Donald Trump Poll News

EXCLUSIVE: High-level Trump administration officials, including chief of staff Susie Wiles, met Thursday morning at the White House with key defense industry stakeholders, and White House officials laid out their vision for the House of Representatives’ current budget reconciliation package related to crucial funding for the Iran war.

Wiles, Department of War and Office of Management and Budget (OMB) leaders and leaders from 17 top defense contractors including Raytheon, BAE Systems, Honeywell, Northrop Grumman, Lockheed Martin, Palantir and others, were in attendance for the meeting, according to a Trump administration official. 

The Trump administration representatives laid out their vision for what is being called “Reconciliation 3.0.”

The purpose of the meeting was to ensure that all the companies were aligned on the importance of this reconciliation package being passed, which, according to the administration official, they were.

REPORTER’S NOTEBOOK: HOUSE’S FINAL SPRINT PUTS SAVE AMERICA ACT AND IRAN FUNDING IN PLAY

The budget reconciliation process allows the party in power in Congress to pass sweeping fiscal policy legislation while completely sidelining the other side — in this case, Democrats.

It does so by bypassing the Senate filibuster — which needs 60 votes to overcome — allowing the upper chamber to line up with the House’s own simple majority threshold.

Reconciliation 3.0 includes $73 billion for Pentagon and intelligence funding, which is largely tied to replenishing U.S. weapons caches for the Iran war.

GOP’S $95B DEFENSE PACKAGE SURVIVES CRITICAL HURDLE AMID FISCAL HAWK REVOLT

While Wiles and the other Trump administration leaders articulated their vision for the third reconciliation bill, the entire room bought in and committed to their plan, the source told Fox News Digital.

Further, the defense company leaders spoke favorably about the White House’s approach and said they were working hard to advocate for lawmakers on the Hill to pass the House budget resolution before the imminent August recess.

The House has passed a framework with cash targets for relevant committees, but now those committees need to provide details about how that money will be spent. The main players are the House Armed Services Committees and the House Intelligence Committee.

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The president has vigorously advocated to get the deal done.

“I am asking all House Republicans to VOTE YES this week on the Budget Resolution, which is an important first step towards getting a Budget Bill,” he said Monday on TRUTH Social.

As Congress debates the SAVE America Act, which would require photo identification to vote in federal elections, the latest Fox News national survey shows broad support for that measure.

In a July 16 primetime speech, President Donald Trump urged Americans to contact lawmakers to support the legislation, saying it would address election system vulnerabilities. 

The act passed the U.S. House of Representatives in February and is stalled in the Senate. The survey was conducted after his remarks (July 17–20, 2026).

The new poll, released Thursday, finds roughly eight in 10 registered voters favor requiring photo identification to register to vote (83%) and to cast a ballot (77%). Support for requiring photo ID to vote has remained consistently high, between 77% to 85%, in Fox News polling since 2011.

FOX NEWS POLL: VOTERS WANT MAJOR CHANGE AMID ECONOMIC AND POLITICAL DISCONTENT

“It’s a testament to gridlock and partisan polarization that no one seems capable of crafting a legislative compromise that can win passage of a bill featuring policies where large majorities support them,” says Republican pollster Daron Shaw, who conducts the Fox News Poll with Democrat Chris Anderson.

Backing for voter ID spans the political spectrum, though intensity varies. Nearly all Republicans think it should be mandatory (96% to register, 95% to vote), as do roughly eight in 10 independents (83%, 77%). 

Democrats are a bit less supportive, with 72% backing photo ID to register and 62% to vote. Outside party lines, most groups favor photo ID, including Hispanic voters (85% to register, 76% to vote) and voters under age 30 (82%, 75%).

Looking toward the fall midterms, most are broadly confident eligible voters will be able to vote (76%), though fewer feel sure ineligible voters will be prevented from doing so (61%). Confidence in eligible ballot access is high across party lines, while Republicans are less certain than Democrats and independents about ineligible voting.

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

Nearly two-thirds (64%) favor universal mail-in voting, holding steady since September 2025. Partisan divisions persist, as nearly nine in 10 Democrats and seven in 10 independents support mail-in voting, while about six in 10 Republicans oppose it.

Despite majority backing, views are divided on the accuracy of mail-in ballots. A narrow 51% majority is confident they will be counted accurately, while 48% disagree. Two-thirds of Democrats trust the accuracy of the count, while roughly six in 10 Republicans and independents think it’s unlikely.

Most also favor counting ballots postmarked by Election Day, even if they arrive later. Seven in 10 support the practice, including large majorities of Democrats (88%) and independents (74%), while closer to half of Republicans oppose (53%).

In June, the Supreme Court upheld a Mississippi law permitting late mail-in ballots to be counted if postmarked by Election Day.

Regardless of voting method, more express confidence that votes will be counted accurately in their state (64%) than at the national level (53%). Democrats trust both, while more Republicans and independents are assured by state tallies. In addition, by a 2-to-1 margin, more voters think state governments (68%) rather than the federal government (31%) should have election authority, a view shared across all major political groups.

Overall, six in 10 are confident the final vote count will be fair and accurate, even if completing the tally takes several days after Election Day. Roughly seven in 10 Democrats are confident, while more than half of Republicans are not. Independents are divided (52% confident, 47% not).

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Conducted July 17-20, 2026, under the direction of Beacon Research (D) and Shaw & Company Research (R), this Fox News survey includes interviews with a sample of 1,003 registered voters randomly selected from a national voter file. Respondents spoke with live interviewers on landlines (70) and cellphones (681) or completed the survey online after receiving a text (252). Results based on the full sample have a margin of sampling error of ±3 percentage points. 

The survey includes an oversample of 200 voters aged 18-29, bringing the sample size for that subgroup to 350 (±5). Sampling error for results among subgroups is higher. In addition to sampling error, 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.

An Associated Press social media post about transgender aid workers in Nepal turning to sex work after losing their jobs due to U.S. foreign aid cuts sparked a wave of conservative backlash, with critics arguing the video made the case for defunding USAID rather than saving it.

The AP post said that in Nepal, where “a conservative culture leaves openly transgender people with few legal job options,” around 100 LGBTQ aid workers left jobless by U.S. funding cuts had turned to sex work to survive. An accompanying video focused on Rubi Lama, a former HIV outreach worker who said USAID-funded programs had provided free condoms, lubricant and HIV-prevention medication before the cuts.

“When USAID funding was there, condoms were free, lubricant was also distributed … for free,” Lama said in the video, adding that HIV treatments, including PrEP, were also available without cost. “But, now it is gone.”

TRUMP ADMINISTRATION TOUTS MORE THAN $1B IN UN BUDGET CUTS AS REFORM PUSH GAINS MOMENTUM

The framing quickly drew criticism from conservatives who said the story raised the opposite question: why American taxpayers were funding those programs in the first place.

Rep. Brandon Gill, R-Texas, was among the conservatives who argued the AP report made the opposite point from the one intended.

“Our tax dollars no longer fund employment for transgender Nepalese sex workers,” Gill wrote on X. “Thank you for reminding us why defunding USAID was long overdue.”

“Wow very grateful that my tax dollars are no longer funding a bunch of random trannies in Asia,” mocked Daily Wire host Matt Walsh “Is that the point you were trying to make or did you expect us to be somehow sad about this?”

SOCIALIST-BACKED MICHIGAN SENATE HOPEFUL CALLS AMERICAN POLITICS A ‘DISEASE’ AFTER PROFESSING LOVE FOR US

The backlash comes after President Donald Trump, immediately upon returning to office, ordered a 90-day pause on new foreign development assistance obligations and disbursements while his administration reviewed whether programs aligned with his foreign policy.

USAID later told partners to pause new funding obligations and issue stop-work orders or suspensions for existing awards, while critics have said the review led to major disruptions, staff reductions and the cancellation of critical foreign-assistance awards.

But Federalist editor-in-chief Mollie Hemingway argued the AP post exposed misplaced priorities, particularly among the media, saying the outlet presented U.S. tax dollars flowing to a “trans Nepalese job protection program” as though it was a good use of public money.

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“The AP announces that your hard-earned tax dollars were flowing to a trans Nepalese job protection program as if that was an even remotely good use of your money,” Hemingway wrote in a post on X. “AP is sick Democrat propaganda.”

“How dare Elon cut USAID funds to the Nepalese trans sex worker community,” quipped Republican activist Jack Posobiec.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced on Thursday a new visa restriction policy targeting foreign nationals responsible for or complicit in cybercrime and cyber-enabled crime.

