELEASING 2024 POLITICAL AUTOPSY REPORT

“We’ve been releasing that,” Martin said when asked if the DNC would release a summary of the report. “The reality is we’re not hiding the ball on this. We have been sharing those things out. There’s no smoking gun here.”

Martin noted that “we’ve been providing briefings,” as he pointed to data from the report the DNC shared with Democratic stakeholders.

Harris isn’t the only potential 2028 Democratic presidential contender calling on the DNC to make the full report public.

“Yeah, release the autopsy,” Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey said this past weekend in an interview on NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday. “They should do that,” the senator added as he pointed to the DNC.

But Booker, who ran unsuccessfully for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination won by Biden and who is mulling another run in 2028, said it’s imperative his party doesn’t dwell on the past.

Rotimi Adeoye, a former Democratic operative who is serving as a contributing opinion writer for The New York Times, argued in a social media post that “the mistake the DNC made is they could’ve released the report earlier in the spring, whatever’s in it, you get two weeks of bad publicity, then Trump does something stupid and everyone forgets.”

“Now it feels like something’s being hidden, which makes it way more salacious,” he claimed.

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A person familiar with the DNC’s strategy told Fox News Digital because of all the attention on the autopsy, “they are going to be forced to release something.”

The person, who asked to remain anonymous to speak more freely, said the ongoing storyline is a distraction for the DNC with the clock ticking towards the midterms, adding “it’s just not helping to be talking about this.”

The DNC pointed to Martin’s previous comments when contacted by Fox News Digital.

Republicans’ support for President Donald Trump’s war on Iran fractured on Wednesday. 

Senate Democrats have tried to splinter off Republicans from their near-unified backing of Operation Epic Fury for months with a campaign of attrition, putting war powers resolution after war powers resolution on the floor ever since fighting began. 

And after two months of trying, they finally got some in the GOP to flip on Trump with Sen. Jeff Merkley’s, D-Ore., latest attempt. Still, it wasn’t enough to terminate ongoing operations in the Middle East. 

GOP HOLDS WITH TRUMP ON IRAN WAR, BUT CRACKS EMERGE AS DEADLINE NEARS 

Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine, Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, and Rand Paul, R-Ky., who has consistently voted to handcuff Trump’s war powers, all joined Democrats to end Operation Epic Fury.

It comes after Congress blew past the 60-day deadline to weigh in on fighting in the region, and hours after Trump touched down in China. 

Top Trump administration officials, including Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, argued that the 60-day deadline was moot because fighting was paused under a ceasefire. 

However, Trump, after rejecting the latest proposal from Iran, said on Tuesday that the fragile truce is on “life support.”

CONGRESS IGNORES KEY DEADLINE AS REPUBLICANS READY ‘RESTRAINT’ ON TRUMP’S WAR IN IRAN

“I would call it the weakest, right now, after reading that piece of garbage they sent us — I didn’t even finish reading it,” Trump told reporters. 

“I would say the ceasefire is on massive life support, where the doctor walks in and says, ‘Sir, your loved one has approximately a 1% chance of living,'” he said.

Whether Trump’s trip overseas and the deadline now in the rearview mirror would have an impact on Wednesday remained an open question heading into the vote.

SENATE GOP MOVES TO BLOCK DEMS’ WAR POWERS PUSH, PRESERVE TRUMP’S AUTHORITY IN RARE MOVE

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., noted that Trump’s trip to China would likely have national security implications, and said that it “would be best if everybody hung together and supported the president.” 

“People have their own minds about some of these issues, and this is not a new vote, it’s one we’ve had many times before, but you know, we’ll see what votes are,” Thune said. 

Congress has the option of voting on an Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF) that would either authorize or halt any further fighting in Iran. Some Republicans argue that the move would give Trump a strong legal tool in making the case for the war.

Murkowski warned earlier this month that unless there were signs that a peace deal was nearing completion or further communication from the administration on their objectives, she would bring an AUMF to the floor. 

During a hearing with Hegseth on Tuesday to pick through the president’s staggering, $1.5 trillion budget request for the Pentagon, Murkowski asked Hegseth if he believed it would “be helpful to the president if it was made clear that, in fact, the Congress did allow, did provide an AUMF” should fighting restart. 

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“I think the president — our view is that he has all the authorities he needs under Article II to execute,” Hegseth said.

Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., who started the war powers effort, contended that if an AUMF were put on the floor, and it passed, it would make an “illegal and unwise war, just an unwise war, not an illegal one.”

“But I see almost no circumstance in which Republicans would want to have a vote on that in committee or on the floor,” Kaine told Fox News Digital. “They are actively trying to avoid accountability for the war.”

Outrage is snowballing after it was uncovered that a California mayor who just stepped down after admitting to acting as a Chinese agent appears to have donated to Democrats, including a sitting congresswoman.

As President Donald Trump visits China for a diplomatic mission with world leaders, Eileen Wang, mayor of Arcadia, California, agreed to plead guilty to acting as an agent for the Chinese government. The admission sparked concerns about foreign infiltration in local government. Now, allegations that Wang donated to Democrats at the federal level are raising broader national security concerns.

According to a Federal Election Commission (FEC) filing for Rep. Judy Chu, D-Calif., an Eileen Wang of Arcadia, California, donated $1,000 and $175 to her campaign in October and November 2022, according to a Fox News Digital review. Chu sits on the House Committee on Ways and Means and the Committee on Budget.

Further, FEC filings show several small $5, $10 and $25 donations earmarked for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) via ActBlue in 2024.

In response, Bernadette Breslin, a spokesperson for the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC), ripped into the Democrats, calling the donations evidence of “malign Chinese influence operating within their own ranks.”

ATTORNEY RAISES BROADER CONCERNS AFTER MAYOR ADMITS TO ACTING AS CHINESE AGENT IN SHOCKING CASE

Breslin told Fox News Digital that “Senate Republicans are holding Democrats accountable for the malign Chinese influence operating within their own ranks and the CCP-linked money flowing into their campaigns.”

She added that “as President Trump brings American peace through strength to China this week, Republicans are working in lockstep to root out foreign interference in our elections and protect America’s national security.”

Wang, who has since resigned as mayor of Arcadia, agreed to plead guilty to the felony offense of acting as an illegal agent of the People’s Republic of China, the Justice Department announced this week. She now faces up to 10 years in federal prison along with a potential $250,000 fine, though any sentence would be determined by a federal judge.

Federal prosecutors say Wang admitted she acted “at the direction and control” of Chinese government officials from at least 2020 through 2022, coordinating with individuals in the U.S. to spread pro-Beijing messaging, all without notifying the U.S. Attorney General as required by law. The conduct described by prosecutors occurred before Wang took office on the Arcadia City Council in December 2022.

CHINESE SPY INFILTRATION: MAYOR’S BUST ADDS TO GROWING TIMELINE OF FOREIGN INFLUENCE CREEPING INTO US

With Wang’s foreign ties exposed, the politicians she associated with are now under scrutiny.

Beyond the $1,000 and $175 donations, a 2024 press release by Chu shows that the congresswoman honored Wang as one of the “Congressional Women of the Year.”

In the press release published by Chu’s office, Wang was praised as a “dedicated Arcadia resident, educator, and community leader,” who “brings a wealth of experience and passion to her role as City Councilmember.”

The statement said that over the course of 15 years, Wang was “actively involved in various City and service groups,” including the Arcadia High School Chinese Parents Booster Club.

Chu’s office said that Wang “gained valuable insights into the challenges faced by Arcadia residents” and “is poised to make a lasting impact on the City Council and continue her tireless efforts to improve the lives of Arcadia residents.”

Fox News Digital reached out to Chu for comment.

DEMOCRAT LAWMAKER CALLS CLARENCE THOMAS AN ‘UNCLE TOM’ AND ‘LYNCHMAN’ AFTER SUPREME COURT REDISTRICTING RULING

Sen. Jim Banks, R-Ind., who also serves as NRSC vice chair, reacted to the revelations by slamming other Democrats with Chinese government associations.

Banks wrote on X, “Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) had a Chinese spy in her office. Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) dated a Chinese spy. Mayor Eileen Wang (D-CA) is a Chinese spy. How many more?”

Popular conservative account Libs of TikTok pointed to Wang’s DSCC donations, posting on X, “Democrat Senators are being funded by Chinese spies If it was the other way around, it would be front page news for weeks.”

Libs of TikTok also reacted to Wang’s donations to Chu, writing, “Judy is a member of the House Committee on Ways and Means, one of the most powerful committees in Congress. She’s also a member of the Taiwan Caucus. She’s being funded by Chinese spies. What could possibly go wrong.”

