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President Donald Trump said the tentative ceasefire with Iran is “over” after an intense bombing campaign overnight that followed Iranian attacks on commercial shipping.

“For me? I think it’s over,” Trump told reporters during a meeting with Secretary-General Mark Rutte at the NATO Summit in Ankara Wednesday. “I don’t want to deal with them anymore, they’re scum.”

He said talks with Iran could continue, but they’re a waste of time. “They’re liars, they’re cheats. They’re sick people.”

US CLAWS BACK KEY CONCESSION TO IRAN AFTER FRESH ATTACKS ON COMMERCIAL SHIPS IN STRAIT OF HORMUZ

The comments may signal an end to weeks of talks that followed both sides signing a memorandum of understanding, in which they agreed to allow traffic to resume in the the Strait of Hormuz.

But Iran struck at least three commercial vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz on Monday and Tuesday, and the U.S. military responded with strikes on over 80 targets in Iran.

This is a breaking news story and will be updated. 

The U.S. is clawing back oil sanctions waivers offered to Iran as part of a framework deal that kicked off a two-month negotiating period after Iran attacked commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz Monday and Tuesday. 

A U.S. official confirmed that three commercial vessels were struck by Iran in the Strait of Hormuz between Monday and Tuesday, reigniting tensions after President Donald Trump said the U.S. had given Tehran “a week off” during funeral ceremonies for slain Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

“As President Trump and the administration have repeatedly affirmed, the MOU in effect with Iran is entirely performance-based. Iran will only reap benefits if they exhibit good behavior,” a U.S. official said, confirming the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) would revoke the sanctions waivers. 

“Iran’s actions in the Strait were wholly unacceptable to the United States and will be met with consequences. Our negotiators continue to work in good faith towards a final deal,” the official continued. 

The sanctions relief was part of a memorandum of understanding signed in June that launched a 60-day negotiating period between Washington and Tehran. Under the framework, both sides agreed to halt military operations while pursuing a broader peace agreement, and Iran committed to reopening the Strait of Hormuz to commercial shipping in exchange for limited economic relief, including oil sanctions waivers.

The attacks targeted commercial shipping transiting one of the world’s busiest maritime choke points. British maritime authorities confirmed a vessel was struck by a projectile near the coast of Oman Monday, while Iranian state media reported the ship had ignored warnings from Iranian forces. The attack reportedly caused a fire on board, but there were no immediate reports of fatalities.

On Tuesday, the U.K. Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) reported that another tanker transiting the Strait of Hormuz had been struck by an unidentified projectile. UKMTO said the vessel sustained what was believed to be structural damage but reported no casualties or environmental impact. The agency said it was continuing to investigate the incident and advised vessels transiting the strait to exercise caution and report any suspicious activity.

WALTZ CALLS OUT IRANIAN DIPLOMAT AT UN FOLLOWING DRONE STRIKES ON BAHRAIN AND KUWAIT

The attacks threaten one of the world’s most important energy corridors and have already prompted the Trump administration to revoke a key concession offered to Iran under a ceasefire agreement, raising fresh questions about whether the fragile truce can survive long enough for the two sides to negotiate a broader peace deal. Roughly one-fifth of the world’s seaborne oil passes through the Strait of Hormuz, making disruptions to commercial shipping a potential risk to global energy markets and U.S. strategic interests.

That followed two ships being hit Monday.

A U.S. official confirmed one ship hit Monday as the Al Rekayyat, a Qatari liquified natural gas carrier. Iran acknowledged the attack, with state media saying the tanker ignored “repeated warnings” and continued to transit along the southern route of the strait near Oman with U.S. assistance.

A second vessel, the Saudi-flagged crude tanker Wedyan, also sustained damage near the Strait of Hormuz, a U.S. official confirmed. The cause of the damage was not immediately clear, and Fox News Digital has reached out to the vessel’s operator, Bahri, and the Saudi Embassy in Washington for comment.

The White House and the Pentagon did not respond to a request for comment. Central Command, which leads military operations in the Middle East, declined to comment. 

TRUMP’S MOUNT RUSHMORE ADDRESS FEATURES 28 MINUTES OF ICONIC WORDS, 23 MINUTES OF DAZZLING LIGHT, FIREWORKS

The renewed attacks also cast doubt on the Trump administration’s diplomatic strategy. Just days earlier, the White House had paused negotiations while Iran observed funeral ceremonies for slain Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in hopes of resuming talks after the mourning period concluded.

Speaking during a Fourth of July address at Mount Rushmore, Trump said Iran was “dying to settle” after months of military pressure and declared the U.S. had given Tehran “a week off for a funeral because we’re nice.”

Trump did not elaborate on what the pause entailed, but U.S. and Iranian officials had delayed negotiations until after the conclusion of Khamenei’s multi-day funeral procession, which is scheduled to end with his burial in Mashhad.

Monday’s attack on commercial shipping raises fresh questions about whether the diplomatic opening Trump described can survive renewed hostilities in one of the world’s most strategically important waterways.

Iran has insisted it should play a leading role in managing traffic through the Strait of Hormuz and has sought to collect fees from commercial vessels transiting the strategic waterway. The Trump administration has rejected that position, insisting the strait remain open to free international navigation.

In recent days, Iran warned that commercial tankers using routes not approved by Iranian authorities would face a “forceful response,” and the latest strike comes after multiple attacks on commercial shipping since the U.S.-Iran conflict began earlier this year.

The latest attacks are the newest test of the fragile ceasefire established under a memorandum of understanding signed in June that launched a 60-day negotiating period aimed at reaching a broader peace agreement between Washington and Tehran. The accord called for reopening the strait during the negotiations and an end to military operations while the two sides negotiated a final deal.

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On June 25, Iran attacked the Singapore-flagged cargo ship M/V Ever Lovely with a one-way drone while it was transiting the Strait of Hormuz along the Omani coast, prompting U.S. retaliatory strikes on Iranian missile, drone and coastal radar sites. U.S. Central Command called the attack “a clear violation of the ceasefire.”

Commercial traffic through the Strait of Hormuz had begun to recover in recent days following the U.S.-Iran ceasefire, though shipping remained well below historical levels. Ship-tracking firm Kpler reported daily traffic had stabilized at roughly 30 to 60 vessel crossings, down from around 140 per day prior to the U.S. offensive against Iran known as Operation Epic Fury.

Chokwe Antar Lumumba, the former mayor of Jackson, Mississippi, pleaded guilty Monday to one count of conspiracy for his role in a six-figure real estate bribery scheme.

Lumumba, who served as Jackson’s mayor from 2017 to 2025, allegedly accepted tens of thousands of dollars that Hinds County District Attorney Jody Owens distributed to him and other city officials after accepting it from FBI agents posing as realtors.

Owens, also a Democrat, pleaded guilty to federal conspiracy last week.

LOUISIANA ATTORNEY GENERAL ACCUSED OF THREATENING LOCAL OFFICIALS IN CRIMINAL INDICTMENT

Owens, according to a copy of the criminal indictment obtained by Fox News Digital, funneled over $80,000 in payments to Lumumba, Angelique Lee, the Democratic former vice president of the Jackson City Council, and Sherik Marve Smith, a relative of Owens’.

The former district attorney procured the money from two individuals he believed to be real estate developers from Nashville, Tennessee, “in exchange for their agreement to take official action to ensure the approval of the Developers’ proposed multi-million-dollar downtown Jackson development project,” per the indictment.

The developers, however, were actually undercover FBI agents.

OHIO BROTHERS WHO POSED AS MIDDLE EASTERN ROYALTY RECEIVE LENGTHY SENTENCE FOR $21M FRAUD SCHEME

Owens “solicited and accepted at least $115,000 in cash and promises of future financial benefits from the Developers,” according to the indictment.

Lumumba accepted $50,000 in the form of campaign contributions knowing they were given in exchange for his blessing on the real estate developments, the indictment alleges.

“Lumumba accepted the checks knowing and understanding that the money was from the Developers, and that it was being offered in exchange for official action from Lumumba in favor of the Developers’ proposed development project,” the indictment read.

FORMER INDIANA REP STEPHEN BUYER RECEIVES FULL PARDON FROM TRUMP FOR 2023 INSIDER TRADING CONVICTION

Lumumba had originally called the prosecution’s charges a political prosecution, The Associated Press reported.

He lost his re-election bid in 2025, falling in the city’s Democratic primary to eventual winner John Horhn, who is now Jackson’s mayor.

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Lumumba and Owens could face up to five years in prison. Their sentencing is scheduled for Oct. 15.

Fox News Digital contacted legal representatives for Lumumba, Owens and Lee and the city of Jackson for further comment.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott ordered an investigation into a Texas hospital Tuesday after it confirmed to Fox News that it advertised Spanish-language “Birth Packages in South Texas” on billboards in Mexico promoting childbirth services to pregnant foreign nationals near the U.S.-Mexico border.

Mission Regional Medical Center confirmed to Fox News that it was responsible for the advertising campaign, which promoted deliveries starting at $3,950 for a natural birth and $5,525 for a C-section, and directed viewers to a website, havemybabyinTEXAS.com, which has since been taken offline.

The billboards also displayed a telephone number beginning with “001,” the country code used to place calls to the United States from Mexico.

‘WEAPONS OF MASS REPRODUCTION’: WATCHDOG UNVEILS ACTION PLAN TO CURB BIRTH TOURISM AFTER SUPREME COURT RULING

“The marketing materials regarding maternity services are no longer in use due to any unintended misunderstanding,” a hospital spokesperson said in a statement to Fox News. “We do not support or facilitate any unlawful activity and work to comply with all applicable federal and state laws and regulations.”

The spokesperson said the campaign included two billboards located within approximately 5 miles of the hospital near a U.S.-Mexico border crossing. The hospital said both billboards and the website were removed Monday after images began circulating on social media. The spokesperson also said the campaign began in 2021 but did not specify when the billboards were installed.

Abbott on Tuesday directed Texas Health and Human Services Commission Executive Commissioner Stephanie Muth to investigate Mission Regional Medical Center for potential violations of state law and contractual obligations.

REPUBLICAN ACCUSES SCOTUS OF BETRAYING US, PUSHES BILL RESTRICTING BIRTHRIGHT CITIZENSHIP, PREGNANT VISITORS

Images of the billboard circulated on social media before the hospital said it removed the advertisements Monday.

“‘Birth tourism’ is an illegal practice that exploits the extraordinary hospitality that the United States and Texas offer to millions of foreign travelers each year,” Abbott wrote in a July 7 letter obtained by Fox News. “Unfortunately, thousands of foreign travelers come to the United States under false pretenses to give birth and secure citizenship for their children.”

TRUMP SUFFERS MAJOR SUPREME COURT DEFEAT AS JUSTICES UPHOLD BIRTHRIGHT CITIZENSHIP

Abbott directed HHSC to “immediately and thoroughly investigate” the hospital and said any violations should be referred to the Texas Attorney General for civil enforcement and to the appropriate district or county attorney for potential criminal prosecution.

“American citizenship is not for sale and Texas will not permit our healthcare system to be used as a magnet for birth tourism,” Abbott wrote.

The governor also said he plans to work with the Texas Legislature during its next session “to strengthen state law and eliminate birth tourism in Texas.”