“This policy targets individuals responsible for, or complicit in, cybercrime and cyber-enabled crime, such as those involved in cyberscams, and sextortion,” Rubio said in a statement.

Certain immediate family members of people covered by the policy may also be subject to the State Department’s new visa restrictions, according to Rubio.

TRUMP LAUNCHES GOLD EAGLE TO HUNT CYBER FLAWS WITH AI

President Donald Trump signed an executive order earlier this year titled “Combatting Cybercrime, Fraud, and Predatory Schemes Against American Citizens” directs federal agencies to develop measures against foreign scam centers, transnational criminal organizations and cyber-enabled financial fraud.

The administration, Rubio said, “is taking action to counter an unprecedented threat from online investment scams.”

WHAT A SCAMMER SEES THE MOMENT THEY GOOGLE YOUR NAME

“Often orchestrated by Chinese transnational criminal organizations, scammers have defrauded U.S. citizens of at least $10 billion in 2024 alone while fueling corruption, money laundering, and human trafficking,” the secretary said.

“American children also have been specifically targeted by offenders operating overseas for sextortion scams, devastating families and futures,” he continued.

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Rubio said the administration is “deploying every tool at our disposal—sanctions, prosecutions, asset seizures, extradition requests, and international law enforcement cooperation—to dismantle criminal scam networks and impose costs on those who enable them.”

“By restricting visa issuance to those who are responsible for or complicit in these criminal enterprises, we are sending a clear message: The United States will go after those who prey on our citizens,” he said.

A U.S. Secret Service (USSS) agent assigned to Vice President JD Vance’s security detail is being investigated over allegations of leaking sensitive information.

“A member of the Vice Presidential Protective Division is the subject of an administrative investigation, and potential criminal inquiry, involving allegations of compromising operational and information security,” Secret Service Chief of Communications Anthony Guglielmi said in a statement to Fox News.

The agency would not comment on the specifics of the case, Guglielmi said, but noted that “any conduct that potentially threatens the safety of a protectee will not be tolerated.”

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

The probe came a week after an MS Now report detailed alleged frustrations within Vance’s security detail over last-minute personal and family travel requests.

One day after the story was published, MS Now reported Vance’s office canceled a helicopter flight scheduled for his son’s golf lesson. The Trump administration said the proposed use of Marine Two — the call sign for the helicopter carrying the vice president — was for operational reasons.

“Compared to a motorcade, it drastically decreased the burden on local law enforcement and eliminated the inconvenience of road closures and disruptions to motorists along the long driving route,” the administration wrote in a statement to Fox News.

USHA VANCE MOCKS NEW YORK TIMES FOR DRAWING ‘POLITICAL SIGNIFICANCE’ FROM HER PREGNANCY FASHION

The MS Now report noted that current and former Secret Service agents pointed out that prior vice presidents “eschewed using such expensive government perks for the convenience of their children’s schedule.”

Agents said the “off-the-record” (OTR) trips sometimes force them to cancel personal plans and require them to construct security plans in a hurry.

“The detail is tired of them not giving notice on things and making everything an OTR,” a person familiar with the detail’s frustration told the news outlet. “[Vance] thinks he can still move around like a U.S. senator.”

A Vance spokesperson told Fox News the family is grateful to the Secret Service.

IRAN-BACKED PROXIES SABOTAGING LEBANON PEACE AS JD VANCE LEADS US DELEGATION TO SWITZERLAND, HERZOG SAYS

“While protecting a vice president with a large policy portfolio and a young and growing family presents a unique challenge, agents of the Secret Service do so with excellence every day,” the spokesperson said.

Meanwhile, USSS Deputy Director Matthew Quinn said that all special agents understand the commitment required to serve on a protective detail.

“Our agents work tirelessly to ensure protectees’ safety and security, while also preserving normalcy to the extent possible,” Quinn told Fox News. “We are committed to supporting our personnel, which requires around-the-clock dedication and discipline. This is a job that requires absolute dedication and discipline. There is no room for compromise.”

The frustration among agents reportedly led some to create custom coins and stickers mocking the frequency of Vance’s last-minute travel, referencing the vice president’s Secret Service code name, “Bobcat.”

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Some coins reportedly read, “Bobcat OTR Survivors Club.”

The Trump administration acknowledged that last-minute trips can arise unexpectedly.

“Most past presidents and vice presidents have not had young children, and therefore the detail has not been presented with this nature of protective mandate,” the administration told Fox News.

“The Vice President is also a very active and involved Vice President, more so than recent officeholders,” the statement continued. “His unprecedented diplomatic role, for example, while critically important, has added new demands for a detail used to operating with lead times that are impossible in high-stakes diplomacy.”

During a 2019 interview following a visit to border enforcement, James Talarico, candidate for U.S. Senate in Texas, said he gauged the suitability of immigration detention facilities based on how he would treat his own family.

“I think I was struck by the conditions these folks were being held in,” Talarico said.

“When I first walked in, I looked at one of the security monitors and saw these things strewn around the floor, and I realized they were human beings being held in these tiny rooms. The standard I use is: would I allow my child, my parent, my grandparent to be held in one of these facilities? And the answer, after my visit, was a resounding no,” Talarico said.

His resurfaced comments continue to raise questions about his views on border policy as he looks to flip a Republican-held Senate seat in Texas.

PROGRESSIVE TALARICO KNIFES BIDEN’S OPEN BORDER, TRIES MODERATING STANCE ON KEY ISSUES IN TEXAS SENATE RACE

During his campaign, Talarico has drawn scrutiny for walking a tightrope between traditionally Democratic criticisms on President Donald Trump’s border enforcement measures and appearing too soft on border policy.

Like progressives in the party, Talarico has called on lawmakers to abolish Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), has characterized voter ID requirements as a method to rig elections and, in the past, even criticized President Barack Obama’s record on immigration.

In one 2019 remark, Talarico famously called Obama the “deporter-in-chief.”

His past comments have left some observers believing his record makes the case for him.

“There is a very concerning pattern with James Talarico siding with pedophiles, criminal illegal aliens and cartels while slandering the brave men and women of law enforcement who keep Texans safe,” Zach Kraft, a spokesperson for the Republican National Committee (RNC), said in a statement, referring to detentions highlighted by the Department of Homeland Security.

ICE ARRESTS 15 ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS WITH CONVICTIONS INCLUDING HOMICIDE, RAPE AND CHILD SEX CRIMES OVER WEEKEND

“Talarico is a true radical and fully committed to defunding the police, knocking down President Trump’s border wall and welcoming millions of illegal aliens into America,” Kraft added.

At the same time, Talarico has voiced concern about the government’s effective use of resources on the border and whether its investments are being reflected in its detention operations.

He raised the issue in the 2019 interview.

“How are we spending close to a billion dollars every year on border security when these border patrol agents told us firsthand they didn’t have the resources, basic logistical items that would help the situation better for them and for the people being held?” Talarico said.

Talarico argued that poor standards don’t speak to individual facility needs but rather reflect broader problems with immigration enforcement.

“This is not a matter of some bad apples at a Border Patrol station. This is a systemic problem that even the Border Patrol agents identified as something morally wrong and something that needed to be solved,” Talarico said in an interview.

“I believe this is a statewide problem; this is a stain on all of our reputations. It violates a lot of the values we have as Texans.”

Texas spent roughly $800 million on border security in 2019, according to the state’s legislative budget board.

TALARICO MAKES STUNNING CLAIM ABOUT WHY HE THINKS TEXAS ELECTIONS AREN’T ‘FREE AND FAIR’

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When pressed for more details about Talarico’s ideal detainment conditions a reality, his campaign pointed to his border security plan he recently unveiled.

“James supports stronger border security and safe, secure, and humane detention facilities. He’s the only candidate in this race to unveil a border security agenda endorsed by Republicans and Democrats that will add more border patrol agents and improve technology at the border to better detect threats. For too long, both parties have failed our border communities by grandstanding on the issue instead of finding real solutions. James is running for Senate to keep our country safe by deporting criminals instead of locking up moms, babies and small business owners who have been contributing to our economy for decades,” a campaign spokesperson said.

Having secured the Democratic nomination, Talarico will face Republican nominee Ken Paxton in the Nov. 3 general election.

The Trump administration on Thursday directed federal agencies to give greater consideration to religious liberty when writing regulations, enforcing federal law and accommodating employees’ religious beliefs, marking the first major update to Department of Justice (DOJ) guidance on the issue since 2017.

