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America’s biggest obstacle in the technology race with China may not be Beijing, but growing resistance to new data centers and the power needed to run them, according to Palantir’s chief technology officer.

“The proximate issues are definitely going to be power and backlash against data centers,” Shyam Sankar said in an interview with Fox News Digital at Palantir’s American Builder Summit.

Sankar, whose company builds software for the Pentagon, intelligence agencies and major manufacturers, argued the U.S. risks slowing its own technological progress more than falling behind Beijing.

“The only threat to AI generating prosperity for America is suicide, not homicide.”

LEADING ECONOMIST WARNS OF RISE OF ‘GEN Z AFFORDABILITY SOCIALISM’

The U.S. and China are pouring billions into the race to dominate artificial intelligence, viewing the technology as central to economic growth, military power and geopolitical influence. Winning that race depends on an enormous buildout of data centers, power generation and transmission infrastructure to support increasingly capable systems. 

But those projects have drawn growing resistance from communities worried about electricity demand, water use and whether the benefits will outweigh the costs.

Companies have raced to build new data centers to support a wave of new computing infrastructure, fueling a nationwide expansion that also has sparked growing local opposition. The issue has spilled into the 2026 midterm campaigns, with candidates in battleground states such as Pennsylvania running ads focused on the economic and environmental effects of the projects.

Residents have raised concerns about electricity demand, water consumption, noise, traffic and whether utility customers will ultimately bear the cost of expanding the power grid. Some projects have been delayed or canceled, while lawmakers in several states have proposed restrictions or moratoriums on new facilities.

THE WAR ON DATA CENTERS JEOPARDIZES OUR ECONOMY AND NATIONAL SECURITY

Some developers have responded by pairing new data centers with dedicated power generation rather than relying entirely on the electric grid.

Sankar argues those debates risk slowing the industrial gains the technology can already deliver. He pointed to one submarine-parts manufacturer that cut production planning from two weeks to less than an hour, freeing enough capacity to add a third shift.

“There is no one on that shift who thinks, ‘Hey, I got my job because of AI,’ but that’s actually what happened,” he said.

The summit itself appeared designed to counter one of the AI industry’s biggest public relations challenges: fears that technology will replace jobs. Rather than showcasing increasingly capable AI models, Palantir filled the stage with factory workers, healthcare workers and military personnel demonstrating software they had built to solve problems in their own workplaces.

Sankar argued the AI industry has become overly focused on pursuing artificial general intelligence, or AGI, rather than deploying today’s AI systems across the economy.

Artificial general intelligence, or AGI, refers to a still-theoretical system capable of performing a broad range of intellectual tasks at or beyond human level, rather than excelling mainly at narrower tasks such as writing, coding or image analysis.

He compared the current moment to the early days of electricity, arguing that while technology already exists, businesses have yet to reorganize themselves around it.

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“The AI we have is powerful enough that it should have created more prosperity and value,” he said. “The only reason it hasn’t yet is not a failing of the technology, it’s a lack of our national will to push and invest in diffusing the technology through our economy.”

“We shouldn’t lose the plot in pining away for a machine god,” he added.

The summit brought together a cohort of Palantir’s American Tech Fellowship, where workers from industries including manufacturing, healthcare and defense demonstrated AI applications they had built for use in their jobs.

The demonstrations were intended to illustrate Sankar’s contention: that AI will make workers more productive than ever rather than replace them.

That runs against much of the public sentiment, where workers across industries have begun to wonder how long until their jobs will be done by a machine.

FOX NEWS POLL: MOVE OVER BIG BROTHER, VOTERS SEE BIG TECH AS GREATER THREAT TO US

“How many people have actually, at the front line, have experienced AI and how it’s changed their job versus how many people are imbibing the fear-mongering from the social media feed, which is partially a Chinese psyop as well.”

Massachusetts is poised to dramatically expand access to abortions access up to 24 weeks of pregnancy in a mad dash by Democrat lawmakers to pass the measure before the legislative session ends Friday.

The Prioritizing Patients’ Access to Care Act is on a fast track to clear the Massachusetts Legislature after passing the House 119-33 last week. It marks the latest effort by Democratic-led states to expand abortion protections after the Supreme Court’s 2022 Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision returned abortion policy to the states.

Supporters say the New England state bill removes barriers to medically necessary care, while opponents contend it would make Massachusetts one of the nation’s least restrictive states for abortions later in pregnancy.

MAMDANI AND HOCHUL ANNOUNCE CASH INFUSION FOR NEW YORK CITY ABORTION ACCESS HUB EXPANSION

If enacted, the bill would remove current legal requirements limiting abortions after 24 weeks to four specific circumstances — protecting the patient’s life, physical health, mental health, or cases involving a lethal fetal anomaly or a grave fetal diagnosis.

Instead, the bill would allow licensed physicians to decide whether an abortion after 24 weeks is appropriate based on their own medical judgment. It would also prevent third-party medical reviewers from overruling decisions made by a patient and their doctor.

The proposal mirrors a law Maine enacted in 2023 that similarly allows late-term abortions based on a physician’s judgment.

“The goal of passing this legislation is simple. Medical decisions should be made by a patient and their doctor,” bill sponsor Rep. Lindsay N. Sabadosa, D-Northampton, said in a statement. “Massachusetts has one of the best health care systems in the country, and patients should be able to rely on their providers to deliver medically appropriate care without restrictions that can fail to account for the complexity of individual medical circumstances.”

“By removing those barriers, we can ensure that no one has to leave Massachusetts to receive the care they need.”

Supporters of the bill argue that existing statutory exceptions are too narrow to account for every serious pregnancy complication.

NEW JERSEY DEMOCRATS ADVANCE BILL CRIMINALIZING INTERFERENCE WITH ABORTION, TRANSGENDER HEALTHCARE

Claire Teylouni, interim co-executive director of Reproductive Equity Now, told the New York Times about a 2021 case in which a woman had to leave Massachusetts for an abortion after her fetus suffered a stroke at 33 weeks because providers did not believe the case fit within the state’s existing legal exceptions.

“She was shocked that she had to leave Massachusetts to get this care,” Teylouni told The New York Times. “Providers say they want to be able to use their professional expertise to make decisions — that’s how we treat almost every other area of health care.”

Opponents say the current law already includes broad exceptions and argue the bill would remove existing limits on abortions after 24 weeks.

“The current law that exists in Massachusetts allows abortion up until 24 weeks, and it already has exceptions,” Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America Communications Direct Kelsey Pritchard told Fox News Digital. “It has health and life exceptions for the mother, but it even has exceptions that allow for so-called fetal anomaly abortion, so if the baby has a life-limiting diagnosis, if the baby has a disability diagnosis, already in Massachusetts you can abort those babies seemingly at any point.

“And so what this new bill would do is allow abortion throughout the second and third trimesters if you have an abortionist who has a medical degree who can sign off on that for you, so essentially they’re opening the door to elective abortion at any point in pregnancy,” Pritchard said.

FIRST ON FOX: TRUMP DOJ REACHES SETTLEMENT WITH PRO-LIFE PROTESTER TARGETED BY BIDEN ADMIN

Pritchard also criticized the legislative process, saying Democratic leaders moved quickly to pass the measure before lawmakers adjourn.

“There’s really no justification for them to make their law this extreme,” she said. “It’s something that they’ve been doing in secret. They kind of tried to fly under the radar when they passed this bill in the House. And then they bypassed the full Senate committee process to fast-track this and get this done before their legislative session ends on July 31.”

Republicans in the legislature also questioned both the substance of the bill and how quickly it advanced.

Republican state Rep. Kelly Pease told WWLP that he was caught off guard by the proposal.

“I think most of our caucus was. It’s like, where did this come from?” Pease said. “I don’t see how I’m going to be in favor of a bill that allows babies over six months to be terminated when they’re probably viable outside the womb, unless there’s extenuating circumstances, and this kind of just takes away some of the safeguards that were in place before.”

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Massachusetts Democratic Gov. Maura Healey has made expanding abortion access one of the defining priorities of her administration.

Since taking office in 2023, she has called Massachusetts a “beacon of reproductive freedom” for abortion access in the post-Dobbs era, having directed state agencies to shield abortion providers and patients from out-of-state legal action and ordered the state to stockpile mifepristone after a federal court challenged the FDA’s approval of the abortion pill. She has not publicly weighed in on this bill.

Fox News Digital reached out to Healey for comment.

One of the most outspoken members of the “Squad” is plotting her return to Congress as a wave of socialist insurgency continues to batter establishment Democrats across the country.

Former Rep. Cori Bush, D-Mo., is running to get her old seat back representing Missouri’s 1st Congressional District after losing to incumbent Rep. Wesley Bell, D-Mo., in November 2024. It’s another battle in the wider civil war that’s taking place within the Democratic Party.

Missouri’s primary elections are this Tuesday, and Bush has spent weeks blasting Bell for his pro-Israel stance and accusing him of being tied too closely to Republicans.

In her latest ad released on Thursday, Bush accused Bell of not doing enough to help St. Louis recover from a May 2025 tornado and instead “jetting off to Israel with AIPAC.”

NEW YORK TIMES RAISES EYEBROWS BY REFERRING TO AIPAC AS ‘HARD-RIGHT’ PRO-ISRAEL GROUP

She posted on X alongside the ad, “When the disaster caused $1.6 billion in damages and took several lives, Wesley responded by hopping on a flight to Israel funded by Trump’s donors less than 90 days later.”

Earlier this month, she posted, “Wesley Bell is a former Republican campaign manager who is bought and paid for by AIPAC. On August 4th, we’re going back to DC, and we’ll do it with no corporate cash or AIPAC-funded trips.”

BERNIE SANDERS AIMS TO BLOCK SALE OF BOMBS AND BULLDOZERS TO ISRAEL, ACCUSING US ALLY OF ‘GENOCIDE’

When reached for comment on Bush’s criticism, Bell’s campaign pointed Fox News Digital to a recent debate between the two on St. Louis Public Radio, specifically Bell’s response to a question on the tornado.

“Once the tornado hit here, I got right to work. I was on the ground immediately, but also working with our delegation, which, you all know, is six Republicans and only myself and [Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, D-Mo.],” Bell said. “And so I got on the phone with each one of them. Sometimes that meant sitting in their offices as well, to explain to them how important it was for them to join me in making certain that St. Louis got the resources that folks here needed. So I’m proud of the fact that we were able to get over $200 million and counting in FEMA disaster relief, but we still got more to do.”

Bell’s campaign also shared an ad with Fox News Digital in which a constituent called Bush’s attacks on Bell “just politics” while defending his response to the tornado.

“Wesley Bell’s taken on Trump. He’s fighting for me and my neighbors,” the constituent said.

