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The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has released $351.6 million to the Secret Service for “White House Security Measures,” all while President Donald Trump continues to advocate for a ballroom to be built where the East Wing used to be.

The funds were approved on Friday, with $340.8 million being put into an account called “Procurement, Construction, and Improvements.” The other $10.75 million will go toward an “Operations and Support” account, according to a database maintained by the OMB.

This money comes from a section of the One Big Beautiful Bill, passed last July through the budget reconciliation process, that gave $1.7 billion to the Secret Service. The law requires these funds to be used for personnel, training facilities, programming, technology, retention and signing bonuses for agents.

REPUBLICANS EYE PICKING UP $400M TAB FOR TRUMP’S BALLROOM AS SOME DEMS OPEN TO ‘DISCUSS’ IDEA

It is unclear if the $351.6 million approved last week for security measures will be spent on the ongoing ballroom project, which has been challenged in court.

In a statement to Fox News Digital, White House spokesman Davis Ingle said the East Wing Modernization Project “is inextricably tied to the security of the President, the White House grounds and the certain security infrastructure assets”

“The press release announcing the construction of the ballroom highlighted coordination with the White House Military Office and the United States Secret Service regarding design features and planning,” he said. “President Trump and generous American patriots are funding the ballroom to the tune of approximately $400 million, which will be a secure and appropriate venue for Presidents for generations to come.”

“The events over the weekend and the foiled attack on the historic UFC Freedom 250 event at the White House proves exactly why the East Wing Modernization Project is severely needed for large scale events, which include drone proof structures and drone ports among other critical security enhancements,” Ingle added.

The Secret Service did not immediately return a request for comment.

Trump has said that there will be a “massive” six-story complex underneath the ballroom that would include a military hospital, research facilities, various meeting rooms and security infrastructure related to drone and missile defense.

In late May, Trump said the construction will cost $400 million. He has also maintained that the ballroom will be funded through private donations and not with taxpayer dollars.

TRUMP CLAIMS DONOR FUNDED WHITE HOUSE BALLROOM INCLUDES HIDDEN BUILD BELOW WITH SECURITY FOCUS

The Washington Post reported on Tuesday that the contractor on the project estimated the ballroom would cost $600 million, with more than half of that sum coming from taxpayers.

Trump has long said the ballroom is needed to make presidential events more secure. The most recent threat to the White House came on Sunday, when the FBI said it disrupted an alleged plot to use explosives attached to drones to attack buildings near the UFC Freedom 250 event.

To make way for the planned ballroom, the East Wing was demolished in October 2025, which prompted a lawsuit from the National Trust for Historic Preservation. The nonprofit argued that the Trump administration had bypassed key review processes and must seek approval from Congress for the project.

In March, U.S. District Judge Richard Leon ruled that the administration had likely exceeded its authority and ordered a halt to all above-ground construction.

PRESERVATION GROUP SUES TRUMP ADMINISTRATION OVER WHITE HOUSE BALLROOM PROJECT

On April 17, a three-judge panel on the D.C. Circuit court stayed Leon’s order and allowed construction to continue pending an appeal from the White House.

Days after the D.C. Circuit’s ruling, a gunman showed up at the White House Correspondent’s Dinner, which was being held at the Washington Hilton, and fired at Secret Service agents at a security checkpoint.

After the suspect, Cole Tomas Allen, was apprehended, Trump and his allies renewed their calls for a White House ballroom so similar security lapses would not be possible in the future.

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A shooting outside the White House on May 23 prompted Trump to once again argue that the ballroom is necessary.

“This event is one month removed from the White House Correspondent’s Dinner shooting, and goes to show how important it is, for all future Presidents, to get, what will be, the most safe and secure space of its kind ever built in Washington, D.C. The National Security of our Country demands it!” he wrote on Truth Social on May 24.

President Donald Trump on Wednesday forcefully rejected comparisons between the announced Iran agreement and former President Barack Obama’s 2015 nuclear deal, arguing the Obama-era pact could have led to Israel and much of the Middle East being “terminated” if he had not ended it.

“The JCPOA was a short-term lease. It expired long ago,” Trump told reporters during a press conference on the sidelines of the G7 summit. “Had I let it run, it expired. You wouldn’t have been around. A lot of people wouldn’t have been around, but Israel would have been terminated. I think the whole Middle East would have been terminated.”

Trump added that he finished the job of terminating the Obama nuclear deal after failed attempts from Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu.

“Bibi actually went to Congress and pleaded with them, and he got nowhere. And they had this horrible deal that was horrible for Israel, horrible for Israel. And that’s where it stood. And then I came along and I terminated that deal that had very little time left,” said Trump.

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Trump added that Netanyahu “begged Barack Hussein Obama, the president, not to do the JCPOA. He said it could be the end of Israel, and it would have been if I didn’t come along. And Obama didn’t listen to him.” 

The president said the agreement is fundamentally different from the JCPOA, arguing it is structured to permanently block Iran’s path to a nuclear weapon rather than temporarily limit its nuclear activities before key restrictions sunset. Trump’s remarks came prior to the release of the newly announced memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Iran.

“I made it very tough for [Iran] when I terminated the Barack Hussein Obama catastrophe JCPOA, one of the worst deals,” Trump said. “This deal was really dangerous. What he did, he gave them everything, including a lot of money, which we don’t give them.

TRUMP UNLEASHES ON OBAMA’S ‘DISASTER’ IRAN NUCLEAR DEAL, SAYS HE WAS ‘HONORED’ TO RIP IT APART

The MOU has drawn comparisons to the JCPOA, as both agreements offer Iran the prospect of sanctions relief and increased foreign investment in exchange for complying with their respective commitments.

Obama argued this week that any new agreement with Iran is unlikely to look dramatically different from the 2015 JCPOA.

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The benefits will depend on whether Iran can prove it has abandoned its nuclear ambitions and support for terrorist organizations during a 60-day negotiating period.

We’re deep enough into the season to have a sense of how the year is going for various clubs and players.

We see which players are most expendable by the trade deadline. And we get an early line on what to anticipate this fall.

Could sub-.500 clubs like the Texas Rangers or The Athletics (now playing in Sacramento) make the postseason? Did the Baltimore Orioles get what they paid for when they signed Pete Alonso from the New York Mets? Will the Detroit Tigers deal back-to-back Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal to the Atlanta Braves or Cleveland Guardians?

All becomes clearer as we approach the All-Star Break in less than a month.

The same is true in Congress. But the schedule is a little more advanced on Capitol Hill compared to the baseball calendar. Yes, Major League Baseball would play a potential Game 7 of the World Series on Oct. 31. Election Day for the midterms is Nov. 3.

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However, the Capitol Hill timeframe is more truncated than the baseball slate.

In some respects, Congress is already past its legislative equivalent of the Dog Days of August. In fact, both the House and Senate will likely be out of session for all but a day – if that – in August. They’ll be back in September and then out again until after the midterm.

That is, unless there’s another lengthy government shutdown. And that’s a distinct possibility.

The government’s fiscal year expires at 11:59:59 p.m. ET on Sept. 30. Yes, lawmakers from both sides of the aisle want to rush home in the fall to campaign before the midterms. But last year’s record 43-day comprehensive government shutdown may just be a legislative amuse bouche of what we’re in for this year.

Plus, if Democrats again go to the mat over healthcare or the lack of guardrails for ICE and Border Patrol – despite Republicans just funding those agencies for the rest of the Trump presidency earlier this month – they may view a government shutdown and bogging down everything in Washington as the equivalent of campaigning.

The Senate is meeting this week. The House is out. Chatter started ricocheting around the Capitol this week that the House might consider sending everyone home until September at the end of the next work period. The official calendar has the House meeting through July 2. After adopting the One Big Beautiful Bill last summer, the House left for its August recess a day early in mid-July. One could see the House conceivably cutting town a bit early this year too.

That said, House Appropriations Committee Chairman Tom Cole, R-Okla., wants to advance a few spending bills across the floor before the recess. The House has already approved two of the 12 bills: one for military construction and veterans programs. The other for agriculture.

The House is poised to approve the Energy and Water spending bill next week as well as one for national security initiatives.

CONGRESS FLEES TOWN AS HEALTH CARE PREMIUMS SET TO EXPLODE FOR MILLIONS OF AMERICANS IN JANUARY

Republicans would like to approve the annual defense funding measure soon. That bill consumes well over half of all discretionary spending (money which Congress allocates each year). The GOP may need to follow suit from last year where the House passed the defense plan with only Republican votes. But if the House greenlights the Pentagon’s bill, it will have approved around 80 percent of all spending for the next fiscal year.