The updated guidance instructs executive agencies to ensure their policies comply with the First Amendment, the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act and recent Supreme Court decisions that have expanded protections for religious exercise.

The DOJ, led by Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, said the guidance reflects nearly a decade of new Supreme Court precedent and is intended to ensure federal agencies protect religious Americans in areas including employment, federal contracting, grants, rulemaking and enforcement actions.

DOJ ALLEGES ‘SYSTEMATIC CULTURE’ OF ANTI-CHRISTIAN BIAS ACROSS FEDERAL AGENCIES UNDER BIDEN

Among the changes, the department said agencies should consider religious-liberty concerns earlier when developing regulations, accommodate religious expression in the federal workplace when required by law, and ensure religious organizations can compete for federal grants and contracts on equal footing with secular organizations.

The guidance also reaffirms constitutional protections for churches to govern their own internal affairs and highlights recent Supreme Court rulings recognizing parents’ rights to direct the religious upbringing of their children.

“The updated guidance will ensure that the federal government will respect the religious liberty rights of all Americans when implementing the President’s policies,” Kelly Shackelford, president, CEO and chief counsel of First Liberty Institute, said in a statement.

GOP LAWMAKERS URGE SUPREME COURT TO STRENGTHEN FIRST AMENDMENT PROTECTIONS FOR STREET PREACHERS

Shackelford thanked President Donald Trump “for his strong efforts to protect America’s first freedom—religious freedom.”

First Liberty said the guidance references two Supreme Court victories involving the organization. One was Kennedy v. Bremerton School District, in which the Supreme Court ruled that a public high school football coach’s postgame prayer was protected by the First Amendment.

The other was Groff v. DeJoy, which held that employers generally must provide religious accommodations unless doing so would impose substantial hardship.

According to the DOJ, the Office of Legal Policy will continue working with federal agencies to review proposed regulations and other government actions for compliance with federal religious-liberty protections.

The updated memorandum replaces guidance issued during Trump’s first administration in 2017 and incorporates Supreme Court decisions issued since then that the department says have clarified and strengthened constitutional and statutory protections for religious exercise.

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A DOJ spokesperson did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for additional comment on the practical impact of the updated guidance.

Disapproval of President Donald Trump’s handling of Iran hit a record high in July, as a majority of voters oppose U.S. military action, and nearly two thirds think the conflict will last at least a year.

The latest Fox News survey finds 56% oppose U.S. military action against Iran, including 40% who “strongly” oppose. More Democrats oppose the war (84%) than Republicans support it (76%).

FOX NEWS POLL: A CLOSE SENATE CONTEST IS BREWING IN IOWA

Voters increasingly expect a long-term commitment. Today, 64% think the war will last a year or more, up 13 percentage points since May. Expectations vary sharply depending on attitudes toward the Iran war. Among supporters, 56% think it will be over in weeks or months, while 80% of opponents expect it to last at least a year.

FOX NEWS POLL: VOTERS WANT MAJOR CHANGE AMID ECONOMIC AND POLITICAL DISCONTENT

There is also doubt the conflict will produce an agreement. About half think the U.S. will not reach a deal with Iran, while the rest split between expecting a good deal (27%) and a bad one (25%).

Roughly half of Democrats, Republicans, and independents predict there will be no agreement with the Islamic Republic. Among those anticipating a deal, Democrats are 20 points more likely to expect a bad one, while Republicans are 27 points more likely to expect a good one.

Just 34% of voters approve of Trump’s handling of Iran, while 66% disapprove, his worst marks to date.

Trump’s overall standing remains steady, but underwater. Thirty-nine percent approve of his job performance, unchanged for the past three months. Sixty-one percent disapprove, tying a previous high. That includes 49% who “strongly” disapprove, matching a record high.

For historical context, Trump’s best rating, 49% approve and 49% disapprove, came in April 2020. His current 39% approval is close to former President Joe Biden’s 40% (July 2022) and former President Barack Obama’s 42% (July 2014), during the summer of a midterm election year.

Trump continues to receive some of his strongest support from MAGA Republicans (97% approve) and conservatives (72%). But compared to June, his approval has declined to a near record low among rural voters (down 7 points to 44%) and an all-time low among White voters (down 3 points to 41%).

Yet the largest change comes among non-MAGA Republicans. Their support has fallen 13 points since last month to 51% approval, after hitting 70% at the beginning of Trump’s second term.

Trump’s ratings are also underwater on the economy (33% approve, 67% disapprove) and inflation (27-73%).

Republicans lose advantage on immigration

Voters are now divided over which party can better handle immigration: 50% say the Democrats and 49% the Republicans, a meaningful shift since April, when the GOP held an 8-point advantage. Women and voters under age 45 prefer the Democrats on immigration, while men and those ages 45 and older favor the Republicans.

“During the Biden administration years, immigration attitudes were often defined by border security considerations,” says Republican pollster Daron Shaw, who works on the Fox News Poll with Democratic counterpart Chris Anderson. “Today, immigration enforcement and ICE often dominate, eroding the GOP’s edge on the issue.”

Immigration remains Trump’s best performing issue in the survey, but his rating is still negative: 42% approve, while 57% disapprove.

Views of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) follow a similar pattern. ICE approval stands at 41%, unchanged since early this year but down from 49% last September.

Majorities of Democrats (90%) and independents (68%) disapprove of ICE, while most Republicans approve (79%). Fully 78% of Democrats, and 50% of independents “strongly” disapprove, compared with 53% of Republicans who “strongly” approve.

Few voters support allowing all illegal immigrants to remain in the U.S. Just 7% take that position, including 11% of Democrats, 5% of independents, and 2% of Republicans.

Instead, 62% favor deporting those who have been charged with crimes while allowing others to stay and eventually qualify for citizenship. That position draws majority support from every demographic group except Republicans (39%), conservatives (41%), and White evangelical Christians (48%).

Thirty-one percent favor deporting all illegal immigrants, with support highest among MAGA Republicans at 68%.

When asked about their concerns about illegal immigration, voters are most worried about the strain on government services (39%). Smaller shares cite crime (19%), job losses for U.S. citizens (14%), changes to the country’s culture (13%), and terrorism (10%).

Overburdened government programs rank as the top concern across demographic groups. College graduates, those living in high income households, suburban voters and independents are among those most likely to cite it.

The immigration findings also reveal a consistent divide within the Republican Party. ICE approval is 91% among MAGA Republicans compared with 59% among other Republicans, one of the widest gaps in the survey.

A similar split appears in ratings of Trump’s handling of immigration, with 91% of MAGA Republicans approving compared with 63% of other Republicans. MAGA Republicans are also nearly 30 points more likely to favor deporting all illegal immigrants (68% vs. 41%).

Conducted July 17–20, 2026, under the direction of Beacon Research (D) and Shaw & Company Research (R), this Fox News survey includes interviews with a sample of 1,003 registered voters randomly selected from a national voter file. Respondents spoke with live interviewers on landlines (70) and cellphones (681) or completed the survey online after receiving a text (252). Results based on the full sample have a margin of sampling error of ±3 percentage points. The survey includes an oversample of 200 voters aged 18–29, bringing the sample size for that subgroup to 350 (±5). 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.

Fox News’ Victoria Balara contributed to this report.

Former special counsel Jack Smith’s team obtained and reviewed the contents of text messages exchanged between Trump White House officials and 44 current and former members of Congress, according to Justice Department records released by two Republican-led Senate committees.

The messages were contained in White House records subpoenaed from the National Archives covering Oct. 1, 2020, through Jan. 20, 2021. The Justice Department said Smith’s investigative team “apparently bypassed” a filter team established to screen potentially privileged material before investigators accessed it.

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, on Wednesday issued a criminal referral for Smith, arguing that he misled Congress when he stated that he did not obtain or review lawmakers’ text messages while carrying out his probes into President Donald Trump. The referral functions as an invitation for the Justice Department to launch an investigation into Smith’s conduct.

JACK SMITH THRUST BACK INTO SPOTLIGHT AT BLANCHE HEARING OVER EXPOSED SENATORS’ MESSAGES

Read the list of 44 lawmakers:

Among the senators targeted in the probe were: Sens. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa; Ron Johnson, R-Wis.; John Cornyn, R-Texas; Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.; Josh Hawley, R-Mo.; Mike Lee, R-Utah; Cory Booker, D-N.J.; Cindy Hyde-Smith, R-Miss.; Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska; David Perdue, R-Ga.; Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn.; Martha McSally, R-Ariz.; Rand Paul, R-Ky.; Rick Scott, R-Fla.; Rob Portman, R-Ohio; Roy Blunt, R-Mo.; Susan Collins, R-Maine; Tim Scott, R-S.C.; Tom Cotton, R-Ark.; and Cory Gardner, R-Colo.