“Unfortunately, birth tourism operations are not a new phenomenon,” Kyle Brosnan, general counsel of the Oversight Project, told Fox News Digital in a statement. “The Supreme Court’s egregiously wrong decision in the birthright citizenship case is going to open the floodgates to the birth tourism industry. Our country is much more than a pile of magic dirt. The only answer to these type of practices are criminal investigations and the mass deportation of illegal aliens.”

Mission Regional Medical Center also said it intends to cooperate with state officials.

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“We intend to work cooperatively and transparently with local and state officials,” the hospital said in a statement obtained by Fox News. “Our focus remains on delivering safe, high-quality care to every patient who seeks our services.”

The investigation comes as President Donald Trump’s executive order seeking to limit automatic birthright citizenship for some children born in the United States remains the subject of ongoing legal challenges.

Embattled U.S. Senate candidate Graham Platner was hit with a second explosive allegation of sexual impropriety only about 24 hours after he was accused of rape — all while a major campaign decision deadline looms.

In a new report published by The Washington Post, the candidate from Maine was accused of removing condoms during sex with his ex-girlfriend Lyndsey Fifield after she explicitly directed him to wear them.

“He would pull condoms off,” she told The Washington Post. “He would do it in a sneaky way. He wouldn’t tell me.”

NEW YORK TIMES UNDER SCRUTINY OVER GRAHAM PLATNER COVERAGE AS ACCUSERS SPEAK OUT AGAINST PAPER

Fifield, 41, previously accused Platner of physical misconduct during their relationship, saying that he sometimes grabbed her hard enough to leave marks on her body, and that one time he twisted her arm around her back, pushed her into a bedroom and held the door shut until she “calmed down.”

Those concerns were largely dismissed by Platner’s supporters, who characterized Fifield, who used to work at The Heritage Foundation, of being a conservative operative.

“I confronted him both during and after [sex] because he knew that I was not on birth control and how dangerous that was,” she told The Post, who said that Fifield made the allegations in a previous interview with the outlet, but strictly off the record.

‘HE HATED WOMEN’: EXPLOSIVE ABUSE, NEW NAZI TATTOO ALLEGATIONS FROM EXES ROCK PLATNER’S CAMPAIGN

“He would act like cute about it, like ‘Oh sneaky me,'” she said, according to the report.

In a statement to The Washington Post, the Platner campaign reportedly said that Fifield’s latest allegations were “categorically false and politically motivated.”

Platner is running to oust Republican Maine Sen. Susan Collins.

Monday, the oyster farmer, whose campaign has been dogged by scandal since last year, was accused of rape by another woman.

PLATNER’S LATEST ACCUSER CLAIMS THE DEMOCRATIC SENATE CANDIDATE ‘ABSOLUTELY’ RAPED HER

Jenny Racicot, 41, told POLITICO that Platner drunkenly entered her home while they were on-again, off-again romantic partners in 2021, and raped her. She claimed that he ejaculated inside her after she told him to stop multiple times.

“I remember him grabbing my pelvis and being really forceful of me,” Racicot told the outlet, which she said took place while Platner was “almost blackout drunk” in Washington, D.C. “I remember the specific moment where I thought to myself, like, ‘This is no longer my choice.’”

Platner categorically denied those allegations, too, in a video released in the immediate aftermath of the publication of the POLITICO story.

He said his campaign was taking time to assess possible next steps, as a major deadline in the race looms.

Platner must withdraw from the race by 5:00 p.m. on next Monday, July 13, if another Democratic candidate, who would be chosen by the party, is to replace him before the November general election.

Monday evening into Tuesday, a litany of previous supporters dropped their endorsements of Platner and called for him to drop out of the race, including progressive Sens. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., two of his most ardent backers.

“Now more than ever we need leaders in Washington who reflect our values. There can be no tolerance for sexual assault,” Warren said in a statement Monday night.

TOP PLATNER ALLY TURNS ON HIM AFTER BOMBSHELL RAPE ALLEGATION ROCKS CAMPAIGN: ‘RED LINE’

“Working families are counting on Democrats to win the Senate election in Maine to unrig our economy and hold Donald Trump accountable. With so much at stake, the best path forward is for Graham Platner to step aside as the Democratic nominee and address these serious allegations outside this Senate race.”

“I have spoken with Graham Platner about the best path forward for Maine,” Sanders said in a statement midday Tuesday. “In light of these very serious allegations, I have recommended that he step aside.”

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

Fox News’ Andrew Mark Miller contributed to this report.

Democrat New York Gov. Kathy Hochul suggested Rep. Elise Stefanik would have been a tougher Republican opponent than GOP gubernatorial candidate Bruce Blakeman this fall, prompting the Nassau County executive to fire back by comparing the incumbent to Disney villain Cruella de Vil while blasting her record.

Hochul made the remarks during an interview with Newsday’s editorial board after she was asked whether Stefanik, who publicly considered running for governor before declining, would have been a stronger general election opponent than Blakeman.

“Probably. I mean, Bruce is, you know, Bruce,” Hochul said.

NY GOVERNOR HOPEFUL VOWS SHOWDOWN WITH MAMDANI OVER SOCIALIST AGENDA: ‘I WILL STOP HIM’

The governor said Stefanik’s national profile would have changed the dynamics of the race.

“She had the ability to raise a lot of money” because of her national following, Hochul said.

“It would have been a different race.”

HOCHUL PRESS OFFICE FEUDS WITH DAVE PORTNOY ON X AS CRITICS ROAST GOVERNOR IN HER OWN REPLIES

Hochul added that she still believes she would have defeated Stefanik.

“Our polling shows us beating her as well,” she said.

Blakeman, however, accused Hochul of trying to distract from her record.

BILL REPLACING ‘MOTHER’ AND ‘FATHER’ WITH GENDER-NEUTRAL TERMS PASSES IN NEW YORK, HEADS TO HOCHUL’S DESK

“Cruella de Vil is more likable than Kathy Hochul and her high taxes, high electric bills and soaring health care costs,” Blakeman said in a statement to Fox News Digital.

Fox News Digital reached out to Stefanik for comment. This story will be updated with any response.

Before exiting the race, Fox News Digital reported exclusively that Stefanik had consolidated support from Republican county chairs and party leaders across New York, making her the early front-runner for the GOP nomination.

“Elise Stefanik, a fantastic person and Congresswoman from New York State, has just announced she won’t be running for Governor,” Trump wrote on Truth Social last December. “Elise is a tremendous talent, regardless of what she does. She will have GREAT success, and I am with her all the way!”

Trump ultimately endorsed Blakeman after Stefanik opted against entering the race, helping cement the Nassau County executive as the Republican nominee in an election cycle that has put the president’s influence in party primaries on full display.

Hochul is seeking a second full four-year term after first taking office in 2021 following former Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s resignation.

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She defeated Republican Lee Zeldin by roughly six percentage points in 2022 despite Republicans posting one of their strongest gubernatorial performances in deep blue New York in years.

The next campaign finance filings are due later this month, though Hochul has maintained a significant fundraising advantage over Blakeman. Republicans are hoping public matching funds and outside spending will help narrow the gap as the race ramps up.

The Trump administration plans to open up a new migrant holding facility next to an airport hub in Louisiana, potentially allowing the federal government to speed up deportations of families and unaccompanied children.

A holding facility with 528 beds is set to open in Alexandria, Louisiana near the Alexandria International Airport (AEX), according to The Associated Press. 

The proximity to the airport is believed to make it easier for federal immigration officials to house illegal immigrants and unaccompanied children during final flight preparations, the outlet reported.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement is describing the new Louisiana facility as a “staging area” and not a detention center, saying migrants would only be held there for a few days at most.

NEW YORKER SUING ICE AFTER OFFICERS WENT TO HIS HOME TO WARN HIM OVER CRITICISM OF AGENCY

“England Airpark is a staging facility for deportations. A staging facility is where illegal aliens await their deportation flight to their destination country or transfer to a detention facility,” a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security said in a statement to Fox News Digital.

Fox News Digital reached out to the White House, which deferred to DHS.

Airpark officials at the airfield where the structure is being built said the facility is a “humanitarian effort” for families who are “self-deporting,” but immigration advocates say families and unaccompanied children sometimes decide to leave due to pressure or a lack of an understanding of their options, The AP reported.

The facility would be stationed next to the nation’s largest hub for deportations.

More than 4,400 immigration enforcement flights came to and from the Alexandria International Airport last year, according to data from the ICE Flight Monitor, an initiative of Human Rights First.

ICE documents say families and children at the facility “are in the legal custody of ICE and can only be released at the direction of ICE.”

The agency has told contractors that families at the facility should not be referred to as prisoners, detainees or inmates, records show.

Contractors were instructed not to utilize bars or cages when transporting families and unaccompanied children. The facility will not be required to take headcounts and should allow families to wear their own clothes, the agency said.

Unaccompanied children are typically not taken to facilities overseen by ICE and must instead be placed in the care of state-licensed shelters and foster care programs, which are run by the Office of Refugee Resettlement in the Department of Health and Human Services, but that agency is not involved in the new facility’s operation, a spokesperson at the airfield where the facility is being built told The Associated Press.

The facility would be run by a nonprofit arm of LaSalle Corrections, a private prison contractor, according to Ralph Hennessy, executive director of the England Airpark Authority, who said it could be operational as early as next month.

“These are people that are volunteering to go back home and they’re going back home as a family unit,” Hennessy told The Associated Press.

ICE signed a contract late last month to build the facility at the former military base near Alexandria International Airport, Hennessy said.

APPEALS COURT BLOCKS TRUMP ADMIN FROM HOLDING MIGRANTS WITHOUT BOND FOR OVER 90 DAYS

The facility would operate as a 72-hour holding center for migrants awaiting deportation, records show, according to The Associated Press.

LaSalle Corrections runs several private prisons and federal immigration detention centers throughout the south, including the “Louisiana Lockup” inside the state’s maximum-security prison in Angola. 

The official contractor for the new ICE holding facility will be the company’s nonprofit arm, the LaSalle Family Foundation, but LaSalle Corrections itself will be involved in operating the holding facility and ensuring compliance, according to the company’s chief financial officer, Tim Kurpiewski.

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Since April, two detainee deaths have been reported at a LaSalle-run ICE facility in the state.

Winn Correctional Center was also found last month to have violated standards regarding environmental health and safety, food service, use-of-force, medical care and other concerns, according to the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Inspector General.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Former Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao went to China and stayed there, while her husband, Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., was hospitalized.

Though his condition remains a mystery as rumors swirl, a spokesperson for Chao told Fox News Digital that it was not grave enough for her to cancel the trip.

“The secretary was on a long-planned trip in China to support her family’s philanthropic endeavors,” the spokesperson said. “During the trip, she met with a number of people, including the U.S. ambassador. The Senator’s health did not warrant an immediate return to the U.S.”

MCCONNELL WAS FOUND ‘UNCONSCIOUS’ IN HOME LAST MONTH AS CONDITION REMAINS UNKNOWN

Chao has since returned to the U.S. while McConnell has entered his third week of hospitalization. But his current condition and a timetable for his return to the Senate have not been made clear.