However, the Senate is another question. Senate Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Susan Collins, R-Maine, canceled planned sessions to craft multiple spending bills over the past few weeks. She’s blamed Democrats for lack of cooperation.

That said, control of the Senate may hinge on Maine as Collins faces embattled Democratic nominee Graham Platner this fall. Platner lugs around more baggage than a skycap at Dulles International Airport. But Democrats are sticking with Platner. Democrats are in no mood to cede any ground to Collins or present her with any easy “wins” ahead of the fall.

BATTLEGROUND REPUBLICANS HOLD THE LINE AS JOHNSON PRESSURES DEMS ON SHUTDOWN

While the House appropriations process may limp along, it’s all but paralyzed in the Senate. This is where a congressional contagion could spread from the Senate to the House. Some House lawmakers may question why they should stick around to tackle any bills if they’re on a road to oblivion in the Senate. Pressure will ramp up on both sides of the aisle to let everyone go home early rather than engage in an academic exercise.

And let’s fast-forward to fall and the funding deadline. The sides simply are not getting along at all. There’s no incentive for Democrats to help if both the House and Senate are in play this fall. President Trump demonstrated no incentive to negotiate during last year’s government shutdown. It could be worse this time around. That’s why a shutdown may be in the cards.

The question is whether lawmakers stay in Washington for the month of October and try to figure things out when they’d rather be in their districts and states campaigning. Remember, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., kept the House out for most of the autumn shutdown last year.

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And then there is the biggest possible bill of all: “Reconciliation 3.0.”

No one really knows exactly what Republicans would stash in a massive package, ala last year’s One Big Beautiful Bill. President Trump is adamant that they add $350 billion in additional military spending on top of the Pentagon’s annual budget measure – mostly to cover the war in Iran. This would also restock munitions exhausted overseas.

Some Republicans believe they should address health care. Yet there’s still no bona fide health care proposal from the Trump Administration. There will be tax cuts. Maybe lower the cost of living. Of course, President Trump also wants the SAVE America Act tacked on to this bill. It requires proof of citizenship to vote. But the president just insisted that congressional Republicans latch the SAVE America Act to a bill to renew FISA.

Either way, the SAVE America Act wouldn’t pass muster with special Senate budget rules. And Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said repeatedly he would not fire the Senate’s budget umpire, Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough.

IT NEVER ENDS: GOP MOVES TO FUND BORDER, DEMOCRATS BLAST TRUMP SPENDING

Vulnerable Republicans would love to have another policy bill to campaign on this fall. But there’s lots of skepticism. And any decision to dismiss lawmakers from Capitol Hill early would serve as a signal that there’s no way they can pass “Reconciliation 3.0.”

In Major League Baseball, we usually know by late July or early August if even an average team has an outside shot at the playoffs. The trade deadline is Aug. 3 – although some clubs may try to stock up or unload well before then.

Teams and players on the wrong side of the ledger will play out the string through the end of the season. Then pack up for the hot stove league.

Congress is similar. Members elected to the 119th Congress are in office until 11:59:59 p.m. ET on Jan. 3, 2027. Some are just running out the string.

Yogi Berra famously declared that “the future ain’t what it used to be.”

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In baseball, there were high expectations this season for the New York Mets, Cincinnati Reds and Houston Astros. The season isn’t even to its mid-point. But the future isn’t panning out for these clubs.

The same is true on Capitol Hill. We’ll know soon if the future is what “it used to be,” here too.

Former Secretary of State and failed 2016 presidential candidate Hillary Clinton on Monday night trashed former president Joe Biden for his decision to run for reelection in 2024.

“He made a terrible mistake,” Clinton said in an interview with David Remnick of 92NY. “He made a terrible mistake for himself, his legacy and for the country.”

It furthers the Democrats’ narrative shift over Biden’s health and his decision to seek a second term after former First Lady Jill Biden last month revealed she worried her husband was having a stroke on stage during his June 2024 debate with President Donald Trump.

Clinton is now bashing her one-time ally by claiming he went back on his word and insisting that former Vice President Kamala Harris would have had a chance to win if she was the candidate from the get-go.

“He had said that he would not run again, and you know, counterfactual narratives are always a bit tricky, but I believe that if he had kept to that plan and said in say, the late summer of ’23, that he wasn’t going to run, that he was going to pass the torch to the next generation we would’ve had a real contest,” Clinton said in her sit-down in Manhattan this week.

Biden exited the presidential race in late July 2024, a few weeks after a disastrous debate display led to left-wing commentators calling for him to step down. The Democratic Party then installed then-VP Harris as its presidential nominee without a primary vote.

“Very sadly, I believe that whoever emerged from the contest, whether it was the vice president or a governor or a senator or anybody else, would have beaten Donald Trump,” Clinton retroactively speculated.

“So I think it was a terrible miscalculation on the part of President Biden, but once he didn’t move and did not admit that he had said he was going to step aside and decided not to, and held on for as long as he did, we were in a terrible dilemma.”

DEMOCRAT WHO RAN AGAINST BIDEN SAYS PRESIDENT’S DECISION TO SEEK RE-ELECTION ‘SEALED’ WIN FOR TRUMP

Clinton never voiced any concerns about Biden’s reelection bid while it was ongoing.

In fact, on June 28, 2024, the day after Biden’s comatose debate performance, she maintained her support for him in a post on X.

FORMER OBAMA ADVISORS TELL ‘THE VIEW’ DEMS HURT PARTY BY TAKING TOO LONG TO ADMIT BIDEN COULDN’T WIN

“The choice in this election remains very simple,” she said at the time. “It’s a choice between someone who cares about you—your rights, your prospects, your future—versus someone who’s only in it for himself. I’ll be voting Biden.”

She spent all of 2024 propping Biden up before his abrupt decision to hand the reins over to Harris.

“We don’t have to wonder what this year’s presidential contenders would do in office,” she said in a post on June 19, 2024. “When it comes to immigration, President Biden keeps families together while strengthening our economy. Donald Trump ripped families apart. Vote accordingly.”

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In January of that year, she was actively encouraging people to support Biden in the name of democracy.

“After Iowa, we’re one step closer to knowing who the Republicans will nominate for president. But no matter who they choose, we’re in a fight for reproductive freedom and democracy that we can’t afford to lose. Join Team Biden-Harris today,” she said.

Fox News Digital did not hear back from a Biden spokesperson when reached for comment on Clinton’s recent remarks.

JACKSON, GA – Republican Rep. Mike Collins, who is running as a MAGA champion and strong supporter of President Donald Trump, has won a competitive and combustible battle for the GOP Senate nomination in Georgia that went into overtime.

The Trump-backed Collins on Tuesday defeated former college football coach Derek Dooley in the Republican runoff election and will face Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff in November’s election in a race that’s among a handful that will likely decide if the GOP holds its slim majority in the chamber in this autumn’s midterm elections.

Republicans view Ossoff as the most vulnerable Senate Democrat seeking re-election and are heavily targeting the first-term senator.

“It’s time to get to work, defeat Jon Ossoff, and take this seat back for the people of this state,” Collins said in his victory speech.

Collins, a two-term federal lawmaker who represents Georgia’s 10th Congressional District, which is located between Atlanta and Augusta, is the son of the late Rep. Mac Collins, and is the founder and co-owner, along with his wife, of a trucking company.

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He and Dooley, a lawyer, a former University of Tennessee football coach and the son of legendary University of Georgia head football coach Vince Dooley, were the top two finishers in a crowded field of candidates that also included Rep. Buddy Carter. But since no one topped 50% in last month’s primary, Collins and Dooley advanced to Tuesday’s runoff election.

While Collins showcased his MAGA credentials and support for the president, Trump remained neutral in the Georgia primary and runoff elections for Senate until Saturday night.

“It’s an honor to have that endorsement. It just shows that he has confidence that we know how to win this race, we know we’re in the lead in this thing,” Collins told Fox News Digital on Sunday, hours after landing Trump’s endorsement.

Asked if Trump’s endorsement in Georgia came too late to make a difference, Collins said, “I don’t think President Trump ever is too late. He has this impeccable ability of putting his thumb right on the scale at the right time with whatever he wants to do.”

Dooley, meanwhile, was strongly backed by lifelong friend and popular conservative Gov. Brian Kemp, who is term-limited. Kemp and his wife, Georgia first lady Marty Kemp, regularly appeared with Dooley on the campaign trail and the governor’s top political advisor was a senior consultant for Dooley’s Senate bid.