The issue of U.S.-Israel relations has been fueling an ever-growing fracture within the Democratic Party since Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attack on the Jewish nation-state.

The two-term progressive firebrand was one of Congress’ harshest critics of Israel and its operation in Gaza, well before it became a more mainstream position in the party. She had accused Israel’s government of waging a genocide on Palestinians and consistently voted against emergency funding for the Middle Eastern ally.

BERNIE SANDERS, DSA REVEAL DEMANDS FOR DEM PARTY AFTER SOCIALISTS SWEEP NEW YORK ELECTIONS

Bell is a more pragmatic Democrat who previously served as a county prosecutor.

Bush blamed her narrow 2024 loss to Bell on hundreds of thousands of dollars spent by pro-Israel groups, including those affiliated with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), from outside the district.

The rematch comes as candidates linked to the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) continue to shake up primaries across the country.

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DSA candidates are posing a challenge for more establishment Democrats in gubernatorial races like Wisconsin and a Senate race in Michigan, and have even successfully toppled House Democratic incumbents in New York and Colorado.

Bush is also a member of the DSA.

Conservatives lit up on Thursday night in response to a report claiming that Maine Democratic Senate candidate Troy Jackson, who recently replaced disgraced candidate Graham Platner on the ballot, fathered two children with his second cousin and high school sweetheart.

The report, from Maine Wire editor-in-chief Steve Robinson, found that Jackson shares two adult sons with a woman named Lana Pelletier, his second cousin with whom he shares the same great-grandparents.

The report pointed out that the relationship is not uncommon in northern rural Maine, where Jackson is from, and that it is not illegal, but many on social media reacted with shock and criticism.

“Can’t wait for Democrats to defend cousin marriage!,” Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., posted on X.

MAINE DEM IN HOT SEAT FOR CHAMPIONING POPULAR VOTE DESPITE CLINCHING SENATE BID WITHOUT IT

“If you thought Platner was a freak – meet Troy Jackson,” former White House press secretary Sean Spicer posted on X.

“🚨 WTF?! Maine’s new Democratic Senate candidate Troy Jackson is in a ROMANTIC RELATIONSHIP with his COUSIN, and has TWO CHILDREN with her. THIS is the guy the Democrat Party swapped Graham Platner out for🤣,” conservative influencer Nick Sortor posted on X.

“The Democrats are having a REALLY tough time finding candidates who aren’t total freaks😂,” Sortor added.

“Troy Jackson’s ‘partner’ is his second cousin, according to genealogical records found in Maine. Which means his kids are also his third cousins. Who said Democrats were anti-family?” Drew Berkemeyer, a writer for the Daily Wire, posted on X.

KAMALA HARRIS BACKS US SENATE CANDIDATE WHO REPLACED GRAHAM PLATNER: ‘I KNOW WHAT IT IS LIKE’

In a post on X, Independent Women’s Forum Senior Policy Analyst Inez Stepman wrote, “*Second* cousins seem like relevant information here. But it is funny that Dems keep selecting candidates who fit the vicious stereotypes they hold about rural or working-class people: beats women, hooks up with cousin, etc.”

“They live together and have kids together? So they’re basically married?” Washington Examiner senior columnist Tim Carney posted on X.

“Take it from Troy, he’s got that can’t eat, can’t sleep, reach for the stars, over the fence, World Series kind of cousin love,” National Republican Senatorial Committee Deputy Political Director Kaeley Gemmill posted on X.

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“It’s truly hysterical how Democrats can’t seem to find one normal dude to run for office,” conservative commentator Greg Price posted on X.

The Republican account on X also posted, “Wellness check on Maine Democrats.”

In a statement to Fox News Digital, the Jackson campaign said, “Susan Collins will do anything to distract from the fact that she votes with Trump 96% of the time and has sold out working people in Maine. Personal attacks on Troy’s family are shameful and desperate.”

Jackson, a former state senator who ran unsuccessfully in the Democratic Maine gubernatorial primary this year, was tapped as the U.S. Senate nominee at the Maine Democratic Party’s U.S. Senate Nominating Convention earlier this month.

Graham Platner, who won the 2026 Maine Democratic U.S. Senate primary last month, dropped out of the race earlier this month in the face of a rape allegation, though he had asserted, “Any accusation of non-consensual behavior is categorically false.”

The general election, where Jackson will square off against incumbent Republican Sen. Susan Collins, will be on Nov. 3, as Republicans attempt to hold on to their 53-47 majority in the Senate.

Fox News Digital’s Alex Nitzberg contributed to this report.

President Donald Trump said Friday during a Cabinet meeting that scenes of migrants flooding into Spain’s enclave of Ceuta from Morocco looked like a “catastrophe,” but that the U.S. could see worse in the future if Democrats regain power.

“You know, I saw Spain yesterday, and I watched the catastrophe that took place. It looks like an invasion of a country by hundreds of thousands of people. And that same thing is going to happen to us if the Republicans don’t get elected,” Trump said Friday at Camp David. “Except worse, much bigger, much easier to get into. Despite the fact that we have built thousands of miles of wall, which I said we were going to do. But if we didn’t have that, forget it. But we have the safest border in the world. If we’re not in office, our country will be invaded at levels that made Spain look small time.”

“And when I watched it, I said, boy, I said, ‘I’m going to say it because I knew you were going to be at Camp David.’ And I say, ‘That’s going to be a talking point for the midterms, because when you look at what happened to Spain, they don’t know what to do.’ And it’s happening again today,” the president continued. “They’re coming in by the tens of thousands. It’s just invading the country. And what that is weak law, bad management, but very liberal law. They passed a couple of laws and people read, you know, people are smart. They read from other countries, and they swam that 3-mile swim or however they got in.”

“But nobody’s seen anything like it. That will look good compared to what’s going to happen to the United States,” Trump also said. “The biggest thing, the worst thing that Biden did is allowing 25 million people into our country, because many of those people are criminals. They’re murderers,” Trump also said. “A lot of them are gone now. We got them out. But they allowed people to come into this country that you can’t allow to come into a country.”

WHITE HOUSE BLASTS SPANISH GOVERNMENT AS THOUSANDS OF MIGRANTS SURGE FROM MOROCCO, EMERGENCY REQUEST DENIED

Trump made similar comments to Fox News’ Jacqui Heinrich earlier Friday morning.

“It’s terrible. Remember that picture. That’s going to be us in three years if the wrong side gets in,” Trump said.

“If the Democrats get in, you will not live a very good life,” he warned.

U.S. border security has remained a key plank of the president’s campaign and policy focus throughout his political career.

An English translation of a Friday Spanish-language post on X from Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said, “The Government will guarantee the safety of the residents of Ceuta, intensifying the presence of the Security Forces and Corps on the city’s streets.” The post also included a video of him delivering remarks in Spanish.

FIREBRAND REP UNLOADS ON SOCIALIST PRIME MINISTER AS ‘HORDES OF MILITARY AGED MEN’ SWARM EUROPEAN COUNTRY

Ceuta, which is located along the northwestern African coast and borders Morocco, is not attached to mainland Spain.

“Additionally, we will deploy a physical containment barrier in the sea to facilitate repatriation at the border, in compliance with the Supreme Court ruling. We will expedite the repatriation files of the migrants who arrived irregularly. And we will maintain cooperation with the Moroccan authorities to continue fighting against the mafias that traffic in human beings,” the prime minister’s post added.

Around 60,000 migrants had ventured from Morocco to Ceuta over the past 24 hours, Cueta President Juan Jesús Vivas said on Friday.

At least 41 migrants lost their lives.

SPAIN DEPLOYS MILITARY AFTER THOUSANDS OF MIGRANTS OVERWHELM BORDER ENCLAVE, AT LEAST 18 DEAD

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Spain’s interior ministry issued its own figures not long after Vivas spoke, estimating that some 50,000 individuals came from Morocco since Thursday, adding that half had already gone back to Morocco.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

A Smithsonian exhibit designed to commemorate America’s 250th birthday displays numerous objects linked to key points in the nation’s history, though it provides relatively little representation of Christianity or conservatism despite ample coverage for LGBT rights and racial justice movements, among other liberal causes, a Fox News Digital review of the exhibit’s online catalog found.

In Pursuit of Life, Liberty & Happiness is an exhibit curated by the Smithsonian Institution with the aim of displaying 250 objects that help to tell the story of America from the 1700s to the present. Among these objects are historically significant items, such as a compass from the 1806 Lewis and Clark expedition, a dress belonging to Dolly Madison, Abraham Lincoln’s hat and the desk the Declaration of Independence was written on.

Also included in the exhibit, according to an online catalog published by the Smithsonian, are a number of objects with clear ties to modern liberal politics, such as a pink “p-ssy hat” worn by a participant of the 2017 Women’s March, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s gavel, monarch butterfly wings worn by an illegal immigrant activist and a typewriter belonging to liberal writer Maya Angelou.

Next to Angelou’s typewriter is a picture of a 1970s drag queen “wearing an off-the-shoulder shimmery gown,” according to a visual description of the exhibit published by the Smithsonian.

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The exhibit’s selections are drawing scrutiny as President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans challenge the Smithsonian’s portrayal of American history around the nation’s 250th anniversary.

Fox News Digital reviewed the Smithsonian’s online catalog and grouped objects according to the movements, causes and institutions identified in the museum’s descriptions, finding seven tied to conservative movements, compared with nearly two dozen tied to causes including LGBT rights, abortion access, racial justice, organized labor and Democratic politics.

The apparent domination of liberal causes in an exhibit designed to celebrate the contributions of all Americans to the nation’s history could further inflame conservative criticisms of the museum.

While the exhibit examines how left-of-center individuals and movements shaped American history, conservatives have less representation.

Just seven items representing conservative movements — a MAGA hat, a Tea Party placard, a pro-life sign, a dress worn by Melania Trump, a sign opposing the feminist-backed Equal Rights Amendment, a Ronald Reagan campaign T-shirt and a National Rifle Association button — are presented by the Smithsonian, according to its online catalog.

By comparison, the same catalog shows that liberal causes — such as LGBT rights, farm-worker rights, abortion access, racial justice, environmentalism, labor unions and the Democratic Party — collectively have nearly two dozen items representing them.

THE WAR ON AMERICA’S JUDEO-CHRISTIAN ROOTS THREATENS EVERYTHING WE SHARE

Among those, the Smithsonian chose four total items representing the gay rights movement, for example. 

That wasn’t far behind the six it curated to represent Christianity, including items from churches and a Bible, per its catalog. Christianity historically was America’s dominant faith, influencing nearly all aspects of life, though it has declined in prominence in recent decades.

Even the items representing Christianity, however, include undertones of racial justice. 