His office is keeping mum on what exactly is going on with the 84-year-old, the longest-serving Senate Republican leader in history, who is expected to retire at the end of his term this year. Instead, the void has been filled by an online rumor pumping speculation into what exactly is going on with the lawmaker.

Laura Loomer, a conservative commentator, claimed that a “high level source close to the White House” said McConnell was “brain dead” and that the lawmaker “isn’t ever coming back.”

HOUSE DEM URGES TRANSPARENCY BY PUBLIC OFFICIALS AFTER GOP COLLEAGUE REVEALS REASON FOR EXTENDED ABSENCE

The White House did not respond to a request for comment on Loomer’s claims.

Her claim followed leaked audio from an emergency dispatch from a call on June 14, the day McConnell was sent to the hospital, that revealed that the longtime Senate Republican was “unconscious” and may have suffered a heart attack.

When asked about the veracity of Loomer’s claims, McConnell’s office shared with Fox News Digital the same statement it released a week prior.

“Senator McConnell appreciates the outpouring of support he’s receiving while he continues his recovery in the hospital,” a McConnell spokesperson said. “The Senator continues to improve, and is working closely with his staff on Kentucky and Senate matters while the Senate is out of session.”

‘HE NAMED NAMES’: TRUMP’S SENATE MEETING EXPLODES INTO SHOUTING MATCH OVER IRAN

Meanwhile, Senate Republican leaders are working to quash the rumor cycle. Both Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., and Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso, R-Wyo., said they were on the phone with McConnell in the last 48 hours — the last time that both top Republicans publicly said they had spoken with McConnell was a handful of days after his hospitalization.

A spokesperson for Thune said the pair spoke by phone on Monday, and they had “a lengthy and substantive conversation that covered a variety of topics, including national security.”

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And Barrasso spokeswoman Kate Noyes said the No. 2 Senate Republican and McConnell spoke at length early Tuesday afternoon.

“Their phone call lasted roughly 20 minutes. They caught up about the latest news impacting Senate races, the Graham Platner scandal, and the recent Supreme Court ruling on coordinated spending limits,” Noyes said.

“They also discussed the Senate’s July work period, including the need to pass the NDAA and confirm President Trump’s nominee for Director of National Intelligence,” she continued. “Senator McConnell was fully engaged and is eager to get back to the Senate.”

Anti-Trump voices online are celebrating the U.S. soccer team’s Monday night World Cup loss to Belgium after President Donald Trump said he intervened with FIFA to help get an American star cleared to play.

Folarin Balogun, a player who was integral to the U.S. team’s success in the earlier rounds of the tournament, received a red card in a win over Bosnia and Herzegovina last week after stepping on the ankle of a defender while vying for the ball.

Trump called FIFA President Gianni Infantino and asked the soccer organization to review the red card, which came along with a one-game suspension that would have barred Balogun from playing Monday night. FIFA announced Sunday that Balogun’s punishment would be suspended but said that Trump’s call had nothing to do with the decision.

TRUMP CALLED FIFA PRESIDENT TO REVIEW FOLARIN BALOGUN’S RED CARD AHEAD OF USA-BELGIUM MATCH, SOURCE SAYS

After a lackluster performance, the U.S. lost Monday night’s match 4-1, leading to celebration among Trump opponents online.

“I don’t follow soccer, but I hear the men’s US team lost to Belgium, and that you know who tried to strong arm the officials to manipulate the outcome by voiding the suspension of that one star player,” one person in a Tuesday post said of the notorious left-wing online echo chamber Bluesky.

“I’m glad we lost. [F—] our demented moronic ‘leader’ and [f—] his FIFA goons and [f—] the US [right now], truly.”

Another user wrote on the same site: “Sad I am to admit it, but I’m glad the [U.S. Men’s National Team] lost to Belgium. I could never have supported a US Team that gained victory after Trump played the Refs and attempted to Rig the outcome.”

“I am glad for [Belgium],” a third user wrote. “Trump put his thumb on the scale and still lost us the game. Karma is truly a b—-.”

MEDIA FIGURES MELT DOWN OVER TRUMP INVOLVEMENT WITH FIFA AS US STAR FOLARIN BALOGUN SET TO PLAY

Yet another wrote on the left-wing platform: “So glad the US lost to Belgium after the Orange Baboon tried to cheat.”

One user claimed that Trump would have taken credit had the team won, which would have been “unbearable,” adding, “glad the US lost.”

BELGIUM EMBARRASSES TEAM USA BEFORE BREAKING OUT TRUMP’S SIGNATURE DANCE CELEBRATION AFTER FOURTH GOAL

Others took to social media before the game to proudly declare they were rooting against the American team.

Known Trump hater and film director Morgan J. Freeman was chief among them, saying in part on Bluesky, “I’m not rooting for the USA if they are cheating.”

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“I’m an American world cup [sic] fan, but I am now rooting against team USA,” another person said.

After the U.S. team’s crushing defeat this week, it will have to wait four years for a chance at World Cup redemption.

Democrats have a narrow path to win back the Senate majority from the Republicans in this year’s midterm elections.

And part of their playbook is flipping Maine — a historically moderate state that votes blue in presidential elections but whose two senators are a Republican and an Independent who caucuses with Democrats.

Graham Platner‘s candidacy is cratering as he faces calls from top Democrats in Maine and across the country to quit his Senate bid a day after Monday’s explosive rape allegation emerged against him. And the latest controversy decreases the party’s odds of recapturing the Senate in November.

“The forced implosion of Graham Platner does not make life any easier” for Democrats, a Republican strategist who works on Senate races told Fox News Digital.

DEMOCRATS ABANDON PLATNER AFTER BOMBSHELL ALLEGATIONS

Platner, a military combat veteran turned oyster farmer who was, until Monday, backed by top progressives, is the party’s nominee in the race against longtime Republican Sen. Susan Collins in blue-leaning Maine.

The showdown is a high-profile, combustible and expensive ballot box battle, and one of a handful that will determine if the GOP holds onto its slim Senate majority in the midterms.

If Platner suspends his campaign before 5 p.m. next Monday, July 13, the Maine Democratic Party will be able to replace him on the general election ballot with another candidate from the party, whom they would need to select by July 27.

Beating Collins, who is seeking a sixth six-year term in the Senate, won’t be easy.

Six years ago, public opinion polls indicated the senator was headed to defeat, but Collins defied expectations and won re-election by defeating then-Democratic state House Speaker Sara Gideon by nine points.

FOUR MONTHS TILL MIDTERMS: THE 12 RACES THAT WILL DETERMINE THE SENATE MAJORITY

Fast-forward to present day and the 73-year-old Collins should be vulnerable, with her party facing a rough political climate fueled in part by persistent inflation and President Donald Trump’s approval ratings hovering well into negative territory.

But the Platner implosion is a gift to Collins and her party. Republicans quickly took aim at other Democrats on the 2026 ballot and attacked them for previously backing Platner.

A veteran Democratic strategist told Fox News Digital the path to take back the majority isn’t any easier due to the drama in Maine, but added, “it depends on who replaces Platner.”

The bombshell in Maine came a day after a political grenade exploded in the Democratic Senate primary in battleground Michigan, when state Sen. Mallory McMorrow suspended her campaign.

McMorrow, who has seen her national profile expand in recent years and was running as a progressive in an ideological space between left-wing candidate Abdul El-Sayed and establishment-backed Rep. Haley Stevens, suspended her campaign amid faltering poll numbers and fundraising that weren’t keeping pace with her two main rivals.

The Aug. 4 primary showdown between El-Sayed, endorsed by progressive champions Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., and Stevens, who is backed by Senate Minority Leader Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., is seen as the biggest battle yet between the far-left and establishment for the future of the Democratic Party.

The winner will face off in the midterm elections in November against former Republican Rep. Mike Rogers, who is on a glide path to the GOP nomination. The winner will succeed retiring Michigan Sen. Gary Peters, a Democrat. 

The seat is a top Republican target and is a must-hold for the Democrats as they aim to win back the Senate majority from the GOP.

Schumer and the party establishment, which are spending big bucks to back Stevens, view her as more electable than El-Sayed, who has sparked controversy with his past comments. They worry that El-Sayed as the party’s nominee would jeopardize the Democrat-controlled Senate seat by pushing the party too far to the left in a state that Trump carried two years ago by just over one percentage point.

With the race in Maine, the only state that then-Vice President Kamala Harris carried in the 2024 presidential election that Senate Republicans are aiming to hold, looking more problematic for the Democrats, the stakes in Michigan also just got a lot higher.

Republicans currently control the Senate 53-47, which means the Democrats need a net gain of four seats in the midterms.

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The Democrats’ playbook relies on flipping Maine and battleground of North Carolina, plus flipping two more seats in red-leaning states like Ohio, Alaska, Iowa, or Texas.

At the same time, Democrats need to hold their open seats in Michigan and New Hampshire, and Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff needs to win re-election in the critical red-leaning swing state of Georgia.

Besides providing the GOP more political ammunition, the mess in Maine is further inflaming tensions between the far-left and the Democratic establishment.

Moderate Democratic Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania on Monday night took aim at Sanders, whose early endorsement of Platner last September helped boost the populist Senate candidate.

FETTERMAN DEMANDS SANDERS APOLOGIZE FOR BACKING ‘PREDATOR’ PLATNER

“I would really call Bernie Sanders to apologize for pushing this kind of predator more than anyone,” Fetterman said Monday on Fox News’ “The Ingraham Angle.”

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The Republican strategist, who asked to remain anonymous to speak more freely, said the Democrats’ intra-party sniping “is just further complicating their path to the majority.”

Iran attacked commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz Monday and Tuesday, reigniting tensions after President Donald Trump said the U.S.  had given Tehran “a week off” during funeral ceremonies for slain Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

A U.S. official confirmed that three commercial vessels were struck by Iran in the Strait of Hormuz between Monday and Tuesday. 

The attacks targeted commercial shipping transiting one of the world’s busiest maritime choke points. British maritime authorities confirmed a vessel was struck by a projectile near the coast of Oman Monday, while Iranian state media reported the ship had ignored warnings from Iranian forces. The attack reportedly caused a fire on board but there were no immediate reports of fatalities.

On Tuesday, the U.K. Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) reported that another tanker transiting the Strait of Hormuz had been struck by an unidentified projectile. UKMTO said the vessel sustained what was believed to be structural damage but reported no casualties or environmental impact. The agency said it was continuing to investigate the incident and advised vessels transiting the strait to exercise caution and report any suspicious activity.

WALTZ CALLS OUT IRANIAN DIPLOMAT AT UN FOLLOWING DRONE STRIKES ON BAHRAIN AND KUWAIT

The attacks threaten one of the world’s most important energy corridors and raise fresh questions about whether the fragile U.S.-Iran ceasefire can survive long enough for the Trump administration to negotiate a broader peace agreement. Roughly one-fifth of the world’s seaborne oil passes through the Strait of Hormuz, making any disruption to commercial shipping a potential risk to global energy markets and U.S. strategic interests.

That followed two ships being hit Monday.

A U.S. official confirmed one ship hit Monday as the Al Rekayyat, a Qatari liquified natural gas carrier. Iran acknowledged the attack, with state media saying the tanker ignored “repeated warnings” and continued to transit through the southern route of the strait near Oman with U.S. assistance.