Dooley, who ran as an outsider, said in a Fox News Digital interview on the eve of the runoff that the president’s backing of his rival “doesn’t change how I feel.”

“I’m honored to have Governor Kemp’s endorsement. I certainly would have been honored to have the President’s endorsement. But the most important endorsement that I’m fighting for is the people of Georgia,” he emphasized.

Dooley emphasized his outsider image and he targeted Collins as a political insider.

Dooley told Fox News Digital voters “are fed up with what’s going on in Congress. They’re fed up with the careerism, the corruption, the inaction. And it’s time we get sent a different kind of leader up there to change business as usual in D.C.”

Collins criticized Dooley for a lack of political experience and for living outside of Georgia for much of his adult life.

“Not having a record is not gonna win this thing. But having a records of results will,” Collins told supporters on the eve of the runoff. 

Both candidates had some political baggage.

The House Ethics Committee looked into Collins over allegations he paid an intern in a district office who had a romantic relationship with his congressional chief of staff but who did not actually perform any work. Collins denied any wrongdoing and kept the staffer on his Senate campaign.

But the staffer was later fired by Collins after taking to social media on behalf of the campaign to mock the wife of a Dooley campaign advisor who attempted suicide after accusing Matt Lauer of rape. The social media post was deleted and Collins apologized, calling the tweet “despicable and unauthorized.”

Dooley, over the past week, was reportedly accused of being part of a “pay-to-play” scandal involving brother Daniel Dooley and the governor. Dooley and Kemp have denied any wrongdoing, but Democrats in the legislature requested an independent investigation.

While the Republicans have been battling for their party’s nomination over the past year, Ossoff has built a powerful war chest that will give him a major fundraising advantage as the general election gets underway.

“I know how to win this race. I look forward to getting the governor’s endorsement. I look forward to getting his help in this thing. I look forward to getting Derrick Dooley’s help in this thing,” Collins said when asked by Fox Digital if he could unite Republican voters in the general election. 

Collins emphasized that “at the end of the day, we’re all Republicans, and we’re on one mission, and that is to put a Republican in that seat and get somebody that represents…the state of Georgia.”

And in his victory speech, Collins said that Dooley and Kemp were on board in supporting him.

Looking ahead to the general election, Collins pointed to Ossoff and predicted that “he’s going to have millions and millions of dollars pouring in here from his New York and California donors. The political establishment, the mainstream media and the global elites. They’re going to be working overtime to get him reelected.:

But he vowed “we won’t be outworked.”

But the top super PAC supporting Democratic Senate candidates and aligned with longtime Democratic Senate Leader Chuck Schumer quickly took aim at Collins following his nomination victory.

“Mike Collins is an opposition researcher’s dream. He treats Congress like a money-making scheme for his family business, an ethics-free zone, and a conspiracy theory clearinghouse – sometimes all in the same week. This unelectable nepo baby doesn’t have what it takes to beat Jon Ossoff,” Senate Majority PAC spokesperson Lauren French argued.

Minutes later, Ossoff also targeted his general election challenger.

“Donald Trump’s handpicked candidate Mike Collins is a notorious bigot, antisemite, and extremist currently under federal investigation for the illegal misuse of tax dollars. Collins, who is only a congressman because his daddy was a congressman, voted to double health insurance premiums for more than a million Georgians, for the Iran War, and for the Trump tariffs,” Ossoff charged.

Schumer and Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) chair Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand spotlighted Collins’ “scandals and harmful agenda” and the DSCC quickly fired off a digital ad accusing the GOP Senate nominee of being “too extreme.”

Republicans returned fire.

National Republican Senatorial Committee chair Sen. Tim Scott predicted that “Jon Ossoff’s political ambitions will come to a screeching halt this November. Georgians are done with his agenda of open borders, higher taxes, and left-wing partisanship. Georgia is now uniting behind Mike Collins, because he fights for the future of the Peach State.”

And David McIntosh, president of the politically potent Club for Growth PAC, praised Collins as a “conservative fighter” and claimed that “Ossoff has been a rubber stamp for every failed liberal policy enacted since being elected.”

The brute force of the president’s endorsement power has been on display in GOP primaries over the past six weeks, with his candidates ousting incumbents he targeted in showdowns in Indiana, Louisiana, Kentucky and Texas that grabbed plenty of national attention.

But Trump’s endorsement streak in statewide and congressional Republican primaries was snapped two weeks ago when his 11th-hour endorsement of Republican Rep. Randy Feenstra of Iowa in the race to succeed retiring GOP Gov. Kim Reynolds wasn’t enough to propel the three-term congressman to victory.

Feenstra was narrowly edged by Zach Lahn, a businessman, farmer and former political strategist who was backed by the political wings of MAHA — the acronym for the Make America Healthy Again movement aligned with Trump Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. — and Turning Point USA, the powerful conservative organization co-founded by the late Charlie Kirk.

Trump rebounded last week, as the candidate he endorsed in the South Carolina GOP gubernatorial primary, Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette, finished first in a crowded field and clinched one of the two tickets in the race for the nomination.

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Meanwhile, longtime Trump ally Sen. Lindsey Graham did win a majority of the vote in the Republican Senate primary, and avoided a runoff.

Graham, who was endorsed by Trump, was facing primary challenges from five candidates, including conservative businessman Mark Lynch, who took aim at the senator over his support for the war in Iran. Lynch was backed by some MAGA leaders who have been critical of the president.

Two underdog candidates advanced to a runoff election in Oklahoma’s 2026 Democratic Senate primary after no candidate clinched a majority of the vote.

N’kiyla Jasmine Thomas, a nurse and Chickasaw Nation citizen, and Jim Priest, a lawyer and ordained minister, will compete in an Aug. 25 runoff election, according to The Associated Press.

Thomas won 45% of the vote, followed by Priest, who registered just under 24% support.

The winner will face Rep. Kevin Hern, R-Okla., who easily clinched the GOP nomination for the deep-red Senate seat and avoided a runoff election. Hern is endorsed by President Donald Trump and Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D.

6 MONTHS TO MIDTERMS: THE SENATE SEATS THAT COULD TIP THE BALANCE OF POWER

Under Oklahoma law, if no candidate secures more than 50% of the primary vote, the top two vote-getters will compete in a runoff election.

Sen. Alan Armstrong, R-Okla., a former energy executive who currently represents the seat, was barred by state law from seeking election for a full Senate term. He was appointed by Gov. Kevin Stitt, R-Okla., to replace Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin in March.

The Democratic primary winner will face an uphill battle in the ruby-red state that voted for Trump by a 2-to-1 margin in 2024. A Democratic candidate has not won a Senate race in the Sooner State in more than 35 years.

National Democrats have not invested in the race, signaling little expectation it could flip.

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Priest mounted a failed bid for Oklahoma attorney general in 2010 but was soundly defeated by 20 points. He previously led two nonprofits, Goodwill Industries of Central Oklahoma and Sunbeam Family Services, according to the Oklahoma-based outlet NonDoc.

Hern has vastly outraised Democrats, with a $6.8 million war chest, according to recent Federal Election Commission filings. Priest entered June with $117,000 cash on hand, while Thomas had just over $546. 

The two leading Democratic contenders also have a minimal online presence. 

An X account associated with Priest’s campaign had just 20 followers as of Tuesday. Meanwhile, a campaign X account affiliated with Thomas had just over 160 followers.

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Three other Democratic candidates vied for the nomination, including business owner Troy Green and R.O. Cassity Jr., a retired professor and attorney.

Former Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Walter “Jay” Clayton was set to face senators at what was expected to be a tense confirmation hearing to become director of national intelligence Wednesday. But President Donald Trump abruptly halted the proceedings, declaring in an early morning Truth Social post that Clayton’s confirmation hearing would not move forward Wednesday. 

While Trump commands a great deal of authority, he can’t cancel a hearing on the Hill on his own. But, sources familiar with the matter told Fox News Digital that it’d be “hard to have a hearing without a witness.” 

The presumably postponed hearing had been set against the backdrop of’ Democrats’ weeks-long uproar over President Donald Trump’s temporary pick for the job — homebuilder scion and Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte.

Clayton is currently serving as the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, which is considered the most prominent of the dozens of national posts – with alumni ranging from Rudy Giuliani to Preet Bharara.

TRUMP NOMINATES JAY CLAYTON, FORMER SEC CHAIRMAN, CURRENT US ATTORNEY, AS INTELLIGENCE DIRECTOR

Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., a top Trump critic, told reporters Tuesday that concerns over Pulte could actually help push Clayton through once he appears before the Intelligence Committee.