On the House side, the investigation targeted: Reps. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif.; Steve Scalise, R-La.; Jim Jordan, R-Ohio; Devin Nunes, R-Calif.; Adam Smith, D-Wash.; Andy Biggs, R-Ariz.; Mark Walker, R-N.C.; Bryan Steil, R-Wis.; Dan Newhouse, R-Wash.; Doug Collins, R-Ga.; Dusty Johnson, R-S.D.; Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y.; John Katko, R-N.Y.; Josh Gottheimer, D-N.J.; Karen Bass, D-Calif.; Ken Buck, R-Colo.; Lee Zeldin, R-N.Y.; Mario Diaz-Balart, R-Fla.; Mo Brooks, R-Ala.; Morgan Griffith, R-Va.; Rodney Davis, R-Ill.; Russ Fulcher, R-Idaho; Scott Perry, R-Pa.; and Thomas Massie, R-Ky.

Fox News Digital reached out to every current lawmaker named on the list.

Grassley and Johnson, through their senior committee positions, were responsible for the release of the new documents.

Several lawmakers on the list had publicly documented roles in efforts surrounding the 2020 election, including those who have since condemned Smith’s review of their communications.

Sen. Chuck Grassley

As president pro tempore of the Senate, Grassley played a procedural role on Jan. 6, 2021, as Congress moved to certify the results of the 2020 presidential election. The senator, for instance, called the Senate into session before senators moved to the House’s chamber to participate in a joint session where the results of each state would be certified.

Prior to Jan. 6, Grassley suggested that he may preside over the Senate’s debate surrounding disputes over the 2020 election if Vice President Mike Pence didn’t show up.

“Jack Smith’s criminal investigation of President Trump was a runaway train that had no brakes,” Grassley said of his messages being collected. “Based on the information that’s been produced to me and Senator Johnson, Biden DOJ and FBI investigators apparently ignored their own routine investigative protocols to obtain and review work-related messages from me and dozens of my Republican and Democrat colleagues who were outside the scope of the government’s investigation.”

Sen. Ron Johnson

In the lead-up to Jan. 6, Johnson joined a group of Republican senators calling for an emergency 10-day audit of disputed election results and saying they would vote against certifying electors from contested states unless such a review occurred.

Documents released by the House Jan. 6 committee in early 2023 reported that Johnson was communicating with former chairman of the Wisconsin Republican Party about a plan to have the state’s GOP-controlled legislature choose its presidential electors. The senator responded that he had no recollection of the conversation and accused the committee of trying to smear him.

Republicans were intensely critical of the House Jan. 6 committee, arguing that it lacked a meaningful voice for the opposition seeing as then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., selected every member while rejecting the nominations put forward by McCarthy. They also argued that the committee focused too little on security and intelligence failures ahead of the breach of the Capitol.

“This is yet another grotesque example of the Biden administration’s weaponization of the Justice Department,” Johnson said of the seized text messages. “Jack Smith’s team acted with impunity as they disregarded their own protocols to obtain and access White House text messages, including messages to and from 44 Members of Congress. This is precisely why Chairman Grassley and I have worked to uncover the truth, bring transparency to the American people, and hold accountable those who weaponized federal law enforcement.”

BIDEN SPECIAL COUNSEL’S ‘RUNAWAY TRAIN’ SCOOPED UP SENSITIVE LAWMAKER INFO: ‘ABUSE OF POWER’

Sen. Lindsey Graham

In the days after the 2020 election, Graham urged Trump not to concede. He later donated to Trump’s legal defense fund and, as chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, opened inquiries into election procedures in several battleground states and contacted state election officials.

The late South Carolina senator grew frustrated with Trump and his followers as their objections continued to fail in court and fully broke with the movement following the riot on Jan. 6.

“Count me out,” he said at the time. “Enough is enough.”

Sen. Josh Hawley

Hawley is notable in that he, on Dec. 30, 2020, became the first senator to announce his intention to formally object to Electoral College votes during the certification process. His decision was consequential as federal law required objections from both a representative and a senator to force a debate on the election.

WATCH: HAWLEY FUMES AFTER 4 GOP SENATORS HELP SINK TRUMP-BACKED VOTER ID LAW

Trump attempted to call Hawley six times ahead of the Jan. 6 breach, according to White House call logs obtained by the House Jan. 6 select committee, showing that there was a line of communication between the two.

Though some senators abandoned their objections to the 2020 election after the Capitol was breached, Hawley maintained his objections and voted against certifying the results from Arizona and Pennsylvania.

Hawley called the documents released by Grassley and Johnson “more evidence of Biden corruption” adding that, “Jack Smith illegally scooped up the text messages of Senators — including mine.”

Sen. Mike Lee

Text messages turned over by former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows to the House Jan. 6 committee show that Lee discussed possible legal and constitutional avenues for challenging the 2020 election results.

Lee initially told Meadows that he supported exhausting every available legal and constitutional remedy to address concerns about the election. By Jan. 3, 2021, however, he warned that the effort “could all backfire badly,” according to text messages Meadows turned over to the House Jan. 6 committee.

The senator ultimately voted against sustaining objections to Arizona’s and Pennsylvania’s election results.

Mike Lee slammed Smith’s collection of text messages this month as “un-American” and argued that it came “uncomfortably close to spying on a coequal, coordinate branch.”

Rep. Steve Scalise

Scalise, as House Republican whip, was responsible for convincing representatives to vote in line with the party’s interests, providing a straightforward reason as to why White House staff may have been in contact with him.

Further, a publicly released deposition shows that a Scalise aide communicated with Pence’s legislative-affairs director regarding a Jan. 3 call organized by Jordan involving Trump, Meadows and members pressing certification objections.

SCALISE URGES PRITZKER TO ‘LOOK AT THE MAN IN THE MIRROR’ AFTER HE BLAMES TRUMP FOR POLITICAL VIOLENCE

The Louisiana congressman called congressional action the “only remaining recourse” for addressing what he described as improper changes to election laws in several states.

While he condemned rioting, Scalise, like Hawley, ultimately voted to reject Biden’s electoral votes from both Arizona and Pennsylvania.

Rep. Jim Jordan

Jordan participated in efforts to challenge the 2020 election results, including discussions about delaying congressional certification and objecting to electoral votes.

On Jan. 2, the Ohio congressman led a conference call with Trump and other members of Congress to discuss strategies for delaying the Jan. 6 joint session, according to the House Jan. 6 committee’s final report.

Jordan also reportedly had a 10-minute-long call with Trump on the morning of Jan. 6, according to publicly released phone records. After the breach of the Capitol, Jordan condemned the violence but voted to sustain objections to the electoral results in Arizona and Pennsylvania.

“You can’t do that. As Senator Hawley just said, this is a separation of powers issue,” Jordan told Fox News host Sean Hannity earlier this month. “There’s a speech or debate clause. It was supposed to be filtered and screened. It wasn’t. It was just given from the National Archives to Jack Smith’s team.”

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Smith’s attorneys called the criminal referral “meritless” Thursday in a letter previously obtained by Fox News Digital.

“The House Judiciary Committee’s referral to the Department of Justice of our client Jack Smith is based on a spurious claim that Mr. Smith provided false testimony during his eight-hour deposition on December 17, 2025. The referral is made not because Mr. Smith made a false statement—the letter concedes he did not—but because he did not proactively disclose information that was not responsive to a question asked,” the lawyer wrote.

“During his testimony, Mr. Smith provided truthful, responsive answers and candidly discussed his work as Special Counsel. This referral reflects a chilling eagerness to weaponize the justice system by attacking a career, nonpartisan public servant who faithfully and fearlessly performed his duties by following the facts and the law.”

Fox News Digital’s Elizabeth Elkind contributed to this report.

The U.S. Department of Justice is suing Colorado over the offering of in-state tuition and financial aid for illegal immigrants attending public colleges and universities, the latest legal challenge over what critics say amounts to discrimination against U.S. citizens.

The lawsuit, filed Thursday in Colorado federal court, names the Colorado Commission on Higher Education, the state Department of Higher Education, and its director, JB Holston, as defendants.