A pew from a Black Presbyterian church, for example, is accompanied by a description of its pastor’s racial activism. The one Bible on display as part of the exhibit, meanwhile, discusses the owner’s anti-slavery sentiments.

Other religions, such as Judaism, with a Seder plate and a Hanukkah lamp, and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day saints, colloquially known as Mormons, with a plate depicting one of their temples, received representation as well.

Among the LGBT artifacts displayed by the Smithsonian is a red tie that belonged to the late lesbian activist Carmen Vázquez. A description for the item notes that she described it as her “seduction necktie.”

“Vázquez was born in Puerto Rico and grew up in New York City. After College, she lived in San Francisco for many years, honing her political understanding of immigrant rights and women’s and public health,” the online exhibit description continues. “Her endless energy for LGBTQ+ rights and justice for all, and her work, writing, and speeches ensured the safety and capacity to thrive of countless people across the United States.”

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The online catalog also shows that nearly two-dozen items displayed at the exhibit are related to recent waves of Asian and Latino immigration. Earlier migrant groups such as the Irish, French and Italians, received just one entry each.

One display dedicated to recent immigrants is a soccer ball donated by the founder of the Fugees soccer team for refugee children in Clarkston, Georgia, describing how the group “overcame anti-immigrant backlash.”

The Smithsonian did not respond to a request for comment when reached by Fox News Digital. However, comments made by the National Museum of American History’s director provide some insight as to why curators made the decisions they did when selecting items for the exhibit.

“How do you structure a commemoration, celebration and time for reflection?” Anthea Hartig, the museum’s director, told British newspaper The Guardian. “What we landed on were those moments where individuals or communities had fought for recognition and advocated for their own sense of identity and self in their role in creating and becoming a part of the United States. But we also wanted to do the playful.”

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Beyond items of political or ideological significance, the exhibit also makes an effort to showcase historical changes to domestic life, technology and pop culture through the display of everyday objects.

Various household appliances from different points in American history, props from the Star Wars movies, currency spanning hundreds of years, instruments belonging to famous musicians, technological advancements in areas such as video games and telecommunications and sports paraphernalia, like hockey gloves worn during the 1980 “miracle on ice” Olympic match against the Soviet Union, are all on display.

President Donald Trump unleashed more fury on a Senate Republican he worked to oust who is standing in the way of his personal lawyer becoming the next attorney general.

Trump unloaded on Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, over acting Attorney General Todd Blanche’s stalled nomination Friday morning, a day after threatening to withdraw Blanche’s nomination from the Senate.

He accused Cornyn of previously having no issue with the nearly $2 billion anti-weaponization fund, one of the issues that he and Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., are trying to kill, before Trump endorsed Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in their grueling primary showdown.

TRUMP THREATENS TO YANK HIS OWN AG NOMINEE AS GOP REVOLT GROWS

“John Cornyn never had a problem with the so-called ‘Fund,’ which will not benefit me, but rather the great American Patriots who were hunted down like dogs and whose lives were unfairly and illegally destroyed by the Crooked Joe Biden Administration, until after I decided to Endorse and Support his Republican Primary opponent in Texas, who easily won the Nomination for the United States Senate,” Trump said on Truth Social.

Fox News Digital did not immediately receive comment from Cornyn’s office in response to Trump’s remarks.

Cornyn and Tillis are both pushing the Department of Justice (DOJ) and administration to provide explicit, written proposals to permanently nix and rewrite the anti-weaponization fund and Trump’s audit immunity, respectively, that were borne from his settlement deal with the IRS, which Blanche rolled out earlier this year.

DOJ BARS IRS FROM AUDITING TRUMP’S PRIOR TAX RETURNS IN SETTLEMENT ORDER SIGNED BY BLANCHE

The Texas Republican, in particular, wants changes to Trump’s audit immunity spelled out in the deal, and has so far not had his demands met as paper continues to flow back and forth between the lawmakers and administration.

But the lawmakers contend that there’s a force above Blanche that is thwarting the process and further slowing down his confirmation.

“I thought we were pretty close to landing the plane last night, but this morning there’s been some more complications,” Cornyn told reporters on Thursday. “I think if this were just between me and Todd Blanche, we would have worked this out. But apparently he’s getting some pushback from higher-ups at the White House. I don’t know who, but this doesn’t need to be this hard.”

WATCH: GOP HOLDOUT REJECTS TRUMP THREAT AS AG NOMINEE STANDOFF EXPLODES

Trump appeared unwilling to part with the fund, which has been condemned by Republicans and Democrats over concerns that it would dole out taxpayer dollars to rioters who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

“I will always feel that these victims of government abuse should be paid back for what they were forced to endure, their lives have been ruined,” Trump said. “Millions of people agree with me, as was proven in my landslide Presidential win, where this was a major subject of debate, and so did John Cornyn, until he lost his Election to an opponent that I Endorsed. Todd Blanche, a good man, should be immediately approved as U.S. Attorney General.”

Both Cornyn and Tillis met with Blanche toward the end of the day Thursday to continue hashing out a path forward.

Meanwhile, Trump threatened to yank Blanche’s nomination from the Senate over the impasse after Senate Judiciary Chair Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, postponed his confirmation hearing scheduled for Thursday.

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His plan would be to wait until both Cornyn and Tillis are out of office next year. But, there’s no guarantee that the Senate would be more welcoming to Blanche after the midterm elections this November.

And Tillis and Cornyn aren’t the only Republicans with reservations about Blanche — Sens. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, and John Curtis, R-Utah, are both on the fence on whether to support him on a full floor vote in the Senate.

Given universal Democratic opposition, their resistance could sink his chances.

Americans for Public Trust, a government transparency advocacy group, is releasing a new database that tracks more than $5 billion in foreign spending, bankrolling politically active nonprofits in the U.S.

The tool, the first of its kind, aims to provide a searchable database that catalogs 523 groups and 12,090 records of foreign contributions to nonprofit organizations that, under current law, aren’t required to disclose the names of their donors, stemming from provisions passed under the Tax Reform Act of 1969. The database also reinforces the cautionary warnings from some lawmakers that those contributions are having an outsized influence on American discourse.

At a hearing on the matter earlier this year, House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith, R-Mo., blasted the privileges that nonprofits enjoy that he believes are being abused.

CRUZ PUSHES BILL TO HOLD TAX-EXEMPT SPONSORS ACCOUNTABLE AS DOJ PROBES SINGHAM NETWORK

“It is clear the status quo is unacceptable. Tax-exempt status is a privilege, not a right. It exists to support legitimate charitable and educational work that strengthens our communities, not to serve as cover for foreign propaganda, election interference, or activities that undermine our national interest,” Smith said in a press release.

Fox News Digital is not aware of evidence that the Department of Justice is investigating or considering charges against groups in the database with any criminal behavior.

But Caitlin Sutherland, executive director for Americans for Public Trust, thinks maybe that should change — that the law itself should change.

“That’s exactly the problem. It should be illegal for foreign influence to permeate our political system and right now it’s not. Our database is designed to give them the information they need to address these loopholes and close them once and for all,” Sutherland said.

The tool allows users to search specific organizations and their contributions. It also provides a timeline of when the contributions were injected into the American scene — some as recent as the past election cycle, others stretching back to 2007.

When asked why some form of similar tool hasn’t existed until now, Sutherland said the idea of nonprofits has disguised the amount of money coming in.

“The term nonprofit, it conjures up an image of putting soup in a homeless person’s bowl, vaccinating orphans. The term nonprofit does not necessarily mean helping the needy. In the United States, nonprofits have really, really morphed into these huge entities. That are engaging in lobbying and public policy,” Sutherland said.

“The nonprofits of today are not what we have seen in decades past.”

SPLC INDICTMENT BUILDS MOMENTUM FOR BESSENT’S TREASURY TO PROBE PARTISAN NONPROFITS

Sutherland also explained that because of a wide-ranging definition for what qualifies as a nonprofit, organizations have a wide latitude about what they want to do with that money.

“Foreign money can pay for get-out-the-vote drives. It can be spent on ballot harvesting. It can be spent on ballot issue campaigns, protests that are emerging across the country,” Sutherland said.

Smith, the chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, believes the database may soon shed light on the relationships between the groups.

“This database confirms what the Ways and Means Committee has been exposing for months: foreign money is flowing into America’s tax-exempt sector through shell funds and intermediaries designed to hide where it actually came from to influence American policymaking and our public discourse. The size and scope of the problem that Americans for Public Trust has identified is concerning, further underscoring the need to pass our legislation and close these loopholes once and for all,” Smith said.

Under current law, nonprofits aren’t required to disclose the source of their donations.

Supporters of the current policy framework argue that donors could receive harassment for their contributions if they were made public. That’s the position of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), a state-level think tank that advocates for free markets, limited government and federalism.

“Donor disclosure and donor privacy are very important issues. Unfortunately, instead of a focus on government transparency and individual privacy, many advocates of donor disclosure are actually attempting to pass laws that would require the disclosure of personal information—like names and home addresses of Americans—in order to intimidate these donors from contributing to the causes they care about most,” the group states on its website.

“The First Amendment protects freedom of speech and association, yet many donor disclosure bills are designed to intimidate people from associating with organizations and ideas that the government may not like.”

Even so, Sutherland believes voters shouldn’t have to scrape through what reporting does exist to get a sense of where foreign dollars are going. She explained that getting that documentation is especially difficult because of varying legal standards for international contributions.

“That means that we are beholden to the laws of other countries that may not necessarily have to report money out here in the United States; a list of groups that are receiving money, whereas foreign charities don’t necessarily have to publish the same information,” Sutherland said.

‘MCCARTHY TRIALS’: HASAN PIKER, FAR-LEFT FIGURES ERUPT OVER SUBPOENAS IN $39M SINGHAM PROBE

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“There is no central European registry for foreign charities, so we’ve really put together a piecemeal collection of information relying on the foreign charities’ annual reports as well as their grant databases. We think that it should be simple,” she added.

Aubrie Spady and Cameron Cawthorne contributed to this report

An Army veteran and trucking company executive who attended President Donald Trump’s Wednesday announcement about a new initiative called “Freedom Haulers” at the White House praised the new plan to provide a boost to the industry.

“I came down here to support the cause of getting into an industry that is always in need,” said Tom Jacques, the director of Department of Transportation (DOT) compliance at Waste Management. Jacques is also the chairman of the board of directors for the Pennsylvania Motor Trucking Association.

Jacques, whose biography says he enlisted in the Army and joined the 3rd U.S. Infantry as an escort to the President, called the plan “wonderful.”