“[I] would love to hear some reassurance from the White House that Bill Pulte is not going to take over as DNI, even for a very short period of time, but that I don’t anticipate that coming,” he said.

Kelly said that Pulte looming over the intelligence community might be an “incentive” to move Clayton through “on a faster timeline.”

TRUMP NAMES BILL PULTE ACTING DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE

“But to do that, we have to have everybody in the committee,” he said.

Democrats have accused Pulte of playing politics with his powers at FHFA and worry that his lack of intel credentials and alleged partisanship endanger the role of DNI.

Trump dismissed such claims, saying “Dumocrats” are inordinately “afraid” of Pulte.

WHY TRUMP PICKED BILL PULTE TO LEAD US INTELLIGENCE AS CRITICS QUESTION HIS QUALIFICATIONS

Clayton, meanwhile, is expected to come before Congress with a resume that may be easier for Democrats to digest in the narrow-GOP-majority upper chamber.

While Clayton also doesn’t come from the intel community, he does have the prosecutorial chops some critics may be assuaged by.

As SDNY’s top federal prosecutor, Clayton has overseen cases involving violent crime, drug trafficking, Wall Street-related enforcement and national security matters, while avoiding public controversy of other Trump picks.

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Senate Majority Leader John Thune of South Dakota said that Clayton’s role as SDNY does crossover into intelligence matters.

“Jay Clayton is an eminently qualified individual to become the new director of national intelligence. And so we are looking forward to processing him this week. [Intelligence Committee] Chairman Cotton will be … [holding] his confirmation hearing tomorrow… and hopefully reporting him out later in the week.”

Returning to concerns over Democrat roadblocks for another Trump pick, Thune noted it would take cooperation of the minority party to fast-track the nomination.

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It remains unclear when Clayton’s confirmation hearing will be rescheduled or whether Democrats will cooperate with efforts to move his nomination quickly.

Fox News’ Tyler Olson contributed to this report.

President Donald Trump declared in an early Wednesday morning Truth Social post that a scheduled Senate hearing on Jay Clayton’s nomination to serve as director of national intelligence would not move forward Wednesday.

The U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence has a hearing on Clayton’s nomination for DNI scheduled for Wednesday afternoon.

But the president said the hearing will not take place until Jamie McDonald has been confirmed to fill the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York post.

President Trump tied the move to an ongoing dispute over renewal of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, claiming Democrats backed away from an agreement to support the surveillance authority after Republicans agreed to move away from Bill Pulte as acting DNI. The provision allows U.S. intelligence agencies to collect communications of foreign targets located outside the U.S.

TRUMP PICKS JAMES MCDONALD TO LEAD POWERFUL SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK AFTER JAY CLAYTON’S DEPARTURE

The president further said he would not support renewal of FISA authorities unless Congress also advances the SAVE AMERICA ACT, a voting-security measure backed by the administration.

Clayton’s hearing had been scheduled amid a broader debate over the future of U.S. intelligence leadership and the reauthorization of key surveillance authorities.

TRUMP NOMINATES JAY CLAYTON, FORMER SEC CHAIRMAN, CURRENT US ATTORNEY, AS INTELLIGENCE DIRECTOR

“Regarding the approval of our Great Patriot, Jay Clayton, we are cancelling the Senate Hearing RE: DNI today, and will not be going forward until Jamie McDonald is approved to be U.S. Attorney. In the meantime, Bill Pulte will remain as the Acting Director of National Intelligence. Thank you for your attention to this matter!” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post on Wednesday.

Pulte “will take over on June 19th,” the president declared in a post last week.

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“The Republicans agreed with Dumocrats to remove very fair, and talented, William Pulte, from serving as Acting DNI in return for getting FISA approved by the Dumocrats. However, the Republicans moved so fast with the hearings of the Great Jay Clayton, current U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, that Pulte would be gone before the Dumocrats would vote on FISA. Now, the Dumocrats are saying they will vote against FISA — So, the Republicans wound up having fulfilled their commitment, but Dumocrats broke the Deal,” Trump said in his post on Wednesday morning.

REPORTER’S NOTEBOOK: LAWMAKERS SCRAMBLE AS FISA FIGHT COMES AT THE WORST POSSIBLE TIME

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“In addition, the newly nominated U.S. Attorney, Jamie McDonald, must be confirmed and blue slipped. Because of the ridiculous views of Republicans on blue slipping (Dumocrats are often willing to nix it), I may not be able to get the extraordinary Sullivan & Cromwell Partner, Jamie, approved, and I don’t want to take Jay Clayton away from the great job he is doing until Jamie is in place. Therefore, to add a slight bit of intrigue but, for the Good of the Nation, and the People of our Country, I will not approve FISA without THE SAVE AMERICA ACT going along with it. Not complicated, actually, the Republicans fell into a trap,” he added.

ATLANTA, Ga. — President Donald Trump’s endorsement wasn’t enough to boost Georgia Lt. Gov. Burt Jones to victory Tuesday night in the ballot-box showdown for the southeastern battleground state’s Republican gubernatorial nomination.

Jones was defeated by billionaire businessman Rick Jackson in the GOP runoff election for Georgia governor, the Associated Press reports, in the race to succeed term-limited conservative Gov. Brian Kemp.

Jackson, who shelled out over $100 million of his own money on his bid, will now face former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, who served in the Biden administration, in this autumn’s general election. Bottoms avoided a runoff by winning a majority of the vote as she topped six other candidates in last month’s Democratic gubernatorial primary.

“When I announced my campaign, I said the political class protects itself….it’s a cartel and I said I’m coming to break it up. Well, tonight, we shattered it,” said Jackson, who launched his campaign in February, in his victory speech.

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“I’m the only candidate who doesn’t owe a thing to the political establishment,” Jackson emphasized. “I can’t be bought, and I’m not going to back down…. Tonight we did more than win a runoff. Tonight we proved that the people of Georgia are in charge.”

Jackson was unknown to Georgia voters a few months ago, but thanks to an avalanche of ads, his story of building a business empire despite growing up in foster care and not being able to afford college became well known in the Peach State.

“I know what it’s like to feel like nobody sees you, especially the elite and the powerful,” Jackson said in his speech a hundreds of supporters. “When you grow up the way I did, you never forget where you came from. You never forget the families who are working harder than ever, but still falling behind.”

Jackson was also boosted in the final stretch ahead of the runoff election by Republican Sen. Ted Cruz, the conservative firebrand from Texas.

Throughout his campaign, Jackson has said that Trump inspired him to run.

“I just thought, you know, if you had somebody doing business solutions for the state of Georgia, just like Trump is for the United States, I just felt like I would have a major impact on the state of Georgia, and so that was one of the reasons I wanted to get in. I was inspired by President Trump,” Jackson told Fox News Digital last month.

And he repeatedly highlighted that, like Trump, he’s an outsider and businessman. “I’m going to be Trump’s favorite governor because we’re just alike on the way that we handle business and handle problems, and I want to do exactly in Georgia what he’s doing at the federal government,” he reiterated in a Fox News Digital interview Sunday.

And Jackson spotlighted his outsider credentials, saying that voters could “see somebody that’s actually like Trump, not just endorsed. And from that standpoint, I think having an outsider is what our people want.”

Cruz joined Jackson on the campaign trail for a runoff eve rally.

“Rick has an extraordinary record, an extraordinary life story. And I also think he’s positioned to win. And the stakes are too high. This election is a battleground all across the country. We can’t afford to lose Georgia,” Cruz told Fox News Digital.

When Cruz endorsed Jackson on Friday, he also supported South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson, who is facing off in a week against Trump-backed Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette.

Asked if he’s trying to put some daylight between himself and the president on the campaign trail, Cruz quickly responded, “No. Not remotely….The president and I agree on the vast majority of races. What I try to do in every race is endorse the strongest conservative who can win. And typically I get in races late in the race at a time where my support might be able to make a difference and be helpful.”

Jones, on the eve of the Cruz visit, took aim at Jackson.

“He keeps on bringing in these out-of-state senators, and I would much rather have the president’s endorsement,” he said. “He’s having to go out of state to get his support. We’re keeping all our stuff in state.”

And Jones repeatedly questioned his rival’s support for the president, pointing to Jackson’s past donations to Democrats and anti-Trump Republicans as evidence that he was out of step with the MAGA wing of the party.

“He’s been dishonest about who he is. He’s been dishonest about who he’s supported in the background,” Jones charged. “He’s actually, you know, portraying himself as something that he’s not.”

Jackson pushed back, saying the attacks on him were “just lies.”