“For three decades, Congress has made clear that Colorado cannot give education benefits to illegal aliens that it does not give to all American citizens,” said Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward. “By granting illegal aliens in-state tuition, Colorado is not only violating federal law but subsidizing education for illegal aliens at taxpayers’ expense.”

NEBRASKA ENDS IN-STATE TUITION BENEFITS FOR ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS UNDER DOJ DEAL

“Our litigation efforts will not cease until we have fulfilled President [Donald] Trump’s promise that illegal aliens will not obtain preferential treatment over our Nation’s own citizens,” Woodward added.

Fox News Digital has reached out to both agencies named in the lawsuit for comment, along with the office of Colorado Gov. Jared Polis.

The complaint argues that the Advancing Students for a Stronger Economy Tomorrow (ASSET) Act and related state policies violate a federal statute that prohibits states from offering higher education benefits to illegal immigrants based on their residency, unless the same benefits are available to all U.S. citizens.

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In an effort to expand access to those benefits, Colorado reduced the high school attendance requirement from three years to one year, and removed a requirement that students must be admitted to college within 12 months of graduating from high school, according to the federal complaint.

The state also repealed a requirement that mandated illegal immigrant students submit an affidavit stating they had applied for lawful presence or would apply as soon as they were eligible, the complaint states.

By providing lower tuition rates and state-funded scholarships to local illegal immigrants while denying them to out-of-state citizens, Colorado is accused of creating an unconstitutional preference that is preempted by federal authorities.

The Justice Department also argues that lower tuition incentivizes illegal immigration and rewards them for breaking the nation’s laws.

Thursday’s lawsuit marks the fourteenth launched by the Trump administration challenging in-state tuition for illegal immigrants.

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“This Department of Justice is committed to fulfilling President Trump’s promise that illegal aliens will not obtain taxpayer benefits or preferential treatment over our own citizens,” the Justice Department said.

The lawsuit asks the court to declare several Colorado state laws associated with the matter unconstitutional, as well as award court fees.

A new poll from New Hampshire, the state that for a century has held the first Republican presidential primary, is the latest to indicate that Secretary of State Marco Rubio is gaining ground in a hypothetical 2028 GOP nomination matchup with Vice President JD Vance.

Vance stands at 36% support among likely GOP primary voters in New Hampshire, with Rubio at 26%, according to a University of New Hampshire (UNH) Granite State Poll released this week.

That’s a massive shift from the previous UNH 2028 presidential nomination survey, conducted in February, which indicated Vance topping Rubio 53% to 7%.

Vance has long been viewed as the heir apparent to term-limited President Donald Trump and his MAGA and America First base. While Vance remains the clear hypothetical frontrunner, Rubio has narrowed the gap in national polls and surveys conducted in key early-voting presidential primary states ahead of a race that is not expected to begin in earnest until after this autumn’s midterm elections.

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Rubio’s rise in the 2028 polls this year comes amid an increase in his responsibilities and public profile, including his role in the U.S. operation in Venezuela and the ongoing war against Iran.

Rubio, who as a senator from Florida was one of more than a dozen Republican contenders who ran and lost to Trump in the tumultuous 2016 presidential primary, came in a close second to Vance earlier this year in the closely watched 2028 Republican presidential nomination straw poll at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference, which is better known by its acronym CPAC.

Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, who ran for the nomination in 2016 and is mulling another bid, stood a distant third at 8% in the new UNH survey, along with former ambassador and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, who was the runner-up to Trump in 2024.

RAND PAUL FLOATS POSSIBLE 2028 RUN AS HE PUTS MORE DAYLIGHT BETWEEN HIMSELF AND TRUMP

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who also bid for the nomination in 2024, grabbed 6% support, with everyone else tested at 4% or less.

“There’s nobody else in the conversation besides those two, so this poll makes sense,” New Hampshire-based Republican consultant David Carney, a veteran of numerous presidential campaigns, told Fox News Digital as he referred to Vance and Rubio.

The latest surveys and straw poll results are fuel for intrigue over what some in the Republican Party see as a budding rivalry between Rubio and Vance, who describe each other as friends.

Partially fueling Rubio’s rise is Trump, who has lavishly praised his secretary of state.

The president earlier this year declared that Rubio would go down as “the greatest secretary of state in history.”

Trump has also promoted a Vance-Rubio ticket — calling it “unstoppable” — but has not said who should be at the top of the ticket.

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But the president did say last year that Vance is “most likely” his heir apparent. “In all fairness, he’s the vice president,” Trump added.

While Vance has demurred when questioned about 2028, he has built a political team of advisers who, if he runs as expected, would quickly build out a presidential campaign.

Rubio, who is crisscrossing the globe as part of his job requirements, doesn’t have a similar group of political aides. And Rubio has said he’ll back Vance if the vice president launches a 2028 campaign.

Regardless, Republican sources confirmed to Fox News earlier this year that a group of GOP donors supporting the secretary of state are quietly exploring ways to boost Rubio’s political profile.

That’s not sitting well with some in the president’s political orbit.

DEMOCRACY ’26: STAY UP TO DATE WITH THE FOX NEWS ELECTION HUB

“Vice President Vance is the future of the Republican Party and Marco Rubio is one of his closest friends in the administration,” an operative in Trump’s political orbit told Fox News Digital earlier this year.

“The divisive stories from some donors trying to cause chaos are not helpful,” the operative, who asked to remain anonymous to speak more freely, emphasized.

VANCE, CRUZ, HEAD TO IOWA ON 2026 MISSIONS AS 2028 GOP RACE TO SUCCEED TRUMP HEATS UP

Vance has also weighed in, telling Fox News’ Martha MacCallum earlier this year that “Marco is my closest friend in the administration.”

And the vice president, in his interview on Fox News’ “The Story,” added, “I think it’s so interesting the media wants to create this conflict where there just isn’t any conflict.”

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Trump will have a massive influence on the 2028 GOP nomination race to succeed him. An endorsement from the president would give a major boost to whomever he backs.

But a longtime Republican strategist, who asked to remain anonymous to speak more freely, offered a warning for the vice president: “Vance is in the catbird seat until some really goes bad and Trump is going to blame him… I can’t image Vance walking this tightrope for two more years without pissing off Trump.”

A Rhode Island lawmaker who previously referred to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers as “Nazi Gestapo thugs” said “your day of reckoning will come mother——” in a charged social media post aimed at the agency tasked with carrying out the Trump administration’s crackdown on illegal immigration.

State Rep. Enrique Sanchez, a Democrat, directed his anger at ICE in a Wednesday post on X decrying its enforcement tactics:

“Fighting and dealing with ICE since last year has f—– me up in the head after trying to protect and defend hundreds and hundreds of our community members in Providence and across Rhode Island. Your day of reckoning will come mother——,” he wrote. “I swear to god.”

HOMAN BLASTS DEM HYPOCRISY ON DEPORTATIONS, RECALLS PAST WHEN ‘OBAMA GAVE ME AN AWARD’ FOR ENFORCING BORDER

Fox News Digital has reached out for comment to Sanchez, ICE, and the Department of Homeland Security, along with the Rhode Island Republican and Democratic parties.

Sanchez, who was elected to the state House of Representatives in 2022, works as a case manager helping illegal immigrants, according to his biography on the state House website.

The Democratic lawmaker has issued harsh criticism of ICE before. In August 2025, he called ICE officers “Nazi Gestapo thugs” who he said “kidnapped another of our neighbors” in Providence.

“The ICE thugs damaged a couple cars that belonged to residents as well. They think they are above the law,” he wrote on X at the time.

SOCIALIST MAYOR MAMDANI BASHES ICE AFTER CHAOTIC PROTEST LEADS TO ARRESTS: ‘CRUEL AND INHUMANE’

Two weeks later, he said ICE was “terrorizing” communities before calling for “a day of reckoning and no going back.”

More recently, Sanchez lambasted the “Nazi ICE trash thugs” after an ICE agent killed a Colombian man in Maine.

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Joan Sebastian Guerrero, 26, was shot and killed July 13 during an attempted traffic stop after he allegedly tried to flee, authorities said.

An eyewitness told Maine’s Portland Press Herald that Guerrero appeared to drive toward federal agents before shots were fired.

Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., enjoyed a series of wins this week – but there’s little time to celebrate, as Republicans grow increasingly frustrated with how he is managing the razor-thin House majority.