TRUMP TAPS VETERANS TO FIX ILLEGAL ALIEN TRUCKING PROBLEM PLAGUING US ROADWAYS

“It’s wonderful to get skilled workers who are disciplined [and] dedicated into an industry that requires discipline and dedication,” Jacques told Fox News Digital at the White House. “You don’t get behind the wheel of a tractor-trailer — 80,000 pounds — without understanding the need to be disciplined and to be safe. So it’s nice to have that, to tap into a large workforce as they transition out of the military and into the next career field.”

Under the initiative, qualified veterans with heavy-vehicle experience gained during military service can apply to waive the CDL road-skills test, allowing them to avoid duplicating training they received in the military.

Certain veterans in participating states — 34 of them so far — may also qualify for a waiver of the written knowledge test. Veterans without military truck-driving experience will be eligible for expedited training that administration officials said could be completed in several weeks.

TRUMP PROMOTES FREEDOM HAULERS INITIATIVE TO FAST-TRACK MILITARY VETERANS INTO TRUCKING JOBS

“Data shows that truck drivers who are veterans account for 42% fewer accidents. Think of that, 42%,” Trump said at the event. “And that number, they say, is their very minimal number, even as they drive double the number of miles of non-veteran drivers.”

Jacques said the trucking industry is always in need of new drivers, and discussed the important role that truckers play in the everyday lives of Americans.

“If you take a look at the trucking industry, the behind the scenes, that’s what gets the commodities where they’re at,” he said.

He also noted that during COVID-19, when non-essential workers were furloughed and much of America worked from home, truckers didn’t have that option. Americans depended upon their work in order to have access to necessities, otherwise the country could have “shut down,” he said.

“There’s no shortage of positions for truck drivers,” said Jacques. “It’s an aging workforce. It’s something that people need to understand that we’ve got to be continually replenishing that workforce, and [it’s] a great opportunity getting our veterans … into a good, highly-paying job right out of the service. It’s going to be really nice to see more service members behind the wheel.”

OUT OF CONTROL, UNQUALIFIED ILLEGAL ALIEN TRUCKERS ENDANGERING KIDS ON US ROADS, INSIDER WARNS: ‘JUST MADNESS’

That truckers are paid well is a fact not lost on Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, who also spoke at Wednesday’s event.

“These are great paying jobs. They’re anywhere from $80 to $100,000 plus a year,” he said. “And it’s important because you have men and women who drove big rigs in the military who would then get out and have to go through a months-long training for their skills and their knowledge test to drive this vehicle over here.”

The initiative has another component — getting illegal alien truck drivers off the roads.

“For many years, American highways and roadways have been terrorized by unqualified illegal aliens dangerously driving big rigs,” Trump said, pointing out that many illegal alien drivers can’t speak English or read the road signs. “You have to have a talent for it, and these people don’t have that. They’re driving big rigs, semi trucks and tractor trailers, all because radical left maniacs at the state level have issued them commercial driver’s licenses, even though they’re not entitled to have them.”

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He said that last year alone, at least 30 Americans were killed at the hands of illegal alien truck drivers, and that 24,000 illegal aliens drivers have already been taken off the streets.

“So to end this, very simply, the radical left wants more jobs for illegal aliens and more migrants in 18-wheelers, Trump said. “And the Trump administration wants safer roads and more jobs for the American veteran.”

Fox News Digital’s Brittany Miller contributed to this report.

For months, President Donald Trump has fixated on one legislative priority. Now, its repeated failure may be costing Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., the president’s support.

Trump has badgered Republicans to pass the SAVE America Act, his missing legislative crown jewel, turning support for the bill into a loyalty test.

Thune has become the target for those irritated that the bill hasn’t moved in the Senate. For months, Trump largely spared him from criticism over the bill’s stalled progress. That appears to have changed.

The hairline fractures in their relationship stem from Thune doing what few Republicans are willing to do: tell Trump no.

GOP RIFT GROWS AS THUNE HITS BRAKES ON TRUMP’S ELECTION BILL TO AVERT SHUTDOWN

“Well, that’s too bad for him,” Trump said when asked about Thune not having the votes to move the SAVE America Act. “I mean, that’s too bad for him and too bad for the Republican Party.”

“He’s got the votes,” he continued. “He should get it done. He should be able to get it done.”

And, though he’s backed him before, Trump appeared to waver in his support of Thune when asked if he was the right man for the job.

“Well, we’re going to find out, and I’ll let you know,” Trump said.

TRUMP THREATENS TO YANK HIS OWN AG NOMINEE AS GOP REVOLT GROWS

On his way to and from the Senate floor, Thune was pressed on Trump’s comments. When asked about Trump wavering on him as the leader of the Senate GOP, Thune signaled it wasn’t up to him.

“I don’t know what you say on that,” he said. “That’s a decision made by my colleagues.”

He also pushed back on the president’s assertion that Republicans could pass the SAVE America Act.

“That must be a different form of math,” Thune said.

Thune has repeatedly argued Republicans simply don’t have the votes to pass the SAVE America Act, a position that has increasingly put him at odds with Trump. A bloc of Republicans has never supported the legislation, while Senate Democrats overwhelmingly oppose it, leaving Thune without the votes.

TRUMP DEMANDS THUNE KEEP SENATE IN SESSION UNTIL SAVE AMERICA ACT PASSES

“I think it’s wrong to blame Thune for this — Senator Thune,” Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., told Fox News Digital. “This is not his fault.”

Still, Thune has moved major legislation backed by the president and has the Senate on a record pace for nominee confirmations, all while dealing with vulnerable Republicans taking tough political votes and Democrats who are bound to kneecap Trump’s agenda at every turn.

“I hope that the next Congress, the people with the election certificates as U.S. senators who actually make that decision, show some independence and courage,” Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., told Fox News Digital. “And recognize that Thune has helped navigate an almost impossible scenario to navigate with this president.”

The legislation has been tested several times in a variety of forms, and has never gotten the needed votes to pass. And Thune has said the votes aren’t there to nuke the filibuster, which Trump has pushed for throughout his second term.

Even as Trump publicly questions Thune, the Senate GOP leader intends to seek another term as the top Republican.

Leadership is elected internally by Senate Republicans, not by the president. Thune came out of a crowded field to replace Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., battling Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, and Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., to get the top spot in the Senate GOP.

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And his colleagues, so far, have his back.

Scott, who ran against Thune, told Fox News Digital that he had no intention of running for the top gig in the Senate again. He also noted that even though he wanted it, it’s a difficult profession to take on.

“John’s a smart guy,” Scott said. “He is working really hard. So I think he shouldn’t — you know, it’s tough to be the leader.”

“We’ve got a lot of issues we haven’t addressed, so it’s hard,” he continued. “I assumed it was gonna be hard.”

New Jersey Democratic Gov. Mikie Sherrill’s recent announcement of 6,600 ineligible voters found on the state’s rolls is only the latest in a decades-long string of cases involving noncitizens registered to vote in U.S. elections, records show.

Sherrill said that the ineligible voters were registered due to a “serious software error” in New Jersey’s Motor Vehicle System. Her announcement came within a week of a major address from President Donald Trump in which he warned that digital election interference posed a “cyber threat aimed at the very heart of our democracy.”

While New Jersey is the latest documented failure, it is not an isolated anomaly. New Jersey’s error adds to a 25-year record of state reviews, software failures and prosecutions that found noncitizens on voter rolls and, in some documented cases, casting ballots. Experts say the episodes establish a recurring vulnerability. However, due to the lack of a national standard for identifying and reporting errors, reviews are sporadic and use different methods, making it impossible to determine how widespread the problem truly is.

“It’s a major vulnerability,” Jason Snead, executive director of the conservative think tank the Honest Elections Project, told Fox News Digital. “And we have seen just within the last couple of years many states that have checked their voter rolls and found non-citizens on them … So, this is a big problem.”

NEW JERSEY REMOVES 6,600 PEOPLE FROM VOTER ROLLS WHO WERE ELIGIBLE TO CAST A BALLOT FOR 2024 ELECTION

According to New Jersey’s preliminary findings, fewer than 400 individuals who were improperly registered ended up voting. Sherrill said they lived all across the state and mostly lacked a party affiliation, though there were some registered as Democrats or Republicans.

Fox News Digital reached out to the New Jersey Secretary of State Division of Elections, state Attorney General Dale Caldwell and the chairs of several key legislative elections oversight committees for clarification on which elections the 400 ineligible voters participated in and to request details on the state’s auditing protocols. Fox News Digital did not receive a response from any of the state officials mentioned above.

Snead explained that though states are required by law to ensure their voter rolls are up to date and accurate, there is no uniform federal requirement for a state to disclose its findings. He said that this has led to differences across states in how the law is enforced and how errors are reported.

“There are federal requirements to maintain clean and accurate voter rolls. And of course, it is a federal crime for a noncitizen to register and to vote, but there’s no requirement that a state report how many non-citizens that they have found up to the federal government. That’s entirely a state law question,” he explained.

He argued that problems involving noncitizen voting are greater in blue states due to policies he said make it easier to cheat.

LEAVITT RIPS BLUE STATE’S EXPLOSIVE NONCITIZEN VOTER-ROLL ADMISSION: ‘NOT A COINCIDENCE’

“When you look at the policies that are pushed in blue states by the left, things like automatic voter registration, giving drivers licenses to illegal aliens, banning voter identification laws, no proof of citizenship to vote on and on and, this is the inevitable outcome of all of those policies,” said Snead, adding, “This is not the first time that we’ve seen a state with automatic voter registration add potential non-citizens to the rolls.”

After the president’s speech, Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin released a statement announcing that preliminary DHS reviews of state records found “as many as” 250,000 noncitizens registered to vote in four states: 35,152 in New Jersey, 190,832 in California, 15,903 in Nevada and 14,576 in Pennsylvania.

Fox News Digital reached out to DHS for clarification on its preliminary findings. However, DHS did not answer Fox News Digital’s questions and instead sent a statement from Mullin reiterating the number.

In the statement, Mullin emphasized to Fox News Digital that “this shouldn’t be a red or blue state issue: ONLY Americans should elect American leaders.” He added that “we’ve put these governors on notice. States must work with us to ensure free, fair, and honest elections.”

Charles Stewart III, a professor of political science specializing in elections at MIT, explained that the controlling federal law governing voter registration, the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA), is “silent on the issue of noncitizens on the roll.”

He told Fox News Digital that because “this was not an issue in the early 1990s … one of the ambiguities right now and controversies is over precisely what sort of obligations states have to audit their rolls for noncitizens.”

“This is really at the crux of the matter and two of President Trump’s executive orders. It’s the crux of the matter in the Save America Act. It is the crux to the matter in the current efforts, well, back to the executive orders and a lot of the lawsuits. And the states are pointing out, when being pressed by the federal government, that yes, it is illegal for noncitizens to vote, for sure, and states should have an obligation to make sure noncitizens are not registering, but there is no federal law that compels states to do investigations, nor is there a federal law to compel them to report.