A second vessel, the Saudi-flagged crude tanker Wedyan, also sustained damage near the Strait of Hormuz, a U.S. official confirmed. The cause of the damage was not immediately clear, and Fox News Digital has reached out to the vessel’s operator, Bahri, and the Saudi Embassy in Washington for comment.

The White House and the Pentagon did not respond to a request for comment. Central Command, which leads military operations in the Middle East, declined to comment. 

TRUMP’S MOUNT RUSHMORE ADDRESS FEATURES 28 MINUTES OF ICONIC WORDS, 23 MINUTES OF DAZZLING LIGHT, FIREWORKS

The renewed attacks also cast doubt on the Trump administration’s diplomatic strategy. Just days earlier, the White House had paused negotiations while Iran observed funeral ceremonies for slain Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in hopes of resuming talks after the mourning period concluded.

Speaking during a Fourth of July address at Mount Rushmore, Trump said Iran was “dying to settle” after months of military pressure and declared the U.S. had given Tehran “a week off for a funeral because we’re nice.”

Trump did not elaborate on what the pause entailed, but U.S. and Iranian officials had delayed negotiations until after the conclusion of Khamenei’s multi-day funeral procession, which is scheduled to end with his burial in Mashhad.

Monday’s attack on commercial shipping raises fresh questions about whether the diplomatic opening Trump described can survive renewed hostilities in one of the world’s most strategically important waterways.

Iran has insisted it should play a leading role in managing traffic through the Strait of Hormuz and has sought to collect fees from commercial vessels transiting the strategic waterway. The Trump administration has rejected that position, insisting the strait remain open to free international navigation.

In recent days, Iran warned that commercial tankers using routes not approved by Iranian authorities would face a “forceful response,” and the latest strike comes after multiple attacks on commercial shipping since the U.S.-Iran conflict began earlier this year.

The latest attacks are the newest test of the fragile ceasefire established under a memorandum of understanding signed in June that launched a 60-day negotiating period aimed at reaching a broader peace agreement between Washington and Tehran. The accord called for reopening the strait during the negotiations and an end to military operations while the two sides negotiated a final deal.

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On June 25, Iran attacked the Singapore-flagged cargo ship M/V Ever Lovely with a one-way drone while it was transiting the Strait of Hormuz along the Omani coast, prompting U.S. retaliatory strikes on Iranian missile, drone and coastal radar sites. U.S. Central Command called the attack “a clear violation of the ceasefire.”

Commercial traffic through the Strait of Hormuz had begun to recover in recent days following the U.S.-Iran ceasefire, though shipping remained well below historical levels. Ship-tracking firm Kpler reported daily traffic had stabilized at roughly 30 to 60 vessel crossings, down from around 140 per day prior to the U.S. offensive against Iran known as Operation Epic Fury.

President Donald Trump said Tuesday he plans to lift U.S. sanctions on Turkey and signaled he is prepared to move forward with the long-stalled sale of F-35 stealth fighter jets, marking a dramatic reversal in U.S. policy toward the NATO ally years after Ankara was expelled from the program for its purchase of a Russian missile defense system.

Speaking alongside Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan during a bilateral meeting at the NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey, Tuesday, Trump said his administration would remove sanctions imposed on Turkey’s defense sector.

“I can tell you we’re going to be taking the sanctions off, OK?” Trump said. “I don’t want him to waste his time answering that question. It’s time. We don’t sanction friends.”

TRUMP BETS ON FORMER NATO TROUBLEMAKER AS TURKEY’S STRATEGIC VALUE SURGES

Asked whether he would sell F-35 fighter jets to Turkey despite existing legal restrictions tied to Ankara’s purchase of the Russian-made S-400 air defense system, Trump indicated he was open to doing so.

“Many people, including the people sitting right here think why wouldn’t we do that?” Trump said. “Turkey has been in many ways much more loyal than other countries that we think would be loyal.”

Pressed on concerns about Turkey’s continued possession of the S-400, Trump dismissed them.

“I have no concerns about anything.”

The remarks represent Trump’s clearest indication yet that he intends to restore defense ties with Turkey, building on months of efforts to revive military cooperation with one of NATO’s largest armed forces after years of strained relations.

Turkey was removed from the multinational F-35 program in 2019 after taking delivery of the Russian-made S-400 air defense system, prompting Washington to argue that operating the Kremlin-built system alongside America’s most advanced stealth fighter could expose sensitive U.S. technology. Congress subsequently imposed sanctions under the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act, or CAATSA.

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Congress long has been one of the biggest obstacles to restoring Turkey’s access to the F-35, with bipartisan lawmakers arguing that Ankara should not receive America’s most advanced fighter aircraft while it continues to possess the Russian-made S-400 air defense system and pursues policies they say run counter to U.S. interests.

Beyond political opposition, the Trump administration also faces legal hurdles. 

While the president has authority over sanctions policy, Congress enacted additional restrictions after Turkey’s purchase of the S-400. Section 1245 of the fiscal year 2020 National Defense Authorization Act bars the transfer of F-35 aircraft to Turkey unless the executive branch certifies that Ankara has met statutory requirements related to the Russian missile system.

In recent days, a bipartisan group of House lawmakers urged Trump not to move forward with an F-35 sale, arguing that doing so without satisfying those legal requirements would violate U.S. law and undermine national security. 

Lawmakers also have warned that Turkey’s continued possession of the S-400, support for Hamas and tensions with fellow NATO allies Greece and Cyprus raise broader concerns about restoring Ankara’s access to the stealth fighter.

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The Pentagon has maintained that the S-400’s sophisticated radar could collect data on the F-35’s radar signature and electronic profile during routine operations, potentially allowing Russia to better detect and defeat the aircraft in a future conflict if that information were shared with Moscow.

When the Trump administration removed Turkey from the F-35 program in 2019, the White House said “the F-35 cannot coexist with a Russian intelligence collection platform that will be used to learn about its advanced capabilities.” 

Pentagon acquisition chief Ellen Lord similarly warned at the time that allowing Turkey to operate both systems would jeopardize the long-term security of the F-35 program because “much of the F-35’s strength lies in its stealth capabilities.”

After Maine U.S. Senate candidate Graham Platner was accused of drunkenly raping a woman, a litany of progressive Democrats are tucking tail and heading for the hills as their ringing endorsements of the continuously embattled candidate come back to haunt them.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., said at an April rally that Platner is, “My kind of man.”

She issued a statement Monday night after allegations emerged that Platner drunkenly raped 41-year-old Maine resident Jenny Racicot in 2021.

“Now more than ever we need leaders in Washington who reflect our values. There can be no tolerance for sexual assault,” Warren’s statement said.

“Working families are counting on Democrats to win the Senate election in Maine to unrig our economy and hold Donald Trump accountable. With so much at stake, the best path forward is for Graham Platner to step aside as the Democratic nominee and address these serious allegations outside this Senate race.”

WATCH: DEM SENATORS EXCUSE PLATNER’S CONDUCT AT CRISIS HUDDLE WITH EMBATTLED MAINE CANDIDATE

A spokesperson for Warren did not answer specific questions about whether the senator regretted backing Platner, who has not dropped out of the race as of Tuesday morning, through his numerous prior scandals.

Progressives supported Platner despite a months-long series of damning scandals, including the revelation that the candidate had a Nazi-linked tattoo on his chest. He was also exposed for infidelity to his wife, making lewd Reddit comments about masturbating in portable toilets on a now-deleted account and mocking a Purple Heart veteran.

He also faced accusations last month of physical misconduct and violence against an ex-girlfriend who was then smeared as a conservative political operative.

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., has so far been silent on the rape allegations. In a June statement, he said he would “do everything I can to make sure that Graham Platner is the next Senator from the state of Maine.” That could now be put to the test.

The left-wing commentariat played a massive role in propping Platner up.

Fox News Digital reached out to Sanders’ office for comment, but did not hear back at time of publishing.

TOP PLATNER ALLY TURNS ON HIM AFTER BOMBSHELL RAPE ALLEGATION ROCKS CAMPAIGN: ‘RED LINE’

Former Obama aides Jon Favreau, Jon Lovett, Dan Pfeiffer and Tommy Vietor, who now host the “Pod Save America” podcast, were chief among those supporting Platner’s rise in the Democratic Party.

“Graham Platner isn’t just our best and only chance to beat Susan Collins, he’s a good, decent man who’s struggled and grown and is always trying to do better,” Favreau said on X in April, well after the Reddit post and Nazi tattoo scandals.

Favreau changed his tune Monday night.

“Platner needs to drop out ASAP – these are awful, credible allegations,” he posted. “Said on the pod after the (also credible) June NYT story that his biggest problem going forward would be credibility. It’s now abundantly clear that he just hasn’t been honest about his past and can’t be trusted as a candidate for office.”

Vietor defended Platner after Rep. Jake Auchincloss, D-Mass., who is Jewish, condemned the candidate’s Nazi-linked tattoo and Reddit posts as “disqualifying” in May.

SANDERS CAUGHT ON CAMERA SNAPPING AT REPORTER OVER PLATNER’S POSTS: ‘GET A BETTER JOB’

“Have you called or met with him to discuss it?” Vietor asked Auchincloss on X.

Vietor had also interviewed Platner after those scandals.

But he, too, reversed course on Monday night.

“This story is really bad, well-documented and credible, and obviously the right course of action for Platner is to drop out as soon as possible so that Maine democrats can get a replacement on the ballot,” he said.

Pfeiffer followed suit.

“The allegations against Graham Platner are well-documented, very credible, and highly disturbing. He should drop out ASAP,” he said, on X.

Lovett didn’t make a statement, but posted a clip of Monday’s episode of “Pod Save America,” where despite his apology, Vietor jumped straight back to politics and remarked that he was, “very worried now about the prospect of winning this seat” but said the Democratic Party, “could ultimately be in a stronger place politically.”

Fox News Digital reached out to Crooked Media, the parent company of “Pod Save America,” but did not hear back.

PLATNER’S LATEST ACCUSER CLAIMS THE DEMOCRATIC SENATE CANDIDATE ‘ABSOLUTELY’ RAPED HER

Some not only failed to condemn Platner, but instead took offensive positions.

“Graham Platner may drop out. (I hope he doesn’t, but.) Meanwhile, the Abuser in Chief just keeps on keepin’ on,” author Stephen King wrote on X, referring to allegations against President Donald Trump over the years.

King followed-up with another post claiming everyone in politics in Washington, D.C. is corrupt.

“Tell you what–if you knew the whole truth about everyone in the Senate and House of Reps, those chambers would be dead empty. Jesus said, ‘Let him without sin cast the first stone.'”

Far-left media personality Cenk Uygur of The Young Turks spent much of Monday blaming everyone but Platner for the scandal, including the media and the “Israeli lobby.”

“Congratulations to national media on politically assassinating Graham Platner,” he said in one post. “If he drops out and Democratic Party tries to give us two candidates who are both for Israel and corporate pacs [sic], they’ll face a revolt like they’ve never seen. Days of bull—- false choices are over.”

Fox News Digital reached out to Uygur.

Ryan Grim, formerly of The Intercept, spent ages defending Platner online.