“He’s capitulating to the wants of the Freedom Caucus,” one House Republican, granted anonymity to speak freely, told Fox News Digital. “The Freedom Caucus are in control. The rest of us are just following.”

The Louisiana Republican is fresh off a slew of legislative victories this week, notching success with bills curbing congressional stock trading, averting a government shutdown, and setting the stage for a $95 billion budget that includes a top election priority of President Donald Trump.

GOP’S $95B DEFENSE PACKAGE SURVIVES CRITICAL HURDLE AMID FISCAL HAWK REVOLT

Johnson has managed to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat dozens of times since winning the speaker’s gavel in October 2023. But the pressure of running a razor-thin House majority is still enough to send tensions boiling, particularly within an ideologically diverse Republican conference before what’s expected to be a politically bruising battle to keep control of Congress.

Several House Republicans have told Fox News Digital this week that Johnson is not doing enough to bolster his rank-and-file members and their own individual legislative priorities.

A second House GOP lawmaker granted anonymity to speak candidly, said, “there’s frustration within the conference around the speaker not pushing back, and not saying no to the White House.”

‘IT’S A MESS’: GOP TURNS ON HOUSE CONSERVATIVES AS VOTER ID BLOCKADE STALLS TRUMP’S AGENDA

“Members have said ‘We don’t report to the White House. We don’t report to the executive branch. We should be able to make these decisions on our own,’” the second House GOP lawmaker said.

Johnson’s allies have consistently argued that his close relationship with Trump has been key to his staying power and success.

But not everyone believes Johnson is prioritizing the needs of his conservative right flank or the president over others.

TOP TRUMP OFFICIAL MAKES NEW SAVE ACT CASE TO REPUBLICANS BEHIND CLOSED DOORS

Rep. Keith Self, R-Texas, a member of the House Freedom Caucus, told Fox News Digital, “There does seem to be a focus on a few in the conference, and the reasoning is, the most vulnerable. But that by definition excludes some other members.”

“All I will say is, we need to continue to focus on what our base wants, because we have a very important election coming up here pretty quick,” Self said.

Others, still, simply believe House GOP leadership could be doing more to help lawmakers across the conference.

“I know it’s hard. I mean, being the speaker is the hardest job in the country,” Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, R-N.Y., told Fox News Digital on Tuesday.

And while she maintained that Johnson was still very much in control of the House floor and his fellow Republicans, she said, “I think there’s more that can be done to help members score wins that may be small in general, but are big and important for their districts.”

“I think they haven’t been proactive in going to the membership and saying, ‘Give me your top three priorities, not controversial, don’t cost money,’ and help us navigate the committee process to get those to the floor,” Malliotakis said. “I’ve got a bill for example, like, [high-occupancy vehicle] lanes for veterans — allowing veterans who are going to the VA, or going for treatment, to be able to use the HOV lanes…I’ve got one that would…go after heroin injection centers in New York.”

Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., was even more blunt: “You’ve got to kiss a– to move legislation up here, and it’s just, it’s really getting to be a ridiculous situation.”

The frustrations hitting Johnson from different sides of the conference are a consequence of Republicans’ razor-thin House majority — only being able to lose two seats on any party-line vote with full attendance — and the vastly different approaches to legislating.

Still, other House Republicans maintain that Johnson is doing a good job of sticking by his allies.

“The ones who are complaining today will be the same ones who are complaining even when times are good. It’s just who they are,” a third House Republican, speaking anonymously, told Fox News Digital.

And Rep. Dusty Johnson, R-S.D., said House Republicans have managed to accomplish a significant number of their policy goals this term.

“It’s actually a pretty remarkable testament both to the patience of Mike Johnson and to the willingness of the White House to engage,” the South Dakota Republican said.

Another Johnson ally who was granted anonymity pointed out that he spends his non-legislative time raising money for campaigns across the conference, whether people agree with him or not. “Outside the Capitol, Johnson has a second full-time job as lead fundraiser — he’s on track to raise $500 million to ensure everyone, no matter their caucus, returns next year in the majority.”

Johnson’s allies would also argue that the broad range of complaints highlighted in this story is an example of his focus on trying to listen to every member of the House GOP, and that there has not been any push for his ouster despite the rumblings.

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But with such a slim House majority, it’s a fact that every vote counts.

As the second House Republican put it, “Everyone has a bullet in the chamber, and they’re not afraid to use it.”

FIRST ON FOX – Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., sent a letter to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)-linked Fuyao Glass Industry Group Co., one of the world’s leading automotive glass manufacturers with U.S. headquarters in Ohio, demanding information on the company’s operations and finances amid allegations of labor violations.

The letter, first obtained by Fox News Digital, asks for extensive documentation of Fuyao’s business operations in the U.S., its labor practices, its ties to the CCP and more.

Khanna, the top Democrat on the House Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the U.S. and the Chinese Communist Party, cited allegations that Fuyao has been violating U.S. labor laws by, among other things, importing foreign workers to undercut American labor.

“They have serious allegations against them of suppressing prices because they’re being subsidized by the Chinese Communist Party, allegedly, of bringing people into this country who are undocumented and violating our immigration laws, and then exploiting those workers and having them work long hours with little pay,” Khanna told Fox News Digital.

CHINA IS BUILDING A MASSIVE SHIP THAT SHOULD SCARE AMERICANS ABOUT THE FUTURE

A 2024 federal raid on Fuyao’s Ohio properties resulted in a civil asset forfeiture of $126 million that included the seizure of luxury goods, vehicles, and 12 commercial and residential properties, including what the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) described as “boarding houses” to accommodate migrant workers.

“It is alleged that many of the workers were illegally smuggled into the United States, primarily through Mexico, and encouraged to travel to the Dayton area to be employed by one of the target entities and serve as a workforce at the various factories. Most of the workers are of Chinese or Hispanic nationality. Workers allegedly lived at ‘family style hotels’ (boarding houses) owned by the target entities and were driven to and from work in transportation provided by the target entities,” the DOJ said in a press release.

CHILL COMING FROM TRUMP’S SUMMIT WITH XI IS PROOF OF A NEW COLD WAR WITH CHINA

Among the many pieces of information Khanna requested from Fuyao was data on whether the company was being subsidized by the CCP, allowing them to undercut U.S. competitors, who he argued were being negatively affected by Fuyao’s practices.

“They are hurting. American glass manufacturers, one of them that we met on our Heartland tour in Western Pennsylvania. And they are putting American workers out of business,” Khanna told Fox News Digital. “And at the same time, they are exploiting our laws. Now we have requested the findings from the Justice Department that undertook an investigation. And they still have not released the findings. And so I am going to take on myself, with the China Committee, to investigate Fuyao.”

In the 2025 press release, the DOJ said a criminal investigation into Fuyao is ongoing.

Khanna also asked the company to reveal the degree to which the CCP is involved in the company’s operation.

“We need to understand a lot more. I want to understand whether they’re getting subsidies from the CCP. I want to understand whether any CCP government official is on their board or on their executive team,” he said. “I want to understand if they’re providing reports to the CCP, I want to understanding if the CCP is helping them to lower prices where they can undercut American competition. And I certainly want to know if the CCP is helping them smuggle in people who are undocumented. So these are unanswered questions that we need to answer.”

Like all Chinese companies, Fuyao is required to have a CCP representative in their company ranks. The company’s vice president He Shimeng is also a CCP secretary, according to the Made In China Journal.

HOUSE REPUBLICANS MOVE TO MAKE TRUMP’S BORDER POLICIES PERMANENT

When asked if the U.S.’s southern border’s porousness under former President Joe Biden relative to the border under President Donald Trump’s administration contributed to Fuyao’s ability to import foreign workers, Khanna said that a strong border is necessary. Notably, migrant encounters at the southern border are at a 50-year low under the second Trump administration, according to the Pew Research Center.

“I’ve said that we need border security, and I’ve also been candid that we allow too many people to come in without the proper vetting in 2024,” Khanna told Fox News Digital.

“I disagree with the ICE raids that are taking place very strongly, but I believe we need a secure border,” he said, adding, “as an American, we should be outraged that you have a Chinese-funded company that is undercutting American jobs, potentially exploiting workers, and potentially breaking our immigration laws. So with that. That is wrong. And so I am going to make sure that we stand up for American workers and for our laws.”

Fuyao was the subject of the 2019 Netflix documentary “American Factory,” which captured the company’s takeover of a former General Motors plant in Moraine, Ohio, a suburb of Dayton. One of the film’s major themes was Fuyao’s million-dollar effort to crush the area’s local unions.