Meanwhile, states that have published review results have reported concerning findings. Besides New Jersey, state reviews conducted since 2020 have found evidence of significant numbers of noncitizens registered to vote in Louisiana, Iowa, Michigan, Ohio and Illinois, a Fox News Digital review found.

Earlier this year, Louisiana Secretary of State said that using the federal Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) database, which was rolled out by the Trump administration last year, the state identified 403 noncitizens on its voter rolls, 83 of whom had voted in elections, American Press reported.

In 2025, an audit by the Iowa secretary of state confirmed that 277 noncitizens were registered to vote and that 35 successfully voted in the 2024 election while five attempted to vote but were rejected.

TRUMP RELEASES DECLASSIFIED ELECTION INTELLIGENCE, SAYS IT REVEALS ‘SHOCKING VULNERABILITIES’

The same year, the Michigan Department of State published its findings from a review of the 2024 election, which it said proved that “credible cases of noncitizens casting a ballot in Michigan elections are extremely rare.” The review found that 15 people, who it said “appear to be non-U.S. citizens,” cast a ballot in the election. Additionally, the department identified a Chinese national who allegedly voted illegally.

The Ohio Secretary of State’s Office announced in 2024 and 2021 that it had identified 597 and 117 apparent noncitizen voter registrations, respectively, and referred the cases for further investigation.

According to findings cited in Illinois legislation and testimony by secretary of state officials before the general assembly, a programming error in the state’s automatic voter registration system allowed the records of 574 people who identified themselves as noncitizens to be transmitted to election officials between 2018 and 2019.

Further, officials in Pennsylvania, Texas, Maryland, Colorado, Florida and North Carolina have also reported cases of noncitizens being registered to vote as far back as 2000.

In testimony given to the Pennsylvania House State Government Committee in 2017, then elections commissioner Jonathan Marks revealed that the state had found 1,160 records of apparent noncitizens who self-reported and canceled. Marks said that a deeper analysis of the years 2000 through 2017 found 544 ballots were cast by the identified registrants.

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In Texas, authorities discovered a resident alien named Rosa Ortega registered in 2002 and voted five times from 2004 through 2014, according to Attorney General Ken Paxton.

In another case, a Ghanaian national named Michael Nana Baako registered to vote in Maryland, swearing that he was a U.S. citizen in 2005 and subsequently voted in 10 federal elections between 2006 and 2018, according to the DOJ.

A 2012 report by the Colorado Department of State revealed that the state identified 3,903 registered voters whose citizenship status was “in question.” An additional 430 Colorado voters were found to have identified themselves as ineligible to vote because of citizenship requirements.

The report noted that in Colorado “no proof is required to validate the status indicated on a registration form.” It said that individuals can register to vote at a driver’s license office, state public assistance office, county office, private voter registration drive, or even online, none of which verify citizenship.

Three reviews conducted by the Florida Department of State for the years between 2013 and 2017 identified 821 noncitizen registrations and 126 people with voting histories.

Meanwhile, a 2017 state audit in North Carolina concluded that 41 legal-status noncitizens cast ballots.

NJ REPUBLICAN SAYS MOTOR VOTER SCANDAL VINDICATES YEARS OF ELECTION INTEGRITY WARNINGS, PUSHES FOR LEGISLATIVE PROBE

Fox News Digital also reached out to the Justice Department to ask how many individuals the agency has charged with noncitizen voting or unlawful voter registration since 2000. However, a spokesperson for the DOJ did not offer specifics. Instead, the spokesperson sent Fox News Digital a statement assuring that the department’s Civil Rights Division “is investigating and will keep pressing states to clean their rolls” and is “prosecuting cases where the law and evidence support it.”

The DOJ spokesperson reiterated that “it is illegal for any noncitizen to vote in a federal election” and that “every unlawful vote dilutes the voice of American citizens.”

“Whether or not a case is prosecutable doesn’t change the fact that the wrongful vote happened — DHS found over 250,000 likely noncitizens on voter rolls nationwide, and New Jersey’s own Governor confirmed 400 noncitizens voted there,” the spokesperson said.

“The fact of the matter is that election after election after election after election happened and no one did anything about it,” remarked Gene Hamilton, president of America First Legal.

He pointed to a letter sent by the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division to election officials in all 50 states which he said, “reminded them of their obligations and the possibility of legal consequences for not taking action.”

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Since President Donald Trump’s return to office, the Civil Rights Division has filed lawsuits against 30 states and the District of Columbia seeking to compel the production of full voter registration lists under the NVRA, according to the Brennan Center for Justice.

“There are ways to fix it,” said Hamilton. “It’s just a matter of desire.”

FIRST ON FOX: The Trump administration on Wednesday took another step in its sweeping campaign to eliminate DEI policies from the federal government, removing decades-old hiring guidelines that officials say encouraged race-conscious employment decisions in favor of a renewed emphasis on merit-based hiring.

The U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) issued a final interim rule on Thursday that removes references to the 1978 Uniform Guidelines on Employee Selection Procedures, which govern employee selection standards, citing a recent Justice Department legal opinion that found the guidelines unconstitutional in the way they encouraged race-conscious decision-making.

The move affects how federal agencies approach hiring by eliminating references to long-standing guidance centered on “disparate impact,” the idea that hiring practices that could produce unequal outcomes among racial groups can be legally problematic even absent intentional discrimination.

Administration officials argue those guidelines pressured employers to focus on racial outcomes rather than qualifications, while supporters of the guidelines contend they help guard against subtle forms of discrimination.

DEI HIRING BOOST FOR ONE BLUE STATE’S MUSLIM COMMISSION INITIATIVE FLIES IN FACE OF TRUMP’S ANTI-WOKE PUSH

“Federal hiring should be based on merit, qualifications, and the ability to perform the job,” OPM Director Scott Kupor said in a statement to Fox News Digital.

“This rule ensures OPM’s regulations reflect legal guidance while preserving the rigorous, job-related standards that help agencies recruit and hire the most qualified workforce in service to the American people.”

The rule took effect immediately after it was published in the Federal Register on Thursday but will remain open for public comment for 60 days before OPM decides whether to make it permanent.

COAST GUARD ENDING RACE-BASED ADMISSIONS FOR OFFICER COMMISSIONING PROGRAM UNDER TRUMP DEI CRACKDOWN

OPM serves as the federal government’s human resources agency, setting hiring, personnel and workforce policies for roughly 2 million civilian federal employees across executive branch agencies. It oversees the rules governing how federal agencies recruit, hire, promote and manage their workforces.

This move serves as the latest example of the administration moving beyond simply shutting down DEI offices or ending diversity training and now targeting the legal and regulatory framework that critics argue enabled DEI policies in the first place.

KEY TRUMP AGENCY PUTS TOP UNIVERSITIES IN CROSSHAIRS OVER ALLEGED RACE-BASED DORM PROGRAMS

Since the beginning of President Donald Trump’s second term, the administration has highlighted hundreds of colleges that have rolled back DEI initiatives, along with policy changes involving transgender athletic participation, parental rights, race-conscious programs and merit-based admissions.

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They also dismantled federal DEI programs, terminated DEI-related grants and contracts, cut ties with companies embracing DEI policies, required federal contractors to comply with the administration’s requirements, and warned schools they could lose federal funding over certain DEI practices.

Despite a career-long commitment to combating racial disparities in housing and touting the importance of living among Black people, former Vice President Kamala Harris’ new California mansion is situated in a neighborhood with virtually no racial diversity.

Harris’ new 4,000-square-foot property, which reports indicate she acquired for $8.15 million, is located in the exclusive seaside community of Point Dume and includes ocean views, multiple wine fridges, private golf greens and enough parking to accommodate five vehicles.

Point Dume is situated entirely within Census tract 8004.08, which the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey estimated was just 0.2% Black and roughly 94% White as of 2019.

Harris’ choice of neighborhood may surprise longtime observers given past comments she has made about the importance of living among other Black Americans.

KAMALA HARRIS IS THE ‘FAIRLY OBVIOUS’ 2028 PRESIDENTIAL FRONTRUNNER, DEMOCRATIC INSIDERS SAY

“When you’re at (a historically Black college or university), and especially one with the size and with the history of Howard University — and also in the context of also being in D.C., which was known forever as being ‘Chocolate City’ — it just becomes about you understanding that there is a whole world of people who are like you,” Harris told a Washington Post reporter in 2019, reflecting on her experience growing up in primarily White social circles then attending a historically Black college in a predominantly African American city.

“It was more, for me, about the numerosity than it was the diversity, I grew up in a community where there were many representations of diversity,” she added. “Going to Howard, there were so many (Black people)! And they’re all in your age group, in your phase of life.”

Now, however, Harris has chosen to put roots down in a community that at least one group has accused of trying to keep their beaches closed off to minorities.

CHICAGO SUBURB LOCALS HOPE REPARATIONS ADDRESSES ‘AFFORDABILITY PRESSURES’ AS BLACK POPULATION DWINDLES

“Despite the veneer of a laid back community of surfers who are one with nature, there are barriers to access that keep most BIPOC people away,” a pair of non-White surfers wrote in a 2025 review of Harris’s new neighborhood.

Harris spent a sizable portion of her career working to tear down similar barriers.

HARRIS STOPS IN KEY PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARY STATE AFTER LEAVING DOOR WIDE OPEN TO 2028 RUN

In 2012, as California’s attorney general, for instance, she joined a Supreme Court brief arguing that the Fair Housing Act can be enforced when policies have a “disparate impact” across different racial groups, even if the policies themselves are racially neutral.

As a presidential candidate, she proposed $100 billion in assistance for families in historically redlined communities and as vice president she promoted the Biden administration’s efforts to combat racial bias in home appraisals.

During Harris’ 2020 presidential campaign, she faced questions about the authenticity of her African American identity due to her Indian and Jamaican heritage and upbringing in affluent, primarily White areas. The attacks resurfaced in 2024, when then-candidate Donald Trump accused Harris of using her Black identity for political gain.

Harris caught flak during the 2024 campaign for identifying with Oakland, California, even though she spent most of her childhood growing up in Berkeley, California, which was significantly less racially diverse. As a teenager, she moved to Montreal, another predominantly White city, with her mother.

Doug Emhoff, Harris’ husband, is also White.

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Harris has returned to the headlines in recent weeks amid speculation that she may make a third run for the presidency in 2028.

A representative for the former vice president did not respond to a request for comment when reached by Fox News Digital Wednesday.

Conservatives aren’t willing to forgive and forget the COVID-19 lockdowns — a fact made clear online as fury erupted during and after Dr. Anthony Fauci’s appearance before Congress on Wednesday where he repeatedly invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination.