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Another popular conservative X personality who goes by the handle “Greg” also commented, “So this is the great ‘resistance?’ Our brave DNC, the defenders of democracy, are actually just tools for the Chinese Communist Party. A confessed CCP agent funnels money to Democratic senators and they’re all quiet. Makes you wonder what/who else they’re willing to sell out.”

Fox News Digital reached out to the DSCC and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee for comment.

Fox News Digital’s Stepheny Price contributed to this report.

As they push to flip the House and capture the chamber’s majority in this year’s midterm elections, Democrats are facing a steeper hill to climb, thanks to two blockbuster court rulings.

A Virginia Supreme Court decision last week that struck down the state’s voter-passed congressional redistricting ballot measure, coupled with a ruling a week earlier by the Supreme Court to slash a key protection in the 1965 Voting Rights Act, were major setbacks for Democrats.

The twin rulings gave President Donald Trump and Republicans a major boost in their high-stakes mid-decade redistricting battle with Democrats, giving the House GOP a bit of breathing room as it defends its razor-thin majority in the midterms. 

At stake is which party will control the House and the Senate during the final two years of Trump’s second term in the White House.

SOUTH CAROLINA REPUBLICANS DEFY TRUMP, TANK REDISTRICTING, FOR NOW

The Virginia decision negated four more likely left-leaning congressional districts in that state. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court ruling, which determined that race should not dictate the redrawing of legislative district maps, spurred a slew of Republican-controlled southern states to quickly redraw their maps and create more right-leaning seats ahead of the midterms.

“We have a battlefield, a map, that favors Republicans,” Rep. Richard Hudson of North Carolina, the chair of the National Republican Congressional Committee, noted Monday in a Fox News Channel interview as he pointed to the possibility of the GOP having a net gain of up to a dozen more right-tilting House districts as a result of redistricting initiated by Trump a year ago.

But some Republicans are raising concerns that the newly drawn GOP-controlled districts could put once safe red seats in play by diluting the percentage of Republican voters in those districts.

“You could, in essence, take … like here in Texas, take big cities, which are typically Democrat and split them up among several sort of suburban and rural Republicans and thereby reduce their margin and make [House Republicans] more vulnerable in an election year,” veteran GOP strategist and longtime Fox News contributor Karl Rove said Sunday in an interview on the Fox News Channel.

House Democrats vow to keep fighting in the redistricting wars.

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House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries wrote in a letter Monday to fellow congressional Democrats, “Our effort to forcefully push back against the Republican redistricting scheme will not slow down. We are just getting started.”

But with the clock quickly ticking toward midterm filing deadlines and the conservative majority on the nation’s highest court unlikely to cooperate, the Democrats‘ legal options seem limited at best.

Democrats, though, still enjoy campaign tailwinds due to a rough political landscape facing Republicans.

Republicans — as the party in power — were already up against traditional political headwinds that lead to a loss of congressional seats. Add to that the challenging climate fueled by persistent inflation, soaring gas prices tied to what polls show is an unpopular war with Iran and President Trump’s increasingly negative approval ratings.

Democrats have spotlighted affordability as they’ve won and overperformed in a slew of ballot box showdowns in the more than 15 months since Trump returned to the White House, including flipping legislative seats in red-leaning districts.

That messaging campaign will only intensify going forward, especially after this week’s economic reporting indicating inflation soaring to 3.8% as gas prices top a national average of $4.50 per gallon. Prices overall are outpacing wages for the first time in three years.

ALABAMA REPUBLICANS PLOW FORWARD ON REDISTRICTING

Add to that Trump this week saying “I don’t think about Americans’ financial situation” while discussing what factors come into play as he tries to negotiate to end the war with Iran. The comments were an instant political gift to Democrats.

“Given the highly unfavorable political environment confronting House Republicans, the extremists will not meaningfully benefit from their scandalous gerrymandering scheme. Quite the opposite,” Jeffries argued in his letter to Democrats.

Despite the redistricting setbacks, top nonpartisan political handicappers still give the Democrats the upper hand in the midterm battle for the House majority as they point to the current political atmosphere.

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The Cook Report said it still believes Democrats are “favored to win control of the House due to the poor national environment for the GOP. But they are no longer overwhelming favorites.”

And Sabato’s Crystal Ball said it “still think(s) the Democrats are favored overall in the House, particularly if the environment does not improve for Republicans.”