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“Democrats need people like Platner if they are going to come to terms with the true nature of our country, with what we have done to people at home and abroad, and pull together the coalition needed to heal and reshape it,” he said in a June post regarding an opinion piece that promoted Platner.

He reported on X Monday night that Platner “lost his base,” but did not address the rape allegations or his support for the candidate directly.

Grim did not return a Fox News Digital comment request.

Others prominent Democrats who abandoned the Platner ship include Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee Chair Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y.

President Donald Trump escalated his public feud with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, further fueling a rift between the two leaders in the lead up to the NATO summit in Turkey this week. 

“RESTRAINING ORDER NEEDED,” Trump posted on Truth Social Sunday alongside a photo of Meloni looking at him.

Trump landed in Ankara, Turkey, on Tuesday for the NATO summit, where Meloni is also in attendance. The two leaders have long had a warmer relationship than Trump has shared with many other U.S. allies, with Meloni notably the only European leader to attend his 2025 presidential inauguration.

A spat began in June, however, after Trump said Meloni “begged” him to take a photo at the G7. Meloni pushed back on the claim. 

RUBIO MEETS MELONI AS TRUMP–POPE CLASH CLASH ESCALATES US STRAINS WITH KEY EUROPEAN ALLY

“Trump’s statements against Meloni speak for themselves,” Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said Monday while at a Sky TG24 event. “We are convinced that transatlantic relations go far beyond individual statements.”

The latest exchange followed an earlier flashpoint at the G7 in June, when Trump mocked Meloni’s interest in taking a photo with him. 

“She wanted a picture with me so ​badly. I wouldn’t have taken it, but I felt sorry for her,” Trump said at the time to La7 TV channel. “She’s probably happy I talked to her. I didn’t have to talk to her.”

Meloni fired back: “I can only say it is disappointing that he does not show the same determination with the enemies of the West and of the United States, whose leaders he instead treats with far greater indulgence.”

TRUMP’S PERSONAL FEUDS WITH ALLIES FROM ITALY TO ISRAEL REVEAL HOW PERSONALITY DRIVES HIS FOREIGN POLICY

“There is one thing he should remember: neither I nor Italy ever beg,” she added.

While there is no U.S.-Italy bilateral meeting scheduled in Turkey this week, Trump and Meloni may rub shoulders at the NATO leaders’ dinner, plenary sessions, and leaders’ gatherings.

There have been looming tensions between the two leaders after Meloni distanced herself from the U.S. amid mounting domestic and political pressure over the widening Middle East conflict.

Trump also criticized Meloni for failing to assist the U.S. without letting U.S. forces use Italy’s landing strips and runways, calling it “a great logistical inconvenience.”

“She is doing poorly in Italy with her level of popularity, possibly because she turned down the United States of America, a Country that truly loves and protects Italy, when it came to denying Iran from obtaining or developing a Nuclear Weapon (But so did NATO, for that matter!),” he wrote.

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Italy remains a key U.S. security hub in Europe, hosting nearly 13,000 active-duty American troops across six bases as of the end of 2025.

A spokesperson for Meloni declined to comment when contacted by Fox News Digital. Fox News Digital also reached out to the White House for comment.

With just under four months to go until this year’s midterm elections, a top Senate Republican remains confident of the GOP’s chances.

Sen. Tim Scott, the chair of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, recently told Fox News Digital this spring that he’s “incredibly optimistic” the GOP can not only hold but expand its current 53–47 majority in the upper chamber.

But his counterpart at the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, is equally confident her party can flip control of the Senate, telling Fox News Digital earlier this year she sees “all the makings of a blue wave” heading into November.

CRUCIAL SENATE BATTLE ROCKED AFTER MAJOR PLAYER DROPS OUT OF RACE

Republicans — as the party currently in power — were already up against traditional political headwinds that led to a loss of congressional seats during midterm election years. Add to that the challenging climate fueled by persistent inflation, high gas prices tied to what polls show is an unpopular war with Iran and President Donald Trump’s underwater approval ratings. It’s all a perfect storm that spells unfavorable outcomes for the GOP.

But Democrats have problems of their own as they try to win back control of the Senate, including a party brand that public opinion polling indicates is extremely unpopular.

Add to that high-profile victories this spring and summer by left-wing and socialist candidates over establishment rivals in Democratic primaries that are giving Republicans extra ammunition to portray all Democrats as extremists, or as Trump calls them, “communists.”

Here’s a look at a dozen competitive Senate seats in play that could potentially flip the balance of power in the chamber.

North Carolina

Republicans are defending an open seat in the southeast battleground state, with GOP Sen. Thom Tillis retiring at the end of this year.

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The GOP is rallying around former Republican National Committee (RNC) Chair Michael Whatley, who has Trump’s backing after serving alongside the president’s daughter-in-law and Fox News host Lara Trump in the lead up to the 2024 election.

Democrats, meanwhile, landed their top recruit when former two-term Gov. Roy Cooper launched a Senate campaign last summer. Cooper enjoys tons of name recognition in North Carolina and is 6-0 when it comes to running statewide races.

North Carolina voted for Trump for his second term, but the top nonpartisan political handicapper, Cook Political Report, rates the race Lean Democrat, with Inside Elections ranking it as a toss up.

Maine

Moderate Republican Sen. Susan Collins is running for re-election for a sixth six-year term in blue-leaning Maine.

Collins is the only Republican senator running for re-election this year in a state that then-Vice President Kamala Harris carried in her 2024 presidential election bid against Trump. And Collins has seen a deterioration of her poll numbers among Mainers from her last re-election six years ago.

But the longtime senator, who has been a top DSCC target for multiple election cycles, has proven tough to beat.

And she could prevail again as her Democratic challenger, nominee Graham Platner, is facing calls from top Democrats in his home state and in Washington to immediately end his campaign, in the wake of an explosive report on Monday afternoon that contained an allegation of rape from a woman he previously dated.

The Marine Corps veteran and oyster farmer who had been backed by top progressive champions, including Sens. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif, had already been facing for weeks GOP attacks over controversial comments he made over a decade ago on a now-deleted Reddit account, a well-publicized Nazi-linked tattoo on his chest, infidelity and allegations of sexual misconduct.

But hours after a report from Politico on the latest allegations went viral, longtime Senate Democratic Leader Sen. Chuck Schumer called them “incredibly disturbing – violence, abuse and sexual assault are absolutely unacceptable.”

In a statement with Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) Chair Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, Schumer emphasized, “Graham Platner needs to immediately withdraw as the Democratic nominee for Senate and allow Maine Democrats the opportunity to choose a new candidate who can defeat Susan Collins. The DSCC will not invest in the Maine Senate race if Platner remains on the ballot.”

If Platner quits the race by next Monday, July 13 at 5pm local time, the Maine Democratic Party can replace him on the general election ballot by selecting a new nominee through its party process, with the replacement required to be chosen by July 27.

Michigan

The GOP is also aiming to flip an open seat in the battleground state of Michigan, where Democrat Sen. Gary Peters is retiring.

Former Rep. Mike Rogers, who won the 2024 GOP Senate nomination in Michigan but narrowly lost to Rep. Elissa Slotkin, is making a second straight bid and is the all-but-certain Republican nominee.

Democrats are dealing with a titanic two-way fight between center-left Rep. Haley Stevens, who is backed by Senate Minority Leader Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and former Wayne County Health Department Director Abdul El-Sayed, a left-wing candidate endorsed by Sanders and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y.

The primary battle, which until Sunday also included progressive state Sen. Mallory McMorrow, has already exposed numerous Democratic Party divisions and provided Rogers, who is backed by Trump, with plenty of ammunition.

Michigan’s primary will be held on August 4.

Ohio

Democrats scored a major recruiting victory last year when former Sen. Sherrod Brown announced he would challenge Republican Sen. Jon Husted.

A former lieutenant governor, Husted was appointed to the Senate a year ago after then-Sen. JD Vance stepped down to serve as vice president to Trump.

Ohio, once a premier general election battleground, has turned solidly red over the past decade, and Democrats view Brown as their only competitive candidate in the race to serve the remaining two years of Vance’s term.

Brown lost re-election in 2024 by roughly four points while Trump carried Ohio by 11 points.

The Cook Report and fellow nonpartisan ranker Sabato’s Crystal Ball rate the race as a toss-up, with Inside Elections ranking it as tilt Republican.

New Hampshire

Republicans see another flip opportunity in New Hampshire, where a long-held Democratic Senate seat in New England’s only swing state is opening thanks to the retirement of Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, who is the first woman in U.S. history to be elected governor and senator.

Four-term Rep. Chris Pappas is expected to capture the Democratic Senate nomination in the state’s early September primary.

There’s a primary race on the Republican side between two former senators seeking a return to Capitol Hill.

Former Sen. John E. Sununu, an older brother to former Gov. Chris Sununu, has the backing of the president and has a double-digit lead in public polling. But Trump’s first-term ambassador to New Zealand, former Sen. Scott Brown, remains in the race.

Alaska

Democrats were given a big boost in the red-leaning state when former Rep. Mary Peltola announced in February that she would challenge GOP incumbent Sen. Dan Sullivan.

Peltola lost re-election in 2024 in the at-large district that covers the entire state by three points, while Trump carried Alaska by 11 points.

Meanwhile, there’s a court battle ongoing over the Senate bid by another Dan Sullivan, a former teacher who announced his campaign in May and recently registered as a Republican.

Georgia

Republicans view first-term Sen. Jon Ossoff as the most vulnerable Democrat seeking re-election in 2026.

The Peach State is a true battleground swing state.

Georgians voted for Joe Biden to be president in the 2020 elections, but then swung red to vote for Trump for a second term in 2024. From 2005 until 2020, the state had two Republicans representing them in the U.S. Senate before electing two Democrats to go to Washington, D.C. when Trump’s first term ended.

Ossoff, first elected in that 2020 race, built a massive war chest while the GOP faced a nasty three-way primary battle for its nomination in the crucial sunbelt battleground state.

In November’s midterms, Ossoff will face Republican Rep. Mike Collins, who was backed by Trump days ahead of last month’s GOP primary runoff election.

While a recent Fox News poll indicated Ossoff holding a double-digit lead, Republicans plan to run an aggressive campaign against the senator.

Iowa

Republicans are defending an open seat in Iowa, a onetime swing state that’s shifted to the right over the past decade.

But the GOP rallied around Rep. Ashley Hinson, who is backed by Trump, in the race to succeed retiring Republican Sen. Joni Ernst.

Hinson, a former local TV news anchor who flipped a Democratic-held seat in 2020, is seen as a rising star in the party.

State Rep. Josh Turek, a Paralympian, won a contested and expensive Democratic primary over more progressive state Sen. Zach Wahls.

Texas

State Rep. James Talarico is hoping to become the first Democrat since 1988 to win a U.S. Senate election in right-leaning Texas.

Talarico, who hauled in an eye-popping $27 million in fundraising the first three months of this year, defeated Rep. Jasmine Crockett in the March primary to secure the Democratic nomination.

The Democrat will face off in November against Trump-backed Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. 

The MAGA firebrand, carrying plenty of political baggage, ousted longtime Republican Sen. John Cornyn of Texas in an expensive and combustible GOP nomination battle that went into overtime.