Those who opposed the lockdowns, which Fauci bragged about helping implement in his now-infamous diary but extensively denied implementing publicly, had a field day online recalling the policies pushed by the one-time White House health advisor.

“Reminder how insane the world was in 2021,” Dr. Mollie James, a trauma surgeon and internet personality, said on X. She was commenting on a video of professional golfer Jon Rahm, who was forced to withdraw from a PGA Tour event while holding a six-stroke lead because he tested positive for the virus while he was on the golf course.

The winner of that tournament earned north of $1.6 million.

FAUCI PRIVATELY TOOK CREDIT FOR COVID-19 LOCKDOWNS DESPITE PUBLIC DENIAL, NEWLY EXPOSED DIARY ENTRIES REVEAL

“Never forget that California arrested a man for paddleboarding alone to keep him safe from COVID,” recalled conservative activist Alex Lorusso, who goes by @alx on X. “Most retarded time period in human history.”

The Malibu paddleboarder, who was alone on the water, was arrested on a misdemeanor charge of disobeying a lifeguard after allegedly violating Los Angeles’ lockdown orders. 

“Dr. Fauci isn’t the only guilty one,” Rep. Lance Gooden, D-Texas, said on X. “Democrats went as far as filling outdoor skate parks with sand to enforce their draconian COVID-19 lockdowns. Americans should never forget what they did.”

Along with the post, he added a viral video showing a backhoe shoveling sand into a Venice Beach skate park.

LEGACY MEDIA COVERS ANTHONY FAUCI DIARY BY CRITICIZING DONALD TRUMP INSTEAD OF FAUCI’S DISHONESTY

Kelly McCarty, a very outspoken critic of lockdowns and mRNA vaccines, posted a video of Ohio mother Alecia Ketts being tased and arrested by a school resource officer after refusing to wear a mask while watching a football game outside.

Ketts was with her children at the time. She later pleaded no contest to a trespassing charge.

Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, referenced Ketts during his Wednesday grilling of Fauci, who was ordered to appear before the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. Moreno attributed his run for Senate to COVID-era government restrictions.

TOP 5 MOMENTS FROM FAUCI’S HEARING: PAUL BOOTS LAWYER, MORENO ERUPTS AS CONTEMPT VOTE LOOMS

During the Senate hearing, Fauci pleaded the Fifth 111 times. He refused to answer a single question posed by the senators, including what day of the week it was and what color tie he was wearing.

Podcast host Alex Lace noted to his nearly 58,000 X followers the time when high school track runners were forced to wear masks during meets.

“I s— you not. During COVID they forced high school track teams to run outdoors… in masks,” he said, later adding, “Never forget what they did.”

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Popular X user Chaya Raichik, who runs the LibsOfTikTok account, also posted an image of news headlines detailing politicians and public figures who broke their own lockdown rules.

Examples include Democrat Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer apparently bucking her own rules to party at a dive bar; Democrat California Gov. Gavin Newsom attending a party at swanky Napa Valley restaurant French Laundry while his own lockdown orders lingered; and Washington, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser officiating an indoor wedding without a mask mere hours after issuing an indoor mask order.

“It’s insane that any of these people were ever taken seriously again after this,” the post was captioned.

DHS General Counsel James Percival says Americans deserve to know which federal judges are repeatedly blocking the Trump administration’s immigration agenda, accusing a small group of district judges of acting in “open defiance” of the Supreme Court and engaging in “naked political activism.”

Percival has begun posting on X identifying federal district judges while accusing them of obstructing key portions of President Donald Trump’s immigration agenda. Critics have argued the campaign improperly targets members of the judiciary.

“The American people hear about these terrible acts of judicial activism. I think what they don’t often understand is this is not some epidemic that sort of crosses the entire judiciary,” Percival said. “There are particular judges who are a problem in case after case after case.”

Percival told Fox News Digital the effort is intended to educate the public — not intimidate judges — and highlights what he described as a handful of repeat offenders acting in “open defiance” of the Supreme Court or reaching outside their Article III authority.

DHS EVISCERATES MEDIA FOR ‘ABSOLUTE ABSURDITY’ OVER CONCERN ABOUT ‘WORST OF THE WORST’ ACTIVIST JUDGES LIST

Percival stressed that he does not believe the federal judiciary faces a systemic problem of defiance against the Supreme Court or the separation of powers, but said activist plaintiffs are adept at “forum shopping.”

“They file in these locations, often with very sort of dubious arguments to [have their case heard] in that venue. And they do it to get the same judges over and over and again.”

GOP SENATOR UNVEILS BOASBERG ACT TO STOP ‘ROGUE’ JUDGES FROM HANDPICKING TRUMP CASES

He pointed to one such case in which Biden-appointed Judge Brian Murphy in Boston stopped a deportation flight until the Supreme Court intervened.

Murphy issued a 2025 order limiting the federal government’s ability to deport illegal immigrants to receptive “third countries.”

A flight bound for South Sudan was grounded in Djibouti, where the criminal illegal immigrants were taken to a U.S. military base.

“I think we had eight aliens on this flight to South Sudan. One of them had raped a child. One of them had raped a mentally-disabled person. These were very bad people that should not be in our country. And this Judge Brian Murphy was stopping us from doing this.”

SUPREME COURT WEIGHS TRUMP EFFORT TO TERMINATE TEMPORARY PROTECTIONS FOR HAITIAN, SYRIAN MIGRANTS

DHS petitioned the Supreme Court to intervene. Percival said the incident drew support from liberal Justice Elena Kagan, who sided with the Trump administration in the case.

“She said, ‘Even though I disagreed the first time, I do agree that Judge Murphy can’t defy the U.S. Supreme Court’,” Percival said. “And so when you see the same judge doing these acts of sabotage on TPS (Temporary Protected Status), we just think it’s important for the American people to understand.”

“And this is not an attempt by me to blast the entire judiciary. It’s just the opposite. If I were a member of the judiciary, I would want people to know this is a handful of district judges who are causing the same problems over and over and over again and calling the credibility of the entire branch of government into question when many of these judges are following the law and doing their jobs.”

Percival now frequently shares the “Worst of the Worst” judges series, separate from ICE’s “Worst of the Worst” criminal illegal immigrants series.

“If you think about DHS’ “Worst of the Worst” series, the main purpose of that is just to inform the American public about what’s going on,” he said.

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“There’s a lot of false narratives out there about immigration enforcement, but when we actually show people the types of people we’re moving from our communities, we think that really makes a big difference to the public…”

Percival said both series are intended to educate the public about DHS operations and counter narratives that do not reflect the agency’s day-to-day work.

Percival highlighted Clinton-appointed Illinois Judge Matthew Kennelly — who issued an order pausing termination of TPS for Burma nationals.

“He did so even though these decisions are not subject to judicial review, even though we have been vindicated by the Supreme Court on TPS four times, and even though the Seventh Circuit summarily reversed him on the same issue only days before,” Percival said in a separate statement.

“This is judicial sabotage.”

He also called out Obama-appointed Judge Paula Xinis in Greenbelt, Maryland.

Percival called Xinis the reason Kilmar Abrego Garcia — the illegal immigrant the press dubbed “Maryland Man” and whom Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., had boat drinks with in El Salvador — is still in the U.S.

“She entered an order preventing his removal and then ordered him released on the basis that we had no plans to remove him. If it sounds crazy, it’s because it is. Our efforts to reverse this decision remain pending,” Percival tweeted.

He said Biden-appointed Judge Hernan Vera in Los Angeles has “micromanage[d]” DHS’ use-of-force policy by describing violent anti-ICE agitators as “legal observers” while deeming the agency “violent.”

“[T]here’s a lot of times when the American public thinks that there’s something DHS is not doing because we’re choosing not to do it,” he said in his Fox News Digital interview.

“We just think it’s very helpful for people to understand what we’re facing in the courts, how out of control they are.”

He noted there has been public frustration at the appearance of DHS not doing certain things or not going in as hard on others as promised, pointing to the wind-down of TPS for foreign nationals.

“Of course, a lot of that is because of the judicial sabotage that we are facing in district courts and in other [places].”

Fox News Digital reached out to the judges’ respective courts for comment.

The media has also criticized Percival for the lists, including a Chicago Sun-Times reporter who asked whether the catalog he posted on X risks increasing threats against the judiciary.

“Witness the absolute absurdity of the liberal media response… Legitimate fact-based critiques of judges and their rulings is fair-game in a free society. Also, the media has no issue with it if the judge is conservative,” Percival wrote.

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He told Fox News Digital the issue is “classic separation-of-powers” in that the executive is allowed to tell another branch there’s disagreement.

Percival spoke with Fox News Digital from San Juan, where he was visiting personnel from Homeland Security Investigations.

He said HSI functions like an immigration-focused FBI, adding that it and other agencies reflect the “broad portfolio” he oversees as DHS’s top lawyer.

“ICE is in the news the most, and so I think people are starting to associate me with ICE, but I love all my proverbial children equally. And I’m very dedicated to helping every single operator that my people are providing legal advice to be successful,” he said, noting there are 50 DHS attorneys in Puerto Rico alone and that he felt it important to meet with them.

Critics’ concerns about Percival’s list come after other officials have also faced criticism for their rhetoric targeting certain judges.

Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., was criticized for claiming that Justices Brett Kavanaugh and Neil Gorsuch “released the whirlwind” by ruling against abortion protections in an incident that drew a rare public rebuke from Chief Justice John Roberts.

Kavanaugh, as well as Justice Amy Coney Barrett, have also been the target of threats from activist critics.

U.S. Sen. Darline Graham, R-S.C., the sister of the late Sen. Lindsey Graham, who died earlier this month, posted a campaign video Thursday in which she described herself as a “conservative Republican” and declared that she is “ready to serve.”

“Thank you all for your prayers. They provided strength through an incredibly difficult time. I’m honored to serve South Carolina and grateful for President Trump’s endorsement. And I’ll work hard every day to earn it,” she said in the video.

“I’m a conservative Republican, and I believe this: Every life is precious. Men don’t belong in women’s sports. And only American citizens should vote in our elections. I’m Darline Graham. I approve this message, and I am ready to serve,” she added.

DARLINE GRAHAM REVEALS WHAT TRUMP TOLD HER INSIDE OVAL OFFICE AFTER BROTHER LINDSEY’S DEATH

The video release Thursday came on the heels of funeral services to honor the late Sen. Lindsey Graham in Washington, D.C., Tuesday and in South Carolina on Wednesday. A press release explained that, after the service on Wednesday, July 29, there would be “a private family burial in Pickens County, South Carolina.”

The new senator, who is running to win a full six-year Senate term, is facing a tight election schedule. The Aug. 11 South Carolina GOP U.S. Senate primary is less than two weeks away, and early voting begins Wednesday, 
Aug. 5.