“Once the focus begins to shift… to the fight over an upcoming vote on unionization — with [Fuyao founder] Cao [Dewang] paying ‘consultants’ over a million dollars to lecture workers at length on the horrors of unions and then telling them that ‘you have a voice’ — the film begins to toughen considerably as it shows how corporate manipulation works,” Roger Ebert critic Peter Sobczynski wrote in 2019.

The alleged union-busting is a major focus of Khanna’s inquiry.

“What is Fuyao’s reasoning for its opposition to unionization efforts at facilities in the United States?” Khanna’s letter asked.

“Has Fuyao retaliated against any whistleblower (without regard to whether the subject matter of the whistleblower allegation related to collective bargaining), including but not limited to through actions impacting employment, hours, pay, employment records, or other workplace decisions?” Khanna also queried.

In addition to requesting the comprehensive information packet from Fuyao, Khanna is also requesting an on-site visit to the company’s flagship Ohio plant before Nov. 1, “so I can go in and see for myself who the workers are,” he told Fox News Digital.

“Are they undocumented? Are they being exploited, what the pricing is?” he asked.

“What we have heard is they’ve engaged in anti-union activity,” Khanna told Fox News Digital. “What we’ve heard is that they are working their employees long hours well beyond the 40-hour work week. What we heard is, that they’re not paying overtime. What we’re heard is wage theft, that they’re not paying their workers an appropriate wage. So all of this is exploitive. And of course, if these are undocumented workers in certain cases, they’re most vulnerable. They’re totally dependent on Fuyao for their staying in America and they’re living.”

Fuyao is one of the largest automotive glass manufacturers and suppliers in the world. The company claims to have 35% of global market share in the automotive glass trade, a number corroborated by trade publications like Bamboo Works, which pegs the number even higher at 40%. Fuyao supplies glass to global and U.S. automakers such as BMW, Volkswagen, General Motors and Ford.

Khanna said that if Fuyao did not comply with his request for information, he would be willing to subpoena the information from them as ranking member of his committee.

“We can subpoena them, if not, and I fully expect to have this as a priority when I become chair, if we win the election, but we wanna do this in a bipartisan way. he said. “They need to allow us onto the site and they need to provide this information.”

He explained that he has a good relationship with committee Chairman Rep. John Moolenaar, R-Mich., and said other of his cross-aisle colleagues have supported his efforts.

“I fully anticipate it will be bipartisan. I have a very good relationship with John Moolenaar, our chair. We share a commitment to an American industrial policy. We understand that there needs to be more investment in our communities, and we share a concern about Chinese companies coming into the auto industry or Chinese companies coming in. If they’re not playing fair, I don’t want Ohio to be taken over by Chinese companies that are violating our trade laws and our labor laws and our immigration laws,” he said.

Khanna conceded that President Donald Trump was one of the first to raise the issue of China’s unbalanced relationship with the U.S., but still criticized the Trump’s overall policy on China, giving it a “C” when asked to grade it.

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“I’d give it a ‘C’ because I think he was the first to sound the alarm on China, eating our lunch and taking our jobs. And he was right to sound the alarm. And so I give him credit for sounding the alarm, but he hasn’t followed through. Why are we begging them for foreign investment? Why aren’t we having an industrial investment bank for our people here? Why are investing in our industry and ships and steel and robotics here? And in building up our manufacturing base? And then why aren’t we going after companies like Fuyao, where they’re clearly violating the law?” Khanna said.

Fox News Digital contacted Moolenaar, Fuyao and the DOJ for comment.

FIRST ON FOX: President Donald Trump will return to the stage Friday to deliver remarks at the rescheduled White House Correspondents’ Dinner, nearly three months after an armed suspect stormed the event in an alleged assassination attempt against him.

The White House exclusively confirmed to Fox News Digital the lineup of administration officials expected to attend the dinner at the Waldorf Astoria in Washington, D.C.

While much of Trump’s Cabinet will attend, first lady Melania Trump, Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio will not be there. A White House spokesperson told Fox News Digital their absences are due to prior commitments.

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Here’s the lineup:

• White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt
• Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche
• FBI Director Kash Patel
• Education Secretary Linda McMahon
• Small Business Administration Administrator Kelly Loeffler
• Interior Secretary Doug Burgum
• Energy Secretary Chris Wright
• Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin
• Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth
• Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent
• Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick
• Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
• Acting Labor Secretary Keith Sonderling
• NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman
• U.S. Trade Representative Ambassador Jamieson Greer
• Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll
• Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz

JOURNALISTS DEMAND WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENTS’ ASSOCIATION ‘SPEAK TRUTH TO POWER’ IN NEW DINNER WITH TRUMP

The banquet will be held at the Waldorf Astoria while the annual dinner has historically been held at the Washington Hilton. Chaos, however, broke out at this year’s banquet when an armed suspect stormed the event in what authorities say was an attempt to assassinate the president.

Weijia Jiang, President of The White House Correspondents’ Association (WHCA), said the event will be a “more intimate gathering” when the new date was announced in June.

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Jiang announced the rescheduled date was decided by the White House Correspondents’ Association board in an email to association members, sharing the rescheduled event will be a more “intimate gathering.”

“This dinner will not only be an opportunity to carry out our program. It will be a statement that violence has no place in American life and a free press will not be intimidated into silence. As you have all demonstrated, courage and community can and should rise above,” Jiang added.

A leftist Democrat sparked fierce backlash after he appeared to insist that Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s views on Cuba carried less weight because he has not visited the island.

Rep. Mark Pocan, D-Wis., made the striking claim during a heated exchange with U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz on Wednesday at a committee hearing.

Pocan, who has compared Cuba to a “silent Gaza,” visited the communist island earlier in July, where he called for the U.S. to relent on its pressure campaign against the Cuban government, blaming U.S. sanctions for the island’s economic devastation and fuel shortages.

During his questioning of Waltz, he did not address the Cuban government’s likely hoarding of resources as it maintains a firm grip over the economy or its continued access to luxuries amid economic turmoil.

TRUMP EXPANDS CUBA SANCTIONS BEYOND US COMPANIES IN MAJOR CRACKDOWN ON FOREIGN ENABLERS

“During your visit, did you visit the private island from the Castro regime?” Waltz asked Pocan. “Did you visit their private jet which seems to have fuel to get back and forth?”

Pocan dodged the question and fired back, “Considering you’ve never been to Cuba, I’m not going to take your advice on where to go.”

“Marco Rubio has never been to Cuba, so many others who have strong opinions,” the Wisconsin lawmaker added later.

“His entire family is from Cuba and fled the regime,” Waltz replied.

“They left before the revolution,” Pocan responded. “That is decades ago. That’s a ridiculous answer. It’s worth going there if you’re going to have such strong opinions and I think you’d maybe look at it a little differently,” Pocan continued.

“The exchange drew swift criticism on social media, with several conservative commentators accusing Pocan of parroting the Cuban government’s talking points.

“It is completely insane that @RepMarkPocan is using a Congressional hearing to shill for the communist regime in Cuba,” Cody Sargent, communications director for Department of Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, wrote on social media. “Americans need to see how absolutely crazy @TheDemocrats have become.

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“Mark Pocan (who consistently makes a strong case for dumbest member of Congress) proves once again how he fails to have a functioning brain,” National Republican Congressional Committee spokesman Mike Marinella wrote Wednesday. “This exchange is exactly the kind of thinking communist regimes love to cultivate.”

“A perfect example of what Rubio’s report on Cuba warned about re: Communist Cuba’s influence and espionage in America ,” NewsNation anchor Katie Pavlich observed.

Pavlich referenced findings the State Department released earlier this week detailing a decades-long influence campaign the Cuban government allegedly pushed within the United States to sow division and push Communist ideas.

“From its earliest years in power, the Cuban regime has believed that its own survival and strategic interests were inextricably linked to the advance of the revolutionary left inside the United States,” the report states in part.

Pocan notably dismissed the report as “ridiculous,” arguing Rubio issued the document as a pretext for regime change on the island.

“It may be the stupidest, most fantastical, most biased thing I’ve ever read from a governmental agency,” Pocan said in a statement released Tuesday.

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Pocan also pressed Waltz on whether the administration plans to pursue military action against Cuba. The top diplomat declined to take any option off the table for the president.

Fox News Digital reached out to Pocan for comment.

Former Director of Central Intelligence R. James Woolsey Jr. died Tuesday at the age of 84.