Jones and Jackson were the top two finishers in last month’s crowded and competitive GOP gubernatorial primary, which also included state Attorney General Chris Carr and Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger. Because no candidate topped 50%, Jones and Jackson advanced to the runoff.

Jones, a former captain of the University of Georgia football team, an oil executive and heir to the Jones Petroleum Company, served as a state senator before winning election in 2022 as lieutenant governor. A major Trump supporter, he was endorsed by the president last August.

“He and I have a long-standing relationship — friendship — and I’ve always been a big supporter of his, and he’s a very big supporter of mine, as well,” Jones said last month in a Fox News Digital interview as he pointed to Trump.

And he repeatedly showcased the president’s endorsement during the primary and runoff campaigns.

GOP GUBERNATORIAL HOPEFUL BLASTED BY CRITICS FOR ‘LYING’ ON STAGE ABOUT ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT HIRES

Kemp made a last-minute endorsement on Sunday, backing Jones. And at an event Monday morning, Kemp explained that his mission is “to make sure that we have the best folks at the top of the ticket that can win in November and you know, that’s why I’m supporting Burt Jones for governor.”

“When you think about the direction of the state, the great things that we’ve been able to do, I think he’s best suited to move the state forward,” Kemp said. And he warned of the “consequences of not winning, like we’ll be going the way of Virginia, New York, California, we just cannot afford to do that.”

Jackson, looking to the general election battle with Bottoms, told Fox News Digital that when it comes to his spending, “I’ll put in whatever is necessary. We cannot have somebody that doesn’t know how to run the city that now wants to run the state. So, from that standpoint, I’ll do whatever is necessary to win in November.”

Bottoms, in a statement, took aim at Jackson.

“Rick Jackson is focused on enriching himself as Georgians are losing their health care coverage and are forced to pay soaring costs. Jackson has made more than a billion dollars off of a no-bid state contract for his health care company, but he opposes Medicaid expansion to lower the cost of health care,” Bottoms argued in a statement. “Georgians deserve a governor who is focused on ensuring they have every opportunity to thrive and who will fight for them when Donald Trump’s reckless policies hurt Georgia – that’s what I will do as governor.”

While he wasn’t on the ballot, Trump’s immense clout over the GOP was facing another key test in Georgia.

The brute force of the president’s endorsement power has been on display in GOP primaries over the past six weeks, with his candidates ousting incumbents he targeted in showdowns in Indiana, Louisiana, Kentucky and Texas that grabbed plenty of national attention.

But Trump’s endorsement streak in statewide and congressional Republican primaries was snapped two weeks ago when his 11th-hour endorsement of Republican Rep. Randy Feenstra of Iowa in the race to succeed retiring GOP Gov. Kim Reynolds wasn’t enough to propel the three-term congressman to victory.

Feenstra was narrowly edged by Zach Lahn, a businessman, farmer and former political strategist who was backed by the political wings of MAHA — the acronym for the Make America Healthy Again movement aligned with Trump Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. — and Turning Point USA, the powerful conservative organization co-founded by the late Charlie Kirk.

Trump rebounded last week, as the candidate he endorsed in the South Carolina GOP gubernatorial primary, Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette, finished first in a crowded field and clinched one of the two tickets in the race for the nomination.

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Meanwhile, longtime Trump ally Sen. Lindsey Graham did win a majority of the vote in the Republican Senate primary, and avoided a runoff.

Graham, who was endorsed by Trump, was facing primary challenges from five candidates, including conservative businessman Mark Lynch, who took aim at the senator over his support for the war in Iran. Lynch was backed by some MAGA leaders who have been critical of the president.

ATLANTA, GA. – He wasn’t on the ballot, but President Donald Trump‘s immense clout over the GOP faced more key tests in high-stakes Republican runoffs in Georgia and in neighboring Alabama Tuesday.

While the power of a Trump endorsement in Republican primaries didn’t escape unscathed, Trump-backed candidates won two of the three top races, with the one setback coming against a billionaire businessman who shelled out over $100 million of his own money to boost his campaign.

Rep. Barry Moore, a House Freedom Caucus member and longtime Trump supporter who was endorsed by the president, comfortably defeated rival Jared Hudson, a former Navy SEAL sniper who was supported by some top names on the right, in solidly red Alabama’s GOP Senate runoff.

TRUMP NOTCHES ANOTHER ENDORSEMENT WIN

In battleground Georgia’s Republican Senate runoff, an 11th hour endorsement by Trump this past weekend helped boost Rep. Mike Collins, a MAGA champion, to victory over former college football coach Derek Dooley, who was backed by popular conservative Gov. Brian Kemp.

Collins will face Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff in the general election in a race that’s among a handful that will likely decide if the GOP holds its slim majority in the chamber in the midterms.

TRUMP-BACKED CANDIDATE SURVIVES GRUELING REPUBLICAN RUNOFF

But in Georgia’s GOP gubernatorial runoff, the candidate Trump backed, Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, who was also endorsed by Kemp this past weekend, was defeated by Rick Jackson, who ran as an outsider.

Jones regularly showcased his Trump endorsement, but Jackson, who launched his bid in February long after the president had endorsed Jones, repeatedly said that Trump had inspired him to run.

“I just thought, you know, if you had somebody doing business solutions for the state of Georgia, just like Trump is for the United States, I just felt like I would have a major impact on the state of Georgia, and so that was one of the reasons I wanted to get in. I was inspired by President Trump,” Jackson told Fox News Digital recently.

And he continuously highlighted that, like Trump, he’s an outsider and businessman. “I’m going to be Trump’s favorite governor because we’re just alike on the way that we handle business and handle problems, and I want to do exactly in Georgia what he’s doing at the federal government,” he reiterated in a Fox News Digital interview Sunday.

TRUMP ENDORSEMENT FAILS TO SAVE MAGA CANDIDATE

The brute force of the president’s endorsement power has been on display in GOP primaries over the past six weeks, with his candidates ousting incumbents he targeted in showdowns in Indiana, Louisiana, Kentucky and Texas that grabbed plenty of national attention.

But Trump’s endorsement streak in statewide and congressional Republican primaries was snapped two weeks ago when his 11th-hour endorsement of Republican Rep. Randy Feenstra of Iowa in the race to succeed retiring GOP Gov. Kim Reynolds wasn’t enough to propel the three-term congressman to victory.

Feenstra was narrowly edged by Zach Lahn, a businessman, farmer and former political strategist who was backed by the political wings of MAHA — the acronym for the Make America Healthy Again movement aligned with Trump Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. — and Turning Point USA, the powerful conservative organization co-founded by the late Charlie Kirk.

Trump rebounded last week, as the candidate he endorsed in the South Carolina GOP gubernatorial primary, Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette, finished first in a crowded field and clinched one of the two tickets in the race for the nomination.

Meanwhile, longtime Trump ally Sen. Lindsey Graham did win a majority of the vote in the Republican Senate primary, and avoided a runoff.

Graham, who was endorsed by Trump, was facing primary challenges from five candidates, including conservative businessman Mark Lynch, who took aim at the senator over his support for the war in Iran. Lynch was backed by some MAGA leaders who have been critical of the president.

A Trump political operative, pointing to Tuesday loss by Trump-backed Jones, noted that “Rick Jackson set a record for spending in a statewide Republican primary. He spent Tom Steyer level money in a state a fraction of the size of California. That’s going to have an impact.”

And the operative, who asked to remain anonymous to speak more freely, also emphasized that “Rick bearhugged Trump. All of his ads and material was about how he’s going to be Trump’s favorite governor. So the race was not really a referendum on Trump.”

Veteran Republican strategist Matt Gorman told Fox News Digital that “Rick was a great candidate. Trump’s endorsement can’t do all the work. It’s a massive value add but it’s not a panacea. Now the focus is on coming together for the fall.”

Jackson was endorsed at the last minute by Sen. Ted Cruz, and the conservative firebrand from Texas joined Jackson on the campaign trail for a runoff eve rally.

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“Rick has an extraordinary record, an extraordinary life story. And I also think he’s positioned to win. And the stakes are too high. This election is a battleground all across the country. We can’t afford to lose Georgia,” Cruz told Fox News Digital.

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When Cruz endorsed Jackson on Friday, he also supported South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson, who is facing off in a week against Trump-backed Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette.

Asked if he’s trying to put some daylight between himself and the president on the campaign trail, Cruz quickly responded, “No. Not remotely….The president and I agree on the vast majority of races. What I try to do in every race is endorse the strongest conservative who can win. And typically I get in races late in the race at a time where my support might be able to make a difference and be helpful.”