Minnesota

The retirement of Democratic Sen. Tina Smith is giving the GOP hopes they can flip the seat in the blue-leaning state.

And Republicans landed what they say is a top-tier recruit in former NBC sports reporter turned conservative pundit and activist Michele Tafoya, who is part of a crowded GOP field in next month’s primary.

Minnesota Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, a progressive, is facing off against more moderate Democratic Rep. Angie Craig in the race for their party’s nomination.

Florida

Republican Sen. Ashley Moody, who as Florida’s attorney general was appointed by Gov. Ron DeSantis last year to fill the seat once held by now-Secretary of State Marco Rubio, is on a glide path to the GOP nomination in next month’s primary.

Moody will likely face off in November against Democratic challenger Alex Vindman, a retired Army lieutenant colonel, whistleblower in the 2019 Trump-Ukraine controversy and brother of Rep. Eugene Vindman.

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Polling in recent months suggests a competitive race between Moody and Vindman in right-leaning Florida.

Nebraska

Republican incumbent Sen. Pete Ricketts, a former governor, is seeking a full six-year term in the Senate representing red-leaning Nebraska.

He’ll face off in the midterms with former union leader Dan Osborn, an independent candidate who is making his second straight run for the Senate.

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Democratic nominee and former pharmacy technician Cindy Burbank is likely to drop out of the race and support Osborn in the general election.

Federal lawyers are leaving the Trump administration and landing in Democratic state attorneys general’s offices in large numbers as blue states ramp up their legal fight against the president’s second-term agenda, a Fox News Digital review found.

Employment data analyzed by the New York Times indicates that more than 10,000 federal attorneys — approximately one-fifth of all lawyers employed by the federal government — have left their posts since 2025 began. Of these, a Fox News Digital review identified well over 100 who have since begun working for Democratic attorneys general’s offices, with legal filings showing that some of those lawyers are now involved in cases challenging the Trump administration.

Fox News Digital reviewed public LinkedIn profiles, state staff directories, statements from public officials and court filings to identify attorneys who left federal service after January 2025 and later appeared in Democratic attorneys general’s offices or relevant litigation records. The review does not establish why any individual attorney left federal service or joined a state office.

The true number of federal attorneys who have moved to Democratic attorneys general offices under the second Trump administration is likely higher, given that public LinkedIn accounts are not ubiquitous among federal workers.

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“Oregon DOJ is a destination for some of the most talented public servants in the country, including experienced lawyers from the U.S. Department of Justice who are choosing to bring their skills to serve Oregonians at the state level,” Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield, a Democrat, told Fox News Digital. “They’re already making a difference — on consumer protection, federal overreach cases, criminal justice, environmental protection and on litigation like our National Guard case.”

As Rayfield alluded to, many of the attorneys who left federal service after January 2025 have since worked directly on cases aimed at combating the Trump administration. Court filings reviewed by Fox News Digital uncovered scores of individuals who previously worked as lawyers under the Trump administration whose names now appear on legal actions taken against it. 

These include a lawsuit filed by Massachusetts opposing the Trump administration’s efforts to restrict transgender healthcare for minors, a suit filed by California challenging its termination of research grants, an amicus brief filed by Democratic attorneys general in a case seeking to stop Trump from firing FTC commissioners, and multiple cases seeking to rein in the president’s National Guard deployments, among others. 

Even those whose names don’t directly appear on filings can help Democratic attorneys general challenge major pieces of Trump’s agenda and defend state-level policies contrary to the president’s interests.

Many of these lawsuits featured multiple teams of lawyers representing a host of different Democratic states. Democratic attorneys general have publicly disclosed that close cooperation between fellow blue states is a key part of their strategy to resist the Trump administration.

INSTEAD OF IMPEACHMENT, DEMS ARE USING ARTICLE II CHALLENGES TO IMPEDE TRUMP THIS TIME

Speaking to The Guardian in March, Democratic attorneys general disclosed that they have been meeting regularly since 2024 to discuss how they can best resist the Trump administration through joint lawsuits and public engagement. Staff from Democratic attorneys general’s offices reportedly communicate daily regarding how they can hold the federal government to account, discussing items such as which state should lead a given case.

“I’m really proud to be part of this [attorney general] — and, of course, Democratic [attorney general] — coalition that is doing the work every single day to protect our rights, and most importantly, the rule of law,” Massachusetts state Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell said at a press conference in June 2025. “We can’t take our sight off of that.”

California’s attorney general, meanwhile, called the cross-state collaboration “critical.”

Federal lawyers working in the areas of civil rights, immigration, environmental law, public corruption and antitrust were overrepresented among those who left to work for Democratic attorneys general. 

Government employees generally fall into two camps: career civil servants who are intended to carry out nonpartisan work on behalf of the government and political appointees who are granted greater leeway to work on explicitly political projects. The attorneys identified in Fox News Digital’s review overwhelmingly appear to have held career, rather than political, federal roles before joining Democratic-led state offices. 

Many of the lawyers leaving federal service are taking one, or even two, decades of service with them, constituting a significant transfer of legal talent from the national government to Democratic states.

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One such lawyer worked in the Justice Department for roughly 20 years, beginning as a legal intern and ultimately rising to the position of assistant general counsel, leading multiple teams of attorneys. Now, after leaving the DOJ in August 2025, the lawyer works as a senior assistant attorney general in Colorado, helping the state fight the Trump administration in disputes over federal grants.

They were far from the only high-profile departure under the second Trump administration.

Others who jumped ship included, but were not limited to, the assistant chief counsel at the Department of Health and Human Services, the director of transparency at the Department of Homeland Security, multiple U.S. attorneys’ office division chiefs and another near-20-year veteran of the DOJ who now leads the Maryland attorney general’s efforts to hold the Trump administration accountable.

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“Experienced federal prosecutors and lawyers from the U.S. Department of Justice are choosing state service, choosing Oregon, and choosing to fight for the people here,” Rayfield added. “We’re fortunate to have them joining the already incredibly talented, proven team here at the Oregon Department of Justice.”

A spokeswoman for New Jersey’s attorney general, meanwhile, told Fox News Digital that it recently added multiple members to its leadership team, including its new insurance fraud head, by recruiting federal lawyers. 

The timing marks a notable change from the first Trump administration, when some of the same attorneys who have since left then remained in federal service, though the reasons for individual departures vary and are not always publicly known.

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“In the Trump era, the conservative movement has become much less able to attract competent elites. Education polarization is a long-term phenomenon, but Trump’s populist style and policy platform has supercharged it, given his disproportionate appeal to the less educated,” political commentator Richard Hanania told Fox News Digital. “This matters, because intelligence and experience are important for any administration trying to achieve its goals.”

“Simply having people who agree with you isn’t enough,” he added.

Bloomberg Law reported in May that the exodus of federal attorneys was seriously harming the Trump administration’s ability to defend its immigration policies, with roughly a third of those in the Office of Immigration Litigation — including many in senior roles with critical expertise — having left since January 2025.

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The Trump administration, however, denies that its efficiency has been rocked by the mass exit of lawyers.

“Even with a thousand fewer prosecutors than the previous administration, this Department has indicted nearly 50,000 more criminals than the previous administration had in the same timeframe,” a DOJ spokeswoman told Fox News Digital. “Our country has the lowest murder rate in 125 years, we’ve arrested more than 90 key cartel leaders, captured eight on the FBI’s Top 10 most wanted list, and removed millions of deadly doses of fentanyl from our streets — all on top of achieving a record 24 victories on the Supreme Court’s emergency docket.”

“These achievements are nothing short of astonishing, and they have all been accomplished even with the supposed ‘exodus’ of anti-Trump prosecutors the media idolize,” she added.

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While more than 10,000 federal attorneys have left government since January 2025, agencies have also hired roughly 3,200 attorneys during that period and the Trump administration has made multiple public pushes to encourage or recruit ideologically aligned lawyers to apply for roles. 

The bulk of the lawyers who have left federal service since Trump took office for a second time were at agencies such as the DOJ, the Department of Education and the Environmental Protection Agency. California, Maryland, New York and Colorado were some of their most common destinations after leaving the Trump administration.

“Those who were fired from the Department were fired for a reason. Those who resigned or took the fork in the road option likely aligned more with the priorities of President Biden and would naturally leave, which is common during transitions,” the DOJ spokeswoman continued. “The Administration gave career employees the fork in the road option to intentionally reduce the size of the government and eliminate unnecessary layers of staff who don’t effectively contribute to the mission of aggressively tackling crime.”

The White House referred Fox News Digital to a Truth Social post written by President Donald Trump where he claims that many of the lawyers who have departed from his administration were “Radical Left Deep State Lunatics, who are destroying our Country, and Weaponizing Government.”

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“This has allowed DOJ to run more efficiently and hire talented attorneys who wholeheartedly believe in our mission to keep the American people safe,” the spokeswoman said.

Fox News Digital reached out to every Democratic state attorney general’s office for comment.

A streamer who broadcasts to more than 1 million followers on a popular online platform set off a viral firestorm after invoking Mayor Zohran Mamdani‘s name as he declared Islam would take over New York City.

“Allahu Akbar!” the extremist internet personality Sneako yelled amidst a group of Egypt soccer fans while drums were banged and horns were blown. Egyptian flags waved among the crowd as they chanted along.

Sneako, whose real name is Nicolas Kenn De Balinthazy, has been described as a provocateur and palled around with the online antisemitic far-right during his rise to social media stardom. Before that, he was all-in on his support for the political far-left and supported the presidential campaign of socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., in 2016. He reportedly converted to Islam in 2023.

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But Friday night, after Egypt dethroned Australia in the World Cup, he may have made his most controversial splash yet while live broadcasting on the streets of New York City on the video streaming platform Kick.

Mockingly wiping tears from his eyes, Sneak said: “Oh no, oh no. F— you!”

“This is the Islamic Republic of New York-istan,” he continued. “Islam will be in every household. Inshallah the whole world will be Muslim.”

“Welcome to Mamdani’s New York. You see this city? You see how it looks? Inshallah, your city looks just like this too,” he shouted among the crowd.

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“Inshallah” is Arabic for “God willing,” and “Allahu Akbar” is Arabic for “God is great.”

Mamdani is the first Muslim mayor of New York.

The clip of Sneako quickly circulated the web, garnering tens of millions of views across platforms including Instagram and X, while thousands of people slammed him for the pronouncement.

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One of the sharpest replies came from Rob O’Neill, the Navy SEAL who killed Osama bin Laden in an early morning raid on the terrorist’s compound in 2011.

“These guys sound WAY different when you wake them up at 2am,” he said.

A pair of massive personalities on X, who have a history of bad blood, even teamed up to demand a harsh punishment for the streamer.

“Deport him NOW!!!” conspiracy theorist Alex Jones said in reply to the clip, which elicited a response from X owner and former Jones opponent Elon Musk.

“Yes,” Musk simply replied.

When Musk purchased X — then Twitter — and vowed the return of free speech to the platform, Jones had been permanently suspended. At first, Musk was hesitant to reinstate Jones given the Sandy Hook controversy that surrounded the radio show host. Eventually, however, Musk relented.

One X user labeled the streamer as a “Disgusting creature.”

“Send this dude to Iran if he hates America so much,” said another.