Her social media posts featuring the campaign video said, “I’m ready to serve and I humbly ask for your support on August 11th.”

At the end of the video, a notice appeared at the bottom of the frame that says, “PAID FOR BY NRSC AND AUTHORIZED BY DARLINE FOR SENATE.”

Sen. Lindsey Graham, who died July 11, had won the June 9 Republican U.S. Senate primary in the Palmetto State while running for a fifth term.

South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster, a Republican, announced July 13 the appointment of Graham’s sister to fill the remainder of her brother’s Senate term. She was sworn in the next day.

DARLINE GRAHAM FOCUSES ON KITCHEN TABLE ISSUES AS SHE ANNOUNCES FULL-TERM SENATE BID

President Donald Trump issued a Truth Social post July 17 in which he declared he had asked the new senator to run in the upcoming August special Republican U.S. Senate primary contest.

“Darline, who comes from an absolutely incredible family, has been a WINNER all of her life and, should she accept, has my Complete and Total Endorsement in the Special Election for U.S. Senate in South Carolina — SHE WILL NEVER LET YOU DOWN. RUN, DARLINE, RUN!” he declared in part of the post.

Graham told Fox News Channel’s Sean Hannity during an interview July 20 that she would run. 

“I’m in,” she said.

SEN DARLINE GRAHAM REVEALS WHETHER SHE WILL RUN FOR A FULL-TERM DURING ‘HANNITY’ EXCLUSIVE

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“It’s official. I’m running to represent South Carolina in the United States Senate,” she said in a July 20 post on X. “Today, I’m stepping forward to carry my brother Lindsey’s legacy on behalf of the people of South Carolina. President Trump told me, ‘Run, Darline, Run.’ 

“With his support, I’m running all the way through the finish line in November. I hope you’ll join me,” she noted, adding a link to her campaign site.

Darline Graham faces a crowded GOP primary with candidates including U.S. Reps. Ralph Norman and Russell Fry, former Gov. Mark Sanford and businessman Mark Lynch. Lynch challenged Lindsey Graham in the June primary and lost to the late senator.

President Donald Trump has opened the door to selling Turkey the U.S.’ prized F-35 fighter jet, praising Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and promising to remove sanctions imposed over Ankara’s purchase of a Russian missile defense system.

But a State Department letter to Congress makes clear that Turkey has not taken the steps legally required to receive the advanced fighter.

“Turkey has not yet met these conditions,” the department said in the July 22 letter, first obtained by the Greek newspaper Kathimerini.

TRUMP COULD HAND PRIZED STEALTH JETS TO NATO ALLY ONCE SEEN AS ALLIANCE HEADACHE

The letter said U.S. law prohibits the transfer of F-35 aircraft to Turkey until Ankara no longer possesses the Russian-made S-400 system or associated equipment, promises not to acquire it again and satisfies the remaining certification requirements established by Congress.

The finding came weeks after Trump stood alongside Erdoğan at the NATO summit in Ankara and said his administration would lift sanctions on Turkey and consider selling it the aircraft.

Asked about Turkey’s continued possession of the S-400, Trump said, “I have no concerns about anything having to do with Turkey.”

Trump described relations with Ankara as “better probably than it’s ever been,” said Turkey had been “much more loyal” than some other countries and called a potential F-35 sale “certainly something we will consider.”

Erdoğan said Turkey previously has been promised five aircraft and expressed confidence in Trump.

“I know that Mr. Trump always keeps his promises,” Erdoğan said, according to Reuters.

The dispute matters far beyond a single weapons sale.

Turkey is a pivotal NATO ally controlling access between Europe and the Middle East, but its ties to Russia and Hamas have fueled doubts in Washington about whether Ankara can be trusted with America’s most sensitive military technology. The outcome will test whether Trump’s personal relationship with Erdoğan can bring Turkey back into the Western defense fold — or whether Congress and national security concerns will block the deal.

WHO IS TURKEY’S RECEP TAYYIP ERDOĞAN? HOW NATO’S MOST UNPREDICTABLE LEADER KEEPS REINVENTING HIMSELF

A State Department spokesperson told Fox News Digital on background that Trump “recognizes the strategic importance of Türkiye” and that his administration is encouraging Ankara “to resolve pending issues.”

“Türkiye is a valued NATO ally, and we continue to engage on all aspects of our important and multi-faceted relationship,” the spokesperson said.

James Jeffrey, a former U.S. ambassador to Turkey and former special representative for Syria engagement, said Trump’s position reflects both his trust in Erdoğan and their cooperation on regional security issues.

“Trump is very much for this as he works well with Erdoğan and trusts him and has succeeded together on a host of security issues from Libya to Syria to Caucasus to Ukraine and PKK ceasefire with Ankara,” Jeffrey, now a distinguished fellow at The Washington Institute, told Fox News Digital.

“He knows how important this is to Erdoğan and all Turks and doesn’t want Ankara to turn to Russia or China for weapons,” he said.

Turkey was removed from the F-35 development program in 2019 after purchasing the S-400 from Russia. The United States imposed sanctions the following year under the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act.

U.S. officials have argued that operating the Russian system alongside the F-35 could allow Moscow to collect sensitive information about the stealth aircraft.

Jeffrey said Turkey would have to genuinely relinquish the S-400 but noted that the law does not specify exactly how.

“Certainly transferring to another country would meet the legal and technical requirement,” he said.

Sinan Ciddi, director of the Turkey Program at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, agreed that a third-country transfer could begin the process of restoring Turkey to the program. But he said Ankara would also have to provide guarantees that it would not again seek major Russian military equipment or maintain ties that could compromise the aircraft.

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

Reports have suggested the United Arab Emirates as a possible destination for the S-400. Ciddi said, however, that there is no confirmation Abu Dhabi would accept it.

The UAE would have to consider whether acquiring the Russian system could trigger U.S. penalties or jeopardize access to other American weapons, he said. Russia could also object to Turkey transferring the system without Moscow’s approval.

Jeffrey said Erdoğan is likely prepared to resist Russian pressure because the F-35 is both a prestige issue and an important military need for Turkey, whose air force relies heavily on F-16 aircraft.

Ciddi argued that resolving the S-400 dispute should not automatically clear the way for a sale.

“The S-400 issue that led to Turkey’s removal from the F-35 program is the floor, not the ceiling,” Ciddi said, pointing to Ankara’s relationship with Hamas, continued ties with Russia, use of Chinese telecommunications technology and tensions with U.S. partners including Greece, Cyprus and Israel as additional obstacles.

The State Department letter reflected the administration’s competing views of Ankara.

While reiterating that Turkey remains legally ineligible for the F-35, the department credited it with supporting US diplomatic efforts involving Russia and Ukraine, Azerbaijan and Armenia, Gaza and counter-ISIS operations.

The letter said Turkey used its relationship with Hamas’ political leadership to help secure acceptance of Trump’s Gaza peace plan and advance the first phase of a ceasefire.

At the same time, it warned that Hamas continues to use financial channels operating from Turkish territory.

“Hamas’ use of informal financial networks and unlicensed exchange houses in Turkey to access funds remains a concern, and we are committed to disrupting these illicit financing streams,” the State Department said.

Jeffrey said those Hamas ties could generate opposition in Congress but may carry less weight with Trump because his administration has relied on Ankara in Gaza diplomacy.

Ciddi interpreted the letter not as a rejection of Turkey’s return, but as a signal that the administration is prepared to move forward if Ankara meets the legal requirements.

“I think the letter is trying to convey to Congress, ‘Look, once Turkey makes good on the legal requirements of the NDAA, we can proceed with the sale,’” he said.

Congress could still be the most significant obstacle. Lawmakers have prohibited the transfer while Turkey possesses the S-400, and a bipartisan group of 18 House members recently urged congressional leaders to block any sale under current conditions, according to Axios.

The issue also has regional implications. Israel reportedly has pressed Trump not to provide Turkey with the aircraft, amid fears that a sale could weaken Israel’s qualitative military edge as tensions between Erdoğan and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu deepen.

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For now, the State Department’s message is clear: Trump may favor the sale, but Erdoğan must first surrender the Russian system that caused Turkey’s expulsion from the program.

The State Department and Turkish Embassy in Washington did not respond to Fox News Digital’s requests for comment.

Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga., is touting his advocacy for federal investment in Georgia military infrastructure despite having ultimately voted against the bill that secured the improvements.

Most recently, Ossoff highlighted new construction for an elementary school at Fort Benning, improved conditions at Fort Stewart, pay raises for military personnel and improvements to Georgia’s foster care system — all a part of the annual military funding bill known as Military Construction and Veteran Affairs (MilCon-VA).

At the time of its initial passage, Ossoff quickly released a press statement.

FOX NEWS POLL: AN EARLY LOOK AT THE GEORGIA SENATE RACE

“U.S. Senate passes Sen. Ossoff’s Bipartisan Bill that provides most funding for Georgia military construction in 15 years,” his website announced.

When reconsidering it for final passage, Ossoff opposed the package.

Notably, Ossoff, as the ranking member on the Senate Subcommittee on Military Construction and Veteran Affairs, voted in favor of the bill in committee and as a standalone bill but opposed its final passage later that year when it was bundled together with other government funding legislation. 

When asked about the voting record, his office reaffirmed the federal support secured in Georgia.

“Let’s be clear: Georgia’s massive 2026 military construction budget, the highest in 15 years, is a direct and undeniable result of Senator Ossoff’s work as the senior Democrat on the Military Construction subcommittee,” an Ossoff campaign spokesperson told Fox News Digital in a statement.

“Senator Ossoff makes no apology for having tried to stop Mike Collins from doubling premiums for more than a million Georgians and throwing 300,000 off their health insurance,” the spokesperson added.

The spokesperson was referring to Ossoff’s Republican challenger, Rep. Mike Collins, R-Ga., and caps on federal health subsidies Republicans had championed at the time of MilCon-VA’s passage.

Like many Democrats, Ossoff has struggled to oppose legislation championed by President Donald Trump while at the same time making his case for re-election in one of the country’s most competitive Senate seats. Ossoff won in 2021 with a 50.6% to 49.4% victory over incumbent Sen. David Perdue, R-Ga.

In the case of the elementary school, Ossoff said he had been calling for those investments for years.

“I have been working for years now for a replacement for Dexter Elementary. That’s really important for those families down there in Columbus,” Ossoff said. “I’m just a bit concerned by the lack of attention in this year’s base budget, so we’ll work together on that.”

Ossoff made similar remarks about improvements to Fort Stewart, citing concerns in press releases about lead exposure affecting newborns’ health on the base, mold contamination and flooded living areas.