He wasn’t on the ballot, but President Donald Trump is a winner in the Republican Senate runoff election in Alabama, as the candidate he endorsed captured the GOP nomination.

Trump-backed Rep. Barry Moore defeated rival Jared Hudson, a former Navy SEAL sniper, in Tuesday’s Republican showdown for the GOP nomination in solidly red Alabama, the Associated Press reports.

Moore and Hudson were the top two finishers in last month’s Republican primary, but with no candidate topping 50% of the vote, they both advanced to the runoff.

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Moore, who was also endorsed by Vice President JD Vance and Senate Majority Leader Sen. John Thune, will now be considered the clear frontrunner in the race to succeed Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville, who is running for governor this year rather than seeking re-election to the Senate.

The congressman, who founded a waste hauling company and later served as a state lawmaker before first winning election to the U.S. House in 2020, was one of the first politicians to endorse Trump in 2015 when the president first ran for the White House.

THESE MIDTERM RACES WILL DETERMINE WHETHER REPUBLICANS HOLD THEIR SENATE MAJORITY

Moore, who represents Alabama’s 1st Congressional District, in the southern portion of southeastern state, is a member of the ultra-conservative House Freedom Caucus.

Hudson, running as an outsider, edged out state Attorney General Steve Marshall to advance to the runoff.

Besides being a combat veteran, Hudson has served as a sheriff’s deputy, firefighter, small business owner and current head of a nonprofit that trains law enforcement in taking out human traffickers.

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Hudson was endorsed by then-Sen. Markwayne Mullin, who is now Trump’s Department of Homeland Security secretary, Sen. Tim Sheehy, the National Association for Gun Rights PAC, and conservative activists and media star Riley Gaines.

But Hudson fell short against Moore, who will face off in November against either Dakarai Larriett, a petcare business owner, or attorney and former judge Everett Wess.

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, a Republican, on Tuesday announced support for abolishing capital punishment in his state, reaffirming his change of heart on the policy he helped write as a legislator 45 years ago to reinstate the death penalty in Ohio.

DeWine, who has repeatedly postponed executions during his time as governor, pointed to data showing that the death penalty does not serve as a deterrent to violent crime.

“For the state to take a human life, there must, in my opinion, there must be evidence that in doing so it will help protect the public, that the threat of that action will deter someone from committing murder,” DeWine said at a news conference.

“I do not believe that argument today can be successfully made, nor do I believe that there’s any chance in the future the facts that I’ve cited to support that belief will change,” he said. “Therefore, I believe Ohio should abolish the death penalty.”

TEXAS LAWMAKER PROPOSES BILL TO ABOLISH DEATH PENALTY IN LONE STAR STATE: ‘I THINK SENTIMENT IS CHANGING’

As he made his case, DeWine brought out charts and graphs showing the decline in both the number of death sentences handed down by courts and the quantity of executions being carried out. The data also showed the exceedingly long wait times as legal appeals play out for inmates on death row.

The governor said condemned murderers are increasingly unlikely to be executed, as they sometimes die by natural causes or by suicide before they can be executed.

“Even if the murderer is caught, indicted, convicted and sentenced to death, the odds are still pretty good they’re not going to be executed,” he said.

“In summary, each decade that the death penalty has been in effect, the chances of a murderer getting executed get more and more and more remote,” he added.

The last 10 people to be executed in Ohio had been on death row between 14 and 32 years, he said. Since the state reinstated capital punishment in 1981 under a law co-written by DeWine, 56 people who received the death sentence have been executed and 41 died by natural causes or suicide while on death row. Another 89 death sentences were overturned due to “judicial action” such as legal errors.

DeWine emphasized the years of pain for victims’ loved ones due to the delays and the impact on the mental health of state employees who work on execution teams.

UTAH DEATH ROW INMATE WITH DEMENTIA DIES OF NATURAL CAUSES 3 MONTHS AFTER EXECUTION WAS HALTED

“I no longer believe the death penalty is a deterrent to murder,” DeWine said. “The moral justification I had for voting for the death penalty simply no longer exists.”

The governor, who is term-limited and cannot seek another term in the 2026 election, said he felt compelled to share his thoughts now after 50 years of experience with the death penalty issue, including as a Greene County prosecutor, a member of the U.S. House and Senate and as Ohio’s attorney general.

However, he said his outright opposition to the death penalty has become solidified in the past year.

DeWine urged the legislature to abolish the death penalty or to leave it up to state residents to vote on the issue, although Republican House Speaker Matt Huffman has said he would oppose such an effort. Other supporters of capital punishment have argued that Ohio’s yearslong execution pause has denied justice to victims’ families and weakened the deterrent effect of death sentences.

DeWine has not authorized an execution since taking office seven years ago, citing, on numerous occasions, pharmaceutical suppliers’ unwillingness to provide the drugs used in lethal injections. Last year, President Donald Trump ordered the U.S. Justice Department to help states to resolve that issue. In January 2025, President Donald Trump ordered the U.S. Justice Department to help states resolve that issue.

The governor has said he expects no more executions during the remainder of his term. Delaying executions has left Ohio with 30 scheduled over the next four years, according to the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction. The state has not put an inmate to death since July 18, 2018, before DeWine took office.

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“The most important way to protect the public is to lock up violent criminals and to keep them out of society,” DeWine said. “That is a proven way of saving lives and protecting our citizens. Our money and energies are much better spent focusing on keeping these repeat violent offenders out of society.”

Currently, 27 states allow the death penalty while 23 states and Washington, D.C., do not, according to the Death Penalty Information Center.

Since 2019, including that year, three states have abolished capital punishment, while five states now authorize nitrogen hypoxia as an execution method amid ongoing controversy over lethal injection protocols.

At the federal level, Trump has pushed to expand executions. During his first term, 13 federal executions were carried out, which was more than any president in modern history.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Socialist Washington, D.C. mayoral candidate Janeese Lewis George holds a lead in her bid to replace outgoing mayor Muriel Bowser as midnight passes on the East Coast and the ballots continue to be counted throughout the night.

The Associated Press reports that as of 12 a.m. ET on Wednesday morning, George is the leader with 52.6% of the vote after 66% of the votes had been counted. The next closest candidate, Kenyan R. McDuffie, sits at 36.8%.

The nation’s capital has been at the center of the Trump administration’s nationwide crackdown on crime during his second term and he sent the National Guard into the district last year, which proponents have argued directly correlates to plummeting violent crime numbers.

Trump has suggested that he’d order another federal takeover of Washington D.C. if the “crazy socialist” mayoral candidate was elected.

LUIGI MANGIONE SUPPORTER WORKING FOR FAR-LEFT DC MAYORAL CANDIDATE LIKENED TO MAMDANI

“I wouldn’t like it — and maybe we take back Washington, run it on the federal basis,” Trump said when asked by reporters how he’d respond if a self-described Democratic socialist D.C. council member were to win her bid.

“We won’t put up with it. We’re not going to lose our businesses,” Trump said on Thursday during a press briefing from the White House.

George called Trump’s recent threat to enact a second takeover as an “attack on democracy itself.”

DC GUARD SHOOTING SUSPECT STARES DOWN DEATH PENALTY IN FIRST COURT APPEARANCE

George, who has become the Democratic frontrunner, leads a race that will likely decide the winner of the general race in a city where roughly 75% of voters are registered Democrats.

Washington, D.C. is using ranked-choice voting for the first time, which could delay the certification of an official winner.

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Voters in Washington, D.C. were also voting in the Democratic primary to determine their next non-voting U.S. Delegate following the retirement of Democrat Eleanor Holmes Norton.

Shortly after midnight, the Associated Press called the race for the winner, At-Large Council member Robert White. 

Fox News Digital’s Elaine Mallon contributed to this report

At-large D.C. Council member Robert White Jr. won the Democratic primary Tuesday for Eleanor Holmes Norton’s longtime non-voting congressional seat, putting him on track to become the district’s first new member of Congress since 1991.

The rare open-seat contest for D.C.’s delegate post came after Norton, 88, announced she would not seek another term following 18 terms in Congress. The Democratic nominee will advance to the November general election in heavily Democratic Washington, where the party’s nominee is heavily favored against Republican and third-party challengers.

D.C.’s delegate can introduce legislation, serve on committees and advocate for the district on Capitol Hill, but the role does not include a final vote on the House floor. The race comes as Washington continues its long-running fight over statehood, home rule and federal control of the nation’s capital.

The primary race was held under D.C.’s new ranked-choice voting system, but White was able to secure the nomination.