Sneako appeared to cryptically address the controversy in a post of his own on X Sunday night.

“Every knee will bow,” he posted. “Every tongue confess.”

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On Monday, he took a shot at Musk for echoing Jones’ deportation post.

“Go back to Africa,” he told Musk, who is native to South African. “This is my country.”

Mamdani’s office did not return Fox News Digital’s request for comment on Sneako’s comments.

Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga., is being accused by Georgia’s top child welfare official of using vulnerable children and the state’s embattled foster care system for campaign credit after releasing a new ad touting his work on the state’s troubled system.

Georgia Division of Family & Children Services (DFCS) Director Candice Broce criticized the new foster care-focused ad released last week as the Georgia Democrat seeks re-election in one of the nation’s most closely watched races. In the ad, titled “Our Kids,” Ossoff highlights “a scathing report” and “yearlong bipartisan investigation” alongside Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., into the Georgia foster care system. 

Ossoff presents his probe and new legislation as part of his record protecting children and holding the system accountable. However, Broce says the Democrat is overstating his role and turning a serious child welfare issue into a political victory lap.

“For five years, I’ve been in the trenches fighting for vulnerable children and foster care reform alongside thousands of DFCS workers. Trust us when we say Jon Ossoff is nowhere to be found,” Broce said in a post on X. “Ossoff didn’t get more funding for DFCS after calling us incompetent and resource-strapped. He didn’t secure more federal support for child advocacy centers despite the State’s requests.”

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“He didn’t fix federal law putting group homes out of business,” she continued. “He hasn’t streamlined adoptions for kids placed with loving families. Jon’s ad sounds great, but his words are meaningless to the men and women in the arena.”

Ossoff’s team fired back, however, calling Broce an “unqualified partisan political hack” and accusing her of “dangerous incompetence.” They pointed to Ossoff’s oversight work highlighted in the advertisement that Broce criticizes, which the spokesperson said found children in Georgia’s foster care system were likely sex trafficked while in state care, among other issues. 

“The Office of the Child Advocate, juvenile court judges, former foster children, nonpartisan advocates, investigative reporting, and Senator Ossoff’s yearlong investigation have laid bare the deep and dangerous dysfunction at DFCS,” an Ossoff campaign spokesperson told Fox News Digital.

The campaign also cited testimony from juvenile court judges who accused Broce of suggesting that children with special needs be held in juvenile detention while DFCS searched for placements. Broce has denied the allegations, describing them as politically motivated and arguing they distort a broader discussion about how to keep foster youth with complex behavioral issues, runaway histories and trafficking risks safe amid placement shortages.

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“Candice Broce is a partisan political hack irresponsibly placed in charge of care for the state’s most vulnerable kids,” the Ossoff spokesperson said. “Instead of whining that her dangerous incompetence was made public, she should fix her broken agency.”

Broce rejected the attacks on her qualifications, pointing to her background as a health care attorney, former chief deputy executive counsel and chief operating officer to Gov. Brian Kemp, and saying roughly 40 state agencies, including DFCS, reported to her in that role. 

At the same time, she did not dispute that Georgia’s foster care system has faced serious challenges, but argued Ossoff used those problems for hearings, reports and campaign messaging without delivering meaningful help to fix them.

“If you’re going to beat us down, show up with something to make it better,” Broce said. “He didn’t do that.” 

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Broce said Ossoff could have used his federal role to pursue resources on Medicaid, behavioral health access and placement capacity, rather than simply spotlighting DFCS failures.

“What’s actually bipartisan is the over $100 million in state funds we’ve gotten from Republican and Democrat legislators who support the issues we’re tackling and believe we deserve more resources,” Broce said. “If he decides today that he actually wants to help us and vulnerable Georgia kids, we’d welcome him with open arms.”

However, Ossoff’s team contests it is not even “Senator Ossoff’s job to fix the state agency [Broce] leads” in the first place, and said Broce was whining that “it’s Senator Ossoff’s job to fix the state agency she leads.”  

“While Sen. Ossoff led oversight, passed an anti-trafficking law, and helped save foster care funding President Trump cut, unqualified partisan hack Broce whines it’s Senator Ossoff’s job to fix the state agency she leads,” Ossoff’s representatives told Fox News Digital.

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Broce’s criticism of Ossoff included a contrast between his record and that of Georgia’s other U.S. Senator, Democrat Raphael Warnock. Broce called the difference “stark,” pointing to Warnock’s community events for vulnerable mothers and children and adoption-related measures as examples of practical support she says Ossoff has not delivered.

“Compare his child welfare record to Warnock’s. It’s crystal clear which U.S. Senator from Georgia cares about vulnerable families and kids, and it’s not Jon,” Broce said in her X post.

Ossoff, who ran unopposed for the Democratic nomination, is seeking a second term in November against Rep. Mike Collins, R-Ga., who won the Republican nomination after defeating former football coach Derek Dooley in a mid-June GOP runoff election. Warnock will not face reelection again until 2028.

President Donald Trump is arriving at the Turkey-held NATO summit with fresh frustration toward several European allies for their responses to the U.S.-led operations against Iran, opening a new front in his long-running campaign to pressure the alliance over burden-sharing.

The summit, which takes place Tuesday and Wednesday in Ankara, Turkey, is expected to focus on defense spending, Ukraine and NATO’s long-term strategy toward Russia. 

But it will bring Trump face to face with some of his biggest foes in NATO, including Spain, whose Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has called the U.S. war in Iran “illegal, absurd and cruel.”

U.S. Ambassador to NATO Matthew Whitaker said Wednesday that Trump remains “disappointed” by allies that declined to allow U.S. forces to use military bases or overflight rights during the operation, as well as by political statements criticizing the strikes.

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“The president has expressed disappointment in both a couple of our allies’ unwillingness to support us using our bases in their countries,” Whitaker said. “And, as importantly, he’s also incredibly disappointed in the political statements that came out around the time of the launch of Epic Fury.” 

The disagreements are expected to loom over a summit where Trump will once again press allies to increase defense spending, while also raising broader questions about whether NATO members are prepared to back the United States during conflicts beyond the alliance’s traditional focus on Europe.

Trump’s frustration has been evident publicly as well. 

Ahead of the summit, he said he was attending largely because of his relationship with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, while again criticizing some NATO allies over defense spending and questioning their commitment to the alliance.

“Except for the fact that it was being held in Turkey by President Erdogan, I don’t think I would have gone to it,” Trump told reporters at the White House June 24.

During the same appearance, he renewed criticism of Spain and other NATO allies over their refusal to support U.S. operations against Iran, declaring, “There’s a problem with Spain.”

Whitaker said the operation also highlighted disparities in military capabilities across the alliance, noting that while some NATO members possess “exquisite capabilities,” others lack the capacity to contribute meaningfully to a large-scale U.S.-led military operation.

The administration’s frustration stems from a series of decisions by European allies during Operation Epic Fury. 

The United Kingdom initially declined to allow U.S. forces to launch strikes against Iran from British bases before later reversing course after Iranian attacks escalated. Spain denied the use of its territory and airspace for combat operations while Sánchez publicly criticized the U.S.-led campaign.

Italy also sought to distance itself from the operation, insisting U.S. flights from bases on Italian soil were limited to logistical support rather than combat missions, while Germany served as a key logistics hub but stopped short of publicly endorsing the military campaign.

European governments defended their positions by citing domestic legal constraints and concerns about being drawn into a wider Middle East conflict. Britain later allowed U.S. strikes after initially withholding approval, while Spain continued opposing the campaign, Italy restricted its support to noncombat operations and Germany limited its role to logistics.

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Several allies later agreed to support maritime security operations aimed at restoring commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, but administration officials say the initial reluctance to back the U.S. campaign continues to shape Trump’s view heading into the summit.

While the Middle East is not expected to dominate the formal agenda, they underscore broader questions Trump is bringing to Turkey about burden-sharing and whether NATO allies are prepared to back the United States beyond the alliance’s traditional focus on Europe.

The tensions over Iran build on years of Trump’s criticism of NATO, which he has repeatedly accused of relying too heavily on the U.S. During both his first and second terms, Trump has questioned whether Washington should continue defending allies that fail to meet spending commitments and has at times floated withdrawing from the alliance altogether.

“If they don’t pay, I’m not going to defend them,” Trump said March 6. “If the United States was in trouble and we called them … you think they’re going to come and protect us? They’re supposed to. I’m not so sure.”

Trump is expected to use the summit to press allies to meet NATO’s new benchmark of spending 5% of GDP on defense.

“The United States spends more money on NATO than any other country, by far, to protect them, without getting any benefit from so doing,” he wrote on Truth Social Thursday.

Whitaker suggested the administration increasingly views burden-sharing as extending beyond defense budgets alone.

“We believe that those that are doing more should get benefits from doing more,” he said.

Whitaker confirmed the administration was considering countermeasures for allies that don’t meet defense spending goals. He added that countries contributing more could receive advantages ranging from priority in defense procurement to greater engagement with U.S. leaders.

While the summit is expected to focus publicly on defense spending, Ukraine and NATO’s long-term strategy toward Russia, analysts say the fallout from Operation Epic Fury is likely to shape private conversations between Trump and several European leaders.

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Former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense Ian Brzezinski said during a press briefing the recent conflict has created “two scorecards on the table” for the summit— NATO’s traditional priorities of strengthening deterrence against Russia and Trump’s assessment of which allies proved most supportive of the United States during the Iran conflict.

“We have low expectations because of the issues not on the agenda, but that are driving the atmospherics,” Torey Taussig, director of the Transatlantic Security Initiative at the Atlantic Council, said.

FIRST ON FOX: A scathing whistleblower letter alleges corruption inside New York City’s powerful hotel workers union, including claims that union leaders accepted gifts from hotel executives, manipulated lease arrangements and improperly influenced union business in a culture of quid pro quo dealings — claims that were corroborated by union sources who spoke with Fox News Digital.

The letter, reviewed by Fox News Digital, asserts that top officials within the New York Hotel Trades Council and UNITE HERE Local 6, including President Richard Maroko, participated in actions that violated internal policies, fiduciary obligations and possibly federal law. The union denies all allegations of impropriety and organized two internal investigations carried out by third-party lawyers who found the whistleblower’s claims to be unsubstantiated.

Fox News Digital spoke with the whistleblower and multiple sources with knowledge of the union’s inner dealings but is not identifying them by name due to fear of retaliation.

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“Mr. Maroko had personal knowledge of, and either directly participated or directed others to misappropriate millions of dollars of retail income,” the letter states. “He accepted and allowed his Elected Officers to accept gifts of Hotel Rooms, Liquor, Gourmet Food and Electronic Items from Hotel Officials on a Quid Pro Quo System.”

‘Completely tossed’

A source with intimate knowledge of union operations told Fox News Digital that there was a sudden shift in HTC’s culture after Maroko ascended to the presidency in fall 2020.

“For 25 years, maybe 24 years, there was a standard then that was really adhered to. [The former president] was very disciplined about it as far as receiving gifts and what you did and didn’t do,” the source, who has decades of experience working with the union, said. “And the past five years when the new president came in, that was completely tossed.”