The Washington Post and the New York Times both reported that his wife, Conchita Sarnoff Woolsey, noted that a stroke was the cause.

She indicated that her husband had been facing deteriorating health in recent years due to “Havana syndrome,” the Post reported.

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“We have traveled the world trying to find a cure and a treatment,” she noted, according to the report, “which sadly we never found.”

As director of central intelligence from 1993 to 1995, Woolsey oversaw the U.S. intelligence community and served as head of the CIA during the first two years of President Bill Clinton’s first term.

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“CIA extends our condolences to the family and loved ones of former Director James Woolsey. He was a great patriot who served his country as Director of Central Intelligence, Undersecretary of the Navy, Ambassador, and attorney,” the CIA noted in social media posts.

Woolsey served as undersecretary of the Navy during a portion of President Jimmy Carter’s White House tenure. He later served as ambassador to the Negotiation on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe during part of President George H.W. Bush’s term.

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In a Facebook post, the CIA added, “Director Woolsey advocated for the Agency during a time of budget uncertainty and tumult at the end of the Cold War, preserving officer morale and building a relationship between the Intelligence Community and law enforcement. That partnership continues to this day and has enabled some of our greatest successes.”

Progressive Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, is garnering widespread mockery for her “delusional” claim that FIFA World Cup fans rooted against Argentina due to the country’s “racist history.”

During a House Oversight and Government Reform Subcommittee hearing on Tuesday, Crockett remarked that the World Cup “captured the imaginations of the entire world when they saw all of these people of color that was playing for all these teams.”

Addressing one of the witnesses testifying at the hearing, she said, “Ultimately, if you recall, the last two teams, it was Argentina and Spain, and it seemed like the vast majority of the world was rooting for Argentina or actually against Argentina. Right? And why was that? Just give me an explanation. If you could guess.”

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The witness replied, “Spain had the best team, maybe that’s why they were rooting for them.” 

Crockett laughed and said, “There’s also a racist history that exists as it relates to Argentina.”

Though subcommittee Chair Rep. Timothy Burchett, D-Tenn., quickly moved the hearing along, social media was not so quick to overlook Crockett’s claim.

Columnist Kelly Rae Robertson said, “Jasmine Crockett is insufferable. Another delusional take claiming a World Cup match was racist? Why is she still here — I thought she was leaving?”

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The congresswoman recently lost her U.S. Senate primary to challenger James Talarico. Because she opted not to seek re-election to her House seat while running for the Senate, she is set to retire from Congress next January.

“I’m so confused as to why this is being discussed in a Congressional hearing lol,” political commentator and women’s sports advocate Riley Gaines posted.

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In another post, Gaines wrote, “Spain: Wins the World Cup That’s it. That’s literally it. Jasmine Crockett: ‘RACISM!!!!’”

“Rep. Jasmine Crockett is getting clowned nationwide,” conservative commentator Eric Daugherty observed.

“WITNESS: Spain had the best team… CROCKETT: There’s also a RACIST HISTORY! You can’t make this up. She’s too low IQ to be in the halls of Congress!” Daugherty wrote.

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Agustín Almada, an Argentine economist, appeared to take offense at the comment, posting on X, “This is a blatant lie. Argentina started to get rid of slavery in our war of independence from Spain!”

Spain defeated Argentina in the World Cup final in New Jersey on Sunday. President Donald Trump and FIFA President Gianni Infantino presented Spain its trophy.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., came under fire after claiming the House-passed National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) would “merge parts of our military with the Israel Defense Forces,” drawing accusations that she distorted what the legislation actually does.

The fight centers on Section 219 of the House-passed National Defense Authorization Act, a provision that calls for deeper U.S.-Israel defense integration through expanded cooperation on military technology, supply chains, research, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity and joint exercises.

On Wednesday, the House passed its version of the FY2027 National Defense Authorization Act in a 219-206 vote, leaving Section 219 intact.

But ahead of the vote, Ocasio-Cortez wrote on X that the NDAA “includes a provision to merge parts of our military with the IDF.”

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“This amendment is an existential threat to American sovereignty and democracy,” she wrote. “Every member of Congress must vote NO.”

Ocasio-Cortez’s post quickly drew criticism from Republican lawmakers and Trump administration officials, who argued the measure strengthens defense cooperation with Israel but does not merge the two militaries.

Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin called the claim “FALSE,” accusing the congresswoman of misrepresenting the bill.

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“Instead of merging the part of your brain that hates Jews with the part of your brain concocting your daily lies, you should try merging the part of your brain responsible for reading bill text with the part of your brain responsible for critical thinking,” Zeldin wrote on X.

Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., similarly blasted Ocasio-Cortez, calling her to “stop stoking Jew hatred.”

“Good grief, you are either obtuse or intentionally lying. We are not merging our military with the IDF,” Lawler wrote.

Lawler argued the provision simply expands the type of defense cooperation the United States already maintains with close allies, including intelligence sharing, joint military exercises, and collaborative weapons development.

While Republicans disputed Ocasio-Cortez’s description, some lawmakers who opposed the provision also expressed concern about its scope but framed it differently.

Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., introduced an amendment to strip Section 219 from the legislation, but House leadership did not allow it to receive a vote. After the procedural rule passed, Massie announced he would oppose the entire defense bill.

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“Unfortunately the Rule passed just now and no debate or vote was allowed on section 219, integration of US military technology and supply chains with Israel’s,” Massie wrote on X. “The NDAA will receive a recorded vote tomorrow with section 219 in it. I’ll vote no.”

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Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., who partnered with Massie on the amendment, also criticized House leadership for blocking a vote, writing that Congress had prevented consideration of a proposal to stop “the integration of our military with Israel’s.”

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“It is unconscionable to not even have a vote,” Khanna wrote on X. “We will be continuing on and will not be intimidated by the pro-Israel lobby.”

Fox News Digital reached out to Ocasio-Cortez’s office for comment.

Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal is facing scrutiny after new records showed an illegal immigrant whose release from ICE custody he championed was registered to vote in Connecticut.

“Cecunjanin has made a mockery of our immigration laws on several occasions for more than two decades,” a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson told Fox News Digital of the illegal immigrant on Wednesday.

Records obtained through a public-records request by the West Hartford Republican Town Committee show Seyo Cecunjanin was registered to vote through the Connecticut DMV in 2018. The committee posted the records on X.

A DHS spokesperson told Fox News Digital the Biden administration released the Montenegrin national back into the United States after he returned from Serbia in 2024—even though he had been under a final deportation order since 1997.

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Cecunjanin first entered the U.S. illegally in 1997 using a fraudulent Dutch passport and was issued a final order of removal later that year. Despite that order remaining in effect for more than 25 years, he departed for Serbia in July 2024, returned about two weeks later, and was released back into the U.S. under the Biden administration before his June 20 arrest. 

Blumenthal and other Connecticut Democratic officials pushed for Cecunjanin’s release last month, holding a press conference and later touting his release, crediting their letters and public advocacy.

“His courage and faith are a lesson to all of us on this 250th national birthday. I look forward to welcoming him home. ICE seizing and detaining him was cruel and unconscionable. He was never a flight risk, or a danger to anyone,” Blumenthal said in a July 3 statement celebrating the restaurant owner’s release. 

“I’ll support his efforts to gain permanent legal status and more. Welcome home, Seyo,” he added.

Cindy Wolfe Boynton, communications director for the Connecticut secretary of the state’s office, told Fox News Digital that Cecunjanin never voted.

“Our records show that he registered to vote through the DMV in 2018. He was marked as an inactive voter in January 2023 after failing to respond to a routine National Change-of-Address canvass asking him to confirm his name and address,” said Boynton. “An inactive voter remains on the voter rolls but cannot vote until they confirm or update their registration information, as required by state and federal law.”

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Critics quickly took to X to highlight the revelation, renewing scrutiny over Democrats’ handling of election security.

“It happened again,” Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn. wrote on X. 

“HOLY CRAP The illegal alien who Connecticut Senator Richard Blumenthal and other Democrat officials rallied to support after he was detained by ICE… IS REGISTERED TO VOTE IN CT despite not being a citizen!” popular conservative X account Libs of TikTok posted.

“WHOA: Illegal Alien That Democrats Defended from Deportation Is Registered Voter. Senator Blumenthal and Connecticut Democrats tried to protect him,” posted conservative commentator Benny Johnson.

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Fox News Digital reached out to the West Hartford Republican Town Committee and Blumenthal’s office for comment.