White has served as an at-large member of the D.C. Council since 2016 and previously worked in Norton’s congressional office as legislative counsel. He entered the race after dropping a possible mayoral bid, arguing the district needed a more aggressive advocate in Congress as federal pressure on D.C. intensified.

Norton was first elected in 1990 and took office in 1991, becoming the district’s nonvoting delegate and one of D.C.’s most recognizable political figures. Her retirement closes an 18-term tenure spanning roughly 35-years, defined by fights over statehood, home rule and full congressional representation for the capital.

For many D.C. voters, Norton has been the only congressional delegate they have ever known. Her decision to step aside after 18 terms opened the first truly competitive race for the seat in decades and set off a scramble among local Democrats seeking to inherit one of the district’s most symbolic political posts.

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White will advance to the November general election, where the Democratic nominee will be heavily favored in overwhelmingly Democratic Washington, D.C.

Republican Denise Rosado is running unopposed for the GOP nomination, while at least one third-party candidate, Kymone Freeman, is also seeking the nonvoting delegate seat.

Former Judge Everett Wess has won the Democratic Senate nomination in solidly red Alabama, in the race to succeed Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville, who is running for governor this year.

Wess defeated small business owner Dakarai Larriett in the Democratic Senate runoff, the Associated Press reported on Tuesday.

Wess and Larriett finished first and second in last month’s primary, in the four candidate field. But since no one topped 50% of the vote, Wess and Larriett advanced to Tuesday’s runoff election.

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Wess will be considered the clear underdog in the general election against the Republican nominee. Rep. Barry Moore, who was backed by President Donald Trump, was facing off against former Navy SEAL sniper Jared Hudson in the GOP nomination runoff election.

Other than former Democratic Sen. Doug Jones’ 2017 special election victory, it’s been over three decades since a Democrat has won a Senate election in Alabama.

THESE MIDTERM RACES WILL DETERMINE WHETHER REPUBLICANS HOLD THEIR SENATE MAJORITY

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Tuberville, a former Auburn University head football coach, is running for governor this year rather than seeking re-election to the Senate.

Trump-endorsed former Oklahoma state Sen. Mike Mazzei, R-Bixby, and Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond advanced to the August 25 runoff in the Sooner State’s Republican gubernatorial primary, defeating a slew of other candidates vying to replace term-limited Gov. Kevin Stitt.

Stitt — recently the top Republican at the National Governors Association — was term limited.

Trump called Mazzei a “MAGA warrior” who “will never let you down,” throwing the already crowded contest into further uncertainty.

Until that point, Attorney General Gentner Drummond and Mazzei were locked in a tight race with businessman Chip Keating and former Oklahoma House Speaker Charles McCall, R-Tishomingo.

THE BALLOT BOX SHOWDOWNS THIS MONTH THAT YOU NEED TO WATCH

Trump noted he “won big” in Oklahoma — which, along with West Virginia, is one of only two states with no blue counties in election results.

Mazzei is running on top issues, including eliminating state property taxes, protecting state lands from foreign purchasers, increasing the state’s literacy rate, and cutting waste and abuse from government.

In the latter regard, Stitt appointed Mazzei as his state budget director for part of his term.

Some critics targeted Mazzei for hiring former Nixon campaign figure and Trump ally Roger Stone as a political consultant during his campaign.

Stone, one of the most prolific conservative consultants of the 20th century, famously had his Fort Lauderdale home raided in the middle of the night by the FBI while CNN was waiting and filming, sparking national uproar.

“Roger Stone is one of many political advisers and teammates that we have going back months and months and months,” Mazzei told Oklahoma City’s ABC affiliate.

RELIGIOUS LIBERTY OR GOVERNMENT OVERREACH? OKLAHOMA AG FIGHTS OWN PARTY IN SCOTUS BATTLE OVER CATHOLIC SCHOOL

“And, of course, it’s helpful to have someone on your team that’s aware of what’s going on in Washington, D.C. And the aspects of a Trump agenda and how they fit with an Oklahoma agenda.”

Drummond is running on his tough-on-crime record as attorney general, immigration enforcement efforts, career as a fighter pilot and ties to Trump similar to those touted by Mazzei.

“When his nation called, Captain Gentner Drummond answered with courage. Leading the first U.S. combat mission of the Gulf War, he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for “extraordinary achievement.” By the end of Operation Desert Storm, Capt. Drummond was one of the most highly decorated Oklahomans of the war,” a statement on his campaign website reads.

Drummond highlighted his efforts fighting “the Biden administration’s radical overreach, including failures on immigration” and policies permitting biological boys in girls’ sports.

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McCall ran on a platform of “family, faith and moral leadership,” and burnished his state legislature credentials and record.

He wants to abolish both the state income tax and property tax, and put forward an economically conservative plan of action.

Keating, who also served in the Oklahoma Highway Patrol, noted on his campaign website he is the only former law enforcement officer running for governor.

Keating pushed a public safety-first platform targeting trafficking, open borders and Antifa, whom he described as “radical domestic terrorists.”

Deep in Trump country, a Republican vying for a seat in the Senate is wondering why his possible future colleagues can’t pass a key voter ID and citizenship verification bill. 

Rep. Kevin Hern, R-Okla., cruised to a primary victory Tuesday night in the Sooner State, where he told Fox News Digital in an interview that the one thing he hears from voters constantly is whether Congress will pass the Safeguarding American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) America Act. 

“They’re saying we need to work on, you know, the SAVE Act,” Hern said ahead of primary Election Day. “I mean, this is time and time again.” 

EXCLUSIVE: COLLINS PITS RECORD BUILT IN MAINE POTATO FIELDS AGAINST PLATNER’S ‘ANGRY RHETORIC’

But the legislation has been stuck in the Senate, where all Democrats have vowed to block it. A cohort of Republicans have voted against the bill in various forms, too.

“This is something I’m not real sure why Republican senators are not supporting,” Hern said. “I understand why Democrats don’t support it. They don’t support anything that protects America.”

Hern has served five terms in the House, where he’s moved up the chain into the fourth-highest role in House GOP leadership as House Republican Policy chair. He also ran for Speaker of the House when former Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., was ousted. 

His decision to leave the House and seek a seat in the Senate came after President Donald Trump nominated fellow Oklahoman, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, to lead the DHS.

HOUSE GOP LEADER LAUNCHES SENATE BID AS TRUMP TAPS MARKWAYNE MULLIN FOR DHS

Since jumping into the race earlier this year, Hern has amassed a bevy of endorsements from senators and Trump, who lauded the lawmaker as being “strongly supported by the fiercest MAGA Warriors in Oklahoma, and the most Highly Respected Leaders in the United States Senate!”

And Hern knows that Oklahoma is Trump country, noting that voters there “love the president. They love the fact that I support the president and I work with the president.” 

Hern likely won’t face strong headwinds in November against one of a half dozen Democratic candidates seeking the nomination in the Sooner State, given that Trump has won the state — and all 77 of its counties — three times.

MULLIN PROMISES TO EARN DEM VOTES AS GOP COLLEAGUES POUNCE ON HIS SEAT

That doesn’t mean he intends to rest on his laurels until November. Hern, who grew up without indoor plumbing, said he knows the value of work and preparation. It’s what landed him his own McDonald’s franchise empire in Oklahoma, where he owned 24 restaurants — his past life in business also earned him the nickname “McCongressman.”

“I just respect the idea of work. I think working hard gives you a chance to compete with anybody,” Hern said. “And so, same thing with the Senate race. I came out strong, set a tone from day one.”

“The president endorsed me in the first 48 hours because of the work I’ve done over the last eight years,” he continued. “And I think it goes back to that common word of work and working hard.” 

And if successful in November, Hern isn’t shutting down the option of seeking a spot in Senate GOP leadership.

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Hern said that throughout his business career he would tell anyone that “if you wait till something comes available, and you start working hard, it’s too late because there are other people like me that have started out in the proverbial parking lot.” 

“We’ve got people on third base who think they’re ready to be in leadership, and I’m running right past them, and they say, ‘Who’s this guy?’ And it’s a guy like me that’s just been working hard, positioning, building relationships,” Hern said. “And I think that’s important going forward, and we’ll see what comes open.”

In a 2010 interview with a Mexican newspaper, Latin Grammy winner Bobby Pulido, a Democratic congressional candidate, once said he hasn’t gone shopping since becoming a music star.

“While he was in college, Bobby Pulido set foot in a supermarket on occasion — but since his career began 15 years ago, he hasn’t stopped in one since,” a 2010 profile of El Norte Magazine reads.