“Pretty soon,” the source said, referring to when the rules were relaxed when Maroko took over. “It wasn’t like they flipped the switch, but… it just wasn’t important to him. I brought a bunch of things to his attention that he just wasn’t interested [in].”

Crain’s New York Business reported in June that the Hotel Association of New York City, a trade group representing hotel interests, retained former Southern District of New York public corruption chief Brendan McGuire to investigate allegations contained in the letter.

“Two exhaustive, independent investigations, including one by a former federal prosecutor, have concluded that these anonymous claims are frivolous, lack any factual basis, and were clearly an attempt to derail contract negotiations between the union and hotel management,” HTC spokesman Austin Shafran told Fox News Digital. “Thankfully, these efforts failed as our union secured the best contract in its history that will provide unprecedented wage increases and benefits to tens of thousands of hotel workers. Nothing will ever deter the union from working every day to better the lives of our members and their families.”

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Key components of the letter are supported by documents and accounts from multiple individuals with firsthand knowledge and insight into the day-to-day operations inside the union’s 8th Avenue headquarters in New York City, a Fox News Digital review found.

The whistleblower letter alleges that hotel industry figures, including former Highgate labor executive Robert Lafferty and former Hyatt labor executive Michael Grosso, provided union officials with gifts including food, top-shelf liquor and electronic items.

The two investigations organized by the union, however, found no evidence of improper gift-giving.

Highgate is one of the largest lodging operators in the nation and Hyatt is a major hotel owner.

“Hyatt is committed to conducting business in a fair and ethical manner,” a Hyatt spokesperson told Fox News Digital in a statement. “As soon as we became aware of these allegations, we promptly engaged an independent third party to conduct a thorough investigation, which found the allegations to be unsubstantiated.”

The spokesperson added, “The individual departed Hyatt before these allegations were raised and no longer has any role with Hyatt.”

‘Hundreds of millions of dollars’

In addition to providing gifts to union officials, a former union leader told Fox News Digital that the duo of hotel executives served as “inside guys” who could keep HTC union leadership informed about what was going on in boardrooms so that they could protect their own power.

These favors, according to the longtime union leader, preceded contracts that benefited hotel owners to the detriment of workers.

“If I could cut away one department [from being unionized], you’re talking about millions of dollars per year over the life of a contract, and if Lafferty could deliver that to the owners, then what he’s now doing is changing the entire economic structure of hundreds of millions of dollars in a real estate transaction,” the former union leader told Fox News Digital.

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“The union’s ability to make your property profitable or not is all its leverage. So that’s the inside that’s what’s going on there,” they continued. “If you look at every time Lafferty made a deal with [Maroko] on one of these new properties, you’re going to see that all these weird deals are made where bargaining unit members are cut out. How come at your properties there’s no front desk agents? How come at your properties food and beverage isn’t under the union contract, but it is everywhere else?”

‘Eating lobster rolls at the union office’

Fox News Digital has reviewed photos that appear to show hotel industry figures or their associates entering union offices with shopping bags. Two people familiar with the union’s internal operations told Fox News Digital the gift-giving was not isolated and that accepting items from hotel management would have violated longstanding union norms and policies.

Two internal investigations conducted by third-party lawyers on behalf of the union could not corroborate claims of improper gift-giving made by the whistleblower.

The longtime union member and leader attested to an unusual relationship between Lafferty, Grosso and the HTC’s leadership when speaking with Fox News Digital.

“What I witnessed was Lafferty would come upstairs and have, like, really different access than most people,” the source said. “You don’t get buzzed in and meet me at the conference room. That doesn’t happen … This is like the count room in a casino. You don’t just get to walk around.”

The source explained that allowing someone like Lafferty to have such open access to union offices is unheard of as management and labor have conflicting interests, and access would enable the former to potentially outmaneuver the latter in negotiations. Union leadership, per the source, allowed Lafferty into their legal office, where he could have seen plans for organizational activity.

Fox News Digital could not independently confirm that Lafferty viewed union plans or that he used them in labor negotiations.

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The former union leader went on to explain that, while they initially thought Lafferty was simply “moving up in the world” with his frequent visits, they eventually noticed that he would often bring over luxury food items from an establishment operated by Highgate to share with union officials.

“In what universe does that look good, a bunch of union reps hanging out with management eating lobster rolls at the union office?” the source said.

Another source, who had worked with the union for decades, confirmed the former leader’s account.

“They had unfettered access to the building, which I couldn’t believe, they just came and went and that was just so like opposite of what we’re about and any business for that matter,” the source told Fox News Digital. “And they had unfettered access to the, I used to call it the Bermuda Triangle, they would go to legal, they would go to the union officials and they would go to [Maroko.]”

The HTC spokesman denied that there was anything unusual about the meetings.

“Yes, the union regularly meets with hotel management for negotiations and to resolve issues, and those individuals had no different access than any other hotel representative,” Shafran said.

The longtime union leader said that it is inappropriate for union officials to accept meals paid for by management as it may create an appearance of impropriety or amount to an illegal gift if not properly reported. Neither Grosso nor Lafferty have been convicted of illegal gift-giving as of publishing.

Photographs reviewed by Fox News Digital also appear to show Grosso carrying large shopping bags into union offices.

The HTC acknowledged the veracity of these photographs, but claimed that the bags only contained a pie, not expensive food and drink.

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Following his allegedly uncharacteristically cozy relationship with union leadership, Lafferty was given a job as the chief operating officer of HTC’s Health Benefit Fund, where he pulls in a total compensation of over $650,000 per year, according to the most recent financial disclosures.

“Lafferty underwent a rigorous background check and was supported equally by both union and management representatives, as well as the CEO of the Funds,” the HTC spokesman told Fox News Digital.

Before Lafferty left Highgate, the whistleblower’s letter alleges that Lafferty and Maroko pressured an arbitrator on the union’s independent conflict resolution board to render a decision favorable to Highgate. A federal district court later upheld the arbitrator’s rationale in the matter as well-grounded.

Maroko allegedly threatened the job of both the arbitrator and his son unless he ruled that Highgate would be absolved of monetary obligations to union members after it ceased managing a property, passing those obligations to the financial institution seeking to take over the hotel.

Maroko’s newly minted compensation package, worth nearly $1 million annually, has also come under scrutiny recently by the Center for Union Facts, an organization critical of labor unions. CUF argues that Maroko is using his members’ dues for self-enrichment.

Also in contention is Maroko’s decision to rent a building owned by UNITE HERE Local 6 to HTC at a rate allegedly far below what the space would go for on the open market. Maroko, who leads both labor entities, is accused of depriving UNITE HERE Local 6 of up to $3 million in rental revenue by allowing HTC to use its real estate at a severely discounted rate, according to the whistleblower letter.

Two sources told Fox News Digital that the lease was not approved by the union’s executive board.

“The lease was signed over 40 years ago and renewed over 20 years ago,” Shafran, the HTC spokesman, told Fox News Digital. “The current administration had nothing to do with this lease and, notwithstanding that, the terms are fully legal. The lease payments were accurately and routinely reported in public filings and consistent with applicable federal law.”

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‘No evidence’

Fox News Digital is also told that the union launched an in-house investigation into the letter, which it received months ago. Sources who spoke with Fox News Digital say it was a farce that dismissed the seriousness of the situation and left out key information while the union maintains the review clears it of any wrongdoing.

Vincent Pitta, the chairman of the law firm that conducted the first investigation, declined to comment on it, stating that it was “created after a preliminary and expedited review” of the whistleblower’s allegations pending the union’s retention of a former prosecutor to conduct another investigation. Pitta also said that the document “was a client-attorney privileged document which was stolen from our client’s offices.”

A copy of the union’s in-house investigation obtained by Fox News Digital claims that its lawyers questioned 16 people across 23 total interviews, reviewed reams of documents and found that the allegations within the whistleblower report were “completely devoid of merit” and “frivolous.”

The internal review purports to have found no evidence of internal gift-giving.

“We found no evidence during our investigation that supported the allegations that HTC and/or Local 6 officers accepted gifts of free hotel or discounted hotel rooms, expensive bottles of liquor, gourmet food or electronics from hotel management representatives,” the report reads. “This provision of a pie and other pastries by a hotel representative during business meetings with the Union did not constitute any improper conduct whatsoever on the part of any Union or hotel management representatives and is permissible under federal laws and regulations.”

Additionally, the review claims to have found that the allegedly below-market rental agreement offered to HTC was actually determined by a third-party firm and was thus not set by Maroko.

“Our investigation revealed that just two years ago, the lease between Local 6 and the Funds was re-negotiated based on a market value study conducted by an outside company retained by the Funds. The Funds’ management trustees then retained another outside company as an independent fiduciary to review all terms of the proposed, re-negotiated lease,” the union review claims.

Pitta declined to provide documentation showing how his firm came to these conclusions. 

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Regarding the arbitration process, the internal investigation claims that the whistleblower conflated two separate arbitration processes as one alleged scheme that involved highly technical questions and produced no damages or penalties, did not lead to later lender-liability awards and did not harm hotel lending. It also said all relevant witnesses denied coercion and that the arbitration process gave both sides a fair chance to present evidence, citing a federal court ruling.

“Because the [arbitrator] acted within the scope of his authority and did not exhibit a manifest disregard for the law or issue an Award that violates public policy, the Court finds that the Award should be confirmed,” a federal court wrote, explaining why it upheld the findings of the arbitration process.

One union source close to the situation who claims to have had direct knowledge of the alleged misconduct, however, told Fox News Digital that they were not interviewed as part of the internal probe.

“I kept on saying, ‘When are they going to interview me?’ and [Maroko] wanted no part of that. They wouldn’t interview me because, from the beginning, I explained to him that it’s all true,” they said.

Shafran, however, maintains that the whistleblower never came forward and thus could not be interviewed.

UNEARTHED FILING SHOWS TOP TEACHERS UNION FUNNELING MILLIONS TO FAR LEFT ORGS

The summary of a second internal investigation conducted by a third-party law firm obtained by Fox News Digital further maintains that the whistleblower’s letter is factually unfounded. Citing internal messages and interviews with union leadership, the investigation acknowledges that a hotel industry representative entered the union’s office, but maintained that the bag of purported gifts he brought only contained a “pie or cake.”

Additionally, the investigation purports to have interviewed three people involved in the arbitration dispute, all of whom denied foul play. The report concluded that the allegations may have been a plot to provide the hotel industry with leverage during labor negotiations.

A union representative declined to provide Fox News Digital with the primary source evidence supporting the findings of either of its investigations.

Fox News Digital reached out to Grosso and Lafferty for comment.

‘Not shocking’

A veteran hotel industry leader who has dealt extensively with HTC told Fox News Digital that the allegations detailed related to improper gift-giving in the whistleblower letter were “not shocking.” They did, however, call the allegations of arbitration tampering “surprising and alarming.”

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“It’s a letter, it’s not signed, it’s allegations, it’s not proof positive,” the industry veteran went on, speaking about the whistleblower letter generally. “But its allegations are alarming, and it should absolutely be looked into because if any or all of these are true, it’s a big deal.”

To date, the allegations made by whistleblowers have yet to be corroborated by any independent review or legal authority. Neither Grosso nor Lafferty have been charged with crimes connected to their alleged misconduct.