Ossoff released findings in a seven-page report about the base’s conditions.

SEN BLUMENTHAL, REP. TAKANO: CONGRESS CAN FUND VETERANS’ CARE WITHOUT TAKING BENEFITS FROM DISABLED HEROES

“Our military service members and their families make huge sacrifices for the country, and it’s a travesty how they’re being treated by privatized housing contractors in Georgia and nationwide,” Sen. Ossoff said.

“The stories in this report should shock our conscience, and I will continue exposing the mistreatment of military families in privatized housing and working to protect them and improve conditions.”

Notably, the package Ossoff ultimately voted against contained $8 million for Fort Stewart and $127.4 million to replace the Dexter Elementary School.

A veteran lawmaker ripped Ossoff for highlighting wins he didn’t participate in.

“Last year, he tried to take credit for my veterans housing bill, legislation he had absolutely nothing to do with. A politician who tries to erase a veteran’s work for political gain has forfeited the trust of the people he seeks to represent,” Rep. Derrick Van Orden, R-Wis., said in a statement, referring to a bill he introduced last year.

Ossoff highlighted the bill on his website, calling it a “bipartisan bill backed by U.S. Senator Jon Ossoff” and announcing that “Sen. Ossoff brings Republicans and Democrats together to protect veterans from foreclosure.”

Ossoff was not a sponsor of the bill and, because it passed unanimously in a voice vote, did not cast a vote for it either.

DEM SENATOR ACCUSED OF BEING ‘NOWHERE TO BE FOUND’ ON CRUCIAL ISSUE IMPACTING KIDS IN SWING STATE

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“Ossoff’s disturbing pattern of taking credit for work he didn’t do and claiming victories he didn’t support demonstrates both gross incompetence and a complete lack of integrity,” Van Orden said.

President Donald Trump won the Lone Star state by nearly 14 percentage points in 2024, but a new Fox News Poll of Texas registered voters suggests this year’s Senate race is far less settled. Republican Senate candidate Ken Paxton has yet to fully unify the GOP despite the president’s endorsement in the GOP primary against incumbent Sen. John Cornyn.

In addition, more voters are concerned Paxton lacks the character to serve than worry Democratic challenger James Talarico is too extreme, and more Democrats than Republicans are extremely motivated to vote (by 7 points) and extremely interested in the midterms (by 6).

Those dynamics give Talarico a 3-point edge over Paxton (51% vs. 48%) in the Senate contest (within the survey’s margin of sampling error).

Talarico’s advantage in the race grows to 6 points among both extremely motivated and extremely interested voters (53% vs. 47% in each group).

FOX NEWS POLL: DEMOCRATIC ENTHUSIASM SHAPES NORTH CAROLINA SENATE RACE

Most independents (68%) and virtually all Democrats support Talarico (98%), while fewer Republicans are unified behind Paxton (89%).

In part, that’s because one quarter of non-MAGA Republicans back Talarico (24%).

Paxton is the choice among White evangelical Christians, White men without a college degree, rural voters, regular worship attenders, men and voters ages 65 and older.

Some of Talarico’s best groups are Black voters, moderates, voters under age 30, Hispanic voters, women and voters with a college degree.

“Although Paxton dominated Cornyn in the GOP primary, that bruising contest left scars,” said Republican pollster Daron Shaw, who conducts Fox News polls with Democrat Chris Anderson. 

“He has considerable work to do with non-MAGA Republicans and independents, and that undoubtedly requires aggressively tying Talarico to the Democratic Party’s far left.” 

By a 12-point margin, more voters are concerned Paxton lacks the character to serve as a senator than believe Talarico is too extreme (59% vs. 47%).

Twice as many Republicans are concerned about Paxton’s character as Democrats are that Talarico is too extreme (36% vs. 17%).

FOX NEWS POLL: COOL YOUR SERVERS! VOTERS REJECT DATA CENTERS

Still, about 8 in 10 Paxton and Talarico supporters say their backing is more about where the candidates stand on the issues than who they are as people. 

Trump received a 55% favorable vs. 44% unfavorable rating in the 2024 Texas Fox News Voter Analysis (FNVA) election survey. Today, those numbers have flipped: 45% favorable vs. 54% unfavorable, for a minus-9 net negative rating.

Paxton garners a minus-6 net personal rating, 45% favorable vs. 51% unfavorable, while Talarico is in positive territory by 6 points, 49% vs. 43%.

Talarico is more popular than the Democratic Party while the GOP edges out Paxton. 

While both parties are viewed negatively, the GOP is underwater by only 2 points (48% favorable vs. 50% unfavorable), compared with the Democratic Party at minus-9 (45% vs. 54%).

Despite Texas being a border state, nearly 4 in 10 say inflation will be the most important issue to their Senate vote, while 2 in 10 say immigration and 1 in 10 say healthcare, political divisions and unemployment.

By more than a 2-to-1 margin, Texas voters say they are falling behind financially rather than getting ahead (35% vs. 16%). Half are holding steady.

In the race for governor, incumbent Republican Gov. Greg Abbott is favored by 1 point over Democrat Gina Hinojosa.

Part of Abbott’s edge comes from a touch more crossover support: 12% of Talarico supporters back Abbott, while 9% of Paxton supporters back Hinojosa.

Hinojosa has the advantage among extremely motivated (+6) and extremely interested voters (+5).

Abbott has a net positive personal rating by a single point (50% favorable vs. 49% unfavorable). Hinojosa is in positive territory by 11 points (45% vs. 34%), although nearly 1 in 5 are unable to rate her.

Texas last elected a Democratic governor in 1990 (Ann Richards), a Democratic Senator in 1988 (Lloyd Bentsen), and a Democratic presidential candidate in 1976 (Jimmy Carter).

A closer look at the Hispanic electorate

Hispanic voters say their Senate pick will be driven by inflation, as roughly 4 in 10 say it will be the most important issue to their vote and another 4 in 10 say they’re falling behind financially. This mostly matches views among all Texas voters.

And as is the case with voters overall, there is an enthusiasm gap, as more Hispanic Democrats than Hispanic Republicans are interested and motivated to vote in the midterms.

Overall, Hispanic voters prefer Talarico by 18 points (59% vs. 41%).

Some 9% of Hispanic GOP voters crossover to support Talarico while 5% of Hispanic Democrats favor Paxton.

CLICK HERE FOR CROSSTABS AND TOPLINE

In 2024, Trump topped former Vice President Kamala Harris among Hispanic voters in Texas by 1 point, according to the Texas FNVA survey (49% Harris vs. 50% Trump).

By 20 points, more Hispanic voters are concerned that Paxton lacks the character to serve as senator than feel Talarico is too extreme (61% concerned vs. 41%).

For the governor’s race, Hispanic voters back Hinojosa by 16 points in the new survey. By comparison, they preferred Beto O’Rourke over Abbott by 14 points in 2022.

More than half of Hispanic voters view Talarico (57% favorable), Hinojosa (53%), and the Democratic Party (53%) positively, while more than half have negative views of Paxton (56% unfavorable), Abbott (56%), Trump (61%), and the Republican Party (59%).

Conducted July 23-27, 2026, under the direction of Beacon Research (D) and Shaw & Company Research (R), this Fox News survey includes interviews with a sample of 1,006 Texas registered voters randomly selected from a statewide voter file. Respondents spoke with live interviewers on landlines (72) and cellphones (681) or completed the survey online after receiving a text (253). Results based on the full sample have a margin of sampling error of ±3 percentage points. 

The survey includes an oversample of 296 Hispanic voters, bringing the sample size for that subgroup to 556 (±4). Sampling error for results among subgroups is higher. In addition to sampling errors, question wording and order can influence results. Weights are generally applied to age, race, education and area variables to ensure the demographics are representative of the registered voter population. Sources for developing weight targets include the most recent American Community Survey, Fox News Voter Analysis and voter file data.

Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., brushed aside President Donald Trump’s threat to withdraw acting Attorney General Todd Blanche’s nomination Thursday, arguing the White House must instead honor what he says was an earlier commitment to win his vote.

“That’s his prerogative,” Tillis said of Trump’s threat to withdraw Blanche’s nomination.

Tillis’ comments come after Trump called out both Tillis and Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, on Truth Social Thursday morning for blocking the president’s efforts to make Blanche the nation’s top prosecutor. 

Trump then threatened to pull Blanche’s nomination until the two Republican senators leave office next year. Tillis is retiring, and Cornyn lost his primary in his run for re-election.

TRUMP THREATENS TO YANK HIS OWN AG NOMINEE AS GOP REVOLT GROWS

Tillis argued Trump cannot resolve this nomination standoff “unless we fulfill what we thought was the commitment from the administration.”

The North Carolina senator has withheld his support for Blanche unless the administration agrees to permanently eliminate the nearly $2 billion anti-weaponization fund and rewrite Trump’s audit immunity language in a settlement agreement. Negotiations over those demands remain ongoing.

“The best thing is, take the win, get Blanche confirmed and get this agreement out of the way,” Tillis told Fox News Digital.

When asked what it would take to get Tillis to vote to confirm Blanche, he said, “exactly what Blanche committed to.”

TRUMP ADMIN PUSHES BACK ON ‘SLUSH FUND’ ATTACKS AGAINST ANTI-WEAPONIZATION FUND AND LAYS OUT WHO QUALIFIES

Tillis stressed that Blanche is not to blame for the impasse, saying he believes he “was honest” during his confirmation process and that he blames someone on Trump’s team.

“This is not Blanche’s problem. It’s clear to me that Blanche was honest when he answered without hesitation, working with us to end this,” Tillis said.

“I believe that one of the president’s advisors who were part of this agreement is the problem. And they need to own it.”

Tillis also pointed out that there is no certainty that the Senate would be any more accepting of Blanche next year, particularly as Republicans have more seats in danger than Democrats in the Senate.

“The best-case scenario is you come back with the same number of people next year, and our members are not going to be any more supportive of this than they are today.”

TRUMP-TILLIS TIFF DEEPENS AS PRESIDENT SAYS HE ‘QUIT,’ CONCEDES FED FIGHT COULD DOOM NEW CHAIR CONFIRMATION

Trump could still keep Blanche as acting attorney general for months even if he withdraws the nomination. The Federal Vacancies Reform Act allows acting officials to serve for 210 days, and withdrawing a pending nomination resets that clock. If Trump were to pull Blanche’s nomination Thursday, Blanche could remain in the role until late February.

Despite Trump’s public threat, Tillis said negotiations with the administration remain ongoing and said he is “not a no” on Blanche.

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“In this place, nothing’s ever as good or as bad as it seems, so we’re continuing to negotiate,” Tillis said.

Fox News Digital’s Alex Miller and Adam Pack contributed to this report.