“‘El Golden Boy’ notes that he doesn’t have time to deal with the running of his household. ‘I don’t have the time; I’ve never gone to the supermarket to shop… well, very rarely. When I was in college, I did go, but ever since I started singing, not anymore,’” Pulido told interviewers.

Now, as the Democratic candidate in one of the country’s most competitive congressional districts, Pulido’s depiction of himself clashes with broader efforts from Democrats to zero in on affordability, a messaging platform for the 2026 midterms that looks to capitalize on inflation and the persistently high gas prices that have drawn criticism of President Donald Trump.

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Pulido is best known for Tejano, or Mexican-Spanish folk-style songs like “Desvelado” and “Se Murió de Amor,” and has received five Latin Grammy Award nominations, winning Best Tejano Album in 2022 and 2025.

Despite a series of scandals over past behavior, Pulido has framed his campaign as a Texan referendum on expenses the administration has overlooked.

“The economy we care about is not a bunch of numbers and letters flashing on a board on Wall Street,” Pulido’s campaign page reads.

“It’s in our pockets, at the pump, in the grocery store when we buy fajitas, milk and eggs — and for some it’s when they have to choose between paying the rent or for their health insurance.”

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Inflation has climbed in recent months, reaching 4.2% in May — up from 3.8% in April, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Pulido argues the climb in prices takes a disproportionate toll on his district, which he believes has the lowest per-capita income in the Lone Star State.

“Here in the Rio Grande Valley, when inflation hits, oh gosh. We don’t make a lot of money to begin with. So, inflation really hurts us harder than — it gives people in San Antonio a cold; it gives us the flu. We feel it that much harder,” Pulido said on a recent podcast posted to his YouTube channel.

Pulido hopes to unseat Rep. Monica De La Cruz, R-Texas. His race, which is expected to be one of the more competitive opportunities for Democrats in Texas after a redistricting effort in the state looks to squeeze five Democrats out of office, will turn on whether he can attract support from across the aisle.

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A two-term incumbent, De La Cruz last won election to the district in 2024 in a 57.1%–42.9% victory over Democratic nominee Michelle Vallejo.

Having cleared the Democratic primary last month, Pulido will face off with De La Cruz on Nov. 3.

Fox News Digital reached out to the Pulido campaign.

In his new book “Communion,” Vice President JD Vance reflected on the “childless cat ladies” jab he made while running for U.S. Senate in 2021, characterizing it as “one of the dumbest” remarks he has ever made, according to NBC News.

During a 2021 appearance on “Tucker Carlson Tonight,” Vance said, “We’re effectively run in this country, via the Democrats … via our corporate oligarchs, by a bunch of childless cat ladies who are miserable at their own lives and the choices that they’ve made,” and who desire to make the rest of the nation “miserable too.”

He then pointed to then-Vice President Kamala Harris, then-Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., declaring, “The entire future of the Democrats is controlled by people without children. And how does it make any sense that we’ve turned our country over to people who don’t really have a direct stake in it?”

Harris has two adult stepchildren.

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Buttigieg announced in an August 2021 post on X, “For some time, Chasten and I have wanted to grow our family. We’re overjoyed to share that we’ve become parents! The process isn’t done yet and we’re thankful for the love, support, and respect for our privacy that has been offered to us. We can’t wait to share more soon.” They adopted two children.

“Chasten and I are beyond thankful for all the kind wishes since first sharing the news that we’re becoming parents. We are delighted to welcome Penelope Rose and Joseph August Buttigieg to our family,” Buttigieg wrote in a September 2021 post on X.

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Vance addressed his controversial comment in his new book, according to NBC News.

“One of the dumbest things I ever said came when I argued that ‘childless cat ladies’ across the Democrat Party were running our country into the ground,” Vance wrote, according to the outlet.

“The comment caused two firestorms: the first when I made it, the second years later during a political campaign,” he noted. “It was a boneheaded comment, intentionally (and successfully) provocative rather than illuminating.”

Vance won election to the U.S. Senate in 2022 and took office in early 2023.

In 2024, then-former President Donald Trump tapped Vance as his running mate. Vance became vice president in early 2025.

According to NBC News, the vice president recognized that the remark was “enraging” and noted that it “had the added effect of distracting from the actual point I wanted to make, which was that our society is becoming pathologically hostile to having kids.” He indicated that he “could have made that point much more effectively, and with the benefit of showing a little charity to the many Americans who — some for reasons beyond their control —­ don’t have children.”

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“When I consider the Church’s admonition to respect the dignity of every life, this was a clear moment where I failed,” Vance, who is Catholic, noted.

FIRST ON FOX: A new report reveals that a dangerous dynamic of anti-Christian extremism and “assassination culture” could have fueled the recent attempt to kill conservative leader Charlie Kirk’s widow Erika Kirk, as threats against public officials and figures rise to historic levels.

In late May, Bexar County charged Jacob Wenske, 26, with a third-degree felony count of making a terroristic threat involving public fear of serious bodily injury or public disruption for his alleged plan to bomb a Turning Point USA event where Kirk was the keynote speaker. 

In an email to TPUSA, Wenske said he was targeting Kirk, other event speakers and so-called “Christian nationalists,” according to an arrest warrant.

Wenske, who worked as a valet driver, also posted multiple threats on social media, according to the warrant.

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Wenske’s arrest emerged amid a record number of threats against political figures and members of Congress. The U.S. Capitol Police Threat Assessment Section showed a 58% increase in threats against members of Congress from 2024 to 2025, and threats overall have nearly doubled since 2020. 

The Network Contagion Research Institute, a research lab that studies how radical ideologies spread across digital networks and social media, analyzed the threats against Kirk to assess the level of danger and how “permission structure” plays a role in originating the threat.

“What we’re seeing is a massive influx of foreign malign influence that is truly shaping the Western world right now, particularly through social media,” Travis Hawley, cyber threat and open-source intelligence analyst at the Network Contagion Research Institute, told Fox News Digital. “What you could call our digital diet is really shaping how people see ourselves, our values, our country, and even our history.”

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“And there are many countries, organizations, and wealthy individuals, whether it’s [Neville Roy] Singham in China, who are really pushing or putting their thumb on the scale, trying to push us and accelerate us into violence, dystopian even, and a civil unrest type of environment,” Hawley added. “This is really concerning and really showing how democracy actually has a weakness if it is not protected.”

The targeting of Kirk comes nine months after the assassination of her husband, who was shot and killed during an event at Utah Valley University. 

FBI Director Kash Patel said that Tyler Robinson, Kirk’s alleged assassin, confessed the killing in the chatroom platform Discord, a platform which members of Congress have criticized for radicalizing users.

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In the case of Luigi Mangione, the alleged assassin of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, pro-Mangione demonstrators regularly frequent the courthouse to support him, and a legal fund for Mangione has collected more than $1.5 million.

The new study obtained by Fox News Digital shows that “permission structure” plays a role in promoting the idea that a murder is justified.

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Permission structure gives individuals the excuse to commit an act that would normally be unacceptable, like murder, assassination or political violence.

In 2025, a Network Contagion Research Institute study found that 1,264 U.S. adults, or 38% of people surveyed, considered it “somewhat justified” to murder President Donald Trump, and the figure increased to about 55% among those identifying as left of center.

In a post on X, Charlie Kirk cited the study, blaming “left-wing protest culture” for a rise in political violence. He was assassinated 153 days later.

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Hawley also told Fox News Digital that alleged malign foreign influence in protest and agitator networks plays a role in boosting radicalized beliefs. Hawley said that the far-left network stokes an anti-West ideology that aligns with the propaganda messages of America’s adversaries.

“The motivation of our adversaries to push Marxist ideology, Islamist ideology, Marxist ideology, socialists, you name it, anything that is anti-Western, anti-democratic, anti capitalist is to defeat us from within,” Hawley explained. 

He also noted that malign actors can easily use social media platforms to quickly mobilize pro-communist, anti-Western agitators.

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A Fox News Digital investigation uncovered that U.S. tech tycoon and Shanghai resident Neville Roy Singham has  poured $278 million into nonprofits that have promoted Chinese Communist Party propaganda at protests around the country, often taking aim at U.S. leaders and public figures, like the Kirks.

“It seems to be bubbling up increasingly is these protests, these riots, whether it’s against the government itself, whether it’s against ICE and the military, the war,” Hawley told Fox News Digital. “We’re living in a time where it is very clear that our ability to protect our country really hinges on understanding how much of the civil unrest we are living through in recent years is actually organic.”